text:
Mexico #1 in Best Spring Break Destinations
Courtesy of arthur gonoretzky/Getty Images
Best Things To Do in Cancun
The beaches and nightlife here are key diversions for many Cancún vacationers. But the area also earns praise for cultural activities like Chichén Itzá and the underwater art museum on Isla Mujeres. If there's extra time, consider taking a day trip to nearby Tulum to see some of the best preserved Mayan ruins in all of Mexico.
#1 in Cancun
Find Tours & Tickets
Monuments and Memorials, Sightseeing
Half Day to Full Day
TIME TO SPEND
Chichén Itzá is a large Mayan archaeological site and one of the most notable and recognized landmarks on the Yucatán. The site itself was originally a main hub of Mayan civilization and has since been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The focal point of the ruins is the pyramid-like El Castillo that was once used by Mayans as a temple to the god Kukulkan.
Unfortunately, because of its fame, Chichén Itzá is crawling with tourists trying to snap a picture of one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Nevertheless, the spectacular ruins are well worth it, even for the jaded traveler. You can avoid crowds by visiting the site in the early morning before the throngs of tour buses arrive. Recent visitors also advised bringing water and bug repellent and wearing appropriate footwear and a hat.
Beaches, Neighborhood/Area
To escape the frantic beat of Cancún's nightlife and beaches, head to Isla Mujeres (or the Island of Women). There is little to do on this small, 4-mile island just a 20-minute ferry ride from Cancun, but travelers like it that way.
Despite the island's sleepy reputation, it hosts a few sites worth checking out. Recent visitors suggested renting a golf cart and driving to Punta Sur, located on the island's southern tip. Home to an ancient temple honoring the Mayan moon goddess, the landscape is surrounded by steep cliffs and spectacular bay views – in fact, this is where the rising sun first greets Mexico. This area is also where you'll find Garrafon Reef Park, which offers a variety of activities against the scenic backdrop of Punta Sur, including a swimming pool, a zip line, kayaking and snorkeling.
Playa Tortugas
Beaches, Free
2 hours to Half Day
Widely considered a beach spot for locals, Playa Tortugas is known for its relaxed atmosphere and clean sands. The area also boasts several open-air restaurants that make for great evening dining, according to past visitors. The beach also features a pier, where brave visitors can bungee jump. From here, daily ferries also depart for Isla Mujeres.
Some travelers enjoy Tortugas so much that they choose the area over their own hotel's beach. Visitors appreciated that the public beach is free to enjoy and the water is calm and relaxing (a particular highlight for those traveling with children). Playa Tortugas is located on the northern part of Cancún's "7," along the Hotel Zone and accessible by bus or rental car. Umbrella and chair rentals are also available.
El Rey Ruins
While they may not have the awe factor of Chichén Itzá, the El Rey Ruins have convenience on their side. Located in the heart of the Hotel Zone, these ruins are extremely accessible to visitors, and the site's small size makes it easy to see in a short time. Once a center for maritime trade, El Rey dates back to A.D. 1200.
But for many past visitors, the ruins themselves were not the primary attraction: people flock to El Rey to mingle with the hundreds of iguanas that have invaded the former Mayan town, saying the iguanas make for some unforgettable photo ops.
Playa Delfines
If you're tired of the standard beaches along the Hotel Zone, try heading to Playa Delfines, which is a largely undeveloped ribbon of sand located near El Rey. Likewise, the beach often lacks the heavy crowds found elsewhere throughout the Hotel Zone. Make sure to bring your own drinks and snacks since there won't be opportunities to buy them here. This is also where you'll find the colorful "Cancun" sign featured on many of the city's postcards and brochures.
Travelers regard Playa Delfines as the quintessential escapist's beach as there are no umbrellas or shade and few vendors hawking goods or services. Just be mindful of heavy currents and riptides, since the beach is known for its rough waters.
Playa Marlin
Situated in the Hotel Zone about a 5-minute walk from the Kukulcan Plaza shopping mall, Playa Marlin offers a broad stretch of sugar white sand. There's also lifeguards and beach supplies, such as chairs and umbrellas, for rent.
Recent travelers said that Playa Marlin is a beautiful, public beach, perfect for those who aren't staying in a beachside resort. Still, some do warn of its powerful waves and strong undertow. Though the waters can be too rough for swimming, they're great for water sports like parasailing.
Avenida Kukulkan
Sightseeing, Free
Even if you don't seek out Avenida Kukulkan, you'll likely cross its path at least once during your Cancun vacation. That's because Avenida Kukulkan is Cancun's main artery, traveling through the Hotel Zone and stretching from downtown Cancun running south toward the airport. The avenue is lined with pathways and several shops and eateries. If you're not strolling along the avenue, you'll likely be riding the bus along it since this is the main route for the buses most frequently used by tourists.
Recent travelers described Avenida Kukulkan as a safe, well-maintained and well-lit, place to walk or jog. Still, some travelers warn about the crocodiles that lurk on the lagoon side of the road, suggesting that travelers stick to the pathway or better yet, stay on the ocean side of the avenue.
Coco Bongo Cancun
Entertainment and Nightlife
Considered the spot for nightlife in Cancún, Coco Bongo isn't your traditional, DJ-controlled nightclub. Instead, thousands of travelers pack the house to witness nonstop performances from acrobats, conga lines, live bands and musician impersonators. A typical night at Coco Bongo involves projected videos, balloons, soap bubbles and confetti.
While the club is a nonstop amalgam of cocktails and dancers, there is no traditional dance floor. This fact surprises – and even upsets – many travelers expecting a conventional nightclub experience. Don't come to Coco Bongo if you just want to dance to a DJ; there are plenty of other clubs along the Hotel Zone that you'll prefer. But if you're seeking some stage antics and endless performances, Coco Bongo is definitely worth a try. Most travelers say that they had a great night at Coco Bongo, even if their seats offered poor views, there were long lines for drinks, and the cover charges were too expensive.
Delphinus Punta Cancún
Sightseeing, Swimming/Pools, Zoos and Aquariums
Operating out of the Hyatt Ziva in the Hotel Zone, Delphinus Punta Cancún allows visitors to swim with dolphins. The facility offers multiple programs, each focused on a different type of interaction with the dolphins. For example, the "Dolphin Ride" program allows visitors to swim with the dolphins, while "The One" allows swimmers to get to know one specific dolphin over the course of 45 minutes.
Recent visitors raved about their experience and said it's particularly well suited to children 5 years and older. Along with the interaction with the animals, visitors are also given a short presentation on the animals and their environment. The only complaint among past visitors pertained to the prices (especially for photos), which some described as "ridiculous."
Torre Escenica
Museo Maya de Cancún
Musa Museo Subacuatico de Arte
Natural Wonders, Sightseeing, Swimming/Pools, Tours
Explore More of Cancun


The Brimfield Antique show is a must visit. Located in Brimfield, Massachusetts and held three times a year (May, July, and September), the show has grown over the decades to become a one square mile mecca of finds. But for those of you who can easily be overwhelmed, fear not. My friend Laura and I spent six hours the morning of the last day (Sunday) and with a bit of planning and strategy came away with amazing finds at great prices.
The best fields for what we were seeking (higher end European and American antique and vintage furniture, art and accent pieces) were Quaker Acres, New England Motel and Hertans. (Each field is independently run, has a distinct style, and are named. New England Motel is named as such because there is literally a motel called the New England Motel in the middle of the lot.) While we certainly did not see all of the booths in these three fields, as there were hundreds, we definitely hit the highlights.
The show runs Tuesday through Sunday. Most antique dealers attend Tuesday for the best selection. As we could only attend the last day (Sunday), we were worried that the show would be picked over. Wrong! We found amazing pieces at great prices. My friend Laura found the above pair of vintage porcelain elephant garden stools (They each weigh a ton. Pardon the pun.) Because there was a minor chip in one of the stools they were passed over by a dealer. Laura was able to purchase the pair for $50! They are so cool and look great on her porch.
On our next visit we agreed it is best to attend the first day for selection and the last day for bargains. A few other tips -- bring cash or checks, sunscreen, a hat, water, an empty car for all of your haul, and, finally, when you start to feel overwhelmed, get a lobster roll and a Diet Coke from the shack at New England Motel. Happy hunting!


We arrived back in Ukraine in time for Christmas here with Katya's family. But after that, my time has been consumed with getting things ready for my class next week. I had to compile lecture notes, powerpoints and handouts so that they can be translated. I've finished enough for the first week but I will still be working on the second week while I'm teaching week 1.
Be praying for me as I teach this class. It is a writing and critical thinking class that we have not taught before. So I have had to design it from the beginning. This has been very time-consuming but it is the only way to do a new course. The class teaches students how to interpret and analyze literature make biblical applications. It teaches critical thinking skills that will help pastors in biblical exegesis and exposition. I try to have a biblical connection in every day's lectures. There is always a bit of trepidation whenever I teach a new class – I have a lot with this one! Thanks for praying!
We had a wonderful time over Christmas in the United States. We began by arriving in New York. We spent one whirlwind day in the city seeing the trees, lights, and major sights (Katya's first time ever!) before heading by train to visit friends and supporters in Connecticut. Connecticut was wonderful! We had three receptions with friends while there … at the MacKenzie's, the Ong's, and the Elovecky's. Each was different but all we very precious to both of us. We also were able to worship at Shepaug Valley Bible Church in Roxbury and were blessed to see Rebecca Stinson home for the holidays from Cambodia.
Then we headed to Arkansas to be home in time for Christmas with my family. It was wonderful having all my children and grandchildren together for nearly two weeks! We ate, played games, watched a couple of movies, talked (and talked) and ate (way too much). It was great.
On the weekends, we were able to worship at my two favorite churches in Arkansas. The Sunday after Christmas, we worshipped at the Bible Church of Cabot and the Sunday after New Years, we worshipped at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship (in North Little Rock). We loved seeing everyone and only wish we could have spent more time with every person we saw.
Thank you too for your prayers and support … we could not be here doing this ministry without your help!


Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun was elected in 2018 to represent District 13 (Dearborn and Allen Park).
He is a member of the committees on Public Services, Economic Development, Ways and Means and Public Safety, Judiciary and Homeland Security. He is also a member of the Special Committee on Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs.
Baydoun recently celebrated his 31st year in the real estate business, 27 of which are punctuated with the highest Century 21 International awards, including induction into the Centurion Hall of Fame. Baydoun has consistently been honored by his company for his solo top sales production - without a team - and one clerical assistant.
Baydoun also led the Dearborn Area Board of Realtors as its president and later as the chairman of government affairs. Baydoun was appointed by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell to lead the Realtor Political Action Committee.
Baydoun, an avid soccer player, immigrated to America from Lebanon at the age of 15, with six of his eight siblings, in 1978.
A determined student, Baydoun went on to complete two years at Henry Ford Community College, earning his associates of liberal arts degree, and then his bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Detroit College of Business.
Baydoun is an active volunteer in civic organizations in Dearborn and Allen Park. He and his wife Ibtihal and their four children: Moe, Ally, Angela and Lilly reside in Dearborn.
Representing: Dearborn & Allen Park.
Wayne County Commissioners March 19 unanimously supported a statement by Commissioner Sam Baydoun (D-Dearborn) offering condolences to the people of New Zealand.


Friday's fall has made the Turkish Lira the worst performing emerging market currency in 2018 and as the currency was headed for its worst week since 2001, its YTD collapse has surpassed even the Argentine Peso.
"Seems like a complete crash, so they need to act now," said a stunned Morten Lund, strategist at Nordea Bank in Copenhagen. "The lira will keep falling if they don't hike rates today." Then again with Erdogan's stated preference that rates never go up, it is quite possible that nothing happens.
The collapse also slammed Turkey's bond market, sending the yield on 10-year government bonds soaring by 93bps to a new record high of 20.67%.
Friday's fall came after the Financial Times reported that supervisors at the European Central Bank are concerned about exposure of some of Europe's biggest lenders to Turkey, including chiefly BBVA, UniCredit and BNP Paribas. The FT reported that along with the currency's decline, the ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism has begun to look more closely at European lenders' links with Turkey. The moves also came after the US showed no signs of lifting crippling sanctions despite the visit of a Turkish delegation to the US capital.
The ECB news hit Turkey like a rock: "The key to any hope of Turkish stability is the ability for banks to roll over syndicated loans -- so far, that's been absolutely fine," said Paul McNamara, a money-manager at GAM UK in London. "I think the FT thing about the ECB being worried about Turkey exposures is a huge new factor."
Contagion quickly spread as the banks named by the ECB as exposed to Turkey saw their stocks plunge as the shockwave spread around the world: Europe's banks opened on Friday under pressure. The Euro Stoxx Banks index dropped 0.5% in early trading, with BBVA, UniCredit and BNP Paribas among those drawing most scrutiny. Shares in BBVA, UniCredit and BNP Paribas were all down more than 3% on Friday morning.
"We're likely to see some weakness across the board," said Kit Juckes, a macro strategist at Société Générale, noting the weight the issue has already imposed on the euro.
Of course, it will be local bank that go first: as a reminder, earlier this week, Goldman published a research report, according to which a drop in the lira to TL7.1 against the dollar "could largely erode banks' excess capital".
Renaissance Capital's chief EM economist Charles Robertson said: "The markets have lost confidence in the triumvirate of President Erdogan, his son-in-law as finance minister and the [central bank's] ability to act as it needs to."
Jane Foley, head of foreign exchange strategy at Rabobank, added that Erdogan's "defiant" comments on Thursday night "had reduced the markets' hope" that the Turkish government is willing to tighten monetary policy or begin economic reform.
Meanwhile, Turkey continues to pretend that all is well, and on Thursday the Turkish finance ministry said that the banking sector was protected by its robust capital structure and balance sheets. "Contrary to the speculative statements being made in the market about our banks and our companies, our regulatory institutions do not see a problem posed by the exchange rate or liquidity risks."
As the FT adds, according to cross-border banking statistics from the Bank for International Settlements, local lenders, including foreign-owned subsidiaries, have dollar claims worth $148bn, up from $36bn in 2006 and euro claims worth $110bn. Spanish banks are owed $83.3bn by Turkish borrowers, French banks are owed $38.4bn and Italian lenders $17bn in a mix of local and foreign currencies. Banks' Turkish subsidiaries tend to lend in local currency.
Carlos Torres Vila, chief executive of BBVA, which owns just under half of Turkey's Garanti Bank, said last month that the group was "really very, very well prepared for the situation". He said the bank had reduced the weight of its foreign currency loan portfolio and increased the weight of inflation-linked instruments.
Separately, earlier this week, analysts asked UniCredit whether it would need to write down its €2.5bn investment in its 40.9 per cent holding in Turkey's Yapi Kredi, after the lira's depreciation dragged the stake's market value down to €1.15bn. UniCredit responded that Yapi Kredi's underlying performance was good and the foreign exchange impact would be absorbed by its own reserves. But Goldman analysts said this week that they viewed "Yapi Kredi as the weakest positioned of Turkey's biggest banks" in terms of capitalisation.
BNP Paribas holds 72.5 per cent of retail bank TEB. One person close to the French lender said its exposure to Turkey was "very limited" at close to 2 per cent of overall group commitments.
The unprecedented turmoil threatens to scare away the foreign capital Turkey depends on to finance its large external deficit, and hampers companies' ability to repay foreign-currency loans. Not helping, the government cut its 2018 growth target Thursday to less than 4% from 5.5%, a sign that it is willing to accept a more moderate pace of expansion in an effort to rebalance the economy, Bloomberg reported .
There is some hope for damage control: Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, the president's son-in-law, is due to hold a press conference this afternoon, although it is unlikely he will announce what analysts believe are the appropriate measures.
Today's meltdown took place ahead of a much-anticipated public address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Speaking outside a mosque earlier today, Erdogan told followers "Don't forget this: if they have got dollars, we have got our people, our right, our Allah."
Commenting on Erdogan's statement, Bloomberg macro commentator Stephen Kirkland said that it signals he's sticking to a nationalist message and uninclined to deliver the hard measures Turkish assets need. As a result, option markets are now pricing in a one-in-five chance of USD/TRY reaching 7 per dollar in a month, from about 1% probability yesterday, at which point Turkish excess bank capital is wiped out and the currency crisis becomes a full blown financial panic. Meanwhile, three-month USD/TRY risk reversals have shot up to the highest since 2009 and lira forward points have never been this high in Bloomberg data that goes back to December 1996.
That market capitulation offers Erdogan an element of surprise to turn things around for the lira. Instead, it's looking increasingly like it may have much further to fall before he takes the necessary action.
As for Turkish Lira longs, Erdogan is right: Allah is indeed all that's left.


Title Cash Of Ctr Point has the right services for you in Birmingham. You can get an immediate payday loan in the next day. All you have to do make a quick call at (205) 856-1799 and you can ask any questions that you may have. Also swing by the store at 1614 Center Point Pkwy Ste B, Birmingham AL.


This is the replacement tubing system with swivel adapter for all NasalAire II masks. It does not include a prong/pillow or any headgear straps.
It came quicker than they said, was exactly what we expected so no complaints.
Happy to have the fast service again for this cpap part. I can't get them any closer to home so I appreciate what is done on your part.
Good product. I didn't need any other pieces, so I am relieved I can buy just the plastic tubing. The tubing is strong and flexible, and the nose piece fits well.
I've been using this mask type/brand since 2003 and there is nothing in the market as functional and non-intrusive as the Nasal Ayre II.
Recently the tubing starts to kink like a garden hose thereby blocking the air flow. I am going to change the type or brand of mask I use because of this.
I have no one to turn to for my cpap Nasal-Aire II supplies. Absolutely no one else out there carries this. I will always give cpapxchange a 5 star rating. I would be out of luck totally without them. THANK YOU!!!!!!
This in my opinion is the best option for a CPAP mask. And this product at CPAP Exchange is every bit as good as my original equipment.
Good product - fast shipping.
I love the super fast service I get. The Nasal-Aire ll is the very best and easiest to use mask. It makes sleeping a pleasure again.
The service getting the product is always as expected, fast and efficient. Perhaps you should consider selling only the tubing as a replacement as the swivel never goes bad. The tubing needs replace on a constant basis. The charge could be reduced for all customers if you seperated the two products.
Tubing was as original and arrived on the day they said it would. I had specified 2 day delivery. But that apparently didn't start over weekend.


Christian Movie | The Lord Jesus Christ Awakens My Soul | "Stinging Memories"
Fan Guoyi was an elder of a house church in China. In his over twenty years of service, he always emulated Paul, sacrificing for the Lord zealously and working hard. He firmly believed that he was doing the will of the heavenly Father by pursuing that way and he would surely be raptured to the kingdom of heaven at the return of the Lord. However, when Almighty God's salvation of the last days came upon him, he clung to his notions, rejecting, resisting, and condemning it time and time again…. Later, after several debates with the preachers from the Church of Almighty God, Fan Guoyi finally woke up. He truly understood the meaning of doing the will of the heavenly Father and the way of pursuing to be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven….
At every thought of the past, the memories were stinging in his heart….
Gospel Trailer | Shake off the Shackles and Return to God "Break the Shackles and Run"
Gospel Movie Trailer | Is the Bible the Lord, or Is God? "Who Is My Lord"
Hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit | Gospel Movie Trailer "Break the Spell"


We bring you the best Vintage Hawaiian shirts from the 30's, 40's and 50's. We are located in Hawaii and only deal with original vintage Hawaiian clothing - we do not sell reproductions like many other shops. Many of our shirts have been used in publications, documenting their authenticity - see our published shirts section for more information.
We continually update and add Vintage Hawaiian Shirts and Vintage Aloha shirts to our site. If we don't have the perfect vintage Aloha shirt listed, email us for special requests and for shirts that we haven't listed yet! Contact us if you are looking to sell antique Aloha shirts from the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.


Now that we are into the third month of school, parents and students have mostly adjusted to their new classes or in some cases, new school; everyone seems to be settled into a routine. And it is around this time of the year that conversations with parents typically turn to the topic of motivation. It is not unusual for parents to drop into my office and ask me how to motivate their children. This call for help is probably preceded by their children coming home saying, "I am bored", or "I don't want to go to school", or "It's too hard" during homework time. Sometimes it could be a wake up call from their teachers saying, " Your child can attend more, stay more focused, or engage more in learning…..". Sound familiar?
During the academic year 2011/2012, the KGMS staff made a commitment to learn about motivation: What do we know about the internal workings of children when it comes to learning? We posed this question to Dr. Shelley Hymel, the social emotional learning expert at UBC, who is also on our KGMS advisory board. She came to the school and worked with us multiple times throughout the year, using Dr. Carol Dweck's research as foundation.
According to Dr. Dweck's work at Stanford University, there are two beliefs of intelligence, the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. People who have a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is a fixed quantity and cannot be changed. People who have a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be increased by effort and can be cultivated through learning.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself, what do you believe? Where are you on the following continuum?
What people believe about intelligence affects how motivated they are to persevere in the face of difficulty or failure. For example, people with fixed mindsets will equate failure or encountering difficulty as an indication of low intelligence. Therefore they will avoid failure by almost always seeking easier tasks. By succeeding in an easy task, they will have proven to themselves that they are smart.
On the other hand, people with growth mindsets will equate any failure or difficulty as an opportunity to grow and learn something new. They are motivated to persevere and are not discouraged by initial failures because to them failure is not related to how smart they are, it is just a necessary nuisance on the road to success. Therefore, a person with a growth mindset is more likely to take risks in learning, try new ideas, and take on new challenges; whereas a person with a fixed mindset is more likely to continuously seek safety in success and attempt less challenging tasks while simultaneously resisting challenges.
So, what are the implications for us practitioners or parents as we interact with our children daily? Simply put, we need to encourage the development of growth mindsets in ourselves and our children. We need to model the belief that we can grow and learn, especially when we are faced with difficult tasks. When we share our successful experiences, the joy of this process is infectious. Our children can see that failure is only an open door that will lead to success with hard work; and that there is no bounds to how much our minds can soar when we apply some effort to learning something that is difficult.
Just when I think that speaking about different mind sets is only limited to those of us who know how to speak educational jargon, I discovered that it is no longer the best kept secret – the common man out there knows about it too! This discovery happened when I walked into my dentist office last week for my semi annual check up and met a motivated team. There is energy in the air. The atmosphere is that of subdued excitement and innovative efficiency. My dentist and his team put me on the chair and started explaining to me about all the new techniques and equipment they are learning to use. Before I had a chance to even respond, my dentist made a comment: Got to have the team embrace the growth mind set and stay on the cutting edge! Now, that is motivation.
At this time of year, Canadians across the country participate in remembering. For many of us who do not have any personal experience with wars and battles, we count on historians and our teachers to give us the context; we count on our loved ones to tell us their personal stories of digging trenches, of hiding, of narrow escapes, and of standing up with their comrades in arms against oppression. Another source of information for us is in public narratives told by survivors in media and in print. Our students and the next generation of youth, like many of us, also depend more and more on what society collectively can do to ensure that active remembering continues to take place.
As I do some active remembering, an image from several years ago comes to my mind. The image consists of elementary school age children unloading from school buses, lining up in designated areas waiting for entrance to the museum. At one glance, I can see hundreds of these students in the gathering area, and then dozens of school buses parked neatly side by side in the parking lot. The location of this fieldtrip? The Dachau Museum near Munich in Germany. Dachau was the first of the Nazi concentration camps. After the war, at the insistence of ex-prisoners, various memorials began to be constructed there. Today, it is a museum open to the public and used by educators to teach the children about a part of history that the Germans are not particularly proud of. And yet, I respect the German educators for recognizing the importance of active remembering, of presenting history in an authentic way, of presenting facts without bias, and most importantly, of recognizing that the shaping of core values about war and peace in the next generation rests mostly on us, the educators. I had the privilege of learning in that museum with these German school children and educators on that very special trip. I am thankful that their active remembering includes teaching a history curriculum that is honest and transparent, and that the unit of instruction culminates in a visit to such a historic site.
Here in our city, we do not have historic sites of that magnitude to offer our children. However, every November in our school, the teachers and tutors talk about war, remembrance, and peace in our classrooms. We make special efforts to take books out of the library to illustrate, to read, and to discuss the horrors of war and the endeavours, sacrifices, and cost to keep peace both at home and globally. Our teachers present poetry, songs, plays, and literature to inspire young minds for peace. We invite guest speakers to share their personal stories of triumph, tragedy and sacrifices. The staff works very diligently with the students to put on a Remembrance Day ceremony. As a school community we pay homage to war veterans -- those who have paid the ultimate price for freedom, and those who are still in active duty far away. We stand together to send a message of gratitude by our poems, by our performances of songs, dance, recitation and art. It is always a touching moment for me as we observe the minute of silence. I am grateful that I live in a free country, and I appreciate all the giants in history and unsung heroes who stood for that freedom and fought for it so that it can be a reality for us today. We need to actively remember so that this reality will continue….
Rosita Tam is the Director of Instruction at Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School in North Vancouver.
In this blog post she contributes to our reflections on parenting.


I'm looking for a Rorqal pilot who can use at least Inducore 2 and Excavator Drones.
expecting a bit more heigher offers so will wait a bit more.
sorry thats too low when i add the plex cost for transfer there is like per characvter 16,2 bil which is total not possible.


text:
Happy Families: Let's Just Call It a Tie Between Democrats and Republicans
Who's got happier families, Democrats or Republicans? David Leonhardt reports on a new study that says it's Republicans:
Among married people between the ages of 20 and 60, 67 percent of Republicans report being "very happy" with their marriages….That gap shrank when the researchers factored in demographic differences between parties….But the gap did not disappear. Even among people with the same demographic profile, Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to say they are happily married. The seven-percentage-point
gap that exists between Republicans and Democrats without any demographic controls shrinks to three percentage points with those controls.
OK, so three percentage points. And since this study was done by Brad Wilcox of the right-wing Institute for Family Studies, you have to figure it's as friendly toward Republicans as possible. But even Wilcox admits that causality might work in the opposite direction:
The GSS data and our earlier research suggest that an elective affinity—based on region, religion, culture, and economics—has emerged in the American electorate: married people are more likely to identify as Republican and unmarried people are more likely to identify as Democratic.
Sure. The Democratic Party is obviously more friendly toward non-married couples and the Republican Party is more dedicated to the proposition that (heterosexual) marriage is important. So the survey difference could be due to the fact that Republicans are simply less likely to admit to an unhappy marriage. As Wilcox says, "Perhaps Republicans are more optimistic, more charitable, or more inclined to look at their marriages through rose-colored glasses."
Personally, I'd be happy to put this whole subject to rest. The differences are small no matter how you slice the data, and really, who cares? Republicans generally report higher happiness levels overall, which is understandable at one level (conservatism doesn't challenge your comfort level much) but peculiar at another (if they're so happy, what's the deal with the endless anger and outrage?). But whatever the reason, if they're generally happier they're probably also happier with their marriages.
As for generally dysfunctional family behavior (teen pregnancy, divorce rates, etc.), I suspect that has a lot more to do with social factors like race, age, religion, and so forth. Party ID doesn't seem likely to play a huge role as a causal factor. Unless someone comes up with some genuinely blockbuster results, I'm willing to just call this a tie and move on.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Sandy Denny: Late November and the magic of melancholy
Ian Malin
The rain is battering against the windows, the sun is refusing to make the briefest of appearances in a pewter-grey sky, the short day will almost be over and England are getting hammered in the cricket. It is late November and even the cheeriest of souls may feel a touch of autumnal melancholy.
Late November. The Victorian poets would have lapped up the image. It is the perfect title to one of Sandy Denny's most perfect of songs. Look at this live studio recording from the BBC's Sounds Of The Seventies radio programme from August 1971 and hosted by Bob Harris. The doom-laden notes on the piano are a hint at the song's sense of foreboding:
The wine it was drunk, the ship it was sunk The shot it was dead, all the sorrows were drowned. The birds they were clouds, the brides and the shrouds And as we drew south the mist it came down
Late November made its first appearance on an Island sampler, El Pea, in 1971. These generously priced samplers, which also included Nice Enough To Eat and Bumpers, were eye-openers for we sixth-formers who were short of funds at the beginning of the Seventies. They were also a canny marketing device for Island Records. Who wouldn't want to buy albums by Traffic, Free and Nick Drake and Sandy Denny's first solo package, The North Star Grassman And The Ravens, after hearing Late November?
By the time Late November appeared on The North Star Grassman And The Ravens, Denny's vocals had been redubbed and a guitar part added for Richard Thompson. The song was also recorded by Fotheringay in 1970 and appeared on the group's unfinished second album.
Listening to Late November now, it is tempting to bracket it with songs like the Tolkienesque The Battle of Evermore, Sandy Denny's gorgeous cameo on Led Zeppelin's fourth and greatest album. The lyric gets no cheerier and its meaning no clearer:
The wooded ravine to the wandering stream The serpent he moved, but no one would say. The depths of the waters, the bridge which distraught us And brought to me thoughts of the ill-fated day
Now we come to the crux of the song and the meaning of the phrase 'ill-fated day'. In 1969 Denny was walking on a beach in Scotland's St Andrews Bay with her Airedale Watson when she saw a jet fighter crash into the sea. She recalled later that she had seen this beach before, in a dream earlier in the year. The dream featured Harvey Bramham, a roadie for Denny's group at the time, Fairport Convention. In the dream Bramham was persuading Denny to hold the wheel of the van they were in while he changed the van's stereo. Denny wrote in her diary: 'On the right-hand side of the road was the sea. We were driving along the edge. The sea was black and choppy. The sky was stormy grey.'
The diary is eerily prophetic. Two months later Bramham was driving Fairport Convention home from a gig at Mothers Club in the Birmingham suburb of Erdington. It crashed on the M1, killing the group's drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson's girlfriend. Denny escaped as she was driving back to London with her boyfriend Trevor Lucas. Fairport, traumatised by the deaths, went on to record the monumental Liege And Lief but it was to be Denny's last album with the group.
The temples were filled with the strangest of creatures One played it by ear on the banks of the sea. That one was found but the others they went under. Oh the tears which are shed, they won't come from me
The song's final verse is not as lyrically oblique as it might have sounded if the story of the crashes of the plane and van were not known and the reference in the first verse to the mist coming down with the journey heading south all too clear:
The pilot he flew all across the sky and woke men. He flew solo on the mercury sea. The dream it came back, all about the tall brown people, The sacred young herd on the phosphorus sand
Denny died in 1978 and, like Nick Drake, who took his own life four years earlier, she remains a mythical figure. On the cover of The North Star Grassman And The Ravens she is pictured mixing herbs like some fairy princess, a gas light on the wooden wall and that weak autumnal sun shining through the lead latticed windows.
It is late November. Denny was one of Britain's great folk singers, one of Britain's greatest singers full stop. She was also an underrated songwriter. Late November is a haunting example of her talent.
If Nick Drake's Fruit Tree appears to predict his death and the fame that only comes to him when 'the stalk is in the ground', there is a similar evocative feel to another of Sandy Denny's saddest refrains in the song Fotheringay:
The evening hour is fading Within the dwindling sun And in a lonely moment those embers will be gone And the last of all the young birds flown
Nowadays on the site of Mothers Club in Erdington's high street is a Polish supermarket. Sandy Denny's music will endure for ever.
#SandyDenny #LateNovember #Fotheringay #FairportConvention #IanMalin #IslandRecords
Bert Sommer: Jennifer's journey from oblivion to Woodstock folklore
Man Without A Soul: Lucinda gives the Trump era a fiery send-off
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Janey Needs A Shooter


text:
Home Book Reviews Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How...
Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity
by Rev. Elizabeth M. Edman
Boston: Beacon Press, 2016
Hardbound, 181 pp., $25.95
Reviewed by Dr. Virginia R. Mollenkott
Queer Virtue, written by an Episcopal priest who delights in being both a priest and a lesbian, has two goals: first, that progressive Christians will insist on ending religious assaults on queer people; and second, that progressive Christians will recognize queerness as a way of infusing new life into our faith and our witnessing. Since every page reverberates with vivid insights and suggestions for outreach, I predict that Edman's goals will be met.
The author says she has personally experienced the truth of the Christian Gospel, especially by re-living Jesus' final days in Jerusalem but also by living in the queer community. So she builds her entire book around describing these two paths, the queer path and the Christian path. Both paths lead individuals and communities to risk proclaiming their identities ("I am queer!" "I am Christian!"); to touch others despite risks to oneself; to navigate inevitable scandals; and to participate in a community that demands integrity, justice toward others, and a constant widening of the margins to take in those who had previously been excluded.
Knowing that most of her readers will be more aware of the risks and scandals of queerness rather than with those of the Christian faith, Edman spends much of her time explaining the scandals associated with Christianity. These include rupturing many binaries that have been dear to human hearts, including the concept that God and humanity are separate and distinct (ruptured by Jesus' being "fully God and fully human"); that life and death are opposites (ruptured by the dynamic tensions of death and resurrection); and that religious beliefs and practices create proper boundaries (ruptured by Jesus' cosmic inclusion of human diversities). As Christians and as queers, we are required to draw appropriate boundaries even while we are observing necessary interconnections.
Hence, Edman declares that "God queers our world, our lives, our hearts in order to set us free" (p. 24); so "Christianity is inherently liminal, inherently queer" (p. 28).
Edman writes with great skill, constantly tossing off phrases that ignite their target as they hit it. For instance, she locates hope for prisoners not in the knowledge that one day they could be released, but rather in "the knowledge that some part of them wasn't locked up" (p. 55). Similarly, hope for diseased or disabled people is not the possibility that one day they may be cured, but rather that some part of us is neither sick nor disabled. Edman then ties this rupturing of the hope vs. hopeless binary to Jesus' making water (used for cleaning) into wine (used for conviviality). At the wedding in Canaan Jesus "queered" those pots of water, turning fluid used to clean the hopeless into fluid celebrating a common hope.
Edman interprets Abraham's almost-sacrifice of his son Isaac as Abraham's already having come to trust God so thoroughly that "he knows instinctively that something else is afoot" (p. 62). Thus she argues that Christian faith centers on "the boldest claim that human beings can make: that there is something at work that is bigger than we are, and the essence of that something is bound up in love" (pp. 62-63). Similarly, the LGBTQ community has always had within our ranks "prophets of extraordinary moral courage" (p. 63).
Like the mature queer community, progressive Christianity simultaneously "sexualizes spirituality and spiritualizes sexuality" (p. 68). So in progressive churches, we "touch the sacred" and feel an exciting and terrifying love. And in Queer Pride marches, "our fabulously incarnate selves" are rendered visible (p. 76), despite the risk of rejection.
No one needs to be told that queerness can be scandalous and can cost a person her job, his home, even his/her life. But Edman keeps reminding us that "Everything about Christianity is [also] scandalous, from the aftershock of God's becoming a defenseless baby to the cosmic joke by which Rome's most shameful instrument of torture becomes a mechanism of salvation" (p. 82).
In her chapter on Adoption, Edman remarks that "Queer identity may be discerned in relative isolation, but it comes to life in community" (p. 92). My personal experience bears out the truth of this assertion, as it does of most of Edman's statements. I knew who I was before I attended the Gay, Lesbian, and Christian retreats at Kirkridge, but at those retreats I became vividly alive as both lesbian and Christian. Why? Because I had found a community that knew our "deep need of God and of one another" (p. 103). Later, I found the same sense of passionate community in the Ecumenical and Evangelical Women's Caucus (Christian Feminists Today). Whether the emphasis was on queerness or on biblical feminism, the life-giving factor was mutually-vulnerable, mutually-supportive community.
Edman defines "Queer Pride" as being "all about a healthy relationship with Self, Other, and for many of us, transcendent reality" (p. 113). That definition fills me with joy because she has effectively ruptured conventional judgments against healthy pride. And when she calls upon progressive Christians and queers to "end our compliance with… spiritual violence by coming out of the closet," investing in "the powers of love and faith," I know that call is precisely right for both of my communities, the queer Christian community and the Christian queer (i.e., progressive) community.
In her chapter on Authenticity, Edman shows great courage by describing a major error that destroyed her ministry as Episcopal chaplain of Northwestern University. During the extra-"marital"-affair that caused the break-up of her conventional relationship, Edman confesses, "Keeping power to myself caused me to lose the ethical perspective I had always relied on both as a lesbian and as a Christian" (p. 148). And she comments brilliantly on Paul's description of Christian community as the various parts of a human body (I. Cor. 12:14-21): "Paul's message is explicit: we [Christians] don't need one another simply to increase our numbers, we need others within the community to be different from ourselves…It is our privilege to find ways to grow from that diversity" (p. 150), always paying "close attention to the needs of those on the margins" (p. 152).
The most oppressive of human binaries is the one that differentiates between those who are in and those who are out. Just as Jesus "took on whatever stigma was applied to the people he was engaging: women, children, Samaritans, lepers" (p. 180), so must progressive Christians and progressive queers continue to disrupt the inside/outside binary. We could begin by handing Queer Virtue to anyone who is open to a joyously inclusive vision.
Mollenkott reviews #QueerVirtue by @liz_edman on @EEWC_CFT. '...every page reverberates with vivid insights...' Click To Tweet Progressive Christians and progressive queers continue to disrupt the inside/outside binary. Click To Tweet
Click here for important FTC disclosure information.
© 2016 by Christian Feminism Today
OtherWise Christian — A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation
UnUnited: LGBTQ Inclusion in the United Methodist Church
Unfinished Lives:Reviving the Memories of LGBTQ Hate Crimes Victims
Book Reviews January 22, 2012


text:
Home » Resources » In-House Pro Bono in the News » 2007 Pro Bono Institute Annual Seminar and Forum on In-House Pro Bono
2007 Pro Bono Institute Annual Seminar and Forum on In-House Pro Bono
As those who attended can attest, this year's Seminar/Forum was an incredible experience. Participants in the sessions were brimming with ideas, and the event was alive with energy. As the largest gathering in PBI's history, it was also a bit too crowded, but the caliber of the discussions and the quality of the participants made the space squeeze worth it.
In addition to the substantive programming, two key strengths of this year's Seminar/Forum were the unparalleled networking opportunities and the availability exchange of effective, concrete ideas attendees could take home and implement. At the Lessons Learned Luncheon that ended the programming for law firm for law firm representatives, many speakers noted that they had discovered specific ideas and options that resolved questions or issues that they were dealing with.
Despite the fact that the media is not permitted to attend, the event has also received its share of press – including a mention in the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. Highlights from the Seminar/ Forum will also be featured in an upcoming issue of the Wire and on the PBI website.
For the early planners out there, please save the date for the 2008 Seminar/Forum, which will be held on February 28, February 29, and March 1, 2008.
Please see below a selection of remarks from the event's exciting reception, held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Please also see a selection of photographs from the event, which will also be featured on the PBI website in the near future.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Remarks
Remarks for Pro Bono Institute Reception
In the good job fortune and President Clinton gave me, I receive invitations by the score to speak here, there, and everywhere. To assure adequate time for the Court's heavy work, I am obliged to follow Nancy Reagan's counsel and, just say "No" to most requests. But not even once have I resisted Esther Lardent's request for remarks at these annual gatherings, because I so admire how she has nurtured the Pro Bono Institute to become the flourishing force for the public good it is today.
Lawyers affiliated with the Institute know that law cannot rank as a true and learned profession if its practitioners work simply as skilled artisans, ready, willing, and able to earn fees for their craft. Men and women who rightly regard the practice of law as a public calling understand that it is their obligation to aid in assuring that there will be a well trained and sympathetic lawyer, when needed, for those unable to pay for legal services.
As always, the Pro Bono Institute has chosen as its honorees people who are the very best in our profession, dedicated contributors to the public good who inspire others to follow in their way.
Michael Helfer, recipient of the Zelon Pro Bono Award, was well known to many in this room as a sage counselor and eventually managing partner at Wilmer, Cutler, and Pickering (now also Hale and Dorr). At Wilmer, Michael observed at close range a revered grand master of the law and public service, John Pickering, a man whose support of the Pro Bono Institute was large and constant. Currently General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Citigroup, Michael has created a model pro bono program for Citigroup's legal department. Under his leadership, Citigroup lawyers have strived to assist Gulf Coast individuals and small businesses to recover from the ravages of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Once President of D.C.'s Legal Aid Society, Michael is today a Board member of New York City's Legal Aid Society. Citigroup lawyers, prompted by his initiative, are providing sorely needed assistance to the City's low-income residents. Among other pro bono endeavors, Michael is a founding Board member of Lawyers for Children America. Michael's wife, Ricki Tigert, is a dear friend of many years. I think she would agree, because we share a fondness for opera, that Bravo is the right word for Michael's devotion to good causes.
The Chesterfield Smith Award is not an annual presentation. It is made by the Institute, together with the firm Chesterfield led, Holland & Knight, to celebrate extraordinary individuals when their lifetime of pro bono achievement warrants special recognition. The award is fittingly named, for Chesterfield himself was a public service dynamo. By word and deed, he urged his own law partners, then lawyers everywhere, to do good, to place community service at the center of their professional lives.
Tonight, the Chesterfield Smith Award will be presented to Thomas A. Gottschalk, who is retiring this year from his post as Law & Public Policy Executive Vice President of General Motors. Before joining GM as a senior Vice President and General Counsel in 1994, Tom, like Michael Helfer, was a leading lawyer in this town, a partner and member of the management committee of Kirkland & Ellis' D. C. office. Throughout his career, he has devoted his talent and time to realizing in practice our Nation's high aspiration etched on the portal of my workplace: "Equal Justice Under Law."
Tom has taken on major civil rights cases for the Lawyers' Committee, and has established in the heart of Detroit a model legal clinic for low-income persons. Lately, he has added to his good works a major mission for the Institute. This audience knows of the Institute's Corporate Pro Bono Challenge, an effort to enlist in-house lawyers and legal departments to ensure that at least half of the legal staff will engage annually in pro bono work. Esther tells me that, to date, 55 legal departments have enrolled in the Challenge. It is Tom's aspiration and expectation to swell that number to 100 before the year is out.
With applause for the honorees and cheers for all associated with the Pro Bono Institute, I look forward to many encores of these annual celebrations. May the Institute continue to thrive through the good works and contributions of its caring supporters.
Robert C. Sheehan Introduction of Michael Helfer
Robert C. Sheehan Introduction of Michael Helfer at Pro Bono Institute Seminar
National Museum of Women in the Arts Washington, DC
Thank you. I'm Bob Sheehan, executive partner of Skadden, Arps —and, more relevantly tonight —- Co-Chair with Regina Pisa of the Law Firm Advisory Committee of the Pro Bono Institute.
It is exciting to be here tonight – surrounded by the work of true vision by women artists. They challenge us to see the world from a different perspective. It is appropriate that we are here to honor the recipient of the Pro Bono Institute's public service award which is named for the Honorable Laurie D. Zelon. It was Judge Zelon's (Laurie's) vision that has inspired so many lawyers across the country to adopt a public service perspective by answering the call of the law firm pro bono challenge.
Corporate legal departments have —- in recent years —- issued their own version of the Pro Bono Challenge℠, and few in the corporate world have answered that call as enthusiastically and effectively as Michael Helfer at Citigroup. I am honored to introduce Michael, who is here to accept the Laurie D. Zelon award on behalf of the entire Legal Department at Citigroup. Michael is widely respected not only for ids keen legal mind (he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and a clerk for the legendary Chief Judge David Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals here in the District of Columbia). He's also respected for his devotion to public service. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Children America, a former president of the Legal Aid Society in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Advisory Board of the Legal Aid Society of New York. Michael's deep involvement on behalf of children —- evidenced by his history with Lawyers for Children America — is an interest that runs deep in his family —- as it does in mine. When Michael came to New York in 2003, his wife Ricki Tigert Helfer – who, like Michael, is one of the country's most accomplished financial industry lawyers —- became involved in children's issues up there in her new hometown —- in part, through the citizens' committee for the children of New York where my wife Beth helped to introduce Ricki to the myriad issues poor children face every day living in the city. CCC —- the acronym by which that children's support group is generally known —- is a vigorous and highly respected advocate on behalf of those kids, and Ricki has already become an important part of CCC.
When Michael was appointed General Counsel of Citigroup in 2003, he brought with him a vision of creating a legal department that was socially conscious, including a focus on pro bono work. Given the law firm from which he hailed, that aspect of his mission as general counsel comes as no surprise. For Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr) has just about the most illustrious reputation of all major law firms for its dedication to serving the needs of the disadvantaged in society. And, Michael was not only a partner there —- he was Wilmer's managing partner for several years in the late 90's, continuing —- indeed fostering —- the pro bono tradition famously pioneered by the firm's founding fathers. Today, we see the influence of Michael on Citigroup's pro bono efforts.
Citigroup's legal team created their pro bono legal initiative, an effort to promote pro bono work by the company's lawyers. Hundreds of lawyers have joined in, assisting low-income court litigants, battered women, low-income artists (perhaps, one will be shown here one day), street vendors, elder care facilities….. The roster of pro bono clients helped by Citigroup lawyers is simply remarkable. Citigroup has been particularly successful in matching corporate transactional lawyers to appropriate pro bono projects. Roughly 50% of Citigroup's lawyers have engaged in pro bono work. That is an enviable record for a group consisting basically of corporate and regulatory lawyers. The lawyers at my firm —- Skadden, Arps —- struggle to match that degree of pro bono participation each year.
There's one place in America that knows first-hand how much Citigroup and its lawyers are devoted to pro bono work. —- that is the communities of the gulf states which were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Over 25 lawyers from Citigroup contributed hundreds of hours of pro bono work related to hurricane survivors. They've helped 1,000 small businesses secure grants and relief funds to rebuild. They've traveled to Mississippi to staff free legal clinics for hurricane survivors seeking assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (and that can take a while) and —- from their offices in New York. — they've worked on appeals to FEMA on behalf of numerous individuals and businesses. In Louisiana, they helped create —- and continue to work on —- a non-profit organization known as "Second Wind" to help small business owners. They also are providing legal support to charter schools in New Orleans and advice on projects to construct low -income, environmentally-sensitive housing.
Corporate Counsel Magazine has lauded Citigroup's law department for these efforts, asserting that no other corporate law department has made such a commitment of time and resources to post-Katrina rebuilding efforts. It's been so successful a project that, at times, there's even been a waiting list of lawyers at Citigroup who want to join in this pro bono effort.
It's fitting that this award tonight be presented to the entire legal team of Citigroup —- because their admirable work truly has been a collective effort. But it's also fitting that Michael accept this award on behalf of his team because it was his drive and vision with the same spirit exhibited by Laurie Zelon – that has guided Citigroup's efforts.
Michael, please come up and accept the Laurie Zelon award for public service.
Michael Helfer Remarks
Michael Helfer Remarks – PBI Annual Seminar/Forum Reception
Thank you Bob…
I am very pleased to accept this award on behalf of Citigroup, our legal department — and my colleagues Ed Greene, Jane Sherburne and Mike Sharp, who have been so instrumental in helping to build and support our pro bono program – and especially my colleague David Goldberg, who has devoted himself to making the program work – and I certainly want to thank Esther and the rest of the Pro Bono Institute for recognizing our efforts.
I am proud of the pro bono work Citigroup lawyers have done – from hurricane relief projects on the Gulf Coast to helping children and families in New York – our lawyers have made a real commitment to pro bono work. I also want to acknowledge all the help we have had along the way, from both law firms and legal aid organizations, many of whom are represented here tonight…
At the risk of offending someone, I particularly want to thank the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Stroock, Stroock & Lavan – they both played a big role in getting our lawyers involved early in hurricane relief projects that helped invigorate our pro bono program… I also want to thank the Lawyers Alliance for New York and the City Bar of New York who have provided so much support for our projects in the New York City area.
Esther suggested that there might be some interest in what we've learned at Citigroup in trying to build a corporate pro bono program. It's very different from building a pro bono program in a law firm.
First, you need the support of the most senior executives of the company. We had that – terrific support from our CEO Chuck Prince – who, luckily for me, is (or was) a lawyer himself. If you are a general counsel considering strengthening or developing a pro bono program, don't launch without CEO support.
Second, you need the strong support of your senior legal team. Here, again, I was lucky – Ed, Mike and Jane each comes from a firm with a long and distinguished pro bono commitment, and each of them wanted to create a strong pro bono program at Citigroup. If you're thinking about a pro bono program and you do not have the support of your senior legal team – well – you need a new senior legal team.
Your senior lawyers need to encourage pro bono work, and acknowledge and value the efforts that their lawyers make on pro bono assignments – but let me tell you, your team will watch what you do, not just what you say.
When one of our senior business general counsels commuted over 2 hours by bus and train to some remote location, on a cold, rainy winter night, all to participate in a pro bono project, people noticed, and they talked. And it made a tremendous difference in getting our program off the ground…..
I'm not supposed to say who that person was, but, Amanda Sharp, you should be very proud of your father.
Third, try to take advantage of existing company-wide initiatives. Unlike a firm, where each lawyer is a source of revenue, in-house lawyers are overhead. In that environment, it's easy for business people to question why they have the number of in-house lawyers they do, let alone why those lawyers would have the time to take on pro bono projects.
For me, the answer to that kind of question is easy – providing pro bono service is not an extracurricular activity, it is at the very core of what it means to be a lawyer. But in addition to making that argument, we consciously wrapped our pro bono efforts into initiatives that already had broad company-wide support.
To be specific, in 2004, Citi began an effort to develop what we now call our "shared responsibilities" – one of which is a responsibility all employees of Citi have to the communities in which we work and live. As part of that initiative, the company expanded its volunteer program and encouraged every one of our more than 300,000 employees to take one paid day each year to provide volunteer services. In the legal group, we took advantage of that program to encourage our lawyers to do pro bono work as their volunteer service. For the general counsels here, if you could get every one of your lawyers to do just 8 hours of pro bono work a year, think of the impact you could have.
Fourth, spend some time thinking about what kinds of pro bono projects will excite your lawyers and how you will find them.
The most available type of pro bono work involves litigation. While that's relatively easy for firms to take on, we generally don't have the resources or expertise to take on litigation work. So instead, we have to focus on transactional, advisory and other non-litigation projects — these can be hard to find.
As part of the solution, we have actively tried to partner with law firms and legal aid organizations. By tapping into their resources, our lawyers have been able to participate in projects we could not have undertaken ourselves. We have been working with many firms and organizations, but I think we can still find many new ways to leverage these relationships.
As we look forward, we know there is much more that can be done. We are striving to expand our pro bono efforts and to help strengthen pro bono service in the legal community as a whole.
In 1986, Justice Brennan observed "we do not yet have justice, equal and practical, for the poor, for the members of minority groups, for the criminally accused, for the displaced persons of the technological revolution, for alienated youth, for urban masses….we are surely nearer the beginning than the end of the struggle." I wish I could say – I am sure we all wish we could say — that over 20 years later, we are a lot closer to the end of the struggle, but we cannot.
So while I am very pleased that Citigroup has received this honor tonight, we will look at this award not as a symbol of what we have accomplished, but as a reminder of all the challenges we still need to meet.
Thomas A. Gottschalk Remarks
Thomas A. Gottschalk Acceptance Remarks – Pro Bono Institute Award
– Justice Ginsburg, Esther, to all of you, I want to say that —
– I am deeply honored to receive this award, particularly because of the enormous respect I hold for the Pro Bono Institute and its good work, and the respect I also have for Chesterfield Smith who by lifelong example inspired the American Bar to be involved in public service and to provide legal representation to those who need or desire it but who cannot afford to pay for counsel.
– So, I do very much thank the Pro Bono Institute for this citation, even though I consider myself a very pale reflection of the robust example set by Chesterfield Smith and most of you in this room.
– In trying to think what else it might be appropriate to say in the three minutes Esther told me I might speak, I found my mind turning back to a conference I attended on Wednesday on the Rule of Law sponsored by the ABA and IBA, the International Bar Association, where Justice Kennedy spoke on that topic and by his appearance there, as Justice Ginsberg does by her appearance here this evening, underscored the importance the Justice attaches to the subject matter at hand.
– The conference focused on what are the elements of the Rule of Law which we as a society believe should be respected around the world.
– Nine elements were suggested as important to a Rule of Law, and the sixth of these was a "fair, robust, and accessible legal process" – one that "is accessible to all members of the community."
– The more the day-long discussions continued, the more I thought how much unfinished work we have to do in this country to realize the full promise of the Rule of Law.
– In the course of his remarks, Justice Kennedy reminded us, for example, that in the US we imprison more people than any country other than China, and two-thirds of our prison population is African-American and Hispanic.
– Those of us who earn our livelihoods from our legal system and who can afford to participate in the legal process sometimes lose sight that even in our own communities the law – the legal system – may be regarded more as an obstacle, than a solution; more as an oppressor, than a protector.
– Part of the reason for that perception is that our legal system is theoretically open to all, but practically foreclosed to those without means, without education, without citizenship — with notable exceptions, but these exceptions are seen as exceptions, if they are even known by the many who believe that the legal system works not for them, but primarily for those who have wealth or connections.
– Now, I didn't know what I might be handed tonight in conjunction with the Chesterfield Smith award, but a thought did occur to me as to what I would regard as most appropriate. And, that would be a mirror.
– A mirror certainly not to hold up to my face which would simply remind me of the passage of time, but a mirror for me to hold up to this audience.
– I would first want that mirror to reflect the good work and leadership of Esther Lardent and her colleagues at the Pro Bono Institute, which last year completed a decade of being the primary national organization which provides the infrastructure – the network, the tools, the programs — to encourage law firms and companies to develop significant pro bono initiatives, so the promise of the Rule of Law, of a legal system that is truly fair and accessible to all members of the community steadily moves closer to being a reality.
– A couple of weeks ago, Helen Mirren got an Oscar for her role as the Queen in The Queen. Tonight, in receiving the Chesterfield Smith Award, I feel like I am getting an Esther from the Queen herself, the Queen of Pro Bono as her friends refer to her.
– It has been and is Esther Lardent as much and more than anyone who through the Pro Bono Institute has caused the attorneys in law firms and corporations to recognize and accept the challenge to support and encourage pro bono legal representation as part of their professional and civic responsibility.
– The progress over the past decade has been extraordinary, so please join me in recognizing and thanking Esther for all she is doing and all she represents to support the Rule of Law in this country.
– My mirror would next reflect Susan Hackett – Esther's partner in pushing progress in pro bono, especially in her role at the Association of Corporate Counsel to encourage law departments and staffs of companies, large and small, to recognize the significant role they can and should play in helping deliver legal services to those in their communities who need but cannot afford them.
– And, my mirror would then turn to Steve Cernak, a colleague of mine on GM's Legal Staff, who has been leading our pro bono activities over the years and working in partnership with other companies, Detroit law firms, and legal service providers to staff the local Bar's clinic and other local community service needs. I want to acknowledge and thank Steve for his leadership and steadfast commitment to continuing the tradition of pro bono service by GM lawyers.
– Some years ago, someone tried to quantify the percentage of legal services which were provided to the indigent and needy by lawyers from firms and companies compared to the percentage provided by those dedicated, full time attorneys who staff the Legal Aid and Public Defender organizations in our communities.
– We couldn't develop reliable data, but we were guessing then that the comparisons would be unfavorable to the firms and companies – we were guessing something like 3% to 97%, or maybe 5% to 95%.
– Whatever the ratios, from my work with the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association, and from the work Bobbie and I see our daughter Debbie does at Community Legal Services in Delaware, I have the greatest respect and gratitude for those dedicated women and men who were attracted to the law, and pursued legal services careers precisely because they wanted to deliver on the promise of a fair and robust system accessible to all members of the community.
– So, I would finally hold the mirror up to those professionals so their faces could be seen and recognized as the true heroes of this cause, the ones we are privileged to partner with and who have much to teach us, the professionals who make the rest of us proud to be considered part of the profession with them.
– It has been and will continue to be an honor and pleasure to work with you, and tonight's Award will serve as a constant reminder to me that our work to make the Rule of Law – the precept of Equal Access to Justice – universal will never be finished until the respect we have for it and which motivates us is indeed shared by all members of the community.
– So, thank you again for the honor of this Award and even more the honor of being aligned and working with you in this important yet unfinished work.


text:
CharlesPaolino's Blog
Things that come to mind
From the mound to the altar
Since it was our 47th wedding anniversary, Pat and I went to dinner Monday night at that great Italian place in Clinton. We ate on the patio. In the opposite corner was a family of four — parents and a teenager of each gender. Before we got there, some guy who was riding a bike along the sidewalk recognized the family and stopped to talk. In fact, he parked the bike and sat down on the brick wall and made himself comfortable. The father in the family act, pretty much ignoring everyone else at the table, spend the time shooting baseball trivia questions at the visitor. I found this a little off-putting, both because he was talking loud enough for us to hear and because of the quality of the questions. What left-handed pitcher won the most games lifetime? Puh-leez! Give me something I can work with, will ya? (By the way, that was Warren Spahn with 363, which is also the greatest number of wins by any pitcher who spent his entire career in the live-ball era.)
Now, me? I would have asked him about Allen Travers, capisce? I was thinking about Travers the other night when the announcers on the Yankee broadcast were obsessing over the fact that Phil Hughes had thrown 106 pitches in a game for the first time this season.
EDDIE ROMMEL
Besides making me worry that Hughes might have to spend the rest of his life with a prosthetic arm, that conversation got me to thinking about all the great performances that would never have taken place if the pitch count had been a part of baseball from the beginning.
I was thinking, for example, about Eddie Rommel — later an American League umpire — who spent 12 years pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics and supposedly invented the knuckle ball as we now know it. In 1932, Rommel came in in relief against the Indians in the second inning, behind 3-2. He pitched 17 innings, gave up 29 hits and 15 runs, and won the game 18-17. The 29 hits allowed is still the single-game record.
Travers was a different matter. He was a student at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia in 1912 when Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers went into the stands at Hilltop Park in New York to pummel a New York Highlanders fan who had been verbally abusing him during a game. It turned out that the fan had lost one hand and several fingers from the other hand in an industrial accident. Ban Johnson, president of the American League, suspended Cobb indefinitely. When the Tigers were supposed to play the Athletics in Philly a couple of days later the team announced that they wouldn't take the field until Cobb was re-instated.
Fr ALOYSIUS TRAVERS
The League told the Tigers they faced a $5,000 fine and would forfeit every game until there were players. To avoid the penalties, the Tigers enlisted Allen Travers — non-playing manager of the St. Joseph baseball squad — to round up a team off the streets and sandlots of Philadelphia. The nine guys were signed by the Cardinals. Travers was on the mound, and no one counted his pitches. He pitched eight innings and gave up 24 runs, which is still the major league record. The Athletics won the game, 24-2.
Travers later became a Jesuit and taught in college and high school in New York and Philadelphia. The 24 runs allowed wasn't his only record. He was also the only major league player to become a Catholic priest.
But who's counting?
You can read a fuller account of Father Travers' experience by clicking HERE.
Posted in baseball, Sports | Tagged Aloysius Travers, baseball, baseball trivia, Detroit Tigers, Eddie Rommel, Hilltop Park, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Pitch count, Sports, Ty Cobb, Warren Spahn, Yankees | 9 Comments »
9 Responses to "From the mound to the altar"
That article you linked is wonderful – I laughed all the way through. If I'd been introduced to baseball when the stories sounded more like human stories than reports from the corporate boardroom, I might have gotten into it a little more.
I did relate to one detail. There was an impassioned discussion a couple of weeks ago on the radio about some team that had resorted to the bunt to add a couple of scores to a game that seemed well in hand – some listeners considered that poor form. I see that bunting played a role in Travers' game, too.
I will admit – you had me heading in a different direction with your title, which no doubt was your intent. 😉
And by the way – there is a fellow named Ryan Maue who's a crackerjack hurricane expert. Even if you don't do the twitter thing, you might be interested in his tweets during the upcoming weekend. He provides clear, concise information and wonderful (if unnerving) graphics like this.
charlespaolino Says:
Because of the amount of money involved now, baseball doesn't have nearly as many characters or stunts as it did in earlier decades. That's too bad. Money has made the game lifeless in some respects. It has also resulted in bizarre behavior. For example, A.J Burnett, who had been a very effective pitcher for the Yankees, crapped out last season and hasn't done well this year either. When players didn't make any more than the average middle class worker, the manager would have simply sent a guy like Burnett to the bullpen and tried someone else in the starting rotation. But the announcers on a recent Yankee game were speculating about who would be starting the next few games, and the matter-of-factly observed that Burnett would take his turn "because of his salary." In other words, if a team pays a guy a salary as big as the Union Station, they can't justify not playing him, even if he stinks. To take it a step further, the Times had a long story on a recent Sunday about a Japanese pitcher that the Yankees signed a few years ago for something like $50 million. The guy was a star in Japan, but it turned out he couldn't win in the U.S. major leagues. He declined a couple of attempts to trade him back to a Japanese team, so he now lives in a luxury Manhattan apartment and commutes to either Trenton or Scranton to pitch for one of the Yankee farm teams until his contract runs out. As Ebenezer Scrooge said, "I'll retire to Bedlam."
The discussion about bunting that you heard is part of a very volatile subject in baseball — what in other sports is known as "running up the score"or "piling it on." Some baseball practitioners, such as the former manager Sparky Anderson, would get incensed if an opposing team stole a base or bunted when it already had a big lead. Others – and I agree with them – argue that because there is no clock in baseball, a lead has to be pretty substantial before the game is a lock. Any major league team is capable of scoring six or seven runs in an inning, so any other team is justified in scoring as many runs as possible, just to be sure. It's not the same as having a 30-point league in a basketball game when there are only 50 second left on the clock.
Ah. A link to Ryan's twitter feed would be helpful.
I added him on Twitter. Thanks.
Money has made the pitch count a part of baseball now. Sad to see, when pitchers like Jenkins, Lolich, Gibson, Palmer, Seaver, Carlton etc. routinely topped 250 innings, sometimes over 300 innings pitched. I get furious seeing a manager pull a pitcher who's cruising through the lineup for the uncertainty of the bullpen. "Quality start" my ass.
I couldn't agree more. And the guys you referred to were paid peanuts compared to what these delicate geniuses are paid today. Did you hear Joe Girardi recently saying that when teams play a double header the games should be only seven innings, or else the teams should be able to expand their rosters? He's concerned about the wear and tear on his golden babies. In the Before Time, double headers were routinely scheduled on Sundays.
That's craziness, no I didn't hear that from Girardi. I remember at least one scheduled doubleheader a year here (Toronto) up until around 1985. Finished the Mays book, he played every inning of a doubleheader in which one game went 22 or 23 innings. Sure Joe Girardi, Willie eventually wore down, (when he was 40!)
When the Yankees and Tigers played a 7 1/2-hour. 22-inning game in 1962 or so, Yogi Berra caught the whole game. He was 36 or 37 at the time. (That was the game that Jack Reed won for the Yankees with the only home run of his career.)
Jack Reed, that's the name, I knew there was a trivia question about that, but I forgot the context of it. You still see some catchers play 140 games or so behind the plate, but now there is a paranoia about ruining a good hitter by making him a catcher. Joe Mauer is already being phased out. Carlos Delgado was a catcher in the Blue Jays system, Craig Biggio was a catcher when he began with the Astros, several more like them.
I, Deacon
Bread, Wine, Salt
Charlotte Hoather, Soprano
Deborah Kalb on Books
Dispatches from Kansas
Hic sunt leones
I choose how I will spend the rest of my life.
Medicine and Opera
MesAyah: Life Through the Mic
Printed in the Stitches
The Ajiri Foundation
The Importance of the Obvious
The Science Essayist
Vatican Observatory Foundation
Verge of Jordan
Categories Select Category Abraham Lincoln (5) American History (123) Amos 'n' Andy (1) Ancient history (2) Andrew Johnson (8) Animals (1) Anti-Semitism (13) Art (6) Asia (1) baseball (49) Books (96) boxing (5) Britain (8) Broadway (2) Candy (1) Cars (5) Catholic Church (13) Celebrities (65) Christmas (1) Citizenship (1) Civil Law (5) Civil War (7) College (1) Cooking (2) Crime (8) Cruise Ships (1) Death Penalty (1) Doris Day (1) Drinks (2) Early television (33) Education (3) Egypt (1) England (6) Environment (7) Europe (13) European history (36) Family life (7) food (11) Government (15) Higher Education (2) homosexuality (4) Iceland (3) Injustice (1) International affairs (16) Internet (2) Islam (1) Italy (6) Jewish people (12) Journalism (2) Language (5) Lebanon (5) Lent (1) Life (10) Literature (9) Medicine (2) Middle East (1) Modern Life (10) Movies (145) Music (74) Muslims (1) Nature (3) Nazis (10) Neurology (1) Newspapers (2) Opera (8) Opinion (4) Physics (1) Politics (26) Popular Culture (91) Presidents (8) Public Health (1) Racism (17) Radio (15) Religion (18) Restaurants (3) Sarah Palin (6) Science (4) sexual abuse (1) show tunes (2) Sports (27) Stereotypes (7) Suicide (1) Television (68) Theater (30) Uncategorized (142) War of 1812 (1) Women (10) Women's equality (3) World War II (23)
Quod scripsi scripsi.
Abraham Lincoln Adolf Hitler Alice in Wonderland Amazon Andrew Johnson Arthur Laurents Babe Ruth Barack Obama baseball Bing Crosby Books Cars Cary Grant Christmas Civil War Danny Thomas Detroit Tigers Early television Enrico Caruso Farrah Fawcett food Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt Frank Sinatra George Street Playhouse Groucho Marx Holocaust Iceland Italy Jackie Gleason Jesus Jews Jimmy Durante Johnny Depp Johnny Mercer John Wilkes Booth Judy Garland Kate Smith Lebanon Lewis Carroll Lou Gehrig Michael Jackson Mickey Mantle Movies Music Nazi Germany Nazis Nazism Netflix New York Yankees Opera Paterson physics Politics presidency president of the United States presidents Presidents of the United States Richard Nixon Russia Sarah Palin Seinfeld Slavery Smoking Sophia Loren Susan Boyle Television The Honeymooners Thomas Jefferson Turner Classic Movies Volkswagen WNYC World War II Yankees Yankee Stadium
The latest from Deacon Me
Beyond "the perfect fool"
Books: "Missing Her"
Doris Day: "The Thrill of It All"
"And the $64 question is …."
"Why is your head higher than mine?"
The emperor-to-be and me
"Mention my name in Sheboygan, but please don't tell them where I am"
The Songbird of the South
A spouse in every port
Books: "The Phantom of Fifth Avenue"


New lever protectors from Polini. Slips in to the end of your bars to help save your levers in the event of a crash. Designed for bars with an inner diameter between 18 - 20mm.
"Lever protections used in MOTO GP as front brake shelter become mandatory also in the POLINI ITALIAN CUP.
In fact the Factory of Bergamo has equipped its own scooters with a serie of Polini lever protection dedicated not only for the safety in races, but a very important protection for everyday use especially when you move into the city traffic.
Aluminum support and plastic lever protection available in total black or blue.