text:
As thousands of people congregate in Washington to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, Republican Party leaders met to once again take a new step forward engaging black voters.
It's been decades since the days of overwhelming black support for the party of Abraham Lincoln. Instead, national exit polls showed that 93 percent of black voters cast their vote for President Barack Obama in his 2012 re-election.
"Our party has a rich, proud history of equality, freedom, opportunity," Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Monday at a luncheon commemorating the March on Washington. "But we don't tell our story anymore. We've lost the history of this party, because we don't tell it."
Priebus was joined at the event by Republican leaders, including Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who helped lead the past two reauthorizations of the Voting Rights Act. In his remarks, Sensenbrenner committed to restoring the legislation, which aims to protect minority voters from discrimination in access to the polls, after a pivotal piece was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
"The first thing we have to do is take the monkey wrench that the court threw in it, out of the Voting Rights Act, and then use that monkey wrench to be able to fix it so that it is alive, well, constitutional and impervious to another challenge that will be filed by the usual suspects," Sensenbrenner said.
The issue of voting rights has become politicized, with Republicans fighting to buck the notion that they are against the protections. Republican-controlled states including Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama passed or pushed forward more rigorous voter ID laws after the Supreme Court decision, drawing a sharp contrast to remarks by the Republican establishment. Priebus also stated his support for voting rights protections at the luncheon.
Michael Steele, who served as the chairman of the RNC before Priebus, the first African-American to fulfill that role, said that the GOP must dispel the "genuine" perception held by many that Republicans condone voter suppression and get serious on their support for voting rights.
"I hear what you are saying at a luncheon. . . . I appreciate the sentiment, I'm a huge admirer of Mr. Sensenbrenner," Steele said. "But OK, let's start with a group of senators and House Republicans introducing the next version of the Voting Rights Act, instead of introducing bills calling for an investigation into Barack Obama's birth certificate."
But Steele said that at this point "yet another restart, yet another luncheon, yet another conversation (has) gotten old." The GOP has recently made multiple efforts to reach out to black voters, but Steele said that in his view, real outreach starts from the ground up, not from the top down.
"I don't think you can do this from the national level," he said. "This is not about the national party dropping dollars into a state; it's about how well a state is going to commit itself to actually doing the hard work of rebuilding and rebranding the party with a community that it has lost face with for over 50 years."
The party's current plans play off of that ground-up approach, hiring "RNC ambassadors" across the country to engage with communities, RNC deputy press secretary Raffi Williams said in an email.
Hilary Shelton, the director of the Washington bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the party's willingness to address these issues "heartening."
"The question now before us is, which party will lead on the agenda that's so crucial to our communities?" he asked. "Who's going to talk about the fact that over 60 percent of our children are raised in households that are at or below the poverty line – and not just talk about it, do something about it?"


text:
The year 2003 marked a very special occasion for the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI): the tenth ;anniversary of our Division of Intramural Research (DIR). To celebrate this event, a day-long scientific symposium entitled: From Base Pairs to Bedside was held on Friday, December 5, 2003.
The program for the day included presentations from current and past faculty as well as from collaborators. The special highlight of the symposium was the first annual Jeffrey M. Trent Lecture in Cancer Research, which was presented by Dr. Janet Rowley of the University of Chicago.
Many scientists, researchers and friends joined in celebrating the many accomplishments that DIR has achieved over the last ten years, as well as looking to the spectacular opportunities DIR will face in genetics and genomics.
Webcast of From Base Pairs to Bedside [videocast.nih.gov]
From Base Pairs to Bedside Program
Last Reviewed: March 21, 2013

subset: commoncrawl


text:
JinF needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 88 designs submitted by 34 freelance designers.
CTH, Ching-Ta Heating
I am the sales associate of this company we are starting to promote and enhance public image of this company
we are trying to attract more new customers and juice up the company impression with regular customers as well
we would like logo in color of orange and red that will symbolize the existence of heat, which is what the company's product brings,
we are trying to make a brand name CTH,
we offer similar products you can check out on http://www.watlow.com(under heater section) , http://www.tempco.com,
our boss' little request is to add some sort of image of bull to go with the logo,
to symbolize the strength and endurance which carries out by our product
we want the logo to be simple, vivid, comfortable looking, warm feelings,
we dont like complicated lines or textures,
i will try to come up some more when seeing some of your works,
great thanks in advance
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
44 Home Care Services
for Seniors
Fairlawn, NJ
Caring.com offers a free service to help families find senior care.
To help you with your search, browse the
223 reviews
below for homecare agencies in
On average, consumers rate home care in Fairlawn
out of 5 stars.
To speak with one of our Family Advisors about senior care options and costs in Fairlawn,
(855) 863-8283.
Caring.com offers a free service to help families find senior care. To help you with your search, browse the 223 reviews below for homecare agencies in Fairlawn. On average, consumers rate home care in Fairlawn 4.7 out of 5 stars.
To speak with one of our Family Advisors about senior care options and costs in Fairlawn, call (855) 863-8283.
Synergy HomeCare North West New Jersey
Provides: Home Care
"It was excellent because they had a very good rapport with my mother-in-law. They made her feel safe, comfortable, cared for, and loved. It took a lot of stress off of me and my husband. The aide..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07009, 07028, 07042, 07044, 07046
Caring Star 2019
Right at Home Ridgewood
Provides: Home Care
"We could not manage without them. I like that they have been very responsive when we have needed someone. " More
Synergy HomeCare of Bergen County - T...
Provides: Home Care
"They have come in and done some household tasks, including laundry and fixing my dinner. The person who has been assigned has been quite helpful. They are dependable and there's a number that can..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07020, 07022, 07024, 07026
Home Instead Senior Care - Teaneck, NJ
Provides: Home Care
"Would very much recommend this agency and caregivers." More
Always Best Care of Northern Bergen
Provides: Home Care
"Since 1996, the compassionate caregivers from Always Best Care have helped thousands of families with non-medical in-home care needs. We provide free consultations and are dedicated to exceeding..." More
FirstLight Home Care of Bergen County
Provides: Home Care
"" MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07011, 07012, 07013, 07014, 07015
Diamond In Home Care
Provides: Home Care
" Diamond In Homecare is a full service home care agency providing the highest quality care to families and their loved ones. Diamond is the first and only physician backed and supported agency..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07004, 07005, 07006, 07009, 07010
The Senior Company - Totowa, NJ
Provides: Home Care
" We provide services that include personal ADL services, companionship & home support, respite care, geriatric care management, skilled nursing services and physician services." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Caring Star 2018
HomeWell of Northeast New Jersey
Provides: Home Care
"HomeWell has been a Godsend to me! My mom was just getting out of a nursing home and I didn't know of a reputable agency to contact to assist her and my dad in their home. Sensing my feeling of..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Caring Star 2019
Synergy HomeCare Metro NJ, New Jersey
Provides: Home Care
"Synergy Homecare Metro NJ provides excellent service. They cared for my mother and they were on time, proactive, very concerned about her wellbeing." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07002, 07004, 07005, 07006, 07007
Caring Star 2018
A-1 Health Care Services, Inc
Provides: Home Care
"We hired A1 Home Care to come and evaluate care for our parents. The nurse they sent was beyond what we expected. She brought with her so much experience, insight, warmth, and professionalism." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Caring Star 2017
iHeart Home Care
Provides: Home Care
"My husband and I were looking into care services for my mother and father, I came across this agency. The staff was very professional making the starting process very easy, my mother and father..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07022, 07024, 07026, 07047, 07055
Assisting Hands of Bergen County
Provides: Home Care
"Assisting Hands is great. When I call them, they're very responsive. They were quick to find us aides to care for our residents. We've always been very grateful for their response. I'm happy with..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07020, 07022, 07024, 07026
From The Heart Elder Care
Provides: Home Care
"I found myself in a situation where my mother was home and recovering from a serious injury that required someone to be with her for extended hours during the day. The care that her insurance..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Precious Hands Home Care
Provides: Home Care
"Precious Hands is very efficient. The caregivers are caring. They take good care of my uncle. They follow instructions and they come in when they're supposed to. I didn't have any problems with..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Sovereign Home Health
Provides: Home Care
"Our experience with Sovereign Home Health Care in NJ has been wonderful. My 94 year-old father-in-law resides in his house with a full time aid. While he is semi-independent, he is no longer that..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Loving Hands Home Health Care Services
Provides: Home Care
"BEST SERVICES IN THE NORTHJERSEY AREA!! PEOPLE FROM THE OFFICE TO THE HHA ARE WONDERFUL , THEY TRULY CARE AND LOVE WHAT THEY DO.Spoke to a lady name Anji there who was really nice and help to try..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Crusaders Healthcare Staffing Agency
Provides: Home Care
"Josephine was amazing. She was so devoted and dedicated, respectful, kind, loving, considerate. I can't say enough about Jospehine. We miss and love her. " MoreServing: Fairlawn
Stellar Home Care & Staffing
Provides: Home Care
"They were caring so beautifully for my dad. My dad already passed away. Their care for him was excellent. Everytime I call them, there's always a consistent person or two who took my calls. They..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Interim HealthCare of Ridgewood, NJ
Provides: Home Care
"I can't say enough good things about Interim HealthCare. They're so professional, wonderful and helpful. They made things easier for me and helped me every step of the way. The caregivers are..." More
The Handmaiden Services, Inc.
Provides: Home Care
"The Handmaiden Services provided my mother and my father with excellent service. My mother passed away in February 2015. The Handmaiden Services also took care of my father after cancer surgery in..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Always Home Care
Provides: Home Care
"They are the best! " MoreServing: Fairlawn
Voltamac Home Health Services
Provides: Home Care
"This is one of the best home health agency in the area. They are professionals and quick to start care. We used them when my husband was discharged from Holy Name Medical Center. What impressed me..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07011, 07014, 07020, 07022
The Osborn
Provides: Home Care
"I had a wonderful experience with Osborn Home Care. We were able to interview several caregivers before deciding on care for my mother. They were very accommodating to our schedule and the nurses..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Home Helpers & Direct Link - Ramsey
Provides: Home Care
"Home Helpers have been fantastic to deal with. They are able to accommodate my shifting scheduling needs quickly and enthusiastically. They have done an amazing job selecting caregivers for my..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07401, 07410, 07417, 07423, 07430
Health and Comfort Home Care Agency
Provides: Home Care
"Good service, prompt when requesting help. Our current caregiver is wonderful. I can't say enough with the caring that she provides for both my parents, making sure they take their medication,..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Associated Home Quality Health Care
Provides: Home Care
"I have been a client of Associated for a long time and I have nothing but good things to say. They've take care of my mom and dad and if it wasn't for them I don't know where I would be.. Anytime..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
A Helping Hand
Provides: Home Care
"Although the intended recipient opted not to participate, A Helping Hand provided all of the information I needed and answered my questions in a timely and professional manner. " MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07011, 07012, 07013, 07020
Always Home Care
Provides: Home Care
"I have used this agency for hha for my mom who is a stroke surviver, bedridden with dementia. No less thank 4 times (in less than 6 months) nobody has shown up, and the agency notifies me it will..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Accredited Health Services
Provides: Home Care
"At Accredited Health Services we understand the complex challenges that families face when home care is necessary. Finding the best services needed to meet the physical needs of your family member..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07020, 07022, 07024, 07026
Expert Home Care, Inc.
Provides: Home Care
Garden State Eldercare
Provides: Home Care
"At Garden State Eldercare, we create customized care for a range of needs. We pride ourselves on providing dependable, highly personalized attention and services 24 hours a day, seven days a week...." MoreServing: Fairlawn
LifeWorx, Inc
Provides: Home Care
"LifeWorx is the premier child care, elder care, nanny and chef service provider in Greater New York. Our mission is to enhance the overall quality of your life by creating a less stressful home..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07410, 07417, 07450, 07481, 07620
Loving And Caring Health Care Service...
Provides: Home Care
"Welcome to Loving and Caring Health Care Services Loving and Caring Health Care Services is a non-medical home heath services that provides specialized elderly companion care services, working..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
New Allied Health Group
Provides: Home Care
"New Allied Health Group LLC is a Private Care Solutions Management Company located in Montclair NJ. They own and manage multiple private care service brands, including Certified Private Dutyâ"¢..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Qualicare Family Home Care
Provides: Home Care
" Qualicare is a Family Homecare Company A Premiere In-Home Care Service in North Jersey, NJ Qualicare is dedicated to professionally and compassionately guiding families through the..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Senior Home Care Services, Inc.
Provides: Home Care
" Senior Home Care Services tailors to the individual and our care plans are designed to help seniors maintain the highest quality of independent living possible. We are a team of..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Visiting Homemaker Home Health Aide S...
Provides: Home Care
"Motto "" "At Home, but Not Alone." Mission "" Keep people in their homes for as long as possible while keeping them safe by providing the level of home care services they need to remain..." MoreServing: Fairlawn, 07010, 07020, 07022, 07024, 07026
Visiting Angels Living Assistance Ser...
Provides: Home Care
"Visiting Angels Senior Care in Union, NJ can assist you in providing in-home senior care services in the Union, NJ area. Inviting a caregiver into your home is not an easy decision, but if you are..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Seniors Helping Seniors Nassau County
Provides: Home Care
"Thank you for your interest in Seniors Helping Seniors. We know how important and difficult it can be when you are trying to get the best home-care services for your loved one. Services that will..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
HealthPro Staffing Resources
Provides: Home Care
"HealthPro Staffing Resources Elder Care at Home provides home health professionals for individuals who require physical, emotional, and social support. Our exclusive program provides family..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
CareFinders Total Care - Corporate
Provides: Home Care
"Today, nine out of 10 people prefer to receive care in the comfort of their homes. Often the key to achieving this goal lies in finding an amazing quality caregiver who can bring comfort and..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
A Joy Home Care LLC
Provides: Home Care
Caring Hands Healthcare Services - Ea...
Provides: Home Care
"Caring Hands Healthcare Services, Inc. is a private, nurse owned corporation specializing in community-based senior, pediatric, mother/newborn, and post-operative recovery homecare services. We..." MoreServing: Fairlawn
Home Care near Fairlawn, NJ
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text:
Several Runners Return to Competition, Try New Events
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite a number of standout individual performances, the Bulldogs fell to the Crimson today by a score of 114 to 49. A number of athletes were competing in unfamiliar events or returning from injury or hiatus. Even so, Yale managed to pull out five victories and six second-place finishes.
It was senior captain Matthew Bieszard pacing the Elis again, racking up wins in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay. He ran away with the in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.71, more than half a second ahead of the next best competitor, and held off rival John Dingus with a personal best of 47.98 in the 400-meter dash. He then anchored the All-East 4x400-meter relay team to victory in 3:17.66 (also running on the team were freshmen Dylan Hurley, William Rowe and Mario Kranjac).
Rowe, who only began running hurdles a few weeks ago, ran his best time yet (55.97) in a winning effort in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Sophomore Nnamdi Udeh was third in the event in 59.63. Meanwhile, freshman Daniel Kemp also turned in his best performance of the season in the 100-meter high hurdles (15.49) and placed second.
Junior Mike Levine continued his dominance in the discus with a season-best winning throw of 51.78m, and took second in the hammer throw (54.17m). Levine's victory was particularly sweet because it came against Harvard's Edward Rucker, who bested him at this meet last year. Sophomore Stefan Palios was fifth in both events (42.42m in the discus and 39.92m in the hammer throw).
In the other throwing events, junior Mark Kaczor was fifth in the shot put (12.86m) and sophomore Clifford Van Meter placed second in the javelin (49.10m). It was Van Meter's first time throwing javelin this season, and he shattered his previous personal record by over 8 meters.
Though not winning any events outright, the Bulldogs were able to pick up points in bunches in the middle distance events. The 800-meter run brought an especially encouraging outcome, as sophomore James Shirvell finished second (1:53.59) in his return from injury and senior John Van Deventer was right behind (3rd – 1:55.97) in his first race of the year. The Elis also went 2-3 in the 1500-meter run; freshman John McGowan (2nd – 3:51.43) and junior Michael Pierce (3rd – 3:52.40) both ran their best races of the season. Senior Nathan Richards (9:23.04) and freshman Jacob Sandry (9:31.82) brought the same 2-3 punch in the 3000-meter steeplechase. It was Sandry's first attempt at the steeplechase at the collegiate level. Junior Timothy Hillas (4th – 8:30.52) and sophomore Miles Richardson (5th – 8:35.38) led all Yale runners in the 3000-meter run.
The Bulldogs were also able to score a couple of points in the jumps. Sophomore Dana Lindberg was third in the long jump (6.71m) and junior Tommy Winger had the same finish in the triple jump (12.64m). It was Winger's first time competing in the triple jump since last spring. Despite jumping the same height as the third-place finisher (1.81m) freshman Kyle Bajtos was unfortunate to fall out of the scoring and into fourth place in the high jump on the basis of faults.
Sophomore Daniel Jones continued to lead Yale in the shorter distances by taking fourth place in both the 100-meter dash (10.97) and 200-meter dash (22.30).
The Elis are headed for Princeton next weekend to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational.
Report by Eian Katz '13, Yale Sports Publicity


text:
A lot of things happening with the Mets right now, beginning with the managerial interviews:
1) BACKMAN INTERVIEWS TODAY: Sandy Alderson will interview Wally Backman in California today and it is not a courtesy interview as the general manager doesn't have time to waste. I've been hearing the Wilpons have some apprehensions concerning Backman, but nothing specific other than his lack of major league experience has come to light.
I'm still wary about Backman because of the experience factor, believing there are others that bring more immediately to the table.
2) COLLINS THE FRONTRUNNER: I don't see how anybody can come to the conclusion Terry Collins is the frontrunner without all the interviews being conducted. The Mets do like Collins in his current role working with the minor leagues and could prefer him to stay in that role. Don't forget, if Collins is reassigned then the Mets will need somebody else for the minor league job.
3) TAKAHASHI GONE: The Mets did not bring back reliever Hisanori Takahashi. The difference in gap isn't $1 million as people have suggested, but closer to $10 million if what has been reported is close. At 36, three years is a long time to give to a reliever with only one year in the major leagues.
4) CHARLIE SAMUELS: What was he thinking? The gifts Samuels received from the players is irrelevant. It's the position he had and the betrayal factor. How much he bet on baseball, or if he bet on the Mets, is uncertain. The argument if he bet on baseball it would be OK if he wagered on the Mets doesn't make it because of the message it sends if he didn't bet on the Mets. Why?
I've always liked Charlie, but investigations like this don't happen if there isn't some degree of truth to the claims.
Too bad.


text:
The India Pale Ale: the world's undisputed favourite craft beer style. The IPA is known for being stronger and more bitter than its cousin--the pale ale--and was pioneered in England in the early 19th century. This style is championed in its traditional form by many breweries throughout the UK. The American version is a bigger bolder sort and is noted for its grapefruity, piney, and citrusy flavours from the American hop varieties.
The IPA is exceptionally well-suited for experimentation so breweries around the world just love to tinker with it: Belgian-style, imperial, black, rye, hops, hops, hops, and more hops! So, whether it's a traditional English IPA from the likes of Thornbridge and Ilkley, an American hop-bomb from Founders, or an Imperial IPA from the Danish breweries of ToØl and Mikkeller--there are just so many reasons to love the India Pale Ale.
Items 1-24 of 437


text:
Smurf's 2 Star Katy Perry Talks About Being Smurfette [VIDEO]
The Smurfs are back with Smurfs 2 in theaters later this month. Katy Perry will be back to do the voice for Smurfette. In this video Katy describes the movie as being really heartfelt and a coming of age for Smurfette and many others.


text:
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Oracle plays hardball with Linux support
Oracle just threw a monkey-wrench into the Linux machine shop. It announced last week at its user conference that it will take Red Hat's distribution of Linux, remove Red Hat's trademarks, and begin maintaining the product under a support agreement for about half the price of what Red Hat charges.
Oracle is touting its new offering, dubbed Unbreakable Linux, as a way to increase the enterprise-class status of Linux. "Oracle's Unbreakable Linux program is available to all Linux users for as low as $99 per system per year," said Oracle co-President Charles Phillips in Oracle's press release. "You do not have to be a user of Oracle software to qualify. This is all about broadening the success of Linux. To get Oracle support for Red Hat Linux all you have to do is point your Red Hat server to the Oracle network. The switch takes less than a minute."
What's striking in Oracle's press release is how many other parties are quoted as positive about Oracle's move. Oracle got Dell, Intel, HP, IBM, Accenture, AMD, Bearing Point, EMC, BMC, and NetApp all to say good things about Oracle's decision. Some of them that have their own Linux support services, such as HP and IBM, are caught between maintaining their relationship with Oracle and building their own Linux businesses.
Red Hat is in a really tough position, with its stock plunging 24% on the news. It responded on its website, with a FAQ entitled "Unfakeable Linux," in which it points out deficiencies and incompatibilities in Oracle's offering, specifically Oracle's lack of support for Red Hat and JBoss applications, as well has potential hardware, software, and other incompatibilities between Oracle and Red Hat Linux. (Red Hat's website is extremely slow today, probably because of all the hits it is getting from the Linux community on this FAQ.)
As usual, the most insightful commentary is on Slashdot, if you can find it. For example, "Korgan" writes...Actually, the whole reason they're doing this is because they're pissed off with Red Hat for buying JBoss when Oracle wanted it.Although I think this may overstate Oracle's motives, I don't think it is far off. It wouldn't surprise me at all, now, if Oracle's intention is to drive down Red Hat's stock price and ultimately be able to buy Red Hat along with its recent JBoss acquisition.
I kid you not. Search Google for comments from Larry just after Red Hat made the purchase and you'll see why.
This is just continuing that. Oracle at the time said they were considering their own Linux distro in an attempt to compete with Redhat. To paraphrase Ellison...
If Redhat are going to step on our toes, we'll stomp on theirs
This isn't going to make any real difference to Redhat in the long term. Oracle would be smart to position their distro as the best possible platform for their own primary products (such as the databases, ERP software and so on.) However, the chances of that are pretty slim.
Given Oracle just recently released a mammoth patch for their 9i and 11i products that, while containing more than 100 bug fixes, didn't manage to fix all known bugs, I seriously doubt they're in any way prepared to take on the responsibility of a full fledged Enterprise ready Operating System. This is going to kick them hard.
That would allow Oracle to own the entire technology stack, from operating system through database and middleware, all the way to enterprise applications.by Frank Scavo, 10/31/2006 06:13:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Friday, October 27, 2006
TomorrowNow a threat to Oracle's maintenance business?
I conducted a phone interview last week with Andrew Nelson, founder and CEO of TomorrowNow, a third-party maintenance support provider for Oracle's PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, and Siebel products. I've mentioned TomorrowNow in the past, but I was interested in how its business has been progressing in the year and a half since it was acquired by SAP.
TomorrowNow has not yet announced its third-quarter results, but Nelson indicated a major increase in new customers: over 200 today, with 60% running PeopleSoft, 30% on JDE, and 10% with Siebel (its newest support offering). The firm plans to offer support for Baan (now Infor's ERP LN) beginning in January 2007, and has already signed up some customers for this offering. Over the past year, TomorrowNow has built out its worldwide support organization to Europe, Asia, and Australasia, in addition to its base in the U.S.
Target Market
Although TomorrowNow markets its services for all users of PeopleSoft, JDE, and Siebel, in my view there are a few key segments where the firm's offerings are most attractive. Nelson confirmed that one sweet spot is companies that are running SAP globally but still have instances of PeopleSoft, JDE, or Siebel. These firms, which may be looking to standardize on SAP, have little reason to stay on Oracle support contracts, and they welcome a lower-cost option that is backed by a major player such as SAP.
Another sweet spot is companies that have many modifications and do not intend to upgrade Oracle's Fusion product. In Nelson's view, such customers are paying maintenance fees to Oracle (at 22% of their license cost) to "prefund Fusion," even though they have no intention to upgrade to Fusion. Why shouldn't they save 50% or more on maintenance fees by going with TomorrowNow?
Furthermore, TomorrowNow actually supports the customer's modifications to source code as part of the support contract. Oracle's support agreements, in contrast, only provide support for original source code.
A Threat to Oracle?
The short answer is no, and yes. On the one hand, even with TomorrowNow's apparently prosperous third quarter, the firm's scale is still small. Its 200 customers are a drop in the bucket in terms of Oracle's installed base. Its 200 or so employees are a small workforce compared to the thousands in Oracle's support organization. The bulk of Oracle's customers are fearful of cutting off maintenance support from Oracle. As discussed earlier, TomorrowNow's greatest appeal is to customers that are either planning to migrate away from Oracle's products or have so highly modified their systems that they have no plans to upgrade.
On the other hand, third-party support providers play an important role in tipping the balance of power a little bit back toward the customer. It's no secret that the major software vendors derive a healthy part--sometimes even the bulk--of their revenue from maintenance agreements. It's something of a captive relationship. Once a customer has implemented a major enterprise system, it's not an easy matter to change systems. If the software vendor is the only source of support, the vendor can almost name its price and the customer has little choice except to "go naked" (drop support).
But the existence of third-party support organizations such as TomorrowNow gives customers a much-needed choice, which pulls the balance of power back toward the customer, even if the customer does not choose to go with the third party.
As the enterprise software market continues consolidation, there are many good packages that are being lost in the portfolios of the remaining vendors. Infor's collection of 50-plus systems is an extreme example. Vendors enjoy a continual revenue stream of maintenance dollars from the installed base of each of these systems. But if they get greedy, it's likely that we'll see many more providers such as TomorrowNow stepping in to deliver more value at a lower price.
Related posts
Rimini Street expands 3rd party maintenance for Oracle products
SAP to provide maintenance for PeopleSoft products
Oracle faces threat to Siebel maintenance feesby Frank Scavo, 10/27/2006 07:33:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
Trends in IT security threats
Over at Computer Economics we're running a new survey on the current and expected severity of various IT security threats. If you have responsibility for IT security in your organization, please take the 10 minute survey now.
Respondents who complete the survey will receive a free summary of the results, which will be useful in assessing the relative priority of IT security measures to counter these threats.by Frank Scavo, 10/22/2006 12:55:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Thursday, October 12, 2006
The pointlessness of user security training
Stefan Gorling, speaking at the Virus Bulletin Conference in Sweden this week, thinks that most user training on IT security is a waste of time.
From a CNET report on the conference:"Might it be so that we use the term and concept of user education as a way to cover up our failure?" he asked a crowd of security professionals. "Is it not somewhat telling them to do our job? To make them be a part of the IT organization and do the things that we are bound to do as a specialized organization?"On the one hand, Gorling does have a point. Filtering out email attachments containing malicious code is a far better approach than exhorting users not to click on attachments from unknown senders. Similarly, new browser technology to flag counterfeit websites is a more effective solution than trying to train users to discern a phishing attempt.
In Gorling's view, the answer to those questions is yes. In corporations in particular the security task belongs with IT departments, not users, he argued. Just as accounting departments deal with financial statements and expense reports, IT departments deal with computer security, he said. Users should worry about their jobs, not security, he said.
On the other hand, I don't think user security training is pointless. The primary focus, however, should be to educate and remind users of the organization's security policies, such as acceptable use of computing resources, such as use of e-mail, instant messaging, backup procedures, encryption, and wireless access.
By the way, at Computer Economics we've just launched a new online survey regarding IT security threat trends. The survey takes about 15 minutes, and if you respond we'll send you a free copy of the resulting report. Take the survey now.by Frank Scavo, 10/12/2006 01:35:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Salesforce.com to allow customization of its hosted service
Salesforce.com, the hosted CRM provider, is introducing a Java-like programming language called Apex to its services. Apex, which is currently in beta-testing, will allow users of Salesforce.com to customize the service or add new features. General availability is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2007.
CEO Marc Benioff announced Apex in his firm's Dreamforce conference in San Francisco yesterday.
The new capability allow users to go beyond mere customization of the user interface. It allows customers to add entire chunks of new business logic to the application. According to a presentation on Salesforce.com's website, Apex operates in a fashion similar to triggers and stored procedures.
What's really interesting about Apex, however, is that Salesforce.com is built on a multi-tenant architecture, which means that Apex code for each customer is being segregated from the code from every other customer, even though each customer is running on the same instance of Salesforce.com.
If Salesforce.com is successful with this capability, it removes one more objection to software-as-a-service (SaaS), the inability of individual customers to customize it. It is consistent with the firm's related work on its AppExchange platform, which allows customers to build, share, and sell entire applications running within Salesforce.com's hosted environment.
CNet has a brief article on Benioff's keynote. The Salesforce.com website has quite a bit of information on Apex and how it works.
Related posts
Salesforce.com's AppExchange proving its viability for developersby Frank Scavo, 10/10/2006 09:42:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Compiere's open source ERP business model and growth plans
Late last week, I interviewed Jorg Janke, founder and CEO of ComPiere Inc., an open source ERP/CRM developer. In June, the firm announced it had received $6 million in venture capital to expand its business, and I wanted to find out what it planned to do with the money. I had also gotten word of a plan by a few members of Compiere's open source developer community to "fork" Compiere's source code into a separate version, and I wanted to get Janke's view on that.
Through the rest of this post, "Compiere" refers to the open source product, and "ComPiere Inc." refers to Janke's corporation, which manages the development of Compiere.
Business Model
Like most attempts to make money with open source, ComPiere Inc.'s business model requires some explanation. Janke along with co-founder Kathy Pink began Compiere development in 1999. They released it under an open source license that mimics the Mozilla Public License. Basically, this means tha anyone can download the software, play with it, implement it, use it, and enhance it--all at no charge. You can even redistribute it and create derivative works from it as long as such derivatives are distributed under the same open source license.
ComPiere Inc. makes money by offering services to its worldwide network of consultants, many of whom pay a fee to ComPiere Inc. to become "Partners," in exchange for sales and marketing support, second level technical support, and training services.
The Partners, which currently include about 100 organizations employing a total of 300-400 individuals, make money by providing traditional implementation and consulting services. Some of the Partners also develop complementary products or extensions to Compiere, which they are free to sell as proprietary products, as long as they do incorporate Compiere's source code. (ComPiere Inc. itself makes money from sales of proprietary products, such as migration tools that facilitate upgrade between versions of Compiere.) Partners also form the bulk of Compiere's open source development community, as they submit bug fixes and enhancements to Compiere Inc. for incorporation into the product.
In addition, Janke estimates that there are another ten to fifteen "freelancers"--independent consultants who are not Partners but provide implementation consulting services for Compiere. These freelancers also participate in Compiere's development community.
Business Volume
Since there are no sales transactions recorded for open source software, it is difficult to make head-to-head comparisons between Compiere and commercial software vendors such as SAP or Oracle. Open source projects like to use "number of downloads" as a substitute for sales figures, but although these numbers may run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions, they do not represent actual use of the product.
I was able to determine from Janke, however, that there are about 250 companies paying for support from ComPiere Inc. or its Partners, which is a pretty good indication of Compiere's installed base. There are, no doubt, some companies that have downloaded Compiere's source code and have managed to run it in production without any knowledge of ComPiere Inc. or its Partners. According to Janke, some of these companies eventually reach out to Partners for support, especially when they get in over their heads. But the total number of such organizations is difficult to determine.
Problems in the Development Community
As indicated earlier, there have been grumblings among Compiere's development community that have evolved to the point that a few of the non-Partner developers (freelancers) have forked development of Compiere into a separate open source project, dubbed Adempiere.
A public discussion on the decision to fork Compiere's source code is available, and it provides interesting insights into the dynamics of an open source development community.
The motivation to fork Compiere's source code seems to be centered around several issues:
I asked Janke about each of these issues. In the case of the first, Janke admits that resources at ComPiere Inc. have been limited: basically, all product development at ComPiere Inc and contributions from the community are funneled through Janke and Pink. One of the reasons that ComPiere Inc sought venture capital was to be able to hire more developers to support contributor efforts to enhance Compiere.
- The speed at which ComPiere Inc. processes fixes and enhancements submitted by contributors and the refusal, in some cases, to even accept them.
- The refusal of ComPiere Inc. to provide Compiere version migration tools except in the sale of a support agreement.
- Rumors that ComPiere Inc. is planning to limit the functionality of its open source offering, to better position some future proprietary offering.
In the case of the second issue, Janke indicated that licensing of migration tools is one of the services from which ComPiere receives revenue, which it needs in order to fund its services to the development community.
As for the third issue, Janke denied any plans to restrict functionality of Compiere in order to make a separate closed-source offering more attractive. I would also add that if a closed source offering made any use of Compiere's source code, it would by definition need to be an open source product. After our discussion, Janke wrote an even stronger rebuttal of this point:There is certainly no plan to cripple the product or discontinue or "privatize" functionality - the very opposite is the case. We will continue to develop substantial new functionality Open Source, and hope to increase Open Source contributions from the community. It's disconcerting to see people spreading unsubstantiated false rumors in this regard.Janke said that he hopes the addition of new developers at ComPiere Inc. will enable new enhancements and fixes submitted by the development community to be incorporated more quickly, and that the developers who have forked the source code will want to return to the original Compiere project. It takes a lot of work to maintain an open source project, and certainly one combined effort will be more productive than two.
While I was writing this post, Janke wrote a Compiere status update that addresses the issues I have outlined above, and more. It is worth reading for a more complete view of what ComPiere Inc. is doing with the venture funding.
The future of open source ERP
Compiere is just one attempt to build a complete ERP system under the open source model. Open For Business (OFBiz) is another. ERP5 and Tiny ERP are still others. OpenMFG might be considered as well, although its license is not truly open source. In addition, there are several open source CRM projects, most notably SugarCRM, which offers an open source version as well as a "professional" or commercial version.
Although open source ERP has been gaining some ground, none of these projects match the scale of open source efforts such as Linux, Apache, mySQL, or JBoss. It appears that the higher one moves up the technology stack, the more specialized the requirements and the narrower the development community. ERP applications, at the top of the stack, would appear to be the most difficult market in which to sustain an open source development effort.
If this be the case, then it would appear that the primary success factor is a critical mass of developers. ComPiere's greatest asset, in my opinion, is not Janke's knowledge and experience as a developer--it is the 100 Partner organizations that are committed to extend, enhance, and support Compiere. Janke is right to devote a good chunk of his venture funding to hire new developers (he indicated four new programmers added in the past few weeks, and a total goal of about 20 a year from now). His development staff's top priority should be the rapid evaluation and incorporation of changes submitted by the Partner network. In addition, the freelance contributors should be treated the same as the Partners--if they have fixes or enhancements, they should be evaluated on the quality of their contributions and not given lower priority just because they don't pay a Partner fee. The freelancers--especially those in developing countries--have more time than money, and ComPiere Inc. should take advantage of that fact. The development community--whether Partner or freelance--is the competitive advantage for open source, and organizations such as ComPiere Inc. should take every opportunity to serve and grow that community.
Other open source projects, such as Linux and the others mentioned earlier, demonstrate that open source products can be as good or better than their commercial equivalents and that they can even claim a dominant market share, as in the case of Apache for web servers. Open source ERP may not reach this level of market share, but it can certainly gain more than it has today--as long as it fosters a robust and thriving development community.
Compiere may be on the road to doing so, and I hope it is successful.
Related posts
Open source ERP gaining adherents
Why organizations choose open source software
Build/buy pendulum swinging back toward build
Key advantage of open source is NOT cost savings
Open source: turning software sales and marketing upside down
Open source ERP
Buzzword alert: "open source"by Frank Scavo, 10/04/2006 10:14:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Sunday, October 01, 2006
i2 innovates with hosted vendor-managed inventory services
A Spectator reader who works at i2 has just alerted me to i2's new vendor-managed inventory (VMI) offering for consumer industries.
I've written quite a bit in the past about i2's fall from leadership in the supply chain management software business. For example: i2's virtual abandonment of its SRM business. So, it's good to see something that appears to be a real innovation for i2.
i2 dubs the new offering "planning as a service (PaaS)." It combines i2's supply chain management software, hosted as a software as a service (SaaS) offering, with offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) services to operate the program on an ongoing basis.
i2's offering appears to be an outsourcing arrangement more than anything else. For example, a large consumer packaged goods manufacturer might go to i2 for help in setting up a vendor-managed inventory program. Instead of just selling software to the manufacturer and letting the customer struggle to put together all the pieces, i2 now takes the lead for all aspects of the program. It does the analysis to build the business case, designs the to-be process, sets up and tests the design through a pilot program, and implements and executes the full program on an on-going basis.
The software can be hosted by i2, or, if the client prefers, it can run the system behind its own firewall. The outsourced personnel are largely located offshore, in Banglore, India, playing to i2's strong relationships there. My source indicates that i2 is also looking at other offshore locales, including one in the Central or South America to balance out the time zones around the world. The offshore connection also suggests that i2 will be able to scale the offering more easily than if these personnel were located in the U.S. Early experiences indicate that i2's resource requirements are most heavy at the initiation of the project, when there is much work to do in understanding the client's business and normalizing/cleansing the client's data. Once the relationship moves into ongoing execution, the resource requirements taper off quite a bit.
Some might argue that i2 is finally recognizing what its clients were really looking for all along. Supply chain consultants have told me in the past that i2's products were really more of a tool set than complete package, and that it took a lot of skill and experience to tailor i2's products as part of a supply chain program that is specific to a given company and industry. Many clients simply do not have the expertise to do this.
Now, by taking responsibility for the entire program, including the results, i2 is aligning its resources to meet the real needs of the client. I suspect it is also enjoying a much larger budget (the whole pie) than it would get by just providing software and implementation service, which are just two small slices.
i2 includes a case-study for Panasonic, an early adopter of i2's VMI offering, and the results are pretty impressive:Before deploying this consumer-oriented solution, Panasonic suffered from misdirected inventory, stock-out problems, and dead inventory in slow markets. Sales and profits were weak, and relations with key retailers were less than ideal.Panasonic was i2's first success with its new VMI service, and my source indicates that there are two other consumer industry clients in implementation as well as two clients in high tech electronics that are in process. These accounts are not yet ready to go public, but their early progress is quite encouraging.
After implementing the i2 solution, inventory distribution is now completely aligned with consumption, and customer availability jumped from 70% to 95%. The average week of supply in the channel went from 25 weeks in 2004 to just five weeks--and trending downward--in 2005. Unit sales of the targeted plasma television rose from 20,000 the previous year to approximately 100,000 in 2005. Operating profits for the business unit went from a 10% net loss in 2004 to a projected 13% profit for 2005.
Best Buy, the initial retailer covered by the vendor-managed inventory model, has since elevated Panasonic from a Tier 3 Supplier to a Tier 1 "Go To" Brand for plasma televisions.
I believe that i2's offering is a good example of how technology providers can combine the concept of SaaS with managed services, including offshore outsourcing, to deliver greater value to clients. Other traditional vendors should take note.
Related posts
i2 kills off its SRM business
i2 fires 300, struggles to refocus
i2 founder gives up top spot to new CEOby Frank Scavo, 10/01/2006 10:52:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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text:
May 31, 2007
Jeff Forehand wanted to lead the Lipscomb Bisons baseball team to the Atlantic Sun Conference title in his first season.
While admitting disappointment that the Bisons fell short of that goal, he admits he was more than pleased to guide the team to its first ever trip to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
The Bisons, the No. 6-seed, lost 4-3 to Stetson in the opening round of the tournament at Stetson. They then fell the next day 4-1 to No.5-seed Gardner-Webb. The losses are still fresh for Forehand, but he is able to put the entire season in perspective.
"I look back on it and I have never been so excited to finish sixth," Forehand said. "We set our goal to win the Atlantic Sun title. If we didn't make that goal we decided our next goal would be to make the conference tournament. We got that accomplished and that was a big thing for us and for our school.
"The season is still fresh on everyone's mind. We all wish we were still playing. But having been in the tournament will give us something to build on next season."
The Bisons finished the season with a 28-30 record, 12-15 in the A-Sun. They also had a 4-3 record against teams from the Southeastern Conference, winning two-out-of-three at Louisiana State and splitting 1-1 with Vanderbilt.
"We beat some very good SEC teams, but some weekends in our conference games we didn't play as well as we showed we could play," Forehand said. "That is always disappointing."
"But that's also what keeps us coming back and figuring out how we are going to return to the tournament and be eveb better next year."
The roster for the Bisons and the 2007 freshman class were set for Forehand before he joined the team after successful runs at Trevecca Nazarene University in the NAIA and on the high school level in Nashville. Forehand couldn't make any changes in his personnel so he decided to change their attitudes.
"I think this team exceeded expectations," Forehand said. "All coaches try to convince their teams they can beat anybody. You don't want to give your team a false sense of what they really are, but they need to grab hold of a confidence level.
"I told them they were an average team. And when they didn't play together and didn't try to execute what we work on everyday we were an average baseball team. If we weren't playing with a heightened level of enthusiasm, a heightened level of intensity and heightened level of playing as a team instead of worrying about individual play we weren't going to be the best team. We had to really push for that higher level of expectation and that higher level of intensity in every game."
Forehand stressed to his team that if they didn't play at their highest levels against teams like LSU, Vanderbilt and Auburn that the outcomes could be ugly.
"They convinced themselves that when they played that way they could beat anybody, but then we would go back and play teams in our league like Kennesaw State and Gardner-Webb and we played average. It's not that we played poorly against those teams, but when you stacked us up talent for talent we didn't compare."
Forehand is expecting every starter to return next season with the exception of center fielder Casey Bond, who transferred from Birmingham-Southern.
Sophomore catcher Caleb Joseph earned A-Sun First-Team All-Conference honors, leading the Bisons in seven offensive categories.
Rex Brothers was named Freshman of the Year and was also an All-Conference Second Team selection.
Pitcher Taylor Merry and first baseman Ryan Wilkins were both named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team.
"Casey had a solid year and started every game in center," Forehand said. "We will lose his offensive punch in the top of the order."
The Bisons will lose a lot of experience on the pitching staff with Rob Smithson, John King and Matt Schnelly ending their college careers.
"Robby was the one that surprised a lot of people," Forehand said. "He really came on as a pitcher. In every game he pitched but one he gave us a chance to win. We will miss the experience he had on the pitching staff.
"We will have eight sophomore arms next year. And all of them have the potential to be pretty good. We may add a couple of more junior college pitchers to give us some more experience next year."
Forehand isn't worried about an encore. His team expects to be back in the A-Sun Tournament next season.
"We know we belong, but we have to go out and do it every year in the strong league we are in," Forehand said. "ETSU, at one point in the season, was tied for first. and in five weeks they went from being tied for first to not being in the tournament.
"We can't take it for granted. But our players know now that we belong. The conference tournament is something that we will expect to do every year and not hope to do."
Forehand also finds motivation in the fact that the A-Sun had two teams, Stetson and Jacksonville, received bids for the NCAA Tournament.
"We would like to put ourselves in a position that eventually if we get 35 to 40 wins we might turn some heads for a bid," Forehand said. "We are taking our blueprint from the teams that have had the most success. We can learn some things from teams like Vanderbilt, but we also can learn a lot of things from Stetson and Jacksonville."


text:
Bar-sheets are IN at last...
Here is part of sheet 3 (of 4) of UM-2, Trader Mickey.
Done by the director, Dave Hand, this shows his thought process as he would sit in front of the boards, armed only with a pencil and a metronome. Oh, and an eraser!
This bit is all [2-12]: each measure has 2 beats of 12 frames each.
NOTE: this is the kind of paper that Dave Hand has in his hand in the scene where he acts out some action in the film about the studio that was done for RKO, and which is on the Treasures DVD "Inside the Disney Studio!"
|< Click on it!
Labels: Barsheets


text:
November 29, 2008
Wheaton College ended Wabash's playoff run Saturday, 59-28, at Little Giant Stadium. The Little Giants scored the game's first touchdown but the Thunder answered with 29 straight points.
The Thunder limited the Little Giants to 36 yards rushing to their own 204. See photos here, here, and a feature album here.
"Our offense struggles when we don't have balance," Junior quarterback Matt Hudson said. "If I throw the ball 40 times our chances of winning the game are definitely not as good as if I'm throwing the ball 18 times and we're rushing 50 times.
"They made it clear from the start they were not going to let us run the ball. They decided they were going to blitz all day and play man behind it and we just couldn't find the holes up front to get any big runs."
Wabash grabbed the game's first lead when David Mann picked off a Sean Norris pass to put the Little Giants in business. After a tough first three downs, Evan Sobecki inched in from the one-yard line to give Wabash the early momentum. But it didn't last long.
Jeff Lake caught a 12-yard Norris pass to tie the game then All-American defensive back and return specialist Pete Ittersagen returned a punt 70 yards to give Wheaton control. Rocky Gingg ran one in from seven yards early in the second period then Alex Pokorny caught a 14 yard pass for another Wheaton score, 28-7.
Kody LeMond caught a 4-yard pass with under a minute to play in the half to cut the lead in half, 28-14.
Wheaton came out and added four more scores to salt the game away in the third and early part of the fourth period. The Little Giants got a 2-yard run from Bobby Kimp and Brock Graham caught a 16-yard pass for the other score and the 59-28 final.
"I'm frustrated with the loss certainly but they beat us in every phase of the game," head coach Erik Raeburn said. "Our guys played hard but we just didn't execute well enough.
"We couldn't stop them. They only had to punt one time We couldn't get in sync on offense either; they got pressure on us, or we couldn't get someone open or wasn't able to hit them. We couldn't get any runs going. We played pretty poorly on offensive."
Wheaton out-gained the Little Giants 504-266. They were 4-of-7 on third down conversions compared to Wabash's 3-of-12. They threw for 300 yards to Wabash's 230. Still the rushing numbers really told the story.
Brady Young had a 23 yard rush on an end-around and late in the game Derrick Yoder broke a run for 17 yards, but the no gains and tackles for loss gave Wabash only a net 36 yards for the contest.
"That's something we're going to have to work on in the off season - our running game for sure," Hudson said. "It's one thing to run for 300 yards against Kenyon or Hiram but once you get in the playoffs you have to be effective running the ball.
"You look at our last three playoff wins against Mt. St. Joe's and two against Case and we've been effective running the ball. We had good rushing yards in those three games. Today we didn't have much. And last year against Whitewater we didn't have very much very much against them .We throw the ball 40 times, it's going to be a struggle."
Hudson did throw the ball 43 times and completed 22, but his biggest connection was a 23-yarder to LeMond. Young's 23 yards, on the one run, led the Little Giants rushing.
Defensively, Rich Lehman and Jared Lange had 8 tackles apiece. Josh Gangloff and Brent Banach each added seven. Mann had two interceptions to go with his four tackles. The Little Giants managed just one quarterback sack.
The loss leaves a bitter pill for the underclassmen, Hudson said.
"I didn't realize we hadn't lost a home game since we lost to Capital the seniors, freshman year," he said of the Bell loss two weeks ago. "Losing two in row a home is tough. I feel kind of embarrassed about the way the last two games ended. We have great, great support here at Wabash and basically to lay two eggs in a row at home is very disappointing."
In photos: Top right, Brady Young with the run after the catch. Lower left, Josh Gangloff (left) celebrates his quarterback sack.


text:
Friday, March 11, 2011
Poll Schmoll?
Is this denial, is this heart before head, because rationally it's hard to believe the Liberals are the ones pushing for an election. Cautious words from some quarters clearly warranted, but I still want to plow ahead, still believe we are in the best shape since the Conservatives took office. A leader with dreadful numbers, yet I see a person who has FINALLY found his voice, a certain authenticity now that seemed lacking before. I note Hebert commented on Ignatieff last night, sensing a change in the rhetoric to a more genuine place. My feelings changed with the caucus speech Ignatieff made, I think that a watershed moment, a little known secret now, but a presentation that can resonate come a campaign.
I'm not sure the Liberals have a "vision" yet, but I think they have a narrative now, they can contrast, they can differentiate, they can hammer the government with a coherent logic, armed with SCADS of third party validation. There is now so much material available, a virtual buffet of attack ad ready fronts, that can be woven into a powerful rejection of the very foundation these Conservatives first won office. Andrew Coyne used the proper term "debatable" when we discuss comparisons with the past Liberal government on ethics, transparency. I would submit, the fact we can even cobble together a "debatable" argument to make the comparison, argue a Conservative government WORSE than the dirty Liberals, a simply REMARKABLE evolution.
Outright victory, hard to see, given the hard math. However, despite the current "snapshots", the dire prognostications, I remain cautiously optimistic that we have finally found the "goods" that will cause people to give a second look. It now falls to the OLO to make the case, the material is there, the contrast has been developed, if the messenger can forcefully grap people's attention, opportunity despite current circumstance. In addition, again referencing Andrew Coyne, we are now in the rare situation where principle is trumping the polls, a party actually moving forward on a conviction, rather than simply trying to find the perfect weather vane moment. Ignatieff said he "relishes" a fight on the issues discussed the past couple weeks, and I concur. The debate goes to the heart of our democracy, I think cynics will be surprised, ONCE AGAIN, that people can be stirred from their slumber when core tenets are challenged, debated. A latent passion does exist, rather than frustrated, I see potential spark, which could challenge the conventional wisdom.
The polls are dreadful, as bad as they've been, there is no silver lining to be found, logic dictates a reconsideration. And yet, I'm more eager than ever to see the opposition vote non confidence and go to the people. Craziness, I know...
62 comments:
- Anonymous said...
I don't trust AR polls at all. And by that, I don't mean I think they're flawed. I mean I think they are pure rubbish designed to push whatever meme they are supporting at the time.
To me they are the Rasmussen of the North. Rasmussen is known for pushing an extraordinary (as in almost as many polls as other polling units combined) with a bias toward the right on every issue. They flood the US media with poll after poll. It gets eaten up and digested. When push comes to shove, their polls remarkably right themselves just in time for elections.
But in any cycle in between, you might as well toss their results into the trash heap.
So my suggestion that the AR poll showing the conservatives surging and the liberals falling to historic lows flying in the face of the worst headlines Harper has seen (and that's saying a lot) means one of two things:
1) They know the government is going to fall and they want to plant the idea that a conservative majority is a given.
2) They want desperately to convince some party (or some members of the parties) to keep them afloat until they can mitigate the situation.
I'm voting for 2 in this instance.
Of course that's just a theory, but I've been observing Rasmussen down south for a long time. And my spidey-sense is pretty good with them. I can pretty much tell you what the Rasmussen polls say before I even look at them now . . . on any topic. I can write the headline and then look at the numbers.
So either I'm psychic or I have their number.
AR is starting to feel the same to me ;).
- 8:17 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
I agree Rasmussen, was always amazed that anyone gave it credence. AR, not sure, their record is actually pretty good- one caveat, not sure if an online panel is reactive enough to events on the ground.
- 8:34 AM, March 11, 2011
- Morakon said...
It's go time. Bring on an election. The Liberals better have a good ad campaign when this thing gets started.
- 8:50 AM, March 11, 2011
- ridenrain said...
Why waste $200 million in an election, just to get rid of a lame duck leader?
- 9:05 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
300 million.
- 9:06 AM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
Why waste $200 million in an election, just to get rid of a lame duck leader?
Because Harper's a lying piece of shit and his corrupt government must go!
...and as Steve pointed out it's $300 million.
- 9:20 AM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
Oh, I'd like to point out now that Harper was trailing Martin by 5-6% on the advent of the 2005-06 election campaign.
- 9:21 AM, March 11, 2011
- ottlib said...
Steve said: "Is this denial, is this heart before head, because rationally it's hard to believe the Liberals are the ones pushing for an election."
ridenrain said: "Why waste $200 million in an election, just to get rid of a lame duck leader?"
That pretty much sums it up does it not?
The polls say the Liberals should back off but they are not. In fact it would seem they are upping the rhetoric if Mr. Ignatieff's performance yesterday is any indication.
Meanwhile a Conservative supporter like Rain posts a comment indicating he does not want an election when the polls seem to be indicating that his party will win and win big during one.
The weak is pushing for an election while the strong is trying to prevent it.
Perhaps because the public polls are not showing the true picture, perhaps inadvertently or as John says with intent.
Perhaps Conservatives realize that most voters vote against a party not for it and the Conservatives have given voters alot of reasons not to vote for them in recent weeks.
Perhaps despite their rhetoric they have noticed that Mr. Ignatieff has improved his retail political skills considerably over the last few months and he will be a very formidable opponent.
Perhaps all of the above.
This next election is going to be a crap shoot for the Conservatives. They have the most to lose and they know there is a very real possibility that they will lose. So they and their many cheerleaders in the chattering classes are going to do their very best to prevent one until the conditions are a little more comfortable for them.
The Liberals recognise this reality and that is why they are pushing for an election.
- 9:30 AM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
You're being too nice to the troll ottlib - but well stated, and it certainly speaks volumes doesn't it?
- 9:34 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
That is a great point, why is there an absense of "bring it on" for the conbots, like we've seen previously when polls are favorable? They apparently have us right where they want, majority looks possible and yet from all quarters I sense not wanting an election, whether it be their spinmeisters, supporters, favorable media pundits. Why is right, and maybe it says we aren't that crazy afterall.
- 9:45 AM, March 11, 2011
- ridenrain said...
If only 5% of Canadians bother to follow politics, they won't have seen the flood of fabricated scandals and none are as universally disliked as ADSCAM or the coalition. Their cynical and already know all parties are the same so crying hypocrites won't matter either. Their going to look at the economy, how the government is affecting their lives and the leaders. Liberals themselves came up with "the tourist" and it resonates with the public.
Do please proceed though. I know the Conservatives can afford it.
- 9:57 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
Really? Did Harper come to power on the "economy"? Exactly. I find it hilarious that Cons who once championed ethics, accountability, the CORNERSTONE of their entire campaign, no say none of it matters.
- 10:00 AM, March 11, 2011
- Sean Cummings said...
Jaheebus - things must be right freaking terrible when Liberal bloggers start quoting Andrew Coyne.
- 10:26 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
Once again, you quote someone else, but offer NOTHING that speaks to the argument. Step it up, your commentary offers ZIP.
- 10:31 AM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
rid-of-brain ...why if the Libs are headed for certain defeat, are you urging them to back down? Why not indulge the Liberal Party in their suicidal tendencies?
I smell fear ...big time!
BTW - you are your kind are hypocritical slime for supporting a lying, corrupt, spend-happy piece of shit faux-conservative gang of fratboys. I wouldn't mind the Reform-based agenda so much (I really don't care for the LGR as an example, and agree with more money to the military and our legal system) but the transparency and accountability aspects were the primary reason for Harper winning power. How your movement has fallen from the ideals of the circa-1993 Reform Party!!! Preston Manning must be shaking his head right now.
- 10:32 AM, March 11, 2011
- Sean Cummings said...
There is no argument, Steve. I was simply observing the irony of a Liberal blogger quoting a conservative pundit as a measure of how bad things are in Liberal-town.
I live in Saskatoon. The Liberal Party is non-existent here. I can't see how they can win an election with polling numbers that low. That's why I am in favor of an election now - perhaps it will be the complete decimation of the Liberal Party to get the party to realize it needs to rebuild from the ground up rather than go ahead messiah searching.
Remember when Iggy was supposed to be the Liberal Jesus? How's that working out for you given that your primary opponent is a control freak who flouts parliamentary authority on a whim and who shits on democracy?
- 10:41 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
That isn't irony btw.. Again, you haven't commented on the context, just some lazy guilt by association line. It's entirely unconvincing...
I don't see the apocalypse, sorry...
- 10:44 AM, March 11, 2011
- Sean Cummings said...
A partisan Liberal blogger quoting a conservative pundit to bolster his argument isn't irony?
Um ... okay.
- 10:49 AM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
And Sean used Saskatoon as reference for Canada as a whole. Sean and Ridofbrain seem to showing a similar trend: confusing personal opinion and conjecture with reality
- 10:56 AM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
This Conservative government is not different than the last Liberal one we had, nor is different than the Conservative one before that. Government and lack of ethics go hand in hand. Those of you screamiing about a corrupt government, where ya bin the last 25 years? The public is not going to kick Harper out until they see something better...
So the question becomes: why isn't the Liberal Party better?
- 11:26 AM, March 11, 2011
- marie said...
I agree John.A poll is only as good as the questions framed and where the majority of people polled happen to reside.
False polls most of the time. The only ones that do count are after the writ is dropped and the way questions areframed and the actual election polls.
Not enough land phones but cell phone owned by mostly the very young ignorant Canadians and not the majority of the elder Canadians whom a lot do not own CP's or connect to the internet,as well as on line polls that can easily be manipulated.
Im voting for 2) as well.
- 11:29 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
Really? Why did the last gov't get kicked out? I seem to remember the ECONOMY humming along, surplus ridiculous, employment absurdly high, and yet... Where have you been?
- 11:34 AM, March 11, 2011
- Gayle said...
"If only 5% of Canadians bother to follow politics, they won't have seen the flood of ... scandals"
(Suggesting the In and Out fraud, and being found to be prima facie in contempt of parliament three times is "fabricated" is just stupid. Grow up).
If only 5% of Canadians follow politics between elections, far more than that follow politics during the election. Striking now means these scandals will be front and centre in a campaign. People will be paying attention.
It seems apparent the LPC believe they have something to run on. I have to believe they also have a vision for the country and that will come out in an election.
Canada has elected liberal governments over and over again. The truth is we are comfortable with them and I think that if the LPC are able to show 1) Harper is NOT the PM he promised to be (which will be easy to do), and 2) they have a reasonable, solid plan for governing, Canadians will be comfortable returning to a liberal government.
The LPC need the election to get people to pay attention to Harper's dishonest government.
- 11:41 AM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
Just to clarify, they say 15% pay attention between elections.
- 11:52 AM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
Paul wrote:
Government and lack of ethics go hand in hand.
Interesting, a CPC supporter now admitting their government is corrupt. Well Paul, its nice to see someone being honest about it.
However ethics, accountability and transparency are indeed serious issues. And it was for these very reasons that Harper was elected, certainly not the economy. The economy was doing extremely well thanks to Paul Martin, and still is thanks to his work from the 90's.
So the question becomes have the Liberals learned their lesson from Adscam? I think after 5 years in opposition they've figured something about how rushing money out the door during crisis without proper safeguards isn't a good idea. I'm waiting to see their policies on this, which I'm told are in the can and waiting for the election call.
So the question to the voters is do you vote for the government you know are lying and corrupt, or the ones who say they've learned and will enact changes.
This will be an interesting election, that's for sure.
- 12:01 PM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
What is funny, how ethics no longer matter, everybody does it, contrasted with the prior holier than thou stances. Still find it amazing, completely sold out every single one of their supposed principles, all in the name of keeping power. Where are you old reformers, where are you??
- 12:05 PM, March 11, 2011
- Omar said...
Where are you old reformers, where are you??
I often wonder where all the old Red Tories are? Why the hell doesn't someone like Joe Clark come out and speak against this foul government? I don't get it. Is he not concerned about the current state of the nation? Apparently not.
- 12:15 PM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
"Really? Why did the last gov't get kicked out? I seem to remember the ECONOMY humming along"
and it was....but the stealing thing really got in the way. Again wasting/overspending is one thing, stealing public money is a different animal.
"Interesting, a CPC supporter now admitting their government is corrupt. Well Paul, its nice to see someone being honest about it."
Nice spin...did you actually read my post? Why am I a CPC supporter?
Was it something I said, or am I not partisan enough?
Question remains...Why isn't the Liberal Party better?
- 12:24 PM, March 11, 2011
- Kirk said...
With satellite TV I see the ads run on local stations for various parts of the country. In the Maritimes the Cons are running 4 ads per 1 hour show.
A massive multi 10's of million dollar advertising campaign using both CPC dollars and govt dollars verses scant coverage on the news.
Guess which is winning?
- 12:27 PM, March 11, 2011
- Steve V said...
There is no question the barrage of ads, CPC and one's I'm paying for, are having an impact on poll numbers. That also means, once the campaign starts and it's a level playing field, one has to wonder if it holds up?
- 12:30 PM, March 11, 2011
- Kirk said...
Oh, and Paul. The Conservatives did steal money, $100,000 in the "in-and-out" scandal.
They were trying to steal $800,000 by submitting forged invoices but EC caught on to their scheme before they could steal the full $800,000.
- 12:39 PM, March 11, 2011
- DL said...
Its worth noting that in Nov. 2005 most polls gave the Liberals about a 10 point lead over the Tories. In fact, I remember very well how for the first two weeks of December 2005 people were scratching their heads over how the Liberals still had a double digit lead over the Tories despite all the Gomery stuff and despite the consensus among pundits that the Liberal campaign was not very good while the Tory campaign was landing a lot of hits...eventually there was a tipping point and the Liberals tumbled. Of course one GIGANTIC difference was that in 2006 you had a 13 year old government not a 5 year old government - so the "time for a change" sentiment was far more powerful. Another example, in BC in 2009, the BC "so-called" Liberals spent a gazillion dollars before the writ was dropped vilifying Carol James and the BC NDP and had as much as a 16 point lead when they called the election...a month later when the votes were counted after the NDP had run a reasonably competent campaign and actually ran ads attacking the government - that 16% lead shrank to just a 3% lead. ...and the moral of the story is???
- 12:50 PM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
"Oh, and Paul. The Conservatives did steal money, $100,000 in the "in-and-out" scandal."
And from who did they "steal" it from?
And yet the Qestion remains: Why isn't the Liberal Party better?
- 12:57 PM, March 11, 2011
- Kirk said...
...and the moral of the story is???
Elections matter.
Or, polls are for dogs.
- 12:58 PM, March 11, 2011
- Kirk said...
Paul, Paul, Paul. They stole it from the Canadian taxpayer by submitting forged invoices which were reimbursed at 60% of their value.
And you claim you aren't a Conservative...
- 1:00 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
he isnt. he's a moron
- 1:26 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
and to rephrase Paul's question
Why are the conservatives so lacking?
- 1:27 PM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
Paul, it's pretty clear from your past statements and even the ones here today that you support the Harper Government.
"And yet the Qestion remains: Why isn't the Liberal Party better?"
Paul, you do realize at this point that Ignatieff, Rae, Kennedy, Brison, McTeague, Bennett, Trudeau, Dosanjh, Garneau, Hall-Findlay, Holland, etc ...have as much to do with Adscam; as Harper and his cabinet ministers had to do with Mulroney's Airbus Scandal.
Not as much as I'd like to see, but there has been a significant turnaround in LPC caucus membership since the Chretien years.
- 1:34 PM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
Just trying to get my head around partisan spin. I'm not sure if the public will see it as stealing or just bending accounting rules.
Sorry if I don't bow and worship Liberal everything...history has taught me to trust no party. I vote for whom I believe will provide the best leadership.
Have voted both Conservative and Liberal in the past.
If I can't get an answer about what makes Liberals better on a partisan Liberal blog..
If I'm going to vote Liberal then there better be some sort of "vision". Anybody can pick government apart, at any given time. Iggy been ther how long now, and what has he offered Canadians? Give me a reason to vote Liberal and I just might.
- 1:45 PM, March 11, 2011
- Michael said...
Harper has so many targets painted on his ass right now. Add the flat employment numbers, and a great big trust issue when it comes to dealing with the deficit (his), jet plane costs all relative to medicare, old age pensions etc. and you have a campaign theme. I agree with your optimism, especially since the real goal is to hold him to a minority and then sit back and watch the Diefenbaker-esque feeding frenzy.
- 1:56 PM, March 11, 2011
- JimmE said...
Don't get me wrong I'd like to see an election, but here is my concern: Candidates. Some very good ones have left the tent for a number of reasons, if we go to the polls we will have to appoint some place holders &/or accept some less than ideal ones. This hurts Liberal chances, & if Grits were to win who knows what dust bunnies would end up in the light of day. Not only must the plan & plane be ready, but people like Manley, Martin, Turner & JC need to be calling good people asking them to consider running.
- 1:59 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
" I'm not sure if the public will see it as stealing or just bending accounting rules. "
And that's the kicker. You DONT know what Canadians are thinking.
- 2:21 PM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
"Give me a reason to vote Liberal and I just might."
Paul, how about NOT spending $28-billion on a sole-sourced tender for fighter jets of unproven technology? How about NOT spending over $2-billion (actually we don't even know if that's right) on new jails for a 'law & order' agenda that even Newt Gingrich is now warning us about.
Or think of it another way, say Iggy does really well and the LPC wins a weak minority. That gives ~2 years to see what they can do differently, meanwhile the Conservatives can finally ditch Harper and replace him with someone who doesn't automatically piss off 60% of the population. And there are good Tories out there that could win a majority if the party would just stop trying to emulate the Republicans and go back to Anglo-Canadian conservative traditions. Right now, Harper is the Liberal's best chance to win government.
- 2:37 PM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
"And that's the kicker. You DONT know what Canadians are thinking."
Your right, who knows...maybe it will be a Liberal majority based on their new found set of ethics.
As I said, same shit...different party.
- 2:39 PM, March 11, 2011
- Omar said...
"Give me a reason to vote Liberal and I just might."
If you cannot see just how wretched this new breed of conservatism is and how this wretchedness has manifested itself into an utter incompetent form of governance, then Gene hits the nail on the head, you sir, are a moron.
- 2:40 PM, March 11, 2011
- Anonymous said...
Martins defeat to Harper was not economy based but, was due to a decade of mini scandals and the last few years of major scandals. No govt can escape the mini scandals, its the larger scandals that take you down. In/Out and Oda are the mini scandals, much like HRC and Shawinigate...the G20 fiasco could be compared to the Gun Registry fiasco. Voters overlooked the many Liberal stumbles as simple mistakes made in a complex political system. It was Adscam, plain and simple. Your feeling good about an election because your a partisan Liberal and, thats a good thing because it balances out our democracy. And honestly TKW, name me a PM over the last 30 years who hasnt looked into the camera and lied to the Canadian people...other then Paul Martin, and, maybe he should have.
- 2:55 PM, March 11, 2011
- marie said...
As I say Paul, same bull shit, different current governing Party. I see your cult dictator taking full advantage of the Japan earthquake. All over the Media doing … what he's very good at, his is one and only greatness, of placing his mug, crooked nose and all before his accommodating media doing, you guessed it (famous photo Ops.)
Least we forget, Paul, Harper has no ethics worth mentioning here. He seems to forget all about ethics because he doesn't have those traits crucial to when it comes to being a Prime minister. Actually, it appears that he is still in the practicing stage after 5+ years
I can't wait until the election writ is dropped. Maybe then the media will give ALL parties fair media coverage and show Canadians the real Liberal leader, not the one that control freak Harper and his adoring Media have made up in portraying Ignatieff. Choices between a Harvard graduate or a self proclaimed economic masters that his only previous job, rumors was a mail sorter in a mail room likely his father's mail room & office.
See Paul, we can all speak our opinions just as credible as the Medias immature opinion writers. It doesn't take many writing skills and zero credibility to speak of. The only ones that listen or care are the gullible supporters of Harper land with a small amount of IQ worth mentioning about with the brain drained and hood winked childish posters we read about on the G&M blogs of CTV for that matter. All it takes is cut and paste the talking lines you want.
.. Run along Paul . its plain to see who you support. A bully a liar, a man who has no scruples who would throw people like yourself and his family members under the bus if it suits his agenda. Come to think of it, He has already shown Canadians what is agenda is and I for one am not impressed.
- 3:46 PM, March 11, 2011
- Omar said...
Fridays Power Panel is the only one of the week worth watching. It will be interesting to hear what actual journalists have to say in regards to the weeks happenings rather then the partisan spin you get Mon-Thurs from the Bluesky, Milner-Casgrain, Crestview, Mediastyle, National Post talking heads.
- 4:24 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
and like you said Paul, you dont know squat. Yet for some reason you act like an authority. Of what besides bs I dont know.
- 4:26 PM, March 11, 2011
- Tof KW said...
And honestly TKW, name me a PM over the last 30 years who hasnt looked into the camera and lied to the Canadian people...other then Paul Martin, and, maybe he should have.
Easy, Joe Clark. The reason he only won a minority, and quickly lost it was because he told the truth. To this day I hold him in the highest regard of any living politician in this country.
Funny you mention Martin, I in fact consider him the second most honest PM - in my lifetime anyhow.
And compare him and the Gomery Commission compared to what the Harper gang is doing right now. Even if the Grits are half as honest as Martin, I'm happy with them in a minority if possible. Harper must go before any more damage is done to crystallize the powers of the PM over Parliament.
- 4:43 PM, March 11, 2011
- ottlib said...
You are over simplifying things a little bit. The mini-scandals that you mention did hurt the Chretien Liberals. Afterall they lost almost 20 seats in 1997 and were almost reduced to a minority government.
They came back in 2000 because of Stockwell Day. His 2000 campaign was brutal. He made Stephane Dion look like a seasoned campaigner.
In 2006 it is true that Adscam was a big factor but so was the fact the conservative side of the Canadian political spectrum finally got its act together after the Mulroney fiasco.
Stephen Harper is in a similar position to Jean Chretien in 1997. The only difference is Jean Chretien went into the 1997 election with around 170 seats so he could afford to lose some without losing power. Mr. Harper's position is not as secure and he does not have as much room for error.
- 6:20 PM, March 11, 2011
- Jerry Prager said...
Here is the single most important fact on the democratic calendar,
after this, revolution
- 6:48 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
Not this instant rebellion gonzo crap you were peddling on Red Tory Jerry!
- 6:59 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
Not this instant rebellion gonzo crap you were peddling on Red Tory!
How is that going to start a revolution Jerry? Who are the leaders and how are they going to get organized as fast as you theorize?
- 7:00 PM, March 11, 2011
- Dame said...
not completely offline... BUT
I guess we can ditch ALL the fighter jet orders and make room for producing thousands of HELICOPTERS... the only thing what makes sense.
- 7:04 PM, March 11, 2011
- Omar said...
So much for that Power Panel. Japan, Stephen Harper thanks you.
- 7:18 PM, March 11, 2011
- Joe said...
In talking to non-partisan Canadians from coast to coast, as I am prone to do, I get the distinct impression that they would just like 'the government' AKA Parliament to grow up and get along. Underneath that sentiment is the promise to electorally punish whomsoever they perceive as forcing the next election.
- 7:18 PM, March 11, 2011
- Paul said...
" I see your cult dictator taking full advantage of the Japan earthquake. All over the Media doing … what he's very good at, his is one and only greatness, of placing his mug, crooked nose and all before his accommodating media doing, you guessed it (famous photo Ops.)"
Just like every other leader on the planet does in a time of crisis. Course, if he didn't do it then you would be whining about him not doing enough.
Twisting Japan into politics equals sick and pathetic.
- 7:31 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
"In talking to non-partisan Canadians from coast to coast, as I am prone to do"
Just out of curiosity, what is your monthly mileage because you must drive a ton.
- 7:31 PM, March 11, 2011
- Joe said...
"what is your monthly mileage because you must drive a ton."
Well since they invented the telegraph, telephone, and now that new interwebbie thingie with pictures and all that everyone is talking about..... a lot less kilometerage than you might think.
- 7:39 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
"Twisting Japan into politics equals sick and pathetic."
That doesnt make a bit of sense at all. Politicizing a disaster is indeed bad taste but that's pretty much a given across the board Paul. Im not backing Marie's argument in this case because politicians, disasters & cameras go together like sex, drugs and rock and roll. Your statement conveys a tone that any type of discussion regarding Japan that doesnt agree with what you see as acceptible is somehow offensive and should not be discussed. So much for open discussion.
There are some interesting political items to discuss in Japan; some related to the earthquake and some that just coincidentally happened to be happening at that time. Japan wasn't exactly in the best political shape at the time of this quake and the career prospects of the Japanese PM arent all that healthy.
Politically speaking, Japan has been a bit of a basketcase for awhile now. Throw on an economy in recession and they have major problems.
Now consider how much oil and gas they consume: how do you think this is going to affect us? Japan is the third largest market economy and this earthquake is going to have ripples everywhere.
Harper is free to take all the photo-ops he wants, but if he follows a behaviour he is all to frequent to do: make partisan attacks on the world stage. Then he deserves to be criticized regardless of whether you think it's appropriate or not.
But that's the problem with some issues isnt it? People who decry political correctness then invoke some sort of bs edicate on others they dont agree with. Its not about talking about the issues with you, its about preventing others talking about them.
- 7:40 PM, March 11, 2011
- Gene Rayburn said...
So what you're saying is you email, phone, watch tv and surf the web like everyone else. So smartass, how do you qualify your findings so it has empirical proof or are you just blowing smoke, as you are prone to do?
- 3:36 PM, March 12, 2011


text:
Bryanna Clark Grogan's Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 21st Century Table: The kitchen journal of a vegan food writer.. I'm on Facebook and Twitter (see links in sidebar at right).
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
What is Vegan MoFo? Click here to find out!
If you don't already have a copy of Fran Costigan's More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally, then put it on your holiday wishlist immediately! It's a vegan kitchen must-have.
Fran herself is a wonderful, warm, funny, loving, hard-working and knowledgable person. I'm privileged to be able to call her my friend.
We met at a NAVS SummerFest quite a few years ago. She was presenting the day before I was. She had a mini-disaster while baking some cookies in her workshop-- one of the helpers placed cookie dough on baking-parchment-covered trays as directed, but used plastic serving trays instead of metal baking trays! They were slipped into the oven as Fran demonstrated another dish. She began to smell plastic and peeked into the oven to see the trays melting! She quickly shut the oven door and turned off the oven, and kept going.
I needed to use the oven in my workshop the next day, so Fran and I met over a garbage can-- scraping hardened plastic off the oven racks! We had a great time, though, and discovered many similarities in our personal backgrounds, as well as both being Geminis and cooks. Even though we live on opposite ends of the continent, and usually only meet at vegan conferences, we keep in touch and have a great time when we meet.
Me and Fran in the middle, between chefs Eric Tucker and Sualua Tupolo at the airport, all looking a bit worse for the wear after the 2007 Vegetarian Awakening vegan chef's conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The chefs at the 2007 Vegetarian Awakening Conference Back Row (L to R): Tal Ronnen, Chad Sarno, Ian Brandt, Kevin Dunn, Eric Tucker, Sualua Tupolo; Front (L to R) Bryanna, Cathi Di Cocco, Fran Costigan
I visited briefly with Fran when I was in New York last March. In her tiny apartment kitchen, she was making a vegan wedding cake for her daughter, plus about 400 biscotti!
The Chocolate Cake to Live For, for Tracy & Rob by Mom Costigan (Mocha ganache and white vegan buttercream)-- spectacular!!
Fran uses the best natural ingredients, and, unlike alot of pastry chefs, she doesn't go crazy on the fats! Her desserts are absolutely fabulous and have won over traditionalists such as Deborah Madison:
"I'm a fan of traditional pastry – flaky, buttery pie crusts, sugar cookies made with white sugar and wheat flour, rich pastry creams and all of that. I've even worked as a pastry chef. But when I wanted to make a chocolate cake for a vegan friend, I didn't know where to begin. Thankfully Fran Costigan came to the rescue. I made her Chocolate Cake. I couldn't believe how utterly delicious it was! No one who tasted the tender-crumbed, dark chocolate cake guessed that it was made with whole-wheat pastry flour, maple syrup, no eggs and oil instead of butter. Even I, the big doubter, was terribly impressed and very pleased to know that such good confections can be made in a healthful manner without losing their taste. Cooking from Fran's book has taught me to open my mind to new possibilities. Vegan I am not, but I'd make this cake (and many of her other recipes) again, purely for my own selfish enjoyment."
Deborah Madison, award-winning author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Fran also gives explicit directions and lots of information about ingredients-- so important with any baking, but especially vegan baking!
She's going to have a blog soon, so keep an eye out for it! UPDATE: The blog is still in the making, though you can see pictures at her website at that link, but you might want to "like" her Facebook page.
Get this book and start baking vegan!
6 comments:
- aimee said...
I love this book so much. It has really changed the way I do a lot of my baking. I would love to take a class with her at some point in my life!
- Tue Oct 07, 06:25:00 PM PDT
- River said...
That cake is so beautiful! I love how sometimes people meet in the strangest circumstances and become good friends!
- Tue Oct 07, 06:28:00 PM PDT
- Bex said...
I've seen this book but I've never heard/read anyone talking about it so it never really caught my attention but now it has. Another book for my wishlist.
- Tue Oct 07, 06:54:00 PM PDT
- JohnP said...
Yeah, Fran Costigan! Great post about a great baker!
- Wed Oct 08, 04:36:00 AM PDT
I LOVE Fran's book! It was the first vegan cookbook I bought when we went vegan :)
One of my first blog was about her Blueberry Slump (with the Silken Cashew Cream)! Yum, yum, yum!
I can't wait for her blog! Will you announce it, Bryanna?
The Wedding Cake is utterly gorgeous!
- Wed Oct 08, 11:59:00 AM PDT
- Azzahar said...
This cake is definitely my favourite, AND it's much better than any non-vegan chocolate cake I've eaten. I agree with you, this book is a must-have.
- Sat Oct 18, 01:53:00 AM PDT