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NOW's Grand 50th Anniversary Celebration Launches a Second Half-Century of Activism
A Brand New National Board
A highlight of the 2016 Forward Feminism Conference, Carrying the Torch Together was the election of a new national board leadership. Filling the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, hundreds of NOW members and supporters applauded the election of a new slate of board members as the recently modernized National Organization for Women looked to a second half-century of making women's history.
Elected to a re-structured and streamlined 2016 – 2018 board representing six districts of the country were: Beth Corbin of Maryland and Audrey Muck of North Carolina representing the Eastern District; Bear Atwood of Mississippi and Meredith Ockman of Florida from the Southern District; Gilda Yazzi of Colorado, Cindy Drabek of Texas and Carla Josephson of New Mexico representing the Western District; Nancy Campbell Mead of Oregon, Sinoun Hem of Washington and Mona Lisa Wallace of California from the Pacific District; Michele Hamilton of Pennsylvania, Jacqueline Kozin of Connecticut and Judi Polson of New York from the Northern District; and, Jocelyn Morris of Missouri with Barbara Miller of Illinois from the Heartland District.
NOW President Terry O'Neill's welcoming letter to conference attendees called attention to the organization's many important accomplishments over the half century including promotion of such notable laws as Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act. She also noted that the last four years have brought about a structural modernization for NOW with a new set of bylaws and a revised Statement of Purpose. She wrote, "Acknowledging the success of NOW's original purpose to bring women "into the mainstream of American society," our new purpose is "to take action through intersectional grassroots organizing to promote feminist ideals and lead societal change." With that mandate, NOW members and supporters look forward to challenges in re-shaping society to advance the rights, opportunities, safety and well-being of all women.
Successful Gala Launches NOW's 50th Anniversary Celebration
NOW members, friends, celebrities and special guests gathered at the conference hotel for our grand 50th anniversary celebration, June 24 – 26. And what a celebration it was! A sparkling Gala held on Thursday evening treated guests to an array of different buffet-served cuisines and opportunities to socialize with new and old acquaintances. Vice President Bonnie Grabenhofer kicked off the program by reminding us, with pride, of NOW's history of taking bold, uncompromising positions on issues. She introduced the emcee for the Gala program – award-winning local television anchor Maureen Bunyan, an advocate for women and minorities in journalism. A very special honored guest at the Gala was NOW co-founder Muriel Fox who was "present at the beginning" as operations manager to NOW's first president Betty Friedan. Fox facilitated many of the important gains that NOW as an emerging feminist power made in reforming government and corporate policies affecting women while elevating public awareness of the burgeoning women's rights movement.
Honored Guests Stir Excitement – Fox introduced the first Intrepid Award honoree, the much respected sports commentator and champion of Title IX, Christine Brennan, who also drew an admiring crowd of NOW interns. Brennan was cited for an Intrepid Award for her "fearless reporting." A commentator for ABC News, CNN and PBS NewsHour, Brennan is a best-selling author, named twice as a top sports columnist by Associated Press and has covered the last 16 Olympic Games.
A second Intrepid awardee was Elizabeth Shuler, secretary treasurer of AFL-CIO, the first woman to hold the second-highest position in the labor movement and a fierce champion for women, serving on a variety of boards of major women's organizations. Shuler also represents the AFL-CIO on the Women's Committee of the International Trade Union Confederation
Actor/director Chandra Wilson, otherwise known as Dr. Miranda Bailey on TV's "Grey's Anatomy," was presented an Intrepid Award. Wilson has many credits to her acting career and received the Screen Actors Guild, People's Choice, Prime and three NAACP Awards. At the Gala event, Wilson talked about the power of recognizing and embracing womanhood within oneself.
Also honored were the founders of AWARE (Assisting Women through Action, Resources and Education), a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting awareness and generating funds in order to make meaningful improvements in the lives of women and girls. The organization works in New York City and Connecticut communities by each year selecting one carefully-selected, under-resourced charity, and organizing fund-raising events and educational symposium for that charity. Rachel Justus, Amy Saperstein, Cassie Aviron, Kira Cooperman and Ellen Friedman accepted the award.
Candidate Clinton Sends a Message – A special surprise came at the end of the Gala with a video message from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton thanked NOW for the important work it has carried out since its founding, expressing appreciation of the organization's continuing support of her candidacy for president of the United States.
A short video presentation that encapsulated NOW's 50 year history was shown at both the Gala and at the conference.
2014-2016 National Board Says Good-Bye
Earlier on Thursday, NOW's 2014-2016 national board met for the last time. Election of members for a newly-structured national board was to take place during the two-day national conference. Each outgoing member was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for her/his work on the board. The schedule featured a break for members to attend a rally at the Capitol, sponsored by the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, protesting widespread voter suppression activities. Terry O'Neill and the Rev. Jessie Jackson spoke at the rally. (NOW's website features an Issue Advisory on the many methods of turning away voters – primarily persons of color, low-income individuals and women — that Republican conservatives have engineered for this election, Voter Suppression on Steroids for 2016 Election, http://now.org/resource/issue-advisory-voter-suppression-on-steroids-for-2016-elections/ ).
2016 CONFERENCE – CARRYING THE TORCH TOGETHER
NOW President Terry O'Neill opened the first plenary, welcoming hundreds of attendees to this historic anniversary conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. O'Neill signaled, "Our celebration will recognize NOW's history of cutting-edge activism on behalf of women, which includes some of the most significant victories of the 20th century but also the important work ahead as our organization pushes forward with its cutting-edge, intersectional, multi-issue, multi-tactical advocacy for the 21st century."
Former NOW President Patricia Ireland moderated this welcoming plenary session, which featured speakers Patricia Hill Collins, author and sociologist focusing on race, class and gender and Miriam W. Young, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. Honorees included Brittney Cooper, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University, who was given the Olga Vives Award. Dr. Cooper is a black feminist theorist who specializes in the study of Black women's intellectual history and is the author of a forthcoming book on the history of black women's thought leadership in the U.S.
NOW Co-Founder Muriel Fox Honored
A fitting Woman of Vision Award was presented to NOW co-founder Muriel Fox who helped to organize NOW's founding conference, served as NOW vice president (1967-70), national chairwoman (1971-73) and chair of the National Advisory Committee (1973-74), edited NOW's first national newsletter, "Do It Now," and wrote many important letters signed by NOW President Betty Friedan to government officials demanding quicker action to reduce discrimination. These letters resulted in the adoption of Executive Order 11246 which opened up millions of corporate jobs to women and contributed to the prohibition of sex-segregated Help Wanted ads. Fox, a public relations executive, has numerous awards and credits in a long career dedicated to advancing women's rights, women in media, women's economic well-being and political influence. She has served as chair of Veteran Feminists of America since 1994, is listed in Who's Who of American Women and many other distinguished listings.
Other NOW Officers and Leaders Present
In addition to former NOW President Patricia Ireland, we were fortunate to have three more former NOW presidents – Judy Goldsmith, Kim Gandy, and Ellie Smeal – speak at the conference. Goldsmith addressed the Friday afternoon plenary session. She served as president from 1982 to 1985 and under her leadership NOW made its second-ever presidential endorsement, voting to support former vice president and women's rights champion Walter Mondale. NOW urged Mondale to select a woman as his running mate; he subsequently named Geraldine Ferraro, a congresswoman from Queens, NY, for his vice president. Goldsmith organized a Lesbian Rights Conference in 1984, led a nationwide picketing effort to protest President Reagan's anti-abortion rights advocacy, and demanded full-scale investigations into attacks by anti-abortion rights terrorists. Goldsmith most recently served as CEO/Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac.
Kim Gandy, longest continuous serving NOW officer (22 years) and president from 2001 – 2009, moderated Plenary II. Gandy is currently president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. While at NOW, Kim served on the drafting committees of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACES), among many other notable accomplishments. Gandy introduced speaker Shireen Mitchell, founder of Digital Sisters/Digital, Inc. – the first organization to focus on women and girls of color in tech and online access. Mitchell spoke on the need to address online threats of violence against women and her helpful website, Stop Online Violence Against Women (http://stoponlinevaw.com/)
Honorees Candace Liger and Grace Franklin were presented with the Woman of Action Award citing their work to promote advocacy for the women of color who were victimized by Oklahoma City police officer and serial rapist Daniel Holtzclaw. Liger is an award-winning spoken word performer, expressive movement teacher, mentor of youth and fitness blogger. Franklin is a published poet, playwright and actress. In 2014, she co-founded with Candace Liger OKC Artists for Justice to ensure that women of color have an opportunity to receive justice and national attention as they struggle with disproportionate rates of violence and sexual assault.
A Woman of Courage Award was given to Emma Sulkowicz who as an art student at Columbia University protested the university's failure to adequately address her report of rape by another student at the university. To bring attention to the issue, Emma and colleagues carried mattresses on their backs around the campus as a performance work, Mattress Performance – Carry That Weight – which prompted widespread media coverage. In 2014, Emma and 22 other Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the university mishandled sexual assault cases.
Sen. Mikulski Honored with Woman of Impact Award
Retiring U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D- Md.) was honored as a Woman of Impact for her decades of service in Congress. The first Democratic woman to be elected to the Senate in her own right and the first to serve in both the House and the Senate, Sen. Mikulski built a solid record of legislation supporting women's health care, helping to establish the Office of Women's Health and Research at the National Institutes of Health and authoring the Women's Preventive Health Amendment under the Affordable Care Act. The senator also championed affordable child care, fair pay and measures to end gender discrimination. She was unable to be present at the conference but provided a video message thanking NOW for the award.
A third plenary session was moderated by Terry O'Neill and introduced speaker the Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who frequently appears on major media outlets. An author of numerous books, including the Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom, Rev. Lynn spoke about winning the latest efforts to use religious liberty violation claims to deny LGBTQIA person their civil rights. Also featured on the dais was Candace Bond-Theriault, Policy Counsel for Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice at the National LGBTQ Task Force where she works to combine reproductive rights communities and the LGBTQ communities to fight against religious refusals to provide vital health care services. A new wave of "conscience exempt" or religious claims to refuse service is being waged by conservatives.
For NOW Foundation's Victoria J. Mastrobuono Award for Women's Health, Jessica Gonzales-Rojas, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), was named recipient. NLIRH is the only national reproductive justice organization that specifically works to advance reproductive health, rights and justice for the 28 million Latinas in the U.S. Jessica serves as Adjunct Professor of Latino and Latin American Studies at City University of New York, teaching courses on reproductive rights, gender and sexuality.
Former NOW VP Latifa Lyles Moderates
Former NOW Membership Vice President Latifa Lyles who is the director of the Women's Bureau, Department of Labor, organized an excellent panel, Know Your Rights: Recent Federal Initiatives to Achieve Equal Pay. The workshop was moderated by Lyles with senior officials from the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with Commissioner Charlotte Burrows presenting on the panel. The panelists reported on a number of important advances made by the Obama administration toward fair pay, safe-workplaces and improved overtime pay rules through various executive orders and regulations.
NOW PAC Presentations Excites Crowd
Former NOW national president and current president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Ellie Smeal, moderated the PAC luncheon on Saturday. She headed up a lively discussion of how feminists can make serious gains this election year. Smeal outlined the path by which she believes feminists and allies can help take back the U.S. Senate and win majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives away from right-wing, anti-women's equality Republicans. Other speakers included NOW VP Bonnie Grabenhofer who manages NOW PAC and the MsPresidentNOW campaign, Jacqueline Kozin, a NOW PAC board member and former CT NOW president, Mini Timmaraju, who serves as Women's Outreach Director for Hillary for America, and Jamia Wilson, executive director of Women, Action & the Media.
NOW PAC outdid itself this conference with a reception, poster session and silent auction. The Ms. President NOW campaign is NOW PAC's nationwide effort to elect Hillary Clinton as the first woman president and campaigners have been hard at work now for more than a year. They have called tens of thousands of NOW members and voters to urge them to volunteer with the campaign, caucus, and vote in their states' primaries. They also ran for delegate positions to party conventions, carried out visibility events, tabled, door knocked, rallied and held watch parties. Creative posters shown at the reception gave viewers a good idea of how it all came together. The PAC auction of feminist, women's suffrage and ERA memorabilia and other items raised much needed funds for our work this election year.
Ever-popular presentations by the NOW Political Action Committee included an exploration of the 2016 Feminist Political Landscape, moderated by long-time PAC Director Linda Berg, with panelists NOW Vice President Bonnie Grabenhofer, and Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal. The prospect of electing the first woman president and Democrats re-gaining Senate control were two of the exciting possibilities discussed. A second NOWPAC panel talked about the importance of filling the pipeline of feminist political activists and Engaging a New Generation of Political Leaders. Jacqueline Kozin moderated with panelists, Hala Ayala of Virginia NOW and Alice Cohan of Feminist Majority Foundation.
Remembering Our History
Of heightened interest for this 50th anniversary conference were workshops featuring NOW co-founders and pioneers. Long-time feminists activists and NOW leaders, Mary Jean Collins and Pam Ross participated in a dialogue with younger feminist activists, Bettina Hager, Jeanine Johnson and Pam Yuen in the workshop, Recruiting NOW Leaders – Attracting Young and Older Feminists. For the afternoon breakout session, Muriel Fox joined Mary Jean Collins (a former NOW press secretary), Eleanor Pam (president, Veteran Feminists of America) and Barbara Love (author, LGBTQIA feminist activist) to discuss The Founding of NOW: She Was There. The group talked about the founding meeting, how it came about, how these leaders had the vision to create NOW and about the issues and organizing that took place.
Where Did We Go from NOW and What Did We Take With Us? was the title of a workshop by NOW long-time leaders, Lois Galgay Reckitt, Judy Murphy, Myra Terry, Marion Wagner, and Marian Watkins. Panelists shared their memorable experiences of the early days of working with NOW, gaining organizational skills and personal confidence. A related workshop, Documenting Our History and Digitizing NOW Chapter Archives, co-moderated by Karen Bojar and Kathy McMahan-Klosterman, with Joanne McQueen, Patricia Ulbrich and Jody Perkins, urged attendees to document the rich history of the second wave feminist movement while many of our founding members are still with us. The group learned how to collaborate with a university or historical library to preserve the story of NOW and archive materials for the World Wide Web.
2006—2016 Timeline of Major Actions and Accomplishments
In time for the 50th anniversary celebration, NOW Government Relations Director Jan Erickson, with the help of talented NOW interns, prepared the most extensive timeline yet of the organization's work. You can read about our important accomplishments over the decade on the NOW website at, http://now.org/resource/timeline-of-major-actions-and-accomplishments-national-organization-for-women-2006-2016/
NOW Foundation Organized Two Dozen Workshops
NOW Foundation organizes the workshop part of NOW national conferences and a few additional workshops of the two dozen excellent panels should be noted. In the workshop, Ending the Culture of Complacency: Campus Sexual Assaults, president and CEO of Legal Momentum Carol Robles-Román and Legal Momentum staff members provided insight into how sexual assaults may be better handled on college campuses, and described their "Enough is Enough" New York statute to end campus sexual assault. Legal Momentum is formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Building a Grassroots Movement to Expand Support for Caregivers shed light on the urgency of tackling the inadequate support given to caregivers, and featured several personal and very powerful testimonies regarding the hardships of caregiving under the current system. For-profit "Prisons"- Immigrant Women and Children Flee Violence, End up Detained and Deported was another particularly powerful session. Panelists discussed the inhumane conditions of immigrant women and children detained in for-profit prisons, and featured a panelist who shared her personal story of experiencing detention in one such prison.
Finally, a session on Pursuing the Best Route to ERA Ratification looked at the expediency of the three-more state ratification strategy for the Equal Rights Amendment and another, Riding the Title IX Wave – Expanding the Network and Protecting LGBTQIA Students pointed out the importance of having trained Title IX coordinators in all schools, colleges and universities to assure that students', administrators' and teachers' equal education rights are protected.
Strategic Action Programs – A Board Led Grassroots Engagement Effort
Over the past six months two dedicated fellows, M.E. Ficarra and Emily Imhof, have researched, proposed and fine-tuned three Strategic Action Programs. Under the direction of board member committees, the fellows conducted webinars and prepared recommendations for actions. At the conference, the fellows and their committee members presented a workshops on each of the three programs; 1) expanding access to abortion care; 2) ending the sex-abuse-to-prison pipeline affecting girls and young women of color; and, 3) building the intersectional case for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. On Sunday, resolutions to implement each of the Strategic Action Programs were debated and adopted.
2017 NOW Forward Feminism Conference
Next year's conference will be held in Orlando, Fl. at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center, June 30 – July 2, 2017. Please join us!


Do you know a child who has carried out an amazing feat to benefit their community? Then you can help Specsavers Hampton in its search for incredible youngsters to put forward for this year's British Citizen Youth Award (BCYA).
The BCYA, in association with Specsavers, celebrates children who have endeavoured to make a positive impact on society – from raising money for charities to performing selfless acts to help others.
Dame Mary Perkins, founder of Specsavers and a patron of the BCYA, is also backing Specsavers Hampton in its search for nominations.
Selected winners will be invited to attend a special event at The Palace of Westminster in October 2017, where Dame Mary Perkins will present medals to individuals in recognition of their accomplishments.


BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEPTT.
D.I.C, Jagatsinghpur was started w.e.f. Dt.01.01.2000 at Jagatsinghpur for the area of Jagatsinghpur District comprising of 8(Eight) blocks & 2(Two) Municipality areas. This office is looking after development of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises under the department of MSME and Head of Office as Directorate of Industries, Odisha at Cuttack. Micro, Small & Medium Enterprisesplay a key role in economic growth of the state by way of effective generation of Employment &Revenue. Both Existing and New Enterprises are welcomed to be part of the growth of the Jagatsinghpur District as well as the state.
There is a sweeper (Part Time) working in this office as contingent menials for smooth functioning of office.
1. Identification of suitable activities/Projects in the District.
3. DICs are the nodal agency to deal with all the requirements of Small & Village industries.
6. DICs are also required to undertake economic investigation as well as survey of the local resources in the Districts.
1. To identify prospective entrepreneurs to take up viable projects and conduct Industrial Motivation Campaign (IMC) / Awareness Camps.
2. To identify viable projects and make survey on the available resources of the district and plan for Promotion of viable industries in the area and industrial cluster.
3. To grant Preliminary Registration Certificate (EIN-Entrepreneurs Identification Number) and Permanent Registration Certificate (PC-Production Certificate) to the entrepreneurs. Also verify UAM (UdyogAadhar Memorandum) against request of the Entrepreneur.
4. To prepare viable and feasible model project reports for reference of the entrepreneurs.
5. To guideand provide handholding support to the entrepreneurs in solving their problems through DLFC (District Level Facilitation Cell).
6. To maintain up-to-date data on MSME sector.
7. To recommend financial proposals to Odisha State Financial Corporation / Financial Institutions / Banks etc.
8. To recommend for Govt. land as per availability and IDCO land / shed in Industrial Estates and for power connection through e-Biz.
9. To arrange EDP (Entrepreneurship Development Programme) Training.
10. To arrange Exhibition, Fair & Publicity and visit of Industrialists to Trade Fairs and provide necessary platform for marketing support.
11. To hold DLFC (District Level Facilitation Cell) and DSWCA (District Single Window Clearance Authority) meeting every month for facilitation of entrepreneurs under the programme "EASE of Doing Business".
12. To monitor the health of existing MSME units and the progress of those in the pipeline.
13. To recommend different Incentives as per the Industrial Policy of the State Govt. like IPR (Industrial Policy Resolution), OFPP (Odisha Food Processing Policy) and MSMED (MSME-Development) Policy.
14. To provide various facilities to the handicraft artisans under different schemes of Handicrafts sector.
15. To monitor the implementation of the subsidy linked programmes like PMEGP, MTUHI, SUY, RCA and Coir enterprise.
16. To assist revival of sick MSME Units as per Government and RBI guidelines.
The Programme is implemented by DIC, KVIB & KVIC in each district but KVIC is the nodal agency of the state for the programme. The details guideline is available in KVIC website (www.kviconline.gov.in).


Today is my favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World's birthday, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Though it wouldn't officially open until November 15 of 1980, its first soft openings began on September 23, 1980. In honor of I.B. Hearty, I.M. Brave, I.M. Fearless, U.B. Bold, U.R. Courageous, and U.R. Daring we are showcasing two interesting pieces of Big thunder Mountain Railroad history. The first is a copy letterhead entitled Big Thunder News. This sister publication, as you might say, was used by the Walt Disney World Press and Publicity Department as a way to promote the upcoming arrival of the overdue mine trains.
The second is an article that ran in the Winter 1980/81 issue of the Disney News giving a brief history of the attraction.
The skeptics may have raised an eyebrow when or two when the idea for a Walt Disney World Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first surfaced some eight years ago. A mountain in Florida, themed to the Western Gold Rush times would be completely out of its geographical and historical element. Transforming this towering vision into a Magic Kingdom reality was going to require passage through time and space barriers of more than a century and thousands of miles.
But anything is possible when it comes to the diligent Disney imagination. With little more than a sand dune for reference, artists, designers and engineers soon produced renderings, scale models and show plans from which to begin this tremendous project.
This mountain was not to be a duplication of Big Thunder in Disneyland. With more space, less greenery and a flattened terrain, environmental considerations were all together different. Rather than the castle-peaked Bryce Canyon look of its predecessor, this attraction would resemble Colorado's Monument Valley or the Grand Canyon.
Almost two years were required to construct this monumental showpiece. From the "Top of the World" in the Contemporary Hotel, observers could oversee the progress. Iron rebar was shaped into formation and wire mesh covering filled in the contours. Than [sic] came the concrete and rockwork details.
Finally, from five acres of Florida's sot shell and sand flatland rose a magnificent formation of sentinel-type peaks as high as 100 feet. And, so convincing were the rusty hues of weathered and eroded rock, most any distant bystander could be fooled into perceiving a natural element.
Impressive as it was from afar, there was still much to be done. A phosphorescent pool was given rainbows of color. Screeching bats were added to a dark and foreboding cave; water to the waterfall…and earthshaking motion to an avalanche.
For decorative tools of the mining trade, Disney prospectors scouted auctions, swap meets and old mining towns. The Disney determination paid off. In rolled an antique ore wagon and skip cart, and soon other artifacts added authenticity to the deserted mine setting.
The great American West was inconceivably born again in an unlikely Florida location – where a "runaway" train transports its brave passengers through a colorful, historical time.
Come experience Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – the newest exciting adventure in the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.
Your blog continues to give me mountains of insight to WDW. What a great post. Thank you.


The department of Sciences & Humanities plays a pivotal role in laying a strong foundation to the major engineering courses like Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE), Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), Mechanical Engineering(ME), Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE), Information Technology (IT) and Civil Engineering(CE).
The subjects that come under this department are Engineering Physics, Engineering Chemistry, Mathematics and English. These subjects are taught in first year of Engineering program. The department has to its credit about papers published in various National and International Journals and Conferences by various staff members under Research and Development program. Few of the Staff members are guiding PhD scholars and are reviewers for some of the International Journals.
The Department has a well equipped Engineering Physics and Engineering Chemistry Laboratories with qualified technicians. The department also has sophisticated English Language Communication Skills Lab and Advanced English Communication Skills Lab with computer for each student individually.
Group discussions, Audio, Video, Multimedia and 24x7 internet facilities are provided to students to improve their language skills. The Department intends to achieve academic excellence, technical expertise and creative intelligence along with leadership qualities, morals and ethical values.


East Side Mags is giving you the chance to check out all the amazing cards from Kaladesh - the newest set from Wizards of the Coast's Magic the Gathering set - during an amazing pre-release event - taking place over 2 DAYS!!!
$25.99 (+tax) to play which gets you a pre-release pack to use in the sealed tournament.
Email Jeff@EastSideMags.com to confirm your spot and pre-register for the event. Space is LIMITED so register now so you don't miss a single moment!
For prize support, we will be throwing in booster packs, card sleeves, maybe some binders - who knows? Prizes are awarded to the Top 8. More prize information will be forthcoming!


Book: John (4), Hebrews (1).
Service: Worship Gathering (5), Cowboy Church (1).
Preached by Billy Van Camp on April 16, 2017 (Worship Gathering).
John 12:27-50 (Part of the Easter series).
Preached by Billy Van Camp on April 5, 2015 (Worship Gathering).
Preached by Billy Van Camp on March 29, 2015 (Worship Gathering).
John 21:1-19 (Part of the Easter series).
Preached by Billy Van Camp on April 20, 2014 (Worship Gathering).
John 16:33 (Part of the Easter series).
Preached by Billy Van Camp on March 31, 2013 (Worship Gathering).


A Logan Square man charged with aggravated battery against a Chicago police officer during a Ferguson, Mo.-related protest was ordered released from custody Thursday after a highly charged hearing that threatened to turn into another protest.
Several dozen activists had gathered in the courtroom at 26th Street and California Avenue to support Richard Newburger, who wore jeans and a black jacket and kept his hands behind his back as he was led before the judge.
Cook County prosecutors alleged that the police officer was assigned to the Loop protest and riding a bicycle Wednesday when Newburger, 57, struck him with his shoulder, knocking the officer off his bike. The officer was not injured, prosecutors said.
A police report of the interaction states that Newburger "aggressively bumped" the bike officer, causing him to lose balance as Newburger was attempting to disrupt traffic.
Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil, however, had barely made it through the allegations when she stopped the hearing to tell the activists seated in the courtroom to keep their voices down, at one point asking a woman if she had a problem because she appeared to be laughing.
Sheriff's deputies then walked up to some of the activists and ordered them to leave or face arrest.
Three people were arrested Wednesday in Chicago after they were protesting the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., police said.
Two 63-year-old women and a 57-year-old man were arrested during a protest in Chicago, police spokesman Veejay Zala said.
The judge then advised those gathered that they could protest outside but that if anyone did so in her courtroom she would have the sheriff's deputies arrest them. With that, she detailed the various types of bonds to everyone in the courtroom, explaining that she wanted them to understand what her bond decision in Newburger's case would mean.
Prosecutors said Newburger had no criminal history, and Kuriakos Ciesil ordered him released on his own recognizance, scheduling his next court appearance for Dec. 3.
The activists then quietly filed out of the courtroom.
After the hearing, Newburger's lawyer, Martha Conrad, described him as a longtime activist and disputed the account given by prosecutors and police.
Newburger was holding a banner with other protesters when the police officer ran into him, according to Conrad, who said she witnessed part of the interaction.
Hundreds of protesters marched Tuesday night through downtown, chanting and making speeches over a loudspeaker about Ferguson, Mo., and Michael Brown, after spending much of the day hunkered down outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office.
Nora Twain, 63, was charged with obstructing traffic and resisting a police officer, both misdemeanor charges, police said. Deirdre Dietrichson, also 63, was charged with obstructing traffic, also a misdemeanor.
Both were released Wednesday evening, police said.
The protest was one of many in Chicago and across the country after an announcement Monday that the grand jury would not charge Officer Darren Wilson in Brown's shooting.


My CD key was unregistered/stolen from me and now says its registered Elsewhere.
Can Anyone Provide Info on C&O Whistles?
Any East German DDR routes that you reccommend?
can i save rolling stock and engines in a cdp file?
Screenshots : What I'm doing wrong?
Question about a default sound in Trainz.
Who would do such a thing ... and why ?
Anyone know how to contact Lars Ljungberg or have an unencrypted LARS script?
Could you make a fix for Dark Reign game?
K&L PRR D16 with Oil Lamp.
Does anyone know how to contact Steffan Ellmer - cebenpeter?
Any trainz northern content with new livery?
Best set of UK semaphore signals?
What will happen to the USRA light pacific that was a pre-order bonus for T:ANE?
What happened to the CN U2g's Tender?
List of streamlined steam engines and their status in trainz.
Where is the regular AASHTO 24ft road?
What's the name of that Japanese sleeper car?
Looking for a good Southern Pacific F series Daylight.
Is there a modern ECML route available for trainz?
TranzDem Web Mapping Services Issue!
N3V Downunder Winter Sale Starts/Ends ? ? ?
TANE "Unable to download asset file not available on server"
Trainz Pro Route - Files downloading as .man or .txt?
Where to find the routes K&L Trainz used in their videos?
Where Can I Find Undec 60ft High Cube Box Cars?
That old school Trainz default "Clickity-Clack" sound.
Looking for some SP/DRGW coal hoppers.
Is this genuine "Yes I won"
Strange, unexplainable event in forums.
Has bnsf50 vanished from Trainz?
How does one gain acsess to the screenshots section.
Looking for but not finding, German Br-05 Cab forward and also the rail zeppelin.
Searchlight Signals Say "Open For Edit" ?
How Do I Film My Own Trainz12 Sessions?
TrainzItalia Website Errors - Whom to Contact?
Trains don't go off track when derailed.
Just 4 grins & giggles.
US/EU Creators Willing to Take on UK Commissions?
Throttle problems with maglev locs.
Mars, Mars, and more Mars.
How fast can MOW trucks travel on American standard-gauge roads?
Broken Link for Cayden's MBC1887 Route!
Help finding this 30ng track?
Anyone know if there will be a new mobile game for Android?
Does NVIDIA Turf Effects work on a Mac?
Startup Options Rule not working.
ERROR "The code execution cannot proceed because libcrypto.dll was not found."
How far down the line can a human train crew see a RR signal?


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Home » 1 News » Film Threat Presents launches at Comic Con with The Theta Girl
Film Threat Presents launches at Comic Con with The Theta Girl
33 years after its premiere as the rogue, iconoclastic fanzine championing indie film, Film Threat is back. First as a website, FilmThreat.com, relaunched last year, and now as a distribution label, catering to the same demographic that loved the disruptive magazine so much during its print run between 1985 and 1997.
The first release, scheduled for September 18th, is the micro-budget indie horror film THE THETA GIRL.
THE THETA GIRL, a feature film produced by first-time filmmakers David Axe and Christopher Bickel, has been currently ravaging the film festival circuit and building a dedicated fanbase.
"I'm proud to screen for you the trailer for THE THETA GIRL, a film that warped my mind," said Film Threat's Chris Gore at his FUTURE INDIES YOU MUST SEE panel at San Diego Comic-Con. He went on, "This is the first film that we are releasing under our new 'Film Threat Presents' label. I think you can tell from this teaser, it's the type of film you would expect from us. Our plans are to disrupt the current distribution model by putting power back into the hands of filmmakers using the vast audience we've built over 30 years. THE THETA GIRL, hold onto your seats, there's a lot more coming."
Film Threat is making THE THETA GIRL available for pre-order now on VIMEO and will roll out on other digital platforms in 2019.
THE THETA GIRL was produced on a shoestring budget of $14,000. To put that budget into perspective, the film could have been made 3,571 times over for what it cost Hollywood to make one EMOJI MOVIE. It is the first film for both writer David Axe and director Christopher Bickel, and indeed it was the first film for the majority of cast and crew. The film revels in its own "punk rock" rough edges (a result of its extremely low budget and the experience level of the creators) and, as such, has been enthusiastically praised by critics and audiences for its high entertainment value, thoughtful existential themes, and over-the-top shocking content.
The film has already received accolades from critics, one gushing "not only is it possibly the best independent film of 2017 but possibly one of the best examples of low budget filmmaking EVER!" (Full review here https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3830050/?ref_=tt_urv )
Billed as an "existenploitation film," THE THETA GIRL follows the trials and tribulations of young drug-dealer, Gayce Delko, and the hallucinogen she peddles. "Theta" was a "fun drug" — a drug that blew people's minds. Theta was supposed to be a door to Heaven, but when her best friends get methodically and brutally murdered, Gayce realizes theta might also be a door to Hell — and it's up to her to shut it. The film's tagline is "She brought the pills. He brought the kills."
Bickel describes THE THETA GIRL as "an exercise in sex, drugs, punk rock, brutality, gore, revenge, and self-actualization… but really it's an art film."
THE THETA GIRL was written by David Axe and directed by Christopher Bickel, who also shot, edited, and provided sound-design for the film. Axe and Bickel also served as the film's producers under the "Barron Perter Productions" moniker. The film stars Victoria Elizabeth as "Gayce," Shane Silman as "Brother Marcus," and Darrelle D. Dove as "Derek."
The film has not been rated by the MPAA, but it contains nudity, drug use, adult themes, and extremely graphic violence.
Bickel describes hooking up with Film Threat as "a dream come true," adding "reading Film threat as a kid opened my eyes to a whole world of extreme independent cinema, and made me feel like one day I could eventually do this shit too. And now, however, many years later, here we are."
VIMEO PRE-ORDER: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thethetagirl
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB_6dl9cgWs
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The "enfant terrible" of fashion, Carlos Diez, It has opened its first shop in Madrid. Located close to the Gran Via, in the heart of the capital, this place becomes a true showcase of the transgressive universe of designer.
A place where to discover a new way of doing fashion and which finally its most loyal audience can enjoy their creations. Also you will find their exclusive partnerships for both talk and Jockey.
A shop with a minimalist design, brick seen painted in black and large wooden beams, recreate the peculiar and particular atmosphere of the designer by highlighting your collection.
A must site for all lovers of fashion, do not miss it! Hello you can find its entire collection for this fall-winter 2009 / 2010.


text:
Missie Berteotti (born September 22, 1963) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.

Berteotti won once on the LPGA Tour in 1993.

Professional wins (1)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

References

External links

American female golfers
Miami Hurricanes women's golfers
LPGA Tour golfers
Golfers from Pittsburgh
1963 births
Living people

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Dnieper–carpathian Offensive
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Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive Battle
Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket Battle
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive Battle
Ivan Konev General
Battle of Narva Battle
8th Guards Combined Arms Army Military unit
Galician Soviet Socialist Republic State
Ivan Kabitsin Military personnel
Stepan Repin Soldier
Desc: The Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive, also known in Soviet historical sources as the liberation of right-bank Ukraine, was a strategic offensive executed by the Soviet 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, along with the 2nd Belorussian Front, against the German Army Group South and Army Group A, and fought from 24 December 1943 – 17 April 1944.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnieper%E2%80%93Carpathian_Offensive
Type: Event, Thing
Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket
Desc: The Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive led to the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkasy Pocket which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of a greater Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Korsun%E2%80%93Cherkassy_Pocket
Result Score: 0.15
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive
Desc: The Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive was an offensive by the Red Army's 3rd Ukrainian Front and elements of the 4th Ukrainian Front against the German 6th Army in the area of Nikopol and Krivoi Rog in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine between 30 January and 29 February 1944.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikopol%E2%80%93Krivoi_Rog_Offensive
Ivan Konev
Desc: Ivan Stepanovich Konev was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, responsible for retaking much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Konev
Type: Person, Thing
Battle of Narva
Desc: The Battle of Narva was a military campaign between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus on 2 February – 10 August 1944 during World War II.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Narva_(1944)
8th Guards Combined Arms Army
Desc: The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a successor to the 8th Guards Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Guards_Combined_Arms_Army
Type: Organization, Thing
Galician Soviet Socialist Republic
Desc: The Galician Soviet Socialist Republic was a self-declared and short-lived political entity that existed from 15 July to 21 September 1920.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galician_Soviet_Socialist_Republic
Type: Place, Country, Thing
Ivan Kabitsin
Desc: Ivan Ivanovich Kabitsin was a Soviet Army colonel and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Kabitsin fought in the Russian Civil War on the Eastern Front. He commanded a machine-gun platoon. By Operation Barbarossa, Kabitsin was a political officer of a rifle battalion in Kirov.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Kabitsin
Stepan Repin
Desc: Private Stepan Spiridonovich Repin was a Soviet soldier and medic who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1944 for valour during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive of the German-Soviet War.
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Repin


My posts have become sporadic because I have an ambivalent relationship with this blog. It was my first foray into social media specifically to promote myself/my work, and I'm not a self promoter. After much delay I'm now on Instagram (@patludwigquilts — follow me!!), and I'm finding that to be much more appealing. I just put up the pictures. Still trying to figure out the whole hashtag bit, but having fun with it.
But I do like writing about the creative process, and whenever I get a notification that someone signed on to follow this blog, I feel guilty about letting it languish. In my last post quite awhile ago I said I'd be back to show and tell another project from last summer's creative retreat. So here it is, and I'm a little rusty, so bear with me.
When I made the quilt above, which was sometime in 2014, I churned out more of the small squares than ended up getting used. My general practice is to stow extra pieces and bits that I like, and I liked these, so I set them aside.
happened, I sewed those remaining squares (in center above) somewhat haphazardly together. I added that jeans bit (pressed inner leg seams) as a border for the center square. Then started a basic strip border with other scraps.
Meanwhile, I'd been going to look at art with my very painterly friend Chuck, who is tremendously inspiring to me. He paints on his jeans … sometimes just splatter as a result of being near paint and sometimes to play with representation, like the bold rectangle above. He'd given me quite a few of these amazing pieces and initially I had no idea what to do with them.
I find sometimes I just have to start cutting. After making some pretty traditional strip rows, I wanted to draw the indigo of the jeans out, so I added short strip rows of painted jeans. Then there were the bold geometetrics on some of the legs, which stood as design elements themselves.
As an aside, Chuck sometimes gives painting workshops with jeans in Washington Square Park. The results no one wants have been passed to me.
with all of these chargers ready to be taken apart and turned into something new.
… so I'll leave you with this one, which features Inspector Buddy.
When we left off, I was in creative retreat so I could work in an unhurried, peaceful environment.
I had no particular plans, just a lot of materials.
as a four point star.
With this inspiration, I found myself joining together as many as I could. It was not especially easy or fun. I wanted the watch pockets and rivets in there for texture and variation, but this upped the difficulty ante, so that needle heartbreak waited over every pass. Modest Machine gamely grinded over the varying levels of fabric density like a mower over a dry rocky lawn. Eventually a payoff came in visual impact as they multiplied.
Since the jeans and pockets were different sizes, the resulting star squares went from small to large. Dipping into my denim stash, I gave each a wide border, adding tonal variation with different fades.
Staggered, the borders gave a sense of movement to the stars, but I chose to collapse them into an overall square.
I wanted to use as much of the original source material as possible. Lots of lining remained because of the emphasis on denim thus far. Usually the back of a quilt is a simple muslim or sheet … why not piece all the pocket scraps together? It would be smooth sailing for my little machine; the fabric was all the same weight.
If I had to classify it I'd call it a throw. When not thrown it folds up rather tidily. There is one more quilt I finished while on my peaceful retreat. I'll write about that next but will leave you with a summer sunset for now.
A highlight of my summer was about 17 days (but who's counting) at my lakeside weekend home in New Jersey.
My husband joined me on the weekends, but the rest of the time was my own, and I used it as a creative retreat. I had two cats with me, family nearby, some wonderful neighbors, and nothing but the cycling days and nights to fill as I wished. It was bliss.
I have been cutting up jeans, khaki's, cargo shorts and more for 10 years. In this time, my house has been blighted with clothes moths. Enter Container Store.
Two items in my materials seemed to float to the top. My younger son (known as Chuck) recently castoff a pair of cargo shorts. My painterly friend Chuck gave me a canvas remnant scored with an island of red paint. These became my starting points.
Using a seam ripper, I completely took apart the shorts, section by section.
Preparing the fabric is observational and contemplative. Handling it I note its surface feel, weight, mobility. With each change in geometry and line I imagine new arrangements, and fabrics to enhance the bright red island. It takes most of the first day to take the shorts apart.
Waistband, cargo pockets, zipper fly, hems, and belt loops all give way to my seam ripper, lint roll, and iron.
These were well worn shorts. I'm not sure why they stopped returning value to my Chuck, but for me this new form is tremendously pleasing. I love its furry softness and the rippling gradations in the fade.
The rabbit munching in the grass every day probably put me in mind of a red clover print in my stash, luckily in one of the containers I brought along. These were from a pair of jeans (pocket lining) I wore in the long long ago, before children. Turns out this is why I saved them.
At some point in my process there's a shift from taking apart to putting together. In this case it was when I noticed the pocket flaps had clipped corners. Modest Machine roared to life to attach pocket lining to create 90 degree angles. I'm enjoying now how they look like old fashioned photo mounts.
Buddy checked frequently for surface feel.
Until it was done (about 22 hours, but who's counting), and as close to square as I've ever come with a quilt.The border includes a jeans leg where Chuck painted a blue rectangle.
That's Chuck Squared. Backing is an old sheet. The fill, as always, 100% cotton batting, as this is a small quilt/blanket/throw. Coming very soon a post on the project that came on the heels of this one. Let me know what you think in the comments, and here's your bonus shot for reading to the end!
But it's not just about me. Sally Kay who is graciously hosting, creates unique jewelry designs in gold and semi precious stones, and Studio E Downtown crafts collage cards inspired by postage stamps. Three individuals creating unique designs in New York City.
Crochet webbing for a beach chair?
Then Gretchen from Texas found me in the wild world of Etsy. She had saved her sons' jeans and wanted to turn them into quilts. After a vetting chat, she sent me a box packed with about 35 pair. The first set, from her oldest son, ranged in size from 4/5 years to men's 36/34. So I set my t-shirts aside and devoted myself to ripping out jeans seams.
She wrote her son's initials, CHC, on the waistbands.
In our chat Gretchen said to "focus on the imperfections." This excellent advice became my mantra as I chose what to draw attention to….
and Matisse cut outs began dancing through my head.
which was to be queen size. I created a border surround with the biggest legs to highlight the center design.
In spite of Buddy's assistance, figuring out that center design was the toughest part.
This bit of Mom and Dad buttoned together nicely could stand on its own as a little accent pillow.
and on the whole, I think it turned out well.
I really would like to know. You can comment (click on the number to the right of the date, above) if you like. Or, share with one or two friends you think might enjoy it. If you REALLY REALLY like it, post on your preferred social media. In any case, thank you for reading to the end!
As summer filtered away into deepest August, Rod from Carson City, Nevada decided to do something about a lingering idea. His used jeans pile had grown to 15 after going through his right knee at least as many times and he had been searching for someone to, in his words, "assemble them into a quilt versus discarding them." Cue the vast and wonderful interwebs, which led him to my email.
And so it was that come fall, I opened a box to find multiple Levi's (size 34-32), Lee, Kirkland (the Costco brand – thanks Lori!), GAP (relaxed fit), and Joseph Abboud jeans. Rod's jeans were all retired around the same level of wear (right knee out of most, left in some), some with dark brown spot stains (Rod guessed paint, or maybe blood? He's a hunter), all neatly folded. The charge at this juncture: pattern ideas for Rod choose from.
This beginning stage of a project is always the most fun for my smallest household residents.
and I wondered if this quilt style would work in this setting. After checking with Rod (and marveling yet again at the trust people place in strangers), it was a go for my first Denim Diamond in the Square.
At least the math was relatively easy. I went for the longest strips given the 32″ inseam. Placket-narrow wouldn't work here, but 3-5 inch widths seemed about right.
I cut sections for fade, wear, stain spots, and pockets until there were enough for four quadrants.
As the whole grows in size, it pays to carefully fold it up at each step both to keep it straight and facilitate feeding through Modest Machine.
My workspace isn't big enough to lay out a project this size, so I walk back and forth, project in hands, from my college son's vacant room to my workspace.
Unfortunately for my knees, this tedious work is best not interrupted because the concentration and resulting work quality might not return in matching levels. So I keep at it until all sides are done.
For everyone who asks me how long a quilt takes: sewing these eight triangles together took about four hours.
Quilt folkways generally call for a border around a design, so it's time to confer with Rod. He agrees with my recommendation of a simple "strip" border, and so I paw through the pieces that remain. This turns out to be a good way to deploy the decorative potential of all those jeans pockets.
And it's back to Modest Machine for sewing twice all the way around. I'm feeling kind of just-shoot-me-now at this point.
….and with this view I appreciate it much more, and the work it represents. I hope Rod from Carson City is enjoying its use, and that you enjoyed reading about its creation. Thanks for reading to the end. If you want to be sure to see more of my projects, scroll down and hit the Sign Me Up! button to subscribe, and when I publish it will come to your email automatically.
What Can You do with …. Rhinestone Buttons?
Linda came back to me around this time last year with an armful of stuffed plastic bags and a twinkle in her eye. She had an idea: a wall hanging using her mother's old scarves and rhinestone buttons.
How could this be done? Twist around the rod?
And best of all, she knew how she wanted to apply the buttons …as the center of fabric flowers! The mission was clear, I just had to figure out a way to do it. I won't show you the how, because it involved flame and I don't want anyone to start a fire on account of my shenanigans. If you're so inclined, after doing a little googling, you could find a tutorial, too.
Now for the floral arrangement. Big bouquet?
A smattering here and there?
Best of all she was happy with the final product and bargain price given the work involved. I haven't made fabric flowers since then. Looking at the finished piece now, I think I like the border the best. There are just so many ways to vary the entire composition. What a riot of color to remember a woman who loved her scarves, her garden, her clothes, and colorful designs!
It has occurred to me time and again over the last many months that I haven't posted anything quilty since before I put up that "most inspiring blogger" patch (thanks again Tall Tales!).
These pics are mostly for my followers, who signed up, I presume, because they wanted to see more of my creative process. Thank you for following me! Here are some quick pics of what I've been doing since the last peep. I'm not sure which one to write about yet. Why don't you let me know which one you'd like to see and read more about? Please comment here or email me at patwig63@gmail.com. And Happy Summer!
Playing with clothing remnants. Click for a closer look.
Flowers made by melting edges of poly scarves over a candle flame. The client wanted flowers, so after googling, I adapted a burning method. Do NOT try this at home!
My latest commission took about 3 months to make, from scarves, a skirt and curtains.
Sometimes lovely things seem to appear from nowhere … as this weekend, when I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by a fellow quilter, Tall Tales From Chiconia. Thank you for your kind words Tall Tales!
Apparently once one receives this honor, there are things you must do, in addition to simply being inspiring in the blogosphere. It's a little bit like all those copy and paste status thingys people put on Facebook. Well, I'll play, 'cause I get to display this cool award sticker.
First, you nominate other blogs that inspire you! This is the spreading the love part. Herewith, in no particular order ….


text:
Farage Hired By Fox News
Breaking Stateside:
FOX NEWS CHANNEL SIGNS FORMER UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY LEADER NIGEL FARAGE TO CONTRIBUTOR ROLE
NEW YORK — JANUARY 20, 2017— FOX News Channel (FNC) has signed former United Kingdom Independence Party Leader (UKIP) Nigel Farage as a contributor. In this role, he will offer political analysis across FNC and FOX Business Network's (FBN) daytime and primetime programming.
Nige makes it big in the US…
Tags: Fox News, UKIP
People: Nigel Farage
Media News List
Conrad Black on Max Hastings and Boris…
"As the former employer of both of them, and although their positions were of unequal importance and challenges, on balance I must declare Boris to be more reliable and trustworthy than Max."


text:
Due Diligence and Major Donors
Published by Chris Carnie on October 4, 2012 October 4, 2012
The Colonel and the College
On 23rd June 2009 the governing Council of the London School of Economics (LSE) agreed to accept a gift from a group of companies in Libya channelled via the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, controlled by Saif Gaddafi, son of Colonel Gaddafi the country's ruler. In July 2009 LSE awarded Saif a PhD in philosophy. This story emerged in the media only after the uprising against the Gaddafi regime began in February 2011.
LSE was attacked in the UK press for having accepted the gift and the controversy grew so severe that by March 2011 the Director of the LSE resigned. The LSE Council later funded an independent enquiry led by Lord Woolf.
As Lord Woolf's report makes clear, when the gift was being considered Libya was being seen as a potential friend by the West. The UN Arms Embargo had been lifted in 2003 and Libya was dropped from the list of "countries that sponsor terrorism" in 2007. The Colonel had met Tony Blair in 2007. By 2009, Libya was seen as progressing steadily in the right direction.
But just two years later the Colonel had become a reputational risk. The School's reputation had been damaged, and the Director's neck was on the block.
This story illustrates many of the issues in due diligence and major donors:
SPEED OF CHANGE
It shows how fast reputations can change. Your celebrity donor today can tomorrow be vilified because he has been caught, literally, with his pants down. Due diligence today is useful, but it is only of any value if it is a continuous process.
It is hard to measure reputational risk where there is complexity. This gift was supposed to come from a consortium of companies, in a country in which little or no corporate transparency exists, channelled via a foundation led by the son of a dictator. Complexity makes due diligence difficult. But major donors lead complex lives and may make gifts via complex structures.
WHAT ARE WE MEASURING?
What was LSE supposed to be measuring? The Colonel's reputation with the politicians? His son's reputation? The ways in which his wealth had been accumulated? Clarity in understanding what we are attempting to measure is a key part of due diligence work.
Due diligence means "doing a thorough job of checking someone or something." In fundraising, the someone or something is normally a potential donor – a "prospect." The due diligence is the thorough check of the prospect's background and situation.
WHAT CAN WE CHECK?
1. Is he who he says he is?
At Factary we were asked this recently. A man who said he was a Vicomte had been in contact with the nonprofit about a large gift, possibly into the millions. The nonprofit's in-house researcher was suspicious and asked us to carry out a due diligence check.
We demonstrated that he was definitely not a Vicomte, not French, and that lived in a very small house in Peckham, one of the less-wealthy parts of London. There were hints that he had done this kind of thing before, although no public reports of convictions. We told the non-profit, who stepped away from the relationship.
Proving that a person is the person that they claim to be is an essential part of due diligence.
2. Is there money, really?
If you were a business and about to take on a new customer, you would want to be sure she could pay. "Does she have the money?" is a key question in due diligence.
3. The Source of the Money
The origins of the funds are researchable… in some cases. There are geographic limitations (try to identify the source of wealth of Russian oligarchs) and historic limitations (how far back do you want to go? One respectable UK philanthropic trust has an endowment that, more than three centuries ago, was partly built on the Triangular Trade of goods, slaves and sugar.)
4. Criminal convictions
Due diligence research can reveal criminal convictions where these are recorded in the public domain. But some of this is of limited value. In Spain, for example, a common search will list the overdue parking fines of Spanish citizens – hardly the basis for "reputational risk."
This is the slippery, difficult-to-define word of the due diligence researcher. We can research reputation in the press and media, we can research the circle of contacts that a prospect moves amongst, and we can ask people-who-know-people for their opinions.
The focus of reputation should be trustworthiness – the perception in the public mind that your organisation can be trusted. Your objective is to maintain and enhance your organisation's trustworthiness. So reputational risk means; "If we link up with this donor, could this damage the public perception that we can be trusted?"
WHAT CAN'T WE CHECK?
We can't check on money held in banks. We mostly can't check wealth held through private trusts, or wealth held in certain jurisdictions (try the Netherlands Antilles, for example…) We can't tell whether someone's secret sexual activities will, tomorrow, be the subject of long-lens photo-"journalism" in the yellow press.
ETHICAL AND LEGAL
You are not allowed to store defamatory material on people. So how are you going to record the reputational risk-related rumour that he was a diamond smuggler in his youth?
Nor can you store information on sexuality, health or religion. Any of these could, in some organisations, imply a reputational risk
Researcher ethics
Ethical guidelines for prospect research mean that I am not willing to use private detectives or false "survey calls" to source information on philanthropic prospects. The first is too intrusive and the second is, simply, lying.
SOME ISSUES
We don't do due diligence on our normal consumer donors, so why do it with strategic or "major" donors?
If the Secretary General says we should accept the money, what do we do? Do we stick to our agreed due-diligence procedure? Or does the SG's political power mean that we take the money despite our concerns?
In many organisations the rule is that due diligence is only carried out on donations from companies. Not on donations from individuals. Why?
Let's talk more, when we meet at IFC 2012!
This year 101fundraising is the official blog partner of the International Fundraising Congress (IFC), the world's leading conference on fundraising. This blog post is part of a special IFC Blog Series, where we give IFC speakers a chance to share their wisdom before the conference. Attending crowdbloggers will get a chance to share their views after the conference!
Participating IFC speakers are Bernard Ross, Derek Humphries, Chris Carnie, David Cravinho, Maia Kahlke-Mikkelsen and Lucy Gower!
Categories: high value donorsIFC-2012Latest posts
Chris Carnie
Chris Carnie is founder of Factary, www.factary.com. He is a researcher and consultant in high-value philanthropy – major donors and foundations. Chris lives in Catalonia and works across Europe with NGOs, universities, cultural organisations, foundations and philanthropists. He teaches the Postgraduate Certificate in Fundraising at the University of Barcelona and is the author of various books.
Gerbren Deves · October 4, 2012 at 17:58
Hey Chris, great post, thanks! You are so right. And your last issue, about why many organizations only carry out due dilligence on companies, leaves me with the idea to write a blog about this. So thanks also for the inspiration. And good to see that you have joined the 'blogger team'!
Will see you at the IFC, take care, Gerbren


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Innovations in Natural Gas Alternatives [Gas Transitions]
May 8, 2019 7:50:am
Those who dismiss renewable energy or other alternatives to fossil fuels as unrealistic, sometimes forget that the world is not standing still. What seemed impossible yesterday, may be possible tomorrow. Innovation is taking place in all fields – heating, solar generation, energy storage, "green" hydrogen, grid integration – that represent alternatives to natural gas. In today's column I will discuss a number of recent examples.
by: Karel Beckman
NGW News Alert, Natural Gas & LNG News, Premium, Gas Transitions, Carbon, Renewables, Gas to Power, Corporate
Two weeks ago I raised the question in this column whether the world can do without natural gas. My answer was that 100% renewables scenarios seem a bridge too far – but the drive to expand fossil-free alternatives would continue. Last week I looked at the various ways in which solar+ alternatives (e.g. solar plus storage) are pushing out natural gas. This week I look at some of the innovations taking place in natural gas alternatives.
Green hydrogen (I)
In Australia researchers are not only producing hydrogen from solar power, but they are already exporting it to Japan. They use a system developed by Japanese company Sumitomo Electric Industries, writes Sophie Vorrath of Reneweconomy.com. The hydrogen is produced by "adding water and acid to a chemical called toluene using concentrated solar power as the energy source in the electrochemical conversion process. The toluene is converted to a substance called methyl cyclohexane (MCH), which is an energy efficient and safe method for transporting hydrogen."
The advantage of this method is that "in this form, hydrogen can be shipped using conventional road and pipeline infrastructure. Once it has arrived at its destination, the renewable hydrogen is extracted from the MCH and the toluene can be re-used in the transportation cycle."
The state of Queensland has announced A$250,000 ($170,000) in funding towards the establishment of a renewable hydrogen pilot plant at the government-owned Redlands Research Facility on the Gold Coast, on the same day it has marked the state's "first ever" delivery of green hydrogen, to Japan, reports Reneweconomy.
UK startup Naked Energy has developed a rooftop solar system that combines solar thermal with solar PV technology. "Combining PV and solar thermal collectors into a single product means significantly more heat and power can be produced than is possible with separate PV and solar thermal installations in the same roof space, says Naked Energy", according to a report on the independent energy website Foresight.
Virtu, as the system is called, "can typically produce some 40% more heat and power, or energy in kilowatt-hours, from a given flat roof area than a separate PV and solar thermal panel, claims Naked Energy. Fixed installation costs per unit of energy produced are also lower, helping to maximise investor returns."
Green hydrogen (II)
Belgian researchers have developed a solar panel that uses sunlight to make hydrogen from the moisture in the air, reports Steve Hanley on the website Cleantechnica. Hanley writes that Professor Johan Martens and his team at KU Leuven "have been working on this for a decade. At first, the amount of hydrogen produced was minuscule but in a recent demonstration on a cloudy day, observers could see large quantities of hydrogen bubbles appear almost as soon as the demonstration panel was rolled into the sunlight."
According to researcher Jan Rongé, "Over an entire year, the panel produces an average of 250 litres per day, which is a world record. Twenty of these panels produce enough heat and electricity to get through the winter in a very well insulated house and still have electricity left over."
"The panels are still a long way from commercial production", notes Hanley, "but a new prototype will soon be installed at the nearby home of Leen Peeters, an engineer who has turned her home into a living lab where she tests and evaluates energy conservation technologies. Her well insulated house has solar panels that power a solar water heater and a heat pump. It is not connected to the local natural gas supply. Only in the winter months does she use electricity from the grid."
"If the prototype panels work as well on her house as they do in the lab, more of them will be ground-mounted in her neighborhood and the hydrogen produced used to help heat the homes of Peeters' 39 neighbours. Any excess hydrogen can be stored and used the following winter."
Thermal storage
"A novel blend of old and new technology is helping Australian researchers combine renewable energy and low-cost thermal storage to deliver heat for industrial processes," writes Andrew Spence on Reneweconomy.
Developed at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, "the method involves using low cost renewable energy such as wind or solar PV to power electrical elements that heat rocks in a similar way to a sauna. The element and rocks are packed inside a stainless steel tank and heat air pushed through the tank with an ambient fan. The temperature of the exiting air can be simply adjusted between 200 °C and 700 °C by changing the fan speed."
"Rhys Jacob, from the University of South Australia's Barbara Hardy Institute, said the system developed by his team not only had environmental benefits but offered potential savings against increasingly unstable gas prices and was more cost-effective storage than battery technology.
"'One of the key elements of it is that it is easy – we're just taking ambient air so we don't have to worry about high-temperature fans and it's also just electrical elements that have been used in industry for a long time so it's fairly simple tech,' said Jacob. 'We're just using quartzite rocks for the filler material at the moment, which you can get at any scale you want for about A$72/metric ton.'"
"Jacob said the easy integration meant the system could operate in conjunction with existing gas-fired units or could be plugged into the grid if sufficient renewable energy were not available. He said farmers had already shown interest in applications such as seed or grain drying and other potential industries included paper, food and pre-heating for cement production and minerals processing.
"'We're using low-cost building materials, low-cost electrical elements, low-cost steel tank so there's not a lot there that is exotic or difficult or hard to maintain,' Jacob said. 'It doesn't require specialty people to set up, install or maintain – if you've only got five staff members the last thing you want to do is hire one or two more people to manage your thermal storage system.'"
Grid stability
"Production peaks with excessive electricity generation and lows with shortages are a key challenge for the use of solar power. Hailing from one of the leading locations for private solar power use, Australian company Planet Ark Power says it has developed technology that evens out these production amplitudes and reduces voltage volatility," writes the German website Clean Energy Wire, which spoke to founder and CEO Richard Romanowski of Planet Ark Power.
At present, notes Clean Energy Wire, "the grid has limitations on the amount of power that can be fed into it because it was designed and built as a one-way system. From a grid engineer's perspective, too much solar creates a voltage problem that hurts the grid and can lead to blackouts, machine problems and so on."
Planet Ark Power says it can "fix that problem with a digital device that facilitates a 100% electricity flow in both directions, as opposed to the limit that is set now. That allows us to increase the amount of rooftop solar in a suburb, and it also allows us to put virtual power plants into buildings and houses. We have various virtual power plants in Australia, for example by Tesla, but in effect they are not working effectively because of this voltage problem.… We can manage a 13-fold increase in the amount of rooftop solar that we can feed into the grid."
According to Romanowski, the main "roadblocks" the company is encountering are "about education and a huge paradigm shift. Before Uber came along, no one thought that you could order a car with an app. But now that it's there, everyone gets it. Our case is similar. But we're getting there. In Australia, we're working with the local distribution grid. We've installed a couple of demonstration sites, they're happy, and now we're going to 50 demonstration sites, each one 1 to 3 MW – so we're talking quite large installations. Our focus is filling big warehouse rooftops."
Green hydrogen (III)
To create a renewables-based hydrogen economy, it is generally assumed that electrolysis needs to be scaled up considerably. However, German start-up Enapter says it can usher in the hydrogen revolution with its specially designed small-scale electrolysers, reports Clean Energy Wire.
Enapter claims that its trademark AEM electrolyser is "the most cost-effective and high-performance solution" available in the sector. Company strategist Thomas Chrometzka told Clean Energy Wire: "We build electrolysers and want to make hydrogen affordable, which so far used to be an expensive product for making renewable power storable. The usual way to bring down costs is to scale up the size of projects. We, on the other hand, use a trademark technology, the Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolyser, that turns electrolysers into a small and flexible product. Our approach is to bring down costs by providing small units in large numbers that customers can combine according to their needs."
According to Chrometzka, "our electrolyser is about as efficient as those from other providers, we produce 1 m³ of hydrogen with 4.8 kWh. For our customers this is efficient enough."
The company can provide its electrolysers "for home storage, commercial use, for cars, drones or infrastructure projects. There are many diverse cases where our product can be applied."
Asked if the hydrogen use case is already financially viable, Chrometzka answers: "That's a tricky question that could get a very long answer. To keep it short: in some use cases it already is but for others we still need a bit."
District heating is seen by many experts in Europe as the technology that has the most potential to heat our buildings 'sustainably'. But district heating networks are only sustainable of course if they are fed by sustainable energy.
In Denmark for example nearly two-thirds of homes are heated through district heating, but 40% of the energy mix used in these systems is still coal or gas, writes Karin Jensen on the website Foresight. Renewable energy supplies less than 2% of the energy in the country's heating networks:
Although Denmark is known as a wind power country, the Danes actually embraced biomass even more than wind power, although they realise the climate credentials of biomass are questionable. "Biomass is a transition-stage solution," Knud Brandelev, sales manager of Siemens, is quoted as saying in the article.
What the German company proposes instead is to use large capacity (20-150 MW) heat pumps powered by renewable energy to be used in the district heating network. According to Brandelev, "heat pumps powered by renewable electricity are highly efficient. They provide a coefficient of performance factor – the relation between the energy input needed to operate the heat pump and its energy output – of over three and in some cases up to four. In comparison, today's energy mix of fossil fuels and biomass in the Danish district heating system has a factor of below one, says Siemens."
"For large heat pumps to work in district heating, a heat source is needed such as waste water, seawater or air," notes the article. "Geographically, many of Denmark's district heating plants are located almost perfectly, close to the sea, near a wastewater treatment plant or close to other sources of energy, such as surplus process heat.
"If there is no access to sea water, then air or even groundwater can be used as an energy source," explains Brandelev. The use of groundwater is increasing with more companies beginning to drill for warmer water, he adds.
If Siemens' solution is accepted, it means that first the coal-fired power station and then Denmark's gas-fired power stations can be dispensed with, according to Brandelev.
Green hydrogen (IV)
A German consortium is planning to build the world's first green hydrogen cavern storage, writes Clean Energy Wire. "Following a two-year research project, the partners of the Hypos alliance plan to build the storageand operate it for research purposes."
"The facility would be continental Europe's first hydrogen cavern storage, and the world's first cavern storage for green hydrogen made with renewables," according to a press release.
"We can store green hydrogen made with surplus power from renewable generation in the cavern, and discharge it when needed," explained project manager Stefan Bergander. "This gives us a large seasonal storage system that offers – in combination with power-to-gas – a unique possibility at this scale to avoid bottlenecks in the supply with intermittent renewable energies, and therefore guarantee supply security."
Hypos stands for Hydrogen Power Storage & Solutions East Germany and is a network of more than 100 partners. The aim of the project, which receives support from Germany's research and science ministry, "is to produce, store, distribute and widely use green hydrogen in the chemicals, refinery, mobility and energy supply sectors, according to its website."
This is just a sample of recent news items that happened to catch my eye. A lot of the technologies are still early stage, but we know that the energy transition won't be like the computing and communications revolutions we have witnessed. It will take much more time. Yet progress to gradually push out natural gas and other fossil fuels in our energy system is continuing. If temperatures are seen to rise further in the coming years, that progress is likely to accelerate.
How will the gas industry evolve in the low-carbon world of the future? Will natural gas be a bridge or a destination? Could it become the foundation of a global hydrogen economy, in combination with CCS? How big will "green" hydrogen and biogas become? What will be the role of LNG and bio-LNG in transport?
From his home country The Netherlands, a long-time gas exporting country that has recently embarked on an unprecedented transition away from gas, independent energy journalist, analyst and moderator Karel Beckman reports on the climate and technological challenges facing the gas industry.
As former editor-in-chief and founder of two international energy websites (Energy Post and European Energy Review) and former journalist at the premier Dutch financial newspaper Financieele Dagblad, Karel has earned a great reputation as being amongst the first to focus on energy transition trends and the connections between markets, policies and technologies. For Natural Gas World he will be reporting on the Dutch and wider International gas transition on a weekly basis.
Send your comments to karel.beckman@naturalgasworld.com
Jul 19, 2019 8:10:am
Gas Has Key Role In Transition: IEA
Jul 18, 2019 12:30:pm
EC President-Elect Puts Climate First
Mitsubishi To Maintain Uzbek Power Plants
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Lazio snap up Ciro Immobile from Sevilla
Ciro Immobile has left Sevilla for Lazio as he aims to relaunch his career after a number of difficult seasons
Sevilla have confirmed Ciro Immobile has left the club for Lazio.
The Serie A side were keen to sign a new striker following the departure of Miroslav Klose at the end of last season and they have found their man in Immobile.
The Italy international already underwent his medical with Lazio on Tuesday and Sevilla have now announced the 26-year-old has completed his move.
Immobile had joined Sevilla from Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2015-16 campaign after an underwhelming spell with the Bundesliga giants, but left the club again for a loan spell with Torino halfway through the season.
He returned to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan side at the end of last season, but has now permanently waved farewell to Sevilla as he returns to his native country.
Immobile was part of the Italy squad that made it to the quarter-finals at Euro 2016, making two appearances.
The striker becomes Lazio's second signing of the close season after the previous arrival of Jordan Lukaku from Oostende.
Author: Omnisports Source: omnisports
25-year-old lady gives birth to a set of twins in March, gives birth to another set in December; all in 2019
Published Last Monday at 8:22 AM
Watch the moment Davido went crazy after his $30k wrist watch got stolen in Ghana
"You and my toto na mate?" – Angry lady beats up man who refused to pay after sex (video)
Ashfoam Ghana blocks customer on Twitter for reporting their mattress contains bedbugs
Reverend Sister quits her religious profession to marry a police officer
Married woman hides under boyfriend's bed as hubby catches her trying to take a quickie after work (video)


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Re:sound #101: The Rock Show
This hour: an all-woman Led Zeppelin cover band and metal-loving children.
2008 / TCF / WBEZ, USA
Heartbreakers: The Story of All-Girl Zep
by Katie Burningham with Amy Jane Hall and Alan Hall (Into the Music, ABC, 2008)
Lez Zeppelin (that's right, not Led, but Lez) is an all-female tribute band that challenges prevailing ideas about rock 'n' roll and gender. They've earned the respect and adoration of rockers young and old, male and female. Their story is told by Amy, a smart, feisty, 15-year-old girl, and Alan, her radio-producing, mediocre-guitar-playing father, who's skeptical at first that a bunch of women could do his rock-gods any real justice. How wrong he turned out to be.
Children of Metal
by John Moe (Weekend America, 2007)
John Moe has an ambivalent relationship with heavy metal. He grew up in the 80s and for him, metal was ubiquitous. But he gradually grew away from the music, realizing that his most dedicated metal-head friends all seemed destined for sad, boring, and possibly violent futures. So he left it behind. But recently, his kids have been getting into it. And John is beginning to rethink his distaste.
This episode of Re:sound was produced by Delaney Hall.
Katie Burningham
Katie Burningham is a freelance radio producer based in the UK.
Alan Hall
Alan Hall is the founder of Falling Tree Productions in London.
John Moe (@johnmoe) is a radio maker who currently cohosts the podcast Conversation Parade.
Treat your ears to a radiophonic remix of audio goodness by subscribing to the Re:sound podcast. It's hosted by Gwen Macsai and produced by Isabel Vázquez.
You can subscribe through iTunes (where we hope you'll consider writing a review), Acast or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.


Pocket Edition 0.9.0 – it is quite a step forward, forward to the new. With each release of new versions of the game will melt even more interesting and exciting, all those who played in Minecraft on the computer versions of the game Minecraft 1.7+ understand that Minecraft Pocket Edition with each version closer to the computer version of the game. Now MCPE 0.9.0. generating new opportunities of the world, as well as new blocks from Minecraft PC. But this is not all there is in this excellent game. The entire list of changes to update the game you can see in this video.


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Current and Former Fighter Pilots Meet for Luncheon at Birnam Wood Golf Club
Seventeen pilots, current and former, came together at Birnam Wood Golf Club for a luncheon in February to bond over stories of flying and catch up on the latest in military and aviation.
As the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) gears up for 2017, one cannot help but reflect back on when our efforts began.
Local Military Historians Research Results in Posthumous Legion of Valor Enrollment
Research conducted by Adam Lewis, local historian for the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF), has resulted in the posthumous enrollment of Frank Robert McCrary into the Legion of Valor.
Col. Phil Conran Inducted into the Fordham University Military and New York City ROTC Hall of Fame
By Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation on Feb 07, 2017 at 06:02 PM in News
Col. Phil Conran (USAF, ret) is one of three new inductees into the Fordham University Military and New York City ROTC Hall of Fame.
Locals Loan WWI Helmets to UCSB Exhibit Showcasing Evolution of Modern Warfare
By Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation on Jan 10, 2017 at 11:03 PM in News
An exhibition at UC Santa Barbara, �Helmets of the First World War: Battle, Technology and Culture,� highlights an innovation from the trenches of WWI and the birth of modern warfare by featuring steel helmets.
VetNet Collaboration Helps Local Veterans Access Crucial Resources
By Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation on Sep 13, 2016 at 08:40 PM in News
Representatives from more than 40 local agencies and nonprofits that support veterans in the tri-counties come together every other month for VetNet meetings, which provide an opportunity to network, share resources, collaborate and coordinate services and maximize their collective ability to serve those who have served our country.
Santa Barbara Airport History: WWII
By Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation on Jul 14, 2016 at 09:44 PM in News
In the years leading up to WWII the US Army became involved with the airfield in Santa Barbara, the current site of the Santa Barbara Airport.
Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation Welcomes Joseph S. Hardin. Jr. to the Board
Mr. Hardin brings many years of leadership experience in the military, corporate America, and nonprofit organizations.
A Busy and Productive Six Months for PCVF
The first six months of 2016 has been exceptionally eventful for the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation.
4th of July Concert - American Salute
American Salute - A Fourth of July Concert, Monday July 4, 2016 at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens


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South Dakota Republicans Shoot Down Bill Opposing Child Sex Changes, Cross-Sex Hormone Injections
The government has no role in protecting children from surgeries that permanently mutilate their genitals or injections of cross-sex hormones that can cause irreversible damage, at least according to a group of top South Dakota Republicans.
From Sioux Falls Argus Leader, "South Dakota transgender bill defeated by Senate committee after emotional testimony":
A Senate committee on Monday rejected a bill that would have prohibited medical professionals from providing hormone treatments and gender confirmation surgeries to transgender youths.
The decision by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee followed emotional testimony from both advocates and opponents of the bill. About 20 opponents who rallied against the proposed legislation prior to the hearing helped pack the hearing room where the crowd filled the floor space and spilled out into the hallway.
The vote was 5-2.
Sen. Wayne Steinhauer, R-Hartford, made the motion to defeat the bill. He called it a "gut wrenching" issue, but one that should be left with families and not the Legislature.
"I believe the building block of society is the family," Steinhauer said.
Yet he will do nothing to protect families from this madness.
Next, are these senators going to repeal the laws banning kids from smoking and using drugs?
It's not the role of government to decide what "families" do in the privacy of their own homes, right?
But Sen. Lance Russell, R-Hot Springs, argued the bill allowed families to bring an action if a young person was damaged from transgender treatment.
"I don't see this as paternalistic on the part of the government," Russell said.
Sen. Deb Soholt, R-Sioux Falls and the committee chairwoman, opposed the measure, but she said both sides shared a common thread of caring for children.
She cares deeply about children but not enough to actually do something to protect them which goes against the cult of political correctness and the prevailing liberal world order.
The four Republican senators who voted down the bill were Helene Duhamel, Arthur Rusch, Deb Soholt and Wayne Steinhauer.
Note too, they voted against the bill after it was completely watered down:
The bill originally would have made it a crime for doctors to perform gender confirmation surgeries to youths under 16. But Rep. Fred Deutsch, the prime sponsor of House Bill 1057, started the morning's testimony by asking that the bill be amended to make it a civil action which would allow youths who went through gender reassignment procedures to sue health providers if they later regretted the decision.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, whose first order of business this legislative session was to ban Americans from boycotting Israel through executive fiat, also reportedly opposed the bill.
Deutsch said he set out to have a conversation and bill supporters were successful in that because it heightened parents' awareness about the issue. He said he doesn't believe Gov. Kristi Noem will welcome legislation like HB 1057 during the remainder of her term based on her behind-the-scenes opposition that he saw.
Noem's spokeswoman Kristin Wileman disputed Deutsch's account and said Noem was open about her concerns on the bill, "but she never took a formal position on the legislation."
Protecting Israel from boycotts in direct violation of the First Amendment is non-negotiable but protecting children from permanent genital mutilation and irreversible hormonal changes is not the role of government!
These are True Conservative� values, folks!


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March 11, 2010, "Redeemed To and Redeemed From"
By Teresa - March 11, 2010
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others He has saved you from your enemies."
~ Psalm 107:1 & 2 ~
Lord! I give thanks to You. But how do I really give thanks to You O God? How? I know why in such a powerful way...but How do I express with all that I am my exhuberant thanks to You? I shout to You with great passion, "You have redeemed me!!!!" I will speak out and tell others that You have saved me from my biggest enemy...my biggest enemy being, me!
I am overwhelmed by Your amazing, redeeming power! There are so many forms of the word redeem. No matter the form, You are Redemption! I thank You as my soul attempts to thank You! You redeemed me to You and redeemed me from being separated from You! Your redeeming power brings Salvation. Your Salvation brings the abundance to live, even when death attempts to tempt me with the rejection to live in and with Your massive abundance!
Abundance to live! Lord, I must see my soul and spirit line up with Your Word. Abundance to live in such a way that blows the minds of the spectators.
Would wealth be great? Of course it would; especially in the financial realm, however your abundance is much more than the worldly definition of abundance. I want the abundance of Your glorious presence in my life! I desire to long to desire You! I desire that I never place stipulations on You because of my own shortcomings. My shortcomings dare not tell You that Your arm is too short for anything (Jeremiah 32)!
Lord, thank You that You use the foolish things to baffle the minds of the 'wise'. You use the weak to baffle the minds of the 'strong' I Corinthians 12). When I think on You, and then think of the most intimidating man besides You, I laugh at our haughtiness to say how great and terrible they are. The intimidators may be able to kill the body; but they cannot kill my spirit!
Even the mountains tremble at Who You are; they do not dare puff up with smoke and say, "I am higher than You Lord." No! They declare how low they are in comparison to Who You are, smoke comes forth as if to shield themselves; greatly fearing You!
O God! How excellent You are! I am reminded by Your great redeeming power of how I must speak out. My mind cannot help but boast in the One who rescued me from myself!
Redeemed from Redeemed to Thanksgiving
Karen March 11, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Loved this post...especially this line..."Abundance to live in such a way that blows the minds of the spectators. "
Deborah Ann March 12, 2010 at 4:13 PM
How do we please Him? Isn't it incredible that our faith pleases Him? Just to believe in Him brings a smile to His face! He is so easy to please...
Teresa March 12, 2010 at 7:12 PM
O Sisters and Daughters of the King...you are so lovely! MWAH! xoxo
March 31, 2010, "Awesome God"
March 30, 2010, "Perspective"
March 29, 2010, "Holy!"
March 27, 2010, Thank You Lord for the Gift of Life!
March 26, 2010, "Shepherd of shepherds"
March 25, 2010, "TRUTH"
March 24, 2010, "Prayer"
March 23, 2010, "Rescuer of rescuers"
March 22, 2010, "Impressed to Declare"
Triumphant Victorious Decor
March 20, 2010, "His Glorious Feet"
March 19, 2010, "Accepting Jesus' Gift of Salvation"
March 18, 2010, "Wisdom revealing Peace"
March 17, 2010, "Wow"
March 16, 2010, "You Reign"
March 15, 2010, "God's Excellence"
March 13, 2010, "Creation's Creed"
March 12, 2010, "The Gospel; The Infallible Truth"
March 10, 2010, "The Foolish and The Weak"
March 9, 2010, "Who can know it?"
March 8, 2010, "Soul Stay on God"
March 6, 2010, "Revealing the Hands of The Potter,...
March 5, 2010, "Wow! You Lord Do Not Sleep!"
March 4, 2010, "Remaining Refuge"
March 3, 2010, "Complaining to Praising"
March 1, 2010, "Immaturity and Realzing it To Change"


I did manage to tear myself away from work long enough to go to the Bruce Springsteen concert last night (Saturday). Wow. Let me say that again, but with more emphasis. WOW! What an incredible show.
The Fox Theatre seats 4,500 people, and for the most part the crowd was silent during the show as he requested. Kristin and I talked after the show about the stage presence one has to have to hold a crowd that size riveted for a couple hours.
Here's a link to the concert review from tomorrow's Post-Dispatch.