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The Gentleman from Tennessee
At a point in life when many men are looking for the exit door to retirement, Fred Dalton Thompson—former assistant U.S. attorney, former Watergate prosecutor, former U.S. senator, former presidential candidate and part-time TV and movie actor—is ready to dive into a new career.
Two years after leaving "Law & Order" to run for president, a year after abandoning that candidacy without winning a single primary, Thompson has a new job: as a full-time radio personality, taking over the syndicated talk-show time slot that Bill O'Reilly is leaving behind.
"Yeah," Thompson jokes, in deep, mellowly distinctive tones, "I've had a hard time keeping a job."
Thompson's Tennessee drawl is a far cry—in terms of volume or velocity—from O'Reilly's Long Island rat-a-tat. Thompson's measured approach may remind listeners more of Paul Harvey, the long-running radio host whom Thompson has substituted for in the past.
"Nobody can step in and have the same thing going for them that Bill had," Thompson says. "He's not the competition. He's elevated himself to another level. For me, this is another new venture—another new adventure."
Ken Rietz, retired chief operating officer of the Burson-Marsteller PR firm who is both a veteran Republican political consultant and longtime friend of Thompson, says, "Fred has an incredible radio voice and he's not afraid to talk about what he thinks. What he'll add to the mix is intelligent conservatism. He's been in government. He's been elected to the Senate. He's been the minority counsel for the Watergate committee. His life experience will mean a lot." When he sat for this interview, Thompson was still a couple months out from the March 2 launch date for the radio show: "We've just done the deal, so we haven't really started working on the format yet," he says. "But we're not trying to reinvent the wheel."
One thing radio will offer is the chance to break out of the sound-bite mentality that must become second nature for politicians. As someone else's guest—whether it was on a radio show or "Meet the Press"—Thompson had to tailor his remarks to the time allotted. While his daily slot is finite, the show gives Thompson the better part of 10 hours of airtime a week to fill as he sees fit. "Whether it's a congressional committee hearing or a Sunday talk show or most any other thing, it can be very limiting from a time standpoint," Thompson says.
"[Hosting your own show] gives you the opportunity to expand on your views—or shoot your mouth off, as the case may be. This allows you to take serious time to discuss serious issues. It will be an opportunity to expand on my views and have some fun."
His views are well known: traditional conservatism that emphasizes cutting taxes and government spending (particularly for entitlement programs) while strengthening national defense. Thompson had hoped to spend 2008 expounding on those views—using the presidential race as his soapbox.
But his candidacy was short-lived. Despite months of speculation, Thompson waited until near Labor Day 2007 to make his candidacy official. That proved to be too late, even though his announcement came 14 months before the 2008 election.
For 2008, the increasingly accelerated campaign timetable meant that the strongest candidates jumped in eight months before the first primary. Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy in early February 2007, John McCain in late April.
"In retrospect, I seem to have underestimated the nuts and bolts of the practical challenge a presidential campaign presents," Thompson says. Rietz, a consultant on Thompson's campaign whose Republican résumé dates back to the 1972 Nixon-McGovern race, says, "A lot of it is about the ability to raise money early and keep it coming in. To put together a nationwide campaign, you need funds. That's the single most important thing I'd have done differently: start earlier."
Thompson concurs: "I didn't have time to raise money, organize and put together a fund-raising structure that would put me in the mix with the other major contenders in terms of the long haul. I found myself playing catch-up, while, at the same time, having this level of expectation and build-up in the media that was impossible to live up to. If you don't have that structure—and the ability to do the things that money can buy, in terms of the media wars and the care and feeding of the press—it undercuts your credibility."
If there are any lingering regrets, they have to do with the toll the campaign took on his wife, Jeri, who worked for the Republican National Committee before they were married. Specifically, both Thompsons are still smarting from attacks blaming Jeri for trying to micromanage Thompson's campaign staff in ways that caused upheaval and turnover.
"Unfortunately, that's a part of presidential politics today," Thompson says. "If you've got millions of dollars to spend, you've got to spend it on something. A lot of negativity came early on, when there was speculation about whether I would run, but I hadn't announced yet. When the media has a vacuum, it has to have filler, and the opposition is all too willing to give it to them. That's why some in the mainstream media are held in such high regard."
Jeri Thompson says, "Nothing I ever face will put me in such a funk—because it affected Fred and the team. Looking back, it's all sort of irrelevant. A blip of nothingness in terms of the rest of our lives."
The couple, married six years, have a relaxed, joshing relationship that the campaign only strengthened. Over lunch at a restaurant near their home in McLean, Virginia (a Washington, D.C., suburb that is inside the Beltway, it should be noted), the 42-year-old Jeri is a peppy whirlwind of conversation and opinions, while the 66-year-old Thompson is more laconic, choosing his spots to slip in a sly one-liner. Which he does, when Jeri is asked about Thompson's shortcomings as a husband.
She smiles and, without hesitation, says, "There's not a lot of help around the house. It doesn't really occur to him."
Thompson, seemingly absorbed in his salad, doesn't miss a beat. Looking up, he says, deadpan, "I resent that," pauses, then offers the zinger. "It does occur to me. Don't confuse the lack of awareness with the lack of willingness to do something about it."
Jeri laughs delightedly, then offers another foible: "His voracious reading habit is obvious by what he leaves behind—four-foot stacks of newspapers, magazines and journals—everywhere!"
"Well," Thompson offers, "you never know when you might want to start a fire." Back at their beautifully appointed brick colonial (on the same street where Colin Powell lives), Thompson, dressed in an oatmeal cable-knit sweater, powder-blue dress shirt, khakis and brown Hush Puppy brogans, strides through the foyer to a living room that shows evidence of small children recently at play. Thompson deflects a compliment about a lavishly decorated Christmas tree to his wife, then points to an equally bedecked spruce in the next room—and notes that there is a third one, just around the corner (as well as two mini-trees elsewhere in the house for their children, daughter Hayden, 5, and son Sammy, 2, to decorate).
"I believe," he says to her in mock astonishment, "that I found a room without a Christmas tree the other day."
Thompson, rangy and bearish at 6-foot-6, ambles into his den. Jeri attends to lighting his gas fireplace—with help from a handyman—as Thompson settles in behind his desk to chat.
The wood-paneled room is adorned with bookcases and framed photographs, as well as a small stack of Thompson's 1975 Watergate book, At That Point in Time. There's a door to a screened-in porch, which is where Thompson escapes to smoke cigars. But not today: the 30-degree temperature is too brisk for Thompson's liking.
As he snips the end off a rich-looking Ashton with a dark wrapper, Thompson gives the cigar a quick sniff, then happily sticks it unlit in his mouth: "I'm a chewer more than a smoker," he allows.
"Like I've done with everything else, I've learned about cigars by trial and error. You make enough mistakes and you learn what you like. The only way I know how to describe it is that I like strong, robust cigars, not too mild—cigars with a strong taste. Cigars that not only smoke good but taste good when I chew them."
He pauses, then adds with a smile, "Due to the kindness and generosity of certain of my friends, I've had good ones from the best soil. And those spoil you for anything else."
A reference to forbidden Cuban cigars? "I think cigars and politics should remain separate forever more," Thompson says. "Take from that what you will." When Thompson halted his presidential campaign in January 2008, he had an e-mail list of more than 300,000 "FredHeads." Most still turn to his Web site for the Fred Thompson Political Action Committee, for his words of wisdom; with luck, they'll form the instant core of his radio audience.
Thompson's presidential campaign ended with money in the bank from the thousands who contributed: "And the moral of that story," Thompson says, "is that I should have spent it."
When Thompson spoke at the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul in September, he was greeted with hosannas by delegates who came up to him and said, "Gosh, if we'd only known that was how you felt. If only you had said that earlier."
"Which I had," Thompson says. "Just not as often or [in] as many different places as some people. It was all about having the money to get the message out."
At the dawn of the Barack Obama era, Thompson's message remains the same as it's always been. "National security is first and foremost. I'm hopeful that President Obama won't let our guard down, that he'll have an appreciation for the kind of world we live in and the need to be strong. Compared to what he said during the campaign, I think there's hope for optimism, in light of some of those he's appointed in those areas. They were better than what I thought he might do.
"I'm hopeful he doesn't use the economic crisis to carry out a plan of centralization and socialization of our economy. He seems to think, like a lot of people do, that we can spend our way to prosperity. But if he's not careful, he'll build a monumental debt we're not able to dig out from. We could wind up with short-term benefits that have terrible long-term consequences."
Shortly after the 2008 election, Thompson was a guest speaker on a National Review—sponsored Caribbean cruise that sold out. He was besieged by fans who told him they wished they'd been able to vote for him, to which he quipped, "If I'd had all these votes, I wouldn't be on this damned cruise."
Among the attacks on Thompson as a presidential candidate were questions about his work ethic and whether he lacked the real desire to do the work that a presidential campaign demands. Newsweek, at one point, ran a cover story on what it termed "the laziness issue."
"I put that in the same category as a hundred other things that are irritating and somewhat silly," Thompson says. "But if you took everything that was irritating and silly out of politics, you'd hardly recognize it as politics."
Among the irritating and silly things: commentators who crowned him, even before he announced his presidential candidacy, as the heir apparent to Ronald Reagan. Thompson dismisses the comparison; while they're both politicians who worked as actors, and while Thompson believes he hews to the same political philosophy Reagan did, Thompson would never compare himself as a political communicator to a president he considers was a master.
"His success had to do with his real belief, rather than acting," Thompson says. "Nobody accused him of being a good actor until he was in politics." Thompson sees few similarities between politics and acting. "The big difference is that, in politics, you're shooting with real bullets," he says with a smile. "Aside from the benefit of knowing a little bit about lighting and staging, I don't think one carries over to the other."
Thompson had never harbored dreams of acting when he was offered his first movie role: playing himself in Marie, the 1985 movie about a real Tennessee corruption case in which Thompson had been the prosecuting attorney, which starred Sissy Spacek and Jeff Daniels.
"I had never even been in a play—it never occurred to me to be an actor and never would have," says Thompson, who was a private-practice lawyer at the time. "I just looked at it as fun, an adventure. How often do you get to do something that's that interesting, with nothing to lose? It was challenging and yet risk-free, being able to walk into this world with other professionals and compete with them on an equal footing. I thought that would be the end of it." One of his fellow actors, however, felt otherwise. "Morgan Freeman told me during that film, 'You have a chance to do more of this if you want to,'" Thompson recalls. "I actually had a bigger part than he did in the film; that's my claim to fame. That was the last time that happened."
Still, Thompson assumed it was just a happy accident—until Roger Donaldson, who directed Marie, called him the following year to play the director of the CIA in the Kevin Costner thriller, No Way Out. A couple more roles followed—including a multi-episode stint playing an evil con man on the TV series "Wiseguy"—before Thompson decided that he should probably get an agent.
He never gave up practicing law or moved away from Nashville. But he wound up acting in 18 feature films and in numerous TV series, made-for-television movies and miniseries. He's specialized in playing authority figures, including admirals and generals, FBI agents and a White House chief of staff in films as different as Die Hard 2, Days of Thunder, The Hunt for Red October and In the Line of Fire. In his last feature film role, Albert Brooks's 2005 comedy Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, he brought his acting career full circle and played himself.
"He's like a jewel," Brooks says. "He's got authenticity and a sense of humor. He was 1,000 percent prepared—and he does Fred Thompson perfectly. When he talked, I believed that this was the way he would talk when the camera wasn't there. I didn't sense acting—and that was important to me. If you have him do what he does, nobody does it better."
On-screen, as in life, he cuts an imposing figure, reinforced by a distinctive bass voice that seems to start at his toes. To Thompson, it's all about relaxing on camera or, as he puts it, having "the knack of being natural in unnatural circumstances."
"You spend all this time getting suited out in clothes that other people have selected," Thompson explains. "Then you spend time sitting in a makeup chair, having someone fuss over you. Then they take you to the set and turn bright lights on you. There are all these cameras surrounding you and 15 people standing behind them and a boom microphone overhead for the sound. Then they shut everything down and ring bells and say, 'Action!' And you're supposed to act naturally, like you're there by yourself or with one other person. It's an interesting challenge, especially when you approach it at middle age, as I did. It's been a totally positive thing for me."
Still, it was strictly an avocation—and one that he set aside once he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 to fill Vice President Al Gore's unexpired Senate term. But when he announced in 2002 that he would not seek another term, he quickly got a phone call from Dick Wolf, creator of "Law & Order," offering him the chance to join the show's regular cast.
Wolf cast him as District Attorney Arthur Branch, the top legal official in the show's fictional New York crime-and-punishment universe. Thompson appeared in more than 100 episodes of the series, including installments of four other "L&O" franchises.
"Once he was cast, we basically customized the suit to fit the character," Wolf says. "We discussed whether the Southern accent should be mentioned and we decided that Arthur had migrated to New York about 35 years before, after a successful stint as a prosecutor in Tennessee, then joined a top litigation firm before joining the D.A.'s office. The character basically evolved from there." Thompson brought an inimitable gravitas to the character, one that came naturally to the actor/lawyer/politician.
"Fred is the living definition of command presence," Wolf says. "When Fred, as Arthur Branch, walked into a room, people felt like they should stand up and salute. If you look back at his previous roles, you can see I'm not the only producer who has felt that way."
For Thompson, acting is not particularly mysterious, primarily because he tends to be cast in certain kinds of roles.
"I can envision myself as a Navy admiral or an FBI agent," he says. "I just put myself in that other person's shoes. In 'Law & Order,' I was playing a prosecutor, which is precisely what I'd been. So you put yourself in the situation—and then you bear down or lighten up, as the situation calls for. "I recognize that the great actors add a dimension I'll never know because they've studied and spent years working on technique; they understand the theory behind what they're doing. But I know that, if I work within a certain range, I can do what I do and do it well."
Thompson admits to a healthy aspiration to further roles. "I'll see a movie and think, I'd love to have done that," he says. "I've always wanted to do a good Western. If I'd started acting as a young man, I would want to have emulated John Wayne."
The ultimate accolade of the acting world, of course, is the Academy Award. When asked how he feels about fellow Tennessean Al Gore (a Democrat, to boot) receiving an Oscar (for the documentary An Inconvenient Truth), Thompson allows a chuckle to rumble up and says, "I guess there's hope for all of us."
At one point in the conversation, daughter Hayden comes in to say good-bye; she and her mother are on their way to the gym. Polite, pretty and shy, Hayden provokes an unalloyed, beaming smile from her proud father.
The family is Thompson's second, a late-life surprise that Thompson feels he can appreciate in a way he couldn't when he became a married parent the first time, at 17.
"It's different in so many respects," he says of fatherhood redux. "Having young children again was not something I really planned on. You understand better what's important and what's not. I savor it now—I savor the moments I have with my young kids. It makes you a little sad that you didn't appreciate what you had earlier in life."
Thompson was an aimless 17-year-old in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, when he married his high school sweetheart, Sarah Lindsey. Lawrenceburg was a town of nearly 15,000, about 80 miles south of Nashville. "It wasn't exactly Mayberry—but it wasn't far from it," Thompson says.
Thompson and his wife had three children; his two sons are in business in Tennessee, while his daughter died in 2002 of an accidental prescription drug overdose. He and Sarah divorced in 1985. "We were married for 25 years, so in many respects you could consider it a successful marriage, instead of a failure. I don't recommend marrying at that age for my kids or grandkids. Doing the same thing, but at a later age, is better for everyone concerned."
Yet he believes that teenage marriage may have been the key to his future. "Up to that point, I had no achievements as a student," he says. "Getting married kept me from going to college and doing what I did in high school, which was goofing off, wasting time, pursuing athletics. Marriage required me to buckle down."
He did well enough as an undergraduate at the former Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) to win a scholarship to Vanderbilt University's law school. After graduation, he landed a job as an assistant U.S. attorney, then was recruited to work on the 1972 reelection campaign of Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker, who became his mentor. After Baker won, he became the ranking Republican on the Senate Watergate committee and brought Thompson to Washington as minority counsel for the committee.
The Watergate hearings in the summer of 1973 put Thompson in the national spotlight. But he and his fellow lawyers—not to mention the lawmakers—were so busy with the hearings themselves that they had no sense of how the spectacle of the Nixon administration unraveling on national TV was riveting the rest of the country.
"As the hearings got going, we were enmeshed in them day and night," he recalls. "Occasionally we'd come up for air—and realize that everyone was watching. That was the thing I was known for for a while. But then I went back to Nashville and started my own law practice and went on about my business."
Thirty-five years later, Thompson finds that people often have only a vague memory of his involvement in Watergate. As Thompson notes, there are entire generations that have no idea what Watergate was.
Indeed, when you've done as many things as Fred Thompson has in a lifetime, it's inevitable that other people have a hard time keeping track of them all. "People will say to me, 'I didn't know you were a lawyer' or 'I didn't know you were involved in Watergate,'" he says. "As we started talking about doing the radio show, people weren't even mentioning that I had been a senator. I was the actor who had been a presidential candidate. As you get older, things tend to drop off the back end of your résumé."
As a candidate for senator and again for president, Thompson emphasized his roots: that small-town, down-home sensibility that, no matter how long he's been away from Lawrenceburg, has never left him.
"The things my mama taught me all turned out to be true," Thompson says. "If things appear to be too good to be true, they probably are. There's no such thing as a free lunch. And if you behave yourself, good things will happen to you. I could go back there right now and it would feel just as much like home as it ever has."
Marshall Fine is a journalist and film critic whose movie reviews can be found at www.marshallfine.com.


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Ashley Agerenza tried to take her seven-month-old baby into Extreme Tan and Smoothies (real place) with her, only to find that infants weren't welcome. So she did what any desperately pale mother would do: locked that baby in the car by herself with the engine running, attacked the cop who tried to arrest her for negligence, and got two Taser blasts for her trouble.
And yes, this all happened in Florida. [Daily Mail via Nick Bilton]

subset: commoncrawl


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The Antivirus icon John McAfee is on the run from murder charges, says Belize police. Marco Vidal, head of the national police force's Gang Suppression Unit , McAfee is a prime suspect in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Faull, who was gunned down Saturday night at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye.
Details remain light at the moment, but some residents are stating that Faull was a well-liked builder who hailed originally from California. The two men had been arguing for some time. Last Wednesday, Faull filed a formal complaint against McAfee with the mayor's office, stating that McAfee had fired off guns and exhibited "roguish behavior." Their final disagreement reportedly involved dogs.
Here is a statement from the police department:
"On Sunday the 11th November, 2012 at 8:00am acting upon information received, San Pedro Police visited 5 ? miles North of San Pedro Town where they saw 52 year old U.S National Mr. GREGORY VIANT FAULL, of the said address, lying face up in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound on the upper rear part of his head apparently dead. Initial investigation revealed that on the said date at 7:20am LUARA TUN, 39years, Belizean Housekeeper of Boca Del Rio Area, San Pedro Town went to the house of Mr. Faull to do her daily chores when she saw him laying inside of the hall motionless, Faull was last seen alive around 10:00pm on 10.11.12 and he lived alone. No signs of forced entry was seen, A (1) laptop computer brand and serial number unknown and (1) I-Phone was discovered missing. The body was found in the hall of the upper flat of the house. A single luger brand 9 mm expended shells was found at the first stairs leading up to the upper flat of the building. The body of Faull was taken to KHMH Morgue where it awaits a Post Mortem Examination. Police have not established a motive so far but are following several leads."


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I'm an OPC member interested in the Q&A with regard to Jesus' alleged mis-citation of Jeremiah. I came to faith in a Calvary Chapel, and as I recall, their argument was that Jesus said Jeremiah because the Jews' papyri containing Zechariah started with Jeremiah, and thus Jesus was referencing a set of books, not the author per se. Is this a made up story? I have had similar experiences where things have had to be unlearned, and I will gladly throw aside any red herrings, if need be.
You may be glad to hear that you don't need to "unlearn" anything. The account on the OPC Web site is brief but accurate. Perhaps, however, the information that you mention would be a worthwhile addition to what is already there.
Although some of the authors of the following quotations are broadly evangelical rather than necessarily specifically Reformed, they all have a reputation for being responsible scholars.
Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., has served as President of (and Old Testament Professor at) Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has contributed to the Westminster Theological Journal. Here's what he has to say:
Matthew probably attributed the text to Jeremiah because Jeremiah, in many Hebrew manuscripts, headed up the collection of the prophets and his name was used to designate all in the collection. Our book titles with those chapter and verse divisions are a fairly recent innovation. Also Matthew may have attributed this quotation to Jeremiah because this text was paired with Jeremiah 18:1-4; 32:6-9. Thus he used the name of the better known and more prominent prophet. In fact, not one of the four other places where the New Testament quotes from Zechariah dos it mention his name (Mt 21:4-5; 26:31; Jn 12:12-14; 19:37).
--Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (InterVarsity Press, 1988), p. 242.
Dr. Gleason L. Archer, Jr., has served as Old Testament Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Like Dr. Kaiser, Dr. Archer is greatly respected in the area of Old Testament studies and has published significant books in that area. Here's what he has to say:
Matthew is therefore combining and summarizing elements of prophetic symbolism both from Zechariah and from Jeremiah. But since Jeremiah is the more prominent of the two prophets, he mentions Jeremiah's name by preference to the minor prophet. A similar procedure is followed by Mark 2:1-3, which attributes only to Isaiah a combined quotation from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. In that case also, only the more famous of the two prophets is mentioned by name. Since that was the normal literary practice of the first century A.D., when the Gospels were written, the authors can scarcely be faulted for not following the modern practice of precise identification and footnoting (which could never have become feasible until after the transition had been made from the scroll to the codex and the invention of the printing press).
--Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Zondervan Publishing House, 1982), p. 345.
One more quote, this one from the Lutheran scholar Dr. William Arndt:Jeremiah is a far more prominent Prophet than Zechariah, and hence it is not surprising that a prophecy which can be traced to both of them is called a prophecy of Jeremiah, even though the greater part of it is taken from Zechariah. The other explanation is that there is good evidence for the assumption that the Jews, in their arrangement of the books of the Prophets, placed that of Jeremiah first. Now, we find that in all ages people have often designated a collection of writings by the name of the first one, which in such cases usually is one of importance.
--William Arndt, Does the Bible Contradict Itself? (Concordia Publishing House, 1976), pp. 52-53.
There is also a good (and fairly lengthy) discussion of the question by the late Dr. E.J. Young, Old Testament Professor at Westminster Seminary and a Reformed scholar, in his book Thy Word Is Truth (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), pp. 172-175. I'll restrict myself to one brief quote, so that you can be assured that you don't need to "unlearn" anything:In the Babylonian Talmud ... Jeremiah is placed at the head of the prophets. It is possible that this tradition of the priority of Jeremiah was far older than the Talmud. Thus, when the disciples reported to the Lord what men said concerning Him, they mentioned 'Jeremiah or one of the prophets' (Matthew 16:14). It may be that the name Jeremiah was in this instance singled out inasmuch as his work was commonly regarded as standing at the head of the prophetical books. In mentioning Jeremiah, therefore, Matthew may have in mind the entire prophetical section of the Old Testament. A similar parallel is found in Luke 24:44 where Christ designates the third part of the Old Testament canon by the term Psalms. As a matter of fact, the book of Psalms was only the first book of this division, but evidently the Lord thought it sufficient to name only the first book as a suitable identification of the entire third section. Possibly this is he procedure which Matthew also is following. If so, he is simply doing what the Lord Himself, on another occasion, saw fit to do. (p. 173)
I hope that that additional information is helpful to you. Thank you again for your note. If you have more questions in the future, please do not hesitate to ask them.
P.S. Well, perhaps there is one thing that you need to "unlearn." It was Matthew, not Jesus, who in Matthew 27:9-10 cited Jeremiah (and Zechariah). True, in some instances in the Gospels it is difficult to definitively identify the speaker. (For example, are the words in John 3:16 said by Jesus or by John? Commentators differ, since there are no quotation marks in the original Greek.) But the words in Matt. 27:9-10 seem clearly to be not from Jesus, but from Matthew. (Well, since Jesus is the Word of God incarnate, ultimately all New Testament revelation comes from Him through the Holy Spirit - see John 14, 15, and 16 - but you know what I mean.)
About Q&A
"Questions and Answers" is a weekly feature of the OPC website. The answers come from individual ministers in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church expressing their own convictions and do not necessarily represent an "official" position of the Church, especially in areas where the Standards of the Church (the Scriptures and the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms) are silent.
The questions come from individuals like yourself. If you have questions about biblical and theological matters, you are invited to send them by e-mail by using the "Pose a Question" link on the OPC home page or by clicking here.
At least one new question is posted each week, so there should always be something new here for you to read. (For those people who would like to look at previous questions and answers, they will continue to be available as well.)
The purpose of the OPC website's "Questions and Answers" is to respond to biblical and theological questions. Matters of church discipline, disputes, or debates go beyond the scope of our work. We recommend that you present your concerns in these areas to the appropriate judicatory. In most cases this will be to a local pastor, elder, or session. We do not want the website to replace personal involvement in, or commitment to, the local, visible church.
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Chaplains and Military Personnel


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HIVigil: Candlelight march brings awareness
President John Casteen declared November "HIV/AIDS Awareness Month" at UVA. To end the month on a high note, a local candlelight walking vigil to commemorate World AIDS Day took place December 1.
UVA students, faculty, and townies convened on the steps of the Rotunda with red ribbons pinned to their jackets and hand-made banners promoting AIDS awareness and safe sex. Jeanette Lancaster, nursing school dean, spoke to the 50 or so who then carried their messages down University Avenue and to Emmet Street during the 5 o'clock rush hour. Hundreds of drivers honked in support of the effort, jointly sponsored by the UVA School of Nursing, AIDS/HIV Services Group (ASG), and UVA student group Promoting HIV Negativity.
The end of the journey was a bit surreal. While rows of cars and trucks piled up in traffic, participants lined Emmet Street from ALC Copies to just past The Tavern, holding candles and sitting in silence for 23 minutes- one minute for every year since World AIDS Day began. After the silence, the group heard songs by the a cappella group Virginia Gentleman and speeches by Dean Shamim Sisson and ASG board member Meredith Richards.
When someone in the world is infected by HIV every seven seconds, the disease is the most serious health crisis facing the human race today. In the US, 40,000 people are diagnosed every year, a rate that hasn't changed in 10 years.
UVA students and others line Emmet Street for a candlelight vigil on World AIDS Day.
Students and their AIDS banners on the steps of the Rotunda
Stacy Brotherton's banner urges, "Don't Risk Infection! Use Protection!"
Jessica Dennis stands quietly for a 23-minute Moment of Remembrance.
Dean Jeanette Lancaster gives a speech to demonstrators and WINA listeners.
An important message brings up the rear.
Marchers convene at the Rotunda.


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According to the Wall Street Journal, Sony "considered but ultimately rejected" plans to make its next home console - code-named Orbis - a download-only device.
The fact it even thought about such a move shows not only how far digital delivery has come in the six years since the PS3 first launched, but also shows just how little Sony really gives a damn about people who rely entirely on the sale of boxed, used video games.
Compared to a console that doesn't even have a disc drive, word that the Orbis will feature some kind of used games protection service (likely in a form that requires a paid unlock) seems downright charitable of Sony.
Sony Rejects Web-Based PlayStation Console [Wall Street Journal]


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For the record: I have decided to break down this post written by Jacob Larsen of DRays Bay even before reading it, having no idea if I will agree or disagree with the points that have been made…
Jake Larsen of DRays Bay takes on the role of Tampa Bay Rays GM and tells us the moves he would try to make at the winter meetings. We will take a look at each of these suggestions and offer our thoughts on whether or not the moves are good for the Rays and/or if the moves are even possible.
Jake first looks at the pool of free agents and picks five players that the Rays should be targeting as well as 5 players to avoid.
Ron Mahay, LHP
- [Jake's Take] it's evident that Kurt Birkins and Jeff Ridgway don't fit in a bullpen with names like Troy Percival, Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler and Juan Salas(his last name is a palindrome). Ron Mahay would be yet another "veteran presence" in the bullpen. Only risk is that he's a Type B Free Agent and he'd cost us a 2nd round pick in the upcoming draft.
- [The Professor's Take] Would be a strong upgrade over the leftys that are available in-house. Mahay made $1.25 million last season, which means he might be had for $2 million, which would be reasonable. Unfortunately, the Yankees may also be interested, and we are skeptical of giving up a second round pick. The Rays recent second round picks have included Will Kline, Josh Butler, Chris Mason, Reid Brignac and James Houser. Would the Rays trade one of those players for Ron Mahay? Not likely. For a team that builds through their farm system, that is too big a big price for a lefty specialist. verdict: DON'T SIGN
Tony Clark, 1B
- [Jake's Take] Positive Veteran Leader who still can hit for power
- [The Professor's Take] This is true, BUT, Clark is strictly a 1B/DH. While the Rays do need a left handed bat and Clark would be a great power threat, he would be strictly a DH with the Rays. That will take significant at bats away from Rocco Baldelli and Jonny Gomes. Also, while Clark may be willing to be a role player or platoon DH, would he be willing to do that with the Rays? And will the Rays be willing to give Clark $1.5-2 million to be a part-time player? verdict: WON'T SIGN
Michael Barrett, C
- [Jake's Take] Decent hitter, calls a good game and will stand up for his pitchers when they give him a good effort. Yeah, sounds like he's Crash Davis Incarnate
- [The Professor's Take] A Type A free agent. And while the Rays top pick is protected, Barrett would cost the Rays their second round pick. Again, would the Rays trade one of the above mentioned players (ie. Reid Brignac) for a backup catcher? Not a chance in hell. Low payroll teams have to be smart and that is not a smart move. verdict: DON'T SIGN
Andruw Jones, CF
- [Jake's Take] 1 year rental/shock the baseball world…why not bite the bullet and prove to Boras that we're willing to take the risk and spend money? We sign Jones to an incentive-laiden contract with a possible option for a 2nd year, we impress Boras who needs to be proven that we're "in it to win it" and we may be allowed to sign Pena to a deal that we won't have to pay through the nose.
- [The Professor's Take] We admire the wishing, but this is absolutely ridiculous. First of all Scott Boras has already said that Jones will not accept a 1-year deal. Then consider that the Rays would have to pay $15 million annually for a player that has only hit above .265 ONCE in the last seven seasons, and posted a line of .222-26-94 last season. Don't get us wrong. Jones is a talent. But the Rays have other needs. If the Rays are going to drop $15 million on one player, why not grab a starting pitcher (or two). verdict: PIPE DREAM
Kazuo Fukumori, RHP
- [Jake's Take] We need to continue slowly adding international talent and continue to improve our bullpen. It's bad enough that Boston and the Yankees seem to have partnerships with Japanese baseball teams, but keeping Japanese fans in tune with Rays baseball with Aki and Fukomori will prevent those 2 from taking over the Japanese market
- [The Professor's Take] We have no idea about the talent. Our concern is that Japanese relievers are now the soup-of-the-day after the success of Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox. The Mets fell for this after the success of Ichiro when they thought Tsuyoshi Shinjo was just as good if not better. And please keep in mind that the Yankees are the Yankees and the Red Sox are the Red Sox. Even in Japan. The Rays may want a piece of that market, but they cannot compete on the same level as those two teams. As for Fukumori, there appears to be a number of teams interested, so it depends on how high the bidding goes. And in the meantime, the Rays' need for a lefty trumps this. verdict: MAYBE
players to avoid: Darin Erstad, Trever Miller, Bartolo Colon, David Eckstein and Eric Gagne.
- [The Professor's Take] Please, please stay away from Erstad, Eckstein and Gagne. Colon? Not for the price, but we think he still has gas in the tank. Miller is the interesting one. Miller is a LHP that had a big 2006, but came back to earth in 2007. Again, if that price is not too much, he could be cheaper than Mahay.
Jake then proposed three trades…
SP Edwin Jackson, RP Al Reyes and OF Jonny Gomes to Seattle for C Jeff Clement and PTBNL
- [Jake's Take] We all need to give up the thoughts that Edwin Jackson will be a future starter in the Rays rotation…Clement would give us a dynamic young duo of catchers, which would give Dioneer the idea that he needs to speed up his development and "work out" a bit more often. Clement, due to his massive body, always could learn 1B on the job and get some ABs at DH. We'd be less likely to have free outs in our line-up with the possibility of Clement in the line-up
- [The Professor's Take] We like Clement and have made our feelings known about Jackson in the past (he is a quitter). Two problems. Seattle would probably do this deal without the Rays including Reyes (unless the Rays want an extra prospect tossed in) and we are not sure the Rays would open the season with such a young starting rotation and young starting catcher and not have a veteran catcher on the roster. verdict: WE LIKE
SP J.P. Howell to Arizona for RF Carlos Quentin [Quentin has since been traded to the White Sox]
- [Jake's Take] Carlos is coming off a shoulder surgery(to his non-throwing arm) and the Diamondbacks are hard-pressed for young pitching. J.P. seems destined to become a better pitcher on a NL team than the AL, so why not fill a hole of ours with a player that was a top prospect in a very prestigous farm system but has basically lost his luster by default and D-Backs crowded OF? If not JP straight up, offer them Hammel and JP and ask for Neigborgall in addition to Quentin.
- [The Professor's Take] Quentin was traded for a top first base prospect who was in single-A, so it is difficult to gauge if this deal would have been acceptable to the D-Backs, but we would have pulled the trigger. verdict: GOOD DEAL, CAN'T HAPPEN
SP Wade Davis and OF John Matulia for the rights to SP Mark Prior
- [Jake's Take] Initially, in an idea that I gave to RJ, I said Wade Davis for Prior. However, Hendry probably would be mocked for such a random trade for a pitcher that Cub fans have never heard of (even though they have a WR posing as a pitcher in their farm system). I added his idea to the offer, just for the fact that Hendry loves "toolsy" OFers and the fact that Matulia was a draftee of Wilkens(who drafted John's baby bro, I believe, for the Cubs).
- [The Professor's Take] This one must be a joke, or Jake was getting really tired or desperate for ideas. NO, NO, NO…NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. First off, the Rays are giving up one of the Top 20 prospects in baseball for the rights to Prior? And let's say the Cubs did turn down Davis for Prior. Who in their right mind actually thinks that the Cubs are all of the sudden going to say "yes" when the Rays include an outfielder that hit .257/.312/.352 in SINGLE-A!?!?! We know Prior is a talent. And we know that sometimes a team like the Rays needs to take risks, but those risks have to be calculated. A team like the Yankees can take a risk on a Mark Prior, because if he doesn't work, nobody cares about the money lost. If the Rays give Prior $5 million for 2008, and he doesn't pitch, that is a huge blow to the payroll and the roster. verdict: WE ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF JAKE WAS SERIOUS.


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Government Ministries
Ministers serve as political heads of ministries, such as the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education. Closest to the ministers are the politically appointed deputy ministers and civil service-appointed permanent secretaries, the top-ranking administrative leaders who are assisted by directors of the various departments. Cabinet members are appointed by the president.


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The average return for target-date funds during the first quarter of 2012 was close to 9%, which is about 3.5% below the S&P 500 Index but more than 8.5% better than the BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, according to a recent report authored by Tom Idzorek, global chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Management, and Jeremy Stempien, director of investments for Ibbotson Associates.
For the second consecutive quarter, all target-maturity funds with at least a one-year history ended the period with a positive return. Those funds furthest from retirement had the strongest relative performance, as equities significantly outperformed fixed income, the report authors say.
New assets combined with the strong equity performance led to total assets for target-date funds topping $429 billion, an all-time high.
With equities, the momentum from strong performance during the fourth quarter of 2011 carried forward into the first quarter of 2012, with U.S. equities continuing on their roll. The S&P 500 rose 12.6% during the quarter.
Non-U.S. equities also saw improved performance, despite the continued economic turmoil in Europe, according to the Morningstar/Ibbotson research. A lingering low interest rate environment led to a mild performance for fixed income. The combined effect was strong outperformance of target-maturity funds further from retirement, since those funds tend to allocate much higher levels to equity.
Performance Update
Target-maturity funds enjoyed a nearly 9% return for Q1 thanks to the boost provided by equities. This was the highest return since the third quarter of 2010, when the average target-maturity fund return reached double digits, according to Idzorek and Stempien.
The average target-maturity fund return had a higher return than the average return of the Morningstar Lifetime Moderate Index besting it by 0.3%, which was also the case during the fourth quarter of 2011. Over the past 12 months, though, the index outperformed the average return of target maturity funds by 1.5%.
Fund Family Performance
The performance of nearly 390 target-date funds in about 50 fund families is being tracked by Morningstar and Ibbotson, and recent research found that the overall returns for funds in similar vintages had a very tight range resulting in a clustered set of fund family lines during this period.
Over the 12-month period, there was much less of a pattern among fund-family lines compared to the quarterly graph, and a few families separated themselves from the pack due to their individual-fund strategies.
In Invesco's Balanced Risk series, for instance, all funds outperformed all other target maturity funds during this period. "This outperformance was driven by Invesco's use of a risk-parity strategy in the underlying funds, which has led to portfolio exposure in excess of 100% (with leverage) to sovereign bonds, among other factors," the report concluded.
As was seen during the previous quarter, in the first quarter the best performers were those funds furthest from retirement, with returns exceeding 13%. For the quarter, the index outperformed 59% of target maturity funds across the 13 Morningstar categories, with 41% of funds outperforming the index.
"The categories with the largest percentage of target maturity fund outperformers were those furthest from retirement," wrote the authors. For example, in the 2055 and 2050 categories, 56% and 60% of the funds outperformed the index, respectively.
For the third time over the past four quarters, funds investing in growth outperformed those investing in value, which rewarded those target maturity funds with a growth tilt during the quarter. After significant underperformance in the previous quarter, non-U.S. developed equity bounced back to end the quarter much more in line with domestic equities, yet still toward the bottom of the group.
"In addition to their diversification benefit," noted the Morningstar and Ibbotson researchers, "REITs provided a solid boost to return during the quarter as well. Commodities on the other hand provided little in terms of returns with less than a 1% total return during the period."
Fund Flows
Target-date funds saw the third-highest quarterly flow since the first target-maturity fund was launched in 1994. "The 'big 3' (Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price) continued to take in the bulk of these flows with approximately 61% of the nearly $16 billion in flows pouring into their respective fund families," the report authors say. This is down somewhat from 72% in the previous quarter.
Other firms that experienced positive flows include JP Morgan, TIAA-Cref, and Principal. Some of the seven fund families that had net outflows were funds managed by AllianceBernstein, Russell and Goldman Sachs.
Regarding total net assets, target maturity funds are now at all-time levels with the asset base exceeding $429 billion; this is a 14% increase from the fourth quarter of 2011.
Some players that continue to gain leverage in the industry are West's Maxim series, Invesco and JP Morgan, which had AUM growth rates of 36%, 30%, and 28%, respectively during the quarter.


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- Report pollution. If you see potential pollution in or around the Bay, or in local creeks, sloughs and streams, please let us know.
- Become a member of San Francisco Baykeeper. We need your support to continue our work!
- Sign up to receive our e-newsletter. Receive regular monthly updates on Baykeeper's latest initiatives and how you can help.
- Volunteer with Baykeeper. Donate your time to Baykeeper.
- Read our Tips for a Healthy Bay. Find out how you can take action in your home and community to help protect the Bay.


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Tuesday, April 16: Boston Marathon Attack
Boston's spring ritual forever marred by an act of terror. Tonight we update the race to find those responsible, document the lives lost and look at the survivors' long road ahead to recovery. Plus … how do we all process this tragedy?
A special report: The Boston Marathon attack.
Show Resources:
Google has created a special 'person finder' in the wake of the explosions during Monday's Boston Marathon.
In addition, Boston Police are asking anyone who might be looking for a relative or loved one from Monday's marathon to call 617-635-4500.
Boston Police are asking anyone who might have photos, videos or other information from the area of the explosions near the finish line, to contact the tips line at 1-800-494-TIPS.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston, Inc. to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.


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Ask the Critic: The Best of Alphabet City
You have restaurant questions? We have answers. Where to take a dinner date? Restaurants good for parents or picky eaters? Food etiquette? Food and restaurant writer Carey Jones answers your questions. Email [email protected] to submit.
Editor's note: Here to answer your questions is senior managing editor, former SENY editor, and frequent author of our NYC restaurant reviews Carey Jones. We'll take a few of your questions each week and give you the New York restaurant advice you're looking for. Email [email protected] with the subject line Ask the Critic to submit your question!
This week on Ask the Critic: Getting to know Alphabet City.
Avenue B and Beyond
Dear Ask the Critic, My girlfriend just moved to Alphabet City (Avenue C). I know the East Village pretty well but haven't spent much time on the eastern edges of it because it's such a trek from the subway. I've heard that there are a lot of good bars and restaurants in the area but am not familiar with any of them. What are the must-visits?
Isn't Manhattan geography funny? We're happy to transfer subways or sit on a slow local train, but get more than a few long blocks off the grid and you're in uncharted territory.
I'm a fan of Alphabet City precisely because it's a bit isolated. Neighborhood spots feel like, well, neighborhood spots—welcoming and often not too crowded and not too pricey either—especially when compared to, say, the West Village. A few weeks ago, I sat at Ninth Street Espresso just east of Avenue C and marveled at how peaceful it felt. The room was well-lit and spacious. No one hovering by the walls, waiting to poach a table. Two friends lingered for an hour as their three-year-olds played with dolls on the floor, and no one looked askance. It was friendly, relaxed, and distinctly un-Manhattan. I mean that in the best of ways.
Ninth Street is a great place to start, if your days start with coffee, and there are two locations right in Alphabet City. The unusual sandwiches at Sunny & Annie's Deli would be the envy of many other neighborhoods. Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter is a place to know at all hours, with excellent fried chicken, pimento cheese sandwiches, bread pudding—you name it. While we're talking comfort food, check out cevapi and clotted cream sandwiches at the Serbian Kafana. Or just go for khachapuri, a genius Georgian invention that's something like a bread boat filled with melted cheese and egg, at Oda House on Avenue B; or goulash at the Hungarian Korzo Haus.
Looking for something a little more refined? Consider wine bar Maiden Lane, which has an enticing seafood menu, much of it high-end Spanish canned seafood (don't knock it 'til you've tried it). Back Forty is one of the city's original farm-to-table restaurants, and still very much worth a visit. Edi & The Wolf is your destination for modern Austrian fare, and its sister bar The Third Man a good bet for cocktails. For cutting-edge mixology, Pouring Ribbons is one of the most talked-about bars of the last year or two. But in this neck of the woods, I'm partial to the more laid-back drinking venues: 11th Street Bar with a great selection of affordable beers on tap, or the spacious, games-stocked Mona's, or The Wayland for bar eats and cocktails, or, my favorite, Evelyn. It's spacious enough to bring a group, but intimate enough to make friends; it's got cocktails the caliber of much better-known places, but for dollars less; it's easy to love, easy to drink at, and easy to end up spending a whole night.
I'd always thought Alphabet City a little too off-the-grid for my tastes; but now I'm realizing that once you're there, you never really have to leave.
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Email [email protected] with the subject line Ask the Critic to submit your question. All questions will be read, though unfortunately not all can be answered.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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CSPI on Mad Cow Disease Found in U.S.
Statement of Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal
The discovery of a BSE-infected cow in Washington state means that the USDA urgently needs to improve its protection of the human food supply. USDA needs to take several immediate steps to reduce the risk to consumers and the beef industry.
The largest gap in protection results from the government's failure to ban spinal columns and neck bones from the human food supply. The central nervous system tissue and nerves that exit the spinal cord (called the dorsal root ganglia) can carry the infectious agents for mad cow disease. USDA has found that certain ground beef products contain central nervous system tissue. That meat comes from machines called Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) Systems that squeeze meat and soft tissue off the neck bone and spinal column. CSPI petitioned the USDA in 2002 to ban the use of these cattle parts in meat production, but the USDA has failed to act.
Another critical gap is the lack of a mandatory animal identification system for cattle that tracks animals from birth to slaughter. These systems are widely used in other countries, including Canada, where it was instrumental in speeding the Canadian response to the discovery of mad cow disease.
While the risk from this single cow is minimal, the possibility that other cattle have been exposed and may be ill is not. Consumers can safely eat boneless cuts of beef. Bone-in beef is slightly higher in risk. The products that trigger greater concern include beef brain, and meat that contains the AMR ground beef products. These include ground beef (unless ground from whole muscle cuts), hot dogs, sausages, pizza toppings and taco fillings.
The discovery of one infected cow should trigger an aggressive response from USDA. To close existing gaps in consumer protection, steps are needed to track cattle from birth and better protect the food supply. USDA's willingness to delay action until an infected cow was discovered is a product of their conflicting mission: They must protect consumers while at the same time promoting U.S. beef internationally. Consumer protection has certainly fallen short.
Contact Jeff Cronin (jcronin[at]cspinet.org) or Ariana Stone (astone[at]cspinet.org).


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A list display is a possibly empty series of expressions enclosed in square brackets:
list_display: "[" [listmaker] "]" listmaker: expression ( list_for | ( "," expression)* [","] ) list_iter: list_for | list_if list_for: "for" expression_list "in" testlist [list_iter] list_if: "if" test [list_iter]
A list display yields a new list object. Its contents are specified by providing either a list of expressions or a list comprehension. When a comma-separated list of expressions is supplied, its elements are evaluated from left to right and placed into the list object in that order. When a list comprehension is supplied, it consists of a single expression followed by at least one for clause and zero or more for or if clauses. In this case, the elements of the new list are those that would be produced by considering each of the for or if clauses a block, nesting from left to right, and evaluating the expression to produce a list element each time the innermost block is reached.


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Trending News
Any info on Ampligen's FDA regulatory review process?
1 Answer
- Anonymous8 years agoFavorite Answer
Instructions for FDA Meeting Dec. 20, 2012: http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/Calendar/ucm...
December 20, 2012: Arthritis Advisory Committee Meeting Announcement
December 20, 2012
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
FDA White Oak Campus
Building 31
Great Room (Rm. 1503)
White Oak Conference Center
10903 New Hampshire Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland
AgendaThe committee will discuss new drug application (NDA) 22151, rintatolimod injection (proposed trade name AMPLIGEN) submitted by Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. for the treatment of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.Meeting MaterialsFDA intends to make background material available to the public no later than 2 business days before the meeting. If FDA is unable to post the background material on its Web site prior to the meeting, the background material will be made publicly available at the location of the advisory committee meeting, and the background material will be posted on FDA's Web site after the meeting.Background Material◦2012 Meeting Materials, Arthritis Advisory Committee
Public Participation InformationInterested persons may present data, information, or views, orally or in writing, on issues pending before the committee.◦Written submissions may be made to the contact person on or before December 6, 2012.
◦Oral presentations from the public will be scheduled between approximately 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on December 20, 2012. Those desiring to make formal oral presentations should notify the contact person and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the evidence or arguments they wish to present, the names and addresses of proposed participants, and an indication of the approximate time requested to make their presentation on or before November 28, 2012.
Time allotted for each presentation may be limited. If the number of registrants requesting to speak is greater than can be reasonably accommodated during the scheduled open public hearing session, FDA may conduct a lottery to determine the speakers for the scheduled open public hearing session. The contact person will notify interested persons regarding their request to speak by November 29, 2012.Webcast InformationCDER plans to provide a free of charge, live webcast of the December 20, 2012, meeting of the Arthritis Advisory Committee. While CDER is working to make webcasts available to the public for all advisory committee meetings held at the White Oak campus, there are instances where the webcast transmission is not successful; staff will work to re-establish the transmission as soon as possible. Further information regarding the webcast, including the web address for the webcast, will be made available at least 2 days in advance of the meeting at the following website: 2012 Meeting Materials, Arthritis Advisory Committee
CDER plans to post archived webcasts after the meeting, however, in cases where transmission was not successful, archived webcasts will not be available.Contact Information◦Yvette Waples, PharmD
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Phone: 301-796-9001
Fax: 301-847-8533
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
◦FDA Advisory Committee Information Line
1-800-741-8138 (301-443-0572 in the Washington DC area)
Please call the Information Line for up-to-date information on this meeting
A notice in the Federal Register about last minute modifications that impact a previously announced advisory committee meeting cannot always be published quickly enough to provide timely notice. Therefore, you should always check the agency's Web site and call the FDA Advisory Committee Information Line to learn about possible modifications before coming to the meeting.
Persons attending FDA's advisory committee meetings are advised that the agency is not responsible for providing access to electrical outlets. FDA welcomes the attendance of the public at its advisory committee meetings and will make every effort to accommodate persons with physical disabilities or special needs. If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact Yvette Waples at (301) 796-9001 at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.
Information regarding ground transportation, airport information, lodging, driving directions and visitor parking, and security can be accessed at: Public Meetings at the FDA White Oak Campus.
FDA is committed to the orderly conduct of its advisory committee meetings. Please visit our Web site at Public Conduct During FDA Advisory Committee Meetings
Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app.2).Source(s): http://www.mecfsforums.com/index.php/topic,13877.0... http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/Calendar/ucm...