text:
- Font:
- +
- -
Guests: David Gregory, Bertha Coombs, Jeff Rossen, Ron Brownstein, Eric Lichtblau, Lisa Mascaro, Rep. Alan Grayson, George Rush
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Blame it on Rio.
Let's play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I'm Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight...
PETER ALLEN (singing): When my baby, when my baby smiles at me, I go to Rio de Janeiro.
MATTHEWS: That's the late, great Peter Allen with "I Go to Rio," and that's the hot news from Copenhagen. The 2016 summer Olympics won't be played in the U.S. Blame it on Rio. The old-time capital of Brazil, crime-ridden but wildly exciting, has made Chicago once again the second city.
Plus, Florida congressman Alan Grayson, the guy who's caused all the noise by nailing the Republicans on the health care issue, starts us off tonight. He's proving that his fellow Democrats, and that includes the president, have overlooked a key element in American politics: Make the other guy play defense. Like Martin Luther, he stood up to the powers that be, and he's still standing. What's that say about what works in this national debate over health care? Congressman Alan Grayson will be here.
And has David Letterman taught us a lesson himself on how to dig yourself out of a tough situation? Has he proven the basic truth of public relations: The person who tells you first about something is the one you tend to believe. He just revealed that he is the target of a $2 million blackmail plot. Could this be his greatest hit?
And what about some more hanky-panky? We've got more for you. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, it turns out, did one hell of a job trying to find jobs and contracts for his former staffer—you know, the guy whose wife the senator was having the long affair with. Well, "The New York Times" reports that Ensign, the senator, obtained a lobbying job and clients for his ex-lover's husband and then, in turn, was lobbied by him. Isn't that a sweet little circle of love? Do you think any laws were broken?
And let's to go Rio. If you want to see the 2016 Olympics, as I said, you're going to have to. President Obama traveled to Copenhagen to make the pitch for Chi-town, but no cigar. The Windy City got blown out in the first round of voting. Does the president get an "E" for effort or an "F" for a flop? Or is this just a good example of a politician just having to do the best he can, no matter what anybody says, for his home town? That's in the "Politics Fix."
And John McCain's campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, smart, honest—now, there's a combination for you—he says nominating Sarah Palin in 2012 would be the dumbest thing the Republicans ever did.
STEVE SCHMIDT, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: My honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012. And in fact, were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election result.
MATTHEWS: Catastrophic election result. I thought he was honest. That's coming in the—well, it's coming on hard in the "Sideshow" tonight. By the way, did you notice that Sarah Palin always shows up in the "Sideshow"?
Well, let's start tonight with Democratic congressman Alan Grayson of Florida. Sir, I have to hand it to you. I think you are a Martin Luther. I remember being over there when the Berlin wall was coming down, and I was there with John McLaughlin, my colleague. And he said, How did Luther know he could stand up against the church? And this is an old Jesuit talking.
How did you know you could stand up to the Republicans, the real clowns out there? Well, we can start with Limbaugh and the rest of them and you know the whole crowd, what's his name, Beck, the whole number of them. How come you knew the way to beat these guys was to put them on defense?
REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: Because they're bullies, and a bully always backs down. Don't we know all that? That's what happened here.
MATTHEWS: Well, tell me about it. What has happened to you? Did Pelosi come along and tell to you cool it? Did Steny Hoyer tell you to cool it? Did you get any mean looks from the Republicans on the floor, like Boehner? By the way, Boehner does look like, doesn't he—like a golfer who's just blown a putt all the time?
MATTHEWS: Doesn't he always look like that to you?
GRAYSON: Well, you would know better than me, I guess.
GRAYSON: I can't really say.
MATTHEWS: ... playing golf all the time. He looks like (INAUDIBLE) he throws it down. He's ticked off. He takes the putt and he blows it. He always looks like that. What do you think of this? What have you learned in these couple of days of being the hot shot?
GRAYSON: Well, what I've learned is that people want a congressman who has guts, who says it like it is. And for God's sakes, for months, we've been on the defensive. Why? We have a plan. The other side doesn't. They've got nothing. It's been 72 hours since I said this. Where have we heard about the Republican plan? Who has stepped forward to explain, No, Grayson was wrong, it's not true? All they do is their personal attacks. And it mean nothing because the American people deserve better than that, and they know it.
MATTHEWS: Well, how come we've spent now 50-some years, going back to Harry Truman, with nightclub comics, all the way back to Alan King talking about doctors, people talking about HMOs and the problems of getting any kind of payment when you have a problem and all these problems with health insurance—the status quo has never looked so sweet as when the Republicans start to attack the Democrats.
Why didn't the Democrats spend the last year attacking the way things are as a way of getting them fixed? Isn't that how you get a tire fixed? You say it's blown out...
MATTHEWS: ... how great the tire's going to be when it gets fixed, you say the tire's a blow-out and you got to fix it. Why don't the Democrats go after the problem and say they're going to fix it, than saying, Gee, whiz, I got this new idea? The new idea thing hasn't worked. It's the problem you got to focus on.
GRAYSON: Well, you're absolutely right. They bought into this storyline, the Democrats, that there was a need for bipartisanship. The Republicans never intended anything resembling bipartisanship, not on this issue, not on any other issue.
And now we understand, since I spoke out, that the cost of delay is death. We have 44,789 Americans who die every year because they don't have health insurance. This is a Harvard study. You don't have to take my word for it, it's in a peer-reviewed journal. A hundred and twenty-two Americans die every single day. So now the storyline shouldn't be any longer, Which Republicans are going to join the bill? The storyline should be, How can we save these American lives? And how quickly can we do that?
MATTHEWS: Let me—OK, you're a rarity, so let's talk about it. I don't think you're worried about losing your seat, so let's talk about a congressman, you...
GRAYSON: I'll be honest...
GRAYSON: I don't think that's going to happen, Chris. You would not believe the response we've gotten so far. We've had over 5,000 people come to Graysonforcongress.com and make a contribution. Our e-mails are running 4-to-1 in our favor.
MATTHEWS: What's your district like? Do you have a pro—I've looked the numbers up. It looks pretty close to me. What kind of district have you got in Orlando?
GRAYSON: Listen, I'm the first Democrat to represent downtown Orlando in 34 years. And that's OK because If I have to choose between my job and saving lives, I know how to make that choice. Now...
MATTHEWS: Well, let's talk...
GRAYSON: ... the Republicans have said—the National Republican Congressional Committee executive director said, Grayson is our number one target for 2010. And maybe I'll be drawing other people's fire. I don't know. But I do know that I'm going to make the right choice. And I do know that Democrats, Republicans, independents, they want somebody with guts.
MATTHEWS: Are the Republicans on the floor circling for you? I remember back in '93, when Marjorie Margolies, who had the guts to vote for the Clinton budget and the tax increase back—it wasn't a tax increase for regular people, by the way, it was for the rich. They were all dancing and singing on the floor of the House that you're about to go, Good-bye, Marjorie. Are they circling around you because you've shown some cojones on this thing, they think they've got you?
GRAYSON: Well, we'll see. You know, we'll see how it goes, but certainly...
MATTHEWS: Are they saying things to you like...
GRAYSON: ... if they don't feel that way already...
MATTHEWS: ... like that? Are they saying things...
GRAYSON: ... they sure will because I'm going to continue to speak out.
MATTHEWS: Are they—I'm looking for some insight here. I'm a reporter. I'm trying to find out what you know and I don't know. When you walk around the floor, when you walk past the Republican cloakroom, when you get on the elevator, when you get on the subway over there in the Capitol building, do these Republicans come up to you and say, Your number's up, buddy? What do they say to you?
GRAYSON: Yes, I hear that all the time. I get dirty looks from the Republicans all the time. But I can't decide on my vote, I can't decide on health care, on energy independence, on jobs, on the economy, based upon dirty looks from people who throw hissy fits all the time and expect that we're supposed to decide American policy on that basis. And that's what they've been doing time after time, this feigned indignation time after time. We can't let America be run that way.
MATTHEWS: Well, you can't call these guys Neanderthals. You know why? They don't believe in Neanderthals. They believe it's all about 3,000 or 4,000 years...
MATTHEWS: ... all we've got is about 3,000 or 4,000 -- they don't buy this thing of Lucy and way back, four or five million years. They don't buy all that, by the way, so this—calling them Neanderthals doesn't hurt these guys. You know that, don't you?
GRAYSON: Well, actually, I said knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. And one came up to me on the floor. I won't tell you who. He came up to me and he said to me, I don't like you talking about me that way. And I said, I wasn't talking about you. And he said, I think you were talking about me. He was trying to prove to me that he was a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal.
GRAYSON: And I said, No, no, no. I'm serious. I wasn't talking about you. Look at your knuckles. There's no callouses.
MATTHEWS: OK, well, let's talk about real people and real problems. My thinking is that you want to make health insurance accessible, affordable. Everybody's got to chip in to the ability they can. Nobody's getting a free ride here. Talk about why it matters to you. I want some heart here.
GRAYSON: Oh, listen, why it matters to me? I was so sick when I was growing up as a child, I had to go to the hospital four times a week for treatment. And when I was growing up, my parents had union benefits. Both of them belonged to a union. They both got union benefits.
And twice, when I was 7 and when I was 17, they went out on strike. And I had—I wondered whether I would survive, whether our health benefits would remain in place and whether I'd be able to continue my treatment. And it's a hard thing. It's a hard thing when you're a child to think about whether you're going to live or whether you're going to die. And I don't want to see anyone in America go through that.
I was so happy to vote in favor of health insurance for children in my first week in Congress. Four million children all across the country didn't have to worry about that anymore. And why should the sins of the parents descend on the children? Why should children ever have to worry about that. Ten thousand right here in Orlando alone saved from ever having to worry about whether they would live or die.
MATTHEWS: Well, you sound like a liberal.
GRAYSON: Progressive. Populist.
MATTHEWS: Hey, look, don't hide from that word, liberal. It sounds -
· "progressive" sounds a little—well, I can't say it—pusillanimous?
Liberal's a good word. You got to make it sound good. You just got to make it sound—yes, I'm a liberal. I believe in opportunity for everybody. I believe in freedom for everybody. I believe in liberty for everybody. I'm an American. Of course I'm a liberal. People should assay that, be more fun.
GRAYSON: You have to have...
MATTHEWS: This "progressive" sounds like you're hiding from being who you are. The conservatives don't come up with euphemisms. They call themselves right-wingers. They love it.
Anyway, thank you. You're on the right track. And by the way, thanks for finally getting around to doing our show. You've done every other show in the world, by the way.
GRAYSON: I thought you were going to beat me up...
MATTHEWS: I think you finally got...
GRAYSON: ... so badly...
MATTHEWS: Yes, yes. Right.
MATTHEWS: You're really scared of me, I'm sure. If you're not scared of the Republicans, you're not scared of me. Thank you, buddy.
GRAYSON: Thank you.
MATTHEWS: (INAUDIBLE) call you buddy. I don't know you, but Adam (SIC) Grayson, I like your—like your style.
GRAYSON: Thank you, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Thanks for coming on HARDBALL. Have a nice weekend.
GRAYSON: Thank you very much.
MATTHEWS: Up next: A target of extortion. David Letterman was forced to admit that he had—well, he wasn't—well, yes, he was forced. that was his strategy—that he had sex with his staff members. He wasn't forced to have staff (SIC) with them, forced to admit it. Forced to have sex with them? No. We'll get to the latest on the strange and curious case of a guy using as his monologue this incredible confession.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. Here's a story we didn't think we'd be covering yesterday. Last night on his show, David Letterman made an unusual—well, he took an unusual turn, describing an extortion racket against him, a blackmail plot that hit him for some relationships he had with some staffers. Let's take a look.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW": I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. Now, my response to that is, Yes, I have.
LETTERMAN: I have had sex with women who worked on this show. And would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. Perhaps it would. Especially for the women.
LETTERMAN: But what you don't want is a guy saying, Oh, I know you had sex with women, so I would like $2 million or I'm going to make trouble for you.
MATTHEWS: Joining me is NBC News's Jeff Rossen and "The New York Daily News's" George Rush. Jeff, thank you for joining us.
JEFF ROSSEN, NBC NEWS: Sure.
MATTHEWS: This is a strange story, especially for us over at NBC that have been covering it. We're talking about the competition. But we have to. It's a news story. What do you make of this? Did he just pull one of the great public relations moves in history, coming out first with the story, blowing the story in a way that would normally be considered embarrassing, but turning the tables on not just the blackmailer but the bad PR that's obviously—could be coming his way.
ROSSEN: Right. You know how it works, right? I mean, if one of the women...
MATTHEWS: First one out.
ROSSEN: First one out. You know, I mean, we're—you tend to believe the person who comes out with the story first because why else would you come out with the story unless you were telling the truth? That's what the PR experts will tell you.
And you know, he probably felt like he was backed into a corner enough where this was going to get out. And look, what would happen, Chris? You'd see the "New York Post" photographers chasing him down every single day, trying to get a comment from him, and you look guilty when that happens.
Now he's out. He spent 10 minutes on it on his show last night. He even laughed about it a little bit, said he was scared, played the role of the victim, and that's sort of the way this news cycle has been going right now, focusing on the—look at all the headlines today...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
ROSSEN: ... focusing on the extortion, not about the sexual relationships he's had.
MATTHEWS: Yes, I think so. Let me go to George. It seems to me this fellow's not Bishop Sheen, either. You know, his job description isn't morality, it's late night television. How many divorces did Johnny Carson have? How many times did he come on with Ed McMahon and call him "bar rag breath" and talk about their night out the night before? It was part of the shtick.
Is this guy able to subsume a serious embarrassment, multiple relationships with staffers, as a PR plus?
GEORGE RUSH, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": So far. I mean, he's done a masterful job of turning it into a bit of comedy that had everybody in the audience ready to hug him. You know, the facts are, he was unmarried. Yes, he was in a long-term relationship. But so far, we have not heard that any of these inter-office relationships weren't consensual. I mean, that's what we'll have to see, whether there's any sex harassment charges that bubble up.
But you look at the way he handled this, versus the way his notorious foe, Bill O'Reilly, handled it...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
RUSH: ... six years ago. And O'Reilly's statement came off like Nixon's Checkers speech. You know, his, like, lip was sweating. So I think Dave is definitely taking this horny bull by the horns.
ROSSEN: And by the way, Chris...
MATTHEWS: Let's take...
ROSSEN: ... you know, he was released within the past couple of hours, Robert Halderman, that CBS News producer. He's—he's out of—he's out. He's walking the streets right now.
MATTHEWS: Well, let's not—let's not exonerate him yet.
ROSSEN: No.
MATTHEWS: Let me—let's go to the crime here. It has all the look, without judging the case as a juror—Jeff, you first—of blackmail, a $2 million demand. A check was passed over, a bogus check. It was going to bounce immediately. The guy went through the act. I know what a commission of a crime is. You go through the whole process. They set him up, of course, to complete the action, but clearly, the intent was there to blackmail, it seems to me. It was extortion. It was big money. And this guy was—there was a grand jury involved here. Where does it stand legally right now, Jeff?
ROSSEN: Where it stands legally is he has been indicted and the Manhattan prosecutor, the DA, Robert Morgenthau, announced today that he's been indicted on one count, a class C felony, of attempted grand larceny for that $2 million extortion plot—the alleged plot. He went to be arraigned today. The judge set bond at $200,000, and within the past couple of hours, he bonded out. And those are the pictures you were just showing from the chopper, surrounded by the media frenzy of him getting out right now. So he's been suspended by CBS.
Remember, David Letterman owns his own company, Worldwide Pants. And as the CEO of that company, David Letterman is not a CBS employee. He works for Worldwide Pants. They produce the David Letterman show, "The Late Show With David Letterman," for CBS. And so these staffers work for him, not necessarily for CBS. Halderman, the alleged extortionist, he works for CBS.
MATTHEWS: So what's that distinction mean to you legally?
ROSSEN: The distinction means—and I've actually spoken with several people about this today—is that depending on what kind of policy, what kind of sexual harassment policy there is at Worldwide Pants versus CBS, CBS is going to handle Halderman the way they want to handle him. David Letterman and the staffers...
MATTHEWS: Right.
ROSSEN: ... even if it was consensual, it's still a boss having sex with employees.
MATTHEWS: Yes. We'll have to see. The New York Department of Labor may get involved in these cases. You never know.
Let me to go George on this.
Just do the—do the politics, the—the media politics. This is going to help his ratings, at least in the short run, obviously. This is a a—cause for—this is going past—it is rubbernecking a traffic accident, at least for a while here.
RUSH: Oh, yes. He's—he's—I think there is a curiosity about him. I think people will be switching to other channels to see if Leno or any—or Jimmy Kimmel are making jokes about Letterman, but those will come—come up inevitably.
MATTHEWS: No, inevitably, I think Leno will have something fine to say about this. He's been having fun with these talks about NBC maybe being for sale.
I mean, he's—Leno talks about just anything. I was on him last night. I am a huge Leno booster. So, I think he will be having some fun with this and all the other shows as well.
ROSSEN: Chris, can I just jump—can I jump in here real quick?
MATTHEWS: Yes. Go ahead, yes.
ROSSEN: The people from Worldwide Pants must watch this show, because, literally, as we were just talking, I got an e-mail.
"We have a written policy in our employee manual that covers harassment. It is circulated to every employee every year. Dave is not in violation of our policy, and no one has ever raised a complaint against him."
So, that can answer part of that question.
MATTHEWS: So, you keep—you keep your pants on at Worldwide Pants, I guess, anyway. What the heck? Who knows.
ROSSEN: You went there. You did it.
MATTHEWS: I wish them well. I wish them well. I like all entertainers generally.
MATTHEWS: I like anybody that has to go on television and face the music.
Thank you, Jeff Rossen. And thank you—or my colleague.
ROSSEN: Thanks, Chris.
MATTHEWS: And, thank you, George Rossen of "The Daily News."
By the way, you're going to have color soon, right? Big color on the front page of "The Daily News" coming soon. I hope it helps you.
We like—we like to save newspapers.
Next: Last night, I appeared on "The Jay Leno Show" and answered his 10 in 10 questions. That's in the "Sideshow." It's coming up. There I am.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL.
Let's hit the "Sideshow."
By now, everyone know that Sarah Palin's book is a bestseller even before it hits the bookstores. Today, we get to look at the cover. It looks—good-looking cover there. It's called "Going Rogue." There she is looking up at the sky.
Sarah's the talk of the town. And Senator John McCain's campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, was asked about Palin's book and her political future at the big "Atlantic" First Draft of History Conference here in Washington.
Here he is, Steve Schmidt.
STEVE SCHMIDT, FORMER MCCAIN CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: And, obviously, there is a lot of fascination about her out—out in the country, just looking at the—at the presales of the book.
I don't think it is inconceivable that she could be the Republican nominee for—for president of the United States. I do think it is fairly inconceivable that she would be elected president of the United States.
My honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012. And, in fact, were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election result.
MATTHEWS: Wow. Catastrophic. Schmidt is that rarity in the political business. He says what he thinks and doesn't do air kisses to all the big shots just to cover his butt, as you just saw.
Next: Last night, David Letterman dropped a bombshell, as I said, last night, on his show. I was on "Leno," by the way, that night, last night, having some fun with his 10 questions.
Here it goes.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE JAY LENO SHOW": Number one, worst job you have ever had. Explain.
MATTHEWS: I was a singing waiter at Father's Mustache in Somers Point, New Jersey.
LENO: Have you ever seen a ghost?
MATTHEWS: Yes, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. These guys, you think they're dead and they keep coming back.
LENO: Wow.
LENO: In 15 seconds, recite the Declaration of Independence. The clock starts now.
MATTHEWS: That's easy. We hold these truths to be self-evident that men are—that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by certain inalienable rights—endowed by their creator with certain unalienable, among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
LENO: Well, very good, very good.
LENO: Give us your best impression.
MATTHEWS: That's a good one.
MATTHEWS: Hillary, Hillary, you're doing one hell of a job over there at the State Department.
LENO: Oh, not bad.
LENO: All right.
MATTHEWS: Actually, I'm quite proud of my imitations. You ought to hear my Arlen Specter. That's a unique ability.
Now time for the "Big Number."
It's a big one, and a troubling one. The Labor Department reported today that the unemployment rate in this country has risen to 9.8 percent in September, with employers cutting 263,000 jobs this month. Today, President Obama addressed the job loss numbers.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today job report is a sobering reminder that progress come in fits and starts and that we're going to need to grind out this recovery step by step.
MATTHEWS: Well, that's not happy news. That's our "Big Number," however, tonight, 15.1 million -- 15 million workers out of work, not funny at all.
Up next: more fallout from Senator Ensign's love affair. Did he break the law as part of his cover-up of this affair? It is getting very messy.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
BERTHA COOMBS, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bertha Coombs with your CNBC "Market Wrap."
A dismal jobs report driving stocks lower today—the Dow Jones industrial losing 21 points, the S&P 500 down 4.5, and the Nasdaq finishing about nine points lower—all three indexes down about 2 percent on the week.
Job growth continues to be the missing link in the recovery. Employers cut a higher-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September. That makes 21 consecutive months of losses—the unemployment rate now ticking up to 9.8 percent, the highest it has been in 26 years.
A couple of factors kept stocks from falling even more than they did today, though. One was strength in the financial sector, the other, the continued decline of the dollar. It fell against most major currencies again today. Economists expect it to continue to fall until the fed begins to lift interest rates.
That's it from CNBC, first in business worldwide—now back to
MATTHEWS: Well, let's get some reporting here. Welcome back to
There's more fallout to report over Nevada Senator John Ensign's affair with the wife of a former aide, Doug Hampton. "The New York Times" reports today that Ensign helped get a job and some clients for Hampton that may violate a ban on lobbying for a year for a staffer before they—after you leave the office of a senator, you're not supposed to work as a lobbyist for a year. Apparently, the senator helped set him up to do just that.
And the Senate Ethics Committee is investigating the Nevada senator now for allegations of improper conduct along those lines.
Eric Lichtblau wrote—broke the story for "The New York Times" today.
And, Lisa Mascaro, thank you, Lisa, for joining us. She is the Washington correspondent for "The Las Vegas Sun."
You're up on the Hill. Eric is with me.
Let me go to Eric right now.
What has he done wrong legally, the senator?
ERIC LICHTBLAU, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, what—what the Senate Ethics Committee and possibly the FBI will be looking at is whether or not this was, in effect, a—a concerted effort, a conspiracy, even, by the senator and by his former aide.
MATTHEWS: Hush money.
LICHTBLAU: You could call it that—in order to—to conceal this affair by getting income into Doug Hampton's hands by creating lobbying jobs for him and Ensign then intervening on behalf of those clients.
MATTHEWS: Was—was he helping this guy out for goodwill or because he feared or felt that the guy could extort something from him?
LICHTBLAU: That's a good question. And I think it might be a little bit of both. When you say goodwill, these were guys who have been best friends, practically, for the better part of 20 years.
There also, though, was certainly the threat of exposure, because he had been having an affair with—with Doug Hampton's wife. Their wives were good friends. And there was all—all sorts of bad blood.
MATTHEWS: And all this went on for how long? Not to get too much into the hanky-panky, but it is part of the story. How long did the senator, Ensign, have the affair with Mrs. Hampton, and Mr. Hampton didn't know about it?
LICHTBLAU: Mr. Hampton found out about it pretty soon. We believe it is within a month or two.
MATTHEWS: Of it starting?
LICHTBLAU: Maybe even less than that. The affair..
MATTHEWS: Of it starting?
LICHTBLAU: Yes. But the problem was that—that it continued even after Senator Ensign said he was going to break it off. He was confronted by—by...
MATTHEWS: So, in the face of his staffer, he was having an affair with the guy's wife?
LICHTBLAU: Yes. Yes. He was confronted by his colleagues, by Senator Coburn.
MATTHEWS: And the guy's wife was living with him?
LICHTBLAU: Yes.
MATTHEWS: He was having an affair with the guy's wife while the guy and the wife were living together?
LICHTBLAU: Yes.
MATTHEWS: Wow.
LICHTBLAU: They were together.
MATTHEWS: And—and...
LICHTBLAU: And the affair—the affair went on for eight months.
MATTHEWS: Unbelievable.
Can you add to this, Lisa, the whole story of the hanky-panky into the potential criminality of covering this up by using your office to get lobbying jobs, and then allowing the guy to lobby you, which, seems to me, a circle of love that might just be illegal.
LISA MASCARO, "THE LAS VEGAS SUN": Yes.
You know, Chris, it has really been interesting, because Senator Ensign really was on the way, I think, to trying to put this whole issue behind him. He made this big tour of Nevada this summer during the congressional break.
And he's been very active, you know, up on the Senate Finance Committee as they deal with health care. And I think we were just starting to write stories that didn't have the words in it, you know, Senator Ensign, who earlier this year disclosed an affair.
MATTHEWS: Ah.
MASCARO: You know, we—we were just sort of moving on from that.
And then...
MATTHEWS: You were almost dropping the boilerplate, yes.
MASCARO: Exactly. And then this—you know, I think—I think the
first story we wrote with that was last weekend. And then—and then this
emerges with much more serious allegations than some—you know, than what
· what we had seen earlier.
I was talking to one ethics expert today, who said it just really confirms a lot of what, you know, if true, a lot of the allegations that they had been concerned about earlier, you know, but—but in a more serious nature because of the—you know, the one-year lobby ban. So, you know, we will have to see where this goes for him.
MATTHEWS: Well, the old rule of journalism, Eric—and you write for the great "New York Times"—has been sex-plus. There has got to be something besides just hanky-panky. There has to be a—a staffer involved, somebody that works with you, a workplace issue. There has to be perhaps lobbying going on that violates the public trust.
To get to the heart of this potential criminality, if you get a job for somebody who is a lobbyist, certainly breaking the ethics laws is one thing, and maybe filing a false claim is one thing. And maybe that is a potential conspiracy. But, going further, if you then allow the guy, in this case, a male, to come in to your office as a lobbyist, paid for by an interest...
MASCARO: Right.
MATTHEWS: ... that has—somebody that has an interest in your office...
LICHTBLAU: Sure.
MATTHEWS: ... and then you let them lobby for that person, you are giving away your service as a senator for pay.
LICHTBLAU: Well, it's what the Justice Department in past cases has called the—the denial of honest services, the idea that your—your constituency isn't the people of your state, but someone you have a financial relationship with.
MATTHEWS: And this may be the charge against Blago out there in Illinois, too, that—the denial of...
LICHTBLAU: Services.
MATTHEWS: Let me go to you on this.
Let me, first of all, read the senator's statement, in all fairness to him—quote—"I am confident we fully complied with the relevant laws and rules governing current and past employees. I have worked on these Nevada issues with these Nevada companies for years, long before Doug Hampton left my office."
The cover story there, true or not, Lisa, is that he allowed himself to be lobbied by these guys long before he got this guy a job working for them.
MASCARO: Right.
You know, and I think, you know, as someone else told me today, this is a real tangled mess now that really would sort of need a lot of explaining to—you know, to sort out.
And, you know, Eric mentioned the honest services fraud issue. That is—you know, that is certainly is one...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MASCARO: ... you know, one thing that we have heard about. And, then, of course, another criminal defense lawyer told me today that, you know, the—the one-year lobby ban, you know, it's—it is sitting right there. You know, if a prosecutor wanted to sort of go the easy route, that would certainly be an easy route to go, you know, if—if this is true, you know.
MATTHEWS: Well, let's take a look. Here is Doug Hampton.
He said he and the senator, Ensign, chose to ignore the lobbying ban, which says you can't lobby your old boss for a year. He said—quote—
"The only way the clients could get what John was essentially promising them, which was access, was if I still had a way to work with his office, and John knew that."
How did that work?
LICHTBLAU: Well, this became an issue of concern within Ensign's office from the very start, after Hampton left Ensign's employment.
Ensign's chief of staff went to him and said, we may have a problem here, in effect. And, according to both Doug Hampton and the chief of staff, Ensign's directions were—were to have the chief of staff work directly with Ensign—I'm sorry—work directly with Doug Hampton...
MATTHEWS: What do you mean work directly with?
LICHTBLAU: ... as a conduit, which is an odd way of dealing with the problem. Doug Hampton saw that as sort of his—his...
MATTHEWS: You mean let him lobby the senator through the chief of staff?
LICHTBLAU: Well, that's what—that's what investigators will have to look at. Doug Hampton's interpretation is that this was the go-to guy. This was the person he went to, yes.
MATTHEWS: Well, let me tell you something. Anybody who knows a bit about the Hill knows, to lobby a chief of staff is to lobby a senator.
LICHTBLAU: Right.
MATTHEWS: And there's no way of saying you're skirting the law on that. You certainly are violating it. You just figure that the guy has a confidential relationship with you, and he won't tell the—the prosecutors.
LICHTBLAU: Right.
You know, and we published all sorts of interesting e-mails between Doug Hampton and the senator, where Doug Hampton is getting increasingly restless about this—this situation, this odd relationship they had, and was saying: You promised me clients. You promised three clients. I—I said I would leave your office to save your career. Now I'm looking at financial ruin. You haven't lived up to your end of the bargain.
I mean, it's really this—this fascinating relationship between these two guys who...
MATTHEWS: OK. Why are people so unhirable?
Now, look, this—this guy was cuckolded by his boss. His—his boss had a relationship with his wife. He has reason to be miserable about it and to be angry about it, both toward his wife and toward the boss, right?
Why doesn't he go away and get a real job in a real part of American enterprise? Why does he have to be a barnacle on this guy's butt and run around after him trying to get a job as a lobbyist on him? Explain.
LICHTBLAU: Well, that's a good question. And my—my...
MATTHEWS: Why doesn't he go away?
LICHTBLAU: We asked Doug Hampton that very question.
His feeling was that he had put a lot of his time and—and life into
· into John Ensign's career. He had moved from Southern California at John Ensign's request, had joined his staff, had sort of hitched his—hitched his wagon to him, and that John Ensign owed him a debt of obligation. He was giving up a career in the Senate basically because his wife was having an affair with the senator.
MATTHEWS: Why didn't he go work for another senator?
LICHTBLAU: He felt that John Ensign owed him restitution, in effect, and may even consider—
MATTHEWS: So his moral way of looking at it is this guy had a relationship—a sexual relationship with my wife. Therefore, he owes me and he will pay me out of the public till.
LICHTBLAU: I don't know if he would look at it quite that way. But certainly that's how this all ended up, was that --
MATTHEWS: This goes back—let me tell you, this goes back to the sense that people get elected to office—some of them look upon office as an opportunity to take, that they have possessions there, assets there sitting in the office, you know, and they want to sell them or use them.
But thank you for this story. It is not pretty, but it does help people decide who to vote for. Thank you, Eric Lichtblau. Lisa, thank you from the "Las Vegas Sun." I love Las Vegas.
Up next, blame it on Rio, speaking of another exciting city. Chicago fails in its attempt to host the 2016 Olympics. There goes Peter Allen singing, "I Go To Rio," which is the real problem here for Chicago. That's the music. They're going to Rio. You want to see the 2016 Olympics? Get on an airplane. It is a long flight. Could this be a big setback for President Obama or did he just do the right thing, trying to get his home town to get some jobs. This is HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
OBAMA: Although I wish that we had come back with better news from Copenhagen, I could not be prouder of my home town of Chicago.
MATTHEWS: What a Friday. Time for the politics fix. Joining me, the heavyweights, David Gregory, moderator of "Meet the Press," and Ron Brownstein, who is "National Journal" columnist, and Atlanta Media political director.
Let's take a look at the real trash talk that's coming on here, because I think this is going to be part of the weekend stories as you do "Meet the Press." Here's Rush Limbaugh doing his thing.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: The world has rejected Obama. Chicago, the least number of votes. First elimination in the round of voting for the Olympics in 2016. Barack Hussein Obama, mmm, mmm, mmm. Barack Hussein Obama, mmm, mmm, mmm—had been running around the world for nine months, telling everybody how much our country sucks. Why would anybody award the Olympics to such a crappy place as the United States of America?
MATTHEWS: How do people make up—whatever you think of Rush, he just makes—he never said America sucks. This guy is the best reputation builder. It is not even a partisan statement. No one has made America more popular in the world than the election that the people did of Barack Obama. You—
DAVID GREGORY, "MEET THE PRESS": The argument is not even logical, because this president going around saying the United States has erred in all these different ways would be very well received in the International Olympic Committee, which feels that way, and by the way, doesn't like the US, does not like the United States Olympic Committee, has not like them since Salt Lake City, was burn over the bribery scandal. Said at the time, we don't want to come back for about 20 years.
MATTHEWS: So why did he take the risk? Why did he stick his neck out and go over there to go Copenhagen? Was it the home town booster?
GREGORY: Absolutely. He's from Chicago. He has a lot of pressure. I think Brazil was making—they were going to the mat with their leader, getting over there as well. If this was the result and he hadn't tried, we would be talking about that.
MATTHEWS: Yes. I agree with that.
RON BROWNSTEIN, ATLANTIC MEDIA: Do you remember the huge uproar on talk radio and cable TV and the outrage among conservatives and liberals alike when New York City lost the summer Olympics in July 2005 under George W. Bush? Do you remember that?
It didn't happen. Because—look, we are now in an era where everything is chewed over for at least 12 hours, which is probably about the lifetime of this.
MATTHEWS: Putin tried to sell the Russian Federation for one of these. Tony Blair successfully did. Isn't it become the norm that the head of government goes out and makes the pitch.
BROWNSTEIN: As recently as 2005, President Bush did a video presentation. They had a—Hillary Clinton to give him the star powerful. But now it has become more common. Although, you do kind of question the staff work. I guess you have to ask, would you put the president on the plane unless you had a strong indication that you were at least going to be in the finals?
MATTHEWS: Is this going to be like Jimmy Carter losing the Marine Marathon? Is this going to become a metaphor for failure? Do you remember that?
GREGORY: Look, I think it is combined with other things right now. I
think on a Friday when he goes to Europe and he loses the games, and he has
to come home and deal with the fact that he has unemployment at 9,8
percent, this is a huge problem. It's a huge test. So all that narrative
MATTHEWS: Will the right wing guys like Rushbo pay a price for really talking down the hopes of America? Why would they cheer? I think they missed the beat here. Cheering the fact that we've lost the Olympics, is that popular among the red blooded guys that watch the show? Don't they root for America, those guys?
BROWNSTEIN: One of my colleagues today at "National Journal" was at an Americans for Prosperity meeting, which is a conservative group that has been active in opposing health care. And cheers erupted in the room when it was announced that the U.S. lost, because it was seen as a blow to Obama. That is kind of the combative nature of the politics we're in.
This will be seen as a symbol of failure if Obama is seen as a failure. But this is not going to decide whether or not he is seen as a failure. What David talked about is more important. If the events of the next year of unemployment, if the events on Capital Hill, health care, climate change, et cetera, cause him to be seen as a failure, people will look at this.
But if, in fact, he—if the economy improves and he gets some of his legislative activities done, we will be done talking about this by this time tomorrow.
MATTHEWS: Isn't it common sense that the Third World, which has a lot of votes—Africa has a lot of votes—would be thinking, hey, we keep giving these events to the north. Even Sydney is white guys in Australia. It's basically they're living down there but they came from England and Ireland. Isn't it time for the south, the southern hemisphere to have a shot at one of these things? Wasn't that a big factor here?
GREGORY: I think there is. I think there's also a sense, in terms of all the revenue that the U.S. gets, USOC gets from, you know, from the games, from the TV portion of it, that it just seemed there was an imbalance. Mitt Romney has made the point that this was a no brainer, that Obama should have done it. He was disappointed that it didn't work out.
MATTHEWS: So he was for him going over there?
GREGORY: Absolutely, and said he did the right thing.
BROWNSTEIN: The irony is—and David probably experienced this in L.A. in 1984. If, in fact, Chicago would have won, half the city would have visited their sister in Wisconsin that week. It's kind of a mixed blessing in the modern area, with all the security and the costs. When New York City was bidding, it was a very controversial idea, spending all the money they wanted to spend at that time on a new stadium and other things.
I think Chicago is a little different for the reasons we talked about.
It's a city—
MATTHEWS: This is an unusual night for me, to have so much IQ. Maybe 300 points here. Let's get off the sports for a second. Prep your brains for the big question when we come back from this break. You have about three or four minutes. Is there a battle within the Republican party that has started with Lindsey Graham's comments, with Steve Schmidt's comments, all this thing with the Atlantic, your organization, about the first draft of history, where the brain people, the people who are sane, who want to win the White House back as soon as next time, have really decided it's enough.
It's enough with the birthers. It's enough with the Palins. It's enough with the people in the fringe. If you want to rule this country, you got to get to the center. We'll be right back to ask the big question: has the center right gone to war with the right? We'll be back with David Gregory and Ron Brownstein for the big question, Friday afternoon.
By the way, Sunday's "Meet the Press," US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. And then on the panel this Sunday, our very own Rachel Maddow. You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM ®, SOUTH CAROLINA: I'm here to tell you that those who think the president was born somewhere other than Hawaii are crazy. He's not a Muslim.
He's a good man. Let's knock this crap off and talk about the real differences we have.
MATTHEWS: I love the way he talks, knock this crap off. That's Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. We're back with David Gregory and Ron Brownstein. Back to my point, with the politics fix. Less talk it.
Is there something going on—you first, Ron—in the Republican party, where all this craziness—we play the game here, building up Rush, building up Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin every night in the sideshow. Are they saying enough sideshow; we have to get to the main event and win this thing next time.
BROWNSTEIN: There certainly is kind of a symbiotic relationship between the left and the right. Any fight—
MATTHEWS: Center left?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Fights—you win if you're fighting, regardless of who lands the most blows. If you're actually wondering about winning elections, this is a different calculus. In 2010, the electorate is going to be older, whiter, and more conservative, because that's the way midterm elections look. And a based mobilization strategy could be very effective for Republicans.
MATTHEWS: So go right or go center?
BROWNSTEIN: No. For 2010, you can probably be pretty tough and pretty focused on mobilizing the base. But what people like Lindsey Graham are focusing on is when you get back to 2012, it's likely that the non-white share of the vote will be close to 30 percent.
MATTHEWS: Young people, black people, Hispanic people will show up and vote?
BROWNSTEIN: Show up and big vote. The track they're on now could produce a very good outcome for 2010, without solving any of their fundamental demographic challenges for 2012. I think that's what people like Lindsey Graham are thinking about.
MATTHEWS: Are they afraid that what happened in Houston back '92, when Pat, our colleague Pat went on and gave his take back the cities block by block, and all that stuff about cross dressing—that was always waived as an example of a party going too far. That's what they're afraid of?
GREGORY: Yes. I think Ron is right. They're not afraid about it for the midterm as much as when they think for 2012, which, as Ron has written about, the upwardly mobile voter, who used to be reliably Republican, who now become a swing voter and voted for Obama in the exurbs and in some of the suburbs now. Those are—
MATTHEWS: The Northern Virginia voters.
GREGORY: Right. Those are now voters who are up for grabs for a Democrat or a Republican. One of the things that Republicans, for all—you talk Lindsey Graham or John McCain, they're going to stay on this buildings blueprint against Obama on the economy, on the deficit, on basically the overall direction of the country. That's what they'll try to build on.
MATTHEWS: They're building a house with bricks. Those are bricks, by the way. Always useful because we'll have a big debt. We know one thing for a fact, we'll have a big debt in four years.
BROWNSTEIN: To sharpen David's point, those voters he's talking about are not big-government voters. They were Clinton voters, you know, kind of centrist Democrat on the economy, left of center on social and foreign policy issues. Obama's agenda is cross-pressuring them and putting them back into play. They will be tough for a Republican like Palin to bring is, as opposed to a different kind of appeal that meets them more where they live.
Obama put them back in play for Republicans if Republicans can find a way to meet them.
MATTHEWS: Palin hurt the party in south Florida, southeastern Pennsylvania, probably all around the big cities, all the suburbs. Are they afraid of that?
GREGORY: Absolutely. It's just a basic threshold qualifications test for an independent voter.
MATTHEWS: -- says she's a catastrophe.
GREGORY: Absolutely. And John McCain doesn't endorse her either. I asked him this week, is she qualified. He says, oh, sure. But he's not prepared to endorse her.
We're in a fight right now, a big, philosophical, ideological fight about whether government works, whether government is working for the people. That's a challenge for the president. Is he selling the idea of the government working as the solution as well as Reagan sold the idea of it not being the solution?
MATTHEWS: Clinton went along and said the era of big government is over. He went with that direction. But belief in government is something I thought the Democrats missed a step here. We want to change channels here for a second. If you believe in government and its potential to help people, then you have to believe in good government and serving well. You have to pass bills. You can't just yell and argue and say, we're going to get blow back to Rush Limbaugh every night.
BROWNSTEIN: On the other hand, Harry Reid says that they're going to bring a health care bill to the floor of the Senate on October 12th, perhaps vote for cloture as soon as October 19th. This is the fundamental gamble of Democrats. At a time when there is this anti-government feeling, is it more dangerous to bend to that feeling and pull back from moving forward on this bill, or are you better off going forward in the face of the headwind and trying to get something done?
The latter, because they tried the first strategy in '94 when the bill collapsed. Clinton's approval rating went down with it. They lost control of the Congress for 12 years.
MATTHEWS: If you put up the white flag you lose.
GREGORY: Bill Clinton says, you pass health care reform, it gets more popular.
MATTHEWS: By the way, Bill Clinton is the best witness on this one. He said the other day, talking to the Net Roots out there—he said, you lose, you lose. There's no hiding from this. It's great having you on. I love Friday now. This is great. Thank you.
David Gregory, "Meet the Press" this Sunday with Susan Rice and Rachel Maddow. Join us again Monday. Ron Brownstein, great week this week for you guys. A lot of news there. Join us again Monday night at 5:00 and 7:00 Eastern for more HARDBALL. Right now it's time for "THE ED SHOW" with Ed Schultz.
Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not reproduce or redistribute the material except for user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon MSNBC and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyright or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.>
Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research.
User may not reproduce or redistribute the material except for user's
personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed,
nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion
that may infringe upon MSNBC and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyright or
other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal
transcript for purposes of litigation.>


text:
This page has been permanently moved. Please
CLICK HERE to be redirected.
Thanks, Craig.
Reducing Log File Sync Time By Increasing DML Statements Between Commits - Part 1
If you have encountered the Oracle Database wait event log file sync before, you know it can be very difficult to resolve. Even when a solution technically makes sense it can be very challenging to explain to others and to anticipate the impact of your solution.
In this post I explore one of the most common performance killing log file sync situations, then dive deep into why it is a problem. Fortunately, I won't stop there because then I will detail how to solve the problem.
I will also classify the Oracle Database time components to better understand how to derive that elusive spot-on solution, how to graphically show the situation and how to anticipate your solution benefits before you deploy your solution in a production environment.
This is a fairly large and complex topic, so I'm going to break it up into a multiple blog entry series. Thanks for joining me in this journey and let's get started!
Getting Started
But first, just what is a log file sync? It is a wait event that a server process posts when it is waiting for its commit to complete. So it's transaction commit time from an Oracle server process perspective. If you want to track commit times, then track log file sync wait times.
Every commit contains some overhead, stuff that must occur regardless of how much redo is to be written. Besides the log writer having to immediately write, various memory structures must be updated, and process communication must occur. The log writer likes to pack the log buffer blocks (sized in operating system sized blocks) full of redo entries before it writes. This makes writing very efficient. In other words, if commits are rapidly occurring the log writer is unable to fully pack each block. So if you want to increase the overhead per dml statement, just do commits very, very rapidly.
In fact, the most common root cause for log file sync being the top wait event is rapid application commits. For example, you might find the code causing the problem is essentially doing something like this:
define i number begin for i 1..10000 insert into t1 values (c1,c2,c3); commit; end loop; end;
The overly careful and most likely undertrained developer wanted to ensure Oracle committed after each insert. After all, they are thinking, "If I don't ensure the commit, then it may never happen!" By simply moving the commit outside of the loop, log file sync could easily no longer be the top wait event.
So one logical solution is to reduce the number of commits while still completing the same amount of work and perhaps even more! But does this really improve performance? And how? And can we anticipate the performance improvement before we actually change the production code? I decided to create an experiment.
The Experimental Results
The actual experimental code is too long to include in this blog, but can be downloaded here. You can't simply run the file. Take a close look at it. You'll notice a few grants must occur, a few objects must be created, and then near the bottom is some SQL to run the experiment, reports to view the results, and finally the raw experimental data. It's all there!
Here's the experiment design. To summarize, the experiment simply collects the amount of a single server process and instance CPU time, instance non-idle wait time, and the single server process elapsed time to insert 900000 rows at batch sizes from 1 to 16384. The batch size is the number of inserts per commit. The batch size was altered while ensuring a total of 900000 rows was inserted for each test. I ran each batch size test 35 times. Each experimental figure I refer to in this series is based on a 35 sample average. The experiment was run on a single quad core Intel chip in a Dell computer running Oracle 11gR2 on Linux.
What can we expect? Well for starters, we hope that a larger batch size (that is, rows per commit) will help increase the efficiency of each log writer write, that is, reduce the overhead per insert. Plus other commit related overhead will be reduced. So our hope is the elapsed time to complete the 900000 inserts will decrease as the batch size increases. Here are the results in table format followed by a partial data plot.
Batch Total Elapsed % Size Rows Samples Time (sec) Change ------ ---------- ------- ----------- ------- 1 900000 35 82.9945 -0.00 2 900000 35 64.9540 -21.74 4 900000 35 55.4025 -33.25 8 900000 35 50.6216 -39.01 16 900000 35 47.9620 -42.21 32 900000 35 45.0470 -45.72 64 900000 35 44.4585 -46.43 128 900000 35 44.4191 -46.48 256 900000 35 43.9992 -46.99 512 900000 35 43.7342 -47.30 1024 900000 35 43.6555 -47.40 2048 900000 35 43.5763 -47.49 4096 900000 35 43.7083 -47.34 8192 900000 35 43.5302 -47.55 16384 900000 35 43.2844 -47.85 32768 900000 35 43.1086 -48.06
It's pretty obvious from this experiment that increasing the batch size (inserts per commit) made a massive elapsed time difference. In fact, increasing the rows per commit from 1 to only 32 resulted in a 47% elapsed time decrease! However after this, the batch size increase benefit begins to dramatically decrease to where once we hit around 33000 rows per commit only an additional 3% elapsed time decrease was seen. So creating batches in the hundreds or thousands did not make a significant difference in this experiment.
So this experiment demonstrated that (in this case) increasing the number of inserts per commit increased the number of inserts that can occur over a fixed period of time.
In part two I will break down the components of the insert time. This will help us to understand how and why batching the inserts improves performance and also sets us up to anticipate the improvement before any changes are actually made.
Here's a link or two to get the juices flowing...
Thanks for reading!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A UNESCO-IUCN monitoring mission to the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, India's only World Heritage Site on the Danger List, will evaluate the progress made so far to increase the population of key species, including tigers, Indian elephants and great one-horned rhino.
The rapid decline in wildlife and the eradication of the rhino during a decade-long insurgency, led to the inscription of the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992.
The five-day mission comes after repeated requests by the Indian authorities to remove the site from the Danger List and reinstate its reputation as one of India's richest wildlife areas. Last year's World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil decided that Manas sanctuary should remain on the Danger List. The issue will be up for discussion again at the Committee's next session, taking place in Bahrain in June this year.
"We recognise the great efforts by the Indian authorities to support recovery of wildlife populations and improve the overall park management," says Tim Badman, Head of IUCN's World Heritage Programme. "The mission will be exploring all the issues raised in previous reports and looking to see what progress is being made."
A reintroduction programme for rhinos under the Assam forest department's Indian Rhino Vision 2020 has increased to seven the number of rhinos currently in Manas and more re-introductions are under way. An additional six elephant calves have also recently been moved to Manas and camera-traps are being used to monitor tigers in the park.
Threats such as illegal logging and poaching in the Pambari Range, invasive species and issues with management effectiveness, are also a concern and will be addressed during the monitoring mission, according to IUCN, the independent advisory body to the World Heritage Committee on natural sites.
The report from this monitoring mission will be finalised and provided to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee during its next meeting in Bahrain, where the decision on whether or not to remove Manas from the Danger list will be taken.
• Sue Mainka, Head of Science and Learning
• Tim Badman, Head, World Heritage Programme
For high-resolution photos, please contact Christelle Perruchoud, e christelle. perruchoud @iucn.org
For more information, please contact:
• Borjana Pervan, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, m +41 79 8574072, e [email protected]
About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.


text:
dried vs. fresh shiitake mushrooms
In some recipes (sticky rice for example) it says that you need dried shiitake mushrooms. Is it possible to replache them with fresh ones? Has anyone tried this? And if so, do you use the same quantity and method of cooking? I'm lucky enough to be able to buy fresh ones here :D


text:
4VOO is an innovative men's skin care & cosmetic's company that offers the luxurious experience of enhancing appearance and confidence. 4VOO distinct man® is an exceptional premium quality skin care and cosmetic enhancement product line, specifically formulated for a man who is not afraid to be sexy, likes to have fun, and appreciates luxury. it is for the man who is a leader in everything that he does, and understands that his grooming, and appearance are vital to his professional and personal success.
the most beneficial and effective active ingredients available have been combined with pure botanical extracts, essential oils, and vitamins to work in synergy with a man's skin to provide optimum visible results. 4V00 men's skin care & cosmetics have been formulated to put a little beauty back into the beast. no more dark circles under the eyes, or skin irritation after shaving!
4VOO distinct man® offers four levels of mens skin care: basic, essential, enhanced, and extra which complement each other to address the specific needs of a man, from men's shaving, to mens skin care, to men's cosmetic correction and enhancement, to pleasure.
a distinct man will enjoy the luxurious experience of being reminded of just how special he is each time he uses 4V00 products in his skin care and grooming regime.
4VOO distinct man® has been meticulously designed to meet the increasing demands of today's lifestyle. it can be thrown in to the gym bag, taken on a business trip, and displayed authoritatively at home. 4VOO skin care products are as sexy as the man that uses them, the ultimate solution for today's distinct man.
using cosmetics is no longer exclusive to gay men, make up is an essential element in men's grooming. 4VOO offers a line of cosmetic correction and enhancement products that allow men to conceal blemishes, dark circles under the eyes, and oily shine. men have never looked so good, and felt so confident.


text:
Oh So Hollywood Clutch in Anthro Sunset
Simple, Compact, and Stylish this little bag has it all. Our most popular bag.
Dimentions: 12'' x 9'' x 1.5''
Outer Shell made of vintage upholstery (polyester/nylon blend)
Lining: Cotton Blend
Made in California, USA by hand.
***Since all bags are made with vintage fabric each one may vary slightly in color.


text:
November 17, 2012 - We gathered at Borio's Restaurant in Cicero to honor all of our season Summit Racing E.T. Series class champions as well as hand out some special awards. We had a fairly successful season as for the most part as we were on the right side of the weather for a change. Although the fall season was pretty much a washout, overall we were far better off than the last two seasons. Super Pro saw Scott Popple drive his Chevy powered dragster to the season title with 44 points. Jack Vault Jr. was second with 39 and Mike LaRose third with 35.
The Pro title came down to a battle between two of the best drivers in the class over the past several seasons. Mike LaRose was able to claim the title in his '69 Dodge Dart with 59 total points. Steve Doss finished second with 54 points and Terry Lee was third with 48.
Last year Chrissy Klein had to share the Pro MX title with Keith Miller as they ended the season tied. That wasn't the case this year as she rode her Polaris race sled to the title by accumulating 50 points. Ryan Orizino settled for second with 43 points and Heath Smith was third with 38.
Steve English drove his '82 Olds Cutlass to the Street Money championship with 55 points. Last year's champ Anthony Zangari finished second with 40 and Jordan Reader was third with 39 points.
Fausto Rioscolon drove his "Sponge Bob" Barracuda to the Modified class title finishing the season with 43 points. Ken Miller finished second with 35 and Don Leppard was third with 34 points.
Ted Lewis won the Street Trophy title in his Monte Carlo. Ted finished off the season with 43 points. Todd Minerd was second with 38 and Jim Smith was third with 36 points.
Chrissy Klein won her second points title of the season when she captured the Bike/Sled Trophy crown with 41 points. Ryan Orizino was second with 39 and Kevin Wuest third with 33.
Jr.Dragster "A" ended with a tie between Jacob Snyder and Dunham Hall, both finishing with 39 points. Weather conditions did not permit us to have a runoff so the title was decided by wins throughout the season. Jacob got the nod with his three wins compared to Dunham's two Jr. "A" wins. Joshua Snyder was third with 33 points. Morgan Bunal and Paige DeSalvo finished off their Jr. Dragster careers tied for fourth with 32.
The Jr. Dragster "B" class was a very close one between the top 5. Jenna Lipke scored her first season title with 33 points. Shane Bingel was second with 32, Kerstin Harris was third with 31, Daniel Thorpe fourth with 30 and Natalia Musolino rounded out the top 5 in fifth place with 29.
The Special Awards for the Jr.'s went like this:
We had three Jr. Dragster rookies this season Kerstin Harris, Daniel Thorpe and Natalia Musolino and it was close between all three of them, but in the end the deciding factor was Kerstin Harris finishing higher in the points so she was awarded the Jr. Dragster Rookie of the Year.
Most Improved Jr. Driver went to Jenna Lipke and the Best Appearing Jr. Dragster went to Kimberly Klein with her "Dote Racing" replica paint job.
In the "big car" classes, special awards went to:
Jack Vault Jr. was the Most Improved Driver finishing 2nd in Super Pro.
Bracket Racer of the Year went to Chrissy Klein based on her two class titles.
Rookie of the Year went to Justin Hardman who graduated from the Jr. Dragster ranks and finished 4th in Pro.
Fred Jacobs was given the Sportsmanship Award for all of his help he gives and his organization the "Danny Cerio Memorial Race."
We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season and we'll see you all next year at the track.


text: 8. Click the "Board" panel, set and write the ISP frequency. If this is a virgin chip you must select 125.0 kHz. If you have already flashed this chip you can set it to 2.0 Mhz without issues. It will be a long day of programming if you don't take this step, as burning at 1.049 Khz takes forever.


text:
Jill Odice December 28, 2012Congrats on your finalist Dan!!! #1505600
Patrick Rouzes December 29, 2012BEAUTIFUL! CONGRATS, Dan!
Merna L. Nobile December 31, 2012
January is a month of reflection for me, I remember how privileged I was to observe all the outstanding work and beautiful photographs of the past year. For the last time this year, I would be honored to congratulate you for your spectacular work and willingness to share with all of us, Happy New Year, Merna Nobile
Exif: Model: NIKON D300
Uploaded on November 29, 2012
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Dan Holm. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer. Contact photographer via gallery
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.


text:
Posts Tagged 'College Painters in Chaska Mn'
Cost To Paint Exterior Of House Chaska Mn
Minnesota Painters
GREAT Paint Contractors Give Professional, Detailed Quotes A GREAT painting quote includes a detailed list of ALL aspects of work to be done: FREE Power Washing Caulking, sanding and priming Trim repair – GREAT contractors will know what needs to be done Details of products and application – GREAT contractors know the right products for every job Touch-ups and clean-up In addition to the quote's content and accuracy, is it presented professionally?
Looking for Cost To Paint Exterior Of House in Chaska Mn ?
Is the quote printed on company letterhead? Does the sheet show the contractor's license number? Does he use a local land line phone number? (beware if only a cellular phone number is listed) TAX I.D. number? Work guarantee and relevant product warranties? Inexperienced contractors, using standard business forms purchased at office supply stores suggests they haven't invested much in their business and may not be properly licensed. Also, they may not be paying income taxes.
GREAT Paint Contractors Have an A or A+ Better Business Bureau Rating the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a trusted consumer rating body that grades businesses based on collective criteria. In addition to finding their grade, be sure to check how long the paint contractor has been a member. Also confirm that any complaints have been resolved. BBB will still afford a good rating if a business has addressed
Painting the Exterior of Your Home - Do it Yourself, Or Hire a Professional?
You're probably familiar with the old expression, "there's more than one way to skin a cat". Like you, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know about any one of them. But it does illustrate a good point when it comes to estimating a painting project or any other trade estimates for that matter.No matter what the facet of renovation you're planning, whether it's painting, carpentry, drywall or you name it, there are as many bid prices as there are ways to get the job done. But an estimator's quote usually only accounts for one scope of work, one method of doing it and one quality level of materials. Then, of course, if you simply choose the lower bidder, you know you're most likely missing out on better skilled trades and better materials and an overall better experience! So how can you get the best painter for the job (or drywaller, or carpenter) to suit your budget?My expertise is in the painting trades so I'll use painters and paint jobs here as our guide. But you can apply this to most any other trade from both a consumer prospective as well as a contractor's. And no matter what your trade, if you're good at what you do and take excellent care of your customers, you're likely not always the lowest bidder. But if you're like my painting company, you seek to provide homeowners and commercial clients with the best value for their money. Unfortunately, because people don't tend to hire painters every day and rarely know one from another, contractors are too often selected by price alone which has been derived from the scope of work they've been given by the customer (as an overall "wish list" in some cases) but without the benefit of knowing their budget. So here we have a large assortment of variables (what must be done now and what can wait?, what can the customer spend? and what quality of materials meets both purpose and price?) that somehow have to all come together in a package which benefits both the customer and the contractor without truly knowing what each other needs until a quote is put up for discussion. And all too often, that's too late!If you, as a homeowner show three painting contractors the same scope of work, each one will come back to you with a different price based on the "pay grade" of their painters, the thoroughness of their prep work (or lack thereof) and the quality of paints and primers they propose to use. And the fact is, each job and customer has different needs and expectations which fall somewhere along the full spectrum of these variables. Some want a "white wash it for now" approach and others want a full scale restoration that will last for decades. But most are looking for something in between. And as a responsible painter, you propose the best quality for your customer because you want them to be happy with results for years to come but you aren't sure if it's within their budget. And as a painting customer, you want the best you can afford but have little or no idea what that particular level of quality includes. So even though each wants the best for the project at hand, this usually ends up with the painting estimate being dismissed by the customer because the price is "too high". And this is despite the customer would otherwise prefer to work with this contractor because of all the obvious signs of professionalism and knowledge of their craft. But instead, the customer too often rolls the dice with the lower bidder and hopes for the best (which never comes).So how do you get that contractor you instinctively know will deliver the goods but has proposed a bid that's out of your price range or seems much higher than the other quotes?Talk to them!Those of us who want to stay at the top of our trade will most often lead with our best foot forward and bid with top quality materials and workmanship unless the customer tells us otherwise. We want to hear your thoughts! We are here for nothing more than to serve your best interests with the project at hand. And the more we know, the better we can meet your needs and expectations.So before dismissing a reputable contractor who's demonstrated professional conduct and offered knowledgeable advice with, "Sorry. Your quote was too high. We've given the job to another painting contractor", look over all the quotes carefully and together. Compare what details are the same and which are different. Where items differ or are none existent, get them clarified by the estimator so you've got a clear sense of what each is actually offering you to determine the best value - not price. And if you still find that the better contractor for the job is priced out of your range, ask them to consider other ways they could deliver the job at a lesser cost such as using a different paint line, or perhaps adjusting the scope of work to get the most critical aspects addressed now and leave the rest to another date. These are just a couple of examples that can affect a quote but if you discuss this direction with a professional, they're usually all too happy to help you find the best ways to tailor your project to suit you and still give you all the benefits of dealing with a reputable contractor who will stand behind their work.And as a contractor, don't just offer the customer a proposal with only your best recommendations for the work and leave them to fend for themselves with your competitors. Let them know that your estimate is based on your expert opinion as to the best practices and materials for the job but that you're willing to change the varying aspects of the job if needed to suit their budget.This is how we get the right contractors together with the right customers for the benefit of all.
Best Cost To Paint Exterior Of House in Chaska Mn
A painter contractor is a professional who specializes in painting jobs. This profession does not only focus on painting as their name implies but their work encompasses the application of finishes on ceilings, walls and other surfaces which may require finishing. This means that their medium is not limited to paint but also includes others such as paper, vinyl and fabric. One other job that may be included in this description is the need to smooth over a particularly rough surface. Damage to the wall or ceiling made by nails and the scraping off of the older paint should be smoothed over before the application of the selected mediumOther MediumsOther than paper, fabric and vinyl, there are also other mediums that the painter contractor might use to do the job. Varnishes and other similar forms of applications can be included in the mediums that this professional might use. Some wood and stone might also be included in their medium of choice, but this is unusual unless it is specified that he can actually do it. The kind of paint to be used is dependent on the type of surface it is to be applied on. Metal, wood, brick, concrete and other materials need different kinds of paint. Some types of paint do not adhere well to certain surfaces. In addition to knowing which paint to use on a given surface, the professional should also be skilled enough to determine the exact colors needed for the finishing job. PurposesThere are practical reasons why this job is required for residential and commercial service. Aesthetics is one of the primary reasons why a paint job or a finishing job may be necessary for a house or a commercial building. Another valid reason for the use of these services is to ensure that the outer and inner surfaces of the establishment or domicile are protected. Paint and other mediums are a form of protection from the elements. The outer walls and even the roof will benefit from a good finishing job if done properly by the painter contractor. These are highly susceptible to rust or overall deterioration due to constant exposure to rain and other elements, but with paint, they can last longer. On the other hand, interior finishes benefit the home owner by protecting the walls and ceiling from possible damage done by cooking and other daily domestic chores. Finishing touches such as designs and murals are also part of the job description. These are painted directly on the wall or ceiling as designs which are uniquely tailored to the home owner's specifications. Some business establishments or stores also prefer to have their own personalized paint jobs which reflect their style. Wallpaper is another job that a painter contractor specializes in. Paper hanging is a detailed job that requires an eye for perfection. Before the paper can be hung, the surface needs to be cleaned from debris, oil and dirt, which can all impede the appearance of the result. An older application of wallpaper on the wall will need to be scraped off and cleaned adequately before the new application commences.
Paint Contractor - Finding Someone Reliable
As with many things in life, often there is a silver lining in the cloud that's raining on your parade. Many homeowners suffered loss during the 90s from having to replace the faulty Louisiana Pacific wafer board siding on their homes. While some homeowners were rewarded money for their losses some unfortunate homeowners who arrived late were rewarded noting. As frustrations rose to a deafening level during the nineties, most barely noticed the new product that was just entering the market.During this period of time a new type of siding entered the market that offered the durability that most homeowners demanded. It was perfect timing for a cement based siding to enter the market. Many homeowners and builders rushed to buy HardiePlank to replace the decaying siding that plagued the housing industry. Finally a siding existed that would probably outlast the owner. Most folks viewed this siding as an answer to prayer.Most painters in our industry welcomed the siding. Not having to deal with swelling siding that wouldn't hold paint, certainly made our job easier. While most homeowners and painters were excited about this new long lasting siding, most weren't aware that keeping it caulked would become the new problem that everyone would talk about. The problem was and still is: How do you keep HardiePlank caulked? For homes that have exposure to sunlight and widely varying temperatures, keeping HardiePlank properly caulked is a challenge. HardiePlank expands and contracts a lot under these conditions. Most caulks simply do not have the elasticity to handle the expansion and contraction.I have seen the expansion and contraction of HardiePlank siding pull fresh caulk apart within 24 hours after application. It's great siding to have on your home, but you better know what you're doing when it comes to caulking all the joints.You certainly can't be economy minded with your purchase of caulk when HardiePlank is involved, or you will be doing the job over again. Many painters and homeowners alike seem confused when selecting caulk for this siding. It has been my experience that you should be using caulks that comply with either ASTM C 834 or ASTM C 920. Applying a caulk that falls in this category is doing so within the manufacturers written instructions.I personally prefer using an elastomeric caulk on my customer's homes. Elastomeric caulks are made for masonry substrate surfaces. Sherwin Williams carries a product called Shermax Super Stretch Elastomeric Caulk that I find works well with Hardie Plank Siding. It has the elasticity to handle the constant expanding and contracting of Hardie Plank. All my crews are required to use this product and I see few problems with caulk separation. One common problem that many homeowners find is the Hardie Plank itself was installed improperly. At least a 1/8 inch gap between siding and trim should be left by the installer to allow for a proper amount of caulk to be applied. The 1/8 inch gap is in accordance with caulking manufacturers written instructions. (leave 1/8" gap between siding, trim and butt joints so adequate caulk can be applied.) If less than 1/8 inch gap is available to apply caulk, then the caulk is too thin to handle the amount of stretching it must endure. I have seen Elastoplast Caulk separate where less than a 1/8 inch of a gap existed in the siding joints. Owens Corning also sells a very good caulk for this type application. The last point I want to make is there are solutions to this common annoyance. As a painter it is your responsibility to deliver a product and service that will last. As a homeowner make sure you discuss your painter's plans on how he is going to solve this common problem with Hardie Plank. This action will go a long way toward avoiding loss of time and money.
Great Cost To Paint Exterior Of House Mn
A GREAT Paint Contractor Presents Proof of Insurance While a good paint contractor may tell you he's insured, a GREAT contractor presents a copy of his policy, proving the amount of coverage, he carries for both property damage and bodily injury that may result from the contractor's work. By nature, paint materials are highly flammable and, should a tragedy occur, you need to know your contractor is sufficiently insured.
Congratulations! You've made the smart decision to improve your home's appearance and value with a professional paint job. Now comes the daunting challenge of finding a paint contractor. Not to worry! These 10 secrets will help you find a GREAT paint contractor who'll deliver a top-quality job at an excellent price and leave you with a satisfying home improvement experience.1. A GREAT Paint Contractor Presents Proof of Insurance While a good paint contractor may tell you he's insured, a GREAT contractor presents a copy of his policy, proving the amount of coverage he carries for both property damage and bodily injury that may result from the contractor's work. By nature, paint materials are highly flammable and, should a tragedy occur, you need to know your contractor is sufficiently insured.2. A GREAT Paint Contractor NEVER Asks for a Deposit While some paint contractors may request a deposit before beginning the work, well-established, successful painting professionals have sufficient operating income and can easily afford to purchase materials and make payroll. BE WARY of a contractor who asks for a deposit! If he is unable to purchase materials, he's probably unable to pay his staff. Every year, too many homeowners fall victim to contractors who walk off the job - and out of town - with the deposit in their pockets.If you agree to advance payment of any kind, be sure materials have been purchased and are on your property, leaving you some kind of leverage should the contractor default on the work. Bottom Line: GREAT painting contractors NEVER request a deposit. 3. A GREAT Paint Contractor Offers Great Warranties You can tell a lot about a paint contractor by his warranty. Well-known contractors with established reputations are respected by paint suppliers who, in turn, pass on extended - even lifetime - warranties on their paints because they know the product will be applied right. For any number of reasons, less experienced contractors may not have valuable relationships with suppliers. On the labor side, a GREAT contractor works with solid, experienced painters whose work he knows he can stand behind with an extended labor warranty.4. GREAT Paint Contractors Go the Extra Mile Because GREAT contractors have learned the value of a satisfied customer, they're able to focus on service and offer extras that shows you how important your business is to the contractor. Check to see if your contractor offers the following: Professional color consulting FREE color try-ons FREE power washing Two coats of paint - as a standard offering! 5. GREAT Paint Contractors Give Professional, Detailed Quotes A GREAT painting quote includes a detailed list of ALL aspects of work to be done: FREE Power washing Caulking, sanding and priming Trim repair - GREAT contractors will know what needs to be done Details of products and application - GREAT contractors know the right products for every job Touch-ups and clean-up In addition to the quote's content and accuracy, is it presented professionally? Is the quote printed on company letterhead? Does the sheet show the contractor's license number? Does he use a local land line phone number? (beware if only a cellular phone number is listed) TAX I.D. number? Work guarantee and relevant product warranties? Inexperienced contractors, using standard business forms purchased at office supply stores suggests they haven't invested much in their business and may not be properly licensed. Also, they may not be paying income taxes.6. GREAT Paint Contractors Have an A or A+ Better Business Bureau RatingThe Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a trusted consumer rating body that grades businesses based on collective criteria. In addition to finding their grade, be sure to check how long the paint contractor has been a member. Also confirm that any complaints have been resolved. BBB will still afford a good rating if a business has addressed issues in a timely manner. Questionable painting contractors will have either no BBB affiliation at all or a grade of B or below.7. GREAT Paint Contractors Care about Their Communities and Industry Associations Being active in local Chambers of Commerce, committed to area charities and having a presence in the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association (PDCA) shows that GREAT paint contractors have professional integrity and care about their communities. Fly-by-night contractors avoid connections to civic or professional organizations.8. GREAT Paint Contractors Provide References in Your Area - Both Old and New Good paint contractors may have references from local work that was completed in the past few weeks. GREAT Paint Contractors will provide multiple local references from both recent and past work. References from a year ago or longer show the paint job's durability and confirm that any necessary follow-up or billing issues were handled correctly.9. GREAT Paint Contractors Invite You to See a Job in Progress If a contractor is confident about the way they work, they'll prove it by asking you to judge for yourself. Things to look for: Work vehicles - are they clean, organized and professional? The painters - are they neatly dressed and groomed? Materials - are ladders, scaffolding, drop cloths and electrical equipment in good condition? Is work being done carefully so as not to damage landscaping or property? Bottom Line: GREAT Paint Contractors treat a home - and its homeowner - with respect at all times.10. GREAT Paint Contractors Have a Professional Website While it is certainly possible to be a good paint contractor and not own a Website, GREAT contractors are also successful business people who understand that today's consumer is looking for instant information. A GREAT contractor's Website will include all the details homeowners are looking for - references, before & after photos, details of services, contact information and history of the company and its owner and staff.


text:
⬇⬇⬇ Watch the review below ⬇⬇⬇
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply.
About Claire
I'm a 30 year old mum of 2, who uses colouring & art to
de-stress and help with anxiety. Join me in discovering new books & materials :)
Click the buttons below to visit some more awesome Adult Colouring Blogs!
June 2019


text:
Original Hawaiian Chocolate...
the only chocolate of its kind
in the world!
Artisanal Single-Origin Chocolate,
Made and Grown in Hawaii
with 100% Hawaiian Cacao
From our factory on the slopes of Hualalai Mountain's bountiful
Kona region on the Island of Hawaii comes the one and only Original
Hawaiian Chocolate®.
We are the first to grow, hand-pick, sun-dry and process only 100%
Hawaiian grown cocoa beans, non-blended to assure purity and quality.
The result is a delicious single-origin Hawaiian chocolate of distinctive
texture and taste.
Dark and Milk Original Hawaiian Chocolate is available in individual
bars, one-pound bars, small plumeria-shaped pieces and single large
Our Criollo Dark Chocolate is a rare find - unique in flavor and
taste, and offered in individual bars and single large plumerias.
And our roasted cacao nibs are the essence of pure chocolate, perfect
for snacks and smoothies.
Grown by select artisan cacao farmers and produced at our island
factory, Original Hawaiian Chocolate is truly a one-of-a-kind.
Remember, Chocolate is Aloha!
Visit Our New Shoppe. Click Here for Directions
Choice Awards
Best of Hawaii
Luxury Tour Guide Americas
Awards Winner
PCI Security Certificate
| Privacy Policy


text:
The Green/Yellow Stripes Baby Shower (Qty:10) are the perfect accessory to tie-together your baby shower. Easy-to-use and outrageously cute, use our Green/Yellow Stripes Baby Shower to secure your cutlery and napkin bundles. Napkin Knots are a fun twist to a napkin ring. 10 Napkin Knots per package.
Make your baby shower easier while adding a special touch to your table.
How to use the Green/Yellow Stripes Baby Shower (Qty:10):
Slip the Napkin Knot over a cutlery bundle and slide the knot to secure. Will fit over cloth or paper napkins with metal or plastic cutlery. Printed on a 1.5″ durable card stock graphic circle and affixed to a waxed cotton cord loop. Click here to see our helpful how-to video!


text:
When PNC bank executives decided they wanted to go after a bigger piece of Pennsylvania Turnpike bond business, they chose a well-traveled route to reach that goal. They flattered and lavished gifts upon a powerful state politician who not only was open to the largess, but expected it - former Sen. Bob Mellow.
Mr. Mellow, the former Senate president pro tem and longtime minority leader from Lackawanna County, is serving a 16-month federal prison sentence on a corruption conviction, and faces state bribery and bid-rigging charges for allegedly steering turnpike contracts to favored vendors.
Tony Lepore, who continues to be chief of staff to the Senate Democratic Caucus, testified before a state grand jury that he had been instructed by Mr. Mellow in 2005 to secure bond work for PNC from the Turnpike Commission. Between 2005 and 2010 the bank received more than $2 million in fees for work on commission financing. Over roughly that same period, the bank hosted Mr. Mellow and some of his friends at 10 New York Yankees games. Other contributions from a bank-related political action committee and bank executives went to Mr. Mellow's campaign committee.
Unlimited campaign contributions in Pennsylvania are bad enough. Unlimited "gifts," which must be reported only if they exceed $250, are worse. There is nothing about being a state lawmaker that creates an entitlement for receiving any consideration from prospective vendors, or from special pleaders looking for favorable state law or policy. Representing the public interest actually requires the opposite, a prohibition against lawmakers receiving anything from anyone other than their salaries and benefits.
State lawmakers who maintain these open invitations to graft contend that disclosure of those "gifts" above $250 is an effective defense against corruption. Mr. Mellow, and others, have proved that to be a shibboleth.
The only appropriate answer to this latest betrayal of the public interest is for the Legislature to outlaw all "gifts" to lawmakers and their staffs. Perhaps that, finally, will convince them to consider only the public interest in making law and policy.