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The Rutherford Institute :: Since 9/11, the Government's Answer to Every Problem Has Been More Government | By John W. Whitehead |
Posted by M. C. on September 1, 2020
In other words, in the eyes of the U.S. military, noncombatants are American citizens a.k.a. domestic extremists a.k.a. enemy combatants who must be identified, targeted, detained, contained and, if necessary, eliminated.
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/since_9_11_the_governments_answer_to_every_problem_has_been_more_government
By John W. Whitehead
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything that you have."—Anonymous
Have you noticed that the government's answer to every problem is more government—at taxpayer expense—and less individual liberty?
The Great Depression. The World Wars. The 9/11 terror attacks. The COVID-19 pandemic.
Every crisis—manufactured or otherwise—since the nation's early beginnings has become a make-work opportunity for the government to expand its reach and its power at taxpayer expense while limiting our freedoms at every turn.
Indeed, the history of the United States is a testament to the old adage that liberty decreases as government (and government bureaucracy) grows. To put it another way, as government expands, liberty contracts.
To the police state, this COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge boon, like winning the biggest jackpot in the lottery. Certainly, it will prove to be a windfall for those who profit from government expenditures and expansions.
Given the rate at which the government has been devising new ways to spend our money and establish itself as the "solution" to all of our worldly problems, this current crisis will most likely end up ushering in the largest expansion of government power since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
This is how the emergency state operates, after all.
From 9/11 to COVID-19, "we the people" have acted the part of the helpless, gullible victims desperately in need of the government to save us from whatever danger threatens. In turn, the government has been all too accommodating and eager while also expanding its power and authority in the so-called name of national security.
As chief correspondent Dan Balz asks for The Washington Post, "Government is everywhere now. Where does it go next?"
When it comes to the power players that call the shots, there is no end to their voracious appetite for more: more money, more power, more control.
This expansion of government power is also increasing our federal debt in unprecedented leaps and bounds. Yet the government isn't just borrowing outrageous amounts of money to keep the country afloat. It's also borrowing indecent sums to pay for programs it can't afford.
The government's primary response to this COVID-19 pandemic—flooding the market with borrowed money in the amount of trillions of dollars for stimulus payments, unemployment insurance expansions, and loans to prop up small businesses and to keep big companies afloat—has pushed the country even deeper in debt.
By "the country," I really mean the taxpayers. And by "the taxpayers," it's really future generations who will be shackled to debt loads they may never be able to pay back.
This is how you impoverish the future.
Democrats and Republicans alike have done this.
Without fail, every president within the last 50 years has expanded the nation's debt. When President Trump took office on January 20, 2017, the national debt—the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back—was a whopping $19.9 trillion. Despite Trump's pledge to drain the swamp and eliminate the debt, the federal debt is now approaching $27 trillion and is on track to surpass $78 trillion by 2028.
For many years now, economists have warned that economic collapse would be inevitable if the national debt ever surpassed the size of the U.S. economy. The government passed that point in June 2020 and has yet to put the brakes on its spending.
In fact, the Federal Reserve just keeps printing more money in order to prop up the economy and float the debt.
At some point, something's got to give.
As it now stands, the U.S. is among the most indebted countries in the world.
Almost a third of the $27 trillion national debt is owed to foreign entities such as Japan and China.
Most of the debt, however, is owed to the public.
How is this even possible? Essentially, it's a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
First, the government requires taxpayers to pay a portion of their salaries to the Social Security Trust Fund. The government then turns around and borrows from Social Security to cover its spending needs. Then the government raises taxes or prints more money in order to pay out whatever is needed to the retirees.
It's a form of convoluted economics that only makes sense to government bureaucrats looking to make a profit off the backs of the taxpayers.
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, each taxpayer's share of the national debt is $214,000 and growing.
That's almost five times more than the median income for what Americans earn in a year. That's also almost five times more than the average American has in savings, across savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, call deposit accounts, and prepaid cards. Almost 60% of Americans are so financially strapped that they don't have even $500 in savings and nothing whatsoever put away for retirement.
Just the interest that must be paid on the national debt every year is $338 billion and growing. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the fastest growing item in the budget over the next decade will be interest on the debt.
As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reported in 2019, before COVID spending pushed the country over the fiscal cliff, "Interest payments will rise from $325 billion last year to $928 billion by 2029, a nearly threefold increase. If tax cuts and spending increases are extended, interest will exceed $1 trillion and set a new record as a share of the economy. The federal government will spend more on interest than on Medicaid or children by 2020. By 2024, interest will match defense spending."
Bottom line: The U.S. government—and that includes the current administration—is spending money it doesn't have on programs it can't afford, and "we the taxpayers" are the ones who will have to pay for it.
As financial analyst Kristin Tate explains, "When the government has its debt bill come due, all of us will be on the hook."
Despite the tax burden "we the people" are made to bear, we have no real say in how the government runs, or how our taxpayer funds are used, but we're being forced to pay through the nose, anyhow.
We have no real say, but that doesn't prevent the government from fleecing us at every turn and forcing us to pay for endless wars that do more to fund the military industrial complex than protect us, pork barrel projects that produce little to nothing, and a police state that serves only to imprison us within its walls.
All the while the government continues to do whatever it wants—levy taxes, rack up debt, spend outrageously and irresponsibly—with little thought for the plight of its citizens.
This brings me to a curious point: what the future will look like ten years from now, when the federal debt is expected to surpass $78 trillion, an unsustainable level of debt that will result in unprecedented economic hardship for anyone that does not belong to the wealthy elite.
Interestingly enough, that timeline coincides with the government's vision of the future as depicted in a Pentagon training video created by the Army for U.S. Special Operations Command.
According to the video, the government is anticipating trouble (read: civil unrest), which is code for anything that challenges the government's authority, wealth and power, and is grooming its armed forces (including its heavily armed federal agents) accordingly to solve future domestic political and social problems.
The training video, titled "Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity," is only five minutes long, but it provides a chilling glimpse of what the government expects the world to look like in 2030, a world bedeviled by "criminal networks," "substandard infrastructure," "religious and ethnic tensions," "impoverishment, slums," "open landfills, over-burdened sewers," a "growing mass of unemployed," and an urban landscape in which the prosperous economic elite must be protected from the impoverishment of the have nots.
And then comes the kicker.
Three-and-a-half minutes into the Pentagon's dystopian vision of "a world of Robert Kaplan-esque urban hellscapes — brutal and anarchic supercities filled with gangs of youth-gone-wild, a restive underclass, criminal syndicates, and bands of malicious hackers," the ominous voice of the narrator speaks of a need to "drain the swamps."
Drain the swamps.
Surely, we've heard that phrase before?
Ah yes.
Emblazoned on t-shirts and signs, shouted at rallies, and used as a rallying cry among Trump supporters, "drain the swamp" became one of Donald Trump's most-used campaign slogans.
Far from draining the politically corrupt swamps of Washington DC of lobbyists and special interest groups, however, the Trump Administration has further mired us in a sweltering bog of corruption and self-serving tactics.
Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Now the government has adopted its own plans for swamp-draining, only it wants to use the military to drain the swamps of futuristic urban American cities of "noncombatants and engage the remaining adversaries in high intensity conflict within."
And who are these noncombatants, a military term that refers to civilians who are not engaged in fighting during a war?
They are, according to the Pentagon, "adversaries."
They are "threats."
They are the "enemy."
They are people who don't support the government, people who live in fast-growing urban communities, people who may be less well-off economically than the government and corporate elite, people who engage in protests, people who are unemployed, people who engage in crime (in keeping with the government's fast-growing, overly broad definition of what constitutes a crime).
Funny how closely fact tracks fiction these days.
Just recently, in fact, I re-watched Escape from L.A., John Carpenter's 1996 post-apocalyptic action film that imagines a future (2013, in fact) in which the United States has elected a president for life who runs the country according to his own theocratic moral law. Anyone who runs afoul of the president's moral laws is stripped of their citizenship and either electrocuted or deported to the island of Los Angeles, a penal colony where lawlessness reigns supreme.
As the film's opening narrator recounts:
In the late 20th century, hostile forces inside the United States grow strong. The city of Los Angeles is ravaged by crime and immorality. To protect and defend its citizens, the United States Police Force is formed. A presidential candidate predicts a millennium earthquake will destroy L.A. in divine retribution. The earthquake measuring 9.6 on the Richter scale hits at 12:59 P.M. August 23rd in the year 2000. After the devastation, the Constitution is amended, and the newly elected president accepts a lifetime term of office. The country's capital is moved from Washington, D.C., to the president's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. Los Angeles Island is declared no longer part of the United States and becomes the deportation point for all people found undesirable or unfit to live in the new, moral America. The United States Police Force, like an army, is encamped among the shorelines, making any escape from L.A. impossible. From the southeastern hills of Orange County to the northwestern shore of Malibu, the great wall excludes L.A. from the mainland. The president's first act as permanent Commander in Chief is Directive 17: once an American loses his or her citizenship, they are deported to this island of the damned, and they never come back.
Carpenter is a brilliant filmmaker whose dystopian visions of the future are eerily prescient, but this film is particularly unnerving: environmental disasters; engineered viruses used like weapons to control the masses; riots and looting that leave the populace longing for law and order; religion used like a weapon; martial law; surveillance that keeps every citizen under the government's watchful eye; and a growing awareness that the only path to freedom left for humanity is to shut down the government and start over again.
We're almost there now.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, unless we make some effort to reject the sorry excuse for representative government that we have been saddled with, the future that awaits us—whether it's the future envisioned by the Pentagon in its training video or the future imagined by Carpenter—will be a living nightmare from which there is no escape.
WC: 2076
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People is available at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.
This entry was posted on September 1, 2020 at 8:37 pm	and is filed under Uncategorized. Tagged: 9/11, covid-19, Federal Reserve, More Government, Police State. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


If our industry is to attract new, younger owners, then we have to improve the owner experience without having to build a larger, more expensive yacht." So says Barin Cardenas, founder of The New Yachts Company, which has created a design, Maharani, to prove it. In fact, in conjunction with Vripack, Vripack this pre-engineered design is disrupting industry norms in terms of layout and luxury. The multi-deck, spiral stairway above is your first hint. Maharani reveals how a 164-footer (50-meter) can re-imagine decks akin to far larger megayachts, without going over the 500-gross-ton threshold. In addition, even with multiple superstructure designs, Maharani emphasizes what the team terms human-centered living.


text:
/*
 *  gravity_compensation_params.h
 *
 *  Created on: Nov 11, 2013
 *  Authors:   Francisco Viña
 *            fevb <at> kth.se
 */

/* Copyright (c) 2013, Francisco Viña, CVAP, KTH
   All rights reserved.

   Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
   modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
      * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
        notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
      * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
        notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
        documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
      * Neither the name of KTH nor the
        names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
        derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

   THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
   ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
   DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL KTH BE LIABLE FOR ANY
   DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
   (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
   LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
   ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
   (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
   SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*/

#ifndef GRAVITY_COMPENSATION_PARAMS_H_
#define GRAVITY_COMPENSATION_PARAMS_H_

#include <vector>
#include <tf/transform_datatypes.h>
#include <eigen3/Eigen/Core>

class GravityCompensationParams
{
public:

    GravityCompensationParams();

    virtual ~GravityCompensationParams();

    // set/get the F/T sensor bias
    // used to 'zero' the F/T sensor signal
    void setBias(const Eigen::Matrix<double, 6, 1> &bias);
    Eigen::Matrix<double, 6, 1> getBias();

    // set/get the mass of the gripper
    // used for compensating gravity
    void setGripperMass(const double &gripper_mass);
    double getGripperMass();

    // set/get the COM of the gripper
    // Used for compensating gravity.
    // Compensation assumes that the gripper COM is fixed
    // with respect to the F/T sensor
    void setGripperCOM(const tf::StampedTransform &gripper_com);
    tf::StampedTransform getGripperCOM();

private:

    // 6 element bias vector
    Eigen::Matrix<double, 6, 1> m_bias;

    // the mass of the gripper
    double m_gripper_mass;

    // (fixed) pose of the center of mass of the gripper
    // with respect to the F/T sensor
    tf::StampedTransform m_gripper_com;

};

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The strong earthquake that shook central Serbia in November 2010 damaged the Kraljevo´s primary school so severely that several classrooms had to be closed down.
The Broward Children´s Center, located on the east coast of Florida, is an important center for children, teenagers and adults with physical and mental disabilities.
On July 12th 2011, the Sightseeing Flight Team of the Hohenems Airfield organized the Children Flying Day for seriously ill and vulnerable children. This was the 10th time this event took place and this time 300 children were able to make their dream of flying on a sport aircraft come true.
We congratulate Christoph Strasser – the Champion of the world´s hardest race.
"Education as a bridge to a new life" starts into the next year!
Due to the great response in the opening phase of the three step education model in 2009 ,this help project is being extended!
4,900 kilometres nearly non-stop – a world champion cyclist races for the Foundation!
A ten days bicycle race, the hardest conditions in the world, 23 hours per day on a bike, driven by the Lyoness Child & Family Foundation´s ambassador, 28 year old: Austrian extreme cyclist Christoph Strasser.


Six Sigma refers to a data driven approach for analyzing the operational and transactional processes of a company and modifying or eliminating inefficient steps to improve overall effectiveness and to reduce errors. The method allows for no more than 3.4 errors every million opportunities. Today, most manufacturing organizations are unable to meet 6 Sigma requirements due to poorly optimized operational processes. This course trains our students on how to apply the methods they learn to processes they face in a real business setting. Our teachings combine the proven DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) problem solving method with powerful statistical tools to construct a reliable roadmap to improve any business operation. Once completed, enrollees to our course will have all the tools and discipline necessary to utilize these methods to optimize their company's process and achieving Six Sigma status.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification develops the skills of the internal change agent by implementing the proven methods of both Lean and Six Sigma. The training covers the application of established techniques to remove waste, improve operational speed, lower costs and deliver ultimate customer satisfaction. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification focuses on improved quality and accuracy, minimized cost and variation, on-time delivery and optimized operational speed, all of which enable organizations to become more efficient, profitable and flexible producers.


text:
<?php

namespace mvhirsch\AuiIntegrationBundle\Twig;

/**
 * Generates a Badge (AUI).
 *
 * @example aui_badge(3) // generates 3
 *
 * @author mvhirsch <michael.vhirsch@gmail.com>
 */
class AuiBadgeExtension extends \Twig_Extension
{

    /**
     * Generates a Badge (AUI).
     *
     * @param mixed $text
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function generateBadge($text)
    {
        return sprintf('%s', $text);
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function getFunctions()
    {
        return array(
            new \Twig_SimpleFunction('aui_badge', array($this, 'generateBadge')),
        );
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getName()
    {
        return 'aui_badge_extension';
    }
}


text:
Justia Regulation Tracker Department Of Health And Human Services Health Resources And Services Administration Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program, OMB No. 0906-xxxx-New, 55465-55466 [2020-19776]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program, OMB No. 0906-xxxx-New, 55465-55466 [2020-19776]
Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 174 / Tuesday, September 8, 2020 / Notices or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden. Maria G. Button, Director, Executive Secretariat. [FR Doc. 2020–19777 Filed 9–4–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4165–15–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program, OMB No. 0906– xxxx—New Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30 day comment period for this notice has closed. SUMMARY: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than October 8, 2020. ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ''Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, email Lisa Wright-Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at paperwork@hrsa.gov or call (301) 443– 1984. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information Collection Request Title: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program OMB No. 0906–xxxx—New jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:32 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 250001 Abstract: The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 included no less than $12,000,000 for HRSA to establish the Loan Repayment Program for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Workforce. This funding will allow HRSA to provide the repayment of education loans for individuals working in either a full-time substance use disorder treatment job that involves direct patient care in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designated for Mental Health or a county where the average drug overdose death rate exceeds the national average. Eligible disciplines include but are not limited to behavioral health paraprofessionals, occupational therapists and counselors. Eligible treatment facilities include but are not limited to inpatient psychiatric facilities, recovery centers, detox facilities, emergency department and local community jails and detention centers. The Department of Health and Human Services agrees to repay the qualifying educational loans up to $250,000.00 in return for six years of service obligation. The forms utilized by the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) include the following: the STAR LRP Application, the Authorization for Disclosure of Loan Information form, the Privacy Act Release Authorization form, the Employment Verification form, and the Site Application form, if applicable. The aforementioned forms collect information that is needed for selecting participants and repaying qualifying educational loans. Eligible facilities for the STAR LRP are facilities that provide in-patient and outpatient, ambulatory, primary and mental/behavioral health care services to populations residing in a mental health HPSA or a county where the average drug overdose death rate exceeds the national average. The facilities that may provide related inpatient services may include, but are not limited to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-approved Critical Access Hospitals, American Indian Health Facilities (Indian Health Service Facilities, Tribally-Operated 638 Health Programs, and Urban Indian Health Programs), inpatient rehabilitation centers and psychiatric facilities. HRSA will recruit facilities for approval. New facilities must submit an application for review and approval. The application requests will contain supporting information on the clinical service site, recruitment contact and services provided. Assistance in completing this application may be obtained through the appropriate HRSA personnel. HRSA PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 55465 will use the information collected on the applications to determine eligibility of the facility for the assignment of health professionals and to verify the need for clinicians. Note: Despite the similarity in the titles, the STAR LRP is not the existing NHSC Substance Use Disorder LRP (OMB #0915– 0127), which is authorized under Title III of the Public Health Service Act. The STAR LRP is a newly authorized Title VII program that has different service requirements, loan repayment protocols, and authorized employment facilities. A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on June 4, 2020, vol. 85, No. 108; pp. 34454–34456. There were no public comments. Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The need and purpose of this information collection is to obtain information that is used to assess a STAR LRP applicant's eligibility and qualifications for the program, and to obtain information for eligible site applicants. Clinicians interested in participating in the STAR LRP must submit an application to the program in order to participate, and health care facilities located in a high overdose rate or Mental Health HPSAs must submit a Site Application to determine the eligibility of sites to participate in the STAR LRP. The STAR LRP application asks for personal, professional and financial information needed to determine the applicant's eligibility to participate in the STAR LRP. In addition, applicants must provide information regarding the loans for which repayment is being requested. Likely Respondents: Likely respondents include: licensed primary care medical, mental and behavioral health providers, and other paraprofessionals who are employed or seeking employment, and are interested in serving underserved populations; health care facilities interested in participating in the STAR LRP, and becoming an approved service site; STAR LRP sites providing behavioral health care services directly, or through a formal affiliation with a comprehensive community-based primary behavioral health setting, facility providing comprehensive behavioral health services, or various substance abuse treatment facility subtypes. Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying E:\FR\FM\08SEN1.SGM 08SEN1 55466 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 174 / Tuesday, September 8, 2020 / Notices information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below. TOTAL ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN—HOURS Number of respondents Form name Total responses Average burden per response (in hours) Total burden hours STAR LRP Application ......................................................... Authorization for Disclosure of Loan Information Form ....... Privacy Act Release Authorization Form ............................. Employment Verification Form ............................................. Site Application .................................................................... 300 300 300 300 400 1 1 1 1 1 300 300 300 300 400 .50 .50 .50 .50 1.00 150 150 150 150 400 Total .............................................................................. 1,600 ........................ 1,600 ........................ 1000 HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden. Maria G. Button, Director, Executive Secretariat. [FR Doc. 2020–19776 Filed 9–4–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4165–15–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Meeting of the Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice announces that the Secretary's Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (ACBSCT) has scheduled a public meeting. Information about ACBSCT and the agenda for this meeting can be found on the ACBSCT website at https:// bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov/about/advisorycouncil. DATES: September 25, 2020, from 12:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held by webinar and conference call. The webinar link, conference call-in number, registration information, and SUMMARY: jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES Number of responses per respondent VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:32 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 250001 meeting materials can be accessed through the registration link on the ACBSCT website at https:// bloodstemcell.hrsa.gov/about/advisorycouncil. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Walsh, Designated Federal Official, (DFO), at Division of Transplantation, HRSA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857; 301– 443–6839; or ACBSCTHRSA@hrsa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ACBSCT provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of HHS (Secretary) and the HRSA Administrator on the activities of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (CWBYCTP) and the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) Program. The principal purpose of these programs is to make blood stem cells from adult donors and cord blood units available for patients who need a transplant to treat life-threatening conditions such as leukemia, and who lack a suitably matched relative who can be the donor. During the September 25, 2020, meeting, the ACBSCT will receive updates on the operation of the CWBYCTP and the NCBI and discuss cord blood as a continued source of blood stem cells for transplant in the context of other available sources of blood stem cells for transplant. Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate. Refer to the ACBSCT website for any updated information concerning the meeting. Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments. Public participants may submit written statements in advance of the scheduled meeting. Oral comments will be honored in the order they are requested and may be limited as time allows. Requests to submit a written statement or make oral comments to ACBSCT should be sent to Robert Walsh, DFO, PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 using the contact information above at least three business days prior to the meeting. Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance or another reasonable accommodation should notify Robert Walsh at the address and phone number listed above at least 10 business days prior to the meeting. Maria G. Button, Director, Executive Secretariat. [FR Doc. 2020–19690 Filed 9–4–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4165–15–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Meeting of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is hereby giving notice that the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (PCSFN) will hold its annual meeting. The meeting will be open to the public. DATES: The meeting will take place on Thursday, September 17, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT). ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held virtually using an online platform. To register to attend the meeting, please visit the registration website at https:// kauffmaninc.adobeconnect.com/ch_ pcsfn_sept2020/event/event_info.html. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Anne Bishop, Sc.D., M.P.H., Designated Federal Officer for the PCSFN, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\08SEN1.SGM 08SEN1
Health Resources and Services Administration
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Information Collection
Request Title: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan
Repayment Program, OMB No. 0906-xxxx--New
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department
of Health and Human Services.
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA
submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted
during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB
will accept further comments from the public during the review and
approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30 day
comment period for this notice has closed.
DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than October 8,
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Lisa Wright-Solomon, the
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information Collection Request Title:
Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program
OMB No. 0906-xxxx--New
Abstract: The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020
included no less than $12,000,000 for HRSA to establish the Loan
Repayment Program for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Workforce. This
funding will allow HRSA to provide the repayment of education loans for
individuals working in either a full-time substance use disorder
treatment job that involves direct patient care in a Health
Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designated for Mental Health or a
county where the average drug overdose death rate exceeds the national
average.
Eligible disciplines include but are not limited to behavioral
health paraprofessionals, occupational therapists and counselors.
Eligible treatment facilities include but are not limited to inpatient
psychiatric facilities, recovery centers, detox facilities, emergency
department and local community jails and detention centers. The
Department of Health and Human Services agrees to repay the qualifying
educational loans up to $250,000.00 in return for six years of service
obligation. The forms utilized by the Substance Use Disorder Treatment
and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) include the following:
the STAR LRP Application, the Authorization for Disclosure of Loan
Information form, the Privacy Act Release Authorization form, the
Employment Verification form, and the Site Application form, if
applicable. The aforementioned forms collect information that is needed
for selecting participants and repaying qualifying educational loans.
Eligible facilities for the STAR LRP are facilities that provide
in-patient and outpatient, ambulatory, primary and mental/behavioral
health care services to populations residing in a mental health HPSA or
a county where the average drug overdose death rate exceeds the
national average. The facilities that may provide related in-patient
services may include, but are not limited to Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services-approved Critical Access Hospitals, American Indian
Health Facilities (Indian Health Service Facilities, Tribally-Operated
638 Health Programs, and Urban Indian Health Programs), inpatient
rehabilitation centers and psychiatric facilities. HRSA will recruit
facilities for approval. New facilities must submit an application for
review and approval. The application requests will contain supporting
information on the clinical service site, recruitment contact and
services provided. Assistance in completing this application may be
obtained through the appropriate HRSA personnel. HRSA will use the
information collected on the applications to determine eligibility of
the facility for the assignment of health professionals and to verify
the need for clinicians.
Note:  Despite the similarity in the titles, the STAR LRP is not
the existing NHSC Substance Use Disorder LRP (OMB #0915-0127), which
is authorized under Title III of the Public Health Service Act. The
STAR LRP is a newly authorized Title VII program that has different
service requirements, loan repayment protocols, and authorized
employment facilities.
A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register on June 4, 2020,
vol. 85, No. 108; pp. 34454-34456. There were no public comments.
Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The need and purpose of
this information collection is to obtain information that is used to
assess a STAR LRP applicant's eligibility and qualifications for the
program, and to obtain information for eligible site applicants.
Clinicians interested in participating in the STAR LRP must submit an
application to the program in order to participate, and health care
facilities located in a high overdose rate or Mental Health HPSAs must
submit a Site Application to determine the eligibility of sites to
participate in the STAR LRP. The STAR LRP application asks for
personal, professional and financial information needed to determine
the applicant's eligibility to participate in the STAR LRP. In
addition, applicants must provide information regarding the loans for
which repayment is being requested.
Likely Respondents: Likely respondents include: licensed primary
care medical, mental and behavioral health providers, and other
paraprofessionals who are employed or seeking employment, and are
interested in serving underserved populations; health care facilities
interested in participating in the STAR LRP, and becoming an approved
service site; STAR LRP sites providing behavioral health care services
directly, or through a formal affiliation with a comprehensive
community-based primary behavioral health setting, facility providing
comprehensive behavioral health services, or various substance abuse
treatment facility sub-types.
Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the
information requested. This includes the time needed to review
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for
this ICR are summarized in the table below.
Total Estimated Annualized Burden--Hours
Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response  (in       hours
respondent                        hours)
STAR LRP Application............             300               1             300             .50             150
Authorization for Disclosure of              300               1             300             .50             150
Loan Information Form..........
Privacy Act Release                          300               1             300             .50             150
Authorization Form.............
Employment Verification Form....             300               1             300             .50             150
Site Application................             400               1             400            1.00             400
Total.......................           1,600  ..............           1,600  ..............            1000
HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to
minimize the information collection burden.
Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hi, and thanks for booking a consultation with me.
Please choose Initial Consultation (adult or child) if you are booking your first appointment with me.
If you have already had an initial consultation with me, then book a follow up appointment (adult or child).
If you are a current patient of mine and you need an acute consultation for something not related to your ongoing treatment (eg. childhood illnesses, flu, accidents, etc.), then please book an acute consultation.
Please only book this type of consultation for acute, self-limiting conditions not related to your on-going treatment (eg, childhood illnesses, flu, accidents, etc.). Do get in touch if you are unsure about this.


text:
House styles guide – Period Properties
British architecture has seen many differing styles and movements over the years, some having more staying power than others, many which still appeal greatly today.
In this house styles guide we consider some of the most prominent and iconic architectural styles including Georgian, Victorian and Art Deco properties.
Have you ever wondered how to easily establish which era a property was built in? There are certain giveaways, typical features we expect to see in a property built within a particular time period.
Tudor style property
The Tudor era at the end of the Medieval period from 1485 to 1603 saw an iconic architectural style that many view as being the cosiest type of historical property. With many having exposed beams, steeply pitched thatched roofs and low doorways. Typical features of Tudor built properties are gable roofs, half timbering and multiple chimneys.
The Tudor style saw a resurgence in the 19th century meaning many properties across the UK are in fact mock Tudor. Original Tudor homes were built using for the structure meaning they were usually small and only a few storeys tall or the wood would not be able to support the building. They were also built in clusters, if a property which looks Tudor is standalone it is likely that it is mock Tudor.
Georgian Architecture
In a stark contrast to the architectural styles that preceded the Georgian era; properties were built with grand proportions to create a sense of space and light compared to the darker, smaller properties from previous periods. Famous architects from this time in history include John Nash, who designed the original Buckingham Palace and large areas of London.
Georgian architecture is usually seen in properties built between 1714 and 1830 – covering such a large period means there is variance in the style but overarching the variety, Georgian architecture is marked by symmetry and proportions. Simple mathematics was applied to determine the size of windows and the shape of room.
Within Georgian architecture are several sub divisions; Palladian architecture which is largely seen in English country houses built in the Georgian era, Neoclassical architecture such as that of Somerset House and the Regency style, towards the end of the Georgian era which usually sees properties entirely rendered with a white stucco façade.
Many properties did not have their own gardens so would be built around garden squares. Also notable in Georgian architecture might be the occasional bricked up window. A window tax was levied on homeowners at the time meaning the more windows a property had, the higher the rate of tax – to avoid this some owners bricked up windows and many chose to never reinstate them once the tax was lifted.
The Victorian era was a time of mass property building and increasing wealth. Where previously only the gentry had owned property, wealth was spreading in the wake of the industrial revolution meaning there was an increased need for homes.
The Victorian period saw many terraced houses built on narrow streets, whilst terraced homes were built in Georgian times, the Victorian era properties are smaller, often one room wide with a narrow hallway leading off into each room.
Victorian homes have certain characteristics including coloured brickwork, stained glass windows particularly set within front doors, a fireplace in every room and geometric tiled hallways. There are some differences between properties built in the early Victorian years to those built later on as over time the developers found more effective ways to build homes quickly.
Many Victorian properties have the original features intact to this day, carefully preserved by their owners over the years. Even when the features have been lost over time it is very possible to restore a property with modern materials which provide a very realistic imitation of the period characteristics.
Edwardian Property
Compared to the Georgian and Victorian eras, the Edwardian period was relatively short in length. The movement saw a rise in popularity of handmade rather than the mass production seen in the Victorian era.
Due to the mass building that had taken place throughout the Victorian times, Edwardian builders looked to the suburbs. Edwardian homes tend to be more spacious, wider rather than many storeys high and usually have a front and back garden.
Edwardian properties usually feature red brickwork, perhaps some mock Tudor cladding or timbers towards the top of the property and porches with wooden frames. The Edwardian style was much more simplistic than previous eras, with less decorative internal features and parquet flooring.
Buying a period home
Many would prefer to live in a period property over a modern one. Whilst the original features and historic characteristics can be highly desirable they can also come with restrictions should the property be listed and might require increased maintenance over their newer counterparts.
Our professional property finders have been assisting clients sourcing and acquiring historic property for many years and would be delighted to work with you to find the perfect property, for a no obligation discussion regarding our services please contact us.
Posted in: Property Finders
Tagged: historical homes, period property, Property Finder


888poker have just announced that they're running the Super XL Series again from May 14-22. And what's really exciting is that the guaranteed prize pool has been bumped up from $2 million to $3 million!
The May edition of the Super XL Series will feature 40 tournaments, beginning with an $88 buy-in $88,888 Crazy 8 Super XL Kickoff event.
This tourney will feature the same structure as the 2016 WSOP Event #54 $888 Crazy Eights 8-Handed NLHE tournament. Additionally, whoever wins the Super XL Kickoff will earn a free seat to WSOP Event #54.
Super XL will give players of all bankrolls a chance to participate in the action because each event features a Main, Mini and Turbo version. You can also look forward to different formats such as 6-max, 8-max, rebuy, multi-chance, knockout and Snap (fast-fold variant).
Some of the big tourneys to look out for include the Event #5 $250k Opening Multi Chance ($160 buy-in) and Event #7 $200k Whale ($600 buy-in) on May 15, and the Event #15 $400k High Roller ($2,100 buy-in) on May 17.
As always, the $1,050 Super XL Main Event will highlight the cyber festivities on May 22. Featuring a $1 million guaranteed prize pool, the Main Event gives skilled players plenty of time to strategize with 20,000 starting chips and 20-minute levels.
Does the $1,050 Main Event sound a little above your bankroll? If so, don't worry because 888poker will be running Super XL Series satellites for this tournament and others. Just check the 888 lobby and navigate to the satellites area to win your XL Series seats for cheap. And keep your eye on May 22, when the $215 buy-in Mega Satellite will award 50 Main Event seats.


Non-Fiction Book Club-- meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
New members are always encouraged to attend. These groups are informal, with group members helping to select books and create a welcoming space to have stimulating discussions. Each club works to choose a range of genres, topics and styles, helping members expand their reading horizons.
Check out infosoup.org or call us to request the book and join the discussion! No registration needed.


text:
const area = require('geojson-area');
const Constants = require('../constants');

const FEATURE_SORT_RANKS = {
  Point: 0,
  LineString: 1,
  Polygon: 2
};

function comparator(a, b) {
  const score = FEATURE_SORT_RANKS[a.geometry.type] - FEATURE_SORT_RANKS[b.geometry.type];

  if (score === 0 && a.geometry.type === Constants.geojsonTypes.POLYGON) {
    return a.area - b.area;
  }

  return score;
}

// Sort in the order above, then sort polygons by area ascending.
function sortFeatures(features) {
  return features.map(feature => {
      if (feature.geometry.type === Constants.geojsonTypes.POLYGON) {
        feature.area = area.geometry({
          type: Constants.geojsonTypes.FEATURE,
          property: {},
          geometry: feature.geometry
        });
      }
      return feature;
    })
    .sort(comparator)
    .map(feature => {
      delete feature.area;
      return feature;
    });
}

module.exports = sortFeatures;


text:
Osiyo!
Some of our favorite features on OsiyoTV include stories about talented Cherokee artists. We have almost an embarrassment of riches from which to choose when it comes to Cherokee art.
Growing up in Oklahoma, in spite of being surrounded by dozens of tribes, I found that wasn't always the case. For many years, so-called "Indian art" in the larger world was limited to southwestern art—desert scenes, howling wolves, Pueblo-inspired pottery or Navajo rugs. They were Native, yes, but still from far away and unfamiliar places. If it wasn't southwestern, the themes tended to run to Plains tribes and included tepees and elaborate feathered headdresses worn by those tribes. It always felt like something was missing.
My first exposure to Cherokee art came through my aunt, a talented Cherokee lady who was always creating something. She made sure I found outlets for my own artistic urges and introduced me to southeastern Native art through the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee. There, the art of Jerome Tiger, Woody Crumbo, David Williams, Acee Blue Eagle and Cecil Dick graced the walls. It was eye-opening, to be sure.
Many of these artists had come from the Bacone art movement, a flat style incorporating bold colors, movement and little to no background. They drew inspiration from their traditions and respective tribes while trying to navigate a way to commercial success. Suddenly there were depictions of our southeastern lifeways and people who reflected Cherokees and other tribes who call this place home now. In the years since the '70s, that movement has multiplied.
Today we are blessed with the blossoming of Cherokee art and the rich southeastern culture reflected in it. As you've probably noticed in a lot of our OsiyoTV artist features, most will tell you that they have been inspired and even guided by others in their journey to create art. Anna Mitchell's revival of pottery resulted in her mentoring dozens of Cherokee potters. Cecil Dick's work informs us on early Cherokee traditions in medicine, ceremony and storytelling. The Sequoyah Weavers and Oak Hill Indian Weaver Association of the 1940s gave us a legacy of Cherokee weavers.
We believe it's important to share this background with our viewers. It's a true pleasure to bring you stories of our Cherokee National Treasures such as Lorene Drywater, Noel Grayson, Eddie Morrison and Dorothy Ice. And when you see art from Roy Boney Jr., Daniel Horsechief or Keli Gonzales, you can be assured they have researched the traditions of our ancestors. Motifs that have been long obscured now flourish within our art forms in an astounding array of media from wood-fired pottery to digital renderings.
The stories of our people have historically been kept through visual and oral retellings. I think our ancestors would be amazed — and hopefully very pleased — by the sheer volume of our creative Cherokee lexicon today, including telling our stories through the medium of television. It's why we have such high standards here at OsiyoTV. Our ancestors are watching.
Donadagohvi.


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» Next article
Chatterjee D
Sen S
Begum SA
Adhikari A
Hazra A
Das AK
rational antibiotic usage
A questionnaire-based survey to ascertain the views of clinicians regarding rational use of antibiotics in teaching hospitals of Kolkata
Dattatreyo Chatterjee1, Sukanta Sen2, Sabnam Ara Begum1, Anjan Adhikari1, Avijit Hazra3, Anup Kumar Das1
1 Department of Pharmacology, R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Department of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
3 Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Dr. Dattatreyo Chatterjee
Department of Pharmacology, R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal
Objectives: The objective was to assess the views of clinicians in teaching hospitals of Kolkata regarding the use of antibiotics in their own hospitals, focusing on perceived misuse, reasons behind such misuse and feasible remedial measures. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 clinicians from core clinical disciplines was approached in six teaching hospitals of Kolkata through purposive sampling. A structured, validated questionnaire adopted from published studies and modified to suit the responding population was completed by consenting respondents through face-to-face interaction with a single interviewer. Respondents were free to leave out questions they did not wish to answer. Results: Among 130 participating clinicians (65% of approached), all felt that antibiotic misuse occurs in various hospital settings; 72 (55.4% of the respondents) felt it was a frequent occurrence and needed major rectification. Cough and cold (78.5%), fever (65.4%), and diarrhea (62.3%) were perceived to be the commonest conditions of antibiotic misuse. About half (50.76%) felt that oral preparations were more misused compared to injectable or topical ones. Among oral antibiotics, co-amoxiclav (66.9%) and cefpodoxime (63.07%) whereas among parenteral ones, ceftriaxone and other third generation cephalosporins (74.6%) followed by piperacillin-tazobactam (61.5%) were selected as the most misused ones. Deficient training in rational use of medicines (70.7%) and absence of institutional antibiotic policy (67.7%) were listed as the two most important predisposing factors. Training of medical students and interns in rational antibiotic use (78.5%), implementation of antibiotic policy (76.9%), improvement in microbiology support (70.7%), and regular surveillance on this issue (64.6%) were cited as the principal remedial measures. Conclusions: Clinicians acknowledge that the misuse of antibiotics is an important problem in their hospitals. A system of clinical audit of antibiotic usage, improved microbiology support and implementation of antibiotic policy can help to promote rational use of antimicrobial agents.


Mental health is a significant issue in Ventura County. Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH) is the primary agency responsible for serving the seriously mentally ill, with a primary target of serving those on Medi-Cal.
The California Department of Health Care Services in 2012 reported there were approximately 37,000 people with serious mental illness in Ventura County, with about 16,000 of them under the 200 percent poverty rate (Medi-Cal eligible). VCBH currently serves approximately 9,700 of those seriously mentally ill, leaving 6,300 to seek other means for treatment or no treatment at all. The majority of the 6,300 not being served are Latino.
Within VCBH, the Screening, Triage, Assessment & Referral (STAR) system is the entry point for receiving county services. There have been numerous complaints from community organizations, school districts, parents and clients about the lack of cultural and language sensitivity, but these concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Those seeking services are put through a process that lasts three months or longer before receiving an appointment with a clinician, and frequently there are no interpreters available when triaging a new client.
VCBH is currently recruiting for a clinic administrator of STAR, who will either maintain the status quo or lead in a new direction where cultural competence is at the forefront. We are asking the county to ensure the person appointed understands the needs of its constituents with extensive experience working with the Latino community.
The person appointed should reflect the largest Medi-Cal group and be adept in creating bridges and not maintaining barriers. Latino taxpayers of Ventura County deserve representation that reflects the largest ethnic group in the county.
The Latino community must have its needs met equitably; county leadership must appoint a STAR clinic manager with the appropriate ethnic background, training and motivation to serve all communities.
Editor: The author is a former Santa Paula Mayor.


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Home » Ammo » Rimfire » Is There a Shortage of .22lrRrimfire Ammo?
Is There a Shortage of .22lrRrimfire Ammo?
If you've been a gun owner for a while, you may remember the 2013-2016 .22 Long Rifle ammunition shortage. Although the situation varied greatly depending on the location, with sporadic respites, .22 Long Rifle rimfire ammunition was in short supply nearly everywhere.
Starting in 2020, American gun owners are once again experiencing an ammo shortage. Understanding how the current situation formed can help you determine whether the shortage will end soon.
A Perfect Storm of Events
The current situation has resulted in shortages of not just .22 Long Rifle ammunition but also virtually every other caliber. Simply put, ammunition of all types is in short supply.
The ongoing ammo shortage is not the result of any single issue. It stems from several social, economic, and political events in the United States and worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd protests, and the 2020 US presidential elections have contributed to the shortage.
How COVID-19 Affected Gun Owners
In March 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Following the WHO's declaration, the Trump administration announced a state of national emergency, with the first lockdown measures issued on March 19 in California. In response, gun owners across America started panic-buying firearms.
However, even as COVID-19 lockdowns were in place, the federal government declared all firearm retailers essential businesses, allowing gun shops and big-box stores to remain open for business, further driving up sales.
In the United States, gun shops must conduct a NICS check on every buyer before completing a sale. Although this does not cover the total number of firearms purchased, since NICS checks do not apply to private sales or transfers, the FBI uses the number of NICS checks to estimate gun sales numbers.
In April of 2020, the FBI recorded over 2.3 million NICS checks during March, estimating that at least 3 million firearms were sold during this period.
Exact numbers regarding ammunition purchases are unknown, but it is reasonable to assume that gun owners bought a substantial quantity of ammunition alongside their new firearms, potentially totaling billions of rounds.
The George Floyd Protests
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent protests against police brutality, the second wave of nationwide firearm purchases began, resulting in a tremendous number of both new gun sales and new gun owners.
By August 2020, the National Shooting Sports Foundation compiled NICS information and determined that as many as 5 million people became first-time gun owners. By January 2021, that number had risen to 8.4 million.
Remarkably, among these 8.4 million new gun owners, approximately 40% were women, and the fastest-growing demographic were African-Americans, with 58% more African-American gun owners than in 2019.
The 2020 United States Presidential Elections
Although electoral seasons traditionally cause a surge in gun sales, as gun owners buy guns and ammo in preparation for unfavorable election results, the amplitude of this phenomenon in 2020 reached new heights, creating a third wave of mass purchases.
Already exhausted by the lockdown panic-buying and the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, most gun retailers nationwide had only a fraction of their usual inventory for the elections.
Online sales fared no better, with most products remaining out of stock for several weeks, sometimes months on end.
Many platforms experienced widespread price gouging and scalping issues, resulting in resellers exploiting the current climate to sell guns and ammo at prohibitively high prices.
When Will the Shortage End?
Ammunition manufacturers in the United States are currently operating at full capacity to address the demand. However, the demand remains far greater than the supply.
Currently, the hardest calibers to purchase, both in terms of availability and price, are also among the most common. These include .22 Long Rifle, 9x19mm, .45 ACP, 7.62x39mm, .223 Remington/5.56x45mm, .300 AAC Blackout, and .38 Special.
In the wake of the first and second waves, a significant number of shooters turned to handloading, manufacturing ammunition of their own rather than buy it from stores.
This increase in reloaders created a primer shortage, causing most avenues of acquiring ammunition to become disrupted.
Industry experts expect the ongoing ammo shortage to continue well into 2021. You will have to arm yourself with patience if your favorite calibers aren't in stock. However, the situation is not all negative, and you can do things in the meantime.
If you can afford it, consider purchasing guns in less commonly-purchased calibers, depending on local availability. Not every caliber has been hit the same way by the shortage, with some being far more available than others.
IFA Tactical offers a large selection of pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition in many calibers. We strive to keep our shelves stocked as much as possible so you can keep your firearms fed. Call us at (586) 275-2176 if you have any questions or requests.
Reasons to Use Precision Gunsmithing On Your Firearms March 16, 2021
The Most Reliable Way to Load Ammo April 1, 2021
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What to Look for When Buying a Used Gun
Best .22 Long Rifle Ammo: Accuracy, Plinking & Hunting
A Brief History of Firearms: Birth of the Modern Revolver
A Review of the 4 Best 9mm Handguns on the Market
Firearms Owners
Home Defence
Hunting Rifle
Safety / Protection


text:
Discovering Self, Choosing Family
This article was originally posted on ffdnorth.com as part of FFDN Insights, a series of articles that dive into the creative impulses, processes and dance histories of Fall for Dance North (FFDN) festival artists, commissioned by FFDN from dance writers from across Canada.
Getting to know your Fruit is the manifestation of Sara Porter's ongoing process to understand the form of memoir and the stories she tells about herself, particularly her Queerness, through a collection of assorted fruits (both literal and symbolic).
Porter has extensively researched what she calls "memoir and movement": how our bodies both hold and communicate our memories. In this piece, the narrative retelling is interdisciplinary: Porter recounts the stories through spoken word, while her dancing is a physical expression of the memories, images and sensations the story brings up. While not entirely improvised (Porter is detailed in her framing of the performance, being intentional about character, colour, rhythm, space and shape), there's still an element of spontaneity.
"I give [my body] suggestions and see what happens," she says. "My body gets saturated with live images of memory, and the dancing goes from there."
The solo is deeply personal, with Porter telling stories about growing up in the church and coming out to her mother. And she leans into the vulnerability that comes with memoir, motivated by a desire for people to be more open with each other so they might care more about one another.
"I have to love the audience and trust that I don't need them to love me back," she explains. Under this tenet, it becomes easier to be honest in the moment of performance.
While Getting to know your Fruit explores Porter's personal Queer history, Danah Rosales's The Grand March of the House of Siriano pays reverence to decades of Queer resilience, offering a taste of Toronto's kiki ballroom scene.
Ballroom culture is an underground Queer subculture rooted in Harlem and shaped by Queer and trans Black and Latinx folks. At balls, performers compete in different categories that challenge hegemonic notions of gender and class. Many participants in ball culture belong to groups known as "houses" who not only compete together but also live as chosen families, with house "children" led by "mothers" and "fathers" who offer both competitive and emotional guidance.
Rosales, a.k.a. Maldita Siriano 007, Mother of the Toronto Chapter of the Kiki House of Siriano, likens The Grand March of the House of Siriano to an opening ceremony. A traditional custom from the world of ballroom, a grand march takes place at the start of a house ball and formally introduces the house and its members to the community. "We parade our DNA, our commonality, our uniqueness," she explains.
Informed by her biological motherhood, Rosales choreographs her house members in a collaborative and loving way. "That's my role, to learn and to listen," she says. For Rosales, the true richness of this experience lies in collaborating with her house family.
In this sense, The Grand March of the House of Siriano showcases not just the talents of the house but the deep bonds between its members and a long history of creating an inherently Queer, nurturing space. Ball culture isn't just about performance; it's "how we survive," Rosales says. This means a certain amount of risk in sharing ball culture with an audience outside the Queer community. Rosales invites the audience to recognize this and appreciate the "beauty, pain, depth, passion and will to live" expressed in performance.
For both Rosales and Porter, then, love is a guiding force. Through this double bill, histories of acceptance, truth and resilience converge – shared with love, in the hopes that the audience can open their hearts in return.
Catherine Abes (guest writer) is a writer based in Toronto. Her work explores the intersection of arts and identity. Catherine's sibling recently started training with the Toronto Chapter of the Kiki House of Siriano. catherineabes.carrd.co/# TW: @catherineabes
Photo of Sara Porter by Kendra Epik
Photo of members of the Kiki House of Siriano by Jeremy Mimnagh
Tags: Danah RosalesDanceWorksMovingOnlineFFDNGetting to know your FruitKiki House of SirianoSara Porter
VIDEO: Singing the Round from Love Learn Listen
VIDEO: An Interview with Holly Small
VIDEO: Haunted by Holly Small
VIDEO: Denise Fujiwara's Love Learn Listen
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The concept here is to take out there best player with your short stick and run a rotating boxy with your long poles.
This can be tricky depending on what the guy shutting off does.
But if the guy being shut off just takes himself completely out of the picture this can really make if difficult for the man up as it takes them out of any scripted plays they may have designed.