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Some two dozen men and women from the gun rights group Open Carry Texas, armed with rifles and shotguns, sat outside a Dallas-area restaurant earlier this month while four women—members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a small gun control advocacy organization—ate lunch inside at the Blue Mesa Grill. The group posed for photos in the strip mall parking lot, brandishing their weapons and the American flag. After 15 minutes, they packed up their protest and headed to Hooters.
"It was very unsettling. It was very disturbing," one of the moms explained two days later in a televised interview. The groups' founder, Shannon Watts, said patrons were "terrified by what appeared to be an armed ambush." The hashtag #gunbullies was born.
The incident is the latest headline-grabbing showdown involving open carry activists, who want the unconcealed carrying of firearms to be as normal as holding a cell phone. In groups armed with rifles and Gadsden flags, they've demonstrated at the site of President Kennedy's assassination. They walk alone through state capitol buildings, and Home Depots, baiting police officers and frightening workers and ordinary citizens.
The brazen antics of this mainly libertarian coalition—think of them as the tea partiers of the gun rights' movement—have had the unlikely effect of placing gun rights groups, law enforcement officials, and control advocates aligned in opposition. Legally, open carry activists are within their rights, protected, as they're quick to remind their challengers, by the first and second amendment. But when does this type of protest become a menace, to the public's safety and to the group's own message of freedom?
Kory Watkins, who organized the armed assembly outside the Texas restaurant, accuses the women of manufacturing fear to garner sympathy. "For them to say they were threatened is a lie. They're trying to make us look like bullies." Watkins told The Daily Beast. He says that members of Moms Demand Action confronted 1,200 armed demonstrators at an event at the Alamo last month, waving brooms and saying they were there to clean up the trash. "I'm confused as to why they're suddenly scared," he says.
Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action denies Watkins' claim, calling it "an outright falsehood." According to Watts, the moms staged a counter event, one mile away from the Alamo protest. Families with kids were photographed making crafts, playing games, and eating lunch.
Watts says her group thinks most gun groups and owners are responsible. But they aren't speaking up and so, she says, "irresponsible, dangerous people," have filled the vacuum.
The Dallas flare-up comes at a time of heightened awareness of mass shootings and sensitivity of what can be the devastating effects of guns. Deadly mass shootings at the Navy Yard in September; at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school last December; and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado in the summer of 2012 still burn fresh in the American psyche. Moms Demand Action was, in fact, formed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 28 people dead, including 20 children. Afterward, President Obama urged Congress to pass gun control measures at the Newtown memorial. Months passed, public interest and outrage waned, and eventually a gun control measure failed in the Senate.
In response to these tragedies, armed open carry activists have only increased their presence—both on the street and online—to demand that citizens and police respect their right to keep and openly bear their weapons, and to lobby for an extension of those rights in some states.
Watkins says he's had his share of interactions with police—"too many to count"—thanks to his habit of carrying an AK-74, which he says he does for protection and to bring awareness to Texas gun laws. The Lone Star State is one of five where it is expressly illegal to open carry handguns. Texans can, however, carry long guns that include assault-style rifles, as long as the weapons aren't displayed "in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm."
A self-described "Liberty Republican," Watkins is running for the state's 6th Congressional District seat and thinks there should be no regulation of firearms whatsoever, calling gun permits "an infringement on my rights." "I don't want to ask government for permission and I don't want to have to pay a tax to do something I'm already allowed to do," he says.
The laws governing open carry are complex and they vary wildly by state and city. Sixteen states currently expressly permit the open carry of firearms—with restrictions—by state statute according to the National Council on State Legislatures. For some 28 other states, the ability to carry a gun unconcealed is legal by omission; because there is no law banning it, citizens are technically free to do it. That makes 44 states where open carry is legal in some form or another and in 29 of these states, no permit or training is required at all, according to John Pierce founder of the advocacy and information site OpenCarry.org.
When it comes to just what types of weapons should be worn in full public view, the open carry movement is fractured. "One of our forum rules is that we don't allow the discussion of long gun open carry," says Pierce. Though Pierce cites safety issues including "muzzle control, lack of cover to the trigger guard, et cetera," he says the long gun issue primarily "distracts from our primary mission which is the open carry of properly holstered handguns." The Louisiana Open Carry Awareness League explains the ban on its site this way: "One step at a time."
Of course, some in the open carry community, like Charles Branstrom of Wisconsin, aren't pleased about being relegated to the fringe. Branstrom, 27, walks through small cities like Appleton and Neenah with an AR-15 pistol and a camera, "to keep police honest," he says. The most common complaint he hears over his choice to carry a rifle is "We have these rights now, if you do this we will lose them." But he says, "If you can't use your rights they are already gone."
Branstrom's carrying has not gone unnoticed. In September, Branstrom, and a friend, Ross Bauman, 22, strapped assault-style weapons to their backs, holstered handguns at their hips, and headed towards the farmer's market in Appleton. Concerned passersby called 911. "There's a couple of guys walking around with what looks like machine guns on their backs. I don't know if they're real guns or not," one caller said.
The guns were, of course, very real. And though the owners' decision to carry them openly is legal, police on the scene held the pair at gunpoint, put them in handcuffs and confiscated their guns and their camera (audio kept rolling). In the interaction, Branstrom is polite, but obstinate. He tells the officer, he is carrying multiple weapons "for protection" and when asked if he thinks bringing guns to a market might cause a problem says, "Yeah, I guess some people don't like guns."
"It's taking the Second Amendment a little too far," one officer says on the audio recording of the incident. Neither Branstrom or Bauman were charged or ticketed.
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "In a post Aurora-Newtown environment, it's a reckless and irresponsible stunt to strut around in public with an assault-style weapon and think police should assume you're well-intentioned."
At another stop this fall, also taped and posted to YouTube, an exasperated responding officer pleads with Branstrom, again carrying his rifle, this time in a school zone. "Do you realize what you're doing could cost us, me, my second amendment rights? Because this is so egregious to the general public that it's going to cause them to make decisions legally that are going to restrain us."
Branstrom's antics have attracted attention, but not the kind for which he's aiming. In response to his Appleton detaining, emails flooded into Mayor Tim Hanna's office. "As long as there are people with guns walking around this city, my family will not be," Adam Frederick wrote.
But Branstrom and Watkins are both quick to point out that they have supporters, too. Branstrom says he receives a lot of thanks from military vets for exercising the freedoms they fought for. And Watkins of Open Carry Texas reports success in dealings with Texas law enforcement. "At the very beginning, when this was new, we had a little bit more heat than what we have now," he says. "They've started accepting and supporting what we're doing."
Despite reported gains, open carry advocates contend they are battling against a nation of hoplophobes, a term they've adopted to mean people with an irrational fear of weapons. Hoplophobes, for instance, panic, and call 911 at the sight of an AR-15 in a grocery store. Rational people, they contend, would take the time to discern whether the person behind the weapon was an actual threat. One gun advocate, NRA commentator who goes by Colion Noir (His real name is Collins Idehen), likened gun panic to a fear of airplanes or clowns. Another NRA voice, Natalie Foster, makes the same argument, equating firearms to spiders.
And so, the logic of open carry goes, regular exposure to armed "good guys"—on the street, at the farmers' market, at Starbucks—will act as immersion therapy for the needlessly frightened. And if it doesn't work? If people are still alarmed by the sight of the armed?
"Grow the hell up," Idehen suggests in one of his many online videos hosted on the NRA's website. "You don't have a right to feel safe by taking away or severely limiting people's means to protect themselves. We aren't in kindergarten anymore where you're allowed to wallow in your false sense of importance by limiting other people because of how you think it makes you feel."
Ian Houston, a gun rights blogger in Eugene, Oregon, says though the extreme open carriers—people in fatigues who stroll through city centers with semi-automatic weapons—might frighten people at first, their efforts are no different from the nonviolent resistance employed by Dr. Martin Luther King in the fight for civil rights a half decade ago.
"It's a peaceful movement," Houston says. "The perception of those anti-gun mothers in Texas is they see weapons and they are afraid. And the perception of the people outside is that they see someone who is trying to take away their rights. They're using those weapons not as a weapon to be violent with, but as a weapon to bring attention to their cause...They're not using them to be scary. They're using them as a way to say, look at me, which is what protests are for."
But, ultimately, guns are not solely symbolic. Even if brandished as a symbol of freedom and expression, they were designed as weapons, and they kill people every day. Any fear that fact might provoke, open carry activists say, will have to be dealt with through education, not a restriction of gun rights.
"Sure I believe people have the right to feel safe. But I feel safer with a firearm on me," Watkins says.


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So, I'm running a contest to try to promote interest in the blog. This contest is totally free--you do not have to be a subscriber to the Baseball-Reference Play Index to participate. I am giving away cards to the top 4 finishers in a contest that runs from now until the end of the year, i.e. 11:59 PM ET on December 31, 2009. Those top 4 people will each get to choose one card from the 12 listed at the bottom of this post. See the nice pictures!
How do you earn points? It's easy. There are three ways:
- Every time you post a comment on the Baseball-Reference.com blog (on any post made from today through the end of the year--archived posts do not count) you get a point. Your comment must be directly related to the post and directly related to baseball. You can make multiple comments on the same post and get multiple points, but if it looks to me like you're just padding things out intentionally, I'll ignore your padded comments. To be eligible, you must make a comment on this blog right here saying what your username is on the B-R blog. That's how I'll know to keep a total of your comments.
- If you have your own baseball blog (team fan, stats, baseball cards, etc) and you post a link on your blog to this contest page, you get 5 bonus points added to your total. To be eligible, you must post your blog link in the comments on this post below.
- If you have any friends who like baseball and might want to read the Baseball-Reference.com blog but don't care about the baseball card contest, you can have their comments on the B-R blog count towards your total. All they need to do is post a comment on this blog below saying what their username is on the B-R blog, and who they want to give their points to.
- 2007 Topps AS TWH All-Star Stitches Trevor Hoffman
- 2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts GM-FP Carlton Fisk / Jorge Posada jersey
- 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee OPC-EFG Ellsbury / Figgins / Granderson triple jersey
- 2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot NG1 Nomar Garciaparra jersey
- 2008 Upper Deck Goudey M-CY Chris Young jersey
- 2009 Upper Deck Series 1 GJ-KY Kevin Youkilis jersey
- 2005 Topps Bazooka BM-MT Mark Teixeira memorable moments jersey
- 2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts GM-RT Cal Ripken / Troy Tulowitzki jersey
- 2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History SS-AL Adam LaRoche jersey
- 2009 Upper Deck Series 1 GJ-JA Conor Jackson jersey
- 2002 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Jersey Card J-DE Dwight Evans jersey
- 2004 Topps Bazooka Blasts BB-AR Alex Rodriguez bat
So, remember--post your B-R username below, and start commenting over on the Baseball-Reference.com blog!

subset: commoncrawl


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Audi Coupe Quattro Parts
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About Audi Coupe Quattro
The Audi Coupe is one of the greatest machines in its class, offering up an impressive amount of power output, sleek design, first class comfort, and precision handling. The Audi Coupe Quattro comes with Audi's signature Quattro all wheel drive system allowing for the ultimate on road driving experience. The Audi Coupe Quattro is arguably one of the best Coupe offerings on the market, and perfectly blends an enormous amount of power output ( most models can get from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds ), with an unmistakable visual appeal that can only come from the Audi brand. With impressive technological, safety, and performance advancements, the Audi Coupe Quattro is an excellent choice for the Audi enthusiast who wants the ultimate driving experience.
Audi Coupe Quattro Parts from FCP Euro
The Audi Coupe Quattro is a masterful vehicle, and deserves to be fitted with the type of high quality parts that will help preserve its signature performance and handling capability. FCP Euro brings you just that with its ever growing selection of Audi Coupe Quattro parts. We carry Audi Coupe Quattro original parts, aftermarket parts, kits and even Audi Coupe Quattro accessories to help you keep your vehicle in top physical condition. Whether you're looking for brake parts, suspension parts, or just some high quality synthetic oil to keep your engine running smooth, FCP Euro has what you need. We carry Audi Coupe Quattro parts from trusted and respected manufacturers such as Meyle, GMB, and Brembo just to name a few. All our Audi Coupe Quattro parts are backed by the FCP Euro quality and fitment guarantee, as well as a one year warranty that will boost the confidence you have when you're cruising the open road. If you ever have trouble finding what you're looking for remember that we're only a phone call away, and our knowledgeable and friendly staff pf customer service experts are on hand to work directly with you so you can get the parts you need, and the answers to any and all of your questions. Thanks for shopping with us, and we look forward to showing you the type of difference that over 20 years of experience in the euro parts industry will have on your Audi.


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What are the best wedding decorations, wedding supplies, and bridal accessories for 2020? In this ebook section, we used a combination of data while consulting wedding experts to get a deep dive look into the biggest wedding trends for 2020. The wedding products featured in this list are some of the most popular upcoming products for the year. So if you'd like to get a head start in this niche, you can start by adding these wedding products to your store.
Start selling online now with Shopify
Start your free trial10 Best Products for Wedding Decorations, Wedding Supplies and Bridal Accessories
1. Wedding Evening Dress
Of all bridal accessories, a bride's gown is the most important. While traditional brides may choose to buy their main wedding dress in-store, an evening dress for the reception is often bought online.
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Budget-friendly brides may also choose to do some of their bridal shopping online as well. Shoppers may choose to purchase a white evening dress like this lace off-shoulder dress.
You can upsell other bridal accessories like a belt, sash, or lace bolero to create a more figure-flattering appearance for your customers. When it comes to marketing bridal accessories like evening gowns, your best bet is to stick to ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Using targeting options, you can target women who are recently engaged. If you want to tap into influencer marketing, you can have influencers create videos of them wearing the dress. Then, you can repost those videos not only on your own social media but also on bridal fan pages on Instagram to get more eyes on your bridal accessories.
2. Bridal Ball Gown
Budget brides are slowly taking over the wedding industry. With more brides shopping online for a cheaper wedding dress alternative, online retailers can land a number of sales from selling wedding dresses on their store.
You can sell wedding dresses like this bridal ball gown along with other bridal accessories to increase average order value. Items like jewelry, veils, footwear, hairpieces, and more can be curated for the customer to complete her bridal look.
To market this bridal ballgown to brides, you can use Facebook ads to target women who are "Newly engaged" with options to target 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. While you'll likely want to target brides in the 3-6 months range, keep in mind some brides have two-year engagements so don't discount a newly engaged bride of one year!
You can also target women who are listed as "Engaged." You can also promote this dress on popular open boards on Pinterest to increase the free visibility the product gets. Then run retargeting ads to win back visitors of the dress.
3. Wedding Belt Sash
Brides will be adorning their wedding dresses with wedding belt sashes in 2020. This popular wedding belt sash is used to add some sparkle to a bride's dress, especially if the dress is simple in nature. Brides simply tie the belt around the waistline to glamorize their gowns.
You can sell this product with other wedding accessories to generate a higher volume of sales. For example, you might sell this sash with another sparkly accessory like a bridal tiara or a set of bridal jewelry.
To promote this sash, you might find yourself in luck by pinning this on popular Pinterest boards. Using a website like PinGroupie, you can find popular group boards in the wedding or bridal niche. Since these group boards are actively looking for contributors, you can apply to be accepted. The boards already have a massive number of followers so your pins gain more visibility. You can still build your own boards as well and you'll find your wedding products will gain website traffic from Pinterest over time.
4. LED Wedding Balloons
Wedding decorations like these LED wedding balloons can brighten your customers' wedding venue. Brides can use these wedding decorations for decorating a kid's table, to light up a pathway at their outdoor wedding venue, or as simple decor inside their dimly lit venue.
These balloons can be lit up with helium and activated with a switch of a button. The balloon even comes with its own LED rope. With these LED wedding balloons, you can focus on bulk selling – especially for weddings.
You can use a Shopify app like Product Bundles by Bold to create higher volume bundles so you can increase your average order value and make a higher profit. When it comes to marketing, you'll likely choose to target women who are currently engaged and potentially wedding planners as well.
If you have a niche wedding store, you can partner with wedding bloggers to get shout-outs and links to your store to drive more qualified website traffic.
5. Plus Size Evening Dress
From wedding guests to bride, you might find this plus-size evening dress is perfect for that special occasion. The dress is available in white so plus-size brides who'd rather shop online for a dress might decide to shop on your website instead. But as with many other bridal websites, you might want to offer dresses for wedding guests as well.
This plus size evening dress can be promoted on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. You can run ads targeting engaged females while showing the white dress on your ad. If you plan on targeting wedding guests, you might choose to target people between the ages of 25-34 which is often the range that most people get married and likely their friends are within the same range.
You can upsell wedding accessories like jewelry, hairpieces, and other products to help boost your sales. It's important to remember that brides are usually only a potential customer for a year or two maximum so it's essential to promote other wedding products to them to keep your business afloat.
6. Bridal Hairband
Most brides use hair accessories in their hair. From hair pins to tiaras to bridal hairbands, you'll want to ensure you stock your store with the hair accessories your potential customers will love.
One of these hairpieces that tends to perform well is this bridal hairband. It comes in multiple styles but maintains that iconic pearl hairband look. The larger hairbands almost act like a pearl bridal tiara for brides going for that look.
To promote this hairband, you'll likely want to target brides who've been engaged for at least six months. This is likely around the timeframe that brides will start looking for specific accessories to complete their wedding look. Of course, you can still target brides who've been engaged for less or more time as well.
You can share this product on Instagram Stories, Pinterest, or via Facebook ads to help you generate sales from this product. You can also upsell this with a set of pearl earrings or necklace to boost sales.
7. Silk Flowers
Wedding decorations aren't complete without silk flowers. These artificial flowers tend to be a more affordable option for brides while being absolutely stunning. Heck, I used only silk flowers for my wedding and the wedding decor looked gorgeous. In the past, it was a bit taboo to have fake flowers, but it's starting to become much more common.
These silk flowers can be used for bridal bouquets, floral arches, centerpieces, and other wedding decor pieces. This is one of the most popular wedding products you can sell right now with hundreds of orders in the past 30 days.
To promote these flowers, you can target engaged brides who are interested in DIY or follow DIY pages. You can also target wedding decor businesses who might be looking to purchase bulk silk flowers for their events. And you can also join DIY Facebook groups to share examples of DIY designs with your flowers while telling people in the comments where you got your supplies from.
8. Silicone Wedding Band
According to Google Trends, men's silicone wedding bands have been seeing strong and steady growth in the past few years. The main reason men turn to silicone instead of platinum or gold boils down to two things. First, silicone wedding bands are a much more cost-effective alternative to metal. Second, metal rings have been known to injure people who work in the trades. Some people have even lost their fingers due to their ring getting stuck while at work.
Fortunately, silicone rings solve that problem too. The silicone wedding bands come in nine colors including gold, silver, copper and glitter designs. The silver and gold options allow you to market them as wedding bands.
You can create ads targeting people who've recently gotten engaged. How you choose to position your ads is up to you. However, you can promote it as an affordable wedding band for someone more budget-conscious.
Or you can highlight it as a band for people in the trades by mentioning the injuries metal bands have caused. You can post a picture for your ad as well as create an informative video that details everything you'd like people to know to convince them to buy your wedding band.
With the product costing only 60 cents, you can sell these for as much $29.99 making it a great profit you can reinvest back into your store.
9. Bridal Robe
Bridal and bridal party robes and kimonos are all the rage. They're often worn on the morning of the wedding. While they look really cute in bridal party photos, they're also practical. The reason why people buy them is so that their hair and makeup doesn't get messed up. For example, if you wear a t-shirt instead, when you lift your shirt over your head to put on your dress, the makeup can smudge and the hair gets shuffled around. So, makeup artists usually recommend bridal robes or button-down shirts to avoid this burning problem. Plus, they really do look great in photos.
To promote these bridal robes, you'll want to target women who've been engaged for six months. That's typically the time they'll start shopping for these kinds of wedding accessories. Keep in mind that bridesmaids often buy the robes for the bride's big day, so if you create an ad, ask the bride to tag her bridesmaids in the post to further the reach of the ad but to also attract the right people to the product.
You can also post pictures of the robes being worn on a wedding day by asking for an influencer to take photos with your robes with her friends. Or have the influencer create a video of her and her bridesmaids wearing robes that you can use in ads.
10. Men's Formalwear Bowtie
Men's suit sales have been growing steadily for quite some time. So naturally, accessories like bowties, cufflinks and pocket squares are increasingly popular.
You can sell these products either on a men's formalwear or fashion store or on a wedding website catered to men. This bowtie, in particular, comes in 20 different colors allowing you to give your customers plenty of options.
It can be used as an add-on product to a higher-end suit or it can be marketed on its own. Marketing products like this men's formalwear bowtie can be done via Facebook ads or Google Shopping ads.
'Bow ties' gets 90,500 monthly searches and 'bowties' gets 22,000 monthly searches.
You can create ads for your products with those keywords in mind. You can also create separate ads for the different designs you offer, such as, 'polka dot bow ties' which only gets 880 monthly searches. However, a customer searching for that keyword knows exactly what they're looking for so they can still convert well.
Start selling online now with Shopify
Start your free trialWedding Trends 2020 According to Wedding Experts
Marie Kubin, CEO of Rent My Wedding, shares, "The biggest wedding trend for 2020 is DIY wedding lighting! We're seeing more and more couples use monogram lighting to personalize their venue with their names in lights. Texture lighting is also trending. These patterns of light can be added to the walls, ceiling, or dance floor to add dimension. Think tropical palm fronds, elegant floral patterns, and abstract swirls… the possibilities are endless! The best part is that monogram lights and texture lights can be customized with any color or design, making it a very versatile decor element to transform any venue into the couple's vision."
Amy McCord Jones, Owner of Flower Moxie, says, "Overall, I've seen a huge shift in the overall floral style and color palettes which is exciting! Brides are moving away from expensive flowers like peonies and garden roses and embracing less pricey blooms with more interesting hues like Carmel or Minerva Fancy Carnations. Burgundy and blush palettes have dominated the real wedding world for the past five to seven years, but suddenly we're seeing a huge interest in earthy flavors like terracotta, mustards, and dusty beige hues. Our DIY brides are also more open to achieving their desired color stories with floral spray paints as well as dried and bleached elements like bleached Italian ruscus and dried sun palms."
Stefany Allongo, Founder of Married in Palm Beach, tells us "A huge trend in 2020 is focusing on creating an atmosphere and mood rather than specific color combinations. Couples want to plan a wedding that feels like "them", which leads them to incorporate details that reflect who they are as a couple. Whether is their love for all things boho, their plans to travel the world, or including their favorite fandom (think GOT or Marvel), celebrations are truly showcasing their personalities."
Karen Norian, Founder of Simply Eloped, recommends "One wedding accessory that's making a huge comeback is the wedding veil. While veils in the past have been a subtle yet elegant addition to a bride's look, we'll be seeing more and more brides making a statement with their headpiece – whether it's a dip-dyed fabric or having a customized quote or design, bridal veils are upping the wow-factor. Another wedding trend on the rise for 2020 is incorporating acrylic details into ceremony and reception spaces. Whether it's a DIY welcome sign, seating chart, or individual place cards, acrylics are making a huge statement in a minimalistic way. Lastly, couples are taking a more mindful approach when it comes to their wedding day and are thinking of ways to become more eco-friendly and sustainable. Donating or composting wedding flowers, replacing products like glow sticks or sparklers for biodegradable confetti, and skipping on plastic dishware and cutlery all help to reduce a wedding day's carbon footprint."
Whitney Cox, Wedding Coordinator of Vegas Weddings, details, "The overall trend for 2020 is customization. Couples want a wedding that is uniquely "them," and they don't mind switching up traditions to create a personalized event. We'll be seeing more non-traditional wedding dresses in 2020, meaning fewer white dresses and more colors and floral motifs. Wedding pantsuits and other atypical styles are also becoming popular. At the same time, veils and tiaras are being replaced with stylish barrettes and customized combs. This goes hand in hand with the trend of allowing bridesmaids to choose their own dress in a particular color or style rather than cookie-cutter dresses for each bridesmaid. For example, Lady Gaga was recently in a wedding where all the bridesmaids were simply asked to wear pink, silk dresses in a style of their choosing.
As far as decor goes, minimalist Japanese-inspired decor is becoming more popular as couples go for a more elegant and refined look. Galactic motifs, from moody color palettes that mimic the night sky to actual depictions of the moon and astrological symbols, are becoming trendy."
Nicola Jackson, Author of Hanami Dream, explains, "Neon signage, perhaps with a personalized pun, will be popular wedding decor in 2020 along with a nostalgic nineties injection of vibrant color. Nods to the nineties will be found in holographic stationery, glow in the dark elements, as well as lace seeing a revival. Colored linens will give white napkins a run for their money, whilst cutlery will come in iridescent colors. Décor is focused on concrete, stone and cement details such as pots, coasters, monogram letters and table numbers. And it's all about unique lighting with vintage lampshades, statement chandeliers and 90s-inspired neon."


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Home > Bibliographies > Minibibliographies
Minibibliographies are provided by National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped Network Services Section to staff at cooperating libraries to aid them in finding books for local library patrons. Some book numbers listed in minibibliographies are for books recorded or brailled by a cooperating library. Since these local productions are not made with national distribution in mind, patrons of other libraries must work with their own library to borrow a copy.
The materials listed in these minibibliographies are intended exclusively for individuals meeting eligibility requirements for service through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped's network of libraries. Information regarding eligibility is available at http://www.loc.gov/nls/eligible.html. Libraries serving the blind and physically handicapped are listed by state or territory at http://www.loc.gov/nls/find.html. Please provide any feedback to the NLS Bibliographer.
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Posted on 2012-10-18


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The Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa Claus cost parents in the north-west £2,470 per child
From cash gifts for Easter to decorating the house as though the Tooth Fairy has paid a visit, new research reveals how much money parents in the north-west are spending to keep childhood characters alive for their kids.
The research from TopCashback.co.uk, finds that parents are spending £2,470 per child because they think these characters are an important part of childhood and they want to create memories for their children.
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Hide AdHowever, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of parents in the north-west feel under pressure to spend money on keeping these childhood figures alive and as a result are also giving their kids extra gifts. This stress has caused three in 10 (30 per cent) parents to go over budget.
The Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa cost parents £2,470 per child
A visit from the Tooth Fairy costs parents in the north-west, on average, £5. With children losing 20 milk teeth over their childhood, that is £100 per child.
Parents also spend £10 giving their children gifts and letters from the Tooth Fairy and decorating the house to make children believe they visited. More than two-fifths (43 per cent) of parents also give their children money on top of what is from the Tooth Fairy.
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Hide AdWith Easter, there comes a £27 bill. Parents organise Easter egg hunts and give their children gifts and money from the Easter Bunny. On top of those treats, 59 per cent of parents give their children extra eggs and 11 per cent give gifts and money.
Parents in the north-west spend £190 per child each Christmas to bring Santa Claus to life. This includes letters and gifts from Santa, trips to his grotto and even holidays to Lapland. However, six in 10 (60 per cent) children also get gifts from their parents meaning the overall Christmas spend for parents is much higher.
On average, children stop believing in these fictional characters around the age of 10 meaning parents could fork out more than £2,470 in total for each child.


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I Finally Get To Meet 12 Monkeys and Brazil Director Terry Gilliam! Autographs and More!
November 11, 2011
I know a lot of people out there only love trying to meet the actors, however I say this time and time again, and it's the directors who really craft a film. When you have a great director behind the lens it makes so much difference in


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Johnny Marr is talking way too much. That's not exactly a problem - except for the fact that the two of us are riding the elevator in New York City's Warner Brothers Records building and he's already giving me answers to questions I'm due to ask in just a few minutes.
Marr is in town with his new bandmates, The Cribs, for an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman and a pair of sold-out shows at The Bowery Ballroom, and the revered ex-Smiths guitarist is looking forward to playing with what he calls "one of the best bands I've ever been associated with."
That Marr, who divides his time between homes in Portland, Oregon (where he met Cribs bassist, Gary Jarman) and Manchester, England, joined what many see as a B-level band took quite a few people by surprise - something Marr himself finds surprising.
"It's all part of a musical journey," he says as we exit the elevator. "And The Cribs are a great, great band. The fact is, I'd be stupid to not join them, and I'm supremely happy I got the chance to do so."
Marr's trademark guitar work is very much felt on The Cribs' newest album, Ignore The Ignorant. His breezy, lyrical, and yes, jangly lines fill in key spaces between the band's jagged, jerky rhythms and riffs. Produced by Nick Launay, Ignore The Ignorant, is The Cribs' most polished effort, and the band (which also includes singer-guitarist Ryan Jarman and brother Ross on drums) just might have a shot at a hit single in the States with the memorable We Share The Same Skies.
The Cribs (from left to right) Ryan Jarman, Johnny Marr, Ross Jarman, Gary Jarman
Marr asks a Warners rep for coffee ("my only vice these days," he says sheepishly) and we settle into a cozy little room with plush couches, along with Ryan, to talk about the new direction of The Cribs, guitars (shredders, beware!), and last but not least, The Smiths.
Marr's former band always has a way of popping up in interviews, and while the guitarist has stated that he's "bored" with the topic, MusicRadar raised the issue in a most unusual way - and Marr's response was not what we were expecting.
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How did this little romance take place? You guys are living in Portland, Oregon, right?
Ryan Jarman: "Johnny was. And my brother Gary, who plays bass, he was living there. Me and Ross still live in England. But because Gary was in Portland and Johnny was in Portland, that's where they ended up meeting. Which is weird: All our lives we've lived, like, 45 minutes from where Johnny lives in Manchester, and we've never bumped into each other at all. To travel 5000 miles and to have met up in Portland…[to Johnny] You guys got to talking, I guess."
Johnny Marr: "I was already a fan of The Cribs. In the early part of 2005 when The New Fellas came out, I got really into that. Gary and I bumped into each other and struck up a friendship - just two musicians in a new city. Very soon after that, Ryan and Ross and I met at the Glastonbury Festival, and soon after that, Ryan and I bumped into each other again and we decided to get together to play, just to see what would happen, really.
"There wasn't any grand scheme or career plans. Far from it. We just got together in a funky little room in the cold in the north of England and started playing some riffs, and we immediately started writing songs.
"All of us have been in groups from our early teens, which is a very important part of how we get along. We all know that when it sounds good, you follow that. Chemistry is very important. It felt natural - for me and the other boys as well."
Now, Johnny, of course you were in The Smiths, and since then you've played with a lot of people. You did a little stint in the band Modest Mouse -
Marr: "Yes."
But a lot of people might be wondering, are you a permanent member of The Cribs, or is this something you're doing temporarily?
Marr: "I can see why people might think that, but I'm a permanent member of The Cribs, and very happy to be so.
"I understand that question, because I've followed my own map, so to speak, but with a lot of great people. It comes back to the answer to the first question: When the chemistry is really good, that's really important. When you find yourself in the right group, unless you have some sort of personal issues, which we don't, it kind of dictates your life, really.
"We're thinking of making the next record. Like I say, I understand that question, but it's not as big a deal as it might be."
Ryan, how long was the process where you went from, 'Holy shit, we've got Johnny Marr in the band!' to 'He's just another member'?
Jarman: "Pretty swiftly, really. From the moment we started playing together and started writing…you don't think of the personality involved, you know what I mean? I just think of the songs. I don't think any of us really thought about it; we didn't realize the significance of it."
"I'm sure when we were driving up on the day, I was kind of excited: 'Oh, this is gonna be cool. Something for the scrapbook.' But as soon as you start writing songs, it all goes out the window."
Marr: "You get down to work. I also think, just weirdly, it was a matter of synchronicity. I happened to be able to appear with the band at the same time back in the UK when they were doing some dates on a tour. I was playing some of the old songs just for fun. So we didn't have to wait a year to find out whether I sounded right on the old songs, 'cause I was doing that for fun anyway."
Where is the band actually based?
Marr: "We're together all the time. We had one four-week break, four and a half weeks maybe, in the summer, which is the longest we've been apart since I was in the band. Gary and I went to Portland at that time, but that's because we weren't working."
Jarman: "The band doesn't need to be based anywhere. For the last few years of my life, I've lived a completely nomadic existence, and I feel the band does that, too.
"When we were writing this album, we'd get together for a couple of weeks in Manchester, then we'd go to Portland for a couple of weeks, and the change in scenery was really good for our creativity. I like the fact that the band doesn't have a set base. I feel as though a set base would limit what we do creatively."
Let's talk about your guitars. Now, Johnny, you're known for playing Rickenbackers, particularly 330 models. But lately I've seen you playing Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters.
Marr: "Yeah. The Rickenbacker I've had a real love for. The reason I started playing it, truth be told, is because of its limitations. I started playing the Jaguar for the same reason. They force me to play in a certain way. You can't really do blues-rock on a Rickenbacker, and a Jaguar isn't a right guitar for a blues-rock musician either.
"I had this idea for a very punchy, stinging kind of Fender sound, and when I played in Modest Mouse [singer-guitarist] Issac Brock had one lying around. It fit what I do real well. And I can make it sound Rickenbacker-ish, I can make it sound clean, but I do a lot of dirty stuff with it.
"The actual architecture of the guitar, I have to kind of wrestle with it. Those guitars are like driving an old vintage sports car very, very fast. There's a lot of things that can go wrong with them, and I like that - it keeps me on my toes."
Ryan, I've seen you go from Fender Mustangs to Gibson ES-335s.
Jarman: "My main guitar is the 335. I used to use the Mustang 'cause it was the only guitar I had. I always thought those guitars were fun to play, and they looked great. But when we went into the studio to record our third record, Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand loaned me his 335, and it just sounded so much better."
"I liked how the semi-acoustic nature of the guitar would lend itself to feedback. As soon as I stopped playing, the guitar would feed back. It gave my performance an element of threat because I could feel the feedback building up.
"My favorite guitar, though, is an Epiphone Coronet. I've used it on every record. They're so light and fun to play, and they have a distinctive tone you just can't get with any other guitar."
Amp-wise, do you guys make specific choices so you don't clash sonically?
Marr: "I use a Fender Super Reverb and an early '60s Marshall 100-watt Plexi head. I use them in combination so they sound like one big amp. I use the Fender for the top end and the Marshall for the bottom."
Jarman: "I've always used Orange amps. I got one when we got a record deal - I always wanted one when I was a kid. I use a combo amp and it sounds really good. I've never been one of those people that thought too much about amps. I kind of want to start experimenting with them in the future."
Johnny, you're pretty much known as an 'anti-soloist,' if you will. But on the song City Of Bugs, there's a pretty big solo. What was the reason for that?
Marr: "I hate these terms, but it's more of a post-rock part that I do. When I started out, my anti-solo attitude really held me in good stead because now I'm not anti-solo, but 90 percent of me is in the same place. The other 10 percent that likes to do a solo I have to keep in check so it's coming from taste.
"I haven't changed my ideology, but over the years I've started to do some solos. Generally, I like guitar music to be heady. I don't mean lots delays and echoes -
Not psychedelic per se.
Marr: "Psychedelic in the true sense but not in the '60s sense. I like it to be heady and trippy. Trippy can be more along the lines of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher than some '60s Fillmore business. I like weird stuff."
Let me ask both of you about guitar players, the shred culture in particular. Any big beefs with it?
Marr: "Well, it appears to be tasteless and aesthetically pretty corny, I think."
Jarman: "I don't like it when people play for themselves. I've always been a big fan of playing for the song. As far as wanting to impress, you're only impressing other guitarists. Some music that is so technically proficient, it says to me that there's been too many hours spent in the bedroom rehearsing and not enough living going on. You need to have a social life."
Marr: "You need to have something to say. Shredding, to me, is akin to having a incredibly overblown vocabulary at your disposal and saying very, very little. Or saying a lot that is ultimately meaningless and just a display of your virtuosity and practice power.
"I'm not saying underachieving is a good thing either. But I don't want to sit in front of somebody who has an incredible vocabulary but is talking bullshit. And playing the guitar is really just talking with your fingers, isn't it?"
What do the two of you like about each other's playing?
Jarman: "I really like Johnny's playing for being very romantic. It's very melodic, but it's not obvious. It paints a pretty picture. There's not many guitar players held in high esteem who are actually tasteful. That says a lot, really."
Marr: "When I first heard Ryan's playing, I found it to be really original in a way that was kind of confounding, which is always a great thing. I like when you don't know where it's coming from, and I think that's what innovation is. It gets harder and harder, as we've got like, 40, 50 years of guitar culture, to hear somebody who's really innovative."
Do you two actually practice the guitar? Do you sit down and work on scales, riffs or licks?
Jarman: "I don't. I don't even have a guitar at home. That's purely down to the fact that…I do love the guitar and I love playing, but when we get together to write, if I haven't played in a long time, I don't feel rusty at all - I feel excited. I haven't run the tank dry by sitting at home and trying to write constantly."
Marr: "I have a lot guitars around and I play if I'm on the phone or if the sound is down on the television in an absent-minded way. It's more of a physical thing. I think what Ryan was saying…it's important to protect your inspiration and enthusiasm. You can run the tank dry.
"I have a tendency to put aside time to play and really burn myself out, but that's not from doing scales, it's from coming up with, like, 300 chord changes. You have to keep the romance alive. The idea of sitting in a room and playing for eight hours and then writing a decent song absolutely terrifies me."
Let me ask you about another song on the new record, Stick To Yr Guns. That's a pretty sophisticated arrangement.
Marr: "It came about out of jamming and improvisation."
Jarman: "A late-night jam kind of thing. That song originally was, like, 15 minutes long. We just went round and round and round. Then we edited it down to six minutes and took the best bits. But because it was a jam, there was a lot of little tasty bits - obviously, we didn't want to use the same devices too many times. There was a lot of edits on it."
Well, Johnny, now comes the part of the interview where get to that good ol' Smiths question that I know you've been waiting for with baited breath. But we have a little twist on it…
[Marr shifts his weight on the couch and chuckles self-consciously]
You, of course, have been offered upwards of $10 million, The Smiths, for a reunion tour.
Marr: "Aw, yeah."
But we at MusicRadar have passed our hats around, and we've come up with… are you ready?
[smiles] Marr: "Yeah."
One thousand dollars.
[a befuddled look] Marr: "Well, I'm in the…you know, I'm in the…"
A thousand dollars.
Marr: "Well, that would take me away from The Cribs, so I can't do that."
But it's a thousand bucks, man!
[Ryan nudges him and whispers something] Marr: "Hang on a minute…[looks to Ryan]…Ryan's nudging me to say, 'Take it, take it' and give him a cut."
Oh, you don't have take it. You could donate it to charity, you could give it to Ryan -
Marr: "Give him a cut of it."
Absolutely. He could be the manager.
Marr: "Yeah, well, at least it's funny and it's not obscene, you know. I'll tell you what: if the other guys wanna go for that, who would I be to I turn that thousand pounds down? [thinks quickly] Oh, it's dollars?"
Well, we might be able to rack it up to pounds.
Marr: "Oh, you've gotta work on that exchange rate, man."
OK, we'll see what we can do.
Marr: "When the exchange rate goes up to like, you know, at least twice that…
There you go. And again, you don't have to keep it. You could give it to Ryan, you could donate it to charity.
Marr: "Yeah, well, I would probably do that."
Editor's note: Morrissey, if you're reading this, the next move is yours...


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Home | Reviews | Extras | Forums |
NarutoSynopsisSee main review. ReviewGiven the voracity of the backlash against the "not-so-bad" rating that Naruto received upon initial viewing by a fellow reviewer, I am certain that many readers eagerly anticipate a reviewer that, upon broader viewing (or even being of dissimilar gender from the original critic), will vindicate their pristine opinion of this title. Unfortunately you, the reader, are stuck with me. While I don't think poorly of this title by any stretch of the imagination, the buzz pervading Naruto is plainly more hype than substance. So where does the hype begin you ask? Right off the bat. From the very beginning of episode one this title more or less pronounces itself to be of the cookie-cutter Shonen Jump variety, and only a somewhat above average one at that. The character for which the show is named, Naruto, is quickly introduced, and even before the end of the first episode the viewer is completely aware of the ultimate direction of the plot: Naruto will someday become the strongest ninja of his village and receive the highly coveted title of Hokage. But knowing the end of the plotline isn't as much of a killjoy as one would expect. It is the ride that counts after all. However, in the case of Naruto the ride is tantamount to that of an old, wooden roller coaster: sometimes thrilling and often nostalgic, yet still quite a bit rickety and easily outdone in terms of excitement and quality. The characters, like the plot, are mostly OK while being admittedly cliched. Uzumaki Naruto, our primary character, is much like the leads of many of the most popular fight-styled anime. Like Goku (of Dragon Ball fame), Naruto is headstrong, motivated (mostly to become stronger), and cares deeply about his comrades. Like Yuusuke (of Yu Yu Hakusho fame), Naruto is rambunctious, brash, and a bit of a slacker. Despite his being particularly formulaic, Naruto at least combines the finer qualities of his predecessors. Such can not be said of his archrival Sasuke, a figure for whom blandness knows no depth. In fact, many of the characters fall somewhere in-between Sasuke's blandness and Naruto's charisma and coolness. You will come to care for the cast of Naruto for sure, just not at any deep or meaningful level. The animation, much like the characterization and plotting, is spotty. At times great while at other times shoddy, the quality of the animation here lacks any real consistency. During the arcs in which the animation is still on the minds of the animators, the viewer is treated to a fluid frame-rate and artistic renderings that leave little to be desired on the part of fans of the manga. Nevertheless, when the animation is bad it is painful. At these times the once faithful renderings degrade to craptastic levels. It is as if you can feel the framerates slipping before your very eyes. Like most aspects thus far examined, the animation of Naruto is a mixed bag indeed. It is perhaps a bit unfair though to judge a fight/action anime based upon factors such as characterization and plotting. True to its genre, it is in fight/action scenes that Naruto receives is highest accolades, though that isn't saying a whole hell of a lot. Despite very wide employment, the fight scenes manage to remain remarkably fresh. With such a large extended cast, invigorating and unique fighting styles/techniques manage to continuously infuse action sets with life. Additionally, the background music manages to add some tension to these scenes quite effectively. There are some negative aspects to the action sets however. One is the overemployment of certain special techniques, particularly Naruto's Shadow Clone technique, a move in which he creates multiple clones of himself. When a character uses the same move over and over and over and . . . well, things get bland and repetitive. Another detriment is that the sheer number of fights impedes the potency of plotting. Still, the combat stages are pretty intense and there are plenty of scenes for action fans to get pumped about. How one feels about Naruto probably depends, in good part, on their anime viewing mileage. As a person that has been watching anime for a decade and a half, there isn't too much here that I haven't seen done better elsewhere. However, it has managed to get better as it progresses. Although uneven in most aspects, this show is a good introductory title that will likely bring many newcomers into the fold of anime fandom. In closing, Naruto, while being better than worse without a doubt, doesn't quite succeed in being as mind-blowing as the hype-machine would have you believe. This anime volleys between a two-star and a four-star feature depending upon your anime viewing mileage and how easily you can stomach an anime so action laden. If you are relatively new to anime and a fan of DragonBall Z and YuYu Hakusho, it is a four-star feature. Otherwise, this is a three-star series at best. — Derrick L Tucker Recommended Audience: Preteens and up, due to some occasionally graphic violence (toned down from the manga), nongraphic nudity played for laughs, and occasional potty humor. Version(s) Viewed: digital source Review Status: Partial (72/220) Naruto © 2002 Kishimoto Masashi / Scott / Shueisha / TV Tokyo / Studio Pierrot |
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Policy | News
A new online resource is calling attention to colleges and universities that have failed to meet a federal requirement to place a "net price calculator" on their Web sites. According to James Boyle, who created NetPriceCalculator.info, 272 institutions lack a calculator as stipulated by law. Many others, he added, don't comply with the "letter or spirit of the minimum standards." The resource was launched just as the Department of Education announced a new student video competition to call attention to the presence of the calculators on school Web sites.
The net price calculator requirement was announced in 2008 as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The act called for each postsecondary institution that participates in Title IV student aid programs to post a calculator online that uses institutional data to provide an estimated net price for attending the school. To help institutions adhere to the new requirement, the National Center for Education Statistics created a template version of the calculator as a starting point.
Many of the laggards are small for-profit operations, such as the Academy Of Hair Design in Salina, KS and Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle. But others are larger public or private not-for-profit institutions, including Antioch University-Los Angeles Branch in Culver City, CA.
Boyle runs a public relations firm that has represented educational vendors, but he said the new Web site is an effort he's undertaken independently.
He said he created the site to help students, parents, and school advisors find a school's tuition calculator quickly and easily. With the help of graduate students, Boyle did a review of 6,000 college and university sites. He estimated that 95 percent of institutions have placed the utility on their sites, though some are difficult to find and have varying degrees of usability and accuracy.
"Many institutions have installed exceptionally useful net price calculators which exceed minimum mandate requirements and focus on delivering a useful planning estimate to prospective students and families," Boyle said. "However, more than six weeks after the deadline--and with three years of notice--it is frankly a bit surprising that so many colleges and universities have so far failed to place a net price calculator on their school Web sites."
Gaps that Boyle has identified in which schools aren't complying with minimum standards include:
NetPriceCalculator.info has launched at the same time that the Department of Ed has announced a new video challenge for students to broaden public awareness of tools on the department's Web site that help communicate the cost of a college degree.
The contest asks high school and college students to produce short videos highlighting why the calculators are a useful resource. A panel of higher education stakeholders will judge the entries, and the top three contestants will each win a $1,500 cash prize. Video submissions are due by January 31, 2012. The winners will be announced by late spring.
"Having a college degree has never been more important. And getting one has never been more expensive," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "We want to give prospective students and their families the information they need to make smart educational choices during tough economic times. Net price calculators can help potential degree seekers better understand which schools they can afford to attend and how much debt they will have to take on to get a degree."
Visit netpricecalculator.info for more information. To learn more about the video challenge, visit netpricecalc.challenge.gov.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.
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New campaign aims to end hunger in Minnesota
Clinical social worker Cheryl Champion sees the toll of hunger on children every day. And it extends far beyond tummy aches.
"It's huge. Kids who are hungry can't concentrate, and they're irritable, they're unhappy," she said. "In homes where there's everyone on edge, there's more domestic violence. Food is basic to everyone's survival, and without it, it snowballs into a million other problems."
A new campaign launched Monday in Minnesota aims to show how hunger can spiral into larger problems that burden all of society. Growing research suggests it can lead to depression, diabetes, and even obesity, resulting in medical and educational costs paid by the public sector.
Champion counsels clients at the People's Center, a community health clinic in Minneapolis that serves largely low-income people and immigrants. About half of her clients struggle with putting food on the table.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates about 10 percent of Minnesotans are often hungry and don't know where their next meal is coming from. That's below the national average, but relief groups are worried because statewide hunger is on the rise. A recent study suggests that hunger in Minnesota has doubled over five years.
Champion said the face of hunger is changing -- from chronically mentally ill or chemically dependent individuals to entire families wounded by an unrelenting economy.
Research shows hungry teens are more likely to suffer from depression. Hungry adults are two-and-a-half times more likely to be obese. That's a correlation that Champion acknowledges might seem ironic.
"That always confuses people. Why are people who are poor so overweight? How can they be hungry? Well, they're hungry because they're not getting nutritional foods, and diabetes is rampant in this culture," she said.
Health care professionals say poor people are more likely to buy food that's cheap. That usually means food high in calories and fat.
According to a new report prepared by the University of Minnesota Food Industry Center, the cost of hunger is rising, and public programs such as Medicaid are, in part, footing the bill. Co-author Jean Kinsey estimates that Minnesotans pay more than $1.6 billion every year in medical and educational costs.
"It's costing not only them, but us, a lot of money every year," Kinsey said. "It's a solvable problem. With the help of a lot of individuals, corporations and food companies, this could be taken care of."
"Food is basic to everyone's survival, and without it, it snowballs into a million other problems."
Minnesota nonprofits and corporations are working to end hunger in the state. A new partnership called Hunger-Free Minnesota has the backing of Target, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Hunger Solutions Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio and six food banks that serve the state.
Early conversations have focused on increasing food in the emergency food supply, and encouraging more participation in Minnesota's food-stamp program and childhood nutrition programs.
Some schools around the state are already making changes to end hunger among their students.
As soon as sleepy-eyed children walk through the front doors of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Elementary School in St. Paul, they're greeted by Jamal Abdur-Salaaam. He works with kids on their behavior.
The kids know the routine. Just about every one, no matter the family's income, lines up and fills a sack with cereal, milk and fruit, and carries them to their class.
School officials started this portable breakfast program, called Breakfast to Go, hoping to remove the stigma of free school meals and make it the norm.
Ninety-seven percent of the students at Wellstone qualify for free and reduced-priced meals, an indicator of family poverty levels. But until the schools made the breakfasts portable, fewer than half of the students participated. The program has since expanded to several other schools across the district.
Research shows hungry children are more likely to misbehave, see a psychologist, have lower math scores and even repeat a grade. Abdur-Salaam said kids on empty stomachs are just thinking about one thing.
"Their whole mindset is about survival. They're not thinking about what it is we're trying to do in the classroom, because their mind is where they're going to get their next meal," he said. "And that was kind of true to me. When I was a kid, being in school, I was a welfare baby, and I wanted to eat every chance I possibly could at school. It was like my couple of guaranteed meals a day."
Principal Christine Osorio said the school nurse also noticed how hunger affected kids' health, even if they didn't know the root of the problem.
"They feel like they're tired, they have a headache, or they have a stomachache. They don't often say it's because, 'I didn't eat breakfast.' They don't make that connection," Osorio said. "When students don't feel well or don't have the energy to focus, it could be for a variety of reasons. But we definitely know hunger will cause that, too."
Osorio said visits to the school nurse have gone down since the breakfast program began, and officials are glad the school is doing one small thing to thwart the larger repercussions of a child's empty stomach.
Editor's note: Minnesota Public Radio is a partner in the Hunger-Free Minnesota project. The partnership includes funding for MPR News to report on hunger and related issues for the next year.


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Thirty million Americans are now unemployed, in part thanks to government "lockdowns." Meanwhile, unemployment in many cases doubles the unemployed person's risk of death through disease, suicide, or drug overdose.
Taxes and SpendingU.S. Economy
Even if discretionary spending stays flat, total government outlays are estimated to increase by more than $1 trillion, significantly above any measure of tax revenues. And that is without considering a possible recession.
The Fed
Economist Robert Murphy lays out the purpose and structure of his upcoming book Understanding Money Mechanics, a guide to the Federal Reserve System that is a must-read for laymen. It will be released as a bimonthly serial on the Mises Wire and then published as a book.
Big GovernmentThe Police State
A universal basic income can easily be weaponized as a tool to punish "antisocial" behavior such as holding "unacceptable" political views or otherwise engaging in what the state doesn't like.
Big GovernmentTaxes and Spending
Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth taxes will have devastating consequences on capital formation, and will encourage investors to hold riskier assets than they otherwise would have.
Bureaucracy and RegulationLabor and WagesProtectionism and Free Trade
In the second half of the twentieth century, pro-union and anti-trade policies led to a Rust Belt that became uncompetitive, costly, and unable to cope with reality. More protectionism won't save the region now.
Central bankers like Alan Greenspan seem to think central bankers can be trusted to act with restraint. That's a risky plan, especially given that true and reliable constraints could be put on the money supply by adopting commodity money.
ImmigrationLegal System
"Here's the problem. If you give government a job to do, even one that seems justified in the abstract, it will use its power to make a terrible mess in practice."


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The Revolution Armed Itself – by Robin Yassin-Kassab
This piece, a rebuttal to Marc Lynch, was published at Foreign Policy under the title Fund Syria's Moderates.
In response to non-violent protests calling for reform, the Baathist regime in Damascus has brought Syria bloodshed, chaos, and created the conditions in which jihadism thrives. The now partially armed revolution is doing its best to roll back the bloodshed and to eliminate the regime that perpetrates it.
Yet Foreign Policy's Marc Lynch, one of the more perceptive analysts of the Middle East, argues that after more than 60,000 lives have been lost, "the last year should be a lesson to those who called for arming the rebels." In a previous article, Lynch noted, "Syrian armed groups are now awash with weapons."
Anyone laboring under the delusion that pro-revolution foreign powers have flooded Syria with hi-tech weaponry should scroll through the blog of New York Times correspondent C.J. Chivers or peruse the web pages displaying improvised catapult bombs and PlayStation-controlled armored cars. These are hardly the tools of a fighting force that has been armed to the teeth.
While it's true that some armed groups — particularly the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra — have sometimes found themselves in possession of plenty of weaponry, the resistance remains overwhelmingly dependent on the weapons it can buy, steal, or seize from captured checkpoints and bases.
Simply put, the assumptions of those who called for arming the rebels have not been tested because the rebels have not been armed — except in irrelevant, sporadic and, in Lynch's words, "poorly coordinated" ways. For instance, an ammunition shortage slowed the original rebel advance in Aleppo to a destructive halt.
Yes, the Saudis and Qataris distributed some light weapons — each according to their own interests, which only compounded the disorganization of rebel forces. The United States has held them back from providing heavy weapons, which could have made a difference against tanks and aircraft. In any case, the Arab Gulf states are also manipulating the Syrian conflict for their own ends: The Saudi tactic seems to be to slowly bleed Iran in Syria in the manner of the Iran-Iraq war rather than to push for a rapid revolutionary victory.
NATO's Patriot missile deployment in Turkey, which will only be used to stop missiles crossing the Turkish border rather than to establish a no-fly zone in Syria, sums up the broader thrust of Gulf and Western policy: a vain effort to quarantine the Syrian problem rather than to allow the revolution to come quickly to its natural conclusion.
In October and November, rebels did acquire man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), which were almost certainly seized from over-run regime bases. A number of regime planes and helicopters were then shot down, prompting media talk of yet another tipping point. But now the MANPADS have dried up, and Syria's cities and villages have been returned to the unending grind of aerial bombardment.
A steady, well-coordinated supply of anti-aircraft weaponry would have liberated parts of northern Syria from these bombs, which pulverize both infrastructure and human life. Refugees could have returned from Turkey. The Syrian National Coalition, the umbrella organization for opposition groups, could have made a real effort to coordinate governance and food supplies in these areas, and warlordism would have been weakened. Rebuilding could have started. Schools could have reopened. But there was no supply, and as a result northern Syria is dying.
"It's too late to avoid the militarization of the conflict or to prevent the sidelining of non-armed groups," Lynch writes. While this statement is entirely true, it fails to take account of the enormous and continuing disparity between the sides. Not only is the regime far better armed and organized than the resistance militias, it is also by far the most destructive force in the country, by far the greater killer of civilians. At this point, it's not unusual for 1,000 civilians to be killed in a week. Bombs are not dropped on bread lines or petrol queues as a battle tactic, but to murder, terrorize, and demoralize the unarmed population.
The inequality of military power does not restrain, but in fact encourages, the use of force by the Syrian regime. As the United States did in Iraq, or as Israel has done again and again in Gaza, stronger parties rely on overwhelming force when other solutions fail them. The weapons disparity is the only reason Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad continues to believe that he can win. He has lost vast tracts of the country, a large majority of the population despises him, the economy is crumbling — but still he has planes, helicopters, tanks, and missiles, and his opponents do not.
In the light of the regime's extreme repression, the arming of the revolution was inevitable. Non-violent protest continues to be important in Syria, but it lost its centrality in the first months — before the emergence of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) — because peaceful demonstrations were consistently broken up by bullets and clubs and non-violent activists were tortured to death. The FSA did not create these conditions, but emerged in response to them. When soldiers are ordered to fire on their unarmed countrymen, some will inevitably defect. When people experience the destruction of their homes, the rape of their sisters, the torture of their children, some of them will inevitably take up arms. Once they have done so, they are hunted by the regime; they must either bring it down or die.
Yet Lynch writes, "The United States should lean even harder on its Gulf allies to stop funneling weapons and cash to its local proxies for competitive advantage." This is a recipe for mass slaughter. These people are not going to give up, and Russia and Iran are not going to stop funneling weapons and cash to the regime.
Lynch is right that direct foreign military intervention is inadvisable. It would fulfill the expectations of those in and beyond the Middle East who believe the Syrian revolution is all about Iran and that the revolutionaries are pawns in the hands of dastardly foreign powers. There's too much bad history, particularly as far as the United States is concerned. Moreover, Syria would be an infinitely more difficult conflict than Libya: Western forces would find themselves fighting several wars at once — against Iran, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, perhaps even against Kurdish insurgents. Their presence might well exacerbate the sectarian element of the conflict.
But direct military intervention has always been highly unlikely. It's a red herring (the most persistent red herring of the conflict) — and one that misjudges the West's mood, its economy, and its current capabilities in the Middle East. The only useful intervention that can be hoped for is not a land or air invasion but a coordinated effort between the West, the Arabs, and Turkey to fund and arm the Syrian National Coalition, which is now recognized by over 130 countries as the "sole" or "legitimate" representative of the Syrian people.
With regard to Jabhat al-Nusra, Lynch writes, "The shift into armed insurgency and civil war is what brought al Qaeda into the mix, not America's failure to deliver guns."
Once again this is true, but surely time plays a role too. In Iraq, it took more than a year of attacks against Shiite civilians before the Shiite militias geared up into ethnic-cleansing mode. In Syria, for the first year of the armed revolution, Jabhat al-Nusra was an irrelevant fringe group. That's a year of increasing trauma and desperation for the military defectors and suffering civilians on the ground. Trauma and desperation tend to radicalize people's politics.
But two factors above all have dramatically improved Jabhat al-Nusra's profile in the last six months, and neither of them is ideological. The first is the shortage of arms among the rebel groups. Jabhat al-Nusra's existing arsenal — acquired from Iraq and from private donors in the Gulf — wedded to its cadres' fearless discipline in battle, allowed it to capture a string of military installations in the east, and thus to procure more weaponry, including heavy guns. It has used the new weapons to take on new and bigger regime targets, like the Taftanaz airfield in Idlib province, and in the process has won new weapon-hungry recruits.
The second factor is hunger. In Aleppo, regime bombing of bakeries, poor supply lines, and other militias' looting and indiscipline sparked a bread crisis. Jabhat al-Nusra stepped into the breach and won plaudits from locals for safeguarding grain supplies and fairly distributing bread. According to the survival standards of today's Aleppo, it is applying good governance. So far, it looks like al Qaeda's most successful incarnation — one which has learnt valuable lessons since the Iraq branch with which it maintains ties — alienated Iraqi Sunni communities.
It's too late for a happy ending in Syria. There are no easy answers to the country's enormous problems, but there is an obvious first step toward a solution: funding the moderate Islamists and secularists of the Syrian National Coalition, which will then feed the hungry and fund the fighters, empowering them to buy the weapons they need. That step will provide those Syrian communities scared of the revolutionary future, as well as the West, with a real Syrian interlocutor — a transitional political body rather than a collection of militias.
Source: http://qunfuz.com/2013/01/23/the-revolution-armed-itself/


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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation to restore unemployment benefits to millions who have been out of work for more than six months broke free of Senate Republican delaying tactics on Tuesday. Senators voted 60-40 to move ahead on the bill, clearing the way for a final Senate vote later on Tuesday. The measure would restore jobless checks for 2.5 million people whose benefits started running out seven weeks ago in a stubbornly jobless economic recovery.
The vote was a modest victory for President Barack Obama and Democrats, whose more ambitious hopes for a jobs agenda have mostly fizzled in the face of GOP opposition in the Senate. A battle has raged for months over whether jobless benefits should be financed with additional federal debt as Democrats want or through cuts to other government programs as most Republicans insist.
The vote came moments after Carte Goodwin was sworn in as a successor to West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, who died last month at the age of 92. Goodwin was the crucial 60th senator to defeat a Republican filibuster that has led to a lapse in benefits for 2.5 million people. The Senate gallery was packed with Goodwin supporters, who broke into applause as he cast his "aye" vote.
Two Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, voted to end the filibuster. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the lone Democrat to break with his party and vote to sustain it.
After a final Senate vote, the House is expected to approve the legislation and send it to President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
The measure would be the eighth extension of unemployment benefits since July 2008, at a total cost to taxpayers of more than $120 billion. The economy added 882,000 jobs so far this year -- but many of those were only temporary positions as the federal government geared up to conduct the U.S. Census.
Economists said it will take at least until the middle of this decade to recoup those losses and drive down the nation's unemployment rate, now at 9.5 percent, to a more normal 5.5 percent or 6 percent.
About 2.5 million people would receive jobless benefits retroactively, injecting almost $3 billion into the economy once they're paid out. Millions of others will continue to receive payments that would help prop up consumer demand to the tune of about $30 billion more over the coming year.
"This bill is about jobs because unemployment insurance goes to people who will spend it immediately," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "That would increase economic demand. And that would help support our fragile economic recovery."
But Republicans say that while they support the benefits extension it should be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the $3.7 trillion federal budget.
"We've repeatedly voted for similar bills in the past. And we are ready to support one now," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "What we do not support -- and we make no apologies for -- is borrowing tens of billions of dollars to pass this bill at a time when the national debt is spinning completely out of control."
Democrats tout the economy-boosting effect of unemployment checks since most beneficiaries spend them immediately. But the numbers amount to less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the size of the $14.6 trillion economy, and are far smaller than last year's $862 billion stimulus legislation. Republicans have blocked Democratic add-ons, such as aid to state governments, that could have meant a greater economic boost.
"It's too small to have any noticeable impact on the economy's growth rate," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "But the benefits do provide an important safety net for people during these difficult economic times."
The measure would extend benefits averaging $309 a week through the end of November. Maximum benefits in some states are far higher; in Massachusetts, the top benefit is $943 a week. In Mississippi, the top benefit is just $235.
The White House signaled Monday that the administration may seek another renewal of benefits in November if unemployment remains painfully high.
After initially feeling heat this winter when a lone GOP senator, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, briefly blocked a benefits extension in February, the GOP has grown increasingly comfortable opposing the legislation.


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he made it
Psalms 95:5
95:5 he made it. Psalms 95–100 seem to comprise a unitary group of songs of praise and triumph. They repeatedly emphasize that God created and rules all things. This verse reminds us that God made both land and sea. Psalm 100:3 assures us that "it is He that hath made us." See also note on Psalm 97:6.


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(visited by Thomas Weber)
12-Mar-2008 -- The trip to 1°N 109°E started from Singkawang, a small town in Western Kalimantan, some 140 km north of the province capital Pontianak. It is a remarkably clean town by Indonesian standards, with a majority of ethnic Chinese living there.
I took a bus going north for about 10 km and got down in the village of Semelagi. The satellite picture from gooogle earth indicated that from there two other roads lead east in direction of the confluence, one passing north, the other south. I took the northern road, since it passed the confluence a little closer. The Google Earth picture shows a black area around the confluence which I thought stemmed from burnt fields. But it turned out to be a swampy area turned into rice fields. I walked for about two km on the road along a small channel, used to drain the area. When I was just north of the confluence, I crossed the channel over a small bridge and asked for a way leading south for the last 500 m. A man told me that there was only a "jalan sawah" which meant a footpath through the rice fields. Now I thought it was quite easy to reach the point. But it turned out that the path was also flooded most of the time. So I had to move on bare footed on the slippery terrain. At least there were not many thorns on the ground. Being 250 m from the point I now had to find a way in western direction, but these fields were unusually big, there was no such way. But since the rice plants were already more than one meter high, I found I could risk to walk through the field without destroying the harvest. After wading through knee deep water and mud for a few minutes I reached the point.
The way back to the road was at first easier, because I found a jalan sawah that went directly into my direction, but reaching the channel again, there was no bridge and it took me quite a long time to fight my way through bushes to get to the next crossing. An hour later I reached Singkawang again.


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BARCELONA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A third of people don't bother to protect their mobile phone or tablet with a PIN or password, according to a global survey of 3,000 consumers by McAfee and One Poll. Most mobile device users remain unaware of potential breaches to their privacy as smartphones and tablet devices become increasingly attractive to cybercriminals.
Picking a PIN
When it comes to choosing a PIN, a majority of consumers in the UK and Germany stick with the first one they were ever given. In contrast, French and American respondents are more likely to opt for their lucky number. Worryingly however, more than one in ten use the same PIN across multiple devices and accounts.
Passwords: public property?
Setting up a password or PIN is no guarantee that data will stay safe, with over half (55%) of all respondents admitting that they have shared these details with others. Interestingly, this number is higher for tablets (61% have shared their PIN) than it is for mobiles (49% have shared their PIN), suggesting that consumers value the data on their phone more than that on their tablet.
Security mistakes
The survey highlights that consumers seem largely unconcerned about keeping data on their mobile devices safe. For example, only one in five respondents have backed up the data on their phone and tablet in case it's stolen. In addition, more than one in ten (15%) save password information on their phone, most commonly in the 'notes' section, meaning that if their phone falls into the wrong hands they risk opening up all sorts of personal information such as bank details and online store logins.
Child's play
Parents are similarly lax when it comes to how their children interact with their devices. Almost half of respondents allow their children access to their mobile or tablet while one in six admit that their child knows their PIN or password. 10% are even happy to share their password to iTunes or other app purchasing sites to enable their kids to buy apps.
"It's clear that consumers are forgetting exactly how much valuable information is stored on their mobile or tablet," comments Raj Samani, EMEA CTO, McAfee. "These devices can contain personal data like bank details and addresses, so it's crucial that people take the same care they would with their wallet or computer. Failing to set a PIN or password is like leaving your front door open: Would you be surprised if you came home to find your PC missing?
"Our recent McAfee Consumer Trends Report shows that mobile devices are becoming increasingly attractive to cybercriminals as they look for new ways to steal digital identities and commit fraud."
To ensure that personal and sensitive information remains private, McAfee Mobile Security offers comprehensive protection against mobile device loss, viruses, and web threats. Providing protection against spyware and phishing, bad apps, spam and allows the user to lock, track and remotely wipe data if required with the ability to backup and restore personal information.
Visit the McAfee stand at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Hall 3, 3C34 where we are exhibiting with our parent company Intel. Download a free trial of McAfee Mobile Security via Google Play.
For a full copy of the Mobile Security: McAfee Consumer Trends Report from McAfee Labs, with additional threats, please view the report here.
View McAfee's Blog for more insights and an infographic on the research here.
About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com


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Pocket Notebooks Set (Pack of 2) - Pride and Prejudice
- Inspired from all time classic by Jane Austen- Pride and Prejudice
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The champagne's been drunk and the resolutions solidified, so kick off the 2014 Sunday routine with new episodes of Cutthroat Kitchen, on Food Network.
If you're new to this rousing series of cooking sabotage, here's a rundown: Alton Brown gives four competitors $25,000 and a culinary challenge. The wily chefs must work to churn out a delicious dish, while surviving the culinary curveballs thrown their way by using the funds to save themselves or handicap the competition. Utensils will be thieved, ingredients will be changed, and tears will be cried. It's all part of the game.
On Sunday's new episode, see just how far these chefs will go to please the discerning palate of guest judge Giada De Laurentiis. Get an exclusive first look at bonus footage of Alton and Giada on Cutthroat Kitchen, and catch the competition Sunday at 10/9c, only on Food Network. >>


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The daring assault that killed Osama bin Laden last week has been seen by many as a vindication of the tactic of "targeted killing," which Gen. David Petraeus has utilized at an unprecedented level in Afghanistan.
U.S. military sources say the tactic has turned back the Taliban's momentum. But critics say it can be counterproductive — especially when mistakes are made.
American officials say they carry out dozens of operations against insurgent targets in Afghanistan every night, most often arresting their target with no shots fired. But Afghan politicians regularly complain that these night raids enrage the population, and sometimes get the wrong man.
The raids are almost always in remote, unsafe areas, making facts hard to pin down. But Kate Clark, of the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul, recently researched one case, which she says raises serious questions.
"They'd had a tip-off about a man who was the shadow deputy governor of Takhar — the deputy governor for the Taliban for that province," she says. "And by following his phone calls, they discovered a number in Kabul."
And that's where Clark's research and the American version of the story diverge. Both agree that months later, on Sept. 2 of last year, U.S. missiles destroyed a car in a long convoy, killing 10 people. But U.S. officials say they killed the Taliban deputy governor, Muhammad Amin, who was using an alias, Zabet Amanullah. Clark says they are two different men and that the Americans killed the wrong one.
There have been mistakes on some occasions in the past, and when we make mistakes, we admit them. But this was not one of those instances.
"This man was living a completely open life, and yet the American special forces really do believe he is an insurgent commander," Clark says.
The governor of Takhar told NPR that Zabet Amanullah was not an insurgent. He was a well-known fighter 25 years ago against the Soviet occupation. He had been active during the Taliban government and kept in contact with some current Taliban fighters. But when he was killed last fall, Zabet Amanullah was working on his nephew's campaign for parliament.
"When Zabet Amanullah went up to the north to campaign in the parliament elections last year, they thought it was the Taliban shadow governor. So they mixed up these two men's identities, and they killed the wrong man," Clark says.
Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a NATO spokesman, says that's not true.
"On Sept. 2, coalition forces did kill the targeted individual, Muhammad Amin, also known as Zabet Amanullah," Dorrian says. "In this operation, multiple sources of intelligence confirm that coalition forces targeted the correct person. This individual was tracked for nearly six months."
But Clark says the military was tracking the wrong man for six months. As for the Taliban commander, Muhammad Amin — he's still alive, according to Michael Semple, a leading Western authority on the Taliban and currently a fellow at Harvard University. Semple says he contacted and interviewed the Taliban commander, alive and well in Pakistan, two months ago.
If your understanding of Afghanistan is just made up of signals intelligence, and you don't even have the most basic human intelligence, there is absolutely the opportunity for things to go catastrophically wrong.
"He basically matches all the personal details that the Americans had on him — he carries ID in the name of Muhammad Amin," Semple says. "He is a known person."
Dorrian says that's impossible, because after the killing, intelligence confirmed the Taliban commander's death.
"There have been mistakes on some occasions in the past, and when we make mistakes, we admit them," Dorrian says. "But this was not one of those instances."
But it's common knowledge that Muhammad Amin and Zabet Amanullah are two very different men, according to Clark, and any local official in Takhar could have confirmed it.
"If your understanding of Afghanistan — it's a complex place — is just made up of signals intelligence, and you don't even have the most basic human intelligence, there is absolutely the opportunity for things to go catastrophically wrong," Clark says.
The U.S. military says it has iron-clad proof it did get the right man, but it cannot be made public without jeopardizing sensitive intelligence methods.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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By Bill Webb
Word&Way Editor
In a little more than three months, the world lost the matriarchs of a civil rights revolution in America.
Rosa Parks, 92, who almost 50 years earlier kept her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus in a stand for justice, died Oct. 25 at her home in Detroit. Coretta Scott King, who was 78 when she died at a holistic health clinic in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, on Jan. 31 will not only be remembered as the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. but as a champion of civil rights herself.
Parks was a 42-year-old seamstress and housekeeper on her way home from work at a downtown department store when she defied a local segregationist law and was arrested for disorderly conduct. The bus driver ordered her to give up her seat to white passengers as they boarded the bus. She refused.
Her refusal was not a spur-of-the-moment decision that grew out of careless obstinacy. It was a move she and others had anticipated at the appropriate time. Rosa Parks intuitively knew the time was right for a person like herself to test the law, to face the humiliation of arrest and — as it turned out — to spark a much-overdue revolution against one of the most diabolical forms of injustice.
Christian leaders described Parks' act as consistent with her faith in God. "Just as Jesus broke laws in the name of the higher law of God, so too did Rosa Parks," observed Peter Gathje, a professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.
"God sat with me as I remained calm and determined not to be treated with less dignity than any other citizen of Montgomery," Parks herself recalled in a newspaper interview in 2000. The act sparked the Montgomery bus boycott that lasted more than a year and involved more than 40,000 black residents.
Parks herself remained a community activist; for the past several decades she had promoted educational efforts in Detroit.
The bus boycott she sparked was the first major protest of the civil rights movement, and it catapulted Martin Luther King Jr., 26, the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, into the forefront of that movement. His philosophy of nonviolence was the hallmark of the movement from that time forward.
Coretta Scott King was a force during her husband's rise to prominence. She was his behind-the-scenes advisor and confidante. She and their children weathered the abuse and risked the danger associated with her husband's crusade. As the civil rights movement demanded more and more of him, Coretta King was the stabilizing influence in their family.
It would have been understandable if Coretta had quietly backed away from the movement after her husband's assassination in 1968. Thankfully, she did not shrink from the challenge but demonstrated her own resolve as a champion for justice.
She devoted herself to carrying on his legacy — actually it was their legacy — by establishing the King Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta. Her presence within the ongoing civil rights movement lent grace and strength, as well as perspective to those who might have been tempted to abandon the philosophy of nonviolence espoused by her mate.
Both Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King distinguished themselves by their ongoing interest in matters of significance to both current and future generations, and both appealed to their personal faith for direction and support. Their deaths mark the passing of an era that must be remembered by people of every race and culture. The world needs more people with the courage and steadfastness of these women.