text:
Iron Man: Tony Stark's Weirdest Armors Of All Time
by Nicholas Conley
– on Jan 11, 2017
in Lists, Comics News
The world's favorite member of the Avengers is known for his inventiveness and creativity, and nowhere are these traits more evident than in the Iron Man armor itself. Since he famously first assembled the bulky grey armor in a cave...with a box of scraps, Tony Stark has never stopped tinkering with the design, modifying it with one unique idea after another. It's always exciting when Tony brings out a new armor, and every Iron Man writer, artist, and director has relished the chance to lend their own little touch to the classic design.
But sometimes, Tony's new armor inventions have been, honestly, a little weird.
Adding a nose to the armor's faceplate is bizarre enough. But that's only the beginning of the story, and between magical armors and suits built out of billions of little tiles, Tony has proven on numerous occasions that his creativity knows no limits. Let's take a look at Iron Man's 15 Weirdest Armors Of All Time.
15 The "Nasal" Armor
There's one thing you've got to give Tony Stark: he always looks cool. The guy has completely redesigned his greatest invention from scratch over and over again, between new capabilities, new materials, and new color schemes. Yet every time Iron Man appears on the scene, whether he's armed with repulsors or rocket launchers, his style can never be questioned.
Well, except this time.
Yes, for a period of time, Iron Man's armor had a nose. The true story is that Stan Lee, upon seeing an Iron Man cover, made an offhand comment asking "Hey, where's the nose?," meaning that he thought the helmet looked as if it was too tight to Tony's face for a nose to fit. However, this comment was misinterpreted by the others as meaning that Stan wanted a nose on the armor, so it was added. The forced in-story explanation for the Iron Nose was that Tony redesigned the mask to "allow a bit more expression" and thus "increase the fearsome aspects of my character." Sorry Tony, but none of the readers are buying it. In fact, no one in the Marvel Universe bought it either, with many characters remarking on how ridiculous Iron Man's nose hole looked. Luckily, the "Nasal" armor was relatively short-lived, and has not reemerged since.
14 The Ablative Armor
So hey, how about an armor composed entirely of little moving tiles? That's what we've got here.
Basically, picture those bicycle helmets that are specifically designed to break on impact, as a way to absorb the shock of the crash and thus protect the bicyclist's head. That's the sort of design Tony was going for with this armor, made entirely of little tiles that are designed in such a way to — you guessed it — break on impact. The only difference is that the armor is also equipped with a force field that holds it all together and reconfigures the tiles when they break, since otherwise, the man inside might be in trouble. Once a tile was broken, it pops off and another one slides into its place. New tiles are constantly being generated, and they are even capable of separating from the armor and doing their own thing.
There's no doubt that it's a unique concept, and perhaps one that Tony could come back to later on. But if you think this is weird, it only gets stranger from here on out.
13 Sorcerer Supreme Armor
Tony Stark is definitely no Doctor Strange. In fact, he's not the kind of guy who cares for magic whatsoever. So the idea of a gearhead like Tony even thinking about incorporating magic into his very tech-based armor is rather weird, though in all fairness, this particular storyline takes place in an alternate universe.
In this parallel reality, Tony and Dr. Strange get in a terrible car accident, which injures Strange so badly that he's unable to cast spells. Though Tony attempts to use science to cure Strange's nerve damage, he instead finds himself pulled in the direction of the magical arts. So when Tony realizes he needs to protect the world from Dormammu, he suits up — combining his knowledge of both science and magic to create this "Sorcerer Supreme" armor, a suit powered by the Eye of Agamotto instead of the arc reactor. All of the suit's regular functions are magically-powered, and it comes with an onboard CPU stocked full of an encyclopedia's worth of spells. Crazy stuff.
Oddly enough, this won't be the last magic-based armor we see on this list.
12 The "Endo-Sym" Symbiote Armor
The alien symbiotes that Spider-Man gets tangled up with may be dangerous entities — Venom is bad, and Carnage is even worse — but the abilities they possess are pretty incredible. It's no huge surprise that an inventor like Tony would look at something like the Venom symbiote and that his mind would start buzzing with possibilities.
Based on the biology of the symbiotes, and with cells from the symbiotes incorporated into the armor's design, the Endo-Sym armor that Tony wears during the Superior Iron Man series is a liquid metal that bonds with its user just as the symbiotes do, with both Tony and the armor feeling a sort of psychic connection to one another. The suit's normal state is a liquefied form, but it is telepathically commanded by Tony to bond to him and solidify into an armor. Unlike the symbiotes, the Endo-Sym armor does not possess its own personality, intelligence, or sharp teeth, which is definitely a blessing.
The end result looks more like an iMac than a symbiote, but hey, it's still pretty cool.
11 The 1602 Armor
And now, let's go from an armor that is super high-tech and futuristic to one that is...actually, rather old-fashioned. Marvel 1602 was a series created by Neil Gaiman, once that depicted a world wherein many of the classic Marvel heroes and villains existed during the Elizabethan era -- specifically, in the year 1602 -- and thus appeared in altered forms more befitting the era they live in.
In the world of 1602, Anthony Stark is Lord Iron, a man who is taken captive during the Anglo-Spanish war and forced to make weapons, after being subjected to torture by this universe's version of Bruce Banner (here named David). Later on, after Banner becomes the Hulk, Stark is summoned by the king of England to track Banner down.
Lord Iron requires his massive armor in order to survive, and in the year 1602, he definitely sticks out from a crowd. Lord Iron's armor is powered by "lightning bottles," and seemingly keeps Stark alive purely through electricity.
10 The Teen Tony Armor
Okay, so to start with, the whole Teen Tony storyline is one of the weirder things to ever happen in Iron Man comics, and it's definitely a plot that we shouldn't expect to see get adapted into the movies anytime soon. Basically, in "The Crossing," what happens is that Tony Stark gets mentally unwound by Kang the Conquerer, resulting in him becoming a bad guy and donning a weird set of armor — don't worry, we'll come back to that armor here in a bit. In response to Iron Man becoming a traitor to the Avengers, the team goes back in time and picks up a teenage version of Tony to help them defeat the evil adult one.
So for a time, Teen Tony became the "regular" Iron Man. Until the whole thing got retconned, of course, and regular Tony came back.
Anyway, the first armor that Teen Tony wears is a really spiky prototype designed by adult Tony, but it doesn't last long. After that, he starts building his own armor, and it turns out to be rather unusually proportioned. Assembled piece by piece over an extended period of time, the final result has some rather enormous gauntlets, huge hands, huge fingers, giant shoulder pads, and other odd features.
9 The Crossing Armor
Now that we've talked about those giant hands and enormous gauntlets that Teen Tony built for himself, we can come back to the wacky stuff that evil adult Tony was doing in the meantime. Surely, while it's understandable that a teenager might have some silly ideas, the mature adult Tony would never design something so ridiculous, so garish, so...
Oh, wait. Looks like adult Tony wanted to have super-giant gauntlets too. Awesome.
In addition to that eeeeeevil new faceplate, complete with more menacing eyes and a downturned mouth so that you know he's angry, this armor also comes prepackaged with those really weird things jutting out of his shoulders for no discernable reason. Technology-wise, it has some new features and all, but it's the design that really earns it a spot on this list. It's not Tony's finest moment, for sure. But now that we've run the gamut on giant hands, let's move on to another frequently used appendage, and see what happens when those gets bloated as well.
8 The Hyperspace-Ready, Super Big-Footed High Gravity Armor
Okay, so there's at least a reason for this one, so that earns it points over the last two. No argument there. But yes, that's right, we've now gone from giant hands to giant feet. Can't have both, though, only one at a time.
This armor was designed to handle the stronger gravity conditions of hyperspace travel, keeping Tony safe at 50 Gs. The combination of magnetism, mobility software, and hardware within the armor itself made it possible for Tony to move around, though the armor itself didn't prevent him from nausea, sickness, loss of consciousness, and other side effects of hyperspace conditions. However, it was capable of cleaning and disinfecting itself if he threw up, which is a handy thing for an armor to do. It also ensured that all blood flow remained in his limbs instead of getting stuffed into his torso. All in all, it's a pretty useful design, created for a specific purpose. The next armor is similar in nature, though with its own odd aesthetics.
7 The Hydro Armor
Hey, a guy's gotta go underwater sometimes, right? It's not such a surprise that Tony would have an armor specifically designed for underwater operations, considering that he has an armor specifically designed for pretty much everything else. Most of Iron Man's suits are capable of functioning to a limited extent while under the surface, but the Hydro Armor is capable of going three miles below sea level.
The Hydro Armor has all of the standard features of the regular Iron Man suits, but reconfigured to be more effective underwater. That means carefully adapted repulsor beams, more life support, grapples, a feature that fires an underwater electric shock, and the ability to release an inky chemical like an octopus.
The armor is designed so that it can eject itself from Iron Man's body at any time, which explains its unusual bubble-headed appearance; basically, when Iron Man wears his hydro gear, he's wearing an armor inside another armor. But hey, it gets the job done.
6 The Thorbuster Armor
Everyone always talks about the Hulkbuster armor, which made its cinematic debut in the second Avengers film, and it's easy to see why. But while Tony did design an armor that could take on a monster, he also designed an armor that could take on a god. A Norse god, to be specific.
During a period in which the mighty Thor attempts to take over the planet, Tony Stark decides it's time to take matters into his own hands...by making a Thorbuster armor. Using the design of the Asgardian menace the Destroyer as a template, the Thorbuster armor combines Stark's technology with the magic of Odin — see, here's the second magical armor so far —and the whole thing is powered by an Asgardian crystal, capable of absorbing Asgardian energies.
The Thorbuster armor proves powerful enough to stop Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, in mid-flight, which is no easy feat. Every system on the armor uses magic energy, and it is highly resilient against all types of blows, hits, and blasts.
5 The Heroes Reborn Armor
Referred to in the storyline as the Prometheum armor, this rather unique looking suit was exclusive to the Heroes Reborn universe, a temporary reset of many major Marvel characters that was later undone.
While most of Iron Man's armors tend to be clean and simplified in appearance, the Heroes Reborn armor took a different approach: steel cords, lots of tubing, and two massive exhaust pipes on the back that allow the armor to release heat. Though just a prototype, Tony was required to wear this armor's chestplate at all times in order to keep his heart beating and his lungs functioning properly. The suit didn't have an arc reactor, and had to constantly be recharged in order to keep pumping.
All-in-all, the Prometheum armor was a fresh take on the classic Iron Man armors that we've seen before, though it's far more gritty and less high-tech than the readers were used to. Once Heroes Reborn was finished, and Iron Man returned to the regular Marvel Universe, this armor didn't come with him. Though that makes sense, since the regular Tony's concepts and designs have definitely advanced to a far more futuristic level by this point.
4 The Iron Man of 2020
Okay, so at this point, 2020 is only a couple of years away, but back when the Iron Man of 2020 was first introduced in 1984, it was a long ways off. Still, the time-traveling Iron Man of 2020 has reappeared on a number of occasions.
This Iron Man is actually Arno Stark, Tony's first cousin once removed, and he's no hero. Instead, Arno dons his armor to perform the tasks of a mercenary, and after he inherits Stark Industries, he uses the suit to take down his competitors for capitalist gain. Though Arno's armor was (at the time) hypothetically quite far in the future, the functions of his armor aren't especially more advanced than Tony's, though he does possess flicker blades, a magnetic tractor beam, and ultra pulse bolts, as well as a protective measure against EMP blasts.
However, we can't really say why Arno's armor has the giant golden gears around the shoulders. Maybe he looked to the "Crossing" armor for inspiration?
While we're at it, let's venture even further into the future — all the way to the year 2099. Though there have been a couple different universes depicting different versions of the year 2099 — most notably, the one where Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Man crawls through New York in a Day of the Dead costume — the Iron Man of 2099 that we're concerned with here is Andros Stark, from the animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
Andros Stark is Tony Stark's grandson, hailing from a possible future where Tony's creation of an artificial intelligence named Vortex ends up causing the total annihilation of humankind. Andros, as one might expect, goes back in time to prevent this all from happening.
Andros's armor is far more advanced that anything that Tony has worn, with Andros even commenting that it's like comparing a supercomputer against a handheld calculator. The armor is a modified version of Tony's extremis armor, but far more advanced, and even more connected to Andros's body, granting him regenerative abilities, immortality, the ability to psychically integrate with other computers, and the capability to travel through time.
2 The Excalibur Armor
As if the blond ponytail wasn't weird enough — yes, once you see it, you can't un-see it — the Excalibur armor represents yet another time that Tony gets all magical on us. But believe it or not, this one is the strangest mystical armor yet.
This time, what happens is that Tony's regular armor gets fused to the magical energies of Excalibur, the legendary sword that, according to mythology, was passed down to King Arthur from the Lady of the Lake. This fusion made some big changes to the armor's appearance, as well as endowed it with all kinds of magical properties, replacing all of its usual tech-based capabilities. The suit is totally invulnerable, and according to that wacky old wizard Merlin, its power source is actually Tony Stark's pure will.
Tony, for his part, claims the whole Excalibur/armor fusion is just an accident. We're suspicious he just doesn't have a good explanation for the whole blond ponytail thing, particularly after he got teased so much about the nasal armor.
1 The Good Old Golden Armor
Gotta end with a classic.
Now look, nobody's questioning the look of the original gray armor, which was famously brought to life in the first Iron Man movie. Though bulky and cumbersome, it's absolutely an iconic design, and more importantly, it was built with a purpose: Tony had found himself in a bad situation, needed to escape, so he built an armor out of any materials available to him. Makes sense.
The gold armor, however, was a step too far. To be honest, this has less to do with the armor itself, and more to do with the reasoning behind it. Evidently, Tony decided that the gray color of his armor was too scary. The biggest inspiration came from a date, Marion Rodgers, who told Tony that Iron Man could really use a nice paintjob, so that he'd better resemble a knight in shining armor. As you can see above, Tony took this to heart, and the gold suit was born. This didn't last too long, of course, before being replaced by the first iteration of the classic red and gold color scheme that the world now knows so well.
What other weird armors has Tony Stark donned that we forgot about? What bizarre modification has Tony made to the suit? Let us know in the comments!
Tags: iron man


text:
Purina – Together is better
CLIENT: Nestlè – Purina | DIRECTORS: Paolo Vari & Alessia Petta | DOP: Fabio Casati | YEAR: 2016
Conceived by the children of the primary school "A. Soggetti "of Sarezzo (BS), who participated and won the 2015/16 "A Scuola di Petcare" competition.
Since 2004, with the "A Scuola di Petcare" project, Purina enters the classroom to help develop sensitivity towards pets and stimulate the growth of children's imagination and sense of responsibility.
The moving film is about a broken family reunited through the love of a pet and it was brilliantly directed by Paolo Vari and Alessia Petta.
About the directors:
Paolo Vari
Paolo Vari works as a filmmaker and director since 1995. Since 2005 he has been working in advertising, directing dozens of films for all the major Italian production companies and winning many prestigious international prizes. He wrote and directed the long feature film Fame chimica (2004) which was featured at the Venice Film Festival, won the Dolly d'oro 2004 for "Best Italian debut" as well as several international awards. It was also one of five movies shortlisted for the Best film award at the David di Donatello 2005 and at the Nastro d'argento 2005.
He directed many documentary films and TV productions for several international broadcasters, including Le mani sulla Vita (2002), and the first Italian docu-soap, I Love Italy (2001). In 2006 he directed a series of short films for the popular Italian TV show "Ballarò" (RAI3).
He's the founder of Blue Joint Film and Red Joint Film.
Alessia Petta
Alessia Petta is an italian director. Before presenting her thesis in Film Semiotics, Alessia spent one year in Paris to further specialize and focus on her study, and meanwhile improving her photography skills. Alessia lived first in Rome, then in Milan where she worked as an assistant director with many, both Italian and international directors. After seven years of experience she abandoned the Assistant Director role to finally become an official Director. She loves to focus on the stories, to catch people's humanity and realism. Alessia had the chance to work for brands such as P&G, Nestlè, Napisan, Real Time, Sandoz, Interlora, Clementoni, FAI, Discovery Channel and many more.
Federico Dilirio, Giorgia Senesi, Valentino Orfeo, Camilla Puppini, Manuel Sinatra
UPM: Paola Sorini
Animal trainer: Claudio Mangini
Focus Puller: Maurizio Iannello
Art Buyer: Chiara Breda
Costume Designer: Francisco Ranellucci
Make-up: Marina Caffagna
Gaffer: Emanuele Mestriner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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When I'm searching for embedded systems information, it's amazing how much blanket advice I encounter - often just repeating truths from previous generations or providing advice without considering design constraints.
It's important to remember how diverse embedded systems can be. You might be developing for an 8-bit microcontroller with only 4KB ROM and 1KB RAM. I might be building a radar system which has 8 circuit card assemblies and runs software on an FPGA. Tools and techniques used in the first situation are very different than those in the second.
If you are space/memory constrained, your tool selection is constrained. If you are not space/memory constrained, you get more leeway to use modern development tools and techniques.
You must understand all of the tools at hand in order to make an effective judgment call.
Most modern designs are not constrained to 8-bit systems with 1KB RAM.
You are often constrained to tools that are supported for your target platform. A C++ compiler may not be available for your specific chipset, or you may be able to utilize more common toolchains (gcc, clang).
People will often make recommendations soley based on the way they have done things in the past. Good advice in one situation may be terrible advice in another.
Next time, we'll analyze some of the bad blanket advice targeted at C++ usage in embedded systems.
Newer PostEmbedded C++: What's the value?


text:
The Bouncer Goes Dolby
Square's beat-'em-up will be the first PlayStation 2 game to feature Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
By Gamespot Staff on May 17, 2006 at 3:09PM PDT
Square announced today that The Bouncer, its Final Fight-inspired game for the PlayStation 2, is the first PS2 game to feature Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The Bouncer has already been released in Japan and will be released in the US in March.
"Our commitment to giving gamers the best and most realistic gaming experience led us to use Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for The Bouncer," said Takashi Tokita, director of The Bouncer for Square Co. Ltd. "Dolby Digital draws the player right into the action with the sounds of the colossal aircraft engine, gigantic explosions, and ambient street life."
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text:
from time import mktime

from google.appengine.ext import ndb

import config

class LoveLink(ndb.Model):
    """Models an instance of a Love Link."""
    hash_key = ndb.StringProperty()
    message = ndb.TextProperty()
    recipient_list = ndb.TextProperty()
    timestamp = ndb.DateTimeProperty(auto_now_add=True)

    @property
    def seconds_since_epoch(self):
        return int(mktime(self.timestamp.timetuple()))

    @property
    def url(self):
        return config.APP_BASE_URL + 'l/' + self.hash_key

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
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•5 steps to make your businesses, organizations, and communities more inclusive and equitable.
Dr. Kemp has been a lifelong poet-performer and advocate of racial justice and equality since her first anti-apartheid march in 1983. She earned her B.A. from Stanford University and her doctorate from Northwestern University. Dr. Kemp has taught at Cornell University, Dickinson College, Millersville University, and Franklin & Marshall College where she served as the chair of Africana Studies. Kemp is currently a Visiting Scholar in Africana Studies at Franklin & Marshall College and continues to publish on race, performance and freedom.
This is a special event that requires registration by April 21. Registrants will be given pre-work to prepare for the presentation. We also recommend the Stop the Hurt 5 Day Challenge at Dr Kemps website: www.dramandakemp.com where you can also find her latest book, "Say The Wrong Thing".
Posted on April 1, 2019 by Rich Ailes.


text:
/****************************************************************************
** Meta object code from reading C++ file 'CQJComboBox.h'
**
** Created by: The Qt Meta Object Compiler version 67 (Qt 5.15.3)
**
** WARNING! All changes made in this file will be lost!
*****************************************************************************/

#include <memory>
#include "../../qinclude/CQJComboBox.h"
#include <QtCore/qbytearray.h>
#include <QtCore/qmetatype.h>
#if !defined(Q_MOC_OUTPUT_REVISION)
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#elif Q_MOC_OUTPUT_REVISION != 67
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#error "cannot be used with the include files from this version of Qt."
#error "(The moc has changed too much.)"
#endif

QT_BEGIN_MOC_NAMESPACE
QT_WARNING_PUSH
QT_WARNING_DISABLE_DEPRECATED
struct qt_meta_stringdata_CQJComboBox_t {
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#define QT_MOC_LITERAL(idx, ofs, len) \
    Q_STATIC_BYTE_ARRAY_DATA_HEADER_INITIALIZER_WITH_OFFSET(len, \
    qptrdiff(offsetof(qt_meta_stringdata_CQJComboBox_t, stringdata0) + ofs \
        - idx * sizeof(QByteArrayData)) \
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static const qt_meta_stringdata_CQJComboBox_t qt_meta_stringdata_CQJComboBox = {
    {
QT_MOC_LITERAL(0, 0, 11), // "CQJComboBox"
QT_MOC_LITERAL(1, 12, 16), // "currentIndexSlot"
QT_MOC_LITERAL(2, 29, 0) // ""

    },
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};
#undef QT_MOC_LITERAL

static const uint qt_meta_data_CQJComboBox[] = {

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    QMetaType::Void, QMetaType::Int,    2,

       0        // eod
};

void CQJComboBox::qt_static_metacall(QObject *_o, QMetaObject::Call _c, int _id, void **_a)
{
    if (_c == QMetaObject::InvokeMetaMethod) {
        auto *_t = static_cast<CQJComboBox *>(_o);
        (void)_t;
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}

QT_INIT_METAOBJECT const QMetaObject CQJComboBox::staticMetaObject = { {
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} };

const QMetaObject *CQJComboBox::metaObject() const
{
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}

void *CQJComboBox::qt_metacast(const char *_clname)
{
    if (!_clname) return nullptr;
    if (!strcmp(_clname, qt_meta_stringdata_CQJComboBox.stringdata0))
        return static_cast<void*>(this);
    return QComboBox::qt_metacast(_clname);
}

int CQJComboBox::qt_metacall(QMetaObject::Call _c, int _id, void **_a)
{
    _id = QComboBox::qt_metacall(_c, _id, _a);
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        return _id;
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        _id -= 1;
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        if (_id < 1)
            *reinterpret_cast<int*>(_a[0]) = -1;
        _id -= 1;
    }
    return _id;
}
QT_WARNING_POP
QT_END_MOC_NAMESPACE


text:
La Mort de l'argent est un livre paru en 1993 (ainsi qu'un article) de , un ancien rédacteur en chef de la Harvard Business Review. En utilisant l'expression « mort de l'argent », Kurztman dénonce le changement de la nature économique de la monnaie aux États-Unis, à la suite des décisions politiques que Richard Nixon a prises  incluant la non-convertabilité du dollar américain avec l'étalon-or (Accords de Bretton Woods).

Le concept de « mort de l'argent » désigne aussi le changement fondamental dans la nature des transactions commerciales basées sur un système électronique d'évaluation complexe utilisé pour les actions, obligations, polices d'assurance et autres contrats financiers qui dépassent la notion historique simple que l'argent représente des réserves tangibles. Une vue simplifiée de ce concept est que si tout le monde décidait de retirer son argent des banques, il n'y aura plus assez de billets (pour représenter tout l'argent).

Kurtzman examine comment la nouvelle économie financière électronique permet de nouvelles pratiques liées à la titrisation (par exemple l'inclusion du système de titre adossé à des créances hypothécaires en composé et d'instruments financiers complexes), et alerte sur de probables retournements financiers.

Sources

 Joel Kurtzman, The Death of Money, Harvard Business Review 15(16), 1993.
 Joel Kurtzman, 1993 The Death of Money, Simon et Schuster .

Livre paru en 1993
Livre sur l'économie ou le management
Œuvre en lien avec la finance

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Lax state rules provide cover for sponsors of attack ads
by May 16, 2013 July 25, 2019
While much criticism has been lobbed at the federal system for failing to adequately identify who is spending money to influence campaigns, 35 states have independent spending disclosure laws that are less stringent than federal election law.
In fact, in 30 states it's impossible to total how much money outside groups are spending on campaigns, information that is mostly available when it comes to federal contests.
That's according to a new 50-state analysis by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, which graded the states on disclosure requirements for super PACs, nonprofits and other outside spending groups.
Fifteen states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — received an "A" grade, meaning the states' laws were at least as robust as federal independent spending requirements.
New Jersey and Virginia, states where residents will be casting votes for governor and state legislature this year, were among 26 states that received a failing grade.
The others were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming.
States were graded on a 100-point scale, based on how much information is provided to the public about non-candidate organizations that buy ads, often negative and misleading, just before an election. Six states — Alabama, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota and South Carolina — didn't garner a single point in the survey.
Independent super PACs and nonprofits intent on influencing campaigns proliferated in the wake of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, adding about $1 billion in spending in federal races in the 2012 election cycle.
The National Institute on Money In State Politics graded each state by the strength of their independent spending disclosure laws through April 2013. It looked at:
Does the state require reporting of independent expenditures, political spending that urges voters to support or oppose a candidate but is not coordinated with the campaign?
Does the state require reporting of the target, the identity of the candidate who is the subject of the independent spending?
Does the state require reporting of position, whether the spending supports or opposes the target
How does the state monitor "electioneering communications" — advertising that airs close to an election that names a candidate but does not urge viewers to vote for or against the candidate?
A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or less.
How did your state score?
Methodology: To calculate each state's score, the National Institute on Money in State Politics awards points for "independent expenditures" (IEs) and "electioneering communications" (ECs). Thirty points is awarded when IEs are required to be disclosed. Ten points are awarded for identification of the targets of the spending and 10 points for whether the sponsors support or oppose the target. The same scoring pattern applies to ECs. Partial credit is given when disclosure is required in only some instances or only by certain types of filers.
At the state level, lavish spending by outside groups often faces weaker disclosure rules than federal contests and receives far less media attention.
The result is a mishmash of rules, with some states scrambling to pass legislation in the wake of the high court decision while others show little interest in enacting any changes.
In South Carolina, for example, outside groups paid for ads attacking several state and local politicians in 2012 but were not required to report the spending.
Two federal court decisions have left the state without "any rules" related to outside groups' spending, according to Cathy L. Hazelwood, deputy director of the state Ethics Commission.
State Sen. Wes Hayes, a Republican from Rock Hill, estimates that an anonymous group called Conservative GOP PAC, which despite its name has no apparent affiliation with the state's Republican party, spent at least $100,000 on campaign fliers in an unsuccessful effort to unseat him.
He concedes that's just a guess.
"I'll never know the amount, just like I'll never know who spent it," Hayes says. Efforts to contact Conservative GOP PAC were unsuccessful, as the group has no office, no phone number, no website, did not file incorporation records with the state and no individuals have claimed membership in the organization.
Non-candidate, independent spending on elections can be broken into two general categories: "independent expenditures" and "electioneering." With independent expenditures, potential voters are asked to back or oppose a candidate. With electioneering, a candidate is named, but there's no explicit request for support or opposition.
In 25 of 50 states, electioneering advertisements are not required to be reported, according to the analysis by the National Institute.
The term "electioneering communications" came to be with the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The federal law requires such expenditures be reported, but it applies only to television and radio ads that air shortly before an election.
In a few states, however, the definition of electioneering communications is broader than at the federal level, and may include non-broadcast expenditures like direct mail and print advertising. Independent expenditures refer to all expenditures used to support or oppose a candidate, including non-advertising costs like polling and yard signs.
Points were withheld in the survey based on the level of disclosure and whether disclosure forms differentiate between independent spending and other types of campaign expenditures.
While North Dakota scored a zero, the state passed legislation this year that will beef up disclosure requirements for outside groups once the law goes into effect August 1.
The National Institute's rankings focus solely on spending and not on donors to the groups that are doing the spending. Increasingly, "social welfare" nonprofits — currently at the center of a scandal involving the IRS — and trade associations are being used to hide donors' identities in both federal and state races.
In New Mexico, outside political action groups spent heavily on races for the state Legislature, races that typically attract fewer than 20,000 voters. Once sleepy contests have become bruising battles fought through statewide television ads, said state Sen. Peter Wirth, a Democrat from Santa Fe.
He's pushed a bill requiring greater disclosure by outside groups through the Senate three times (twice with unanimous approval) only to see it die in the state House after frenetic lobbying by "very powerful special interests" from both parties, he says.
"It's bipartisan support in the open, and then behind the scenes it's full-on bipartisan opposition," Wirth says.
But several states have enacted disclosure requirements that go beyond federal requirements.
In Maryland, corporations are required to alert shareholders about a company's independent political spending;
A "stand by your ad" provision in a 2010 Massachusetts law requires that in corporate-funded ads, the CEO appear in the spot;
Alaska, California and North Carolina require independent expenditure groups to list their top donors in political ads.
The National Institute's rankings also factor whether states require independent spending groups to disclose which candidate they are targeting.
Two states, Florida and Delaware, require that spending be made public but not the targets or the purpose of the spending. The result: It's virtually impossible to track how much was spent by outside groups trying to hurt or help a particular candidate.
Thirty-six states will elect governors in 2014. Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics, said he hopes states with poor grades will strengthen their reporting requirements.
"The majority of states will elect their governors and other major statewide offices in 2014," he said. "We think the public should know how much money is spent on these races, and by whom."
John Dunbar contributed to this report.
For more information about money in state politics, visit www.followthemoney.org.
Without better laws, "dark money" groups will prosper in 2014 state races
States outpace Congress in upgrading lobbying laws

Lax state rules provide cover for sponsors of attack ads

by , Center for Public Integrity
May 16, 2013

While much criticism has been lobbed at the federal system for failing to adequately identify who is spending money to influence campaigns, 35 states have independent spending disclosure laws that are less stringent than federal election law.

In fact, in 30 states it's impossible to total how much money outside groups are spending on campaigns, information that is mostly available when it comes to federal contests.

That's according to a new 50-state analysis by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, which graded the states on disclosure requirements for super PACs, nonprofits and other outside spending groups.

Fifteen states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — received an "A" grade, meaning the states' laws were at least as robust as federal independent spending requirements.

New Jersey and Virginia, states where residents will be casting votes for governor and state legislature this year, were among 26 states that received a failing grade.

The others were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming.

States were graded on a 100-point scale, based on how much information is provided to the public about non-candidate organizations that buy ads, often negative and misleading, just before an election. Six states — Alabama, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota and South Carolina — didn't garner a single point in the survey.

Independent super PACs and nonprofits intent on influencing campaigns proliferated in the wake of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, adding about $1 billion in spending in federal races in the 2012 election cycle.

The National Institute on Money In State Politics graded each state by the strength of their independent spending disclosure laws through April 2013. It looked at:

Does the state require reporting of independent expenditures, political spending that urges voters to support or oppose a candidate but is not coordinated with the campaign?

Does the state require reporting of the target, the identity of the candidate who is the subject of the independent spending?

Does the state require reporting of position, whether the spending supports or opposes the target

How does the state monitor "electioneering communications" -- advertising that airs close to an election that names a candidate but does not urge viewers to vote for or against the candidate?

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SCALE

A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or less.

How did your state score?

Methodology: To calculate each state's score, the National Institute on Money in State Politics awards points for "independent expenditures" (IEs) and "electioneering communications" (ECs). Thirty points is awarded when IEs are required to be disclosed. Ten points are awarded for identification of the targets of the spending and 10 points for whether the sponsors support or oppose the target. The same scoring pattern applies to ECs. Partial credit is given when disclosure is required in only some instances or only by certain types of filers.

At the state level, lavish spending by outside groups often faces weaker disclosure rules than federal contests and receives far less media attention.

The result is a mishmash of rules, with some states scrambling to pass legislation in the wake of the high court decision while others show little interest in enacting any changes.

In South Carolina, for example, outside groups paid for ads attacking several state and local politicians in 2012 but were not required to report the spending.

Two federal court decisions have left the state without "any rules" related to outside groups' spending, according to Cathy L. Hazelwood, deputy director of the state Ethics Commission.

State Sen. Wes Hayes, a Republican from Rock Hill, estimates that an anonymous group called Conservative GOP PAC, which despite its name has no apparent affiliation with the state's Republican party, spent at least $100,000 on campaign fliers in an unsuccessful effort to unseat him.

He concedes that's just a guess.

"I'll never know the amount, just like I'll never know who spent it," Hayes says. Efforts to contact Conservative GOP PAC were unsuccessful, as the group has no office, no phone number, no website, did not file incorporation records with the state and no individuals have claimed membership in the organization.

Non-candidate, independent spending on elections can be broken into two general categories: "independent expenditures" and "electioneering." With independent expenditures, potential voters are asked to back or oppose a candidate. With electioneering, a candidate is named, but there's no explicit request for support or opposition.

In 25 of 50 states, electioneering advertisements are not required to be reported, according to the analysis by the National Institute.

The term "electioneering communications" came to be with the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The federal law requires such expenditures be reported, but it applies only to television and radio ads that air shortly before an election.

In a few states, however, the definition of electioneering communications is broader than at the federal level, and may include non-broadcast expenditures like direct mail and print advertising. Independent expenditures refer to all expenditures used to support or oppose a candidate, including non-advertising costs like polling and yard signs.

Points were withheld in the survey based on the level of disclosure and whether disclosure forms differentiate between independent spending and other types of campaign expenditures.

While North Dakota scored a zero, the state passed legislation this year that will beef up disclosure requirements for outside groups once the law goes into effect August 1.

The National Institute's rankings focus solely on spending and not on donors to the groups that are doing the spending. Increasingly, "social welfare" nonprofits — currently at the center of a scandal involving the IRS — and trade associations are being used to hide donors' identities in both federal and state races.

In New Mexico, outside political action groups spent heavily on races for the state Legislature, races that typically attract fewer than 20,000 voters. Once sleepy contests have become bruising battles fought through statewide television ads, said state Sen. Peter Wirth, a Democrat from Santa Fe.

He's pushed a bill requiring greater disclosure by outside groups through the Senate three times (twice with unanimous approval) only to see it die in the state House after frenetic lobbying by "very powerful special interests" from both parties, he says.

"It's bipartisan support in the open, and then behind the scenes it's full-on bipartisan opposition," Wirth says.

But several states have enacted disclosure requirements that go beyond federal requirements.

In Maryland, corporations are required to alert shareholders about a company's independent political spending;

A "stand by your ad" provision in a 2010 Massachusetts law requires that in corporate-funded ads, the CEO appear in the spot;

Alaska, California and North Carolina require independent expenditure groups to list their top donors in political ads.

The National Institute's rankings also factor whether states require independent spending groups to disclose which candidate they are targeting.

Two states, Florida and Delaware, require that spending be made public but not the targets or the purpose of the spending. The result: It's virtually impossible to track how much was spent by outside groups trying to hurt or help a particular candidate.

Thirty-six states will elect governors in 2014. Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics, said he hopes states with poor grades will strengthen their reporting requirements.

"The majority of states will elect their governors and other major statewide offices in 2014," he said. "We think the public should know how much money is spent on these races, and by whom."

John Dunbar contributed to this report.

For more information about money in state politics, visit www.followthemoney.org.

This article first appeared on Center for Public Integrity and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.