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Rod Remelin
Famous Sayings
H. L. Mencken Quotes
Will Rogers Quotes
Ambrose Bierce
Mark Twain Quotes
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
Farewell Address
Fredrick Bastiat
The Law
Roger Sherman
Caveat Against Injustice
Lysander Spooner
No Treason
Andrew Jackson
Farewell Address
Merrill M. E. Jenkins
A Treatise on Monetary Reform
Andrew Jackson
Farewell Address
President Andrew Jackson's Farewell Address
Andrew Jackson was president from 1828 to 1836. This address was his final as a politician, delivered on March 4, 1837. Its significance lies in its prophecies. He warned against the expansion of the federal government, the debasement of the currency, the income tax and the perils of foreign intervention. Contrast Jackson's wisdom with many of the neuters and frauds who occupy Washington today. This address should be read and re-read. It has been moderately edited for length.
President Andrew Jackson wrote:
We have now lived almost 50 years under the Constitution framed by the sages and patriots of the revolution. The conflicts in which the nations of Europe were engaged during a great part of this period, the spirit in which they waged war against each other, and our intimate commercial connections with every part of the civilized world, rendered it a time of much difficulty for the government of the United States. We have had our seasons of peace and of war, with all the evils, which precede or follow a state of hostility with powerful nations. We encountered these trials with our Constitution yet in its infancy, and under the disadvantages, which a new and untried government must always feel when, it is called upon to put forth its whole strength without the lights of experience to guide it or the weight of precedents to justify its measures. But we have passed triumphantly through all these difficulties. Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment, and at the end of nearly half a century we find that it has preserved unimpaired the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property, and that our country has improved and is flourishing beyond any former example in the history of nations.
If we turn to our relations with foreign powers, we find our condition equally gratifying. Actuated by the sincere desire to do justice to every nation and to preserve the blessings of peace, our intercourse with them has been conducted on the part of this government in the spirit of frankness; and I take pleasure in saying that it has generally been met in a corresponding temper. Difficulties of old standings have been surmounted by friendly discussion and the mutual desire to be just, and the claims of our citizens, which have long been withheld, have at length been acknowledged and adjusted and satisfactory arrangements made for their final payment; and with a limited, and I trust a temporary, exception, our relations with every foreign power are now of the most friendly character, our commerce continually expanding and our flag respected in every quarter of the world.
Remember George Washington
The necessity of watching with jealous anxiety for the preservation of the union was earnestly pressed upon his fellow citizens by the father of his country in his farewell address. He has there told us that "while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands"; and he has cautioned us in the strongest terms against the formation of parties on geographical discriminations, as one of the means which might disturb our union and to which designing men would be likely to resort.
The lessons contained in this invaluable legacy of Washington to his countrymen should be cherished in the heart of every citizen to the latest generation; and perhaps at no period of time could they be more usefully remembered than at the present moment; for when we look upon the scenes that are passing around us and dwell upon the pages of his parting address, his paternal counsels would seem to be not merely the offspring of wisdom and foresight, but the voice of prophecy, foretelling events and warning us of the evil to come. Forty years have passed since this imperishable document was given to his countrymen.
The federal Constitution was then regarded by him as an experiment—and he so speaks of it in his address—but an experiment upon the success of which the best hopes of his country depended; and we all know that he was prepared to lay down his life, if necessary, to secure it a full and a fair trial. The trial has been made. It has succeeded beyond the proudest hopes of those who framed it. Every quarter of this widely extended nation has felt its blessings and shared in the general prosperity produced by its adoption.
But amid this general prosperity and splendid success the dangers of which he warned us are becoming every day more evident, and the signs of evil are sufficiently apparent to awaken the deepest anxiety in the bosom of the patriot. We behold systematic efforts publicly made to sow the seeds of discord between different parts of the United States and to place party divisions directly upon geographical distinctions; to excite the south against the north and the north against the south, and to force into the controversy the most delicate and exciting topics—topics upon which it is impossible that a large portion of the union can ever speak without strong emotion.
The Dangers of Sectionalism
Let it not be supposed that I impute to all of those who have taken an active part in these unwise and unprofitable discussions a want of patriotism or of public virtue. The honorable feeling of state pride and local attachments finds a place in the bosoms of the most enlightened and pure.
But while such men are conscious of their own integrity and honesty of purpose, they ought never to forget that the citizens of other states are their political brethren, and that however mistaken they may be in their views, the great body of them are equally honest and upright with themselves.
Mutual suspicions and reproaches may in time create mutual hostility, and artful and designing men will always be found who are ready to foment these fatal divisions and to inflame the natural jealousies of different sections of the country. The history of the world is full of such examples, and especially the history of republics. . . .
The first line of separation would not last for a single generation; new fragments would be torn off, new leaders would spring up, and this great and glorious republic would soon be broken into a multitude of petty states, without commerce, without credit, jealous of one another, armed for mutual aggression, loaded with taxes to pay armies and leaders, seeking aid against each other from foreign powers, insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe, until, harassed with conflicts and humbled and debased in spirit, they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any military adventurer and to surrender their liberty for the sake of repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that would inevitably follow the destruction of this government and not feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about the value of the union and have so constantly before us a line of conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties. . . .
But in order to maintain the union unimpaired it is absolutely necessary that the laws passed by the constituted authorities should be faithfully executed in every part of the country, and that every good citizen should at all times stand ready to put down, with the combined force of the nation, every attempt at unlawful resistance, under whatever pretext it may be made or whatever shape it may assume. Unconstitutional or oppressive laws may no doubt be passed by Congress, either from erroneous views or the want of due consideration; if they are within the reach of judicial authority, the remedy is easy and peaceful; and if, from the character of the law, it is an abuse of power not within the control of the judiciary, then free discussion and calm appeals to reason and to the justice of the people will not fail to redress the wrong.
But until the law shall be declared void by the courts or repealed by Congress no individual or combination of individuals can be justified in forcibly resisting its execution. It is impossible that any government can continue to exist upon any other principles. It would cease to be a government and be unworthy of the name if it had not the power to enforce the execution of its own laws within its own sphere of action.
It is true that cases may be imagined disclosing such a settled purpose of usurpation and oppression on the part of the government as would justify an appeal to arms. These, however, are extreme cases, which we have no reason to apprehend in a government where the power is in the hands of a patriotic people.
And no citizen who loves his country would in any case whatever resort to forcible resistance unless he clearly saw that the time had come when a freeman should prefer death to submission; for if such a struggle is once begun, and the citizens of one section of the country arrayed in arms against those of another in doubtful conflict, let the battle result as it may, there will be an end of the union and with it an end to the hopes of freedom. The victory of the injured would not secure to them the blessings of liberty; it would avenge their wrong, but they would themselves share in the common ruin.
But the Constitution cannot be maintained nor the union preserved, in opposition to public feeling, by the mere exertion of the coercive powers confided to the general government. The foundations must be laid in the affections of the people, in the security it gives to life, liberty, character and property in every quarter of the country, and in the fraternal attachment which the citizens of the several states bear to one another as members of one political family, mutually contributing to promote the happiness of each other. Hence the citizens of every state should studiously avoid everything calculated to wound the sensibility or offend the just pride of the people of other states, and they should frown upon any proceeding within their own borders likely to disturb the tranquility of their political brethren in other portions of the union.
In a country so extensive as the United States, and with pursuits so varied, the internal regulations of the several states must frequently differ from one another in important particulars, and this difference is unavoidably increased by the varying principles upon which the American colonies were originally planted—principles which had taken deep root in their social relations before the Revolution, and therefore of necessity influencing their policy since they became free and independent states. But each state has the unquestionable right to regulate its own internal concerns according to its own pleasure, and while it does not interfere with the rights of the people of other states or the rights of the union, every state must be the sole judge of the measures proper to secure the safety of its citizens and promote their happiness; and all efforts on the part of the people of other states to cast odium upon their institutions, and all measures calculated to disturb their rights of property or to put in jeopardy their peace and internal tranquility, are in direct opposition to the spirit in which the union was formed, and must endanger its safety. . . .
In the legislation of Congress, also, and in every measure of the general government, justice to every portion of the United States should be faithfully observed. No free government can stand without virtue in the people and a lofty spirit of patriotism, and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness shall usurp the place, which ought to be filled by public spirit, the legislation of Congress will soon be converted into a scramble for personal and sectional advantages.
Under our free institutions the citizens of every quarter of our country are capable of attaining a high degree of prosperity and happiness without seeking to profit themselves at the expense of others; and every such attempt must in the end fail to succeed, for the people in every part of the United States are too enlightened not to understand their own rights and interests and to detect and defeat every effort to gain undue advantages over them; and when such designs are discovered it naturally provokes resentments which cannot always be easily allayed. Justice—full and ample justice—to every portion of the United States should be the ruling principle of every freeman and should guide the deliberations of every public body, whether it is state or national.
Against Enlargement of Government
It is well known that there have always been those among us who wish to enlarge the powers of the general government, and experience would seem to indicate that there is a tendency on the part of this government to overstep the boundaries marked out for it by the Constitution. Its legitimate authority is abundantly sufficient for all the purposes for which it was created, and its powers being expressly enumerated; there can be no justification for claiming anything beyond them.
Every attempt to exercise power beyond these limits should be promptly and firmly opposed, for one evil example will lead to other measures still more mischievous; and if the principle of constructive powers or supposed advantages or temporary circumstances shall ever be permitted to justify the assumption of a power not given by the Constitution, the general government will before long absorb all the powers of legislation, and you will have in effect but one consolidated government. From the extent of our country, its diversified interests, different pursuits and different habits, it is too obvious for argument that a single consolidated government would be wholly inadequate to watch over and protect its interests; and every friend of our free institutions should be always prepared to maintain unimpaired and in full vigor the rights and sovereignty of the states and to confine the action of the general government strictly to the sphere of its appropriate duties.
Abuse of Taxing Power
There is, perhaps, no one of the powers conferred on the federal government so liable to abuse than the taxing power. The productive and convenient source of revenue were necessarily given to it, that it might be able to perform the important duties imposed upon it; and the taxes which it lays upon commerce being concealed from the real tax payer in the price of the article, they do not so readily attract the attention of the people as smaller sums demanded from them directly by the tax gatherer. But the tax imposed on goods enhances by so much the price of the commodity to the consumer, and as many of these duties are imposed on articles of necessity, which are daily used, by the great body of the people, the money raised by these imports is drawn from their pockets.
Congress has no right under the Constitution to take money from the people unless it is equipped to execute some one of the specific powers entrusted to the government; and if they raise more than is necessary for such purposes, it is an abuse of the power of taxation, and unjust and oppressive. It may indeed happen that the revenue will sometimes exceed the amount anticipated when the taxes were laid.
When, however, this is ascertained, it is easy to reduce them, and in such a case it is unquestionably the duty of the government to reduce them, for no circumstances can justify it in assuming a power not given to it by the Constitution nor taking away the money of the people when it is not needed for the legitimate wants of the government.
Plain as these principles appear to be, you will yet find there is a constant effort to induce the general government to go beyond the limits of its taxing power and to impose unnecessary burdens upon the people. Many powerful interests are continually at work to produce heavy duties on commerce and to swell the revenue beyond the real necessities of the public service, and the country has already felt the injurious effects of their combined influence. They succeeded in obtaining a tariff of duties bearing most oppressively on the agriculture and laboring classes of society and producing a revenue that could not be usefully employed within the range of the powers conferred upon congress, and in order to fasten upon the people this unjust and unequal system of taxation extravagant schemes of internal improvement were got up in various quarters to squander the money and to purchase support, thus one unconstitutional measure was intended to be upheld by another, and the abuse of the power of taxation was to be maintained by usurping the power of expending the money in internal improvements. You cannot have forgotten the severe and doubtful struggle through which we passed when the executive department of the government by its veto endeavored to arrest this prodigal scheme of injustice and to bring back the legislation of congress to the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution. The good sense and practical judgment of the people when the subject was brought before them sustained the course of the executive, and this plan of unconstitutional expenditures for the purpose of corrupt influence, is I trust, finally overthrown.
The result of this decision has been felt in the rapid extinguishments of the public debt and the large accumulation of a surplus in the treasury, notwithstanding the tariff was reduced and is now very far below the amount originally contemplated by its advocates.
But, rely upon it, the design to collect an extravagant revenue and burden you with taxes beyond the economical wants of the government is not yet abandoned. The various interests, which have combined together, to impose a heavy tariff and to produce an overflowing treasury are too strong and have too much at stake to surrender the contest. The corporations and wealthy individuals who are engaged in large manufacturing establishments desire a high tariff to increase their gains. Designing politicians will support it to conciliate their favor and to obtain the means of profuse expenditure for the purpose of purchasing influence in other quarters; and since the people have decided that the federal government cannot be permitted to employ its income in internal improvements, efforts will be made to seduce and mislead the citizens of the several states by holding out to them the deceitful prospect of benefits to be derived from a surplus revenue collected by the general government and annually divided among the states; and if, encouraged by these fallacious hopes, the states should disregard the principles of economy which ought to characterize every republican government, and should indulge in lavish expenditures exceeding their resources, they will before long find themselves oppressed with debts which they are simply unable to pay, and the temptation will become irresistible to support high tariff in order to obtain a surplus for distribution. Do not allow yourselves, my fellow citizens, to be misled on this subject. The federal government cannot collect a surplus for such purposes without violating the principles or the Constitution and assuming powers, which have not been granted.
It is, moreover, a system of injustice, and if persisted in will inevitably lead to corruption, and must end in ruin. The surplus revenue will be drawn from the pockets of the people—from the farmer, the mechanic, the laboring classes of society; but who will receive it when distributed among the states, where it is to be disposed of by leading state politicians, who have friends of favor and political partisans to gratify? It will certainly not be returned to those who paid it and who have most need of it and are honestly entitled to it. There is but one safe rule, and that is to confine the general government rigidly within the sphere of its appropriate duties. It has no power to raise revenue or impose taxes except for those purposes enumerated in the Constitution, and if its income is found to exceed these wants it should be forthwith reduced and the burden of the people so far lightened.
Beware of the Money Powers
In reviewing the conflicts, which have taken place between different interests in the United States and the policy pursued since the adoption of our present form of government, we find nothing that has produced such deep-seated evil as the course of legislation in relation to the currency. The Constitution of the United States unquestionably intended to secure to the people a circulating medium of gold and silver. But the establishment of a national bank by Congress, with the privilege of issuing paper money receivable in the payment of the public dues, and the unfortunate course of legislation in the several states upon the same subject, drove from circulation the constitutional currency and substituted one of paper in its place.
It was not easy for men engaged in the ordinary pursuits of business, whose attention had not been particularly drawn to the subject, to foresee all the consequences of a currency exclusively of paper, and we ought not on that account to be surprised at the facility with which laws were obtained to carry into effect the paper system. The specious and plausible statements of the designing sometimes mislead honest and even enlightened men. But experience has now proved the mischiefs and dangers of a paper currency; and it rests with you to determine whether the proper remedy shall be applied.
The paper system being founded on public confidence and having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sudden fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure and the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations, which create the paper money, cannot be relied upon to keep the circulating medium uniform in amount.
In times of prosperity, when confidence is high, they are tempted by the prospect of gain or by influence of those who hope to profit by it to extend their issue of paper beyond the bounds of discretion and the reasonable demands of business; and when these issues have been pushed on from day to day, until the public confidence is at length shaken, then a reaction takes place, and they immediately withdraw the credits they have given, suddenly curtail their issues and produce an unexpected and ruinous contraction of the circulating medium, which is felt by the whole community. The banks by this means save themselves, and the mischievous consequences of their imprudence or cupidity are visited upon the public. Nor does the evil stop here. These ebbs and flows in the currency and these indiscreet extensions of credit naturally engender a spirit of speculation injurious to the habits and character of the people. We have already seen its effects in the wild spirit of speculation in the public lands and various kinds of stock which within the last year or two seized upon such a multitude of our citizens and threatened to pervade all classes of society and to withdraw their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry.
It is not by encouraging this spirit that we shall best preserve public virtue and promote the true interests of our country; but if your currency continues as exclusively paper as it now is, it will foster this eager desire to amass wealth without labor, it will multiply the number of dependents on bank accommodations and bank favors; the temptation to obtain money at any sacrifice will become stronger and stronger, and inevitably lead to corruptions, which will find its way into your public councils and destroy at no distant day the purity of your government. Some of the evils, which arise from this system of paper, press with peculiar hardship upon the class of society least able to bear it. A portion of this currency frequently becomes depreciated or worthless, and all of it is easily counterfeited in such a manner as to require peculiar skill and much experience to distinguish the counterfeit from the genuine note. These frauds are most generally perpetrated in the smaller notes, which are used in the daily transactions of ordinary business, and the losses occasioned by them are commonly thrown upon the laboring classes of society, whose situation and pursuits put it out of their power to guard themselves from its impositions, and whose daily wages are necessary for their subsistence. It is the duty of every government so to regulate its currency as to protect this numerous class, as far as practicable, from the imposition of avarice and fraud. It is more especially the duty of the United States, where the government is emphatically the government of the people, and where this respectable portion of our citizens are so proudly distinguished from the laboring classes of all other nations by their independent spirit, their love of liberty, their intelligence and their high tone of moral character. Their industry in peace is the source of our wealth and their bravery in war has covered us with glory; and the government of the United States will but ill discharge its duties if it leaves them a prey to such dishonest impositions. Yet it is evident that their interest cannot be effectually protected unless silver and gold are restored to circulation.
These views alone of the paper currency are sufficient to call for immediate reform; but there is another consideration, which should still more strongly press it upon your attention.
Recent events have proved that the paper-money system of this country may be used as an engine to undermine your free institutions, and that those who desire to engross all power in the hands of a few and to govern by corruption or force are aware of its power and prepared to employ it. Your banks now furnish your only circulating medium, and money is plenty or scarce according to the quantity of notes issued by them. While they have capitals not greatly disproportioned to each other, they are competitors in business, and no one of them can exercise dominion over the rest; and although in the present state of the currency these banks may and do operate injuriously upon the habits of business, the pecuniary concerns and the moral tone of society, yet, from their number and dispersed situation, they cannot combine for the purposes of political influence, and whatever may be the dispositions of some of their power of mischief must necessarily be confined to a narrow space and felt only in their immediate neighborhoods.
But when the charter of the Bank of the United States was obtained from Congress, it perfected the schemes of the paper system and gave its advocates the position they have struggled to obtain from the commencement of the federal government to the present hour. The immense capital and peculiar privileges bestowed upon it enabled it to exercise despotic sway over the other banks in every part of the country. From its superior strength it could seriously injure, if not destroy, the business of any one of them, which might incur its resentment; and it openly claimed for itself the power of regulating the currency throughout the United States. In other words, it asserted (and undoubtedly possessed) the power to make money plenty or scarce at its pleasure, at any time and in any quarter of the union, by controlling the issues of other banks and permitting an expansion or compelling a general contraction of the circulating medium, ac cording to its own will.
The other banking institutions were sensible of its strength, and they soon generally became its obedient instruments, ready at all times to execute its mandates; and with the banks necessarily went also that numerous class of persons in our commercial cities who depend altogether on bank credits for their solvency and means of business, and who are therefore obliged, for their own safety, to propitiate the favor of the money power by distinguished zeal and devotion in its service. The result of the ill-advised legislation which established this great monopoly was to concentrate the whole money power of the union, with its boundless means of corruption and its numerous dependents, under the direction and command of one acknowledged head, thus organizing this particular interest as one body and securing to it unity and concert of action throughout the United States, and enabling it to bring forward upon any occasion its entire and undivided strength to support or defeat any measure of the government. In the hands of this formidable power, thus perfectly organized, was also placed unlimited dominion over the amount or the circulating medium, giving it the power to regulate the amount of the circulating medium, and to regulate the value of property and the fruits of labor in every quarter of the union, and to bestow prosperity or bring ruin upon any city or section of the country as might best comport with its own interest or policy.
We are not left to conjecture how the moneyed power thus organized and with such a weapon in its hands, would likely to use it. The distress and alarm which pervaded and agitated the whole country when the Bank of the United States waged war upon the people in order to compel them to submit to its demands cannot yet be forgotten. The ruthless and unsparing temper with which whole cities and communities were oppressed, individuals impoverished and ruined, and a scene of cheerful prosperity suddenly changed into one of gloom and despondency ought to be indelibly impressed on the memory of the people of the United States. If such was its power in a time of peace, what would it not have been in a season of war, with an enemy at your doors? No nation but the freemen of the United States could have come out victorious from such a contest; yet, if you had not conquered, the government would have passed from the hands of the many to the hands of the few, and this organized money power from its secret conclave would have directed the choice of your highest officers and compelled you to make peace or war, as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your government might for a time have remained, but its living spirit would have departed from it.
The distress and sufferings inflicted on the people by the bank are some of the fruits of that system of policy, which is continually striving to enlarge the authority of the federal government beyond the limits fixed by the Constitution. The powers enumerated in that instrument do not confer on Congress the right to establish such a corporation as the Bank of the United States, and the evil consequences which followed may warn us of the danger of departing from the true rule of construction and of permitting temporary circumstances or the hope of better promoting the public welfare to influence in any degree our decisions upon the extent of the authority of the general government. Let us abide by the Constitution as it is written, or amend it in the constitutional mode if it is found defective.
Predicting the Federal Reserve
The severe lessons of experience will, I doubt not, be sufficient to prevent Congress from again chartering such a monopoly, even if the Constitution did not present an insuperable objection to it. But you must remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your states as well as in the federal government.
The power, which the moneyed interest can exercise, when concentrated under a single head and with our present system of currency, was sufficiently demonstrated in the struggle made by the Bank of the United States. Defeated in the general government, the same class of intriguers and politicians will resort to the states and endeavor to obtain there the same organization which they failed to perpetuate in the union; and with specious and deceitful plans of public advantages and state interests and state pride they will endeavor to establish in the different states one moneyed institution with overgrown capital and exclusive privileges sufficient to enable it to control the operations of the other banks. Such an institution will be pregnant with the same evils produced by the Bank of the United States, although its sphere of action is more confined, and in the state in which it is chartered the money power will be able to embody its whole strength and to move together with undivided force to accomplish any object it may wish to attain. You have already had abundant evidence of its power to inflict injury upon agricultural, mechanical and laboring classes of society, and over whose engagements in trade or speculation render them dependent on bank facilities the dominion of the state monopoly will be absolute and their obedience unlimited. With such a bank and a paper currency the money power would in a few years govern the state and control its measures, and if a sufficient number of states can be induced to create such establishments the time will soon come when it will again take the field against the United States and succeed in perfecting and perpetuating its organization by a charter from Congress.
It is one of the serious evils of our present system of banking that it enables one class of society—and that by no means a numerous one—by its control over the currency, to act injuriously upon the interests of all the others and to exercise more than its just proportion of influence in political affairs. The agricultural, the mechanical and the laboring classes have little or no share in the direction of the great moneyed corporations, and from their habits and the nature of their pursuits they are incapable of forming extensive combinations to act together with united force. Such concert of action may sometimes be produced in a single city or in a small district of country by means of personal communications with each other, but they have no regular or active correspondence with those who are engaged in similar pursuits in distant places; they have but little patronage to give the press, and exercise but a small share of influence over it; they have no crowd of dependents about them who hope to grow rich without labor by their countenance and favor, and who are therefore always ready to execute their wishes.
The planter, the farmer, the mechanic and the laborer all know that their success depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the people of the United States; they are the bone and sinew of the country—men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws, and who, moreover, hold the great mass of our national wealth, although it is distributed in moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who possess it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side they are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the government, and with difficulty maintain their just rights against the incessant efforts daily made to encroach upon them. The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency which they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges which they have succeeded in obtaining in the different states, and which are employed altogether for their benefit; and unless you become more watchful in your states and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find that the most important powers of government have been given or bartered away, and the control over your dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations.
The paper money system and its natural association—monopoly and exclusive privilege—have already struck their roots too deep in the soil, and will require all your efforts to check its further growth and to eradicate the evil. The men who profit by these abuses and desire to perpetuate them will continue to besiege the halls of legislation in the general government as well as in the states, and will seek by every artifice to mislead and deceive the public servants. It is to yourselves that you must look for safety and the means of guarding and perpetuating your free institutions. In your hands is rightfully placed the sovereignty of the country, and to you everyone placed in authority is ultimately responsible. It is always in your power to see that the wishes of the people are carried into faithful execution, and their will, when once made known, must sooner or later be obeyed; and while the people remain, as I trust they ever will, uncorrupted and incorruptible, and continue watchful and jealous of their rights, the government is safe, and the cause of freedom will continue to triumph over all its enemies.
But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your part to rid yourselves of the iniquities and mischief's of the paper system and to check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support. So many interests are united to resist all reform on this subject that you must not hope the conflict will be neither a short one nor success easy. My humble efforts have not been spared during my administration of the government to restore the constitutional currency of gold and silver, and something, I trust, has been done toward the accomplishment of this most desirable object; but enough yet remains to require all your energy and perseverance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the remedy must and will be applied if you determine upon it.
Protecting America's Borders
While I am thus endeavoring to press upon your attention the principles, which I deem of vital importance in the domestic concerns of the country, I ought not to pass over without notice the important considerations, which should govern your policy toward foreign powers.
It is unquestionably our true interest to cultivate the friendliest understanding with every nation and to avoid by every honorable means the calamities of war, and we shall best attain this object by frankness and sincerity in our foreign intercourse, by the prompt and faithful execution of treaties and by justice and impartiality in our conduct to all.
But no nation, however desirous of peace, can hope to escape occasional collisions and the soundest dictates of policy require that we should place ourselves in a condition to assert our rights if a resort to force should ever become necessary. Our local situation, our long line of seacoast, indented by numerous bays, with deep rivers opening into the interior, as well as our extended and still increasing commerce, point to the Navy as our natural means of defense. It will in the end be found to be the cheapest and most effectual, and now is the time, in a season of peace and with overflowing revenue, that we can year after year add to its strength without increasing the burdens of the people.
In presenting to you, my fellow citizens, these parting counsels, I have brought before you the leading principles upon which I endeavored to administer the government in the high office with which you twice honored me. Knowing that enemies who often assume the disguise of friends continually beset the path of freedom, I have devoted the last hours of my public life to warn you of the dangers. The progress of the United States under our free and happy institutions has surpassed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the republic.
Our growth has been rapid beyond all former example in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge and all the useful arts which contribute to the comforts and convenience of man, and from the earliest ages of history to the present day there never have been 13 millions of people associated in one political body who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad; your strength and power are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. It is from within, among you—from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition and inordinate thirst for power—which factions will be formed and liberty endangered.
It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He who holds in His hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors He has bestowed and enable you, with pure hearts and pure hands and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge He has committed to your keeping.
My own race is nearly run; advanced age and failing health warn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of human events and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. I thank God that my life has been spent in a land of liberty and that He has given me a heart to love my country with the affection of a son. And filled with gratitude for your constant and unwavering kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate farewell.
~Andrew Jackson
Thoughts On Andrew Jackson's Farewell Addres
By Rod Remelin
After having read Andrew Jackson's farewell speech, it became apparent to me that the views and admonitions of such a great man concerning the country he loved, would today fall on mostly deaf ears, as the character of such eloquently expressed advice would have no association to land upon amongst an intellectually and spiritually bankrupt nation of slaves and sycophants.
Jackson's vision of a potential future version of America is all the more prescient when weighing in his detailed warnings of the horrific frauds visited by paper currency, eventually becoming embodied and enshrined within the Federal Reserve.
I marvel at such a man, a man with genuine courage and stalwart character, with highly developed powers of discernment who never gave quarter for quarters sake, nor allowed pernicious seeds of expediency to cloud his sense of duty to America.
If it were not for his thoughts and men of similar character, having been transmitted to future generations by a remnant of the flame, I can think of nowhere today where such examples exist in which to rekindle the hearts of men.
The irony of such a well-written and substantive accounting of our times can be found within this highly articulate address; sadly the grammar used to convey such clear thinking is beyond the current literacy levels of the many to really appreciate such linguistic precision.
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on the ar-15/m16 the headspace in on the barrel extension. the barrel extension threads on the barrel and is set to a standard HS if the barrel is properly set up.
to change the headspace on a barrel/barrel extension you would have to remove the set pin and tighten or loosen the barrel extension to get the correct space, then re insert the barrel pin. the downside is if the gas port is drilled it is now going to be "off".
Hess/Vulcan and SARCO have shipped barrels with the gas port off that was either welded over and re drilled of just left canted. pretty messy job to clean up a furbar. it is usually cheaper to replace than fix it.
a new barrel and a new bolt will work perfectly (mostly) and a new bolt and a used barrel are generally OK , a used barrel and a used bolt from another set up may be out--
generally it pays to check them all. the modular AR/M16 will generally have the HS on the money PROVIDED the makers stuck to the blueprint specs for the barrel/bolt. 99.5% of the time they do on s USGI type build.
on match type builds sometimes the chamber has to be honed cause they will set the HS to standard but leave a overly tight chamber for the smith to finish.
some makers on exotic conversions like 6.5G and 6.8SPC have used a not standard HS on the bolt and the extension.

subset: commoncrawl


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"World's Worst Tattoo Fixed" Says All News Media
What the internet has deemed the "World's Worst Portrait Tattoo" (which is a pretty fair assessment) was given a great make-over by Scott Versago of Empire Ink in Akron, Ohio ... and the world has rejoiced.
I'm actually really surprised how this became an international news sensation, but it is a sweet story. Here's what Scott posted on Facebook along with the photo above.
I got to tackle the official "#1 worst portrait tattoo in the world" today. I'm sure you've all seen it a million times online, as had I. I couldn't believe my eyes when this guy walked in and showed me this project. I think my jaw literally hit the floor. He went on to tell me the story behind the portrait; He had just married his beautiful wife and not even a month afterwards she was killed in a horrible house fire accident leaving him to raise their child alone. Shortly after he went to a local tattoo studio to memorialize his wife and was left with this abomination. He later returned to that studio for one more session, thinking that perhaps "he had done something wrong in the healing of the tattoo" and they butchered it even more the second time. Finally, he drove all the way to my studio, Empire Ink, just to meet me and to see what his options were. Touched by his story, I gifted the entire project to him for free. Now he has closure and I have an amazing story to add to my portfolio!For more on the story, you can check this Fox News TV interview with Scott and Chad Stahl, who now has a more fitting tribute to his wife.
Chad Stahl
Empire Ink
Scott Versago
Worst Portrait Tattoo


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Article XIV
Established upon approval by the Conference at its Seventh Session (1953, Resolution 33/53) of the Commission's Constitution, which came into force on 12 June 1954.
Constitution amended at the Ninth (1962), 20th (1973), 22nd (1977), 28th (1989) and 32nd Sessions of the Commission and subsequently approved by the 39th (1962, Resolution 3/39), 61st (1973, Resolution 5/61), 72nd (1977, Resolution 5/72), 96th (1989, Resolution 2/96) and 113th (1997) Sessions of the Council, respectively.
Adopted at the Second Session (1955); amended at the Ninth (1962), 11th (1964), 20th (1973), 28th (1989) and 32nd (1997) Sessions.
To promote and coordinate national and international action for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Europe.
Open to such European Member Nations of FAO and to such European Members of the International Office of Epizootics that are Members of the United Nations as accept the Constitution of the Commission in accordance with Article XV thereof. Other European States that are Members of the United Nations, any of its Specialized Agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency may be admitted as Members by a two-thirds majority of the Commission's Membership. Membership entails the obligation of contributing to the Commission's budget in accordance with a scale of contributions determined by the Commission.
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European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
The Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease has the possibility to establish, "temporary, special or standing committees to study and report on matters pertaining to the purpose of the Commission".
An eight-member Executive Committee with one Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen - elected by the Commission at the General Session - governs the Commission between the Sessions.
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Regular price
A beautiful crushed velvet mannequin in an old gold.
I call these my seamless mannequins because they only have one seam running down each side. The cover is fixed to the mannequin.
Mannequin Postage CostsShipped worldwide from the United Kingdom. All deliveries are fully traceable and require a signature at delivery. Your mannequin will be made to order so please expect to wait up to 28 days for delivery, longer if international.Costs are as followsUK £18 USA £60 Canada £60 Australia £90 Hong Kong £90
For all other destinations, please email for a shipping quote.
PackingAll mannequins are carefully wrapped in bubblewrap and boxed in a strong, double walled, box for safe delivery. Mannequins are sent dismantled and require a small amount of reassembly ie legs will need to be attached to the base.
Mannequin Sizes All mannequins are height adjustable and longer poles are available if you need a taller mannequin. All measurements below are approximate.
Female UK 8/10 (USA 6/8) 33.5" (85cm) bust 22" (56cm) waist 33" (84cm) hips shoulder height 54"-57"
Female UK 10/12 (USA 8/10) 36" (91cm) bust 24" (61cm) waist 36" (91cm) hips shoulder height 54"-57"
Corset & Laced or Flat Backed The back of your mannequins can be tailored with a corset & laced finish (not available on all mannequins) or hand stitched on one side creating a flat back.
Need help with your order? Get in touch here.


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I don't have a lot of pictures from what we've done lately, but we've been busy as always.
Last Friday night after Brandon's soft ball game we dragged the mattress downstairs and had a sleepover in our family room. It was so fun and we also learned that we will never have a TV in our bedroom! Otherwise we will never sleep. :)
We went to the Oquirhh Mountain Temple open house last Saturday. Didn't take any pictures.
Sunday we were able to spend time with both of our dads. Why anyone ever moves away from family is beyond me. I'm lucky I married someone whose family lives close to mine.
I woke Brandon up on Father's Day with a breakfast of bacon, hole in the wall, and orange juice. I resisted taking a picture. I was tempted though. :)
I also bought him a Wii for Father's Day. If you come over to our house you might find us doing a little of this:
Next up. Buying at least another controller and some more games. Suggestions are welcome.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I don't have a lot of pictures from what we've done lately, but we've been busy as always.
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 1:34 PM 6 comments
Thursday, June 18, 2009
I Love Living in Utah
I know a lot of you think that sounds crazy, to love living in Utah, but I think this place is the BEST and I never want to leave.
Last night we went to a dinner in Salt Lake with Ross and Haley. We go to a lot of these dinners with Nu Skin tickets. Last night it was a Larry H. Miller something something Diabetes Awareness night. It was at the Grand America Hotel. The food was amazing, the program was actually good, and we were surprised to see that Elder. M. Russell Ballard was speaking. How cool is that? And when does that happen outside of Utah?
Yes, I took pictures of my food. :)
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 11:47 AM 6 comments
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
3 Years
Yesterday Brandon and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. It was the best day ever!
When I got to work in the morning I saw these flowers on my desk and I was like wow, Brandon got me flowers! I can't believe it. But then I read the card and realized they were from one of the doctors I work for who is leaving us and wanted to thank me for everything. Ha ha. Good timing though! They are beautiful.
I worked a total of 3.87 hours yesterday. That, in and of itself, would have made it a great day. But there was so much more to it.
Brandon came to my work and we enjoyed sandwiches from Jason's Deli. We left work early at around 3 I think, went home and relaxed, walked on the Provo River Trail for about 5 minutes before we were swarmed with mosquitoes, went and did a little shopping (you can tell you've been married for 3 years when the items you look at in the store are a shower curtain, shoes, blenders, toasters, and vacuums....so romantic).
Here we are at the river before we {literally} made a run for it back to our car to escape the mosquitoes.
Later in the evening we went to eat at our very favorite restaurant, Tepanyaki. The only place on the planet where meat melts in your mouth. We ended up sitting at the same table as my cousin Jenny who I haven't seen forever. It was random, but really fun.
After dinner we went and saw Angels and Demons (highly recommend it) and coming out of the movie we saw Jenny and her date AGAIN. So funny.
Thanks Bran for such a fun day yesterday! We sure have been through a lot these last 3 years, and I know no one else in the world could handle being married to me so I'm very grateful to have Brandon in my life. He is such a great husband!
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 8:58 AM 11 comments
Monday, June 8, 2009
Cabin Adventures
Well, I had a great weekend at the cabin. It was so weird on Friday to think I could have just still be sitting in my desk at my office but instead I was up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone coverage, TV, electricity, or even plumbing. I always love being up there. It's such a magical place for me.
Here's a deer that was as close to the cabin as I'd ever seen one. I still get as excited to see deer as I used to as a little girl.
We played tons of card games and board games. I love how Josh holds his cards. In a big jumble. I was teasing him about it and he said "well, I can see all of them." And I guess that's the point.
Apparently when Ella takes a nap she rolls up like a little potato bug. It was so cute!
Brandon and Holly cracking nuts for the chipmunks (or as Ella calls them, "chikmunks").
Me and Bran by the stream.
Me and Bran by the lake (pictures courtesy of Holly).
We spent a ton of time on Friday and Saturday playing Sardines. I had never heard of it before but it's hide and seek with a little twist. One person hides and everyone else splits up to go look for them. When you find the person that's hiding, you hide with them, until everyone has found the hiding spot. It was seriously so much fun. The boundaries were a pretty big radius around the cabin. The possibilities were endless.
Hiding in the shed...
My parents are so cute!
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 2:17 PM 7 comments
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Calling it a Week
Well, I'm calling it a week and starting my weekend early. In a few hours I am heading here:
Unfortuntately, the pipes are broken so for the next 2 days I will be going to the bathroom here:
And getting water from this mountain:
Hopefully it's still fun. Can't wait till Brandon joins me there tomorrow!
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 2:43 PM 7 comments
Monday, June 1, 2009
Action Packed Weekend
May was such an awesome month. To tell you just how awesome, I have 272 pictures in my May folder. A lot went on.
We ended the month with a really busy, really fun weekend. Friday night we went to our friends Michael and Ashli's place to hang out with them. We grilled burgers, played some old school games (Yahtzee) and some new school games (Wii) and then watched Transformers. It was such a fun night and long over due.
Saturday we slept in till 11 (ahhh...the joys of not having kids. and the effects of me staying up till 2:30 and Bran staying up till 5:30) and then babysat these two beauties.
Haley. Just chillin' on the porch eating a popsicle (summer time rocks).
Here's sweet Brynlee who has now learned to sit up and was so much fun to play with.
Saturday night we went to a murder mystery dinner at Ross and Cyleste's house. It was a ton of fun. The theme was guys and dolls.
Here's the whole group.
Me and Bran. His character was Johnny Angel, and mine was Barby Q.
For dinner we created our own shish kabobs and they were absolutely a-MAZ-ing.
Everyone made fun of me for taking pictures of the food but I just couldn't help it!
Posted by Stephanie Salmon at 3:35 PM 8 comments


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XIX International AIDS Conference opening ceremony. Speeches by the Elizabeth Taylor award winners of 2012, political and religious leaders, leaders of international agencies such as UNAIDS, IAS, The Global Fund, The World Bank and UN, and many other delegates.


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How ABC, CBS, and NBC Attack America's Terror-Fighting
Tactics as Dangerous, Abusive and Illegal
By Rich Noyes, MRC Research Director
September 11, 2006
Executive Summary
In the five years since al-Qaeda terrorists killed nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001, both international critics and domestic groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have suggested that the American government's tactics in the War on Terror are as frightening as terrorism itself. These mostly liberal critics portray the Bush administration as trampling on the civil rights of ordinary Americans, abusing the human rights of captured terrorists and acting without regard to the rule of law.Unfortunately, the broadcast networks are using this Bush-bashing spin as the starting point for much of their coverage of the War on Terror. An analysis by the Media Research Center finds network reporters are presuming the worst about the government's anti-terror efforts, and permitting their coverage to be driven by the agenda of leftist groups such as the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights. While some on the Left have claimed the media were enthusiastic boosters of the Bush administration in the days after 9/11, the MRC found that network reporters began to question the idea of a vigorous War on Terror within days of the attacks.MRC analysts analyzed 496 stories that aired on ABC's World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News between September 11, 2001 and August 31, 2006. They examined all evening news stories about three major elements of the post-9/11 war on terrorism: the treatment of captured terrorists at Guantanamo Bay (277 stories); the National Security Agency's program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists calling to or from the U.S. (128 stories); and the USA Patriot Act (91 stories). Major findings:■ Most TV news stories about the Patriot Act (62%) highlighted complaints or fears that the law infringed on the civil liberties of innocent Americans. This theme emerged immediately after the law was first proposed in September 2001, less than a week after the 9/11 attacks. Only one report (on NBC) suggested the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism measures "may not be enough."■ ABC, CBS and NBC heavily favored critics of the Patriot Act. Of 23 soundbites from "experts" (such as law professors or ex-FBI agents), 61 percent faulted the law as a threat to privacy rights. Of 19 soundbites from ordinary citizens, every one condemned the Patriot Act, despite polls showing most Americans support the Patriot Act and believe it has prevented new acts of terrorism.
■ Most of the network coverage of Guantanamo Bay focused on charges that the captured al-Qaeda terrorists were due additional rights or privileges (100 stories) or allegations that detainees were being mistreated or abused (105 stories). Only 39 stories described the inmates as dangerous, and just six stories revealed that ex-detainees had committed new acts of terror after being released.
■ Network reporters largely portrayed the Guantanamo inmates as victims, with about one in seven stories including the word "torture." The networks aired a total of 46 soundbites from Guantanamo prisoners, their families or lawyers, most professing innocence or complaining about mistreatment. Not one report about the Guantanamo prisoners included a comment from 9/11 victims, their families or lawyers speaking on their behalf.
■ Most network stories (59%) cast the NSA's post 9/11 terrorist surveillance program as either legally dubious or outright illegal. Exactly half of the news stories (64) framed it as a civil liberties problem, while 38 stories saw the President provoking a constitutional crisis with Congress and the courts. Only 21 stories (16%) focused on the program's value as a weapon in the War on Terror.
■ ABC, CBS, and NBC were five times more likely to showcase experts who criticized the NSA's surveillance program. Of 75 total soundbites, 41 of them (55%) condemned the program, compared to just eight (11%) from experts who found it worth praising. The CBS Evening News has so far refused to show any pro-NSA experts.
The debate is not about whether reporters can challenge a president and his policies during a time of war. Of course they can. But the networks have chosen to highlight the complaints of those who paint the Bush administration as a danger equal to or greater than the terrorists themselves. Reporters could have spent the past five years challenging the administration with an agenda most Americans share, demanding that the government do everything within its lawful powers to protect the public and prevent another attack. Instead, liberal reporters have opted to join the ACLU in fretting that the War on Terror has already gone too far.


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2012 has been a crazy year in the mobile industry. The industry was mainly dominated by Samsung and Apple this year, with the likes of HTC and Sony struggling to stay afloat. Earlier this year, Google shocked everyone buy buying Motorola for 12.5$ billion. Later on, Apple shocked everyone and caused a lot of trouble to its iDevices owners by ditching Google Maps for its own in-house mapping system, Apple Maps. This eventually led to Tim Cook firing Scott Forstall, who was the senior vice-president of iOS software.
In 2012, smartphones were all about big screens with 720p resolution, oodles of RAM, quad-core processors and, thankfully, nearly all day battery life. Like in 2011, Android phones absolutely dominated the sales chart, especially Samsung's Galaxy S3.
Now, that the year is going to end and the holiday season is fast approaching, we list down our top 10 phones of 2012.
10) Motorola RAZR i – Motorola promotes the RAZR i with an edge-to-edge display, and rightly so. The RAZR i packs in a 4.3-inch Super-AMOLED qHD display with dimensions that are the same as the iPhone.
The RAZR i is also the first handset from a major OEM to pack in an Intel Atom processor clocked at a whopping 2GHz, along with an outdated PowerVR SGX 540 GPU and 1GB of RAM. If you don't want a phone that does not have a massive 4.7-inch+ display, the RAZR i will be your best option.
Under Google's keen eye, expect Motorola to come up with a stellar handset in 2013 that will shock and surprise every tech enthusiast out there.
9) HTC One S – The HTC One S is the perfect upper mid-range Android handset out there. It has a 4.3-inch Super-AMOLED screen with qHD (960*640) resolution, 16GB of internal storage, absolutely stellar build quality and a decent 8MP camera.
If the One S failed to set the sales on fire, it was because of the lack of its microSD card slot, and HTC swapping the dual-core Snapdragon S4 Krait processor with the older-generation S3 processor in some markets.
8) LG Optimus G – Google's Nexus 4 is based on the LG Optimus G. Both the devices share the same internal specifications – a 1.5GHz Quad-core Krait processor, 2GB RAM, a 4.7-inch IPS HD 768p display, and an 8MP camera (13MP in some variants). It even has a back that has the same disco-ball effect as on the Nexus 4.
The Optimus G was the first Android smartphone to make use of Qualcomm's quad-core Krait processor. While the handset is not bad by any means, it is not going to be as successful as LG might have hoped for, all thanks to the Nexus 4, that packs in similar specs for half the price.
7) Nokia Lumia 920 – While the verdict is not yet out if the Lumia 920 is as successful as Nokia might have hoped for, the handset definitely has all the ingredients needed to make it a hit. The 4.5-inch ClearBlackDisplay comes with PureMotion HD+ technology that gives the screen on the Lumia 920 a higher refresh rate than other competing screen technologies out there.
However, the selling point of the Lumia 920, and the reason why it has made it to this list, is because of its 8.7MP PureView camera, which has OIS (Optical Image Stabilization).
With Windows Phone 8 adding some much needed features to the mobile OS from the Redmond based company, the Lumia 920 might just be enough to pull back Nokia into profitability.
6) HTC One X – The One X is nearly 10 months old, but is still one of the most stunning phones available in the market. The handset sports a stunning 4.7-inch 720p S-LCD2 display, 1GB of RAM, Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 32GB of storage space, and an 8MP F/2.0 camera with ImageSense. The AT&T version of the One X swapped the Tegra 3 quad-core processor with a dual-core Krait processor from Qualcomm, which is no slow-couch either.
While the One X might not have sold in large numbers as HTC might have hoped for, the handset did prove that HTC is going on the right way. If the DNA is any indication, the HTC One X2 might just bring back HTC in the game.
5) Google Nexus 4 – When rumors started leaking on the Internet that LG is going to make the next Nexus handset, everyone was doubtful about the handset's quality and its reliability. Ironically, after the Nexus One, the Nexus 4 is the only Nexus branded device from Google to pack in bleeding-edge specifications. Right from the 768p IPS HD display to the quad-core Krait processor to the 2GB of RAM or the build quality of the handset, the Nexus 4 screams of premium/quality. The disco-ball effect at the back of the phone is a nice addition as well, and makes the phone stand out from the crowd.
What, however, is not premium is its pricing. For only $299 for the 8GB version and $349 for the 16GB version, the Nexus 4 is well worth it just because of its stellar price tag. The Nexus branding means that owners will be the first in line to get future Android updates. With Android 4.2 already on-board, the Nexus 4 is already running the latest version of Android, which includes Photosphere, an enhanced keyboard, lock screen widgets, multiple user profiles and more.
4) HTC DROID DNA – The DROID DNA from HTC is only available in the United States under Verizon's network and as the Butterfly in Japan. The phone was supposed to be launched in Europe but rumors indicate that HTC might have had a change of heart. The DROID DNA/Butterfly is the first Android smartphone to sport a 5-inch screen with a whopping 1080p screen resolution. Apart from the screen, the DNA/Butterfly includes a blazing fast 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm S4 processor, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP F/2.0 camera and more.
After quite sometime, HTC is struggling to meet the demands of the handset in Japan, which should come as a sigh of relief for the Taiwanese maker. If the DROID DNA is anything to go by, the One X successor from HTC that will be unveiled next year at MWC, is going to set the bar high for the Galaxy S4 and others.
3) Apple iPhone 5 – With even budget oriented phones coming with a 4-inch+ display, Apple had to increase the size of the display on the iPhone, and it did with the iPhone 5. Instead of making the display wider and taller, the Cupertino company only made it taller so as to facilitate one-hand usage.
Apart from the bigger screen, the iPhone 5 also packed in LTE in a much slimmer (7.6mm) body. The usual generational updates were also present including a blazing fast custom-core A6 SoC from Apple, improved GPU performance, 1GB of RAM, and an 8MP camera with improved low-light performance.
However, the iPhone 5 along with iOS 6 lacked any kind of innovation or the 'new' factor. The new version of iOS only brought about minor enhancements and nothing else. Even then, the lack of innovation did not stop Apple from selling more than 5 million units of the handset in its first weekend in the United States. The iPhone 5 might have lacked innovation, but it can beat the combined sales figure of the Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 in just a month.
2) Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Samsung has been on a roll with its Galaxy series. If the Galaxy S series is aimed at smartphones lovers, the Korean company has successfully managed to please people out there who want a 'phablet' with its Note series. When Samsung initially unveiled the Galaxy Note, it was ridiculed for releasing a device with such a big screen. The Galaxy Note, then, went on to sell in excess of 10 million units. The Galaxy Note 2 has gone a level further and reached the 5 million sales mark within 2 months of its release.
For a phablet, the Galaxy Note 2 packs in everything that once can imagine including a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch HD Super-AMOLED screen, an 8MP camera, oodles of storage, a bunch of sensors and a beefy 3100mAh battery for an all-day battery life even with heavy usage.
1) Samsung Galaxy S3 – If the Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 made Samsung popular, the Galaxy S3 confirmed Samsung's prowess in the mobile industry. Not only is the Galaxy S3 loaded to the brim specs wise with a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM, a 720p HD Super-AMOLED screen, 16GB of storage and a microSD card slot, it can also last nearly a day of moderate to heavy usage thanks to its beefy 2100mAh battery and 32nm-HKMG fabrication process based SoC.
If the hardware of the phone is impressive, the list of all the features that Samsung has included in this phone is exhaustive. While the nature inspired version of TouchWIZ in Galaxy S3 is still ugly and not to everyone's liking, Samsung has added so many features to it, that it is tough to not use it. These features include Pop-up play, pop-up browser, multi-view multitasking, Smart stay, Smart rotation and much more.
While the phone does look ugly and is still made of plastic, it has been selling like hot cakes all over the world. No wonder Samsung managed to sell more than 30 million Galaxy S3s within 5 months of its launch.
Don't agree with our list? Feel free to drop in a comment and let us know which are your top 10 smartphones of 2012.


text: Home / Wealth Wisdom / Video Newsletters What steers today's success mindset? Increasingly, non-conventional drivers not just Success Mindset. Read Full Newsletter Email UsIf you enjoyed what you have seen here, please check out our blog, Changing the Conversation. Discover financial and family well-being by looking at money differently. We hope this blog will help you change the conversation about money and begin to think about finances as a tool to help you navigate major transitions. Visit and sign up to recieve our content! Attachment Posted on Thu, June 15, 2017 by Jess Poisl filed under 2017 Observer Newsletter


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A Passion for Mushrooms
When I was young, hunting mushrooms was a family affair. We are Italian, so wild-food collection is in our genes. And I loved it: the treks through the cool woods, the moment the pattern of camouflaged mushrooms emerged and they suddenly appeared everywhere. It felt wondrous when a mushroom popped up where there wasn't one the day before — a tendency of mushrooms that lends them an aura of mystery. But, scientifically, it's all pretty straightforward. Mushrooms are the reproductive structures, the fruiting bodies, of fungi. When you kick up the duff of the forest floor or break open a rotting log, that cotton-candy-like stuff is a fungus. It's composed of strings of microscopic cells that absorb nutrients and water from whatever substrate it's living in. When the fungus delivers water to the nascent fruiting bodies, they swell up like a sponge and push through the earth, appearing as if by magic.
This is a varietal of the beech mushroom (in the genus hypsizygus), which is native to East Asia. The common names for these mushrooms vary, and include white beech oyster and clamshell oyster mushroom, but the experience is the same: They are all firm and crunchy. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
My original sense of wonder hasn't dissipated throughout the many years I have studied mushrooms. But mushrooms weren't much on my mind throughout my young adulthood — not until I went hiking in a Colorado conifer forest. One minute we were walking through the woods, and then suddenly, as if a veil was lifted, we witnessed the conversion of the forest floor — everywhere, porcini.
Hen of the Woods
Hen of the woods, also known as maitake (Grifola frondosa), is an East Coast parasite that grows under oak. It is a choice edible, recently cultivated. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
I developed the foraging bug big time after that, but I was often skunked. I didn't really understand why the mushrooms I wanted to eat grew where and when they did. That's why I joined the New York Mycological Society: to unearth the secret of successful hunting "for the pot." At early meetings of the club, I feigned interest in the lectures on slime mold or whatever, but honestly, I just wanted to learn where I could find lots of morels.
There are a number of chanterelle species. This one, Cantharellus cibarius, is the most common, and it is wonderful, with an aroma of apricots. It is a mycorrhizal fungus that grows in association with beech, oak, and conifers. It is exclusively wild-crafted. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
So I began to attend forays — first those organized by the NYMS, then further afield. These events, put together by mycological societies or professional mushroom hunters all over the country, are like Trekkie conventions for mushroom enthusiasts. There are guided walks in the woods with mycologists, classes on mushroom cultivation, lots of mushroom eating, and lectures by academics. I started to recognize types of mushrooms, remember the nomenclature, and understand their ancient and complex relationships with plants. In essence, I learned to look under the right trees.
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is native to East Asia, where it has been cultivated for a millennium. The ease of growing shiitake makes it one of the most popular mushrooms for home cultivation. It is an excellent edible and is also an important medicinal in traditional Chinese medicine. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
I discovered that some fungi, the saprophytes, are the recyclers of nature, and if it weren't for them we'd be living under miles of plant debris. Most of the mushrooms we buy in stores are saprophytes, largely because they are easy to grow. You just need to give them their preferred food — wood chips in some cases. The Japanese figured out how to cultivate the shiitake, a decayer of Shii trees, centuries ago. In the West, we started with Agaricus bisporus, the white button mushroom, which decays compost. But mushrooms are no longer a one- or two-species commodity. An increasing diversity of cultivars like hen of the woods and blewits are finding their way into American markets.
Morels (morchella) are perhaps the best-known edible mushroom. Some species are mycorrhizal while others are saprophytic, so it's hard to pinpoint the conditions that lead to fruiting. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
Truffles are one of the few types of cultivated mushrooms that are not saprophytes. They are fussy and hard to grow because they are mutualists: the fruiting bodies of mycorrhizal fungi, which live on and in the roots of living plants. They trade nutrients in the soil for sugars produced by the plant. In general, plants without a mycorrhizal fungus living on their roots do not thrive, and in the case of conifers, mycorrhizal fungi are so important that without them the tree may die of malnutrition. For those who cultivate truffles, it's worth establishing an orchard to support them because they can sell for thousands of dollars a pound. But all the other mycorrhizal fungi we eat, like porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, are picked in the wild.
The portobello (Agaricus bisporus) is a grown-up crimini mushroom; the portobello has more taste because it has mature spore, and spore has flavor. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
Then there are all the fungi we can't always see: the fungal pathogens that can kill plants and the marvelous endophytes, which are fungi that live between and within the cells of all plants and can function as a kind of shadow immune system. Without them, if farmers sterilize their seedlings, for instance, the plants are less able to tolerate such stresses as drought.
Like all mushrooms, the brown beech, or shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus), produces large quantities of vitamin D2 when exposed to ultraviolet light. Photo by: Lynn Karlin.
I was stunned to learn of the sheer volume of fungal life on Earth: 25 percent of the biomass! Six times more species than plants! One fungus is the largest living organism on the planet! Up to 10 spores inhaled with every breath! Really, I felt like I was being pummeled by fungal revelations. And they continue. A recent study describes the key role fungal enzymes could play in the creation of biofuels.
Like most people, I long defined existence by what I could see, when, in fact, it's what we can't see — the microbial community — that is so vitally important to life. I think we all try to find ways to understand truths that are bigger than ourselves. The study of fungi was the window by which I came to appreciate, both literally and metaphorically, that a spoonful of soil contains an entire world.
Eugenia Bone is author of Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms (Rodale, 2011).


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text: Commencement 2013 The colorful academic regalia of professors and graduates accented the festive mood of the occasion. On May 9, fifty-eight graduates participated in the commencement ceremony at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary's Chapel of the Cross. Thirty-eight students received the Master of Arts, two the Master of Arts with a concentration in Biblical Languages, and eighteen the Doctor of Philosophy degree. They completed their programs in Fall 2012 or Spring 2013. Graduates are listed below by degree and include their thesis title, area of study or school of affiliation, committee members, and... Commencement


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The words "Post Sustainability Institute" might be eerily similar to the name of the Santa Rosa-based Post Carbon Institute, but its goals couldn't be more different. While the Post Carbon Institute promotes bike-friendly streets, transit-oriented development and SMART trains as solutions to a growing environmental crisis, members of the Post Sustainability Institute assert that there's a dark side to sustainable development, one that will eventually result in the loss of liberty and the stripping away of private-property rights.
It may sound a little ominous. And yet the nationwide group of activists, loosely called Agenda 21ers, could soon be to sustainable growth what the Tea Party is now to the Obama administration.
Agenda 21ers believe that an 18-year-old United Nations initiative, called Agenda 21, is forcing sustainable development projects in the United States. They say the initiative is corporate-driven and has infiltrated local governments with a smart-growth agenda that will result in the loss of property through eminent domain and increasing land restrictions. Depending on which wing of the group is pointing fingers, Agenda 21 might also be forcing people to ride bikes, stealing family-owned land and boxing the population into congested areas to facilitate government spying.
On Aug. 6, the Post Sustainability Institute sponsors a conference in Santa Rosa, "Behind the Green Mask," featuring talks on smart meters, the "new urbanism" and "recognizing communitarianism."
One of the founders of the Post Sustainability Institute is Rosa Koire. Koire and partner Kay Tokerud are familiar names in local politics; in 2007, Tokerud was asked to step down as president of the Santa Rosa Junior College Neighborhood Association when other members labeled her a "disagreeable character." Speaking of the pair, Neighborhood Alliance chair Judy Kennedy says, "They really rile people." And of Tokerud's presidency, Santa Rosa City Council member Gary Wysocky says, "She didn't run it like a neighbor. She had other ideas."
One of those ideas was a 2007 lawsuit filed by Tokerud against the city to block the formation of a redevelopment district along the Highway 101 corridor. Judgment was awarded to the city, but the Juilliard Park area, where Tokerud owns property, was taken out of the plan, and the Gateways Redevelopment project was put on hold for three years.
"I looked behind it," says Koire, pointing to the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives as the "implementation" arm of the United Nations, "and I found Agenda 21." (Supervisor Valerie Brown is a board member of ICLEI, but tells the Bohemian she's never heard of a connection between Agenda 21 and property rights.)
Koire, who works as a commercial real estate appraiser specializing in eminent domain valuations for the California Department of Transportation, describes herself a "feminist, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, anti-war liberal." Her contentious views on eminent domain, "not-smart" trains and bike boulevards in Sonoma County have created a deep divide with otherwise similarly-minded Democrats, who she says "started crawling out of the woodwork and attacking me."
This month, Koire spoke about Agenda 21 to an East Bay Tea Party group. "Property rights are not a right-wing issue," says Koire of the appearance. "I don't know if they think I'm going to hell or what, but they were very nice to me."
In fact, Tea Party groups across the nation have aligned under the anti-Agenda 21 umbrella. In Maine, a Tea Party group issued a "red alert" notice about a development proposal to ease traffic around a major highway. A recent video made by Dean Philpot, a libertarian Texan operating seven blogs including "Peak Oil Freaks," claims that the goal of Transition Towns and the Post-Carbon Institute is "takin' yer land away from ya."
Michael Ruppert, Sebastopol-based journalist profiled in the 2009 documentary Collapse, says the Agenda 21 fear is an example of the scapegoating that occurs when societies face economic collapse. "This is a cookie-cutter tactic practiced by corporations, banks and the powers that be to sow and create political discontent," says Ruppert, "and to separate and divide and distract via needless controversy."
"It's unfortunate that anti-government groups like the Post Sustainability Institute see nefarious plots behind the efforts of those working towards environmental sustainability," says Asher Miller, executive director of the Post Carbon Institute. "After all, we likely share many beliefs—including the value of strong local communities. But I am curious to know what they envision a 'post-sustainable' world looks like. Here's betting they wouldn't actually want to find themselves or their kids there."


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Complete Story
Cable Again Tops Phone Rankings On J.D. Power Survey
By: Todd Spangler, Multichannel News
Cable took home top honors for the fourth year in a row on J.D. Power and Associates' annual residential telephone customer satisfaction survey, with Cox Communications, Cablevision Systems, Bright House Networks and WideOpenWest earning the highest marks in four respective regions.
However, other cable operators, including Comcast and Charter Communications, turned in below-average scores in their regions, even as customer satisfaction with residential telephone service increased across all providers again for a second consecutive year.
Cox -- which won both East and West regions last year -- took the trophy in the West with an overall score of 693 on a 1000-point scale, followed by Time Warner Cable (661) and Qwest (653). This marks the eighth year in a row Cox gained the highest score in the West.
In the East, Cablevision's Optimum Voice delivered the top score of 689, followed by Cox with 677 and Windstream Communications at 671. Bright House again was No. 1 in the South region with 724, followed by Cox (701) taking second and Verizon (673) coming in third.
And in the North Central region, WideOpenWest scored an industry high 742, followed by Cincinnati Bell (696) and TDS Telecom (694).
Overall, customer satisfaction with phone service averaged 657, up four points from last year and an increase of 22 points from 2008 -- the largest two-year improvement in the 15-year history of the J.D. Power study.
According to J.D. Power, customer service gains were the biggest factor in boosting overall satisfaction. The research firm attributed that to providers' improvements in customer support systems and processes; specifically, interactive voice response first-call resolution scores improved from 6.46 in 2009 to 6.57 in 2010.
The 2010 U.S. residential telephone customer satisfaction study is based on responses from 24,146 customers nationwide, fielded in four waves: November 2009, January 2010, April 2010 and July 2010. The study measures customer satisfaction with both local and long distance telephone service, based in five factors (in order of importance): performance and reliability; cost of service; billing; offerings and promotions; and customer service.
Source: http://www.multichannel.com/article/457149-Cable_Again_Tops_Phone_Rankings_On_J_D_Power_Survey.php?rssid=20061


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Job Description
Our client, an award winning independent research company are looking for a highly motivated and experienced Research Associate to join their team based in London.
The successful candidate will be responsible for collecting and maintaining accurate data mainly through contacting and building on-going relationships with fund managers. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a complex environment with a potential to contribute to company's publications, press and bespoken data analysis.
Ideal candidates will have excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate with finance professionals, strong attention to detail, a passion for financial markets and desire to continue a career in data research.
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- Making sure that existing data and output from offshore teams are accurate and up to date
- Producing bespoke data reports for press and clients
- When required contributing to publications and research reports
Key Skills and Attributes:
- Fluency in spoken and written English
- Knowledge in another language is desirable
- Excellent communication skills (verbal, interperson, written)
- Ability to effectively communicate with high level executives via phone and email
- Relevant work experience in a similar role
- Excellent research abilities (patience and a keen eye for detail)
- A keen interest in the Private Equity and Private Debt industries
- Proactive approach to dealing with issues
- Strong team player as well as ability to work independently
- Diligence to meet targets and quality standards


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Summary report from exam conducted in February 2019 by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) on J.P. Morgan's depositary services can be found here in Danish
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