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Scroll Down To See All Past Media Releases. Any New Media Releases for Will Be Posted Here
Regina Optimist Baseball Association
***Baseball Canada Cancells All 2021 Baseball Championships, Here
*** 2021 Baseball Canada Cup Information, Click > Here
- 2021 Baseball Canada Cup Media Release from Baseball Canada, Click > Here
- 2021 Baseball Canada Cup Media Release from CKRM Regina, Click > Here
***2019 Baseball Canada Cup Media Relase, Please Click > Here
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Regina, SK (July 7, 2016) - Between August 18 and 21, eight baseball teams from around Canada will go head-to-head at Baseball Canada's U21 Junior National Baseball Championship in Regina. Scroll down for pictures and video.
1925 Rose Street | Regina, Saskatchewan | Canada | S4P 3P1 economicdevelopmentregina.com | tourismregina.com
U21 National Baseball Championship returns to Regina for second year
Regina, SK (July 7, 2016) - Between August 18 and 21, eight baseball teams from around Canada will go head-to-head at Baseball Canada's U21 Junior National Baseball Championship in Regina.
"Regina is a city that loves baseball, and players that participated in the 2015 championship saw ample evidence of that," said Mayor Michael Fougere. "Our facilities, our volunteer and hosting expertise, and ample accommodations mean our growing city is a perfect host to teams from across the country."
Throughout the championship, the teams will be hitting the diamonds at Optimist Baseball Park and Currie Field. Spectators are encouraged to join the fun and cheer on their favourite teams. A kickoff barbecue will take place at Regina Optimist Baseball Park Aug.18 from 4:30 to 6:15 p.m., as well as the opening ceremonies which will include RCMP on horseback.
"We wish to welcome the athletes and spectators travelling to Regina for the U21 Junior National Championship Baseball tournament. It is great privilege to welcome this tournament back to our community for a second straight year and thanks to the hard work of Regina Optimist Baseball, it is sure to be yet another successful event," said President and CEO of Tourism Regina, John Lee.
The Regina Optimist Baseball Association feels it is vital to foster players when they're young to help provide them with skills and opportunities to succeed, as well as experiences to remember. An example of this is seen with MLB player Dustin Molleken, who has climbed to the top since setting his goals out during his young career playing at Optimist Park.
"Our mission is to promote minor baseball and hosting the Baseball Canada U21 Junior National Championship is a perfect opportunity to showcase the great talent from across Saskatchewan and Canada," Rod Palanuik President of the Regina Optimist Baseball Association said.
An example of this can be seen in the 2015 championship in Regina when 11-year-old Ethan Perron was asked to be a bat boy for Team Québec /Les Aigles De Trois Rivières.
"When I first showed up I was extremely nervous, and the team welcomed me with open arms. After explaining what was going to happen on the field, the first thing the coach did was give me my own uniform for the tournament. There was not a day that went by where I didn't feel like I was part of the team," Perron said. "Before this tournament I was thinking of quitting baseball to play football instead, but this opportunity changed that. I saw what it was like to be part of a true team in those few days and someday I want to experience that with the baseball team I play for."
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased at Western Cycle Source for Sports.
For more information visit www.baseball.ca/21U.
For media inquiries contact:
Rodney Palanuik
Sarah Stone
Manager, Destination Marketing
Economic Development Regina Inc. | Tourism Regina
About the Regina Optimist Baseball Association Inc.
The Regina Optimist Club has over 50 years of dedicated support to minor baseball and has hosted tournaments of all descriptions for leagues playing out of the park. These tournaments included Saskatchewan Baseball Association Senior Men's Provincial and Midget AA and AAA League, Provincial, and Western Canada Championships culminating in 2011 with the prestigious Baseball Canada National Midget AAA Championship.
About Tourism Regina
Tourism Regina, an industry sector of Economic Development Regina Inc. (EDR), is the official destination marketing organization representing Regina and region. It works in collaboration with the Regina region's tourism sector and industry partners to promote and enhance Regina as a destination experience. It also encourages the growth of the region's tourism industry through the retention and development of attractions. The Tourism Division attracts visitors to explore Regina's leisure, business and special event tourism, which account for $339 million of the regional economy.
Media Release and Ethan Perron, Bat Boy Video > Here
Ethan Perron, Bat Boy Video > Here
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2015 Baseball Canada 21U Junior Championship, Hosted by The Regina Optimist Baseball Association, at The Regina Optimist Park, Aug 13-17, 2015, Official Media Release Video.
Filmed May 28, 2015 at The Travelodge Hotel in Regina
Regina to Host 2015 & 2016 Baseball Canada Junior National Championship
From Tourism Regina
The Regina Optimist Baseball Association Inc. and Saskatchewan Baseball Association are pleased to announce that the 2015 and 2016 Baseball Canada 21U (Junior) National Championship Host has been awarded to Regina, Saskatchewan.
President of Regina Optimist Baseball Association Inc., Rodney Palanuik, said, "Regina Optimist Baseball has been very successful in hosting many regional and provincial baseball tournaments of all descriptions thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers and valued sponsors that have made each event a tremendous success. We're honored to be chosen to host this tournament in Regina and to promote baseball as one of the greatest sports to play and watch."
Director General of Baseball Canada, Jim Baba, noted that "Regina has done a great job in the past hosting Canada Games Baseball and other National Championships and we look forward to having them host the 2015/16 Junior National Championships. After a few adjustments to our hosting requirements a few years ago, bidding to host our events has become extremely competitive and winning a bid to host is a testament to what Regina offers in baseball facilities, accommodations, local travel and as a hosting group."
John Lee, President and CEO of Tourism Regina said, "We were very happy to work with Regina Optimist Baseball and the Regina Hotel Association to bring this prestigious event to Regina. Regina Optimist Baseball has celebrated over 50 years of dedication to the support of minor baseball in Regina and they will be ready to showcase Canada's finest baseball talent. Regina has great momentum going into 2014 and events are a top priority."
Tourism Regina, a division of Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC), in partnership with Regina Hotel Association, works to position Regina as a premier destination for events of all kinds. They have been instrumental in securing major events for the city including the Juno Awards, BMO Skate Canada Challenge, Canadian Gymnastics Championships, Canoe/Kayak Sprint National Championships, Ford World Men's Curling Championships, and a long list of many more prominent events.
Executive Director of Baseball Saskatchewan, Mike Ramage, added that "Baseball Sask is very pleased to hear that Regina Optimist Baseball has been awarded the 2015 & 2016 Baseball Canada Junior Championships. The Regina Optimist Junior League has a strong tradition of developing many players over the years and I know they will put on a terrific show in hosting this prestigious event showcasing some of Canada's best 21U players."
For more information regarding the event, please contact:
President – Regina Optimist Baseball Association Inc.
P: (306) 306-551-6016
Deborah Rush
Regina Regional Opportunities Commission
The Regina Optimist Club was chartered on December 9, 1957. Optimist Baseball now has over 50 years of dedicated support to minor baseball and has hosted tournaments of all descriptions for leagues playing out of the park. These tournaments included Saskatchewan Baseball Association Senior Men's Provincial and Midget AA and AAA League, Provincial, and Western Canada Championships culminating in 2011 with the prestigious Baseball Canada National Midget AAA Championship. https://optimistbaseball.ca/
Tourism Regina, a division of Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC), is the official destination marketing organization representing Regina and region. As a sales and marketing organization, Tourism Regina engages visitors and residents to explore Regina's leisure, business and special event tourism, which accounts for over $360 million in expenditures annually. Working alongside RROC's Economic Development division, we help to ensure that the Regina region prospers as a vibrant and diversified economy for businesses and investors, a strong destination experience for visitors, and a place of choice with a high quality of life and career opportunities for residents. www.tourismregina.com
Source: http://tourismregina.com/info/about/news-feed/regina-to-host-2015-2016-baseball-canada-junior-national-championship/
Related, Stay in Regina Press Release > http://stayinregina.com/regina-host-2015-2016-baseball-juniot-national-championship/
July 23/2013 Media Release
Regina Optimist Park Celebrates 50 Years of Baseball, Celebrations: (Saturday July 27, 6PM at Optimist Park Regina, 6200 Dewdney Av West!
Regina Optimist Baseball Association volunteers Wendy Mitchell and Brian Rankin encourage members of the public to join the festivities Saturday night celebrating the baseball park's 50th anniversary.
Host to countless tournaments and minor-league games over the years, Regina Optimist Baseball Park is marking its 50th anniversary with a birthday bash this week.
On Saturday, Mayor Michael Fougere, provincial cabinet minister Christine Tell and other boosters will commemorate the facility during a special celebration, free to the public.
"Our celebration ceremony will start at 6 p.m. (and) we'll be having cake and some baseball," said Wendy Mitchell, vice-president of the Regina Optimist Baseball Association, which runs the facility and provides most of its capital funding.
"We're trying to get many people out to the park for that evening to show some support."
The ceremony will also act as a kick-off for this weekend's provincial midget baseball championship, one of many top-tier competitions hosted at the Dewdney Avenue field every year.
The families and players flocking to the park — which hosted a children's baseball camp run by the major-league Toronto Blue Jays in 2011 — provide a crucial boost to Regina's tourism industry, Mitchell said.
"It generates a lot of tourism because you get people coming from all over Canada," she said. "They're staying at hotels, seeing the sights of the city."
Construction of the park was completed in 1963 after the City of Regina agreed to terms with the local Optimist Club — an international charity dedicated to improving the lives of young people.
The Optimist Club continues to maintain the facility with an all-volunteer staff, except for a seasonally employed, full-time groundskeeper.
Park association vice-president Brian Rankin said the group deserves praise for its stewardship and financial support of the facility.
"Regina should pay honour to the Optimist Club and all the money they spent in 50 years on this park," he said.
"Help us in thanking them for doing it, because it really fills a need."
Article & Photo by: Metro/Marco Vigliotti
Metro News Article > http://metronews.ca/news/regina/746818/reginas-optimist-park-celebrates-50-years-of-baseball/
July 26th/2013 Media Release
Celebrating 50 years of baseball at Optimist Park
(Celebrations: Saturday July 27, 6Pm at Regina Optimist Park, 6200 Dewdney Av West
The Leader-Post July 26, 2013 2:09 PM
The Regina Optimist Baseball Association is commemorating the 50th birthday of Optimist Park.
Photograph by: Bryan Schlosser , Regina Leader-Post files
To mark the occasion, a ceremony will be held at the west Dewdney Avenue baseball diamond on Saturday, during Saskatchewan Baseball's midget AAA championship tournament.
A program that is to begin at 6:15 p.m., will include greetings from Regina Optimist Club president Vivian Evancio, city councillor Terry Hincks and provincial corrections and policing minister Christine Tell. The agenda will also include presentations to the athletes.
"The Regina Optimist Baseball Association is honouring the park they call home for 50 years,'' Rod Palanuik, president of the ROBA, said in a media release. "So many young athletes have run these bases, learned the value of sport and enjoyed the game of baseball. We are fortunate to have such a long history of support for the facility.'' The first baseball game at Optimist Park was played May 16, 1963. In 1975, the Optimist club made an agreement with the City of Regina to assume control of the park's operations, including maintenance and scheduling.
The first major tournament hosted by the ROBA was the 1975 Western Canadian midget championship.
Over the years, the park has been upgraded - most significantly when the Optimist Club contributed $350,000 toward an overall renovation cost of $650,000. That project included the installation of lights and new fencing, along with a new grass infield.
The first major event at the upgraded park was held in 1991, when the Canadian selects tournament was awarded to Regina. Various tournaments have been based at Optimist Park since then, along with baseball games featuring teams from local minor and senior leagues.
This weekend, the provincial midget AAA championship will be held at Optimist Park and Currie Field.
The first two days of the tournament are to consist of round-robin play for the eight teams that will be competing for a berth in both the Western Canada and national championships.
The games today at Optimist Park are between the Regina Mets and Regina Wolfpack (11 a.m.), the Saskatoon Giants and Saskatoon Cubs (2 p.m.), the Saskatoon Diamondbacks and Regina Athletics (5 p.m.), and the Southeast Twins and Moose Jaw Devons (8 p.m.).
The gold-medal game is scheduled for Sunday, 7 p.m., at Optimist Park
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/baseball/Celebrating+years+baseball+Optimist+Park/8710773/story.html
Regina Optimist Baseball Park & Website


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Microsoft E3 2014 Indie Game Roundup
Erika Szabo
E3 2014, Gaming, News
This morning's Microsoft Press Conference was loaded with news from some of the heaviest hitters in the industry, including a multitude of indie games coming to Xbox One. Let's take a sneak peek at some of these amazing games:
The first time I saw this 1930-cartoon inspired co-op run and gun I fell in love. I can't name a time when we got see such gorgeous hand-drawn visuals be incorporated into a game genre like this. It's original, creative and extremely endearing.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIbUS6UgWw8]
Mighty No. 9
Megaman fans unite! Might No. 9 is the spiritual successor to the beloved franchise and works it with total gusto. This side-scrolling action game takes everything you ever loved about the 8 and 16-bit classics, lovingly creating something fresh yet so recognizable.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo2Stj9wJ2A]
Toronto's Capybara Games is once again getting down to business with their latest indie project, Below. As atmospherically vast as another of their games, Sword & Sworcery, Below is groundbreaking in scale and proves just how powerful minimalism can truly be.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wuR9lOnGNo]
If you know Playdead Games, you know what a first impression they made with their groundbreaking puzzle platformer Limbo. Now they're back with an oddly similar Inside, putting you in the shoes of a young boy facing the darkest side of human nature.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op4G1–kb-g]
Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time
The first time I played Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time was back at Toronto's Bit Bizaar, and I immediately fell in love. This frantic 1/2-player couch co-op action/defense game sent shivers down my spine with its intense gameplay and colourfully cute aesthetic. It's no wonder it's garnered such acclaim.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Coq6RLuGQ]
What can I say about Hyper Light Drifter that hasn't been said already? This 2D action RPG (in the same vain as, say, The Legend of Zelda) is a beautifully produced indie project by Heart Machine. It's quietly confident and extremely bold in presentation. Can't wait to see what else this talented developers has up their sleeves.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_wt__zwt20]
That's only a few of the many games featured, but some of my personal favourites of the day. What indie games are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!
e3 2014indie gamesMicrosoft Press Conference
E3 Trailer: Dragon Age: Inquisition
E3 Trailer: Let It Die
Erika Szabo has been writing about video games since 2009, exploring the intricacies of mainstream, indie and retro titles. Her love affair with games started when she was six and has since escalated into a full-time freelance career. You can check out more of her work all over the interwebs, including her awesome YouTube channel! Erika joined Eggplante in 2012 and writes a regular segment called Retro Renegade.
Nintendo resurrecting GameCube controller for Smash Bros. Wii U
Xbox One to come without Kinect, cost $399

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We have previously had Milos bed linen but I fancied trying this one for a little variety. This feels like silk! I would be happy to wear fabric like this as an evening gown :) Roll on tonight when I can climb in to theis fairy tale bed. Only bitter taste is the ridiculous cost (iro $600) extra we have to pay as import tax into UK. We are in Chicago in a few months and may buy more then, shipping to our hotel.


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Robbie Williams Releases His Brilliant Brand New Studio Album "Heavy Entertainment Show" Nov 4.
THE ALBUM FEATURE SONGS CO-WRITTEN WITH GUY CHAMBERS, JOHN GRANT, RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, BRANDON FLOWERS/THE KILLERS, ED SHEERAN AND STUART PRICE – AND, FROM ABOVE, SERGE GAINSBOURG AND SERGEI PROKOFIEV.
THE TITLE TRACK FROM THE RECORD "HEAVY ENTERTAINMENT SHOW" IS AVAILABLE NOW.
https://SonyMusicAfrica.lnk.to/MSjbe
The incredible ROBBIE WILLIAMS releases his brand new studio album "Heavy Entertainment Show" on Columbia Records on November 4.
The album is Robbie's first to be released through Sony Music and follows a string of 11 UK chart-topping albums, a tally only matched by Elvis Presley. Robbie's last solo No. 1 album "Swings Both Ways" was also the 1000th album to reach the top of the UK charts.
Robbie said – "I was musing over the phrase 'light entertainment' – all the huge TV shows from when I was a kid, 30 million people watching them, this huge shared experience of these moments called light entertainment. Sometimes it can be leveled at people in a bad way, but for me that's heavy entertainment. That's what I'm hoping to do with this album – to have a shared experience with millions of people though the medium of light entertainment…but on steroids."
Track-Listing
HEAVY ENTERTAINMENT SHOW
PARTY LIKE A RUSSIAN
MOTHERFUCKER
DAVID'S SONG
HOTEL CRAZY (FEATURING RUFUS WAINWRIGHT)
A 16 track deluxe version of the album will also be available featuring a DVD of exclusive behind the scenes content, along with the following extra tracks:
WHEN YOU KNOW
TIME ON EARTH
I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU (DUET WITH JOHN GRANT)
BEST INTENTIONS
'Dance Euphoria' deliver powerful beats and a radical fusion of melodic EDM styles with new single 'Dance Without Limit'
Phil Collins was forced to cancel a U.K. TV appearance due to a mystery illness
Bring Me the Horizon drop AMO
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The Centre for The Future of Simulation at the Queen's University Clinical Simulation Centre evaluates emerging technologies and leverages their potential to advance the use of simulation. The goal – more effective, more efficient learning.
This is an exciting time for health care simulation! With the rapid development of virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and advanced haptics, simulation is about to take a tremendous leap forward.
The Centre for the Future of Simulation is making it happen today.


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Q: How I can combine np.where and fillna for pandas Data:
Col1       Result

 good       positive
 bad        NaN
 excellent  NaN
 good       NaN
 good       NaN

Required output:
 Col1       Result

 good       positive
 bad        positive
 excellent  NaN
 good       negative
 good       negative

I have following two condition and want to integrate it with .fillna, these condition apply only for NaN values in the result column
df['result'] = np.where(df['col1'] == 'good',  'negative',df['result'])
df['result'] = np.where(df['col1'] == 'bad',   'positive',df['result'])

A: If need replace missing values by col1 column add Series.fillna:
df['Result'] = np.where(df['Col1'] == 'good',df['Result'].fillna('negative'),df['Result'])
df['Result'] = np.where(df['Col1'] == 'bad',df['Result'].fillna('positive'),df['Result'])

In my opinion better here is use Series.fillna with Series.map:
df['Result'] = df['Result'].fillna(df['Col1'].map({'good':'negative','bad':'positive'}))
print (df)
        Col1    Result
0       good  positive
1        bad  positive
2  excellent       NaN
3       good  negative
4       good  negative

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Greenstein: Obama's Budget: More Investm...
CBPP Statement: February 9, 2016 - For Immediate Release
Greenstein: Obama's Budget: More Investment With More Deficit Reduction
By Robert Greenstein
Statement On the President's Fiscal Year 2017 Budget
President Obama's new budget shows that we can address key unmet national needs and substantially reduce deficits at the same time. The budget proposes major initiatives to increase economic opportunity, reduce poverty, and boost investment in infrastructure and other activities important to raising productivity and long-term growth. It also would reduce deficits by $2.9 trillion over the coming decade, which would hold deficits below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) during this period and keep the debt-to-GDP ratio stable for 25 years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) estimates. In addition, it would shore up Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund.
To be sure, policymakers won't enact most of the President's initiatives this year; indeed, in a step that breaks with decades of tradition and reflects today's corrosive partisanship in Washington, Republican congressional leaders aren't inviting the OMB Director to discuss the budget at congressional hearings. But because the President and Congress agreed last year on total funding levels for defense and non-defense appropriations in fiscal year 2017 — and the President's budget adheres to those levels — a number of its proposals outside of taxes and entitlement programs likely will receive consideration in the appropriations process.
The Obama budget is designed to chart a path for the nation's future.More fundamentally, the Obama budget is designed to chart a path for the nation's future and, as such, it puts key ideas and proposals on the table for debate this year and in the years ahead. In that sense, it's somewhat akin to what various presidential candidates are doing and what Speaker Ryan has urged congressional Republicans to do.
But the analogy between the Obama budget and tax-and-spending proposals of many presidential candidates stops there. In key respects, Obama's proposals and those of various candidates couldn't be more different. While, as noted, Obama's budget would reduce deficits by $2.9 trillion over the coming decade, the proposals of numerous candidates would add trillions to deficits, mainly through massive tax cuts. In addition, many of the candidates' proposals are vague and lack detail, making them difficult to evaluate.
Fiscal Effects
The budget proposes $2.9 trillion in deficit reduction over the decade from fiscal years 2017 to 2026, not counting savings related to funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (e.g., for the Middle East conflicts). The savings would limit deficits to no more than 2.8 percent of GDP throughout the decade and stabilize the debt as a share of GDP over this period and beyond. The debt would equal a projected 76.5 percent of GDP in 2016 and stand at 75.3 percent of GDP in 2026, OMB estimates.
Policymakers would likely need to enact more deficit reduction in coming decades to address the nation's long-term fiscal challenges. But the Obama budget would represent important progress on this front, and preventing the debt-to-GDP ratio from rising over the next quarter-century would be a significant accomplishment.
Some critics undoubtedly will castigate the budget for focusing its deficit reduction efforts on the revenue side. But we should keep several facts in mind. First, its $2.9 trillion in deficit reduction for 2017-2026 would come on top of the $4 trillion to $5 trillion in deficit reduction that policymakers have already achieved since 2010, and those savings came heavily on the spending side. With the new Obama proposals, total deficit reduction over this period would fall roughly 50-50 between spending and revenues, OMB estimates. Also, part of the proposed Obama revenue increases would effectively "pay for" the large year-end tax bill that policymakers enacted in December without offsetting its cost.
Under the budget, federal spending would average 22.3 percent of GDP over the coming decade, which isn't far above the 21.6 percent average of the Reagan years. Moreover, a significantly larger share of Americans is elderly now and receiving Social Security and Medicare than in the Reagan years. In addition, we've experienced more than a quarter-century of health care cost growth since the Reagan years, which has boosted the cost of federal health insurance programs, most notably Medicare.
Opportunity and Poverty
This budget marks a major effort to increase opportunity — especially among children and youth — and reduce poverty. It includes a large and impressive array of proposals, several of which have at least some bipartisan support or reflect bipartisan principles, and they deserve careful consideration rather than blind rejection.
Specifically, the budget features initiatives to substantially expand access to high-quality child care and preschool education for many children, especially from families with modest incomes. It includes $10 billion over ten years to expand the home visiting program, an evidence-based program that's proven successful in helping low-income parents be better parents and thereby improve their children's life chances. It would commit $11 billion over the decade with the goal of eliminating homelessness among families with children.
The budget proposes $12 billion over the decade to provide low-income children with supplemental food benefits in summer months when school is out and children lack access to free or reduced-price school meals. That's another evidence-based initiative; demonstration projects that were rigorously evaluated found this supplemental nutrition assistance reduced food insecurity among low-income children in the summer and improved their diets. The budget also includes a long-overdue funding boost for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, which has been frozen for 20 years without any adjustment for inflation and, thus, has eroded substantially in value.
The budget would strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers not raising children — the one group of workers that the federal tax code still taxes into, or deeper into, poverty. House Speaker Paul Ryan has proposed a nearly identical measure.
And the budget proposes $2 billion to test various innovative state and local approaches to aiding desperately poor families who face a downward spiral into severe economic crisis. These pilot projects would test approaches to stabilizing these families, getting their parents back on their feet, and protecting their children. Among their targets are families that, recent research has shown, live on as little as $2 per person per day in cash income or even less.
Increasing Economic Growth and Productivity
The budget aims to boost long-term economic growth by investing more in early childhood education, computer-science education, and other such areas, as well as by enhancing the skills and employability of disadvantaged youth, expanding the use of apprenticeships, improving college affordability, and other measures. A better trained and more adaptable work force will yield more productive workers, boosting the economy and job growth.
The budget also contains a well-designed, $300 billion-plus investment in infrastructure, largely financed through a new oil fee, that would help address widely recognized deficiencies in the nation's transportation system. A faster, safer, and cleaner transportation system will mean more efficient travel and transport, benefiting individuals and businesses alike. The proposal also would use 15 percent of the oil fee revenues to provide assistance to low- and moderate-income families facing higher costs from the transition to cleaner energy.
The budget's tax measures also should promote economic efficiency and productivity. By reforming, curbing, or eliminating various tax credits, deductions, and other preferences (known collectively as "tax expenditures") that misallocate resources by favoring tax-advantaged investments that may be economically inefficient, these proposals should benefit the economy over time. By scaling back scores of dubious tax breaks, the budget would raise nearly $1 trillion over the decade and promote more productive and efficient investment.
Finally, the budget provides additional funding after 2017 for non-defense appropriations, which support a wide range of priorities that include productivity-enhancing investments in education, basic research, and infrastructure. That would build on last year's bipartisan agreement, which provided relief from the Budget Control Act's sequestration cuts in 2016 and 2017, by sticking with the agreed-upon funding levels for 2017 and proposing sequestration relief in the years that follow. That relief would, for instance, help accommodate the President's proposal to double funding for clean energy research over the next five years.
The budget would more than offset the costs of sequestration relief through extensive deficit-reduction measures, as noted above. Absent this sequestration relief, spending on appropriated non-defense programs will fall in 2018 and succeeding years to its lowest levels on record as a percent of GDP, with data going back to 1962.
Bolstering Medicare
The budget would bolster Medicare in several ways. It would reduce Medicare's projected spending, raise its revenues, and dedicate Medicare taxes appropriately. This would extend the solvency of Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund for more than 15 years.
On the spending side, the budget proposes Medicare reforms that would save more than $400 billion over ten years, primarily from reforms related to medical providers, insurance companies, and the prices that Medicare pays for prescription drugs. On the revenue side, it would close a loophole to bolster Medicare's finances. Under current law, people making less than $250,000 a year (less than $200,000 for a single tax filer) pay 2.9 percent of their wages and salaries into Medicare's trust fund. People who make more than that pay a 3.8 percent tax on their wages and salaries over the thresholds, as well as on investment income they receive (such as capital gains, dividends, and interest income). But certain investment income from their businesses that's passed through to individuals escapes the tax. The budget closes this loophole by applying the 3.8 percent tax to the pass-through investment income of people making over $250,000 — including from partnerships, limited liability companies, and S corporations.
The number of affected business owners would be small because roughly 97 percent of small business owners have incomes below the $200,000 and $250,000 thresholds. Most business owners, including sole proprietors, pay Medicare taxes on their income just as workers do. That some pass-through income escapes this tax, however, is not only inequitable but also creates incentives for wealthy owners and investment fund managers to re-characterize their income, or re-arrange their business operations, to avoid the tax.
Along with reforming the 3.8 percent net investment tax, the budget would address long-standing efforts by owners of certain pass-through enterprises to avoid payroll taxes by arranging their affairs to understate their salaries and wages. The Government Accountability Office and the Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration have highlighted this problem.
All told, these revenue proposals would raise $272 billion over the next decade, nearly all of which would go to Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund. Finally, in a related matter, the budget would address an anomaly under which the revenues from applying the 3.8 percent Medicare tax to investment income over $250,000 now go to the budget's general revenue fund rather than to Medicare's trust fund; under the Obama budget, all revenue from the 3.8 percent tax would go to the trust fund.
Rather than ignore this budget, policymakers would be wise to examine it closely. It charts a prudent, thoughtful path forward. It balances its further investment in both human and physical capital against the need to put the nation's finances on a sustainable path. Moreover, it includes a welcome focus on the most disadvantaged, offering proposals to increase opportunity and reduce poverty. Even if one disagrees with various specific proposals, the principles upon which this budget is based should serve to help guide future debates.
Federal Budget, Federal Tax, Health, Income Security, Housing
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs. It is supported primarily by foundation grants.
Obama's Budget: More Investment With More Deficit Reduction (4 pp.)
Congress Should Enact Obama's Medicaid Proposal
Obama's "Cadillac Tax" Changes Deserve Serious Look
2017 Budget Gives Lawmakers a Renewed Chance to Reduce Homelessness
Deficits, Debt, and Interest
Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
Non-Defense Discretionary Programs
The "Pay-As-You-Go" Budget Rule
Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?
Robert Greenstein
Greenstein: Bipartisan Agreement Provides Urgently Needed Relief
Greenstein: New Relief Proposal Well Designed, Urgently Needed
Uninsured Rate Rose in 2019; Income and Poverty Data Overtaken by Pandemic Recession


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Hester Does The Equine Construction Grand Prix Double At Keysoe International
Author admin Posted on Mar 17, 2019 Jun 30, 2019
Sunday, March 17: It was an evening of rare treats for the enthusiastic home crowd at the College Equestrian Centre, Keysoe, Bedfordshire. An all-star cast descended upon the venue to do battle in the hotly-contested Equine Construction Grand Prix Freestyle, and though the final scores were tight at the top, British stalwart Carl Hester managed to edge the win from teammate Charlotte Dujardin.
Carl's victory was all the more special because it marked a return to competition for his Rio mount, Nip Tuck. Now fifteen, Nip Tuck (Don Ruto x Irena, by Animo) was last seen at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg, at which he finished fourth.
"Jane de la Mare and I, who own the horse together, thought he'd probably done the best he could ever do, so last year he had some time off. He'd done four major championships in a row," says Hester. De la Mare spent much of that time riding the KWPN gelding who, despite his reputation for spookiness in the ring, "just trots around the village and is as good as gold with her."
The pair appeared in Friday night's Equine Construction Grand Prix and Saturday night's Freestyle, taking the top spot in both classes on scores of 74.547% and 78.725%, respectively. Despite some minor mistakes in his Grand Prix the horse, known to connections and fans as Barney, was able to make his long-awaited return both an enormously successful one and a useful precursor to the main event on Saturday.
Here, Hester opted to bring Barney's Rio music out of retirement, offering the full house of captivated fans the chance to see the remarkable floorplan in an intimate setting. Beginning with an exceptionally ambitious piaffe pirouette, the routine brought the very best of world-class sport to Bedfordshire, proving that Barney is back – and feeling better than ever.
"It's been like riding a five-year-old the last few days," laughs Hester. "Not like riding a fifteen-year-old at all! That's why we brought him – because he absolutely loves doing this. He was so crafty out there; he knew what was coming at every movement. Every time I got somewhere, he was already there. I nearly got G-forced in the canter pirouettes, I was just flying round, because he knew he had to get around to do the ones! He's such a smart old thing."
Now, Barney will represent Great Britain at its illustrious string of home internationals, including Windsor, Bolesworth, and Hartpury, allowing top mount Delicato to fly the flag abroad and at championships.
"You know, he's been at the top of the game and now I just want him to enjoy himself," says Hester. "I enjoy riding him because he's just so go-y, but when we brought him back I said, I've got no expectations, I just want him to enjoy himself, do some national shows, and Jane can ride him a bit and chill him out."
While the top spot was claimed by an old friendship, second place was clinched by a fledgling relationship. Charlotte Dujardin took the ride on Sonnar Murray-Brown's Erlentanz just two weeks ago and while the temporary partnership is still in its earliest stages, it looks set to be an exciting one.
"He's been as good as gold – he is just SO cool to ride and he really makes me smile, because he just tries his heart out," enthuses Dujardin who, as Murray-Brown's trainer, has worked with both horse and rider extensively and was the obvious choice to take the reins when Murray-Brown suffered a broken leg recently.
"He's not got much experience – he's only got one year at Grand Prix, so he didn't want Erly to drop down," Dujardin explains. "I helped him with the horse anyway, and I had ridden him a few times, but it's one thing just popping on a few things and another going in there and doing that. But because I've trained him and ridden him a bit, that definitely helped me – I wouldn't do that on a horse I didn't know. I knew his strengths and his weaknesses already from Sonny, and so it made it easier to just get on. He's an incredible horse and Sonny's done a fantastic job at training him."
Dujardin and Erlentanz also finished second in Friday's Grand Prix, earning 73.413%, and the class proved to be a useful learning curve in their relationship.
"I overrode it, I was trying too hard, and I was so annoyed about the mistakes in the zig-zags and the ones because they were rider error," she says. "I learnt from my mistake and for the freestyle, I knew not to override it. These are all the things I've got to get to know – how much I can push and can't push. For me, he lacks a bit of confidence in there, so it's just about getting him to open up in there and find that extra gear that he has out here."
For sidelined Murray-Brown, the experience is a great way to help find the relatively inexperienced horse's extra gears in conjunction with his trainer.
"He rings me all the time – he rang me and was like, 'I get more nervous watching you than I do riding him! It's such a pleasure to watch you ride him!' So he's really, really happy," says Dujardin.
Keysoe owner and show director, Simon Bates commented:
"The atmosphere in the indoor arena was electric! A full house in the grandstand seating and the new hospitality area were treated to an incredible display by a truly world class field. We'd like to thank the riders for supporting the event and for providing such a high standard of sport. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, and adding our new Para International classes, in October."


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Top 5 Huntsville neighborhoods for loan application volume in the last 5 months. Source: WFL Lender Pool. Updated: Monthly.
Louise's car broke down the other day on the road on the way to work. She had to have a tow truck pick up the car and take it to the closest repair shop for repairs.
She just got the report from the mechanic and she may as well look for another car. He told her that it is almost not repairable.
A major tune up, new tires because the tires on the car are bald and the muffler system is almost ready to fall off.
He also told her that the rad is looking pretty corroded and may not last much longer.
She is wondering if she should get a car loan for repairs or to find another car. The mechanic told her he would have the car taken to the wreckers for free.
He would collect whatever he could get for the car and she would not owe anything for his time.
She decided that her best solution was to find another car that is certified and has good tires on it. She cannot afford very much and only has $2000 as a down payment on another car.
Louise has been looking at several cars in the $8500 range. If she were to buy one of these she would need a car loan of approximately $6500, which would include all of the transfer fees and new insurance for the car.
Louise really has no choice. She needs a car to get to work and she is not going to buy a new car even though the loan deals are really cheap at the moment.
She just cannot afford the monthly payments and is opting to apply for a car loan of $6500 and trying to negotiate a better deal on the car she wants to purchase.
Between negotiating a better deal and being approved for a car loan that will only cost her a little more than $100 a month, Louise was able to buy a car that had been listed for $9000.
She picks up the car in the next few days and is really looking forward to driving a car that is much more dependable than the last one.
Her credit score was good and she had no other debts to consider. She was considered a good credit risk and the lender placed a lien against the car she purchased.
This is pretty standard in the industry. It protects the lender if Louise is unable to meet the monthly payments.
Her car would be repossessed and sold for the remaining balance on the loan.
Although this loan has a long term, seven years, Louise is hoping to repay the loan more quickly. She intends to make two extra payments each year and maybe bring the term down to five or six years instead of seven.
She will save some interest charges if she is able to make these extra payments.
A shout out to all living in the Huntsville Alabama area. If you need a loan regardless of credit, we may be able to help you today.
Lance Somerset founded the We Find Lenders Pool. He writes for WFL on rare occasions just for the fun of it, and to stay current with the content on our web site. His son Andy and daughter Chris handle most of the research and writing.
If you live in the Huntsville area, you can use these links to research job and/or education advancement(s).
Summary of Huntsville Alabama Usury Law(s) / Legal: 6% Contract: 1% above discount rate or Greater of 8% or 2% above prime Judgment: 12% Corporate: Any rate agreed to above $2000.


Date: 28 Oct - 1 Nov 2019.
Setting up home for one week at the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design, Hand & Lock will be teaching a five day intensive monogramming workshop. Monogramming is a wonderful way to personalise your own scarves, bed linen, napkins or even socks. Hand &Lock's expert teachers will show you how to set your frame, transfer your chosen letters to the material and then show you how to stitch out your letters in the traditional way.
This immersive five day class is a rare chance to learn from a highly experienced master of this exquisite art. The classes cover the basics, insider tips and practical application making sure students are fully equipped to go on to apply what they have learned to their own garments and develop their own unique styles.
- Set Up a large size embroidery frame.
- Finish working on larger French monogram.
- Add different materials to Monograms.
- Work on any issues/answer any questions.


Manbat has spoken about this forthcoming challenge on many occasions and is encouraging garages to look at it as an opportunity, rather than a problem.
"Change happens, that's just a fact of life," Pemberton continued, "but it's how garages deal with change that will define the final outcome for their businesses and their customers.
"The truth is that over the last 25 years, profits from battery sales have fallen, so that a typical battery is the same price now as it was in 1990 and the labour rate a garage could traditionally charge to change a battery, non existent!
"However, with the change, three factors will now start to work in the industry's favour. First, the AGM/EFB batteries required for Start-Stop equipped vehicles command a higher price, which means more of a margin for both motor factors and their garage customers. Second, garages can now charge for fitting the replacement because in contrast to a traditional system, this process can sometimes take a couple of hours work. And finally, as the average motorist becomes less knowledgeable from a maintenance and repair perspective, they are less likely to call into question a fitting charge as they have no previous DIY experience to compare it with.
"These factors provide a real opportunity for garages to use this change in battery technology to their advantage and combined with the implementation of a proactive battery testing service, can result in an upturn in profits, which can only be good news.
To further help motor factors and their garage customers make the necessary transition in the changing battery landscape and to respond to the requirement to supply the growing number of vehicles designed to use Start-Stop specific batteries, Manbat is introducing a high quality AGM battery into the acclaimed Lucas range, which will shortly be available throughout the Manbat branch network.
"Although we are well known in the trade for supplying the market leading VARTA® battery range, many of our customers like to supply the Lucas brand as they find the name is so familiar across the industry and has a great reputation for quality and that allows them to provide their customers with a highly reputable product offering across the board," says Manbat's marketing manager, Myles Pemberton.


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"In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance." George Orwell, 1984
"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
"The burden of poverty isn't just that you don't always have the things you need, it's the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you'd do anything to lift that burden." JAY-Z, Decoded
"the less you have, the more you are required to boast." John Steinbeck, East of Eden
"Industry is the ceaseless piracy of the rich against the poor." Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays
"poverty is the parent of revolution and crime." Aristotle, Politics
"Better poverty without care, than riches with." Aesop, Aesop's Fables
"The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life." John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
"Where people are really attached, poverty itself is wealth" Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
"Wealth, I said, and poverty; the one is the parent of luxury and indolence, and the other of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent." Plato, The Republic
"As long as we look to legislation to cure poverty or to abolish special privilege we are going to see poverty spread and special privilege grow." Henry Ford, My Life and Work
"'Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright." Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
"A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of the uneasiness of this amiable family: it was poverty, and they suffered that evil in a very distressing degree." Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
"One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That's the American ideal. Poor people don't like talking about poverty because even though they might live in the projects surrounded by other poor..." JAY-Z, Decoded
"If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place." Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
"My friends, some years ago, the Federal Government declared war on poverty, and poverty won." Ronald Reagan, State of the Union Address
"The happy and the powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune." Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
"Capitalism – which in its purest form is entrepreneurism even among the poorest of the poor – does work; but those who make money from it should put back into society, not just sit on it as if they are hatching eggs." Richard Branson, Losing My Virginity
"To prevent the perpetuation of poverty is necessary if the benefits of machine production are to accrue in any degree to those most in need of them; but what is the use of making everybody rich if the rich themselves are miserable?" Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness
"There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else." Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism
"The poor, by thinking unceasingly of money, reach the point of losing the spiritual advantages of non-possession, thereby sinking as low as the rich." Emil Cioran, The Trouble With Being Born
"he who possesseth little is so much the less possessed: blessed be moderate poverty!" Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
"The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor, who are often both driven by want, and prompted by envy to invade his possessions." Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
"The idea that there is no equality, even when you are dead! Just look at Père-Lachaise! The great, those who are rich, are up above, in the acacia alley, which is paved. They can reach it in a carriage. The little people, the poor, the unhappy,..." Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
"No complaint, however, is more common than that of a scarcity of money." Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
"If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones." John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
"Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme." Aristotle, Politics
"We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise any one who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking..." William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience
"I encountered in the street, a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat was worn, his elbows were in holes; water trickled through his shoes, and the stars through his soul." Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
"the rebellions of the belly are the worst." Francis Bacon, The Essays of Francis Bacon
"The great principle of out-of-door relief is, to give the paupers exactly what they don't want; and then they get tired of coming." Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
"What a weary time those years were—to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability." Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye
"It is not theft, properly speaking, to take secretly and use another's property in a case of extreme need: because that which he takes for the support of his life becomes his own property by reason of that need." Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
"I said, let my body dwell in poverty, and my hands be as the hands of the toiler: but let my soul be as a temple of remembrance where the treasures of knowledge enter and the inner sanctuary is hope." George Eliot, Daniel Deronda
"She bears a duke's revenues on her back, and in her heart she scorns our poverty." William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2
"Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." Pope Francis, Laudato si'
"If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that..." John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
"Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse" Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
"It's a free country. Well, try to get some freedom to do. Fella says you're jus' as free as you got jack to pay for it." John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
"What you must do, with money and the poor, is never let them get too close to one another." Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye
"A man being sometimes more generous when he has but a little money than when he has plenty, perhaps thro' fear of being thought to have but little." Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
"Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?" Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
"Six shillings a week does not keep body and soul together very unitedly. They want to get away from each other when there is only such a very slight bond as that between them" Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
"The wisest were just the poor and simple people. They knew the war to be a misfortune, whereas those who were better off, and should have been able to see more clearly what the consequences would be, were beside themselves with joy." Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
"It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you." George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! —I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!" Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
"It is not difficult to be alone if you are poor and a failure. An artist is always alone—if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness." Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer
"They experimented on the poor and if that worked they used the treatment on the rich. And if it didn't work, there would still be more poor left over to experiment upon." Charles Bukowski, Ham on Rye
"He visited the poor so long as he had any money; when he no longer had any, he visited the rich." Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
"Our people are good people; our people are kind people. Pray God some day kind people won't all be poor." John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
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money love wealth ignorance freedom help hunger power life need spirituality possession contempt inequality hierarchy virtue heart hope youth democracy
Charles Bukowski (3)
Emma Goldman (1)
The Grapes of Wrath (5)
Ham on Rye (3)
Les Misérables (3)
The Wealth of Nations (2)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (2)
Decoded (2)
Inaugural Address (2)
Oliver Twist (2)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1)
The Essays of Francis Bacon (1)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1)
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1)
The Conquest of Happiness (1)
A Woman of No Importance (1)
Jane Eyre (1)
State of the Union Address (1)
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If any of you have gotten a friend request from a Bosnian girl, I am to blame.
She is a friend of our Bosnian family. She contacted me yesterday via our Bosnian family, as she is sixteen and just had a baby.
She asked if we could send her packages for the baby as we send packages to our Family.
Mum and I agreed, and I think she went a little overboard with making friends with everyone on my F-list.
She doesn`t speak or write English, so I don`t think you would gain anything from friending her. You will NOT upset me if you turn her down.
Tis all good. I friended her back, but I am rarely on FB...so no big.
Ok, but don`t answer her, just heard that she is asking everybody for pacages.
I´ve told her I am the only one to send her something.
That just got me to look you up on FB...and send you a friend request :). Not that I'm all that much on FB, for me it's mostly to keep track on all the different groups concerning my kids.
Glad you friended me on my Pippin account.
The Annette account is just for the few that does not need to know what I do, read, watch or talk to friends about.