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The proposals for amending family law practice should be treated with great caution. The idea that parties to a matrimonial dispute can do without legal advice or representation is a dangerous one.
When the Family Law Act was first introduced, this was one of its great selling points, and you had any number of people trying to act for themselves. All it produced was chaos at the Family Court Registry, with parties who had no idea what to do or how to do it holding up everyone else while the counter staff endeavoured to do what they could to help. Soon, however, parties realised that you could not afford to act for yourself in these matters and that proper legal advice was essential.
Family law is one of the most difficult areas of law in which to practise and is anything but straightforward, which is why comparatively few lawyers work in this jurisdiction.
The mound of amendments designed to make matters "simpler" have had only the opposite effect. You cannot afford to take the risk of acting for yourself in a matrimonial dispute.
Alastair Nicholson's article ("Tribunal may hinder rather than help", Herald, December 30) makes many good points which should be noted.
Gerald F. Donovan, Artarmon, December 30.
The National Abuse-Free Contact Campaign welcomes the parliamentary committee's decision to reject the rebuttable presumption of joint custody. We were concerned that a rebuttable presumption of joint custody would place women and children escaping domestic violence and child abuse at even greater risk.
The committee acknowledged the problems with the system's ability to protect women and children but we also agree with Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson when he says that the committee appears to have underestimated the number of these cases that are heard in the Family Court.
However, we are concerned whether the proposed new family separation entry point will adequately address the problems of domestic violence and child abuse.
Often at the time of separation there has been no investigation into domestic violence and child abuse within the family, and we are concerned that any such allegations will not be considered valid.
All allegations of domestic violence and child abuse need to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. We therefore support the concept of a national investigative unit to ensure that the safety of women and children is given the highest priority. It is imperative that extensive training about the dynamics of child abuse and domestic violence is provided to those involved in the investigative unit.
Marie Hume, National Abuse Free Contact Campaign, Mannum (SA), December 30.
Now is the time to revisit the issue of the role of the male in parenting. We as a nation are agreed that at this moment in our history, females are the primary parental care-givers.
We are also agreed that more and more males have come to understand that they are missing out by allowing this to continue, missing out on a vital opportunity for self-knowledge and development, and for a variety of reasons are actively seeking to become more involved in day-to-day parenting, not just a hunter-gatherer of sorts.
This is an opportunity our national leaders should grasp. It is simply great news that more and more males have woken up to the value of parenting in their personal development and not merely a tool to continue hostilities with their erstwhile female partner.
A good start would be a national requirement of flexible hours in the workplace. Corporations, big and small, will see the benefit of a workforce that is more and more socially committed and personally developing.
Michael Kennedy, West Pymble, December 30.
Ivan Hoy wants someone to explain why God sends earthquakes which kill 40,000 people (Letters, December 30). God doesn't build substandard houses in earthquake zones, He doesn't remove all the vegetation, making way for a wall of mud; He doesn't build cities on the banks of rivers that flood; He doesn't even manufacture cigarettes. Perhaps we should accept some responsibility for the world's ills.
Andy Lewis, Bomaderry, December 30.
In response to George Fishman and Diane Armstrong (Letters, December 29 and 30), Israel could best demonstrate what a wonderful world citizen it is by allowing the Palestinian refugees their right of return.
It could also start a building program, to replace the thousands of homes it has destroyed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
S.E.P. James Edgecliff, December 30.
Ariel Sharon stated last year that once the Iraqi operations were completed, he would "push for Iran to be at the top of the 'to do' list". With threats like these from Israel, why would Iran ask it for assistance?
Ashley Young, Forest Lodge, December 30.
A natural disaster in Iran kills 30,000 people, devastates the country, and is called a "humanitarian catastrophe".
We kill 30,000 people in Iraq, devastate the country, and it's called "liberation".
Glen W. Cooper, Tamworth, December 30.
Your paper has published three letters attacking the Iranian Government for refusing to accept help from Israel. As a sovereign nation, Iran has the right to accept help from whomsoever it wishes. Given that only days before, Israel's generals were boasting of planned airstrikes on Iran, can one blame the Iranians for saying no to Tel Aviv?
Most Australians are not interested in the Machiavellian politics of the Middle East. Nor are they concerned as to what religion the dead and wounded are thought to be. Let us focus on doing what we can to help. Iran is not saying no to us.
I. Yusuf, Ryde, December 30.
A million dollars for our New Year fireworks, lasting less than an hour, and $2 million to the Iranians, who have suffered a devastation beyond description. Ho, ho, ho!
Mary Lee, Chippendale, December 30.
As emergency physicians, we question the setting up of hospital-based after-hours GP clinics in order to relieve "over-stretched" emergency departments ("Busy hospitals on waiting list for GP clinics", Herald, December 29). While this may benefit a small number of patients, it will not go anywhere towards fixing the major problems of lack of in-patient beds and lack of experienced senior clinician supervision to ensure safe care (as illustrated in the Health Care Complaints Commission report into Camden and Campbelltown hospitals).
These problems will require much greater resourcing than the so far unconfirmed federal funding for these after-hours clinics. Further, when a GP or nurse in one of these clinics decides a patient needs further assessment and admission to hospital, he/she will refer the person to the "overstretched" emergency department.
If the Government is serious about addressing the problems in the public hospital system, it should engage in meaningful discussions with the doctors and nurses who work on the floor in NSW emergency departments. To date this has not occurred.
Tony Joseph, John Morgan, John Vinen, Peter Smith, Chatswood, December 29.
Blood Bank-ed up
After hearing the Red Cross Blood Bank was short of blood over Christmas, I went to the Clarence Street branch on Monday. It took an hour just to get my donor form checked, and another half hour to get onto one of the fancy chairs to begin giving blood.
To add insult to injury, the needle was inserted incorrectly and the blood flow stopped after 10 minutes. It took almost two hours. Obviously, the Red Cross does not have the resources to ensure people who donate blood will happily return.
Perhaps it's time to move the donation rooms to where the public is: inside large suburban shopping centres.
Mark Allen, Artarmon, December 30.
The decision of the Australian courts to grant copyright to the information in a telephone directory has interfered with one of the most basic principles of copyright law, namely, that copyright should be granted to the original expression of facts or ideas but not to the facts or ideas themselves.
When copyright is granted to statements of factual information arranged in a non-creative way (such as names in alphabetical order), basic information passes out of the public domain and into private ownership. This happened here and we should be concerned about it.
The public domain, that great intellectual resource of facts and ideas which ought to be available to anyone, has become privatised in a move that is at least as significant for the public as the privatisation of Telstra.
Oddly, American courts have reached the opposite result in similar cases, in the interests of maintaining freedom of information and an expansive marketplace of ideas in US society. In the US, copyright is granted only to creations which have at least some slight creativity or originality in them to justify the long, private monopoly.
Dr Patricia Loughlan, Faculty of law, University of Sydney, December 30.
Malcolm Brown's article "We all deserve a medal: soldier fights for the forgotten" (Herald, December 29) shows how out of touch some ministers are. Why Mal Brough, as the minister responsible, would postulate a "badge" as a mark of recognition of voluntary service beggars belief.
Military service has been recognised with medals since time immemorial. How the Government can issue a medal to National Service personnel and deny similar recognition to volunteers defies logic.
Roger Perry, President, 1/19RNSWR Association, Ingleburn, December 30.
Have faith in science
Dr Neil Ormerod of the Catholic Institute (Letters, December 30) refers to the design theories which seek to prove the existence of God by reference to the complexity of nature as evidence of intelligent design by a creator. These theories have been comprehensively debunked, perhaps most elegantly by Professor Richard Dawkins of Oxford University in his book Climbing Mount Improbable. He takes the frequently cited eye as an example of intelligent design which supposedly could not have arisen by chance nor evolved, and shows how the eye evolved from a rudimentary origin to its present complexity.
The critical difference between religious dogma and the scientific kind is that scientific hypotheses can be tested by experiments and modified according to the results, whereas religious dogma makes a virtue of unbending adherence to untenable positions.
Christopher Borton, Rose Bay, December 30.
A need, not a loss
The headline "Public housing loses $5m each week" (Herald, December 30) is nonsense. Why not "Medicare loses $5bn a year" or "Defence loses $50bn in next five years"? Public housing is just that, housing for the needy with a contribution to offset costs at what they can afford. It is not for profit, any more than Medicare or the military are for profit.
Nick Smith, Newcastle, December 30.
The suggestion by the NSW Transport Minister, Michael Costa, that apartments, restaurants and shops in the CBD could be forced to pay the parking levy which raises $45 million a year ("Calls for higher tax on parking spaces", Herald, December 30) is another example of the pious hysterics emanating from Macquarie Street.
The Government built an extensive road system, against better advice for light and heavy rail public transport systems. I would be more impressed if Mr Costa sold his ministerial car and travelled on buses and trains, setting an example for the rest of cabinet to enjoy the services they have provided for us.
Anthony Williams, Oyster Bay, December 30.
Send MPs to Afghanistan
If Afghanistan is now safe for the repatriation of asylum seekers, as asserted by John Howard, Philip Ruddock and Amanda Vanstone, it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to encourage members of his Government (accompanied by their spouses, as is the custom) to use their taxpayer-funded "international study tours" to visit Afghanistan.
After such a personal experience these politicians could verify the validity of the Government's claims of safety for the unfortunate souls whose only crime was to believe in the myth that Australia was a land where everyone was given "a fair go".
Pam Pitham, Glendale, December 30.
Green conversion like eating an elephant
I understand Mike Fullerton's frustration about our inherently polluting and wasteful culture (Letters, December 30) but I don't agree with his bagging of the Huskisson effort.
Little by little we are learning to change our behaviours. If you can make people a bit more aware of the effect that they are having on their environment, then surely they will be more open to other changes. It's a bit like eating an elephant. You either do it one bite at a time, or you throw up your hands in horror at the enormity of the problem. And don't do a bloody thing.
Sally Bryant, Bourke, December 30.
Get off Waugh's case
Trevor Marshallsea's articles on this MCG Test seem obsessed with the batting form of Steve Waugh and his upcoming swan song in Sydney, a bit like an impatient caterer organising a wake. Cricket is a team game with each player making a contribution as well as he can on the day. Anyone who ever played knows that you never expect everyone to fire at once.
And Steve's performance as a skipper - which is no mean extra job in Test cricket - has been absolutely superb. Try to see the big picture and get off Waugh's case. He is one of the greatest team men we have ever seen in the greatest team game of all.
Danny Mackay, Dungog, December 30.
Wizard of an ATM
The Wizard of Id went modern today - it now has an automatic teller machine.
Ted Matulevicius, Goonellabah, December 30
Reasons for the rugby win
The Titanic sank, the De Havilland Comet broke up in flight, the tilting train would not tilt, they couldn't continue to maintain the Concorde and now they can't find the spacecraft they sent to Mars. Add to that the fact that they lost a whole empire and you can see why God let them win at rugby.
Michael Stanbridge, Bonnet Bay, December 30.
Horse's end of argument
I thought that the argument about Victorian or NSW beer being the "best" (Letters, December 30) was settled years ago. An exponent of each chose a sample of their favoured brew and these were sent to a pathologist for analysis. The report was unequivocal: "Neither horse should ever race again."
Brian Bradley, Farmborough Heights, December 30.
Finding the platypuses
Where are Gerry Harvey and his millionaire greenies going to get the platypuses to stock the deep clear lagoons in their sanctuary ("Land for sale, only hard-working greenies need apply", Herald, December 30)? Only six platypuses (four surviving) have been bred in captivity over the past 60 years, although breeding techniques have improved.
I suppose they could get them from someone else's backyard, from one of the streams in our catchment areas or possibly from a national park. I hope not.
Tom Grant Cronulla, December 30.
A perfectly good word
Organisers of Sydney's New Year celebrations say there hasn't been a "universal pertinent message" ("Expect a celebration like never before", Herald, December 30), so the bridge will be wordless. Given that "war" wouldn't get a guernsey, how about something really universal - "rhubarb"?
Joan Kunze, Penrith, December 29.
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The CSUSM Student Organization Handbook contains the most current summary of policies and procedures related to managing your student organization. A copy of this document will be provided to all Presidents and Treasurers when the Student Organization recieves thier Letter of Recognition. If you have any questions about the content of this handbook, contact your SLL Coordinator.
In addition to the Handbook, SLL is pleased to provide a variety of student leader tip sheets that can help you address issues or challenges specific to your leadership role or organization:
If you would prefer to download all of these documents at once, please access the Student Leader Resource Guide.

subset: commoncrawl


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10 Unique Ways to Save Time on Social Media Management
Social media never sleeps. And that makes social media management a particularly challenging task. Keeping up with the incessant activity on social media can be a painstakingly time-consuming process. And if managing your business' social media presence is not your only responsibility, you will be all the more hard-pressed for time.
Here are a few social media management tips that can make your life just a tad bit easy. These 10 tips from real-life digital marketers will help you do a lot more with the little time you have.
- "Create a social calendar by planning out the posts for the month. This could be specific articles you want to post on specific days or ideas for topics on that day. Having a set out schedule will make it much easier to follow and stay organized. A social calendar also makes it easier to see what content is working and what isn't because it is all logged."
– Morgan O'Mara
Digital Marketing Content Coordinator at Shred Nations
- "Create Your Own Templates as in the types of posts you will use and a format for them. For example, a tips post, a news post, or for when you share someone else's relevant post. When you have a list of post types, it's much easier to think up and create posts based on those guidelines instead of trying to create it every time."
– Beth Bridges
Vice President of Digital Identity at ARTCO by J
- "Team-source your content. Every week, think of topic that your colleagues can contribute towards via their own social media accounts. For example, request your team members to tweet using #Leadership and share relevant content. As a social media manager, you can then retweet or quote your team members tweets and increase interactions. This way, you crowdsource your social media content to a certain extent and save time."
– Swetha Venkataramani
Manager, Communication & Content at 9lenses
- "Maintain a content library or spreadsheet of articles that relate to your brand and industry. This includes press that your company received, interesting articles from your company's team, content from your company blog, and interesting and helpful articles from your field. A spreadsheet can serve as a convenient reference for relevant content that can be re-shared."
– Leeyen Rogers
VP of Marketing at Jotform
- "Keep all of your images in one place. I used to use Dropbox to upload images, but now I use Postmore. It's an iPhone app that loops in team members to source photos in one place. It's great when working with a team of interns! You can also use Google Spreadsheets to keep track of relevant links (press mentions, videos, etc) so that you have all your brand content in one place)."
– Angela Hanks
Media & Brand Strategist at Coolhaus
- "Bookmark content on the fly, and then go back to it when you're ready to post. I use the Pocket app to easily save articles that our audience may like. It lets me tag and sort based on topic so when I'm ready to go in and bulk schedule my posts I have a bank of content that I can schedule in seconds."
– Hayley Hudson
Social Media Manager at Yottaa
- "Work from a handwritten To-Do list every day. Write yours out with three categories in mind – one for things you must get done each day (such as responding to all comments from your followers), a second category for things that need your attention but can wait (like exploring new social sites), and a third category for minor things that you can knock out if you have the extra time, which will vary depending upon the specifics of your position. Whatever you don't finish gets transferred to the next day's list.
– Carly Fauth
Director of Marketing & Outreach at MoneyCrashers
- "Scheduling is key. Unless a business has lots of sales, and those need to be announced continuously throughout the day; marketers should schedule content to be shared a certain number of times a day. This may sound counterintuitive, but you should also consider scaling back your posts. The adage, "Don't speak unless you have something to say," is even truer when it comes to social media. Too many people are posting, just to be posting. When they do that, they are watering down their own brand."
– Sharon Geltner
Business Analyst at SBDC (Palm Beach)
- " Write. Everything. Down. I can't tell you how many times an idea for a post came to me out of nowhere, but I didn't write it down. Instead, I told myself "I'll remember that and put it in the content calendar for the next day." Nope. It didn't happen, because I completely forgot my idea. Pull out your phone and jot down any ideas you have in your notes. That way, when it's time to curate content, you already have a plethora of inspired ideas."
– Amanda Shepherd
Social Media Manager at EllipsesPR
- "Develop a schedule. Devote 10-20 minutes each morning to reach out and respond on all of your social channels and schedule new content. If you do a daily check-in, you can stay on top of your social accounts without being consumed by them. If you have time, schedule another 10 minute afternoon break to respond to anyone who's reached out to you since your morning session."
– Christy Kirk
Director of Social Strategy at Weaving Influence
Have you come with any social media management hacks of your own to use your time more effectively? The community of social media managers can benefit from your ideas, so go ahead and share them in the comments below.


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LONDON (Reuters) - Tentative signs of a recovery in private sector work may ease the pain of a double-dip recession in the UK construction industry in the wake of severe government spending cuts at the end of 2010.
"The underlying trend should brighten a little bit (in the second half)," Allan Wilen, economics director at construction industry analyst Glenigan, told Reuters.
Construction output, which was one of the biggest drags on growth in the first three months of this year, fell by 13.8 percent on the month in April, according to unadjusted data published by the ONS on Friday.
Analysts, although unconvinced that the official numbers tally with the picture conveyed by sentiment indicators, said the downturn may have hit the bottom.
"Construction output was up by 5.5 percent in the three months to April compared to the three months to January," said Howard Archer at Global Insight.
"This supports hopes that the second quarter will see expansion in construction output and a positive contribution to GDP," he added.
Data from the latest RICS Construction Survey suggested further optimism as private sector workloads are expected to edge upwards and greenshoots of activity in the private sector emerge.
Commercial property planning approvals in England jumped 16 percent in the last quarter of 2010, the latest data available, from the previous year, according to law firm EMW on Monday.
Nonetheless, new data also published on Monday showed that the value of projects starting on site in the three months to May was 21 percent lower compared with a year ago, according to Glenigan. Many sectors such as affordable housing, health and education impacted by cuts, while the private sector performance remains in the doldrums.
The underlying value of residential construction starts was 31 percent lower.
"We've got a 6 percent fall for the current year, it's very much a double dip for construction," said Wilen.
Despite tentative signs of a recovery in privately funded projects, there is still a gap before the recovery in commercial property and private housing will offset the slump in public sector work.
"On the commercial side, there has been an upturn of things coming through at the design phase, but we've got a work load gap," said Wilen, adding there was a similar situation with housing, where a recovery is not predicted until 2012.
Reporting by Lorraine Turner


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Math circles are group meetings led by mathematical scientists who, in engaging and interactive ways, share their world of mathematics with pre-college students. Established in Hungary more than a century ago to promote interest and aptitude in math, these types of programs quickly spread throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, producing many great scientists from the area, not only in mathematics but also in other science disciplines.
In the U.S., the first Math Circle was established in Cambridge, MA, in 1994, followed by the UC Berkeley Math Circle in 1998. Spurred by their success, colleges and universities throughout the United States founded math circles in their respective communities.
The Georgetown College Math Circle was formed under the umbrella of the Central Kentucky Mathematical Circles (CKMC), which offers two math circles on the University of Kentucky campus for students in Central Kentucky — one serves Lexington's high school students and the second Lexington's Tates Creek Elementary School students. CKMC faculty affiliates include Asbury University, Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, and the University of Kentucky.
The Georgetown College Math Circle provides mathematics enrichment to fifth- through eighth-grade students from Bourbon, Fayette, and Scott counties, and complements the already established elementary school and high school circles established by the CKMC.


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RECIPES: Recipe Details
Challahleja! I've Dined and Gone to Heaven Burgers
My inspiration of the burgers is my love of Jewish food and a great appreciation for it. I wanted to create a burger that has somewhat of Jewish flair and what better way than to incorporate Kosher half sour pickles and serving them on Challah rolls!
Ingredients: Hummus Spread:
20 oz. Hummus
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of one lemon
Endive Salad:
6 endive
1 bunch scallions
2 medium sized Kosher half sour pickles
2 pounds ground dry aged sirloin steak – beef loin
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 challah rolls
4 Tbsp. of Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing grill rack
Directions: Preheat gas grill to medium-high. To make hummus spread, spoon hummus into a separate mixing bowl. Add garlic and the juice of one lemon. Mix all ingredients well. Place hummus spread in refrigerator until ready to assemble the burgers. To make endive salad, wash and dry endive and scallions, chop ends off of endive and scallions. Place endive, scallions and pickles in food processor and process until chopped. Transfer to mixing bowl and refrigerate until ready to assemble the burgers. To make patties, combine ground sirloin, kosher salt, and garlic in a large bowl. Handling the meat as little as possible, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties. Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack off center from the direct flame to prevent flare-up fire, cover, and grill for 4 minutes. Turn the patties and continue grilling until done to preference, about 5 minutes longer for medium. Be sure not to press down on patties while they are cooking as this will eliminate the moistness of the burger. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, place the rolls cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly. To assemble the burgers, place a generous amount of the Hummus Spread over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll top, place a generous amount of the endive salad. Place the patty on the bottom bun. Add the roll tops and serve.
If you cannot find challah rolls you can cut the rolls out of loaves of Challah bread (and I have) by cutting from the top of the loaf through to the bottom in a circular motion, two buns per 1 loaf.


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" Brand: Sainsbury's / Texture: Cream / Type: Hand Cream / Suitable for: Hand "
I don't suffer from very dry hands so I don't use a hand cream that often. I usually find that smoothing out whatever moisturiser I have used on my body over my hands keeps them in good enough condition. However I find that occasionally when I have been working outside for some time, my hands do begin to feel a little dryer and less soft than normal. So to prevent that getting worse I use a basic hand cream. I found that my last one didn't smell too good when I opened it, probably because it had been open too long. I didn't want to buy a replacement that was too expensive as I wasn't looking for anything that offfered special care or deep nourishment. I also wanted a small tube only as I don't use it up quickly. For those two reasons a 75ml tube of Sainsbury's Basics Hand and Nail cream caught my attention, especially as it was only 50p! I thought that it was definitely worth trying at that price...
Not much is the answer! The packaging states that the cream moisturises with "no added promises". That is fine by me, but I was hoping that the scent would be nice and the cream would absorb easily and not leave any kind of stickiness behind.
Given that this is a product from the cheapest of Sainsbury's own brand ranges, it isn't surprising that this looks a cheap product from it's packaging. The tube is orange and white and doesn't display any artwork. This is o.k by me as I am using it as a sort of utilitarian product, rather than a more indulgent treat. The pack is functional though. It is a good size to pop in your handbag [or man bag of course!] and the flip top lid is really secure which is essential if you want to carry it around with you. In fact I found it a bit stiff to open at first, which meant that it eventually flipped up with such force that I got a good dollop of cream over my trousers. Not a good start. Apart from that, I like the squeezy tube as it is easy to get the cream out even if it does so a bit too enthusiastically at first.
The cream is not described on the front of the tube as having any particular scent, but I noticed that parfum is listed amongst the ingredients. I thought this would be an advantage as I have used unscented products before that still smelt rather unpleasant due to the less than lovely natural scent of their ingredients. I can't say that the cream has a great aroma though. It smells like an anti-septic cream to me - there is something chemically and medicinal about it. I don't hate it or find it very strong but I wouldn't use this for the pleasure of it's scent. It is a unisex one though.
The cream itself is relatively thick but nice and smooth to apply. It doesn't feel greasy and the first stage of absorption was quite fast. By this I mean the white colour of the lotion disappeared almost instantly. However, after some rubbing into my hands and cuticles, I could still feel a slight stickiness on the surface of my skin. It really did take some work to get rid of this unpleasant feeling. Overall, I wouldn't describe this as easily absorbed.
My hands were not very dry, but this cream still didn't do much for them. The immediate result of one use is no noticeable difference to the feel or appearance of my skin or cuticles. After a few uses, for example after every time I washed my hands, I did notice a slight softening of my skin but my cuticles remained untroubled. I experimented with using different amounts of the cream each time I used it. Although a pea sized amount was enough to coat both hands, I thought perhaps I was skimping on the amount needed to make a difference to my skin's condition. So I tried to use more each time but the effort to get it fully absorbed didn't prove worth it. My skin was only slightly softer and smoother. I also found that any moisturising effect didn't last very long so I didn't feel I could put some on in the morning and then forget about re-applying. At least the basic cream didn't cause me any irritation but my skin isn't sensitive unlike my sister's who found that this product made her hands instantly itchy.
With sustained use I did find this cream moisturing but it definitely doesn't wow me with it's effects. Considering the low price and the fact it does work to some extent, I would recommend it if you are not looking for a rich or indulgent product and don't mind working it in for a while. If you want something fast absorbing, or if you have really dry skin or tough cuticles, I don't think this product will suit you. If you needed to use this frequently, I think you will notice it's defects more. I have used up most of the tube because I don't like to waste things even if they only cost 50p but I won't repurchase it.
Only available in Sainsbury's naturally.
[This review is also on Ciao under the same user name.]
I work in an office and so my hands can get dry due to the paperwork I have to handle on a daily basis. Therefore I always have a tube of hand cream on my desk which I constantly apply throughout the day. I had run out, but couldn't afford to replace it as it was a week before payday and funds were extremely low! I had to find a cheap hand cream while I was grocery shopping, but anything by the usual brands I would buy such as Nivea or Neutrogena were all in the £2 to £3 bracket which I just couldn't justify.
I saw this hand cream from Sainsbury's Basics range, and initially dismissed it because of the packaging, but when I saw the extremely low cost, I decided that beggars can't be choosers and chucked it into my trolley.
This comes in a plastic tube containing 75ml of hand cream. The flip-top lid is at the bottom so it can be dispensed easily. The packaging is pretty horrible - the usual white and orange colours of the Sainsbury's Basics range. Normally the Basics range packaging doesn't bother me, but because normally I keep my hand cream in front of me at my desk, I won't be doing that with this hand cream as it's a bit grim looking. The blurb on the front says that this 'Moisturises (with) no added promises' - so it is very much 'what you see is what you get'. I must admit that the packaging is the main thing that initially put me off from buying this - it does look very cheap. While the packaging means that this is not something you would keep out for show on your dressing table, it's fine just to keep in my desk drawer at work where I don't have to look at it.
Ignore all I said about the packaging above... this costs 50p for 75ml. 50p! I don't care what the tube looks like!
The cream is white in colour and not watery at all. On the other side, it is not so thick that it cannot be distributed evenly over your hands. The smell reminded me of a Savlon/E45 type cream - mild, pleasant and not heavily perfumed or overbearing.
The hand cream is easy to squeeze out although sometimes it does squirt out too much at a time. Only a small blob is needed - I found this spread over my hands with ease and did not feel at all greasy upon application. The cream sinks in almost immediately and my hands always feel soft as soon as I use it - I don't need to spend time rubbing it in in order to feel the benefits.
I have very short nails thanks to the nasty habit of biting them, so I can't comment on how well this works as a nail cream, however it succeeds in keeping my cuticles soft.
This doesn't claim to make hands look younger or erase liver spots, lines etc - but I don't think it'd be any less effective at this job than some more expensive creams that DO make these claims. I used to buy Nivea Q10 when I had a bigger disposable income and quite honestly I never noticed any difference (mind you, I was in my 20s then).
This leaves my hands feeling soft for several hours after usage, and despite repeated applications throughout the day, my hands never feel greasy.
Absolutely! It keeps my hands soft for a ridiculously small price, and the tube will last for a good few months. It's so handy for keeping in my desk drawer or in my handbag, and I really don't think it does a lesser job than some of the more expensive hand creams on the market.
Bought a tube of this a couple of months ago when I was in there picking up a few bits I can't get in Tesco. Now I only really bought it for 2 reasons. Firstly because we're trying to cut costs at the moment and it was incredibly cheap, and secondly because my Father-in-Law's wife had told me how good she thought it was.
I probably ought to say here that I normally buy Lavera hand cream. It's expensive, but it's all natural and it feels great on the skin. So I guess I should have known that this wasn't going to feel the same really, but somehow I still thought it would be worth buying - How wrong can you get!
I paid 48p for my 75ml tube, and it was 48p wasted. It comes in a simple white and orange tube with a screw top lid that acts as the base for it to stand on. Other than the colours, the style of tube is the same as many other hand creams come in so perfectly adequate for the job.
The problem starts when you begin to use it. I'm sorry, but the stuff is just nasty! It's plain white in colour, and doesn't have any sort of added fragrance, but it stinks of chemicals instead. I used the same sort of amount as I would of my normal hand cream, and it left me feeling greasy and wanting to wipe my hands. Using half that amount still left me feeling the same way so it wasn't the quantity of the stuff I'd used, but the cream itself.
The worst thing of all was that the feeling didn't go away, I tried to ignore it thinking that as with some heavier creams it would just take a bit of time to sink into my skin, but somehow it's more like having a barrier cream on your hands than a hand cream as it just sits there feeling greasy and yuck.
I also found that my hands ached more than normal, now I guess this could be co-incidence, but I don't know, something in me says that I should just stick to avoiding the chemicals as much as possible because I really do think they make a difference to me (I have fibromyalgia syndrome in case anyone wonders why I'd get achy hands). My skin also felt drier than normal, and my hands look older, now I'm not one for lots of anti aging stuff, but I guess that the chemicals do age the skin more.
This isn't a product I'll ever be recommending, and to be honest if I could give it zero stars or even minus I would. It smells bad, it feels bad, it doesn't sink in, it's full of chemicals, and well, the only thing it does have going for it at all is that it's cheap, and if it doesn't serve the purpose you bought it for that's not really going to save you pennies is it.
Hubby - undiscerning chap that he is - said it would be fine for him in the shed, and took it away when I would have binned it, but I don't honestly see him using it really, and I'd personally have prefered to bin this one.
Why sainsburys basic hand cream is AMAZING!!!!
I am an obsessive hand cream maniac! I cannot live without this product however hard i try. I cannot stand having dry hands which leads me to using excessive hand cream to improve my dry hands.
Sainsburys basic hand and nail cream was probably the 5th hand cream i tried before i decided it was perfect for me.
Sainsburys makes it nice and clear, its basic, the packaging is basic, the directions are basic. No added promises.
At an astonishing 49p per bottle, it holds 75ml and lasts me about a month, only because I use it too much to care. It moisturises which is a
bonus, and some hands creams i have tried, they are like jelly substance which makes my hands more dry.
Sainsburys hand cream is smooth and wet, I only need to add a pea size amount to my hand and moisturise my hand and nails. The product is perfect for people who hate having dry hands and cannot stand touching objects unless you HAVE HAND CREAM ON!! like me!
I have realised that I do not need to buy expensive hand creams which basically give me the same moisturising pleasure as this basic sainsburys hand cream is. This product may not be everybodys cup of tea, but if you need a simple solution as a cheesey price, then this is an absoloute bargain!!!


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Usage areas:
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Trying to search someone's body?
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Management and retail specialist
Melinda is a member of the adjunct faculty at the Australian Graduate School of Management specialising in leadership development, team effectiveness, emotional intelligence and change management. She designs and delivers corporate programs and has taught in a variety of global programs including the Tuck Executive Program at Dartmouth, the Melbourne/Beihang University eMBA and Duke Corporate Education.
Melinda graduated from the University of Cincinnati magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Design and earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School. She was awarded a PhD from the Australian Graduate School of Management for research in the field of corporate governance. Her work on boards of directors and firm performance has been published in Corporate Governance: An International Review and the European Journal of Business.
Melinda has worked with the Melbourne Business School Mt Eliza Centre for Executive Education and also been a member of the Organisational Behaviour faculty at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM). She received the 1999 Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence in recognition of her teaching capabilities and innovations in course design across a range of executive programs and MBA teaching roles. She was Subject Leader in the MBA program and Change Management Qualification as well as Program Director of the Accelerated Development Program for high potential managers, one of the flagship general management programs offered at the AGSM.
In addition to her academic roles, Melinda has served as the National Director of Business Development and Marketing for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. She was responsible for sales and marketing strategy, brand management and developing initiatives to support the firm's growth programs. During her tenure with Deloitte she was a finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award program and named Best Professional Services Firm Marketer in the 2002 industry survey.
Melinda has extensive experience in retailing and related industries both in Australia and the United States (David Jones, Neiman Marcus and Federated Department stores) as well as having successfully operated her own business in Australia for five years.
Melinda regularly speaks and consults on a variety of organisation development issues with both private and public sector organisations. Her clients include: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Freehills, Macquarie Bank, Minter Ellison, Rabobank and ResMed. She serves on the board of Indigenous Community Volunteers and the Union Club and is a member of the Quest for Life Foundation. She is a member of the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society and Past President of the Harvard Club of Australia.


text:
April 21, 2014
NYC Owners and Institutions Must Act Now to Benefit
ConEdison Solutions, one of the country's largest energy services companies, is alerting developers, building owners and institutions in New York City to take advantage of major increases in "peak demand," or peak load, financial incentives offered to large energy users that agree to partially curtail energy use on the summer's hottest days, when energy demand reaches its peak.
The proposed incentive levels in 2014 will increase payments by 60 percent or more above what was paid for similar "demand response" (DR) curtailments in 2013. Targeting major users in the five boroughs, the enhanced incentives are provided by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and Con Edison, the regulated utility that serves New York City and Westchester. These new Con Edison utility demand response incentive payments were formally approved by the New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) in mid-March.
To demonstrate the dollars-and-cents scope of the new, enhanced Con Edison and NYISO DR incentives, ConEdison Solutions cites this hypothetical example: In 2013, if a 1.4 million square-foot office building were fully equipped by ConEdison Solutions to earn the maximum in DR incentive payments, its owner may have been paid $178,000 for reducing load during "peak load" alerts.
By contrast, in 2014, that same owner making that same reduction would be paid about $300,000 -- a 60-percent increase over 2013.
"Peak load incentives for DR programs available in New York City are about to increase significantly over the course of a single year, and the city's forward-thinking energy users will be poised to take full advantage," said Jorge J. Lopez, President and CEO of ConEdison Solutions. "Additionally, customers are leveraging our advanced demand response technology to earn revenues throughout the year by executing energy 'sell-backs' timed to periods when market prices are right."
When demand is extremely high, "peak load" alerts are issued by the NYISO, a not-for-profit corporation responsible for operating New York's statewide electricity grid and maintaining its reliability. In addition, when Con Edison detects extraordinary demand on its local utility distribution system, the utility will call an event requesting customers participating in their DR programs to curtail consumption. Users who participate in these programs and reduce energy consumption during these events earn incentive payments.
ConEdison Solutions officials emphasized, however, that owners and institutions must act quickly to take full advantage of the increased 2014 incentives because participant's applications must be filed with the NYISO and Con Edison by May 1st in order to participate in the June 1, 2014 program start date.
To enable clients to achieve maximum value from demand response opportunities, ConEdison Solutions has equipped large-scale energy users with a sophisticated demand response capability called VPower. VPower leverages proprietary software to give users the ability to control their response to grid events called by the ISO or utilities, including Con Edison. In addition, the VPower software gives customers a dashboard that provides a view into system performance and compliance during an event. This enables customers to ensure they are maximizing the value of their participation and meeting their commitment requirements.
ConEdison Solutions works with clients to assess their facilities' energy requirements and system capabilities to identify opportunities for reducing consumption when an event is called. The process results in a protocol for clients that identifies the equipment modifications necessary to achieve load reductions. ConEdison Solutions, as part of the VPower installation, will synchronize these modifications with our client's building management system to allow for a quick response and minimal involvement of on-site staff.
As part of the DR evaluation, ConEdison Solutions incorporates the benefits of demand response in modifying a client's load shape into their energy supply portfolio. In addition, as a result of the engineering evaluation of a client's facility, ConEdison Solutions will look to identify energy efficiency opportunities for the client as well. About ConEdison Solutions ConEdison Solutions is a leading energy services company that provides competitive power supply, renewable energy, sustainability services, cost-effective energy efficiency solutions, and performance contracting services for commercial, industrial, residential and government customers, including universities, public school districts, and hospitals nationwide. Offering innovative products, financial stability, and a commitment to customer service, the company is based in Valhalla, New York, with offices in Burlington, Massachusetts; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Chicago, Illinois; Falls Church, Virginia; Houston, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and Overland Park, Kansas. The firm's dedicated team of energy professionals delivers a broad range of energy solutions. ConEdison Solutions offers programs and services designed to help customers achieve their individual energy objectives and is accredited as an Energy Services Provider (ESP) by the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO).
ConEdison Solutions is a subsidiary and registered trademark of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED). More information can be obtained by calling 1-888-210-8899 or visiting the ConEdison Solutions website at www.conedsolutions.com. You can also visit the Consolidated Edison, Inc. website at http://investor.conedison.com for information on all of the Consolidated Edison companies.
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I love to laugh, i love being outside, and all sorts of creatures. i obviously heart cuddling. And if you have a dog i might pay more attention to it than you lol. Also i like nerd stuff. I like tattoos and silly adventures.Always curious about trying something new. I also like to like things.
Across the Universe, any other musical, star trek, Batman, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Juno
Perks of Being a Wallflower, the lovely bones, Wicked, Stargirl, A Brave New World, 19 Minutes
Game of Thrones, parks and rec, Hannibal, Orange is the new black, it's always sunny in Philadelphia, Dr who, true detective


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Glenwood Park is a delightful development of two, three and four bedroom homes just two miles from the popular North Devon town of Barnstaple.
Surrounded by outstanding countryside, and just a short drive from both Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks, yet with excellent schools and a lively town close by, this is an excellent place to set up home and raise your family.
People travel from across the UK to holiday in Barnstaple, so there's always something interesting and exciting going on, along with a much larger range of shops and restaurants than you might expect in a town this size.
Glenwood Park really does offer the best of both worlds, just like the superb Heritage Collection homes we're building there, with their combination of traditional craftsmanship and modern interior design.
Glenwood Park residents can find local GP's at Fremington Medical Centre on Beards Road (sat nav EX31 2PG, call 01271 376655), with a choice of local dentists, including Bedford Row Dental Practice (sat nav EX32 8NR, call 01271 373119).
There is also a local Sainsbury's supermarket just a short drive from the development.


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Beddington boxer Charlie Edwards is preparing to take his bow in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and wants to soak up as much experience as possible.
As part of the British Lionhearts team, the 19-year-old bantamweight will fight an as yet unknown opponent from Italia Thunder at the Palamaggio sporting arena in Caserta, Italy, on Saturday.
The Lionhearts are currently third out of six teams in group B of the WSB, behind leaders Kazakhstan and second-placed Italy.
Edwards has endured a tough year, missing out on London 2012 and losing at the Tammer tournament in October.
However, the former England schoolboys captain and two-time Golden Gloves champion has a wise head on young shoulders, and life right now is all about learning and developing, to make sure he is at the peak of his powers going into qualification for Rio 2016.
"The WSB is on a bigger scale than what I am used to. It has a big entertainment factor – you come out to music, and it's all bigged up for coverage on Eurosport," Edwards said.
"It is a win-win situation for me. I am only 19, I can only gain more experience from these events. It will hopefully develop me for the future and, fingers crossed, 2016.
"London 2012 was too early for me and it happened so fast, but I have four years to develop into a man, get a man's strength and hopefull y go to Rio.
"You cannot buy the experience of the Olympics qualifying, even though I missed out. I went to two qualifiers and was mixing with the best, rooming with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tom Stalker, all of the Olympians who did well.
"It showed me what to expect, I was young and I wanted it so much and at the time I was disappointed but looking back it has only made me a better and stronger minded fighter - and next time round it will not be such a big and intense experience."
He added: "I am a little nervous ahead of the WSB because it is my first bout at 54kg, but I am excited as well because it is five three-minute rounds, which is a step up in rounds.
"At the end of three-round bouts, I am raring to do more so, because of my fitness, it gives me a big confidence boost and I cannot wait to get in there and see what it is like in the fourth and fifth rounds.
"It is uncharted territory, but I am fit enough to go that distance because we do that in sparring, sometimes going to nine rounds."


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Rural Explorations
...through my lens
by Photography by Julie Nott
About the Book
Come along with me as I meander through the rural back roads of central Illinois. We'll explore the crusty corn cribs and chippy barns of yesteryear. Along the way we'll stop and gaze upon the rusty things left behind. There is such beauty in decay!
Author website
Features & Details
- Category Arts & Photography
Standard Landscape, 10×8 in, 25×20 cm
40 Pages
- Hardcover, Dust Jacket: 9781320350105
- Softcover: 9781320350099
- Hardcover, ImageWrap: 9781320350112
- Publish Date Dec 11, 2013
- Language English
- Tags rustic, Barns, Illinois, Rust, Farms, Barn, Rural, rural photography, Corn Crib
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text:
I had to go into a temporary job service and applied for a temporary job, because as we all know that is all mostly all the job market offers in our todays conTemporary world.
I was hired on a Temp to Perm basis they called it, which could lead to a permanent part time position.
Now I temporarily have a job. Part time lucky me.
I wonder if the bank will give me a temp to perm loan, to buy a temporary home, or buy a part time car to go to work in to be able to support my full time family.
I wonder if the electric, gas, and water companies will temporarily wait for me to get my check from my temporary job, or will they temporarily shut off their service because I am temporarily having trouble making a temporary part time job meet my full time needs.
Now, I am sure you are thinking why dont you go back to school and get an education to get a full time job. I went to school full time, which is what helped me get this temporary job.
Now as most people do, I want the American Dream, the house, the car, things most people work for full time all their life, but I guess until banks and loan companies start giving temporary loans to match todays temporary life style that is going to be a full time draw back.
Alternatively, until we all stop marching into temporary job service offices and offering ourselves to be used as a Temporary Human whose life has no full time worth, then I guess the American Dream will temporarily allude us.
Deb Voytko,


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Rays catcher Molina day-to-day after injuring leg
CHICAGO (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Molina is day to day with a right quad contusion after leaving Saturday's game in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox.
Molina was hit by Chicago pitcher Jose Santiago and was checked at home plate by Rays manager Joe Maddon and head trainer Ron Porterfield before heading to first. Before the next pitch, Molina was replaced by backup Jose Lobaton.
Molina was 0 for 1 and entered Saturday's game hitting .234.
Santiago was pitching for Gavin Floyd, who left with two outs in the third after straining his right elbow.
FOX Sports Go


text:
Automotive OEMs commonly house test stands or special facilities to develop, characterize, and test car engines. As hybrid technology plays an increasing role in vehicle designs, OEMs increasingly use such facilities in the development of hybrid-electric propulsion systems for the truck and bus industries. Components of a hybrid-electric propulsion system might include a liquid cooled inverter, a high power-to-weight ratio AC induction electric motor and a reduction gear connected directly to a standard drive shaft and rear axle to provide traction power and regenerative braking.
To ensure such systems manage power efficiently, engineers must accurately measure electrical motor/drivetrain variables such as rotational speed (rpm) and torque. An in-house test stand setup usually comprises a battery simulator, frequency inverter, electric motor, dynamometer, data acquisition system (DAQ), communication interface and a PC in a control area. The dynamometer provides simulated resistance to the system to replicate road situations the electrical motor/drivetrain might encounter, such as when it's pushing a heavy vehicle up a hill. This arrangement frees engineers from having to drive around in actual vehicles.
Note that while power tests on combustion engines mainly record mechanical signals, the testing of electric motors also necessitates measuring electrical signals between inverter and motor.


text:
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 01:59 AM
avaistheone1 (14,626 posts)
Former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson fired from J.C. Penney
Source: Fortune
FORTUNE -- Ron Johnson, the former Target (TGT) manager who tried to save the ailing J.C. Penney (JCP) using lessons he learned building Apple's (AAPL) retail empire was fired Monday.
CNBC had the scoop and the Wall Street Journal confirmed it.
But his strategy -- selling boutique brands at fixed prices to customers raised on clearance sales -- failed spectacularly. The company lost $4.3 billion in sales in 2012, including a 28.4% drop in the all-important holiday season.
Read more: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/08/apple-johnson-penney-fired/
JC Penney ousts CEO Ron Johnson, brings back his predecessor
Ron Johnson was ousted as chief executive of J.C. Penney Co. after a remarkably short and gaffe-filled tenure that succeeded mainly in driving away customers.
Johnson was lured 17 months ago from a top job at Apple Inc., where he was celebrated for pioneering the technology giant's cutting-edge retail stores. But he stumbled badly at J.C. Penney, pursuing an unorthodox upscale strategy that alienated the company's budget-minded base.
It's official and thank God! Hopefully this grand iconic American company will be saved.
32 replies, 4058 views
|32 replies
Former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson fired from J.C. Penney (Original post)
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Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 02:39 AM
SunSeeker (25,054 posts)
1. They're definitely going for lower prices, judging by the JCP fliers in my mail. nt
Response to SunSeeker (Reply #1)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 02:55 AM
avaistheone1 (14,626 posts)
2. They sure are. Over the last several weeks I have received discount coupons from them for
three different sales.
Johnson was too arrogant. He didn't pay attention to customers and waited until the last minute to bring the sales back. I just hope the company survives. They sell good quality products and have great employees. Quite a few of Penney's employees have been their many years. Unfortunately Johnson let quite a few of these employees go.
Response to SunSeeker (Reply #1)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 06:49 AM
progressoid (41,466 posts)
6. Yep. But first they need to raise the price.
I know someone that works there. She said that on Monday they started changing the prices on all the formerly "fixed price" items that will be on sale in the near future.
The irony is that those sales and bargains that people are spending their money on will actually make Penneys more money.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 04:13 AM
Sherman A1 (19,398 posts)
3. Excellent!
Long overdue.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 04:45 AM
protect our future (1,156 posts)
4. I wonder if their "Joe Fresh" line
was the final nail in his coffin. "Joe Fresh" was a highly advertised new line to be opened in the spring. When it finally came out, my first reaction was anger that anyone would think I'd actually buy that ugly stuff. I felt insulted.
Response to protect our future (Reply #4)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 06:48 AM
liberal N proud (56,835 posts)
5. More likely the Martha Stewart debacle
Response to protect our future (Reply #4)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 11:02 AM
Kablooie (13,199 posts)
13. I know nothing about clothes...
But I just looked at the Joe fresh ads and instantly knew I didn't want any of those things.
Bright pink pants for men and dumpy flowered Mao jackets for women.
All sold with condescending marketing phrases.
Response to Kablooie (Reply #13)
Thu Apr 11, 2013, 11:00 AM
protect our future (1,156 posts)
32. LOL! Exquisite description!
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 07:08 AM
bucolic_frolic (6,901 posts)
7. History Repeats Itself
Still reminds me of the old Kmart bankruptcy, 2002.
In September 2001, the CEO and his marketing guru, a former Walmart
executive as I remember, began a price war by discounting everything
in the store. In each aisle, hundreds of floppy stickers protruded from the
shelves showing the discount. Revenue plunged, it was hard to see the
stickers and the savings, and within a few months - kaput.
Why do companies become CEO Laboratories? It's not the first instance.
"On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the leadership of its then-chairman Chuck Conaway and president Mark Schwartz.[16] Conaway, who had had success building up the CVS Corporation, had accepted an offer to take the helm at Kmart along with a loan of some $5 million. In a scandal similar to that involving Enron, Conaway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials about the company's financial crisis while making millions and allegedly spending the company's money on airplanes, houses, boats and other luxuries. At a conference for Kmart employees January 22, Conaway accepted "full blame" for the financial disaster. As Kmart emerged from bankruptcy, Conaway was forced to step down and was asked to pay back all the loans he had taken."
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 07:36 AM
CBHagman (15,550 posts)
8. Their newspaper ads were enough to put me off.
It was clear they were selling an image, rather than luring the customer with just the right item at the right price. My association with J.C. Penney's was that it was a good all-purpose department store, but the ads said, "Look at our models. Look at the design we've come up with for this page!" It wasn't about the products.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:00 AM
MannyGoldstein (34,589 posts)
9. Who could foresee that it could come to this?
Apple and J.C. Penney or such similar companies, I'd think that Johnson's expertise would transfer perfectly.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:15 AM
onehandle (51,122 posts)
10. He made Target great. He made Apple Stores the most copied store in history.
But forward thinking didn't work with your Grandmother's department store.
Response to onehandle (Reply #10)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 04:18 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
18. Jobs made Apple. The rest were just empty suits riding coattails
And I bet if we knew the history at Target, we would find something similar.
Any moron can operate a stare where the customer is captive. Customers didn't buy Apple product because of anything Ron Johnson did. They bought Apple products because they bought into the Steve Jobs religion. The stock price went up with the market for awhile after he died, but clearly the company is on the other side of that hill, losing 30% of its value in the last 7 months.
Hey, there's an idea. Maybe Apple will hire Johnson back.
These empty suits always seen to end up with a load of money in their pockets.
Response to BlueStreak (Reply #18)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 05:44 PM
onehandle (51,122 posts)
20. That's been the speculation today on tech blogs.
That position is still open @ Apple.
As far as your 'Steve Jobs religion' comment.
iPhones have been cutting into Android's 'lead' in the last few months. And makes more money for Apple than all the other phone companies combined.
iPhones are ubiquitous. Android is the new cult.
Response to onehandle (Reply #20)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 06:41 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
22. Be that as it may, none of that was Johnson's doing.
As far as I can tell, his lone significant contribution to Apple was creating this "Genius bar" persona thing. That worked out, but was not central to Apple's success. I mean, if I would have had that job and I decided to call them "Goofs that will fix your computer", I bet Apple would still be just about as successful.
Regarding hiring Johnson back to Apple, I really was just tossing that out as a joke, but I imagine there are some people at Apple who are feeling enough panic to try that. That would be a big mistake, IMHO.
Apple needs to realize they have a good franchise -- a cash cow they can milk for a long time. But the days of people breathlessly waiting for Steve Jobs' next pronouncement are over. They need to be in cash cow mode.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:21 AM
mahatmakanejeeves (13,204 posts)
11. From JoeMyGod:
Recent regulatory filings show that he was guaranteed a $150 million payout if he resigned or was fired.
I'm glad I'm not a JCP stockholder.
Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Reply #11)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 04:31 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
19. The really crazy (outrageous / sign of the times) thing is ...
that is was a HEDGE FUND manager that forced JCP to take on Ron Johnson. It wasn't the board per se. This hedege fund had become the largest shareholder. And chances are that there was some under-the-table deal that Johnson would do things to rev up the stock price, and the hedge fund would be highly leveraged to capitalize on that. They probably didn't give a shit what happened to the company. It is all about making money through leverage and insider trading.
Or even worse, maybe this hedge fund pushed Johnson on the company to drive the stock DOWN. If a hedge fund manager expects the price to go down, he can make a fortune on that.
Somebody should do a very serious investigation into the trading of this William Ackman. If he shorted JCP when he pushed Johnson in, that starts to look like a huge insider trading thing.
Response to BlueStreak (Reply #19)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 06:58 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
23. Ackerman is starting to get a lot of attention
See http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-jcpenney-ackman-idUSBRE93815220130409
This article speculated that he LOST $500 M. I thought the idea of a "hedge fund" was to invest in a manner that protected against big risks. I guess "hedge funds" are actually just private funds that are able to gamble with far less transparency than, say, Vanguard's funds, on the theory that hedge fund customers are much more sophisticated. How's that working out?
Anyway, I still have a real suspicion that this story has it completely backwards -- that Ackerman planted a stooge into JCP, and then shorted the company like crazy. He made sure Johnson pocketed over $100M. JCP lost about $3B in market cap in the past 6 months. If Ackerman shorted the company -- perhaps in private accounts not seen by his hedge fund customers, there was a lot of profit to be made there.
I don't have any evidence of that. I'm not accusing anybody of anything. I'm just saying it is a real possibility that ought to be investigated. I found Johnson's dismissal to be handled is a really bizarre fashion, first retaining him at a big salary cut, then firing him (after he was able to cash in a huge deal), and then calling back the previous CEO. This feels to me like a "my work is finished here (wink, wink)" deal.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:22 AM
RobinA (5,563 posts)
12. To Me
the biggest mistake was calling the store JCP. What the freak is a JCP? I'll never understand why managers throw away brand names like that. Course, I'm middle-aged, so what do I know. Don't shop at Penneys, hate Target, still mourn the loss of our K-Mart, which caved like a tent in a windstorm the minute WalMart came to town.
Response to RobinA (Reply #12)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 01:33 PM
DotGone (182 posts)
17. Maybe he was trying to lure in the hispters
Think of the viral marketing on Twitter and Instagram with DDP pulling a DDT on RVD with CP3 flopping in the aisles of JCP .
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 11:59 AM
frylock (34,825 posts)
14. wonder what kind of eight-figure severance he received for all his good work?
Response to frylock (Reply #14)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 05:59 PM
Volaris (4,060 posts)
21. posted upthread,
he got 150M for screwing up and getting fired.
'cause THAT'S money well spent, if you are trying to GORW your company...
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 12:28 PM
riqster (13,986 posts)
15. Good news nt
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 01:01 PM
Beacool (29,576 posts)
16. Good news for JC Penney.
Johnson made a fundamental mistake. He thought that by trying to make Penney's more hip that the customers would flock to the store. The clientele of Penney's was older and knew what it liked. When they no longer were able to find the name brands that they were familiar with, they left in droves. Worse yet, the younger people that Johnson was trying to attract failed to show up.
I think that their best bet would be a fusion of both styles. Bring back the brands that kept the older customers coming back for years and also carry some of the trendy brands with the hope of attracting the younger set.
Response to Beacool (Reply #16)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 07:20 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
24. It wasn't just a lack of the brands. It was a spooky atmosphere in the store.
When I went into a JCP recently, the store reminded me of the great Twilight Zone episode The After Hours
Jump to about the 3:30 mark (or better yet, watch the whole thing. It is wonderful.) This is what it felt like. It seemed like they had decided to get into the white space business. There was a little table of sweaters here and a rack of jackets over there, and a tree of about 15 neckties, but mostly just empty space.
OK, I understand that I am not a fashion leader. I don't even shop that often. But I always thought the purpose of a store was to offer merchandise. It seems like Johnson was so busy setting up his "cool bar" or whatever the concept was that he forgot about the merchandise. "No problem. Everybody has merchandise. What sets us apart is our atmosphere."
Marsha got her gold thimble after talking to a rather peculiar clerk. I got my pack of handkerchiefs after speaking with an equally peculiar clerk.
Response to BlueStreak (Reply #24)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:12 PM
NCarolinawoman (2,825 posts)
25. Their catalogs had taken on that same minimalist look.
Lots of white space, everything repetitive and the same size, and very very youth oriented. I would trash (recycle ) them as soon as they came in the mail. Stopped bothering to look at them.
Response to BlueStreak (Reply #24)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 10:24 PM
Beacool (29,576 posts)
26. I like The Twilight Zone.
I hadn't seen that episode. Thanks for posting it.
Yeah, Penney's has that empty feeling right now. I just went through the store this evening. The one at my mall is going through renovations, so it looked even emptier than usual. I hope that new management can right up the ship. I would hate to see it go the way of other iconic stores that no longer exist.
Response to Beacool (Reply #26)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 10:31 PM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
27. There is another reason for the empty feeling
Johnson did this "store in a store" thing, which effectively cut the merchandise by about half. That was bad enough. But now they have had two quarters in a row with huge reductions in sales -- like 30% reductions. When Wal*Mart sees a 2% decline, the analysts run around with their hair on fire. Penney's is dropping 30-freaking percent.
As a consequence, they are in hock to their suppliers up to their eyeballs. That is the one and only reason they brought back the prior CEO. They figure he is the only person who has the relationships with these suppliers to go, hat in hand, begging for extended credit terms to get them through another quarter.
There are people saying that if they can't get the bleeding stopped by September, they won't make it through the Christmas season.
Response to BlueStreak (Reply #27)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 10:53 PM
Beacool (29,576 posts)
28. I would hate to see that happen.
In many malls JC Penney is the anchor at one end of the mall. What would a mall be without anchors like Penney's, Sears and Macy's? I sincerely hope that they rebound.
Response to Beacool (Reply #28)
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:26 AM
BlueStreak (8,377 posts)
30. So do I. I have some friends who depend on JCP for their family income.
It makes me really angry to think of the fat old white men sitting around in Texas with all their clever hedge fund ideas about how they can flip this company for billions in profits -- and as a result hurt so many decent, hard working people.
And you make an excellent point. It is not just the employees. Most of their stores are anchoring smaller shopping plazas. If they go under, it hurts a lot of people outside of JCP.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 11:02 PM
Pterodactyl (1,687 posts)
29. Good news. My experience that the changes at JCP were a total flop.
Response to avaistheone1 (Original post)
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:45 AM
JI7 (62,307 posts)
31. there are a lot of people who only go to the discounted Racks
they wont even look at the regular price stuff.
i think they feel like they are getting a better deal.
i use to have a job where i tested this out. put some of the regular price items on sale but raised the price so the discount amount would in the end still be the same price or in some cases even higher. and we ended up selling more.


text:
50 Years Ago: 'This Is Jeopardy!' [Video]
Plenty of things last 50 years.
Most people's parents, houses, even the odd dog.
But TV shows. 50 years. Very few. "Meet the Press" and, now, "Jeopardy!"
It was 50 years ago, March 30, 1964, that Art Fleming asked the answer instead of the question on NBC.
The show, created by Merv Griffin, has been popular for the better half of the 20th Century and the first part of the 21st.
Griffin, who hosted his own talk show, also created the other popular game shows such as "Wheel of Fortune," "Click," "Ruckus" and "Merv Griffin's Crosswords."
Here's the opening of the original "Jeopardy!" from March 30, 1964!


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Why I do it. Part deux.
Can you remember when you first got to know your wife/husband, and how those first few months of sexual exploration were the greatest and most enthralling parts of the relationship. Imagine being able to go through that experience time and time again. That is one of the reasons why I do the whole thing. The risk is high, but the reward is truly enriching. All those encounters, the anticipation, the lust, the satiation, are so amazing that I lack the skill to adequately write about them.
Half of the excitement is the fact that there's the daring thrill that you're doing something that's illicit. Not illegal, but I think the chance of discovery adds an element of sizzle and passion to the whole experience. One tip I'll impart in this post is that you should never go out to eat in the same suburb, let alone the same establishments that you visit with your partner. It's too easy to have someone recognise you and unmask your ruse at an unfortunate time.


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English 250. Film History I: Cinema to 1940
This course examines motion picture history from the late 19th century to the advent of World War II. Students will be introduced to the artistic, technological, industrial and social dimensions of film during these decades. Areas of focus may include: emergence of film narrative, genre, silent features and the star system; formation of the Hollywood studio system; American "race movies"; Soviet montage; German expressionism; French impressionism; documentary and avant-grade cinema and so on.


text:
Grumpy Cat gets around. The internet sensation makes live appearances and seems to enjoy being a meme star. Her popularity seems to be boundless, and DeviantArt user Eric Proctor has taken Tardar Sauce to the next level by inserting her into beautiful illustrations of Disney films. We've seen Grumpy Cat as Ariel, but the series also offers the unhappy kitty as Elsa, Lilo, Belle, and so many more. I find the images to be hilarious.
See more of Grumpy Cat's cameo appearances after the break.


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Hope & Harbor aims to be a source of comfort and inspiration for anyone journeying toward their innermost authenticity.
Sign up to receive my free letter series, arriving to your inbox on Sunday mornings with journal prompts, self-care challenges, and more.
Literary Inklings is an exploration into the way literature changes our lives, stimulating compassion and encouraging mindfulness.
Ernest Hemingway wrote...
"Courage is grace under pressure." I believe there is no greater courage than our willingness to get vulnerable, to be seen, and to take ownership of our lives with compassion. It takes extraordinary courage to grow strong in forgiveness, patience, and presence. It's a life's journey. I call this particular breed of bravery "quiet courage" and I've learned a lot about it in my recovery from severe anxiety. Here, I endeavor to gather up the wisdom I've gained from my many teachers - and everything can be a teacher, if we're a willing enough student - with the wish of providing an inviting, peaceful space for solace and enlightenment.
xo Casee Marie


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|Donna's Cleaning Service
Donna's Cleaning Serviceshas been providing professional cleaning and maintenance services to the community of Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and surrounding areas since 1998. We offer detail cleaning or touch up for your listings as well as builder detail cleaning.
We also provide one time cleaning service for those days when your schedule is too full to fit in house cleaning needs. For landlords, cleanup before and after tenant move is available. Regular cleaning services are available on weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.
We pride ourselves in detailed cleaning. Our motto, "The only way to do it is do it right" helps us to ensure all cleaning is done to your satisfaction. With over 10 years of experience, Donna extensively trains all her staff to always do a detailed thorough job.
Donna's Cleaning Serviceis a locally owned company, established, trustworthy and bonded for your peace of mind. It is our goal to clean your home thoroughly in a professional manner with the least disruption to your life. We provide our own equipment and supplies. We will use whatever you want us to use. Take advantage of one of our many cleaning services. Call 972-562-9540, for a free in home estimate.


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The Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District was supposed to be a David and Goliath story, with the underdog in the race facing even longer odds than the slingshot-wielding biblical hero.
To put it another way: no real chance at all.
Jason Sager, a former audio/visual engineer from Brooksville, filed to run against U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, a popular incumbent who was expected to cruise to a fifth term representing a district that heavily favors Republicans.
Then Brown-Waite, facing health issues, asked Hernando Sheriff Richard Nugent to run in her place. The pair announced their collusion minutes after the filing deadline in April, sparking the ire of many, including local Republicans who said they would have considered running had they known Brown-Waite was going to bow out.
On paper, the race should still be lopsided. Nugent, currently in the middle of his third term as sheriff, is well known in Hernando. And many voters in the seven other counties in the district probably know him as "that sheriff from Hernando who Ginny supports." Nugent got a late start compared to Sager, but has raised four times more money and has the congresswoman's network of supporters at his disposal.
But Sager, who lost his job in December 2008, has been campaigning full time for nine months with a strategy that he says has focused on the sprawling community of the Villages on the district's northern end. He is a talented orator with plenty of tea party support and hopes to tap into the anti-incumbent mood to defeat Nugent, whom some view as a Brown-Waite proxy. From the start, Sager has lambasted Nugent as the establishment candidate.
The race turned nasty earlier this month as Nugent went on the offensive, questioning Sager's voter record, his loyalty to the GOP and his membership in a controversial, right-wing protest group.
Handicapping and mudslinging aside, voters have a choice between two Republicans whose differences go beyond style, background and experience. The winner goes on to face Democrat Jim Piccillo, a 36-year-old small-business consultant from Land O'Lakes who faces no primary opposition
Sager, 36, has a few titles for himself: constitutionalist conservative, Jeffersonian Republican and tea party standard bearer.
Regardless of the title, his stance is the same: The federal government, enabled by entrenched political interests in both parties, has overstepped the bounds set by the Constitution and needs to be neutered. Sager says he decided to challenge Brown-Waite because she did not always work toward that goal.
"My party has failed," he told the Times editorial board recently. "I am a Republican because I am a defender of the republican principles that are in that document, the true principles of a limited government. We only gave certain powers to the federal government, and the rest is left to the states and the people."
The leave-it-to-the-states stance translates to views that some might see as extreme: eliminating the U.S. departments of education, energy and environmental protection, for example. In Sager's view, the federal government should stick to basics like defense, commerce regulation and the mail system. The rest, he says, is just wasteful bureaucracy that sucks money from the states' ability to govern.
Despite his status as Brown-Waite's hand-picked successor, Nugent seeks to cast himself as a Washington outsider, too. He touts his popularity as a sheriff and says he's eager to take the opportunity Brown-Waite gave him, even though he didn't envision himself in Congress six months ago.
"What I've seen over the years and where we are today has just really made me angry, the lack of regard that folks in Congress have for the rest of us," Nugent said. "The lack of listening to what people want and really just jamming stuff down our throats. It's a representative form of government. I really think you ought to listen to the people who elect you."
Despite differences, they share some views
As conservatives, the two candidates share plenty of the same views.
Both men take every opportunity to criticize the new health care law they derisively call Obamacare. They say they would work to de-fund it in the short term and repeal it in the long term.
They pan the federal stimulus plan and the bailouts of banks and private companies. They both oppose the cap-and-trade energy policy, saying it would put additional burden on taxpayers' budgets. And they support Arizona's controversial law requiring police officers to ask for proof of citizenship when they suspect someone is in the country illegally.
Sager wants other states to follow Arizona's lead since the federal government isn't going to enforce its own immigration laws. Nugent says he would rather the federal government take up that enforcement so other states don't have to go the Arizona route. Both men say they won't support an amnesty program, but Sager wants to immediately begin to deport all undocumented immigrants. Nugent says that's impractical, citing the high cost and already overburdened immigration officials. The border needs to be secured, and the process to get a work visa needs to be streamlined, he said.
Sager says Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional and favors a plan that would at least partially phase out both programs over the next few generations so current beneficiaries and those who have paid into the programs are not affected. He criticized Nugent last week for sending a mailer that misrepresented Sager's views by warning voters that Sager would jeopardize benefits.
"He's just using scare tactics, which is absolutely deplorable," Sager said.
Nugent said he would push to cut waste and fraud in Medicare and could support raising the Social Security retirement age.
"We need to be realistic," he said.
Nugent, whose eldest son, Ryan, is an Army captain and served a tour in Afghanistan, said he supports America's current strategy to pursue terrorists in that country. Sager agreed, but both men say the mission there needs to be clarified. Nugent said he has concerns about nation building, and Sager said he outright opposes that goal.
States rights include the power to drill for oil in water off their shores, Sager said.
"And I know that's a politically incorrect thing to say, especially with what's going on in our gulf," he said. "It's horrifying, but accidents happen. We will recover from this, but the federal government is failing miserably."
Sager has criticized the moratorium put in place after the Deepwater Horizon spill and has chided Nugent for trying to take two stances at once. Nugent has said he doesn't support a moratorium, but would consider supporting drilling again once regulators figure how to prevent a similar disaster. He supports the current 125-mile buffer for Florida.
Nugent said he supports financial reform, especially for the derivatives market, but said he would not have supported the bill recently passed by Congress, calling it overregulation. Sager hasn't read the bill, but says he recognizes the need for some regulation.
Sager supports the so-called fair tax, which would remove all taxes in favor of a national sales tax. Nugent says he would consider it.
Both candidates say they are strong supporters of the Second Amendment. But Nugent has had to clarify his stance. In 2004, he was among law enforcement officials who signed a petition to continue the ban on assault rifles. He says he supports the ban on fully automatic but not semiautomatic weapons.
Both opponents are opposed to gay marriage, but the issue presents a conundrum for Sager, a Christian who usually invokes God during his campaign speeches. He says let each state decide.
Sager saw a need to run for Congress seat
Sager can recall his response when someone said he should run for Congress. He laughed.
Earlier this year, he founded the Hernando 912 project, a local chapter of a national group founded by conservative television and radio personality Glenn Beck. Beck has said the aim of the group is to promote personal responsibility and limited government. Critics call it a divisive group that promotes theocracy.
The chapter invited Brown-Waite to speak last October.
"When she came in telling us the Constitution was a living document, that the Supreme Court had ruled that there are very few limitations to Congress … you could have heard a pin drop," Sager recalled.
After the meeting, a few people asked Sager why he couldn't challenge Brown-Waite. He was unemployed, having lost his job as a home electronics specialist for Sound Advice. After four days of praying and discussions with his wife, Stephanie, he filed papers to run.
Sager was born in Dunedin and moved to Hernando County as a child. His father worked as a human resources manager, and his mother stayed home until Sager and his brother got older. Sager spent four years in the Navy. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as a manufacturing engineer with Sparton Electronics, east of Brooksville. For most of the next decade, he worked at several companies, specializing in home theater design and installation.
The couple moved to New York City in 2000 and stayed for five years before returning to Florida. In the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Sager says he saw a group of young antiwar protestors dragging an American flag on the ground, blaming the country's policy decisions for the tragedy.
"Since that day, I have dedicated my personal life to find why this happened, and how did we get here," he said.
In 2003, while still in New York, Sager joined the Protest Warriors, a right-wing group formed to counter antiwar protests. The group was based in Texas and would come to New York on occasion, infiltrating events to present a conservative view. Sager said he mainly videotaped demonstrations and sent the tapes to media outlets.
About the same time, Sager became a leader of a conservative group called Communists for Kerry. Members would don costumes and attend protests and rallies of progressive groups, holding up signs espousing communist ideals. The goal was to expose the "rampant communism" in the Kerry campaign, recalled Sager, who dressed up like Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.
He says he stayed in both groups for about a year.
Last week, Nugent's campaign sent out a press release questioning Sager's ties to the Protest Warriors. The release included two posters pulled from the group's website that bear slogans such as "Black children belong in black schools. Say no to vouchers!"
Sager said he had never carried or even seen signs with such slogans, and he called Nugent's tactics a smear campaign designed to label him as a racist.
Photos on the Protest Warrior website from the Republican National Committee convention in New York City from Aug. 29, 2004, show someone holding the voucher sign. Photos on the Communists for Kerry site show that group was active at the convention on the same day.
Sager said he did not attend the Protest Warrior event or see the group that day.
"What I find very upsetting is conservatives are now chewing up and spitting out their own activists," he said.
Nugent had no intent of running for Congress
Nugent figured that his political career would end in 2012 with his last term as sheriff.
Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Nugent was one of three boys. His father did shift work in a steel mill; his mother kept the home. Nugent served in the Illinois Air National Guard for six years, worked his way up to sergeant in the Romeoville Police Department, then joined the Hernando County Sheriff's Office in 1984. He was elected to his first term as sheriff in 2000.
He and his wife, Wendy, have two sons in the Army; the third is in the Army Reserves.
Nugent is active in the community. He is a charter member of the Spring Hill Rotary Club and currently serves as vice president of the Dawn Center's board of directors.
His tenure as sheriff has generally been unmarred by scandal, though there have been bumps.
Last year, Nugent butted heads with county commissioners over the size of his department's budget, something Sager has used to question the sheriff's claims of fiscal conservatism. Nugent's budget has grown by more than 100 percent in the last decade, nearly twice the rate of growth in population and the Consumer Price Index. He often counters that by pointing out that he returned $2 million from his budget to the county's general fund last year. And he makes no apologies for using his budget to provide what he calls a safe level of service to the county.
Last March, Brown-Waite called Nugent telling him she planned to retire and wanted him to run instead. He maintains that he didn't make up his mind until a week before the filing deadline in April. He makes no apologies for not announcing his intentions at that point.
"Once I made that decision, I'm not going to go out and wave a flag and say I want more people to challenge me," Nugent said.
Nugent has dismissed calls by Sager and Piccillo to resign as sheriff since he's running for Congress. If he resigns by next month, there could be a special election for the seat. Instead, if elected, Nugent will recommend a successor for appointment by the governor.
As he mounts his congressional bid, Nugent also is tackling the mammoth task of taking over the Hernando County Jail, which had been run by a private contractor for more than two decades. He insists that he has kept his promise to limit his campaign activity mostly to evenings and weekends, and has canceled vacations to make time. He concedes that he sometimes takes small chunks of time off during the weekday for campaign activities.
"But never at the expense of this agency," he said.
Other than citing Brown-Waite's vote for the federal Cash for Clunkers program and her staunch support for the fair tax, Nugent has offered few specifics when asked how his views differ from hers. He said he would take a lower key, less confrontational approach.
"I try not to pick fights with people," he said. "I'm much more about trying to talk to somebody and get them to my side rather than, you know, a hit-them-in-the-head kind of approach, and it usually works."
Nugent has healthy lead in campaign funds
Nugent brought in about $145,000 in campaign contributions by the end of the last disclosure period on June 30 and had about $114,000 on hand, campaign finance records show.
He garnered nearly $87,000 from individuals. Among the more prominent names are Brooksville attorney Tom Hogan; Debora and William Bachschmidt, president and vice president, respectively, of DAB Constructors of Inglis, and H. Gary Morse, chief executive officer of the Villages.
But Nugent also raked in nearly $48,000 from political action committees, most of them affiliated with sitting members of Congress other than Brown-Waite, whose committees gave Nugent at least $7,874 by the end of June.
Nugent, for example, accepted $5,000 from ERICPAC, the committee of Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, $2,000 from the committee of Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, and $1,000 from the committee of Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama.
Sager called the gifts an attempt by the "Washington elite" to "select our next congressional representative for us." Nugent counters that most of his money came from individuals. The PAC donations, he maintains, simply show that like-minded members of Congress are behind him.
"It buys absolutely nothing," he said. "What it does do is show they support my belief system."
Sager's report shows $33,271 in individual contributions as of June 30. He says he would accept money from the GOP, but not special interest groups, if victorious in the primary.
Nugent has drawn endorsements from the Florida Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police and from former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who said the sheriff will take a tough stance on illegal immigration.
The fledgling Hernando County tea party supports Sager, and he handily won straw polls of the East Pasco Tea Party Patriots and the Tri-County Tea Party, which includes the Villages. Predictably, he has the backing of the Tampa 912 Project.
Sager acknowledges some of his ideas to reduce government will take years, even generations to accomplish. But the more immediate goal, he said, is to prevent the government from growing even larger.
"I will never, ever compromise the principles that I have," he said.
Tony Marrero can be reached at (352) 848-1431 or email@example.com.


text:
Open Card Game (openCG) is a card game that is based on the collectable/trading card games such as Magic and Middle Earth. There is one major difference between openCG and other collectable card games. You make your own cards. See hompage for more info.
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OFFICERS in Read, Simonstone, Sabden, Wiswell and Pendleton have outlined their policing priorities.
Police will be tackling speeding motorists through the villages of Sabden, Read, Simonstone and Barrow at all times, and anti-social behaviour at Blackhill, Sabden on weekday nights and weekends.
Officers will also be raising awareness of crime prevention in Read and Simonstone by engaging with Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators and residents, giving advice and reassurances.
To speak to local officers, call 01200 458766.