Risk management and security professional - with background from process engineering and control systems. GICSP certificate holder (industrial cybersecurity).
Lately we have seen a lot of focus on security in social media – professionals, companies, organizations trying to increase security awareness. A lot of the information out there is about "control" and "compliance". The downside of a risk management regime based on strict rules, controls and compliance measures has been demonstrated again and again throughout history, and I've also written about it before in terms of getting users on board with the security program. My background is from the oil and gas industry – an industry that has seen several horrific accidents. Two of the more well-known and dramatic ones are the Piper Alpha accident 30 years ago this year, and the Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010. In both of these cases, investigations pointing to "root causes" concluded with a degraded safety culture, lack of attention to real risks and partially blamed a prescriptive approach to safety. The same arguments are equally valid for security incidents. The goal should be to find a balance between security and operational flow.
Balancing security against performance is necessary to operate with flow and still be at trusted business partner.
If you are looking for security advice online, it is easy to find. A lot of it will tell you to "trust nobody, lock down everything". From a traditional security point of view this makes sense – but it does not take the risk context into picture, nor does it balance measures against operational needs (such as keeping your store open, or being able to try new things to innovate and create new products).
Change control is important – but gathering a "change control board" for every change you do may be overkill – if you want ot stay "agile" and able to respond to changing demands.
Another common "rule" that actually does make a lot of sense is not to give end-users admin rights to their work computers. But…. needs will vary. If you are trying to develop new technology but your developers have to go through a lot of red-tape to try out a new technology, it will certainly have some ill effects on your teams ability to innovate. On the other hand, giving developers all free reigns in the name of the "sacred innovation gods" is also not a very good idea. The whole thing is about balance.
Security controls are often cumbersome for people. Airport security, nightclub bouncers, two-factor authentication, no admin rights. Security leads to limitation of access in a large number of cases. This obviously has a downside when it comes to how fast we can innovate, how quickly we can produce. The benefit is reduced probability and impact of a major incident – and such incidents are very expensive. The amount of security cumbersomeness people are willing to accept and live with will normally depend on how bad it can get if someone hacks you. If your system controls nuclear weapons, a power plant, or perhaps the production at a chemical plant, incidents can cause real disasters leading to financial and environmental ruin, as well as a large number of fatalities. In this case, you will probably accept a lot of security controls to minimize the chance of something like that happening.
On the other hand, if you are selling some new hot service online, you still need people to trust your service, and you need to comply with privacy laws. This means your security must still be good – but you may nevertheless adopt a slightly higher risk acceptance than in the nuclear weapons case.
The trick is to find a good balance between acceptable risk performance, and good operational flow. This in itself will contribute to greater security performance overall, as the human factor side to cyber risk is very large, something that is often undervalued when designing security controls. To do this in a coherent manner we bring you the mighty tool of the…. risk based threat model.
A threat model is best made for a specific system or subsystem. The system can be everything from "the company network" to a specific application or a small software component. The thinking remains the same but the details in your model will change. The whole purpose of it is to understand how and Adversary can perform an Action on a Target to achieve an Objective. There are many ways to model this explained in the literature, but we won't go into details about them here. If you want the details you can search for attack trees, STRIDE, cyber kill chain.
What does the system itself do?
Who are the threat actors? Use threat intelligence to understand how adversaries approach the system and the supply chain you are a part of.
Inventory and data flow. Create a data flow diagram on the architectural level. Include relevant information such as protocols and main technologies. Describe what each asset is used for, and make a list of what data is being processed and transferred. Make trust boundaries visible in your diagram. For the inventory, consider the potential impact of confidentiality, integrity or availability losses.
Abuse cases. Consider how the various processes and data transfer operations can be abused by an adversary with sufficient access. Access can be physical access, stolen credentials, through malware or direct use of software vulnerabilities. The abuse case is your primary tool for understanding how controls can stop the adversary's actions.
Detection and mitigation. Your system is probably not wide open to attack. List the most important controls you have in place already. The main purpose of this is to check if you are missing something obvious that you probably should be doing to stop attacks.
Evaluate and prioritize. Evaluate the threats according to the estimated risk. Prioritize controls that will help you reduce the risk of unacceptable actions being taken by adversaries to your most important assets and operational capabilities. Make sure you do not over-stretch the organization's capabilities – focus on what matters the most first.
Thinking through your context and what you value brings you a long way alone, in particular with solid baseline controls. Maintaining a threat model that is kept up to date regularly with new threat intelligence and other context changes also allows you to ensure you do not fall behind how the world moves. Taking risks is fine, but know what risks you can afford to take – when you do that, you can choose the point for balancing security and performance.
Consider this: internet is down. Power is out. And the water in the tap is no longer safe to drink. The stores are basically out of groceries. And the banking sector is not working. No mobile payments. No credit cards accepted. And no ATM's are working. Scenarios like this may be dystopia but are perhaps less far-fetched today than a few years ago. Some recent reports hinting of this have come out of the Ukrainian conflict as well as more recent events of cyber attacks targeting the utility sectors in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. There is no other way to put it than this: we are as a society vulnerable.
When social functions break down, a failure of businesses and organizations to provide basic services make the situation even more difficult ot cope with from the individual to the government level.
Sweden is taking steps to increase the population's preparedness for a major crisis, up to and including invasion by a foreign power. Norwegian authorities are planning a similar move. This type of communication was common during the cold war but feels chilling today. We are no longer used to thinking about disasters that target society at this scale.
A major conflict today would for sure include cyber domain operations, and most likely not only for information gathering. Availability of key services would be hit, and this could lead to power outages, water supply failure and payment system collapse. How do we cope in this situation?
Most people are not prepared for the "usual channels" to be unavailable. Most organizations are unprepared for disasters like this. This further exacerbates the challenges individuals would be faced with in the event of a crisis, because many businesses are essential for providing services and goods. When these businesses cannot deliver, it means power is unavailable, hospitals close, food is not available in the store and the fancy autonomous public transport systems grind to a halt.
Because of this, it is a civic duty for businesses to plan not only for a rainy day, but for long-term hurricane conditions. When the economy fails to produce the services and goods people depend on, we all suffer. Here are five bullet points for building resilience from the individual level, to our workplaces, and to society as a whole.
Do like the Swedes: keep an emergency supply of food, water, and other necessities at home. Have a plan for how to act in the case of a crisis.
At the workplace, do not stop at a risk assessment for "normal operations". Identify business continuity challenges, and abnormal situations that can occur, including natural disasters, nationwide cyber attacks, terror attacks and a state of war. What services should the organization be able of supplying under such conditions? How can a plan be put in place to be able of doing so?
Planning is smart, but without training its value is very limited. This is why businesses run stress tests, table-top exercises, red-team simulations and the like. We do, however, focus on risks under "normal conditions". Have you tested your business continuity handling plan the same way? You probably should. Exercise emergency response with no network access, with phone lines down and your staff dispersed.
Do not get paranoid, but also do not be afraid to mention what people typically would see as "black swans". Only by acknowledging that disasters do happen, we can prepare to restore functionality to the level we have defined necessary.
Engage in conversations and organizations that keep you on top of societal risks, and how you can contribute. Contributing to the security of society as a whole is the essence of social corporate responsibility.
If we keep contributing during a crisis, we will increase our collective ability to handle adversity. This is why business continuity needs to be part of our thinking around social corporate responsibility.
Container technologies are becoming a cornerstone of development and deployment in many software houses – including where I have my day job. Lately I've been creating a small web app with lots of vulnerabilities to use for security awareness training for developers (giving them target practice for typical web vulnerabilities). So I started thinking about the infrastructure: packing up the application in one or more containers – what are the security pitfalls? The plan was to look at that but as it turned out, I struggled for some time just to get the thing running in a Docker container.
A MongoDB database. During prototyping I used a cloud version at mlab.com. That has worked flawlessly.
Create your container image based on a verified image you can download from a repository, such as Docker Hub. For node applications the typical recommendation you will find in everything from Stack Overflow to personal blogs and even official doc pages from various projects is to start with a Node image from Docker Hub.
So, when we try this, it seems to run smoothly…. until it doesn't. The build crashes – what gives?
After some more googling we tried to use node:8-alpine as the base image. Didn't work, it cannot install the necessary build tools to run libxmljs, with a warning that a required file is not available for the Alpine package manager.
Building on top of Alpine, a minimal Linux distribution popular for use in containers in order to reduce the image size, we try to install some OS specific build tools required in order to install the npm package libxmljs. This package is a wrapper for the xmllib2 library for C (part of the Gnome project). Because that is what it is, it needs to set up those bindings locally for the platform it is running on, hence it needs a C compiler and a version of Python 2.7 to make this happen. To install packages on Alpine one uses the apk package manager. These packages are obviously there, so why does it fail?
EDIT: use node:8 official image, not alpine, as it does not play well with glibc dependencies (such as libxml2).
After adding the "no-cache" option on the apk command the libraries installed fine. But running the container still led to crash.
The error message we got when running the container was "Error loading shared library…. Exec format error". This is because shared library calls are platform specific and built into the built version of libxmljs in node_modules.
The backlog file is just a debug log. After doing this, and building again: Success!
OK, so we're up and running with the API. Next tasks will be to set up separate containers for the frontend and possibly for the database server – and to set up proper networking between them. Then we can look at how many configuration mistakes we have made, perhaps close a few, and be ready to start attacking the application (which is the whole purpose of this small project).
Phishing is still the most common initial attack vector. Mass mailed spam is now taking cues from targeted campaigns, improving conversion rates through personalization and the use of seemingly authoritative content.
Scammers are getting better at targeting. Sharpen your defenses today – including your awareness training!
The logo in the email is hosted on a different domain than the email address of the sender, and it is not a CDN or cloud storage bucket.
Training people to look for these indicators will help reduce damage from the more advanced phishing campaigns!


text:
Q: font-face in firefox 8 on linux and firefox 3.6 on winxp this is my CSS code:
@font-face {
    font-family: 'WebMitra';
    font-style: normal !important;
    font-weight: normal !important;
    src: url('./fonts/bmitra.ttf') format('truetype');
}

@font-face {
    font-family: 'WebMitraBold';
    font-style: normal !important;
    font-weight: bold !important;
    src: url('./fonts/bmitra-b.ttf') format('truetype');
}

and this is my result in two version of Firefox in two operating system. i want know the bug is for Firefox or operating system.
Firefox 8 on Ubuntu 11.04
See problem Persian font separate with each letter.

Firefox 3.6 on Windowx XP
Correct version

This is live version you can test it.

A:
The general consensus in the #firefox channel at irc.freenode.net is the Linux font rendering. It will never be Microsoft's rendering, so...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Anybody you ask in the Irving area for a dependable Concrete Contractors in Balch Springs, TX, will tell you to call to Jose, over at Omega Masonry. For over 20 years OmegaMasonry.Com has served the best interests of Irving residents. Nowadays they have become the company of choice for many services ranging from Stucco Work & Repairs to Built in Grills & Outdoor Kitchen. While this may be great but note that a lot of people do not know that OmegaMasonry.Com is your best bet if you are searching for BrickLayer in Irving, Texas.
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1) Certified and Qualified – Getting a expert begins with the fundamentals, which may pertain to their certificates. Keep things basic and make certain they are qualified to be hired as a brick layer and know just what they're doing from a procedural point of view.
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Brick-laying is really a highly specialized job that will require the necessary talents and experience. Though a handyman could execute this kind of work, it is wise to look for a professional in order to get the most effective worth for the funds spent. It is actually best to talk to a pro who has finished a lot of similar jobs previously. Seeing samples of their previous work is extremely important when choosing the right candidate for your project. Don't forget to ask the candidate about his experience and professional accreditations. Alternatively, you should feel comfortable with all the contractor when you hire him for the job. These are among the most essential aspects to consider when hiring a reputable bricklayer in Irving, Texas. After discovering that OmegaMasonry.Com is not just a professional Concrete Repair in Coppell, TX but also your best bet when you are searching for BrickLayer in Irving, Texas. With that said, if you would like additional details about our services visit our blog!
Cast Stone Restoration near Irving, TX.


text:
Journal of the National Dental Association, Volume 2
Frank L. Platt '15, San Francisco, Calicornia.
Chris S. Van Horn '15, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
Roscoe H. Volland '15, Iowa City, Iowa.
Eugene R. Warner, '18, 401 California Building, Denver, Colorado.
George T. Williams '19, Seattle Washinglon.
Carl D. Lucas '19, Indianapolis, Indiana.
W. T. Farrar '19, Louisville, Kentucky. Percy Williams '19, Rutland, Vermont.
Samuel H. McAfee '19, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Edward C. Kirk '17, Philadelphia, Fennsylvania.
William Carr '17, New York City, New Tork.
Truman W. Brophy '17, Chicago, Illinois.
Greene V. Black '17, Chicago, Illinois. Homer C. Brown '17, Columbus, Ohio.
Thomas B. Hartzell '16, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Arthur R. Melendy '16, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Edward S. Gaylord '16, New Haven, Connecticut.
Henry C. Ferris '16, New York City, New York.
Charles Channing Allen, '16, Kansas City, Missouri.
Frank 0. Hetrick '15, Ottawa, Kansas.
Marcus L. Ward '15, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Third Assistant Postmaster General notified the General Secretary that "The Act of August 24, 1912, limits the circulation of publications in which miscellaneous advertisements are carried to-copies mailed to such members as pay therefor, either as a part of their dues of assessments, or otherwise, not less than fifty per centum of the regular subscription price; to other bona fide subscribers; to exchanges, and ten per centum of such circulation as sample copies, and that if it is desired to continue the carrying of miscellaneous advertisements it will be necessary for us to establish that the circulation meets the foregoing requirements."
VOTED THAT "Of the $1.00 annual membership dues, $.50 shall be for a year's subscription to 'The Journal of the National Dental Association.'"
Adjourned.
First Session of the Board of Trustees.
The first session of the Board of Trustees was held in the Army Room of the Municipal Auditorium, at San Francisco, Cal., at 4:00 P. M., August 31, 1915.
The roll call showed all members present, except Dr. Walter E. Boardman, Boston, Mass.
THE SECRETARY, in the absence of Dr. Arthur R. Melendy, read the Treasurer's report, which was received and referred to the Auditing Committee. (Report on page 408.)
UPON MOTION of Dr. Hinman, which was duly seconded and carried, the President of the National Dental Association insiructed and authorized to employ a certified public accountant to audit the books of the Secretary and Treasurer, at least thirty days prior to the annual meeting, and that this report be presented and submitted to the Board of Trustees of this Association at its first session.
The minutes of the Ad Interim Committee, and the Board of Trustees meeting were read and approved.
THE GENERAL SECRETARY, Dr. Otto U. King, submitted his financial report and vouchers Nos. 49 to 93.
IT WAS VOTED that the General Secretary's financial report be received and approved, and bills allowed. (Report on page 402.)
The members of the Judicial Council were nominated as follows: J. R. Callahan, Cincinnati, Ohio; R. Ottolengui, New York City; Victor H. Jones, Bethlehem, Pa.; T. L. Grisamore, Chicago, Illinois, and Wm. F. Sharp, San Francisco, Cal.
L. Platt, San Francisco, Norman I. Broomell, Philadelphia, and R. H. Voland, Iowa City, Iowa.
IT WAS VOTED that the Journal Committee consist of W. H. G. Logan, Otto U. King, and Herbert L. Wheeler.
National Relief Committee, Edward S. Gaylord, L. G. Noel and William T. Chambers, James McMamus.
DR. FRED W. GETHRO, Chicago, of the Dental Educational Committee was nominated for re-appointment to serve five years.
On the Dental Legislative Committee, Dr. Charles R. E. Koch, Chicago, Illinois, was nominated for re-appointment for five years.
On the Committee on Transportation and Place of Session, the following were nominated as members of this Committee: D. C. Bacon, Chicago, Illinois; Max M. Eble, Louisville, Ky.; Roscoe A. Day, Oakland, Calif.; Howard S. Seip, Allentown, Pa., and Joseph D. Eby, Atlanta, Ga.
DR. KING stated that he had one hundred and sixteen copies of the 1911 Proceedings; one hundred and fifty of 1912, and five hundred and twenty-two of 1913.
IT WAS VOTED that the Secretary be instructed to keep permanently twentyfive copies of each issue of the Journal of Transactions of the National Dental Association, and that of those copies on hand in his office in excess of this number, already published, he be requested to place a notice in the Dental journals that these copies may be had on request if money is enclosed to prepay the postage.
On the Research Commission, it was moved that the action of the Board of Trustees be confirmed in recommending that Dr. Carl D. Lucas, Indianapolis, succeed the late Dr. George E. Hunt and Dr. Arthur D. Black, Chicago, succeed the late Dr. G. V. Black. The rest of the Committee to serve for five years are Frank 0. Hetrick, Ottawa, Kansas; Marcus L. Ward, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Frank
Federation Dentaire International Delegates. Truman W. Brophy, Burton Lee Thorpe, William Carr, S. H. Guilford, Waldo E. Boardman. The same members will serve until 1919.
Second Meeting of the Board of Trustees, September 1, 1915, in Municipal Auditorium.
The meeting was called to order by the President at 4:30 P. M.
There were present Drs. Gallie, Burkhart, Hartzell, Buckley, Grieves, Wherry, White and King.
IT WAS MOVED by Dr. Burkhart and seconded that Dr. Arthur D. Black be recommended as successor to his father as a member of the Research Commission. Carried.
continued and that the plan outlined by Dr. Gaylord be accepted and authorized. Seconded and carried.
DR. BUCKLEY moved to recommend the continuation of the Committee on Oral and Dental Hygiene, this committee to consist of Charles H. Oakman, Detroit, Mich.; L. D. Mitchell, Oklahoma City; B. S. Hurt, Rochester, N. Y.; H. F. Hoffman, Denver, Colorado, and J. D. Patterson, Kansas City.
MOTION seconded by Dr. Burkhart and carried.
DR. HARTZELL moved to recommend that the Committee on Relief Fund be
IT WAS MOVED to recommend that the Committee on Dental Museum be continued, and the Committee consist of the following members: G. W. Boynton, Chairman, Washington, D. C.; Thomas L. Rust, Vice-Chairman, Washington, D. C.; C. A. Hawley, Secretary, Washington, D. C.; Chester B. Reed, Topeka, Kansas; William O. Hulick, Cincinnati, Ohio; Henry W. Morgan, Nashville, Tenn; C. V. Vignes, New Orleans, La.; and Thomas E. Purcell, Kansas City, Missouri. Seconded and carried.
DR. BURKHART moved to recommend that the Representatives on Educational Council of America be reappointed
as the Committee now stands. Seconded and carried.
VOTED THAT one hundred dollars be appropriated for the use of this Council.
DR. GRIEVES moved to recommend that the Committee on Public Health. Pharmacoepial and Law be discontinued. Seconded and carried.
DR. BUCKLEY moved to recommend that Dr. Arthur R. Melendy, of Knoxville, Tennessee, be re-elected as Treasurer. Se onded and carried.
MR. W. L. SMITH appeared before the Board of Trustees in reference to the Oral Hygiene movement or Welfare Association.
President's Omce Secretary's Office. Treasurer's Omce and Com
mittees Printing Postage Bulletins Journal Fixtures Miscellaneous, Labor, Rent,
Supplies and Freight
Condensed Remittance to Treasurer. Dues, Subscription to The
Journal and Labor. .$14185 60 National Relief fund.
246 44 Advertisers
$15907 04
ITEMIZED RECEIPTS FOR DUES.
.$ 117 00
Alaska Territory
California, State
California Southern
Department of the Interior.
Foreign Members
Hawaiian Islands
Mlinois
National Capitol
Phillipine Islands
U. S. Navy
January 6, 1915....
March 5, 1915..
June 15, 1915..
July 2, 1915.
August 2, 1915.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Facebook AI's Joelle Pineau receives Governor General's Innovation Award
By: Facebook Research
Joelle Pineau, the Co-Managing Director of Facebook AI Research (FAIR) and head of FAIR Montreal, is one of six recipients of the Governor General's Innovation Awards. The award recognizes Canadian leaders for their groundbreaking innovations and positive impact on the quality of life in the country.
Pineau's research focuses on developing new models and algorithms for planning and learning in complex, partially observable domains. She is recognized for applying these algorithms to problems in robotics and in health care. Pineau is also a vocal advocate for increasing diversity among researchers and academics in the AI community.
In addition to leading Facebook AI's research efforts in Montreal, she is also an associate professor at McGill University, where she co-directs the Reasoning and Learning Lab.
Pineau sat down to share her health care-related work and how AI can have a positive impact on the world. See the Facebook AI blog for the full Q&A.
Q&A with Ayesha Ali, two-time award winner of Facebook request for research proposals in misinformation
Facebook research at NeurIPS 2020
AI blog


CalcuQuote is exhibiting at the 2018 SMTA International Expo in Rosemont, Illinois.
With a suite of softwares for electronic contract manufacturers (ECMs) including their premier Request for Quote (RFQ) Management System, the company has recently expanded their offerings for contract manufacturing to include partnerships with other softwares and services.
CalcuQuote will be exhibiting at the SMTA International Exposition at Booth #212 the Donald Stephens Convention Center on October 16-17, 2018.
CalcuQuote is a software and professional services company providing products and expertise to contract manufacturers, with a focus on electronics manufacturing services (EMS). Their premier product, a quote management system for high-mix, low-to-mid volume contract manufacturers, is used by 75+ EMS companies, increasing quoting efficiency, accuracy, and clients' bottom line across North America. To learn more about CalcuQuote, click here.


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text:
Midland High routs Franklin, 56-28
While the Cougars were able to rush the ball successfully, it couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs' high octane offense.
Midland High routs Franklin, 56-28 While the Cougars were able to rush the ball successfully, it couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs' high octane offense. Check out this story on ElPasoTimes.com: http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/2016/08/26/midland-high-routs-franklin-56-28/89352586/
Christopher Hadorn, Special to the Times Published 10:13 p.m. MT Aug. 25, 2016 | Updated 3:21 p.m. MT Aug. 26, 2016
Cougars(Photo: Courtesy)
MIDLAND, Texas — The Franklin Cougars ran the ball at will at times during Thursday's season opener versus Midland High.
But while the Cougars were able to rush the ball successfully, they couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs' high octane offense, namely wide receiver Jalen Childress.
Childress caught seven passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a rousing 56-28 win over Franklin during their season opener at Grande Communications Stadium.
Childress was deadly in space, turning short screen passes into big plays. But his most impactful play occurred in the third quarter when MHS was clinging to a 27-21 lead over the visiting Cougars.
After starting quarterback Jackson Anuszkiewicz had to leave the game for a play with a minor injury, backup Ryan Perales stepped in under center and completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to Childress during a third-and-13 situation. Childress caught a screen in the middle of the field and broke away from defenders in the open field.
"Unbelievable," MHS head coach Craig Yenzer said of Childress. "This guy, he's fearless. He's harder than heck to tackle in space. You saw that, the kid got hit on. But better yet, Jalen Childress is a great young man. He's fun. He's fun to coach. There's not a selfish bone in his body and I can't say enough about him."
MHS scored 22 points in the third quarter to break open a game that was tied 21-21 at one point in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs defense came through with a scoreless quarter after struggling with stopping Franklin's rushing attack in the first half, and Anuszkiewicz came back into the game to toss a pair of touchdown passes to close out the third period.
Anuszkiewicz enjoyed an impressive performance as well, completing 19 of 26 passes for 221 yards and adding 99 yards rushing on the ground. Anuszkiewicz heaved four touchdown passes in the triumph.
Franklin rode its rushing game to even the game at 21-all with 2:49 left until the half.
Eric Phillips carried the ball 25 times for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Seth Dominguez had 25 rushing attempts for 113 yards. Phillips broke away on a 51-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
Cougars backup quarterback Chris Kelly scored a pair of 4-yard touchdown runs out of shotgun formations in the first half.
Franklin amassed 280 yards on the ground on a whopping 60 rushes. After halftime though, the Cougars only could muster 67 rushing yards.
Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports
MIDLAND HIGH 56, EL PASO FRANKLIN 28
Franklin 7 14 0 7 --28
MHS 21 6 22 7 --56
El Paso soccer team wins national title
5 to join El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday
Locomotive make big splash in inaugural season
Chihuahuas France, Urias homer in PCL all-star win
July 10, 2019, 11 p.m.
Former Chihuahua Decker returns as director of BYAA
UTEP basketball adds transfer guard from Xavier


Bounce, BOUNCE, Bounce, BOUNCE with the Super Pogo Stick providing endless exercise and fun for kids and adults alike. Made for ages 14 and up and weight range of 120 to 210 lbs. Constructed of durable metal along with injection-molded clamps and steps. Features a nitrile rubber tip. Bounce. BOUNCE. Bounce.
NOTE: While using the Super Pogo Stick a helmet is recommended (not included).


text:
/*
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */
package com.mattjtodd.hibernate.hhh9411;

import javax.persistence.Entity;

@Entity
public abstract class Dog extends Animal
{
	private boolean fast;

	protected Dog(boolean fast)
	{
		this.fast = fast;
	}

	public final boolean isFast()
	{
		return fast;
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Stand out this season with this gorgeous colourful Lolly Striped jumper! Crafted from soft, cosy sponge yarn this stylish jumper features bold horizontal blocks of colour, crew neck and side buttons. Sure to be a new favourite this season!


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Rented Properties – EPC Requirements
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Brighton and Hove (City)
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Grant and Scheme Availability in Somerset
Grants and schemes are available throughout the area including the following locations.
Contact us for confirmation or if your area is not listed.
Backwell, Bagley, Banwell, Bath, Birtley, Bishops Lydeard, Blaydon, Bradley Cross, Bridgwater, Bruton, Bulford, Burcott, Burnham-on-Sea, Castle Cary, Chard, Cheddar, Chopwell, Claverham, Cleadon, Clevedon, Compton Durville, Congresbury, Crawcrook, Crewkerne, Easington Lane, East Boldon, East Lydeard, Easton, Easton-in-Gordano, Farleigh, Frome, Gateshead, Glastonbury, Hastings, Hebburn, Henley, Hetton-le-Hole, Highbridge, Hinton, Houghton-le-Spring, Ilminster, Jarrow, Keynsham, Killingworth, Lamesley, Lansdown, Long Ashton, Longbenton, Martock, Midsomer Norton, Milborne Port, Milborne Wick, Minehead, Nailsea, Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Newton, North Petherton, Norton Fitzwarren, Nye, Nyland, Paulton, Peasedown St John, Portishead, Radstock, Rowlands Gill, Ryton, Saltford, Sea, Shepton Mallet, Shiney Row, Shiremoor, Somerton, South Petherton, South Shields, Southway, Springwell, Street, Taunton, Templecombe, Theale, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Washington, Watchet, Wedmore, Wells, Wembdon, West Coker, West Town, Weston-Super-Mare, Whickham, Whitburn, Whitchurch, Whitley Bay, Wideopen, Wincanton, Winscombe, Wiveliscombe, Woolsington, Yatton, Yeovil, Yeovil Marsh
Backwell, Bagley, Banwell, Bath, Birtley, Bishops Lydeard, Blaydon, Bradley Cross, Bridgwater, Bruton, Bruton, Bulford, Burcott, Burnham-on-Sea, Castle Cary, Chard, Cheddar, Chopwell, Claverham, Cleadon, Clevedon, Compton Durville, Congresbury, Crawcrook, Crewkerne, Easington Lane, East Boldon, East Lydeard, Easton, Easton-in-Gordano, Farleigh, Frome, Gateshead, Glastonbury, Glastonbury, Hastings, Hebburn, Henley, Hetton-le-Hole, Highbridge, Hinton, Houghton-le-Spring, Ilminster, Jarrow, Keynsham, Killingworth, Lamesley, Lansdown, Long Ashton, Longbenton, Martock, Midsomer Norton, Milborne Port, Milborne Wick, Minehead, Nailsea, Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Newton, North Petherton, Norton Fitzwarren, Nye, Nyland, Paulton, Peasedown St John, Portishead, Radstock, Rowlands Gill, Ryton, Saltford, Sea, Shepton Mallet, Shiney Row, Shiremoor, Somerton, South Petherton, South Shields, Southway, Springwell, Street, Taunton, Templecombe, Theale, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Washington, Watchet, Wedmore, Wells, Wembdon, West Coker, West Town, Weston-Super-Mare, Whickham, Whitburn, Whitchurch, Whitley Bay, Wideopen, Wincanton, Wincanton, Winscombe, Wiveliscombe, Woolsington, Yatton, Yeovil, Yeovil Marsh
Backwell, Bagley, Banwell, Bath, Birtley, Bishops Lydeard, Blaydon, Bradley Cross, Bridgwater, Bruton, Bruton, Bulford, Burcott, Burnham-on-Sea, Castle Cary, Chard, Cheddar, Chopwell, Claverham, Cleadon, Clevedon, Compton Durville, Congresbury, Crawcrook, Crewkerne, Easington Lane, East Boldon, East Lydeard, Easton, Easton-in-Gordano, Farleigh, Frome, Gateshead, Glastonbury, Hastings, Hebburn, Henley, Hetton-le-Hole, Highbridge, Hinton, Houghton-le-Spring, Ilminster, Jarrow, Keynsham, Killingworth, Lamesley, Lansdown, Long Ashton, Longbenton, Martock, Midsomer Norton, Milborne Port, Milborne Wick, Minehead, Nailsea, Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Newton, North Petherton, Norton Fitzwarren, Nye, Nyland, Paulton, Peasedown St John, Portishead, Radstock, Rowlands Gill, Ryton, Saltford, Sea, Shepton Mallet, Shiney Row, Shiremoor, Somerton, South Petherton, South Shields, Southway, Springwell, Street, Taunton, Templecombe, Theale, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Washington, Watchet, Wedmore, Wells, Wembdon, West Coker, West Town, Weston-Super-Mare, Whickham, Whitburn, Whitchurch, Whitley Bay, Wideopen, Wincanton, Wincanton, Winscombe, Wiveliscombe, Woolsington, Yatton, Yeovil, Yeovil Marsh
Hive Smart Heating Controls
Backwell, Bagley, Banwell, Bath, Birtley, Bishops Lydeard, Blaydon, Bradley Cross, Bridgwater, Bruton, Bruton, Bulford, Burcott, Burnham-on-Sea, Castle Cary, Chard, Cheddar, Chopwell, Claverham, Cleadon, Clevedon, Compton Durville, Congresbury, Crawcrook, Crewkerne, Easington Lane, East Boldon, East Lydeard, Easton, Easton-in-Gordano, Farleigh, Frome, Gateshead, Glastonbury, Hastings, Hebburn, Henley, Hetton-le-Hole, Highbridge, Hinton, Houghton-le-Spring, Ilminster, Jarrow, Keynsham, Killingworth, Lamesley, Lansdown, Long Ashton, Longbenton, Martock, Midsomer Norton, Milborne Port, Milborne Wick, Minehead, Nailsea, Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Newton, North Petherton, Norton Fitzwarren, Nye, Nyland, Paulton, Peasedown St John, Portishead, Radstock, Rowlands Gill, Ryton, Saltford, Sea, Shepton Mallet, Shiney Row, Shiremoor, Somerton, South Petherton, South Shields, Southway, Springwell, Street, Taunton, Templecombe, Theale, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Washington, Watchet, Wedmore, Wells, Wembdon, West Coker, West Town, Weston-Super-Mare, Whickham, Whitburn, Whitchurch, Whitley Bay, Wideopen, Wincanton, Winscombe, Wiveliscombe, Woolsington, Yatton, Yeovil, Yeovil Marsh
Energy Efficiency Grant Schemes
Grants and Schemes are now available throughout most areas for home energy efficiency improvements.
Improvements available include boilers, heat pumps, heating systems, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, loft insulation and high efficiency glazing and doors.
Please contact us using the enquiry form or by sending an email to the following address.
Email: info@grantschemes.co.uk
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© 2022 Grant Schemes - Energy Efficiency Grants & Schemes for Home Energy Efficiency Improvements


There once was a beautiful, shiny white dinghy. We sailed her and rowed her and motored her happily. Then we towed her behind our bigger boat while on a week-long cruise. On the way back, we stowed her hull-side-up on deck for a longer passage. It was a beautiful sunny day.
The next day, the dinghy had turned brown and yucky. We tried washing and scrubbing and all kinds of boat cleaners with no success.
But then I remembered the miracle home product in our kitchen cupboard, Bar Keepers Friend. It was developed in 1882 by an American chemist who noticed his pot was very shiny after cooking rhubarb: he formulated an ingredient in rhubarb into a talcum powder and sold it to taverns around the town.
It cleans and removes stains from brass, stainless steel, copper, porcelain, ceramic and, yes, glassfibre – all without scratching, even though it is seemingly mildly abrasive. I marched outside with the powder and a wet sponge and wiped some of the powder into the dinghy's hull in a widening circle. It started to lighten, so I rubbed a bit and it became even cleaner. Within minutes, the discolouration melted away without further effort. Less than an hour of scrubbing and rinsing later, the dinghy was as new.
Bar Keepers Friend is available throughout Britain and Ireland and costs about £2.79 for 250g. I like the powder better than the liquid, but both are invaluable around the house and aboard the boat.
Try it on your brass bell.


Bethenny Frankel stopped in Tampa last week for her Calling All My Girls Tour and all I can say is Bethenny can throw one heck of a party! We had a fabulous evening celebrating Bethenny's new talk show with none other than Bethenny herself and an array of Skinnygirl beverages to sip on. I couldn't have asked for a better mom's night out full girl talk, cocktails, and BETHENNY! She has been such an inspiration to watch over the years with all of her success.
Leave it to Bethenny to have pillows that say It's Hot as Balls! Welcome to Florida...ha!
This momma was able to hang out with some good friends that I've known since kindergarten and connect with some Tampa blogger friends as well!
All the flat screens at the event had the #callingallmygirls hashtag going and you can see me below with Bethenny when we attempted to win a trip to her show earlier in the day! Unfortunately we didn't win the tickets, but I would take a photo-op with Bethenny any day! We will just have to work a little harder now to get a mom's trip to NYC!
Thanks Bethenny for a night to remember!


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Murray paints Strickland into a corner.
The School Facilities Big Labor Scandal keeps making news.
A quick recap for those who have been enjoying August vacation like normal people do:
In 2009, Strickland fired the Director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the son of a Democratic Party legend, for not being cozy enough with the unions. He was replaced with Richard Murray. Richard Murray came under investigation by the Ohio Inspector General for cozying up a little too close to the unions. The IG determined Murray "abused his authority by repeatedly acting as a go-between for union representatives and participating in arm-twisting sessions with local school districts."
Well, on Saturday the Governor said:
"I support Mr. Murray. I think he's done nothing wrong."
On Sunday, the Dispatch went in a different direction:
Murray's actions were grossly unprofessional and unacceptable for the head of a state agency in charge of billions of dollars in public money. The governor faces a choice: Remove an administrator who has ill-served the public, or keep him and thereby choose to serve labor's interests rather than those of Ohio students and taxpayers.
Then the Plain Dealer said:
Murray, whether he believes it or not, has compromised the credibility of his office. Should he fail to resign, Strickland should give him a push. That might be politically expedient, but it's also the right thing to do.
And Richard Murray's reply in an interview with NBC 4 in Columbus dropped the hammer:
"As long as I have the Governor's support, I will not resign."
My friends, we've got an old-fashioned showdown.
And things have gone from bad to worse for Governor Strickland.
Right off the bat, Strickland said Murray did nothing wrong, but left wiggle room for Murray to resign of his own accord [wink, wink].
Ohio's two largest newspapers told the Governor that Murray must be fired or resign.
Then Murray took away Strickland's only out by saying the only way he would resign is if the Governor told him to do so.
So now Strickland has two choices.
One. Murray resigns. If this happens we know it will because the Governor asked him to do so. It's also the right thing to do. The problem? Based on the Governor's initial statement it would lack any political credibility since he had already thrown his public support behind Murray.
Two. Keep Murray. That leaves Strickland open to further criticisms into the indefinite future. And not just by his opposition, but by the media as well.
Either way, it's a lose-lose.
And it was all self-inflicted.


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Photo by Bethany Legg via Wikimedia
From Russia with Lobbying
The level of Russian influence on US politics is at the top of the political agenda in Washington. Multiple Congressional committees are investigating the connections between the Trump campaign and Russia with former FBI chief Robert Mueller having been appointed as special counsel to shed more light on any connections. According to US intelligence it is looking more apparent that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections. In Europe, it seems that Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign was also the target of Russian hacking and fears have been voiced in several other Member States including Germany.
In light of increased foreign interference, Transparency international Russia has analysed Russian lobbying in the EU and published a first-ever report on the issue. The report examines Russian lobby practices in 13 EU countries and in the EU as a whole, based on lobbying disclosures. This comes at an all-time low in EU-Russia relations reflected in the 44% drop in trade since 2014. Falling demand for commodities and several rounds of sanctions and counter-sanctions imposed since the annexation of Crimea have all contributed to this slump. But it is the alignment of Russian interests with that of European populist parties and the Russian government's aggressive disinformation policy that have further complicated matters for Russian corporate interests. To the point where they are often perceived as "agents of the Russian government". These factors push Russian companies away from the public promotion of their interests, resorting instead to camouflage or even hide their lobby activities. Since the EU remains Russia's largest trading partner, the report seeks to highlight how Russian corporations manage to achieve their aims while avoiding publicity as much as possible.
One of the most common forms is to merge Russian interest representation with that of well-established EU-based organisations. In Austria for example, the oil & gas giant OMV lobbies the government for the expansion of the Central European Gas Hub, for which it has a joint stake with its Russian counterpart, Gazprom. Both in Germany and France, trade associations active in the field of energy (Zukunft Erdgas e.V & the Association française indépendente d'électricité et du gaz) declare many Russian organisations among their members even though most of these organisations are not themselves registered.
Letting professional consultancies handle lobbying is another way of reducing visibility. This is particularly true at EU level where declared lobbying activities by Russian organisations are surprisingly low. The EU Transparency Register only lists 16 organisations from Russia and a combined lobby expenditure of just 3.3 million Euros.
List of Russian organisations on the Transparency Register:
Organisation Name Lobbying Expenditure* EP Passes Lobbyists (FTE) # of Meetings Registration Date
Gazprom 900,000 9 4 7 13/03/2014
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research 900,000 0 47.5 0 23/07/2015
LUKOIL 400,000 4 2 0 28/07/2011
Non-Profit Partnership ESVERO 300,000 0 0.5 0 26/01/2017
JSC "Inter RAO UES" Representative office in the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium 200,000 1 1 0 25/01/2012
Novolipetsk Steel 200,000 0 1.25 1 21/11/2016
Consulting Agency "Rumyantsev & partners" LLC 100,000 0 3.5 0 18/04/2016
Kaspersky Lab 100,000 0 1.25 0 21/01/2015
Association of "Russian vodka" producers 70,000 0 0.25 0 20/04/2017
Moscow State Pedagogical University 27,000 0 12 0 02/03/2017
ACIG Group of companies 25,000 0 2.5 0 30/12/2014
Association of European Businesses 9,999 0 2 14 18/12/2014
Atomenergopromsbyt 9,999 1 3.75 1 19/09/2016
Coleman Services UK 9,999 0 0.25 1 13/03/2017
JSC Atomenergoprom 9,999 0 0.25 1 20/09/2016
Private institution of Atomic Energy Power Corporation Rusatom International Network 9,999 1 0.25 0 23/12/2016
These numbers fall far below expectations considering that Russia is the EU's fourth largest trading partner. In comparison, Norway, which has a just over half the trade volume with the EU that Russia has, there are 81 registered lobby organisations with a combined annual budget of 14.5 million Euros.
Transparency International Russia's report focusses on two consultancies representing Russian clients, but we found 11 additional ones that either declare Russian clients, provide consultancy services in Russian or have subsidiaries in Russia. Although they might not directly lobby on behalf of Russian companies, a further 74 non-Russian organisations on the Transparency Register indicate "Russia" among the topics they lobby on.
At Transparency International EU, we agree with our Russian colleagues: the lack of transparency around lobbying activities is a problem both for the EU and Russia. Enhancing lobby regulation in EU countries and at the EU level is key to ensure that decisions are taken in the public interest. With 8 of the 28 current Member States still heavily reliant on gas imports from Russia this is a pressing matter. Adopting a mandatory register and publishing lobby meetings of all three EU institutions would ensure that the public can scrutinise decisions on energy supply for example. Regrettably however, it seems that this is not what the EU institutions currently have in mind for the "mandatory" EU register.
At the national level in Member States the situation is even worse. In our 2015 report on lobbying in Europe, we deplored the low quality of lobbying regulation throughout the EU. Though the situation has evolved in some countries, it is high-time for all EU countries to introduce registers based on our international standards for lobbying. This would push interest representation, including of Russians, out of the shadows.
Despite the shortcomings on the side of the Europeans things look gloomier on the Russian side. There is a complete lack of domestic regulation on lobbying. No transparency of lobbying efforts by Russian organisations – be it at home or abroad – which can lead to a sense of impunity. And a situation where the influence of Russian companies happens almost exclusively in the shadows.
* Lobby spending in EUR. Please note that the data reflects spending as reported at the time of retrieval but can reflect prior financial years. In the absence of notable update by registrants, we deem this reported spending to remain applicable for subsequent years.
Integrity Watch
EU Integrity Watch is a central hub of online tools that allow citizens, journalists and civil society to monitor the integrity of decisions made by politicians in the EU
How Russian corporate lobbying in the EU works - Transparency International Russia
Policy Officer - EU Integrity
rkergueno@transparency.org


My name is Steve am I'm an alcoholic. I was born in Plymouth in 1970, life was good. My parents loved me and my sister with all their heart. At school I was a slow learner and was shy. Girls scared me so I stayed away. At 14 I had my first drink, my parents were heavy drinkers, so to me it was normal. By the time I was 25 drinking was a good part of my days, I would have 8 cans in the evening and drink at weekends out with friends. At this time I was living in Andover, Hampshire and getting married with three children and a big house. The more pressure, the more I would drink. I was a builder and a good one. I never lost a job or a friend, never took a day off work.
At 35 I was feeling down – the marriage was on a shoe-string. I started to hide cans in the garage, in cupboards everywhere. I wanted and needed more. My wife was not happy so I went to one AA meeting and sat there thinking they are mad. I went for everyone but me.
We got divorced and I left the home, I was going to drink like a gentleman and I did for about a week. I started off where I left off – the morning drink, the low self esteem – the friends walked away one by one and so did the jobs. The doctors started to worry about my drinking, fear hit me daily but I drank to get drunk.
I went into institutions – I come out one month and headed to Plymouth. My family felt for sorry for me. Me and my Dad drank so I was fine to join him, the drinking went on and got worse. Money started to go fast and my Dad's patience. I could not stop I was powerless, you AA's had it spot on. I came to a meeting and I left – I just felt like a loser and I was. My Dad showed me the front door and I left, I was on my own, no wife, no children, no family.
I met people like me – losers, we gravitated to drinking in parks, sleeping in door ways, eating out of bins. I needed alcohol every waking moment so I stole out of shops in town, I would run out with 3 bottles of wine – that was me, a low bottom alcoholic. I was going yellow and 3 stone underweight. What a loser – my AA friends were right it never gets better. It was bad, I snapped I had to stop so I went and saw my parents. I said "dad I need help please help me." The doctor put me on detox of eight cans, 6 cans down to no cans over a week.
I come home to AA and got a sponsor, working the steps going to meetings everyday for 6 months. I had to change, and God I did. My life got brighter the sky became bluer all because it needed to. I saw my children after a month and got a job. After two months I was on step 4 with my sponsor and it got better, my life got better. I got a car. When I got to step 8 I was on fire, it really works. Making amends to my family, my ex-wife and her family. Doing the things like praying to my God, gratitude for what I have – like true friends in my life, Alcoholics Anonymous and the freedom from King Alcohol.
Today I put AA into all my affairs before everything else. My sponsor always said the best years of my existence lie ahead, and his sponsor says always keep dancing when the music stops. I live my life a free man today, but I must keep living it by the programme, the 12 steps and the wisdom to know the difference.


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Marching Season and Remembering the Past
Here's a report on Marching Day in Northern Ireland.
The Protestant Orange Order is able to muster a lot of people, including a 6-mile long parade, ostensibly to celebrate a battle 330+ years ago. I write "ostensibly" because it's really an assertion of community identity, at least incidentally in opposition to their Catholic neighbors.
Compare that to the remembrance ceremonies of the white South, celebrating the Confederacy of 158 years ago. I'm sure there are some scattered around, but they aren't significant enough to warrant much attention. Why the difference?
You suggest one is celebrating a victory, the other an ultimate defeat?
That might logically make a difference, but where are the big parades celebrating the Union victory? The closest we can come is the Juneteenth observances of recent years. And, more importantly, there's no organization dedicated to the celebration, as well as agitating for the cause now. We had one such organization, the Grand Army of the Republic, but the GAR ended with the last vet, in 1956.
So why do Americans forget the past more easily than those in Northern Ireland?
I suspect part of the answer is immigration: we've added millions of people who've no live interest in the fight for the union or the abolition of slavery.
Labels: history, Ireland, tribalism, Ulster
How Do Small Farms Survive?
Here's the piece from which I stole the heading:
The answer: renting out a minihouse through Airbnb
Another piece in the media suggesting comfort animals, as in those with big brown eyes, aka "cows", is the answer.
The real answers, of course, are:
off-farm income, as has been the case for decades.
drawing down capital (i.e., the value of land and buildings) (My mother used to fuss about farmers who would be better off selling out and investing the proceeds in bonds.)
Farming: the Definition
I follow Cam Houle on twitter and was struck by his T-shirt in this tweet.
Turns out the t-shirt is available on Amazon.
It seems even in Canada with its supply management setup, dairying is a losing proposition.
Labels: dairy, farming
President Carter and the Courts
Slate has an interesting piece on President Carter's approach to filling judicial vacancies: Some points:
he was able to persuade Sen. Eastland to support a judicial commission to pick appeals court judges.
the result was diversity:
When Carter took office, just eight women had ever been appointed to one of the 500 federal judgeships in the country. (For the purposes of this article, I'm referring to the district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court.) Carter appointed 40 women, including eight women of color. Similarly, before Carter, just 31 people of color had been confirmed to federal courts, often over Eastland's strenuous disapproval. The peanut farmer from Plains appointed 57 minorities to the judiciary. (He also had more robes to fill: A 1978 bill expanded the federal judiciary by 33 percent, or 152 seats.)
Justices Breyer and Ginsburg were Carter nominees for appeals courts.
Labels: history, Supreme Court
FL Olmsted: Bureaucrat
Reading a biography of Frederick Law Olmsted: "Genius of Place"
He's known as the creator of NYC's Central Park, his first big project just before the Civil War,. But judging by his career through 1863 when he resigned from the United States Sanitary Commission, which he had serrved as executive secretary through its creation to Gettysburg, his true calling was as a bureaucrat.
Labels: bureaucrats
Amish Vacations
"Amish vacations" seems like an oxymoron; dairy farmers don't get vacations.
But the Amish have been moving into other occupations, and they still have big families, meaning someone can be in line to do the day-to-day work even of dairy farms.
So it seems that the Amish do take vacations, as shown by this Kottke post., linking to some photos and older articles.
Labels: Amish
Farewell to Cokesbury
My sister was a devoted patron of the Cokesbury book store in Syracuse. It closed in 2012 as part of the closure of its 57 physical stores, shifting to online only.
I suspect the closure reflects both the decline of mainline Protestantism and the impact of Amazon on bookstores.
Slate has a long piece on the decline of the religious bookstore here, and John Fea links it to evangelical religion.
Labels: internet, religion
Just replied to an Ezra Klein tweet about ending the filibuster.
If the Democrats can win the presidency, and if they can win control of the Senate, they've not won too much, at least not when compared to the stack of policy proposals the candidates, especially Warren, are coming up with. The fact that the Senate majority will likely be composed of Sens. Manchin, Rosen, Jones, Kelly (AZ), Gideion (ME) and whoever, all centrists whose seats aren't the most secure, means the most liberal proposals won't get considered in the Senate, regardless of the filibuster.
The filibuster means even somewhat bipartisan measures (say 51 Dems plus 7 Reps) won't pass.
Removing the filibuster means a Dem majority can change policy (if they can agree, which is a big "IF"). My reservations here can be seen in the Mexico City policy on abortion--see my discussion below.
Two considerations might make me change my mind:
suppose ACA is deemed unconstitutional by the Supremes next fall. Obviously the Dems will want to pass some new healthcare legislation, but what can be passed that will not also be invalidated by the Supremes? I'd like to see some discussion of this. Is it possible to change ACA enough to get past the 5 conservatives on the Court? If so, we might need to kill the filibuster to get it done. Pass it, and hope 8 years of a Dem administration gets it solidly entrenched enough to withstand Rep control of Congress and the Presidentcy.
the other issue is the Congressional Review Act, which has been used extensively by the Reps to kill Obama's regulations. The Act includes this provision:
(2)A rule that does not take effect (or does not continue) under paragraph (1) may not be reissued in substantially the same form, and a new rule that is substantially the same as such a rule may not be issued, unless the reissued or new rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the joint resolution disapproving the original rule.
That provision hasn't been tested in the courts, but what it could mean is there's no way for a victorious Dem party to reinstate Obama's regulations. That's my interpretation, though one should never underestimate the ingenuity of lawyers. If that's its meaning then we may need to kill the filibuster to permit bare majorities to pass the new laws needed to reauthorize the regulations.
As Wikipedia describes:
First implemented in 1984 by the Reagan Administration, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has enforced the policy during all subsequent Republican Administrations, and rescinded the policy at the direction of all Democratic Administrations.[3] After its initial enactment by President Reagan in 1984,[4] it was rescinded by Democratic President Bill Clinton in January 1993,[5] then re-instituted in January 2001 as Republican President George W. Bush took office,[6] rescinded in January 2009, as Democratic President Barack Obama took office[7][8] and reinstated in January 2017, as Republican President Donald Trump took office.
That's no way to run a railroad, much less a country, if applied to all major policies.
Labels: Congressional Review Act, filibuster
Gave money to Ms. McGrath via Actblue yesterday in the vain hope she'll be able to beat Sen. McConnell.
Something this morning ( likely reading about the Republicans struggle to come up with their own version of Actblue) triggered this thought: over time our politics have become more partisan, our parties more unified, our legislative bodies more cleanly divided; has Actblue been a cause?
Back in my childhood parties were local--you had Tammany Hall dominating NYC politics, various state houses and state bosses controlling how state delegations voted in the national conventions. National lobbies were groups like Farm Bureau and the Grange, National Association of Manufacturers and Chamber of Commerce, AFL and CIO, American Bar Association and American Medical Association. Dollars for national ads weren't important (Ike did the first TV ad in 1952 I believe.
Anyhow, these days individuals can easily give to campaigns across the country, and candidates can fly to New York or LA to raise money from the rich based on their policy positions, not their ability or commitment to do their best for their constituency (a la Sen. Robert Byrd).
Labels: politics, society
My Political Thinking on 2020
A couple of Never Trumpers-Megan McArdle and Jennifer someone (forgot her last name) have argued on twitter that Democrats expect too much of them. If I understand they feel Dems want them to vote for any Democrat we nominate, in spite of a leftish platform which violates all conservative principles.
I tweeted replies a couple times to McArdle.but let me be more considered:
if you're a Never Trumper, then logically you need to NOT vote for Trump. Vote libertarian or don't vote, but don't vote for Trump. Yes, that means you're saying Trump's personal and presidential deficiencies, the damage he's doing to our institutions and our world standing, outweigh policy considerations, especially the chance to add two more conservative justices to the Supremes. If that's your judgment, okay.
Consider this, however. Suppose Warren is the candidate and you like only one of her 1,000 plans. If she's elected with your vote, the odds are that she is at best governing with the support of a Democratic House, where the "majority makers" of 2018 are still worrying about their jobs in 2022, and a nominally Democratic Senate, where the balance of power is held by Joe McManchin, Kristen Sinema, Jackie Rosen, Doug Jones, and the winning candidates in ME, CO, AZ, and ?. In other words, in neither House will there be majority support for the Warren plans which most deeply offend conservative sensibilities.
In light of the above, my suggestion for Never Trumpers is to vote strategically--if it's close for the presidency, vote for the Dem, knowing we're likely to have split government for the next four years. If it looks good for the Dem, vote libertarian. If it looks good for Trump, pray.
Aging, Savings and "Crashed"
The Problem of Gig Workers, Farm Workers
Boundaries Are Important, as Are Perspectives
Super Delegates and 2020
Democrat Predictions
Soybeans and the Trade War


1. I forgot Groundhog Day was two days ago.
2. I need to update Google Earth, for the sky, ocean, and Mars capabilities. Then I need to pour a glass of Scotch, travel virtually, and then travel in real life. Especially to Mars. I wonder if Google will make a "Google Time" add-on to Earth, with time travel capabilities. That would be fantastic.
3. President Obama wasn't kidding when he'd be the anti-Bush, being quick to say (in his characteristic talking pace): "Uh, look. I...scrwdup." Bush, at best, admitted to not having things the way he'd like and being misunderstood when it came to "Mission Accomplished"...and that was at the end of his Presidency. Having a President admit to screwing up as quickly as he screws up (this time, with all the tax-evading nominees) is quite refreshing, as long as he doesn't screw up a lot.
4. I can't wait until tomorrow's episode of Lost. Along with The Office and sometimes 30 Rock, it's essentially the only show I currently watch on TV.