text:
\section{Introduction}
\label{section-intro}

The radio-loud active galaxy 4C\,+55.17 (0954+556), formally classified as a
flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ), has a history of $\gamma$-ray observations
dating back to the EGRET era, as 3EG\,J0952+5501 \citep{har99,mat01} and
EGR\,J0957+5513 \citep{cas08}. Due to a relatively poor localization of the
EGRET source, however, the association of the $\gamma$-ray emitter with
4C\,+55.17 remained tentative at that time. After the successful launch of the
{\it Fermi} Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in June 2008, this association was on the
other hand quickly confirmed by the Large Area Telescope \citep[LAT;][]{atw09},
initially as 0FGL\,J0957.6+5522 \citep{bsl,lbas}, and most recently as
1FGL\,J0957.7+5523 \citep{1fgl}.

The quasar classification of 4C\,+55.17 may be attributed to the presence of
broad optical emission lines in its spectrum \citep{wil95} and high optical/UV
core luminosity \citep[absolute $B$-band magnitude, $M_{\rm B} <
-23$;][]{ver06}.  Its redshift\footnote{Assuming a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology with
$H_{\rm 0}=71$\,km\,s$^{-1}$\,Mpc$^{-1}$, $\Omega_{\rm M}=0.27$, and
$\Omega_{\rm \Lambda}=0.73$, the luminosity distance $d_{\rm L}=5785$\,Mpc, and
the conversion scale is $1$\,mas\,$=7.8$\,pc.}, $z=0.896$, is based on the
detection of Ly$\alpha$ and CIV lines with the HST-FOS \citep{wil95} and Mg II
in the SDSS spectrum \citep{sch07}.  The optical-UV properties of the source,
together with its high $\gamma$-ray luminosity of the order $L_{\gamma} \simeq
10^{47}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, have in turn led to the common classification of
4C\,+55.17 as a blazar/FSRQ.

However, 4C\,+55.17 also exhibits a number of morphological and spectral
properties that have placed its exact blazar/FSRQ classification into question
\citep{mar02,ros05}.  FSRQs are uniquely characterized by the presence of a
central compact radio core exhibiting a highly variable flat-spectrum
continuum, high brightness temperatures ($T_{\rm b}$), and, typically,
superluminal motions on VLBI scales \citep{urry95}.  Indeed, all of the
aforementioned radio properties are shared by the luminous blazars detected in
$\gamma$-rays: these are exclusively observed to possess compact, highly
polarized jets a few milli-arcseconds (mas) in angular size, and unresolved
radio cores with brightness temperatures in the range $T_{\rm
b}=10^{10}-10^{14}$\,K when observed at 5 GHz \citep{tay07} and 15 GHz
\citep{kov09}.  In comparison, 4C\,+55.17 demonstrates none of these
characteristics. To date, the source shows no evidence of blazar flaring at any
wavelength, nor any evidence of long-term variability, with the exception of a
$\sim 30\%$ optical flux-density change noted over a period of 7 years between
recent {\it Swift}/UVOT measurements and archival SDSS data (see
\S\,\ref{section-other_data} and \S\,\ref{section-model} for discussion).
Furthermore, the VLBI radio morphology of the source is extended over $\sim
400$\,pc (projected). The peak surface brightness in a VLBA 15 GHz image taken
from \citet{ros05} is found in the northernmost component and is clearly
resolved, with a corresponding brightness temperature $T_{\rm b} < 2 \times
10^{8}$ K \citep[consistent with a measurement at 5 GHz;][]{tay07}, which is
uncharacteristic of all the other known quasar-hosted $\gamma$-ray blazars.

Based on the radio morphology of 4C\,+55.17, \cite{ros05} first suggested that
the source may in fact belong to the family of young radio sources
\citep[for a review, see][]{odea98}, rather than blazars. Such sources are
characterized by a very low radio variability (if any) and symmetric double
radio structures resembling ``classical doubles'' on much smaller scales:
linear sizes $\lesssim 1$\,kpc for compact symmetric objects (CSOs) and $\sim
1-15$\,kpc for medium symmetric objects \citep[MSOs;][]{aug06}, to be compared
with the typical linear sizes of ``regular'' Fanaroff-Riley type-II radio
galaxies of $\sim 100$\,kpc. In many cases, CSO sources are found to exhibit a
turnover in their radio spectra in the range of $0.5 - 10$\,GHz, as the
so-called "Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) objects" do \citep{dev97};
similarly, MSO's often display turnover frequencies below $0.5$\,GHz, typical
of the Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) class of sources \citep{fan90}.  The
overlap between CSO and GPS samples, as well as between samples of MSOs and CSS
sources, is however not complete \citep{sne00,aug06}.  In the case of
4C\,+55.17, the VLBI morphology at $5$\,GHz reveals two distinct emission
regions, to the north and south \citep[][see also
Figure\,\ref{figure-radio}]{ros05}, covering a total angular extent of
$53$\,mas ($=413$\,pc, projected). On the kpc scale, the source reaches
$4\arcsec.5$ ($\sim 35$\,kpc, projected), and it is resolved with the VLA in
three components, the central one hosting the VLBI structure.  The northern
component of the pc-scale emission features a compact region with a relatively
flat spectrum \citep[$\alpha=0.4; F_{\nu}\propto\nu^{-\alpha}$;][]{ros05},
which can be attributed to a core or a hotspot region, while the southern
component features a more diffuse and slightly steeper-spectrum ($\alpha=0.49$)
region.  \citet{ros05} have pointed out that these two components resemble more
compact hotspots and lobes, suggesting a CSO/MSO classification for this
object. The kpc-scale emission might thus be interpreted as a remnant of
previous jet activity, as this is a common feature among sources that show
evidence of intermittent behavior \citep[e.g.,][]{baum90,luo07,ori08}.  Under
the CSO/MSO framework, \citeauthor{ros05} found no core candidate between the
VLBA-scale lobes at a level $\gtrsim 2$\,mJy/beam in a $15$\,GHz map.

An 11-month comparison of the $\gamma$-ray variability and spectral properties
of 4C\,+55.17 against the other LAT FSRQs highlights the unusual nature of the
source \citep{1fgl,1lac}.  Among all of the sources originally detected in the
3-month LAT Bright AGN Sample \citep[LBAS;][]{lbas} that were classified as
FSRQs, 4C\,+55.17 is characterized by the lowest variability index
\citep{1fgl}.  In addition, the unusually hard $\gamma$-ray continuum (that is,
with a low photon index $\Gamma$) is found to be one of the hardest among
FSRQs in the 1st LAT AGN Catalog \citep[1LAC;][]{1lac}.  In fact, of those
sources included in the 1LAC (FSRQ or otherwise) with $>1$\,GeV flux greater
than or equal to that of 4C\,+55.17, only five -- all of which are BL Lac
objects (PKS~2155--304, Mkn 421, 3C 66A, PG~1553+113, and PKS~0447-439) --
appear with a harder $\gamma$-ray spectrum.

In this work, we re-examine the high-energy $\gamma$-ray ($>100$\,MeV)
properties of 4C\,+55.17 using 19 months of LAT all-sky survey data and discuss
the implications of these results in two domains.  First, we reconsider the
underlying physical processes responsible for the $\gamma$-ray emission through
detailed broadband modeling of the source in the context of two scenarios:
``young radio source'' and ``blazar.''  In addition, we demonstrate that the
unusual properties of the source make it an ideal candidate for studying the
high-redshift universe at very-high energies (VHE), in particular for placing
constraints on the level of extragalactic background light (EBL).  The paper is
organized as follows.  Section\,\ref{section-observations} details the analysis
of 19 months of LAT data and discusses the supporting multiwavelength
observations.  In particular, section\,\ref{section-lat} focuses on the LAT
data reduction, presenting new spatial (localization), spectral, and
variability analysis, including a detailed analysis of the 145 GeV photon
detection associated with the source (see also Appendix\ \ref{section-photon}).
Section \ref{section-other_data} discusses the multiwavelength observations,
including analysis of archival radio and {\it Swift} X-ray and optical data, as
well as a new hard X-ray detection with the {\it Swift} Burst Alert Telescope
(BAT).  Spectral properties and classification of 4C\,+55.17 are discussed in
section\,\ref{section-discussion}. We follow with a detailed analysis of the
high energy spectrum of 4C\,+55.17, where we place constraints on models of EBL
and discuss the implications of the 145 GeV photon detection to future VHE
observations of the source (\ \S\,\ref{section-EBL}).  Our conclusions are
presented in section\,\ref{section-conclusions}.

\section{Observations}
\label{section-observations}

\subsection{{\it Fermi}/LAT Observations}
\label{section-lat}

The {\it Fermi}/LAT is a pair creation telescope designed to cover the energy
range from $\sim 20$\,MeV to $>300$\,GeV \citep{atw09}. The LAT instrument
features an improved angular resolution ($\theta_{\rm 68\%}=0.8\deg$ at
$1$\,GeV) over previous instruments and a large field-of-view of $2.4$\,sr. The
nominal mode of operation is an all-sky survey mode, which provides nearly
uniform sky coverage approximately every 3 hours. The following analysis is
comprised of 19 months of nominal all-sky survey data extracted from a $10\deg$
region of interest (ROI) around the J2000.0 radio position of 4C\,+55.17
\citep[R.A.\,$=09^{\rm h}57^{\rm m}38.1844^{\rm s}$, Decl.\,$=55\deg
22\arcmin57.769\arcsec$;][]{fey04} and covers the mission elapsed time (MET)
$239557417$ to $289440000$ (August 4, 2008 through March 4, 2010). A 100-second
interval at MET $251059717$ was removed in order to avoid contamination from
GRB\,081215A, which fell within the ROI.  Event selections include the
``diffuse'' event class \citep{atw09} recommended for point source analysis, a
zenith angle cut of $<105\deg$ to avoid contamination from the earth limb, and
rocking angle cuts at $43\deg$ and $52\deg$, respectively, for times
corresponding to a change in the instrument's rocking angle from $39\deg$ to
$50\deg$ that occured on September 3, 2009 (MET $273628805$). Science Tools
\texttt{v9r16p1} and instrument response functions (IRFs)
\texttt{P6\_V3\_DIFFUSE} were used for this analysis.

The 19 month LAT localization of 4C\,+55.17 was determined using
\texttt{gtfindsrc}, resulting in a best-fit position (J2000.0) of R.A.\,$=
09^{\rm h}57^{\rm m}40^{\rm s}$, Decl.\,$ = 55\deg23\arcmin40\arcsec$, which is
$0.012\deg=0.7\arcmin$ offset from the radio position and falls within the
$95\%$ error circle $r_{95\%}=0.017\deg=1.0\arcmin$ (statistical only).  In
order to model the $\gamma$-ray emission, all point sources from the 1FGL
catalog \citep{1fgl} within $15\deg$ of the source were included. Sources
within $10\deg$ of the 4C\,+55.17 radio position were modeled with their flux
and spectral parameters set free, while those sources that fell outside the
$10\deg$ ROI were fixed at their catalog values. The diffuse background was
modelled using the
recommended\footnote{\url{http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/data/access/lat/BackgroundModels.html}}
Galactic diffuse \texttt{gll\_iem\_v02.fit} along with the corresponding
isotropic spectral template \texttt{isotropic\_iem\_v02.txt}.

Prior to fitting the spectrum, the high energy photons attributable to the
4C\,+55.17 position (both radio and $\gamma$-ray) were found by comparing the
energy and incoming angle $\theta$ (defined with respect to the spacecraft
zenith) of each photon within the ROI to the 95\% containment radius of the
point spread function defined by the \texttt{P6\_V3\_DIFFUSE} IRFs. Included
among those photons was a $145$\,GeV event at an angular separation of
$0.06\deg$ (R.A.\,$=09^{\rm h}58^{\rm m}03^{\rm s}$, Decl.\,=$55\deg 24\arcmin
00\arcsec$) from the 4C\,+55.17 position, falling well within the ${95\%}$
containment radius for the given energy and angle of incidence.  Through an
analysis of the event diagnostics, the photon nature of this event is confirmed
here for the first time (for further details regarding the 145\,GeV event
analysis, see Appendix\ \ref{section-photon}).  In addition, several photons in
the $\sim 30 - 55$ GeV range were also detected.  The association of the
145\,GeV photon with 4C\,+55.17 tentatively places it as the highest-redshift
source to be observed at VHE to date.

A spectral analysis of 4C\,+55.17 was performed with \texttt{gtlike} using the
LAT data between $100$\,MeV and $300$\,GeV. Spectral data points were first
obtained by fitting each of 9 equal logarithmically spaced energy bins to a
separate power law with index and prefactor parameters set free. From the
resulting data points, a break in the spectrum could be seen to occur at $\sim
1.6$\,GeV. This was confirmed by performing an independent unbinned likelihood
fit over all the data from $100$\,MeV to $20$\,GeV using power law, log
parabola, and broken power law models, with the break energy of the broken
power law fixed at the peak in the $\nu F_{\nu}$ representation ($E_{\rm br}
\sim 1.6$\,GeV). The maximum energy of 20 GeV was chosen in order to avoid
fitting any portion of the spectrum that may be significantly attenuated by the
EBL.  A likelihood ratio test \citep{mat96} resulted in a $4.1\sigma$
improvement of the broken power law over the single power law used in previous
analyses of the source \citep{bsl,1fgl}, as compared to a $3.8\sigma$
improvement over the power law from the log parabola.  We therefore consider
the broken power law to be the most accurate representation of the intrinsic
$\gamma$-ray spectrum of the source.

To test the $\gamma$-ray variability over the 19-month period, we made light
curves in time bins of 7 and 28 days. Due to the limited statistics over each
interval, the source was fit to a single power-law in each bin, with index and
prefactor parameters free. To improve the fit convergence, point sources in the
ROI were included only if they were detected with a test statistic
\citep[TS;][]{mat96} greater than 1 ($\sim 1\sigma$).  The resulting light
curve ($>100$\,MeV), divided into 7 day bins, is shown in
Figure\,\ref{figure-lc}.  The variability of 4C\,+55.17 was analyzed by means
of a $\chi^{2}$ test, where we assumed the model describing the data to be a
constant straight line with intercept equal to the weighted mean of all
$>3\sigma$ detections. This test yielded a $\chi^{2}$ probability $P(\chi^{2}
\ge \chi^{2}_{\rm obs})$ of 0.96 and 0.87 for the 7 day and 28 day light
curves, respectively, and was thus in agreement with the tested hypothesis.  We
therefore found no evidence of variability in $\gamma$-rays over the 19-month
LAT observing period, consistent with the previous 11-month lightcurve analysis
($\sim\,30$ day bins) from \citet{1fgl}. In addition, the weighted mean for
this period was found to be $(9.5 \pm 0.4_{\rm stat}+0.83_{\rm sys}-0.49_{\rm
sys}) \times 10^{-8}$\,ph\,cm$^{-2}$\,s$^{-1}$, which is consistent with the
EGRET measured flux of $(9.1 \pm 1.6) \times 10^{-8}$\,ph\,cm$^{-2}$\,s$^{-1}$
\citep{har99} as well. Systematic uncertainties on the LAT flux were determined
by bracketing the instrument effective area to values of 10\%, 5\%, and 20\%
their nominal values at $\log (\rm E/MeV)=2, 2.75,$ and $4$, respectively.
We note that these findings differ from those of \cite{ner10}, who claim
variability between the EGRET and LAT measured fluxes.  We believe this
discrepancy lies in a mis-quoted value of the EGRET flux.

\subsection{Multiwavelength Data}
\label{section-other_data}

\subsubsection{X-ray}
\label{section-x-ray}

We analyzed all {\it Swift} \citep{geh04} data obtained over the 19-month LAT
observing period, which consisted of three X-ray Telescope
\citep[XRT;][]{bur05} snapshots (1.6-4.5~ks), in order to check the X-ray state
of the source. We used the xrtgrblc script (available in the HEASoft package
version 6.8) to analyze the XRT observations: we reprocessed the data stored in
the HEASARC archive using the latest XRT calibration database (20091130),
selecting the events with 0-12 grades in photon counting mode (PC). The scripts
chose the optimal source and background extraction regions based on the source
intensity: the X-ray photons were extracted using a $25\arcsec$ circle for the
source and an annulus with $50\arcsec-150\arcsec$ inner-outer radius for the
background.  Adding all of the exposure and performing a C-statistic fit from
$0.3-10$\,keV using XSpec12, we found the best fit obtained to be a power law
with absorption fixed at the galactic value ($N_{\rm
H}=9\times10^{19}$\,cm$^{-2}$), where we obtained the photon index $\Gamma=1.84
\pm 0.19$, with an absorbed flux of
$(8.3^{+1.7}_{-1.4})\times10^{-13}$\,erg\,cm$^{-2}$\,s$^{-1}$ and an unabsorbed
flux of $(8.5^{+1.7}_{-1.4})\times10^{-13}$\,erg\,cm$^{-2}$\,s$^{-1}$.
Comparing each of the individual observations, no X-ray variability was found,
with all measurements falling within the joint errors. These results were also
compared with previous {\it Chandra} data \citep{tav07} obtained June 16, 2004,
where the flux was found again to be non-variable within the statistical
errors.  Finally, historical X-ray data from ROSAT \citep{com97} obtained
November 7, 1993 were included in the spectral energy distribution (SED)
modeling to further constrain the soft X-ray portion of the spectrum.

In the hard X-rays, data from the {\it Swift}/BAT \citep{aje08,aje09} were
analyzed using five years of cumulative exposure from November\ $2005-2010$.
We detect the source for the first time in the hard X-ray band, with a
$15-150$\,keV flux of $(6.75^{+0.38}_{-5.21}) \times
10^{-12}$\,erg\,cm$^{-2}$\,s$^{-1}$ and a power-law photon index,
$\Gamma=1.79^{+1.17}_{-0.84}$.

\subsubsection{Optical \& Infrared}

During each of the three {\it Swift} pointings in 2009, Ultra-Violet/Optical
Telescope \citep[UVOT;][]{rom05} observations were also obtained.  Data were
obtained in all 6 filters in the first two epochs, and the last epoch with only
the $W2$ filter. The data reduction and analysis was performed using the
uvotgrblc script, which reprocesses the data stored in the HEASARC using the
latest UVOT calibration database (20100129). The optimal source and background
extraction regions were a $5\arcsec$ circle and a $27\arcsec-35\arcsec$
annulus, respectively. Table\,\ref{tab:uvot} summarizes these observations. A
comparison of the results between each epoch shows the source to fall within
the joint errors in flux in the optical to UV bands across all three epochs.
These results were also compared with archival SDSS data from February 2, 2002
\citep{ade08}. A comparison of the UVOT and SDSS $U$-band flux densities shows
an increase from $(0.187 \pm 0.003)$\,mJy in the SDSS data to $(0.250 \pm
0.007)$\,mJy in the UVOT data, indicating a $\sim30\%$ rise in flux over 7
years.  In addition, the UVOT $V$- and $B$-band flux densities were averaged
using a least-squares approach to a linear fit and compared with the SDSS
$g$-band, which fell between the two.  The average of the UVOT $V$- and
$B$-bands, measured at $(0.305 \pm 0.014)$\,mJy, shows a similar $\sim 25\%$
increase from the SDSS measured value of $(0.240 \pm 0.011)$\,mJy.  A
comparison of the {\it Swift} UVOT measurements to the continuum flux
underlying the Ly$\alpha$ line obtained by HST-FOS in 1993 \citep{wil95} shows
the fluxes to be equal between these two periods.

In the near-infrared, we included historical data from the 2MASS Point Source
Catalog \citep{cut03}, for which the absolute calibration was taken from
\citet{coh03}. All infrared, optical, and ultraviolet data were dereddened by
means of the extinction laws given by \citet{car89}, assuming a $B$-band
Galactic extinction ($A_{\mathrm B}=0.038$) as determined via \citet{sch98},
and a ratio of total to selective absorption at $V$ equal to $R_{\mathrm
V}=3.09$ \citep{rie85}.

\subsubsection{Radio}

To model the $\gamma$-ray emission in 4C+55.17 (sec.~3.1), we compiled
integrated radio to sub-mm measurements of the source
\citep{blo94,hua98,rei98,jen10}, including 5-year WMAP data \citep{wri09}, and
other archival data from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). In order
to isolate the total radio flux from the inner $\sim400$ pc scale
structure\footnote{The kpc-scale radio emission is not expected to contribute
significantly toward the modeling of the high energy portion of the spectrum
(see\,\S\ref{section-cso}\,\&\,\S\ref{section-blazar}).}, we re-analyzed
several archival VLA data sets from 5 to 43 GHz (see Figures \ref{figure-model}
and \ref{figure-model-bl}). The typical resolutions are $\sim 0.1\arcsec$ to
$0.4\arcsec$, ensuring a total measurement of the $\sim50$ mas scale structure
without loss of flux as in the VLBI observations \citep[e.g.,][]{ros05}.  We
also include similar measurements from previously published VLA 5 and 8.4 GHz
\citep{rei95,mye03,tav07} and MERLIN 0.4 and 1.7 GHz \citep{rei95} maps.

The radio variability properties of 4C\,+55.17 are important for assessing its
nature. We therefore searched the literature for various archival radio to
sub-mm monitoring observations of the source
\citep[e.g.][]{alt76,war81,sei83,jen10}, including $22$ and $37$ GHz data from
the Mets\"{a}hovi monitoring program \citep{ter98,ter04,ter05}. While the
\citet{war81} data was not directly available, we note from the literature that
the authors found the source to be non-variable.  Variability in each of the
remaining cases was measured by applying a statistical $\chi^{2}$ test of the
available data using the hypothesis of a constant source with flux equal to the
weighted mean.  The results were consistent with the tested hypothesis in each
case, with the exception of the Mets\"{a}hovi data, which yielded probabilities
P($\chi^{2} \ge \chi^{2}_{\rm obs}$) of $6.44\times 10^{-56}$ and
$8.56\times10^{-24}$ at $22$ GHz and $37$ GHz, respectively. To quantify this
variability, we compared fractional variability indices using the formula $\rm
Var_{\Delta S}=(S_{\rm max}-S_{\rm min})/S_{\rm min}$ used in a variability
study of GPS sources \citep{tor07}, where we obtained values of $3.5$ and
$1.43$ at $22$ and $37$ GHz, respectively.  The $22$ GHz value fell slightly
above the nominal variability threshold of 3.0 set by \citet{tor07} as an upper
limit for the bona fide GPS sources.  This result, however, arose due to a
single outlying flux measurement at 22 GHz of $0.32\pm0.09$\,Jy which occurred
$\sim40$ minutes after a previous measurement of $1.12\pm0.08$\,Jy at the same
frequency\footnote{Variability within hour timescales is rare at the
frequencies observed by Mets\"{a}hovi (A.  Lahteenmaki, T.  Hovatta, \& M.
Tornikoski, private communication 2010)}.  Removing this questionable flux
point and performing the test again resulted in a fractional variability index
of $0.89$, which fell well within the proposed threshold for genuine GPS
galaxies.  We therefore find the degree of variability in 4C\,+55.17 to be
consistent with the behavior of confirmed young radio galaxies, rather than
blazars.

\section{Results}
\label{section-discussion}

\subsection{Modeling \& Classification}
\label{section-model}
\subsubsection{CSO Modeling}
\label{section-cso}

As noted in the introduction, there are several reasons to consider the
possible nature of 4C\,+55.17 as an example of a luminous AGN exhibiting
recurrent jet activity, with young and
symmetric (CSO-type) inner radio structure instead of a ``core-jet'' morphology
typical of blazars.  While the physical nature and the origin of the CSOs is at
some level still debated, the most likely and widely accepted hypothesis states
that they are the young versions of present-day extended radio galaxies
\citep{phil82,fan95}.  In the alternative explanation, these sources are
considered to be of a similar age to normal radio galaxies, but only
confined/frustrated due to dramatic interactions with a surrounding dense gas
in their host galaxies \citep{bre84,wil84}. The latter scenario is however
inconsistent with the lack of observational evidence for the amount of ambient
gas required to supply sufficient confinement {\bibpunct[; ]{(}{)}{;}{a}{}{,}
\citep[][see, however, \citealp{gar07} for notable
exceptions]{young93,car94,car98,sie05}\bibpunct[, ]{(}{)}{;}{a}{}{,}}. More
promising is therefore the ``youth'' scenario for CSOs, for which a number of
evolutionary models were proposed \citep{beg96,young97,per02,kaw06}.

While many observational properties of 4C\,+55.17 make its classification as a
young radio source compelling, it is also worth noting the characteristics that
could make such a classification potentially difficult.  For example, if
4C\,+55.17 is indeed a CSO, it is the only such object to be identified as a
$\gamma$-ray emitter in 1FGL/1LAC, with a GeV flux nearly an order of magnitude
higher than the lower limit of the complete flux-limited subsample within the
1LAC catalog \citep{1lac}. This would immediately set the object apart as an
outstanding member of its class.  In addition, the relatively high radio
polarization of the source \citep[$\sim$\,$3\%$ in a $\sim$\,$0.2\arcsec$
resolution VLA $8.4$\,GHz image;][]{jac07}, is uncharacteristic of the
typically low ($<1\%$) radio polarization seen among CSOs \citep{rea96},
although polarized emission from CSOs has occasionally been found
\citep[e.g.,][]{gug07}. The low polarization of CSOs, which are entirely
embedded within the inner regions of the host galaxy, is often attributed to
the large expected Faraday depths of the surrounding interstellar medium
\citep{burn66,bic97,gug07}. The surrounding medium may also play a key role in
shaping the spectral turnover seen in the GPS class of young radio sources,
through the free-free absorption (FFA) process \citep[either internal or
external to the emission region;][]{bic97,beg99,pec99}. The nature of the
absorber is however still widely debated, and both the synchrotron
self-absorption (SSA) and FFA processes are considered as viable options
\citep{odea97,sne00}.

If FFA effects are indeed responsible for the spectral turnover in GPS sources,
then the relatively flat ($\alpha \simeq 0.4-0.5$) power-law radio continuum of
4C\,+55.17, which shows no indication of a low-energy turnover, may indicate an
exceptionally small amount of ionized ambient gas in the vicinity of its young
radio structure. More specifically, if the radio absorber may be identified
with ionization-bounded hydrogen clouds of interstellar matter present at pc to
kpc distances from the center and engulfed by the expanding lobes, as proposed
by \citet{beg99} and advocated by \citet{sta08}, and if a significant part of
this gas has been evacuated prior the onset of new jet activity, then one would
expect much less severe absorption of the low frequency radio emission,
resulting in a lower turnover frequency compared to that of GPS galaxies.  In
this case, the relatively high polarization of 4C\,+55.17 (as for a young radio
source) would find a natural and straightforward explanation as well.

In considering the hypothesis outlined above, and in order to investigate the
$\gamma$-ray emission detected from 4C\,+55.17 in a framework that is more
consistent with the observed properties of the source, we apply the dynamical
model for the broad-band emission of CSOs proposed by \citet{sta08} and
successfully tested against a sample of X-ray detected young radio galaxies of
the CSO type by \citet{ost10}. In this model, the newly born relativistic jets
propagate across the inner region of the host galaxy and inject
ultrarelativistic electrons into the compact lobes. These electrons, which
provide the bulk of the internal lobes' pressure, cool radiatively and
adiabatically within the sub-relativisticly expanding plasma, thus producing
isotropic synchrotron (radio) and IC (X-ray to $\gamma$-ray) radiation. In the
model, the broad-band emission spectra are evaluated self-consistently for a
given set of the initial parameters of the central engine and of the host
galaxy, taking into account the time-dependent evolution of the radiating
electrons. For a given linear size of the system, which is uniquely related to
a particular age of the system, the observed broad-band emission spectrum is
given as a snapshot of the evolving multiwavelength radiation of the lobes.
Based on this model, \citet{sta08} argued that, in fact, young radio galaxies
should be detected by {\it Fermi}/LAT at GeV photon energies, albeit at low
flux levels and after an exposure longer than one year.  Other (physically
distinct) scenarios for the production of soft, high energy, and VHE
$\gamma$-rays in the lobes and hotspots of young radio galaxies have been
proposed and investigated by \citet{kino07,kino09} and \citet{kino11}.

In the more detailed description of the model, the jets with total kinetic
power ($L_{\rm j}$) propagate with the advance velocity ($v_{\rm h}$) in the
interstellar medium, characterized by a given number density ($n_{\rm ext}$).
At a particular instant of the source evolution, the inflated lobes will have a
corresponding linear size ($LS$). The electrons injected through the
termination shock into the lobes with the intrinsically broken power-law energy
distribution cool due to the synchrotron and IC processes.  The most relevant
ambient photon fields for the IC scattering are the UV emission of the
accretion disk (mean photon energy $\varepsilon_{\rm disk} = 10$\,eV, disk
luminosity $L_{\rm disk}$), the starlight ($\varepsilon_{\rm star} = 0.83$\,eV,
host luminosity $L_{\rm star}$), and the infrared emission of the obscuring
nuclear torus ($\varepsilon_{\rm dust} = 0.02$\,eV, dust luminosity $L_{\rm
dust}$). The magnetic field intensity is expressed in terms of the ratio of
energy densities stored in the radiating electrons and the magnetic field,
$U_{\rm e}/U_{\rm B}$, which is constant during the expansion of the radiating
plasma. Note, however, that $U_{\rm e}$ and $U_{\rm B}$, as well as the energy
densities of the ambient photon fields (and hence the electron cooling
conditions) do change with time, and therefore depend on $LS$ \citep[see][for
more details]{sta08}.

The fit of the ``young radio source'' model to the collected broad-band dataset
for 4C\,+55.17 is illustrated in Figure\,\ref{figure-model}.  In fitting the
SED, we assume that the projected source size of the inner radio structure ($LS
\simeq 400$\,pc) is equal to the actual source size, though we note that this
may be underestimated due to possible projection effects. Indeed, some amount
of projection off the plane of the sky is required to account for the presence
of the intense disk-related optical/UV continuum and the broad optical emission
lines in the spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 (which might otherwise be completely
obscured), as well as to account for the asymmetry in brightness between the
two lobes.  In fitting the broadband SED, the following model-free parameters
were obtained: $L_{\rm j} \simeq 6.6 \times 10^{47}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $L_{\rm
disk} \simeq 2 \times 10^{46}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $L_{\rm star} \simeq
10^{45}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $L_{\rm dust} \simeq 10^{45}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $U_{\rm
e}/U_{\rm B} \simeq 160$, $v_{\rm h} \simeq 0.3 c$, and $n_{\rm ext} \simeq
0.1$\,cm$^{-3}$. The injection electron energy distribution is characterized by
the minimum, break, and maximum electron Lorentz factors, $\gamma_{\rm min}
\simeq 1$, $\gamma_{\rm br} \simeq 2 \times 10^4$, and $\gamma_{\rm max} \simeq
4 \times 10^5$, respectively, as well as by the low- and high-energy electron
spectral indices, $s_1 \simeq 0.5$ and $s_2 \simeq 2.5$. The model fits quite
successfully all the relevant data points within the low-frequency (radio) and
high-frequency (hard X-ray to $\gamma$-ray IC component) ranges; it also
reproduces nicely the spectral break within the {\it Fermi}/LAT photon energy
range.  We note that in our modeling here and below we do not consider
$\gamma$-ray absorption effects related to the direct or reprocessed emission
of the accretion disk, which may lead to the attenuation of the lobes' (or
jets') emission at photon energies $> 100$\,GeV \citep[see in this
context][]{tanaka11}.

Looking closely at the UV part of the spectrum, we note an approximate factor
of two difference between what is observed and what is required for producing
the appropriate luminosity in IC-scattered $\gamma$ rays. This can be resolved
by recalling that in the framework of the model the optical/UV photon energy
range is dominated by the thermal UV disk emission that may suffer from some
non-neglible obscuration by the circumnuclear dust for moderate inclinations of
the source to the line of sight.  Also worth noting are the variation
timescales of the disk, which are governed by the viscous motion within tens of
gravitational radii from the black hole \citep{col01}.  This can account for
the $\sim 30 \%$ variation over seven years seen between the optical
measurements from UVOT and SDSS (see \S\,\ref{section-other_data}). On the
other hand, the CSO-related non-thermal IC emission is expected to be
non-variable in accordance with the observations, because this emission is
produced within the hundred-pc-scale and sub-relativistictically expanding
lobes, and hence the UV photons seen by the lobes' electrons will be averaged
over the entire spatial extent of the radio structure. Here we do not model the
accretion-related emission in detail, but only roughly represent it as a
blackbody component for the purpose of the evaluation of the IC radiation of
the lobes. Likewise, the steep-spectrum soft X-ray continuum is not accounted
for by the IC emission of compact lobes and instead may be attributed to the
radiative output of the accretion disk and its corona \citep[see][for the X-ray
properties of young radio sources]{sie08,sie09}. Yet it should be also noted
that the particular CSO model presented here cannot account for the
millimeter--to--near infrared emission of 4C\,+55.17. In the framework of the
discussed scenario, this has to be attributed to the radiation of the
underlying jet, and not of the compact lobes.

The physical parameters of 4C\,+55.17 emerging from the model fit presented
above may be compared with the physical parameters of bona fide young radio
galaxies derived in the framework of the same model by \citet{ost10}.  The most
significant differences can be noted in the kinetic luminosity of the jet
($L_{\rm j}$), the UV luminosity of the accretion disk ($L_{\rm disk}$), and
the electron--to--magnetic field energy density ratio ($U_{\rm e}/U_{\rm B}$).
In particular, the jet and the disk luminosities of 4C\,+55.17 are higher (by
one to two orders of magnitude, on average) than the analogous luminosities of
GPS radio galaxies. This is in fact expected, since the analyzed source is much
more powerful than the relatively low-power radio galaxies modeled by
\citet{ost10}. The disk luminosity obtained from the fit can also be compared
with the expected value based on the total luminosity of emission in broad
lines ($L_{\rm BLR}$).  Using eq. (1) in \citet{cel97}, along with the line
fluxes of 4C\,+55.17 obtained in \citet{wil95} and the line ratios from
\citet{fra91}, we estimate the value of $L_{\rm BLR}$ to be $1.2 \times
10^{45}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$.  Using the approximation $L_{\rm disk} \simeq 10
\times L_{\rm BLR}$, we thus obtain $L_{\rm disk} \simeq 1.2 \times
10^{46}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, which again falls within a factor of two of the value
obtained through the model, consistent with the level of uncertainty expected
using this method.

\subsubsection{Blazar Modeling}
\label{section-blazar}

As already noted in the introduction, the lack of pronounced variability and
resolved VLBI structure in 4C\,+55.17 would make it a highly unusual case of a
blazar/FSRQ.  Still, it is a worthwhile exercise to consider the physical
parameters implied from the blazar model. In the framework of the blazar
scenario the observed non-thermal emission of this source, including the
$\gamma$-ray flux detected by {\it Fermi}/LAT, is expected to originate in the
innermost parts of a relativistic jet that is closely aligned with the line of
sight \citep[e.g.,][]{sik94}. In this case, the broad-band emission of
4C\,+55.17 should be strongly Doppler boosted in the observer rest frame, and
variable on short (days to weeks) timescales. The expected size of the blazar
emission region (sub-pc), which is orders of magnitude smaller than the linear
size of the resolved inner radio structure discussed previously ($\sim
400$\,pc), as well as the presence of relativistic beaming effects, constitute
the main differences between the ``blazar'' and ``young radio source''
scenarios.

In order to model the broad-band spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 as a blazar emission,
we apply the dynamical model BLAZAR developed by \citet{mod03} and later
updated by \citet{mod05} for the correct treatment of the Klein-Nishina regime
\citep[for applications of the model, see e.g.][]{sik08,kat08}.  The model
describes the production of the non-thermal emission by ultrarelativistic
electrons, which are accelerated in situ within thin shells of plasma
propagating along a conical relativistic jet (bulk Lorentz factor, $\Gamma_{\rm
j} \gg 1$, jet opening angle $\theta_{\rm j} \sim 1 / \Gamma_{\rm j}$) and
which carry a fraction $L_{\rm e} / L_{\rm j}$ of the jet kinetic power. The
acceleration process is attributed to the Fermi mechanism operating at strong
shocks that are formed within the outflow as a result of the shells'
collisions, which take place at distances greater than $r_0$ from the jet base,
resulting in the injection of a broken power-law electron energy distribution
into an emission region of linear size $R$ and magnetic field intensity $B$.
The non-thermal emission evaluated at $r \simeq R / \theta_{\rm j} \gtrsim
r_{\rm 0}$ includes the synchrotron and IC components, with the target photons
for the inverse-Compton scattering provided by the jet synchrotron radiation
and the external photon fields (predominantly accretion disk emission
reprocessed in the broad line region and within the dusty torus).

The BLAZAR fit to the broad-band spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 is shown in
Figure~\ref{figure-model-bl}.  The fit was obtained with the following free
parameters of the model: $L_{\rm j} \geq L_{\rm e} \simeq 6 \times
10^{42}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $L_{\rm disk} \simeq 3 \times 10^{46}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$,
$L_{\rm dust} \simeq 6 \times 10^{45}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$, $r_0 \simeq 4 \times
10^{18}$\,cm, $r \simeq 8 \times 10^{18}$\,cm, $\Gamma_{\rm j} \simeq 12$, and
$B \simeq 0.2$\,G.  For the injection electron energy distribution, the
electron Lorentz factors $\gamma_{\rm min} \simeq 1$, $\gamma_{\rm br} \simeq
1.5 \times 10^3$, and $\gamma_{\rm max} \simeq 10^6$ were obtained, along with
the spectral indices, $s_1 \simeq 0.5$ and $s_2 \simeq2.8$. The blazar model
fit to the collected dataset, and the implied physical parameters of the
4C\,+55.17 jet and its central engine, should be regarded as plausible.
Notable differences with respect to the CSO model discussed previously can be
however noted within the radio--to--X-ray frequency range.  In particular,
unlike the CSO fit, the blazar model fit does not account for the bulk of the
observed radio fluxes. These emissions, in the framework of
the blazar scenario, must therefore be produced further down the jet, at
relatively large distances from the blazar emission zone. On the other hand,
the high-energy tail of the synchrotron blazar emission dominates the radiative
output of the system around the observed near-infrared and optical frequencies,
and also at soft X-rays. The observed hard X-ray spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 can be
hardly attributed to the IC blazar emission and requires an additional spectral
component. In general, the CSO and blazar fits differ the most within the near
infrared and X-ray domains, hence future constraints on the hard X-ray and near
infrared spectra, along with continued monitoring from the radio to the
$\gamma$-ray band, should be considered as a potential way of discriminating
between the two scenarios.

In comparing these two models, we also note the important difference between
the blazar and CSO model for 4C\,+55.17 in the radiative efficiency of the
emission zone. Compact emission zones of blazar sources are typically
characterized by a very low (less than a few percent) radiative efficiency
\citep[e.g.,][]{sik94}.  In this context, only a small fraction of the jet
kinetic power is dissipated in the blazar emission zone and radiated away in
the form of high-energy emission, which is strongly Doppler-boosted in the
observer frame due to the relativistic bulk velocity of the emitting plasma.
This is also the case for 4C\,+55.17 when modeled in the framework of the
blazar scenario discussed above.  On the other hand, the radiative efficiency
of the sub-relativistically expanding lobes of young radio sources is known to
be large, often exceeding $10\%$ \citep{young93,sta08}, which naturally
accounts for the particularly high intrinsic radio luminosity of these sources,
being comparable to the most powerful radio galaxies and quasars \citep{rea96}.
Likewise, when modeling 4C\,+55.17 as a CSO, the radiative efficiency was
similarly high.  The improved radiative efficiency of CSO sources, together
with the relatively high jet kinetic power implied by the young radio source
scenario (higher than that implied by the blazar model), can thus account for
the observed $\gamma$-ray luminosity even in the absence of relativistic
beaming.

While the CSO-type and blazar modelings of the broad-band spectrum of
4C\,+55.17 can both account for the $\gamma$-ray emission from the source, we
find the implied value for the bulk Lorentz factor $\Gamma_{\rm j} \simeq 12$
under the blazar scenario difficult to reconcile with its observed VLBI
properties. The physical mechanism responsible for the steady $\gamma$-ray
emission is also not easily explained under this framework.  Still, the unusual
characteristics of 4C\,+55.17 as for a young radio source may be evidence for a
combination of radiation produced in the sub-pc scale relativistic jet and the
emission of the compact lobes. The modeling of this complex scenario, which
might require a combination of the two models discussed above, is beyond the
scope of the present work.  A similar situation was recently considered by
Migliori (in prep), who have studied the high-energy (X-ray to $\gamma$-ray)
emission of radio-loud quasars with CSO-type inner radio morphology, such as,
e.g., 3C 186.  Objects of that type might be very common in scenarios of
intermittent jet production in active galaxies, proposed to account for the
evolution of radio-loud AGNs \citep[e.g.,][and references
therein]{rey97,sie07,cze09}.  With its complex radio structure featuring inner
and outer lobes, as well as jet-like features \citep{ros05,tav07}, 4C\,+55.17
might thus be another example of AGN with intermittent jet production.

\subsection{High Energy $\gamma$-ray Continuum of 4C\,+55.17}
\label{section-EBL}

At energies $\gtrsim 10$\,GeV the $\gamma$-ray continua of high-redshift
sources begin to suffer from substantial attenuation by the still poorly known
EBL photon field due to the photon-photon pair creation process \citep{hau01}.
By attributing the attenuation of AGN $\gamma$-ray spectra to these
interactions, it is thus possible to place significant upper limits to the EBL
provided some estimate of the source's intrinsic spectrum \citep{aha06}.  In
this respect, combined {\it Fermi} and VHE measurements by Cherenkov telescopes
such as MAGIC, H.E.S.S., and VERITAS, continue to prove successful at providing
these limits \citep[e.g.][]{geo10,ale11,orr11}.  Furthermore, with the VHE
detection of the FSRQ 3C\,279 ($z=0.536$) by MAGIC \citep{alb08}, and the
recently announced detections of others quasars -- PKS\,1510--089 ($z=0.361$)
by H.E.S.S. \citep{wag10} and PKS~1222+216 ($z=0.432$) by MAGIC \citep{ale11}
-- the search for increasingly distant luminous sources in the observable range
of ground-based Cherenkov Telescopes has become one of considerable interest to
the TeV community.

The extension of the observed $\gamma$-ray spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 up to
energies of $145$\,GeV, coupled with the source's relatively high redshift of
$z=0.896$, immediately places it among the most important high-$z$ objects that
can be used for constraining the widely debated EBL level even within LAT
energies; for an overview of different methods for constraining the EBL with
the {\it Fermi}/LAT, see \citet{ebl}. Figure\,\ref{figure-tau} illustrates the
$\tau_{\gamma\gamma}$ opacity at the redshift $z=0.896$ due to $\gamma$-ray
absorption with the EBL intensity and spectral distribution for various models
\citep{fin10,fra08,gil09,kne04,ste06} considered as a function of photon
energy. The highest-energy photon associated with 4C\,+55.17 is also indicated.
As illustrated in the figure, attenuation due to the EBL-related absorption of
$\gamma$-rays within the observed range is predicted in all the scenarios,
including those close to the lower limits derived from galaxy counts
\citep[e.g.,][]{fra08,fin10,gil09}.

To test the validity of particular models of the EBL using the
4C\,+55.17 spectrum, we followed the likelihood ratio test method described in
\cite{ebl}. The full $>100$\,MeV observed spectrum was first fit to a broken
power law with EBL attenuation from 9 separate EBL models
\citep{fin10,fra08,gil09,pri05,ste06,sal98,kne04}, with the normalization of
the attenuation parameter $\tau_{\gamma\gamma}(E,z=0.896)$ fixed to 1 at all
energies.  The results from each of the spectral fits, including the low
($\Gamma_{\rm 1}$) and high ($\Gamma_{\rm 2}$) broken power law indices, as
well as the integral flux values, are summarized in Table\,\ref{tab:spectrum}.
Allowing the normalization of the predicted opacity $\tau_{\gamma\gamma}$ to
remain free, we then compared each result with the likelihood values obtained
when the normalization parameter was fixed to 1.  In cases where the
$\tau_{\gamma\gamma}$ normalization was reduced, a rejection at the level of
$n$ standard deviations ($\sigma$) of the particular model could be established
using the formula:

\begin{equation}
  n=\sqrt{-2 \times \left[\log\left(L_{\rm fixed}\right)-\log\left(L_{\rm free}\right)\right]} \, ,
  \label{equation:ratio}
\end{equation}

\noindent where $L_{\rm fixed}$ and $L_{\rm free}$ are the likelihood values of
the fits for fixed and free normalizations on $\tau_{\gamma\gamma}$,
respectively. Using these results, we were able to reject two separate models
at $>3\sigma$ significance. These were the \cite{ste06} baseline and fast
evolution models at $3.9\sigma$ and $4.3\sigma$, respectively, with preferred
normalizations of $0.17\pm0.14$ and $0.16\pm0.12$.  These models were similarly
rejected in \citet{ebl} by applying the likelihood ratio test to several
blazars and gamma-ray bursts with redshifts ranging from $z=1.05$ to
$z=4.24$.  Combining this result with the overall rejection significance of the
\citet{ste06} baseline model of 11.4$\sigma$ as calculated in \citet[][\
\S\,$3.2.3$ therein]{ebl}, we obtain a new combined rejection of 11.7$\sigma$
for both the baseline and fast evolution models.

Figure\,\ref{figure-stecker} shows the predicted shape of the intrinsic
spectrum of 4C\,+55.17 obtained by de-absorbing the observed {\it Fermi}
spectrum using the \citet{ste06} baseline EBL model.  A common feature
occurring from models which over-predict the level of EBL is that of an
unbounded exponential spectral rise at highest energies -- a behavior which can
largely be considered non-physical, and has thus been used in previous studies
to place constraints on the EBL using TeV observations \citep[e.g.,][]{dwe05}.
This behavior is clearly illustrated in the case of the \citet{ste06} baseline
model.  Such a feature would in turn require the modeling of an additional
spectral component beyond that which we consider in \S\,\ref{section-model} and
that would be orders of magnitude more luminous than the observed
inverse-Compton (IC) peak.  We also note that any intrinsic $absorption$ that
may be taking place within the source represents an even greater rejection of
this model, as the true attenuation due to the EBL would be even less.  We
therefore consider the \citet{ste06} baseline and fast
evolution\footnote{Because the \citet{ste06} fast evolution model predicts an
increased opacity from the baseline model, our conclusions from the baseline
test can be applied in both cases.} models to over-predict the true level of
EBL at the observed redshift and energies.

With its excellent sensitivity in the high-energy range, the LAT instrument
provides a unique opportunity to search for VHE candidates at high redshifts
through detailed spectral analysis of the {\it Fermi} data.  In the case of
4C\,+55.17, the attenuated high-energy spectrum obtained from fitting the nine
often discussed EBL models is illustrated in Figure~\ref{figure-sed}.  Each
spectrum is extrapolated beyond the highest observed photon energy of
$145$\,GeV and compared against the typical differential flux sensitivity
curves of currently operating TeV telescopes.  With the exception of the four
``highest-level'' EBL models (including the two models ruled out by the present
work), the observed 4C\,+55.17 spectrum is found to lie at the observable
threshold for ground-based observations. It is also worth noting that while
intrinsic absorption from interactions with the UV disk and infrared torus may
contribute to the spectral attenuation at energies $>100$\,GeV, this effect
would be reduced in cases where the $\gamma$-ray emission takes place at
hundreds-of-parsecs scale distances from the central black hole, for which
there is compelling evidence in the case of 4C\,+55.17 (see
\S\,\ref{section-cso}).  In addition, with the present analysis we find no
evidence of variability in 4C\,+55.17 over 19 months of LAT observing time, and
furthermore we find its flux to be consistent with the EGRET measured value,
thus showing no evidence of variability at $\gamma$-ray energies over decade
timescales as well.  The non-variable $\gamma$-ray continuum of the source thus
promises the opportunity to observe it over the extended timescales required
for a $5\sigma$ detection.  This is in contrast to the other VHE-detected
quasars, which were detected only during periods where the sources were in a
flaring state.  In this way 4C\,+55.17 stands apart from all of the
EBL-constraining sources considered in \citet{ebl}, as it holds the greatest
potential for providing future constraints.

\section{Conclusions}\label{section-conclusions}

The investigation of the multiwavelength properties of 4C\,+55.17, including
its unusually hard $\gamma$-ray spectrum, lack of distinct variability, and
CSO-like radio morphology, has highlighted the exceptional nature of this
$\gamma$-ray source.  For the first time, we have modeled the radio to
$\gamma$-ray emission of 4C\,+55.17 as a young radio source using a dynamic
model that is consistent with the full extent of its observed properties.
Furthermore, we find that the prospect of a VHE observation of 4C\,+55.17,
whose $\gamma$-ray spectrum already extends up to the observed energy of 145\
GeV, is within reach of the current generation of Cherenkov telescopes.  A
detection by such an instrument would not only add to the present understanding
of the source itself, but would also serve to place a significant upper limit
to the level of EBL through combined {\it Fermi} and VHE data.  Furthermore, we
anticipate that through continued monitoring of 4C\,+55.17 at high energies
with the {\it Fermi} LAT, as well as in the radio through X-rays, the precise
classification of 4C\,+55.17 will become increasingly more apparent.  If, for
example, the source continues to remain non-variable in $\gamma$-rays in the
years to come, its average flux versus variability may eventually lie outside
the distribution of {\it Fermi} $\gamma$-ray emitting blazars altogether, which
would make any standard blazar emission scenario difficult to reconcile.  On
the other hand, if rapid variability is found in this source, that would seem
to rule out a pure CSO interpretation. Thus we expect that 4C\,+55.17 will be
an important target for future observations across all wavelengths.

\acknowledgments

The \textit{Fermi} LAT Collaboration acknowledges generous ongoing support
from a number of agencies and institutes that have supported both the
development and the operation of the LAT as well as scientific data analysis.
These include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the
Department of Energy in the United States, the Commissariat \`a l'Energie Atomique
and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / Institut National de Physique
Nucl\'eaire et de Physique des Particules in France, the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy, the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), High Energy Accelerator Research
Organization (KEK) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Japan, and
the K.~A.~Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the
Swedish National Space Board in Sweden.

Additional support for science analysis during the operations phase is gratefully
acknowledged from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Italy and the Centre National d'\'Etudes Spatiales in France.

L.O. acknowledges support by a 2009 National Fellowship ``L'OR\'EAL Italia
Per le Donne e la Scienza'' of the L'OR\'EAL-UNESCO program ``For Women in
Science,'' and partial support from the INFN grant PD51 and the ASI Contract
No.\ I/016/07/0 COFIS.
{\L}.S. is grateful for the support from Polish MNiSW through the grant N-N203-380336.
R.M. was supported by the MNiSW grant no. N-N203-301635

The authors acknowledge the support by the $Swift$ team for providing ToO observations
and the use of the public HEASARC software packages.

The authors would like to thank Annalisa Celotti, Luigi Costamante, Berrie Giebels,
and Dave Thompson for their helpful comments and suggestions.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


The Pakistani government convened a meeting on Monday of nearly all of the country's political parties, in an effort to consolidate broad national support for its military operation to crush Taliban militants in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley.
The leaders of 42 political parties were expected to attend the All Party Congress in Islamabad, the capital. In a separate move to pressure the Taliban, hundreds of Muslim clerics gathered in Islamabad on Sunday, to issue a unanimous declaration that denounced the militants' violent tactics. "Suicide attacks and beheading is haram," the resolution said. "Haram" means forbidden, according to Islam. National consensus was critical for the military offensive to succeed, said a senior foreign diplomat stationed in Islamabad. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomat singled out Mian Mohammed Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML-N party and the most powerful political rival to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, saying that without Sharif's support, the anti-Taliban campaign would be doomed. Sharif was at Monday's All Party Congress. The Pakistani military mounted its first assault on Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies in tribal areas along Pakistan's mountainous border with Afghanistan in 2004. There have since been a number of military offensives against the Taliban, with questionable results. The attacks have displaced hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis and done considerable damage to homes and infrastructure.


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text:
EU enters into its first trade agreement in South East Asia
On 21st of November 2019 the EU-Singapore Trade Agreement ("the Agreement") entered into force. The Agreement is the 16th trade agreement the EU has ratified since 2014. Importantly, it is also the very first trade agreement made with a country which is a member state of the Association of South East Asian Nations ("ASEAN").
Taken as a whole, ASEAN is the EU's third largest trading partner outside Europe (after the US and China). It is projected to become the world's fourth largest economic bloc by 2030. Ensuring better access for EU exporters to the dynamic ASEAN market is a priority for the EU.
That the EU should focus its efforts on securing an agreement with Singapore ahead of the other ASEAN members is unsurprising. Singapore is the European Union's largest trading and investor partner in ASEAN. Bi-lateral foreign direct investment stock between the EU and Singapore has grown rapidly in recent years reaching a value of approximately € 344 billion in 2017. In 2018 the total bilateral trade in goods amounted to in excess of € 58 billion (2017 €53 billion) and in 2017 another € 51 billion was exchanged in services. Singapore is host to over 10,000 EU companies, many of which regard it as a hub-country for serving the entire South Pacific region.
Facilitating open, fair, and rules-based trade has been a priority of the EU since 2014. The focus of effort has been on the creation of a network of like-minded partners of which Singapore is now a member. European Commission figures suggest that, since 2014, trade has created approximately 5 million new jobs in the EU and, it has contributed to the employment of over 30 million people. These statistics, combined with the fact that trade accounts for 35% of the EU GDP, demonstrate the importance of trade expansion to the continued prosperity of the EU.
With the Agreement now in force, Singapore is expected to remove all remaining custom duties on EU products. It is also expected to remove certain other trade barriers by, for example, accepting certain EU standards of safety regarding safety tests for cars and many electrical appliances, or, by accepting labels used by EU companies for textiles. The provisions of the Agreement facilitate new opportunities for service providers, especially in telecommunications, IT and the maritime field. Through time, as the provisions of the Agreement are implemented and its influence on trade is more evident, experts are expecting the EU-Southeast Asian market to become more predictable and more efficient.
In the meantime, an investment protection agreement between Singapore and the EU has also been concluded. This agreement is expected to come into force once it has been ratified in all EU Member States.
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text:
"""Batch norm tests."""

from absl import app
from iree.tf.support import tf_test_utils
from iree.tf.support import tf_utils
import numpy as np
import tensorflow.compat.v2 as tf

class BatchNormModule(tf.Module):

  @tf.function(input_signature=[
      tf.TensorSpec([4, 16], tf.float32),
      tf.TensorSpec([16], tf.float32),
      tf.TensorSpec([16], tf.float32),
      tf.TensorSpec([16], tf.float32),
      tf.TensorSpec([16], tf.float32),
  ])
  def batch_norm_inference(self, x, mean, variance, offset, scale):
    return tf.nn.batch_normalization(x,
                                     mean=mean,
                                     variance=variance,
                                     offset=offset,
                                     scale=scale,
                                     variance_epsilon=1e-4)

class BatchNormTest(tf_test_utils.TracedModuleTestCase):

  def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
    super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
    self._modules = tf_test_utils.compile_tf_module(BatchNormModule)

  def test_batch_norm_inference(self):

    def batch_norm_inference(module):
      # Note: scaling by a small value to increase numerical stability.
      x = tf_utils.uniform((4, 16)) * 1e-3
      mean = tf_utils.uniform((16,)) * 1e-3
      variance = tf_utils.uniform((16,), low=0.0) * 1e-3
      offset = tf_utils.uniform((16,)) * 1e-3
      scale = tf_utils.uniform((16,)) * 1e-3
      module.batch_norm_inference(x, mean, variance, offset, scale)

    self.compare_backends(batch_norm_inference, self._modules)

def main(argv):
  del argv  # Unused
  if hasattr(tf, 'enable_v2_behavior'):
    tf.enable_v2_behavior()
  tf.test.main()

if __name__ == '__main__':
  app.run(main)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


hesam askari - Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O.Box: 14965/115,Tehran, Iran.
Sayed Amin Mirmohammadi - Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O.Box: 14965/115,Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Imani - Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O.Box: 14965/115,Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Ataei - Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O.Box: 14965/115,Tehran, Iran.
Polycaprolactone, a semi-crystalline linear resorbable aliphatic polyester, is subjected to biodegradation, because of the susceptibility of its aliphatic ester linkage to hydrolysis. In this research, polycaprolactone diacrylate was synthesized by reaction of polycaprolactone diol withacryloyl chloride. The macromer was characterized using spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. PCLA macromer was photo-crosslinked using methacryl-POSS cage mixture. Double bonds conversion of PCLA during photo-crosslinking was followed using FT-IR and shrinkage strain studies.


This gift should be listed as anonymous.
If this gift is in honor of or in memory of someone, please list the name here.
Please list name and mailing address of person/people who should be notified of your gift.
The annual fund is designed to improve Pinecrest's ability to serve students both now and in the future by helping to bridge the gap between tuition and the operating expenses of the school. A contribution to the annual fund provides the best opportunity to maximize your donation to Pinecrest School, since there are no overhead costs and contributions are directly applied towards, among other things, materials, equipment and supplies that will enhance the Pinecrest experience for our children. The importance of Pinecrest Annual Fund cannot be overstated; it helps us close the gap between tuition and the actual operating costs of the school.
Thank you for supporting the Pinecrest School Annual Fund!


text:
Q: How to use resource qualifier names in UWP AppData folder For my UWP app, I'm trying to move some assets to my AppData folder.  I'm surprised that I've seemed to lose the option of using qualifier names in the process.
For example, for the following pair of images
Assets/Header/header.scale-100.jpg
Assets/Header/header.scale-200.jpg

I used to have the following image source:
<ImageSource x:Key="Header">/Assets/Header/header.jpg</ImageSource>

After moving the images to the AppData folder, I'm only seeing the image if I'm explicit about which image I use, like this:
<ImageSource x:Key="Header100">ms-appdata:///local/Assets/Header/header.scale-100.jpg</ImageSource>
<ImageSource x:Key="Header200">ms-appdata:///local/Assets/Header/header.scale-200.jpg</ImageSource>

Then, in order to select the appropriate image, I would have to subscribe to the the QualifierValues.MapChanged event as shown in this answer, and set up my own logic to get the appropriate ImageSource.
I've been looking here and here for some more information, but I cannot see anything that mentions how to use qualifier names in the AppData folder.

A:
How to use resource qualifier names in UWP AppData folder

I have to say you can't use resource qualifier names in UWP AppData folder, the app will not preload resource where in the AppData folder. so it will not work for setting image source with simple file name.
If you do want to use resource qualifier names in UWP AppData folder. we have a workaround that use IValueConverter  to return matched filename base on current scale. for getting current scale please refer to ResourceContext  document.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Monday morning we were greeted with this rainbow over the ocean. I ran for my camera, but I could not force my camera to take a photo. Bob finally ran out to the car to get his small camera.
A few moments later we noticed that a second rainbow was forming above the other - for only a few brief moments, then they were both gone.


Sell used Bottega Veneta online with up to 90% payouts at thredUP. Be it leather shoulder bag, or sneakers, or shoulder bag, or mule/clog, or crossbody bag, or heels, we will find a new home for things you do not need anymore.
How much will I earn when selling my Bottega Veneta clothes?


fresh air flows freely between each strand of hair.
and all my senses are more so in this space.
Who will go with me? Will you?
No definition to destiny, only the thrill of new beginnings.
of that which can not be defined.
one with the silence of my dance.
I am a Living Soul!
in a dynamic exchange of wills.
Take my hand, and soar!
with all my earthly feelings?
and whitely fly circles around your face.
I grow strong with all magnificence!
i am the secret fire in all things, SSAA divisi, and two soprano soloists, was premiered Friday, November 7, 2008 in Vancouver, Canada, by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Jon Washburn, Conductor. The Hildegard von Bingen text, translated by Wilson Hall (retired professor of English and dear friend), is a text which fosters many opportunities to depict the mysterious nature of God, His transcendence into all the human experience, and the hope, through vulnerability, that resonates in the gravamen for individual transubstantiation through the struggles inherent in Life's Stuff. Set for eight real parts of women's voices, this new work celebrates the transforming power of spirituality, the evolution of the human spirit when one amalgamates with "unknowing," and the ecstasy that saturates Life when one acknowledges the God Presence already within.
so lives all things and will not die.
i flame out as Godly passionate life over fields of grain.
i glow in the shimmer of the fire coal.
i burn in the Sun, the Moon, and in the Stars.
that spiritually holds all things together.
i am fire of fire.
hung low in blackened space.
blow at the will of the wind.


Ample counter space may be a rare commodity in this day and age, but the Serenity mobile kitchen buddy opens up possibilities to anyone looking for a little more surface area where they cook and eat. Constructed from solid wood and stainless steel, this portable island kitchen system will create the extra space you need when you entertain. Below the Butcher Block there are wine glass storage tracks and a wine rack is also included. BBQ utensils can conveniently be hooked on to the horizontal steel bars and there are 3 layers of storage for your preparations. Best of all when you are finished the Serenity Mobile Island folds up neatly to under 5 inches for easy storage.
Check out our serving carts on wheels.
The user friendly nature of our rolling assistant allows for many of the applications missed by people restricted to small kitchen spaces, most notably a hearty wood surface perfect for food preparation and serving. Further, the unit's unique stemware tracks on its underside allow for the convenient storage of glassware which might otherwise place a greater burden on limited cupboard or counter space.
What really separates our gallery assistant from those offered by competitors is a combination of quality, efficiency, and style. Stainless steel utility bars on each side of the unit in conjunction with accessorized hanger hooks ensure that there will be more than enough storage room for additional pots, kitchen cloths, and assorted kitchen extras. Every purchase includes a wood carved, three bottle wine caddy to further ensure that you are well prepared while entertaining guests.
The Serenity kitchen buddy has been meticulously constructed in order to offer as much additional storage and work space as possible while still boasting the ability to be collapsed into a state that is both light, and easy to store. Rolling casters only compound the flexibility of the Serenity kitchen buddy allowing for effortless movement around your home and on the patio.
When opened, the unit adds over 8 and a half square feet of extra surface area to your kitchen on the whole. Its stainless steel frame ensures that nearly anything you place on our maneuverable island will be well supported. And while the unit's practical merits are clear, it is further accented by an elegant hardwood parquet butcher block top and two hardwood shelves underneath.
~3 weeks from order placement.
Does the job very well for a competitive price. Had it for a few years now.
I have a kitchen designed for elves, and I need flexibility. The mobile kitchen cart is easy to use and store. My only wish is that the top was a real functional butcher block. Still wouldn't trade it.


I trekked out to North Van to visit my old boss today. It was great to see my former co-workers, but wow – lots of things have changed in 10 months. I only knew two people in the pastry kitchen – the other four people are all new. And most of the girls in the cafe are new, and had no idea who I was.
At least things are pretty much the same in the chocolate kitchen, where I used to work. At the height of the Christmas season, we produced more than 60,000 identical, perfect, delicious-tasting chocolates each week. It was an insane exercise in organization, efficiency and artistry. I definitely enjoyed the experience – and my fantastic co-workers – but at the end of the day I knew that I wasn't cut out for the madness of 16-hour days on my feet, fuelled by expensive cappuccino and pastries.
I had hoped to grab one of the fruit danishes before the sold out, but I was too late. The fruit danish is to die for – I would honestly reach through the computer screen and steal it from you if you had one right now. The danish dough is croissant dough (as it should be) and it's flaky and buttery and tastes like a croissant dough should taste. Instead of the danish, I had an orange blossom brioche: a flower-shaped brioche flavoured with candied orange, with a pastry cream-apricot centre, garnished with a single pistachio slice. Beautiful and tasty – but still not as good as that fruit danish!
I also had an Aztec hot chocolate, which is 70% Valrhona hot chocolate, milk, and a secret blend of several chilis. It's a deep, dark hot chocolate that gives your throat a slow burn. Thomas does an Aztec chocolate bonbon too, which is really deceptive – at first it just tastes like a really nice dark chocolate, but then the smoky burn kicks in. It can be pretty intense, actually.
There's a new chocolate on the menu, too. There's a line of fruit chocolates, which is half dark chocolate ganache and half pate de fruit (fruit paste), in your choice of lychee, passionfruit, cassis, raspberry or banana. The banana is my favourite, but it's being temporarily (please God, only temporarily) discontinued in favour of a new lime flavour. I have to say, I'm a big citrus fan, and the lime is really tasty. But bananer! I love the bananer one. And I really love saying bananer instead of banana, but only in reference to this chocolate. Somehow, it made the 16-hour days go by faster.
So I left with a loot bag of little chocolates (Earl Grey, coffee, salted toffee pecan, maple caramel, passionfruit truffle, salted caramel truffle, and a Chocolate of the Day) that I can't wait to dig into. While I was working there, the last thing I wanted to do was eat these chocolates. I'm so glad that's changed.


Hi every body. It is first time that I grow tomato. I don't have enough sun light so I grow my tomato under cfl light. It is 6 days after seeding and some of my seeds germinated. But they have purple stem. The temperature is 22c at night and 30c during day. I use a 23 w cfl light and aluminium foil for reflect. Can anybody help me what shoud I do?
The other thing is that I am not sure if these seeds are cherry tomato!? Are they cherry tomato seed??
I wouldn't worry so much yet. A lot of times stems will be purple, it can be from cooler temps. There is no way to tell what type of plant they are from the seeds. You can not tell from the plants either at this point.
sit back and relax all should be good. Once they get a little bigger and have at least 4 true leafs you will need to put them in bigger pots.
Those are not cherry tomato seeds and your seedlings coming up are not tomato plants.
Looking at your seeds and your seedling coming up it is possible you have moonflower vine.
What made you think they were cherry tomato seeds?
Last edited by rainbowgardener on Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
the poster mentioned purple and so you thought of the way tomato seedlings can get purplish leaves and stuff, but this is PINK.
there is no way to tell from a tomato seedling whether it is a cherry tomato or not, but we can look at seedlings and know they are not tomatoes.
Anybody? Apparently gixx made his post and then left again.... It makes me nervous to be contradicting him, since I know gixx has started more hundreds of tomatoes from seed than I have. Anyone want to confirm for me that I'm not crazy???
Thanks for your reply. It is the first time I grow tomato and I never grow any vegetables and didn't knoe how its seed look like.
anyway thanks every body for reply.i wait too see what happend and ask again.
I wanted to grow cherry because its small and easeir to grow indoor because I do not have enough light. If it was not. I should try again.
I search Google and I think it's red cabbage seed and the plant is like the one I see in Google.
If it is cabbage how long does it need CFL light and for this plant what temperature is needed?
Please help me before they destroyed.
Planning to plant something between each tomato next year!


Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunny, with a high near 80. Light west northwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Increasing clouds, with a low around 55. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 80. Light northwest wind becoming west northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Northwest wind 3 to 8 mph.


Use this website to discover more about the historic objects and documents cared for by Museums and Archives in the Black Country.
Geology Matters showcases the geology collections of four Black Country museums. Use this website to search our collections, browse images, read articles or watch videos about all things geology related.
Stuck for a creative idea, then Inspired Designs is the website for you. Packed with our most colourful and distinctive objects. Inspired Designs showcases the decorative art collections cared for by a number of museums in the Black Country. You can use this website to search our collections, browse images or read articles about related topics.
Search the fine art collections of the galleries, museums and archives in the Black Country. Research the many collections of artists work we hold, look through our theme galleries, see the top twenty artists works chosen by our curators from across the gallery collections. This is a great introduction to artists and paintings you might not have heard of, all on one website.
Love and Marriage a collection showing the more unusual objects held by the archives. Going back through time, see how people used courtship, love tokens and planned wedding days. Got an old wedding photograph from the past, don't bin it why not up load it on to our flickr data base and help build our unique collection in a personnel way.
This website focuses on a collection of paintings owned by Wolverhampton Art Gallery painted by a group of artists known as the Cranbrook Colony. The Cranbrook Colony were artists, connected through friendship and family ties, who settled in the picturesque village of Cranbrook in Kent and painted scenes of everyday life. Their themes, including childhood, family, work, religion, old age and death had universal appeal and contributed to their popularity amongst Victorian collectors.
Visit our Distinctive Gifts website to buy exhibition catalogues and other art books related to our collections, as well unusual gifts.
Prints of over 300 of the art works featured on this website are available to buy online from the Bridgeman Art on Demand website.
For image licences for over 570 art works from the collections of Wolverhampton Art Gallery visit the Bridgeman Art Library website.


text:
MIDTERM ELECTIONS 2014: REPUBLICAN WAVE WASHES OVER COUNTRY
OBAMA: THE LAMEST OF LAME DUCKS
THE RACE ABOUT RACE
TAGS: REPUBLICANS GAIN SENATE MAJORITY, DEMOCRATS RAN AWAY
FROM PRESIDENT, OBAMA ILL-PREPARED FOR HIS OFFICE,
RACIAL UNDERCURRENTS, OVERT RACISM IN CAMPAIGNS,
AMERICA WAS "NOT READY" FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA
(Wednesday November 5, 2014 Washington, DC) There is no need for extensive post-election analysis. No time should be spent by commentators and pundits, pollsters and political operatives espousing their own pet theories regarding the huge red wave that swept Republicans into Office from coast to coast. The Republicans now control the Senate and the House of Representatives and, the agenda is theirs to set. They now have legislative carte blanche to do as they please and in the process can dismantle as many of the legislative actions President Obama has signed into law in the last six years. After all, that is what this election was all about. To claim otherwise is to be disingenuous at best, naive' or at worst. The fallacy of a "post-racial" America was always just that – a fallacy; a sort of haze that first seemed to offer hope but rapidly revealed the true nature of our society, our politics and especially our politicians.
For openers Dick Cheney and his moronic sidekick George W. Bush made Barak Obama possible. Had it not been for the monumentally disastrous eight years of Cheney and Bush, their wars of choice, the financial collapse and all the ramifications and fallout from what could have been a complete financial collapse akin to the Great depression of 1929, the country never would have voted in a landslide for an unknown, untested, first term junior Senator from Illinois with the exotic sounding name. By the time Cheney and Bush were in their last years in the White House the country was exhausted from all that had taken place under their negligent, inept, neo-con pleasing watch. People wanted change and, for many reasons that have been studied and analyzed, a broad coalition of the voting public saw Obama as an agent of change, while others would have voted for a turnip; anyone to wash the sour taste of the Bush/Cheney debacle out of their mouths.
The country was clearly not "ready" for a Black president. It cannot be said any simpler. Not only was the country not ready for an African American in the White House, they were surely not prepared for this particular man, this particular Black man. After his first inauguration he was granted a honeymoon of a sort as the Congress and Washington insiders slowly observed and studied the man looking for cues as to what made him tick, what indelible core beliefs did he hold and would be willing to fight for, what would be his agenda? It did not take the Congress and the other rabid wolves in Washington, DC to size him up as a cautious, contemplative cat; an unemotional, seemingly untroubled intellect that would approach the many and varied demands of his Office in his own unique style. But it was more than "style" that puzzled the seasoned politicos. What they initially perceived as style was actually the true man; he was the way he was because that is the way he is. He is a self-contained, hard to read, slow to anger, contemplative, thoughtful intellectual and he brought all those inherent traits to the most difficult job in the country. He was not what anyone expected and his honeymoon was short lived.
The rapid rise of Obama was propelled not only by the public's weariness from the Cheney/Bush years; there was a huge grassroots effort to register voters in minority communities, young people on college campuses and others who were unaccustomed to or had never voted before. Yes, it was indeed a broad coalition; a potent force powerful enough to defeat the durable, well-oiled "Clinton Machine" that was at Hillary's disposal during the bruising primary. Once the primary was over and Obama was the Democrat's standard bearer, the real "retail politicking" began in earnest and it became a self-perpetuating beast feeding off the uncharacteristic engagement of so many regular citizens and, of course, a tsunami of Hollywood money, trial lawyers donations, and other left-leaning organizations and individuals and their fat wallets.
Obama was a good campaigner. He drew ever increasingly large crowds of vocal supporters and fed off their energy often delivering soaring rhetoric with a Baptist preacher's cadence. But he would soon find out that his Office required far, far more than inspiring oratory; he had work to do in the face of what would come to be the most recalcitrant, obstructionist, partisan, corrupt, bigoted opposition Party in Congress than ever before had been seen in American politics. The sleazy, turkey-necked slug from Kentucky, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised in a speech just days after the President's inauguration to make President Obama, "A one term President". The open warfare between the new President and the sharp elbowed Republicans on The Hill was declared.
Once Barak Obama became President Obama the ugly "dog whistle" catch phrases and turns of phrases were amplified. The "birthers" accusations that he was an illegitimate President vociferously claiming without evidence that he was born in Kenya and that he was a closet Muslim with an "anti-American" agenda consumed untold hours of talk radio and cable "newsertainment" programs. The Right said that he had associated with radical groups such as the Black Panthers while in college and controversial African American activists while working in Chicago. The Right was merciless, vile but oh so effective. They raised so many issues without relenting that President Obama's popularity poll numbers went into a slow but steady decline by his first summer in Office.
By 2008 Americans were tired; the eight previous years had taken their toll. Beginning with the al Qaeda terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the omnipresent risk of more terrorist activity here at home while one percent of our sons and daughters fought wars on two distant and separate – actually disparate – fronts, the notion of endless war began to eat away at the national psyche; a psyche with a miserably short attention span accustomed to a fast paced, interconnected culture. Then the banks began to fail. Their criminal recklessness, sleazy financial practices with no government or other oversight, and the bursting of the "housing bubble" saw many people loose homes, life savings and jobs. As the unemployment rate rose there emerged a segment of the populace who had fallen off the radar. These folks were the ranks of millions of "long-term unemployed" ineligible for government benefits as well as the millions of under-employed workers struggling to earn a living wage often working more than one job. Nationwide the squeeze was on the shrinking "middle class" with no tangible, practical relief in sight. Though the genesis of each of these bleeding open wounds to our economy were the result of Cheney/Bush actions or inactions, it was head spinning to watch as the Right Wing deftly placed the blame for all of it squarely at the feet of our new President. With a unified, defiant, and determined Republican Party ready to launch a full frontal assault on the new Administration and Obama in particular, for some reason the White House and the Democratic Party allowed the Republican Party to write the narrative that quickly became recognized as truth by ill and under informed citizens. Their anger grew with their frustration.
But there was much more than that at work in society. The cold undercurrent of racism coursed through what counted as the political discourse of the day. People began to see, with the prodding of conservative politicians and right wing media, President Obama as a disengaged, aloof "empty suit" and by his nature he would not counter their arguments and assertions; he took the high road and was determined to remain above the fray. He profoundly misjudged the sentiments on The Hill as well as the amount of power he actually had as President. He did not have the long Congressional resume that other Presidents had; he had not been in the Senate long enough to develop relationships that he could have enlisted to navigate legislation through that slow moving chamber.
The naïve' idealism of many joined by those who voted for Obama in the hope that once he and his family stepped over the threshold at 1600 – Pennsylvania Avenue, that his Presidency would usher in a new dawn, a "post-racial" America. Unfortunately, just the opposite occurred. Once in the White House and in the seat of power it did not take long before the thin layer of dust of overt racism that had settled over the years, that has always been just below the surface in segments of our society, was blown away and the insidious serpent of bigotry and racism re-awakened.
In our society tectonic shifts happen at a glacial crawl. Cleary in 2008 we were not at all ready for a Black President. Even the most cursory examination of our history since the end of World War II is ripe with examples of groups of people seeking civil rights, equality in employment and housing, as well as all the Constitutional rights Caucasian Americans are automatically granted by birthright. Yes, the pace of change in America is slow. It was 80 years after our Civil War that African Americans began to be afforded equal and voting rights and all the same protections under the law as are available to White Americans. Many of the African Americans of a certain age who cast their vote for Barak Obama were merely one generation removed from slavery. All Americans born up to the mid to late 1950's can recall the various "White Only" and "Black Only" sections of buses, diners, water fountains and many other places. So the promise of a President Obama was inflated and doomed to burst; the widespread resentment and some outright hatred cast a pall over parts of the country, blocs of citizens who did not believe we should have a Black President simply because we never have.
Everything President Obama did was scrutinized, dissected, and ultimately found to be flawed or misguided by the Republicans. He never received any credit for some of the actions he took immediately after he took Office to save the failing "Big Three" automobile manufacturers, extend unemployment benefits, pass a stimulus package, all without any support on the other side of the aisle. The slender Senate majority he had to work with was often too concerned with how their constituents would view their votes and some Democrats did not support the President's initiatives fearing a backlash back in their home district.
It can be argued that the Presidency of Barak Obama has set racial relations in America back perhaps as far as a generation. This is the result of the misguided concept of what we "need" in our elected officials. There are many ethnic and racial groups that have not been represented in the highest positions in the government and we elect candidates because "we haven't had (insert race, gender or ethnicity) yet." Obama's Presidency clearly illustrates just how much further we need to go before we are truly ready for the best candidate based on experience and merit; not one who is meant to pacify one group or another.
The 2016 presidential race is already gearing up and many on the Left and in the Democratic Party see Hillary Clinton as their standard bearer. Her candidacy should be based on her experiences, intellect, knowledge and merit, not her gender. We should not elect Hillary Clinton simply because we haven't had a woman president before. Change in American politics and society is at a snail's pace and any efforts to accelerate change usually backfire in dreadful ways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/us/politics/midterm-democratic-losses-grow.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/battle-for-the-senate-how-the-gop-did-it/2014/11/04/a8df6f7a-62c7-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html?hpid=z1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-unhappy-electorate-is-toughest-on-obama-and-the-democrats/2014/11/04/919884a6-6465-11e4-9fdc-d43b053ecb4d_story.html?hpid=z4
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/5/humbled-obama-tells-voters-i-hear-you/
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/obama-2014-midterms-response-112601.html?hp=t1_3
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/firsts-2014-midterm-elections-article-1.1999887
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-karpf/2014-and-the-strategic-de_b_6108486.html
http://www.nccs.net/will-the-great-american-experiment-succeed.php
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3237.htm
Posted by Brooding Cynyc at 4:48 PM No comments:
Labels: Commentary on Politics Today, Midterm Elections 2014, Racial Component of Politics since Obama was elected President, Republicans Sweep, Repudiation of President
THE BEGINNING OF THE END?
BRATTON, de BLASIO, AND McCRAY:
AN ANGRY LOOKING CHIRLANE McCRAY AND
A CONSTIPATED LOOKING BILL BRATTON.
IS THIS TOWN BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH?
TAGS: MAYOR de BLASIO, BILL BRATTON, CHIRLANE McCRAY,
AN AWKWARD THREESOME, NYC POLITICS, NYPD TOP BRASS,
McCRAY MORE INVOLVED IN DAY TO DAY CITY HALL BUSINESS,
THE "TWO FOR ONE" MAYOR
(Monday November 3, 2014 NYC) Anyone who was old enough to be paying attention to presidential politics in 1991 can probably recall when they were first introduced to Bill and Hillary Clinton. During the arduous primary season Hillary gave Bill fits with her often offensive, tone deaf, spontaneous remarks about women in general and her in detail. We learned she was a Yale trained lawyer who worked for one of the most prestigious law firms in Arkansas while her husband was in and out of the with her Arkansas Attorney General's or Governor's office for over a decade. She was a smart independent well educated highly respected person in her own right and would not "stand by" her man nor be b locked out by his long political shadow. As the nation soon found out after Clinton took the oath of office in January, 1992, the country had indeed elected "two for one"; Hillary would not be content to simply play the largely ceremonial role of "First Lady". Most of us can probably still remember the disasters she caused most notably her directing a White House task force that would develop a "health care reform initiative". It failed so miserably that she began to shrink as her husband's stock continued to rise.
What New Yorkers have begun to learn this past weekend is that Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray will be more "Hillary-esque" in that McCray is now basically a Deputy Mayor. The Mayor relies on her for advice in policy and personnel. With no "official" title beyond First Lady, the Mayor's wife routinely sits in on CompStat meetings as well as meetings with his Cabinet. Mayor de Blasio calls his wife his "most trusted" advisor and while that may be good to keep their marriage healthy now that they are under the spotlighted scrutiny of the NYC media, it does not necessarily bode well for everyone. Certainly the NYPD Commissioner, Bill Bratton is learning this the hard way and suddenly has to realize that his learning curve is steep.
Some very credible, highly regarded sources inside One Police Plaza have spoken anonymously not for attribution saying that Bratton and de Blasio had a very heated exchange last Friday in the wake of the abrupt resignation of Chief of Department Philip Banks. McCray had never kept her views on Bratton close to the vest and it was widely known in the circles of power that McCray rallied long and hard to have Banks appointed as NYPD Commissioner.
While, like her or hate her, Hillary Clinton is an Ivy League trained lawyer so she did bring some measured consideration to her role as First Lady and within the Clinton White House. Bill Clinton often boasted that his wife is smarter than he. Her efforts at health care reform were so terrible that it took her several years thereafter to return to the public arena and at that time she announced she was running for Senate for an open seat in New York.
McCray, on the other hand is a self-described "poet, writer, editor, communications professional (whatever the hell that is) as well as an activist, community organizer and political figure". She was a long association with controversial activist Al Sharpton and was a paid speech writer on his staff as well as being vet active in his National Action Network. The question here is, what, aside from being married to the Mayor qualifies her to attend top level meetings with the NYPD Command Brass and other City agencies? Perhaps her insider access while move her to write poignant poems about Police Officers and Sanitation Workers. Obviously her relationship with Al Sharpton has already given the formerly obese blowhard, now a slimmer, wrinkled, blowhard a seat at the table at the highest levels of our municipal government.
Bill Bratton, love him or hate him, has a long, if not impressive resume'. Not a native New Yorker (a huge knock IMHO) he worked his way up from a Boston street cop to hold two of the highest municipal law enforcement positions in the country. He was also a successful business man and sat on many corporate boards. His return after a 20 absence from the scene here in NYC was seen as surprising by many while others views it right from the get go as a bad move for Bratton. As long as there is festering turmoil in the corridors inside One Police Plaza and bickering with City Hall the morale within the ranks of the NYPD will continue to plummet. Every Officer knows that the Mayor certainly "does not have our backs" and it appears Bratton will be at least in the short term spending his time and energies extinguishing the angry fires of political influence coming his way from City Hall. In the meantime their remain a few top slots to fill upstairs in One Police Plaza and the choices he makes in the next few days will send a clear signal to the City and, most importantly, to the men and women of the NYPD.
De Blasio and Bratton have largely squandered the past 10 months and Bratton in particular seems to not have a coherent vision for the NYPD moving "forward" in a City that is now predominately minority. There has been much talk about abandoning the "Broken Window Theory" of policing but, for some, that is akin to not going home with the one who brought you to the dance. The entire issue of SQF remains oddly stalemated in legal limbo and one would have thought Bratton would step into the breach and set a course that the Courts would find more amenable. But that hasn't happened and it may be quite some time before anything does.
If Bill Bratton winds up serving out his four year appointment, that would come as a shock to many. That de Blasio is almost certain to be a one term Mayor is just plainly obvious; he is way in over his head and his job does not allow much leeway for "on the job training".
http://nypost.com/2014/11/02/citys-first-lady-not-happy-with-bill-bratton/
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bratton-special-plans-philip-banks-deputy-article-1.1997693
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/nyregion/de-blasio-and-bratton-unite-to-quash-allegations-of-rift.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0
http://www.ny1.com/content/news/218262/mayor--police-commissioner-denounce-reports-on-banks--resignation-as--outrageous-/
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/chirlane-mccray-front-page-story-full-lies-article-1.1996893
Related Brooding Cync's links:
http://broodingcynyx.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-bill-and-bill-show.html
http://broodingcynyx.blogspot.com/2013/11/electing-more-than-mayor.html
http://broodingcynyx.blogspot.com/2013/11/you-wanted-it-you-got-it.html
Posted by Brooding Cynyc at 5:08 PM 2 comments:
Labels: Bill Bratton NYPD Commish, Chirlane McCray Causing Rift Between 1PP and City Hall?, Internal Structure of NYPD, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Politics
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