Anyone who works with Photoshop for any extended period of time probably knows how frustrating it can be to make changes to your design, only to wish that you could revert to a specific stage in your design.
Photoshop's Undo button will only get you so far and the History feature requires you to scroll through what could be dozens of steps to find the exact spot you want to go back to. That's why you need this great feature that makes it easy to revert to an earlier stage with the click of a button.
Once you get to a point where you know you're satisfied with your design, open your History panel. You can access this by going to Window > History. Click the menu button in the top right-hand corner and select New snapshot. Alternatively, you can click the Snapshot button (shaped like a camera) at the bottom of that window.
This will open up a dialog box where you can choose the name of your snapshot (Photoshop defaults to Snapshot 1, Snapshot 2, etc), and decide if you want to save all your layers (full document), your layers merged, or just the layer you are on.
After you click OK, you'll find the Snapshot listed in your History panel.
If you decide at any point to revert to one of your Snapshots, you will lose all the steps that came after it in the History panel, but your layers will be maintained. It's also worth keeping in mind that Snapshots are only available in Photoshop during your current session.
Once you close Photoshop, all elements in the History panel will be removed.
How do you prefer to undo multiple steps in Photoshop? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks, good tip to know.
If we save the psd file will we still retain the snapshots?
Snapshots aren't saved in the file, they are a part of Photoshop's history. As it says in the article, once you close Photoshop, you lose your snapshots. If you want "saved" snapshots, you'll have to save a copy of the file manually.


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History of the Mortimer family
The Mortimer Family, 1700-1860
The family descends from William Mortymore, who married Grace Pool (1696-1756) in her home parish of Combeinteignhead, Devon, in 1728.
Grace was the daughter of a line of local husbandmen and mariners. Her great-grandfather James Pool (b1579) had been a sailor in the adjacent parish of Stokeinteignhead, and had married his wife Lychorus Cade two weeks before their son Robert was born... there are no prizes for guessing that James and Lychorus were dragged into church just as she was about to go into labour. The consequence of this lack of family planning was Stephen Pool, Grace's father, who moved to Combeinteignhead on the death of his first wife at the end of the seventeenth century. He was a well-respected man who became a churchwarden of the parish, and was eventually buried inside the church.
Of William Mortymore little is known for certain except that he was illiterate, had five children, and was buried in 1780 in Combeinteignhead churchyard. It is probable he is identical with the William Mortimore of Kingsteignton, born 1699, son of William Mortymore and Joan Cose, but conclusive proof is lacking. (see family history 1600-1700)
The five children of William Mortymore and Grace were Mary, John, William, Joane and Frances. Another son, and earlier William, died in infancy. John (1733-1797) was a sailor, but it is possible he changed his occupation in or about 1773, for the family firm of fullers and dyers was founded, according to tradition, in that year (see below). He married a girl from Stokeinteignhead, Rose Terry, in 1764, changing the spelling of his name to Mortimer at this time.
John and Rose had two sons: John (1768-1825) and William (1773-1823). (You might notice a preponderance of the name John over the next two hundred years: most male members of the family were called John.) John Mortimer the elder sold his remaining freehold tenement in Combeinteignhead in 1780, the year his wife died and the year he married a widow, Sarah Barnes. Nothing else is known of him except that he died in 1797.
It is with the next generation that the family history can be filled out with such documents as the family has itself preserved. Papers and printed books of John Mortimer (1768-1825) and his brother William (1773-1823) survive, although not in any great quantity. Such survivals are in marked contrast to papers from the period before 1790, of which we have none. The only document in my possession relating to an event before 1790 is the certificate noting John Mortimer's baptism at Coombeinteignhead in 1768, which was copied up by the parish clerk in 1806. Since a baptismal certificate from this time is something of a rarity, I have transcribed it below:
Baptisms Anno Domini 1768 Sept 9th: John, son of John and Rose Mortimer Baptized. This is to Certifie that the above is a true Copey taken from the rejester of Baptisms kept in and for the parish & of the parish of Coombintinhead in the Diocese of Exeter. Coombintinhead this 9th Day of Febuary 1806 By Me James Metherell Parish Clerke.
At about this time John Mortimer drew up a list of the dates of birth of his children in the family bible. Today this consists of a single sheet, the title page, of The New Evangelical Family Bible. On the reverse he began proudly to set down the names and dates of birth of his children: 'Elizabeth Mortimer was Borne June 21st 1792, Rose Mortimer was Borne July 17th 1794, John Mortimer was Borne August 23rd 1797, Ann Mortimer was Borne Febuary 13th 1799, William Mortimer was Borne March 21st 1801...' Then the organised, neat hand is forced to make an irregular insertion: 'William Dyed Janry 13 1803 on Thursday one o'clock after noone'. The same hand goes on, ever more shakily, to record subsequent events: 'A Girl still borne June 17 1803, William was born July 20 Friday Morning 5 oclock 1804, William died Wednsday Morn 8 clock July 8 1807, Samuell was borne Thursday August 21 Half past 4 oclock after noone 1806, A Boy still Born February 28 1808'. From this point on, the hand is not that of John Mortimer. He stops short of recording the death of his wife, Patience, in 1813. Including a still birth in 1791, she had given birth to a total of ten children, of whom three had been still born and two had died as infants. She was 47 years of age.
Patience was buried in a wall grave in the churchyard of St Andrew's, the same church in which she had been married. John Mortimer himself was later buried there too. However, this was a legal necessity, the parish church was not their spiritual home. John and Patience were living in a rapidly changing world and did not have to accept the traditional church. Their choice of place of worship was the Independent Chapel on Princess Street, Devonport, or (later) the New Tabernacle in Plymouth, as shown by the baptisms of their children at these places. John was a Deacon at the New Tabernacle in 1817.1 His books also indicate his serious attitude to religion. Apart from his The New Evangelical Family Bible already mentioned, he also had a copy of James Usher, A Body of Divinity, or the sum and substance of Christian Religion (1702),2 and John Gill, A Complete Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity, or a system of evangelical truths (1795).3 His brother William (1773-1823) showed a similar leaning towards the new nonconformist sects attending Presbyterian and independent chapels, including the New Tabernacle, and having his children baptised at those places of worship. In addition, the inventory of William's possessions made on his death records a preponderance of religious works, including The Evangelical Magazine (6 vols), The Baptist Magazine (4 vols), Howell's History of the Bible, Westlake on Baptisms, The Power of Religion, Tillotson's Sermons and Milton's Paradise Lost.
Another point which John and William had in common - and a most important one for the prosperity of later generations of the family - was that they were both masters of the craft of fulling and dyeing. John's name appears in Plymouth trade directories from as early as 1795 as a fuller and dyer, and within a few years William appears too. A letterhead bearing William Mortimer's name states that he, as a dyer and scourer, undertook to dye 'silks, satins, woollens, bombazeens, tabinets, feathers, chip and straw hats, veils, lace, crapes &c... in all the various colours, on the most reasonable terms' while John was described as a 'fuller and dyer' on his son's apprenticeship indenture (1812). How they both came to be engaged in this trade is not clear. It is possible that their father put them apprentice to a master dyer during his years at sea, but there are no entries in the registers of apprenticeship duty in the Public Record Office for fullers and dyers called Mortimer.4 Alternatively, it is a possibility that their father had learnt the trade himself after his seafaring days were over and passed on his knowledge to his sons. This last possibility might explain why the traditional date of the founding of the family firm is 1773.
The Mortimer brothers prospered in the dyeing trade. In 1811, Holden's Directory mentions John Mortimer as being a dyer in Old Town, Plymouth. In later years each brother had a works with shop attached and another shop at Devonport. In John's case, his Devonport shop was situated at 109 Fore Street and his residence and works at Mill Street, Plymouth; William's Devonport shop was at 36 Fore Street and his residence, Plymouth shop and works at 2 Drake Street. It is possible that they gave work to a few of the large numbers of unemployed men who found themselves in ports such as Plymouth at the end of the Napoleonic War.
William died in 1823, leaving a large number of children (at least seven) by his wife Jane Pearse. His business passed in time to his son William, who is mentioned in the 1844 Pigot's Directory as a dyer and cleaner; however it would appear that there was some linking of the two businesses, since the wallet of John Mortimer junior (1797-1834) gives his address as the elder William's Plymouth premises at 2 Drake Street. This must relate to a later business partnership or sale of premises and cannot relate to John's apprenticeship as John was apprenticed to his father in 1812. William's death also resulted in the making of the most interesting family document that survives: an inventory of all his effects. This inventory, which is an unusual for its time in that it is exceedingly detailed, sheds much light on the way that he (and presumably his brother) carried on their trade. William's facilities for dyeing and cleaning were based around two dyeing houses, each equipped with several large coppers, up to 100 gallons, vats, mortar and pestle, buckets, rakes and pails. In addition he had a drying loft, a framing loft, a washing house, a store room, a press room (with cast a iron press worth �20) and his two shops. The shop at Plymouth had rush seat chairs stained black, long counters with painted fronts containing many drawers for cleaned clothes and linen waiting for collection, cabinets with many more drawers around the shop, shelves in the window of the shop, and a small gilt letter sign also in the window. The shop in Devonport was similar but on a smaller scale. The total value of William's dyeing stuff, including the shop fittings, was �117 2s - nearly half the total value of all his movables (�244 18s 7d).
Other parts of William's inventory shed much light on the way a dyer and fuller lived. His house contained a parlour, three bedrooms, a servants' room and two kitchens. Furniture was virtually all mahogany, which had become fashionable at the beginning of the century. In the bedrooms were a total of eleven beds. Nearly all of these, including those in the servants' room, were feather beds. His own bed, a four-poster with mahogany cable pillars and cornice with chintz coverings, was valued at �7. Nor was this the most valuable bed in the house. Whether or not he was any better-off than his brother John is not clear but it is obvious that a dyer and fuller could live in some luxury in Plymouth in the early nineteenth century, even when the trade demanded much hard work and was, as yet, unmechanized apart from the cast iron press.
To illustrate how William and John Mortimer might have appeared in the street, we can turn to the inventory of William's clothing. For day to day wear William had a choice of blue, green or black coats, with another black coat for best and a great coat. He owned five cotton shirts, four pairs of blue trousers, two pairs of light mixed trousers and a pair of grey trousers, three black waistcoats, four coloured waistcoats, two pocket handkerchiefs, three flannel shirts and four pairs worsted stockings. He also owned a single pair of drawers. This last detail might seem surprising; a man who was obviously very comfortably off, you would have thought, would have been able to afford himself the luxury of more than a single pair of drawers. Indeed, he might have done, but it might well be that his other items of underwear were considered of no value and consequently left out of the inventory. Or maybe his wife hid them from the appraisers.
John Mortimer junior (1797-1834), the eldest son of John and Patience, was apprenticed to his father in 1812 for the term of seven years. During this time he learnt the craft of a fuller and dyer. Following his apprenticeship he probably continued to help his father in his business but on his uncle's death in 1823, as pointed out above, he appears to have taken over that business. When his father died in 1825, he consolidated both businesses into one, concentrating on building up his father's Mill Street works.
A few of John Mortimer's business records survive from this time. These, together with the dyeing utensils listed in his uncle's inventory, give a picture of how the trade was conducted. Firstly it should be noted that much knowledge was required to deal with the chemicals and processes required for cleaning.6 Secondly, an invoice dated 1825 for �15 16s 5d worth of dyestuffs bought from James, Wood & James of Great Trinity Lane, London, shows that John Mortimer was dealing with companies as far away as London. Also there is a small leather account book which details payments, presumably from his late uncle William's Drake Street works since it covers the period 1823-1825, to one J Rowe, chemist and druggist of Plymouth. John Mortimer sometimes sent to this one supplier a dozen orders per month for items such as sugar of lead, distilled vinegar, isinglass, best gum, fine gum, tar, Brazil dust, acetic acid, muriatic acid, cochineal, alum, starch, amatto, furmuric, sulphuric acid, oil vitriol, madder, copperas, pearl ash, London glue, soft soap (by the barrel), chipped ebony, red wood, fustic, fullers' earth, pyroligneous acid, castor oil, linseed oil and white paint.
The fact that as early as 1825 John Mortimer was obtaining chemical supplies from London is particularly interesting when one considers the local character of the trade at this time. I have already mentioned that in 1830 John Mortimer had a Plymouth shop in Drake Street and a Devonport shop in Fore Street. His rivals Thomas Hazlewood, John Holloway and George Tricket also had shops in both parts of town. In addition there were two further dyers in Plymouth (Collom and Robins)and two more in Devonport (Burt and Dawe), one of whom (Dawe) also had a shop in Stonehouse. But there were no big companies poaching the local custom, no agents, no inter-town rivalry. It was very much a local trade, run by local men.
The same conscientiousness John Mortimer showed in his business he applied to his domestic life. Together with his wife, Rachel Bramble,7 whom he had married in 1823, he took on the responsibility for the young family which his uncle had left behind. This is made clear by the only personal letter from this time to have survived.8 This was written by William's daughter, Mary, and addressed to Mrs John Mortimer, Mill Street, Plymouth. It must have been sent about 1830 since it mentions John's and Rachel's children, Rose Bramble (1825-1894) and John Forrester Mortimer (1827-1900) and before 1832 since it mentions John's brother Samuel, who died that year. Because it is the only personal letter between two members of the family to have survived from the early nineteenth century, it is transcribed here in full:
My dear Cousin,
You no doubt have expected to hear from me before this time but I am sure you will forgive me when I tell you that want of time has been the only reason why you have not done so. I have only heard from my dear brother twice since I left Plymouth but I can willingly excuse him - I dare say he has ought else to think about.
I am longing to see my dear friends at Plymouth again. It appears years since I was parted from them. I was much disappointed that I could not see you and Agness before I left Plymouth. I fully expected to have done so as I was so long there after my time.
I dare say you are anxious to know how I like Miss Tilly? I think I may say that I am as comfortable as I could have expected among strangers. I cannot but expect difficulties go where I will; one thing absence will teach me to value the comforts of home.
How are my little favourites Rose and Forrester? Dear little creatures, I am longing to hear little Forrester's prattling tongue again. How is my Cousin John? I hope very well. Give my kind love to him. I hear Samuel is still with you. I hope he will procure a situation shortly.
How did you leave Mrs Berry and [?Trowt] when you were at Exeter? They have given me a kind invitation to spend my midsummer vacation with them. Do you still receive boxes from Falmouth? I suppose I could send you any time that way. I went to Falmouth last week & saw Miss Bond and Mrs Walter Clatworthy - they both desire to be kindly remembered to you & Cousin John.
You must not think me unkind that I do not write to you oftener for my time is very much occupied. I heard from Susan Small last week and from Agness Heller today. She says you felt hurt at my not begging to be remembered to you in my letters. I really do not think that I have written one letter home without begging my very kind love to you. I hope you do not suppose that I could have forgotten you and shall always remember with gratitude the happy hours of former years when I was blessed with the love of a dear affectionate parent. But their recollection altho' so dear is painful - and it is when I recall them that I feel myself truly an orphan. Never did I feel the loss of that dear parent more than now. But I ought not to murmur; I have no doubt but that he was taken for some wise end. You know as well as I do what an affectionate father he was - you must then fancy how in moments of reflection I feel his loss. But I am sure I cannot dwell on this subject without doing violence to your feelings as well as my own; therefore I will drop it. But I must once more beg you not to fancy you are forgotten - your kindness to my inestimable parent during his last illness will prevent me from doing that and also his attachment to you.
I hope to see you all again in less than 10 weeks. You must suppose the anticipation of it makes me very happy. I will endeavour to write to you again before then. Give my kind love to Mr & Mrs Small and family & my Aunt Mortimer9 and Mrs Bramble & all friends. I suppose your mother's strength is failing. I shall be very glad to hear from you the next time William sends. He can send every Monday by the carts so may I expect a letter very soon? If it is ever so short I shall receive it with pleasure. Again begging you to remember me to Mr M & kiss the dear children for me.
I will say adieu and believe me yours affectionately
Mary Mortimer
Give my every kind love to Mr & Mrs Pearce - I hear I have another little cousin: is it a boy or a little girl?
Adieu once more
With a succesful business, two children and a devoted wife, it seemed that John Mortimer was indeed a fortunate man. A measure of how far the family had come since the Coombeinteignhead years can be gauged from the fact that John had his portrait painted, a full length view, with his hand resting on his writing case.10 One cannot imagine his illiterate great-grandfather, William Mortymore, having his likeness done. However John Mortimer was not destined to enjoy his good fortune for long. Two years after the death of his younger brother Samuel (at the age of twenty-four), John was himself struck down by cholera. Family legend states that he died at the Mill Street works and, in compliance with the order regarding cholera victims, was buried in the nearest consecrated ground. Thus it was that he was hastily interred in a common grave in the Ebenezer Chapel (Wesleyan Methodist) cemetery on the other side of Mill Street. He was thirty-six years of age.
Rachel Mortimer cannot have found it easy being a woman with a young family to support and a dyeing master's business to continue. She had not been through an apprenticeship and had probably little idea of how the processes worked. Moreover the business was rapidly becoming mechanized, requiring heavy investment. The competition was hotting up too: by 1850 there were eight dyers and cleaners in Plymouth, and another eight in Devonport. The Hazlewood, Burt, Holloway and Tricket dyeing and cleaning firms were still going strong and the advent of the railway threatened to bring in competition from further afield. But she had no choice. A woman in her position could do little else than carry on her husband's trade. Besides, she was not without support. Her own sister11 lived nearby and the business employed a number of men and women who were able to direct her. A couple of these shared her house and could help with looking after her children. Nor was she the only woman carrying on the business of dyeing and cleaning in Plymouth, although she was the only woman managing a Devonport shop as well. Priscilla Hoare and Harriet Burt were each running similar, if smaller, businesses in Plymouth and Devonport respectively.
Looking at the records which survive, one can still see that Rachel rose admirably to the challenges of mechanization and competition. Bills for dyestuffs survive from John Giles Pilcher & Jeremiah Pilcher & Sons, importers of oils, of London; from Lediard, Jones & Mortimer, indigo merchants, dry salters etc, of Bristol; from William Manning & Co of Bristol; and from R Evans, Son & Hodgson, wholesale druggists, of Exeter. In addition, it is clear that she had a sound head for investments in other fields. An 1843 poster shows she held �200 of shares in the Plymouth, Devonport & Exeter Railway, before the railway had even reached Exeter from Bristol.12 She also invested in property. A the time of her death she had houses let at 12 Saltash Street, 36 and 37 Cobourg Street, 3 Cobourg Place, 11 John Street and 1 Windsor Place. Thus, in 1853, at about the time she handed direct management of the family firm to her son John Forrester Mortimer, her income was assessed at �160 per annum and the demand for income tax that year was for �4 13s 4d - not great wealth but a very comfortable income indeed for the mid-nineteenth century.
In April 1852 Rachel agreed the plans for a new house in Cobourg Street. It was the end of what had been something of an odyssey around Plymouth. Originally Rachel shared her husband's lodgings in Drake Street. In 1841 she was living in Mill Street. John Forrester and Rose were away at the time of the census (presumably at boarding school) and Rachel was sharing her house with Elizabeth Hore, a dyeshop maid, and John Gillard and Mary Edwards, apprentice dyers. By the time of the census of 1851, the family had moved to Bedford Street, some several streets away from the dyeing works, and were sharing their house with Elizabeth Hore and Mary Giles, dyeing assistants, and Grace Blatchford, a servant.13 John Forrester at this time was twenty-four years old. It was possibly Mary or Grace who was the unlucky girl whom John Forrester made pregnant and despatched to America to cover his indiscretion.
The new house stood at a corner of the triangle of land which formed the site of the Cobourg Street works. Standing on Cobourg Street, with one's back to Rowe Street, the house appeared on the left hand side of the shop, to the right of which was the gate of the dyeing works itself. Four of the architect's drawings mentioned in an agreement of April 1852 survive, although the agreement itself does not. One is of the street outside, marking the borders of the land owned by Rachel Mortimer. Another represents the basement and ground floor. The other two represent the first and second floors of one design and the first and attic floors of another design. It seems that there was some doubt as to whether to build a second floor or whether to leave it as an attic.14
The house was a typical mid-Victorian town house, made slightly odd by the triangular shape of the site. Entering one passed into a lobby which had a concave wall on the left hand side and a door to the front parlour on the right. There were partition doors beteen this front parlour and a back parlour. Proceeding straight on, a visitor passed the door to a closet and came to the foot of a smart, oval, winding staircase. A window at the foot of this staircase looked out over the dyeing works. As one looked out, to the left was a breakfast parlour. Going down stairs one would have found a wash house (as if they needed one with a dyers and cleaners in the back garden) which led on to a small courtyard. Down here also was a large kitchen, a pantry and a coalhouse. Below ground level, it must have been dark in winter, cooking down there in the gloom. Going back upstairs to the first floor, the intial design provided for a large drawing room looking over Cobourg Street with a closet and bedroom behind, with a toilet off the stairs, and further bedrooms on the second floor.
Until 1990 my grandfather had a regency sofa on which Rachel was said to have died. She collapsed in front of it, I was told, and was lifted up on to it before she passed away. Her death certificate confirms the likelihood of this. Having made her will in 1857, she died in 1860 of a second attack of apoplexy, which lasted three hours. Her son, John Forrester, was with her. In her will she left all her household goods to him, worth nearly �600, and care of all her rented accommodation which she intended to pass to her daughter's children. She was buried in a new family vault in Plymouth Cemetery.
1. I have a letter about the removal of the organ from this church, dated 1817, addressed externally to John Mortimer, Mill Street, Plymouth, and internally to the Deacons of the New Tabernacle. Back
2. Inscribed: ' John Mortimer, his book, 1809'. Back
3. Inscribed: John Mortimer, his book, given him by Susanna Liverton, 1811'. Back
4. It is quite possible that they were apprenticed at a rate below the threshold at which registration was compulsory. Back
6. It is worth noting that William's own son, William junior, did not take on his father's business, presumably because he had not served a dyer's apprenticeship and did not have the required knowledge. Back
7. Rachel Bramble was baptised in Dolton in North Devon in 1797, she being the daughter of John and Susanna Brimble. Back
8. It was given by John Stuart Mortimer to my father when I was about twelve years of age. Back
9. "Aunt Mortimer". This can only refer to a second wife of John Mortimer (d1825). I have not found any reference to her apart from this and the fact that two 'Mary Mortimer' signatures appear in the marriage register of John Mortimer and Rachel Bramble in 1823. Back
10. The picture used to hang at the Cobourg Street offices of Mortimer's (Plymouth) Ltd until destroyed in the war. Back
11. Rachel Bramble's had at least one sister, who married John Berry, gutta percha manufacturer, as shown by her will. Back
12. The extension to Plymouth took a further six years to build, opening in 1849 and having cost �1,900,000. Back
13. Elizabeth Hore and Mary Giles were aged 50 and 23 respectively in 1851. Grace Blatchford was aged 30. Back
14. The copper engraving of the 1880s shows only one window at this level and so it is not possible to tell which plan was adopted, if either. Back

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Highwomen: The Highwomen
From the outset, The Highwomen seeks to topple the patriarchy.
The Highwomen: The Highwomen John Paul
Everything about The Highwomen, the supergroup featuring Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby, screams post-feminist anthems filtered through the lens of Americana. Their debut album seems written, recorded and performed as though daring critics to take a swipe at its content and/or creators in the wake of the #metoo movement, a giant middle finger to anyone who sees women as anything less than equals. Which is really saying something, particularly within the country idiom, long male-dominated and reliant on misogyny and one-dimensional female characters. To be sure, there have been female pioneers like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, but even these queens of country get short shrift when compared with the likes of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, et. al. in terms of lasting legacies.
From the outset, The Highwomen seeks to topple the patriarchy. Opener "Highwomen" apes a similarly titled track by the '80s supergroup The Highwaymen, from the melody on down to the individual biographies recounted. Instead of hardscrabble cowboys, this showcases a handful of women's struggles through history, ending in a group chorus in which they declare themselves "…the daughters of the silent generations."
Meanwhile, "Redesigning Women" expounds on all the ways in which women have been forced to remake themselves in society's image, struggling to be themselves in the face of social expectations. It's particularly affecting given the history of country music and how its female artists have had to portray themselves over the years. But that's about where the social and cultural commentary stops and the standard country fare takes over (save perhaps "Loose Change" and "My Name Can't Be Mama").
Approaching the album from a purely musical standpoint, however, theirs is a multi-part harmony and overall musical collaboration that works far better than that of Nelson, Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, despite that group's legendary status. There is no clashing of egos here, and each voice, while remaining highly individual both vocally and lyrically, meshes beautifully to form a cohesive unit. Bringing in additional guest vocalists (most notably Yola's vocal turn on the title track) does much for the egalitarian nature of the project.
But strangely, there are a number of male collaborators both as instrumentalists and songwriters on the album: "If She Ever Leaves Me," for example, a lesbian love anthem delivered in classic country fashion by Carlile, is somewhat ironically written by Shires and her husband, Jason Isbell. This takes some of the wind out of the project's sails in terms of it being a grand feminist statement. But at the same time, that might well be the point, as after the first few numbers, The Highwomen settles into straight-ahead country territory. Having made their initial point, the quartet seem to elect to dial the social and political commentary back in favor of good old-fashioned country music.
Which is fine, given the caliber of performers and songwriters. But it makes the album feel like a failed Trojan horse, attempting to be something more profound than it turns out to be. Rather than being a generation-defining statement, The Highwomen is merely a solid album of country songs created by some of the most talented women (and men) working today.
It's an enjoyable release full of great songs by some of this generation's greatest performers. Whether or not that's a good thing with regard to its social and cultural implications remains to be seen (perhaps it's merely the opening salvo?) But if it gets the group the airplay that seems to be sorely lacking for female artists, well, then that's at least half the battle.
Tagged: Maren MorrisThe Highwomen
John Paul is a musician, writer and voracious collector of vinyl. When not filling his home with records, he writes for PopMatters and his own blog (tumblr.com/blog/vinylcompulsion) wherein he tackles his massive collection one album at a time and plays bass in a seemingly endless series of bands in both Michigan and Chicago.
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A week or so ago, Pataks sent me one of their new frozen ready meals to try out and review so I thought that today I would tell you guys what I thought of the product.
Pataks is a curry business that started in England in 1957. Pataks have won awards for their chutnies, pickles and pastes. 9000 of Britains Indian restaurants. They have been successful with their brand globally and their brand is sold in most countries. Their HQ is within Manchester and most/all of their products are sold in most big supermarkets.
I had the choice of choosing between four different flavours but due to not being the biggest fan of curries I decided to choose Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Tikka Masala is a classic Curry dish within England so I automatically knew that I was going to love it!
The description of the ready meal is Marinated Chicken, Fenugreek Leaf, Cumin, Tomato & Cream. Served with Pilau Rice which is exactly how a Chicken Tikka Masala should sound like!
The meal contained good chunks of Chicken. When you get a meat based ready meal you normally get very small pieces whereas this meal had lovely massive pieces of the Poultry which I absolutely loved. It meant that I could definitely tell that it was a Chicken ready meal.
The Fenugreek Leaf and Cumin gave the dish a herbal hit which made it fabulous against the sweetness of the Pilau Rice. It just made it one of those dishes that you could definitely enjoy at this time of the year. You know when its getting colder and its getting darker earlier? Then.
The instructions said to add water halfway through to the rice which sounded weird but it made the rice soft, fluffy and wasn't dry at all and meant that I could eat more and more of this. I might have to start doing this whenever I cooked rice as it made such a difference!
I would give this a 9.5/10. It would be definitely a 10 if I could a lot more of it because it was quite delicious! If you want to grab one of these ready meals to try for yourself then head over to your local Tesco's as they are stocked there!
Have you ever tried anything from Pataks before? What did you think of it?
I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!
This post was in collaboration with Patak's. All views, opinions and ramblings are definitely mine.


This Defib cabinet is manufactured in the UK from mild steel, IP66 rated against dust and water, protected against corrosion with an outdoor high visibility yellow powder coat paint. Unlocked cabinet includes a plastic wing handle for free opening, internal permanently illuminated LED light to indicate power to the cabinet & to ensure defib is always visible and thermostatically controlled heater to ensure Defib is kept within it's working temperature at all times. All electrics for this Defib Store are contained in new "plug and play" unit. This cabinet also comes with a breather drain to prevent condensation, an internal hanger to accommodate any defibrillator without carry case and most difibrillators with their carry cases. A viewing window enables easy checking of the status of Defib and also it's presence in the cabinet.


text:
Arcep gives green light for three more private 5G network licences
Alicia Hubert Inclassable
The regulator's latest announcement brings the number of private 5G licences allocated in France to 13
Back in March, French telecoms regulator Arcep announced a number of new measures to help manufacturers and other vertical industries to improve their access to 5G, including setting aside a block of spectrum in the 3.8–4.0 GHz band to be used directly for experimental industrial 5G use cases.
Since this announcement, Arcep has already allocated 10 localised spectrum licences to interested companies. Orange has the largest allocation, with three separate licences located in Charbonnières-les-Bains, Balma, and Paris
Additional licences are held by Bouygues Telecom, NTT, Transatel, Schneider Electric, Alsatis, EDF, and French research group CEA.
Each of these localised licences authorise the companies to use up to 100 MHz of spectrum in the dedicated band for a period of up to three years.
Now, French regulator Arcep has announced the new trio of companies to receive a licence following a successful applications process: the University Hospital Institute of Strasbourg, SNCF Réseau, and Capgemini.
The University Hospital Institute of Strasbourg is set to explore 5G's ability to deliver "a new generation of smart operating rooms", using private 5G to facilitate AI-assisted personalised and secure minimally-invasive operations.
The project is part of the wider "5G-OR" project, one of the four winners of the 'Technical developments and application ecosystems for 5G private networks' competition supported by the French and German governments.
SNCF Réseau's application, meanwhile, relates to the '5G Living Labs" project, providing three separate locations within the city of Rennes for developers to develop 5G use cases.
Finally, Capgemini intends to enhance its existing 5G Lab in Issy-les-Moulineaux, using the additional spectrum bolster its current operations.
Arcep will continue to collect submissions for further allocations until the end of 2022.
Private mobile networks are one of the hottest topics in the telecoms industry right now. To find out more about this fascinating topic, join the experts in discussion at this year's live Total Telecom Congress
Also in the news:
Understanding the telco's role in the IoT market
Startup Stories: A new approach to telecoms consultancy
MTN Group joins the Telecom Infra Project's Board of Directors


text:
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;
using UnityEngine.UI;
using SimpleJSON;
using XLAF.Public;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine.EventSystems;

public class Scene1 : Storyboard
{

	public override void OnUIEvent (XLAF_UIEvent e)
	{
		Log.Debug ("OnUIEvent", e);
		if (e.phase == Phase.Click) {
			if (e.target.name == "btn1") {

				//        MgrAudio.PlaySound ("s_click");
				MgrScene.GotoScene ("Scene2", "0000123", Main.anim, 1f, () => {
					Log.Debug ("Scene2 Done~");
				});
				//

//                MgrPopup.Show ("Popup1", "55892", SceneAnimation.fade, 1f, () => {
//                    Log.Debug ("Popup1 Done~");
//                });

				#if UNITY_ANDROID && !UNITY_EDITOR
                AndroidJavaClass jc = new AndroidJavaClass ("plugintest.albert.mylibrary.PhoneInfo");
                string module = jc.CallStatic<string> ("getPhoneModule");

                AndroidJavaObject telephonyManager = new AndroidJavaObject ("android.telephony.TelephonyManager");
                string did = telephonyManager.Call<string> ("getLine1Number");

//                string did = jc.CallStatic<string> ("getDeviceId");
                string totalMemory = jc.CallStatic<string> ("getTotalMemory");
//                string phoneNumber = jc.CallStatic<string> ("getPhoneNumber");
                string[] cpu = jc.CallStatic<string[]> ("getCpuInfo");
                Log.Debug ("~~~~~:", module, "|", did, "|", totalMemory, "|", cpu [0], "|", cpu [1]);
				#endif
			} else if (e.target.name == "btn2") {
				MgrPopup.Show ("Popup2", "2222", SceneAnimation.fade, 1f, () => {
					Log.Debug ("Popup2 Done~");
				});

			}
		}
	}

	private IEnumerator loadBundleAll (string path)
	{
		WWW bundle = new WWW (path);
		GameObject scene = (GameObject)UnityEngine.Object.Instantiate (bundle.assetBundle.LoadAsset ("Popup1"));
		Log.Debug ("scene:", scene.name);
		bundle.assetBundle.Unload (false);
		yield return 1;
	}

	#region  Storyboard Listeners

	/*
	    Each storyboard function called moment:
        CreateScene     => after finish load scene before play enter animation(only call after load from prefab or asset bundle, read cache from MgrScene will not called).
        WillEnterScene => after CreatScene, at the begin of play enter animation.
        EnterScene     => at the end of play enter animation.

        WillExitScene  => at the begin of play exit animation.
        ExitScene      => at the end of play exit animation.
        DestroyScene   => when destroy the scene(before destroy).

        OverlayBegan   => when scene overlaid(only XLAF popup).
        OverlayEnded   => when scene overlaid object disappear(only XLAF popup).
        AndroidGoBack  => in Android, user press back button.
        UpdateLanguage => when update language or after CreatScene.
    */
	public override void CreateScene (object obj)
	{
		BindAllButtonsClickEvent ();
		Log.Debug ("scene1 creat_scene", obj);

//		string fn = ModUtils.documentsDirectory + "/test.jsn";
//		string def = ModUtils.streamingDirectory + "/test.jsn";
//		MgrData.AddSetting ("test", fn, def);
		MgrAudio.PlayMusic ("m_start.mp3", 0.5f);
		ModDispatcher.AddListener ("dia2", (XLAF_Event e) => {
			Log.Debug ("dia2:", e.ToString ());
		});

		MgrBackdoor.SetBackdoor (ModUIUtils.GetChild (transform, "lbl_text"), (isHandled, cmd) => {
			Log.Debug (isHandled, cmd);
		});

//		Transform txt = ModUIUtils.GetChild (transform, "lbl_text");
//		ModUIUtils.AddTouchEvent (txt.gameObject, e => {
//			Log.Debug (e);
//			if(e.phase==Phase.Up){
//				ModUIUtils.RemoveTouchEvent(e.target);
//			}
//		});

	}

	public override void WillEnterScene (object obj)
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 will_enter_scene", obj);

	}

	public override void EnterScene (object obj)
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 enter_scene", obj, this.sceneName);

		Log.Debug (MgrData.ToLogString ());

	}

	public override void WillExitScene ()
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 will_exit_scene");
	}

	public override void ExitScene ()
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 exit_scene");
	}

	public override void DestroyScene ()
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 destroy_scenee");
	}

	public override void OverlayBegan (string overlaySceneceneName)
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 OverlayBegan", overlaySceneceneName);
	}

	public override void OverlayEnded (string overlaySceneceneName)
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 OverlayEnded", overlaySceneceneName);
	}

	public override void UpdateLanguage ()
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 UpdateLanguage");
	}

	#if UNITY_ANDROID
	public override void AndroidGoBack ()
	{
		Log.Debug ("scene1 AndroidGoBack");
	}
	#endif
	#endregion

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A daily run or Spin class is for your heart, but cardio workouts alone won't do much for your waist. "You need to do a combination of weights and cardiovascular training," says Sangeeta Kashyap, M.D., an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. Strength training increases muscle mass, which sets your body up to burn more fat. "Muscle burns more calories than fat, and therefore you naturally burn more calories throughout the day by having more muscle," says Kate Patton, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic. Patton recommends 250 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 125 minutes of high-intensity exercise a week.
Saturated fat is actually GOOD for you. Polyunsaturated (vegetable oil) is what you want to avoid like the plague. Eggs, butter, cheese–it won't hurt you. Furthermore, these things have vitamin K2 (primarily cheese) that help decrease your chances of a heart attack. How? Well, D3 optimizes calcium absorption. Thing of it is, the calcium gets deposited wherever (like in your arteries). The K2 directs it to where it needs to go, and takes it from where it doesn't belong. And avoid soy unless it's non-GMO AND fermented (and I think sprouted). That will kill your thyroid.
Omega 3 fatty acids are lauded with such attractive qualities as delaying ageing and fighting degenerative diseases. However, it's less well known that eating fatty fish is also excellent for weight loss (when accompanied by a balanced diet and regular exercise, of course). Foods such as mackerel and herring are high in protein and 'good fats' that help to break down some of the more dangerous fats in your body. to eat fish twice or thrice a week.
3. Sleep: Getting the right amount of shut-eye helps. In one study, people who got 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night gained less visceral fat over 5 years compared to those who slept 5 or fewer per night or 8 or more hours per night. Sleep may not have been the only thing that mattered — but it was part of the picture.
You've been crushing it at your bootcamp class, homemade healthy lunches to work, and you practically cry coconut water. And yet the scale doesn't seem to be in any hurry to inch its way down, and your abs refuse to unearth themselves. In fact, did those leggings shrink or are they tighter this month than last?
I've been doing this diet for about 4 days now and the food is great! I change the order of the recipes according to what I'm in the mood for, and it out perfect! My appetite has been very small. I've lost 3 pounds in 4 days. Love this!
Each other individual on this planet needs to lose belly fat naturally! Yes, it is this extraordinary an issue. Belly fat provides for you an appealing look as well as might be hazardous for your well being as well. The instinctive fat or the fat around your stomach area can prompt diabetes, heart infections, stroke and in addition dementia. Regarding lose stomach fat, the right nourishments are a need. They detox your liver and support your digestive system with the goal that your body can target belly fat naturally. There are various fat blazing nourishments and flavours that can help you lose belly fat naturally. are some truly viable home remedies to lose belly fat naturally with the assistance of such sustenance and flavours.


text:
Walter Nienhagen (* 6. Februar 1927 in Leipzig; † 16. Dezember 2007 in Siegen) war ein deutscher Kommunalpolitiker und ehrenamtlicher Landrat (SPD).

Leben und Beruf
Nienhagen wurde bereits als Jugendlicher 1938 von der Gestapo wegen der Verteilung von Flugblättern aufgegriffen. 1943 war er Luftwaffenhelfer, 1944 befand er sich in einem Wehrertüchtigungslager und im Reichsarbeitsdienst. Nach kurzem Kriegsdienst kam er bis 1947 in jugoslawische Kriegsgefangenschaft. Nach seiner Entlassung besuchte Nienhagen die Leipziger Nikolaischule und bestand im Februar 1948 das Abitur. Er begann an der Universität Leipzig ein Studium der Geschichte.

An der Leipziger Universität gehörte er zum engeren Kreis um Wolfgang Natonek, dem letzten demokratisch gewählten Studentenratsvorsitzenden der Universität. Wie dieser war Nienhagen Mitglied der LDP-Hochschulgruppe und war in Leipzig-Stötteritz stellvertretender Stadtgruppenführer der LDP.

Er gehörte zu den Mitbegründern eines Antikommunistischen Aktionskomitees, dem auch Helmut Stelling, Rudolf Georgi und Manfred Gerlach angehörten. Nachdem die Arbeit dieser Gruppe von Spitzeln verraten worden war, wurde er am 11. November 1948 durch den sowjetischen Geheimdienst des NKWD/NWD verhaftet und befand sich bis 1950 in Untersuchungshaft in den NKWD-Gefängnissen in Dresden am Münchner Platz und in der Bautzner Straße. Am 7. Januar 1950 verurteilte ein sowjetisches Militärgericht Walter Nienhagen zu 25 Jahren Arbeitslager. Die Verurteilung erfolgte im Widerspruch zur Verfassung der DDR nach dem Strafgesetzbuch der Russischen Föderation wegen Spionage und antisowjetischer Propaganda. Wenig später wurde Nienhagen nach Bautzen in das sogenannte Gelbe Elend gebracht. Am 26. November 1956 wurde er in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland entlassen.

Der Verdacht, dass an dem Verrat der Gruppe der spätere letzte Staatsratschef der DDR, Manfred Gerlach beteiligt gewesen sein soll, konnte wegen dessen Verhandlungsunfähigkeit nicht verhandelt werden. Das Oberlandesgericht Dresden hatte im Februar 2000 die Anklage gegen Gerlach zugelassen, da dieser hinreichend verdächtig schien, durch Denunziation der Betroffenen, deren Verhaftung und Verurteilung zu rechtswidrigen Freiheitsstrafen zumindest billigend in Kauf genommen zu haben. Am 21. Januar 1990 war Walter Nienhagen vom obersten Militärstaatsanwalt der Russischen Föderation rehabilitiert worden.

Schon am 3. Mai 1956 war er Mitglied der SPD geworden. Ein Mithäftling, der einige Monate vor Nienhagen freigekommen war, hatte dessen Mitgliedsantrag aus dem Gefängnis geschmuggelt.

Von 1957 bis 1961 studierte er Sozialwissenschaft an der Hochschule für Sozialwissenschaften in Wilhelmshaven. Das Studium schloss er als Diplom-Sozialwirt ab. Im Anschluss war er bei der Fa. Stahlwerke Südwestfalen AG, später Krupp-Stahlwerke, in Geisweid bei Siegen Leiter der Personalabteilung und später Sozialdirektor. Nienhagen war in zahlreichen Gremien der SPD vertreten. Von 1973 bis 1996 war er Vorsitzender des SPD-Unterbezirks Siegen-Wittgenstein. Er war verheiratet und hatte zwei Kinder.

Ab 1964 gehörte Nienhagen dem Gemeinderat Geisweid, im Zuge der kommunalen Neugliederungen ab 1966 dem Stadtrat der Stadt Hüttental und ab 1975 dem Stadtrat in Siegen an. Mitglied des Kreistages des Kreis Siegen, ab 1975 des Kreises Siegen-Wittgenstein war Nienhagen von 1969 bis 1999. Von 1984 bis 1999 war Nienhagen der letzte ehrenamtliche Landrat des Kreises Siegen-Wittgenstein. Nienhagen vertrat den Kreis und war in zahlreichen Gremien des Landkreistages NRW tätig.

Nienhagen war seit den sechziger Jahren über Jahrzehnte in der Evangelischen Kirche engagiert, viele Jahre Kreissynodaler im Ev. Kirchenkreis Siegen, Synodaler in der Landessynode der Ev. Kirche von Westfalen, langjähriger Vorsitzender des Sozialausschusses der westfälischen Landeskirche, und zudem Mitglied in der Synode der Evangelischen Kirche Deutschlands (EKD).

Ehrungen
Am 24. April 1981 wurde Nienhagen das Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande und am 23. Januar 1989 das Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse verliehen.
Am 2. Juli 2001 erhielt Nienhagen den Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Werke
 Freiheit, die ich meine : ein Leben im 20. Jahrhundert. Projekte-Verlag Cornelius, Halle 2008, ISBN 978-3-86634-527-0

Literatur
 Landkreistag Nordrhein-Westfalen: Dokumentation über die Landräte und Oberkreisdirektoren in Nordrhein-Westfalen 1945–1991. Düsseldorf 1992.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

SPD-Mitglied
LDPD-Mitglied
SMT-Verurteilter
Landrat (Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein)
Träger des Bundesverdienstkreuzes 1. Klasse
Träger des Verdienstordens des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
Opfer der Diktatur in der DDR
Deutscher
Geboren 1927
Gestorben 2007
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
RESOURCES > Title 21 USC Codified CSA > Sections 881–1, 881a
Part E — Administrative and Enforcement Provisions
§§881–1, 881a. Transferred
Section 881–1, Pub. L. 91–513, title II, §511A, as added Pub. L. 100–690, title VI, §6080(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4326, which related to expedited procedures for seized conveyances, was renumbered §518 of Pub. L. 91–513 by Pub. L. 101–647, title X, §1002(h)(1), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4828, transferred to section 888 of this title and subsequently repealed.
Section 881a, Pub. L. 99–198, title XVII, §1764, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1652, which related to production control of controlled substances, was renumbered section 519 of the Controlled Substances Act by Pub. L. 101–647, title X, §1002(h)(2), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4828, and is classified to section 889 of this title.


text:
I am a survivor of child sexual abuse, and I work to educate people about the effects of child abuse in order to end it. I also work on confronting oppression in all it's forms. Disconnected thinking would make me struggle with how to bring these issues together, but the connections are glaringly obvious.
the healing journey as a site of resistance
by billie rain
"Addressing our individual and collective suffering, we will find ways to heal and recover that can be sustained, that can endure from generation to generation" (hooks, 1995, 145).
I am real. I am a woman who, as a child, was subjected to torture so beyond my comprehension that it literally split my psyche. It was decided by the inside system that if we did survive what we saw so many die from, our stories and those of the other children who did not live would not be lost. By sharing and theorizing on these painful experiences, I hope to give voice to the healing journey that has been necessary for me to embark on in order to fully claim them as sites of resistance, and to understand them in a larger sociopolitical context. To connect the body, mind and spirit, who were severed long ago.
When my abusers were raping me, they had me convinced that nobody would believe me if I told, and if that didn't deter me, they would kill me. I have struggled to understand what would motivate people to such sickness but in a way it doesn't matter, on an individual level, why they did it as much as that it happened and I survived. The search itself has led me to greater understandings and helped me to understand that I am part of something greater than myself. In her book Thinking Class, Joanna Kadi writes:
Child sexual abuse teaches us lessons about power- who has it and who doesn't. These lessons, experienced on a bodily level, transfer into the deepest levels of our conscious and subconscious being, and correspond with other oppressive systems. Widespread child sexual abuse supports a racist, sexist, classist and ableist society that attempts to train citizens into docility and unthinking acceptance of whatever the government and big business deem fit to hand out (Kadi, 73).
My father was a presidential appointee under George Bush Sr. and several of my abusers were high-level government officials.
"There's no reason in this whole wide world to harm a child, be it your hands or your words that do the abuse" (Loftis, 38). Child abuse is incredibly prevalent in the united states, and it happens on all levels of society, regardless of ethnic or economic status. Parents, relatives, community leaders and other adults physically, sexually and emotionally abuse children. Many are also victims of neglect. In 1996 more than three million reports of child abuse were made in the US, and "the actual incidence of abuse and neglect is estimated to be three times greater than the number reported to authorities" (Childhelp USA). Growing up in a violent home (and a violent culture), even if the violence is not directed at the child, is harmful to children. A formerly abused woman writes: "Growing up in a house with a batterer is like living in a war zone. You can be attacked at any time and there's nothing a child can do to fight back" (Agtuca, 30). Children who grow up in abusive homes are likely to develop a dissociative disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, originally known as "shell shock" or "Vietnam syndrome", as a result of witnessing or experiencing firsthand abuse.
One in three girls and one in four boys is sexually abused before the age of eighteen, and children with disabilities are four to ten times more vulnerable to sexual abuse than non-disabled children. I was severely sexually and physically abused for the first seventeen years of my life. Today I am legally and significantly disabled as a direct result of that abuse. No matter what I do to heal, I will most likely carry certain scars to my grave. Sapphire, in her poem "MICKEY MOUSE WAS A SCORPIO," writes:
my father,
lean in blue & white striped pajamas,
snatches my pajama bottoms off
grabs me by my little skinny knees
& drives his dick in.
i scream
no one hears except my sister
who becomes no one because she didn't hear.
years later i become no one because it didn't happen.
-(Scholder, 113).
I know too many people, male and female, who were sexually abused as children. Most of them were not able to comprehend what happened to them or speak out about it until they were adults. Child sexual abuse is such a crime, not because it is illegal, but because of the incredible damages it does to a young mind, body and heart.
"Not all blows are made by the hand and not all whipping is done with a belt" (Loftis, 40). Public education about physical and sexual abuse is increasing, but many people still do not realize the damaging effects of emotional or verbal abuse. Andrew Vachss defines emotional abuse as:
The systematic diminishment of another. It may be intentional or subconscious (or both), but it is always a course of conduct, not a single event. It is designed to reduce a child's self-concept to the point where the victim considers [her/]himself unworthy- unworthy of respect, unworthy of friendship, unworthy of the natural birthright of all children: love and protection (Sue's Abuse Pages).
Many survivors of physical and sexual abuse report that the emotional abuse they suffered was far more damaging than the actual blows. "The bruises from his slaps would eventually heal and go away, but I'll never forget the awful things he said…" (White, 10). When I was being sexually abused, the things said to me and the threats made damaged my self-concept and made me fear for my life if I told. In a poem I wrote: "Fucking me mentally/ so you could fuck my body." To this day I struggle to disentangle myself from the horrible things my abusers said I was, on top of dealing with the damage that was created by their physical and sexual abuse.
Of all abuse perpetrated on children in the US, it is my belief that ritual abuse is by far the most silenced form. Chrystine Oksana defines ritual abuse as "methodical abuse, often using indoctrination, aimed at breaking the will of another human being" (Oksana, 36-7), and in a 1989 report, the Ritual Abuse Task Force of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women came to this definition:
Ritual abuse usually involves repeated abuse over an extended period of time. The physical abuse is severe, sometimes including torture and killing. The sexual abuse is usually painful, sadistic, and humiliating, intended as a means of gaining dominance over the victim. The psychological abuse is devastating and involves the use of ritual indoctrination. It includes mind control techniques which convey to the victim a profound terror of the cult members… Both during and after the abuse, most victims are in a state of terror, mind control, and dissociation (Oksana, 36).
There are many different kinds of cults in the US, ranging from the church of scientology to transcendental meditation to satanic ritual abuse cults. The media has given some attention to the issues of cults and mind control, but the coverage has been sparse and often sensationalized.
Many people do not want to accept that ritual abuse happens, especially not in the sacred family unit. Anna Richardson, a ritual abuse survivor, describes the mental somersaults one must go through in order to comprehend the realities of this type of sadistic and systematic abuse. "The threat of meaninglessness posed by ritual abuse, the ways it dislocates reality, disintegrates expectation- here is my father working in the garden, here is my father torturing a boy; here is the bank manager smiling across the counter, here is the bank manager in the woods drinking blood- is a real part of the damage it causes" (Richardson, 7). Unfortunately, ritual abuse is another hidden history/present that needs to be brought to public knowledge. Laura Davis writes: "You may have experienced torture and atrocities that are difficult to believe. That doesn't mean they didn't happen. It just means we have to stop being naive. We have to broaden our perception of evil" (Davis, 225). This perception needs to include the presence of ritual abuse in the US alongside slavery, lynchings, internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the women's holocaust (i.e. Salem witch trials) and genocide of indigenous people in all the Americas and beyond.
Ritual abuse is not the only crime committed by those with power that goes without prosecution or acknowledgment by the mainstream. Many oppressed people and communities in the US have experienced severe oppression on the one hand, and the suppression and denial of our realities by the mainstream media and those in power on the other. Often it is common knowledge that the government knows the abuse is taking place but refuses to admit publicly that they have a role in perpetuating it. Three examples of this, which were admitted to after they had been brought to public scrutiny, are MKULTRA, COINTELPRO and Indian boarding schools. Many people here are probably familiar with the MKULTRA mind control experiments, funded by the CIA. COINTELPRO stands for counter intelligence program, was an FBI sponsored project which targeted groups and individuals working for social change, primarily in communities of color, with harassment, covert disruption, infiltration and sometimes even assassination. I believe that we the public do not know the full extent of either of these covert government projects. As part of the ongoing destruction of indigenous nations, lifeways and culture in the united states, Indian children were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend christian boarding schools. In these schools, they were forbidden to speak their languages and often beaten if they did so. Many children were subjected to ritualized religious abuse by the priests and nuns in the schools as a way of breaking their wills and destroying their sense of themselves as indigenous people. This is an obvious connection to the ritualized spiritual abuse that many survivors have experienced.
In her groundbreaking book, Teaching to Transgress, innvoative black feminist and cultural critic bell hooks writes:
I came to theory because I was hurting-the pain within me was so intense that I could not go on living. I came to theory desperate, wanting to comprehend-to grasp what was happening around and within me. Most importantly, I wanted to make the hurt go away. I saw in theory then a location for healing. (hooks, 1994, 59).
I want to understand what kind of world allows people to torture their own children and get away with it. What kind of society rapes its children, puts them in closets, tells them they are worthless, less than nothing, brainwashes them into thinking that they deserve to be mistreated because they are inherently bad and evil. Splits their fragile minds so that they can be a model student, play with friends after school, and shipped off nights (or whenever) to witness and be subjected to evil beyond comprehension. I want to understand how a society can grow from the seeds of racial violence, genocide and rape. I want to understand how a society that claims liberty and justice for all can invest itself in the suffering of millions within its borders and across the globe.
I was brutally abused when I was growing up. I was in fear of my life constantly and the abuse was done in such a way that I didn't even have conscious knowledge of it at the time. I have consistently intuitively understood injustice on a very personal level and that understanding carried over into my understanding of other injustices. Through the abuse that was perpetuated on my body, mind and spirit I came to understand that people are capable of murdering innocent children and babies– even their own family. The adults I was surrounded by were capable of raping me when I was obviously a helpless child. It is no shock to me that the United States government was/is perpetuating genocide here and in other places. It's not shocking to me that these injustices happen in the world, because I come from a basic level of belief that atrocities happen. We create and support a shallow public culture, which places more emphasis on the ilusion of goodness than on goodness itself. Lets break down these illusions and deal with reality. As a survivor of ritual torture and government funded violence, from the core of my being I have always understood injustice. Child abuse reproduces structural inequalities and brands them onto children's bodies and hearts. No one who has been abused has not experienced oppression.
When I was 18, I was transformed by my experiences with a group of young feminists in the punk music scene called riot grrrl. In the summer of 1991 I helped inititate all-girl meetings at a local punk activist house in the DC area, where I grew up. At the meeting I met young women who were motivated and willing to connect on a deeper level and find ways to challenge and heal from the wounds inflicted on our lives by sexism. It was the first time I had met with any group that was willing to talk openly about sexual abuse. At that point, a floodgate opened in me. I began to consciously articulate the sexual abuse I had experienced from infancy. The other women in riot grrrl believed me, supported me, and were outraged at what I had experienced at the hands of my sadistic father. Through riot grrrl, I was able to write and tell my own story, or what I remembered of it at the time.
One point of this healing journey is not just personal, but to use my personal narrative to create a better world. I want my story to be a jumping off point to critically understand what oppression is and how it relates to child abuse. I want you to make a commitment, if you have not already, to take responsibility for the kind of society you really want to live in. Any understanding you come to as a result of my words must push us forward towards concretely and physically transforming society. "A people's revolution that engages the participation of every member of the community, including man, woman, and child, brings about a certain transformation in the participants as a result of this participation" (Guy-Sheftall, 154). I feel that my inner revolution that has manifested itself as healing from child abuse is inherently linked to larger global struggles against oppression.
"The more we have suffered in the past, the stronger a healer we can become. We can learn to transform our suffering into the kind of insight that will help our friends and society" (Hanh, Touching Peace, 1992, 8).
Healing has manifested itself in my life as a form of resistance. My healing process is inherently a rejection of who the abusers told me to be. I was taught to turn my life over to people who controlled me through pain. They tried to control my self-concept, my body, the thoughts I was allowed to think, the experiences I could be conscious of. They taught me that the only way to survive was to either be in control or to be controlled. The main definition of power I was exposed to growing up was power-over. Now I am learning the meanings of power-with and power from within. Remembering, speaking out, and deciding for myself what I want for my life are acts of resistance. Building communities based on mututal respect, compassion and honesty is one step towards creating the kind of world I want my children to live in.
The word activism is centered on the word act. An act doesn't necessarily have to be a physical act like going out to the middle of the street. Activism means, I have a vision for the kind of world that I want, and that vision has to do with compassion and justice and I'm willing to take action toward that goal. That's how I see an activist. I don't agree with what everyone who's an activist is doing. But that's what I see as activism. To me, "activism" implies working for something beyond your own self-interest, even if your goals benefit you as well. Oppression happens to people in their bodies, and all these complicated issues that we're dealing with as activists are affecting people in their lives and in their bodies. When someone is suffering because someone else is using power to control them without their consent, that's what oppression is to me.
My relationship to activist communities has been strengthened by my understanding of "inter being". Thich Nhat Hahn tells the story of the Rodney King beating to explain this concept:
We all saw the video of the Los Angeles policemen beating Rodney King. When I saw these images, I identified with Rodney King, and I suffered a lot. You must have felt the same. We were all beaten at the same time. But when I looked more deeply, I saw that I am also the five policemen. I could not separate myself from the men who did the beating. They were manifesting the hatred and violence that pervades our society (Hahn, Peace is Every Step, 1992).
It's not just that you're a microcosm but you are the universe, you are the world, you are the society. Each individual has the possibility to be in touch with all of the elements in society. As a poor person, I was forced to understand not only my reality but also the reality of rich people. At the same time a rich person could choose to realize that they are also in touch with the realities of poor people because they could not exist without us. They are dialectically linked and what that means in terms of inter being is that they inter-are. They cannot exist without each other. But we can all work towards creating the conditions where there is no wealth or poverty. Growing up in an oppressive society damages every single person in that society. We can change the structures, but if we do not change ourselves through healing, the structures will become oppressive in another way. We must learn to communicate with each other honestly and respectfully. Emotional and spiritual healing is part of resistance work.
Healing from the extreme violence from my childhood has not only politicized me, but has cemented my commitment to revolutionary social change. Mumia Abu Jamal writes that
the system is not a true reality, but an idea which can be fought and dismantled. People forget that we don't need the system, or the accessories we mistakenly assume are essential for living. We need only the things God gave us: love, family, nature. We must transform the system. That's the challenge (Abu-Jamal, 76).
I am not willing to live in a society that tolerates child abuse. I am not willing to accept the system that exists in the united states just because it is here. I do not believe that I have to exploit others to survive. This society is rotten to the core. From the beginning, the united states has foundationally relied on violence to establish itself. Understanding and articulating this, and the ways it has affected my personal and the social present, has given me the space to envision alternatives, to realize that there is always a choice. I want to live in a society based on the values that are important to me; communalism, respect and love. This is what I mean by revolution.
The united states is a settler colonial state, whose foundations rest on slave labor and genocide. It was built on top of indigenous nations that were already living here. European settlers used the excuse of manifest destiny, a "god-given decree", to justify the horrible, violent tactics that created a thriving nation-state on this land mass. Christianity, a religion whose roots are deep in the soil of the Middle-East and Africa, has been used on every continent of the earth- including Europe- as a European tool for subjugating indigenous people.
I don't believe that many non-native "americans" have taken the time or energy to get connected to what that really means, not just intellectually, but on an emotional & spiritual level. I know that it is difficult. Often when I do this I immediately want to move towards the important work of finding solutions, possible ways to reduce the damage that's been done. I want to support those who are working to preserve what's left of indigenous ways of being that haven't been destroyed. It hurts too much to stay with the knowledge of my culpability in genocide, to keep the knowledge in my heart. We as a nation have become numb to the pain and suffering that is our legacy. How has this numbing occurred?
Christianity, a faith based inherently on the concept of universal love and non-judgementalness, has been distorted in the mainstream to create a shame-based culture, motivated by fear of vengeful judgement. In the overculture's (i.e. dominant culture) version of christianity, there are only saints and sinners. In a culture where we are taught that we have to exploit others to survive, we are in a catch-22. Many people choose to live lives of denial to the ways we perpetuate others suffering in order to place ourselves in the seat of the righteous judge, presiding over the failures and shortcomings of everyone but ourselves. Even people in consciousness-raising activist communities fall to the task of judging and blaming people in their own communities — creating shame-based counter-cultures on platitudes of hierarchical moralistic thinking.
The education system in this country was brought to us from a general in Napoleon's army. He was working hard to develop and distribute a system that would train average french people to be good obedient soldiers. The first students of these schools were forced to class at bayonet point. The school system was opposed to ideas of critical thinking and self-directed studies toward liberation and autonomy. It was a school system that used bells, grades, levels of punishment, and memorization techniques to teach people how to listen to orders and carry them out exactly as their instructor dictated. This system is a form of mass mind control. This is the system we have in most of our public and private schools today (Gatto, 1992).
I view the education system as a form of long-term state-sanctioned emotional abuse. Students who do not work well within the current model are routinely humiliated and berated by teachers and students alike. The version of history that is taught in most schools is the Master Narrative, the rich white christian success story. 99% of it has nothing to do with reality, and it has very little relevance to the communities of those supposedly being taught their history. Critical thinking is discouraged and now it has reached such an extreme that in order to move forward towards graduation, students will have to vomit out these Master Narratives in the form of standardized tests year after year. This nation is attempting to turn multidimensional human beings into gingerbread cookie cut outs, flattening our spirits in the process.
When facilitating a 12-course challenging racism workshop, I ask participants to look into where they've felt disempowered as children. I encourage people to think of the ways that these lessons of disempowerment aid them in learning to take power over others in their lives. Many participants come to the discussion with very personal stories of the ways that they have been disempowered, including examples of various forms of oppression, forced conformity, losing their language or parts of their ancestral histories, and child abuse in all forms.
The overculture in the US does not encourage children, or anyone, to take charge of our own survival. Why don't we learn in school to grow food; build a house or even a fire; compost; build a solar panel; make cloth and sew; or skin, dress and cook an animal? Instead, we are taught skills that will only benefit us if we are dependent on the oppressive system as it presently exists. We are taught that the only way to survive under our current econmic system is to buy product. Food, clothing, housing, entertainment, health care and even our way into each other's hearts are all relegated to the amount of money you can put down. Concurrently, our dreams become assigned to how much money we can make. Freedom of being becomes intertangled with economic progress — whereas economic freedom becomes the idea of how to obtain true liberation.
Society operates within the economic philosophy of social darwinism (i.e. survival of the fittest). Capitalism pits one person against another in the constant struggle for our basic necessities. Through the institutionalization of racism, colonialism, sexism and other systems of domination, oppressed people are put in a position of enforced weakness. Simultaneously, on an emotional level we are given the message that our survival depends on the acceptance of the same values that keep us in an inferior position in society. For many of us, it is too painful to continue to function while holding the knowledge that we are participating in a society that is hurting us and others. Our self concepts are damaged from the get go by the oppressive system and the messages about who we are as individuals and in society.
We are force-fed outright lies about who we are and who's histories define our identity as a nation. Henry Kissinger wrote that "history is the memory of states." Mainstream versions of reality mystify and obscure people's real stories, relegating them to paranoid fantasies of the disenfranchised and "weak" members of society.
hero conquerors
empty lands
ignorant savages
hysterical women
inferior races
is it any wonder
that they are saying
false memories
-f. spavarious
Is it any wonder that a nation who can commit atrocities against "others" eats it's young?
I am a survivor of child sexual abuse, and I work to educate people about the effects of child abuse in order to end it. I also work on confronting oppression in all it's forms. Disconnected thinking would make me struggle with how to bring these issues together, but the connections are glaringly obvious. The brutality that manifests itself within my culture as child abuse is the same brutality that manifests itself as "government policy", exploitation, expansionism and imperialism.
The fact that a person can learn about forced relocation of traditional Dineh (Navajo) people at Big Mountain in Arizona and feel numb or powerless to do anything about it is a direct result of the numbing required to function in an oppressive society.Simultaneously, when a person witnesses the pain and anguish experienced by child and adult survivors of ritual abuse, yet continues to adopt the attitude of a skeptic, or even worse, buys into the propaganda of the false memory foundation, it is the same numbing process occurring. We are not only brought up to believe that we do not deserve to have power or control over our own destinies (except a select few who hold the fate of the world in their hands), but "we have also bought into a set of ideas about the nature of the world that makes us believe that nothing fundamental really can be changed" (Lerner, 52). Each individual is completely powerful. Each person is a living manifestation of what some people choose to call god, who to me is Love, the life force that makes everything move. In order to transform society, we must transform our own deeply held beliefs about the nature of society and ourselves. As Thich Nhat Hanh says: "Peace work is not a means. Each step we make should be peace. Each step we make should be joy. Each step we make should be happiness. If we are determined, we can do it" (Hahn, peace is every step 42).
And as someone very wise said: "We are all Mother Earth and we must heal ourselves".
It is in making these connections that we will no longer be able to separate ourselves from our actions, from our commitments against oppression, and from the Earth Herself. My own healing must be an integral part of my work to heal the rest of the world.
Abu-Jamal, Mumia. Death Blossoms: Reflections of a Prisoner of Conscience. Farmington, PA: Plough Publishing House, 1997.
Agtuca, Jaqueline R. A Community Secret: For the Filipina in an Abusive Relationship. Seattle: Seal Press, 1994.
Childhelp USA Website. Statistics on child abuse. http://www.childhelpusa.org/.
Davis, Laura. The Courage to Heal Workbook: For Women and Men Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Gatto, John Taylor. Dumbing Us Down. Vancouver, B.C.: New Society Press, 1992.
Guy-Sheftall, Beverly, ed. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought. New York: The New Press, 1995.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1992.
hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, 1994
hooks, bell. killing rage: ending racism . New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995.
Kadi, Joanna. Thinking Class: Sketches from a Cultural Worker . Boston: South End Press, 1996.
Lerner, Michael. The Politics of Meaning: Affirming Hope and Possibility in an Age of Cynicism . Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1997.
Loftis, Chris. The Words Hurt . New Jersey: New Horizon Press, 1995.
Oksana, Chrystine. Safe Passage to Healing: A Guide for Survivors of Ritual Abuse . New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Richardson, Anna. Double Vision: A Travelogue of Recovery from Ritual Abuse . Pasadena: Trilogy Books, 1997.
Scholder, Amy. Critical Condition: women on the edge of violence . San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1993
Sue's Abuse Pages. Information on emotional abuse. http://www.pilot.infi.net/~susanf/sueabuse.htm.
White, Evelyn C. Chain Chain Change: For Black Women Dealing With Physical and Emotional Abuse . Seattle: Seal Press, 1985.
This entry was posted in Anti-racist Organizing, Challenging Gender, Resisting Colonialism, Resisting Patriarchy and tagged abuse, billie rain, child abuse, gender, racism, sexism, sexual abuse.
Popular Literacy
Is a method of education that begins by processing people's lived experiences, collectively and critically evaluates that experience, draws connections to root causes of problems, and develops solutions. Distinct from education that views participants as "blank pages" and teachers as … Continue reading →


As the weather warms up, Metro Phoenix seals itself off in air-conditioning. It's like living on an enclosed colony on a hostile planet. People deny that they are living in a desert, or even out West. They plug into media and entertainment that provides pleasant, dystopian delusions.
Meanwhile, biological bombs turn the hills yellow and purple as they trigger allergic reactions. Arizona is out there. And it's not what people think it is – not even what the people who live here think it is.
So Em and I got into our troque and took a spontaneous road trip into the spring fever dreams. Besides, we had never been down that part of Highway 89, the far northern stretch of which has recently become impassable between Gap and Page due to a landslide, but there was plenty between us and the slide area.
Down Highway 60/Grand Ave in El Mirage we passed the Babylon Private Hookah Lounge, an abandoned building with bilingual NO TRESPASSING signs, occasional, ancient stone structures that were too damn close to the road, and a giant, rust-covered mental mariachi. They were all across the railroad tracks from twisted rows of jagged mountains.
Just before Wickenburg, "Where the Wild West is Still Wild," was Buzzard's Saloon, and more rusty behemoths for sale.
Then we hit Highway 89 into what for us was unknown territory: Yavapai County, magical little towns like Yarnell, names like Skull Valley, long-horned cattle wandering mountains full of granite that were as old as the Grand Canyon, churned up by power of the Earth Mother.
At one point we passed a guy in a black suit, pushing his bike uphill.
We had lunch in Prescott, at St. Michael's Bistro on the 100 block of South Montezuma Street, that is still known as Whiskey Row because it was once lined with saloons. Some of the saloons have become restaurants, but it's all mostly art galleries these days.
There's something about these writhing mountains that generates artistic activity – ancient forces at work. This is also uranium country. And wide . . . open . . . spaces . . . that do have interesting effects on the human brain.
On a hill in this high-altitude spaciness, like an abandoned castle, are the ruins of Tuzigoot, which is an Apache name, mispronounced Anglo-style, for a Sinaguan pueblo. Sinagua is a Spanish for "Without Water." They harvested a lot of agave fiber that they used for clothing. The skeleton of a red Macaw found there suggests that they traded with the peoples of Mesoamerica. They moved on around the time of the last volcanic eruptions.
There are lost worlds along these lost highways.
More recently, abandoned copper mining towns like Jerome, with crumbling buildings haphazardly attached to treacherous mountains, are getting dressed up with bright paint and art galleries, and an artsy-fartsy/hippy-dippy attitude. It triggers visions of a post-redneck Arizona and fantasies of retirement, and painting sci-if Wild West neo-kitsch to sell to the tourists.
But does anybody come up to these lost places to buy art? How long will this culture last? When will these towns become archeological sites?
I wondered that while we contemplated the quiet waters of Dead Horse Ranch State Park, and herons contemplated us.
As we headed back to Phoenix, a lot of police vehicles, with lights flashing and sirens blasting, charged back in the direction from whence we had come.
Something was up. And the wildflowers were pretty.


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PRIMERA Air is temporarily suspending flights from Birmingham to New York and Toronto from June 21 until 2019.
The budget airline, which only launched a few months ago, has blamed the decision on late delivery of its long-haul A321neo aircraft from Airbus.
They say that they will resume transatlantic services next year once the aircraft is available.
They added that the news does not affect Primera Air's short haul services in operation from Birmingham.
A statement from Birmingham Airport reads: "Since launching New York services last month, load factors have been positive, averaging 70 per cent.
"This reinforces our knowledge that the demand for flights between Birmingham and North America is strong, with a market size already using Birmingham of more than 130,000 passengers."
Primera has contacted all customers booked on services from June 21 to give refunds or transfer onto other services.
Affected customers are being encouraged to contact Primera Air on irregularity@primeraair.com.
The airline was running three flights a week to New York and had been set to run three flights to Toronto later this month, but these have all been cancelled.
It also runs 14 transatlantic flights a week from London Stansted.
Customers have reacted to the news on social media, expressing their upset over the news.
It's a complete shambles you're right. Can you change to a Stansted flight? I'm just after compensation now for my Stansted to Birmingham travel as only my return flight has been affected.
so now Primera Air cancel all flights out of Birmingham, screwing up my plans for August - absolute joke.
@primeraair Are flights from New York Newark still running back to Birmingham?
Andri Már Ingólfsson, CEO of Primera Air sayid: "The plans for the transatlantic routes have been in the making for over a year and both Primera Air and Birmingham Airport have put a lot of effort into promoting the new routes which were welcomed by the region.
Primera Air first launched their first flight across the Atlantic from London Stansted to New York this year on April 20, with Birmingham flights starting in May - Birmingham to Toronto was due to launch later this month.
The Nordic no-frills airline hit the headlines in 2017 when they started offering tickets for these flights from just £99.
They made headlines again last month for a less positive reason, when a Primera Air plane clipped a Ryanair aircraft as both prepared to take off from Stansted Airport.


Recently, I had a chat with a correspondent who covers the North East for a national newspaper. I asked him for the name of the State that has the highest literacy rate in India. He thought for a while and volunteered Kerala, adding Mizoram as an afterthought. He was somewhat surprised when I told him the answer was Tripura, those two other States having been overtaken. There is the obvious point about general ignorance and indifference towards the North East. But there is more to it than that. The chairman and editorial director of Business Standard, TN Ninan, once told me his definition of "national media" was that which was watched and read between Noida and Gurgaon. Depending on the year and depending on how the Railways are doing, 95% of national income is produced in states.
In English language media, not vernacular, how often do you find coverage of states? How often do you find coverage in English language business press (so-called pink papers), as opposed to the general media? Compared to hype and hysteria over Union budgets, how often are state budgets discussed and dissected? Broadly, most pending reforms now concern factor markets, product markets (except agriculture) having been addressed in the post-1991 flush, with financial sector liberalisation more incremental in nature. These factor markets are largely the domain of the states, featuring in Concurrent or State Lists. How often are those reported?
In fairness, there is some coverage, in instances when labour laws are changed, or there is a major investment project or summit. However, policy changes are also at the level of the relatively mundane. To me, it is big news that Rajasthan repealed around 12% of its statutes, having identified them as old and dysfunctional. Was it reported? (You may recall one particular column, but may forget that it was authored by the state's chief minister herself.) If policy is somewhat covered, there is rarely any reportage on public expenditure. To recapitulate what has been repeated ad nauseam, the 14th Finance Commission (FC) recommended 42% of the divisible tax pool as untied devolution to states. There is no dearth of critical columns arguing that this was unwarranted. How do we know states are responsible? How do we know states won't fritter this additional untied money away on wages and pensions, with 7th Pay Commission providing a further spanner in the works? Part, not all, of the answer lies in further fiscal and non-fiscal devolution to local bodies. That means state-level FCs. Surely, states will set up or have set up, such FCs, to adjust to recommendations of 14th FC. Don't get me wrong. Some states have running FCs and they can factor in the new pattern of tax devolution in their recommendations. Others, without running FCs, may choose to wait till Pay Commission aftermath has been fathomed. By the way, Rajasthan is a state that set up a new FC in May 2015. As an issue, how often is this further devolution concern covered?
I try not to use the expression "Centre-state" unless I am quoting someone. The word "Centre" doesn't figure in the Constitution. More importantly, it smacks of a centre-periphery kind of relationship and is vaguely patronising towards States. Metaphorically, "Centre-state" probably conjures up more centrifugal forces than centripetal. The right expression to use should be "Union-state". The point I wish to make is that the kind of reportage I underlined also suffers from this Centre-state mindset. After untied devolution, after deficit reduction commitments and after addressing items of expenditure in Union List of Seventh Schedule, there is a kitty of revenue left, to be used for what can loosely be called central sector (100% Union funding) and centrally-sponsored schemes (partial Union funding, with a higher Union contribution for North Eastern and Himalayan states). In an earlier era, these public expenditure schemes would have been devised by former Planning Commission. However, in March 2015, a Sub-Group of chief ministers was set up for this, with parallel Sub-Groups for the Swachh Bharat and skills development missions.
The Report of the Sub-Group on rationalisation of centrally-sponsored schemes was submitted in October 2015 and has been reported in media. It divides schemes into a national development agenda (mandatory for all states) and an optional basket. From 2016-17, states will presumably realign their schemes, with or without Union funding. However, schemes are administered by departments and multiplicity of departments leads to multiplicity of schemes. Given prioritisation of focus, I personally don't think any state should have more than 30 departments, though there is a state where number of departments is as high as 56. Isn't it, therefore, news that Jharkhand has rationalised number of departments and reduced it from 43 to 31? For instance, a standard problem in states is rural development, rural works and Panchayati Raj departments working in silos. Jharkhand has combined them. Similarly, it has combined the planning and finance departments. Part of the NITI Aayog's job is collation of such best practices and their dissemination and there are plenty of interesting examples of innovative public service delivery in states. We will certainly do that, but I wished to draw attention to inadequate coverage of states in media.
If untied funding to states has increased to 42%, surely states warrant greater coverage. Let's stop debating how much the Union government spends on health and focus on state-level expenditure. (It is on the State List.) Let us also debate capital expenditure in states, not just Union government. Let's recognise that the Indian polity is Union of states.