text:
Fast as Lightning at RAAM 2004!
CHAMPIONS FOR ALS — FIRST TO CROSS RAAM FINISH LINE
Atlantic City, NJ, June 26, 2004 — Less than 5 days eight hours from their start in San Diego, the rookie Race Across America Team ALS Lightning was the first to cross the finish line in a remarkable ultimate endurance test of athleticism and dedication to their cause, to cure ALS.
Only two of the 15 member rider and crew had any previous experience with RAAM, and yet the team broke several RAAM records along their route, during which they never even went off course. On their third day, after passing both first and second place teams in Kansas, Team ALS Lightning not only took the lead at the halfway point, but never gave it up afterwards. They broke the record for the most miles covered in a twenty-four period, only to break that record again shortly thereafter.
ALS support teams along the route provided inspiration and sustenance to the Team's efforts. On Tuesday, June 22nd, Tammie Camp and her family met Team ALS Lightning in Santa Rosa, NM after the rigorous mountain climbing performed by the racers. Tammie's brother, Bruce Massoud is diagnosed with ALS, and the family came out to support the team in his honor. Tammie accepted an early morning order of supplies for the team, and came through with flying colors. Her sister had made 2 dozen sweet rolls, which barely lasted to the next timestation, and provided bag lunches for all, that were ravenously devoured. It was evident from the contents in each sack, that Tammie, due to her nephew Michael's involvement in road racing, knew exactly what to pack for these athletes. Tammie's father made stands for the ALS March of Faces Banners to display at the timestation. They looked fantastic.
Late afternoon, as Team ALS Lightning was entering into Texas, the leap-frog support van had a flat. The RV crew picked up the tire and rim, quickly identified a tire center at the next timestation in Dalhart, TX and led the leap-frog support crew for the change. Having both the pace vehicle and the cargo van, a rolling bicycle shop, to cover the racer, no time was lost from this mishap.
In Kansas, Teressa Sliger and Alpha Phi Alpha Chapter of the international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa in El Dorado, KS waited patiently in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday, June 23rd for the team to race by the checkpoint, of which they now commanded the lead. Sliger and her cheery group helped restock supplies for the team, including hamburgers that were sorely missed by the road-weary crew.
Also in Kansas, at the final checkpoint before crossing the Missouri line at Fort Scott, was Kristie Cook and her three sons, Zak, Austin and Nathan, waiting anxiously for the Team that was now on the fast-track to finishing the Race Across AMerica in record time. Cook, the editor of the Linn County News, is the niece of one of the crew members, Terry Frank who was a caregiver to her PALS, Kyle Hahn for nearly seven years. Apparently, Team ALS Lightning was appropriately named as they sped through Fort Scott barely noticed.
The team start of RAAM 2004. Riders are from left: James Kern, Tim Woudenberg, Bob Fourney, and Sam Whittingham, worlds fastest human!
How many bike riders receive congratulations from Miss America? Tim Brummer (right) and Tim "Wolf" Wouldenberg, one of the Lightning Team riders are greeted by Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 2004.
Now doesn't this bike look just a bit more comfortable than the bike the orange-clad rider is using? The F-90 is the fastest bike you can buy.
A weary but successful team breaks the first finishing tape in Atlantic City!
Sam Whittingham climbs through Missouri
At this point, the Team was well ahead of breaking the current HPV record for RAAM. Needing to maintain an average speed of 24.02 mph, they were now averaging from the start 24.39 mph. In fact, record speeds were recorded throughout their pace, with four time station speeds exceeding 30 mph.
Crew chief, Tim Clark, expertly utilized the individual skills of each of the racers. James "Shrike" Kern, the captain, spent most of his pulls climbing, Bob Fourney experienced in RAAM and a 15+ year veteran of recumbents managed the dangerously speedy descents, Sam Whittingham, Guiness Book of Records' "World's Fastest Man" took the straightaways, and Tim "Wolf" Woudenberg, proved tenacious and driven maintaining his average speed of 25 mph throughout and always willing and able to put in that extra pull.
New crew members, Ric and Rob Woudenberg were added on day 4 at the Indianapolis timestation, and navigators on the team were able to get some rest. A few more miles and timestations up the road, Team ALS Lightning was met by Karen and her children along with RAAM officials and Dayton's Channel 7 news. They fired through Troy, OH with an average speed from start of 24.15 and still on track.
In London, OH the ALSA Western Ohio Chapter was waiting to cheer the Team on to victory. Although they were behind their estimated arrival by a few hours, the ALSA Chapter engaged in the London Days Festival and activities, while alerting the team of the detour they would need to take to avoid the festival. Judy Schmitz, CALS and board member of the chapter, picked up the team at this point and followed along their route.
In Parkersburg, WV, one of the racers, Bob Fourney began experiencing severe motion sickness. Most likely from the rocky ride on the 32 foot RV nicknamed the mothership, was just like a ship on a stormy ocean. Schmitz' was able to come to the rescue for the team, providing a few hours relief and rest for the racer and chief as she drove them forward to the next timestations. It was just enough to get Bob back on the road, only to endure rain, slick roads, and a treacherously winding decline towards Gormania, WV.
The mothership, while waiting for the team to race through La Vale, MD outside of Cumberland, figured it was time to reward the team with a hearty breakfast. Bob Evans sat conveniently across from the timestation and skillet breakfasts and sausage sandwiches were loaded on board.
Between the hills and weather, West Virginia started chopping away at Team ALS Lightning's average speed, but safety was paramount. By the time they reached Berkeley Springs, WV, the Team's average speed from the start was 23.50 mph. The good news was they were still hours ahead of the next closest Teams, Team Action Sports, and Team Vail-Go Fast.
In Rouzerville, PA, once again the mothership determined "real" food was called for to inspire and sustain the team, and a wonderful family restaurant was located by crew member, David Bradley, where 36 pieces of home-style fried chicken were freshly packed and sent to the team.
Only 5 more timestations to go, once through the Appalachians, Team ALS Lightning picked up their speed once more, in spite of a flat tire that spilled racer, Sam Whittingham, giving him a "crash" course on road rash. That was not to deter him later, when he helped raced this team to victory, bolstering their average timestation speeds up above 25 mph in the final stretches.
At Georgetown, PA, the Team was met by PALS Judy Repass and her dedicated "crew" of nurses, Elaine and Judy Pangborn. Repass has been in the ALS race since 1975, ventilator dependant since 1988, but always willing to keep pace with the best, and this is exactly what she did from timestation 52 to the finish line. As Repass stated on her website, "… it was the most exciting ALS advocacy event I've been involved with. I will continue to promote awareness and advocacy for as long as I can."
Finally, the Team was on the straightaway, where the recumbents truly prove their Lightning speed. The average speeds from Georgetown to Commodore Barry Bridge, and from the Bridge to the penultimate timestation both exceeded 25.5 mph.
Shortly after midnight, Team ALS Lightning crossed the "official" finish line to be the first greeted by RAAM director Jim Pitre. PALS Tom Touchette and Judy Repass, both vice presidents of the team's sponsor ALS March of Faces, cheered their victory along with many ALS supporters present in spite of the late hour.
Team captain, James Kern put it succinctly when he said, "We were all under a lot of stress. We did what we could to cope and we all knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We will still have a life when its all over. Its different with ALS." Team ALS Lightning won the race but more importantly they recognized the race that continues for the thousands stricken with ALS, and the need to break the cycle and win a victory over Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The Extreme Challenge continues until we "Break the Cycle — Cure ALS". Get involved! Email us at extreme-challenge@march-of-faces.org
You must enable JavaScript in your browser to view the menu.
Copyright © Lightning Cycle Dynamics, 1977–2022


text:
Chris Feik is Publisher of the Month
What was your pathway to publishing?
Circuitous and fortuitous, seeming inevitable only in retrospect. After university, where I studied literature and social theory, I did many bookish jobs: helping with the mail-out at ABR under Helen Daniel, reviewing books, receiving books, selling books, buying books – all at Readings – editing books, teaching editing, and so on. Eventually, I lucked into a job with Black Inc. and found myself on the ground floor of an expanding enterprise with a simpatico and highly creative boss.
How many titles do you publish each year?
Most years I publish around twenty-five new books. There are also new formats of previously published books. Overall, Black Inc. publishes around seventy books each year.
Which book are you proudest of publishing?
Not a book, but a series: the seventy-first Quarterly Essay was published recently. I have worked on the series since the beginning and became editor with issue twelve. It is a source of torment and delight. We have published a wide range of fine writers and thinkers. I am most proud of working closely as an editor with these writers to create the series. I don't know if there is anything quite like it anywhere else in the world.
Do you edit the books you commission?
In many cases, yes.
What qualities do you look for in an author?
Genius. In a non-fiction writer, an original mind. In a fiction writer, an instinct for drama. Often I sense something original or impressive in a writer without quite knowing what it is, but think I would like to read more of this, to know where it will go.
In your dealings with authors, what is the greatest pleasure – and challenge?
The greatest pleasure is helping authors make their work the best version of itself. There is no greatest challenge, I am glad to say, although sometimes expectations need to be 'managed'.
Do you write yourself? If so, has it informed your work as a publisher?
I have written occasional pieces over the years – reviews, essays, talks – but I don't think it has informed my work as a publisher very much.
Who are the editors/publishers you most admire?
Some inspiring internationals: Robert Silvers, Carmen Callil, Mary-Kay Wilmers, Christopher MacLehose, Lennie Goodings. And some local independents (confining myself to the present): Morry Schwartz, Michael Heyward, Henry Rosenbloom, Julianne Schultz, Phillipa McGuinness, Peter Browne.
In a highly competitive market, is individuality one of the casualties?
On publication, which is more gratifying – a brilliant launch, a satisfied author, encomiastic reviews, or rapid sales?
I'll plump for sales, although some very good books sell very slowly.
What's the outlook for new writing of quality?
Same as it ever was: fortune favours the brave; hope springs eternal.
Chris Feik is publisher at Black Inc., editor of Quarterly Essay, and publishing director of La Trobe University Press. He co-edited the book The Words That Made Australia (2012).
Chris Feik
Almost Human: A biography of Julius the chimpanzee by Alfred Fidjestøl
Reviewed by Nicholas Bugeja
The Sea and Us by Catherine de Saint Phalle
Reviewed by Susan Midalia
Let's hope that Black Inc will publish more books or essays written by Simon Leys that he may have left behind after his death. He really was one of the greats.
Posted by Chris L Coney

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Сьюдад-Мендо́са ()  —   город  в Мексике, входит в штат Веракрус, административный центр муниципалитета Камерино-Мендоса.

История
Изначально этот населённый пункт носил название Санта-Роса-Некокстла (Santa Rosa Necoxtla) и входил в муниципалитет Некокстла. В 1910 году населённый пункт получил городской статус (villa). В 1930 году и населённый пункт, и муниципалитет были переименованы в честь местного героя мексиканской революции Камерино Мендосы. В 1933 году населённый пункт стал городом (ciudad), и с того времени его официальное название — Сьюдад-Мендоса.

Ссылки

Города Веракруса

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
NOAA-20 Sees 'Popcorn' Cumulus Clouds Around Lake Malawi
Surrounded by Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania, Lake Malawi, which is appropriately nicknamed the "Calendar Lake," stretches 365 miles from north to south. On Oct. 22, 2019, the NOAA-20 polar-orbiting satellite zoomed in on the world's fourth-largest freshwater lake by volume — after Lake Baikal, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Superior, respectively. Surrounding the lake, you can see "popcorn" cumulus clouds that appear to have formed as a result of winds blowing across the body of water.
Lake Malawi National Park, which is located at the southern end of the lake, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, partially because it is home to more fish species than any other lake in the world. The lake acts as a haven for 30 percent of all known cichlid fish species — known locally as "mbuna" — in the world.
"Its importance for the study of evolution is comparable to that of the finches of the Galapagos Islands," according to the World Heritage Committee's website.
Much of the local community in Malawi relies on fishing because crop failure frequently occurs, so Malawi's Department of National Parks and Wildlife is working to reduce potential threats such as pollution and fish poaching.
This true-color image was captured by the VIIRS sensor onboard NOAA-20, which provides daily, high-resolution visible and infrared images of Earth's atmosphere from across the globe.


Every home theater begins with a normal room, so what makes an ideal room for a home theater? Consider ambient light, for instance. This light can result in screen glare, so choose a room with minimal ambient lighting. Carpeted rooms are also ideal for absorbing audio impurities, etc. Next up, consider what you're going to be using for video display. Common options for this include LED/LCD TVs, preferably with a display capable of handling 4K UltraHD. A video projector is another good option, but it does require a room which is specially set up for this purpose.
Sound is another important consideration for any home theater. Most homeowners choose to begin with either a home theater receiver or a preamplifier/amplifier combination. The home theater receiver is a great way to centralize your audio and is recommended for most amateurs. Depending upon the size of your theater, you may also want to invest in high-quality loudspeakers and subwoofers. It is often a good idea to purchase each of these pieces together, so that you're using the same brand for each individual component of your new sound system. You should also carefully consider the shape of the room, which greatly affects the acoustics.
The final step in any home theater installation is to make sure you have all the relevant connectors and accessories. While it might seem like a minor purchase, buying a surge protector is an absolute necessity for your home theater. It can protect your theater in the event of power surges or power outages, which can prove invaluable. You should also invest in high-quality cables. Take measurements, as well, and put together a careful inventory of each cable you need to make sure everything is connected. Finally, invest in a universal remote to streamline your control system.


Autolite electrical equipment tech manual. This is a cool manual that covers 6, 12, and 24 volt components. Includes starters, generators, voltage regulators and distributors. These are NOS books which should be in every collection.


Kick start your career and become part of a team revolutionising the food manufacturing industry.
Why do people join OAL?
For many, it's the opportunity to join a fast-paced, innovative engineering company pushing the boundaries of food manufacturing. We encourage people to take ownership of their work and drive innovation. In return, we really can give you the chance to shine and to be recognised for your outstanding work. We have customers all over the world and there will always be opportunities to travel in your career at OAL. From the Americas to the Far East, our customers require our engineering expertise.
Ask any of our current employees or read our blog post 10 Reasons to Work for OAL and they'll tell you that within OAL there are amazing opportunities to develop and be part of the change in the largest manufacturing industry in the UK. Read Josh's profile about what it's like to work as a Graduate Software Development Engineer to find out more about working at OAL or find out about apprenticeships and further education with OAL.
As a growing SME, we can provide fantastic opportunities in a fast-paced organisation. You'll quickly become an integral part of the team with full responsibility and ownership. The salaries are competitive and our strong philosophy encourages on the job training and supports qualifications.
Interested? Apply directly to our vacancies below or send an email to jobs@oalgroup.com with your CV and covering letter.


This article analyzes fiscal policy reaction function with switching regimes for Ukraine. We demonstrate that the fiscal policy reaction function in Ukraine has a nonlinear nature. The analysis revealed that the fiscal policy of Ukraine has been in a passive regime for a long time and a switch to this mode took place in late 2006 with the beginning of rapid economic growth. By means of the LSTR models, it is shown that at high levels of debt and the GDP gap the fiscal policy switches to an active regime. However, such switching is rare and short, and therefore does not have an impact on the overall picture. We also found an asymmetry in the response of fiscal policy on the GDP gap depending on the phase of the economic cycle. In our opinion, this asymmetry is the main obstacle to switching the fiscal policy in active regime.


Classes, dances and other dance events in or near Isle-of-wight for Jive. Please click on the event name for more information which may include a map.
Burn, Baby, Burn! - Holiday Boogie!
Sandown, Isle of Wight Dancing in lots of styles in our mixed-genre Bank Hol Boogie - what more could you want???
Shoreham-By-Sea, Sussex Over 130 Dancers Now Come To Every Dance!
Washington, West Sussex Afternoon 'Tea Dance' We play music to Jive, Lindy Hop, Swing, Balboa & Rock 'n' Roll.


ABI Electronics is a leading manufacturer of test, measurement and fault diagnosis equipment with direct applications in R&D, repair, manufacture, test and education.
Over 30 years, ABI has been supplying world class solutions to suit the specific applications of a wide range of customers.
ABI Electronics offers a range of services to cover all aspects of CEM.
From materials procurement to prototyping and volume manufacture, ABI has the experience and capabilities to suit your requirements with flexibility and guaranteed satisfaction.
"I'm glad to know that ABI services it's products long after they were discontinued. It makes purchasing ABI products even more attractive!"
"We saved 20,000 € thanks to the BoardMaster.Considering the PCBs that we repaired over the last 2 weeks alone. We're absolutely delighted."
"We're a fairly new ABI customer but I'm delighted to have found a trustful partner with great support and fabulous attitude."
"The BoardMaster and RevEng helped us become self-sufficient and increased our system's reliability. In 5 years we saved over US$50Million."
"The ABI BoardMaster has made a vital contributon to our business helping us achieve cost savings of over £500,000 in the past 12 months.
"Purchasing the BoardMaster is the best decision I have ever made in 20 years"
"My opinion about the equipment is that it changed our views on what can be done in electronics maintenance"
"The SYSTEM 8 AICT and BFL are just tremendous! Thanks to this equipment, repairs have become a pleasure. I can't imagine not having these modules now"
"We wanted our students to learn with systems developed for the industry. ABI products allow real world applications to be reproduced"
"Let me tell you that the Diagnostic Solution Plus is awesome; I can do so much! It helped us fix two boards last night so it's already paying off"
ABI becomes Northern Powerhouse Export Champion 2019!


Home > News > AHNI New Build Home For Sale!
AHNI New Build Home For Sale!
AHNI is building a new home on a large lot across from Huston Park at 360 15th Street SE in Cedar Rapids. The 1,320 square foot home will include 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, a 530 square foot basement, high efficiency water heater, furnace and air conditioning, and a detached double garage.
The home purchasers' family must be below 80% of area median income. Contact AHNI today at 319-784-2236 for more information.


text:
St. Louis Priest Who Sued His Accuser Discovers Accuser's Sordid Legal Past as Accuser Now Tries To Duck Service of Process
January 5, 2016 By TheMediaReport.com
Fighting back: Heroic St. Louis priest Rev. Joseph Jiang
Ever wonder about some of the characters who file questionable abuse accusations against Catholic priests? Well, look no further than the case of Rev. Xiu Hui "Joseph" Jiang, a falsely accused priest in St. Louis who has bravely filed a defamation lawsuit against his accuser as well as SNAP and the St. Louis police department.
Fr. Jiang and his lawyers have been trying to serve court papers on his accuser. But, lo and behold, his accuser – identified only by his initials in pleadings and represented by SNAP contributor/lawyer Ken Chackes – has never been found at the address listed for him publicly, his residence appears vacated, and by all appearances he has been actively evading service.
[**Click to read Fr. Jiang's court filing regarding his accuser**]
And as a recent court filing now reveals, Fr. Jiang and his legal team have found that they are not the only ones trying to locate the guy. It turns out that Fr. Jiang's accuser already has 2 liens and 16 judgments entered against him, and still other process servers are trying to serve him with even more legal papers.
In the brief, Fr. Jiang's lawyers note:
"First, [the accuser]'s address listed on the summons and derived from official records has the neglected and dilapidated appearance of a domicile that is not in regular usage";
"A person acquainted with [the accuser] indicated that other process servers have been making attempts to locate and serve him in other cases";
"A records search indicates that [the accuser] currently has 2 liens and 16 judgments filed against him, establishing a strong motive to seek to evade service of process"; and
"Numerous attempts to locate [the accuser] using vehicle information, as well as that street address, met with no success."
In response to Fr. Jiang's filing, a judge granted his request to chase the shifty accuser some more.
SNAP's continuing defamation of Fr. Jiang
Despite the fact that law enforcement has now cleared Fr. Jiang twice on ridiculous abuse charges, the gang at the lawyer-funded hate group SNAP has still branded the innocent cleric as a "cunning predator" on its web site as if he were a convicted serial child molester. Shame on SNAP – were it even possible.
We applaud Fr. Jiang for continuing his brave fight to expose the shifty individuals behind bogus abuse accusations against Catholic priests in order to extort money from the Church.
May this be the beginning of a new and happy trend in 2016!
Filed Under: FEATURE ARTICLES Tagged With: anti-Catholic, anti-Catholicism, Catholic sex abuse, Falsely Accused Priests, fraud
Trew says:
Why didn't they use the accuser's name in their suit?
These bogus suits only happen because accusers can get away with filing lawsuits without using their real names.
Even though the accuser has avoided being served, I expect Rev. Jiang's defamation lawsuit against SNAP and the St. Louis Police Department can proceed. Perhaps, SNAP is also hiding this guy so the case against them is weakened or dismissed.
Elleblue says:
SNAP does not care about justice, all it cares about is publicity. Shame on them for supporting a scam artist. I hope this priest wins his law suit.
Makes you wonder why some people won't hear a word said against SNAP.
Jim Robertson says:
And here we are back in St Louis, a catholic town named after one of my grandfathers, again.
St. Louis the matrix of SNAP itself and coincedently where David and Barbara live. (So much easier and cheaper for court appearences "Doncha know?")
St. Louis where SNAP was founded laying in a manger by a church needing a false flagged "Savior" for the victims the church knew were coming to get them.
SNAP the holding pen for the church's injured that our righteous anger might be controlled and manipulated by our oppressors. The very same people whose shit behavior caused all the problems in the first place.
You know, someday this contraption will be outted. From SNAP; to VOTF; to Bishop Accountability (!!!); to fr. Tom Doyle and his "Project" ;to Jeff Anderson being the controller for lawyers and victims; all will be exposed for what they are THE largest SCAM ever perpetrated by a religion against it's own raped children.
Since all religion is a scam in the first place. The catholic rulers have merely widened the margins of it's usual lies.
Your church is so obvious in it's manipulations and so cheap. "Let's have a showdown in St Louis. We'll create the whole migillah. But let's do it in St Louis so SNAP won't have too far to travel and money won't have to be spent on hotels and travel for SNAP."
You want to know how I know SNAP's the church? Because it's cheap just like the church.
Penny pinching; lying money grubbing misers: the soul of catholicism
How hard would it be to create a false victim throwing false accusations against an innocent priest? That fake victim accuses then magically "disappears" ( So very much like the founder of VOTF and Bishop Accountability. A kind of a drive by "founder") leaving perhaps a truely innocent priest outraged and who then is magically handed a group of lawyers to aid him in a fight to protect his name. All for publicity that feeds the very lies pushed by TMR and Publion.
The lies being: that criminals passing themselves off as victims are the norm in this scandal When, in fact, the exact opposite is true. Only 2000 out of 11,000+ victims have recieved any compensation for our injuries inflicted by you. And once again all this black magic is created convient to SNAP in St Louis. What are the odds of that occurring naturally. (Remember the contempt of court battle against SNAP was also conveniently located near where Clohessy lives.) Both making SNAP (and thereby us victims who SNAP falsely "represents" look bad.
Even a child can see this incident is way too convenient a creature to just have "happened".
Now if Fr. MacRae in New Hampshire could be similary exhonorated. He, too, was accused by a miscreant with a history of false pretense. Father now serves a very long jail sentence because he would not accept a plea bargain that required him to admit guilt. Stop now and pray for Fr. MacRae.
malcolm harris says:
Can recall that a lady posting on this site, about 3 months ago, was pleased about the lawsuit taken out by Father 'Joseph'. She said something like….'Good, we must push back'. How true!. Because those persecutors are already taking evasive action. A key accuser now going to ground, just to avoid being served with the summons.
This raises interesting questions about the St. Louis Police Dept. Did they do a background check on A.M., the boy's father? Father Joseph's lawyer has discovered that A.M. has two liens and sixteen judgements against him. Surely the police would also have been able to discover his dubious background?. Yet they not only went ahead and charged the priest… but left the charges hanging over his head for over 6 months?. Why? Surely the 'artful dodger' character of the accuser should have created doubts in the minds of the detectives?.
I would have expected them to proceed with caution…and not rush in… the way they did.
Publion says:
In order to deal himself in here, JR (the 6th at 1239PM) tries yet again to revivify his old claim that he is the descendant of – if memory serves – a king, a saint or two, assorted other medieval or renaissance worthies, and a Pope.
Thus he riffs on – with notably uncharacteristic rhetorical grace – about "St. Louis" (the city, not his alleged king-saint ancestor).
The gist of his riff – familiar now to regular readers of this site – is that SNAP is a tool and creature of the Church and in its pretense to be opposed to the Church it is simply "false-flagged". (My own theory is that SNAP is indeed "false-flagged" since it is a tool and front for the tort-attorneys – who otherwise would be reduced to advertising for clients on TV in the type of commercials so familiar to many readers.)
While also working in a commercial for himself, as so often before: he hath the "righteous anger" of – had you been waitingggg for itttttttttt? – the genuine victims, tribune of their struggle against "our oppressors". Readers may consider it as they may.
I look forward to the day when SNAP will be revealed for what it has been for so long. And for other similar types of revelations as well.
And thus we arrive – unsurprisingly – at JR's effort to deal with this Fr. Jiang case: it's all a put-on, arranged by the Church.
Do we want to know how JR 'knows' this? Read and realize.
And on the 6th at 1256PM JR riffs further on this bit:
"How hard would it be to create a false victim …?" he asks. Why, that is the very question I have been asking here for quite some time.
And the disappearance of this allegant – with a kite-tail of a variety of types of legal process hanging behind him – is simplistically explained-away: he has "magically" disappeared. That a habitual scam-artist, already under the shadow of much legal process, might figure it's time to lie low … that apparently does rise to JR's criteria for an explanation.
And who can be surprised? JR's criterion is that an explanation has to serve his pre-conceived purposes and agenda.
What "lies" are "pushed by TMR and [myself]"?
And then he himself raises a thought-provoking vision: "criminals passing themselves off as victims". Why, that thought had occurred to me as well, quite a while ago.
Continuing with JR's of the 6th at 1256PM:
But I have not asserted that such is "the norm"; I have merely assessed the possibility and probability of such a gambit being pulled-off, given the various elements of the Stampede ethos that I have discussed at length. The probability is high – that much is obvious from the many elements involved. JR has introduced nothing to indicate that the probability is low. He simply expects readers to accept his assertion that it's all "lies". Readers may consider as they will.
Then the bit about the "2000", the inadequacies of which bit have already been pointed out and to which JR has made no response (what response can he make, really?).
And the bit about "compensation", trying to manipulate us beyond the glaring problem that actual injury demonstrably caused has hardly been demonstrated or established.
And then the bit about 'victims' looking-bad only because they have been 'made' to "look bad" and not because some base dynamics underlying the Stampede have been noted and discussed at length here.
What, then, is it about the Stampede and about this current St. Louis case that "even a child can see"?
And while JR may be reliably counted upon to demonstrate childish mentation, that does not mean that he is actually an expert on the subject.
"What are the odds…?" – he asks – that this false-allegant is just what he appears to be, i.e. a false allegant? He claims it's all "way too convenient" for the Church. I would say, rather, that it's really just "way too" inconvenient for his cartoon explanation.
Spin away "P"enelope, Odysseus aint coming to save you.
This is the core of the lying used by P to blow his smoke. It is the summation of false analysis: subtrafuge and his own, personal mendacity.
2000 out of 11,000 victims compensated. Both John Jay report numbers. No new figures have replaced these old ones. therefor it's quite easy to believe that these numbers still stand.
Again the John Jay report was a catholic effort so who knows what the real numbers are. Catholicism isn't very good with numbers. It can't even tell the world how much it owns.
The number of faux pas that make victims "look bad" are always and only created around SNAP. No one else.
St Louis is the key that's where SNAP was founded. It sprang fully formed to life in St Louis and nowhere else to create similarly false flagged "Survivor" groups world wide. The odds of that happening "naturally" are as small as SNAP's fuck ups: like hiding evidence from a judge and being found in contempt. Hiding evidence the very same way that SNAP's been berating the church for doing since SNAP's inception. Hand made hypocricy that was completely unnecessary. Created from SNAP per usual. SNAP is the only organization that makes victims look bad. Victims don't do that. SNAP does it only and all the time.
fr. Jiang, according to my analysis would have to be innocent in order for this church plot to proceed. Then we have a drive by then disappearing accusor. Then a posed suit against the St Louie police dept for false arrest then the spinning of it all for maximum damage to all the real victims of your pedophile child raping fraternity.
And again all this bullshit coming out of St Louis, named after a saint/king who was my 24th great grandfather according Ancestry.com. I told you before the pope was not an ancestor. I had made a mistake. Names were similar but he was not related. I said that clearly before.
P you remind me of a typical torturer trained at the School of the Americas. It's how you speak to and about people as you go about harming them. Like we are not you. It's that seperation and dismissal in your tone. You don't like people nor can you empathize with anyone. I have never read one word of empathy for anyone from you. You are very damaged. Sociopathy is a horrible disease and you've got it bad.
You are here to torture two groups: Victims obviously but also catholic true believers. You torture the later by giving them the unbelievable lie that the church is being victimized by it's own raped children. So that they will back the criminals believing that child rape enablers and co conspiritors in those rapes are the real victims in all this.
You are evil. Evil because you never tell the truth and you are doing it to protect monsters. That's the essence of religion for you.
And from JR on the 7th at 1145AM:
He opens with a stab at literary chops (the reference to the Odyssey) although the bit is based merely on a rather silly play on the word "spin".
The second paragraph is mere asserted epithet as to my "false analysis" and – had you been waitingggg forrrr ittttt? – "subrtrafuge".
The third paragraph represents the sum of the quality of his 'facts': the John Jay Report (whether the first or second he doesn't – again – say) used that approximate number of "11,000" (although whether allegants or 'victims' he also doesn't care to say). But the "2,000" number (of the "victims compensated") is not from either Jay Report but – again – comes from his own reference to a Wiki article that lists only a few States and is now almost a decade old.
He then – marvelously – undermines his own claimed source (the Jay Report or Reports) by pooh-poohing the Jay material as "a catholic effort" which is not accurate at all: the Jay Reports were compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with funding from the DOJ as well as the Church and other sources (and what brouhaha might be raised if the Church had not contributed to the funding?).
But what he's working toward with this bit is that since there are no reliable (in his cartoon) numbers anywhere at all, then he can't be said to be lying or (largely mistaken) then, can he? Neato.
And this paragraph ends with what is most charitably to be construed as a backhanded epithet as to how much the Church "owns" (perhaps recalling his snippet, already assessed here quite a while ago – that cannot by verified as being sourced in anything else than a snippet from an Al-Jazeera 'documentary' – to the effect that the Church owns a sizable chunk of all the real estate in downtown Chicago)
Racist ass! Who you trolling for the Trump voters? Al-Jazeera is more honest than you and your myth selling church.
Continuing with JR's of the 7th at 1145AM:
Onward then to fifth paragraph where we simply get an assertion – based, of course, on nothing but his own creds as a reliable source – that all of the facts" ("faux pas", which actually means a social blunder or more properly plural social blunders or breaches of etiquette, misused here) that "make victims 'look bad'" are actually from SNAP and from "no one else" (such as, say, himself).
(No doubt we are meant also to recall here JR's basic explanatory cartoon that SNAP is a tool and creature of the Church.)
The sixth paragraph claims, in JR's considered cartoon of the Jiang case, that the "key" to everything about it is nothing more than or else than the geographical co-location of SNAP and Jiang. But if SNAP is headquartered in city A, and you are going to file suit against SNAP, then your lawsuit would very likely be brought in the court jurisdiction in which SNAP falls, which in this case is St. Louis.
That's how easily the "odds" bit fails here: the co-location happened through the 'natural' workings of the legal system. Then the simply paragraph goes on about some of SNAP's skullduggery, and nobody here whom I can think of is going to dispute it.
And he will wrap up the paragraph with a repetition of his cartoon-claim that (Church-run) SNAP is "the only organization that makes victims look bad". As I have said, when "victims look bad" it is so very often the result of a closer assessment of their own actions under the aegis of the Stampede. To the extent that SNAP issues press-releases and such that describe those actions, then SNAP itself helps to expose them.
In the seventh paragraph we get JR's effort to establish his creds for his "analysis": if this whole case is (as his cartoon constructs it) a set-up run by SNAP (and thus by the Church) then Fr. Jiang "would have to be innocent". But since his SNAP-Church "analysis" bit is already a cartoon, then he's already off the rails here. Absent that bit, then what remains is that Fr. Jiang actually is innocent, and the lawsuit is brought on that basis.
And what successfully sly and manipulative organization (SNAP) or organizations (SNAP and the Church) would then try to take on the local police/investigation authority? When you are running a scam, the last thing you want to do is to gratuitously incite the local police. (Time-saver: the cartoon here would perhaps have to then also claim that the local police/investigation authorities are also tools of SNAP and/or the Church.)
And the paragraph then tries to finish with an epithetical zinger ("your pedophile child raping fraternity") in order to distract from the gaping problems with the "analysis" itself.
SNAP's a false flag. P's a false flag. Your entire religion is one big false flag. There is no "God". Get used to it.
Gee! Fooling cops in St. Louis? How hard to do? They have to take any report of possible sex abuse of a child even if it never happened. If the disappearing father of the child was so egar to attempt to illegally gain money; then where is he? the whole point of scam is to get the pay off. Unless the scam is not to get the church's favorite child: money; but to protect said church's child from further real applicants for compensation. Or perhaps, more accurately, to color all victims as fake to make the rapists out to be the "real' victims in all this.. It's been tried before by cardinal Bernadin and his accusor. Who's paying for fr. Jiang's lawyers?
Then the eighth tries to further distract by continuing to run the old JR-ancestry scam (although he now claims that – contrary to his initial claims – "the pope was not an ancestor"; but if his claim as to the Pope (Gregory XII, if memory serves) not now being an ancestor" was wrong, then how credible remain the other claims?). And, in any case, of what relevance to the current matter at hand is anything about his ancestry anyway? (Short answer: … well, let the readers consider the short answer as they will.)
The ninth paragraph then goes further off the tracks with what can only be charitably construed as a seriously whacky reach for epithet: I remind JR of "a typical torturer" who was "trained at the School of the Americas". Readers may consider his explanation of this bit as they will. But no doubt, to be carefully assessed on the basis of his own claims, stories, statements, and assertions does – for JR – constitute a form of "torture". How wise his tortie was, then, in not allowing him onto the stand to face serious adversarial examination.
And he will then riff further on the "torture" bit in the final paragraph: I am "here to torture" not only "victims" (genuine or otherwise?) but even "catholic true believers".
If it is indeed "torture" for "victims" to be assessed rather than simply to be accorded 'empathy' (playing on the "empathy" and trust of hearers in order to lubricate the passage of one's dubious stories is indeed a genuinely sociopathic type of behavior), then that is what it is. As Harry Truman said: 'I never gave anyone hell; I told them the truth and they thought it was hell'. And to paraphrase Harry's admonition to a Soviet ambassador: Don't tell stories like that and you won't be spoken to like that.
So – to put a clarificatory point on it all: while JR has glommed onto one convenient potential element in sociopathy – lack of empathy – he conveniently ignores a far more relevant sociopathic indicator: deliberately and with forethought consistently playing upon the empathy and trust of others to lubricate one's own agenda and claims. And to do so for personal gain.
Aren't you doing that here; Oh great defender of catholicism's rape culture?
He then tries to nail down his bits here by not simply mentioning assorted potential sociopathic indicators, and not only by directly and overtly claiming that "sociopathy … a horrible disease" (which, even in its inept phrasing here, is true) but also then by delivering himself of a professional diagnosis (I've "got it bad").
Alas, neither the Wig of Diagnosis (one of his favorites) nor any experiences and notes he's perhaps taken from his own misadventures in the clinical realm can substitute for genuine professional clinical diagnostic chops – but of course to a long-time simulator of truthiness, such a distinction would appear irrelevant to JR.
He then tries to wrap it all up by trying to connect my extensive assessment of stories and probabilities with an agenda of 'backing' "criminals" (sublimely and marvelously unaware, apparently, of the fact that obtaining gain from perjurious claims is itself criminal). And he riffs on that bit for a bit further.
And then – to bring home this matinee with a bang – he will don the Wig of All-Seeing Denunciation and proclaim that I am "evil". And – but yet again – sublimely ignorant of the dynamics of clinical projection.
And an interesting show it's been, for this matinee performance.
The one thing you will never be called is "interesting".
Evil is as evil does. So evil you are. Not because we victims are questioned but because when honest answers are given you. You never believe them. You are the one with the belief problem not me.
When the very town, where one of the sleaziest attempts by a decadent church to attack it's own raped children, turns out to be named after one of my grandparents, who also happens to be a saint in that corrupt church, then I thought i had the right to defend my ancestors name.
You know P; take a laxative you're full of shit.
Have you ever met a human you liked??????
On the 9th at 1250PM JR informs us as to what we must "get used to". As to himself, there is a great deal that readers must get used to. As we shall see below, as well as in the record here on this site as it now stands.
On the 9th at 101PM JR will try to resolve his problems here by impugning the local police.
Rather, I would say, what is to be impugned are the Victimist-driven police procedurals that now apply in the allegation of sexual abuses and offenses.
Since the allegant in the Jiang case is not a child, then I am not sure of the relevance of the "disappearing father". Perhaps if the allegation was the fruit of the adult allegant's own devising, then the father back in the years of childhood is not and was not involved. And this might hold true as well for many adult-allegated cases: the parents did not take action because the allegations stems from the adult allegant and do not reflect something that happened decades before in childhood.
Beyond that, I can't make too much further sense of the rest of the paragraph.
On the 9th at 102PM we get from JR a mere one-liner drive-by bit. Clearly JR does not find concepts and careful thought "interesting". But his own presentations and proffers are always interesting, although probably not for the reasons he would like to imagine.
On the 9th at 105PM he attempts to bolster his assertion that I am "evil" with a hoary old saw about "evil is as evil does". For this bit to work, one would have to presume the accuracy of his assessments and presumptions and claims and assertions. Readers may consider that as they will.
One would also have to accept as presumed and demonstrated the veracity and accuracy of his characterization of his stuff as "honest answers". And readers may consider that as well.
And then he seeks – in a now-too-familiar old dodge – to reduce the Veracity Problem to merely one of "belief": I have a problem – doncha see? – because I will not 'believe'. But we are into the realm of accusations and claims and stories, and in that realm evidence and coherent analysis and logical thinking are the criteria by which one must persuade hearers as to the possibility or probability of one's veracity and accuracy. Readers may consider how well JR has managed to do that.
And on the 9th at 114PM JR will attempt to burnish his ancestry distractions: he will somewhat histrionically provide a commercial for himself by repeating his bits about his ancestry and the fact that he thus has some proprietary interest and responsibility for "the very town … named after one of my grandparents" and indeed one "who also happens to be a saint" (he forgot King, too). Thus he has "the right" – doncha see? – "to defend my ancestors name" (sic).
Of what relevance any of this is to the matter at hand, even if one were to presume its veracity, is anybody's guess.
But then the high-born Wig of Aristocratic Honor is suddenly allowed to slip to the stage floor, and we get – had you been waittttttttingggggggg forrrrrrrrr ittttttttt? – a juvenile and scatlogical bit of epithet. There's the actual JR.
And then an attempt to imply that I don't buy his stuff because I just don't like any "human[s]" at all. Which itself is a cover for the insinuation that I just don't "like" him. As if that could explain my questions and doubts in the face of the type of material we have gotten from him here.
I'm beginning to think you don't like me.
Lets run a little test. You say something nice about me. Actually why don't you say 3 things nice about me. I can do that about Hitler even. He liked his dog (till he killed her). He built the autoban and invented the VW. There 3 nice things about Adolph.
Now it's your turn.
David's dead. My hero
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g&feature=share
Child of God says:
**No you moron. Fidelity to Rome is fidelity to the deposit of faith in the catechism. Not the people. **
You mean the catechism that teaches "THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON" and the Virtue of "CHARITY"? The same Catechism that probably forbids calling people "morons"?
**Fidelity to Rome is fidelity to the deposit of faith in the catechism. Not the people. Fidelity to the Chair of Peter. Not a person enthroned who attempts to steer his people away from it.**
The call to "Fidelity"! It started with a few kook priests and Carol McKinley telling people not to follow them, but to follow the local ordinary (Cardinal Law) who carries the authority of Rome here in Boston.
Then they took away Cardinal Law..and replaced him with Bishop O'Malley. Carol Mckinley had high hopes, but soon found out that O'Malley wasn't to Carol's liking. Carol told people, he's only a Bishop…makes sure you are following a Price of the Church…a Cardinal! They are the only ones that carry the authority from Rome….not just any "Bishop".
They, guess what? They made O'Malley a CARDINAL! (Just like CARDINAL Law! SO he must carry the authority of Rome to Boston, no?)
But…we quickly found out that even a Cardinal Archbishop….a "Prince of the Church" didn't have enough authority for Carol. Now, she claimed "Fidelity" to the Pope…not Bishops, not priests, not Pastors, not Cardinals.
THEN..The pope retires…and is replaced by another Pope. And quickly Carol McKinley finds out that possibly she has been wrong all along…and her claim of "Fidelity" as just a "cover" to follow only her own desires and really not submit to any authority. So much for "Fidelity", eh?
All this talk of "Fidelity"…had to change, because it became clear that she was only Faithful to her own thoughts and ideas. She had "Fidelity" to anyone that agreed with her. With all her blogging and busybody work, she realized onething…that, in effect…SHE wanted to be a pastor, a bishop, a cardinal…SHE wants to be the Pope! The arbiter of what is allowed, what isn't. Carol wants to be the disciplinarian! All this is at odds with someone who claims to follow Spiritual Authority and has "Fidelity".
So we have seen through the veneer of, so called, "Fidelity. (Notice the old "Magisterial Fidelity" blog has gone fallow.) We have already pointed out that this claim of fidelity to the Catechism is flawed as well, calling people names, etc., no talk of charity, respect or the worth of the individual The fidelity to the Catechism is only in effect when she agrees with it.
I don't see any indication that the Catechisms teaching of humility and pride are being adhered to. Do you?
I Think we've pointed out the fallacy of Carol McKinley's "Fidelity".
As far as Magisterial or the Magisterium, Carol here is a refresher course:
"In Catholicism, the Magisterium is the authority that lays down what is the authentic teaching of the Church. For the Catholic Church, that authority is vested UNIQUELY in the POPE and the BISHOPS who are in communion with him."
Sorry Charlie….err…Carol.
Get on thy knees and meditate of the teachings of Humility and Pride.
On January 12th, 'Child of God" makes a comment that appears to relate to in-fighting amongst the laity.
The comments seem to centre on the question of what is the ultimate authority… in the Catholic Church?. When internal arguments arise, then who should we turn to?,
Dare I suggest that these matters pale into insignificance… when we look at the big picture. Because the big picture reveals a situation in which Catholic clergy are being singled out for attack, by the mainstream media. Singled out in the court of public opinion, our priests are being subjected to a cruel propaganda campaign… that will harm their reputation as a profession.
The sins of a very small minority are being re-cycled and magnified to tarnish all priests. This is not justice…surely not justice as most western countries understand the word justice.
It is said that we should "know our enemy". Well the real enemy would be delighted to see us fighting amongs ourselves.
Because it is always their strategic objective to "divide and conquer"?
Malcolm the crimes of the minority of abusor priests were super charged to color he entire priesthood because your bishops and cardinals protected them and not your own children. If you had turned these people over to the justice system no one would blame the clergy as a group but your bosses failed and were not punished. That's the price, the loss of credability of the church. You murdered yourselves.
Going over comments (and ignoring irrelevancies such as the death of David Bowie or JR's inane but distracting efforts to reduce the discussion here to a personality contest) I notice I missed the JR comment of the 10th at 1049AM (responding to mine of the 8th at 1142AM).
Readers may recall that my point in the comment of the 8th at 1142AM was this: JR has glommed onto one of the possible (but not exclusive) characteristics of a sociopathy diagnosis – i.e. lack of 'empathy' (which 'empathy' of course to JR means presumptively believing all his stories, claims and assertions, preferably with an empathetic cluck and oooh) – while ignoring a far more definitive (and I would say relevant) sociopathic element, i.e. "deliberately and with forethought consistently playing upon the empathy and trust of others to lubricate one's own agenda and claims. And to do so for personal gain".
His solution to that conceptually thorny problem is – as we see on the 10th at 1049AM – merely to run the old I'm Not/You Are dodge: apparently what he's going for is that I am the one "playing on the empathy and trust of others" here, although for what "personal gain" (like, say, a million dollars instead of a 12 or 17 thousand) is hard to pin down.
I play on no empathy or trust of the readers. I present my points, explicating my reasoning and presenting (with identifying references) such information as I have used to come to my points. Readers may then consider and decide for themselves as they will. I do not accuse them of sociopathy or lack of 'empathy' if they disagree or demur; I do not simply toss out this or that claim or story or assertion and then demand that I be 'believed' simply because … (fill in the blank).
Continuing with my comment of the 15th at PM:
As I have mentioned before when this matter came up here, it seems more than odd that Abuseniks who demonstrate little if any in-depth psychological knowledge or chops are so quick to not only toss around psychological terminology but even to assert definitive diagnoses. (And would it then be demonstrating a 'sociopathic' 'lack of empathy' not to believe their asserted diagnoses forthwith?)
A far more probable alternative possibility – as I have pointed out before here – is that this or that Abusenik has retained in the 3×5 file some particular psychological tidbits gleaned not from the study and practice of psychological assessment and diagnosis, but rather from that Abusenik's own uncongenial experience(s) of being assessed and diagnosed.
And thus we arrive – far more coherently – at JR's glomming onto the particular 'sociopath/lack of empathy' bit that we have seen him so often deploy here: it's a bit he himself encountered from the 'unhappy' side of the clinical desk and then saved on a 3×5 for more congenial use as a weaponized bit of what in his deployment of it can only be termed 'epithetical psychobabble'.
The credibility of the Wig of Diagnosis, as with so many others, can be enhanced if you've got an actual term or phrase you can toss around as if you were well-grounded in the competence you're trying to mimic.
That's how Abuseniks play the game.
And, but of course, he attempts here to distract from all that by trying to bring his little two-step home with – had you been waittttttinggggggg forrrrrrr ittttttttt? – an epithet about my being a "defender of catholicism's rape culture".
I defend nothing here; I question the stories, claims and assertions made by the Abuseniks/Stampede and I go to great length to explicate the material on the basis of which I formulate the questions I raise.
But the Playbook – shrewdly – requires that the fomenters of Stampede and the Abuseniks avoid trying to explain their stories, claims, and assertions and instead try to insist that if you question their stuff then you are merely 'defending' the "rape culture" (and thus, slyly, such questioning can only be 'sociopathic' and indicates nothing except a sociopathic 'lack of empathy' for the stories and claims and assertions the veracity of which you refuse to presume and instead seek to question).
That's how their game is played and has been all along.
Name one victim you've believed, P?
On the 18th at 1127AM JR will try to avoid matters by repeating a gambit we've seen before here and I respond to it as I did before: when I see a credible or even credibly probable scenario-story proffered, then I'll be sure to say so. But that hasn't happened on this site so far.
On another topic: I had mentioned in a recent comment the 2006 book Follies of the Wise, a collection of essays written in the previous two decades by Frederick Crews, many of which dealt with repressed memory syndrome and other elements of the sex-abuse mania that began in the early 1980s.
He takes a careful look at several of the 'incest-survivor' self-help books that began to be seen in the late 1970s (and were soon amplified by the then-new format of TV talk-shows taped before largely female audiences, such as Geraldo's show and others).
Two of the big names in this burgeoning movement were Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, who codified their ideas in their 1988 book The Courage to Heal. Neither of them were psychologically trained or professionally experienced in that area, but they resolved that uncongenial problem rather neatly and conveniently by taking the bull by the horns: "none of what is presented here is based on psychological theories", they crowed. Instead, as Crews notes, they appealed "directly to the experience of survivors".
As you can quickly see, this gambit presumes the validity of the stories and claims and such "survivors", thus starting the play on base and not with an at-bat.
Continuing with my comment of the 18th at 206PM:
In their book (p.173) then they make this seductive assertion: "When you first remember your abuse or acknowledge its effects, you may feel tremendous relief. Finally, there is a reason for your problems. There is someone, and something, to blame". (Italics mine.)
That this assertion may strike some readers as something that today 'everybody knows', simply indicates how deeply Victimism's take on such matters has become the accepted conventional wisdom today. I recall the news reporting (the case and appeals went on from 2007 to 2010) the statement of a father of one variously and long-troubled young man who at a late date claimed he had been abused as a minor: once I heard about the abuse, the father said, then everything fell into place and I knew the reason for all his problems. Which is a precise echo of the Bass-Davis proposition.
It should not be difficult to see how this seductive combination of a) this explains all my life's problems and b) somebody else is to blame for it all … can create fertile ground for all sorts of troubled and failed persons looking to somehow get out from under their life's issues.
Add to this – as the Stampede did – the prospect of hefty payouts for reciting the story you have put forward, with little risk of being adversarially examined and great prospect of easily acquiring the mantle of 'victimhood' and you can see what tremendously attractive possibilities (I would say probabilities) and opportunities are created.
Now, one might rationally presume that in a situation wherein there is such powerful prospect of derangement to the legal process, based on such dubious theories as repressed-memory and such glaring evidentiary issues, that it would seem immediately clear that even greater care must be taken in the assessment and evaluation of any such claims and stories.
But – as readers may quickly realize – that is precisely what did not happen.
Instead, and following the Bass-Davis line, law and jurisprudence and legislation and media coverage simply ignored all the dangerous possibilities and probabilities and proceeded to presume that an allegant is both a veracious 'reporter' of actual events and also a 'victim' (or 'survivor').
Toss in a 'plaintiffs' bar' (i.e. the tort industry) to smooth the legal pathways, and you are well on your way to a stampede, and – given the Church's deep-pockets as a 'defendant' and its uncongenial opposition to much of the political-cultural agenda of the day – the specific Stampede against the Church.
Crews covers much of this ground (though he doesn't focus specifically on the Stampede, which in its post-2002 phase hadn't yet happened) in his two-part article "Revenge of the Repressed", which was published in The New York Review of Books on November 17 and December 1 of 1994. The two articles are included in Crews's book.
LDB says:
I just saw the movie, Spotlight, this weekend. It is excellent. Everyone should see it.
On January 16th, LDB informs us that he has just seen the Spotlight film and he recommends, "everyone should see it."
Why? Was there so many empty seats in the theatre, that he fears the film may flop?
Gee….a commercial failure might discourage the entertainment industry from joining in this popular witch-hunt. We can't have that happen….can we? So get on the internet and drum up some business.
These people are so predictable, perhaps because the Playbook is predictable.
On the 19th at 1227PM, 'LDB' – who, regular longtime readers may recall, says he is an attorney and a Harvard Philosophy major – apparently has nothing to proffer except a roadie recommendation to go see a movie. Nor do his alleged skills nor his various levels and areas of education move him even to explain just why we should go see the movie. We are simply to take his word for it that "it is excellent".
And – as the Cartoonist once said – "That's all, folks".
Spotlight was nominated for Best Picture of 2015 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.
I would also point out that there is actually very little – if any – chance that any given 'victim' can dispositively vouch for the veracity of any other 'victim's story or claims or allegations.
As I have said before here: the stories and claims and allegations are as opaque to other 'victims' as they are to any other third parties.
The 'deal' at the bottom of all this is: you believe my story and I'll believe yours and we'll go forward from there.
If we victims didn't post our views here; it would be all P and Malcolm all the time. Saying none of our sex abuse happened.
That's the right wing catholic bull that has cost your church billions not in compensation but in money not coming in because the parishiners won't pay for an arrogant priesthood that raped their children.
It's so f'ing obvious. That neither of you 2 dolts gives a shit about raped catholics as long as the raping is being done by priests. That makes you liars and cowards. And not worth spit morally. Have a not so nice day. I only wish there was a Hell for you two.
Rather than face up to the complex actualities of the problem as I have outlined them , JR (the 20th at 1120AM) will simply try to reduce matters to something more amenable to a cartoon approach.
In a neat job of packing, he loads a single two-sentence paragraph (the first) with a slyly manipulative presumption ("we victims") – which may actually be a double presumption, come to think of it – and the further assertion – grossly inaccurate – that I and Malcolm Harris are "saying none of [the] sex abuse happened".
JR will not be able to back up that second assertion with any accurate quotation from me (which, no doubt, is part of the reason that he doesn't even try to do so).
I have been making the point that the probability of mischief is high for a number of reasons, and I have explained those reasons at length here. And that therefore such claims and allegations must be looked at even more carefully.
Continuing with my comment of the 21st at 304AM:
My position is that if there is no credible or persuasive evidence of a crime then the sovereign power of the state (through its judicial system) cannot be deployed against an accused. The Victimist position (upon which the Stampede has been built) is that if the claim/story of a crime is put forward, then the very nature of the crime is so urgently abhorrent that the lack of persuasive evidence cannot be allowed to stand in the way of punishment by the sovereign authority of the state through its judicial system.
And my position is thus that the Victimist approach instantly and profoundly undermines the entire hard-won concept of Western law as it has evolved, regressing it back to guilt being determined merely by the sovereign whim or fiat.
That the 'sovereign' in this matter is a 'democracy' rather than an absolutist monarchy or totalitarian command-government is not only of mere secondary importance, but the dynamic thus established can easily extend and engorge itself to the point where the 'democracy' becomes increasingly nominal and substantively more absolutist and authoritarian.
And, of course, there are very few "raped catholics" in the first place, as is demonstrated by the first Jay Report's tally of the actual allegations lodged (which themselves must then be subjected to the heightened scrutiny necessary in such cases).
But – to use the structure of JR's concluding trope – it's clear that Victimists and Abuseniks don't give a sxxt about the legitimacy of American law nor the future of any genuine democracy. Perhaps because they don't even realize what is at stake in the matter.
And I would say that history thus indicates that the road upon which Victimism has launched us will lead to more than enough hell in this world, regardless of anybody's belief or disbelief in a Hell in the next world.
Every catholic child touched sexually by an adult is a raped catholic, Dope.
We'd be considered raped by you only if the priest stuck his dick up our asses?
Gee thanks. How kind of you to define my child rape by your "adult" terms.
If only my perp had screwed me then I really could consider myself harmed? Fuck you!
The idea that a sociopath like you would give shit about democracy is a sad joke.
Crawl back in your hole!
When have you ever defended a rape victim here? Ahhhhhhhh NEVER. Therefore, you don't defend rape victims only the rapists and their enablers. Therefore, you are a constant bigot. a systemic denier of truth. Against every raped catholic who has posted as such here. You can pretend to be fair, like fox news pretends to be fair, by telling us again and again: how fair you are. No matter the truth.
On the 21st at 1110AM JR tries to build a bit based on his favorite 'statutory rape' theory. It is curious, though, that we have seen very few – if any – criminal cases where a priest was actually charged with statutory rape.
And 'sexual touching' is a convenient blurring of the legal realities here: statutory rape involves an adult having sexual relations with a minor (who because of age is presumed incapable of consent; the age of minority varies among jurisdictions).
Thus JR's signature claim here – the mimicry of authoritative knowledge insisting upon his own personal definition – is inaccurate, to say the least.
Thus being "touched sexually" is not legally statutory rape.
Victimists have to some extent prevailed upon the FBI to include forms of sexual touching as 'rape' in that agency's reporting statistics, no doubt to 'keep up the numbers' and to 'keep the ball rollling'. But the laws have not actually been changed and they thus continue to retain the 'classical' (as we would now have to say) definition of 'rape' – even statutory rape – as requiring some penile-penetrative involvement.
Continuing with my comment in regard to JR's of the 21st at 1110AM:
But JR here not only participates in the general Victimist effort to frame any 'sexual touching' as 'statutory rape'. He also has to embrace this inaccuracy in order to keep up his own creds and retain the validity of his own personal cartoon.
And we see the usual JR effort to reinforce his (inaccurate) assertion with epithet ("Dope"), although – as so very often – this gambit works far more effectively in the recoil to highlight his own incompetence when making an assertion about the subject.
And ditto in regard to his convoluted (and almost nonsensical) effort to complain about my using "adult" terms in the analysis here. And to "adult" here we would also have to add 'actual legal terms, accurately deployed'.
And again we see the echoes of the point I made in a prior comment on this thread about the Bass-Davis line: JR's assorted life-problems are somehow connected to his being … (fill in the blank in regard to the consequences of his allegedly being 'sexually touched'); that instance is, as Bass-Davis would have it, totally and completely responsible for, and is completely to blame-for, his various life-and-self problems.
Reinforced, yet again, with scatological epithet in order to avoid the weaknesses in his position and claim here.
And his signature "sociopath" bit appears again; this time, to epithetically suggest (or assert) that I could be in any way concerned about "democracy". A 'democracy' is not going to be able to sustain itself absent the rule of law, and it has been a fundamental built-in consequence of Victimist law 'reform' that the legal system is regressed back to the pre-Modern era. Readers may judge as they will.
On then, to his comment of the 21st at 1120AM:
Once again, mere repetition from one of the well-worn 3x5s left in his file. To which I again respond: when I encounter a credible "rape victim here", then his question will have relevance. Until then, his question is merely an irrelevant effort to distract from the core issues.
Thus, too, then: he gives away more than he knows by observing that the answer is "Never" (scream-caps omitted). That's actually correct in its way: I have never encountered a credible "rape victim here". If that fact should change, I'll be sure to let him know.
And his "Therefore" – another effort at the mimicry of logical thinking – fails because it presumes that on the basis of my not having encountered a credible "rape victim here" then it is sufficiently grounded in logic to claim that I also ipso facto "defend … rapists and their enablers". Once again we see the old Playbook gambit: if you don't agree with allegants then you are 'defending' "rapists and their enablers".
And having launched himself off the rails with that bit, he then riffs on further along that line: I am "therefore … a constant bigot" and "a systematic denier of truth". Readers are welcome to consider for themselves who might be the better candidate for those epithets.
As to how many actually and genuinely "raped catholic[s]" we have encountered here: readers may also consult their notes as to what that number might be.
As to who does more 'pretending' here: readers may also consult their notes as to who that person might be.
AP May 07,2014 " The Vatican revealed Tuesday that over the past decade, it has defrocked 848 priests who RAPED OR MOLESTED CHILDREN and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, providing the first ever breakdown of how it handled more than 3,400 cases of abuse reported to the Holy See since 2004. These figures, however, only cover cases handled directly by the [UN]Holy See, not those handled by local diocesan tribunals, meaning the total number of sanctioned priests is likely far higher."
For anyone to use this forum, in an attempt to manipulate fact and deceive truth, is most deplorable and disingenuous, knowing that the Vatican did everything in it's power to keep it's despicable crimes from the proper authorities. Catholics beware, deceivers will use any tricks to twist the facts. "But evil people and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving others, but being themselves deceived." 2 Timothy 3:13
St. Louis Priest Who Sued His Accuser Discovers Accuser's Sordid Legal Past as Accuser Now Tries To Duck Service of Process - The Splendor of the Church says:
[...] Source: http://www.themediareport.com/2016/01/05/rev-jiang-accuser/ [...]


I have allergies and when I am on SERZONE, they seem worse. I am now trying to suffer through what I call my personal withdrawal. I am scared to go back to the doctor, because he looks at me like I am nuts when I tell him that I have these side effects…since SERZONE is supposed to be relatively small side effects.
I also have memory problems and heart palpitations. The dreams are the worse. Before I took SERZONE, I really didn't dream much and rarely if at all had nightmares. With Serzone, I have BAD DREAMS all the time. Sometimes, I wonder if I am crazy. I experience other side effects but they are tolerable.
At first I tried Paxil – that was awful. Then Doxepin, which made me swell, my breasts hurt, joint pain, and earache. I also must say that I went from 106 lbs to 124 lbs. Now that I have gotten off of Serzone, I have already seen a loss of weight. Tell me if you have heard of any of these symptoms on Serzone. Am I crazy?
Right now, I have been off for two weeks – and I am having intestinal problems, diarrhea and constipation at the same time….cramps, chills. The last two times I tried getting off, the symptoms slowly started showing up after exactly TWO weeks of not taking them. This is SERZONE. And they keep saying that SERZONE has the least effects, and that it has a short half life. But, I haven't seen much about withdrawal associated with this drug, because I believe the studies have not been made to a large degree.
I am 43 years old. I have been on SERZONE for a year and a half. Suffer from chills in my sleep to horrible nightmares. I thought maybe that I was nuts, because the doctor just looked at me like I was imagining things. I complained of ear pain, but had no infections, etc., etc. I appreciate your concern.
This is Survivor Story number 78.
As a concerned parent, I would like to share my story.
Last year my daughter was having a rough time coping–she lost her three-year-old cousin in a house fire on New Year's Day and her voice listen teacher passed away suddenly one month later. She turned 18 in February and graduated in June. The same week she graduated, she admitted herself to a psych unit at a local hospital while I was out-of-town for a work conference.
As she was 18, I felt completely helpless in her treatment.
A psychiatrist, who certainly did not know my daughter, put her on five different medications–three of which were Depakote, Serzone, and Zoloft. (They would not tell me what all she was on and she hid most of them from me.) The hospital and psychiatrist brainwashed her to believe that she was Manic-Depressive–she may have been depressed, but I have never once seen her in a manic phase in her life. They showed her a video, which was obviously produced by a pharmaceutical company, telling her she would need to live on these drugs for the rest of her life.
As a nutritionist, I turned to the social worker and asked, " Not once in this video did it say anything about nutrition–the number one reason why so many are depressed–lacking in some very important vitamins and minerals." My daughter smoked, was on birth control, was a vegetarian, and did not eat right– of which the smoking and birth control deplete the B vitamins and folic acid. I asked the hospital, " If you are a state-of -the-art facility, why don't you ultimately order a multivitamin with minerals and teach patients how to improve their diets to reduce depression naturally?" No, their first course of action is all the drugs–my daughter walked around like a zombie. Within two weeks of going home, my daughter tried to commit suicide–so I took her off the Zoloft and called her psychiatrist, who never returned my calls or spoke to me about my daughter because she was 18.
I lived with my daughter for 18 years, I certainly know her better than some psychiatrist who has only dealt with her for maybe 1-2 hours max. I did not care about what my daughter said to her in confidence, but why wouldn't this psychiatrist at least talk with me to get a whole picture of what was going on to better treat her. The psychiatrist also did not do any follow-ups on my daughter to see how she was doing on all these meds.
My daughter moved out on her own two months later, which really scared me, as she was still on all these medications. She started classes at the local university the end of August and while we were camping Labor Day Weekend, she admitted herself in the psych unit again, as she nearly passed out at work. I was never contacted. On Labor Day, we received a call from her work, "We have not seen your daughter since Thursday evening and she has not called us. Do you know where she is?" Immediately, we went to her apartment fearing for the worst–that perhaps she had committed suicide as she did not answer the phone. The maintenance opened her apartment, she was not there. We found out later that she was taken to the local hospital by a friend. I called the hospital and they stated no such patient is here. I called the psych unit–no such patient here.
Why couldn't they at least tell a parent that their 18 yr-old child is safe? I paged her psychiatrist, who again never called me back. My daughter finally called me to let me know she was safe. I don't know why she was admitted to the psych unit when she nearly passed out at work–why wasn't she put on a general floor for testing–it was found that she was hypoglycemic. Because their was an issue with her health insurance and no further psych treatments would be covered, I told her if she wanted to continue any kind of treatment and she wanted me to pay for it, she would have to change to a psychiatrist that I found who does not believe in medication as a first response. I am happy to say, this new psychiatrist took her off all medications and she is doing better. She is taking multivitamins.
P.S. My husband and I have been doing Young Living oils for the past five years. I would like my daughter to use them, but she believes we are "witch doctors" and very rarely will use them. I would diffuse 'Joy' oil in the air when she was a little moody and she would turn happy, but then she caught on to what I was doing.
I strongly believe a parent should have a right to know and have a say in their child's treatment when they are 21 years-old or less–especially when they are so doped up on all the anti-depressive drugs. They certainly are not in their right mind!
This is Survivor Story number 1.
I wish I could sing praises of serzone and other antidepressants but I can find something wrong in them all if I look but: serzone is the first one that I was never informed properly about the health risks.
I wish I had known, but I trusted the what drug companies were telling the pharmacies and docs. Sadly, I had to get off of Zoloft a number of years ago as I had a seratonin overload in my brain, yes this is very rare but terrifying when you are in the middle of it BUT remove the drug and things go back to normal.
I am at present being withdrawn from serzone as the new info regarding the liver troubles, made me listen. I have been experiencing elevated liver enzymes for a time now. I am also showing a increase wbc. I thought the worst was the sexual side affects and the dry mouth.. when someone finally told me that the blurry eyes and the ammonia smelling urine and the horrible nightmares I have when I am under more stress than normal can be part and parcel to the serzone.
I am so angry and disappointed in the health care system for not being truthful with what it knew. I am even more disgusted with the drug companies. Not everyone leads a more normal phsyciatrict life after serzone. I can recognise when someone is being less than honest and understand that I need to get off this… the risk is too high. All people with similar challenges don't have that luxury.
Anyway. Hopefully my liver will survive this.. and hopefully I will move on with only moderate amounts of damage to my body. If you are on this drug talk to your doctor asap and if you have any off the symptoms related to the liver troubles find help NOW! Thanks for a forumn to speak.
This is Survivor Story number 24.
Four Weeks after Luvox, I Feel Dizzy, Lethargic and Fatigued.
Four weeks ago I discontinued Luvox because of side effects. I was on a very low dose but still did not like the reaction from it. It has been four weeks now and I still feel terrible – a lot worse than I did before ever taking it. I have been told it can take awhile for these symptoms to go away. I feel dizzy at times, lethargic, fatigued, headache, certain foods make it worse. I have also noticed if I eat turkey I get real confused and tired. What is going on with me, and how long does it take? I should have learned better than to take these from my experience with the Serzone I took for two weeks. It took about two months for me to feel normal again, I was dizzy and sick and tired.
Remember, as I mention in my book, that turkey is one of the foods with high levels of tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin. When a toxic level of serotonin is reached due to the use of these SSRI's adding anything that will increase serotonin will trigger adverse reactions. Turkey is one of the worst for producing reactions.
This is Survivor Story number 60.
discuss the "side-effects" of the SSRIs.
Peter Jennings: "Just when is the drug actually making a difference?
I have had thoughts that maybe my son's suicide attempts were related to the Prozac and other medications that he had been taking, and now after reading correspondence from others regarding the same behaviors, I am more convinced that there was a relationship between the taking of the drug and his actions.
My son who is now 26 years old has had problems with depression probably since he was l3. He got through high school but did very poorly, and became very depressed when he graduated because he felt he had no future. At that time, I took him to see a psychiatrist who put him on Prozac, but it did not seem to help him that much. I think she tried him on Zoloft also which did not seem to help him either.
He obtained a job at a shoe store working for a very nice family who liked him and who he enjoyed working for. He stopped the drugs and seeing the psychiatrist who said my son was an enigma. He worked at the store for 5 years, but one day abruptly quit. He then worked as a security guard for approximately a year and quit that job also. He decided to go to dog grooming school, and I'll never forget his face the day he came home from school so proud and happy that he found something to do that he liked.
He did very well at the school, but started to have panic attacks. I took him to a psychiatrist again and she put him on Prozac and Xanax. He seemed to come alive, extremely talkative, and he finally met a girl and fell deeply in love. He then seemed to have problems with his mood lowering and becoming more depressed and anxious, so the psychiatrist increased the Prozac. I noticed at this time that his behavior was worrisome. Well the girl broke up with him and he tried to kill himself.
In the hospital they changed his meds to Effexor and Klonopin, he got out of the hospital and thought the girl might come back, but when he realized two weeks later that she wasn't, He left in the middle of the night again, and eventually checked himself into the hospital after overdosing. He was sent to another facility after this and they put him back on Prozac. He attempted suicide again by overdosing. Altogether, he was hospitalized approximately 7 different times, with four of those being for suicide attempts. The last one being a year ago. Since then he has been on Serzone, Zyprexa, Neurontin, and within the last few months Celexa was added to this. He does seem to be somewhat better, but very flat, little conversation, rarely smiling. I sometimes am so sorry I started him on this medication journey.
I wonder if he would have been better off trying to cope with his low-grade depression, and maybe just taking an anti-anxiety medication for the panic attacks. I wonder.
This is Survivor Story number 54.


text:
Long-term work yields avocados resistant to disease
The most devastating disease of avocado in California and the world is Phytophthora cinnamomi, or avocado root rot. In unprotected orchards, this disease can destroy virtually every tree within a few years, and put at risk the $400 million dollar California avocado industry. Fungicides have been used extensively to try to control the disease, but the ultimate control is a rootstock that is resistant to the fungus that causes the disease.
Beginning in the 1950s, George Zentmyer of UC Riverside explored Latin America for avocado trees that showed resistance to avocado root rot. Since Mexico and Central America are the origins of avocado, it was thought uncultivated trees there might have some tolerance to the fungal pathogen.
At the same time, Zentmyer was on the look out in California for "escape" trees, trees in orchards that survived while surrounding trees succumbed. These resistant trees could also be used in the breeding program. UCCE farm advisors were instrumental in identifying "escape" trees. Field trials that "challenged" the new rootstocks were conducted with farm advisors throughout the avocado growing area.
Out of this breeding and selection process came the first rootstock with significant avocado root rot resistance – "Duke 7." The Duke 7 rootstock has been propagated extensively as a clonal rootstock by avocado nursery operators in Southern California and has proven to be a moderately vigorous rootstock, producing uniform trees. Many hundreds of thousands of trees on Duke 7 clonal rootstock have been planted in Southern California. Since then, nearly every year, rootstocks with greater and greater resistance have been identified. These rootstocks are now being identified as to their resistance to other, lesser diseases and to the high salinity waters often found in Southern California.
University sustains the California avocado industry
Avocado root rot had spread to a lesser or greater degree to nearly every orchard in California. The early fungicides that were used to slow the spread were ineffective. The only way the industry could continue to thrive was to find rootstocks that were resistant to the disease and to other production problems. UCCE helped develop and introduce these new rootstocks to growers and demonstrated how they needed to be managed. Virtually all new avocado plantings in the last 10 years have been with rootstocks developed by UC scientists. They have helped create a sustainable avocado industry that exports throughout the country.
Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties UCCE
Ben Faber
669 County Square Dr., Suite 100
bafaber@ucdavis.edu


More handmade presents, this time from a sewer (don't look too closely at my seams, please!). Like Mary Sullivan, every year I intend to make everyone handmade gifts. Unlike Mary, I don't manage it. My gift giving list is never very long, but it's still long enough that I usually hit now (less than ten days before Christmas) and realize I've not made anything for anyone. (Seriously, Mary, I'm so impressed that you've made a scarf and hat and are planning on bracelets as well).
This year, I was better. I've made one gift! A friend of mine has a small dog (Dexter) and age has made Dexter more sensitive to the cold. Using my nascent sewing skills, I made a fleece lined dog coat.
What do you think? I think it's pretty cute, though I do need to tighten the straps a little. The fleece is from an old vest of Dexter's owner and I bought the fabric at a reuse store. There's a lot of love in that coat and not a lot of money.
The reuse store where I bought the fabric has a sew night and we're making pot holders this month. So cute! Christine has such wonderful idea for reusing fabric and saving beloved items by re-purposing them into something you'll use and treasure. Better Homes and Gardens has even more ideas for me to forget about until December 24th, 2014. I especially like the fabric covered notebooks, which seem like the perfect gift for a writer.
If you're not interest in sewing, how about these gifts from one of my favorite blogs, Healthy Green Kitchen, one of my favorite blogs? When the post came through my feed, I promptly bookmarked it and then didn't make anything. Homemade marshmallows sound like one of the best gifts ever, though. Maybe next year. I will some more homemade gifts done (hopefully), to save for hostess presents and the like.
Mary talked about giving, but what out receiving? What is the best homemade gift you received? What made it so wonderful?
I have a gift of my own to give out. I'll randomly pick a winner from the comments for a copy of A Promise for the Baby. I'll post the winner on December 28th.
I love my craft work. I sew, knit, crochet & embroider and end up with quite a stash in the cupboard. Great for birthdays & Christmas & thank yous & just because.
My Mother always knits the new Grandbabies a Layette. Just beautiful. That would be my favorite.
That little doggy coat is adorable!
I did get to make one batch of gifts this year - all the teachers will be getting little jars of homemade salted toffee sauce. But I'm making plans to have a knitted something for everyone next year!
Salted coffee sauce sounds so, so good!
I had to look up what a Layette was. What a lovely gift to give to people!
Jennifer, Dexter's coat is incredibly cute, and so is Dexter! He must really like it. It's so great that you reused items! One of my pet peeves is how much stuff we throw away that could be re-purposed. Your local reuse store sounds awesome!
Thank you for the link to Healthy Green Kitchen. I hadn't heard of it, but love her gift ideas!
Mittens out of old sweaters is such a good idea! Do you have a pattern?
Dexter is a sweetheart. He's a total companion dog and cuddler.
I love items with a history: a set of old book ends, a box that used to hold mail, a mirror that may have seen a hundred faces in its lifetime.
Items with history are nice. There was something on NPR on Sunday about best presents. One woman and her sister each got a necklace made from their deceased mother's favorite earrings. That was so a nice thought by their father.
Jennifer, I found this pattern on the internet, but haven't tried it yet. I think there are more out there if you google something like mittens from old sweaters.
Best homemade presents were the mitts my aunt would send us at Christmas when we were little back in the 1950's. She wouldn't round the ends of the mitts just made them long enough and then sewed up the top. She made them out of heavy wool so they were warm and big enough to go over smaller mittens. Loved to use them when we went tobogganing.
Thanks for the pattern link!
I love how the story of your gift comes with more than just the object, but also a memory. That's the sign of a meaningful gift.
The doggie coat is too cute.
DH buys all his gifts from repurpose stores. My fav - a 10 piece set of everwear pots made by Alcan in the 1950s and sold door to door. They are the best pots and there is nothing like them for sale now. My mother had a set and I really wanted one too. It took him 4 years of searching to collect the set.
There's the crocheted snowflakes my sister made me for our tree ... the numerous items my kids made in their younger years ... and I can't forget my husband proposing to me in front of my parents after all the other presents were opened. My mother said I would marry him, and then I said I had to think about it for a couple of weeks - as we'd been dating since Labor Day a few months earlier, plus I was only 21 at the time, whereas he was 31, so he KNEW what he wanted in life and I didn't yet.
I am the one that usually makes a homemade gift... necklaces, candles, etc... but one that I remember getting when I was younger was a handmade ornament from my grandmother... it is still one I cherish!
When we found out 10 years ago that my grandmother would not make it till Christmas, the next month, she quickly made it & hung it up in grans room. We thankfully could share many (holiday) memories together & on Christmas morning when we where sadly incomplete mom gave it to me. Felt really special!


I could go on and on about all the wonderful things that have happened in my life over the past year, but we don't have space for a novel. So I'm going to keep it short, simple and sweet. I'm so grateful for all the hard work my staff has done under my tenure. I honestly couldn't have done it without my fellow closing editors, Mónica and Sean, and all of the section editors who have come and gone.
I'm confident that The Cougar is going on to bigger and better things, but under new editor in chief Trey Strange, The Cougar is going to grow into an even better journalism organization. There will be in-depth investigations, features and multimedia projects — things that all student journalists need to know how to do. I'm confident that the paper is being left in great hands under his leadership, and I'm excited to see all that they do.
These days, it's hard to trust people to bring you news. And believe me, few people on this campus have been as reliable as Glissette Santana. Yet, alas, here we are — she's leaving the newsroom to me. Although I'm feeling a complicated cross between ecstasy and terror, I hope to prove my worth as a trustworthy voice for you, the students.
And as I grow into the editor in chief that you deserve, I urge you to hold me and my team accountable for everything we write, giving us the engagement we need to describe this University with accuracy and tact.
This year, The Cougar isn't just aiming to tell stories in cool, fascinating ways (although, trust me, we will). It will become even more of a platform to discuss your lives, their stake on this campus and their meaning to the rest of the world. After all, this is not about me — it's about you. I'm just grateful to take part in it.


Three weeks into the NBA season we are all starting to find out what teams are living up to all of the summer hype and which teams are massively confused as to what is going on with their lives.
No team is more emblematic of this confusion then the 3-4 New York Knickerbockers. They made big moves to get Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and Mr. "I trash talk D-leaguers" Brandon Jennings. These were total "eye of the beholder" moves where depending on your world view (or irrational Knicks fandom). To some they saw Rose as the player ranked in the low 10 percentile in defensive rating and a plus/ minus ratio of -166 in 66 games. The saying went that if everyone stayed reasonably healthy (they have…ish), and Derrick Rose was "close" to his MVP levels (preeeetty sure those days are done) the Knicks could make the playoffs with Melo and "Young Taps" (I'm trademarking that).
Instead what the Knicks have gotten is "debatably average " Rose, "I'm finished" Jo Noah, and stagnation in the growth of Young Taps (he don't get the ball!). Coming into Wednesday nights game the Knicks were allowing 109.8 ppg and rank 26th in the league the problems seem deeper then not using them.
The Minnesota T'wolves had people so giddy over them, real live professional NBA writers projected them to win as many as 50 games instead, they are 2-5. Just having a competent coach was supposed to unlock the ability for the team to close out games and make a leap defensively. Instead they look like the same talented team that still doesn't quuuuuite execute well enough to win more games then they lose.
The crazy thing about the T'wolves is that they have THREE players averaging over 20 a game including Andrew Wiggins at 24 ppg with a not bad field goal percentage of 47.6%. Then you have The Notorious K..A.T (Karl Anthony-Towns) who is already a top 25 player the best center prospect this side of Anthony Davis. The problem is if you spend 10 minutes watching a T'wolves game you quickly come to the realization that Townes is not the alpha dog on this team… Zach LaVine is. When he has it going, "The real Jewish Jordan" (ok he's not actually Jewish) is incredibly fun to watch play but he uses possession after possession channeling his inner Kobe and everybody on the squad clearly looks to him instead of their actual best player KAT. The baby Wolves don't seem to have go-to strategy in close games so just revert to watching/trying hero-ball.
The Washington Wizards are 2-7, and have had a lead in the fourth in all but one game this season. John Wall is averaging 21 and 9 and Otto Porter (highest PER on the team at 24.3) looks to be taking a leap. So what's wrong?
I can't blame 100% of the Wizards struggles on Burke (lord knows that D is bad) but the problem with the Wizards is not the starting lineup. The team consistently plays well in the first and third and has a positive offensive rating. Then the "Burke Mob" comes in…. Despite blowing the Celtics out Wednesday night, Burke has a net rating of -24.4. Do you know how hard that is? Right now his plus/minus ranks 408 out of 437 players in the NBA. So what I'm saying here is, literally every time John Wall goes out the game the other team goes on a 15 pt run.
I'm not letting the rest of the bench get off however. Kelly Oubre wishes he were still in Vegas summer league(or at least wishing for the city of Vegas). Marcus Thornton hasn't been good in 3 years and has deceived himself into thinking he's still got it (did he ever?). Having said that the next 5 games are against the 76'ers, Knicks, Heat, Suns, Orlando. All extremely winnable games and suddenly perception flips on its head and Wall is an MVP candidate (?).
Which team will be turning their season around before it's too late? The Wizards have, the most solvable issues (trying hard, not playing Trey Burke). But it's Minnesota that is the real sleeping giant. The one thing about blowing a pair of 18+ leads is that you were doing something right before you blew it. And they have the fourth-most efficient offense (I was shocked too) in the ENTIRE NBA! This is going to be a good team. The Wolves have the talent and ability, once they figure out how to finish games expect them to make a late run for the playoffs.