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A central issue in the Everett interpretation is the status of the `Born rule', which asserts that, for state ψ, the probability of obtaining a particular outcome of a measurement is ||Pψ||2, where P is the projection operator onto the eigensubspace associated with the measurement outcome. In traditional interpretations, the Born rule is simply postulated as part of the collapse hypothesis. In the Everett interpretation, it is far from obvious that the Born rule even has any meaning—if all outcomes occur, how can one talk about the probability of a particular outcome? Given the importance of this issue, it is highly appropriate that four chapters of the book (by Saunders, Papineau, Wallace, and Greaves and Myrvold) are devoted to addressing probability and the Born rule from the Everett viewpoint, and three chapters (by Kent, Albert, and Price) are devoted to criticising these views.
... In any case, if the conclusion of a mathematically correct argument is that rational decision strategies require the Born rule, then there must be quite a bit lying in the assumptions. The articles by Kent, Albert, and Price do a good job of fleshing out these assumptions and pointing out the weaknesses and flaws in the probability and decision theory discussions within the Everett framework. ...
See here for my thoughts on this.
The origin of the Everettian heresy (see also Byrne's excellent biography of Everett).
... These efforts gave rise to a lively debate with the Copenhagen group, the existence and content of which have been only recently disclosed by the discovery of unpublished documents. The analysis of such documents opens a window on the conceptual background of Everett's proposal, and illuminates at the same time some crucial aspects of the Copenhagen view of the measurement problem. Also, it provides an original insight into the interplay between philosophical and social factors which underlay the postwar controversies on the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
... Here is a tentative chronology of the thesis versions and of the related papers:
(1a) Objective vs Subjective probability, short manuscript (first half of 1955).
(1b) Quantitative Measure of Correlation, short manuscript (summer 1955).
(1c) Probability in Wave Mechanics, short manuscript (summer 1955).
(2) Wave Mechanics Without Probability, second version of the dissertation (the long thesis) (winter 1955–1956), published as The Theory of the Universal Wave Function (1973).
(3) On the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, final dissertation (winter 1956–1957), published as ''Relative State'' Formulation of Quantum Mechanics (July 1957).
A Commentary on 'Common SNPs Explain a Large Proportion of the Heritability for Human Height' by Yang et al. (2010). (Ungated pdf.) Why do Visscher and company have to speak so slowly and enunciate so carefully in order to be understood?
During the refereeing process (the paper was rejected by two other journals before publication in Nature Genetics) and following the publication of Yang et al. (2010) it became clear to us that the methodology we applied, the interpretation of the results and the consequences of the findings on the genetic architecture of human height and that for other traits such as complex disease are not well understood or appreciated ...
Well before reading the Yang et al. paper, but after hearing much about "missing" heritability, I asked impatiently why GWAS researchers had not tried to make a global fit of total heritability, as opposed to searching for individual alleles. See also Heritability 2.0.
Turkheimer on heritability: Still Missing.
A century of familial studies of twins, siblings, parents and children, adoptees, and whole pedigrees has established beyond a shadow of a doubt that genes play a crucial role in the explanation of all human differences, from the medical to the normal, the biological to the behavioral ...
As a social scientist and twin researcher, I had to struggle with the biological and statistical genetics underlying the Yang et al. analyses, but the analysis of variance, the acausal "capturing" and "tracking" of one domain of variance with another came naturally to me. The situation was reversed for the geneticists who were the target audience of the paper: biologically based scientists, accustomed to genes that have an actual causal pathway to their outcomes. Over and above its technical brilliance, the real contribution of the Yang et al. article is to bring into focus this conceptual chasm between biological and quantitative genetics, and thus between the physical sciences and social science. Genomics is only now learning a hard lesson that social scientists had to learn a long time ago: sometimes prediction is just prediction. That is what the missing heritability problem is really about, and why it has not yet been solved
For more Turkheimer, see here. Note that although he emphasizes the difficulty of teasing out causality in a complex system, for some "engineering" applications (such as genetic engineering), prediction may be enough, as long as the correlations between genetic variant and phenotype are confirmed to be robust across a variety of environments. The specific causal mechanism is not as important as the ability to modify and control ;-)


text: Main Content Senate Bill 0197 (2009) rss? friendly link printer friendly Friendly Link: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2009-SB-0197 Sponsors Michelle McManus - (primary)John Pappageorge, Valde Garcia, Raymond Basham (click name to see bills sponsored by that person) Categories Family law: paternity; Family law; paternity; circumstances under which putative father may sue to establish paternity of a child born to a married woman; establish. Amends secs. 1, 4 & 6 of 1956 PA 205 (MCL 722.711 et seq.). Bill Documents Bill Document Formatting Information [x] The following bill formatting applies to the 2009-2010 session:- New language in an amendatory bill will be shown in BOLD AND UPPERCASE.- Language to be removed will be stricken.- Amendments made by the House will be blue with square brackets, such as: [House amended text].- Amendments made by the Senate will be red with double greater/lesser than symbols, such as: <<Senate amended text>>. (gray icons indicate that the action did not occur or that the document is not available) Documents Senate Introduced Bill Introduced bills appear as they were introduced and reflect no subsequent amendments or changes. As Passed by the Senate As Passed by the Senate is the bill, as introduced, that includes any adopted Senate amendments. As Passed by the House As Passed by the House is the bill, as received from the Senate, that includes any adopted House amendments. Senate Enrolled Bill Enrolled bill is the version passed in identical form by both houses of the Legislature. Bill Analysis Senate Fiscal Analysis COMMITTEE SUMMARY (Date Completed: 2-2-10)This document analyzes: SB0197 History (House actions in lowercase, Senate actions in UPPERCASE) NOTE: a page number of 1 indicates that the page number is soon to come. Date JournalAction 2/5/2009SJ 7 Pg. 123REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FAMILIES AND HUMAN SERVICES

subset: commoncrawl


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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE | August 28, 2011
Remedies for science's shortage of superheroes
Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
DENVER, Aug. 28, 2011 — One of the most serious personnel shortages in the global science and engineering workforce — numbering more than 20 million in the United States alone — involves a scarcity of real-life versions of Superman, Superwoman and other superheroes and superheroines with charm, charisma, people skills and communication skills.
That's the premise behind an unusual symposium occurring here today at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world largest scientific society. Entitled "Empowering Tomorrow's Science Super Heroes," it opens a discussion on how to give scientists a touch of the panache of the stock comic book and Hollywood characters who worked for the public good.
"We are seeking ways to equip scientists to better communicate and connect with the rest of society," said Donna J. Nelson, Ph.D., an organizer of the session. It is among events at the meeting, which includes more than 7,500 scientific presentations, initiated by Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D., ACS president. "The well-equipped superhero and superheroine has the communications skills to explain their work and the wonder and importance of science in an understandable way," Nelson explained. "They have an awareness of public policy, how science connects with societal issues and even the ability to use a bit of humor."
Nelson, who is with the University of Oklahoma and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said those skills add up to super-hero-level leaders who can inspire students, build public support for science and engage in key public policy decisions. Three of her models for science superheroes are the late Richard E. Smaley, Ph.D.; Harold Kroto, Ph.D.; and Robert F. Curl, Ph.D., who shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. "All three have been great organizers and leaders with superb social skills and just the kind of people to get kids interested in a career in science," Nelson said.
Nelson also praised the Ig Nobel Prize, a parody of the Nobel Prizes, presented each year just before the real Nobels, but for 10 unusual or trivial "achievements" in scientific research. The self- proclaimed aim of the prizes is to "first make people laugh, and then make them think."
In addition to a presentation on the Ig Nobel Prize, the superheroes event will include speakers from NOVA's public scientific information outreach, science cafes, science festivals and other projects that accomplish the superhero mission.
Presentations in the superheroes symposium with summaries of the presentations include:
- Science outreach: Demonstrating the value of science. Jennifer Larese, NOVA Outreach Coordinator. As individuals, people learn in slightly different manners and at different rates of speed. As informal science educators, scientists have a unique opportunity to use a variety of formats, experiences and media to engage and excite their audiences. Today there are countless new electronic media tools being created, almost daily. This presentation will briefly cover science outreach as a transmedia opportunity to connect with the public.
- Infusing moving media into instruction. Janet English, Instructor, El Toro High School, Mission Viejo, Calif. The main job for movie and TV superheroes is to save the world, and this is why many consider scientists superheroes. There are numerous ways that chemists and other scientists can affect children's learning and help promote a love of science. The media also can play a pivotal role in students' learning, and teachers can discuss how the media is used (or not used) in a thought-provoking way in the classroom. Scientists also can contribute to improving the mass media and how they can be role models for children.
- Creative engagement at science cafes. John Cohen., M.D., University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Immunology, Denver. A CafÉ Scientifique brings a scientist to talk directly with the public in pleasant relaxed surroundings. PowerPoint is banned to encourage dialog, rather than a lecture. There is no moderator, so the conversation finds its correct level without imposed dumbing-down. Speakers frequently say that talking at the CafÉ Sci was one of the best experiences of their career. So do audiences and organizers.
- Here come the Science Festivals! Kishore Hari, Director, Bay Area Science Festival. There are many ways that science festivals are raising awareness about a tremendous grassroots movement to celebrate and elevate science. Science festivals hope to rally whole communities to celebrate science as alive and local. Festivals aim to inspire youth to consider science studies and careers, and adults to cultivate a life-long interest in science and technology.
- The Ig Nobel Prize: Never dull, never boring awards in chemistry. Marc Abrahams, Editor, Annals of Improbable Research. The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think. Every year since 1991, 10 new prizes have been awarded in chemistry, physics and other fields. The winners journey to Harvard University for the gala ceremony in which genuine Nobel laureates shake their hands and hand them their prizes. The "Igs" have spawned live shows worldwide and video features. They celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology.
Media Contact
During the meeting, Aug. 25-Sept. 1, the contacts can be reached at: 303-228-8532
Michael Bernstein
Michael Woods


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Jackson ponders the merit of continuing dam debate
Jackson County commissioners are weighing whether to continue a four-year fight against Duke Energy or cut their losses and bow out.
"Sooner or later we have to come to the realization that this may be futile. We have to decide how much more of this can we stand," said Commissioner Tom Massie.
Duke's federal permits to harness the power of the Tuckasegee River with a series of six dams are up for renewal. To get new permits, Duke is required to provide environmental and recreational benefits to the public.
Jackson County leaders are unhappy with the mitigation Duke proposed and hopes to extract more. The county has argued its point before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for four years now.
"They (Duke) are generating a significant sum of money off a public resource for a privately owned utility. The question was were we getting a fair shake?" Massie said. Massie broached the topic at the county commissioners meeting Monday (Dec. 17).
While the commissioners seem to be losing whatever hope they had left, they also seem reluctant to give up the cause and yield to what they see as an injustice perpetrated on the people of Jackson County by Duke.
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"It is about the use of the river and an adequate payment to the people of Jackson County who own the river," Commissioner Brian McMahan said.
To Massie, that was justification enough for the county's position and expense fighting Duke thus far. The river is a public resource, and the commissioners' job is looking out for the public's best interest.
"I have thought all along it was a battle worth fighting, even though I knew all along it was an uphill fight," Massie said.
If the county does not get a fair shake from Duke now, it won't get another chance for at least 30 years, and possibly as many as 50. That's how long Duke's new dam permits will be good for. Duke won't have to produce a mitigation package again until the next time the permits come up for renewal — possibly not for another 50 years, Massie said.
"It has a significant impact for a generation," Massie said.
That said, commissioners questioned the wisdom of continuing the fight.
"We fought the good fight, but sooner or later we are going to have to make a decision whether the perceived benefits we can win from this case are less than the costs we are having to spend from the taxpayers' treasure to do this," Massie said. "We are getting very close to that point."
The county has spent nearly $170,000 fighting Duke, primarily on legal fees. The work has mostly entailed filing lengthy arguments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The federal energy commission decides how much mitigation the people of Jackson County are owed for the use of the Tuckasegee River by Duke.
But so far, the energy commission has consistently sided with Duke and denied Jackson County's arguments.
"We have lost at every turn in this process," Massie said
The energy commission has given Duke what it wanted — requiring nothing more in the form of mitigation than what Duke proposed. The centerpiece of Duke's proposal is tearing down the Dillsboro dam, restoring a section of free-flowing river and benefiting both river recreation and the environment.
"It has come to the point where we have come to the end of the path and there are no other steps we can take," McMahan said.
The last recourse is taking Duke to federal court.
Commissioners wondered whether they have the money or stamina it would take to sue Duke Energy. Massie seemed to think the answer is "no."
"I don't see that there is a whole lot more we can do," Massie said. "The taxpayers of Jackson County can't compete with a corporation bringing in billions of dollars on an annual basis. What are the probabilities of being successful in this?"
Commissioners are turning to their D.C. lawyer, Paul Nolan, for an answer to that question. Nolan will appear before the commissioners on Jan. 17.
"Let's wait and talk with him and see what his position is now in terms of our chances realistically," said Commissioner Joe Cowan.
Mark Singleton, a Jackson County resident and also the director of the national paddling organization American Whitewater, thinks the county has spent far too much fighting Duke already.
"It seems to be a huge misappropriation of county resources," Singleton said. Singleton has two children at Fairview Elementary, which has failed the federal No Child Left Behind standards, and would rather see the money go to education.
"There is so much they could have done with that money that would have helped to get the county out of a cycle of low performance in the education system," Singleton said.
American Whitewater supports Duke's mitigation proposal for the additional paddling opportunities it will provide.
Sam Fowlkes, another Jackson resident, also questioned the money spent fighting Duke and whether it was truly the will of the people.
"I wonder what poll this was based on," Fowlkes said.
McMahan put the county's expense fighting Duke in context by bringing up the value of the Dillsboro dam — an asset the county would come to own if it is successful.
"We have to look at what we can pay, but we also have to look at what is the Dillsboro dam worth to Jackson County. I know it has a value of actual bricks and mortar, but it also has a value as far a historical and sentimental value," McMahan said. "That is going to be the driving factor for me when deciding whether it is worth the expenditure of funds."
But the dam isn't the only asset that should have a value assigned to it, Massie countered.
"It is not just about the Dillsboro dam," Massie said. "To me it is about the value of the public resources that Duke Energy is allowed to use."
McMahan said the fight is also about green energy. The Dillsboro dam provides sustainable energy, which is becoming increasingly important to society and the planet, McMahan said.
Commissioner Mark Jones agreed. Jones said the fight to save the dam is Jackson County's contribution to a much larger movement — one to preserve the environment for future generations.
"I think the energy argument is very important," Jones said.
The commissioners agreed on another thing: the issue is complicated and confusing even for them, let alone the public who likely knows even less about what the county has been doing in the fight against Duke. The commissioners said that Attorney Paul Nolan's presentation on January 7 should shed light on that for the public. But whether the commissioners can expect an honest assessment of their chances of winning a federal case against Duke from the lawyer that stands to benefit if they keep fighting is unclear.
McMahan agreed.
"We have a lot to think about," he said.


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Selected resources including high quality and relevant information for Australians with bleeding disorders affected by hepatitis C:
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text: Critical Essays The Role of Language and the Act of Writing Newspeak, the "official" language of Oceania, functions as a devise of extreme Party control: If the Party is able to control thought, it can also control action. In the year 1984, Newspeak is not fully employed, and for good reason; we would not understand the novel otherwise. However, Orwell makes certain to choose a date, 2050, when Newspeak will be the only language anyone will understand. Even though the year 1984 has passed, the book is still timely due to Orwell's vision and foresight. The decline of language troubled Orwell, who was a writer with political and historical agendas. If language could change for the worse, then truth could change into lies, and that was something that Orwell fought against, both in his personal life and in his writing.


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This is What it Takes to be Approved for a Mortgage
Everything is coming up roses for homebuyers this season. Mortgage rates are falling, home prices are stagnant, and the nation's biggest banks have stopped tightening mortgage guidelines.
Mortgage guidelines (finally!) loosening
Each quarter the Federal Reserve issues a comprehensive survey to its member banks regarding market conditions and current bank lending practices. The survey specifically addresses residential mortgage lending.
Last quarter, for the second straight quarter, just two "big banks" reported a tightening of their respective prime mortgage lending standards. Every other bank either left guidelines unchanged, or loosened them a bit.
This is a major reversal from just three years ago when nearly all banks were tightening lending standards.
What does this mean for you? For homebuyers and would-be refinancers, it may lead to simpler and quicker mortgage approvals for the rest of this year, and beyond.
Keys to mortgage approval: The big three
It is important that you do not confuse "loosening" lending standards for "easy mortgage money." Banks are still careful about what they lend and who they lend to.
Today's mortgage approvals carry three basic requirements:
1. You must have equity
2. You must have income
3. You must have credit
You must put money down
Granted, there are specific loan programs through the VA and the USDA for which no-equity mortgages (no money down) are still available, but 100% mortgage loans are in the extreme minority. Most loans today require some equity, and the minimum equity standards are higher today than at any time in recent history.
That income better be documented
As compared to five years ago, income hurdles are higher, too.
Mortgage applicants must now meet strict debt-to-income limits, often set to 45%. This means that your monthly debts--housing costs, bills, etc.--may not exceed 45% of your documented monthly income. Lenders will verify this income via your federal tax returns.
A crafty accountant may help you at tax time, but he will not be doing you any favors with respect to your next loan application. No documented income, no approval.
Stellar credit could save you thousands
Lastly, there is the issue of credit.
Mortgages are readily available today with credit scores as low as 600, but the available interest rates are awful as compared to an applicant with credit scores in the low 700s. Banks give the best rates to applicants with credit scores over 740.
Want the best mortgage rates? You need all three
You will not get great mortgage rates simply by putting a lot of money down, or earning more than 99% of the U.S. population. The best mortgage rates are reserved for applicants that show strength across all three categories--not just one.
You will need sizable equity, strong income, and high credit scores to be considered a "prime" applicant. This will get you access to a bank's lowest mortgage rates, and make your underwriting as quick and simple as possible.
You will also want to avoid these eight things that will sabotage your mortgage.
Going forward, expect mortgage guidelines to loosen even more around the edges, opening doors to more homes for more applicants nationwide. For now, though, take what the market gives you.
Mortgage rates are great, homes are affordable, and approvals are (more) plentiful.
The original article can be found at HSH.com:This is What it Takes to be Approved for a Mortgage
Related Links


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Creation Date
Oral History | Viticulture and Oenology
Paul van der Veldt is photographed during an oral history interview at Shallon Winery in Astoria, Oregon on March 30, 2017. van der Veldt was interviewed by Linfield College archivist Rich Schmidt.
Paul van der Veldt is the founder and owner of Shallon Winery in Astoria, Oregon. Before van der Veldt bought the building and remodeled it to become Shallon Winery in 1978, it served as a bicycle shop for several years; it had previously been an automotive showroom for Packard, Pontiac, and Oakland automobiles, as well as a refrigerated locker rental business. A commercial winemaker for more than 30 years, van der Veldt's winery is a single-man operation, making it one of the smallest wine businesses in Oregon.
Collection Credit
Oregon Wine History Archive. Jereld R. Nicholson Library. Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.
Recommended Citation
Linfield College Archives, "Paul van der Veldt Interview 06" (2017). Browse All Oregon Oral History Interview Photos. Image. Submission 29.


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Pinnacle Auto Appraisers knows that for some of our clients the type of car, or the type of insurance may be difficult to pinpoint. We have decided to provided a comprehensive list of car manufacturers and insurance companies that service the United States. We do not endorse or use any one insurance company or particular auto maker. This is here as a resource for our customers who may need to find a particular vehicle or insurance to help assist in diminished value, appraisals, and finding a reputable certified person.
Pinnacle Auto Appraisers-
List of Car Manufacturers
As a courtesy to our customers, we have assembled the following list of car manufacturers for easy access to research and information on virtually all car makes and models.*
List of United States Insurance Companies
As a courtesy to our customers, we have assembled the following list of insurance manufacturers for easy access to research and information.*


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Brandon and I have just finished transferring all of our CDs into slim CD sleeves. We kept the specially packaged discs as-is, but I wish we had switched out the generic plastic cases long ago because getting rid of them was a fantastic way to condense our collection!
I know many people keep their discs in binders or just go completely digital, but CD sleeves work best for us. Yes, we've imported a lot of our music into iTunes, but there is something to be said for being able to grab an obscure CD and pop it into the stereo rather than having to update a playlist and resync the iPod.
Organizing our collection this way allows for easy expansion while still keeping it all alphabetical. We also like that we can keep a handful of discs by the stereo safe in their sleeves, rather than having them sit out unprotected as they would be had we grabbed them from a binder. We ordered from JewelSleeve after Ana mentioned them when I asked for CD storage advice. Brandon and I love that the sleeves can hold the booklet and the tray card, leaving the spine with the artist and album title visible for easy browsing. If you're looking for CD sleeves, I highly recommend them!
We're storing all of our CDs, DVDs, and video games (we have a lot of media) in three hopen drawer units in Brandon's office.
They look great and they're working well for us, but I do have one complaint; the drawers don't open fully and it's hard to see what's at the back. To counteract this, we placed blocks at the back to push the CDs forward. The blocks are made of 5″ wide boards of thick foam-core (available in craft stores), stacked up to make 3″ tall blocks. Then I cut single strips of thin foam-core to separate each row of CDs, keeping our rows nice and neat.
The random stacks of CDs that we didn't have room for are gone now. All of our discs (1500 or so) fit nicely into four drawers, and it feels so good to have solved one of our biggest storage dilemmas.


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The Rutland Regional Medical center is hoping to open a methadone clinic by fall.
Last week the hospital's board of directors voted to move forward with a state Department of Health plan to open a drug treatment center that police and health officials say is needed to treat people addicted to heroin and prescription painkillers.
Hospital spokeswoman Priscilla Latkin says the target date is Oct. 1
The facility will open with enough staff to handle 400 people a year but will probably not come close to that number of patients during its first 12 months in operation.
Deputy Health Commissioner Barbara Cimaglio tells the Rutland Herald enabling people to be treated locally will allow them to get jobs and be productive citizens.


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LONDON: The Football Association is set to consult fans before deciding whether to accept a proposal to rename Hull City as 'Hull Tigers' from the start of next season.
Hull owner Assem Allam has met with fierce opposition from supporters ever since he first mooted the idea of ditching the 109-year-old moniker of Hull City AFC in the summer.
But the Egyptian businessman, who has invested around £70million in the club since he bought it on the brink of administration in 2010, insists the rebranding process will increase commercial interest overseas and help draw new sponsorship.
In the face of strong opposition, Hull have formally applied to the FA to adopt Hull Tigers as the team's playing name, and opponents to the change may be boosted by confirmation that the governing body intends to include fans in its deliberation process.
A statement released on Thursday evening read: "The FA can confirm that it has received a request from Hull City to change its playing name to Hull Tigers from season 2014/15.
"Requests to change a playing name of a club are considered under FA Rule A3 (l) and require the prior written permission of the FA Council.
"As part of the evaluation of the request a consultation process will be undertaken with various stakeholders including supporter groups.
"At present the FA is not able to provide a timescale for the completion of the consultation process and does not expect to make any further comment until the assessment of the request has been completed."
It seems certain that supporter group will make their opposition to the change plain, with the City Till We Die organisation having earlier issued its own statement calling on the FA to reject Allam's application.
It read: "We remain confident that, with the eyes of the whole footballing world upon them, the FA will make the right decision, and act to protect not only the heritage and traditions of Hull City AFC, but also those of other clubs whose identities may come under threat in the future.
"This issue matters for all football supporters, not just the people of Hull, and the decision the FA makes will set a very important precedent."
Manager Steve Bruce has become increasingly frustrated with the situation as the season has progressed, with the row often overshadowing a highly impressive return to the top flight.
Although the FA said no timeframe had yet been set for a decision, Bruce appeared to believe no verdict would be forthcoming before April and pleaded for all concerned to get behind the team until that time.
He said: "The application has been done. It's been lodged and I can ask of the supporters is to get behind the team. We're not going to hear the decision until April. As far as I'm concerned let's all get on with it and see what the FA come up with.
"Anything else just gets in the road of my important job which is to beat Stoke on Saturday. I hope now for the next five months it goes away. The job is hard enough as a newly promoted team. The last thing we want as a team is to have distractions and to get embroiled in things us as a team can't do anything about.
"I think the fans are delighted with everything that's going on at the club – in terms of on the pitch – and it's important it stays that way."
Supporters Direct believe the club's fans are justified in making their dissent public.
A spokesman said: "As an organisation, Supporters Direct believes that football clubs are something different, something special. The relationship between fans and their clubs transcends normal loyalties. So, like most of you, we've been angry at what is happening at Hull City AFC.
"The very identity of football clubs, and their fans and communities, are simply too important to be entrusted to temporary owners, who are generally more interested in what they can take out of a club rather than what they can put back in, and whose decision-making does not take account of the wider interests of those who count their loyalty in tens of years and generations."
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A grand jury has chosen not to indict the deeply tanned New Jersey mother who faced child endangerment charges last year for allegedly bringing her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth.
Patricia Krentcil, 44, said she felt vindicated by their decision but remained angry by the public attention.
"What this world did in this past year was make a mockery of me, and I don't appreciate that," Krentcil told reporters in front of her home Tuesday.
The Nutley, N.J. mother was arrested in April 2012 after staff members at her daughter's school noticed burn marks on the girl's legs and overheard her telling classmates she "went tanning with Mommy."
Krentcil said her daughter's burn came from the sun on an unusually warm day and that she would never take the girl into a tanning booth.
Krentcil, who is bronzed-colored from frequent tanning, had pleaded not guilty. Though she said she was innocent of the charge, she admitted to excessive tanning herself.
She claimed Tuesday that many pictures of her in the media were manipulated to make her look more tan than she was, saying they were "painted."
Krentcil told NBC 4 New York last year she treated her tanning salon trips as an errand in which she brings along her daughter, but insisted the booth lights were never exposed to the girl.
"It's like taking your daughter to go food shopping," she said. "There's tons of moms that bring their children in."
"I tan, she doesn't tan," she continued. "I'm in the booth, she's in the room. That's all there is to it."
It's against New Jersey law for anyone under 14 to use a tanning booth.
Assistant prosecutor Gina Iosim, who presented the case to the grand jury, said her office respected the grand jury's decision.
Krentcil has been free on $25,000 bail since her arrest, and her daughter remained in her and her husband's custody as the grand jury heard the case.
Krentcil told a magazine last August she planned to tan less zealously, and while she appeared paler Tuesday, she admitted she was still visiting the tanning salon.
"I like to tan, and I don't think that's a crime," she said. "I'm still going to tan and I don't care what anyone has to say."
Krenctil's husband said the family has had to spend money on lawyers while fighting the case and that he's lost his job as a result of the media attention.
Rich Krentcil said he's "hoping it all goes away," but his wife said she's pursuing several opportunities.
"I'm going to probably go to London and get a flat, because I have a lot of modeling jobs," she said.


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Below you can find an interview with KJ Bishop, an author who wrote the novel The Etched City. I hope these questions will help you understand her better, and if not yet, make you interested in her works.
Tell us a bit about yourself - how did you become the person and the writer that you are today?
That's rather hard to answer. Wishing to be not just one person; to wriggle out of the confines of one flesh, one gender, one set of social circumstances, the thoughts of one mind only. A lifelong desire to shapeshift. I did this all my life, but it manifested in writing comparatively late.
Who were some of the authors you were reading growing up and what influence, if any, did they have on your decision to write the types of stories that you write?
As a kid I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, but it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I read things that made me want to write--M. John Harrison's 'Viriconium' stories, Jeffrey Ford's 'The Physiognomy', and a bunch of decadent 19th century books that I got into at university. Those books opened my eyes to the wider possibilities of fantasy. And Michael Moorcock - I hugely admire his work, especially the way he marries mature ideas with adventurous stories.
What is the story behind the writing of The Etched City and are there many, if any, differences between the Prime edition and the Bantom reissue a couple years later?
The differences between the two editions are all small stuff – words here and there, a couple of paragraphs; the Bantam edition had some extra copy editing.
The book grew organically out of a pile of other things. I'd been writing bits and pieces about Gwynn, but the book didn't get legs until Raule appeared in my head. But even then, it was my third or fourth attempt at writing something about her. (Originally she was a somewhat different woman, called Odile, who still lives in my head and should have a book of her own one day.) She brought the Copper Country with her and guided me into the novel - then sort of wandered off, leaving me to deal with the sordid complications of Gwynn's life!
How did you come up with the characters of Gwynn and the Rev and is there any chance of us seeing them in other works of yours?
Gwynn was in my mind for a long time. I think he started out as a cross between David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Richard E. Grant as Withnail. He went through a lot of cosmetic changes before he became the character in the book, but he's always been basically the same guy at heart. In fact, I don't think I did come up with him; he came up with himself – probably thousands of years before I was born.
The Rev also pretty much came up with himself, although physically he somewhat resembles the priest at my old school, who was a former wrestler and had a rough-around-the-edges look.
Seeing them again? Never say never. Both of them are still in my mind, and I think they were a good sort of odd couple. Maybe one day I'll do a sort of 'Closing Time' featuring Gwynn as the feral old rake he's probably doomed to become.
What are you working on at this moment and is there a chance you could tell us a little bit about what to expect form you in the coming years?
I've learned not to talk about it - talking about current work always seems to jinx it. But I hope I'll do a lot of different things, both fantasy and mainstream.
You've worked as a graphic design artist in addition to being a writer. To what degree is there a synergy between those two fields?
I don't do commercial art anymore, but I still draw for my own pleasure. Sometimes things draw themselves, and some of them give me ideas for my writing. My drawing-brain seems to go places my writing-brain doesn't, and vice versa.
Your website states that you are currently living in Thailand where you are teaching English. Has your experience in Bangkok influenced your perceptions of the world and perhaps infiltrated into your fictional writing?
Thailand's a very interesting place. Although it's becoming a more secular country, there's still plenty of belief in gods, spirits and magic. And Bangkok is a kind of cheerfully decadent place - at least, expat life here is a bit that way. I don't think it has so much influenced my perceptions of the world as provided me with a physical environment that gets along rather well with my imagination.
There's an adage that states that no writer is writing in a vacuum. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement in regards to your own writing?
In my case it's completely true. I'm like a sponge. I'm aware that I soak things up and use them - sometimes changing them, sometimes not. I don't think anyone does anything in a vacuum - and I don't know how anyone could imagine that any artist could work in a vacuum. The Author has been dead for quite a while now. I've always felt that my ideas, and characters, come from somewhere outside myself. That may or may not be true, but the feeling certainly precludes any sense of being in a vacuum.
The last question is the traditional question of the OF: If you were to own several monkeys and/or midgets, how many would you own, and what would you name them?
I would own a hundred monkeys, give them a hundred typewriters, and let them go for it. I would name them all William Shakespeare. I would own seven midgets to look after the monkeys, and I would name them Wrathful, Horny, Greedy Guts, Jealous, Vain, Lazy, and Capitalist.
Well, that is it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this interview.
Then and Now #62 (18/2/24 - 25/2/24)
2 days ago


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Sacrifice theme returns to US politics
The notion of sacrifice – asking Americans to give something up for a greater good – appears to be coming back into political vogue after decades of being seen as a poison pill.
Both major-party presidential candidates are emphasizing the need for individuals to shoulder responsibility for changing the direction of the United States, though they do so in different ways.
Personal sacrifice and service to the nation are central themes of John McCain's candidacy. His campaign motto sums it up: "Country First."
On the stump, Barack Obama cites the merits of sacrifice, calling it central to patriotism and urging Americans to help change the country's direction – whether by turning off the television so children can study or by supporting higher taxes for wealthy corporations and individuals.
Both candidates have also called for expanded national service programs and lamented the Bush administration's failure to tap the outpouring of civic and patriotic sentiment after the 9/11 attacks.
Not since President John Kennedy urged Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" has the rhetoric of sacrifice sat this well with the public. Concern that the US confronts a huge crisis in the form of a global financial meltdown, plus an untapped desire since 9/11 to help the nation more, makes the public more receptive to the idea that sacrifice can be noble instead of just inconvenient.
"Americans are ready to sacrifice, and they have a whole history of doing it," says pollster John Zogby, author of "The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream."
Americans have long honored the sacrifice of its warriors. During World War II, average Americans also stepped up, planting victory gardens, buying war bonds, and recycling rubbish for the war effort.
They paid more taxes, too. The Revenue Act of 1942 subjected millions to the income tax for the first time. Most seemed not to mind. In 1944, 90 percent said the amount of income tax they paid was "fair," according to Joseph Thorndike, coauthor of "War and Taxes" and a visiting scholar at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
"The federal government launched an all-out campaign to market the new tax changes, including Disney-produced animated shorts featuring Donald Duck touting the importance of 'taxes to beat the Axis!' " Dr. Thorndike writes in the book.
But in the past four decades, asking voters to sacrifice has been fraught with political risk. Just ask Walter Mondale. When the former vice president became the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984, the US faced a budget deficit of about $180 billion, considered massive at the time. During his nominating speech, Mr. Mondale decided to tell Americans what he believed had to be done.
"Let's tell the truth,..." he told Democratic conventiongoers in San Francisco. "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."
That was supposed to distinguish Mondale as the "honest" candidate. Instead, President Ronald Reagan and his political team characterized it as a "pledge" by Mondale to raise taxes. On Election Day, Mondale lost all but one state and the District of Columbia.
Previously, President Jimmy Carter hadn't fared well either when asking for sacrifice. When the 1979 energy crisis hit, he called it a "moral equivalent of war," famously donned a cardigan, and asked Americans to turn down their thermostats. He was not reelected.
"Sacrifice has kind of a bad name when it's applied to the American people. We like to remember that we've sacrificed ... – but in terms of asking people for sacrifice, that's the sign to a lot of people of a liberal," says Mark Leff, a historian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign."But the political discourse seems to be shifting."
In his research, Mr. Zogby identifies what he calls "four meta-movements that separately and together are redefining the American dream." Top on the list is living with limits (followed by embracing diversity, looking inward, and demanding authenticity).
If Americans are more receptive to the idea that they, personally, will be called upon to make sacrifices, it may be because the nation's problems loom so large. The US is involved in two wars abroad and is reeling from a financial crisis, the depths of which are still unknown. More than 80 percent of Americans say the US has veered off track; to some, dangerously so. At times of crisis, historians say, citizens tend to respond to leadership that involves them in solving the problems.
"There's some recognition of the country being under threat and being challenged and wanting to step up to it," says Lewis Feldstein of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. "Obama is responding and generating and evoking this. I also feel there's some of that in McCain's rhetoric as well, with his 'Country First' [motto]."
Obama often invokes the "decent, generous" nature of Americans and their willingness to "sacrifice for future generations."
"Patriotism must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice – to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause," he said in Florida in June.
When introducing McCain, his wife, Cindy, often praises his history of "sacrifice and service" as a prisoner of war and refers to him as "the man who taught me about selfless sacrifice." At a September event in New York on the importance of national service, McCain explained his views this way:
"The best way to commemorate and to show our appreciation – and love and sympathy for the families of those who've sacrificed – is to serve our country...."
A key to public acceptance is how sacrifice is characterized. Mr. Carter's initial calls to sacrifice were successful, Zogby argues. "We did put sweaters on, and we did turn our thermostats down. But then he turned it into a malaise and blamed the victim, which didn't cut it."
Americans have been cranky about high gasoline prices this summer and Congress's vote to spend billions to bail out troubled banks. But the credit crunch, plummeting stock market, and risk of severe recession have been sobering. "Now somebody has to connect it and say, 'There's more sacrifice to come, but now it's for something better – a better nation,' " Zogby says.
Of the two candidates, some analysts say, Obama has been more effective in evoking sacrifice than has McCain, who relies on his own history to stand as an example in itself.
"Obama's goal is to look more like Franklin Roosevelt," says Darrell West, director of governance at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "We faced a real challenge in the 1930s, and people ... were willing to sacrifice because they knew the future of the country depended on it.
Obama has to basically say, 'We're facing a crisis on the level of the Great Depression, and we're going to have to make sacrifices if we're going to solve this.' "
When McCain talks about sacrifice, it's usually in terms of national security. He has also said a "call to serve" will be central to his administration. But on the campaign trail, the Republican candidate has shied away from asking average people to sacrifice directly. Some analysts see his attack on Obama for "redistributing the wealth" as a kind of code for "Obama will ask you to sacrifice your money" – something that has never played well politically.
"What McCain's doing is saying, 'You mean that anybody is supposed to give anything up for anything else? That's not what we do,' " says Professor Leff. "Sacrifice is OK and absolutely legit if you're talking about soldiers, but that's it."
Whichever candidate is elected Tuesday, levels of public involvement in the campaign so far and high voter turnout could indicate a fundamental change in American political discourse and expectations.
"We may be on the verge of a substantial shift in ... the political dialogue and rhetoric that dominate American politics," says Dr. Thorndike, the "War and Taxes" coauthor, in an interview. "We have a real crisis right now that presents an opening for someone who knows how to rally the country in pursuit of a common objective."


text:
Pumpkin Cake
- 1 box Duncan Hines Golden Butter cake mix
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
- ½ cup milk
- ⅓ cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Remaining can of pumpkin
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 container (8 ounces) Cool Whip
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
- ¼ cup Hershey caramel topping
Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and set aside.
Mix together cake mix, milk, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and only 1 cup of the pumpkin.
Pour in cake pans equally and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from cake pans onto cooling rack. Cool completely and cut layers in half giving you four layers.
In a mixing bowl, mix remaining pumpkin and cream cheese. Continue mixing adding powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spices and Cool Whip; mix until creamy and fluffy. Stack cake layers with this mixture between each layer, then ice the sides. Do not ice top of cake! Pour caramel sauce on top layer and let it drizzle down sides of cake.


text: That is what I have been asked and asking for years, For as long as I can remember I have felt tired, I have been sick in the spring and in the fall. Many times winding up in the hospital with everything from Pneumonia and what the doctors called Prostitus (Terrible bleeding in the bladder is what I called it.) After getting sober in 1997 I steadily felt better but then I started to get very sick again. Always tired and when in the sun extremely tired to the point of almost falling asleep while driving. Two sleep tests showed nothing. Terrible depression, Welbutrin helped a little but was not an answer. I ate and ate and ate and was still hungry and not gaining weight. These symptoms went on for two years after a friend told me of Dr.Horning. And my reply was that I was going to exhaust all "mainstream medical" efforts before I tried him. Waiting was a big mistake. The final symptom was sleeping for eight ten twelve hours and waking up like I hadn't slept and worse I had what I would describe as a terrible hang over. Like I would get after drinking all night no kidding, and I had a lot of those nights and morning in my drinking career. For a sober alcoholic this was maddening. I got to the point that I wasn't able to turn my head more that ten degrees right or left. And all the time my friend kept telling me about Dr. Horning and how he could help well I finally came to see him and within less than a week he had me sleeping through the night and within less than a month I could turn my head. I no longer have trouble sleeping and found out that I had a systemic yeast infection and parasites. Something that all the blood tests that my doctor did missed and Dr. Horning found in one session my allergies are for the most part gone as long as I stay away from the foods that set them off. I no longer suffer from urinary tract infections at the drop of a hat no more burning. No more eating and still feeling hungry. For me listening to my friend about Dr. Horning was the best thing that I could have done for myself I only wish that I had listened sooner. Like maybe when I was a kid !!!!! P.H.


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The Behance Blog
Stillpower: The True Path to Flow, Clarity, and Responsiveness
Williams' approach wasn't about creating a grueling workout regimen to achieve a particular goal. It was something simpler: he just enjoyed the ongoing process of mastering the nuances of hitting. And with this mindset, he was able to accomplish, over 19 seasons, what so many players before and since can only dream about.While conventional wisdom would likely argue that Williams' work ethic was the distinguishing factor, sports guru and author Garret Kramer has a different theory about what separates great performers. Kramer believes that the classic "grind it out" mentality that we're taught at a young age actually prevents athletes from realizing their potential - and he's betting it's impacting your performance at work, too.
As a consultant to athletes ranging from high school amateurs to acclaimed Olympians, Kramer has counseled the best as they struggled and succeeded. Over 20 years, these insights led him to write the book Stillpower: The Inner Source of Athletic Excellence.
We sat down with Garret for a discussion about what athletics can teach us about getting in the zone, letting go of keeping score, and enjoying the journey.
From your experience, what makes for a great competitor?
I truly believe the finest competitors in every sport, or in life, play the game with what I call stillpower not with willpower. This understanding is key to success. What I mean is that despite the desire to win, these competitors remain open to all possible outcomes; win or lose, they know they'll be perfectly okay. What arises out of this is a level of consciousness that let's them excel. They see opportunities, follow their passions, and feel an ease in their day-to-day lives. They're simply following their instincts.
Is this the infamous "in the zone" state that we hear so much about?
Let's be clear about this. The zone is not about trying hard. You can't force it. The zone feels effortless because you're operating at a higher state of consciousness. Although athletes in the zone are incredibly locked in, their focus is never forced.
Same thing goes at work. You've never had to push hard to find a great insight. If you think on your best performances or purest experiences in life, were you trying to exert a force on it? Most of the athletes I work with tell me that when they find the zone they simply "let go" and just absorb themselves in the present moment. It's a selfless experience.
What do you tell them when they fall out of this state?
The answer will always be found in simplicity. The reason athletes (and all of us for that matter) struggle is that the quality of our thinking has declined. When that happens, we revert to the intellect for the answers and the intellect will always overcomplicate things.Now, since we've been taught to grind it out, we force it. But, from this low state of mind, we're not capable of finding answers, so our quality of thought continues to drop down as we struggle. But what if we simply took our foot off the gas pedal? Our thoughts and mood would settle, and we would see the same challenges as opportunities. The insights start to flow again, so answers become obvious.
Once you grasp that fundamental concept you realize that willpower will not help you. You're not capable in the moment. The more we try to control our effort (or our thoughts about effort), the more we tend to get in our own way - and reduce our odds for success.
So I encourage my clients to step back and use a term I call "stillpower," which means don't push ahead but rather be still. The feelings that come will be of ease, clarity, and responsiveness.
It sounds crazy. I mean, do nothing? Yes. Do not make any decisions from a low mindset - just be still.
How do you help athletes handle negativity in their thinking?
Well, the worst thing we can do is try and fix the negative thought. Which, by the way, is a productive thing. It's just thought. There is no reality to it. Understand what really is happening. A thought produces a feeling which produces a mood. The feeling is a navigational instrument. It's telling us we're not seeing it clearly.The worst thing is to wage war on this. It's normal to think negatively. That sign is there to guide you and if that was the right move to make you wouldn't be feeling that way. You would feel free. You would feel enthused. You would feel passion. You would feel determination.
So, a negative thought is a great thing. Why would you ever want to mess with your own mind's ability to direct you?
What about setting goals?
The worst thing an athlete can ever do is be focused. It shrinks the perceptual field and narrows options. Instead, we want awareness. Awareness expands possibilities. So, when someone sets a goal they've eliminated all sorts of possibilities for their growth. Their level of self-worth doesn't rise when they get to the goal either. Now, of course we all want to win but let's not intentionally limit our own awareness by narrowing in on a goal. It's totally unproductive for our lives.
That reminds of Steve Jobs' famous commencement address at Stanford, and how his life only made sense in the rearview mirror.
Yes. Such a great way to look at it. We don't notice true change until after it happens. True change isn't willful. It's so fluent and intuitive that we don't even realize it happened. That goes back to letting our feelings be our barometer and letting our passions and creativity guide us.
Do you see any parallels with coaching and leadership?
Absolutely. To effectively engage someone, you must be operating from a higher level of consciousness than the other person at that moment. I often advise coaches that this understanding supersedes any other requirement if they are to provide enduring guidance, recommendations, or love.The next time a coach or manager feels the urge to provide guidance or discipline, please understand that what comes out of their mouth is much less significant than the level of mental functioning from which the words are spoken.
The best coaches refuse to operate from ego or insecurity and instead are willing to consider that a player's perspective might indeed have some added value. Many fail to recognize that the most innovative teams (companies and societies as well) actually encourage individuals to express their views respectfully. Such teams have learned that personal ownership in the greater good will foster the free will that is paramount to success.
What message do you try and leave your athletes with?
No matter the circumstance, when fearful thoughts appear, remember: They are self-created and powerless on their own. Negativity (fear included) is just a sign to slow down; whatever you are thinking and feeling at that moment - whatever you see - it's not true. Keep your foot off the gas pedal and your state of mind will ascend on its own. Then, answers will become obvious - you will realize there is nothing "out there" to fear.
More about Jake Cook
Jake Cook is an entrepreneur, professor, and writer. A co-founder at Tadpull, he also teaches Online and Social Media Marketing at Montana State University. He's fascinated by the intersection of design, technology and creativity. Follow him at @jacobmcook.


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Contrary to what you read, everything politicians say and do don't necessarily always have to be only about 2016. Sometimes, really and truly, presidential calculations are not part of the conversation.
But regarding the coverage of Jeb Bush in the past week, it's hard to think anything else. Bush, of course, is the son and brother of former presidents. He has been urged to run for president since 2008, and the drumbeat for 2016 is getting louder ... especially since he helped it along by saying he is not ruling it out. With a Republican Party still trying to find its way after a second consecutive presidential defeat — and having lost the popular vote five of the last six times — what Bush says matters. Of course, whatever utterances he makes are always described as being part of White House strategic planning. Sometimes such conclusions are silly. This time they may make sense.
The former two-term governor of Florida has not run for office since 2002, and has up to now refused to get caught up in public presidential speculation. Widely acknowledged as a power behind the scenes, he is seen as politically savvy and astute. It's long been thought that had he won his 1994 gubernatorial campaign against Lawton Chiles in Florida, it would have been Jeb — not brother George W. — whom the GOP turned to in 2000. What he says carries great weight, and when he criticized his party last year for its approach to overhauling the nation's immigration laws, people sat up and paid attention. You're not going to win over the hearts of Latino voters, Bush said over and over, by talking about self-deportation and blocking paths to citizenship for those who are here illegally.
But in his new book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution (co-authored with Clint Bolick), Bush is no longer focusing on a path to citizenship. Let's talk instead about residency rights. "A grant of citizenship," Bush now says, "is an undeserving reward for conduct we cannot afford to encourage." Pay a fee, he says of those 11 million people here illegally. Pay back taxes. Do community service. Learn English. But the end would be residency, not citizenship. For many, however, the headline was about 2016.
There has been some confusion about what Bush meant and whether he was retreating from his previous statements. But that was drowned out by White House speculation.
Most took the tone of the Washington Post's Peter Wallsten and David Nakamura, who write that the book "puts him more in line with his party's base — the kind of thing a potential presidential contender would be mindful of."
Personally, I think Politico's Alexander Burns has it right when he wrote that this "may have less to do with electoral maneuvering than with Bush's disdain for what he views as the strictures of political debate." But if it began with the theory that Bush was dipping his toe into the 2016 waters, it ended up with a consensus that he stubbed that toe.
Under the header, " Jeb Bush's Poorly Times Flip-Flop," National Journal's Beth Reinhard said Bush is "denting his own reputation as a bold policymaker," all of which "comes down to a colossal political miscalculation":
"Bush's revamped position on citizenship looks like the maneuvering of a potential presidential candidate who wants to outflank [Marco] Rubio and appease the conservative, anti-amnesty contingent that dominates GOP primaries."
And if he wasn't "flip-flopping," then he was "backpedaling." And 2016 wasn't far from the calculation, according to the New York Times' Michael Shear:
"Mr. Bush, who for years was seen as one of the few Republicans who might appeal to Hispanic voters in a presidential campaign, now finds his position overtaken by a party desperate to ingratiate itself with a growing minority. As Mr. Rubio has shown, Mr. Bush is no longer the only Florida politician with a moderate position on immigration, a national profile and presidential ambitions."
And what about a presidential run?
"In most public appearances since leaving the governor's mansion in 2007, Mr. Bush said emphatically that he was not interested in following the family trail to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He declined to run in 2008 and stayed out again in 2012.
But now his language has softened.
'I'm not saying yes, I'm just not saying no,' Mr. Bush said on MSNBC. 'I've accomplished some things in my life that allow me now to — to have that kind of discretion, to be able to think about it.'
For some Republicans, Mr. Bush would be the prohibitive favorite if he chose to run for president in four years. ...
'We're going to face a very formidable opponent on the other side if it's Secretary Clinton,' said John Weaver, a Republican consultant who supports moderate candidates. 'We have to put our 'A team' out there, and that begins with Jeb Bush.'"
'Fourteen minus Levin. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), in office since 1979, said Thursday he will not seek a seventh term next year. Levin, who is 78 and a leading liberal in the Senate, chairs the Armed Services Committee. The longest-serving senator in Michigan history, he has breezed to re-election in his last four campaigns, and in his last one, in 2008, he won a career-high 63 percent of the vote.
Levin is the sixth senator to opt out of re-election for 2014, joining fellow Democrats Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), and Republicans Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Mike Johanns(Neb.).
Most observers see three-term Rep. Gary Peters as the likeliest Democrat to get into the race, although he had long been thought to be eying a gubernatorial bid. He's run statewide before, narrowly losing a race for attorney general in 2002, and he has a large campaign war chest. "I'm going to seriously consider it," he said after Levin's announcement. Kathleen Gray and Paul Egan of the Detroit Free Press list former Govs. Jennifer Granholm and Jim Blanchard and ex-Rep. Mark Schauer as other potential Dem candidates. As for Levin's brother, Rep. Sandy Levin? At 81, he's still planning on running for re-election to the House. And as for Granholm, the Daily Kos notes that she "left office pretty unpopular, and she's also been living in California for a few years." DK adds state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, 2010 gov. nominee Virg Bernero and 2010 Sec/State nominee Jocelyn Benson as other Democratic possibilities.
As for the Republicans — who last won a Michigan Senate race in 1994 with Spencer Abraham — the most mentioned possible is state Attorney General Bill Schuette, who gave up his congressional seat back in 1990 in a losing Senate bid against Levin. But he said that he's "got plans to keep working" as AG for six more years. Also mentioned are Reps. Justin Amash (a Tea Party favorite), Mike Rogers, Dave Camp and Fred Upton; and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley .
One GOP name that's been floated as well is Scott Romney. The 71-year old older brother of Mitt is thought to be interested. He sought the Republican nomination for AG in 1998.
Meanwhile, Comedy Central wants to know who will succeed Levin as America's Most Rumpled Senator.
Coming soon.Just over a week to go before the March 19 Republican primary in South Carolina's 1st CD, the seat Rep. Tim Scott (R) vacated when he went to the Senate. As has been the case from the outset, former Gov. Mark Sanford, who once held this House seat but who is best remembered for having disappeared to Argentina for a spell in 2009, is getting all the ink and is probably the frontrunner. The talk these past few days is over a Sanford profile piece in New York magazine, which states Sanford asked his ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, to run his campaign. Jenny Sanford had been the brains for all of her husband's campaigns, dating back to his first congressional bid in 1994 and through his two gov. runs in 2002 and 2006. But considering how she was humiliated and embarrassed over the exposure of his affair with "soul mate" Maria Belen Chapur, the request has attracted a lot of notice. The real question is which of his 15 GOP rivals will face Sanford in the April 2 runoff. Teddy Turner, the son of the media mogul who is miles away from his father ideologically, is perhaps the most famous opponent. But watch out for state Sen. Larry Grooms; he is said to be equally conservative as Sanford (without the baggage) and has picked up the endorsements of GOP Reps. Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney. The likely Democratic candidate is Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the director of business development for an environmental research institute at Clemson and sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. Roll Call's Stu Rothenberg reminds us that the 1998 Dem candidate for the seat (against then-GOP incumbent Henry Brown Jr.) lost by only four points. He writes that it's "not impossible" Colbert Busch could win, but she'll need a "perfect campaign and plenty of luck to have a chance." Still, he rates her as a "clear underdog" in the May 7 general election. The seat, which went 58 percent for Mitt Romney last year, has been in GOP hands since 1981.
Political Updates.I post periodic political updates during the week — some serious, some not — on Twitter. You can follow me at @kenrudin. Here are two questions from the mailbag:
Q: I notice that in your ScuttleButton puzzles you often use the Huddleston "d" button. Can you explain the significance of the "d"? Was that a nickname, or was there a competitor with a similar name but no "d"? — Jim McSherry,Erdenheim, Pa.
A: Walter Darlington Huddleston, elected to the Senate from Kentucky in 1972 (and defeated in a third-term bid in '84), was always known by his nickname "Dee." It's unlikely the "d" on his campaign buttons stood for "Democrat," especially in '72, when his GOP opponent tried to tie him with Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, who went on to lose Kentucky in a 63-35 percent landslide. Whatever, I do confess to repeatedly using this item in ScuttleButton puzzles when I am in search of the word "the" — as we saw in the Feb. 27 puzzle, "Michael Row D Boat Ashore."
Q: In last week's [Feb. 27] Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation, you said you thought Detroit Mayor Dave Bing would win reelection, but he has yet to announce if he will run again. — Brian Craigo, Detroit, Mich.
A: You are correct, and in fact the betting seems to be that he won't seek another term. The desperate state of Detroit's financial problems is likely to lead to a takeover of the city by Michigan's state government, which may leave the 69-year old Bing without any say in the future of Detroit. Bing has not offered any detailed plan to solve the city's woes, and he might just say the heck with it and leave. In the NBA he was Rookie of the Year. Making the right moves in Detroit have proven much harder.
Political Junkie segment on Talk of the Nation.Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the Political Junkie segment appears on Talk of the Nation (NPR's call-in program), hosted by Neal Conan with me adding color commentary, where you can, sometimes, hear interesting conversation, useless trivia questions and sparkling jokes. Last week's show had NPR's Lynn Neary as substitute host with guest Rob Levinson of Bloomberg Government chatting about sequestration. You can listen to the segment here:
And on Thursday, I was back for a chat on the history of filibusters, which can be heard here:
Podcast.There's also a new episode of our weekly podcast, "It's All Politics," up every Thursday. It's hosted by my partner in crime, Ron Elving, and me.
And Don't Forget ScuttleButton.ScuttleButton,America's favorite waste-of-time button puzzle, can usually be found in this spot every Monday or Tuesday. A randomly selected winner will be announced every Wednesday during the Political Junkie segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation. You still have time to submit your answer to last week's contest, which you can see here. Sure, there's incredible joy in deciphering the answer, but the winner gets not only a Political Junkie T-shirt but also a 3-1/2-inch Official No-Prize Button! Is this a great country or what??
March 14-16 —CPAC event at Maryland's National Harbor.
March 19 — Special primary in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District to replace Tim Scott (R), who was appointed to the Senate.
April 2 — Runoff in S.C. 01. Also: St. Louis mayoral election.
April 9 — Special election in Illinois' 2nd CD to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. (D), who resigned.
April 30 — Special Massachusetts Senate primary.
May 7 — Special election in S.C. 01.
May 21 — Los Angeles mayoral runoff. Also: Pittsburgh mayoral primary.
June 4 — Special election in Missouri's 8th CD to replace Jo Ann Emerson (R), who resigned.
June 25 — Special Senate election in Massachusetts to replace John Kerry, who is now secretary of state.
Aug. 6 — Seattle mayoral primary.
Mailing list. To receive a weekly email alert about the new column and ScuttleButton puzzle, contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com.
******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please include your city and state. *********
This day in campaign history:One day after he won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary on a write-in vote, Henry Cabot Lodge, the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, said from Saigon it was a "great honor and a great compliment" but that he had no intention of returning to the U.S. to campaign for the GOP nomination. Without appearing in the state, Lodge — a former Massachusetts senator, U.N. ambassador and Richard Nixon's running mate for vice president in 1960 — received 35 percent of the vote (as a write-in) to Barry Goldwater's 23 percent and Nelson Rockefeller's 21 percent. Goldwater said of his opponents, "If Lodge and Rockefeller had worked hard in the past the Republicans would be in the White House today." Rockefeller, while calling Lodge's win a "victory for moderation," dismissed the results as a "victory for a favorite son" ( March 11, 1964).
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Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Julia Collins almost missed her chance to be on the popular game show "Jeopardy." She was lugging a Christmas tree inside her Chicago home when the show producers called.
Fortunately, it more than worked out for Collins. She won her 10th Jeopardy game in a row on Friday, giving her the longest winning streak ever by a woman on the show.
Jeopardy is now running two weeks of the "Battle of the Decades" tournament, so her many fans await her return on May 19 to see if she can add to her $220,610 in prize money.
That accomplishment alone puts her in an elite group of trivia masters. She is only the fourth person to win 10 or more games, according to a show spokeswoman.
"I just wanted to win one game. I wasn't really thinking about [the record for women]," Collins told CNNMoney. She had actually tried to get on the show years ago, but believes she didn't make the cut because she was too nervous.
"I had watched other women be really great players, and I played against women who were strong players, so I was surprised how few women become Jeopardy champions and have long runs," the 31-year-old supply chain management expert says.
"Jeopardy Julia"
Jeopardy games are typically filmed weeks, if not months, in advance, so Collins had to keep quiet about her champ status for awhile, but she's been making it up for it lately. Collins started the Twitter feed @JeopardyJulia to share insights on her episodes.
She already has over 1,500 followers.
CNN quiz: How well do you know 'Jeopardy?'
Her tweets range from the humorous (she admits to attending a cake decorating class and making a #nerdcake that says "This is Jeopardy!") to the self-deprecating:
"My biggest #DailyDouble wager yet... then I blew it. Sometimes I just like pushing the buzzer, I think. It's addictive," she tweeted on April 30, the night she beat the female Jeopardy champ record.
"I have the same experience everyone watching the show at home has: You're shouting the answer at the TV and thinking it's ridiculous a contestant doesn't know," she admits. She hopes her tweets help people understand what goes on behind the scenes.
The last Jeopardy phenom was Arthur Chu, who won 11 games and $297,200 earlier this year. His controversial "game theory" tactics where he bounced all over the board and made very specific wagers polarized viewers.
Collins says she examined the tactics of other winners, but decided to stick with her own style.
"By the time I really heard about Chu, I had already won five games, so I decided I didn't need to change my approach since it was working just fine," she says.
She even met Jeopardy's greatest player of all time once, Ken Jennings, who triumphed in 74 games a decade ago and amassed over $3 million in prize money.
Jennings later appeared in a special Jeopardy game against IBM (IBM)'s Watson computer along with Brad Rutter, the top money winner on Jeopardy. Rutter earned $3.25 million. Both were trounced by Watson,
So what is she going to do with the money?
Her final Jeopardy question is what to do with her windfall.
"Have I missed my moment for the bull market?" she jokes.
Jeopardy victors don't receive their winnings until four months after their show airs, so Collins won't get a check until at least September -- and it will be less because of taxes.
She appreciates having the gap to give her time to reflect and not do anything too rash.
"I definitely will save and invest some of it. I'm actually very excited to have this chunk of money to invest with," Collins says. She has been working since graduating from Wellesley College and getting her master's degree at MIT to pay off her student loans.
Some travel might also be in her future.
For now, it's prize enough to have friends and family referring to her as "champ."


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When you've got problems with your lunar rover you can't just "trust the Midas touch". Every unexpected repair that happens outside of the Earth's atmosphere is a hack and it seems the common ingredient in each one is Duct tape. If you've seen the movie Apollo 13 you know it was used in making a square carbon dioxide filter fit into a round filter socket. [XD] let us know about another hack where NASA used Duct tape to replace a fender on the lunar rover during the Apollo 17 mission.
The rover kicks up a lot of moon dust as it cruises around on its wire tires. When a rear fender started to come loose it was secured with duct tape. We delighted in watching a moon-man tear off chunks of tape for the fix, shown in the video after the break. When the fender finally flew off of the vehicle, the engineers on the ground came up with a way to replace it using laminated maps and more duct tape.
We've been critical of the use of duct tape in the past. But when you're in a bind, accept no substitutes.


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Decorating your home? There's nothing more environmentally friendly than choosing pre-owned goods, especially those that may be seen as trash by others. Look for aging items with lots of texture and character like apothecary cabinets, bins and baskets, bird cages, dressing tables, suitcases, picture frames, shutters, scrap wood, jars and tins. Use these 35 photos as a visual guide to pick out quality vintage pieces at thrift stores, flea markets and yard sales and integrate them into your home.
Apothecary Cabinets
(images via: ffffound, flickr, diychichome)
Originally designed to store herbs, spices and medical goods in retail stores, apothecary cabinets have many small drawers that can be extremely helpful in organization. Often weathered, giving a hint of their history, these beautiful cabinets can be found in excellent vintage condition from locations all over the world. Reproduction models are also available (but are nowhere near as charming or eco-friendly.) They can be used for the home in so many ways: storing linens and special tableware items in the dining room, arts and craft supplies, baby items and random odds and ends.
Bins & Baskets
(images via: restoration hardware, poppytalk, schoengeistig, country living)
They're among decorators' most-loved vintage finds: bins and baskets from times past, typically very sturdy and well-made, often printed with text that tells of their initial use. If you're lucky, you'll see metal baskets from old locker rooms, industrial metal bins, milk crates and French mail bins. Naturally, the uses for these bins are practically endless. Slide them onto bookshelves, or use them in place of drawers in dressers. Mount them to the wall. Use them in the bathroom for towels and extra toilet paper. Place them inside open kitchen cabinets or pantries to reduce the look of clutter.
Bird Cages
(images via: knock off decor, design sponge, bhg, womans day)
Bird cages have a certain 'shabby chic' aesthetic that some vintage-loving decorators just can't resist. Many are decorative enough to simply hang empty, or place atop nightstands and book cases. Some place candles or potted plants inside them, turn them into hanging lamps, mount them to walls or remove one side to create a cute little organizer. Get instructions to make the latter at Better Homes and Gardens.
Dressing Tables
(images via: craftynest, the how and tell blog, hellolovelyinc, traceytilley)
Why keep dressers hidden away in the bedroom when they have so many uses? Snag one with potential, re-paint it and revamp it into a foyer table, an organizer for tableware in the dining room, a changing table, a television stand or even a bathroom vanity. Look for real, solid wood (not particle board, which can bend and warp) and interesting hardware for maximum visual impact.
(images via: re-nest.com, cupcakes and cashmere, apartment therapy, style me pretty)
Who knew suitcases had so many purposes? Aside from schlepping around your travel gear, vintage suitcases – especially those a little too worn for their original use – make beautiful and unexpected nightstands and decorative elements when stacked. Just like baskets and bins, they can be placed inside a dresser instead of drawers; have one open on a tabletop to display some of your favorite items.
Picture Frames
(images via: shelterness, citified, shelterness 2, curbly)
The trick to making a gaudy old picture frame chic and modern? Spray paint. Even the busiest frames can be vastly simplified with a coat of paint – try black, white or a high-impact bright like red or turquoise. Weathered wood frames are beautiful as well. Take cues from these inspirational images and use them to display photos in unexpected ways, frame a chalkboard or display jewelry.
(images via: good housekeeping, martha stewart, iffers, jaimescott)
Room screens. Headboards. Wall art. Furniture. Tuck memos, mail, notes or photos into the slots.
Shutters have so much texture, and their mere presence seems to make a room brighter and more welcoming because they provide the illusion of more windows. Another way to use this effect to your advantage – and visually enlarge a room – is to place them on either side of a large mirror.
Jars and Tins
(images via: houzz.com, etsy, etsy 2, ionwkathy, designsponge)
Vintage jars are so in-demand that they can sometimes sell for up to fifteen dollars each. That's a big success story for an item that was once thought of as trash. Mason jars, tins and other kinds of glass and metal containers – especially the old blue Ball jars – are a small but dramatic way to bring some vintage flair into a room. They can be hanging lamps, terrariums, vases, planters, soap containers and votive holders. Melt down leftover wax and pour it into an old tin for a double shot of reuse. If you're in love with the look of those blue jars but can't find any, try this tutorial by Like a Cup of Tea, which uses glue and food coloring to create the effect.
Weathered Scrap Wood
(images via: traditionally modern designs, u-create crafts, alternative apparel, cenzo design)
Strips of salvaged wood bring so much character into a space, whether used sparingly or applied to an entire wall. Drill 2-inch holes into a scrap wooden post to turn it into a rustic candle holder for your mantle or tabletop. Nail them together into whimsical wall art. Use them to cover the top of an uninspiring table, or create a window valance.


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Home » Electroacoustic/Contemporary » From A-Z: Starkland
From A-Z: Starkland
Collection includes Tod DOCKSTADER, Pal DRESHER, Philip BIMSTEIN, Charles AMIRKHANIAN, Joseph KASINSKAS, Joseph LUKASIK and Pamela Z. More toward the mditative than the industrial, some excellent pieces. A useful sampler. L
Only available at this price as part of the ReR Sale Offer (minimum) 4 titles)
Code: ST203
Price: £5.00


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By Carrie MacKinnon
Calais Migrant Solidarity
Sometimes I read things that are uplifting and make me feel good about humanity, not often, but sometimes. This is not one of those times. Instead, this is a comic that makes me angry and frustrated with humanity and the life of privilege that I have just by being born a white English speaker.
This zine starts with comics telling the story of the title character, Kiahan. He was born in Afghanistan, but when his father is killed by the Taliban he and his brother flee the country and try to make their way to the UK. Is Kiahan a real person? It doesn't really matter as the experiences described here are real. People spend all their money to be packed into trucks and smuggled into countries that don't want them. They are placed in terrible living conditions and must fight not to be sent back to a country most people in the west would never want to visit, let alone live in.
Interspaced between the comic pages are text pieces that range from reports on the Calais shantytowns where Kiahan lived, to more general pieces of information on refugees, detention centre, and the No Borders group.
There are website addresses and contact information for a lot of different support groups involved with refugees, and if nothing else this zine reminded me about issues I care about and inspired me to try and do some good instead of sitting around reading comics all day.
Monday, March 15, 2010
2 comments:
ooh - my first revew! I'm honoured Matthew.
Just to say, Kiahan (changed name) does exist and I met him in the squalid conditions in Calais where he still exists - one of many children. The continuation of his story in the zine, tells of another boy who did make it over... The reason for making the zine was to tell it like it is and to raise money for migrants in Calais. If I may, I've added the link for anyone wanting to help with support in any way: http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/
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