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In 1848, the new Communist movement issued a manifesto. It began with the opening line:
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Second-Term Obama Agenda: Part 1: - Why U.S. Policy Betrayed the Moderates
By Barry Rubin
In 1848, the new Communist movement issued a manifesto. It began with the opening line:
"A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism."
For our purposes today, this threat might be reworded as:
"A specter is haunting the Middle East—the specter of America."
For example, about a year ago Dubai's police chief addressed a major international Gulf Arab security conference. He said that there were about three dozen security threats to the Gulf Arab countries. But this well-respected security expert said the number-one threat was the United States.
Since that time, this American specter has become vivid. For instance, The New York Times had a recent editorial which stated that the only protection for Egypt's democracy--meaning Muslim Brotherhood participation in the next Egyptian government--was the United States and Europe. The Egyptian regime, Israel, and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states were bad for wanting to protect their societies from Islamic ideology, revolution, and anti-Western Sharia states!
Might the United States and its allies rather be expected to battle Turkey, Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Hamas or might it otherwise support Islamists while Saudi Arabia fought Europe's and America's response as too soft on Hizballah?
But what if a crazy notion seizes policymakers, blessed with the mush of ignorance about the Middle East, that they can take control of the troublemakers? Perhaps Germany (World War One and Two jihads), or the Soviet control of radical nationalist regimes in the 1950s and 1960, or the French rescue of the Palestinian leadership in the late 1940s, or Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran during the 1970s, or America in the 1950s (Arab nationalism), or the 2010 Muslim Brotherhood would turn nominal extremists into friends?
Imagine, dunderheads in Washington, London, Paris, and so on thinking they are masterfully preserving stability, making peace, and harnessing Sharia in the cause of boosting democracy!
How smug would be the smiles when those who perpetrated September 11, 2001, were supposedly defeated by those mentored into power a decade later by the West in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, or in the Arab Spring or the Syrian revolution!
Look at it through the eyes of the Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Kurds, and Israelis who think they will try to impose a new order in the region.
Consider a famous speech by Winston Churchill at Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946. In contrast to the Communist Manifesto,100 years later, Churchill began, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain is descended across the continent." It might be strange that to compare these two statements to the current situation in the Middle East. But such a comparison actually makes sense.
The intention of great powers seemed to impose one (European) system on the region. In the first case, it was Communism. In Churchill's case, it was anti-Communism he advocated, which in parallel would be Anti-Islamism.
But today, what is the system that Arabs, Iranians, Turks, and Israelis think they will try to impose on the region? The answer for those who have been watching in recent years is revolutionary Islamism.
It might seem strange that this is the thinking, but it isn't. The question is whether there is a system that
Western Europeans want to impose on the Middle East to ensure its
hegemony; and the answer that the Arabs, Persians, and Turks usually give
today--although this does not mean it has to be true--is Islamism. The
Islamists themselves view Western policy, however, of as a sign of their own
victory and of Western fear and weakness.
Churchill's title was "the Sinews of Peace," and he favored a policy of
leading a coalition of the Free World, which would be welcome today.
To summarize, in the 1930s, Churchill favored anti-fascism and advocated a united front against Nazi Germany. After World War Two, he supported an alliance of the Free World against the Iron Curtain.
Where is the Churchill of today?
Well, his bust was quickly chucked from the White House because he was the symbol for Obama of Western colonialism.
Who was the genuine symbol of anti-colonialism for Obama? The left wing anti-Western revolutionary ideological movement represented by the Muslim Brotherhood or Chavez, and other demagogues.
If you favor Islamism--a U.S.-sponsored movement except for the extremists of al-Qaida--you cannot be accused of Islamophobia. Not liberals or real pro-democrats or conservative traditionalists or nationalists or communal nationalists, but Islamists.
That also means that non-Islamists can also be the enemy in Western eyes. Moderates are actually less desirable friends to terrorists and extremists. The West seems to view its three main threats as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel; its three main friends as Turkey, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Syrian Islamist rebels.
Consider this: In Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey, and other countries, Western powers and especially America were seen to be behind Islamist governments. And in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and even Iran, they were portrayed in this way with perhaps somewhat less justice. But here is the bottom line: The overwhelming majority of Arab governments and the Turkish-Iranian democratic opposition had many reasons to think that the Western countries, and especially the United States, were actually supporting their Islamist foes. In 2013, that view became even more accurate.
It should be understood in the current regional picture that the Western world, and especially the Obama Administration, have taken the Islamists' side in the battle between these forces.
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1. The Islanders by Christopher Priest
Priest's first novel in a decade may not be quite his best, but it is still an impressive achievement. Taking the form of a gazetteer to a fictional archipelago of islands, this was a short story collection, novel and worldbuilding guidebook (but also very much a deconstruction of the notion of worldbuilding) all wrapped into one compelling whole. Especially notable for showcasing Priest's not-very-often-aired sense of humour. Inventive and rewarding.
2. The White Luck Warrior by R. Scott Bakker
Bakker's Second Apocalypse fantasy sequence (of which this is the fifth volume, and the second volume of the second of three trilogies set in the world of Earwa) passes its mid-point with Bakker's customary intellectual vigour, foreboding atmosphere and memorable scenes (the finale is stunning). He also brings back the massive battle sequences and more successfully manages the politics than the previous volume, returning to his top form.
3. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Abercrombie's best novel to date, with a strong focus on a single battle unfolding over three days. The battle may be pointless, but its outcome has huge ramifications for both the characters and also the world (not the least of which is the invention of the sandwich).
4. The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding
The Tales of the Ketty Jay series is probably the most purely enjoyable fantasy series in progress at the moment, and this third volume is the best in the series so far. A succession of aerial dogfights and chases mix well with intrigue, a museum heist and an epic conclusion featuring a giant steampunk robot. An absolutely non-guilty pleasure.
5. The Cold Commands by Richard Morgan
After the interesting but unfocused Steel Remains, Morgan returns to his SF/fantasy hybrid trilogy with renewed focus and improved writing. Much more successful as a homage to pulp fantasy than its forebear, although it's the increasingly clear links to his Takeshi Kovacs series that have most impressed readers.
6. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Was it worth the six-year wait? Probably not, and the delaying of several critical climactic moments to the sixth novel in the series was a mistake (as was the problematic pacing of the Daenerys storyline). However, once these issues were take on board, what we were left with was often compelling: Theon's imprisonment at the hands of the Boltons is an excellent slice of psychological horror, whilst Davos and Bran's chapters showed that Martin could still do concise, effective storylines when required.
7. The Crippled God by Steven Erikson
The tenth and final novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence was much more of an effective finale than some fans were expecting. Erikson demonstrates how much control he did have of his often cumbersome-appearing narrative unfolding over ten thousand pages, wrapping up an enormous number of storylines, character arcs and thematic journeys with skill. That said, it was still a couple of hundred pages too long and the pacing was still too-often bogged down by turgid dialogue exchanges, but this novel still represents Erikson at his best form in almost a decade.
8. Daylight on Iron Mountain by David Wingrove
After the somewhat sedate Son of Heaven, Wingrove's new version of his Chung Kuo sequence kicked into overdrive with a novel that packed sociological change and full-scale global warfare into a modest page count. A fun, page-turning read setting the scene for the remaining eighteen (!) novels in this series.
9. Rivers of London/Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
A new urban fantasy sequence arrives almost fully-formed, with fun writing and some solid concepts overcoming the familiarity of yet another take on vampires and ghosts.
10. By Light Alone by Adam Roberts
Inventive SF from Roberts, set in a world where people live by photosynthesis. His strongest novel to date and his most satisfying ending (a sticking point for me with his previous works).
Bubbling under: Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, Embassytown by China Mieville, Manhattan in Reverse by Peter F. Hamilton, The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson, War in Heaven by Gavin Smith, The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams, The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham, Leviathan Wakes by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck, Fenrir by M.D. Lachlan and The Order of the Scales by Stephen Deas.
This award goes to Steven Erikson for bringing the Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence to a worthwhile and fascinating conclusion, tying together an epic number of plot threads in a satisfying manner.
This one goes to The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, previously the highest-profile author whom I'd never actually read. A gripping, thought-provoking read that more than lives up to its titanic reputation.
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Deus Ex sequence returns with its third game, an RPG that offers great gameplay, well-developed characters and tremendous freedom to approach any problem from multiple angles (some ill-considered boss fights aside). Fun and smart in equal measures.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Bethesda return with an open-world RPG offering huge amounts of freedom, as well as a metric ton of content, making for their largest game since Daggerfall. Fans of Bethesda's previous games may find the structure overly-familiar, but unparalleled atmosphere and evocative graphics make up for the occasional bugs and often lacklustre writing.
3. Space Marine
Not exactly the longest or most sophisticated game ever made, Space Marine nevertheless satisfies by allowing you to jet-pack into a horde of ravening orcs with a massive chainsword and unleash carthartic carnage on an epic scale. Throwing back your head and laughing like a lunatic whilst doing so is purely optional.
4. Shogun 2: Total War
I've only had time to play this briefly, but the Total War series seems to have lost a little of its shine recently. The graphics are phenomenal and the mix of real-time battles and turn-based strategy remains compelling, but the continued poor AI performance and an oddly cumbersome interface that throws away a lot of the streamlining of the last few games inhibit fully enjoyment of the title.
Not played (yet): Mafia II, Portal 2, Arkham City, Hard Reset.
1. Game of Thrones
HBO's take on the Song of Ice and Fire novels is well-written and brilliantly-acted, overcoming some problems (inappropriately gratuitous sex scenes and clumsy exposition) to emerge as a genuinely impressive, game-changing TV show.
2. Top Boy
Channel 4's four-part mini-series about drug dealers feuding for control of a London estate may have resulted in obvious comparisons to The Wire, but its impressive cinematography and nuanced characterisation allowed it to also stand on its own as a well-acted, impressively-written drama. A second season will air in 2012.
3. Wilfred
A bizarre premise - a suicidal man is befriended by a dog which he sees as a person - gives rise to some hilarious antics and amusing references. The writers get bogged down a little in a limited premise, but towards the end of the season show some inventiveness in stretching the format.
4. Merlin
For its fourth and penultimate season, Merlin seriously upped its game, dropping the poor comedy episodes and scything down a number of recurring characters with surprising ruthlessness before bringing some of the more notable mythic Arthurian imagery into play. It's still a lightweight take on the legend, but a resolutely fun one.
5. Doctor Who
This year was a bit of a disappointment for Doctor Who, with Steven Moffat apparently keener on showing how clever he is than delivering reliably entertaining television. However, the excellent Neil Gaiman episode is worthy of the placement all by itself.

subset: commoncrawl


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For Students
At the Smithsonian
Explore by Topic
Secrets of the Smithsonian
Events for Kids
Symbols in Art
Symbols in a Story
Scientists @ the Smithsonian
Sizing Up the Universe
Prehistoric Climate Change
Rationing during WWII
Digging for Answers
Smithsonian Kids
Walking on the Moon
Mr. President
Amazing Collections
Getting Started
If the Earth is the size of a Brussels sprout, how big is the Sun? If the solar system is the size of a fried egg, how big is our galaxy? In this interactive challenge, you can guess relative sizes in outer space, and then do the math to check your guesses.
You can also see relative distances by using an online map. If the Brussels sprout Earth is in your backyard, how far away is the shrunk-down Sun? Type in your own address to find out!


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Unlock Door Munster, IN – Munster IN Locksmith Store
Has your home door or office door jammed because of a broken lock, and won't open, no matter how hard you try? Instead of being frustrated or resorting to extreme measures like attempting to break it down, it's recommended that you call your nearest locksmith service for assistance. Munster IN Locksmith Store can unlock doors for you if you're based in the Munster, IN region. We can open home doors, car doors, commercial building doors, garages, emergency exits, file cabinets, and safes. Our unlock door service is very reliable and affordable.
The Door Unlock Challenge:
It's not easy to get doors open if there is an electronic lock on them, or if they are heavy and off-track. At times like that, you need someone with professional expertise in unlock door service and the right tools – otherwise, chances are the lock and door itself will get damaged. It's never a good idea to attempt to get stuck doors open yourself, if you want to save on high repair costs later.
Opt for non-destructive door unlock
Locksmiths armed with the right tools can get your door unlocked without harming it, the lock, or anything behind the door. Munster IN Locksmith Store's locksmiths have assisted countless home, car, and business owners to get their doors open over the years. We know what we are doing – our service is fast, safe, and affordable.
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We are a mobile locksmith that can offer doorstep service in Munster and the surrounding region. All you need to do is call us, and we'll have a mobile van over to you within the hour. If you live in easily-accessible areas, it barely takes us 20 minutes to get there. Our locksmiths can be hired 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – even during the holidays! We have all the tools necessary to perform our unlock door work on-site.
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We can open all kinds of doors. Here are some of the more popular requests we get from our customers:
- Car door unlock
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Once the door has been unlocked, we can also repair or replace it for you, if necessary. We can also fix locks and install new ones.
Call us now on 219-989-6547 to get unlock door service!


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I Saw the Devil is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
I SAW THE DEVIL is a shockingly violent and stunningly accomplished tale of murder and revenge from Korean genre master Kim Jee-woon (THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD and a TALE OF TWO SISTERS). Oldboys CHOI Min-sik plays Kyung-chul, a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. The embodiment of pure evil, he has committed horrifying and senselessly cruel serial murders on defenseless victims, successfully eluding capture by the police. On a freezing, snowy night, his latest victim is the beautiful Ju-yeon, daughter of a retired police chief and pregnant fiancée of elite special agent Soo-hyun (THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRDs Lee Byung-hyun). Obsessed with revenge, Soo-hyun decides to track down the murderer, even if doing so means becoming a monster himself. And when he finds Kyung-chul, turning him in to the authorities is the last thing on his mind. The lines between good and evil fall away in this diabolically twisted game of cat and mouse. Pushing the concept of revenge to it's most extreme limits, Kim Jee-woon brilliantly transcends the police procedural and serial killer genres in surprising and thrilling new ways.


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What is CSI? Several months of detective work has led to Criminal Sock Investigations, a collection of 10 sock patterns & case file stories featuring the top 10 most wanted sock criminals.
Is this a club? CSI is similar to a monthly sock club, but more flexible. The collection will be available via the Ravelry Pattern Store as a one-time e-book purchase ($28), or as individual patterns purchased separately as they are released ($5). A new sock pattern will be available every month. If you purchase the CSI e-book, when a new pattern is released, Ravelry will send a notification with a link to download the new pattern.
Also, in the spirit of a club I have started a Crafty Detour group on Ravelry, where we will post information, announcements, share ideas, projects and questions. Please come join us!
Must I join Ravelry to participate? No. CSI will be available via the Ravelry Pattern Store, but you do NOT need an account to purchase the patterns. (Ravelry just handles the hosting of the PDFs and the PayPal transactions). However, you may want to consider joining Ravelry, as it is quite a wonderful resource.
When will it be available? The first pattern and e-book will be available starting June 21.
eBook published in June 2010


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When she was forced to teach her students Latin and Greek word roots, high school English teacher Suzanne Kail thought that such "drill and kill" method would backfire. (Progressive educators tend to think that rote memorization would surely kill students enthusiasm for learning, hence the term.)
But is a little old school learning really that bad?
As soon as she began teaching her students the Greek and Latin origins of many English terms — that the root sta means "put in place or stand," for example, and that cess means "to move or withdraw" — they eagerly began identifying familiar words that incorporated the roots, like "statue" and "recess." Her three classes competed against each other to come up with the longest list of words derived from the roots they were learning. Kail's students started using these terms in their writing, and many of them told her that their study of word roots helped them answer questions on the SAT and on Ohio's state graduation exam. [...]
For her part, Kail reports that she no longer sees rote memorization as "inherently evil." Although committing the word roots to memory was a necessary first step, she notes, "the key was taking that old-school method and encouraging students to use their knowledge to practice higher-level thinking skills."
That's also true of another old-fashioned method: drilling math facts, like the multiplication table. Although many progressive educators decry what they call "drill and kill" (kill students' love of learning, that is), rapid mental retrieval of basic facts is a prerequisite for doing more complex, and more interesting, kinds of math. The only way to achieve this "automaticity," so far as anyone has been able to determine, is to practice. And practice. Indeed, many experts who have observed the wide gap between the math scores of American and Chinese students on international tests attribute the Asian students' advantage to their schools' relentless focus on memorizing math facts.
Annie Murphy Paul of TIME has more: Link
I remember the planets because of memorizing the Planet Song, from Blue's Clues, with my kids.
Three years later when several friends of mine were studying for Biology class attempting to learn the hierarchy of taxonomy, we remembered how Mrs. Scherer drilled things into our head. Using her methods, we chanted the seven levels of taxonomic structure: Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. I can recite the order even today.
There is something to be said for rote memorization.


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Killer Cupcakes
- $3.99
- $3.99
Publisher Description
Hilarious whodunit with quirky characters for fans of Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote. A clean, fun read.
The Lexy Baker series is definitely a page turner!
Things are going great for Lexy Baker. She's finally opened her dream bakery, gotten rid of her cheating boyfriend and settled into her grandmothers house with her perky dog Sprinkles at her side.
But her blissful life doesn't last long. When her ex boyfriend is found poisoned with cupcakes from her bakery, Lexy finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation headed up by her hunky neighbor detective Jack Perillo.
With the help of a gang of iPad toting, would-be detective grandmothers, Lexy decides to take it upon herself to find the real murderer in order to clear her name and get her bakery back in business.
As things heat up on the murder trail, in the kitchen and between Lexy and the hunky detective, it's a race against time to put the real murderer behind bars and get back to baking.
Will Lexy get her man?
>> Includes the recipe for Lexy's famous cupcake tops!
(This is book 1 in the Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series, but you don't have to read them in order if you don't want too!)


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Kwangan-ri is one of the very famouse beach in Busan, the second large city of Korea. There's lots of restaurants, bars, and sushi bars, and many people, old and young, flocks together and enjoy life all seasons.
You can see the Kwangan Deagyo(Bridge), one of the longest bridge in Korea.
Busan, a bustling city of approximately 3.6 million residents, is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. The size of Busan is 765.64km² which is 0.8% of the whole land of the Korean Peninsula. The natural environment of Busan is a perfect example of harmony between mountains, rivers and sea. Its geography includes a coastline with superb beaches and scenic cliffs, mountains which provide excellent hiking and extraordinary views, and hot springs scattered throughout the city. Busan enjoys four distinct seasons and a temperate climate that never gets too hot or too cold. Busan is the second largest city in Korea. Its deep harbor and gentle tides have allowed it to grow into the largest container handling port in the country and the fifth largest in the world. The city's natural endowments and rich history have resulted in Busan's increasing reputation as a world class city of tourism and culture, and it is also becoming renowned as an international convention destination.


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4pm EASTERN
3pm CENTRAL
2pm MOUNTAIN
1pm PACIFIC
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
In today's world, a vast community of supporters for your genealogical society might fall outside the standard definition of "genealogists." Learn how to work with historians, archivists, government officials, librarians, youth, and others to enhance your society's meetings, publications, and overall success.
Focusing on the resources of the FGS Outreach Committee, this lecture is specifically geared towards Society officers seeking to expand their membership and their societies' activities. The lecture will begin with an introduction of the various communities (including historians, archivists, librarians, government, and youth) that a genealogical society can perform outreach activities towards, focusing on specific success stories from FGS member societies. The lecture will then focus on methods for developing outreach plans, and implementing them within a genealogical society. Attention will be spent towards developing lectures, newsletter items, and other functions to bring in members "outside' the genealogical community.
This webinar will be presented by FGS board member D. Joshua Taylor. "Josh" is a nationally known and recognized genealogical author, lecturer, and researcher. Currently, Joshua is the Director of Education and Programs at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a frequent speaker at genealogical societies, libraries, and other organizations across the United States. Active in the genealogical community, Joshua is the current Vice President of Administration for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), where he also serves as chairman of the Conference Planning Committee and co-chair of the FGS/ISGS 2011 National Conference. He holds an MLS (Archival Management) and an MA (History) from Simmons College and has been a featured genealogist on NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? with actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Ashley Judd.
Title: Your Society's Next Generation: Reaching Out to New Communities
Date: Saturday, June 18, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM CENTRAL TIME
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer


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The Kinks / Mono Collection vinyl box
Sony are to issue The Mono Collection, a 10LP Kinks vinyl box set that packages the band's first eight albums in mono and comes complete with a 'bonus' double LP…
This set includes Live At Kelvin Hall (aka Live Kinks) album and comes with a bonus double LP compilation The Kinks (aka The Black Album) which adds up to ten vinyl records.
In addition The Mono Collection includes a hardcover 48-page book with rare and unseen photos and new interviews with Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory.
A similar 10CD The Kinks in Mono was issued back in 2011, although that omitted Live at Kelvin Hall and The Kinks compilation, but added three CDs of EPs and 'Kollectables'. This set is now commands very high prices on the used market.
This vinyl Mono Collection box set may be similarly desirable in years to come. This is also available via PledgeMusic, although they won't ship to the US and Amazon UK will. Since this isn't being released in the US then that's the best option for American fans.
The Mono Collection is released on 18 November 2016.
Compare prices and pre-order
Kinks, The
The Mono Collection [VINYL]
Side 1
1. Beautiful Delilah
2. So Mystifying
3. Just Can't Go to Sleep
4. Long Tall Shorty
5. I Took My Baby Home
6. I'm a Lover Not a Fighter
7. You Really Got Me
Side 2
1. Cadillac
2. Bald Headed Woman
3. Revenge
4. Too Much Monkey Business
5. I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain
6. Stop Your Sobbing
7. Got Love if You Want It
Kinda Kinks
Side 3
1. Look for Me Baby
2. Got My Feet On the Ground
3. Nothin' In the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
4. Naggin' Woman
5. Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight
6. Tired of Waiting for You
Side 4
1. Dancing In the Street
2. Don't Ever Change
3. Come On Now
4. So Long
5. You Shouldn't Be Sad
6. Something Better Beginning
The Kink Kontroversy
Side 5
1. Milk Cow Blues
2. Ring the Bells
3. Gotta Get the First Plane Home
4. When I See That Girl of Mine
5. I Am Free
6. Till the End of the Day
Side 6
1. The World Keeps Going Round
2. I'm On an Island
3. Where Have All the Good Times Gone
4. It's Too Late
5. What's in Store for Me
6. You Can't Win
Face To Face
Side 7
1. Party Line
2. Rosy Won't You Please Come Home
3. Dandy
4. Too Much On My Mind
5. Session Man
6. Rainy Day in June
7. House in the Country
Side 8
1. Holiday in Waikiki
2. Most Exclusive Residence for Sale
3. Fancy
4. Little Miss Queen of Darkness
5. You're Looking Fine
6. Sunny Afternoon
7. I'll Remember
Something Else By The Kinks
Side 9
1. David Watts
2. Death of a Clown
3. Two Sisters
4. No Return
5. Harry Rag
6. Tin Soldier Man
7. Situation Vacant
Side 10
1. Love Me Till the Sun Shines
2. Lazy Old Sun
3. Afternoon Tea
4. Funny Face
5. End of the Season
6. Waterloo Sunset
The Kinks Live at Kelvin Hall / The Live Kinks
Side 11
1. Till the End of the Day
2. A Well Respected Man
3. You're Looking Fine
4. Sunny Afternoon
5. Dandy
Side 12
1. I'm On an Island
2. Come On Now
3. You Really Got Me
4. Milk Cow Blues
The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society
Side 13
1. The Village Green Preservation Society
2. Do You Remember Walter
3. Picture Book
4. Johnny Thunder
5. Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
6. Big Sky
7. Sitting By the Riverside
Side 14
1. Animal Farm
2. Village Green
3. Starstruck
4. Phenomenal Cat
5. All of My Friends Were There
6. Wicked Annabella
7. Monica
8. People Take Pictures of Each Other
Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
Side 15
1. Victoria
2. Yes Sir, No Sir
3. Some Mother's Son
4. Drivin'
5. Brainwashed
6. Australia
Side 16
1. Shangri-La
2. Mr. Churchill Says
3. She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina
4. Young and Innocent Days
5. Nothing to Say
6. Arthur
The Kinks aka 'The Black Album'
Side 17
1. You Really Got Me
2. Long Tall Shorty
3. All Day and All of the Night
4. Beautiful Delilah
5. Tired of Waiting for You
6. I'm a Lover Not a Fighter
Side 18
1. Well Respected Man
2. Till the End of the Day
3. See My Friends
4. Don't You Fret
5. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
6. Sunny Afternoon
Side 19
1. Dead End Street
2. Death of a Clown
3. Two Sisters
4. Big Black Smoke
5. Susanna Still Alive
6. Autumn Almanac
Side 20
1. Waterloo Sunset
2. Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
3. Wonderboy
4. Do You Remember Walter
5. Dandy
6. Animal Farm
7. Days


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I just did the Scope Dance. Normally I give my buddy Fenris hell for always moving his scopes around… and now here I did it.
I pulled my EOtech off my M4, my Bushnell Holosight off (one of) my 870 Tactical, and my Lucid HD7 of my Sterling. I never liked the thing on the Sterling and only put it on there for further accuracy testing.
So now the Bushnell Holosight is now on the Sterling because it's the lowest mounting optic of it's type. The Lucid is on the M4 because I like the precision accuracy I got out of that combination when I was testing the Lucid… and that EOtech is now on the 870 Tactical. I really like the way these guns are set up now. I was going to Scope Dance a few more guns, to shake up the combinations but these are the 3 guns that needed it and it all worked out flawlessly and are probably the ideal options out of what I have in inventory.
The only gun that is still needing a better optic on it, is Killswitch, my Savage 93R17 HB. The optic that's on it now is the Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7×32. I need to go up to at least a 4-12 on that sucker. It can reach farther, with more precision than this 2-7 can deliver. Great scope for what it is. But P-Dogs are small and a bit more magnification would be a boon.


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My guest today is Dr. Allen Malnak, MD, author of the historical thriller, Hitler's Silver Box.
Dr. Malnak's father emigrated to the US from Lithuania when he was sixteen, leaving behind a large family. They were all subsequently sent to a Nazi death camp during World War II and were exterminated. As a result of that tragic familial history, Dr. Malnak developed a keen interest in the Holocaust and has read widely on the subject. He and his wife, Patricia, live in Florida with their whippet, Paige, and parakeet, Kiwi. Hitler's Silver Box is his first novel.
Purchase the book on Amazon and B&N.
Congratulations on the release of your latest book, Hitler's Silver Box. When did you start writing and what got you into a historical thriller?
I did not start writing fiction until after I retired. Perhaps twelve years ago, I took an adult education class in fiction writing and that started the process. As for historical fiction, I kind of fell into the area because of the way my short story evolved into a novel.
Did you have a mentor who encouraged you?
The teacher who taught the fiction writing class was a very experienced novelist and biographer who also had been the short story editor of the New Yorker magazine. He assigned topics for short stories. One was "A Silver Box." I wrote the story about a young Jewish silversmith who had been captured by Nazis and forced to make a special silver box for Hitler's Birthday, as the Second World War was coming to an and. The teacher read the story out loud in class and told me it would make an excellent basis for a novel. He was my mentor.
Did you have any struggles or difficulties when you started writing
The Holocaust part of the story became a small but important part of the novel, which revolves around the silversmith's nephew, a young emergency room physician. He's in his element in the ER, which I know well, but is in way over his head when confronted by neo-Nazi types, who will go to any extreme to find the silver box with its dreaded contents. I immediately realized a lot of research would be necessary to understand the silversmithing process as well as details about the concentration camp where the silversmith was held.
What was your inspiration for Hitler's Silver Box?
My father left Lithuania for America at age sixteen, leaving behind a large immediate family. All of them were taken to a concentration camp by the Nazis and murdered.
Do you have any plotting secrets? Do you use index cards or special software?
I keep detailed descriptions of each character and summaries of each scene as soon as I come up with an idea for a scene. I don't outline per se. I purchased several types of software, but did not find it particularly useful.
What do you tell your muse when she refuses to collaborate?
I usually take a break and let my subconscious mind deal with her. Trying to force my ideas on her when she is uncooperative is kind of like herding cats.
Many writers experience a vague anxiety before they sit down to right. Can you relate to this?
Absolutely. I'm sometimes glad that the anxiety is vague, since at times it begins to approach a panic state.
Do you have a writing schedule? Do you set yourself weekly goals for your writing?
During my long professional life as an internist and a medical school professor, I had to be very disciplined. In my writing, I'll admit to being a tad sloppy. I'm a morning person, so my best work is done early in the day. I often tell myself to hold off editing until a project is finished, but my compulsive nature won't allow that. I start each writing session by editing my previous session. Then I try to write without allowing my censor to have her say. Since I deal with a number of chronic diseases, I have not set rigid writing goals. I'm happy to make slow, steady progress.
How do you celebrate the completion of a novel?
Take my wife and some friends out to a champagne dinner.
What do you love most about the writer's life?
When people come up to me or write me to tell me how much they enjoyed reading my novel. Great reviews also bring me pleasure.
Anything else you'd like to tell my readers?
My goal is to put the reader into each scene. Let her smell the smells, hear the shrieking brakes. My mantra is "write, rewrite, get it right."


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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Joe Paterno was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer the same weekend Penn State's football team played its first game without the Hall of Fame coach in nearly a half century.
His son, Scott Paterno, said Friday in a statement to The Associated Press that his father's doctors are optimistic the 84-year-old Paterno will make a full recovery.
The news came shortly after Penn State said the NCAA would look into the school's handling of a child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees Nov. 9 for failing to do more than simply report to his superiors an abuse allegation against Sandusky.
"Last weekend, my father was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness," Scott Paterno said in the brief statement. The medical exam came the same weekend the school played its first game since the 1960s without Paterno leading the Nittany Lions -- a 17-14 loss to Nebraska.
"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment," Scott Paterno said.
Earlier Friday, The Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre reported that Paterno had been seen Wednesday visiting the Mount Nittany Medical Center and was treated for an undisclosed ailment and released.
Sandusky is charged with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years -- charges he denies. Critics say Paterno should have done more to stop his former assistant, specifically when he was told about an assault in 2002. But the longtime coach is not a target of the ongoing investigation of Sandusky.
Paterno initially announced his retirement effective at the end of the season, saying that the scandal was "one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." The trustees fired him anyway, about 12 hours later.
Longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley replaced Paterno on an interim basis. He broke the news about Paterno's cancer to the Nittany Lions after the team arrived in Columbus, Ohio, for Saturday's game against Ohio State.
"I told them sometimes words pale at a time like this. I felt they should hear it from us, exactly what it was, that we were told that it was a treatable lung cancer," Bradley said. "It's just one of those things. It's a tough time for the players."
Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, now an ESPN analyst, said Paterno never mentioned the illness when he visited his former coach Thursday in State College.
"In a week or so of many surprises this was another one," said Blackledge, who noted that Paterno was in good spirits when he saw him. A Penn State spokesman said that as far as he knew, Paterno never smoked.
To say health problems added to Paterno's troubles during a rough period doesn't begin to capture the last two weeks. The lurid Sandusky scandal has tarnished the reputation of a coach and a football program that once prided itself on the slogan "Success with Honor."
Paterno's 409 career victories over a 46-year career are a Division I record. In all, Paterno guided five teams to unbeaten or untied seasons and won two national championships.
Sandusky was once expected to succeed Paterno but retired in 1999 not long after being told he wouldn't get the job.
Two university officials stepped down after they were charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to report the 2002 charge to police, an assault which allegedly took place in a shower in the football building.
A grand jury report said the attack was witnessed by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant at the time. Now the receivers coach but on administrative leave, McQueary told the grand jury he went to his father first and then to Paterno, who in turn spoke with his boss but didn't go to the police.
When the state's top cop said Paterno failed to execute his moral responsibility by not contacting police, public outrage built and the trustees acted.
Besides the criminal case against Sandusky, the university announced last week it was conducting its own probe -- and that was before the NCAA said Friday that college sports' governing body would also start an inquiry.
NCAA president Mark Emmert said in the letter to Penn State president Rod Erickson that the probe will look at "Penn State's exercise of institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics programs."
At one time, that would have never been a question with Paterno, widely regarded as college football's model for running a clean program. He placed as much pride in graduating players as getting to bowl games, and consistently had Penn State among the top-rated academic programs in the country.
Paterno has donated millions back to the university, and his name graces a campus library -- not a football facility or athletic complex.
Prior to his firing, Paterno pressed on with coaching in spite of a number of recent ailments. He often walked into news conferences fighting back sniffles, and Paterno often passed it off as nothing more than an annoying cold.
He was said to be in good health this preseason -- getting back to his routine of walking around town -- before a receiver accidentally blindsided him during preseason drills in August, leaving him with an injured right shoulder and pelvis.
Known for his stubbornness and high pain threshold, Paterno walked away from the collision and stayed on his feet for the rest of the practice period before being encouraged to get checked out by a doctor. The injuries forced him to spend most of the season in the press box.
During the 2010 offseason, Paterno scaled back personal appearances because of an intestinal issue and an adverse reaction to antibiotics prescribed for dental work.
Paterno ran practices from a golf cart in 2008 and spent much of that season in the press box after injuring his hip while trying to show players how to perform an onside kick in practice. Two years earlier, he broke his leg in a sideline collision during Penn State's game at Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.
"Anyone who has ever been around coach Paterno knows he has tremendous drive and fight," acting athletic director Dave Joyner said in a statement. "The Penn State community will be in his corner and wishes him a speedy recovery."
Lung cancer kills 1.4 million people around the world each year. In the United States, 221,130 new cases and 156,940 deaths are expected this year. The disease is typically diagnosed in older people. About 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with lung cancer are over age 65.
"There's a significant number of people who are diagnosed in their 70s and 80s," said chief medical officer Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, who has no involvement in Paterno's treatment.
"Generally when I hear that a person has a treatable form of lung cancer, it means the person may very well benefit from surgery to remove a part of the lung," Brawley said.
While the surgery can be invasive, people who undergo the operation "can do well after that," he said.
The lights were dim Friday night at Paterno's modest ranch home next to a park near the end of a dead-end street. A few TV photographers waited across the street for any sign of the coach.
About a mile away, a steady stream of fans arrived in pairs to take pictures at the life-sized bronzed statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium. Jill Varady, 24, of York, said she found out about Paterno's illness after her aunt posted a comment on Facebook.
Despite the scandal, the school should now let Paterno "definitely let him finish the season, and then ... let him retire," Varady said. "We probably will never know everything that happened."
The illness didn't change the perception of how Paterno handled the Sandusky situation, said Tessa Drawbaugh, 26, of State College. "But as far as other than that, he's an icon," she said. "Everybody wants him to be well."


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New Calgun'ers, Stewardship, Calguns, & Your 2nd Amendment Rights
Ive been a member of CalGuns.net for some time now, and I have noticed, what in my opinion is a disturbing trend about the past year and a half or so. I have to say, im some ways, im deeply disappointed in many of the trends Ive seen, from badmouthing those that step to the front line, to how we, as firearms owners, treat those who help supply us with the goods for our favorite chosen sport.
The first topic im going to talk about is called Stewardship. Many of us practice what I call STEWARDSHIP in regards to our 2A Rights. For those that do not know what stewardship means, it means to have something, to take care of something, that you cannot physically own. Wikipedia describes Stewardship as. . . "more general way to refer to a responsibility to take care of something one does not own." When I refer to it, im discussing the State of California and the fight in keeping our Second Amendment Rights. In this day and age of turmoil in regards to our Second Amendment rights, we as a whole should practice stewardship even more. I will be the first to say im not happy with the person who was chosen to lead our country into the future. But, as a collective whole, the nation has spoken and decided that hopefully this person will do a better job than the man hes replacing. His views in regards to the nations 2A rights differ very much so than my own, and im sure many of yours as well. I can only hope that during his tenure, he choses to leave these rights alone. But if he does not chose to do so, then we, as responsible citizens of this country, need to practice stewardship even more. We need to come together, and support those in the leadership of this country that understand that this country was founded on several basic principles, to include the right to keep and bear arms. We need stand up and be counted, and say in one collective voice, we will not tolerate our rights being trampled, be it from the local District Attorney, to the highest level of leadership in this great country. Now im not saying that an armed insurrection is the answer, nor am I advocating it. What I am saying is that every citizen who owns a firearm, who believes in the basic fundamentals of the Constitution, needs to stand up and speak in a voice that can be heard, be it a letter, an email, a spoken voice, and make a stand for a change. This, coupled with a vote, can dramatically change the way those powers that be, recognize us as a strong united front, instead of the "sheeple" we have become. We need to become Stewards of the Second Amendment. So in talking about Stewardship, I mean, take care of your 2nd Amendment Rights, Dont jeporadize them by doing something you know is illegal, be responsible for your actions, and do something to further the fight to keep the 2nd Amendment in the front lines. Take someone shooting, teach them the proper and correct way to safely shoot. Take the time to learn something about your rights in regards to firearms. In doing simple things like this, you are participating in Stewardship. Stewardship is a theory that people, left on their own, will indeed act as responsible stewards of the assets they control Calguns, my oh my, the fun I have with this forum, its members, the organized events, the ancedotes, the playful jesting, the new things I learn every day. Not only has this place become the gold standard in regards to supporting our gun rights in this state, but it is a fountain of information, and in todays day and age, information is power! But with the influx of new members, we also have experienced growing pains. Calguns has recently been overhauled thanks to several members here to handle this growth, and in my humble opinion, everything seems to be working great. But I personally have noticed a few things that I dont agree with. Its the small details that people have a tendency to overlook that if left unchecked, tend to grow out of hand quickly and become a larger problem. Newer members, this is addressed to you guys! I understand that its great to find a new source of information for a hobby/passion/lifestyle, but in joining this forum, there are rules to be abided by. Simple things like respecting others, following the basic rules of decorum, and attention to details will help smooth your way in this forum. Kestryl, the head guy here has made it easy for you guys by even creating a new guys forum to introduce yourself, ask questions, and a whole subsection thats goes thru the basics of the current processes to searching for, pricing, buying, drosing, building, and shooting your OLL! What more can a guy ask for? Back when I came here there was no such forums, they was "stickied" and lots of pages long. It took lots and lots of reading to get thru the meat of it, but it the end it was worth it. Weve put our time in, and now you, the newer members, can reap the rewards. Please do us the service of at least following the standard that those who have walked this road before you have set. Those of you who are new to OLL's, have seen them at a local range, have learned about OLL's from friends, you come here for information, yet expect it to be spoonfed to you. Here is my advice to you, follow these simple 3 rules and you will be fine. 1 - Use the search button, its there for a reason. Many good folks have taken the time and energy to document their personal process they went thru to buy, dros, build, and test their own personal OLL's. And many of them have posted range reports in regards to those weapons. If you take the time to look, read the "New To Calguns Forum", and try to find answers to your questions first before you blurt it out, you may find the answers you was looking for. 2 - The rules regarding building these weapons havent changed since day 1, dont try to change them, or explain to us why you, as the new guy, think it isnt right. Its what people who have risked far more than you have, have learned thru their own mistakes, and perfected it so you, as the new guy just finding out about them, can do it safely, and legally. trust me when I say, you may not believe it, but many of us have asked the same questions you have 100 times over, if not more. 3 - Dont do stupid things in regards to magazines. If you do and you get caught, plan on losing your guns, your rights, your freedom, and becoming nothing more than a cautionary tale told here to other newcomers as a warning. You know what im talking about, so just dont do it. If you dont know what im talking about, keep it that way, dont attempt to circumvent the law, and avoid issues that could land you in hot water if you get caught. The bickering needs to stop. We need to quit bashing FFL's who are not willing to sell what is considered in some circles as "controversial" weapons. We need to understand that they are persons who are operating a business, not a friendship. They are in business to make money. that is the bottom line, while you may make friends with them, and partake in conducting business with them, the bottom line is this, it is still a business. It is a business that they own, and in doing so, they take all the risks, be it civil, or criminal. So, being as they are the front line in taking the risks, they have every right to choose what they sell, how much they charge, and to follow the letter of the law to their own personal interpretation. If a FFL thinks that that OLL's are illegal, then so be it. That is their interpretation, and so, that is their right to believe so. If you do not like it, then take your business elsewhere. Dont come on this forum and whine, moan, complain, and belittle someone who is operating a business designed to serve you. Not only does it show ignorance, it is disrespectful. This applies to pricing as well. Once again, it is their business, they may charge what they want, if you do not like it, then take your business elsewhere. I remember a time not too long ago, where stripped OLL's recievers cost $59.00 each. I was charged $59.00 x how many recievers, + DROS which at the time was $26.00. I took advantage of those prices and bought what i wanted at a price I was willing to pay. Now, with newly elected leadership for this country, prices have inflated with panic buying, and dealers are charging more for a product that they have in stock. Its called supply and demand. If the demand is larger than the supply, then the person supplying them can charge more for a product that used to cost less. Business 101 folks. Learn it, live it, love it, do it, its how a business stays a business, they are in it to make money. Bottom line. Quit crying about it, pay the prices, or shop around til you find a price you like better. If you do your homework like so many of us have in the past, you would know which FFL has the best prices, which ones charge more or less for recieving fees, and which ones have the 10 day vs the 11 day wait. Granted, if you are finding out about OLL's recently, then you wont be paying the prices that those of us who were here at the begining will pay. Expect to pay more, its just the nature of the business. CONTINUED NEXT POST
I cant remember anywhere where I have heard more "supposed" firearms enthusiasts say "boycott this store", "boycott that store" blah blah blah. What is that exactly? Just what are you accomplishing? You want to try and shut down a gunshop because you dont agree with their pricing structure? You dont agree with their range rules? Just because you want to rapid fire doesnt mean that you can if they say you cant. Its their business, plain and simple. Their house, their rules, you dont like it, go elsewhere. More than likely, as in my experience, the reason a establishment wont allow things like holster draw, or rapid fire, is because some jackhole came into their establishment and did it unsafely before you. One person mishandling a firearm usually scews it up for the rest of us. Thats the way its always been, and im sure thats the way it will always be in the future. Ive even seen on here where people have bragged about being on a banned list for a certain indoor shooting range. Is that something you should be proud of? What does that say about you? An esteemed member here, Calguns member Rue, he and I always seem to go back and forth in regards to the Elk Grove Run Room. While I dont agree with his opinions sometimes, I respect them, and I would like to think he does the same for me. In the end, he and I just agree to disagree, But we do it in a civilized manner. As a former employee of TGR I saw how the inner workings of a range were handled, and sometimes customers dont get to see what goes on behind the scenes, so yes, they can draw conclusions based on what they have experienced. I tend to look at it this way, if a Harley dealership has a bike I want, but is priced over what I feel is reasonable, im going to shop around til I find one that does have what i want at the price I want it at. I dont go and badmouth that dealership, I just dont purchase the bike there. It may have better deals on tires, or leather, or helmets, or whatnot. the same applies to firearms and the associated products that go with them. If you dont like a certain gunshops prices, dont shop there, but in the same token, dont try and build up a campaign of "lets shut them down" its the classic "cutting off ones nose to spite its face" All in all, theres exciting new things happening here in the state of california in regards to firearms ownership, some things you will partake in, some you may not, but it all is history in the making. Be proud that you were part of it as I am. Lets all do our part to educate, be good stewards, and keep FFL's in business by showing them our support. If a certain FFL doesnt meet your personal standards, dont shop there, but on the same token, dont come on here and badmouth the place. Lets make this year an especially good one for firearms ownership here in California. My resolution this year is to do something new and different in my firearms purchases, so I decided to go and set up a NFA Trust. It opens up a whole new area of firearms ownership for those of us here in california! Who here wouldnt want a Serbu Shorty 12 guage shotgun to show off at the local range? And its all possible if you just take the time to read thru Calguns and learn how to do it! Knowing this, ask yourself, what am I doing to further my second amendment rights for myself and others? What am I doing to further MY gun rights? You may find some new and exciting doors opening for you if you do!
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text: According to science daily, in "Targeting Bacterial Gas Defenses Allow for Increased Efficacy of Numerous Antibiotics" articles discuss how "Scientists have known for centuries that many bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) it was thought to be simply a toxic by-product of cellular activity. Now, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have discovered H2S in fact plays a major role in protecting bacteria from the effects of numerous different antibiotics.In the study led by Evgeny Nudler, PhD, Julie Wilson Anderson Professor of Biochemistry at NYU School of Medicine, researchers found evidence that H2S acts as a general defense mechanism against oxidative stress, the process through which many antibiotics kill bacteria." This information provides the basis for developing new techniques to suppress this universal bacterial defense mechanism and make bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics at lower doses. It also paves the way for reversing antibiotic resistance in human pathogens such as Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas,E. coli, and many others. "Surprisingly little has been known about H2S biochemistry and physiology in common bacteria" said Dr. Nudler. "We are excited about the potential impact this research may have on the growing problem of microbial resistance. These findings suggest a conceptually new approach, an adjuvant therapy that targets bacterial gas defenses and thus increases the efficacy of many clinically used antibiotics." More specifically, the study showed that integrated mechanism of H2S-mediated protection against oxidative stress also protects against antibiotics. The research provides direct support for the emerging concept of the pro-oxidative action of many antibiotics. In addition, the study demonstrates that bacteria that generate both H2S and nitric oxide (NO) simultaneously, such as B. anthracis (a causative of anthrax), cannot survive without both gases, even under normal growth conditions. One gas makes up for the lack of the other and at least one of them is essential. In a previous study Dr. Nudler and his colleagues demonstrated that NO plays a similar role in protecting bacteria from antibiotics (Science September 9, 2009). However, because NO is present in only a limited number of bacteria while hydrogen sulfide synthesis occurs in essentially all bacteria, the practical implications of this new finding is extremely wide-ranging.


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I was reading a guidance of the APA style and I am now confused with the in-text citation part.
According to what I have read,
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
So I guess in-text citation should look like this:
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
Moreover, in-text citation in the MLA style seems similar -- it also uses parenthetical citation.
My confusion is that most papers I read does not seem to stick to this rules. Their in-text citation is often [1], [2], [3] ...
For example, the above example would look like this:
Students often had difficulty using APA style [3]; what implications does this have for teachers? And then all information would be given in the reference list at the end of the paper.
I have heard that APA and MLA are the two major formal writing styles, but why formal publication papers does not stick to their in-text citation rules? Is the "[1], [2], [3]" method from another style? How can I find guidance to it?


text: Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Texts from Hillary went viral last week. That spoof site imagines the Secretary of State's cool, detached texts to the famous, from Jay Z to Joe Biden. One shows Lady Gaga texting from one influential woman to another, XO. Clinton's response: Who is this? Yesterday, the site heard from the real Clinton, who texted that she was ROFL, rolling on the floor laughing, signed Hillz. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
- From: <email@example.com>
- Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:25:38 +0100
- To: firstname.lastname@example.com
[Apologies for cross-postings. Please forward this mail to anyone interested] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR PAPERS 1st International Workshop on Knowledge Reuse and Reengineering over the Semantic Web (KRRSW 2008) http://babage.dia.fi.upm.es/krrsw2008/index.html hosted by the 5th European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 2008) http://www.eswc2008.org/ June 1, 2008 Tenerife, Spain --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- BASIC IDEA ---------- The workshop is related to reuse and reengineering of non-ontological resources (texts, folksonomies, lexicons, thesauri, conceptual models, data bases, schemas, etc.) and ontological resources (ontologies and ontology design patterns) for building or populating new ontologies. ----------- MOTIVATIONS ----------- Ontologies aim to capture consensual knowledge and they may be reused and shared across applications and by different groups of people. Numerous ontologies are already available on the Semantic Web, and their quantity is growing rapidly. Ontologies play an important role for the Semantic Web as well as for many knowledge-intensive applications. Thus, the development of ontologies is an important issue, which might be guided by methodologies. However, the process of building ontologies from scratch is very time-consuming and complex. In the software engineering community, it is well known that the reuse of existing resources helps to reduce costs as well as to disseminate good practices. This holds also in ontology engineering, where reuse of existing knowledge can be done either by directly reusing resources as they are, or after performing a reengineering process. The underlying principle is that reuse allows saving time and money, and promotes the application of good practices. The research community is very active in the ontology engineering field, lately more and more on the aspect of knowledge reuse and reengineering, where the term knwoledge refers to ontological and non ontological resources. Concurrently, ontology engineers and software practitioners are realizing the benefits of not reinventing the wheel at each ontology development, thus looking towards new methods, techniques, and tools for reusing and reengineering knowledge. Ontologies and Semantic Web applications should be built by reusing existing available knowledge (ontologies, ontology design patterns, corpora, folksonomies, lexicons, thesauri, data bases, etc.), as opposed to custom-building new ontologies from scratch. In order to support and promote such reuse-based approach, new methods, techniques, and tools are needed. ------ TOPICS ------ Main topics of interest include but are not limited to: * Knowledge Reuse: ** Methodologies for Knowledge Reuse. ** Ontology Design Patterns Extraction and Reuse. ** Methods, Techniques, and Tools for reusing ontologies. ** Applications that reuse ontological and non-ontological resources * Knowledge Reengineering: ** Methodologies for Knowledge Reengineering. ** Methods, Techniques, and Tools for reengineering ontologies. ** Methods, Techniques, and Tools for reengineering non-ontological resources to ontologies. ** Methods, Techniques, and Tools for modularizing ontologies. ** Applications that reengineer non-ontological resources. ** Reengineering the Web for building Semantic Web ontologies. ---------------- TOPIC IMPORTANCE ---------------- With this workshop we want to encourage and stimulate discussion about the current state of the art in Reuse and Reengineering Knowledge and its future direction. In order to guarantee high quality of the papers, the PC will be composed of representatives from both the Academic and the Industry communities which are involved and experienced in the field. Papers will be evaluated by considering aspects such as innovation and creativity, as well as evaluation, applicability, and practice. We believe that by following this approach, the workshop will play a key role for identifying future research trends in this field. ------------ ORGANIZATION ------------ The participants will be selected based on their submitted papers, which have to pose relevant issues to be presented and discussed at the workshop. The workshop will consist of short presentations followed by discussions. Discussions will be moderated in order to achieve the goals of the workshop: to identify the issues to be addressed by future research in Reuse and Reengineering Knowledge in the Semantic Web context. We explicitly encourage people to present demos of their tools. We will reserve time slots for demos in the workshop. -------------------------- SUMBISSION AND PROCEEDINGS -------------------------- Interested authors should submit an electronic PDF and source version of their papers to email@example.com prior to the paper submission deadline. The first page of submitted papers should include: title, author names, affiliations, postal addresses, electronic mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers for all authors, and a brief abstract. All correspondence will be sent to the author mentioned as contact person in the electronic title page (by default, the first author). Submissions should not exceed 10 pages and should be formatted according to the guidelines of the ESWC conference (see information for LNCS authors at http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html). We intend to publish the workshop proceedings online at CEUR-WS. If the number of high-quality submissions is high enough, we will pursue publishing the proceedings as a journal special issue or as printed proceedings. --------------- IMPORTANT DATES --------------- Paper submission: March 7th, 2008 Notification of acceptance: April 4th, 2008 Camera-ready versions: April 18th, 2008 Workshop: June 1st, 2008 -------------------- ORGANIZING COMMITTEE -------------------- - Aldo Gangemi (firstname.lastname@example.com) - Asunción Gómez-Pérez (firstname.lastname@example.com) - Valentina Presutti (firstname.lastname@example.com) - Mari Carmen Suárez-Figueroa (email@example.com) [Contact Person] ----------------- PROGRAM COMMITTEE ----------------- Sofia Angeletou, Open University (UK) Dan Brickley, Joost (NL) Oscar Corcho, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES) Bernardo Cuenca Grau, University of Oxford (UK) Klaas Dellshaft, University of Koblenz (DE) Mariano Fernández-López, CEU (ES) Martin Hepp, DERI (AU) Alistar Miles, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK) Enrico Motta, Open University (UK) Natasha Noy, Stanford University (US) Alessandro Oltramari, Laboratory for Applied Ontology (IT) Jeff Z. Pan The University of Aberdeen (UK) Marta Sabou, Open University (UK) Guus Schreiber, Free University Amsterdam (NL) York Sure, SAP (DE) Denny Vrandecic, University of Karlsruhe (DE)
Received on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 09:33:03 UTC


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Plus-size fliers have a slim new tool to help them get from here to there.
A downloadable, four-page brochure titled "Travel Tips for People of Size" offers tips for packing, booking flights, choosing seats, traveling to and through airports and getting on and off airplanes. A description of each airline's passengers-of-size policy is included, along with recommendations for ways that travel agents can help a passenger of size have a comfortable flying experience.
"Airline travel, in particular, is such a hot topic for fat people," said Peggy Howell, spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). "Some have mobility issues and the trip from the curb to the gate is daunting. Some people are concerned that they may not be able to move quickly enough to make connecting flights. And we often get questions about which airlines have policies regarding the purchase of two seats."
Howell said the brochure, which was created with input from the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR), will help passengers of size make informed travel decisions and avoid some uncomfortable situations, such as being publicly humiliated by being called out of line to buy a second seat.
"The reality is that purchasing a second coach seat, sharing a third seat with a fellow traveler of size, or considering an upgrade to business or first class may be the most appropriate choice," said Tony Harrell, owner of Abundant Travel, based in Alexandria, Va.
The brochure recommends that passengers of size book a second seat when flying Southwest, American and Jet Blue. United may require passengers of size to purchase a second seat if they are unable to fit in a single seat with both armrests down. The brochure also suggests that travelers check their airline's policy at the time of flying.
"Air travel these days is not a pleasant experience, but as passengers we're all in this together," said AAPR executive director Brandon Macsata. "So if traveling can be easier and more pleasant for people of size, it will be more pleasant for people of all sizes."
In addition to urging travelers to choose airlines that are "people-of-size friendly," the brochure also offers these tips:
- A window seat will give you a little more shoulder room but hip room remains the same. The average seat is (approximately) 18 inches wide.
- While you can discreetly ask your flight attendant for a seat belt extender as you board, you may find it more convenient to carry your own. (A list of sites that sell seatbelt extenders is included.)
- Smile and say hello to your seat mates. It is harder to be annoyed with someone if they are being nice.
- Washroom size may be an issue. Try to plan accordingly
"I'm going to print out the brochure and take it with me when I travel," said Carole Cullum, a Minnesota resident who usually purchases a second airline seat.
"Society thinks people of size want special accommodations on airplanes, without respect for others," said Janie Oyakawa, a 34-year-old person of size from McKinney, Texas. "But we just want to know exactly what the deal is, and this brochure removes a lot of the guesswork.
"My hips might be wider," she said, "but my money is just as green as the next person's and I want to travel and see the world."
(My story: Flying? New brochure offers travel tips for passengers of size first appeared on msnbc.om's Travel Kit)


text: Shockingly I didn't see anyone mention this lucky board that's been up for awhile. o.O But none the less Hanauta is a place not to be missed. Their new lucky board are 3 types of rings (transfer - so they make nice gifts). Board changes every 3 mins with wildcards. Don't miss out on the cute things that Hanauta sells as well. Goodluck. ^^


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Environmental Defense Fund Launches New ESG Management Tool for Private Equity
NEW YORK (Dec. 11, 2012) – In response to growing interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues among leading private equity firms and institutional investors, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading national nonprofit organization, today announced the release of a comprehensive, new ESG Management Tool for the private equity industry. Created in collaboration with Irbaris, the Tool defines for the first time the practices necessary to build a successful ESG management program and a framework to assess, analyze and improve ESG management at private equity firms of all sizes.
"EDF has been a value-added partner for Carlyle in the development of our ESG practices," said Bryan Corbett, Principal at The Carlyle Group. "As the private equity industry's interest in ESG issues continues to grow, there's a clear market need for leadership and resources from EDF and others to help convert this growing interest into sound strategies for implementation and results."
Free to download, users of the Tool will evaluate and enhance performance across 22 best practice areas, including commitment and leadership from the top, access to ESG resources and expertise, integration of ESG management into the investment process and portfolio company operations, and measuring and reporting results.
"Leading private equity firms have already begun to capitalize on ESG opportunities and expectations are growing for the rest of the industry" said Tom Murray, managing director with EDF's Corporate Partnerships Program. "This active management tool will not only help firms assess current performance, but also develop plans to better integrate ESG management and create measurable environmental, social and financial results."
The Tool reflects the leading thinking in the industry and was informed by:
- EDF's experience partnering with prominent private equity firms including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), The Carlyle Group (Carlyle) and Oak Hill Capital Partners. These partnerships combined have impacted over 30 portfolio companies and resulted in approximately $370 million dollars of operating cost savings or revenue growth as well as 820,000 metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions.
- Research and publications by the British Venture Capital Association, BSR, Doughty Hanson, Irbaris, Malk Sustainability Partners, PwC, Private Equity International, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and World Wildlife Fund.
- Detailed peer review and feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including Actis, Blackstone, Bloomberg, BSR, Carlyle, Doughty Hanson, Harvard Management Company, KKR, Oak Hill Capital Partners, PwC US, TPG and four other leading global LPs.
"Reviewing the Tool helped expand our thinking about ESG management and best practices" said J. Taylor Crandall, Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners. "EDF's new Tool provides clear and helpful guidance on the building blocks necessary for a successful ESG program."
Going forward, EDF will work with BSR and other industry partners to broadly disseminate the tool across the industry with the goal of making measuring and managing environmental, social and governance performance a standard practice for value creation across the private equity sector.
"The private equity sector is giving more and more consideration to ESG issues in the context of their business decisions" said Jane Mendillo, CEO of Harvard Management Company. "If investment performance can be enhanced by good ESG management the entire sector stands to benefit."
# # #
About Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. For more information, visit edfbusiness.org. Read EDF's blog at blogs.edf.org/business. Follow EDF on Twitter: twitter.com/EDFbiz.
About Irbaris
Irbaris is a specialist advisory business that brings together a highly experienced, multi-disciplinary team of business advisers with deep international expertise in carbon, climate change and wider sustainability issues, as well as clean technologies.
About BSR
works with its global network of nearly 300 member companies to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North and South America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration.


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CUSTOM IMPRINTED MUGS & DRINKWARE: For Those On-the-Go
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It's hard to imagine what it's like to have Tourette's syndrome, to be unable to contain tics and often harsh-sounding vocalizations in public. There are only so many words to explain an urge, an involuntary reaction — and there are limits to what can be imagined by someone who isn't afflicted. In "The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of the Family," Josh Hanagarne does an impressive job. Hanagarne, a librarian in Salt Lake City, talks about his experiences growing up with the disorder — and tells quite a memorable story along the way.
Hanagarne was a very tall, very awkward boy in a Mormon family in rural Utah and other parts of the Southwest. Raised by parents who were both very much jokers but also, when the situation called for it, no-nonsense, Hanagarne was inculcated with an offbeat sense of humor, a deeply skeptical, questioning nature, and an intense love of books. All three shine through in his memoir, which traces his winding path from childhood to his current, stable life — a path that weaves through varying degrees of belief in Mormonism, the early, scary days of his Tourette's diagnosis, and unlikely adult interests in weight lifting and library science.
In his unique and engaging memoir, Hanagarne explains what it's like to live with his Tourette's, which early on proved resilient to all manner of treatment: "When I have a tic," he explains, "whether it's a noise or a movement, it's similar to the urge to sneeze. There's a pressure that builds up in my eyes if I want to blink, in my forehead if I want to wrinkle it, in my shoulders if I want to jerk them up toward my ears. . . . Wherever it is, sooner or later, I have to let it out. But the relief doesn't last long. The pressure might fade, rebuild, and jump out again in a few seconds, a few minutes, or longer."
It's fascinating to get this inside view — to see it in writing without seeing the tics themselves. He names his Tourette's Misty — "Ms. T" — and views her as an unwelcome intruder who will barge in at inopportune moments. Misty does have weaknesses, however, and Hanagarne has spent a lot of time searching for them. Over the years he's found certain forms of focused tasks can help keep her under control, which is part of why he developed an interest in weight lifting. "Misty spoke her own language," he explains, "but used my mouth to do it."
There's something appealingly nimble about Hanagarne's narrative style — his storytelling rarely gets bogged down and is characterized by a confident, humorous liveliness, even when he's dealing with heartbreaking subjects.
Here and there, however, "The World's Strongest Librarian" would have benefited from a bit more detail.
But even when details are lacking, Hanagarne's theme of resilience helps propel the story forward. And it's not a mawkish, sappy resilience. Rather, it's a resilience born of struggle, of copious introspection and hard work, and, as Hanagarne openly admits, protracted periods of lying on a couch, felled by the difficulty of it all.
So whether he is recounting his visit to a mystically minded chiropractor who insisted that he could cure himself by imagining himself in a "perfect, perfect circle" for a full 17 seconds, or the repeated heartbreaks he and his wife encountered in their early attempts to have a child, there's real humanity and humility to this memoir.
Hanagarne doesn't sidestep difficult issues of faith, disability, or family life, and he has a very interesting story to tell.
Jesse Singal, a contributing writer at Newsweek/The Daily Beast and a graduate student at Princeton University, can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
President Obama
who was that masked man?
In the streets of New York, crowds are still cheering, shouting "Yes, we can!" Cars honk their horns. People bang pots and pans. They cannot stop. Don't want to stop. When the announcement came over the television that he had been elected, cheers erupted from the streets. A crowd gathered on 8th Street and 1st Avenue, taking over the intersection. Police pushed them back here and there, but otherwise left the celebration alone.
People in cars stopped and the crowd rushed to shake their hands and kiss them through open windows.
Garbage men riding the backs of honking trucks waved and pumped their fists.
City bus drivers honked and slowed down so passengers could stick their hands from the windows and high-five the people on the street.
At Union Square, the park was packed. People climbed lamp posts and hoisted flags atop. We sang God Bless America. We chanted "U-S-A" and "Yes, We Can" and "O-Ba-Ma!" Strangers hugged and kissed strangers.
The celebration went on and on, a wave that rose and fell, then rose again, for hours and hours. Down side streets and avenues, in pockets of jubilant people.
After joining them for hours of that jubilation, I'm putting in my earplugs and going to bed.
Earlier tonight, this stranger in an Obama Halloween mask appeared in the crowd at Union Square and people fell upon him with adoration. As if he were the real thing. Acting the part, uninhibited behind that face, the stranger opened his arms and enveloped us.
He took me into his arms and we embraced. His hug was strong. Caught up in the mass delusion, the pleasant folie a plusieurs that this stranger had brought into our midst, I felt like I was being embraced by my new president, a man who could see me, who would include me in his vision for the country.
And it was good.
9 comments:
You do realize that Senator Obama is not yet the President, only the President-Elect (and technically not even that until the Electoral College meets and the results are certified in Congress).
- November 5, 2008 at 8:27 AM
- Jeremiah Moss said...
i'm jumping ahead
- November 5, 2008 at 9:23 AM
Me personally, I find the picture of all of those electronic hand held portable devices up in the air very disturbing.
There is just something about these current times that makes me think that GOD has a major surprise for us coming our way very soon.
I do not quite know what it will be but chances are it will not be good. - November 5, 2008 at 10:32 AM
- Jeremiah Moss said...
i agree knicks. the number of image-capturing devices was staggering. they moved like component parts of a single electronic organism, every time the attention shifted. and my own camera was part of that organism, which gave me pause. but i excuse myself because "it's for the blog." and yet...
- November 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM
One gets the feeling of a logical desire to see W out of the White House. The Obama presidency will have another distinction -- having to follow the worst president in the nation's history.
- November 5, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Well, let's hope Obama is going to really make us a "great" country again. Talk is cheap. Russia still hates us and they are the becoming THE world power along with China.
We need to support small businesses in NYC and raising taxes on them and letting foreigners buy them out can only do us damage. So let's hope Obama is going to do this country some good. - November 5, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Very, very quiet night in Bayside and Little Neck. Like nothing happened...
www.forgotten-ny.com - November 5, 2008 at 3:47 PM
...and I knew he was unqualified then, told my girlfriend so, that he'd hardly ever even voted on a bill. Of course, to question his gifts or lack thereof was called racist.This after a life supporting Democratic candidates. So here we are with this product designed to please everyone that can't govern.
- October 26, 2012 at 2:47 PM
Sorry, but have to agree with anon. 2:47pm 10/26/2012
Also, the 2008 election was voted like it was an American Idol contest. It was another popularity/reality contest voted by the Lena Dunham generation. - October 27, 2012 at 4:03 PM


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G. K. Chesterton once described America as a "nation with the soul of a church." Many have wrongly interpreted this statement as Chesterton's way of saying that America was a Christian nation, or that Americans were especially pious and devout people. Chesterton meant something rather different, and not especially complementary. America is like a church in the sense that it has often understood citizenship in terms of assent to a creed. One becomes an Englishman or Frenchman through history, through coming from a family that has lived in a particular place for generations. In contrast, one can theoretically become an American simply by assent to certain abstract principles, the American creed. Chesterton's characterization of America as a creedal nation came to mind as I passed an election sign for the Romney-Ryan ticket that read, "Believe in America." What could this possibly mean? Is America a god? What precisely are we supposed to believe in? In a word, liberty. And make no mistake about it, liberty is a god.
That, at least, is the argument that Christopher A. Ferrara makes in his important and timely new book, Liberty, the God that Failed: Policing the Sacred and Constructing the Myths of the Secular State, from Locke to Obama. The title references the 1949 work The God that Failed, a famous collection of essays by ex-communists describing their disillusion with the utopian ideology of communism. Liberal and conservative American political thinkers share a common characterization of communism and fascism as irrational, secular religions against which the American political tradition stands as a model of reason and moderation. It is just such a conceit that Ferrara sets out to expose as a delusion. At a time when the American bishops are calling on Catholics to defend the American tradition of religious liberty against state coercion, Ferrara argues that religious liberty itself has been the main ideology through which the modern state has sought to redefine and control religion. This is a difficult and challenging argument, one that goes against the common sense of American political thinking. It is an argument based on a very different kind of common sense that comes from traditional Catholic understandings of the public nature of Church authority.
For the last fifty or so years, liberal and conservative Catholics alike have interpreted Dignitatis Humanae as a baptism of the U.S. Constitution. Ferrara reminds his readers early on that even as the document affirmed the right to freedom from coercion in religious life, it also rejected the notion of a purely privatized religion and held up the traditional confessional state as an enduring political ideal. For Ferrara, the Constitution's rejection of religious establishment reflects a broader Enlightenment desire to privatize religion in a way that is counter to Catholic political traditions from the Middle Ages up to and including Dignitatis Humanae. In the wake of debates surrounding the HHS mandate, conservative Catholics have been falling all over themselves defending our "sacred" Founders from the charge of privatization.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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Much of how you judge the Founders' intentions and the historical record of religion and public life in American history depends upon what you mean by religion. Ferrara convincingly argues that the Founders were more or less Masonic deists to a man, with no desire to see anything like a robust, orthodox Christianity, even of the Protestant variety, shaping public life. They certainly believed that the health of the republic depended upon a disciplined, moral citizenry and believed that religion—at the very least, a belief in God and fear of damnation—was useful as a prop to support such a public morality. That the moral probity of eighteenth-century Masonic British gentry strikes many a conservative Catholic today as a rough approximation of a Catholic world view should be troubling to Catholics, whatever their politics. The only God that the Founders acknowledged as having public standing was, as Ferrara's title suggests, the God of Liberty.
For Ferrara, Liberty is not a political ideal, but a rival faith, a false idol. His book is difficult reading for any Catholic, liberal or conservative, raised on the idea of the complete compatibility of Catholicism and the American Founding. His argument seeks to shatter this illusion on both the level of ideas and institutional practice. The early sections of this massive work deal with the development of modern social contract theory, particularly the work of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Ferrara shows that, with respect to religion, the attempt to present Locke as a kinder, gentler rationalist simply does not hold up. Locke may have had a more benign view of the state of nature than Hobbes's vision of a life nasty, brutish and short, but he leaves no doubt that the peace man seeks by entering the social contract requires the subordination of religious authority to that of the secular sovereign or state.
Following the work of William Cavanaugh, Ferrara argues that the whole modern social contract tradition has been nothing less than an alternative foundational myth, a parody or perversion of the origins of human society found in the Book of Genesis. If traditional Christendom saw the purpose of political life to approximate, within the limits of our fallen nature, the City of God amidst the City of Man, the social contract tradition understands politics as a tool for protecting individual freedom, particularly through the instrument of rights. In public life, Catholics have been all too willing to accept this myth as a guide to political action—such as the grounding of pro-life politics in a "right to life."
If Locke's political philosophy is at fundamental odds with Catholicism in theory, it is at odds with itself in practice. The great philosopher of liberty significantly excluded Catholicism from his vision of religious tolerance, largely because, through the person of the pope, the Catholic Church still claimed to have some public authority over the rule of princes. The so-called "Glorious Revolution" that drove a legitimate Catholic king (James II) from the throne of England and secured Protestant rule was followed by a century long battle to bleed Catholicism from the people of Ireland through a series of draconian penal laws. The irony of coercion in the name of freedom was not limited to eighteenth-century Ireland or the French Revolution, but has characterized the reign of Lockean freedom in American history. Here Ferrara particularly targets the historical myths peddled by libertarians, Catholic and otherwise, who tell of a golden age of libertarian freedom in America corrupted by a fall from grace with the advance of statism under Lincoln during the Civil War (or the statism of the Progressive Era, New Deal, Great Society, etc.). For Ferrara, the Founders—that is, those who drafted and supported the Constitution—were statists from the start and would brook no opposition to (centralized) state authority.
A Case at Times Overstated
Here, I sometimes feel Ferrara overstates his case. He is certainly right to highlight the role of state violence in an era (the Founding and early republic) that patriotic Americans like to think of as somehow bloodless. He is also right to highlight the continuities between the American and French revolutions. Still, even a reader open to such a critical interpretation has a hard time accepting a moral equivalence between the suppression of Shay's Rebellion and the Reign of Terror. Rightly calling attention to the Janus-faced character of American liberty, his exposé of coercive state power from the Founding to the Civil War would seem to draw its sense of moral outrage from the very concept of liberty he is critiquing. Modern nation-states, including the United States, have indeed exercised coercive powers beyond anything imagined by a medieval king or an early-modern absolute monarch, but pre-modern life was hardly "free" in the modern sense; rather, individual and family life were structured by a complex system of local laws and customs that would strike a modern libertarian as being just as restrictive as any power claimed by the modern nation state. I understand that it is just such libertarians that Ferrara is trying to outrage, but lacking an account of the local customs, laws and traditions that structured life in the early republic, his account threatens to keep the whole debate within the false libertarian dichotomy of individual freedom and state coercion.
So too, in an effort to demolish the libertarian myth, Ferrara often loses all sense of degree and proportion. He is right in seeing a consistently statist direction in American political history. That is, whenever the prerogatives of state or local government came into conflict with those of the federal government, the federal government won out, most spectacularly and violently in the Civil War. Still, at times he makes even the early republic sound like a Stalinist police state simply because the Founding generation quickly discovered that for all their talk of liberty, social order often requires the use of government power. Ferrara is on much firmer ground when dealing with the most overt forms of violence inextricably bound up with American freedom: slavery and the extermination of Native Americans. Patriotic Americans are too quick to judge that dwelling on these matters amounts to America bashing. It does not. It is the only way to understand the true historical meaning of liberty in America.
The products of slave labor—first tobacco, then cotton—were at the heart of American economic life from the colonial period through to the Civil War. No sooner did America correct the historic wrong of slavery through the Civil War (at the cost of some 600,000 American lives) then the country turned its energies to "winning" the West through a genocidal war against Native Americans. And let us not forget our own times. No sooner did the Civil Rights Movement complete the work of slave emancipation then the apostles of liberty found another threat to freedom in the unborn child. Abortion is not state mandated. Americans freely choose to offer up roughly a million children every year to the altar of liberty.
The history of liberty in America is more complex than Ferrara presents. He ignores many countervailing traditions that did, for a time, help to slow the "progress" of liberty. Still, his history is selective with a purpose, and a noble one. Any honest look at American history will show that negative liberty, "freedom from," has consistently triumphed in its battle against positive conceptions of human flourishing and the common good. It will also show that there is nothing in our quasi-Masonic public religion, from Washington and Lincoln to Ronald Reagan, which could have prevented this development. Catholics can work with the American system, but they first must realize what it is. When the Church converted the Roman Empire, it knew that it was dealing with a pagan institution. American Catholics since John Courtney Murray have approached the U.S. Constitution, and the American ideal of liberty, as somehow crypto-Catholic and in need only of our full-throated assent. If Catholics are to be truly Catholic in America, and not just a branch office of the Church of Liberty, we need to first stand apart from a political tradition born in a revolt against the Catholic Church. Christopher Ferrara's book is an essential starting point and a necessary declaration of Catholic independence.