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Pre-Sales Marketing & Planning
The Sales Program
Sales Management and Staff
General Brokerage
Our Standard Procedures to Purchasing a Home
Looking To Rent
Our Standard Procedures to Renting
Reasonable Accommodations for Renters
Winding Creek at Old Tappan
Case Study #1: Winding Creek at Old Tappan
Click here for the Builder Magazine Article.
A community that was perceived to be financially unviable, held up in legal litigation for years, partially built, vandalized and not built as originally intended. The consumer in this market had a negative opinion of this project.
The community of Le Chateau (Winding Creek) began construction about seven years ago. Soon after it opened for sale the community became involved in litigation, which extended over five years, and acquired the reputation of a failed and dormant project. Rumors were widespread that Le Chateau had gone bankrupt, not once, but three times.
Give the community a new identity and change the perception that potential purchasers have and "recreate" the project.
In 2000 the new builders, OTAP Oxford Holding Corp., in conjunction with the owners, hired ON-SITE Sales & Marketing to plan and manage a new marketing and sales program. Success of the program depended upon the coordination of key strategic elements, as detailed below.
First, Le Chateau was renamed Winding Creek at Old Tappan. Street names were changed. This served to incorporate images of the physical and location attributes of the community as well as eliminate names that had been associated with a perceived failed project.
Then, utilizing the existing and approved footprints and in conjunction with the builders' architects, we updated and redesigned the floor plans. In those units that had already been built we reconstructed the homes to conform to the new and updated floor plans. The exterior stucco siding and roof tiles on the existing homes were replaced, upgraded and color coordinated to retain the original architectural integrity of the community.
With a view to developing Winding Creek at Old Tappan as a prestigious community, highly specialized and experienced advertising and public relations companies were hired, and ON-SITE Sales & Marketing provided two of the most successful sales people for luxury home communities in the area. An aggressive advertising campaign included new logos; brochures; advertorials in the local media; ads in The New York Times and The Bergen Record and other publications; area official, broker and co-broker events; a Grand Opening; and additional events to introduce initial and ongoing program phases.
Critical to the success of this comprehensive marketing and sales program was the creative interior design of three stunning model homes. All of the carefully orchestrated preliminary work to attract prospective buyers to the community would have been wasted unless those prospective buyers liked what they saw – and liked it better than what they had seen elsewhere. They had to be attracted to the setting, the community and the housing exterior. However, it was the interior space that had to capture their imagination and become their vision of "home."
Each of the three models was merchandised to appeal to a different target market group: first-home buyers, families with children and empty-nesters.
The merchandising maximized the perception of spaciousness and the utilization of space. Color application and furniture arrangements gave pleasing definition to, yet enhanced the open design of, the floor plans.
The overall presentation was one of relaxed living that provided space for the family unit and for each individual. Upgrades, such as an elevator, finished basement area, granite countertops and wood flooring, were included throughout the models to encourage buyers to add to the luxury of their lifestyle in this prestigious community.
A fast-selling, profitable community.
Two-thirds of the community was sold out in only ten months, representing over $23,000,000 in sales volume. By the end of the sales cycle, the selling prices were $150,000 more than when sales started under the guidance of ON-SITE Sales & Marketing. Now the reputation of the community is one of high quality and great success.
ON-SITE was also nationally recognized by the June 2003 issue of Builder Magazine as the reason that this community was named one of "America's Best-Selling Communities".
Countryside Estates


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Back to BUY XBOX 360 GAMES
Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 (Pre-owned)
SKU: GL000005 Categories: BUY GAMES, BUY XBOX 360 GAMES, Christmas Sale, Mega Weekend Sale, PRE-OWNED, Republic Day Sale Tag: Pre-owned Game DVD
Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 (Pre-owned) Description
The Gears of Wars series reaches an explosive climax in this swan-song to one of the Xbox 360's most beloved, respected and blood-soaked franchises.
Beefcake Marcus Fenix and his battle-hungry squad of space marines are back in the final instalment of this acclaimed sci-fi third-person shooter, exclusive to the Xbox 360. As the enemy hordes of the Locust run riot above ground, a new threat, the Lambent, emerge from the bowels of the Earth, threatening to wipe out humanity once and for all. And yes, that's right, it's up to you to rip them a new one….
Epic's Eye Candy – using game-company Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 technology, the Xbox 360 is pushed to the limit with incredible graphics, animations and lighting that will bedazzle players as they fight to save Earth
Multiplayer Mentalism – famed for its legendary online play, Gears Of War 3 lets you tool up and head out with other online gamers to bring down the enemy hordes, or team up with up to three other people and play the game in co-op mode. New maps and new game types mean hours of bug-hunting fun
Be the Beast! – boot up the Beast mode in Gears of War 3 and become the hated Locust for the first time in this five-player co-op mode that lets you play as the bad guys, hellbent on ripping Marcus and his comrades into bite-sized pieces!
Story Slayer – Gears of War 3's cinematic trilogy comes to a spectacular end with plot twists and turns aplenty, guaranteed to delight fans of the game's action-packed storyline!
All our pre-owned games are quality tested & fully playable, but bonus content or codes for online play may have been redeemed. Game may not include original artwork and/or manual.
Pre-owned games may have minor scratches but are guaranteed to work.
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Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes Xbox 360 (MGS Pre-owned)
Tags: MGS 5, MGS V, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes
Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Blacklist Xbox 360 (Pre-owned)
The terrorist clock is counting down and only Sam Fisher can stop it in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist for Xbox 360 The latest thrilling chapter in the classic espionage series sees Sam Fisher in command of the new … Continued
Hitman Absolution Xbox 360 (Pre-owned)
Agent 47 is back in his most personal mission yet in Hitman: Absolution for Xbox 360. The classic stealth-action series returns with a tense new story promising Agent 47's most personal mission to date, and equipped with a host … Continued

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Each team has four players, but most have a couple extras in case someone can't make it. Two members fro each team play on either side of the court. Games can can be played with only three players on a team but that team must alternated players with the odd man sitting out every 3rd frame. A fourth team member can join in at any time. Teams with only two players should not play and is considered a forefit unless the opposing teams agrees to play under the circumstance.
Coin Toss
At the start of a match, team captains flip a coin. Winner gets to throw the pallino, or choose ball color – either pink or blue.
Foul Line
When throwing, you should stay behind the (invisible) foul line. Our foul line is the end of the angled timbers on the court's edge.
Tossing the Pallino
If the pallino doesn't clear the center of the court, or it hits the back board, then the other team gets to toss the pallino.
Whoever tosses the pallino also throws the first bocce ball. Then, the opposing team continues to throw until they are closer to the pallino or have thrown all four balls. Whenever a team gets a ball closer, it steps aside and lets the other team throw. This continues until both teams have thrown all four balls. The team who scored last throws the pallino in the next frame.
Back Board
If your ball hits the back board, it's out of play and must be removed from the court. If your ball hits another ball first, then the backboard, it stays in play. All side boards are fair game.
If you can't tell whose ball is closer to the pallino, measure them. There's usually string in the bocce ball bag. If you have a fancy mini-measuring tape, all the better. Whoever's ball is furthest away gets the next toss.
Only one team scores in a frame. One point is given for each ball closer to the pallino than the closest ball of the opposing team. If both teams' balls are tied for closest, no points are awarded to either team. Each game is played to 9 points. Best of three games wins the match.
Missing and Rescheduling Matches
If you can't make a game, get in contact with the opposing team's captain no later than an hour before the game. Then, plan a time to reschedule your game towards the end of the season. If a makeup game can't be set within the regular season, the team that originally couldn't make the game will suffer a forfeit. A forfeit counts as a match loss. If a team misses a game without contacting the opposing team, they will suffer a forfeit.
Rainouts
If your game looks like it might be rained out, get in contact with the opposing team's captain no later than an hour before the game. Then, plan a time to reschedule your game towards the end of the season.
Reporting Scores
Team captains are responsible for emailing their team's win. No-shows and rainouts should also be reported. Please report your wins here.


Philanthropist Mortimer Zuckerman pledged $100 Million to Four Israeli Universities: By providing American post-docs with exposure to Israel's renowned cutting-edge research and startup culture, Zuckerman Scholars will in essence evolve into a generation of academic, scientific and industry leaders in the United States, infused with a unique spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.
This generous program is funded by American business leader and philanthropist Mortimer Zuckerman. The Zuckerman Scholars Program in STEM Leadership will provide the highest-achieving American postdoctoral researchers with the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers at Israel's top research institutions—The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Tel Aviv University; and the Weizmann Institute of Science. By providing American post-docs with exposure to Israel's renowned cutting-edge research and startup culture, Zuckerman Scholars will in essence evolve into a generation of academic, scientific and industry leaders in the United States, infused with a unique spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.
"The best research is collaborative in nature … the new program will not only help improve scientific research at its highest level, but will also serve as a new and important pillar supporting the foundation on which the ties between Israel and the United States will continue to prosper," said Technion President Peretz Lavie.


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Core Values & Guiding Principles
Ashtabula Office
Beachwood Office
Shaker Square Office
Mentor Office
Westlake Office
10 years later: Promises of reform have not been kept following the Anthony Sowell murders
CLEVELAND — On Oct. 29, 2009, Cleveland police arrived at 12205 Seymour Avenue to serve an arrest warrant on Anthony Sowell. It was a list of charges that would soon grow. Sowell wasn't home, but inside the home police found the remains of two decomposing bodies. The next day they found an additional...continue
Sexual violence survivors deserve better from the Cleveland police department (Cleveland.com)
By Sondra Miller, President & CEO, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Guest Columnist, cleveland.com CLEVELAND — I believe you. These three simple words can transform the experiences of a rape survivor. I believe you. This simple statement has the ability to negate the shame and self-doubt that far too many survivors face when reporting their...continue
Red Zone: First weeks of college most dangerous for sexual assault (Fox 8)
CLEVELAND — With students back on college campuses, experts say there's more to worry about than new classes. The first six weeks of the school year are known as the "red zone" because of a spike in reports of sexual assault during the period. "The statistics on undergraduate sexual assault are pretty staggering," said Sarah...continue
More than 6,000 Cleveland police reports getting another look
CLEVELAND — Authorities began looking at back-logged rape kits in Cuyahoga County. Some of the police reports connected to those cases have raised red flags, so now, more than 6,000 victim statements are receiving another look. The language officers use to describe their interactions could unknowingly influence an investigation's outcome. "Sometimes they're just using language...continue
Teresa Stafford Speaks about Human Trafficking Awareness Month (WKYC)
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center's Chief Advocacy Teresa Stafford joins WKYC to speak about Human Trafficking Awareness Month. (Story by WKYC) "We could not let the month of January go by without letting you know that this is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. To fill us in on the most important things you need to know about...continue
Black women raped at higher rates and report less than white counterparts (News 5 Cleveland)
CLEVELAND — Survivor after survivor claim they were sexually assaulted by R&B Singer R Kelly, many of them as teenagers, in the Lifetime documentary 'Surviving R Kelly'. "Maybe they stayed in silence because they didn't feel like they had a way out," said Teresa Stafford of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. Stafford watched the...continue
Proposed legislation eliminates statute of limitations on rape, sexual assault cases (Fox 8)
"There is support from the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Wednesday night after a state senator proposed a bill that would eliminate Ohio's Statute of Limitations on rape and sexual assault cases. "'For the decade I've been working here we have been trying to remove the state of limitations,' said Sondra Miller, President & CEO of...continue
Rape Crisis Center expands across Northeast Ohio (News 5)
"The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will expand its services for survivors of rape and sexual abuse after receiving $4.6 million in funding through the Attorney General's Office. Funding came from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) program. "Sarah Trimble with the center said they are experiencing an all-time high in calls. In the last two...continue
Rape Crisis Center expanding, hiring in Northeast Ohio to meet greater need (The Plain Dealer)
"The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will expand its services after receiving an additional $1.5 million in federal funds. "The center on Monday afternoon announced plans to open two new standalone facilities, one on the east side of the city and one in Lake County. They also plan to hire 15 people using that grant money. "'We've never...continue
One year after #MeToo movement began, reported sexual abuse cases up (News 5)
"KENT, Ohio – The #MeToo movement is one that enabled many sexual abuse victims to speak up. "On the one-year anniversary, experts said there are a higher number of reported sexual abuse cases, and the numbers continue to climb on college campuses. "'We believe an increase in reports reflects a reality on campuses, which means...continue
How to Teach Boys Sexual Ethics (Sound of Ideas)
Listen Now Senior Director of Educational Services Alex Leslie joined ideastream's Sound of Ideas this morning to speak about how parents can talk to their sons about building healthy relationships. "The testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanaugh has called into question our country's handling of sexual assault allegations. We'll...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center receives record messages and calls week of Kavanaugh testimony (Cleveland.com)
"The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center received a record number of texts, phone calls and online messages Friday, after Christine Blasey Ford testified that she was sexually assaulted by nominated Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. "On Friday, there were 60 contacts. All week of the hearing — Sept. 23 through Sept. 29 — there were 191...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Sees Uptick During Kavanaugh Hearing (WCPN)
"The congressional hearings on alleged sexual assault involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are having an impact on some Cleveland area survivors. "The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has seen an uptick in activity this week, said the agency's president and CEO Sondra Miller. "The average number of daily calls to the Cleveland rape crisis and support hotline...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center handling surge of reports in wake of Kavanaugh scandal (Cleveland 19)
"We're hearing from people who are trying to understand how their friends and family members can say things that are not supportive of survivors. Sometimes they say, 'They don't know I'm a survivor, but I'm hearing what they're saying, and it's really hurtful.'" – Sondra Miller, President & CEO Watch: Cleveland Rape Crisis Center...continue
A Message to Survivors
Dear Survivors: We believe you. We hear you. We see you. We support you. We support Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and all survivors of rape and sexual abuse. Your voices matter, and your experiences matter. In a nation consumed with a lot of "talk" about sexual assault, please know that we are...continue
Listening To Survivors (ideastream)
"We begin with a conversation with Sondra Miller, CEO and President of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, to help answer some of the questions that have arisen this past week, such as why many people choose not to report sexual misconduct to authorities — or why some people don't come forward with their experience right away, or...continue
Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman encourages others to speak up (News 5)
"MAYFIELD HEIGHTS – Six-time gold medalist and activist Aly Raisman spoke in Mayfield Heights on Wednesday about the importance of speaking out about sexual assault. "She headlined the National Council of Jewish Women of Cleveland's opening meeting. "Raisman made headlines when she came forward against Larry Nassar, the gymnastics doctor who sexually abused more than 150 women. 'I...continue
Why the 'boys will be boys' justification of sexual violence doesn't fly (Cleveland.com)
"A high school football player is accused of sexually assaulting a teenaged girl at an alcohol-fueled party. "It's not hard to see the parallels between the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the 2012 Steubenville rape case. Three decades apart, there is one central difference: Kavanaugh has denied the allegations,...continue
With Cosby sentencing and Kavanaugh allegations, how are rape victims responding? (Cleveland 19)
"Bill Cosby's sentencing comes just as the case against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh gets even more heated. "Sondra Miller, president and CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, tells Cleveland 19 these media headlines have inspired victims to call the center. "In fact, there's been about a 15 percent increase in calls over the last...continue
Why it could take decades to report sexual assaults (Cleveland.com)
"In the weeks since Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, two women have come forward accusing the judge of sexual assault. In response, some people ask: Why come forward now? Why are the details of the incidents so vague? Why weren't the incidents reported to the police at the time? "The alleged incidents occurred...continue
Sexual Assault on College Campuses; Understanding Consent (Sound of Ideas)
"College students are back on campus, some for the first time. An important part of getting ready, beyond move-in day and a trip to the bookstore, is a frank conversation about sexual assault and the importance of consent in any relationship and throughout any sexual encounter. How should you talk about it with your student,...continue
Teaching parents how to spot signs of sexual abuse in kids (Cleveland 19 News)
"As students head back to school, there is some important information parents need to know to make sure their children stay safe." "…Experts with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center said parents need to trust their gut. "'If something feels wrong, it probably is wrong,' Alexander Leslie, Senior Director of Educational Services for the Cleveland Rape...continue
Letter to the Editor: What can men learn from #MeToo? (Cleveland.com)
"A recent letter to the editor in The Plain Dealer asked the question: How can we help young boys and decent men who want to learn from the MeToo movement? "Most men don't commit acts of violence; yet many of us tolerate behaviors that are harmful against women, children and other men. "Where to start? Here are...continue
Murder, Domestic Violence Linked (Ashtabula Star Beacon)
"Unfortunately, when we look at most of the recent homicides in Ashtabula County they all have a common thread — domestic violence. "We don't know yet who killed Rand Hilal al Dulaimi, but we know her estranged husband is a person of interest and we know she spent time at Homesafe, where those who knew her said she...continue
Solon Hosts Human Trafficking Seminar and Town Forum (Cleveland.com)
"While online technology has led to exponential increases in human trafficking, it is by no means a new crime. "'It is a very old crime — it's just been given a new name,' Sr. Anne Victory stated at a June 26 forum put on by the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking. 'It used to go by a...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Specialist to Speak in Geneva (Ashtabula Star Beacon)
"GENEVA — More than 50 people in the county used services provided by the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center last year. "In September, the center opened an Ashtabula office at 5021 State Road, after operating for the last three years out of Homesafe for just a few hours each week, Jennifer Schlosser, director of community engagement at the Cleveland...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Credits #MeToo for Increase in Reports (Fox 8)
"CLEVELAND – Northeast Ohio native Erika Port had her own #MeToo moment years before household names like Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose and organizations like USA Gymnastics were brought down by allegations of inappropriate behavior and sexual abuse. "'When I spoke out more people felt empowered to say you know this happened to me too...continue
Evading Justice: How Some Accused Rapists Avoid the Sex Offender Registry (News 5)
"A months-long investigation into outcomes of rape cases in Cuyahoga County revealed dozens of accused rapists evaded Ohio's sex offender registry. "Our investigative team reviewed every case involving rape charges filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from 2014 to 2016. We found close to one in five defendants charged with rape accepted...continue
Sing Out! Chorale Performs on Fox 8
The Sing Out! Chorale was in studio on Fox 8 News in the Morning to raise awareness for Cleveland Rape Crisis Center's Sing Out! , a one-night-only performance coming up on May 24 at Severance Hall. The entire Chorale, made up of over 100 community leaders, will raise their voices to inspire change and raise funds for the...continue
Kristen Baird Adams & Kim Bixenstine on WKYC's We The People
"Sing Out is a concert fundraising event hosted by Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. It's coming up on May 24. Host committee co-chair Kristen Baird Adams and Board Chair Kim Bixenstine talk about this unique event." This video was originally published by WKYC. ...continue
Watch: Sondra Miller - "I Am Evidence" (WKYC)
President & CEO Sondra Miller joins WKYC's We The People to speak about untested rape kits in Cuyahoga County and the upcoming film I Am Evidence. This video was originally published by WKYC at http://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/we-the-people/sondra-miller-i-am-evidence/95-529211052...continue
Human Trafficking is an Often-Invisible Community Problem (Star Beacon)
"JEFFERSON — 'It happens here, and it happens in plain sight,' Teresa Stafford, senior director of victim services and outreach at Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, said Thursday during the 'Human Trafficking: Under the Radar in Our Community' training at Jefferson Area High School. "The seminar for counselors, social workers, law enforcement personnel and medical professionals...continue
Cleveland Sex Crimes Unit Faces Scrutiny (Cleveland.com)
"CLEVELAND, Ohio – In 2002, Cleveland officials announced a plan to turn around the police department's troubled sex crimes unit. "The promises came weeks after The Plain Dealer reported on an internal investigation that showed years of mounting problems in the unit: uninvestigated cases, staggering workloads and supervisory lapses. "Department and city leaders pledged to staff the...continue
No Consequences if Rape Kits Not Submitted Within 30 Days (News 5)
"CLEVELAND – News 5 first broke the story over six years ago – learning nearly 14,000 rape kits had been sitting on shelves untested, some dating back to the 1970's. "Just last week, the Ohio Attorney General announced the backlog of rape kits had been cleared. News 5 has since learned that's not entirely true – the Cleveland...continue
Completed Testing of 13,931 Rape Kits Signals Progress (Cleveland.com)
"The testing of nearly 14,000 formerly shelved Ohio rape kits is complete. "The unprecedented undertaking already has changed the culture and will have a lasting impact on how police understand and investigate rape, Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "In 2011, when DeWine first asked departments to start sending untested kits, which dated back decades, it...continue
Cleveland Police Failed to Send Recent Rape Kits for Testing (Cleveland.com)
"CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland police failed over three years to send hundreds of rape kits collected from sexual assault victims to a lab for testing, in violation of state law. "An Ohio law that took effect in 2015 requires rape kits to be sent to a lab within 30 days. "The department discovered in...continue
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Opens Beachwood Location (Cleveland Jewish News)
"The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center opened a new Beachwood location on Jan. 4 at Signature Square 1, 25201 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 390, within Nexis Wellness. "Sondra Miller, president and CEO of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, said the location allowed it to open and launch as quickly as possible and for the least amount...continue
Ohio Ranks Fourth in the Country for Human Trafficking Cases (Cleveland 19 News)
"CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) – Ohio ranks fourth in the nation for human trafficking. "In a recent report from the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, more than 300 people in the state were victims of sex trafficking, about 25 were trafficked for hard labor, and another eight were trafficked for both purposes. "'On the service, it sounds...continue
Sexual Assault: Where Do Ohio Survivors Turn for Help? (Public News Service)
"COLUMBUS, Ohio — Advocates for women say the wave of high profile sexual abuse allegations is helping survivors in Ohio find their voices. But who can they trust? "In a survey of Cuyahoga County residents, most respondents said if they needed assistance after a sexual assault, they would turn to a doctor, nurse, teacher or caseworker....continue


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Q: Broken Menu Styling After Adding New Javascript I have dropdown menus that look like this:

However, I wanted a div element to stick the top of a page at a certain scroll range, so I added this code in the head:
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
$(window).scroll(function(e){
    $el = $('.fixedElement');
    if ($(this).scrollTop() > 1437 && $el.css('position') != 'fixed'){
        $('.fixedElement').css({'position': 'fixed', 'top': '0px'});
    }
    if ($(this).scrollTop() < 1437 && $el.css('position') != 'absolute'){
        $('.fixedElement').css({'position': 'absolute', 'top': '1437px'});
    }
});
// ]]>
</script>

.fixedElement is defined in my CSS file, and then referenced with
<div class="fixedElement">

Now, my dropdown menus look like this:

When I comment out the new javascript, the menus go back to normal.
Any ideas on how to make my new javascript work with my dropdown menus?
Thanks!
EDIT:
One console error pertaining to the dropdown javascript is:
Uncaught TypeError: Object #<Object> has no method 'getElements'

That is referencing this line:
var links = $(this.options.id).getElements('a');

In this javascript: MenuMatic
When I comment out the new javascript the error disappears and my menus come back!

A: Got it.
My dropdown javascript was using the MooTools library, while my sticky div was using jQuery.
jQuery uses "$" as a shortcut for "jQuery", so the line
var links = $(this.options.id).getElements('a');

referencing javascript from the MooTools library throws an error because jQuery has overwritten the definition for "$"
This conflict is solved by inserting
jQuery.noConflict();

before my jQuery script and replacing all of the "$" in my jQuery script with "jQuery"
More info here: http://docs.jquery.com/Using_jQuery_with_Other_Libraries
See also:
jQuery and other libraries, and the usage of '$'
What is the meaning of symbol $ in jQuery?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has thanked those who attended his public meeting on Unlocking Arklow's Potential on Tuesday night.
The meeting heard from Sinn Féin's spokesperson for Public Expenditure & Reform David Cullinane TD and local Councillor Mary McDonald.
"Ahead of the last general election, I made a commitment to the people of Arklow that I would put a spotlight on Arklow, something that successive public representatives at a national level have failed to do.
"I was delighted with the attendance at the public meeting on Tuesday night and the positive contributions and ideas put forward by locals for the future of the town and surrounding areas.
"I held this meeting as part of an economic development plan for Arklow that I have been working on for a number of months. While, I have been meeting with a number of organisations and enterprises, I was eager to engage with and hear from the people of the area who are crucial in the development of any plan for Arklow.
"The submission process is still underway and I welcome any submissions from the public in writing to 18a Upper Main St, Arklow or by email to john.brady@oireachtas.ie before April 30th.


Använda. A Great F*cking Bag.
Y'know, for holding your things.
A versatile bag that comes in several stylish colors and patterns.
It comes in two sizes and can be used as a messenger, backpack, or carry-on.
Award winning 8-in-1 USB-C hub + Fastest 7.5W Qi wireless charger for the iPhone & Android (5/10/15W). Convertible phone stand.
Most modern footwear causes permanent structural damage to kid's feet. Splay Shoes allow kid's feet to move & grow as nature intended.
Unicorns & Zombies is a turn-based card game for 2-4 players which pits — you guessed it —unicorns against zombies.
We love the idea of these mythical creatures going head-to-head. The game art is high quality and hilarious.
Embark on sinister adventures in this 1-4 player story-driven strategy game of exploration and conquest.


text:
Roland Garros Icon Nadal Must Belie Poor Autumn Record to Extend French Open Record
TC Staff
When you think of the French Open in the 21st century, there is almost exclusively one man pictured time and again on the clay courts of Roland Garros holding up the men's singles trophy.
After 12 successes in Paris over the last 15 years, Rafael Nadal has truly earned his "king of clay" nickname. Nobody has been able to live with the Spaniard at his best at Roland Garros.
Just when Nadal thought he had done it all at the French Open, however, the unique circumstances of 2020 pose him a new challenge. The back-page headlines crowing about his dominance of this surface and this particular arena are splashed about in
the press each and every June.
Not so this year. Roland Garros has delayed their Grand Slam offering until September with the finals taking place in early October. This is an unprecedented step in French Open history, but necessity is the mother of invention and the traditional slot of late May for the beginning of the tournament just isn't possible.
It is easy to shrug your shoulders and say so what? What difference does delaying Roland Garros make? Nadal has won this tournament so many times before that it doesn't matter when in the year it takes place.
The market remains very much in his favour with outright 2020 French Open tennis betting odds of 10/11 saying Nadal will extend his formidable record in Paris to a 13th men's singles victory. Bookmakers are 18/1 bar him for 2016 winner Novak Djokovic and dual Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem.
What you can take from that is that the men's game on clay is far less open than the women. Odds compilers can't really have Nadal – a previous winner on a dozen different occasions – anything other than a hot favourite.
This French Open isn't in its usual place in the annual tennis calendar, however, and the entire clay-court season is lost. Roland Garros now comes hot off the heels of the hard court Grand Slam stateside at Flushing Meadows starting some seven days after the US Open men's singles final.
Never before in the Open Era have two Slams been put so close together. Dealing with that is something Nadal and every other tennis pro must contend with, but the autumn is a time of year when it's fair to say by his very high standards that we haven't always seen the best of him.
A look back over the very illustrious career of Nadal shows he has won just one ATP Tour title in September or October since 2010. In fact, since landing both the 2005 China Open and Madrid Masters, he has won just two ATP singles tournaments in either month.
It's clearly a downtime for Nadal after what is traditionally a hectic summer schedule of clay, then grass-court action culminating in Wimbledon, and the move from Europe to America and hard surfaces which ends with the US Open. How he adapts out of the traditional routine and handles an autumnal French Open in his mid-30s will be fascinating.
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5 of Tennis' Most Eccentric Players
The big WTA comebacks at the 2021 Australian Open


Elevate your brownie game with a thick layer of salted tahini buttercream. Lighter and fresher than peanut butter, with a subtle nutty flavor, tahini is the perfect flavor for thick, fluffy buttercream, topping easy mix by hand fudgy brownies.
Guys, I have a problem. I'm pretty sure I have a legitimate addiction… to tehina. I can't quit it.
All summer long, I grilled chicken and covered it in a tehina marinade. This sweet potato kale chickpea bowl, covered with a tehina sauce, is one of my favorite winter dishes. I have literally had multiple dreams about the tehina shake from Goldie.
And I have now made this salted tahini buttercream three times in a row, and smother everything I can with it (or uh, eat it out of the bowl with a spoon).
Let's back up a second, and talk about tehina/tahini. Same thing, different name. Tehina/tahini is a paste made from ground up toasted sesame seeds. Think peanut butter, except made from sesame seeds, rather than peanuts.
Here in the U.S., we usually call it tahini, but in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, it's known as tehina.
If you hear tahini and think hummus, you're right! It's a key part of many hummus recipes. But. BUT! Tehina is so, so much more than just hummus.
Think about sesame seeds. You'd put them on a deli roll, right? Or sesame seed cookies, or pressed into raw ahi tuna, or Chinese sesame seed dessert balls. Tahini works the same way: it can go savory or sweet.
And today, we're going sweet, with these brownies with salted tahini buttercream.
I first made this buttercream for a Hanukkah dinner party this year as a topping for some dark chocolate tahini cupcakes. Truth be told, the cupcakes were forgettable, but the buttercream? Three people at our 11-person dinner party told me it was the best buttercream frosting they ever had.
The best buttercream frosting ever, people. EVER. And as Americans, living a life full of cupcakes and cake, we tend to eat a lot of buttercream frosting. But this one here? It's been deemed the best.
So uh, what does tahini buttercream taste like anyway? It's kind of like peanut butter… but a little more mild.
This salted tahini buttercream pairs will with so many things and I promise, it will make appearances again soon around here. (Like I said, I might have a tehina problem.) But for now, we're kicking things off with brownies with salted tahini buttercream.
The easy, mix by hand, slightly fudgy brownies are the perfect pairing for this frosting. Chocolate is such a natural flavor for tahini (so perfect, in fact, that my favorite tehina company sells chocolate tehina!).
Step aside, peanut butter frosting. There's a new winner in town, and we're showing it off with some brownies. Brownies with salted tahini buttercream, to be exact.
Lighter and fresher than peanut butter, with a subtle nutty flavor, tahini is the perfect flavor for thick, fluffy buttercream, topping easy mix-by-hand fudgy brownies.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a 9″ square baking dish with aluminum foil, extending the foil over the edges to form handles, and grease the foil.
Combine the melted butter and sugar together in a small bowl, whisking until smooth and shiny. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk by hand for about 5 minutes, until well combined. Add the melted butter/sugar mixture to the egg/cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth. Add in the flour, stirring just until the flour is incorporated.
Spread brownie batter in prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Leave at room temperature until cool.
To make the buttercream frosting, combine the butter, tahini, and confectioners sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until butter is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the salt and vanilla extract, then turn the speed up to high and beat an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Spread the buttercream frosting over the brownies, drizzle with melted chocolate, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, just until frosting is set. Cut into 16 brownies.
Brownies can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or wrapped in foil and stored in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Glad to find this upgraded brownies version ! Keeper, definitely !
©2019 Bunsen Burner Bakery. Design by Purr.


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Q: DNS Issues in Hyper-V Environment We have just stood up a new Hyper-V host with 2 VMs in a separate subnet and physical location. When I try to promote one of the VMs to a DC, I get an error that says the following:

The following error occurred when DNS was queried for the SRV record
  used to locate an ADDC for domain "this.local"
The error was "DNS name does not exist" error code RCODE_NAME_ERROR
The query was for the SRV record for _ldap_tcp.dc_msdcs.this.local.

I can ping the DC just fine. I can RDP into all machines by IP, but not by name (since DNS is messed up.)
The subnet is in another physical location, connected by site-to-site VPN. However, we checked the tunnel and it appears to be fine.
Anyone have any fixes for this issue? Thanks.

A: You cannot promote a DC without it being able to query the current domain by DNS.
To promote a DC it will have to find one of the current DCs in that domain, to copy the Current Active Directory-database from. It does this by using DNS-records found in the zone this.local in your case.


text:
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Excerpt: Pawfectly in Love
Book 2: Canine Cupids
Whoa. What was that?
There was a Mercedes in her driveway, parked next to her muddy pickup truck. Not the type of car that any of the locals drove. It was the type of car that a lawyer from her old firm might drive. The same car that she used to have back when she was in the process of losing her mind.
The old sensations trickled back, her chest tightening up and her stomach beginning to burn. Okay, so she wasn't as recovered as she thought she was if the mere sight of a car like her old one could start the old symptoms revving up.
Then again, it wasn't just the sight of the car. It was the fact it was parked in her driveway, driven by someone who most likely represented the world that had nearly destroyed her. Someone had come to see her. To ask her to come back? Heaven help her.
Deep breaths. Think of the meadow. The pale pink flowers. Deep breath.
Bandit abandoned her to her own collapse and raced toward the car, barking his pseudo-vicious defense bark, as if he were going to kill anyone who stepped outside. If she turned around and walked quietly back into the woods, pretending she hadn't seen the car and Bandit ate the person inside, then she could claim complete innocence…
God. Murder? She was actually thinking of murder? She was so much better than that.
Deep breath, Paige. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. What if her old boss got out of the car? Someone from her old firm, coming to check on her?
A retaliatory barking from inside the car sounded as Bandit approached. Paige forgot her breathing rhythm. Dog? Was it a client? Oh, that would be so much better.
She released her last deep breath as she watched the driver's door begin to open. Please, be a client. One in blue jeans and boots who had stolen the car from an impound lot. Not a lawyer. Not from Boston. Not from her old firm. Breathe. Yeesh. She was going to have to go back for more therapy after this visit if she didn't start concentrating on pink flowers.
The progress of the door stopped when Bandit ramped up his barking, the hackles on the back of his neck making him look even bigger and more intimidating than he actually was. He was so happy to be scaring the intruder, so she decided not to call him off. She loved that dog far too much to steal his joy by making him stop.
Then again, if it was a client, she did need to let the driver out of the car. If it turned out to be someone from her old firm, then she'd let Bandit eat him. He would have better access anyway, once the driver was outside the car, right? So, that was good.
She liked that plan.
"Bandit! Heel!"
His hackles still up, and his tail rigid, Bandit returned to her side, but kept his gaze fastened alertly on the car. One threatening move and he'd attack. Or at least that was how it appeared In reality, he'd interpret it as a game and slobber all over the person with doggy kisses, not that the driver of that car needed to know that. Besides, she could work with Bandit on that. With some excellent training, she was pretty sure she'd be able to turn him into an attack dog trained to launch himself at any man wearing a suit. She was that good.
"Wait until you have a clear opening for the throat," she whispered as she grabbed Bandit's collar and made a dramatic show of restraining him, which probably didn't do her reputation as a dog trainer much good, but it made her feel better, just in case the visitor was unwanted. She took a deep breath. I can do this. "You can come out," she called out.
The door opened the rest of the way, and a shiny Italian shoe crunched gingerly down onto the gravel.
Oh, crap. That was definitely not a shoe that would ever be worn by someone local.
Her heart started to pound as the shoe was followed by a pristine charcoal gray pant leg, with a crisp pleat exactly where it was supposed to be. Another shoe and leg followed, which matched, dammit, and then a hand grabbed the doorframe. It was a hand devoid of any calluses or blisters. The hand of a lawyer?
Oh, God. She felt like she was going to vomit.
Sensing her agitation, Bandit sat up and joined her in staring intently at the tinted glass, as if together they could burn a hole through it. He'd stopped barking and gone still, his fur still up, his tail stiff, his body rigid. Damn. He really would attack for her. God, she loved her dog.
A head of thick brown hair appeared, followed by dark sunglasses that were, unfortunately, attached to the face in a completely appropriate and dignified manner. Where the hell were the lunatic, backwoods serial killers in this town? That's who should be in her driveway, not a well-dressed, proper, dehumanized robot in a nice car. Seriously. What the hell?
Then the driver stood up, and faced her, giving her a full view of him, and she immediately forgot all the complaints that had been forming in her mind.
He was no lawyer. He was a man, in every virile sense of the word, if one were using the word to mean things like tall, strong, broad-shouldered, five o'clock shadow, corded thighs that were visible even beneath the suit, and a strong jaw that would be perfect for running her tongue over…
Oh, crap. Had she really just thought that? She was still too strung out to think about sex, especially sex with strangers, and especially sex with strangers driving nice cars.
His strong jawbone was tensed in apparent agitation, and a muscle flexed in his cheek. Hey, she knew what that kind of tension felt like. They could be besties, and she could massage it out of him…
And…again, with the "oh, crap, had she really just thought that?"
His dark lenses hid his eyes from view, giving him an air of mystery that was irritatingly appealing. She knew enough about high-end men's fashion to know that no store-bought suit would have fit his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and stacked thighs. He was wearing custom all the way, which normally would give her hives…except on him…the only word she could think of was yum, which had to be a sign that she was losing her recently recovered sanity.
Honestly, she'd always considered suits on men to be code for "uptight, out-of-shape, misogynist asshole alert." She'd never thought a man in a suit could be hot, utterly male, and viscerally untamed, but she'd apparently been wrong. She could almost see him tossing a load of firewood over his shoulder and hiking through the woods, wearing jeans that fit his butt just right, and beat-up hiking boots that had years of outdoor manly activities scuffed into the leather…
Suit-guy/potential outdoor hottie cleared his throat in that way that people did when they had absolutely nothing in their throats except irritation that you weren't paying appropriate attention to them… making Paige realize she was gaping at his broad chest.
And…yeah. Chalk one up for "how utterly embarrassing." She immediately closed her mouth to put an end to the gaping and potential drooling. She then cleared her throat as well, but it was more to make sure she was capable of sounding at least semi-normal. She wanted to give some articulate, sane welcome speech that made her sound competent, calm, and not on the edge of a freak out.
That's what she wanted. It's what she intended. It's what she thought she could manage to accomplish.
When she started to talk, she realized that she had, apparently, completely overestimated herself. "Hi."
Hi. Hi? What kind of articulate greeting was that? It was so not enough to distract him from her gaping at his hotness.
"Good afternoon." He nodded, his head tilted at the wrong angle for him to be looking at her face. She studied the angle of his sunglasses and then tracked the likely path of his eyes…holy crap. Was he staring at her chest?
Dear God. No man had looked at her like she was a woman in years. He had to be a pervert, or suffering from a neck cramp, or just randomly insane, right? But just to be sure…she looked down just to confirm what he was looking at…and immediately wished she hadn't. Or at least wished the ground would swallow her up.
She'd forgotten that she was covered in dirt and leaves from her wrestling match with Bandit. But that was no big deal, at least not in comparison to the fact that her wet, white tee shirt was spotlighting to the world, and to her nice-car-hottie specifically, that she had not bothered to put on a bra for her afternoon walk.
Double crap.
Going braless was so not a big deal when the only male she was with had four legs and a tail. An entirely different matter when faced with a ridiculously handsome man dressed like he was ready to pose for a cover of GQ.
Damn. She wasn't sure she could ethically attribute all sorts of nefarious adjectives to him now. It would have taken a eunuch not to at least glance at a pair of nipples gawking at him, and given the way her body was reacting to his overpowering maleness, she was willing to wager that he had a couple of perfectly functioning testicles inside those expensive pants. Gritting her teeth, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to appear nonchalant. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Freedom Dog Training, but I must have taken a wrong turn." His voice was a deep rumble, so insanely delicious that she almost asked him to keep talking, just so she could listen for a while.
Dear God, he was like a sex-demon-incubus-hypnotic-vampire-seducer or something. He had to be, because she simply didn't find men in suits attractive, and she was not the type to start purring at the sound of a man's voice.
Oh, wait…she belatedly processed his words, and realized that he'd come looking for a dog trainer.
This delicious cauldron of smoking hot male, who clearly represented the world that had almost destroyed her, come looking for her.
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FAQ — New Wave Foods, Seafood from Seaplants!
I don't know you, you don't know me… Let's grab coffee?
What is your shrimp made from?
This is a sustainable plant-based shrimp that it is made from algae and other natural ingredients with no animal (or sea animal) products.
Can you tell me more about your ingredients?
What kinds of algae do you use?
Clean, ocean-sourced and farmed micro and macro algaes.
Actually, seafood can't be considered organic because there is no way to trace what has been consumed by sea organisms.The supply chain for our ingredients is traceable unlike conventional seafood.
We've got a locations list started and growing!


San Antonio SpursÕ Kyle Anderson drives around Houston RocketsÕ Eric Gordon during first half action Sunday April 1, 2018 at the AT&T Center.
With a 100-83 victory on Sunday afternoon, the Spurs (45-32) held the Rockets to their lowest scoring game of the season.
The Rockets were 0-of-8 from the 3-point line in the first quarter, giving the Spurs a 26-17 lead heading into the second quarter.
After holding Houston to just over 31 percent from the floor, the Spurs went into halftime up 46-38.
Both LaMarcus Aldridge and James Harden had 11 points in the first half.
The Spurs continued to stretch their lead throughout the third quarter and went into the final frame leading the Rockets 75-66.
During the fourth quarter, the Spurs had their largest lead of the afternoon and showed no signs of slowing down. With four minutes to play the Spurs were up 94-76.
Aldridge finished the night with 23 points and Rudy Gay tacked on 21 points and was 9-of-13 from the floor.
The Spurs head to the West Coast next week to face the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers in back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Express-News Spurs reporter Jabari Young recaps the Spurs' 100-83 win over the Houston Rockets and discusses the play of Rudy Gay, who finished with 21 points and three rebounds.


In 1997, following the death of her brother Gianni Versace, she became Vice Chairman and Style & Image Director of the House of Versace.
Released a joint statement with her ex-husband John that their daughter Allegra was in treatment for anorexia (27 March 2007).
Has a daughter, Allegra (born 30 June 1986), and a son, Daniel (born 1989), with American model Paul Beck.
Aunt of oldest brother Santo's two children, Francesca and Antonio Versace.
Appeared with Maya Rudolph at the VH1/Vogue Fashion awards in October 2002. Rudolph has famously parodied Versace on Saturday Night Live (1975).


Can public diplomacy [JB emphasis] help resolve protracted international conflicts? Both rationalist and constructivist traditions identify significant domestic obstacles to international peacemaking. However, Robert Putnam's concept of "reverberation" implies that diplomats can expand their adversaries' win-sets for cooperation by engaging foreign publics. This paper analyzes a most-likely case, with archival evidence: Argentine Ambassador Oscar Camilión's unsuccessful quest for Argentine-Brazilian rapprochement in 1976–77. Although the two countries later overcame rivalry, public diplomacy contributed negligibly to this success: internal Argentine divisions created mixed messages toward Brazil, Brazilian leaders launched a competing public relations operation, and these two ..


text:
September 11, 2010 | David F. Coppedge
Flying Fish Tested in Wind Tunnel: Match Bird Flight
Sometimes engineers investigate things biologists take for granted. Flying fish have been observed by countless sailors and cruise passengers, and have been described by life scientists. It took an engineer, however, to investigate these "unexpected fliers" in a wind tunnel. Surprisingly, though many have speculated about these creatures, "detailed measurement of wing performance associated with its morphometry for identifying the characteristics of flight in flying fish has not been performed" till some engineers caught the inspiration.
Haecheon Choi, a Korean mechanical engineer, took an interest in flying fish while reading about them to his children. According to Science Daily, a scientific paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology resulted (see the JEB press release; the paper is available for free).1
Choi and a colleague Hyungmin Park designed experiments using a wind tunnel to measure the gliding efficiency of flying fish. It was difficult obtaining specimens, the article told; they couldn't find them in Japanese fish markets, so they got a permit to fish for them in the open sea. Out of 40 fish caught, five were dried and stuffed (they would have died anyway in the wind tunnel, you know) and outfitted with sensors to measure their aerodynamics. Some had their pectoral and pelvic fins outstretched in gliding position, or just the front pectoral fins outstretched, while one, as a control, was measured with all its fins in swimming position. "For the first time, we have performed a direct wind-tunnel experiment to investigate the aerodynamic properties of flying-fish flight and provided qualitative and quantitative data for the flying fish flight," they were able to boast.
The pair was impressed by their gliders. "Choi and Park found that the flying fish performed remarkably well: the gliding performance of flying fish is comparable to those of bird wings such as the hawk, petrel and wood duck," they said in the JEB paper. The fish performed best in their natural horizontal position close to the water, avoiding the wing-tip vortices that otherwise would cause the most frictional drag. When gliding above water, their lift-to-drag ratio actually increased, measurements of flow patterns in the wind tunnel showed. "Park explains that the tandem arrangement of the large pectoral fin at the front and smaller pelvic fin at the back of the fish's body accelerates the air flow towards the tail like a jet, increasing the fish's lift-to-drag ratio further and improving its flying performance even more." The fish have other morphologic adaptations to improve lift, such as a torpedo-shaped body, a flattened bottom, and the ability to rapidly wag the tail fin on take-off to get airborne, a behavior called taxiing.
Not only are their wing-fins well-adapted for gliding in the air, they are also ideal for swimming in the swept-back position. "So flying fish are superbly adapted for life in both environments," the article said. The intro also contained these fast facts: "Flying fish can remain airborne for over 40s, covering distances of up to 400m at speeds of 70km/h" (that's about a quarter mile in 30 seconds aloft, gliding at over 40 miles per hour). The authors said, "The aerodynamic performance of flying fish is comparable to those of various bird wings, and the flying fish has some morphological characteristics in common with the aerodynamically designed modern aircrafts."
It can reasonably be assumed that live fish perform even better in their natural habitat, with wet skin, the ability to adjust wing camber and attack angle using their muscles, and with additional taxiing movements to stay aloft. With results in hand showing high performance in the flying fish due to good design, the researchers' thoughts turned to biomimetics: "Having shown that flying fish are exceptional fliers, Choi and Park are keen to build an aeroplane that exploits ground effect aerodynamics inspired by flying fish technology," the article ended, stating nothing about evolution or how this flight technology might have evolved.
1. Hyungmin Park and Haecheon Choi, "Aerodynamic characteristics of flying fish in gliding flight," Journal of Experimental Biology, 213, 3269-3279 (2010); published by The Company of Biologists 2010; doi: 10.1242/jeb.046052.
It is a pleasure to report good scientific work that is not dependent on Darwinian storytelling (cf. 09/10/2010). Most of the elements of classic science are here: noticing an interesting phenomenon, observing it carefully, asking questions, searching existing literature, proposing an experiment to gather more detailed data, obtaining specimens, designing an experimental apparatus, running controlled experiments and taking measurements, evaluating the findings, publishing, and suggesting applications for the benefit of humanity. What's missing is Darwin worship, thank God.
The original paper had no use for evolutionary theory. The authors stayed out of political trouble by donating the required pinch of incense to Emperor Charlie: "the flying fish has evolved to have good aerodynamic designs (such as the hypertrophied fins and cylindrical body with a ventrally flattened surface) for proficient gliding flight," they said, but the emphasis of even that statement was clearly on the design, not the evolution. From then on, they left the Charlie Temple turnstile behind, and focused on the good engineering (intelligent design) of their fish.
They did not even try to speculate on the origin of the adaptation, other than to say, "Although reasons for the flight of flying fish have been suggested (i.e. escape from underwater predators or saving of transport cost) (Rayner, 1986Go; Davenport, 1994Go), the exact reason is still not clear. Nevertheless, their behavioral adaptation for flight is quite unique." Those statements would be just as comfortable in a creation paper. They dodged the temptation to tell an evolutionary just-so story (see next entry), and focused instead on the design. And thankfully, we were also spared a miracle story about "convergent evolution," or the genes for flight being pushed back to some imaginary ancestor of fish and birds. It takes discipline to avoid falling into these Darwin traps. Engineers are comfortable with the concept of intelligent design. The authors work for the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Institute of Advanced Machinery and Design at Seoul National University.
Does design-focused research of the living world produce good science? Here was one more great example. Maybe some day we'll be able to buy cars that can sprout wings and glide across a lake – thanks to flying fish and design-conscious science.
Tags: Amazing Facts, Biomimetics
Categories: Amazing Facts, Biomimetics, Intelligent Design, Marine Biology, Physics


A new 'scalable' concept for extra care home developments across the UK for a national PLC. The building, conceived as a series of oversized terrace houses, provides 5500 m2 of accommodation and comprises 60 rooms, amenity spaces, gardens and car parking.
Chain Street is an Extra Care development located to the west of Bradford City Centre in an extensive area ear marked for future regeneration.
The design is the result of the Client commissioning MDH to propose a new 'scalable' concept for their future extra care home developments across the UK. MDH proposed a simple architectural model which focused the design around a series of bold moves that maximize the impact of a limited budget.
The building is articulated as an L-shaped form, and is conceived as a series of 'large houses' set around a 'village square'. This provides a more domestic impression of the building, creating something familiar to residents and provoking a sense of calmness and security.
The envelope is made of a restricted palette, predominantly brick, and the articulation is limited to a change of brick colour and 'saw tooth' roof to each house to break down the visual mass of the building, and emphasis the separate nature of each 'house'.
The ground floor internal arrangement is focused around a flexible communal space. Other functions are located adjacent to this space, ensuring the public services have a critical mass forming an active, vital heart to the building and engendering a sense of community.


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Billie's Gingerbread From Ruth Reichl, Delicious!
Has anyone made the recipe for Billie's Gingerbread from Ruth Reichl, Delicious?
But if you like food please read the book, loved it!
Also, in two different notes, try Laurie Colwin Damp Gingerbread (which she adapted from Delia Smith) and which is on my mind since the May celebration here of Colwin's work.
and last, try any 3-gingerbread recipe (i.e., uses fresh, ground & crystallized). I make one from the New London Inn in New Hampshire, but can't find the exact one on the web.


text:
Q: Shiny App: How to dynamically change box title in server.R? The box title is usually set in ui.R. Is it possible to change the box title dynamically in server.R?
ui.R
box(title='Dynamic title here', plotOutput('barPlot'))
server.R
output$barPlot= renderPlot({...}) # Can I dynamically change the box title here?
Edit:
Here's a simple code to try
ui <- fluidPage(
  fluidRow(
    column(width=6,
           box(
             title = 'Dynamic title',
             width = NULL,
             plotOutput('speed', height='100%')
           )
    )
  )
)

server <- function(input, output){
  output$speed <- renderPlot({
    plot(speed ~ dist, data = cars)
    # need a code to change the box title
  }, height=300)
}

shinyApp(ui=ui, server=server)

A: Try this out, using renderUI:
ui <- fluidPage(
  fluidRow(
    textInput("title", "What should the tile be?"),
    uiOutput("box1")
  )
)

server <- function(input, output){

  output$speed <- renderPlot({
    plot(speed ~ dist, data = cars)
  })

  output$box1 <- renderUI({
    validate(
      need(input$title, "Please enter a valid title!")
    )
    box(title = input$title, plotOutput("speed"))
  })
}

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)


text:
Pakistan Affairs Notes • Pakistan Affairs
Counter Terrorism Policy of Pakistan | (Current Affairs Paper, CSS 2015)
FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS
IN BS-17, UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, 2015
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE, PAPER-II (CURRENT AFFAIRS)
Q.8. Critically evaluate the counter terrorism policy of Pakistan and suggest measures to eradicate this evil.
The security operation restored the confidence of the global community in the capacity of the Pakistan military to deal effectively with terrorism. This was the main reason that the army chief received extraordinary attention during his visits to the US, the UK and China. This also contributed to changing the security-related interaction between Pakistan's security establishment and the new Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani. These two countries are now involved in a more active cooperative interaction for dealing with security matters, especially counter terrorism.
1. 20-point National Action Plan
The civilian federal and provincial governments vowed repeatedly to implement the 20-point National Action Plan. Some actions were taken by these governments in the immediate aftermath of the plan's adoption. However, with the passage of time, the civilian enthusiasm for countering terrorism began to decline. The old fault lines based on ethnic, regional and religious-sectarian have resurfaced and the supporters of militancy are again becoming active. All this makes it difficult for the ruling PML-N to adopt a forthright approach on implementing the 20-point agenda. Its electoral support overlaps with Islamic conservatives and militant groups.
Check also: Pakistan Affairs Notes
2. Military Courts
The military courts have so far not started working; the federal government has not committed any case to them. As a section of lawyers have filed petitions in the Supreme Court for nullifying the 21stAmendment and some religious parties have taken exception to the focus of military trials on religion-linked terrorism, the federal government has adopted a go-slow policy on military courts.
3. Banned Organizations
The federal government has mentioned different figures, ranging from 60 to 78, of banned organisations. However, no complete list has been released as the federal government has not stated publicly which organisations have been banned. Its policy of financial and academic monitoring of religious seminaries has also run aground because most madrassa organisations have declared that they would contest the government on madrassa-related affairs. Madrassa organisations identifying with certain religious traditions are more vocal about, and more determined to, fight the federal government on the proposed madrassa reforms.
Read also: Four reasons why Pakistan and India should make peace now
4. Misuse of Loudspeaker Rules
The Punjab government has arrested a number of religious leaders on account of misuse of loudspeaker rules and for making objectionable speeches. It has also banned the sale of religion-oriented books that are said to promote negative attitudes or hatred against different sects. A number of people have been taken into custody for anti-social activities or for their linkages with sectarian and violent organisations. Most of these arrests have been done on the basis of the lists of such people maintained by police stations. Some activists of religious groups are taking exception to the arrests of religious leaders for misuse of loudspeakers and the restrictions on the sale of religious literature with strong sectarian bias. Some columns in Urdu language newspapers have criticised the banning of religious-sectarian books by well-known authors.
5. 3-Ds approach of Deterrence, Development and Dialogue
While Pakistan's policy on countering terrorism has been remain focused on using all possible means hard and soft power, counter terrorism strategy is based on three pronged approach, famously known as 3-Ds approach of Deterrence, Development and Dialogue. The Deterrence emphasizes upon the enhancement of security measures that could possibly deter the terrorists from using the terror tactics. Pakistan believes that effective measures should be adopted to prevent the extensive aims of terrorists. The next step is to develop the society and address the issues that lead to extremism. It is proven fact that societies that are deprived of their basic rights are more determined to use the violent means to achieve their objectives. The basic need in development is development of education and justice to every one and all despite of their culture and religion.
Some Futuristic Measure
1. Unity and Commitment
The first and foremost things are the unity and commitment. These are very important to achieve an objective. All stakeholders of the society must need to unite and become committed to this one agenda…….to eradicate terrorism from every nook and corner of the country. But after a very bloody war, we still see some of the stakeholders of the society who are supporting the extremist designs of the terrorist groups. I do not clearly know what their intensions are. But one thing is very clear: that is they are working against country's betterment. We need to bring back first these people on the right direction using the process of dialogue.
2. "No" to all Sort of Terrorist Activities
Parliamentarian can play a very constructive role in this regard. They can use their influence in the right direction to convince the people of their constituencies to say "No to all sort of terrorist activities". They can easily inculcate in the minds of people the vision of free terrorist society and about progressive and emerging Pakistan. But it is also a fact that we still did not see any useful role from these so-called representatives of the people. It is high time they must come forward to save the future of Pakistan.
3. Role of Religious Leaders
Religious leaders in any society can play an effective role in times of crises. But the case of Pakistan is different regarding war on terror. These influential leaders were in some respect close to the terrorist organizations and to their self-professed ideology in the past. But it is the requirement of time that these leaders must come forward to use their influence in the society against all type of terrorism. They can play their effective role using mosques, speeches and writings to guide the ignorant masses of the country. There is still a large section of the society in Pakistan who prefers to listen these religious leaders at any cost. So why we are not utilizing the influence and potentials of these leaders in true sense?
4. Role of Civil Society
Civil society is another major stakeholder. It is not playing their due role against war on terror. The close observation of this modern world demands that in time of crises civil society must come to the forefront to help the state machinery. But in Pakistan it is still a missing area (war on terror) of civil society. A mass movement is required to defeat the ideologies of terrorist organizations. And civil society can lead this mass movement very effectively. But this should be a collaborative effort from all stakeholders of the society. Because working alone against this big threat….terrorism can't bring the desired results as required.
5. Role of Education
Education is another very important way to eradicate the root causes of terrorism. The first step should be to provide uniform system of education to the masses. This system of education must be free from prejudices and sectarian violence. It also includes both religious and modern education at equal ratios. This will help create citizens having a balanced approach towards life. Although it is a very lengthy process but it is very important. Because we need to clear the minds of young generation about the extreme designs of terrorist organizations. (A few days ago a renowned professor has given a lecture on topic related to terrorism in a university. In question-answer session when he was asked about who is responsible for terrorism in Pakistan. He refused to give any comments on this question). So this attitude must be stopped right now.
6. Role of Good Governance
Good governance is another area which needed more attention in this regard. The important work in this regard which has been done so far is only to equip security personnel's with latest weapons and to increase their salaries, and compensation in case of casualties. But Policy makers of Pakistan (after entering into the dangerous war on terror) did not create a suitable mechanism through which terrorism can effectively be checked. For example, there is no clear data of people residing in the country. There is no check and balance on foreigner's activities in the country. There is no effective way to check cross border terrorism from Afghanistan and Indian side. There is not sufficient training mechanism for security personnel's to counter terrorist organizations plots. There is still time our intelligence and law and order agencies can start door to door campaign for checking and registration, and to monitor it effectively. Also institutional working should be done according to rules and regulations. This will give a sense to the citizens of the country that Pakistan's future largely depends on good governance, and ultimately they will participate in this process.
Check Other NOTES for Pakistan Affairs
Understanding the Role of Caretaker Government in Pakistan's Democratic Process
Allama Iqbal | The Name — Not The Philosophy — Lives On
Four reasons why Pakistan and India should make peace now
Indo-Pak Water Vows: Implications and Way Forward
Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi & His Impacts On Muslims' Society And Politics On The Indian Sub-Continent.
List of Founders and activists of the Pakistan Movement
Pakistan's National Cyber Security Policy 2021 (PDF)
Current Affairs Cloud for CSS /PMS Exams (May 25, 2021)
Current Affairs Cloud for CSS Exams (May 20, 2021)
Counter Terrorism Policy of Pakistan Current Affairs Paper Military Courts National Action Plan Terrorist Activities
Pakistan Affairs • Pakistan Affairs Notes • Pakistani Newspapers
Four reasons why Pakistan and India should make peace...
CSS Notes • Current Affairs • Pakistan Affairs • Pakistan Affairs Notes • Users Submitted


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Full-timers making for full-on start for Brakes
Former Coventry United midfielder Gift Mussa.
Published: 05:40 Friday 12 July 2019
After bouncing back from a drubbing at the hands of Coventry City to draw with Walsall, the tough tests keep on coming for Leamington with Solihull Moors the visitors tomorrow.
Brakes boss Paul Holleran admitted his side were given the runaround by the Sky Blues in the 4-0 defeat, especially in the first period.
However, he was delighted with the way they held their own against the Saddlers, with the home side only pegged back late on by a superb individual effort from former Leicester City frontman Kairo Edwards-John who is on trial with the League Two side.
Solihull Moors will be the third full-time visitors to the Phillips 66 Community Stadium in eight days and Holleran says the Conference Premier side will provide another early test of his side's fitness levels.
"The full-time clubs are ahead of us and it will be slightly different to the last two games," said Holleran.
"We will need to be fit, sharp and switched on. We have to match the full-time teams' levels or otherwise they go to town on you.
"What they have done at Solihull in the last few years has been nothing short of incredible.
"We've got good relations with them and it's good to carry that on.
"For Tim [Flowers} and Gary [Whild] who have been around in the game, it's nice to see them doing well."
The close relationship between the two clubs extends to on the field with Liam Daly and Matty Stenson set to make a return to the Phillips 66 Community Stadium with Moors, both having featured in the midweek win over a Birmingham City Development side.
Jordan Murphy is also back at the club where he spent the second half of last season and Holleran is backing him to continue his eyecatching loan form at Damson Park.
"The manager likes him I know.
"I always say that a loan spell is what you make it.
Kenilworth Explorer Scouts ready for World Scout Jamboree adventure in USA
"On the back of a good spell with us it reminds the manager and it gives the player confidence.
"Jordan made the loan work for him and I said to him he needs to use it as a platform to do well at Solihull.
"If he applies himself he's good enough to make the matchday squad."
Another player hoping to impress is Gift Mussa who appeared as a trialist in Brakes' opening three encounters.
The midfielder left Coventry United at the end of last season to seal a deal higher up the Pyramid and speaking before the clash with Walsall, Holleran said he had made a good early impression.
"He's done really well in the two games he's played.
"He's certainly better than the level he's been playing.
"He's done with Coventry United and there are clubs at Step 3 and 4 who want to sign him. However, he wants to have a go at Step 2.
"He's got something about him and we want to have an extended look at him."


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Business | Up in the air
Boeing ponders its bail-out options
The aircraft-maker can survive for now but will eventually need to raise cash
Editor's note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For more coverage, see our coronavirus hub
THE CORONAVIRUS laid many of Boeing's airline customers low—literally, for many have suspended flights. Fears about the giant's fate, already uncertain because of the year-long grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jet after two fatal crashes, became so rife that last month Goldman Sachs, a bank, felt compelled to stress that it "will remain a going concern". The company itself insists likewise. It is probably right—the question is not whether it will survive but how.
Boeing has a safety net. A third of revenues in 2019 came from its defence arm, which, with its services division, will bring in $5bn in profits this year, reckons Bernstein, a research firm. It has cash on its balance-sheet, the balance of a $14bn credit line and has suspended its dividend. Dave Calhoun, Boeing's new boss, says that the firm has $15bn in liquidity.
Jefferies, a bank, estimates that the company burns through $4.3bn of cash a month with a complete suspension of deliveries. So it may need government help if the crisis drags out. Lucky, then, that Congress folded its plea for assistance for American aviation into a $2trn stimulus package. This includes $25bn for carriers and $17bn for firms "critical to maintaining national security" (ie, Boeing). The terms are unclear and talks ongoing. But Steve Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, has hinted that help would come with strings—including an equity stake for the state.
Boeing is unwilling to entertain this (for now). It may prefer to try to tap $454bn set aside in the stimulus for loans and guarantees to big firms, which would not involve giving up equity. Mr Calhoun says his company can raise money in the market. But the terms would be onerous. Despite recent improvements, its ten-year bonds trade below par and the cost of insuring its debt against default remains high.
Boeing hopes that business will bounce back quickly; it has been reluctant to furlough workers, notes Ken Herbert of Canaccord Genuity, a bank. It intends to restart making the 737 MAX in May (slowly at first). Goldman Sachs reckons that even if it delivers only half the planes planned for this year it will have the liquidity to cover a "deeply negative" cashflow. But airlines may not return to normal service for months, depressing sales. Mr Calhoun may have to pick between a bitter market rescue and an unsavoury government one.■
Dig deeper:
For our latest coverage of the covid-19 pandemic, register for The Economist Today, our daily newsletter, or visit our coronavirus hub
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Up in the air"
Business April 4th 2020
Governments are once again splurging to keep big companies afloat
Disney and its rivals star in a real-life disaster movie
Huawei reports resilient results
From "you're fired" to "you're furloughed"
Jobs for jailbirds
From the April 4th 2020 edition


Looking for a wall clock that's American made? You might be surprised at how many people write to us on our contact form, our Facebook page, and via Twitter to ask about clocks Made in USA. We found some great choices for you. There is sure to be a USA made wall clock on this list to suit any style. Check the comment section for even more sources submitted by USA Love List's dedicated readers. Be sure to check out our USA Love List Source List of American Made Clocks for our extensive master list of made in the USA clocks that is updated frequently.
Howard Miller calls itself the longest running clock company in America. Founded in 1926, the Howard Miller Company still manufactures clocks in Zeeland, Michigan. Mostly known for its floor clocks, or Grandfather clocks, the Howard Miller Company also makes some of its key wound and quartz movement wall clocks in the USA. Their website makes it easy to know which designs are made in America; the ones that are carry a "Made in USA" logo in their description.
Kit Cat clock has been made in America since 1932! Kit Cat clock was originally made in Portland Oregon by the Allied Clock Company. In the 1960's Allied Clock renamed itself the California Clock Company after moving to Southern California. Kit Cat clock is recognized today as an icon of the 1950's.
Modern Moose wall clocks are 3D works of art designed by Paul Ocepek. These colorful, battery operated clocks are made in Massachusetts, from locally sourced wood and painted with non-toxic water based paints. Modern Moose wall clocks are sure to brighten up any room in your house!
From Classic, to Vintage, to Modern; Abelo Clocks has a wall clock for every taste! These clocks are handcrafted in Concord California by a husband and wife team and all parts are made in America.
If you still need more ways to keep the time, check out our feature on LaMer Collections, makers of stylish American-made watches.
Have you discovered an American made wall clock company not on our list? Please share!
Our family has always had Howard Miller clocks in our households. Thanks for spotlighting another great American company.
What a joke! American made with cheap junk Chinese parts. Just got one and the minute hand would just hang straight down. Great quality eh!
You can just take out the cheap Chinese movement and replace it with an American made Takane movement. I replaced my clock's movement with a Takane movement and haven't had a problem since. They keep time quite accurately as well. Heck, even the New Hampshire Clock Company uses Takane movements. That should be an indicator as to how good these movements really are.
I didn't realize the Kit-cat clocks had been around for that long! Thank you for the article…. you make finding American made products so much simpler….
Here is another one on Google from Alton, New Hampshire that I just discovered FYI that make wooden clocks.
Hello my name is Art Jimenez III.
Found this website and they also sell food and wool clothing besides furniture. Never bought from them but mantel clocks are beautiful also. Made in the village of Amana, IA which has been around since 1855 according to the website and history or German Immigrants.
heirlooms you can own. There is no doubt that you will cherish it for years to come.
time, but for the intricacies of the design, the beauty of the details, the wood, the color,the warmth, and each one being different and personal.
I hope you validate these 4 and update your website. Especially with Bradford Clocks which I own.
Thanks so much for all of this wonderful info, Art!
The fate of the Seth Thomas Clock Company breaks my heart. They were four years from their 200th anniversary before the Great Recession took them. It's sad to see such a historic company go under like that.
I would like to mention New Hampshire Clocks, which are classic clocks made out of solid wood and made in the USA. These clocks are sold nationwide at colleges, universities and corporations. New Hampshire Clocks offers custom screen printing of logos on their clocks too. I am not associated with New Hampshire Clocks, but I have purchased from them before and I am always pleased.
I saw the Howard Miller clocks on Amazon stating the country of origin was China.
Howard Miller does sell some clocks that are made in China. The clocks that they make in the USA are the Grandfather, floor clocks and some of the key wound clocks. There is a furniture store near me that sells only American made Howard Miller clocks.
LOL> My mother-in-law used to have one the Kit Kat clocks!
LOL! My mother-in-law used to have one the Kit Kat clocks!


We examined variation in hospital treatment and its relationship to clinical outcome in a large population-based cohort of ACS patients within a single payer-government funded health care system.Patients hospitalized in 106 hospitals in Alberta, Canada with a primary diagnosis of ACS were included (July 1, 2010-March 31, 2013) with comparisons made across the three cardiac catheterization-capable hospitals (Sites A-C). Cox proportional-hazard regression models were used to examine the multivariable-adjusted association between site and 1-year death or repeat cardiovascular (CV) hospitalization (primary endpoint).Of 14,155 patients, 1938 (13.7%) were admitted to a community hospital without transfer to an invasive hospital (10.7% in-hospital death). The remaining were admitted (n=4514, 36.9%) or transferred (n=7703, 63.1%) to an invasive hospital (A:5480; B:3621; C:3116) where 11,247 (92.1%) underwent catheterization. Comorbidities and angiographic disease burden differed across sites. Variation in 30-day revascularization (PCI: 71.3%, 72.0%, 68.7%, p<0.001; CABG: 6.2%, 6.4%, 9.3%, p<0.001) and drug-eluting stent use for PCI (24.3%, 54.6%, 50.5%, p<0.001) were observed. After adjustment for patient demographics and comorbidities, variation in rates of 1-year death or CV hospitalization was observed among those with 30-day revascularization (p(interaction)<0.001; B versus A: HR 0.78, 95%CI 0.66-0.91; C versus A: HR 0.77, 95%CI 0.65-0.91; B versus C: HR 1.01, 95%CI 0.84-1.21).Despite a government funded health system, we have shown variation in hospital treatment exists. Following adjustment hospital site was associated with differences in clinical outcome within 1year. Hence, further efforts may be warranted to help address potential disparities in ACS care.


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Understanding the Lame Duck Politics Disadvantages
11/29 Update
The Biden administration has asked Congress to take up legislation that would prevent a rail strike. The House said they'd act on it tomorrow (11/30) and the Senate hopes to take it up at the end of the week or next week. Although there is significant support for the legislation, it is unclear if the needed 10 Republicans will go along, making this an excellent politics disadvantage for the weekend.
The same sex marriage bill has passed the Senate (it already passed the House).
Today (11/28) the Senate returns from Thanksgiving break and the House returns tomorrow (11/29).
When Congress fully returns to session it will spend a month from then until the end of December in the "lame duck" session. The session is referred to as the "lame duck" because it is the period of time between the end of the midterm elections and the seating of the new Congress in January.
When the new Congress sits in January, the Republicans will have majority control of the House of Representatives but the Democrats will have at least 50 Senators, with the capacity for Kamala Harris as the President of the Senate to break the tie. If Raphael Warnock defeats Herschel Walker in the run-off election in Georgia, the Democrats will have an extra vote (51). If he loses, it will be a 50-50 split, with Kamala Harris breaking the time. The 50-50 split is how the Senate operated for the first two years of Biden's presidency, though the House at the time was controlled by the Democrats.
Since control of the House will shift to the Republicans, the Democrats want to accomplish as much as possible.
What will be on the agenda in the lame duck?
It's difficult to predict exactly what will be addressed and what success the Democrats will have, but there are some priorities.
Marriage Equality Act. This Act protects same sex marriage. It is not a strong politics scenario, as the votes are already secured, with all 50 Democrats and 11 Republicans committed to voting for the bill. Regardless, it may be at the "top of the docket," but with the votes already secure Biden won't be spending any additional political capital to get it passed. It may be passed before your debates start this weekend.
Continuing Resolution (CR). Funding to sustain the operations of the US government expires on December 16th. To keep the government operating, Congress must approve a CR that at least keeps the government funded and operated for a limited amount of time (say 90 days) or until the end of the fiscal year (next September).
While it is incredibly unlikely that Congress will fail to pass a CR at all, resulting in a government shut-down, it may fund the government for a limited period of time rather than for the rest of the fiscal year.Negative teams my try to construct a disadvantage that argues that a short-term extension will undermine needed predictability in military spending and that a short-term extension will not include needed funding for more navy ships. A shell for this disadvantage, which focuses on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is one of the 13 major appropriation bills that must be passed is included in the lame duck release.
Debt Ceiling. This is also about finance but it is not about the CR. The debt ceiling is the total cap on the amount of money the US government is permitted to borrow. It's not an annual cap, but an absolute cap.
Since 1960, Congress has raised it 78 times. It can only be raised by Congress, not the President.
The last time it was raised was in December 2021 and it was raised to $31.4 trillion.
Some time next year (as early as June 2023 and as late as the fall of 2023), the US will hit the total debt ceiling and need to borrow more money to pay its obligations.
Although the debt ceiling was originally passed to prevent the US from "spending beyond its means," the debt ceiling does not prevent Congress from passing budgets that require it to borrow and the US government can borrow until it hits that debt ceiling.
When the US hits the debt ceiling it really has no alternative to borrow or it will not be able to meet its obligations. The US is, for example, obligated to pay Social Security benefits, Medicare costs and make payments to defense contractors it has entered into contracts with. When Congress passes its budget it is not dumb enough to not know that it will need to borrow money to pay the bills, as the expenses in the budget are usually known to exceed revenues even when the budget is passed. If the US doesn't raise the debt ceiling, it would simply default on its obligations.
If the US defaulted on its obligations it would hurt its credit rating, which would only increase its borrowing costs (lenders charge higher interest rates to individuals who are at-risk of not paying their bills). There is also strong evidence that this would generally hurt the economy.
Although it is unlikely that the US would default on its debt, during the Obama administration the Republicans "pushed it to the brink" by threatening to not approve a debt ceiling increase unless Obama agreed to spending cuts. With Republicans likely to take back control of the House, many fear this scenario could repeat.
Democrats have been pushing to extend the debt ceiling in the lame duck, and this became a somewhat popular disadvantage before Thanksgiving break, but the uniqueness is questionable at best. This disadvantage is available for download and there are updated answers in the Lame Duck Release.
Ukraine aid. Some Republicans (the hard right) have come out in opposition to aid to the Ukraine. While it is unlikely there are enough Republicans to block its passage, Democrats would like to get a significant amount approved before Republicans take control of the House.
While Ukraine aid good/bad is likely to get debated as an all or nothing issue, and perhaps as an attached impact to the CR (no CR means no Ukraine aid), reality probably requires a more nuanced argument, with claims that if Biden's package doesn't pass we'll end up with a Republican package that is less effective.
According to The Hill on November 27
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Sunday said Congress does not need to pass "Democrat bills" with big price tags to help Ukraine, saying the incoming Republican majority in the House will spend less money to fund Kyiv's war against Russia.
Turner told ABC's "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he personally told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he will have bipartisan support in the next Congress.
But Turner also said Republicans will closely look at how much is being spent.
"We don't need to pass $40 billion, large Democrat bills … to send $8 billion dollars to Ukraine," Turner said. "It's been very frustrating, obviously, even to the Ukrainians, when they hear these large numbers in the United States as the result of the burgeoned Democrat bills."
Turner on Sunday said Republicans will make sure that Ukraine "gets what they need," including critical weapons like air defenses after Russia has pounded the country with a wave of missile strikes.
"We need to make certain we work with partners and pull together an air defense system … to defend Kyiv, to defend their infrastructure," he said.
This disadvantage will be hard to construct, as this evidence even says Republicans will support them getting the key weapons systems, making this a strong answer to the disadvantage. If they CR doesn't' pass and the Ukraine gets nothing, that's a more meaningful impact.
Perhaps once the debate develops in Congress more there may be evidence that the Republicans are trying to block funding for a specific type of aid that Ukraine needs, but the evidence isn't close to there at the moment.
Biden has already asked Congress for the money, so this is probably an item that is at least close to the 'top of the docket.
Permitting reform. Permitting reform refers to deal that moderate Democrat Joe Manchin worked out with Senate Majority leader Chuck Shcumer to permit more oil and gas production under the Inflation Reduction Act. Part of it includes the Moutain Valley Pipeline that runs through Manchin's home state, West Virginia.
Although the GOP would clearly support the substance of the bill, the party is angry at Manchin for voting for the Inflation Reduction Act and would like to see him lose his seat (if he runs again) in 2024. This makes passage of permitting reform unlikely, though there it is certainly possible. A couple teams did run Permitting Reform early in the fall.
Some want to attach it to the NDAA, so it is a potential impact to the NDAA.
Assault weapons ban. In response to the recent mass shootings, President Biden has decided to push to an assault weapons ban (DebateUS! Backgrounder) in the lame duck. It's unlikely he has the votes, however.if Biden does end-up pushing this and there is the potential for a vote early on, it does have a good chance to be a decent thumper
Child Tax Credit. As part of the American Rescue Plan, families under a certain income level were able to receive $300/month/child. The tax credit expired last January and there is talk of extending it in the lame duck session. It did dramatically reduce childhood poverty by more than 4%. The prospects for Congress taking it up and passing it at this point are unclear, but it is a potential scenario.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This is certainly a longshot, but there is a small chance Congress could take up protections for DACA beneficiaries in the lame duck [DebateUS! Backgrounder]
The child tax credit, the assault weapons ban and DACA are all long shots.
Theodore Mayer, 11-28, 22, Washington Post, Your guide to Congress's lame duck session, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/28/your-guide-congress-lame-duck-session/
Other Democratic priorities: There are other bills Democrats would love to pass before they lose control of the House, such as potential deals to revive the expanded child tax credit and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to allow undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to remain. Biden also said on Thanksgiving that he would try again to pass an assault weapons ban, although the House passed such a bill in July and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that it probably doesn't have 60 votes in the Senate. All these efforts are long shots.
Thumpers
Protecting your link from "thumpers" can always be a challenge, but your odds are improved if you chose something that Congress will act on towards the top of its agenda, such as the CR or Ukraine aid.
If you do choose Ukraine aid, you'll just need to win that the CR will pass without too much controversy relative to the plan.
One thing everyone will need to contend with is the potential for a rail strike that could disrupt the entire lame duck.
You could, of course, make a politics DA out of it if it makes it to the weekend. The House has pledged to act on it this week. The Senate may act this week or next week. If the Senate doesn't get to it until next week, it could be a great politics DA for this coming weekend.