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As I spend most of my time in the kitchen these days. I find I listen to a heck of a lot of radio (and have less time for blog posts!). This morning, a programme called 'In Our Time' presented by the broadcasting legend Melvyn Bragg, was on BBC Radio 4 which discussed the 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Here's a link to that very episode.
I happen to know that was as good a bread-maker as she was a novelist.
She used an oil cooker, called the Florence, and with it tutored her maid and cook to bake cottage loaves (a loaf I have never attempted as it appears to be of difficulty 10). Her cook, called Louise Mayer, recounts in the book Recollections of Virginia Woolf:
She liked trying to cook…but I always felt that she did not want to give time to cooking and referred to be in her room working.
But there was one thing in the kitchen that Mrs Woolf was very good at doing: she could make beautiful bread. The first thing she asked me when I went to Monks House was if I knew how to make it. I told her that I had made some for my family, but I was not expert at it. "I will come into the kitchen Louie" she said "and show you how to do it. We have always made our own bread." I was surprised how complicated the process was and how accurately Mrs Woolf carried it out. She showed me how to make the dough with the right quantities of yeast and flour, and then how to knead it. She returned three or four times during the morning to knead it again. Finally, she made the dough into the shape of a cattage loaf and baked it at just the right temperature. I would say that Mrs Woolf was not a practical person – for instance, she could not sew or knit or drive a car – but this was a job needing practical skill which she was able to do well every time. It took me many weeks to be as good as Mrs Woof at making bread, but I went to great lengths practising and in the end, I think, I beat her at it.
Virginia gave Louise Mayer a top baking tip that I always use if it is possible; and that is to bake bread in a cold oven. The gradual heat increase gives you a really impressive rise before the outside crust develops, hampering it.
So there you go, a little window into the enigmatic lady's life, which I thought might be of interest to you…
If you like the blogs and podcast I produce, please consider treating me to a virtual coffee or pint, or even a £3 monthly subscription: follow this link for more information.


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1 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring shown
Starting at $31,7703
181 hp. 151 lb-ft of torque. A curb weight of under 2,400 pounds.9 Behind the wheel of the MX-5 Miata, numbers transform into beautifully visceral, windswept joy. One of the many secrets to this exhilarating drive lies in its ideal power-to-weight ratio. You feel as though your MX-5 is connected to you, anticipating and answering your every command.
Every Mazda is engineered with the driver in mind. And nowhere is that clearer than in the MX-5 Miata. When working to achieve its near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, we made a point to take our measurements with a driver behind the wheel. The MX-5 Miata's storied handling doesn't start with a spec sheet. It starts with you.
With a greater level of technological integration, our Mazda Connect™ Infotainment System1 allows you to immerse yourself in each drive while staying in touch with the world at large with Apple CarPlay™2 integration through your compatible iPhone®.
Our Mazda Connect™ Infotainment System1 creates a seamless connectivity that allows you to focus on the drive. Apple CarPlay™2 and Android Auto™2 are is now standard in all 2021 Mazda MX-5 models and Grand Touring models are further enhanced by a wireless connection to Apple CarPlay™2 through your compatible iPhone® (shown).
With the MX-5 Miata's Commander control, you can intuitively navigate through playlists, driving directions, contacts and more without taking your eyes off the road.1
The sounds of the open road deserve a worthy complement. And the available 9-speaker Bose® audio system is just that. With speakers specifically tuned and oriented for the MX-5's cabin, it delivers a pitch perfect acoustic experience, even with the top down. What's more, a 3-year traffic and travel link subscription to SiriusXM3 is also available to enjoy.
For illustration purposes only6
This available system is designed to help you see around corners at night. As you turn a corner, the headlights pivot in the direction of your turn, improving visibility and allowing you to spot potential hazards ahead.
Available High Beam Control helps the driver see better at night by maximizing opportunities to use the high beams. The system automatically switches to low beams when it detects oncoming traffic and/or a vehicle ahead
When traveling at speeds of 44 mph or higher, this system gives you audible and visual warnings when it detects that your vehicle is about to unintentionally depart from its lane.5
When traveling at speeds between about 2 and 18 mph, Smart City Brake Support8 helps detect vehicles ahead. If an impact is predicted, this system will warn the driver, adjust the brake pads for faster and firmer braking, and apply the brakes if the driver cannot.
To help you stay alert and informed, the available Traffic Sign Recognition System7 can show you Speed Limit, Stop and Do Not Enter information in the MX-5 Miata's 4.6-inch full-color LCD display. The system's strategically mounted camera scans for road signs, so you can keep your focus on what's ahead.
This system helps detect objects in your blind spots4 and alerts you with a chime and warning light in the side mirror.
When backing up, this feature helps detect a vehicle approaching from the side and promptly alerts the driver with an audible warning,4 as well as a visual warning, in either side mirror and the display screen.
Refined details are integral to the joy of driving. And you'll find them throughout the MX-5. New for 2021, available White Nappa leather seats bring a rejuvenating touch to Grand Touring interiors.
The MX-5 Miata convertible is inspired by classic roadsters of the 1960s. But that inspiration is expressed in a way that's pure Mazda. With the sleek lines of our Kodo design philosophy, it communicates a sense of fluid motion, even at a standstill—and practically begs to be driven.
By pushing our cars to the edge in unforgiving environments, we learn valuable lessons about safety, performance, efficiency and reliability. And that translates into a better car for you—both on the road and on the track. Perhaps this is the reason more Mazdas are road-raced on any given weekend than any other car.11
3 MSRP excludes taxes, title, license fees and $995 destination charge (Alaska $1040). Vehicle shown may be priced higher. Actual dealer price will vary. See dealer for complete details.
4 Requires compatible phone, and standard text and data rates apply. Third-party interface providers are solely responsible for their product functionality, and third-party terms and privacy statements apply. Don't drive while distracted or while using a hand-held device. Android and Android Auto are trademarks of Google LLC. Apple CarPlay, iPhone and Siri are trademarks of Apple Inc.
5 Smart City Brake Support operates under certain low-speed conditions between about 2 and 18 mph. It is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving and is only designed to reduce damage in the event of a collision. There are limitations to the operation and detection of the system. Please see your Owner's Manual for further details.
8 Requires compatible iPhone and standard text and data rates apply. Apple is solely responsible for CarPlay functionality and its terms and privacy statements apply. Don't drive while distracted or while using a hand-held device. Apple CarPlay, iPhone and Siri are trademarks of Apple Inc.

subset: commoncrawl


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Toyota's most rugged Land Cruiser is back in Japan
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is bringing back the Land Cruiser 70 in Japan, catering to nostalgic demand for the rugged off-road vehicle that's favored for challenging terrains and as an aid agency vehicle in disaster zones.
The 3.6 million yen ($35,000) Land Cruiser 70, the toughest of the Land Cruiser models, arrives at Japanese dealers Monday. But it's on sale for only a year, with planned production of 200 a month.
Japan sales were discontinued in 2004, but fans have long wanted the model back because of its fun-to-drive features.
"If you ever have to entrust your life with a car, I'd choose the Land Cruiser," chief engineer Sadayoshi Koyari told reporters at an event for car fans in Tokyo.
The 70 model first went on sale in 1984, and it's still sold in the Middle East, Africa, Australia and other places, averaging 6,400 vehicles a month in sales.
Its durability is based on its ladder-frame chassis and suspension, according to Toyota, the world's top automaker. It's designed for places where a breakdown is not just a hassle but also possibly fatal.
But Japanese fans have long wanted the model back since it was discontinued here in 2004.
Masahiro Terada, 67, a Kyoto lumber merchant and fan of the Land Cruiser for decades, heads a network of about 50 Japanese Land Cruiser owners, who gather at unusual spots such as bumpy volcanic areas near Mount Fuji and rivers in southwestern Kyushu, to test the vehicle's off-road features.
"A Land Cruiser is a toy for a big boy, those adults who never grow up," he said with a laugh, vowing to drive a Land Cruiser until the day he dies.
The U.N. and the Red Cross use the Land Cruiser for relief efforts in disaster zones, making it a model Toyota is proud to claim as part of its brand.
The Land Cruiser is Toyota's longest-running nameplate, with a cumulative 7.9 million units produced worldwide.
Its long history means there are plentiful parts from models sold around the world, including in emerging economies where easy and reliable maintenance is crucial.
The comeback offering, which is also available in a 3.5 million yen ($34,000) pickup version, boasts up-to-date safety and smart-key features, a 4.0 liter V6 engine and five-speed manual transmission.
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama


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Pound drops on uncertain U.K. election outcome
An exit poll suggesting that British Prime Minister Theresa May may have lost her parliamentary majority in a general election on Thursday sent the pound falling against the dollar.Posted — Updated
An exit poll suggesting that British Prime Minister Theresa May may have lost her parliamentary majority in a general election on Thursday sent the pound falling against the dollar.
The pound dropped about 1.6% to trade above $1.27 in the immediate aftermath of the projection, which was published as soon as voting ended at 5 pm ET. It registered a similar fall against the euro.
If the exit poll is confirmed by actual results, it would raise big questions about whether May can remain as U.K. leader and lead the country into vital negotiations on the country's exit from the European Union, due to start on June 19.
"There will be other polls, and results will come out through the night, but this is going to leave Theresa May struggling to keep control of the Brexit process," said Kit Juckes, strategist at Societe Generale. "Can't see how that's helpful for the pound even if we are somewhat braced for a close outcome."
General election 2017: Latest updates
The currency was trading at $1.29 earlier on Thursday. That's 14% lower than its level on the day of the Brexit referendum nearly a year ago. Since then it has traded as low as $1.20.
The situation where no party has a majority is known as a hung Parliament. That could plunge the country into a prolonged period of political uncertainty and horsetrading over the formation of a coalition government, or possibly even another election.
"On balance, the financial markets and the private sector would have preferred a Conservative majority to a Labour majority ... and they definitely prefer stability to instability," said Tony Travers, director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the London School of Economics.
"What this result suggests, if it holds, is that there will be some instability and it will be hard for the British government to negotiate on Brexit."
Related: U.K. growth was weakest in Europe in first quarter
Apart from dealing with Brexit -- in itself the biggest challenge the country has faced since World War II -- the new government has to address Britain's acute growth problem.
The U.K. economy, which was until recently the strongest performer in Europe, has fallen to the bottom of the growth league, delivering weaker expansion in the first quarter than the other 27 members of the European Union.
And while unemployment is very low, the country has been struggling with low wage growth since the global financial crisis. Wages fell in the three months to March, after taking inflation into account.
Related: CNNMoney's Brexit jobs tracker
Brits have already endured nearly a decade of stagnating real wages. According to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, average earnings are still substantially below the levels seen in 2008, before the financial crisis.
Copyright 2023 by Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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I'm watching the episode now. The bishop and SP just came to visit Barb at home. They mentioned that she and Bill haven't paid tithing for seven years. She says yes, they're "inactive now," they went through a bad time, and she was very sick. So the bishop just comes right out and asks if she's living in a polygamous relationship. She's shocked by the question, but after a pause acknowledges that she is. She explains that Bill got a testimony of it. She didn't at first, but she thinks she does now. They informed her that they were there to determine whether they needed to take action regarding her membership.
I'll post this now and then in the comments describe the further developments as the episode unfolds.


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Ohio, Illinois soldiers killed in airstrike
MOKENA, Ill. - A soldier from Illinois who deployed to Afghanistan a month after his father died and a soldier from Ohio who was engaged to be married were among the five Americans killed in a recent friendly fire airstrike.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the five American troops were killed Monday "during a security operation in southern Afghanistan." Officials said an airstrike was called in after the unit was ambushed by the Taliban. It was one of the deadliest friendly fire incidents in nearly 14 years of war.
Family representatives of Aaron Toppen of Illinois and Justin Helton of Ohio told The Associated Press that military members came to their relatives' doors in the middle of the night to deliver the news of the deaths.
The other victims have not yet been identified. Here is a look at the lives of Toppen and Helton:
Aaron Toppen, 19
Family members of Toppen remembered him Tuesday as a kind-hearted man who had aspired to a career in the military or law enforcement.
"Aaron was predisposed to serve. He was very keen to be in the military," his uncle Jack Winter said. "He was quite proud to be there."
It was the second death of a loved one for the family this year. Toppen, from the Illinois city of Mokena, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, was set to leave for Afghanistan in February. But his gravely ill father died that month, and he stayed for the funeral. He deployed in March.
Toppen was a graduate of Lincoln-Way East High in Frankfort, Illinois, and loved the outdoors, especially fishing. Family members at the home Tuesday circulated a picture of Toppen as a young child sitting next to his father in a fishing boat.
"He was something somewhat rare in youth culture today. ... In a word, I would summarize what he had as `class,'" Winter said of his nephew. "So rarely now do you see somebody like that who truly does have class, who's polite, humble, loyal, who's a kind-hearted soul, generous."
Toppen was the youngest of three children.
Justin Helton, 25
Helton had been in the Army since 2010 but had been in Afghanistan for only about two months, according to cousin Mindy Helton. It was his first deployment, and he expected to be home in about six months, she said.
She said her cousin specialized in dealing with explosives and was based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She also said he was engaged. His parents live in Beaver, a two-hour drive east of Cincinnati, Ohio.
"He was a great boy, so full of life and outgoing," she said. "He loved hunting and the outdoors."
The 2006 graduate of Beaver's Eastern High School was known to friends and family as Buck and was a quiet leader, Robert Day, his high school baseball coach, told WCMH-TV in Columbus.
Tim Hattle, who had known Helton since grade school, told the station that he messaged his friend on Facebook last week.
"He said time was really dragging over there. I said, `Just don't worry. You'll be home soon.' And to be safe," Hattle said. "Then I told him I loved him."
Associated Press writer Lisa Cornwell contributed to this report from Cincinnati, Ohio.


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There has been quite the response–supportive and enthusiastic–to Sesame Street's ode to loving black girls' hair, and it's deserved: Not since bell hooks' children's book Happy to Be Nappy has there been such an enthusiastic celebration of black hair for kids.
For so many of us black women, who grew up with external messages informing us that something was not quite right with the hair that grew out of our scalps, a black girl Muppet expressing unbridled joy over her natural hair is a sight to behold and treasure. Indeed, some of us who were constantly told that our hair in its natural state needed to be tamed, "relaxed" and straightened will admit to shedding tears of happiness. Affirmation in mainstream media–at last! For a moment, I felt that prepubescent freedom from a racialized, sexualized self-image that Toni Morrison describes so well in The Bluest Eye:
Guileless and without vanity, we were still in love with ourselves then. We felt comfortable in our skins, enjoyed the news that our senses released to us, admired our dirt, cultivated our scars, and could not comprehend this unworthiness.
Few, however, have remarked on another celebration of young black girls' hair–the recently released music video for 9-year-old Willow Smith's new single "Whip My Hair." It features Smith (daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, if you didn't already know that) swinging her hair with sass, bravado and "swag."
I get a real kick out of seeing this young artist demonstrating riotous "Black Grrl Power" as she walks into a drab, white classroom (let's not miss the racial metaphors there) sporting some rainbow-colored fashion and, my favorite part, dipping the ends of her long braids into pots of paint and letting loose. Her braided extensions serve as paintbrushes that disrupt and literally "color" the learning environment. Where did this young girl learn such boldness? Where can I sign up?
It is a boldness accompanied by a very real racial and gender political statement. While Willow Smith's video references only the symbolic way black girls can enhance the multicultural classroom, there are real-life examples where black girls who "disrupt" such spaces incur social, political and psychological damage. In June, controversy erupted when a white grade-school teacher in Seattle, Washington removed a black student from the classroom, claiming the student's Afro (and the hair product used to maintain it) made her "sick."
Or observe First Lady Michelle Obama, who took out Malia's and Sasha's cornrows and straightened their hair in time for the Democratic National Convention, only a month after the controversial 2008 New Yorker cover satirized Michelle in a militant Afro.
When black mothers feel they must "protect" their daughters by assimilating their looks to assuage the fears of a white population, Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" offers a witty answer. When a black father like Chris Rock embarks on a misguided film to find out why his daughter wants long, straight "good hair," portraying as neurotic black women's tendencies toward relaxers and weaves (thereby ignoring the historical basis and wider racial and gender politics informing their behavior, not to mention the pressures that black fathers like himself place on their wives and daughters to "look good"), "Whip My Hair" defies the internalized messages of white beauty and femininity that both black men and black women have embraced. As she sings while sporting a variety of diverse hair styles, wigs and colors:
Don't let haters keep me off my grind
Keep my head up I know I'll be fine
Keep fighting until I get there
When I'm down and feel like giving up
I whip my hair back and forth
I whip my hair back and forth (just whip it)
A viral video remix of "Whip My Hair" and Sesame Street's "I Love My Hair" captures the common thread in the two:
It is inevitable that black girls–and girls in general–must negotiate the transition between the love and appreciation they receive as girls and the contempt and vitriol they will encounter once they gain curves. Girls need our encouraging and affirming responses to help them through healthy and self-assured transitions into a womanhood still fraught with the racism and misogyny of the larger society.
If our girls can take the lead from Smith and Sesame Street and proclaim "comfort in their own skins" and love for themselves–especially their hair–they have already won half the battle. May they transition into womanhood with the same confidence.
Screenshot from "Whip My Hair"


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Six design teams, made up of architects, artists and designers from around the world, were chosen last week by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to create new plans for the World Trade Center site. Many of those selected are known for creating celebrated buildings, such as the glass domed Reichstag in Berlin and the stark white High Museum building in Atlanta. Others have already created designs for the World Trade Center site, in response to requests from the Max Protech Gallery in Soho and the New York Times Magazine.
The first six plans for the site, designed by New York firm Beyer Blinder Belle, were largely panned by the public, and the new teams are part of the development corporation's attempt to begin again.
Each team will create several different plans for Ground Zero, to be narrowed down to three final plans by the end of the year. While the first round of six plans appeared very similar because each included the 11 million square feet of office space required by developer Larry Silverstein, the new teams will instead create designs based on more flexible requirements. The Port Authority has yet to approve the range of office space for the new designs, but Lower Manhattan Development Corporation official Roland Betts said that the amount will stretch from "substantially reduced" at the bottom end up to the full 11 million square feet.
The six teams:
Read about each design team, to learn about their ideas for lower Manhattan, and to see photos of their past work.
Daniel Libeskind
Berlin architect Daniel Libeskind designed his city's Jewish Museum, which opened in 2001. The center of the museum is an empty space, suggesting Berlin's missing Jewish citizens, Libeskind explains on his website. Visitors use sixty bridges to cross from exhibit to exhibit.
In his application to design lower Manhattan, Libeskind wrote that the "act of building is an entirely optimistic one," something that New York deserves, "despite and because of the tragedy of September 11."
Foster and Partners
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, London firm Foster and Partners created an updated parliament building for a unified Germany. Spiral walkways line a new dome on top of the renovated Reichstag, and the public can observe their political representatives from above.
For lower Manhattan, Foster and Partners said they will work to create a design to become "a symbol once again for the city itself and the optimism and cohesiveness of the inhabitants of New York City and the American people."
Meier, Eisenman, Gwathmey and Holl
The development corporation also chose a team of four New York architects:
Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey and Steven Holl. The four all worked together on the
New York Times Magazine's project to design the World Trade Center site. Meier is known for designing the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta
Meier, Eisenman, Gwathmey and Holl (2)
Charles Gwathmey designed the project to restore and add on to New York City's Guggenheim Museum, while Peter Eisenman is known for his convention center in Columbus, Ohio.
Holl's Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland (pictured here) was built around a focal point called a "kiasma," said to be the starting place for a journey to the unknown.
In their submission to create a design for lower Manhattan, the team responded to the physical and political struggles involved, saying that they view design as a process that transforms "problem-solving into art."
"Ground Zero is the last place any of us want to think about as a 'project,' the last place any of us want to see 'developed' in that cynical shortsighted manner that the word has come to mean. And now it has to be the first question," the team of young international designers and architects UNITED ARCHITECTS wrote in their proposal to design the World Trade Center site.
The team is made up of Reiser Umemoto and Kevin Kenon, both based in New York, London-based firm Foreign Office Architects, UN Studio from Amsterdam, Greg Lynn FORM from Los Angeles and Imaginary Forces, based both in New York and Los Angeles.
Foreign Office Architects, designers of the Yokohama International Port Terminal in Japan, created a plan for the World Trade Center site soon after the disaster (pictured). The plan, which depicts clusters of round, interconnected towers rising into the sky, was shown in January at the Max Protech Gallery in Soho.
Skidmore Owings and Merrill
New York firm Skidmore Owings and Merrillredesigned 7 World Trade Center for developer Larry Silverstein. In order to work for the development corporation, the firm agreed to turn down any future work for Silverstein. The firm has designed many New York City buildings, including the Time Warner/AOL building in construction near Columbus Circle (pictured).
In its application to design the World Trade Center site, Skidmore created a team they called "both global and local," joining with architects, artists and designers, including Inigo Maglano-Ovalle, Rita McBride, Jessica Stockholder, Elyn Zimmerman, Field Operations, Tom Leader, Michael Maltzan, Neutelings Riedijk and the Tokyo firm SANAA.
A team of nine architects and engineers from the U.S., Japan and Germany submitted an application under the name "THINK."
"The central problem of this project is not simply how best to remember those that perished in this tragedy but how to make their memory the inspiration for a better future," wrote the team in their application to the development corporation. New York architect Frederic Schwartz, called "citizen architect" by the New York Times, leads the team. Schwartz was one of the first to suggest burying West Street as part of rebuilding lower Manhattan, and has done a great deal of work downtown. The Schwartz-designed Staten Island Ferry Terminal is still in construction
Other members of the THINK team are Shigeru Ban, from Tokyo, Japan, New York based architects Ken Smith, Rafael Vinoly and David Rockwell, William Moorish from Virginia, Jane Marie Smith from Maryland and engineering firms Buro Happold Engineersand Jorg Schlaich.
Along with Schwartz, Vinoly participated in the New York Times Magazine's project to design lower Manhattan. He designed the Tokyo International Forum in Japan.


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Congressional Republicans' decision to read the Constitution aloud on the floor of Congress has forced some Constitution-contemptuous liberals further out of the closet, which is an instructive development to behold. Blogger Ezra Klein of The Washington Post told MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell that the constitutional reading is "a gimmick," and "the issue of the Constitution is not that people don't read the text and think they're following; the issue with the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done." Columnist E.J. Dionne, also with The Washington Post, expressed similar irreverence for our founding document. Dionne lamented that the tea party movement has treated the Constitution "as the equivalent of sacred scripture.
Yet as Gordon Wood, the widely admired historian of the Revolutionary era has noted, we 'can recognize the extraordinary character of the Founding Fathers while also knowing that those 18th-century political leaders were not outside history. ... They were as enmeshed in historical circumstances as we are, they had no special divine insight into politics, and their thinking was certainly not free of passion, ignorance, and foolishness.'"
Dionne's (and Wood's) assessment is quite a far cry from that of former British Prime Minister William Gladstone, who observed, "The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man."
Though no one should argue that we should turn our respect for the Constitution into idolatry, there is every reason to believe that our Constitution is indeed unique, both in the brilliant structure of limited government it established and in its practical effect of creating the freest, strongest and most prosperous nation in history.
One doesn't have to believe America was directly established by God to recognize that the Framers were largely animated by a Christian worldview and generally shared the biblical "insight" concerning man's fallen nature -- an insight that contributed as much as anything else to their blueprint for government.
As if choreographed to coincide with the liberals' dissing of the Constitution, ex-boxer turned Senate majority leader Harry Reid has threatened to amend long-established Senate Rule 22, which requires 60 votes to invoke cloture on a bill. Reid's scheme is to pretend that the Senate is not a continuous body whose rules remain in force unless changed by a supermajority of senators, but a body that requires that rules be approved every two years when a new Congress convenes.
Common sense alone exposes Reid's malignant stunt for what it is, as incoming senators historically have not ratified Senate rules because it would have been a superfluous act.
As others have noted, the Senate's official website expressly affirms that the Senate is a continuous body: "The business of the Senate would continue from Congress to Congress without interruption." Indeed, a Senate rule change as recently as 2007 followed the traditional Senate procedure.
The practical effect of Reid's cynical ploy would be that rules could be changed at the start of any session with a simple majority vote, which would be a convenient result for Senate Democrats, who are none too pleased with the "shellacking" their party received in the November congressional elections.
But there is a method to the Democrats' mad consistency. The relative disrespect liberals Klein and Dionne demonstrate follows from the liberal view of the Constitution as "a living document," whose provisions the courts can rewrite at will.
It is compatible with Barack Obama's obvious belief that the document is powerless to prevent the federal government from engaging in activities it prohibits, such as requiring people to purchase health insurance. It aligns with Obama's belief that the courts can manipulate the Constitution to adjudicate "economic justice" -- a euphemism for abject court-ordered income redistribution.
It squares with Obama's systematic usurpation of congressional authority in his appointment of unaccountable czars, his executive order frenzy, his administrative law end runs, his de facto moratorium on offshore drilling, and his conspiracy with legislators to corrupt the legislative process (as he did with Obamacare).
The common thread running through all of these examples is the liberals' end-justifies-the-means mentality, which, as we are witnessing, is a green light for tyranny and a smothering of liberty and democratic principles in the name of promoting them.
Liberals will mock conservatives for their stodgy nationalism and their fealty to a document that is more than 200 years old. But their arrogance and mockery just serve to confirm their disrespect for our founding institutions.
More importantly, they underscore the enormity of the stakes involved and strengthen our resolve to politically defeat liberals and crush their systematic assault on our liberties.
Examiner Columnist David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney. His book "Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party" was released recently in paperback. To find out more about David Limbaugh, please visit his Web site at DavidLimbaugh.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page.


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AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Camera
Indoor HDTV 1080p PTZ dome with 20x zoom for the ultimate video quality
단종된 제품입니다. 온라인 지원만 가능합니다.자세한 내용은 지원 설명서를 참조하십시오.
참고: 권장 교체 제품 데이터 시트에서 전체 사양을 확인하십시오.
- HDTV 1080p 25/30 fps as well as
HDTV 720p 50/60 fps
- Day/night and H.264
- 20x optical zoom
- IP52-rated for protection against dust and dripping water
- Active Gatekeeper and tour recording
- Power over Ethernet Plus (IEEE 802.3at)
Top performance
The indoor AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Camera provides high-definition surveillance of large areas and great details when zooming in. This high-speed PTZ dome offers a rich viewing experience, providing clear video of movements and sharp details for identification purposes. It is ideal for mission-critical surveillance at airports and casinos.
Ultimate video quality
The HDTV 1080p complies with the SMPTE 274M standard regarding a 1920x1080 pixel resolution (twice the resolution of HDTV 720p), full frame rate at 25/30 frames per second, HDTV color fidelity and a 16:9 format. AXIS Q6035 also supports 50/60 frames per second in HDTV 720p, ideal for applications that require the capture of quick movements and smoother video.
Extreme detail
Due to the HDTV 1080p resolution, the camera's 20x optical zoom with autofocus provides extremely detailed zoomed-in views that are comparable to a 4CIF-resolution camera with more than twice the optical zoom. AXIS Q6035 supports day/night functionality for clear video even in low light conditions, and wide dynamic range for better visibility of objects in dark and light areas of a scene.
Advanced PTZ functionalities
With Active Gatekeeper, the camera can automatically move to a preset position upon motion detection in a pre-defined area, and track the detected object.
The camera also enables easy setup of an automatic tour using the tour recording functionality, which enables a device such as a joystick to be used to record an operator's pan/tilt/zoom movements and length of time spent at each point of interest. The tour can then be activated at a touch of a button or at a scheduled time.
Power over Ethernet for easy installation
Support for Power over Ethernet Plus (High PoE) simplifies installation since only one cable is required for power, video and PTZ controls. A 1-port High PoE midspan is supplied with the camera.


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Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal continues his search for his first title of the season when he plays Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the Rome Masters on Wednesday.
Date: May 15, 2019
Match time: Rafa is second match on Center Court. Around 12.30 PM local time / 6.30 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / 11.30 AM BST – United Kingdom / 12.30 PM CEST – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 8.30 PM AEST – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website. Let's hope the expected rain will stay away from Rome!
Rafa has beaten Chardy in straight sets in their two previous meetings, but they haven't faced off in four years. This will be their first meeting on clay.
The defending champion hasn't lost before the quarter-finals in Rome since 2008. He is the defending champion in Rome, a tournament he's won eight times in all – 2005-07, '09-10, '12-13, '18. He'll try to become the first player this season to successfully defend a title.
The second seed is making his 15th consecutive appearance at the Foro Italico and he comes in with a 56-6 record (8-2 in finals) at the tournament. The Spaniard has advanced to the quarter-finals or better in 13 of his 14 previous visits to the Italian capital.


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Home > Topics > Eligibility>Passing Grades, IQ Scores & Evaluations of LD Students - Letter to Lillie/Felton
Grades, IQ Scores & Evaluations of Students with Learning Disabilities:
Note from Wrightslaw: The IDEA is silent about "gifted" or "twice exceptional children" although some states include gifted children in their exceptional children programs. Letter
to Lillie/Felton is a policy letter about special education eligibility
that was published by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
in 1995. This letter clarifies several key points: eligibility teams
may consider support provided by parents; children with high IQs are
not excluded from special education eligibility; evaluations must
include testing of the seven areas mentioned in the special ed regulations. Opinion/policy Letters are not law, but represent the position of a federal or state agency.
of Response from Office of Special Education Programs
In determining a child's current level of educational achievement for purposes of specific learning disability (SLD) identification, it would generally be appropriate to consider information about outside or extra learning support provided to the child when determining whether a child who receives satisfactory grades is nevertheless not achieving at age-level. Such information may indicate that a child's current educational achievement reflects the service augmentation, not what the child's achievement would be without such help.
Children With High I.Q.'s Not Excluded From SLD Disability Category
There is no categorical exclusion for children with high IQs in Part B; therefore, if a student with a high I.Q. is not achieving at his expected performance standard for reasons other than those specified in 34 CFR 300.541(b), (the criteria for determining the existence of a specific learning disability (SLD)), and otherwise meets the criteria for that disability in accordance with that provision, the child can properly be identified within the meaning of that disability. Each child who is evaluated for a suspected learning disability must be measured against his own expected performance, and not against some arbitrary general standard.
SLD Evaluation Must Include Testing of All Seven Areas Listed in 34 CFR 300.541(a)(2)
None of the seven areas listed in 34 CFR 300.541(a)(2)(i)-(vii), the Part B regulation which establishes the criteria for determining the existence of a specific learning disability (SLD), can be categorically excluded from a multidisciplinary team's evaluation to determine whether a child has a SLD. To the contrary, each of these areas must be taken into consideration, and a state policy which requires otherwise may be suspect.
Full Text of Inquiry
A number of problems have surfaced in recent months in North Carolina regarding the interpretation of policy from Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). To help us have clear, factual information to share with parents and professionals, the Learning Disabilities Association of North Carolina (LDANC) requests clarification of the intent of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and OSERS policy decisions in the areas identified below. We would like to have information about the legal basis for the following statements and implications for determination of eligibility for students with learning disabilities.
(1) A review and comments on a letter (attached) from Robert R. Davila, Assistant Secretary of Education to Mr. Brian J. Hartman, dated August 28, 1989, especially those underlined sections which state;
(a) In the second situation the students would not satisfy the Federal requirement that there be a failure to achieve commensurate with (their) age... although there was a failure to achieve commensurate with their ability levels. (b) In the case where a student's disability does not interfere with the student's ability to benefit from participation in the regular education program without supplementary aids and services, and the student is progressing from grade to grade at the same rate as his or her age peers, then that student is not entitled under the Act to special education. (c) The requirement of discrepancy from age-appropriate performance reflects a fundamental premise expressed in the Education of the Handicapped Act that children with disabilities are entitled to special education if their disability adversely impacts their ability to benefit from regular education and that there is a need for special education.
(2) Clarification of what should be taken into consideration by the Multidisciplinary Team when applying Section 300.541; "a multidisciplinary team may determine that a child has a specific learning disability if the child does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability levels in one or more of the following areas:
Oral expression;
One of the significant problems we've been consulted about has to do with STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES WHO ARE BEING DENIED SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES BECAUSE THEY ARE RECEIVING As, Bs AND Cs ON THEIR REPORT CARDS AND ARE PASSING FROM GRADE TO GRADE AT THE SAME RATE AS THEIR PEERS.
parents are even being told that a standard score of 85 or higher
on an academic portion of the Woodcock Johnson indicates that the
child is achieving at grade level in that subject and therefore, does
not need special education services.
School systems seem to be basing their eligibility policies for students with learning disabilities on the following factors:
1. The standard established by the Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Rowley that a handicapped child is not entitled to a special education (IEP) that is designed to permit him to reach his maximum or optimum potential and "that the LEA is not required to provide the best education, only an 'appropriate one,' even though the North Carolina State statute says; "The policy of the State is to insure every child a free and full opportunity to reach his full potential."
2. A 1989 letter of finding written by Robert R. Davila, former Assistant Secretary of Education commenting on Section 300.541(a) of the Federal regulations in which Mr. Davila stated "In the second situation the students would not satisfy the Federal requirement that there be a failure to achieve commensurate with [their] age. . ., although there was a failure to achieve commensurate with their ability levels." Mr. Davila's choice of words gives the impression that a Federal requirement of failure is written into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Unfortunately, Mr. Davila's rendering of the law is causing loss of services for many students with learning disabilities who are in need of special education services in order to receive benefit from education.
Another statement in Mr. Davilla's letter that raises an issue for IEP Teams when they are making eligibility decisions for students with learning disabilities is "IN THE CASE WHERE A STUDENT'S DISABILITY DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE STUDENT'S ABILITY TO BENEFIT FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE REGULAR EDUCATION PROGRAM WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES, AND THE STUDENT IS PROGRESSING FROM GRADE TO GRADE AT THE SAME RATE AS HIS OR HER AGE PEERS, THEN THAT STUDENT IS NOT ENTITLED UNDER THE ACT TO SPECIAL EDUCATION"
students identified as having learning disabilities are not failing
to achieve commensurate with their age level and are passing from
grade to grade at the same rate their peer. Yet these same students
are still in need of special education and related services in order
to benefit from education. This is true for students with above average
intelligence as well as students with average intelligence.
Thus, we contend that these two factors need to be addressed when eligibility decisions are made:
How much help is the student receiving outside of the school day?
A 6th grade student receives As and Bs on her report card. She has a learning disability in written language, dictates most written work to a parent, takes all tests orally and reads all class work to the teacher because the teacher can't understand what the student has written. Direct services in the area of written language is not considered because the student receives As and Bs on her report card and in fact she loses her eligibility for special education services, even though she has over the 15 point discrepancy, because she is achieving commensurate with the age and ability levels of her peers.
An 8th grade student receives As, Bs and some Cs on his report card. He has an identified learning disability in reading yet he has never received a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation in reading and has not received direct reading instruction since 5th grade. He struggles to read his text books in school and his parents help him to read school books in the evening including all math instructions and math word problems. Upon reevaluation this student also loses eligibility for services because he did not have the 15 point discrepancy required by North Carolina. He was, however, only tested in the areas of broad reading and broad math. His mother is told that because he is achieving above grade level, the school system will not do the alternative method of documenting a discrepancy. The possibility that he might benefit from direct reading instruction is not taken into consideration.
Two court decisions; Ohio (Toledo Public School District 1989) and Pennsylvania (Conrad Weiser Area School District v. Thomas and Wendy L., February 10, 1992), supported parents whose children were achieving academically to the point that the school systems thought the students should not receive special education services. One student was academically gifted/learning disabled and was achieving at or above grade level; the other had a low IQ and was achieving at or above potential. Both courts gave a great deal of credit for the students' achievement levels, to daily help from parents, teachers and private tutors.
According to these courts, achieving at or above grade/age level or achievement level does not disqualify a student from eligibility for special education services.
Clarification of the responsibilities granted to the Administrative
Placement Committee (APC) according to Federal Law and definition
of what is meant by the word 'PLACEMENT' in regard to their job description.
This Committee, including a Local Education Agency Representative, signs all state and federal paperwork and then together with the parent writes and signs the IEP. The signed Special Education Forms and the IEP then goes to the Administrative Placement Committee (APC) located in each Local Educational Agency's Central Administration Office. According to NC. Special Education Policies and Procedures Manual, the APC Committee is empowered to make final decisions on eligibility.
In some cases their parents have been informed that their children are not eligible after the IEP Team met with the parents, the parents were told that the child received the necessary 15 point discrepancy, every person on the IEP Team including the LEA Representative signed all of the necessary paper work which stated that the child had a learning disability that was not correctable without special education services and every person on the IEP Team, including the parents agreed upon the contents of the IEP and signed it. The special education forms and IEP were then sent to the Administrative Placement Committee (APC) where special education services for that student were denied because the APC Team overrode the eligibility decision made by the IEP Team.
Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidences.
(a) A policy statement as to the compliance of the NC guidelines with
the evaluation procedures mandated by the last part of Section 300.541.
North Carolina Special Education Policies and Procedures Manual only
instructs the LEA to test the student in Reading and Arithmetic and
does not follow the federal mandate 300.541 which specifically requires
separate testing in the areas of basic reading and reading comprehension
and in mathematics calculation and mathematics comprehension. Currently,
N. C. Special Education Guidelines only require students with suspected
learning disabilities to be evaluated in five areas, instead of the
seven areas designated by Section 300.541.
Full Text of Response from Office of Special Education Programs
letter is in further response to your request for clarification of
the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (Part B) that govern procedures for determining whether children
suspected of having specific learning disabilities are eligible for
services under the Part B program. Based on your inquiry and a subsequent
telephone conversation between Ms. Lillie and a member of my staff,
the specific issues which you wanted clarified in writing were identified.
The relevant issues and our responses appear below. Please excuse
the delay in responding to your request.
items (1) and (2) of your letter, you raised questions about a letter
to Mr. Brian J. Hartman dated August 28, 1989, concerning situations
in which some students with exceptionally high I.Q.s may be eligible
for special education services, under the specific learning disability
category, while others may not. A more recent clarification from this
Office relevant to the issues that your inquiry raises is set forth
in a letter to Stephen Mark Ulissi, Ph.D, dated January 14, 1992.
The more recent clarification to Mr. Ulissi represents the Department's
current position on the relevant issues and supersedes the clarifications
set forth in the August 28, 1989 letter to Mr. Hartman.
The letter to Mr. Ulissi clarifies that "each child who is evaluated for a suspected learning disability must be measured against his or her own expected performance, and not against some arbitrary general standard." The Part B regulations include requirements, at 34 CFR §§ 300.540-300.543, which must be used for evaluating children suspected of having specific learning disabilities, in addition to the evaluation requirements at 34 CFR §§ 300.530-300.534. The multidisciplinary evaluation team, whose responsibilities for evaluating a child with a specific learning disability are specified at 34 CFR §§ 300.541-300.543, is responsible for making a determination as to whether there is a severe discrepancy between an individual child's ability and his or her performance level.
The interpretation in the letter to Dr. Ulissi is that underachievement is measured against the student's own ability, and not against a normative performance standard. Thus, each child's educational needs are determined on a case-by-case basis, using the evaluation procedures at 34 CFR §§ 300.530-300.534, and the additional criteria at 34 CFR §§ 300.540-300.543 when evaluating children with learning disabilities.
You are also concerned that, because of a statement in the August 28, 1989 letter to Mr. Hartman, "teachers [are] saying that some Multidisciplinary Teams are being told that they now must consider as a part of eligibility criteria, whether the student's disability adversely impacts their ability to benefit from regular education." Part B contains no such requirement. In order to be eligible for services under Part B, a child must be evaluated as having one or more of thirteen specified physical, mental, emotional, or sensory impairments, which cause the child to need special education and related services. 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(1). The common denominator in this definition is that the child's impairment "adversely affects educational performance." 34 CFR § 300.7(b)(1)-(b)(13). Part B does not otherwise define this concept. The term "adversely affects" is used in the Part B regulations at 34 CFR § 300.7 in the phrase "adversely affects a child's educational performance." An operational definition of "educational performance" is included in a letter to William M. Lybarger, Ed.D. dated September 14, 1990 (copy enclosed). That letter states that a child's educational performance must be determined on an individual basis, and should include non-academic and academic skills. Since the measurement of "educational performance" is different for each child, the Department has not developed a single definition for this term. Similarly, the term "adversely affects" must be determined on an individual basis.
January 14, 1992 letter to Dr. Ulissi also states:
No mention is made in the regulations of any exclusions solely on the basis of intelligence. All children, except those specifically excluded in the regulations, regardless of I.Q., are eligible to be considered as having a specific learning disability, if they meet the eligibility requirements contained in the Part B regulations.
In your letter, you stated that you are concerned that some students are being disqualified for services under Part B because they are passing from grade to grade, without taking into consideration any severe discrepancy between the child's ability and the child's performance. Ms. Lillie indicated in her conversation with a member of my staff that, in some instances, a child's final grade in mathematics or reading, or a score on an achievement test, alone, is used to determine whether a child is eligible for services under Part B.
In order for a child to be eligible for services under Part B under the specific learning disability category, there must be a severe discrepancy between the child's achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, or mathematics reasoning. 34 CFR § 300.541(a)(2)(i)-(vii). None of the areas listed at § 300.541(a)(2)(i)-(vii) can be categorically excluded from the areas that the multidisciplinary team examines to determine whether a child has a specific learning disability.
child may be considered to have a specific learning disability if
the multidisciplinary evaluation team finds that the child "does
not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability levels"
in one or more of the areas, and the child has a severe discrepancy
between achievement and intellectual ability in these areas that is
not the result of other known handicapping conditions or environmental,
cultural, or economic disadvantage. See 34 CFR § 300.541(a)(1)-(2)
and (b). Of course, as is the case for all other children who are
identified as having a disability, a child is not eligible for services
under Part B unless, because of their disability, they need special
education and related services. See 34 CFR § 300.7(a).
also asked if the evaluation team should consider any tutoring that
the child receives outside of the school day, or any modifications
or compensatory strategies that are used with the child, and that
the child needs in order to succeed academically, when determining
whether the child is eligible for services under Part B.
In item (3) of your letter, you asked about which groups appropriately make eligibility and placement decisions. Before a child can receive services under Part B, the responsible public agency must evaluate the child in accordance with the requirements of 34 CFR §§ 300.531-300.532, and in the case of children suspected of having a learning disability, the requirements of 34 CFR §§ 300.540-300.543. Under Section 300.532, the evaluation must be made by a multidisciplinary team or group of persons, including at least one teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of suspected disability. See 34 CFR § 300.532(e). For children suspected of having learning disabilities the additional team member specified at § 300.540 must also be included in the multidisciplinary team. The evaluation must assess the child "in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities." See 34 CFR 300.532(f)). After the evaluation is completed, the determination is made about whether or not the child is eligible for services under Part B.
Under Part B, placement decisions must be made "by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options." See 34 CFR § 300.533(a)(3). The term "placement" as used in this provision encompasses eligibility (e.g., placement into special education), placement in a continuum option, and location in which services will be delivered. While the regulation requires that each of these decisions be made in accordance with 34 CFR § 300.533, it does not require that all of those decisions be made at the same time, or even by the same group of persons.
If the child is eligible for services under Part B, the school district must conduct a meeting to develop an individualized education program (IEP) for the child, within thirty days of the date of the eligibility determination. See 34 CFR § 300.343(c). Although the Part B regulations clearly contemplate that IEP meetings are held after eligibility decisions are made, they do not necessarily preclude the development of IEPs in anticipation of eligibility determinations.
One of the determinations made by the participants at the IEP meeting is the specially-designed instruction or special education services, as well as any necessary related services, to be included in the IEP. Since the IEP forms the basis for decisions about where the child will receive services (34 CFR 300.552(a)(2)), the decision about where the IEP will be implemented generally would be made after the IEP meeting has taken place.
As indicated below, we are referring your inquiry about how eligibility determinations are being made in North Carolina to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
In item (4) of your letter, you alleged that North Carolina is not complying with the requirements at 34 CFR § 300.541 because its policies do not require separate testing of basic reading and reading comprehension, and mathematics calculating and mathematics comprehension. You stated that in North Carolina, "students are only evaluated in broad reading and broad mathematics" and that North Carolina's guidelines "only require students with suspected disabilities to be evaluated in five areas, instead of the seven designated at [34 CFR § 300.541]." As stated earlier in this letter, none of the areas listed at 34 CFR § 300.541(a)(2)(i)-(vii) can be categorically excluded from the areas that a multidisciplinary team examines to determine whether a child has a specific learning disability. A child may be considered to have a learning disability if the multidisciplinary team finds that the child "does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability levels" in one or more of the areas listed at 34 CFR § 300.542(a)(2)(i)-(vii), and each of the seven areas listed at 34 CFR § 300.541(a)(2)(i)-(vii) must be taken into consideration when evaluating a child with, or a child suspected of having, a specific learning disability.
In item (4), you also asked about tests that can be used to evaluate the areas listed at 34 CFR § 300.541(a)(i)-(vii). The Part B regulations set out requirements for evaluating children with disabilities at 34 CFR §§ 300.530-300.534, with additional criteria for evaluating children with specific learning disabilities at 34 CFR §§ 300.540-300.543. Neither the Act nor the Part B regulations prescribe specific tests which must be used to meet the Federal requirements. The regulation at 34 CFR § 300.532 requires State and local educational agencies to ensure that tests and other evaluation materials:
Are provided and administered in the child's native language or other
mode of communication, unless clearly not feasible to do so;
As discussed earlier with Ms. Lillie, North Carolina's implementation of issues raised in items (3) and (4) in your letter will be handled as a complaint involving Part B. You will note from the enclosed letter that we have forwarded your complaint to NCDPI, and have requested that agency to take action to resolve the complaint, in accordance with the "State Complaint Procedures" in Part B at 34 CFR §§ 300.660-300.662 of the Part B regulations.
regulations require that, within 60 calendar days of receiving the
complaint, NCDPI must provide you with a written decision that addresses
each allegation in the complaint, and contains (1) findings of fact
and conclusions, and (2) the reasons for the final decision. We have
asked NCDPI to provide us with a copy of its written decision.
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