text:
The Primaries Aftermath
By TMC in Politics
The primaries are over and the campaigning for November will now commence. There were no real surprises last night except perhaps for nine term Democratic Representative John Tierney who lost to political newcomer Seth Moulton in the state's 6th Congressional District.
Tierney is the fourth House incumbent and first Democrat to lose a primary this year.
He joins Republican Reps. Kerry Bentivolio of Michican, Eric Cantor of Virginia, the former majority leader, and Ralph Hall of Texas on the House casualty list.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, won but not as big as the Cuomo camp would have liked
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) won his primary and will very likely go on to win re-election as governor, but it was an ugly victory. With 98.3 percent of precincts reporting Cuomo took 62.1 percent of the primary vote compared to 34.2 percent for his main opponent Zephyr Teachout, who ran to his left. That may seem like a decent margin but it is actually a very weak performance by historical standards for an incumbent governor.
In Rhode Island, the voters chose a woman and an Asian man to run for the governorship, the time in RI history that there isn't a white male running.
Democrats chose General Treasurer Gina Raimondo over Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and former Obama administration official Clay Pell. On the Republican side, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung beat businessman Ken Block.
If elected, Raimondo would be the Ocean State's first woman governor, while Fung would be its first Asian-American governor.
The Democratic race was especially contentious, as Raimondo was sometimes characterized as too sympathetic to Wall Street, due in part to a controversial pension reform plan she helped usher through the state legislature.
Fung, for his part, has had to explain his involvement in a car crash 25 years ago, when he was 18, that resulted in a man's death. All charges against Fung, who claims he lost consciousness while driving, were eventually dropped.
In New Hampshire, former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown secured his spot on the ballot to challenge Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Incumbent Governor Maggie Hassan easily won her primary and will vie to keep her seat out of the hands of Republican businessman Walt Havenstein.
Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakely will face the Republican Charlies Baker in his second try to become governor. He lost to current Gov. Deval Patrick in 2010
The best summation of last night's results come from Charlie Pierce who wants to talk about the Democrats we don't like and why:
In Rhode Island, the Democratic nominee for governor is Gina Raimondo, and the national press loves her already because, as state treasurer, she knuckled the public employee unions, and there's nothing the national press loves more than Democratic politicians who give their most faithful constituents a damn good public rogering.
Analysts were already predicting that if she won in November, Ms. Raimondo could go on to become a national star in the party, showing fellow Democrats that responsible policy is not necessarily bad politics, although organized labor may choose to differ.
Lovely sentence, that. "Responsible policy" set up as the direct opposite of "organized labor." In praise of a Democratic candidate. And a hint as to who these "analysts" were would be helpful.
Raimondo's raid on public employee pensions began just about as soon as she was elected state treasurer. And, as Matt Taibbi pointed out in a lengthy Rolling Stone piece, Raimondo was not acting on her own. The "tough choices" she was making, she was making on behalf of people who haven't made tough choices since they were in diapers. [..]
And then there's Andrew Cuomo, who is as beholden to the thieves as Raimondo is, but he's far more of an obvious dick about it. Cuomo won re-nomination last night, albeit not as overwhelmingly as he needed to in order to start booking rooms in Ottumwa for December of 2015. So, as is customary, defeated candidate Zephyr Teachout tried to call Cuomo to congratulate him on his victory.
Apparently, Cuomo kept up the act straight through primary night. He did not hold a victory party (which would have suggested he participated in a primary), and Teachout was reportedly unable to concede to the governor with a phone call, as he wouldn't give her his number.
What kind of an arrogant jackeen doesn't give his opponent his phone number? As far as I know, that's unprecedented in a major political campaign. But the success of Cuomo and Raimondo, and who their friends are, and who they're beholden to, makes me exceedingly nervous over what may happen on the Wednesday after election day in November. If the Democrats lose disastrously, losing their Senate majority, a bloodbath in the House, I guarantee you that the conventional wisdom of how the party was "dragged too far left" by that liberal lion, Barack Obama, and how it must purge the remnants of the "Occupy" movement in order to court the votes of "independents" and "centrists," will spring up all over the elite political media like mushrooms after a hard rain; "Analysts" will tell you that Elizabeth Warren's time is done, and that Gina Raimondo is the future of the Democratic party. And the rich will get richer, which is how it's supposed to be.
There aren't any really good choices for New Yorkers or Rhode Islanders.
2014 Elelctions, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Primaries, Rhode Island, TMC Politics
The Last of the 2014 Primaries Today
Today is Primary Day in five states, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. As with all primaries voter turn out is expected to be low, if not, abysmal. But these elections are even more important than the general election since it gives the members of the individual parties to voice their opinions to the party heads who, for the most part, are out of touch with the general electorate or just willfully ignoring them. This is the vote that makes the bigger difference in the direction the country takes. So, if you are eligible to vote in any of today's primaries, get your butt to the polls and make your opinion known.
Here is the who's who for today:
New York: The race for the Democratic nomination for governor and lieutenant governor, a separate line on the ballot in NY, has attracted nationwide attention. It pits incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo and his choice for lieutenant governor, former Representative Kathy Hochul against Fordham law professor, Zephyr Teachout and her running mate, Columbia law professor Tim Wu.
Gov. Cuomo's refusal to debate Prof. Teachout and his obvious public snubbing her at Saturday's NYC Labor Day parade then denying he even saw her despite evidence to the contrary, has made this race a news media delight.
What's one way for a powerful incumbent to deal with an unwelcome primary challenger?
Act like she doesn't exist.
That's the model Andrew Cuomo's campaign has deployed in fending off Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, who has been running to the Democratic governor's left.
The strategy was on its most vivid display Saturday when Teachout attempted to greet Cuomo at a New York City parade but was repeatedly boxed out by one of the governor's aides as Cuomo appeared determined to ignore his opponent.
Teachout's candidacy is built on the premise that the incumbent is too close to Wall Street and Republican lawmakers — a perhaps difficult tack given Cuomo's progressive bona fides highlighted by the same-sex marriage law and tough new gun control legislation he pushed through in Albany.
Cuomo is expected to cruise to victory on Tuesday, but Teachout's candidacy has been a nuisance to the first-term governor.
Cuomo began only this past weekend to campaign actively for re-election, and he suggested to the Washington Post that he could simultaneously be a "liberal Democrat" and a "moderate Democrat."
Gov, Cuomo's biggest problems are the federal investigation of his dissolution of his Moreland Commission that was investigating NY state election finance corruption and the fact that he isn't a Democrat at all. He will likely win.
His running mate, Kathy Hochul, however, may not, which could have some interesting results for November if the governor doesn't dump Hochul.
Such an action could be needed because a Wu victory would result in a Cuomo/Wu ticket on the Democratic line in the November election but potentially disastrous Cuomo/Hochul tickets on the Working Families, Independence, and Women's Equality lines, where no primaries are slated.
Under the state Election Law, votes for a Cuomo/Hochul ticket in November would not be added to the tally for the Cuomo/Wu ticket, potentially costing Cuomo hundreds of thousands of votes.
Cuomo would have until Sept. 16 under the election law to swap Wu for Hochul, using a technique that would allow the former Buffalo-area congresswoman and lawyer to be nominated instead for a judgeship, according to an expert on legislative election law.
I love New York.
Massachusetts: Incumbent Governor Deval Patrick (D) decided not the run for a third term. Vying for the Democratic nod are:
Martha Coakley, current MA Attorney General who lost her bid in the 2010 special election for the senate seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy to Republican Scott Brown;
Donald Berwick, a former Obama administration health care official;
Steve Grossman, the MA state treasurer, who was endorsed by the state party, as well as the Boston Globe.
On the Republican side:
Charlie Baker, who won the Republican nomination in 2010, is the former state Secretary of Finance and Administration and the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care;
Mark Fisher, a businessman aligned with the tea party.
The winners will face three independent candidates in November.
New Hampshire: The Republicans who hope to unseat Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen are:
Scott Brown, former MA senator who lost his bid for a full term to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and moved across the border to NH to try again;
Bob Smith, former US senator;
Jim Rubens, a former state senator.
Hoping to challenge Democratic incumbent Governor Maggie Hassan are:
Andrew Hemingway, a 32-year-old entrepreneur and presidential campaign veteran;
Walt Havenstein, businessman and the frontrunner on the GOP side.
Election Heads Up — It's a Plan
By jeffroby
A few days ago, I ran across a fascinating post on FireDogLake by scrowder, called A failure to plan is a plan to fail – a challenge to the FDL website.
A failure to plan is a plan to fail. So said a poster here on a different diary today and it got me to thinking. What is the progressive plan for dealing with the Conservadems in Congress who've sold us out time and again since the Reagan years?
(crickets) Yeah, that's the problem. The debate always comes down to this: Vote Dem or let the Repugs rule. And that's what happens. Dems lose their base in disgust and Repugs take over. I'm just as guilty. I've voted Nader every election until the chance to elect a black man president outweighed the knowledge that this guy was being foisted on us by the corporatocracy.
Instead of worrying about polls, or what the Dems should be doing or what Obama isn't doing, we should be wholly focused on getting progressives past their primary challenges and replacing Conservadems on the ballot. But we aren't.
The point — to underline scrowder — is on what WE are doing, not on what THEY aren't doing for us.
Full Court Press, method, Primaries
On Being A Better Democrat
By Something The Dog Said in Meta
This post is really for all the Democrats out there. Independents (or as we call them in CO Unaffiliated), Progressive, Liberals or other folks are welcome to read and comment, of course, but it is pointed toward those that identify themselves as Democrats. Markos Moulitsas the redoubtable Kos himself has pushed the idea of electing better Democrats as a part of his mission. It is a good mission to the Dog's way of thinking but the better Dems has to not only extend to those we elect, it has to extend to those of us in the Party as well.
Crossposted at Square State
Andrew Romanoff, Democrats, Michael Bennett, Primaries, Responsibilty
Hillary Endorses Obama: "United and More Ready than Ever to Win in November" (W/Video)
By NCDemAmy in Barack Obama
Crossposted from ePluribus Media
"This isn't the party I planned but I sure like the company," Hillary said as she opened her concession speech at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
Speaking to the "18 million…from all walks of life," who voted for her, Hillary congratulated and endorsed Barack Obama, stating:
"The way, the way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passions, our strengths and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States."
Thanking her supporters for their hard work and dedication, Hillary expressed the optimism that she oft spoke of on the campaign trail. "See, you can be anything you want to be."
Continuing her fight for Universal Health Care, a signature issue for Hillary Clinton, she noted that she entered "public service to help people solve their problems and live their dreams."
"You'll always find me on the frontlines of democracy fighting for the future." Hillary said.
Hillary also focused women's rights, stating she wants to address "every last bias out there."
"We must make sure that men and women alike, understand the struggles of their mothers and grandmothers and that women enjoy the equal opportunities: equal pay and equal respect."
Moreover, Hillary spoke to equality in general saying, "There are no acceptable prejudices," and that "children will take for granted that yes, a woman or an African American can become the President of the United States."
Emphasizng unity, Hillary stated, "This has been a tough fight but the Democratic Party is a family," and repeated throughout her speech, "We must help elect Barack Obama President."
As Hillary said today, "We cannot let this moment slip away."
2008 elections, Concession, Democrats, Endorsements, Hillary Clinton, President, Primaries, Unity
NEW "New Math" Square Miles, Guess who wins?
By Zwoof
Popular Vote and Electoral Vote Metrics Do Not Apply
Big States and Small States Do Not Matter
We are ONE COUNTRY, so…..
Here's the true measure of the 2008 Democratic Primary.
Square Miles per candidate.
Total Square Miles USA Obama Square Miles Clinton Square Miles
OBAMA +866,904 Square Miles
It's over, Hillary. Pack it in.
Tie Breaker in case of a tie…
Puerto Rico 52 sq mi
2008 elections, Democrats, Primaries
MI & FL Delegates…Standing Room Only.
By WSComn in Politics
I'm from Michigan, and I voted in the 'Primary' back on January 16. I had no say as to when the primary was to occur. Gov. Granholm and the Michigan Democratic Party sorted all that out, to a disastrous end. So I voted, but not for my candidate, John Edwards. He wasn't on the ballot, I wasn't a big Clinton fan, still am not, so I voted for something else.
Delegates, FL, MI, Primaries, revote
Really, why should Clinton drop out?
By Michael Wilk in Media
A while back I had made a big stink about the primaries dragging on, because of the damage being done to the Democratic Party by having two massive egos battling it out until August. But after doing some reading and looking at the last couple of big wins for Hillary Clinton, the latest apparently being in Kentucky, I've come to the conclusion that the former First Lady should stay in this race as long as she thinks she can get the nomination to run for president. A large part of this has to do with the corporate media having participated in the drive to push her out of this campaign, "for the 'good' of the party and the nation."
The pressure being applied to Clinton to get out of the race is both unprecedented and unjustified, a solid case made by Eric Boehlert at Smirking Chimp.
Looking back at history, it's hard to find evidence of the same media response to Ronald Reagan's failed 1976 presidential campaign. Taking on President Gerald Ford, Reagan lost more primaries than he won, and Ford won a plurality of the popular vote, but neither man had enough delegates to secure the nomination. So the campaign went to the GOP convention, where Ford prevailed. The bitter battle did nothing to damage Reagan's reputation (in fact, it did quite the opposite), in part because the media did not collectively suggest the candidate was acting selfishly or irrationally. Instead, Reagan walked away with a reputation as a resilient fighter who stood up for his conservative values.
And what about Sen. Ted Kennedy's doomed run in 1980? He trailed President Jimmy Carter by more than 750 delegates at the end of the primary season and insisted on fighting all the way to the convention, where he tried to get committed Carter delegates to switch their allegiance. The press did not spend months during the primary season ridiculing Kennedy, in a deeply personal tone, for remaining in the race.
And what about Gary Hart in 1984? He and Walter Mondale split the season's primaries and caucuses evenly, and neither had the 2,023 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Superdelegates eventually determined the winner. (Sound familiar?) Mondale had many of them locked up even before the campaign season began, so after the final primary between Mondale and Hart was complete, it was obvious that Mondale was going to be the nominee because Hart could not persuade enough superdelegates to change their mind and support him.
When Hart took his crusade all the way to the convention, the media did not form a posse and decide it was their job to get Hart to quit for the good of the party. (And the press certainly didn't form a posse in March to start pushing Hart out of the race.) Nor did the press collectively suggest that Hart had an oversized ego that had turned him into a political monster.
That new media standard has been created exclusively for Hillary Clinton.
It's very difficult to argue with this line of reasoning. Granted, there is a legitimate case to be made for pressuring Clinton to drop out; her threat to use nuclear weapons against Iran marks her as dangerously unstable, like John McCain. For that reason alone, she should have done the honorable thing and announced the end of her campaign. That she hasn't is indicative of her inherent selfishness trumping any and all sense of decency.
But leaving that aside, and doing the delegate math, there are few if any legitimate reasons to expect her to leave the race when all indicators are that she may yet pull off a win at the Democratic National Convention in August. The ongoing bloodbath between Clinton and Barack Obama is still likely to result in a battered and financially broken nominee losing to Republican John McCain in November. But that was going to happen anyway, regardless of which Democrat ultimately gets the nod, because of the insistence by both candidates on running to the political right instead of embracing the progressive base.
The only reason left, therefore, is hatred of Clinton that goes beyond all reason. Not that she hasn't brought a lot of that upon herself, mind you, but still, there's no justification for it. (As Paul Krugman pointed out in a February New York Times column, Clinton Rules are certainly in full effect.) And there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it all. Whatever the source of this hatred, it is that more than anything else which drives the agenda to push her out before convention time.
Could it be genuine fear that she might actually manage to get the nomination? More than that, could it be absolute terror at the prospect that she could actually win against McCain in November with a large enough margin that the outcome wouldn't be in doubt (thus preventing the GOP's electoral fraud machine from claiming a "victory" that can be spun in the media as credible)? I don't see why, seeing as how even if she becomes president there is no reason to expect she would do any better or worse than Obama — or, for that matter, McCain.
The answer is right in front of me. I'm just not able to see it.
2008, Convention, Hillary Clinton, Primaries
Did You Really Think A Populist Wouldn't Endorse the Popular Vote Winner?
By grannyhelen in Barack Obama
"The reason I am here tonight," Edwards declared, "is the voters have made their choice and so have I."
"When this nomination battle is over, and it will be over soon, brothers and sisters," Edwards said, "we must come together as Democrats and in the fall stand up for what matters in America and make America what it needs to be."
link: http://blog.washingtonpost.com…
John Edwards, throughout this primary season, has first and foremost been a populist. Sometimes that means standing in front of folks, meeting their gaze with a clear-eyed vision of what needs to be done to help people in this country and abroad. Sometimes it means talking and leading.
And sometimes it means listening.
John Edwards has done a lot of listening these past few months, and that led him to where he was tonight, under the glare of white lights in front of news cameras, the subject of countless pundits making countless predictions and counter-predictions.
2008 elections, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, populism, Primaries
The March Of The Hillemmings
By Ed Encho in Politics
Onward to West Virginia! After duping fewer of the "white niggers" in the Hoosier state into believing that she is some sort of brawling, beer drinking, elbow wrestling, blue collar 'one of them' the bitter and recalcitrant monster that is Hillary Rodham-Clinton moves the goalposts one more time. The non-elitist who just happens to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of at least $ 109 million dug around in the sofa cushions in order to lend her never ending crusade another $ 6 million and change in order to remain solvent while the operatives work their chicanery and try to strong arm, sweet talk, cajole and bribe those superdelegates into getting with the fucking program and throwing in the Clinton restoration – when will those fuckers get it that Tracy Flick 2008 is entitled to the presidency goddammit?
2008 elections, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Primaries, Rush Limbaugh
Metaphor Department: Hillary Campaigns On
By davidseth
So, it turns out that Hillary will campaign on. No matter what. Lending herself millions. Fighting on and on. I've seen this before:
Enough already! Basta ya!
Hillary Clinton, Holy Grail, Monty Python, Primaries
Did I Miss Something? A Clinton Win
By CHUQ
Did I fall asleep and miss something? The media keeps saying that Clinton won Pennsylvania and will be a boost to her nomination attempt. OK, she won and won pretty darn good, but she only get a bit more finds, not an automatic nomination,–the math does not favor her–well real math not that new math that the Clinton camp uses.
Just looks like the media is determined to keep her in the race, of course she will not bitch about it. And the media gives her every avenue to use her "new" math and make her appear to have a fighting chance–she does not, unless Obama has a complete meltdown. I realize that she is hoping that will be handed to her on a silver platter.
My problem with the reporting is that all I saw and read was telling me she should win Pennsylvania by 7-12 points. She won by 10, but all the reporting seem to indicate that she won by a landslide or that she somehow had pulled off another upset.
Look at MSNBC, they use Harold Ford, Jr as a panel person, he is a Clinton supporter but also beyond that he is the chairman of the DLC a group that is strongly behind Clinton. I just thought that Obama had gained the lead and somehow lost it. But all reports of the primary were as predicted, so where was the excitement?
Ok, I have a problem with the media reporting on this election cycle. IMO, they are in the tank for Clinton. To use Clinton supporters as neutral analysis is not giving the voter a good overall view of the campaign.
2008 elections, Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania, Primaries, Votes


All hamsters love to eat! That's why we've put together the complete dwarf hamster feeding guide to help you provide the nutrition your pet needs. We'll go through some of the best dwarf hamster foods, healthy treats as well as the foods you should avoid. A balanced diet will certainly keep your small friend happy and healthy.
A good dwarf hamster food mix is an essential part of hamster care and it's important to find a reliable brand that provides a healthy blend of foods. We'll cover the best dwarf hamster food mixes later in this article.
Most foods on the market are formulated for a Syrian hamster. Try and find a product that has been created with dwarf hamsters at mind. A dwarf hamster mix will usually be healthier and less sugary than your standard Syrian mix.
You're also going to want to provide your hamster with treats, fresh fruit and other hamster-safe foods (maybe even insects). This keeps meal time interesting and creates a balanced diet for your pet.
How Often Should I Feed My Dwarf Hamster?
The bottom line is that hamsters need fresh food every single day. One feeding per day will be absolutely perfect to keep your pet hamster sustained.
When Should I Feed My Dwarf Hamster?
There are two sides to the argument on this one. Some people prefer to feed their hamster in the morning, while others prefer the evening. Some hamster owners claim that it's best to feed in the evening as hamsters are nocturnal and that's when they're active.
The truth is, dwarf hamsters are active during the day, waking up every few hours for a stretch, drink and a bite to eat. In the wild, hamsters will forage for food during the night and wake up throughout the day to enjoy their findings. Morning feeds or evening feeds are perfectly fine, just keep each feed around 24 hours apart.
How Much Should I Feed My Dwarf Hamster?
A tablespoon per hamster per day is the rule of thumb when it comes to feeding your dwarf hamster. This should of course be supplemented with the odd treat and piece of fruit. This rule is also the same for Syrians, dwarf hamsters usually have a faster metabolism which allows them to match a Syrian's eating habits.
The daily intake may fluctuate. Just cater it to your hamster's specific needs. One spoon of food mix per day along with a couple of treats will provide the perfect balanced diet.
Not all food should be consumed by hamsters. The obvious is human junk food such as chips, chocolate and anything unnatural. There are some less obvious toxic hamster foods though. Never feed your dwarf hamster avocado! Avocados may seem like your average healthy fruit but they are actually poisonous to hamsters.
Another example of toxic food is almonds. Avoid them at all costs! Not to worry though, most foods are fine and there are plenty of natural foods your dwarf hamster can enjoy.
Below we'll detail some of the best dwarf hamster foods for everyday feeding. These food mixes are perfect for feeding Robos, Chinese and Russian hamsters. A good hamster food mix will combine all the daily nutrients a hamster needs including important vitamins, plenty of protein and much needed energy.
Kaytee have managed to produce a healthy food mix that's perfect for both dwarf hamsters and the larger Syrian hamster! This food mix incorporates natural veggies and fruits to add some variety and improve the nutrient content of the mix. It's a great little food mix that should keep your hamsters very happy indeed!
The only real problem with this food mix is that some hamsters will rush to pick out the more fatty nuts first, ignoring the healthier foods in their bowl. As long as your dwarf hamster does come back and finish off the food bowl this shouldn't become a problem.
The Tiny Friends food mix is perfect for a picky dwarf hamster. It's a great tasting mix of seeds, mealworms and other healthy treats. Having mealworms incorporated into the food mix really packs some extra protein and it's the perfect way to get a dwarf hamster eating healthy without any fuss – all hammies love their mealworms!
Lots of dwarf hamster owners try this food mix once and don't look back, you can tell when your pet starts loving meal time. This is probably the best food mix when feeding multiple breeds of hamster.
If health is a big concern, this is the dwarf hamster food mix for you. The Kaytee Diet Pro has incredible reviews from hamster owners and it's easy to see why. This hamster food mix is packed full with the nutrients your dwarf hamster needs to thrive in captivity.
The only real complaint about this food is that there are too many sunflower seeds in some packets. As long as you monitor your pet's seed intake, there shouldn't be any real problems. This is another food mix that can be used for gerbils, as well as hamsters.
The three dwarf hamster foods above are perfect for even the fussiest of animals! Don't be afraid to experiment with a few different food mixes to discover your hamster's favourite foods and treats. These are probably the best hamster foods on the market so I'm sure your pet will love at least one of them.
Providing treats for your dwarf hamster is one of the best parts of hamster keeping! Hammies love their treats and can get pretty excited when something sweet is heading their way.
The key is to feed treats sparingly and use them as rewards when handling your pet. Not all treats have to be unhealthy and listed below are some of the best hamster treats money can buy. We've covered package treats as well as more natural alternatives.
Tiny Friends Farm is a great brand for hamster treats and their 'lovelies' are a great option. As you can see from the reviews, all kinds of hamsters love these treats! There aren't too many ingredients which makes the nutritional info much easier to understand. Tiny Friends have ensured these treats are perfectly safe for both dwarf and Syrian hamsters.
Kaytee is another reputable pet brand and their 'Healthy Bits' treat packet doesn't disappoint. This is a largely healthy treat but it's produced with honey which is why hamsters love it! They're nicely held together (so won't fall apart all over your floor) and the treats are small enough to be edible for all species. This is your best healthy hamster treat option.
Hamsters Are Nuts For Nuts!
Hamsters love eating different types of nuts. It's a natural food that provides much needed energy and protein for your pet. I've found monkey nuts are a favourite for many of my hamsters and it's great fun watching a hamster attempt to break through the hard shell.
Try out some different nuts (list below) and see what your pets love best. Then you can use this as a treat to reward good behaviour.
Dwarf hamsters love their natural foods which is why sweet fruits are perfect for treat time. You can also provide safe insects, seeds and any other foods your hamster loves to eat!
Hamster's love a fresh treat from time to time. Fruit and veg are part of a balanced diet and should always be provided. Natural foods like seeds and nuts are also very healthy and good food mixes will incorporate these into their recipe.
Yes! Dwarf hamsters (and Syrians) love insects. This is one of their main food sources in the wild and it's packed with protein and energy. Some owners don't like keeping creepy crawlies at their home and it's definitely not an absolute essential.
That being said, insects are definitely worth considering. Your hamster will love them and it provides the nutrients you can't get from a standard food mix.
Should I Use A Food Bowl?
Yes! Food bowls are the best way to feed your dwarf hamster as they keep leftover food clean while providing a designated area for feeding. Hamsters will become accustomed to checking their food bowl each morning/evening and will likely come to greet you as you refill it.
Hamsters like to fill their cheek pouches with food and build secret food stores close to their bed. This is to keep their food safe and hidden from other animals who may steal it. You may even find dwarf hamsters hiding food from each other when kept in the same cage!
It's best to go for a ceramic food bowl as these are weighted and less likely to topple over during an excited hamster's feeding time. Click here for an example of a good food bowl.
The best thing you can do to keep your dwarf hamster healthy is provide a balanced diet. Use a mixture of the food suggestions listed above to create a nutrient-rich diet that's packed with energy.
You'll want to choose a good food mix as the backbone of your hamster's diet and then add treats, fresh fruits and insects on top of this. One tablespoon of food mix coupled with the odd piece of fruit and a couple of treats will be perfect.
Mix it up! Keep food time interesting for your pet by providing different types of fruit veg and nuts on a regular basis. It's always fun watching a hamster chow down on its favorite foods. Also, don't be scared to reduce portion sizes if your hamster is on the larger size, or increase portions to fatten him up!
Dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. Their small bodies struggle to cope with high sugar levels which is why they're so vulnerable. The main cause of diabetes is poor feeding habits and high-sugar treats that are provided by the owner.
You can easily avoid this problem by simply proving a healthy, balanced diet and avoiding too many high-sugar foods. Go easy on the treats (and choose low-sugar treats) to stay on the safe side.
And there you have it! Hopefully you now have all the info you need to create a healthy diet for a dwarf hamster. We've covered some of the best dwarf hamster food mixes, treats, fruits etc. as well as how much to feed you your hamster on a daily basis. Now get out there and grab some healthy food!


text:
Q: A normal subgroup of $\langle a, b\rangle$. This is Exercise 2.1.4(b) of "Combinatorial Group Theory: Presentations of Groups in Terms of Generators and Relations," by W. Magnus et al.
The Question:

Let $F=\langle a, b\rangle$. If $N$ is the normal subgroup of $F$ generated by each of the following sets of words, find the index of $N$ in $F$:
(b) $ab, ab^{-1}$.

My Attempt:
Following this answer, we have that $F/ N$ is generated by $a'=aN, b'=bN$, and $a'b'^{-1}=1$ gives $a'=b'$, while $a'b'=1$ then gives $a'^2=1$, so that $F/N=C_2$.
Under the homomorphism $f: F\to \Bbb Z/2\Bbb Z$ given by $f(a)=f(b)=1+2\Bbb Z$, we have $ab, ab^{-1}\in \ker f$ and so $N\subseteq \ker f$. But $\ker f$ has order $2$ in $F$. Hence the index of $N$ in $F$ is $2$.
Is this right? I think I'm missing a few steps.
Please help :)

A: I am not sure why you keep going after $F/N=C_2$.  The index of $N$ in $F$ is the number of cosets of $N$.  That is, $\lvert F/N\rvert=\lvert C_2\rvert =2$.
Another thing you can do is manipulate a group presentation.  $F/N=\langle a,b\mid ab,ab^{-1}\rangle$.  Since $ab^{-1}=1$ in this quotient, $a=b$, so we may eliminate $b$ to get the presentation $\langle a\mid aa,aa^{-1}\rangle=\langle a\mid a^2\rangle=C_2$.
Yet another thing you can do is look at the left-multiplication-action of $F$ on the set of cosets $F/N$.  Since $N$ is normal, $gabg^{-1}$ and $gab^{-1}g^{-1}$ are in $N$ for all $g\in F$, and so $gabg^{-1}N=N$ and $gab^{-1}g^{-1}N=N$ (and corresponding statements for the inverses of $ab$ and $ab^{-1}$).  We see $bN=b(b^{-1}ab^{-1}b)N=aN$ and $a^2N=a(aN)=a(bN)=abN=N$.
Claim: $N,aN$ are the only cosets, and they are distinct.  We have already seen that $a$ permutes them and that $bN=aN$.  The last check for finding all the cosets is $b(aN)=ba(b(ab)^{-1}b^{-1}N)=babb^{-1}a^{-1}b^{-1}N=N$.  Distinctness follows from $ab(aN)=N$ and $ab^{-1}(aN)=N$, basically through your $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$ argument with $N$ and $aN$ standing in for $2\mathbb{Z}$ and $1+2\mathbb{Z}$.
These last two paragraphs make more sense to me through Schreier graphs to do the Todd-Coxeter algorithm.  https://www.math.cornell.edu/~kbrown/7350/toddcox.pdf (Though, since $N$ is normal, it is actually about constructing the Cayley graph of $F/N$ and counting the vertices.)

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Vedrana is like the best friend ever!
plannign so much in advanced that she even mailed her energy drinks haha, now is it 5 hour energy drinks or those crazy monster drinks?
5 Hour Energy is the nastiest drink on this planet next to Strawberry Fanta.
Are you insane? Strawberry Fanta is amazing.
Strawberry Fanta is manufactured in hell along with Mountain Dew Game Fuel and Bottled Cow Urine.
They have to manufacture cow urine? Is there a shortage I don't know about?
As for the Fanta – maybe it just tastes better out of a soda fountain, because that's the only way I've ever had it. Sort of like how I hate Barq's root beer unless it's from a fountain.
Let's hope she can handle it. I drank two of those during my nightsift+dayshift combo and ended up not sleeping for 52 hours total. Now I just stick to green tea.
Friends don't let friends level up without drinking tons of drugs.
I don't think I have ever leveled more than about five levels in a single sitting. Of course, I don't have friends who can boost me or give me energy drinks.
…and the plan is in motion….


Question 4. What is the height of a cylinder that has the same volume and radius as a sphere of diameter 12 cm ?
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Ken Ebanks
B.S. Advertising, 1985
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel - eBay
Media Lawyer
Ken Ebanks, B.S. Advertising 1985, has served as the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for eBay's Marketplace business since 2015. He leads a global legal team and serves as a member of eBay's worldwide leadership team focused on rebooting the e-commerce giant using emerging technology such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and structured data.
Ebanks started his career as a media lawyer with Wiley Rein in Washington D.C. working for clients that included Disney, CBS and Viacom, before moving to San Francisco during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. He practiced for more than a decade in San Francisco and Silicon Valley as a corporate and technology partner with Howard Rice (now Arnold & Porter) and Covington & Burling, representing a client roster that included Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Schwab, Microsoft, the National Football League, Patagonia and Amazon.
He then moved to London to serve as head of legal for Amazon Video in Europe, where he worked closely with Amazon's global leadership, TV and movie studios and producers to dramatically expand Amazon's footprint in the online content world. Ebanks is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and has been named one of the top lawyers in both Switzerland and Northern California.

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Verve helps a major housing charity take a new strategic direction
It started as a single-issue campaigning organization decades ago, but this major housing charity has evolved to the point where it is now a key service delivery partner, as well as being the true conscience of the housing market in the UK. But times change and even this greatly-respected body found itself facing a dilemma as a result of policy developments related to funding.
Not only has it become necessary to compete more actively for the available funds, the basis of funding has also changed. Faced with market research that showed how users of Legal Aid services often need advice in more than one area of Law, the Government set in train a series of changes designed to make the provision of legal advice more of a 'one-stop-shop'. For a Housing Advice specialist this represented a big challenge and a threat to their ability to win contracts and help clients. The charity needed to decide whether to expand its scope to work effectively with the new approach or withdraw from service provision altogether. They asked Verve to help them, both with redefining their strategy, and with the subsequent actions.
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