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Chapter X. Political Morality (1862)
ON Moran's promotion to be Secretary, Mr. Seward inquired whether Minister Adams would like the place of Assistant Secretary for his son. It was the first ―― and last ―― office ever offered him, if indeed he could claim what was offered in fact to his father. To them both, the change seemed useless. Any young man could make some sort of Assistant Secretary; only one, just at that moment, could make an Assistant Son. More than half his duties were domestic; they sometimes required long absences; they always required independence of the Government service. His position was abnormal. The British Government by courtesy allowed the son to go to Court as Attache, though he was never attached, and after five or six years' toleration, the decision was declared irregular. In the Legation, as private secretary, he was liable to do Secretary's work. In society, when official, he was attached to the Minister; when unofficial, he was a young man without any position at all. As the years went on, he began to find advantages in having no position at all except that of young man. Gradually he aspired to become a gentleman; just a member of society like the rest. The position was irregular; at that time many positions were irregular; yet it lent itself to a sort of irregular education that seemed to be the only sort of education the young man was ever to get.
Such as it was, few young men had more. The spring and summer of 1863 saw a great change in Secretary Seward's management of foreign affairs. Under the stimulus of danger, he too got education. He felt, at last, that his official representatives abroad needed support. Officially he could give them nothing but despatches, which were of no great value to any one; and at best the mere weight of an office had little to do with the public. Governments were made to deal with Governments, not with private individuals or with the opinions of foreign society. In order to affect European opinion, the weight of American opinion had to be brought to bear personally, and had to be backed by the weight of American interests. Mr. Seward set vigorously to work and sent over every important American on whom he could lay his hands. All came to the Legation more or less intimately, and Henry Adams had a chance to see them all, bankers or bishops, who did their work quietly and well, though, to the outsider, the work seemed wasted and the "influential classes" more indurated with prejudice than ever. The waste was only apparent; the work all told in the end, and meanwhile it helped education.
Two or three of these gentlemen were sent over to aid the Minister and to cooperate with him. The most interesting of these was Thurlow Weed, who came to do what the private secretary himself had attempted two years before, with boyish ignorance of his own powers. Mr. Weed took charge of the press, and began, to the amused astonishment of the secretaries, by making what the Legation had learned to accept as the invariable mistake of every amateur diplomat; he wrote letters to the London Times. Mistake or not, Mr. Weed soon got into his hands the threads of management, and did quietly and smoothly all that was to be done. With his work the private secretary had no connection; it was he that interested. Thurlow Weed was a complete American education in himself. His mind was naturally strong and beautifully balanced; his temper never seemed ruffled; his manners were carefully perfect in the style of benevolent simplicity, the tradition of Benjamin Franklin. He was the model of political management and patient address; but the trait that excited enthusiasm in a private secretary was his faculty of irresistibly conquering confidence. Of all flowers in the garden of education, confidence was becoming the rarest; but before Mr. Weed went away, young Adams followed him about not only obediently ―― for obedience had long since become a blind instinct ―― but rather with sympathy and affection, much like a little dog.
The sympathy was not due only to Mr. Weed's skill of management, although Adams never met another such master, or any one who approached him; nor was the confidence due to any display of professions, either moral or social, by Mr. Weed. The trait that astounded and confounded cynicism was his apparent unselfishness. Never, in any man who wielded such power, did Adams meet anything like it. The effect of power and publicity on all men is the aggravation of self, a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim's sympathies; a diseased appetite, like a passion for drink or perverted tastes; one can scarcely use expressions too strong to describe the violence of egotism it stimulates; and Thurlow Weed was one of the exceptions; a rare immune. He thought apparently not of himself, but of the person he was talking with. He held himself naturally in the background. He was not jealous. He grasped power, but not office. He distributed offices by handfuls without caring to take them. He had the instinct of empire: he gave, but he did not receive. This rare superiority to the politicians he controlled, a trait that private secretaries never met in the politicians themselves, excited Adams's wonder and curiosity, but when he tried to get behind it, and to educate himself from the stores of Mr. Weed's experience, he found the study still more fascinating. Management was an instinct with Mr. Weed; an object to be pursued for its own sake, as one plays cards; but he appeared to play with men as though they were only cards; he seemed incapable of feeling himself one of them. He took them and played them for their face-value; but once, when he had told, with his usual humor, some stories of his political experience which were strong even for the Albany lobby, the private secretary made bold to ask him outright: "Then, Mr. Weed, do you think that no politician can be trusted? " Mr. Weed hesitated for a moment; then said in his mild manner: "I never advise a young man to begin by thinking so."
This lesson, at the time, translated itself to Adams in a moral sense, as though Mr. Weed had said: "Youth needs illusions !" As he grew older he rather thought that Mr. Weed looked on it as a question of how the game should be played. Young men most needed experience. They could not play well if they trusted to a general rule. Every card had a relative value. Principles had better be left aside; values were enough. Adams knew that he could never learn to play politics in so masterly a fashion as this: his education and his nervous system equally forbade it, although he admired all the more the impersonal faculty of the political master who could thus efface himself and his temper in the game. He noticed that most of the greatest politicians in history had seemed to regard men as counters. The lesson was the more interesting because another famous New Yorker came over at the same time who liked to discuss the same problem. Secretary Seward sent William M. Evarts to London as law counsel, and Henry began an acquaintance with Mr. Evarts that soon became intimate. Evarts was as individual as Weed was impersonal; like most men, he cared little for the game, or how it was played, and much for the stakes, but he played it in a large and liberal way, like Daniel Webster, "a great advocate employed in politics." Evarts was also an economist of morals, but with him the question was rather how much morality one could afford. "The world can absorb only doses of truth," he said; "too much would kill it." One sought education in order to adjust the dose.
The teachings of Weed and Evarts were practical, and the private secretary's life turned on their value. England's power of absorbing truth was small. Englishmen, such as Palmerston, Russell, Bethell, and the society represented by the Times and Morning Post, as well as the Tories represented by Disraeli, Lord Robert Cecil, and the Standard, offered a study in education that sickened a young student with anxiety. He had begun ―― contrary to Mr. Weed's advice ―― by taking their bad faith for granted. Was he wrong? To settle this point became the main object of the diplomatic education so laboriously pursued, at a cost already stupendous, and promising to become ruinous. Life changed front, according as one thought one's self dealing with honest men or with rogues.
Thus far, the private secretary felt officially sure of dishonesty. The reasons that satisfied him had not altogether satisfied his father, and of course his father's doubts gravely shook his own convictions, but, in practice, if only for safety, the Legation put little or no confidence in Ministers, and there the private secretary's diplomatic education began. The recognition of belligerency, the management of the Declaration of Paris, the Trent Affair, all strengthened the belief that Lord Russell had started in May, 1861, with the assumption that the Confederacy was established; every step he had taken proved his persistence in the same idea; he never would consent to put obstacles in the way of recognition; and he was waiting only for the proper moment to interpose. All these points seemed so fixed ―― so self-evident ―― that no one in the Legation would have doubted or even discussed them except that Lord Russell obstinately denied the whole charge, and persisted in assuring
Minister Adams of his honest and impartial neutrality. With the insolence of youth and zeal, Henry Adams jumped at once to the conclusion that Earl Russell ―― like other statesmen ―― lied; and, although the Minister thought differently, he had to act as though Russell were false. Month by month the demonstration followed its mathematical stages; one of the most perfect educational courses in politics and diplomacy that a young man ever had a chance to pursue. The most costly tutors in the world were provided for him at public expense ―― Lord Palmerston, Lord Russell, Lord Westbury, Lord Selborne, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Granville, and their associates, paid by the British Government; William H. Seward, Charles Francis Adams, William Maxwell Evarts, Thurlow Weed, and other considerable professors employed by the American Government; but there was only one student to profit by this immense staff of teachers. The private secretary alone sought education.
To the end of his life he labored over the lessons then taught. Never was demonstration more tangled. Hegel's metaphysical doctrine of the identity of opposites was simpler and easier to understand. Yet the stages of demonstration were clear. They began in June, 1862, after the escape of one rebel cruiser, by the remonstrances of the Minister against the escape of "No. 290," which was imminent. Lord Russell declined to act on the evidence. New evidence was sent in every few days, and with it, on July 24, was included Collier's legal opinion: "It appears difficult to make out a stronger case of infringement of the Foreign Enlistment Act, which, if not enforced on this occasion, is little better than a dead letter." Such language implied almost a charge of collusion with the rebel agents ―― an intent to aid the Confederacy. In spite of the warning, Earl Russell let the ship, four days afterwards, escape.
Young Adams had nothing to do with law; that was business of his betters. His opinion of law hung on his opinion of lawyers. In spite of Thurlow Weed's advice, could one afford to trust human nature in politics ? History said not. Sir Robert Collier seemed to hold that Law agreed with History. For education the point was vital. If one could not trust a dozen of the most respected private characters in the world, composing the Queen's Ministry, one could trust no mortal man.
Lord Russell felt the force of this inference, and undertook to disprove it. His effort lasted till his death. At first he excused himself by throwing the blame on the law officers. This was a politician's practice, and the lawyers overruled it. Then he pleaded guilty to criminal negligence, and said in his "Recollections":―― "I assent entirely to the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice of England that the Alabama ought to have been detained during the four days I was waiting for the opinion of the law officers. But I think that the fault was not that of the commissioners of customs, it was my fault as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs." This concession brought all parties on common ground. Of course it was his fault! The true issue lay not in the question of his fault, but of his intent. To a young man, getting an education in politics, there could be no sense in history unless a constant course of faults implied a constant motive.
For his father the question was not so abstruse; it was a practical matter of business to be handled as Weed or Evarts handled their bargains and jobs. Minister Adams held the convenient belief that, in the main, Russell was true, and the theory answered his purposes so well that he died still holding it. His son was seeking education, and wanted to know whether he could, in politics, risk trusting any one. Unfortunately no one could then decide; no one knew the facts. Minister Adams died without knowing them. Henry Adams was an older man than his father in 1862, before he learned a part of them. The most curious fact, even then, was that Russell believed in his own good faith and that Argyll believed in it also.
Argyll betrayed a taste for throwing the blame on Bethell, Lord Westbury, then Lord Chancellor, but this escape helped Adams not at all. On the contrary, it complicated the case of Russell. In England, one half of society enjoyed throwing stones at Lord Palmerston, while the other half delighted in flinging mud at Earl Russell, but every one of every party united in pelting Westbury with every missile at hand. The private secretary had no doubts about him, for he never professed to be moral. He was the head and heart of the whole rebel contention, and his opinions on neutrality were as clear as they were on morality. The private secretary had nothing to do with him, and regretted it, for Lord Westbury's wit and wisdom were great; but as far as his authority went he affirmed the law that in politics no man should be trusted.
Russell alone insisted on his honesty of intention and persuaded both the Duke and the Minister to believe him. Every one in the Legation accepted his assurances as the only assertions they could venture to trust. They knew he expected the rebels to win in the end, but they believed he would not actively interpose to decide it. On that ―― on nothing else ―― they rested their frail hopes of remaining a day longer in England. Minister Adams remained six years longer in England; then returned to America to lead a busy life till he died in 1886 still holding the same faith in Earl Russell, who had died in 1878. In 1889, Spencer Walpole published the official life of Earl Russell, and told a part of the story which had never been known to the Minister and which astounded his son, who burned with curiosity to know what his father would have said of it.
The story was this: The Alabama escaped, by Russell's confessed negligence, on July 28, 1862. In America the Union armies had suffered great disasters before Richmond and at the second Bull Run, August 29-30, followed by Lee's invasion of Maryland, September 7, the news of which, arriving in England on September 14, roused the natural idea that the crisis was at hand. The next news was expected by the Confederates to announce the fall of Washington or Baltimore. Palmerston instantly, September 14, wrote to Russell: "If this should happen, would it not be time for us to consider whether in such a state of things England and France might not address the contending parties and recommend an arrangement on the basis of separation?"
This letter, quite in the line of Palmerston's supposed opinions, would have surprised no one, if it had been communicated to the Legation; and indeed, if Lee had captured Washington, no one could have blamed Palmerston for offering intervention. Not Palmerston's letter but Russell's reply, merited the painful attention of a young man seeking a moral standard for judging politicians: ――
GOTHA, September, 17, 1862
Whether the Federal army is destroyed or not, it is clear that it is driven back to Washington and has made no progress in subduing the insurgent States. Such being the case, I agree with you that the time is come for offering mediation to the United States Government with a view to the recognition of the independence of the Confederates. I agree further that in case of failure, we ought ourselves to recognize the Southern States as an independent State. For the purpose of taking so important a step, I think we must have a meeting of the Cabinet. The 23d or 30th would suit me for the meeting.
We ought then, if we agree on such a step, to propose it first to France, and then on the part of England and France, to Russia and other powers, as a measure decided upon by us.
We ought to make ourselves safe in Canada, not by sending more troops there, but by concentrating those we have in a few defensible posts before the winter sets in. . . .
Here, then, appeared in its fullest force, the practical difficulty in education which a mere student could never overcome; a difficulty not in theory, or knowledge, or even want of experience, but in the sheer chaos of human nature. Lord Russell's course had been consistent from the first, and had all the look of rigid determination to recognize the Southern Confederacy "with a view" to breaking up the Union. His letter of September 17 hung directly on his encouragement of the Alabama and his protection of the rebel navy; while the whole of his plan had its root in the Proclamation of Belligerency, May 13, 1861. The policy had every look of persistent forethought, but it took for granted the deliberate dishonesty of three famous men: Palmerston, Russell, and Gladstone. This dishonesty, as concerned Russell, was denied by Russell himself, and disbelieved by Argyll, Forster, and most of America's friends in England, as well as by Minister Adams. What the Minister would have thought had he seen this letter of September 17, his son would have greatly liked to know, but he would have liked still more to know what the Minister would have thought of Palmerston's answer, dated September 23: ――
。 . . It is evident that a great conflict is taking place to the northwest of Washington, and its issue must have a great effect on the state of affairs. If the Federals sustain a great defeat, they may be at once ready for mediation, and the iron should be struck while it is hot. If, on the other hand, they should have the best of it, we may wait a while and see what may follow. . .
The roles were reversed. Russell wrote what was expected from Palmerston, or even more violently; while Palmerston wrote what was expected from Russell, or even more temperately. The private secretary's view had been altogether wrong, which would not have much surprised even him, but he would have been greatly astonished to learn that the most confidential associates of these men knew little more about their intentions than was known in the Legation. The most trusted member of the Cabinet was Lord Granville, and to him Russell next wrote. Granville replied at once decidedly opposing recognition of the Confederacy, and Russell sent the reply to Palmerston, who returned it October 2, with the mere suggestion of waiting for further news from America. At the same time Granville wrote to another member of the Cabinet, Lord Stanley of Alderley, a letter published forty years afterwards in Granville's "Life" (I, 442) to the private secretary altogether the most curious and instructive relic of the whole lesson in politics:
。 . . I have written to Johnny my reasons for thinking it decidedly premature. I, however, suspect you will settle to do so. Pam., Johnny, and Gladstone would be in favor of it, and probably Newcastle. I do not know about the others. It appears to me a great mistake. . . .
Out of a Cabinet of a dozen members, Granville, the best informed of them all, could pick only three who would favor recognition. Even a private secretary thought he knew as much as this, or more. Ignorance was not confined to the young and insignificant, nor were they the only victims of blindness. Granville's letter made only one point clear. He knew of no fixed policy or conspiracy. If any existed, it was confined to Palmerston, Russell, Gladstone, and perhaps Newcastle. In truth, the Legation knew, then, all that was to be known, and the true fault of education was to suspect too much.
By that time, October 3, news of Antietam and of Lee's retreat into Virginia had reached London. The Emancipation Proclamation arrived. Had the private secretary known all that Granville or Palmerston knew, he would surely have thought the danger past, at least for a time, and any man of common sense would have told him to stop worrying over phantoms. This healthy lesson would have been worth much for practical education, but it was quite upset by the sudden rush of a new actor upon the stage with a rhapsody that made Russell seem sane, and all education superfluous.
This new actor, as every one knows, was William Ewart Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. If, in the domain of the world's politics, one point was fixed, one value ascertained, one element serious, it was the British Exchequer; and if one man lived who could be certainly counted as sane by overwhelming interest, it was the man who had in charge the finances of England. If education had the smallest value, it should have shown its force in Gladstone, who was educated beyond all record of English training. From him, if from no one else, the poor student could safely learn.
Here is what he learned! Palmerston notified Gladstone, September 24, of the proposed intervention: "If I am not mistaken, you would be inclined to approve such a course." Gladstone replied the next day: "He was glad to learn what the Prime Minister had told him; and for two reasons especially he desired that the proceedings should be prompt: the first was the rapid progress of the Southern arms and the extension of the area of Southern feeling; the second was the risk of violent impatience in the cotton-towns of Lancashire such as would prejudice the dignity and disinterestedness of the proffered mediation."
Had the puzzled student seen this letter, he must have concluded from it that the best educated statesman England ever produced did not know what he was talking about, an assumption which all the world would think quite inadmissible from a private secretary ―― but this was a trifle. Gladstone having thus arranged, with Palmerston and Russell, for intervention in the American war, reflected on the subject for a fortnight from September 25 to October 7, when he was to speak on the occasion of a great dinner at Newcastle. He decided to announce the Government's policy with all the force his personal and official authority could give it. This decision was no sudden impulse; it was the result of deep reflection pursued to the last moment. On the morning of October 7, he entered in his diary: "Reflected further on what I should say about Lancashire and America, for both these subjects are critical." That evening at dinner, as the mature fruit of his long study, he deliberately pronounced the famous phrase:――
。 . . We know quite well that the people of the Northern States have not yet drunk of the cup ―― they are still trying to hold it far from their lips ―― which all the rest of the world see they nevertheless must drink of. We may have our own opinions about slavery; we may be for or against the South; but there is no doubt that Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the South have made an army; they are making, it appears, a navy; and they have made, what is more than either, they have made a nation. . . .
Looking back, forty years afterwards, on this episode, one asked one's self painfully whet sort of a lesson a young man should have drawn, for the purposes of his education, from this world-famous teaching of a very great master. In the heat of passion at the moment, one drew some harsh moral conclusions: Were they incorrect? Posed bluntly as rules of conduct, they led to the worst possible practices. As morals, one could detect no shade of difference between Gladstone and Napoleon except to the advantage of Napoleon. The private secretary saw none; he accepted the teacher in that sense; he took his lesson of political morality as learned, his notice to quit as duly served, and supposed his education to be finished.
Every one thought so, and the whole City was in a turmoil. Any intelligent education ought to end when it is complete. One would then feel fewer hesitations and would handle a surer world. The old-fashioned logical drama required unity and sense; the actual drama is a pointless puzzle, without even an intrigue. When the curtain fell on Gladstone's speech, any student had the right to suppose the drama ended; none could have affirmed that it was about to begin; that one's painful lesson was thrown away.
Even after forty years, most people would refuse to believe it; they would still insist that Gladstone, Russell, and Palmerston were true villains of melodrama. The evidence against Gladstone in special seemed overwhelming. The word "must" can never be used by a responsible Minister of one Government towards another, as Gladstone used it. No one knew so well as he that he and his own officials and friends at Liverpool were alone "making" a rebel navy, and that Jefferson Davis had next to nothing to do with it. As Chancellor of the Exchequer he was the Minister most interested in knowing that Palmerston, Russell, and himself were banded together by mutual pledge to make the Confederacy a nation the next week, and that the Southern leaders had as yet no hope of "making a nation" but in them. Such thoughts occurred to every one at the moment and time only added to their force. Never in the history of political turpitude had any brigand of modern civilization offered a worse example. The proof of it was that it outraged even Palmerston, who immediately put up Sir George Cornewall Lewis to repudiate the Chancellor of the Exchequer, against whom he turned his press at the same time. Palmerston had no notion of letting his hand be forced by Gladstone.
Russell did nothing of the kind; if he agreed with Palmerston, he followed Gladstone. Although he had just created a new evangel of non-intervention for Italy, and preached it like an apostle, he preached the gospel of intervention in America as though he were a mouthpiece of the Congress of Vienna. On October 13, he issued his call for the Cabinet to meet, on October 23, for discussion of the "duty of Europe to ask both parties, in the most friendly and conciliatory terms, to agree to a suspension of arms." Meanwhile Minister Adams, deeply perturbed and profoundly anxious, would betray no sign of alarm, and purposely delayed to ask explanation. The howl of anger against Gladstone became louder every day, for every one knew that the Cabinet was called for October 23, and then could not fail to decide its policy about the United States. Lord Lyons put off his departure for America till October 25 expressly to share in the conclusions to be discussed on October 23. When Minister Adams at last requested an interview, Russell named October 23 as the day. To the last moment every act of Russell showed that, in his mind, the intervention was still in doubt.
When Minister Adams, at the interview, suggested that an explanation was due him, he watched Russell with natural interest, and reported thus:
。 . . His lordship took my allusion at once, though not without a slight indication of embarrassment. He said that Mr. Gladstone had been evidently much misunderstood. I must have seen in the newspapers the letters which contained his later explanations. That he had certain opinions in regard to the nature of the struggle in America, as on all public questions, just as other Englishmen had, was natural enough. And it was the fashion here for public men to express such as they held in their public addresses. Of course it was not for him to disavow anything on the part of Mr. Gladstone; but he had no idea that in saying what he had, there was a serious intention to justify any of the inferences that had been drawn from it of a disposition in the Government now to adopt a new policy. . . .
A student trying to learn the processes of politics in a free government could not but ponder long on the moral to be drawn from this "explanation" of Mr. Gladstone by Earl Russell. The point set for study as the first condition of political life, was whether any politician could be believed or trusted. The question which a private secretary asked himself, in copying this despatch of October 24, 1862, was whether his father believed, or should believe, one word of Lord Russell's "embarrassment." The "truth" was not known for thirty years, but when published, seemed to be the reverse of Earl Russell's statement. Mr. Gladstone's speech had been drawn out by Russell's own policy of intervention and had no sense except to declare the "disposition in the Government now to adopt" that new policy. Earl Russell never disavowed Gladstone, although Lord Palmerston and Sir George Cornewall Lewis instantly did so. As far as the curious student could penetrate the mystery, Gladstone exactly expressed Earl Russell's intent.
As political education, this lesson was to be crucial; it would decide the law of life. All these gentlemen were superlatively honorable; if one could not believe them, Truth in politics might be ignored as a delusion. Therefore the student felt compelled to reach some sort of idea that should serve to bring the case within a general law. Minister Adams felt the same compulsion. He bluntly told Russell that while he was "willing to acquit" Gladstone of "any deliberate intention to bring on the worst effects," he was bound to say that Gladstone was doing it quite as certainly as if he had one; and to this charge, which struck more sharply at Russell's secret policy than at Gladstone's public defence of it, Russell replied as well as he could: ――
。 . . His lordship intimated as guardedly as possible that Lord Palmerston and other members of the Government regretted the speech, and`Mr. Gladstone himself was not disinclined to correct, as far as he could, the misinterpretation which had been made of it. It was still their intention to adhere to the rule of perfect neutrality in the struggle, and to let it come to its natural end without the smallest interference, direct or otherwise. But he could not say what circumstances might happen from month to month in the future. I observed that the policy he mentioned was satisfactory to us, and asked if I was to understand him as saying that no change of it was now proposed. To which he gave his assent. . . .
Minister Adams never knew more. He retained his belief that Russell could be trusted, but that Palmerston could not. This was the diplomatic tradition, especially held by the Russian diplomats. Possibly it was sound, but it helped in no way the education of a private secretary. The cat's-paw theory offered no safer clue, than the frank, old-fashioned, honest theory of villainy. Neither the one nor the other was reasonable.
No one ever told the Minister that Earl Russell, only a few hours before, had asked the Cabinet to intervene, and that the Cabinet had refused. The Minister was led to believe that the Cabinet meeting was not held, and that its decision was informal. Russell's biographer said that, "with this memorandum [of Russell's, dated October 13] the Cabinet assembled from all parts of the country on October 23; but . . . members of the Cabinet doubted the policy of moving, or moving at that time." The Duke of Newcastle and Sir George Grey joined Granville in opposition. As far as known, Russell and Gladstone stood alone. "Considerations such as these prevented the matter being pursued any further."
Still no one has distinctly said that this decision was formal; perhaps the unanimity of opposition made the formal Cabinet unnecessary; but it is certain that, within an hour or two before or after this decision, "his lordship said [to the United States Minister] that the policy of the Government was to adhere to a strict neutrality and to leave this struggle to settle itself." When Mr. Adams, not satisfied even with this positive assurance, pressed for a categorical answer: "I asked him if I was to understand that policy as not now to be changed; he said: Yes!"
John Morley's comment on this matter, in the "Life of Gladstone," forty years afterwards, would have interested the Minister, as well as his private secretary: "If this relation be accurate," said Morley of a relation officially published at the time, and never questioned, "then the Foreign Secretary did not construe strict neutrality as excluding what diplomatists call good offices." For a vital lesson in politics, Earl Russell's construction of neutrality mattered little to the student, who asked only Russell's intent, and cared only to know whether his construction had any other object than to deceive the Minister.
In the grave one can afford to be lavish of charity, and possibly Earl Russell may have been honestly glad to reassure his personal friend Mr. Adams; but to one who is still in the world even if not of it, doubts are as plenty as days. Earl Russell totally deceived the private secretary, whatever he may have done to the Minister. The policy of abstention was not settled on October 23. Only the next day, October 24, Gladstone circulated a rejoinder to G. C. Lewis, insisting on the duty of England, France, and Russia to intervene by representing, "with moral authority and force, the opinion of the civilized world upon the conditions of the case." Nothing had been decided. By some means, scarcely accidental, the French Emperor was led to think that his influence might turn the scale, and only ten days after Russell's categorical "Yes!" Napoleon officially invited him to say "No!" He was more than ready to do so. Another Cabinet meeting was called for November 11, and this time Gladstone himself reports the debate:
Nov. 11. We have had our Cabinet to-day and meet again tomorrow. I am afraid we shall do little or nothing in the business of America. But I will send you definite intelligence. Both Lords Palmerston and Russell are right.
Nov. 12. The United States affair has ended and not well. Lord Russell rather turned tail. He gave way without resolutely fighting out his battle. However, though we decline for the moment, the answer is put upon grounds and in terms which leave the matter very open for the future.
Nov. 13. I think the French will make our answer about America public; at least it is very possible. But I hope they may not take it as a positive refusal, or at any rate that they may themselves act in the matter. It will be clear that we concur with them, that the war should cease. Palmerston gave to Russell's proposal a feeble and half-hearted support.
Forty years afterwards, when every one except himself, who looked on at this scene, was dead, the private secretary of 1862 read these lines with stupor, and hurried to discuss them with John Hay, who was more astounded than himself. All the world had been at cross-purposes, had misunderstood themselves and the situation, had followed wrong paths, drawn wrong conclusions, had known none of the facts. One would have done better to draw no conclusions at all. One's diplomatic education was a long mistake.
These were the terms of this singular problem as they presented themselves to the student of diplomacy in 1862: Palmerston, on September 14, under the impression that the President was about to be driven from Washington and the Army of the Potomac dispersed, suggested to Russell that in such a case, intervention might be feasible. Russell instantly answered that, in any case, he wanted to intervene and should call a Cabinet for the purpose. Palmerston hesitated; Russell insisted; Granville protested. Meanwhile the rebel army was defeated at Antietam, September 17, and driven out of Maryland. Then Gladstone, October 7, tried to force Palmerston's hand by treating the intervention as a fait accompli. Russell assented, but Palmerston put up Sir George Cornewall Lewis to contradict Gladstone and treated him sharply in the press, at the very moment when Russell was calling a Cabinet to make Gladstone's words good. On October 23, Russell assured Adams that no change in policy was now proposed. On the same day he had proposed it, and was voted down. Instantly Napoleon III appeared as the ally of Russell and Gladstone with a proposition which had no sense except as a bribe to Palmerston to replace America, from pole to pole, in her old dependence on Europe, and to replace England in her old sovereignty of the seas, if Palmerston would support France in Mexico. The young student of diplomacy, knowing Palmerston, must have taken for granted that Palmerston inspired this motion and would support it; knowing Russell and his Whig antecedents, he would conceive that Russell must oppose it; knowing Gladstone and his lofty principles, he would not doubt that Gladstone violently denounced the scheme. If education was worth a straw, this was the only arrangement of persons that a trained student would imagine possible, and it was the arrangement actually assumed by nine men out of ten, as history. In truth, each valuation was false. Palmerston never showed favor to the scheme and gave it only "a feeble and half-hearted support." Russell gave way without resolutely fighting out "his battle." The only resolute, vehement, conscientious champion of Russell, Napoleon, and Jefferson Davis was Gladstone.
Other people could afford to laugh at a young man's blunders, but to him the best part of life was thrown away if he learned such a lesson wrong. Henry James had not yet taught the world to read a volume for the pleasure of seeing the lights of his burning-glass turned on alternate sides of the same figure. Psychological study was still simple, and at worst ―― or at best ―― English character was never subtile. Surely no one would believe that complexity was the trait that confused the student of Palmerston, Russell, and Gladstone. Under a very strong light human nature will always appear complex and full of contradictions, but the British statesman would appear, on the whole, among the least complex of men.
Complex these gentlemen were not. Disraeli alone might, by contrast, be called complex, but Palmerston, Russell, and Gladstone deceived only by their simplicity. Russell was the most interesting to a young man because his conduct seemed most statesmanlike. Every act of Russell, from April, 1861, to November, 1862, showed the clearest determination to break up the Union. The only point in Russell's character about which the student thought no doubt to be possible was its want of good faith. It was thoroughly dishonest, but strong. Habitually Russell said one thing and did another. He seemed unconscious of his own contradictions even when his opponents pointed them out, as they were much in the habit of doing, in the strongest language. As the student watched him deal with the Civil War in America, Russell alone showed persistence, even obstinacy, in a definite determination, which he supported, as was necessary, by the usual definite falsehoods. The young man did not complain of the falsehoods; on the contrary, he was vain of his own insight in detecting them; but he was wholly upset by the idea that Russell should think himself true.
Young Adams thought Earl Russell a statesman of the old school, clear about his objects and unscrupulous in his methods ―― dishonest but strong. Russell ardently asserted that he had no objects, and that though he might be weak he was above all else honest. Minister Adams leaned to Russell personally and thought him true, but officially, in practice, treated him as false. Punch, before 1862, commonly drew Russell as a schoolboy telling lies, and afterwards as prematurely senile, at seventy. Education stopped there. No one, either in or out of England, ever offered a rational explanation of Earl Russell.
Palmerston was simple ―― so simple as to mislead the student altogether ―― but scarcely more consistent. The world thought him positive, decided, reckless; the record proved him to be cautious, careful, vacillating. Minister Adams took him for pugnacious and quarrelsome; the "Lives" of Russell, Gladstone, and Granville show him to have been good-tempered, conciliatory, avoiding quarrels. He surprised the Minister by refusing to pursue his attack on General Butler. He tried to check Russell. He scolded Gladstone. He discouraged Napoleon. Except Disraeli none of the English statesmen were so cautious as he in talking of America. Palmerston told no falsehoods; made no professions; concealed no opinions; was detected in no double-dealing. The most mortifying failure in Henry Adams's long education was that, after forty years of confirmed dislike, distrust, and detraction of Lord Palmerston, he was obliged at last to admit himself in error, and to consent in spirit ―― for by that time he was nearly as dead as any of them ―― to beg his pardon.
Gladstone was quite another story, but with him a student's difficulties were less because they were shared by all the world including Gladstone himself. He was the sum of contradictions. The highest education could reach, in this analysis, only a reduction to the absurd, but no absurdity that a young man could reach in 1862 would have approached the level that Mr. Gladstone admitted, avowed, proclaimed, in his confessions of 1896, which brought all reason and all hope of education to a still-stand: ――
I have yet to record an undoubted error, the most singular and palpable, I may add the least excusable of them all, especially since it was committed so late as in the year 1862 when I had outlived half a century . . . I declared in the heat of the American struggle that Jefferson Davis had made a nation. . . . Strange to say, this declaration, most unwarrantable to be made by a Minister of the Crown with no authority other than his own, was not due to any feeling of partisanship for the South or hostility to the North. . . . I really, though most strangely, believed that it was an act of friendliness to all America to recognize that the struggle was virtually at an end. . . . That my opinion was founded upon a false estimate of the facts was the very least part of my fault. I did not perceive the gross impropriety of such an utterance from a Cabinet Minister of a power allied in blood and language, and bound to loyal neutrality; the case being further exaggerated by the fact that we were already, so to speak, under indictment before the world for not (as was alleged) having strictly enforced the laws of neutrality in the matter of the cruisers. My offence was indeed only a mistake, but one of incredible grossness, and with such consequences of offence and alarm attached to it, that my failing to perceive them justly exposed me to very severe blame. It illustrates vividly that incapacity which my mind so long retained, and perhaps still exhibits, an incapacity of viewing subjects all round. . . .
Long and patiently ―― more than patiently ―― sympathetically, did the private secretary, forty years afterwards in the twilight of a life of study, read and re-read and reflect upon this confession. Then, it seemed, he had seen nothing correctly at the time. His whole theory of conspiracy ―― of policy ―― of logic and connection in the affairs of man, resolved itself into "incredible grossness." He felt no rancor, for he had won the game; he forgave, since he must admit, the "incapacity of viewing subjects all round" which had so nearly cost him life and fortune; he was willing even to believe. He noted, without irritation, that Mr. Gladstone, in his confession, had not alluded to the understanding between Russell, Palmerston, and himself; had even wholly left out his most "incredible" act, his ardent support of Napoleon's policy, a policy which even Palmerston and Russell had supported feebly, with only half a heart. All this was indifferent. Granting, in spite of evidence, that Gladstone had no set plan of breaking up the Union; that he was party to no conspiracy; that he saw none of the results of his acts which were clear to every one else; granting in short what the English themselves seemed at last to conclude ―― that Gladstone was not quite sane; that Russell was verging on senility; and that Palmerston had lost his nerve ―― what sort of education should have been the result of it? How should it have affected one's future opinions and acts?
Politics cannot stop to study psychology. Its methods are rough; its judgments rougher still. All this knowledge would not have affected either the Minister or his son in 1862. The sum of the individuals would still have seemed, to the young man, one individual ―― a single will or intention ―― bent on breaking up the Union "as a diminution of a dangerous power." The Minister would still have found his interest in thinking Russell friendly and Palmerston hostile. The individual would still have been identical with the mass. The problem would have been the same; the answer equally obscure. Every student would, like the private secretary, answer for himself alone.


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His comment: "If you checked the underside of the dropout and there's no serial number there, then you definitely have one of the earliest custom bikes. I don't think I've ever seen another Klein with an over the BB FD cable guide... interesting."
Here's the cable guide Scott mentioned above.
Custom Klein Super ? Still up for debate, but this is as close
as I've come in identifying this. Stay tuned.
as I've come in identifying this. Stay tuned.
Scott also provided a link to some great, old Klein ordering information and pics of another very old Klein bicycle. Go HERE for this info.
If anyone else has information on vintage Klein bicycles, please let me know. I'd be especially interested in corresponding with someone who worked at Klein during the early years - but I'll take any information I can get.

subset: commoncrawl


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New Push Urges Immigrants to File for Citizenship in Illinois
New America Media, News Report, Posted: Oct 30, 2017
A coalition of immigrant rights groups have joined a campaign urging permanent residents to apply for citizenship after Illinois restored funding for immigration services.
Democratic Lawmakers Push DHS to Withhold Dreamer Info From ICE
La Opinion, News Report, Posted: Oct 25, 2017
In a letter to interim DHS Secretary Elaine Duke, a group of 39 Democratic lawmakers urged the department not to use the personal data of Dreamers to deport them.
Major Push for Dream Act by 150 Dreamers
Vida en el Valle, News Report, Posted: Oct 11, 2017
Two decades ago, America Yareli Hernandez living in fear as an undocumented resident. Last week she rubbed shoulders with some of the nation's most powerful lawmakers.
'We Are All Excludeds' - Ethnic Media Panel Discuss New Exhibit on Japanese Internment
New America Media, News Report, Posted: Oct 09, 2017
Could voices of ordinary citizens have stopped the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII? This is the question panelists discussed during a forum in San Francisco.
Gov. Brown Signs SB 54 into Law
New America Media, News Report, Posted: Oct 05, 2017
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that goes further than any other legislation in the country toward creating a statewide sanctuary policy.
Spying on Immigrants
La Opinion, Editorial, Posted: Oct 05, 2017
The Department of Homeland Security decision to track immigrants' social media handles and other online communications marks a 'dangerous abuse of power."
Diary of A Reluctant Dreamer: An Interview with Alberto Ledesma
New America Media, Question & Answer, Posted: Oct 02, 2017
Writer Alberto Ledesma's latest book is a series of visual vignettes that focus on his experience as an undocumented immigrant student during the early 1980s.
DACA: Renew! Renew! Renew!
EGP News, News Report, Posted: Sep 28, 2017
With just one week until the window closes for DACA recipients to renew expiring permits, immigrant rights groups are out in force with a united message: Renew, renew, renew!
DACAmented and Still Fighting in the Trenches
Vida en el Valle, News Report, Posted: Sep 22, 2017
There are about 800,000 Dreamers in the U.S., and about 61,000 are in the region between San Joaquin County and Tulare County.
San Francisco City Gov't to Cover DACA Renewal Fees
Inquirer.net, News Report, Posted: Sep 22, 2017
The city government will pay the $495 application fee for all DACA recipients who need to renew before the October 5 deadline.
Featured Video
Bill Seeks to Improve Treatment, Conditions in CA Dialysis Clinics
Posted: May 09, 2017
Bipartisanship Good for Fil-Am Vets But Gets Trump in Trouble on DACA
Sep 18, 2017
As DACA Ends, Organizers Get Back to Work
Sep 13, 2017
Stanford 'Letter Project' Makes End-of-Life Wishes Clear in Many Languages
Sep 12, 2017
Ageism Is Everywhere — Here's What We Can Do About It
Oct 31, 2017
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Oct 23, 2017
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Oct 16, 2017
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2 Bedroom Bungalow in Eugene
Step inside this adorable 1950's bungalow & you will instantly feel at home. With hardwood floors throughout, open floor plan & tons of natural light in every room, this home is sure to please. Features include updated double pane windows, newer roof, recessed lighting & remodeled bathroom; help keep costs low & stay warm w/ […]
Updated 3 Bedroom in Springfield
Its so refreshing to move into a home where nothing needs to be done but personalize it. Extensive remodeling doesn't adequately describe what happened here. Taken down to the studs, this home saw new electrical & plumbing before being dressed up in modern finishes such as tile & quartz (all permitted). Did I mention the […]
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Sold 8/18 – Large 4 Bedroom in Corvallis
This sprawling single level home in north Corvallis is the one you've been waiting for! The updates that this home has seen are sure to give you comfort as well as peace of mind. Newer roof, hardiplank lap siding, triple paned vinyl windows, a remodeled kitchen with newer cabinets, forced air with air conditioning are […]
Sold 9/28 – 3 Bedroom in Corvallis
Wow, thats a big back yard! There's plenty of room in this private yard even with the shed and greenhouse! Inside, you'll see that pride of ownership is definitely present in this clean 3 bedroom home. The remodeled kitchen overlooks the cozy living room, providing an open floor plan feel. The gas stove in the […]
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Vanguard Realty Group is dedicated, not only to excellence in real estate, but also service to the community. Every year, Brian and his team organize a car show held on Father's Day for the benefit of a local charity. Past recipient notables include the ABC House and CASA of Linn County. The event brings together 200+ car, truck and motorcycle owners to show off their pride and joy while supporting kids of our community. The day is filled with lots of events including kids activities, music, food and a loud pipes contest.
Vanguard Realty Group, the forefront of Valley Real Estate!


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Come by our location at 4415 West 43rd Avenue @ Tennyson Street, Denver, CO 80212. We offer fashion that is young in spirit and realistic in fit. We want to see you in a timeless, ageless and fun, sophisticated look. All while styling a fun, casual look.
Berkeley District's, Kats-eye Boutique, featuring casual clothing and accessories, body products and gifts for women. Visit with Kats-eye and get your custom styling! Unique goods from Vintage Concepts, Aratta, Tempo Paris, Effie's Heart, Hobo, Wooden Ships, Cocoon House, Lovestitch, SnoSkins, XCVI and so much more!


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AT&T To Fight Justice Dept. Over Merger Blockage
Washington - The U.S. Department of Justice filed a suit in a U.S. District Court here to block AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile, calling the merger anticompetitive.
AT&T said it would contest
the action and ask the court for an "expedited hearing" on the complaint, a
copy of which is available here.T-Mobile has not commented.
AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile, the department said, "would eliminate a company that has been a disruptive force through low pricing and innovation."
For his part, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski said he has serious doubts about the merger. Although the FCC hasn't completed its own review of the proposal, he said, "the record before this agency also raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition."
"Vibrant competition in wireless services is vital to innovation, investment, economic growth and job creation, and to drive our global leadership in mobile," Genachowski said he continued. "Competition fosters consumer benefits, including more choices, better service and lower prices."
In its own analysis, the Justice Department contended that AT&T "had not demonstrated that the proposed transaction promised any efficiencies that would be sufficient to outweigh the transaction's substantial adverse impact on competition and consumers." In fact, the department claimed, "AT&T could obtain substantially the same network enhancements that it claims will come from the transaction if it simply invested in its own network without eliminating a close competitor."
The merger, the department concluded, "would substantially lessen competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services across the United States, resulting in higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices and fewer innovative products for the millions of American consumers who rely on mobile wireless services in their everyday lives."
The department cited T-Mobile's role as "a value provider offering particularly aggressive pricing" and the carrier being the first in the U.S. to launch multiple services or products, including the first Android smartphone, Blackberry wireless email, national Wi-Fi hot spot access, HSPA+ technology, and a variety of unlimited service plans.
The department also cited internal AT&T documents pointing out that the ways AT&T felt competitive pressure from T-Mobile. In one instance, an AT&T employee said in one document that "[T-Mobile] was first to have HSPA+ devices in their portfolio ... we added them in reaction to potential loss of speed claims."
Neither regional carriers nor potential new entrants will offset the merger's negative impact on competition, the department continued. Regional providers "face significant competitive limitations, largely stemming from their lack of national networks, and are therefore limited in their ability to compete with the four national carriers," the department said. Potential new carriers "would be unable to offset the transaction's anticompetitive effects because it would be difficult, time-consuming and expensive, requiring spectrum licenses and the construction of a network," the department concluded.
AT&T and T-Mobile compete head to head nationwide, including in 97 of the nation's largest 100 markets, and compete nationwide to attract business and government customers, the department noted.
"Were the merger to proceed," said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, "there would only be three providers with 90 percent of the market, and competition among the remaining competitors on all dimensions -- including price, quality and innovation -- would be diminished."
Wayne Watts, AT&T senior executive VP and general counsel, begged to differ. "We are surprised and disappointed by today's action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated," he said.
AT&T plans to ask for "an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed," he continued. "The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court."
The merger, he reiterated, will help solve the nation's "spectrum exhaust situation," improve wireless service, and enable AT&T to expand 4G LTE mobile broadband to another 55 million people, or 97 percent of the population.
A merger would also produce "billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs at a time when our nation needs them most," he claimed.


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Africa World Airlines (AWA) is said to be reeling under huge demand from passengers traveling to various parts of the country as the airline remains the only domestic operator in the country.
This follows the suspension of operations by Starbow after Flight S9 104 carrying 63 passengers and five crew bound for Kumasi reportedly skidded off the runway during its take off at 12:20 pm on Saturday November 25, 2017.
Addressing the second Aviation Stakeholders meeting in Accra on the theme, "Creation of an Aviation Hub: The Role of Airlines", Minister for Aviation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, pledged her ministry's commitment to resolving the challenges which have impactd international services as well.
"We have a problem with domestic airline provision, as AWA is saddled with the responsibility of meeting overwhelming demand, which is affecting the bigger airlines moving people out because it is these smaller domestic airlines that bring passengers to Accra for them to carry."
AWA, in the last four months, has been operating the domestic routes alone making it difficult to satisfy the flying needs of passengers who have found domestic air transport faster and more convenient for their schedules.
Concerns have therefore been raised about what the Ministry was doing to address the limited situation of domestic air operations with its attendant costs to the economy.
The Minister assured of helping the domestic carrier to resolve all the challenges as it works to open up the space for the entry of other domestic airlines.
"Very soon, we will have some positive news vis-à-vis passengers travelling to other parts of the country", she assured.
Dapaah disclosed that the domestic airline operations will see more activity with the operationalisation of the Wa aerodrome and the Ho Airport, which is 97 percent complete.
Managing Director of Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) John Attafuah, addressing concerns that Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has the highest taxes in the sub-region assured the airline operators of a possible review of the situation.
He however asked for time explaining that those charges go to fund the terminal 3 project, which is solely funded by the GACL on its own balance sheet.
He announced that KIA has joined the Airport Service Quality assessment and implored travellers, who will be interviewed for the purpose of rating the service quality at KIA to bear with them.
Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Simon Allotey reported that, as part of the frequent upgrading programme of the Authority and HF and VSAT communication systems, as well as an upgraded Air Traffic Management System, have been installed at KIA.
He said the Ho and Wa airports will employ Performance Based Navigation procedures aside the installation of VORs to make it easier for domestic operators to fly to their destinations.
Kumasi and Tamale airports have also been given Instrument Landing Systems with new VHF radios and automatic weather observation systems, while the control towers have also been refurbished.
By Godfred Tawiah Gogo


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Altercation Comedy Festival + Some Updates
The 2017 Altercation Comedy Festival lineup dropped in full today. I'm pretty stoked on it. You can find the full thing below here. Big thanks to all the performing comics, sponsors and especially my bud Martini at Bleeding Heart for the rad as fuck promo videos. These things take a lot of doing, and I hope to see you there in September.
Tour starts tomorrow in Memphis with Josh McLane. 12 shows or so I think. I'm excited for the gigs, while still shaking the cobwebs out of my brain from Punk Rock Bowling in Vegas this past weekend. What a time. I needed it, quite honestly. As exhausted as I am from the late nights and ingestions, the punk scene always recharges my batteries. Some true blue friends. Thanks to everyone who packed the road stories show.
Another day, another Trump nightmare. I tried to listen to his 'announcement' today and made it about 4 minutes. What a clod. What a phony. So over it all. Sorry to anyone with kids. Good luck having bonus items like trees down the road. It won't affect him or anyone with his name. I'm sure they will be stoked on the solid gold bunker with the built-in olive garden or whatever they end up in. Could you imagine Trump taking a walk in the woods and just contemplating nature? Me either. I've gone from depression to anger to bemusement at it all by this point. We are the bad guys now. Anyway, whatever. Onward christian soldiers.
Still working on my new book. It is taking longer than I would like but life gets in the way and it is a pretty massive project. I'm optimistic it will be done by the end of the year. In the meantime, Stand Up! Records has been cool enough to release a limited vinyl split with Mishka Shubaly and myself, which should be out in late August. I'm stoked on it and hope you dig it. UK dates should be finalized soon too I hope. Waiting on some details.
Florida and east coast dates are slated for October. Some festival stuff for November. Truth be told, I'm feeling a little tired. It's been 130+ shows per year since 2014. I'm looking forward to hiding a bit this summer and late fall. Maybe have time to take a walk in the woods and contemplate nature while I still can. Sorry, a bit cranky. Anyway, here's the festival lineup and tickets are on sale now. Thank you for continuing to show up, I appreciate it more than you know. - JT


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Send us your Clarendon photos:
Clarendon is a city in Donley County.
It is the county seat.
One tradition says the community was named for a minister's wife; another says it was named for the English Lord Clarendon
The latitude of Clarendon is 34.937N. The longitude is -100.887W.It is in the Central Standard time zone. Elevation is 2,733 feet.
The estimated population, in 2003, was 1,970.
Sections below provide additional information and links about Clarendon demographics, travel and tourism, nearby airports, cemeteries, the Donley County economy, education, environment, genealogy, government, historic sites, libraries, maps, museums, newspapers and other media, nonprofit groups, real estate, recreation, religion, transportation, and weather in the 79226 ZIP code.
11% of Clarendon residents report German ancestry, and 10% report Irish. For more info on local ancestry groups, see the Clarendon ancestry & family history guide.
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Records & databases:
At the time of the 2000 census, the per capita income in Clarendon was $15,436, compared with $21,587 nationally.
18% of Clarendon residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.
Median rent in Clarendon, at the time of the 2000 Census, was $248. Monthly homeowner costs, for people with mortgages, were $658.
Libraries in Clarendon include Burton Memorial Library ... View libraries
Newspapers in Clarendon include Clarendon Enterprise
Donley County supported George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. For more information, see our Clarendon political report.
The average commute time for Clarendon workers is 17 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide.
Hotels in Clarendon include Best Western American Inn.
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The Economy of Marriage
There are many people who want to or have abandoned the idea of marriage. I'm not speaking in the political realm of who should marry, but the whole concept of whether marriage is necessary for anyone. In a Washington Post web article referring to this topic, the author cites research indicating that 44% of the people born after 1980 believe marriage is becoming obsolete. This may not be surprising since a new analysis of U.S. census data reports that only 51 percent of all adults who are 18 and older are married.
I wonder what would happen if we took all of the time, money, and effort that is spent on fighting the idea of marriage and we spent it on helping people stay married or showing them the benefits of marriage. It's possible that would have more of a positive effect on our society and economy.
Marriages and families are part of the backbone of our society in many ways including economically. I say "part of" because I'm not discounting single people as contributors too. Statistics, however, show that marital stability in a community is helpful to economic growth.
A report released by the Marriage and Religion Research Institute in 2011 revealed alarming statistics related to marriage and the economy. The first measurements indicate that married-couple families generate the most income on average and intact-married families have the greatest net worth. When people get married and combine incomes and assets, it allows them to spend more money throughout their community, which in turn helps boost the economy.
The report also reveals that poverty rates are significantly higher among cohabitating families and single-parent families than among married families. Following a divorce, the parent who ends up with custody experiences a 52% drop in his or her family income. Over one-third of single mothers live in poverty. Cohabiters who live together less than four years are unlikely to pool their incomes. Older cohabiters, who have never married, on average have 78% less net worth and have the lowest net worth growth of all family structures.
Imagine, for a moment, a world where people abandon marriage. There are no legally-binding relationships. Couples would just fall in love and have children, but no one would make a lawful commitment. Everybody would be free to leave their relationship at any time without the hassle of involving an attorney.
Does that paint a picture of economic stability and growth? Probably not. I think there would be a lot of chaos. If cohabitating was the norm, there wouldn't be a lot of motivation for someone to think seriously before entering a relationship. Without legal consequences, there would be little risk in trying a new relationship every few years or whenever someone gets bored or a little frustrated. Children would lose all sense of security never knowing when a parent might leave. I realize that they may feel a little bit that way today with the divorce rate so high, but 50% of marriages stay intact, so even though there's no guarantee, there's a little more reassurance.
Women and children usually suffer the most when marriages break down. I know some people believe that marriage is pushed down their throats because it has a biblical or religious foundation, but it's good for so many other logical reasons.
If people would take the time to think through the effect that abandoning marriage would have on society in general, they probably wouldn't be so eager to embrace it.
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|Let the Otaku madness begin! Enter the male otaku and the female otaku and what do you get? Like? Love? Confusion? Or just plain weirdness? The Otaku Dating Game held nothing back with a good mix of humor, prodding questions, and lots of healthy "abuse" to entertain the audience.
Central 2001
|Held in regular Dating Game style, with one brave soul choosing a lucky winner out of four contestants, this year's Otaku Dating Game brought in a little more risqué entertainment with introduction of Anime Central's Sin Girls to spur some more stage excitement for the crowd.
|Behold, the four lovely and somewhat frightening Sin Girls! Dressed in killer vinyl black and cotton schoolgirl skirts hiked up for some male excitement, these foxy vixens had a commanding presence.
|Deliberating carefully with each prodding question from the lone heartbreaker behind the curtain, fan boy contestants tried their best to be frank and honest with their responses or else...
|... or else they must feel the pain! Of the WHIP! Ootch! That's gotta hurt!
|Lucky contestant claims victory and a lovely date thanks to answering in just the right way! Stage one complete!
|And round two starts up with another lovely soul yearning to breathe free and take it upon herself to find that one lucky fan boy to be her MAN.
|Contestants try hard not to glance at the antics behind them... Cover your eyes, little kids!
|The Sin Girls were so evil; they found other means of stage pleasure to punish the poor souls.
|Whoa! Lucky winning contestant got a little frisky there! He almost jumped right off the stage! Stage two complete!
|Whoa there, pard'ner! This devilish maniac from the audience took it upon himself to attempt to date one of the four Sin Girls. Think he'll win?
|With faces of utter horror and disgust, the Sin Girls roll their eyes and bow their heads to some rather boring questions from the devil behind the curtain.
|So he chooses a winner whether regardless of score, but the tables are soon turned as he is stunned by her female prowess as she yells into the mic, "Say my name, bitch!"
|Looks like this Sin Girl's in full control of her date! Stage three complete!
[Guests of Honor] [Main
Events] [Events: SWEK Concert] [Events:
Otaku Dating Game] [Events: Game Shows] [Events:
Meet the Guests Reception] [Events: AC Import Auto
Show] [Events: Iron Guest] [Events:
Cosplay Contest Night] [Events: Surprise Wedding]
[Dealers Room 1] [Dealers Room 2] [Dealers Room 3] [Dealers Room 4] [Saturday Night Soap Bubble Dance 1] [Saturday Night Soap Bubble Dance 2] [Extra AC Convention Activities and Sightings] [Fan Fun!] [LLNN Alien Sightings and Commentary]
[Friday Panels 1] [Friday Panels 2] [Saturday Panels 1] [Saturday Panels 2] [Saturday Panels 3] [Saturday Panels 4] [Sunday Panels 1] [Sunday Panels 2] [Cel Painting Workshop: Friday] [Cel Painting Workshop: Sunday] [Artists Alley]
[Cosplay Contest Winners Circle] [Cosplay Reception Gallery 1] [Cosplay Reception Gallery 2] [Cosplay Reception Gallery 3]
[Cosplay Gallery 1] [Cosplay Gallery 2] [Cosplay Gallery 3] [Cosplay Gallery 4] [Cosplay Gallery 5] [Cosplay Gallery 6] [Cosplay Gallery 7] [Cosplay Gallery 8] [Cosplay Gallery 9] [Cosplay Gallery 10] [Cosplay Gallery 11] [Cosplay Gallery 12] [Cosplay Gallery 13] [Cosplay Gallery 14] [Cosplay Gallery 15] [Cosplay Gallery 16] [Cosplay Gallery 17] [Cosplay Gallery 18] [Cosplay Gallery 19] [Cosplay Gallery 20] [Cosplay Gallery 21] [Cosplay Gallery 22] [Cosplay Gallery 23] [Cosplay Gallery 24] [Cosplay Gallery 25] [Cosplay Gallery 26] [Cosplay Gallery 27] [Cosplay Gallery 28] [Cosplay Gallery 29] [Cosplay Gallery 30] [Cosplay Gallery 31] [Cosplay Gallery 32] [Cosplay Gallery 33]


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Freelancers are known to be hardworking hustlers and always looking at making more money with their free time. The quality about them though, is that they are interested in the business of working for themselves, at their own free time and making money out of that. Part of doing that is submitting to more job boards and coming up with out of the box strategies for marketing in order to find more work. However, freelancers do not really work for themselves. They have bosses, even though they might not be visible. They are the bosses because the work freelancers do comes from them, and freelancers often have to bend to the boss's rules and meet their expectation. Only thing falling short from making free lancing like a true office job is that these bosses do not give them visible performance evaluations per se, though this is slowly changing.
Some good news to free lancers is one on Passive income. It is a great way to get some more money in your pocket, without necessarily forsaking your freelancing job. It is a way to make money repeatedly without any additional work. Passive income is all about you, though at time it may be hard to see.
One way of earning passive income is by sharing knowledge, through releasing books on this site. Some of the books that I have released here are the Guerilla Guide and One Man Army books.
You can share the knowledge you have acquired so far by writing about the tips that you have gotten in your work, and sharing it on the internet. For example, one can write up a guide for beginners guiding them on how to go about what you do. You can also decide to go another direction by writing about your passions, whatever they may be; be they painting or sports. Once you equip your book with rich and adequate information, you will be able to make some decent money out of this venture and be able to stock up some good and decent level of income, passively.
Vector/Graphic Files
just think about it, might you have files that are still in your computer at the moment, that were supposed to be used by the client but were never really utilized in production? Or might you have files that were posted though created for fun purposes only? These files need not sit idle; they can be used to generate passive income. Have a look at sites such as istockphoto, graphicriver etc and you will be able to see how people were able to upload premium design file and sell them. Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can sell these designs and keep all the profit for yourself as income.
Web Hosting Recommendations
I have currently implemented this as a way to generate passive income in my business, and it has done so with virtually no work at all. Some money can be made if you are a web designer. In case your clients do not have hosting set up, you can recommend them to one; a hosting company, and get paid as a middle man for the referral. For example, I recommend HostGator for hosting and receive payment each time someone signs up under my associate link. I can recommend them comfortably because I use the same for my own websites, and can vouch for them as a good and credible company.
Word Press Themes
they may seem oversaturated but there is always market for these as there is market for running porn websites.


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Marion County Bank offers a variety of ways to save. Below are details about our Statement Savings and Money Market Express accounts. We also offer a variety of term CD products.
Savings Account Options
|Statement Savings Account
|Money Market Express
|Minimum Daily Balance
|Monthly Service Fee
|None; unless balance falls below $100, then $3.00
|None; unless balance falls below $2500, then $15.00
|Withdrawal Availability
|6 free per month, then $1.00 per additional
|6 free per month, then $5.00 per additional
|Free Quarterly Printed or eStatements
|Free Monthly Printed or eStatements
|Interest Earning
The following withdrawals count toward the six transaction limit per month, as imposed by the Federal Reserve: Telephone transfers, Internet Banking transfers, bill payments, checks to third parties, pre-authorized transfers and overdraft transfers.


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Energy Saving Tips For The Kitchen
There's plenty of advice available for general energy saving, but what about specific rooms? Today we focus on the kitchen to see what small changes we can make that could make a big difference.
Microwave Leftovers
If you've got leftovers in the fridge then you've already spent some energy making them in the first place, so always consider reheating these before cooking from scratch. Additionally, when you do reheat, turn to the microwave rather than the hob as these use mush less energy than the oven. Lastly, if possible arrange the food in a doughnut shape as it will heat up more quickly and more evenly than if it's just piled up. Reduce the normal reheat time and check the food more often to ensure that you're not reheating food that has already warmed up
The Leftovers Challenge
If you've got kids or just a fun side, set you and your household a challenge to create the most meals you can from the leftovers in the fridge. For those with families this is a great way to teach food efficiency and meal planning.
Ditch The Fruit Bowl
Fruit looks lovely on display but keeping it in a fruit bowl typically means that the fruit ripens and starts to go off much quicker than if it's stored in the fridge or even just the original packaging. Some supermarkets have even started to supply fruit in packaging designed to increase the life of the fruit, so the poor old fruit bowl could be on its way out.
Always Use The Dishwasher
It might make sense to think that a dishwasher will always use more energy than a person washing up, and for small quantities this is correct. For large quantities though where you either need to refresh the dirty water or add some more hot water to the bowl, it's nearly always the case that the dishwasher would have done it using less hot water.
Keep It Small
Chopping food into smaller pieces than normal will reduce the amount of heat needed to cook through. Therefore think about whether you really need those huge lumps of chicken in your fajitas!
Header Image Credit


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100 Hot Cars
Just Car Blog
|America's 10 Best-Selling Sedans Of 2017
If you're willing to ignore trucks and crossovers, which are casting really large shadows over saloons these days, the best selling cars in the U.S. this year are models that have four doors and are either brand new or have been updated.
Recently, Lexus went as far as to say that sedans will go away completely unless they evolve into something more dynamic, something that's less about family vacations and more performance oriented.
"Unless we can really offer a sedan experience you cannot have with an SUV or crossover, I think the sedan may not be able to survive if it does not evolve," said Toyota branding chief, Tokuo Fukuichi.
In spite of all that, the good old sedan isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and models like the ones you're about to see are still putting up a fight in the sales charts through October, 2017, as reported by The Motley Fool.
#10 – Chevrolet Malibu
Chevy launched their redesigned Malibu last year, boasting sleek styling, a roomy and well-put together interior and improved fuel economy figures. It's also a very safe car, with available systems such as Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
While it did really well at first, the Malibu has been on a decline this year, with sales being down 16.5% compared to how things stood last year. Still, the Malibu remains a good earner for General Motors.
#9 – Hyundai Elantra
Unlike previous iterations, the latest Elantra is a solid overall choice for people looking for a compact companion that offers great value for money. It's roomy, rides well and has a lot of modern safety tech, like Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Lane Change Assist.
Like with the Malibu, Elantra sales have also dipped in 2017, down 8.8% compared to last year.
#8 – Chevrolet Cruze
The Chevy Cruze has proved extremely popular since its complete redesign in 2016. It's hard to find a review where somebody isn't praising it for its efficiency, value and interior features.
We sampled the 2016 Cruze and found that it strikes a good balance between a Honda Civic and a Hyundai Elantra. Actually, the Cruze has been doing so well as of late, sales are up 3.4% this year through October.
#7 – Ford Fusion
The tech-savvy Ford Fusion is a good car and very few have claimed otherwise. This latest iteration even features a dynamic Sport version that boasts continuously controlled damping and a pothole detection system, to go with larger intakes, 19″ wheels, quad pipes, the works.
You can also get it as a hybrid, which is a huge plus nowadays. However, you might be shocked to learn that sales for the Fusion have gone down by 22.6% this year, and that's a pretty big number.
#6 – Nissan Sentra
Nissan have been aggressive in making sure the Sentra is a success. Despite some reviews finding it somewhat cramped and noisy, the Japanese automaker is offering good discounts in order to move these cars.
Because of that, Sentra sales have gone up 0.2% through October 2017, making this 4-door compact one of the best-selling sedans in the US.
#5 – Nissan Altima
While the Altima comes in at a very respectable 5th place, sales this year are down 17.1% through October as Nissan are having a rough time talking people into buying this model over something else.
It's still a spacious car with good fuel economy, but it does appear as though it may be losing the "popular vote" in the grand scheme of things.
#4 – Honda Accord
The mid-size saloon sub-segment has shrunk by 15% in the first nine months of 2017, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for a car that's as popular as the Honda Accord.
For 2018, the Accord is sportier than ever, featuring modern connectivity options, solid build quality and plenty of room inside for all passengers. It's a true family car and people are still finding it to their liking. As for sales, they're down 2.3% through October, but the new model should help fix that soon.
#3 – Toyota Corolla Sedan
The Corolla is of course one of the world's best-selling cars and it almost seems like that's always going to be the case. Yet, despite its top-notch reliability and competitive pricing, sales are down 9% this year.
It's also not the best looking car in the world, which is something Toyota themselves admit is a problem.
#2 – Toyota Camry
Ah, the Camry. You didn't actually think it wasn't going to make the list did you?
With an all-new and critically acclaimed model already out, Toyota can finally start filling the hole dug by the previous-generation Camry, which didn't register particularly strong sales (for a Camry) towards the end of its term.
By the way, the 2018 Camry is the first sedan launched by Toyota after Akio Toyoda himself stated that there will be "no more boring cars," as far as his company is concerned. Calling this the best-looking Camry in history would not be an understatement.
#1 – Honda Civic Sedan
The Civic was a sales beast last year and it's a beast this year as well, posting a 1.5% increase through October.
This is the best-selling car in the U.S. that's not a pickup or a crossover, and figuring out why is pretty much a no-brainer. The Civic has always been immensely popular, and this latest iteration is roomier, more powerful and much better to look at.
Also, it may be too early to talk long-term value, but the Civic has always been affordable, dependable and relatively fun to drive compared to most of its direct rivals. It has pretty much everything going for it.
|Illegal U-Turn Puts Two Motorcycle Riders At Risk
The thing about driving on canyon roads is that you're very likely to run into people who are out there looking to enjoy their cars or bikes, so due to the limited visibility compared to, say, a highway, some extra attention on your end would be quite appreciated.
Read more »
|GM Says It Sold A Lot Of All-New Models In 2016, And Somehow, That's Bad News
While redesigned models such as the 2016 Malibu had their best year since 1980 in terms of sales, GM still registered an "unfavorable" product mix due to strong sales. Yes, really.
Read more »
|Chevrolet Introduces Redline Special Editions For Nine Of Its Models
Mere hours after Nissan introduced its Midnight Edition package to six models, Chevrolet has announced that it will introduce the Redline special edition series to no less than nine of its models.
Read more »
|Chevy Needs To Replaces SS On NASCAR, Which Model Should It Choose?
After confirming that they will be discontinuing the SS sedan, Chevrolet will need to start looking for a new shell for its NASCAR racer for 2018 in order to take on Toyota and Ford.
Read more »
|Chevy Needs To Replaces SS On NASCAR, Which Model Should It Choose?
After confirming that they will be discontinuing the SS sedan, Chevrolet will need to start looking for a new shell for its NASCAR racer for 2018 in order to take on Toyota and Ford.
Read more »
|Chevrolet Malibu Selling Better Than Ever
The Chevrolet Malibu is proving more popular than ever before, selling the best it ever has since being reintroduced in 1996.
Read more »
|GM's 9-Speed Automatic Debuts On 2017 Chevrolet Malibu
In their constant search of meeting stricter emission standards and improving fuel consumption, automakers have to constantly upgrade their products, and a popular option sees the development of transmissions with an increased number of gears.
Read more »
|Chevy's New Blue Line Concepts For SEMA Preview Upcoming Accessories
Following last year's Red-Line enhancements, Chevrolet is pre iewing two new Blue Line concepts ahead of their Public debut at the SEMA show.
Read more »
|Chinese Market Chevy Malibu XL Gets Hybrid Version
Chevrolet's offensive into the Chinese market continues with the introduction of the all-new Malibu XL Hybrid.
Read more »
|Possible Rollaway Issue Makes GM Recall Certain Buicks, Chevys And GMCs
General Motors is conducting a new safety campaign on vehicles that may be equipped with defective electronic park lock levers.
Read more »
|New Chevy Malibu Ticks All The Right Boxes With IIHS Top Safety Award
The 2016 Malibu has picked top honors by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Read more »
|Regulators Fine Chevy Dealer For Selling New Recalled Cars Without Repairs
Sands Chevrolet of Surprise, Arizona, was fined $40,000 by US regulators after selling two new cars subjected to an open recall without fixing them first.
Read more »
|Chevy Says 2016 Malibu Hybrid Is The Most Efficient In Its Class With 46MPG Combined
The upcoming 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid keeps bragging about its environmental credentials, claiming the top of its segment.
Read more »
|Annoyed By Chevy's 'Real People, Not Actors' Ads? Watch This!
Among Chevy's fun and highly creative videos, you'll also find the ones where they show off a car to the so called "real people, not actors", which just seems to rub certain viewers the wrong way.
Read more »


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// About //
New Tides Platform is an independent organisation established in 2015, exploring and encouraging cross-cultural exchanges and dialogue within contemporary performing arts. We aim to map and assess theatrical, literary and cultural crossings in theatre and creative writing through research, public events and outreach programmes.
New Tides Platform wishes to function as an interface between scholarly research and the creative sector. As a collaborative venture we are working together with universities and research centres, theatres and theatre-makers, creative/ art organisations as well as journals and publishers.
As facilitators of cultural projects and initiators of new research, we provide a forum for encounters, debates and interchanges, connecting academic research, contemporary theatre-making and communities of thinkers, makers and spectators.
Working as an outreach platform, we develop local, national and international collaborations and networks that are responsive to social and cultural changes within and outside contemporary theatre practices.
// Team //
Kate is an arts marketing professional and project manager with nearly ten years' experience in the arts and commercial sectors both in the UK and continental Europe.
Holding a research degree (MRes) in Cultural Diplomacy from the University of South Wales (UK) and a BA(Hons.) in Philosophy, Communication and PR (Babes-Bolyai University, Romania), she specialises in audience development, events organisation, advertising, social media management, market research & strategy development.
Kate had worked with various cultural organisations and international arts festivals as a cultural promoter and organiser as well as audience development manager. She has been involved in organising the 17th Festival of Theatres of Europe (2008), an international theatre festival created by UTE (Union des Théâtres de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée) and hosted by the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. She also worked with UK-based multi-arts festivals such as In Between Time International Festival (IBT Festival, Bristol, UK), the Bristol Shakespeare Festival and Stokes Croft Street Festival.
Lately, she's been involved in the development of our website and in the promotion of our first international conference project: Redefining Theatre Communities as well as taking care of all the publicity of our Theatre and Migration: Creative Encounters event in April 2017.
Kate will be project managing our forthcoming outreach programmes as part of a new research project to be launched in September 2017.
Dr Szabolcs Musca //Founding Director//
Szabolcs holds a PhD from the University of Bristol and he worked as a researcher and theatre critic for the past ten years. His research interests span across contemporary European theatre (especially Italy, France, Germany and Eastern Europe), theatre and migration, transnational and cross-cultural theatre and performance, theatre translation, adaptation and dramaturgy and socially-engaged theatre.
Szabolcs' articles and reviews appeared in the New Theatre Quarterly, the Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance, Játéktér, Korunk, Erdélyi Riport, Szabadság, Hamlet.ro, A Hét (Romania) and Fidelio.hu (Hungary). Forthcoming publications include a co-edited collection entitled Redefining Theatre Communities. International Perspectives on Theatre and Communities and a series of articles on radical adaptations and the politics and ethics of international co-productions.
He has been involved in various collaborative international research projects and acted as research consultant both in Britain and continental Europe. Szabolcs is an active member of the Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy Working Group within the International Federation for Theatre Research. Other membership include: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) and the International Network of Italian Theatre.
Besides research, Szabolcs also has a track record in lecturing and leading seminars and workshops in higher education settings and he is a frequent speaker at international conferences.


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R-Z18 GeoMap
R-Z18 Geographical Map (last updated: September 11th 2015)
One of the ways to find out more about the history of a haplogroup is to study the more recent distribution of its members. To facilitate this, we've developed a map of Europe with coloured pins indicating the location the Most Distant Ancestor (MDA) was born as reported by our members. The map displays only Europe and people who currently are brickwalled in the US are not displayed on the map (in fact they are, but showing them requires panning to the west). Even for these people the map might well prove to be valuable, as it gives an indication where the origin of other members of the same branch of the R-Z18 tree is and these might give them a first indication of their own origin. (The text is continued after the map)
Please note, currently the map presented above is a static preview of what we are working on. The map is generated by a set of programs that for display make use of the facilities of Google Maps. Originally, the "live" map generated by these programs offers features to "drill down" into the data. (1) If you move the cursor over a pin, then the Kit# and MDA-name are displayed, so as to allow to look up the profile on the corresponding Y-DNA Results Sheet on this site. (2) A map like this contains so many pins that it is hard to clearly see the relationship between profiles in the same branch of the tree. The "live" map therefore allows to select one or more branches of the tree for display, which results in a simplified picture that nevertheless gives much more information. (3) A drawing facility allows one to draw coloured lines on the map, so that it is possible to play with one's own ideas about possible migration routes. We are currently working hard to make the program (and thus the "live" map) available online via this site, but presently the map is static and doesn't offer these dynamic features.
The image below gives an example of the selection facility. In this case all Z18+ Z17- branches are selected, so that the "oldest" branches of R-Z18 are shown. These selected branches are indicated by their description under "pin colours" presented in bold. The "live" version allows any branche of combination of branches to be selected; all other pins turn white (and thus stay visible)
The objective of the static preview is to show our intention and give a preview of the results to date. This will serve as an good illustration, as we intend to ask all our members to review the co-ordinates they've specified for their MDA. One example of the things that can go wrong is the origin that was specified fo a profile in the middle of the North Sea; please note, if you specify a co-ordinate west of Greenwich (and the majority of the British Isles is west of Greenwich) then the Longitude is supposed to be negative (if specified as positive, you'll end up in the North Sea; or call it "Doggersbank" if you want).
As you can see on the map, the origins reported by our members are widely spread over the northern half of Europe. R-Z18 is clearly a group in which a lot of migration has taken place. R-Z18 is well represented in Scandinavia and this part of Europe clearly has played an important role in the history of the group. We know much more about this and we will publish our findings here at a later date.
Nearly all pins are visible; there is one origin reported by the owner of kit N118662-Jonsen in Northern Norway, that unfortunately has "fallen off" the map (we haven't forgotten about it). Please consider this page, and the maps presented, as a work in progress. We are aware while we were working on it a few locations were updated and some of these updated location might well be displayed according to their previous setting. This will be repaired in the next version.


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While many prefer having a variety of cars competing on the racetrack, there really is something special about a one-make race. In these types of races, all you really have to go on is skill and bravery.
Well, in the video here, skill and bravery are what you'll see.
What you're looking at is race car driver Jason Choachuy and his classic Mini Cooper. He's taking part in a one-make, multi-class Philmini club race at the Batangas Racing Circuit in the Philippines.
After missing qualifying, Choachuy started the race dead last: P16. The Flashbacks Autohaus 1962 Austin Mini Mark 1 he's running has a 1293cc engine which, together with the modifications, would normally belong in the open class towards the front of the grid.
As you'll soon realize, this guy will quickly make his way through the field, using a combination of late braking, heel-and-toe, and basically wringing the life out of the little front-wheel drive hatchback.
A quick reaction to the start sees him overtake 4 cars before the start/finish line, another 3 cars before the first corner, and another 3 cars at the corner exit, putting him in P6. He overtakes another car on the straight for P5, and then overtakes another car on the outside of one of the most dangerous corners on the track: Bryan's.
Well before the end of the opening lap of the 3.7-kilometer Batangas Racing Circuit, Choachuy will have overtaken the remaining 3 cars to take a sensational P1.
The veteran driver is no stranger to one-make races; he almost won the championship in the inaugural season of the Toyota Vios Cup. He is also a veteran of the local drifting scene behind the wheel of the official Nissan Cefiro drift car of Chokdee.info. His performances earned him the nickname "The Destroyer" for his uncanny ability to go flat out, regardless of the damage.
True to his nickname, the Mini you saw him drive didn't actually finish the race: on the second lap, Choachuy's differential was destroyed.
Pushing a Mini from P16 to P1 in three-quarters of a lap isn't without its risks after all.