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Guests: Michelle Bernard, Tony Blankley, Ronald Reagan, Viet Dinh, Bruce Fein, Jonathan Martin, Wayne Slater
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Quitting Kabul.
Let's play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I'm Chris Matthews in Washington.
Leading off tonight: You don't have to stay forever. Just be close at hand. That's what some people are saying about Afghanistan. We don't have to occupy the country to keep al Qaeda from coming back. Just be offshore and ready to strike with everything we have got.
Here's the hard truth about keeping our troops in country. It's easy to win support for a new war. It's a lot harder to maintain that support once reality sets in. Think about how popular the wars in Iraq and Vietnam were at the start.
But, once the casualties pile up, once the costs grew, once the protests mounted, the public's enthusiasm withered. The same is true now for the war in Afghanistan, which had support left, right, and center as we pursued the killers of 9/11 into that country. Now, left and right, including conservative columnist George F. Will, want us to get out.
Can President Obama continue this war, much less escalate its involvement, if the public isn't with him?
Also, what about Bob—Bob McDonnell, that is, the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia? We now know that, at age 34, in his graduate thesis, he called feminism an enemy of the traditional family, and went after—well, these are his words—cohabitors, homosexuals, and fornicators. Those are his words.
This sounds like a fire-and-brimstone sermon out of the 19th century.
Well, McDonnell is now leading the race, but for how long?
And we all know that former Vice President Dick Cheney called the attorney general's decision to investigate possible CIA abuses an outrageous political act. But former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales now says the probe by Eric Holder is legitimate. So, what does it say about Bush's top law enforcement official when he comes out against Cheney?
And is Governor Rick Perry's sagebrush talk of—quote—"succeeding from the union" helping or hurting the Texas governor's chances of reelection? That's in the "Politics Fix."
And the ultimate comeback kid. Check out the headline, the front-page headline, from this morning's "New York Post," suggesting that Eliot Spitzer, really, the man who was brought down by a prostitute scandal, may be actually thinking of running for office again. That's the latest from the New York tabs. We're going to have it with you and for you in the HARDBALL "Sideshow."
But we begin tonight with the waning political support for the war in Afghanistan.
Tony Blankley, our friend here always, is the former press secretary for Newt Gingrich and a syndicated columnist. And Ron Reagan, a friend also, is with Air America Radio. He's looking rather sad right now.
Well, according to the latest "Washington Post"—maybe he's seen the poll—the latest "Washington Post" poll—we have got the numbers here. Here they are. Fifty-one percent, a majority now, think the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting. And 47 percent—well, actually 45 percent want the troop level in Afghanistan to decrease. Only 24 percent want a troop buildup.
Tony Blankley, this is not going to go the other way. You can see a poll like this and know which direction it's heading in. The number of people who want us to get out of Afghanistan is now a majority. The number of people who want us to increase the number of troops there is less than a quarter.
TONY BLANKLEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes.
MATTHEWS: This is not going well.
BLANKLEY: Yes, I mean I have done my columns in the last two weeks raising very serious doubts about whether we should stay there.
My—I think we do have substantial national security interests there. However, the question is, can we solve the problem plausibly, and is the support there? And my concern is, if you look at the places where you would get support, the presidency, Congress, Republican Party, Democratic Party, media, the American public, with the possible exception of the president, none of them have the stomach for a three- or four-year hard—hard fight in—in—in Afghanistan.
And, so, unless the president can at least snatch George Bush's determination on Iraq and carry his party and maybe some Republicans with him...
BLANKLEY: ... the base—the political base won't be there. We will just send guys in there to get killed and then we will take a powder. That's unacceptable.
MATTHEWS: Big question—big question. And that is what I didn't like about the last half of the Vietnam War. Once it was clear we were going to lose it, after '68, after Tet, it was just a holding action, we lost half our troops over there.
Look at this. Here's President Obama. He's going to get his report at Camp David tomorrow on this.
Ron Reagan, thanks for joining us.
But, first of all, Ron, I want you to listen to an old friend of everybody, George F. Will—quote—this is from the conservative—
"America should do only what can be done from offshore now in Afghanistan, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes, and small, potent special forces units"—I love that word—"concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters. Genius is not hard to recognize that, in Afghanistan, when means now, before American valor is squandered."
That's from George Will.
Your thoughts, Ron Reagan?
RON REAGAN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, you know, a few weeks ago, the White House was said to be looking for—quote, unquote—metrics that they could use to describe what victory in Afghanistan would look like.
I would contend that, if you can't actually describe a victory, you have no business asking young people to go over and sacrifice their lives for this uncertain thing that you can't describe, you know. And people—the people realize why we went into Afghanistan in the first place. Osama bin Laden was there.
Well, he is not there now. And, so, they're wondering, quite naturally, why—what are we still doing there? What is this victory that we're trying to achieve? And, you know, the war on there...
MATTHEWS: A potent question. A potent question. And I want to take it to your partner in debate here, Tony.
REAGAN: Sure.
MATTHEWS: I want to now go—we know the politics basically suck right now. Nobody wants to stay in Afghanistan. The numbers, already, a majority want us out. Nobody wants us to increase. Most people want us to get out and reduce our—our troop complement. So, it's on—we're on the way out politically.
Now here—let's go over to the geopolitics. What's our current mission? Not catching bin Laden back—which we never did, back in '01.
Here we are in '09, eight years later. What is our current mission in Iraq
in Afghanistan?
BLANKLEY: Well, I think what it is—what I—what it is for me, if we say—and I'm not sure we should—is, one, to avoid the destabilization of Pakistan and turning jihadi.
MATTHEWS: Right.
BLANKLEY: And, two, if we get driven out of Afghanistan, the mujahedeen will say, first, we got the Russians out. Then we got the Americans out.
MATTHEWS: Well, they would be right.
BLANKLEY: And—well, yes, but the point is that would be a big selling point for them. So, we would lose a big propaganda battle in the radical Islamist world.
MATTHEWS: Well, we were with the mujahedeen at the beginning...
BLANKLEY: I know. But aren't now.
MATTHEWS: ... against the Russians.
BLANKLEY: I know. All I'm saying is, I think those are the two elements.
Now, the question obviously is, notwithstanding, I think those are big deals, but if we can't deal with it, either because we don't have the troops or we don't have the will, then we shouldn't start.
MATTHEWS: Ron, there's no history of a central government ruling Afghanistan. There's no history of any foreign power—well, you know the history, Ron. You have read the—you know the history. We all do. The Brits got thrown out. The Soviets got thrown out. I think, way back when, the French got thrown out.
Nobody has ever been able to stay in there. There's tissue rejection. They're good at one thing in Afghanistan, not unifying, except to throw out the invader.
REAGAN: Yes, that's absolutely right. And they—and they don't like us. As Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed out when he was talking about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan recently, he said that we're also not winning hearts and minds over there.
We—we haven't established, after eight years there, that we have any credibility with the people of Afghanistan.
REAGAN: And because the Taliban is intermixed, as he says, with the people—they're not living up in caves somewhere. They're actually in the cities and towns amongst the people there.
And—and, because of that, you know, we can't fight—we can't win a ground war against the Taliban. We have to do this in a much more sophisticated way.
If our goal is to outwait al Qaeda and stay there long enough to prevent Taliban and al Qaeda from joining up again in a way that's dangerous to us, as they were in 2001, can we stay there long enough to be there forever? Because it sounds to me like they're always going to be there.
BLANKLEY: No, I...
MATTHEWS: This is the Vietnam question.
BLANKLEY: Exactly.
MATTHEWS: If the Vietnamese are never going to leave, and we have to leave, they're there when we're gone. That's just arithmetic—that's a metric for you right there.
BLANKLEY: The question is, who is they?
BLANKLEY: And, I mean, there is an argument—and it may work—we don't know—which is, we strengthen the Afghani army, police force, tribal leaders, takes us three or four years keeping in the field, fighting the Taliban, until we can pass it over, as we sort of have done in—in Iraq. We will see if that works or not.
MATTHEWS: Has that ever worked before?
BLANKLEY: Well, sort of halfway...
MATTHEWS: Has there ever been an Afghanistan government...
BLANKLEY: No.
MATTHEWS: ... capable of dominating...
MATTHEWS: ... the land space?
BLANKLEY: No, no, I agree...
BLANKLEY: But, on the other hand, it worked in the Philippines and other places in the past.
But my point is, I don't think that George Will's argument, we can sit offshore—I think that's kind of a rationalization. Either we're going to make it work on the ground, or we should get out. But the idea we can sort of sit off on the horizon, watch the Taliban...
MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you this, though.
Let me go to Ron on this.
It seems to me we are quite capable—although I don't always like the way we do it, but maybe it is the right way—drones, sophisticated weaponry allows us to target like a GPS. I want to go visit grandma. Well, it's just as easy to go visit your worst enemy and kill them using GPS technology.
We can drone—we can drone in missiles in the windows of people.
With that kind of technology, do we have to stay?
REAGAN: Well...
MATTHEWS: We're not—we're not in—we're not in Pakistan, and we're doing it there.
REAGAN: Yes, but, you know, the—we—we lose the hearts-and-minds battle again there. We have seen what happens with these drones.
It's great for us, because we don't have to put as many people at risk, but it's not so good for the people on the ground there, the Afghanis or the Pakistanis. Yes, we can send a missile in through the window, but we don't know who is inside of that window.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
REAGAN: There may be a bad guy. There may also be a family or a wedding party or something like that.
We start killing civilians, and they're not going to want us around any longer.
MATTHEWS: OK, now the conundrum, to which I do not have the solution, Tony Blankley and then Ron Reagan. And I want an answer to this.
We were hit badly in 2001 by an enemy based in Afghanistan, ultimately based there. They trained their people there. They took these thugs from Saudi Arabia, a lot of them, and trained them there. They had their smart people already in Hamburg, OK? How do we stop them from using that part of the world again, if we don't stay there?
BLANKLEY: Well, that's the problem, because there is a risk. I said there is a reason we should stay there. The trouble is, can we stay there effectively? And do we have the will?
But I agree with you. If we leave, we increase the risk, I think, of strengthening the jihadis around the world and of being hit again. So, the...
MATTHEWS: And we can't stay forever.
BLANKLEY: But the trouble is that I don't see the will yet. The president would have to be at least as stubborn as Bush to fight this war with the kind of public support he currently has.
You MATTHEWS: So, Don't buy the old song lyric you don't have to stay forever; just be close at hand?
BLANKLEY: No, I don't believe that's a strategy. And I—it's a rationalization. You have got to have boots on the ground.
Ron, do you accept the old song lyric?
REAGAN: Well, listen, even if we committed for three and four years there with the—with a real push and a lot more troops, it wouldn't be enough. We're looking at least 10 years to do anything positive, again, even if we had the—the troops there.
MATTHEWS: Right.
REAGAN: But the—the rationale that we—we have got to leave there, or we can't leave there because then the Taliban and al Qaeda will reestablish a base, well, they can do that in Somalia. They can do that in Yemen. They can do that in Indonesia.
MATTHEWS: I agree.
REAGAN: Are we going to invade and occupy all of these countries?
MATTHEWS: So, what is the Ron Reagan policy for Afghanistan?
REAGAN: I think you have to cut your losses. I think you have to get out of there. If you want to leave some—some, you know, ships offshore or something and—and do a little bit of the special-ops stuff along the border, I—I guess wouldn't complain about that, because it would still be nice to get Osama bin Laden, finally, after all these years.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
REAGAN: But we can't have troops on the ground there. That—it's -
it's crazy. We have got a corrupt government there. We have got an army, an Afghan army, that won't fight, as our—as our own generals and their own generals actually have said.
REAGAN: It's—it's...
MATTHEWS: Well, Ron, you're following the reporting that I'm getting.
That's the same reporting I'm getting.
Your thoughts?
REAGAN: Yes.
BLANKLEY: Well...
MATTHEWS: What's the final policy of Tony Blankley?
BLANKLEY: If—if we had the strong support of the president and Congress, it might be worth making it. But I better be convinced, because I don't want to see a decent interval, where we lose a bunch of guys, and then we take a powder. Either has got to be a commitment or not.
MATTHEWS: Thank you. Well said.
I believe that what Barack Obama, who I support generally, did in this campaign, what I think he did was back into this policy. I think he wanted to say he was from—for some aggressive action against the enemy, because he wasn't for the Iraq war.
And, unfortunately, it reminds me of what Jack Kennedy did when he said, I'm not going to do what Ike said to do back in '59 and '60, which is fight for the cork in the bottle, Laos, but I will fight for South Vietnam.
And he never really had his heart in fighting for South Vietnam. My hunch
I hope I'm right or wrong—I'm not sure—I like to be right, but I don't like to be right when it hurts our country.
Anyway, thank you, Tony Blankley.
And, thank you, Ron Reagan.
MATTHEWS: Coming up...
REAGAN: Thanks, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Now for a lighter note in American politics.
Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate in the red-hot race of governor of Virginia, is on the defensive because he put on paper his thoughts, his philosophy. And they are to the right of most Virginians, I think, certainly most Northern Virginians. A 34-year-old graduate student attacked homosexuals, fornicators, whatever, and he also put himself into some big trouble by going after women who work. That could be his problem.
We're going to shake that race up when we come back here. And we're going to do it right here on HARDBALL, shake up that race in Virginia.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Coming up: George W. Bush's attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, bucks Dick Cheney and agrees with Eric Holder's decision to investigate CIA interrogators.
HARDBALL comes back after this.
MATTHEWS: Well, a little lighter subject now.
Welcome back to HARDBALL.
The Virginia governor's race, which is on, by the way, this year, like New Jersey's—they vote the odd year right after a presidential race—has been rocked by the ideas espoused in a 20-year-old thesis the candidate, the Republican candidate, Robert McDonnell, wrote back at age 34, when he was writing a paper for Regent University in—that's Virginia Beach, I guess, that is—writing for a law degree.
Anyway, he—that was Pat Robertson's school. So, that's a question in itself, why he went to Pat Robertson's school.
Joining us right now—joining us right now—well, there's the guy
joining us right now is Michelle Bernard to talk about it. We hope to be joined by Mo Elleithee, who is a spokesman for the—for the Democratic campaign in that state of Creigh Davis (sic).
You know, this is a weird thing, because we go back to what people write before they become candidates, and you have to ask yourself, as a citizen, what do they really believe, what they write when nobody's watching, except their teachers, or what they're saying when they're trying to get elected?
Your thoughts on that. Here's a guy that said as follows. In his thesis, he wrote, of federal money for child care programs—quote—
"Further expenditures would be used to subsidize a dynamic new trend of working women and feminists that is ultimately detrimental to the family by entrenching status quo, the entrenchings of status quo, of non-parental primary nurtured children."
In other words he's saying that, if you give tax cuts or tax breaks for people for child care, you're encouraging the wrong pattern in American life, women in the workplace.
MICHELLE BERNARD, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
MATTHEWS: That's a bad thing.
BERNARD: Yes. Yes, from his perspective—or at least from his perspective when he was 34 years old.
Here's the dynamic you have to look at. Sometimes, you might say, well, you can't say that somebody believes the things that they wrote or that they have not evolved if they wrote a thesis, say, at age 21 or 22. He was a 34-year-old -- 34-year-old man when he wrote this.
MATTHEWS: This wasn't the indiscretion of youth.
BERNARD: Exactly. It absolutely wasn't the indiscretion of youth.
Second question, then, is, did he write this because he thought this would be appealing to the teachers at Pat Robertson's school, a very far-right conservative school, or did he write this because he actually believes it? Women are one of the most important voting blocs in the country.
MATTHEWS: What do you think of the character of a person who writes something that the teacher might like in a major essay, a major thesis? This isn't something you knock off in a pop quiz.
BERNARD: Yes.
MATTHEWS: This is something you devote yourself to for at least a year.
BERNARD: Well...
MATTHEWS: Anybody in grad school knows what I'm talking about.
It's a major commitment of—of who you are. You write something you believe is useful to the academic discipline, something you believe, or else why write it? You're saying his defense would be he was sucking up to a professor.
MATTHEWS: That would be his defense?
BERNARD: That—it could be his defense.
BERNARD: It doesn't mean it is a defense that would win.
Look, look at the women as the jury on this. They're going to look at his tone, the tenor, and the character. Character is the big issue here. Who is this man? Has he evolved? There are many people that were troglodytes on a whole array of issues. Has he evolved, and how does he prove to the American public, particularly women, that he does not—that he no longer believes the things that he said in his essay?
MATTHEWS: Well, this is one of the arguments that knocked Rick Santorum out of the U.S. Senate...
BERNARD: Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: ... very recently. He was caught writing a book where he basically knocked down the idea of women in the workplace. Here's his book. It was called, "It Takes a Family."
Rick Santorum wrote—quote—"For some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home."
In other words, women are on some kind of ego trip...
MATTHEWS: ... if they want to go to an office now and then to get a little break from home, or to pursue their brain power, and to use the gifts God gave them outside the home, or inside the home. He says that, if you make the choice to use those gifts outside the home, there's something wrong with you...
BERNARD: Look, he's got a major problem here.
MATTHEWS: ... morally.
BERNARD: And he's got to prove that he has evolved.
If you are a rabid feminist, right-wing, crazy, rabid, frosting-at-the feminist—mouth feminist, you're going to be absolutely disgusted, and never believe that he has evolved.
MATTHEWS: You mean a right-wing feminist? Are you mixing your metaphors there?
BERNARD: Mixing my metaphors.
MATTHEWS: OK. Yes, right.
BERNARD: Left-wing feminist.
BERNARD: But, if you are a right-wing feminist, meaning you are a stay-at-home mom, maybe somebody who—who, like Sarah Palin, for example, homeschooling your children, he's also got a problem, because those women consider the work that they do very—very important. And they also say, do not discriminate against our sisters who have decided to work outside of the home.
If you're a moderate and you feel that the choice is yours, do you want to work outside of the home or not, should you be able to use birth control in your marriage, which he also was against in his thesis, you're going to think this man is a troglodyte, and—and maybe feel it is very difficult to believe that he has changed his views.
Or even if—assume—let's assume he hasn't changed his views. Can he really act as a governor of a state and completely separate his views about women in the workplace—think about all those women in Northern Virginia—and...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
BERNARD: ... actually act as governor in a way that meets their needs and their philosophy about how they want to live their lives?
MATTHEWS: Well, you—you don't come on this show with a—a nameplate saying that you're a moderate Republican, but that's what you are, basically.
BERNARD: I'm an independent.
MATTHEWS: OK. But you are a moderate politically? You're somewhere in the middle?
BERNARD: Absolutely. Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: OK. So when you take—when you just gave us that discourse on left, right and center, you're pretty confident of those assessments. Well, let me ask you this. Are there any substantial number of women in a state like Virginia, which has a southern part of it which is pretty traditional—I've been out there—well, not enough, as I should have been, but I've been out there to know enough it's pretty far from the big city of Washington.
BERNARD: Yes.
MATTHEWS: Do you think there's any element of people out there who honestly think it's wrong for women to have to work or work outside the home?
BERNARD: I think that there probably is a segment.
MATTHEWS: Some women like that.
BERNARD: There probably are some women who feel that women should not have to work outside of the home.
BERNARD: ... and that's a different issue.
MATTHEWS: ... my generation, people would say, Oh, the poor dear, she has to work.
BERNARD: Yes.
MATTHEWS: That is a phrase that was used. And by the way, most people have to work. That doesn't mean anything. But it was a term used in sort of sympathy back in the '50s, whereas today, people are kind of proud of their wives or their mothers for trying to do it all. I mean, maybe they can't do it all, but trying, at least.
BERNARD: Look, times have changed. There are definitely going to be people are out there who feel that either, one, it's a shame that some women have to work outside of the home or that some women choose to work outside of the home. But the bottom line is this is not the 1940s or 1950s America. We are in a horrible, horrible economic climate right now, and whether you want to work outside of the home or not as a woman, 9 out of 10 people that you meet have to find a way to make ends meet. And they're going to be questioning how this man views these American women's lives. Women are going to be saying, Is my life as valuable as a man to you if you're governor of the state of Virginia?
MATTHEWS: By the way—excuse me—oftentimes in this program, you can tell which way the wind's blowing politically by who we get on because I'm telling you, every morning, we try to get people from both sides of an issue, as you know, and our bookers here are fabulous. They work so hard to do this. And today, they went out there and—went out there and went through everywhere, trying to find someone to come on and defend Bob McDonnell's views on this subject, and they couldn't find anybody.
By the way, he's not doing so badly, though. Pollster.com, which, of course, averages all the polls out there, has Republican McDonnell, who's the Republican nominee, leading the Democratic nominee, Creigh Deeds, by 12 points. So this fellow—look at the numbers. He's still up there. And he's doing quite well. And he could probably—I would call him the frontrunner right now. So the question is—I'm asking you—since most voters are women, is this going to bring him down?
BERNARD: It could. I mean, I hate to say it, but time will tell. He's ahead of the polls right now because he has been so absolutely strong on job creation. But again, women are the jury. Where do women fit in his formula for job creation? They're going to be asking that question.
MATTHEWS: Virginia's a very protean state. It's growing and it's thinking. It's always thinking. It's like North Carolina. You cannot predict it anymore. It's the Old Dominion, but it's thinking modern a lot of...
BERNARD: And Virginia went for Barack Obama.
MATTHEWS: I have no way of predicting that election right now, and that's why I love it.
BERNARD: Yes.
MATTHEWS: OK. Michelle Bernard, thank you for doing—giving us both sides.
Up next: Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer's thinking about running for office again. I love the fact he's thinking about it because I think he's got a lot to think about. And I want to talk about that when we come back in the "Sideshow." There he is with his very supportive, attractive wife. I mean, attractive in the sense—look at how she stands up for this guy in a strong way, not being miserable about it. She's saying, He's still my husband, I think he still loves me. By the way, that's different than some of these other cases.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL. Time for the "Sideshow." First up:
Hiding under the covers. Governor Eliot Spitzer left the New York governorship in March of 2008 after getting caught patronizing—I think that's the word—a prostitute here in Washington. What a difference a year-and-a-half has made. Feast your eyes on today's show stopper of a front page on "The New York Post." The story—which you can't exactly bet on—is that Spitzer wants back in, back in the game, that he's thinking about running for either the U.S. Senate or state controller next year, the job held for years by the great Arthur Leavitt. OK, I'm a political junkie. I know stuff like that. Anyway, the former governor's denying the report that he's coming back into politics, which, as you know, in this world, doesn't mean squat.
Here's what I think. First, I like the way he left after getting
caught—quick, with his beautiful wife standing by him. I like the way
he handled it. Dare I say it? They showed class. And I do think he loves
his wife. He's not just standing by her in the usual—that is, miserable
way most politicians do after they're caught with the person they really want to be with.
Anyway, that said, I think he needs some more time, not a million years, but a few more years, then come back in a job that really is a job, like state controller. Public service is, after all, something this guy is good at. OK, I like Eliot Spitzer, OK? I want him back in politics eventually.
Speaking of redemption, guess who's coming out of jail tomorrow?
Wednesday this week, James Traficant is going to be beamed up, Scottie. The former Ohio congressman, known on the Hill for his year of "Star Trek" references, has spent the last seven years in federal prison on charges of corruption and tax evasion. Sounds like he's coming back to open arms, though, at least in his home town of Youngstown. A thousand citizens in that town in Ohio have bought $20-apiece tickets to Traficant's welcome home bash. The suggested dress code—it's all in homage to him—skinny ties, denim suits and bellbottom pants. Well, I think he served his time. He's paid his debt to society. I'm with the welcome homers. I'd love him to come on HARDBALL, by the way, and tell us how bad it was inside federal prison for those seven years. It would be a good lesson, especially to some of his former colleagues.
Next up, "Vanity Fair's" out with its list of top 100 influential persons. Among the politicos on the list, two old-timers, Bill Clinton and Al Gore at numbers 19 and 22. At number 15, what "Vanity Fair" calls "the White House confidants," aides David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse. The top pol on the list, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg at number 14. "Vanity Fair" credits him for his handling locally of the financial crisis besetting the country.
Time now for tonight's "Big Number." It's clear the White House is struggling in the message war over health care, and it shows in the numbers. In a new CBS News poll, how many Americans say they're confused by current health care proposals? Sixty-seven percent, two thirds of the country, say they're confused.
And as my pal Peggy Noonan wrote in "The Wall Street Journal" last month, when people are confused, they don't assume that the government's, quote, "doing "hat's best." They assume the government's trying to get one past them. With that in mind, a solid majority, 67 percent, say they're still in the dark about health care. That's tonight's "Big Number."
Up next: Former vice president Dick Cheney has been relentlessly attacking the Obama administration for its decision to investigate CIA interrogators. But now former Bush attorney general Alberto Gonzales says Obama's AG, Eric Holder, has made the right call. We'll try to figure out that and what's up with Cheney, how he's out of sorts even with the former AG.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. Former vice president Dick Cheney went after the Obama administration for opening an investigation into possible CIA abuse. But now former Bush attorney general Alberto Gonzales defended attorney general Eric Holder's decision to look into the allegations.
Viet Dinh served as an assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush, and Bruce Fein served as an associate deputy attorney general under President Reagan. Bruce and Viet, thank you both for joining us.
Let's look now at what Alberto Gonzales said on the question of Eric Holder going into the past and looking at possible abuses by CIA operatives.
ALBERTO GONZALES, FORMER BUSH ATTORNEY GENERAL: We obviously worked very, very hard in the Bush administration to establish ground rules, to establish parameters about how to deal with terrorists. And because we are a nation of laws, and if people go beyond that, I think it is legitimate to question, to examine that conduct to ensure that people are held accountable for the actions that they take.
MATTHEWS: Viet?
VIET DINH, FMR. BUSH ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, now, Attorney General Gonzales is entitled to his opinion, but it was very obvious that he was not a very hands-on attorney general because even under his watch, the Department of Justice career officials conducted what they called the detainee abuse task force, and career officials have concluded several times that these conduct do not give rise to criminal prosecution, except in one instance in which they went forward and obtained an eight-year prison sentence for a CIA contractor.
So this is not new news. This is very old news, based on old conduct, based on old information. And I'm frankly at a loss to explain what has changed over the course of the last several months that prompts Attorney General Holder to...
MATTHEWS: So you're saying there's no new facts?
DINH: There are no new facts. Certainly not...
MATTHEWS: That's not what I understand. But let me go to Bruce. What do you think about this? He argues, Mr. Dinh, that there's no new facts in the case, we're going over old cases with old facts, and we're looking into prosecution when it wasn't done before.
BRUCE FEIN, FMR. REAGAN ASSOC. DEP. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, there may be no new facts, but that's what you could say about a lot of things in the South during the Civil Rights movement and we've come back and looked at the new facts and new (INAUDIBLE) I'm not trying to suggest they're identical, but this is not unheard of.
You have a new assessment of what the situation was. The climate is different. And if they're showing of violations of law, there's always the pardon power, if there's extenuating circumstances.
My objection really is that it's much too narrow. It's a little bit like looking at the burglars of the Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist and not those who authorized it, and we did both, or the case of Felt and Miller, who got pardons for doing break-in against the Weathermen Underground, where there's national security here.
I think it's unfair to saddle only the foot soldiers, so to speak...
MATTHEWS: Right.
FEIN: ... for this investigative liability and not going to the higher-ups, including Mr. Cheney himself. If there are extenuating circumstances, that's what the pardon's for. The pardon is aboveboard. The president has to take accountability to it. And plus, it doesn't undermine the rule of law because the recipient has to accept that the law was violated.
MATTHEWS: Well, let's go to the rich territory here. The vice president—the former vice president—let's listen to this now—the former vice president making his claim—and it's pretty strong—to Chris Wallace on Fox, that even if they violated the existing ground rules laid down by your administration, which were pretty broad—even if they violated those, these guys should be let off. Let's take a look.
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The enhanced interrogation techniques were absolutely essential in saving thousands of American lives and preventing further attacks against the United States and giving us the intelligence we needed to go find al Qaeda, to find their camps, to find out how they were being financed. For eight years, we had no further mass casualty attacks against the United States. It was good policy. It was properly carried out. It worked very, very well.
CHRIS WALLACE, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": So even these cases where they went beyond the specific legal authorization, you're OK with it?
CHENEY: I am.
MATTHEWS: That's the killer. Are you with him on that? Cheney says even though the administration of George W. Bush laid down fairly liberal broad-ranging guidelines for what an interrogator could do to a suspect, to a possible alleged terrorist—that even if they violated those rules, he says, Don't look at them. Don't investigate, don't even think of indicting. Are you with him on that?
DINH: There has been investigations. The inspector general...
MATTHEWS: No, but are you with him on that principle? Are you with the vice president when he makes a principled argument from his principle, his point of view, that you don't even look at cases where guys have—there's evidence that guys violated the ground rules laid down by George W. Bush and his people?
DINH: Well, of course, you look at it. But they—people have already looked at it and determined that there's not enough evidence of criminal intent or likelihood of conviction in order to go forward with these cases. And that's...
MATTHEWS: But that's not what the vice president is saying. He's saying even if you do, there's no problem. Well, let me ask Bruce to make this case. Listen to the vice president's words and tell me what you think of them.
FEIN: No, I think—yes. The fact is, we have a double jeopardy clause that prevents prosecutions or trials twice for the same crime. There's never jeopardy attached in this particular situation, so there's nothing anomalous constitutionally about this.
And what I find most dangerous about Mr. Cheney's statement is that he really suggests that the rule of law means nothing as long as you're trying to go after terrorists. We have a way to do these things. If the law didn't tolerate what was done in this case, you go to Congress and have them amend the law, a ticking time bomb exception or something like that. The executive branch doesn't unilaterally declare, The law no longer serves any purpose because we're going after terrorists. That's what despotic governments do. We are the United States of America. Rule of law is our ultimate safety in gardening (ph) of our liberties.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, what would be a violation by an interrogator? As you say, what would conceptually be a violation?
DINH: It's very simple, an intentional violation of torture. That is an intentional desire to commit bodily harm or grievous harm to the person.
MATTHEWS: But the vice president says, even in such cases, when you went beyond the authorization, he still wouldn't want—are you with him on that?
DINH: The real question in a criminal prosecution is whether or not there's sufficient evidence of criminal intent and whether you can get a conviction. Career prosecutors have looked at this. And what Eric Holder is doing is basically declaring war, not on the CIA—that's—that's just a normal investigation, but really on the career prosecutors who have already done this job, with no new evidence, only, as Bruce puts it, a new assessment.
MATTHEWS: What constitutes criminal intent, the belief that you're operating within the guidelines or what?
DINH: Knowledge of the guidelines and intentional violation thereof.
And also—
MATTHEWS: You disagree with the vice president.
DINH: Of course.
MATTHEWS: You disagree with the vice president.
DINH: If there is criminal intent, then you go—
MATTHEWS: No, if there's knowledge of violating the guidelines as laid down by your authorities, your people above you, that's wrong?
DINH: Knowledge of the guidelines and you're intentionally violating.
MATTHEWS: But he says that's not true.
DINH: Well, you know, the key here is whether or not you have the criminal intent, and there's sufficient evidence of that intent. Where there is—
MATTHEWS: Look at this. I wish we could play this again. So even—this is Chris Wallace. So even these cases where they went beyond the specific legal authorization, you're OK with that. Cheney, I am.
DINH: Going beyond does not state as to what is in the mind of the person when they went beyond. Is it a mistake? Is it an unintentional violation? Those are the issues that career prosecutors—
MATTHEWS: So if somebody brings a drill up to somebody's head when they've got a hood over their head, and says I'm going to cut your head off with this, that's accidental?
DINH: No, there's clear intentional violation there, because—
MATTHEWS: OK, great. And say I'm going to rape your mother with you watching, that would be a clear, intentional violation?
DINH: Of course.
MATTHEWS: OK, good. You're not with the vice president. I'm serious. I don't think you're with the old guy anymore, with Dick Cheney anymore, on this baby. I don't think anybody—people are with him.
Go ahead. Spend some time. Explain your view on this. I agree with you, by the way, the fish rots from the top. I believe that when you give orders from the top, and Vice President Cheney makes things about the dark corners we have to go to, it would lead any public servant to the notion, hey, this is going to be rough and we're going to be rough in the way we read the rules.
I agree with you on that. But do you see any chance of us prosecuting the former vice president?
FEIN: Well, I think it depends. You started out—you remember the Watergate burglary, little third rate burglary. It went up ultimately all the way to the United States of America and the Oval Office. With regard to the burglary of Dan Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office, it went up to his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, I think John Ehrlichman.
So you don't know where this is going to lead, ultimately. We do have the president and the former—
MATTHEWS: There we have a case—by the way, just to get the history down there; Nixon told him to do it. But go ahead. Ehrlichman asked the president to be clean about that. He never was. But go ahead.
FEIN: Yes. And what we have in this particular instance is the former president, vice president, both have authorized water boarding. Water boarding is intentional. It's an effort to create a fear of imminent death, that's ordinarily causing prolonged mental or physical suffering. And that's the definition of torture in our torture statute.
MATTHEWS: Would you like to see the vice president prosecuted for that? Bruce, you're a lawyer. You're an advocate. Are you advocating here on this show the prosecution of the former vice president?
FEIN: I think there should be an investigation, and perhaps a pardon would be appropriate in the circumstances. But certainly a full fledged investigation. If there are no mitigating circumstances, a prosecution is appropriate. If there are, then that's the pardon and that's the situation where the president would have to take full accountability, like President Ford did with Mr. Nixon.
MATTHEWS: Mr. Dinh, any chance of a successful effort to bring the vice president before the dock of history here?
DINH: No. It'll be seen exactly what it is, an attempt to relitigate the history through the guise of political exercise of prosecutorial power. I think the American people will see right through that, as they will see through this effort. I don't think any prosecution will come from this. Frank Durham is way too good a prosecutor, way too career-minded of a person to actually take the bait here, and reverse the decision of his brethren that has been reached before.
MATTHEWS: You know what bugs me? That those soldiers over in Abu Ghraib—this is a parallel case that I think Bruce was referring to. You take the non-commissioned officers and you whack them. You put them in prison for a year or two. When all the time it's pretty clear that the method of preparing prisoners for interrogation at Abu Ghraib was policy.
It was to humiliate the prisoners. All this language came down the line. Humiliate them, bring in the—into bear their Islamic beliefs. Use that against them. Put them in a position where they're willing to just go down and do what they're told and say what we want them to say. It seemed to me that came from much higher up than Lynndie England. And isn't that your point, Bruce, here?
FEIN: Yes, of course. And moreover, Chris, the rule of law is most vindicated when the highest authority has to comply. That's where the real deterrent effect has real teeth, and prevents it from occurring again. And to treat this just like a rogue effort—the fact is, you think these CIA officers and intelligence aides would have undertaken these interrogations if they didn't think they had approval from those who are above, whether or not they specifically fell within the Justice Department guidelines?
They knew the aura in which they were operating. They didn't decide on their own to do this. I'm not saying that we know all the facts.
MATTHEWS: It was more than aura.
FEIN: Certainly, the investigation should not stop.
MATTHEWS: Scooter Libby and Vice President Dick Cheney were whacking the CIA every day of the week to be tougher. They were pushing them harder, and questioning were they ever tough enough? That was the message we got over those eight years. Anyway, thank you, Viet Dinh, for coming on. I'm very impressed you disagree with the vice president about getting away with murder. Just about anything. Bruce Fein, thank you, sir, as always.
Up next, is Texas Governor Rick Perry's talk of seceding from the union helping or hurting his chancing of getting renominated by his party down there? Or is he, even he, too far out? That's ahead in the politics fix. This is HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: We're back. Time for the politics fix. Joining me, Wayne Slater of the "Dallas Morning News," and Jonathan Martin of "Politico." Thank you for joining us.
Texas Governor Rick Perry on Texas and Washington. Let's watch him talk secession.
GOV. RICK PERRY ®, TEXAS: Texas is a unique place. When we came in the Union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that.
My hope is that America and Washington, in particular, pays attention. We got a great Union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that.
MATTHEWS: Let's take a look at the man the other day, what we saw at a rally in Texas, to show that this has fire power, what the governor of Texas was talking about. People are out there at the Capitol steps pushing for secession. Let's watch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not comprised of people willing to allow Barack Obama and his government to tax us into bankruptcy, while Michelle Obama and her 26 aides live it up on our dime.
MATTHEWS: Wow. Let's go to Wayne Slater right now, who is joining us. Also Jonathan Martin of "Politico."
First of all, Wayne, you're doing there. Is this secessionist movement nonsense or what?
WAYNE SLATER, "DALLAS MORNING NEWS": Well, they certainly don't think it's nonsense. The people who are involved are dead serious about it. They would like to establish their own country. But there aren't a whole lot of these people.
The thing that they share with a larger conservative Republican constituency in a place like Texas is an anti-Washington sentiment. So you have Rick Perry talking about Washington, state's rights, state sovereignty, secession. It's something he wants to use to fire up the base, to beat Kay Bailey Hutchison next March.
MATTHEWS: Let me go to Jonathan Martin on this. It seems to me, when I heard people going after the First Lady and the number of staff people they have, it sounds racist to me. It sounds like people are mad we have a black first lady.
JONATHAN MARTIN, "POLITICO": There's no question that is part of it, Chris, with a certain element in the conservative base in Texas. Just the fact that we have a black president and obviously a black first lady angers a lot of people in this country. That is sort of compounded with the other, more legitimate, policy-based disagreements that folks have with Washington right now.
Wayne, who knows Texas policies better than anybody, is absolutely right. The fact is, Perry is sort of dancing a bit here. He's trying to sort of toss a bone out to some of his conservative supporters by saying, well, we don't know what possibly could happen here if Washington doesn't start paying attention.
Of course he's not going to try to push his state to leave the Union. The fact is, by even raising the possibility, he's telling some of the more extreme folks in his base, Chris, what they want to hear.
MATTHEWS: You know, Wayne, it's just my judgment—I'm not a Texan. But I have to tell you, I think that state would be proud to have Kay Bailey Hutchison as its governor. I wonder why they're proud to have this fancy guy with a blazer on, running around saying idiotic things like this guy says, to be their governor. He seems to be strange.
SLATER: Remember, this is a conservative constituency. This is not the Republican party of New England. More importantly, what Perry has to do is win over Republicans in a primary, very conservative constituency. Once you get to a general election, it might be a different vote. But in the Republican primary, Rick Perry is bidding for the hard right of his party, the 800,000 or so Republicans who are likely to show up next November.
Kay Bailey Hutchison and the appeal to moderates is really going to have to fight an uphill batter.
MARTIN: Right.
MATTHEWS: OK. We'll be right back with Wayne Slater and Jonathan Martin. Back with the fix in a moment. You're watching HARDBALL.
MATTHEWS: We're back with Wayne Slater and Jonathan Martin for more of the politics fix. Wayne, sometimes things really crazy happen in American politics, like these people the other day on the steps of your Capitol in Austin, talking about war with the United States. I was just watching the first couple scenes of "Gone With The Wind" the other night in my hotel room. I'm thinking, there they are again, crazy guys talking loosely about war and secession.
SLATER: I mean, look, there's a certain appeal here in Texas, individual spirit. I think it resonates here in Texas. On the other hand, you know and I know that this element of Republican party, radical libertarians, birthers, Birchers, have always been around. What's happened here is that the governor of Texas, a legitimate political figure, has added some level of legitimacy, and has raised the level of discussion about secession, which will never happen.
MATTHEWS: Jonathan, talk about this nationwide. We're watching pictures now on the set of these crazies. That's fair enough to call them that. Maybe they're having fun. Maybe they're just hopped up for fun. But they're talking about war with the United States. I mean—
MARTIN: This is a challenge.
MATTHEWS: I think people have a right to bear arms. I think that's established on the Constitution. But wouldn't the American thing be to do to stop talking about guns and warfare, when we're talking about American politics, and just argue these issues out?
MARTIN: Chris, this is the challenge of the establishment wing of the GOP. How do they channel the fervor—and there is real fervor—from conservatives in this country to their side politically? But doing so, try to mitigate some of the folks you call crazy. That's going to be the task they have for the next year.
MATTHEWS: OK, Wayne Slater, Jonathan Martin, gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight. Join us again tomorrow night at 5:00 and 7:00 Eastern for more HARDBALL. Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is going to be here to explain his book. I mean explain it.
Right now it's time for "THE ED SHOW" with Ed Schultz.
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Watch Hardball each weeknight
at 5 & 7 p.m. ET
Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research.
User may not reproduce or redistribute the material except for user's
personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed,
nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion
that may infringe upon MSNBC and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyright or
other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal
transcript for purposes of litigation.>
Watch Hardball each weeknight at 5 & 7 p.m. ET


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Return to Everything is a threat .
Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Great Pyrenees Questions.
Jun 25, 19 01:53 PM
*ADOPTION PENDING* DOB: August 22, 2018 Pyr mix Dogs: Yes but advise a female resident dog as dogs of same sex do not always see eye-to-eye. Cats:
Jun 19, 19 08:54 AM
Kobe went into foster and he was adopted before we could post him. Congratulations Kobe and family. DOB: March 25, 2017 Kobe is a big white fluffy. He
Jun 19, 19 05:26 AM
*ADOPTED* Not all families are suited to a particular dog and so, with Yuki, her sweet personality attracting a few families but not truly understanding
Jun 11, 19 10:28 AM
Holly, the big white fluffy, was adopted before we could post her. She will have a wonderful life with her male Pyr pal working on the farm looking after
Jun 10, 19 01:01 PM
What dog breed would be good with a female Great Pyrenees? We want a buddy for our pry but not a second Pyrenees
Jun 09, 19 01:10 PM
*ADOPTED* Chloe has found her perfect pet-free home with a family who understands her and works with her. Chloe is looking for a loving family.She had
May 24, 19 11:17 AM
I have had a rescue Great Pyrenees for 1/2 year now. I have got him to stop peeing in the house 4 months ago. He barks a lot but it actually isn't as bad
May 19, 19 07:21 PM
Our 4 1/2 month old boy seems to be on the thin side. You can certainly feel his ribs and backbone. We have had him on a large breed puppy food, feeding

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Sometimes, the silver lining in the cloud is actually platinum…
While changing skeins in some hand-paint, I realized that there would be a much smoother transition if some mixing of the two could take place.
This, but of course, is a popular technique where you alternately knit a couple of rows using two – different balls of yarn until it looks nice and mingled with no pooling…
Trouble was, I'd used all but a couple of yards of the first yarn AND because I'd continued knitting a section upwards, I couldn't simply rip back to free up a few rows worth of yarn. Talk about complicated!
Then I remembered: The Swatch.
It just might have enough to do the trick added to the small amount on hand.
So I frogged it – using my ball winder.
Then it occurred to me –
The center of the winder could be detached from its base.
So, I took it off the winder and lightly moistened the outside of the new skein.
Then, I stuck the whole thing in a sandwich-sized plastic bag and MICROWAVED it for 20 seconds.
Un-kinked fluffy yarn (cooled down of course.) !!
**…note…pictures taken after microwaving & I realized how cool this was! ;p


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Onset recently announced its new Wind Direction Smart Sensor, a research-grade plug-and-play sensor for measuring and logging wind direction data.
The sensor, which works with the company's HOBO Weather Stations, offers years of reliable performance in harsh outdoor environments. Customers will use the wind sensor in a broad range of applications, including agricultural research, crop management, wind resource assessment, building energy studies, meteorology, and environmental studies.
The sensor's features include:
- Shielded stainless steel ball bearings
- Balanced wind vane
- Plug-and-play design
- Wind averaging
- Drip overhang
The new Wind Direction Smart Sensor can be used individually or coupled with Onset's Wind Speed Smart Sensor. By combining the two sensors (sold optionally as a set), customers can collect average wind speed, highest three-second wind gust, and average wind direction.
HOBO U30 stations feature a double-weatherproof enclosure for use in harsh environments, a choice of Web-based and standalone communications options, and a range of plug-and-play Smart Sensors.
The Wind Direction Smart Sensor is priced at $350. A bundled set that includes Onset's Wind Speed Smart Sensor can be purchased for $560. Click here for more information.


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Alphabet, numbers and colors FREE
Alphabet, numbers and colors FREE - Teach your child the alphabet and numbers! "Alphabet and numbers for Toddlers" is an educational and entertaining game. Your toddler will learn the pronunciation of the alphabet and of the numbers, having fun! The alphabet is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch. Easy to learn and to...read more


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VIDEO: Public school bans students from handing out Constitutions on Constitution Day
Officials at a public university in California were caught on video on Tuesday preventing a student from handing out Constitutions in a public area.
According to video recorded by a student, campus security approached students who were handing out small pocket Constitutions to inform them that they had to have permission to distribute such materials on Modesto Junior College (MJC) grounds.
The video was originally uploaded by MJC student Robert Van Tuinen and depicts campus security informing him of rules for engaging in such political activity.
[WATCH] Student accosted by campus security while passing out pocket Constitutions
The officer then accompanied Van Tuinen into a building and informed him that students must be part of an official student group and follow an official process to solicit on campus.
Van Tuinen identified himself as the leader of a newly formed chapter of the organization Young Americans for liberty, a libertarian-oriented organization centered on colleges around the country.
"Why is there a process for my free speech?" said Van Tuinen.
"Because you are a student here at the college," replied the officer.
"But it's a public school on a public ground and the First Amendment says I have a right to free speech and free assembly," argued Van Tuinen.
At this point the officer claimed Van Tuinen was acting in a hostile manner.
"The way that you are acting right now towards me shows me that you obviously came here to already cause a problem on campus you're shaking, you're upset, your facial features tell me otherwise, you're trying to get me into an argument," he said. "I'm not here to have an argument."
"I'm simply trying to get the facts from you sir and you are proving my point", replied Van Tuinen.
The officer referred Van Tuinen to another administrator who told him there is a "time, place, and manner" protocol and "the free speech area is over there in front of the student area."
"Anybody that's going to be on campus [soliciting] they would need to come through my office and fill out an application and I would need to have a photo of your ID you can read these guidelines and procedures," she added.
The administrator in the student life office referred Van Tuinen to the vice president of student life to discuss the matter further.
Linda Hoile, a spokeswoman for the college, told Campus Reform in a phone interview on Wednesday she was not aware of the incident and had not seen the video in question but later in the day the school issued a statement to Campus Reform saying it would look into the matter.
"People can distribute material in the areas generally available to students and the community as long as they don't 'disrupt the orderly operation of the college,'" it read. "In the case of the YouTube video, it does not appear that the student was disrupting the orderly operation of the college. Therefore, we are looking into the matter.
"The administration of the YCCD supports the peaceful distribution of the Constitution and other materials on campus, which is why our colleges support Constitution Day with activities each year," it added.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @TimPDion


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- a strainer
- a medium pot or saucepan
- a large bowl
- a knife
- a spoon
- one (12-ounce) box of quinoa
- salt and pepper
- three tomatoes
- a couple of handfuls of your favorite olives
- half a lemon
- olive oil
- crumbly cheese such as feta, blue, or ricotta salata (optional)
The Basics: How to Make Quinoa Salad
Healthy, tasty, vegetarian
From the store to the kitchen to the table: We outline the steps that get you from something raw to something cooked using simple ingredients, free of measurements and complicated techniques. A method that you can have in your back pocket and whip out whenever you like. We call it recipe-free cooking.
Illustrations by Bill Russell


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One of my players has Energy Control (Darkness) [flaw: Restricted - Power Source] and Alternate Form (Shadow) [flaw: Range - Touch]. So there has to be darkness present to be controlled by her and she has to touch dark areas to become a shadow. Until now, I ruled that she'd be able to use her EC power to 'call' shadows to her and touch them to become a shadow, because she only controls existing shadows.
BUT now she plans to buy off the Power Source flaw from her EC, so she will be able to create darkness. Would you say she should be able to use her own darkness to become a shadow by touching it or would that be somehow disable the Touch flaw of AF?
If so (and only then), should I just rule that she still only can become shadow from natural darkness or should I insist that she have to buy off both flaws alltogether?
Thanks for any enlightenment
Energy Control (Darkness) + Alternate Form (Shadow)
These questions about M&M's first edition were posed to Steve Kenson--and then he answered them! Steve's now providing official answers to second edition questions, but we've archived this forum for you to search.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Mastermind
- Posts: 4118
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2003 5:20 am
- Location: Freedom City, USA
- Contact:
It sounds to me like the AF flaw is largely disabled and should probably be bought off.
Steve Kenson - firstname.lastname@example.com
Green Ronin Publishing
Green Ronin Publishing
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


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Tag Archives: kickstarter
And now for some words of wisdom from Bonnie Kate!
I thought it would be appropriate to write a semi-serious blog this time, because normally I'm all "rainbowmagicflyingtrout"! But I do actually take life seriously. I went through my list of backer blog requests and rediscovered Darien, who'd asked I give some words of encouragement to daughter Maya, who is very interested in fashion design.
I actually wanted to be a fashion designer when I was about 14. I went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for two summers to study fashion (both design and illustration as well as fashion construction, photography, and life drawing). There, I had an absolute blast. Fashion is fun! It's full of colors and patterns and enthusiastic people. I designed collections and constructed garments.
Mostly, I loved drawing clothing and people. Sewing, I wasn't so hot on, but I knew I needed to sew to be a fashion designer. So I kept at it because that was my goal, and I was never going to give up on something I loved. I'd started taking art classes at my high school and was experimenting with media.
Around the same time, I'd discovered collage art and computer art. I LOVED making icons and avatars out of photographs like such:
Earlier on, my parents had told me that it was kind of a waste of time. Now don't get me wrong. I have very supportive parents (who read this blog) but I would spend hours in front of the computer. I didn't go outside. Not unless I had to go sailing for P.E. However, the more I experimented with this genre of art, the less I thought about being a fashion designer. I started making collages with real materials like such:
I began painting and drawing and creating digital work; soon the days of being a fashion designer were over. I'd realized my passion wasn't for the pretty models (while I still love drawing gorgeous ladies more than most things) or for creating fantastic dresses (even though I'd love to design my own clothes) it was for telling stories though art and design. I loved creating something that told the viewer a little bit about someone's life. Maybe that's why I love theater? Maybe that's why I tell my campers stories while we knit. (Yes, I do teach knitting in the summers.) I love to talk (as anyone who's met me will say) and I love to tell stories, which is why I've settled (at the moment at least) on illustration. Illustration is about communicating a story, in my opinion, and I love all the forms of illustration beyond anything else. More than fashion. More than graphic design. More than knitting, even.
If I hadn't done fashion, and graphic design, and even digital collages of celebrities, I wouldn't have found illustration and I would probably be working towards my other job interest: law. Seriously, I would love to be a lawyer. If I hadn't found art, I'd be prosecuting. But luckily for criminals everywhere, I found art, even if it took a while to get here.
So Maya, you're probably wondering what that exactly has to do with being a fashion designer; I didn't end up in fashion design. It's about doing what you love and what makes you happy and allowing the things that make you passionate to push you onward into new things. Fashion is an absolute blast and give it everything you've got for as long as that makes you happy. If, as you're fashioning, you realize that 'hey, I really love the patterns most of all', you may discover surface design. Maybe you really enjoy designing accessories and you start becoming the next Jimmy Choo (very cute, very expensive shoes and you could so go there).
Be enthusiastic. Be brave. Allow yourself to flow from one medium to another while you're young and exploring life.
But most importantly, be happy.


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Sioux Falls Police Investigate Overnight Armed Casino Robbery
Sioux Falls Police are investigating an early Tuesday morning armed robbery at Connexions Casino at 5409 West 41st Street.
According to a news release a man entered the casino wearing dark pants, a long sleeved shirt and a baseball cap. He was armed with a handgun. The suspect demanded money and left on foot.
The suspect was roughly 5'9" and had a medium to thin build with dark hair.
Anyone with information about the robbery is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 367-7007.


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New European weather satellite reaches orbit
Euro space agencies forecast better forecasts
The European Space Agency (ESA) and European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) have announced the successful launch of a new weather satellite expected to provide a major source of data for weather forecasts.
Metop-B, as the bird is known, ascended on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome last Monday and entered its expected orbit 820km above Earth. EUMETSAT says it is now poised to take control of the satellite, before putting it through six months of tests it says are "aimed at checking the performance of the satellite in orbit and validating all products extracted from its observations."
The new satellite replaces Metop-A, which is was launched in 2006 but is now running low on fuel, which makes it hard to make optimal observations. The satellite was nonetheless responsible for 26% of the data used to create numerical weather predictions. That made Metop-A the single largest source of data for forecasters, with the higher-altitude Meteosat, US satellites and sources like weather balloons also helping out. Metop-B will operate while its predecessor still works, but as it is newer is expected to generate better data and therefore help meteorologists to create better forecasts. A third Metop satellite, Metop-C, will launch in 2017.
The Metops are part of a collaboration between US and European space agencies that sees both use some of the same instruments in their respective weather satellites. Data is also shared.
The new Metop is not the only new European space effort of recent weeks, as the new SPOT 6 earth obseervation satellite has also gone aloft. Built by Astrium and launched from India, the new satellite will operate in a constellation with with the forthcoming Spot 7 and Pleaides to collectively deliver the capability to view any spot on earth to a resolution of about 50cm. Spot 6 was launched on September 9th and has lower-resolution kit aboard, but has already beamed back pictures such as the view of Bora Bora below. ®
Bora Bora as seen from the new Spot 6 earth observation satellite. Image copyright Atrium.


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Rich and complex malt flavors combine with low hop bitterness to make this a classic Belgian-style Dubbel. Extra points if you detect a hint of banana and clove flavors hidden in its seductive aroma.
Taste the fruits of our obsession.
We started out with Silvius, a unique BPA. Then we moved on to Thoprock, a hop-rocking, Belgian-style IPA. Hoodoo, a spellbinding dubbel. And Brimstone, a powerful tripel. Those four beers established Boom Island as Minnesota's premier craft brewery that exclusively, and obsessively, focuses on Belgian-style beers.
But as obsessions go, we were just getting rolling. As you'll see here, our range of beers has grown right along with our passion for the Belgian tradition of brewing. Use this guide to get a virtual taste of our different beers. Then look for them in your favorite establishments, or enjoy them with us in our taproom, The Boom Room.


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Don't see your question? Visit our help section.
Get access to great in-store deals and local pick-up
Sign up for our email deals newsletter!
Help OPTIMUS PRIME and the AUTOBOTS join forces with human friends Jack, Miko and Raf to save the Earth from MEGATRON and his new secret weapon. Play as one of your favorite AUTOBOT characters including BUMBLEBEE and BULKHEAD as you battle through unique vistas around the world to help defeat the DECEPTICONS. Continue the battle against your friends in Multiplayer Mode with 11 playable characters.
Rated 6.5 out of 10 by Game Informer.


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Justine Kish slept with the photo of her potential adopted family under her pillow in an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Each year around 1,000 Russian children move from orphanages to American homes through adoption.
Americans like Laurel Kish and Kim Hughes will no longer get a chance to bring a Russian child into their hearts and homes after Russian President Vladmir Putin signed a law Friday that banned Americans from adopting Russian children.
The move extinguishes the possibility of an American adoption for 52 children who were in the process of being adopted, according to the Associated Press.
Putin�s move came in retaliation for a U.S. law that sanctioned Russians who were thought to be violating human rights. The law takes effect Jan. 1.
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Justine Kish slept with the photo of her potential adopted family under her pillow in an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia.
That was in 1992. Kish was 4�-years-old and had just left an orphanage for babies and entered an orphanage for toddlers. Russian orphanages grouped children according to ages.
Back in Pennsylvania, Laurel and Zoltan Ladislaus Kish held a photo of the blonde-haired girl. They watched a video of the girl in the orphanage being handed a photo of their family, pointing out �This would be Momma. This would be Poppa. This would be brother.�
�She was staring at our pictures. And she wouldn�t give up our pictures when they tried to take them,� said Laurel Kish, who now lives in Cramerton. �So a week later they made the rounds of the orphanage. She still had our pictures in her hand. She was sleeping with them under her pillow.�
Laurel�s husband died in a car crash a year after the adoption. Laurel moved to Gaston County four years later to be closer to her son, bringing her Hungarian mother-in-law with her and Justine.
Kish graduated from South Point High School in 2007 and has become a world-class competitor in mixed martial arts.
But none of that would have happened if she hadn�t been rescued from the Russian orphanage.
�I couldn�t wait to leave Russia�
The Kishes agreed they wanted to bring this curious little girl who knew all the other orphans, helped out with chores and had a quirky sense of humor into their family. Justine, too, was eager to leave the orphanage.
�I remember being very, very excited, and I couldn�t wait to leave Russia. It was a bad period for me to be in St. Petersburg, and there was no money in the orphanage,� said Justine, now 24. �Even I knew that.�
The family originally submitted paperwork in several countries to adopt children. Romania was having problems with international adoptions. El Salvador�s adoptions were falling through at the last minute.
�Russia really chose us,� Laurel said.
All of the paperwork had been put together in 1992 when the adoption agency called the Kishes to let them know that Russian children were ready to be adopted. The couple was supposed to get an older child, one under age 10. Representatives from the adoption agency went to Russia after interviewing them and decided that Justine would be a perfect fit.
�They called her �Little Momma. She was only 4 years old. She was very helpful to them. She was the one who would help a lot of the little kids,� Laurel said. �Justine knew about everyone of these kids, who could be adopted.�
Coming to America
Justine was so helpful that those running the orphanage didn�t want to give her up, saying she was too healthy, too good and they were getting too much work out of her.
The Kishes also had to deal with changing rules. The family wouldn�t fit into the rules that were changing, but Russian officials made exceptions for them. Laurel thinks that because her husband was an emergency-room doctor, a position that has clout in Russian eyes.
The Kishes paid to have Justine visit so she could meet the family and see where she would be living, but her visit required some stealth. A person at the orphanage snuck Justine�s papers out at midnight, meeting the adoption agency representative in the parking lot.
�And then I got the word that she was coming,� Laurel said.
Justine was just as anxious to leave Russia as her new family was to meet her.
�On the plane, I�m looking at photographs of my family. And I�m trying to remember as many words as possible to impress them,� Justine said. �I couldn�t wait to get to the states.�
Laurel said her daughter was a little bewildered, but brave when they picked her up at the airport. When they were leaving the airport, Laurel worried that their little girl would be terrified to leave with strangers she knew only from a photo album. But she wasn�t.
�She reached over the back of the car and she patted my husband on the back and she said �Poppa� like that,� Laurel said.
�They rescued me�
Laurel would watch Justine wake up each morning, realize where she was and display a big smile. She�d giggle sometimes that Sasha, one of the boys from the orphanage, couldn�t beat her up anymore.
�I remember the first day her picking up a broom. She knew three words of English, but she knew how to pick up a broom and sweep,� Laurel said. �But she was a wild little thing. No, she had to do everything her own way. Nobody ever did anything for her. And that�s basically the way she�s always been.�
Justine wanted to forget about Russia. She�d tell people she was American, not Russian. She didn�t want to keep her Russian name. She wanted to learn English.
�They really rescued me,� Justine said.
Athletic talent
Justine began excelling in sports in middle school and began taking martial arts classes at 13. She continued to show athletic prowess in high school while improving her martial arts skills.
She�s competed all over the world in mixed martial arts and Muay Thai, a kind of Thai boxing. In November, she won the World Muay Thai Council Championship in her weight category.
Justine said she was saddened to hear about the ban on Americans adopting Russian children. Both Justine and Laurel said the decision hurts children who deserve to have a home.
Justine can�t picture what life would be like if she hadn�t been adopted.
�If I wasn�t here right now, I can�t even imagine where I would be, or if I would be alive right now because it was just that bad,� Justine said.
You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 and follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.


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Join the "Science Buzz" for an animated discussion and happy hour about the science of sleep with experts in the field.
Why are we all so tired? What role does sleep play in helping us lead healthy, productive lives? If we need it so badly, why don't we prioritize it or even talk about it – with our physicians or in a public health context?
Learn the answers to these questions and more by attending this interactive discussion, sponsored by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tickets are $10, or $7 for students, and can be purchased at the door. Food, wine, and beer are free with the admission fee.
Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. For tickets, contact the Koshland Science Museum at (202) 334-1201 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Please see [here] for full ticketing policy.
Participants must be 21 or older to consume beer or wine. Proper ID, such as a driver's license or state-issued ID card, is required to consume alcohol, and must be shown to museum staff upon entrance to the program.


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Lenovo Control Panel - ThinkVision L201p, Lenovo 715G1497-2-06.
* We have limited quantity of 715G1497-2-06 in stock. Our inventory changes constantly and quantities listed are based on available stock. This item comes with our 100% Money-Back Guarantee.
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Our department needed two discontinued drive modules for our servers. Code Micro delivered on time. ...
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Citi Corp


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For months, Anthony Brown fooled his jailers into believing that he was just another prisoner inside Men's Central Jail.
In fact, the 45-year-old armed robber was working for the FBI on a highly sensitive investigation of the Los Angeles County jails. He took down the names of sheriff's deputies who he alleged were dirty. He reported tales of violent abuse of inmates at the hands of jailers. He even ensnared a deputy in a phone smuggling scheme that resulted in a criminal conviction.
Brown gave FBI agents what they couldn't have gotten on their own: an insider's view of a jail system beset with allegations of excessive force and other deputy misconduct.
But the same knack for duplicity that made Brown a successful informant could complicate the larger case federal prosecutors are building on alleged abuses inside the nation's largest jail system.
Until now, little has been known about the informant. But The Times confirmed his identity and spoke to him at length at Centinela state prison in Imperial County, where he's serving 423 years to life for armed robbery.
Interviews and court records reviewed by The Times paint a complex portrait of the inmate who set off the recent upheaval inside the Sheriff's Department — a bank robber and crack cocaine addict who has a history of lying and making dubious allegations against law enforcement.
Brown's credibility speaks to the larger challenges the FBI faces in its investigation of jail abuses. As with any jailhouse probe, inmates inherently play a central role, but few come without baggage.
To prove crimes by deputies, experts say federal authorities will need to substantiate their charges independently — and it appears they're trying.
Federal investigators, who declined to comment for this story, have secured recordings, internal documents and interviews with multiple officials from within the sheriff's own ranks, persuading some to cooperate in their widening probe. It's not clear what role, if any, Brown will play in any future indictments.
Parts of Brown's story were impossible to substantiate and seemed unlikely. Still, some of his allegations can be corroborated.
His claim that he successfully manipulated a jailer to smuggle him a cellphone has already resulted in that deputy pleading guilty to bribery. And a source with knowledge of the FBI's probe confirmed that federal authorities were investigating another of Brown's allegations — that after his cover was blown, sheriff's officials attempted to hide him from his FBI handlers by moving him from jail to jail under multiple aliases.
Court records show Brown, a New Yorker, told police that before he turned to crime he had worked in the entertainment industry, including a stint at Def Jam Recordings operating "right under" co-founder Russell Simmons. (A company representative, however, found no record of Brown as an employee or contractor.) Brown says he came to California in 2004 as a sound engineer for singer Beyonce's nationwide tour. But eventually he began using crack cocaine, traversing Los Angeles by bicycle, high and looking for places to rob.
By 2005, he was charged and convicted in three bank robberies and sent to prison. Though he confessed, he later changed his story, alleging he was innocent and accusing a detective of committing perjury at his trial. His allegations were dismissed.
He was released in 2009. In his interview with The Times, Brown said it was then that he was approached by the FBI and asked to work as an informant, a role he says he had performed for federal authorities decades earlier on an unrelated investigation in New York.
This time, he said, agents wanted him to go behind bars on a phony gun charge and catalog instances of deputy misconduct. He would not elaborate on how the FBI had chosen him.
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment for this story, and The Times was unable to corroborate exactly how and when he became an informant. Sources familiar with the case as well as the attorney for the deputy who pleaded guilty to bribery this year confirm Brown was the informant.
Brown did end up back behind bars later in 2009, not on the phony charge, but for another series of armed robberies. He detailed the crimes in a recorded interrogation but then denied the crimes in court, accusing a detective of allowing him to smoke crack in return for a false confession.
During his court case, Brown, who is black, also accused his attorney of using a racial slur against him, but he later wrote to a judge admitting the attorney never used the term. Court records show that another judge determined that Brown made other false complaints, ultimately telling him: "I don't believe a word you have to say."
Brown was incarcerated at Men's Central Jail, where he began working for the FBI.
In his interview with The Times, Brown alleges that he delivered notes about corrupt and brutal deputies during weekly visits with his FBI handler.
Brown says he paid a jailer to smuggle him a cellphone, which he used to take photos of deputy beatings and transmit them to his FBI handler. The Times could not independently verify whether he provided photos to the FBI.
Sometime later, Brown says he lost that phone and enlisted a second deputy to smuggle in another cellphone. Much of this account is confirmed in court and other public records. Unaware that Brown was working with the FBI, the deputy, Gilbert Michel, brought him the cellphone and other contraband in exchange for $1,500 in cash from an undercover FBI agent who pretended to be Brown's associate on the outside. When jailers eventually found Brown's phone, Michel called Brown's "associate" to alert him, unwittingly tipping off FBI agents that their informant had been compromised. Brown alleged that his handlers rushed into the jail to visit him, but as their meeting began, a sheriff's investigator barged in and ended it.
He says he was fingerprinted, given a lie-detector test and interrogated.
Sheriff's officials moved him from one facility to another, including the sheriff's San Dimas station. Brown said they listed him under monikers such as "Robin Banks" — an allusion to Brown's criminal history.
Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore declined to say whether the department had hidden Brown from the FBI.
Brown was eventually transferred to state prison.
Earlier this year, Michel pleaded guilty to a bribery charge. Brown alleges that in exchange for his work with the FBI, officials put small amounts of money in his inmate account to buy items from the jail store. Brown said he hoped the FBI would also help him get out of prison sooner.
In his interview from prison, Brown made no mention of his past credibility issues. In fact, he says he wants to pen an autobiography about his work as an informant.
"My information is good enough for the FBI," he said, "so it's good enough for a book."


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Welcome to my Non Exclusive Portfolio
NEW Current Folk track "SHINE" Now Available!
NEW! Adventure Rock Track
Also Check out!
Welcome to my Non Exclusive portfolio.
Hey there! Thanks for visiting my portfolio and checking out my music. I am a producer and songwriter living in Eastern Ontario Canada and am now offering my compositions to the Royalty Free marketplace. I write often and update my portfolio frequently, so keep checking back for new items that you might fancy!
I write in a few styles from dance to pop, rock and country to name a few. My specialty is in the rock, light rock, pop and acoustic genres. I have been honing my craft via many projects and am now specializing in writing for advertisers/TV/Film and different aspects of video.
I also write music for my band Switchgear and we perform live in the eastern Ontario region. I enjoy the process tremendously and am thankful for everyday I get to compose music or perform it and I always am open to learning something new and interesting about the craft.
For music on demand I can have that for you within a couple of days. Just message and I look forward to working with you.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my music.
TO VIDEOHIVE AUTHORS Please feel free to use any of my tracks in any of your videos. Please send me the link to the video on videohive in which the audio was used and I will add the link from here.
I only ask that you provide a link to my audiojungle portfolio for some cross promotion.
Thank You!
PLACES THAT HAVE USED MY MUSIChttp://www.litechasers.com http://vimeo.com/45098294


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Take a piece of Disneyland home with you with this design inspired by a vintage park map from the 1970s, showing Fantasyland, Main Street USA, and glimpses of Frontier Land, Adventure Land, and Tomorrow Land!!
This beautiful fit and flare dress is available in sizes XS-3XL, from soft fabric that is stretchy and will hug your shape.
I use an advanced heat sublimation machine to print any design or pattern straight on to the fabric before sewing it - to avoid any white marks or creases in the seams. This is not a cheap screen print that fades or washes off! The dresses are fully machine washable - best at 30 degrees and avoid the dryer to ensure the print stays beautiful for a long time.
- Made from 90% Polyester, 10% Spandex (the same great fabric as our best-selling Sports leggings)
- Soft, stretchy, lightweight fabric
- Fit and flared skater style fit
- Fully machine washable, 30 degrees is recommended
- Great as a day dress with a cardigan over it, or as a night time dress with some pretty heels!
Size Chart: My items are available in 7 sizes, catering for a wide range of body types and ages. Even though technically these are women's sizes, XS and S are small enough to be a great fit for younger teenagers! Please click here for a fully detailed size chart. Different countries and manufacturers often have different definitions of what S, M, L, etc, are, so please take a few minutes to measure yourself in inches and compare it to my detailed size chart to find the right size for you!
Please note: every single one of these are hand-made to order, individually. Because of that, each item may vary - slight differences in the position of the prints is normal. As we only produce the items when 1 is ordered, we use digital preview pictures on the product pages. If you'd like to see some actual photos of finished items up close, please check out the Portfolio!


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The Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks Fieldwork Records and Papers, ca. late 1920s-2000s
- Collection
- 1925 - 2009
This collection contains fieldwork records and papers produced by the staff of the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks, as well as Thomas Whittemore and Paul Underwood, between the 1920s and 2000s. It is comprised of correspondence, minutes, f...
Byzantine Institute, Inc.


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We already know about Herrera's SEIU hi-jinks. We know about her efforts to help the democrats blow $229 million to help them with their new spending. But do we remember her managing to burn her way through almost $500 in meals in 3 days?
Well, here's s brief reminder.
Who here isn't familiar with the Sellers debacle?
Sellers, who, at the time was mayor of Washougal, felt compelled to go to Vegas on "official business." While she was there, she decided that the taxpayers of the city of Washougal should pay for her alcohol, and some high priced meals.
Stacy Sellers is having a tough week. Perhaps she deserves one, since, according to the local version of Pravda, Sellars charged, among other things, a "...$57 'surf and turf' dinner. An $88 bottle of wine. A $72 bill at the Eye Candy Lounge & Bar." while on some sort of "official trip" to Vegas.... although why a trip to Vegas for the mayor of Washougal would be official is, perhaps, a subject for another post. (Take some time and run a google search on the "Eye Candy Lounge & Bar" for pictures of others engaging in some distinctly "non-mayor" like activities. I guess what happens in Vegas is reported in the Columbian.)Just yesterday, KOIN 6 reported on Brian Baird's abuse of the travel system where he decided he needed to spend a fortune to go on vacations masquerading as a "fact finding trip," a trip that a local travel agent booked for roughly one half the cost charged by Baird.
Erstwhile political opportunist Jamie Herrera seems to share the traits of both Baird and Sellers.
In August of 05, Herrera went on one of these "fact finding trips" to Spokane, where Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA05) maintains a district office.
Instead of sending one of her own staffers already in Spokane for this "fact finding," McMorris-Rogers instead seems to have sent Herrera. That sending Herrera was apparently a complete waste of money is a subject for another post. That issue aside, here is the rather disturbing travel voucher, filled out by Herrera and signed off on by her boss and mentor, Congresswoman McMorris-Rogers.
Now, the questionable aspect of this trip aside, where the main issue of concern for me comes to the fore is here:
Cross posted at Clark County Politics.


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What Goes Around Comes Around
Research scientist, Bonnie Monteleone, from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA knows all about plastic. She's been studying the negative affects of plastics in the marine environment for several years.
More recently, she's visited three of five ocean gyres and collected plastics hundreds to thousands of miles from land. Using the well recognized, "Great Wave" by Hokusai circa 1830s, Monteleone illustrates a very different ocean from what Hokusai saw 180 years ago.
We caught up with Bonnie to learn more about micro-plastics and the incredible educational message she has displayed through her art.
Why is your work focused on plastics?
What is it that grabs your attention? That thing that reaches into your conscience and won't let go? Like love, especially when you least expect it. It was a similar experience that happened to me when I learned about the problems with plastics in the marine environment. My wake-up call took on its own pertinence.
Where did this wake-up call take you?
It led me to four open ocean expeditions researching marine plastics, returning with 157 surface samples all containing plastic fragments along with scores of larger plastic objects - many collected thousands of miles away from land. Perplexing, to say the least, is how far and wide plastic pollution extends as it wreaks havoc on the marine life that encounters it. From the smallest filter feeders to the apex predators, few species, if any, have not been negatively impacted by discarded plastics.
Why did you turn your research into art?
It is one thing to research the problem and it's another to try to communicate it in such a way that it grabs the audience. Sometimes it is the nonverbal and unwritten that best reaches the conscience. Using the plastics I have collected throughout my research, I created a 25-foot wall of ocean waves to share what I witnessed in the open ocean. It attempts to take the viewer out to the North Pacific Garbage Patch, across the South Atlantic, and into the North Atlantic Sargasso Sea. Juxtaposed against the beauty of the open seas is the ubiquitous refuse from our over use of plastics.
What do you hope to achieve with your art?
The images serve to communicate the direct impact on other life, the disposal of these products moving from land to sea and then back on island beaches or in the seafood that we eat; nevertheless, persisting in the environment for hundreds if not a thousand years. Change happens when people become aware of a problem and that is what this art show is all about - allowing those that cannot go offshore the ability to see the problem at sea.
You can learn more about Bonnie's expeditions and inspiration for creating 'What Goes Around Comes Around' at www.theplasticocean.blogspot.com


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Billy Bob Thornton never wanted to be an actor
- Bang Showbiz
- 22 February 2014
Billy Bob Thornton has revealed he never wanted to be an actor, despite having been in the industry for four decades
Billy Bob Thornton didn't want to be an actor.
The 'Monsters Ball' star has been acting for four decades now and has appeared alongside fellow actors including Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck in films such as 'Armageddon' but claims he never dreamed of becoming an actor when he was child, but rather inspired to be a musician or a sportsman.
He told Total Film magazine: "I didn't want to become an actor, I didn't know anything about it. I wanted to be in a rock'n'roll band, I wanted to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. I was a baseball player and a musician; that's all I ever wanted."
The 58-year-old actor who has been married five times - including a two-year marriage to his 'Pushing Tin' co-star Angelina Jolie - also admitted that he first got into acting so he could meet women.
He added: "I was only in the drama class because there were a lot of chicks in there!"
Thornton - who is originally from Arkansas in the southern United States - also spoke about an acting class he took when he was younger and said the teachers predicted he would be successful.
He said: "In 1980, we went to California, and I got in an acting class there and the acting teacher told me the same thing that my drama teacher had told me in the 12th grade. He said, "I really believe you're going to be standing on the stage with a statue in your hand one day.'"


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Here Comes The Bride….with her Dog! Unique Wedding Party Ideas
28 Oct
Marrying your best friend means you've found the perfect match. But, brides and grooms who don't want to leave out their original "best friend" can get creative in the party-planing process. From time-to-time, we ask our customer service representatives to tell us their favorite products. They have great ideas from our customers, as well as from their own creative parties. Our resident Mother-of-the-Groom, Fay, recently told us about her unique idea for a Rehearsal Wedding Luncheon she hosted for her son, his bride-to-be….and their dog "Sky," who made his own special cameo:
"This was one of my favorite products ever, the Custom Rehearsal Dinner Invite from TheStationeryStudio.com. It was great fun to select characters based on the bridal party, but best of all was the ability to include the beloved pet dog in the invitation. All the characters resembled the individual people, but the dog that the artist created really looked like "Sky". Just about everyone, family and friends, know that Daniel and Jacky are great pet lovers, so people really got a kick out of seeing him on the rehearsal invitation. The biggest surprise was during the wedding processional, when "Sky" walked down the bridal aisle. He was accompanied by the 2 junior bridesmaids and wore a bow tie that said "Best Pet". He was a hit! The wedding was a black tie formal event and it was lovely to have this casual rehearsal invitation sent and also the light hearted levity of having "Sky" part of the bridal party!"


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My brother-in-arms Frank loved the Command and Conquer 3 demo when he played it, and we're both looking forward to the full version. Skepticism about RTS titles on a console is certainly a healthy way to enter into the 360 version. But keep in mind that EA was one of the few companies that was able to actually pull off a good RTS control scheme using a controller with Battle for Middle-Earth 2 on the 360. Since they're basically tweaking that interface, this should be another solid, console RTS game. I don't think the controller will ever be better than a mouse and keyboard for real-time strategy games—or even as good—but if you have an older computer, the fact you'll be able to play it decently at all on a console is good news.
If you happen to have a Vision camera for your 360, you're in for even more interesting features. You'll be able to chat with other players during the game, and the winner gets to taunt the fallen. After watching a video of this in action I'm scared of what I may see when the game goes live, but I will admit that it's pretty good use of the technology.
German fans may be disappointed to hear that the Nod suicide bombers well... won't be. The fanatic unit will now drop their bombs on the ground and run away, not taking its own life in the process. Apparently killing other virtual people is okie-dokie, but killing your own virtual character is immoral. Funny how that works, isn't it?
The game drops on March 30. Expect first-hand impressions then.


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Sunday, March 01, 2009
Report: At least the governor is happy
With firmly grounded and well-founded doubt that the long-delayed video lottery terminal facility at Aqueduct will ever be completed, the government of New York State has again turned its attention to Belmont Park.
Ridiculous, perhaps, but a study suggests that two casinos about six miles apart is a good idea. The report, which deals only in broad generalities and suppositions, supports what most believe was a foregone conclusion, since Gov. David Paterson – the man who would tax soda -- beneath whom the report's authors serve, is on record in support of the absolutely blasphemous concept of a casino at Belmont. The facility, under terms of last year's franchise deal with NYRA, is owned by the state. The state owns the track at Saratoga, too. What defamation is in the future there?
The Belmont study, the work of Empire State Development president Marisa Lago and New York State Racing and Wagering Board chairman John Sabini, is unlikely to serve a greater purpose, since Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who controls the fate of bills in the Democratic-run House, has opposed the concept. Then again, we're dealing with Albany, where anything can happen, none of it good.
Yeah, right.
The chosen operator of the Aqueduct facility, Delaware North, has been unsuccessful in financing the development amidst the current credit climate and without concessions will likely balk at going forward under threat of state-supported nearby competition. So, Patterson's stance on Belmont is likely to further delay the Aqueduct project, the beginning of which has disappeared beyond the horizon.
Excelsior indeed. – PM
Check out Paul Moran on Blogspot At the Races