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For anyone still suffering from the delusion that the campaign for by-district council elections in Anaheim is some home-grown, kitchen-table, grass-roots effort, may I present the inaugural contribution to the Committee for District Elections – sponsored by One Anaheim: a check for $3,500 from one Morris Baller, a liberal litigator from Oakland.
And who is Morris Baller?
He's an $805-an-hour partner in the "public interest class action" law firm of Goldstein, Borger, Dardarian & Ho – the same firm which – along with the ACLU — represented Jose Moreno and his allies in their attempt to force the adoption of by-district elections via litigation.
It's the same Morris Baller who pocketed about $250,000 in fees, courtesy of Anaheim taxpayers, as a result of the settlement agreement that put by-district elections on the November ballot. So we have the city cutting a check to one of Moreno's left-wing lawyers, who then kicks back $3,500 of his winnings to Moreno's comrades at the OCCORD-run Committee for District Elections.
Ironically, Baller argued in this September 4, 2012 letter to the City of Anaheim that he and his clients Moreno et al considered putting the question of by-district council elections to a city-wide vote to be inherently discriminatory toward Latino voters. But fiddle-de-dee! With the Left it's all about the ends – the means don't have to be logical or intellectually honest.
The campaign report for the Committee for District Elections, which shares an address (and according to the above 497 filing a phone number) with the left-wing political advocacy group OCCORD, will be available at the end of the month. Anyone want to guess how much of the reported donations will come from left-wing unions, individuals and organizations? And how few of those will hail from Anaheim?
The lawsuit filed by Jose Moreno et al and the ACLU against the City of Anaheim demanding the imposition of single-member council districts by judicial fiat, claimed the city was in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. One of the attorney's sharing in the $1.22 million the city is paying as part of the lawsuit settlement is Robert Rubin.
Rubin, along with another left-wing lawyer, Joaquin Avila, authored the CVRA. Since the laws enactment in in 2002, Rubin has traveled the state filing, threatening to file or participating in CVRA lawsuits against cities and school districts. Conveniently, when defendants lose or settle CVRA lawsuits, they have to reimburse the plaintiffs for legal fees and expenses incurred.
According to Wikipedia, Rubin and Avila and their fellow litigators) have collected $4.3 million in fees from three cases. Who know one could rich fighting for the poor and disenfranchised?
Rubin was also part of the team suing Anaheim, and according to city documents he was demanding to be reimbursed at the kingly rate of $825 per hour! He billed 341.4 hours to "supervise all aspects of the case including legal/ litigation strategy and filings, argue/ attend hearings and city council meetings, correspond with opposing counsel" – which would have brought his haul to $281,655! Yowza.
As it is, Rubin settled for a mere $775 per hour, meaning he will pocket $264,585.
UPDATED: After consulting an expert legal mind about the nuanced language of the staff report, the settlement agreement';s restrictions on single-member district ballot arguments isn't as draconian as I initially concluded. I've revised the post accordingly.
Apparently, the commitment of single-member council districts to "authentic representation" doesn't extend to free and unfettered debate with opponents.
Item 18 on tomorrow night's Anaheim City Council agenda deals with placing on the November ballot the proposed charter amendments to re-structure the city council. One of those is the single-member council districts charter amendment, being put on the November ballot pursuant to the settlement agreement with the ACLU and plaintiffs Jose Moreno et al. Interestingly, the ACLU and the plaintiffs included some very political demands designed to tilt the campaign playing field in their direction.
According to the staff report:
As one of the actions being taken tonight, the Council should identify two or more members of the City Council to write the arguments. Agreement provides that the selected members must be those that "support a change in the City's electoral system to 'by-district' elections." This resolution prohibits Council members from using their City titles for identification as an author in the signature block of any written argument or rebuttal argument except for those Council members authorized by this resolution to write the argument in favor of the single member district Charter amendment measure. [emphasis in the original]
And indeed, the settlement agreement stipulates just that (page 2, second paragraph):
Neither the City Council , nor any of its members, shall file a ballot Argument against the [by-district] Charter Amendment measure pursuant to Elections Code 9282(b).
In other words, only councilmembers allowed to sign ballot arguments on this issue – in an official capacity, using their titles — are Mayor Tom Tait and Councilman Jordan Brandman – sort of a ballot argument-version of gerrymandering.
For folks who tirelessly portray themselves as speaking for "the people," it's very revealing that proponents have so little confidence in the appeal of single-member council districts to Anaheim voters that they proactively sought to exclude Mayor Pro Tem Kris Murray and Councilmembers Gail Eastman and Lucille Kring from signing ballot arguments against by-district elections.
As part of the settlement between the city and the ACLU the left-leaning group's lawsuit seeking single-member districts for Anaheim City Council elections, the city has to pay the ACLU's legal costs, which are reportedly to be $1 million. Single-member council district proponents are now trying to shift blame to the councilmembers who oppose single-member districts — which utter nonsense. From today's OCRegister.com:
Mayor Tom Tait said that the cost of fighting the lengthy lawsuit could have been avoided if the City Council in August 2012 had approved his call for similar ballot measure.
First of all, it was Jose Moreno, Amin David, Consuelo Garcia and the ACLU who sued the City of Anaheim, not the other way around. They initiated the litigation. They forced the legal fight. The legal costs incurred by both sides are the result of a deliberate, freely-made action by the plaintiffs and the ACLU.
Furthermore — and this is the crucial truth that the media has missed and single-member district proponents are glossing over — the litigation continued for as long as it did because the plaintiffs and the ACLU had no interest in putting single-member council districts on the ballot. This is from a September 4, 2012 letter — nearly a month after Mayor Tait's failed attempt to put single-member district on the ballot — from the plaintiffs' attorneys to the city's attorneys:
We told you that Plaintiffs would not postpone litigation on the possibility that the City might put a measure to the voters in November 2012, and that the City should instead consider a negotiated resolution to a court action, which would allow the election system to be changed without subjecting the question to a vote of the entire electorate, which is equivalent to an at-large election in its discriminatory effect on Latinos.
And from the same letter:
Still, the City took no positive action toward unconditionally changing the election system. It put on the agenda for the next scheduled Council meeting, on July 24, 2012, a resolution to submit the matter to voters at the November 2012 election — precisely the type of "referendum" that we told you repeatedly the Plaintiffs would not accept as the basis for settling or delaying the lawsuit.
And more:
Moreover, the schedule established by Resolution No. 2012-090 and incorporated in the City's request for a nearly one-year stay of litigation would provide the City the absolute ability to avoid the risk that the Court could compel the City to change its election system before the 2014 elections.
As we have discussed with you on numerous occasions in informal communications, Plaintiffs will not accept such a ballot measure as a basis for resolution or even delay of the lawsuit.
The mayor's claim is directly contradicted by the plaintiffs' attorney. The plaintiffs and the ACLU had no interest in putting single-member districts on the ballot – they wanted the court to impose them directly on the people of Anaheim without their consent. According to the plaintiffs' attorney, even if the council had supported Mayor Tait's proposal, it would not have stopped the clock on the litigation. it would still have gone forward and the legal costs would have continued to mount, because the plaintiffs were not interested in going to the ballot — which they viewed putting the matter on the ballot to be discriminatory against Latinos.
Given that they had opposed placing single-member council districts on the ballot as having a "discriminatory effect on Latinos," it is strange that the plaintiffs are today celebrating the same thing as a "victory" for Latinos.
If the plaintiffs had been amenable to putting single-member council districts to the voters, this settlement would more than likely been reached long ago, and Anaheim taxpayers would have saved a great deal of money. The fault lies with the plaintiffs' stubborn insistence on bypassing the voters in favor of the imposition of single-member districts by judicial fiat.
The Anaheim City Council has voted to approve a compromise settlement with the ACLU on a lawsuit brought by local school board member and liberal activist Jose F. Moreno and two others. After listening to City Attorney Michael Houston recite the terms of the agreement, my initial impression is both sides came away with something.
Here are the terms as best I could catch them during Houston's report:
- The case is dismissed with prejudice (meaning the ACLU can't re-file it down the line) and the city is fully released from the plaintiffs claims.
- The settlement is not an admission that the city of any violation of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) nor that the CVRA is applicable to Anaheim's election system.
- By February 7, the City Council will:
- Place a single-member council districts charter amendment on the November 2014 ballot for approval or rejection by the voters. If approved, the 2016 council elections will be conducted on that basis.
- Move the proposed charter amendment to expand the city council to six members from the June to November 2014 ballot, and repeal the June ballot measure to incorporate residency-based districts into the City Charter.
- Suspend the residency-based districts the council voted last year to create, and eliminate the council district mapping process currently under way. These will only be re-instated if voters reject single-member districts.
- If the voters approve single-member council districts in November, the council will create a committee of three retired judges who are Anaheim residents to advice the council on creating the districts. if three such judges cannot be found to serve, the council will appoint a 9-member citizens advisory committee that is broadly representative of the city.
One upshot of the settlement is that this November's council election will be conducted just as they always have, on an at-large basis.
Following Houston's report, councilmembers had a chance to ask questions and make comments. Mayor Pro Tem Kris Murray posed a series of illuminating questions to Houston, whose answers made several things clear:
The ACLU and the plaintiffs attitude throughout the litigation was that they neither desired nor thought it necessary to ask Anaheim voters if they even wanted single-member council districts. Their interest was in having the court impose them on the city.
If the council had placed single-member council districts on the November 2012 ballot – as Mayor Tom Tait and a platoon of leftists demanded in August of that year — the ACLU and Jose Moreno would have continued to sue the city, and the city would still have had to spend money defending itself. After all, what ACLU and the plaintiffs sought was imposition of single-member districts by judicial fiat – not the opportunity for Anaheim citizens to have a say in the structure of their government.
Behold, your progressive tribunes of the people in in action!
Mayor Tait asked City Attorney Houston if the plaintiffs would have filed their lawsuit demanding single-member council districts if the city council were already elected from single-member districts. Houston responded, unsurprisingly, that he didn't believe they would have.
So, while switching to single-member council districts is a very real future possibility, the plaintiffs wound up agreeing to something they had tried to avoid – involving the voters of Anaheim in the matter.
UPDATED: the city has posted the settlement agreement itself, as well as an FAQ and press release.
UPDATED: Mayor Pro Tem Kris Murray released this statement:
Today's settlement allows Anaheim to move forward and preserves our residents' rights to democratic decision-making.
This settlement protects the taxpayers from further expense from a lengthy trial and leaves our citizens in charge of their own elections.
I'm so proud of the work of our residents in debating this issue over the past year and especially the members of our Citizens Advisory Committee, which I proposed to create an open forum on this critical issue for Anaheim.
I also thank Anaheim's mayor and my fellow city council members for their unanimous support of this victory for Anaheim residents.
What's been buzzing around Anaheim for a few weeks is bleeding into the media (OC Register and VOC): during tonight's closed session, the Anaheim City Council is expected to settle the ACLU's lawsuit (for which the lead plaintiff is Anaheim City School District Trustee Jose F. Moreno) to replace the city's at-large council elections with a system of single-member council districts.
As part of the settlement, it is expected the City Council will agree to carve the city into four single-member districts and then put it to the voters. The judge can't impose single-member districts by judicial fiat since Anaheim is a charter city; it requires amending the city charter, which can only be done by a vote of the people.
There's no reason single-member districts couldn't be placed on the June ballot in hopes of obtaining a"yes" vote that would put single-member districts in place for the November council elections. My guess is the ACLU, the plaintiffs and the rest of the single-member district Coalition of the Left prefer a November election on the grounds its higher (and more Democratic) turnout increase the odds of voter approval.
As readers know, in 2013 the council voted to create four at-large council districts (which doesn't require amending the charter), and to place on the June ballot measures asking voters to a) incorporate at-large council districts into the city charter and b) whether they want to increase the council to six members. City staff was subsequently instructed to create districts for both a four- and six-seat council, for the city council's consideration and adoption.
The ACLU is demanding the city turn over a trove of documents, voice-mails e-mails, and text messages – both official and personal — from a small army of current and former councilmembers, staff, city commission appointees and private citizens, often pertaining to circumstances, events or issues not even tangentially related to "racially-polarized voting."
It's sort of like litigation carpet bombing, and it done in support of the racially-driven lawsuit the ACLU is arguing on behalf of lead plaintiff and Anaheim City School District Governing Board member Jose Moreno – the goal of which is to impose on Anaheim citizens a single-member council district system for which they have not asked.
Click on the image to see the October 4 letter to City Attorney Michael Houston.
The letter from ACLU attorney Bardis Vakili claims:
"The documents identified herein are relevant to a central issue in the case – the lack of accountability of Anaheim's city council to Anaheim's Latino community, resulting from the continued maintenance of an at-large system after being advised that the system dilutes the vote of the Latino community."
Like I said, from the perspective of the plaintiffs and the ACLU, this is all about the color of a person's skin.
Some thoughts on the ongoing debate over Anaheim's recently adopted anti-camping ordinance.
For starters, it was good to see the City Council unanimity on the matter. This really isn't a complicated issue: there is a homeless encampment in La Palma Park which has a deleterious effect on the life of neighboring residents and is effectively denying the use of a public park to the public.
Opponents of the ordinance criticize it by asking where the city proposes that the homeless campers go? The underlying assumption is that by squatting in a city park, homeless individuals thereby obligate the city to provide them with someplace else to live. That is a poor precedent to set.
Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. The signature line from that speech is, of course, this:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
It is sad and ironic that 50 years later, the City of Anaheim is being sued by self-styled civil rights activists who seek to base Anaheim's city council elections on the color of its citizens skins, and not their character as unique, individual citizens.
Strip away the rhetoric and the ACLU lawsuit seeking to impose single-member council districts centers on race. This elevation of ethno-racial group considerations above individual rights is evident in this comment by ACLU lawsuit plaintiff Jose Moreno at the June 11, 2013 Anaheim City Council meeting:
After paying at least rhetorical deference to Councilwoman Kris Murray's point about the individual citizen's right to vote for whomever they choose, Moreno offers this critical caveat:
"…so that neighbors may elect neighbors regardless of what they may look like but that people who look a certain way or may have a certain surname, that their voting patterns are respected." [emphasis added].
That is (or should be) a startling admission of a radical idea. In plain English, what Moreno is saying is that the ballot choices of Latino voters should be accorded more weight than non-Latino voters. That principle stands in opposition to one of the bedrock principles of this Republic of equality before the law. Each of us has the right to vote and to cast his or her ballot for the candidate or candidates of our choice; but no person's vote does and should count more than the vote of anyone else. Sometimes our favored candidates win, and sometimes they lose – but those are our choices as individuals and not merely constituent parts of a racial group, or individual manifestations of ethnic groupthink.
Let's say a member of a school district board of education was the lead plaintiff in litigation against the city in which his district was located, alleging the at-large council election system disenfranchised the city's Latino majority and asking the court to force a change to electing councilmembers from single-member districts.
Let's also say this same school board member was himself elected at-large to a five-member board of education that had only two Latino members – despite a student population and voting base that are even more overwhelmingly Latino than the city in which the district is located.
Let us further posit that the board of education on which the plaintiff served could switch from at-large elections to single-member district elections at any time, by its own action, without even having to put it to a vote of the people. All that would be required would be action by the board and a waiver from the state Board of Education – which has granted such waivers to other school districts.
Let us further suppose that despite months of heavy coverage of this plaintiff's lawsuit, no media outlet (save one) ever raised the question of why that plaintiff had never sought to enact within his own school district what he was trying to impose on the city in question via litigation? It is, after all, a reasonable and screamingly obvious question — and the failure to pose it raises its own set of questions.
Why Hasn't Moreno's Anaheim City School District Abandoned At-Large Elections?
Of course, this isn't a hypothetical but a reality: it is true that Anaheim City School District Board of Education member Jose Moreno is the lead plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit seeking to impose single-member council districts in the City of Anaheim.
Judge Franz Miller has decided to let the ACLU/Jose Moreno/Amin David lawsuit against Anaheim move forward to a March 2014 trial. He has also set an October 1 date to hear City of Anaheim motions for a stay, dismissal or bifurcation.
The salient aspect of the lawsuit to impose single-member council districts is the overwhelming focus on race and ethnicity. It is driven by a noxious state law, the deceptively named California Voting Rights Act, that treats voters as nameless members of racial or ethnic groups rather than as individual citizens, and seeks to make racial/ethnic considerations that organizing principle for how we elect our local governments.
Proponents of single-member council districts employ a number of slogans and incantations to advance their cause of carving Anaheim up electorally based on racial/ethnic criteria, in order to achieve a desired racial/ethnic outcome.
One endlessly-repeated catchphrase is "Only three Latinos have been elected to the Anaheim City Council in the city's 156 year history." Here's video of the lawsuit's lead plaintiff, Anaheim City School District Trustee Jose F. Moreno employing it at the June 11, 2013 Anaheim City Council meeting as if it is the coup de grace that ends of debate:
[NOTE: the discussion in the first minute of the video revolves around the disagreement between former Councilman Lorri Galloway and CVRA attorney Robert Rubin – one of the lawyers arguing Moreno's lawsuit – over whether she is a bona fide Latina.]
This claim — which is echoed ad nauseum and unthinkingly in the media — lacks credibility because it rests on the false assumption that Latinos have been a significant portion of Anaheim's population throughout the past century-and-a-half.
Superior Court Judge Franz Miller has lifted the stay on the ACLU lawsuit claiming Anaheim's at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act and seeking to impose on the city a single-member council district system (that no one outside of a small. vocal faction of political interests has asked for). basically, he is allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
The city had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, which the judge obviously turned down, and has set a March 17, 2014 trial date for the ACLU's litigation on behalf of Anaheim City School District Trustee Jose F. Moreno, Latino activist Amin David and another plaintiff.
Keep in mind that under the ordinance adopted by the City Council a few weeks ago to shift to a residency-based districts system of elections, those four residency-based districts must be drawn and approved by March 1.
It's my understanding (for which I'm seeking further confirmation) that Judge Miller felt it may be premature to continue a stay on the ACLU lawsuit based on the City Council voting to replace the system being litigated by the ACLU with the new, residency-based district system — at least without a full hearing.
Judge Miller did set an October 1 hearing to hear motions to stay the lawsuit or dismiss it.
I wasn't at today's hearing and didn't hear the arguments or the judge's comments. Obviously, from the perspective of those of us opposing the Left's attempt to carve up Anaheim, today's decision was not the preferred outcome. At the same time, neither is it defeat. Contrary to certain Vichy gadfly-types who opposed districts before they supported them but want to run-up the white flag because they are afraid of the possibility of the city writing a check to the ACLU, the better course for the city to fight it out because the city is in the right.
UPDATE: Here are the OC Register (paywall) and Voice of OC articles on today's ruling.
The Anaheim Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting will convene for its final meeting this Thursday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Anaheim City Council chambers.
The CAC members vote on the draft report to the ciy council.
You can read and/or download the draft report here.
When you boil it down, the ACLU's attempt to litigate the City of Anaheim into replacing the at-large system of electing the city council with single-member council districts is really about race; specifically classifying citizens on the basis of their race and designing a system of representation that is based on race.
The ACLU alleges the current system violates the California Voting Rights Act, disenfranchises Latinos and demands increasing the number of Latinos on the council via single-member council districts.
It is clear to anyone who has been paying attention tat the left-wing coalition pushing single-member districts views the world through race-colored glasses. The internal logic of this thinking inevitably leads us to away from the "content of our character" ideal articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr., pushing us backward to absurd spectacle of an increasingly inter-racial society arguing over what someone's "real" ethnicity is.
And the mangling of color-blindness was on display in these paragraphs from the Voice of OC's story on yesterday's decision by Judge Franz Miller to delay hearing the lawsuit until July:
The city challenges the validity of the lawsuit in court documents, arguing that members of minority groups have consistently been elected to the City Council. According to the city, 10 seats have been up for election since 2002, with seven of those seats filled by either "Asian" or "Hispanic" council members.
One of those council members is former Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, who is Spanish and Filipina, a mix that ACLU attorney Robert Ruben said doesn't meet the criteria for Latina under the Voting Rights Act.
What a sad, infuriating spectacle. But not an unexpected one. When racial bean-counting is the coin of the realm for acquiring political power and "representation," should we be surprised when such argument breaks out over whether or not someone is really Latino (or Asian or whichever ethnicity is deemed in need of increased "representation)? If single-member council districts become a reality in Anaheim, we can expect more of such demeaning spats.
Today, the OC Superior Court Judge Franz Miller granted the City of Anaheim's request for a stay of the ACLU's litigation to force a switch from at-large election of council members to a single-member district system.
The judge stayed the lawsuit until July 9 in order to give the Anaheim Citizens Advisory Committee on Elections the opportunity to complete its work, and for the City Council to take the CAC's report under consideration for action.
UPDATE: The city had two motions before the court today. One was a motion to dismiss the ACLU's lawsuit – I believe that's what a request for a "judgment on pleadings" is — was continued until July 9.
The other motion was for the stay, which Judge Miller did grant. The court case is now scheduled for July 7. A conference for July 9, at which the city will to present a "detailed time line for any proposed city election."
From the OCCourts.org website:
Reasoning: Deny reqst for j/n as untimely; ct has inherent power to stay proceedings in the interests of justice and to promote judicial efficiency (Freiberg 33 A4 1484, 1489; although ct should consider traditional factors of judicial economy, MP hardship, and RP prejudice (Rivers 980 FSupp 1358, 1360), where, as here, there are separation of powers considerations (see Connecticut Indemnity 23 C4 807,814), that factor has particular importance; cts should defer when practical to legislative solutions to potential constitutional problems, especially where the democratic process is invoked; if ct finds current voting scheme for city council unconst, ct will either order a particular scheme or order Anaheim to come up w/ one; re the former option, Anaheim correctly notes it is not reqrd to adopt a particular scheme, just a const one; re the latter option, that appears to be what Anaheim is moving toward now; reqstd say time is de minimis; a serious timeline/game plan is necessary to ensure any problems are remedied with all due speed
The city's legal fees, which the pro-single member district faction and the Vichy Anaheim-types find so objectionable, shouldn't move much in the interim. Given the sum the city spent litigating the Angels name change, it strikes me pound-foolish to engage in hand-wringing over a legal bill related to Anaheim's governing structure for the next 100 years.
UPDATE: Voice of OC's Adam Elmahrek was at the hearing and has more details here.
While the OC Republican Party slumbers, the Democratic Party of Orange County is lending its voice to the left-wing coalition pushing to abolish Anaheim's current at-large system for electing the city council, and carve the city into eight single-member council districts.
My friends at TheLiberalOC. com posted yesterday that the DPOC Central Committee approved a resolution of support for this scheme, which is being quarterbacked at the political level by a confederation of OCCORD, UNITE-HERE Local 11, Los Amigos and the OC Labor Federation — with the ACLU covering the litigation front.
Democratic Party of Orange County: left-wing.
OCCORD: left-wing.
UNITE-HERE: left-wing.
Los Amigos: left-wing.
OC Labor Federation: left-wing.
ACLLU: left-wing.
Anyone seeing a pattern, here?
Given that constellation of support, it's safe to say this plan for eight single-member council districts isn't intended as a recipe for limited government and greater liberty in Anaheim.
During public comments at Tuesday night's Anaheim City Council meeting, former Los Amigos President Amin David asked how much the city had spent defending itself against the ACLU lawsuit seeking to force a switch to a district-based system of council elections.
He neglected to mention he is one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit.
The answer to Amin David's question was $144,000 as of the end of September.
During the campaign, Anaheim City School District Trustee Jose Moreno took council candidate Jordan Brandman to task about council districts, lambasting him for supporting a citizens commission to examine in a deliberate manner, rather than rushing to place a slapped together proposal on the November ballot.
"When we asked you to discuss district elections, and to be really clear that we want district elections now, to not go through the expense of a lawsuit, which is general fund money, but to rather have the council vote to put it on the ballot…"
Moreno's point was that folks like Brandman were costing the city money in litigation costs by not preemptive lay bowing to the lawsuit.
That, by the way, is the line generally taken by the defeatists the among Anaheim activists, who have bought into the conventional wisdom that resistance is futile and a quick surrender is the least expensive option.
Leaving aside the validity of that conventional wisdom — which I do not buy — let's consider David's and Moreno's concerns over how much their litigation will cost the city, because it is uniquely within their power to do something about it.
They could simply suspend their lawsuit until the citizens commission completes its work, forwards its recommendations to the Anaheim City Council, and the city council takes action regarding those recommendations.
Putting their lawsuit into suspended animation — not dropping it — would stop the clock on the city's legal expenses.
In fact, it's my understanding the city has asked them to do exactly that — and they refused.
Keep that in mind next time Jose Moreno, Amin David or anyone supporting their litigation sheds crocodile tears over "the cost to taxpayers."
There are three plaintiffs to the ACLU's lawsuit against the City of Anaheim, seeking to force the replacement of the current at-large council election system with election by districts. One of them is Dr. Jose Moreno, a member of the Anaheim City School District Board of Trustees.
The basis of the lawsuit is that Anaheim's current system violates the California Voting Rights Act because not enough Latinos have been elected to the council of a city that is 50% Latino, and believe a district-based system will ensure the candidates of the right ethnicity are elected.
Which leads me to ask: why doesn't Moreno sue the Anaheim City School District? After all the Latinos are the dominant ethnic group in the district. The vast majority of the students are Hispanic. And yet, four of the five members of the Board of Education are white:
This week's election changed nothing. Two union-backed candidates, Al Jabbar and John Santoianni, went down in flames. Board of Education member James Vanderbilt was re-elected, and will be joined by a former ACSD principal, Bob Gardner, who is also unarguably a white guy:
If matching the ethnic composition of a jurisdiction's elected officials with that of the residents is the sine qua non of representation — which is the underlying rationale of the ACLU/Moreno's lawsuit — then shouldn't Moreno lead by example by suing his own school district for being so unrepresentative of the community? Are not the same conditions that exist in the City of Anaheim also present in the Anaheim City School District — only more so? The ACSD's Board of Trustees is elected at large — and is whiter than the Anaheim City Council.
What argument could be made against Moreno suing to implement trustee districts, other than being indecorous and not very cricket?


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subset: commoncrawl


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Roasted Chickpeas and Pecans with Bacon and Maple SyrupPrint Print Without Images
This snack food will keep you coming back for more! Sweet, salty and delicious.
1 cup (250 mL) cooked chickpeas, or 1/2 19 oz (540 mL) can, rinsed and drained
2-3 slices bacon, diced
a handful of broken pecans
1/4 cup maple syrup
light sprinkling of sea salt
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the chickpeas and bacon over a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake, stirring once or twice until bacon is starting to brown, and most of the fat has been rendered, about 30 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature to 400°F, and add the pecans. Roast for 5 minutes, and add the maple syrup. Toss well, and return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes. The maple syrup should be thickened and bubbling. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and allow to cool somewhat before eating.
Recipe and photo from Dinner with Julie , used with permission from Julie van Rosendaal.


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Elevate Yourself with a Continuing Education Course at MLA'19
Posted on February 13, 2019 by David Bickford | No Comments
MLA '19 ELEVATE continuing education (CE) courses in Chicago, IL, will take place on Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4, 2019. CE courses support health sciences librarians and other information professionals in adapting to rapidly changing environments, transforming their collections and service models, and leading important new changes in education, research, and librarianship.
Continuing Education courses at MLA'19 are now being listed under professional practice areas (just as the Immersion sessions, Papers, Posters, and Lightning Talks) – Information Services, information Management, Education, Professionalism & Leadership, Innovation & Research Practice, Clinical Support, and Global Health & Health Equity. Find the course that meets your needs. Elevate Yourself!
See more at https://www.mlanet.org/blog/mla-19-continuing-education-ce
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Maria Grazia Chiuri brought the circus to Paris as she brings her haute couture collection for Dior Spring 2019 to the big stage. Held in a big top with lights draping from the ceiling, Chiuri merges performance and fashion yet again as acrobats performed tricks as the models walked the runway. The gowns that came down the runways were quirky with lots of sparkle and diamond accents, in reference to clown costumes. It was a feast for the eyes and is a good continuation from her Spring/Summer 2019 collection that featured a ballet performance.
We've picked 10 of our favourite looks from the show. Scroll through to see them all:


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Match Snooker Pool Billiards Cloth
£180.00 - £220.00 / m inc. VAT
Sample Swatches
Sample swatches are available for a nominal fee of £1.50 – order a sample swatch of this fabric here
Match Snooker Pool Billiards Cloth
Match snooker pool billiards cloth is the tournament quality cloth that delivers the professional playing experience. As a result it is the choice of all quality snooker table makers. Furthermore it is made in the UK using british wool and craftsmanship.
Match cloth for Snooker, Pool and Billiards tables is tightly woven from the finest wool yarns. Consequently Match cloth provides spectacular speed and cue ball control. In addition to this, Match cloth is incredibly durable. Therefore it is a cloth that will save you money longer term, due to its longevity.
Due to the quality of Match cloth it has been used in major tournaments. For example the ACBS, Match Room Snooker, SPA, BAPTO, EUKPF, the World Pool Championships, French Grand National, British Open and many others. Match cloth IS the tournament cloth.
- The choice for major snooker and pool tournaments world wide
- Designed and developed for Match tables
- Designed to meet or exceed Tournament specifications
- Delivers spectacular speed and cue ball control
- Enhances an experienced player's skills
- Features a short precise nap cut surface
- Made from pure wool
Match snooker, pool and billards table cloth is 195cm wide, available in rolls. Green only. Pure wool with a raised nap, this fabric is far more superior than baize.
Pricing Table for Match Quality Snooker, Pool and Billiards Baize
|Range (m)
|Price (£/m)
|1 - 1.9 m
|£220.00 / m
|2 - 2.9 m
|£210.00 / m
|3 - 4.9 m
|£200.00 / m
|5 - 9.9 m
|£190.00 / m
|10 - 40 m
|£180.00 / m
Environmental Details
100% biodegradable, contains no formaldehyde, 100% VOC free, no chemical irritants, free of harmful substances.
This 100% merino wool baize is a natural material and colour variation is evidence of the 100% natural origin of the material. Therefore the product colour is only indicative, as it is not possible to assure consistency of colour in a natural product due to the natural colour of raw wool and absorption of dyes. Colour matching cannot be guaranteed on shipments and variation will be more pronounced beyond the normal commercial range.
Additional Information
|Roll/Bolt Length
|Roll/Bolt Width
|Fabric Thickness
1.25mm / 1250 micron
100% Merino Wool
|Primary Uses
Snooker, Pool and Billard Tables
Faced Finish
|Purchase By
10cm increments with a 1 metre (100cm) minimum
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Nestle Nescau 2.0 400g
- Brand: Nestle
- Product Code: Drinks
- Availability: 10
- Ex Tax: AU$9.00
Product of Brazil
Best Before: 1 November 2020
Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Maltodextrin, Minerals Vitamins, Soy Lecithin, Emulsifier and Flavouring.
Contains: Gluten.
Contains: Traces of Milk
Direction for use; Add 2 tablespoons (20g0 Nescau to 160ml milk & mix
Disclaimer: International Groceries is not the importer or manufacturer of this product. We attempt to include up to date pictures of the products and accurate ingredients, however product detail may change from time to time and there may be a delay in making updates. Please always read the labels, warning and directions provided before using or consuming the product.


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6 January, 2009
Barriers that Punish
Automatic Rising Bollards – in my opinion a dangerous hazard that can cause serious damage to property and injury to car occupants. Come on guys – you can think of better ways to keep traffic out….
4 January, 2009
Using Hysteria and Useful Idiots to Drive Law-making
Inflate a problem, lie about it, redefine some words, and hey presto! You have a way to make a new law that will probably cause a lot of harm but will tick the boxes of certain voters whilst not alienating others.
31 December, 2008
Speed Limiting in Cars
As part one of my campaign to introduce the concept of actually thinking to UK media, pundits and government, I'm covering the nasty little idea of automatic speed limiters being introduced to cars – so that people can, basically, stop thinking about the speed they drive at. That'll work…
About the Campaign for Thinking
Introducing my personal, one man mini-crusade – the Campaign for Thinking. It's going to be a scattered stream of consciousness thing. It might be good therapy for me. Who knows?


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Benefits of Basement Waterproofing in Des Moines IA
Basements are a well-loved and utilized feature in many homes across the country that provide additional square footage that you can use for things such as extra storage, a home office or a den. However, a common problem that many homeowners have is that of excessive moisture that enters their home through the walls and flooring of the basement. When this is the case, waterproofing is the best option for solving the problem. The following are just a handful of the benefits you can expect from basement waterproofing in Des Moines IA.
It gives you additional usable living space
Basements are notorious for being damp, smelly and uncomfortable and because of these reasons, often become an unused areas in many homes. Waterproofing your basement breathes new life into the space and makes it comfortable and livable for a variety of applications such as an extra bedroom, a family room or even a gaming area.
It prevents mold from becoming a problem in your home
Excessive moisture that seeps through the floor and walls of your home encourage the growth of mold and other spores that negatively affect your health and badly damage your property over time. Waterproofing your basement prevents the development of mold and keeps your surroundings healthy and free of toxins and allergens that mold spores release.
It prevents water damage to your home
Water damage is one of the most serious side effects of having a basement that does not feature proper waterproofing. Over time, moisture slowly seeps into your basement through the walls and floors, settling in areas and weakening the structure of your home while damaging household items at the same time. Waterproofing keeps your basements and surroundings dry so that you can avoid the damaging effects that excessive moisture has on your home.
Increases the value of your home
Waterproofing your basement increases the value of your home by combining all of the benefits mentioned above. If you are planning to sell your house in the future, having more usable space, non-existent mold problems and no signs of water damage practically guarantees a successful sale and a good return on your investment.
These are a few of the most important benefits of basement waterproofing in Des Moines IA. If you need to have your basement waterproofed, contact BAM Basements today to schedule a consultation with an industry expert.


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WEDNESDAY'S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Heineman hurls Birds past Jersey
Southwestern's four-run second inning and seven innings from Piasa Birds pitcher Spencer Heineman proved too much for the Jersey Panthers on Wednesday.
Heineman pitched six shutout innings before the Panthers staged an ill-fated rally and Southwestern made its early outburst stand for a 4-2 nonconference baseball victory at Ken Schell Field in Jerseyville.
Brendan Schiller had two hits and drove in a run and Blake Lawson drove in two runs for the Birds, who improved to 2-1 after opening with a doubleheader split at Columbia. Heineman moved to 2-0 with the complete-game win.
Zack Seymour had a RBI single for the Birds, who outhit the Panthers 8-4. Luke Shively and Lane Powers drove in runs for Jersey. Will Mortland took the loss for the 3-2 Panthers.
Columbia 7, Roxana 4 – Nelson Martz drove in all four Shells runs with a pair of doubles, but it wasn't enough for a victory in Roxana's home opener. Martz, Blake Vandiver and Chance Foss each had two hits for Roxana. Kyle Roberson took the loss.
Carlinville 9, Greenfield 6 – The Cavaliers managed to produce nine runs on just three hits to beat the Tigers in Carlinville. Carlinville is 3-2, while the Tigers drop to 0-3.
Joeb Easterday drove in two runs for Carlinville, which scored four runs in the fourth inning and five in the sixth. Bryce DeSpain had a two-out RBI single and Jeffrey Hart followed with a RBI double in the sixth.
Hart worked six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits, two walks and nine strikeouts to earn the win.
Travis Goode went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the seventh for Greenfield, who got two hits and two RBIs from Brenton Dalton.
Alton 19, Cahokia 1 – The Redbirds pushed their record to 4-1 with the rout in Cahokia.
Alton, winner of four in a row, broke open a scoreless tie with 10 runs in the third inning and added seven more in the fifth for an early end on the road.
Matt Hopkins and Nick Paulda each had three hits for the Redbirds, who got three RBIs from Clint Cress and two RBIs each from Drake Hampton and Jacob Skrabacz.
OTHER GAMES — Edwardsville pushed its record to 3-0 with a 6-2 home win over Moline at Tom Pile Field. Gillespie edged Mount Olive 9-8, Metamora defeated O'Fallon 3-2, Mascoutah took down Belleville East 3-1, and Collinsville beat Althoff 8-7.
EA-WR takes triangular – Nate Billings won four individual events to lead the host Oilers to the victory in Wood River.
East Alton-Wood River scored 109 points to beat Roxana (57), Gillespie (54) and Belleville Althoff (32).
Billings won the triple jump (39-0), discus (152-1), 100 meters (11.4) and 200 (23.9). The Oilers' William McLemore posted a long-distance double, winning the 1,600 (5:22.7) and 1,600 (11:20.5), and Tyler Lafferty won the 800 (2:11.3) and 300 hurdles (40.8).


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"I know it seems 'square' to actually talk to your guidance counselor, but I was a kid once too—and not that long ago. Let's just rap as people. No pressure. From now on I'm not Mr. Rosso, guidance counselor. I'm just Jeff, your friend who cares."
- Mr. Rosso, "Freaks and Geeks", NBC-TV
Article by
Johnny Patout
President & Managing Partner
New Beginnings
Being an adolescent is such a wonderful, fascinating and awful period in a person's life. Everything is just "more." More mysterious. More frustrating. More exciting. The music we loved in our youth still impacts us. The people we loved still cause a pause and a pang. The experiences are mythic in our memory. It's difficult not to be nostalgic about our teenage years—to glorify them, to distort and then to project our myths about that age onto our young patients.
For them, the pain they experience when they come to teen drug rehabilitation is real, if not hyper-real. The pain becomes part of the narrative that they take into their adult years. It is our job to help them rewrite the experience into something they can manage and grow from. To do this, we must talk with them—and this is where we often struggle.
In our efforts to identify with adolescents, we actually alienate them by trying too hard to relate and be hip. Teens think of themselves as mature people. They are test-driving their own theories on what it means to be a grown-up. As a result, they want adults to act like adults. When you try too hard to get "on their level," they often feel like you're mocking them. We have to be the adult.
As a natural and necessary part of their development, adolescents experience:
a need for autonomy
a desire for privacy
a greater investment in their peers
a need to try on different identities
huge physiological changes
It's helpful to understand these tendencies, but also to connect with teenagers as the individuals they are and want to be.
Here are some approaches to consider when working with adolescents, especially in a teen drug treatment setting.
1. Don't speak in teen jargon.
Hip, cool, crunk, sick, ace, fly, phat, tight. By the time you discover these words, they are already out of fashion. And if you come across one in UrbanDictionary.com that is timely, you might freak a teen out a little. Yes, it's tempting to use teen words ironically for humorous effect. But if you get more eye rolls than normal, stick to the words you know. It may be funny only to you.
2. Be honest.
Adolescents crave authenticity, even while they try on personas like a new outfit. They are looking for authenticity in others, even while they struggle with being authentic. They don't want a therapist or counselor to sound like a therapist or counselor—or at least how they envision a therapist from movies and television. They want a human being. It means not trying to sugarcoat the situation or hide behind the technical language of the profession. Even if everything around them feels fake, you will be their exception.
3. Be careful about contact.
If you've spent any time at a high school, you've noticed that teenagers love to hug, wrestle, high five, shoulder punch and basically find any excuse for physical contact. This contact is mostly peer-to-peer. Physical contact can also confuse teenagers. Keep in mind that a hug from an adult can be easily misinterpreted. High fives and side hugs may be best if physical affirmation is needed.
4. Don't try to over-identify by offering your own teenage experience.
Someday they'll realize that teenagers haven't changed much in the past few generations, but that day is not today. When they rattle off the cliché "you don't know what it's like," you'll have to give them the benefit of the doubt. You may not know what it's like, not anymore. If you begin your sentence with, "When I was a teenager," they are already suspicious of what will come next.
5. Don't tell them these years are the best years.
First, you're lying. Second, that is certainly not their experience. Instead, get to the heart of this fallacy. Why do we think these years should be great? What hope can this offer? Few things are more depressing than someone telling you what your reaction should be. If they have been under the illusion that being a teenager is supposed to be great, it might be better to remind them that there are no "best years." Every stage of life has its unique challenges.
6. Let teens have their "gold star."
Teenagers can be quirky and obsessive about the strangest things: a particular bracelet they never take off, an odd fashion choice, an afternoon routine, an inexplicable mannerism or peccadillo. I imagine this as a gold star they wear with pride. When working with teenagers, you have to let them have their gold star. If they will only sit on the floor while talking to you, let them sit on the floor.
7. Help them think for themselves.
Teenagers hate being lectured with solutions. Try to help them think for themselves. You can do this by discussing the possible implications of a choice, helping them think critically about what they experience, and inviting them to consider multiple responses. Compiling a pros and cons list is one useful activity for self-reflection.
8. Avoid asking questions they won't answer.
Teenagers may already be on guard in a therapy session. They are anticipating confrontational questions, because this is how they have interacted with parents and teachers. You may learn more by asking open questions. Questions such as, "How are you?" or "How has your day been?" will help the teenager talk about how he/she feels. A few surprising, safe questions ("What's your favorite cereal?") may get them to share in unexpected ways.
9. Listen.
If it feels like the statement "you need to listen" goes without saying, why do we need to keep saying it? Let's be honest. It's hard to listen to teenagers. Their logic is all over the place. Their feelings are often so misplaced. They are simultaneously obsessive and apathetic. But if you let them talk, you might be surprised by what they reveal and what you can learn.
10. Compliment the shoelaces.
A lot is going on in a teenager's head at any moment, including a heaping load of insecurity. It will be a big help if you can remain positive. A little praise goes a long, long way. If it appears like everything in their life is falling apart and they make one bad decision after another, look down at their feet and compliment their shoelaces. Find something, anything that shows you don't completely disapprove of them. From there, you can work on everything else.
Being an adolescent is not easy. If it were, they would be less anxious to grow up and move on with their life. You are where they want to be. You're an adult. You can be a guide, someone who has ventured ahead of them to let them know it's going to be all right. They are stronger than they think they are, more capable, and more caring, and better years are still ahead.
Johnny Patout is the President and Managing Partner of New Beginnings Adolescent Recovery Center in Opelousas, La., and is a licensed clinical social worker with nearly 30 years of experience in the addiction treatment field. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict with more than 30 years of sobriety. His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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(11-15-2018, 09:30 PM)Ryantology Wrote: Hey guys,
I'm seriously having a hell of a time finding the program I need right now and wanted to reach out for some suggestions. Before now I've always just ripped movies from my bluray collection so that I could edit them. I tend to just buy digitally anymore thought which leaves me at a loss because I still want to be able to rip and edit videos from iTunes. I know that there are programs out there for this but I'm really having a hard time finding anything that will work with Mac OS High Sierra. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll be your best friend.
Whatever you do, do NOT update your OS to Mojave!!!!
It has rendered 90% of my legacy apps, including my Adobe Photoshop, Wordperfect and my good old FINAL CUT EXPRESS, completely useless. Not to mention it has made my MAC slower than molasses.
Going out on Black Friday to see if what deal I can find for a PC... Alienware maybe... but after 30 years, I am through with Apple.
My point being, whatever software you decide upon, make sure to research if it will still work if you plan on ever updating your OS.
"... let's go exploring!" -- CALVIN.


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Perfect idea Southsound - temporary suspension until Ooma reviews it... I REALLY like that idea.southsound wrote:Well, it's back! In stereo too. ooma is going to loose some frequent posters from the forum if they don't find a way to top this. I have an idea that it is just a deficiency in the phpBB security - but nobody likes the garbage so they may have to devote some additional moderator hours to cleaning out fake users on a near real-time basis. It might even be a good idea to set up a couple of "sub moderators" who had the ability to delete the spam messages and temporarily suspend accounts pending review from ooma.
Just wanna say Hi :)
Having trouble placing or receiving calls or using your voicemail system on Ooma Telo VoIP Phones? Post your questions here.
Post Reply
Re: Just wanna say Hi :)
- Bobby B
- Ooma Moderator
- Posts: 1457
- Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:41 pm
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
- Contact:
Re: Just wanna say Hi :)
We just added another change to the registration process that hopefully should cut down on the spammers. We'll monitor to see how well it's working.
Bobby B
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Priest a violent bully and coward
from the link: http://www.smh.com.au/national/priest-a-violent-bully-and-coward-20120419-1xa40.html
Priest 'a violent bully and coward'
April 20, 2012
THE former priest Brian Spillane has been sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for a series of sexual assaults on young girls – attacks described as "serious, planned and callous" by Judge Michael Finnane of the NSW District Court.
"The offender used his position as a priest to gain access to the homes in which each of his victims lived," said the judge. "He was very trusted and the parents of each of the victims readily gave him access to their daughters because of that trust and the esteem in which he was held."
The assaults began in the late 1970s when Spillane was on the staff of St Stanislaus College, a boys' boarding school in Bathurst. They continued when he became a parish priest in Sydney. He later returned to St Stanislaus as school chaplain.
Spillane, 69, continues to deny all the charges that have been brought against him, not only those involving these young girls but some 100 charges he has yet to face relating to assaults on boys at the school.
A heavy-set redhead, Spillane trained for the priesthood in the Vincentian Order and was sent to teach at St Stanislaus in the late 1960s. At his trial he described himself as a modern priest – joyful and enthusiastic, a hugger and kisser, a man at ease with families and their children.
In the late 1970s, he ingratiated himself into a family with boys at the school and abused their sister, then aged 11.
"This was the conduct of a violent bully and coward, done without regard to the effect it would have on the young girl," Judge Finnane said at sentencing. "It was sexual abuse carried out by a trusted priest, and was a major breach of trust."
The Vincentians posted Spillane to Sydney in the late 1970s and for a time he was acting parish priest at St Anthony's Marsfield. There he befriended another devout Catholic family and, under the guise of hearing their daughters' bedtime prayers, abused both for more than a year. The judge called this: "Predatory and a major abuse of trust."
One of those victims, known as Miss M, told the court of the devastating impact on her life of Spillane's abuse: of guilt, panic, mistrust, anger, depression, estrangement, drinking, drugs, loss of interest in study and, now, fearfulness for her daughter. She said: "It changed my fate and all that I wanted to be."
In those years in Sydney, Spillane also assaulted and wrote love letters to a 16-year-old student at a western suburbs Catholic school. Judge Finnane called the assault "predatory and heartless" and the letters "maudlin, full of false piety and completely inappropriate".
Spillane left the priesthood in 2004 and a son was born after his marriage that year. The first complaints about him were made to Bathurst police three years later. He was charged in 2008 and convicted by a District Court jury in 2010.
Sentencing was delayed until yesterday by the defence solicitor Greg Walsh attempting to have his old friend Judge Finnane disqualify himself from this and any future proceedings involving Spillane.
Mr Walsh claimed that after the swearing-in of a new District Court judge in March last year, Judge Finnane remarked over a cup of tea that paedophiles were "all guilty" and "should be put on an island and starved to death".
Judge Finnane denied saying those words and declined to disqualify himself. The dispute reached the NSW Court of Appeal in November and the decision upholding the judge's right to sit was delivered a fortnight ago.
The court found the words, if uttered, might have been incautious but couldn't be taken seriously and would not be regarded by a fair-minded bystander as prejudging the former priest's position.
Lawyers estimate about $700,000 has been spent on the former priest's defence so far. But who is footing that bill is a mystery. A spokeswoman for the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell, says it is not the church. The Vincentian Order has refused to take the Herald's calls.
At Spillane's sentencing, Judge Finnane spoke of receiving glowing testimonials to his good character. But, he added, "it has also to be said that he used his eminence in the community and his role as a priest to gain access to his victims and to carry out sexual offences on them."
Miss M sobbed with relief when the judge sent her abuser to prison for nine years with a non-parole period of five.
Posted on April 19, 2012, in Archbishop of Sydney, Bill Donohue, Cardinal Dolan, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Cardinal Pell, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Catholic League, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Child Sex Abuse, Clergy Abuse, Clergy Sex Abuse, Father Brian Spillane, Fr Brian Spillane, His Unholiness The Papal Bullshitter Pope Benedict, James Salt, Joseph Ratzinger, Manchester Diocese, Manchester Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Manchester NH Diocese, Pedophile, Pedophile Priests, Perverted Priests, Pope Benedict, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, Priest Brian Spillane, Priest Child Sex Abuse, Ratzinger, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse, St Thomas Moore Parish Durham NH, Vatican, Vincentian Order, William A Donohue and tagged Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Dolan, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Cardinal Pell, Cardinal Ratzinger, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, child, child abuse, child molestation, child molesters, child rape, child rapists, child sex, child sex abuse, child sexual abuse, children, crimes against children, Father Brian Spillane, pedophile priests, pedophille, pedophilles, pope, pope benedict, pope benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, Priest Brian Spillane, priest pedophile, priest pedophilles, rape priest pedophiles, roman catholic, roman catholic church, roman catholic church sex scandal, roman catholic clergy, roman catholics, sexual assault of a child, sexual battery of a child, St Stanislaus College, St Thomas More, St Thomas More Durham NH, St Thomas More Parish, Vincentian Order. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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SweetPro Super 25 Blocks
Net wt 250 lbs (114 kg)
Super 25 is a recommended product for beef cattle and goats.
Super 25 blocks are an important part of the SweetPro "specialty block" series. Designed for the essential fortification of brood cow, stocker cattle and goat requirements for vitamins A, D & E, plus protein, calcium, phosphorus and trace elements including selenium. NPN is NOT urea, rather, we use ammonium sulfate and biuret.
Super 25 is designed primarily for the essential fortification of beef cows for vitamins A, D & E, plus protein, calcium, phosphorus and trace elements including selenium while on low protein forage. Daily intake will vary depending on forage quality and nutritional needs.
The expected range of consumption is from 1.0 to 1.75 lbs (.45 to .79 kg) per head per day. If cows are eating too much Super 25, switch to Magnum.
CAUTION: Contains 600 ppm copper • DO NOT FEED TO SHEEP • Do not use in association with another feed containing supplemental selenium.
Click the label to view larger:
Guaranteed Analysis for all SweetPro products:
SweetPro Cattle Guide
SweetPro Cattle Brochure


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City of Sydney's community gardens policy
Michael Mobbs has highlighted on his blog that City of Sydney has just published a community gardens policy (PDF). This looks good, and I'd love to see something similar in place in Marrickville Council. To quote:
Community gardens are unique forms of public open space which are managed by the community primarily for the production of food and to contribute to the development of a sustainable urban environment. They are places for learning and sharing about sustainable living practices, and for actively building community through shared activities.
The City of Sydney recognises community gardening as a valuable recreational activity that contributes to the health and well-being of the wider community and provides a wide range of environmental, social and educational benefits.
There are currently thirteen community gardens across the Local Government Area (LGA) and this is expected to increase significantly in the near future due to high community demand and to support the vision of Sustainable Sydney 2030.
The purpose of the Community Gardens Policy is to establish a framework for the City's commitment to the appropriate management of both new and existing community gardens. This framework will provide a clear procedure for the establishment of new gardens, outline a basis for communication and partnership between stakeholders and provide a rationale for decision making that ensures consistency in the management of all community gardens in the City of Sydney.
PS. I've been away in Europe for three weeks (for work), but thankfully Miss P has been ably looking after the garden. Now that the jetlag is receding, there will hopefully be an upswing of postings.
Inner west community gardens
There are a number of community gardens in the Inner West of Sydney (and many more beyond). These provide a great opportunity for those with small gardens (or no gardens!) to grow their own vegetables, herbs and fruit.
Today we visited the Marrickville Food Forrest, located on Addison Road, in the Addison Road Centre (ARC). As is typical, it is squeezed into an unused plot of land behind some buildings, but thriving nonetheless.
It makes me appreciate how lucky we are here. We have easily 5 to 6 times the space of a typical community garden plot, with plenty of sun, and room for growth. Now the pressure is on to really make it thrive!
Over the next few months we'll try to drop into more of these gardens, to get further inspiration on what (and how) to grow. There is also the potential to join up with a Seed Savers group, to swap seeds (we have plenty left over).
These are the gardens on our list for the Inner West:
- Glovers Community Garden (Rozelle; end of Glovers Street)
- Petersham Anglican Church (Petersham; Frederick Street)
- Whites Creek Community Garden (Lilyfield; 29 White Street)
- Glebe Community Garden (Glebe; Corner of Derwent Lane and St Johns Rd)
- Marrickville Community Food Forrest (Marrickville; Lot 48/142 Addison Rd)
- Marrickville West Community Garden (Marrickville; 1 / 7 Henson Street; Marrickville West Public School Grounds)
- Angel Street Permaculture Garden (Newtown; Cnr Angel St and Harold St)
- Newtown Community Garden (Newtown; Jane Evans Day Care; off Longdown Street)
- Greg Hewish Memorial Garden (Redfern; Cnr Ogden and Marriot Streets)
Further information:
- Australian Community Foods has a good list of community garden sites, plus other resources
- Leichhardt Council's map of community gardens
- Marrickville Council's list of established community gardens


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George Soros -- Satan's financier:
George Soros' Atheism Fuels Conservative Rage
Conservatives are fuming over the $15.5 million that billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has pledged to defeat President Bush. But they're also anxious to fight back and expose what they consider to be Soros' "immoral" beliefs and atheist leanings.
...Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams, an authority on Christian values, said Soros wants to destroy the values on which the United States was founded. Williams called Soros "morally bankrupt" and he wants the U.S. Justice Department to investigate his contributions.
"He hates God and his biblical principles. He hates everything that's godly," Williams said. "He's jumping up and down at the thought that same-sex marriages could happen in this country. It's a direct assault on the church, the institutions that restrain and restrict our behavior and remind us of the standard of morality and moral absolutes."...
"No one knows what demons drive Mr. Soros to consistently fund anti-family agendas," said Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at Concerned Women for America. "But he seems determined to turn the world upside down and replace morality with immorality."...
--from the right-wing news site CNSNews.com
Oh, and, of course, he's Jewish -- but that's OK with the Religious Right these days ... or it would be if Satan Soros hadn't (gasp!) lost the faith and didn't (eek!) consider the policies of the current Israeli government unlikely to produce peace. On the right these days, that makes him Beelzebub's amanuensis.


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The community is in mourning following the fatal shooting on Interstate Highway 80 in Richmond last week that claimed the life of 24-year-old Demarcus Doss.
In the wake of the tragedy, stories of courage and heroism have emerged about the Pinole man who gave his life for a friend, a witness who stopped to help and a Richmond police officer whose swift, selfless actions helped solve a homicide case within 15 minutes of the incident.
Doss was driving amid traffic with a female passenger about 3:30 p.m. Thursday when suspects in another car opened fire into his Honda Odyssey minivan, according to the California Highway Patrol. In an online fundraiser launched for Doss' family in the wake of the killing, loved ones say Doss heroically shielded a female passenger in the car with his body and thus absorbed most of the bullets.
That female friend survived with non life threatening injuries.
"We are not surprised of his actions," loved ones said in the gofundme.com account. "He was a man that had a genuine loving and caring heart. "
Soon after the incident, news also emerged about a good Samaritan in a red Volvo who stopped to help the victims, and witnesses were praised by the California Highway Patrol for providing descriptions of the suspects' vehicle.
As more details come to light, another story of courage has emerged. Minutes after the shooting took place, Officer Orlando Guzman, a school resource officer not assigned to patrol duty, happened to be driving on city streets when he saw a vehicle matching the description that was dispatched, according to police.
He tailed the vehicle in the area of 17th Street and Chanslor Avenue until it stopped at a house. Guzman then made contact with the murder suspects as fellow Richmond officers arrived at the scene to detain them.
The suspects were identified as Elliot Johnson, 24, of Richmond, and two 17-year-old boys. Authorities believe Johnson, who has "an extensive violent criminal history ranging from gun crimes to carjacking," was driving while one of the juveniles committed the shooting.
Richmond police Officer Felix Tan praised Guzman's swift-actions, saying he departed from his usual duties as a school resource officer to help make a daring bust.
"He took the time to hunt for this car and found them within 15 minutes of the incident," Richmond police Lt. Felix Tan said.
Just two days after the incident, Officer Guzman attended a youth foster care conference in Richmond as a representative of the Richmond Police Explorers program.
Investigators are not yet releasing the suspects' motive in the shooting.


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What is the point of the factories?
TO help the economy or something?
What is the point of the factories?
TO help the economy or something?
I cant wait, but the players who have been farming power this entire time are going to have a few which will be interesting
Is there any ETA for this?
@wtfrank Technically you could, you simple just let a shard update every few ticks ex. S1: True then when its done it changes S2: True
@mrfaul Well, I totally agree with you, a person with a small room would be able to to some major damage as soon as they get to rcl 8
@mrfaul I don't think its rude for him to not use english. Google translate doesn't work as well as you might think it does but it does work. You could have instead of attacking him translated his message into english. Что касается вас, Zergeich, мы предпочитаем использовать английский.
@ciber I think this would be a game changing thing, if they added this i'd be extremely happy, you could maybe manually place your controller then you have a certain area that is now claimed by you, then maybe you could put down things like claim extenders that allow you to further expand your base or "area". Then this compound with areas where maybe "supply crates" spawn and you could go there to get some boosts, but if you want the higher boosts from these crates you first have to defeat a boosted guard, I also think it'd be a cool idea if even the players weren't able to see into rooms they don't have vision, like there are no buildings there until you go and look and then later if you go back in look you'd see the buildings that you saw, but you'd have to go back to update the buildings. This would give players a REAL reason to scout. I really do think it'd be cool to see something that you contest. Of course the map would have to be on a new shard but id think it's worth a try.
Sorry for any weird sounding things or grammatical errors I don't have time to go back and look through what I typed.


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Coronavirus and events
Due to the current situation, many in-person events planned until the end of July will either be cancelled or moved back until later in the year. If you have already booked for an event, you will receive an email with further information. Online events and webinars will go ahead as planned.
Utrecht - MBA Roadshow
MBA Roadshow - Utrecht
Develop your leadership skills as you focus on diversity, critical thinking, innovation and sustainability with the RSM MBA. Meet us in one of the cities of the RSM MBA Roadshow in the Netherlands!
Have a personal chat with an MBA Admissions Advisor in Utrecht to discuss your MBA aspirations.


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Graveside Service
Friday, October 26, 2018
Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens
1490 E. Michigan
Battle Creek, MI 49014
(616) 964-0088
Web Site
Life Story / Obituary
Janet Walker; age 78 passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 20th, 2018 from pancreas and lung cancer. Janet "Little Gram" was born March 30, 1940, in Battle Creek, Michigan, to Roy and Thelma Kissenger (Sigourney). She worked for the US Postal Service for close to 30 years. Janet truly lived life to the fullest through simple pleasures; knitting and crocheting, baking and cooking and completing crossword puzzles. Janet loved to spend time at Lake Michigan on the beach and in the water. She had an unfound commitment to her family and they were truly her everything. She lived and breathed her family and was devoted to their success.
Janet is survived by her daughters Debra Todd and Pamela (Darryl) Watkins and a son Michael (LeeAnn) Walker. She is also survived by her Grandchildren Angela (Michelle) Walker- Lynch, Leslie (Rodney) Slagle, Nuthanael (Stephanie) Watkins, Alicia (Errol) Matthews, Marissa (Norman) McGinn, Marvin Todd, Paul (Autumn) Watkins, Michael Walker Jr., many Great-Grandchildren, a Great-Great Grandchild and a nephew James (Janis) McGhee.
A memorial service will be held in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Friday, October 26th from 3:00pm—4:00pm at Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens 1490 E Michigan Ave, Battle Creek, MI 49014.
Please visit Janet's page at www.mccowensecord.com where you can archive a photo, share a memory, and sign the guest book. The family is being assisted by McCowen & Secord Family Funeral Homes, 409 S. Main St. Vicksburg, MI 49097 (269-649-1697).


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Chandigarh, July 9 (IANS) Punjab will provide compulsory National Cadet Corps (NCC) training to students at all government schools and colleges in areas located close to the international border with Pakistan.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took a decision in this regard at a high-level meeting here on Monday, saying that it would help make the youth employable in the armed and paramilitary forces besides inculcating a strong sense of disciplinein in them.
Gradually, NCC training would be made compulsory at all the schools in the state.
Amarinder Singh announced a pilot project to provide compulsory NCC training to all students of Class IX and XI at government schools and first and second year students at all colleges in the border districts of Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Amritsar.
There are 365 high schools and 365 senior secondary schools in these districts.
In another important decision, the Chief Minister gave the government departments a 10-day deadline to identify and prepare lists of critical vacancies across the state to be filled on priority, while directing online transfer policy to be extended to all departments like the Education Department.
Chairing the meeting to discuss recruitment and other vital issues, the Chief Minister said that about 29,000-odd vacancies in various departments could be filled in the first phase, with another 15,000 posts to be filled in the second phase next year.
On the issue of transfers, the Chief Minister directed that the online transfer policy, which has been successfully introduced for teachers, should be made mandatory in all the government departments to ensure transparency.
Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: IANS


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When a lung condition affects your ability to breathe and function normally, know that you can turn to Emerson Hospital's Pulmonary Medicine & Respiratory Care Department for expert diagnosis, treatment, education and rehabilitative services.
We have a team of pulmonary specialists—physicians with advanced knowledge and skill in diagnosing and treating pulmonary (lung) conditions and diseases—along with respiratory therapists, nurses and others with expertise in lung care who are here to help you.
Importantly, we also have a team of
pediatric pulmonologists
who specialize in treating lung and breathing disorders in children.
The conditions our pulmonary medicine team sees
Emerson Hospital's pulmonary specialists see the full range of respiratory disorders, including:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including emphysema and chronic bronchitis
Cystic fibrosis
Environmental or occupational lung diseases such as asbestosis
Lung cancer
Lung infections
Pulmonary fibrosis
Symptoms such as shortness of breath and cough
The pulmonology services we provide
Emerson Hospital's Pulmonary Medicine and Respiratory Care Department provides a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, including:
Pulmonary function testing
Asthma challenge testing
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
Evaluations at the
Sleep Disorders Center
Mobilization and pulmonary rehabilitation to increase breathing capacity
Pulmonary hygiene and suctioning
Nutrition/dietary counseling
Thoracic surgery
Family education and participation
Low-dose CT lung cancer screening
Emerson Hospital offers low-dose CT screening (LDCT) to help detect lung cancer at its early stages in current and former smokers.
Learn more about this important screening program
Support services and groups
Emerson Hospital offers an array of community health and wellness programs and classes designed to support patients with a wide range of health issues.
Programs for patients with pulmonary and respiratory illness include a
Better Breathers Club
Sleep Disorders Support
For more information about Pulmonary Medicine at Emerson Hospital, please call
Meet Our Physicians
Meena Mehta, MD
Pulmonary Medicine, Sleep Medicine
Julian Lel, MD
Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine
Ali Khodabandeh, MD
Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine
David S. Green, MD, PC
Pulmonary Medicine
Peter M. Barkin, MD
Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine
Rupen Amin, MD
Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine


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Opportunity Application:
Organization: Alberta Science Network
Position: Science Presenter - Gr. 3 Rocks and Minerals
Contact Person: Sabrina Lynn
Phone Number: 403-848-4482
Email Address:
Education Mentoring/Tutoring Science
Volunteer Position
Red Deer, AB
View Opportunity Details » https://www.volunteercentral.ca/index.php/volunteering-your-community/volunteer-opportunities/science-presenter-gr-3-rocks-and-minerals1/ Job URL Job ID Science Presenter - Gr. 3 Rocks and Minerals Job Title
If you feel that you are qualified for this position please complete the following form:
Please note that submissions will be sent directly to the contact person shown above for this position. Please do not contact Volunteer Central regarding details for this position or your submission.


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On Monday, the 27th of November 2017, GRAFT architect Annette Finke is giving a lecture at the conference light technique of the OSRAM GmbH in Berlin.
With the title "Healing Architecture – Parametric Spatial Design in intensive care units" she constitutes the impact of architecture and design during the healing process of patients in intensive care with the GRAFT project of the same name.
Along Annette Finke there will be more guests at the conference, dealing with the leading questions "(How) affects light?" and "What is light doing?".
When: November 27th, 2017, lecture by GRAFT architect Annette Finke 2.45 pm
Where: OSRAM GmbH, Nonnendammallee 44, 13629 Berlin
For further information please visit http://www.optecbb.de/aktuelles/dokumente/171127_Flyer_HFK_Lichttechnik_OSRAM_Stand_171025.pdf
For the registration go to http://optecbb.de/lang/de/anmeldung_20171127_hfk_licht.php


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Recent Job Opening at 9mobile Sept 2019
Jobs Vacancy : Latest Career Employment at 9mobile Sept 2019
Job Description : Latest Career Recruitment at 9mobile Sept 2019
Category : Human Resources Jobs Nigeria
9mobile is a Nigerian private limited liability company. EMTS acquired a Unified Access Service License from the Nigerian Communications Commission in 2007.
The License enables EMTS provide Fixed Telephony (wired or wireless), Digital Mobile Services, International Gateway Services and National/Regional Long Distance Services in addition to spectrum assignments in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:
Job Title: Specialist, Employee Engagement
Location: Lagos
Job Summary
- Responsible for developing and executing the EMTS employee engagement strategy in collaboration with other stakeholders and manage programs aimed at improving employee engagement.
- Support the creation and implementation of a comprehensive communication strategy to foster a positive work environment
Principal Functions
- Develop the employee engagement strategy and execute a dynamic employee communication strategy that aligns to and supports the engagement strategy.
- Develop and deploy engagement surveys and other feedback mechanisms to shape engagement initiatives.
- Analyse patterns in employee data (i.e. engagement survey results, attrition etc) and recommend appropriate actions.
- Drive execution of engagement initiatives through the HRBPs and evaluate impact of these initiatives.
- Build relationships and collaborate across the business to understand and address employee engagement requirements, whilst providing high levels of internal customer service
- Develop HR communication campaigns and collaborate with the Brand & Experience team and other key stakeholders to deploy these campaigns.
- Support the adoption of relevant social media best practices into the corporate culture and support EMTS internal social media related engagement activities, as well as recommending new systems and vehicles to improve the quality, consistency and timeliness of information.
- Develop metrics and analyse data for reporting to line manager on employee engagement and retention program effectiveness
- Develop and implement strategies/initiatives to engage and retain key talents on succession pipeline and critical roles
- Keep abreast of industry best practice and innovations to continually evolve and implement EMTS engagement activities as appropriate to increase retention.
- Drive execution of EMTS's team building activities, initiate new and support on-going programs, identify opportunities for improvement.
- Partner with HR Business Partners and line managers to understand and meet the employee engagement needs of different business areas.
- Manage and execute projects, budgets and proposals, timelines to increase employee engagement and sustain EMTS cultural values
- Perform any other duties as assigned by the Manager, HR Operations & Engagement.
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor's degree or HND in a relevant discipline from a recognised Institution.
- Three (3) to five (5) years post NYSC relevant work experience.
Experience, Skills & Competencies:
- Good communication skill and strong organization and project management skills.
- Confident liaising with and presenting to senior leadership while working closely with other cross-functional teams and areas within the business.
- Ability to multi-task and work under pressure to tight deadlines, budgets and targets with accuracy
- Ability to successfully manage and implement key projects from start to finish
- Proven ability to prioritize, meet deadlines and make best use of limited resources.
- Highly motivated with an enthusiasm for employee engagement and a desire to seek out new ways to engage with employees
- Highly numerical with problem solving and analytical capability
- Ability to motivate, influence and persuade at all levels of the organisation
To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply


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terms for the behavior analysis certification board and comps exam
|Task Analysis
|Task broken into smaller elements and elements are stated in their correct order.
|Progressive Ratio Break Point
|In a PR schedule, the break point is the last ratio size completed before the organism stops responding. In reinforcer assessments, the higher the break point the more effective the reinforcer.
|Bias of partial interval recording, whole interval recording and momentary time sampling
|Partial interval: overestimates rates, used for reduction targets Whole interval: underestimates rates, used for acquisition skills Momentary time sampling: no systematic bias
|Self Stim Theories:
|1. Produces sensory stimuli 2. Arousal theory 3. Social deprivation early in life 4. Changes in dopamine
|Lag 1
|Examines the likelihood that an event occurs given another event that occurs just before (A-->B).
|True Values
|Data in which extraordinary measures have been taken to eliminate sources of error. True values should approximate the true measure of the behavior in the sample.
|Consuming inedible items (e.g., screws,bolts, small toys)
|Respondent Extinction
|Decrease in the strength of a CR as a result of presenting the CS alone
|Escape behavior
|Behavior that is reinforced by escaping from an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcer)
|Grooming: examples
|1. Giving inappropriate attention to children 2. giving gifts 3. openly or accidentally exposing the victim to nudity and sexual material 4. sexualising physical contact, such as inappropriate tickling and wrestling 5. having inappropriate social
|Foundational Skills
|Skill that must be taught before other skills can be taught
|Lag Sequential Analysis
|Computations that examine the likelihood that an event will occur given another event.
|Lag Sequential Analysis: Lag 1
|When conditional probabilities are calculated. It can be between an A or B, or between a B and C. Lag 1 refers to the fact that the CP examines the A just before the B, or the C just after the B.
|Negative Reinforceer
|Stimulus that when withdrawn after a behavior, increases the rate of the behavior. Note that IRT will decrease.
|Competency based training
|The kind of training that is essential in staff training and management. This training involves a needs assessment, learning objectives, performance criteria, training procedures (instruction, simulations, in vivo training), and online feedback. Trainin
|How to sample high rate behavior
|Continuous recording for short period of time
|Function-altering: Rules
|Rules create new CSs, SDs, conditioned reinforcers, EOs, etc
|Distal MO example
|Child abused by visiting parent over weekend-->problem behavior Monday at school
|Experimental Design
|A sequence of conditions that permit conclusions about whether the changes in behavior resulted from the intervention
|Functional Analysis on high intensity behavior
|1. Look at the latency to the first response in the condition. Then end the condition. 2. Or just study the precursors
|Functional analysis: undifferentiated data
|This suggests that the behavior is under multiple control (there is more than 1 operant) or it may suggest that there is some idiosyncratic variable that is maintaining the behavior in all conditions
|weakening behavior: Replacement skills
|Select a replacement skill that is easy to emit and has the same function as the inappropriate behavior
|Student assisted interview in assessment
|Interview questions that student answers to assist in descriptive assessment
|Used in behavior programs to decrease behavior. This can involve written or picture schedules of upcoming events
|Gradually changing the form or topography of a behavior by reinforcing successive approximations to the correct response
|Teaching VB using transfer of stimulus control
|1. Teach echoics or textuals 2. Use echoics or textuals as prompts when teaching mands, tacts, intraverbals 3. Fade use of echoics or textuals as prompts
|Functional anaysis: strengths
|1. High degree of confidence in determining functional relations
Created by: gbsmilez


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After I showed the proposed room layouts for my Mahalo Lounge, which I had drawn up using Powerpoint and Excel, I heard from reader Dan:
Your room planning method is so old fashioned! What you need is the exciting new Plan-a-Room Kit (Patent Paul McAlister Associates) that includes an acetate grid marked at 1′ = 1/2″ and an assortment of about 70 standard furniture pieces. Makes furniture arrangement fun and easy!
I have some photos of this fun little kit I think you would enjoy. I picked it up in a thrift store ages ago, and have never seen another one.
The sad thing is, I probably have one of these somewhere. Sure. Send photos. Hey, can you make up the design for my room you like best????Best, Pam
Here is your Mahalo Lounge, rendered as well as possible within the limitations of Plan-a-Room. Those numbers on each piece (handwritten) correspond to a grid in the box to show how to repack the set.I've enjoyed your site for some time now. I grew up in the era you celebrate, and it is such a pleasure to see a new generation developing an appreciation for a time when folks really did seem to have more fun with their homes. Keep up the good work!Dan
Oh my word — this is fantastic! I will surely feature it. Probably next week, though, as I am drip drip dripping out the Mahalo Lounge stories. Many thanks!!!
Now I need to look for one of these for myself! Best, Pam
Delighted you enjoyed it. Best of luck with your project.
A Plan-A-Room Kit for sale on ebay right now!
But wait! Of course I went looking, and I see there's a Plan-A-Room Kit for sale right now on ebay — I used one of these photos (not one of Dan's) as the lead photo in this story. Seller antiquephoenix gave me permission to show more photos of >>the set he has for sale right now<<:
But wait, again! On Monday morning this week (a bit after my convo with Dan), as I was finalizing this story, I started searching for more information about Paul MacAlister. BOOM! The Google popped up with three Mint In Box complete sets from his estate for sale on ebay since I'd looked the last time, or maybe I was just searching using the wrong terms before. New Old Stock! From the estate of Paul MacAlister himself! I bought one. Then I bought them all. Then I also bought a bunch of sundial cards, also from his estate, different seller. All this, before 10 a.m. Monday. Monday! Don't ask me what I am going to do with all this stuff. It's for my Museum or maybe one for a giveaway one day soon. What do you think? A NOS Plan-a-Kit for a giveaway one day soon? Is anyone reading this far? 10 comments saying "Yes, A Giveaway, Pam! Yippee" and I'll do it.
Paul MacAlister – Interior Designer
Back to searching for more info about MacAlister. Seems he was a very interesting and creative person. He started out with excellent bona fides. He was the first at Yale University's School of Architecture to receive a degree in Interior Design and Architecture.
- Here's a bio on his Camden roots along with a story about his interior design — he designed the furniture, too — for a Vanderbilt mansion in 1938.
- Here's a bio with additional info.
- And, here's a story on a home he interior designed in Chicago.
But he also played a lot with miniatures. The most amazing MacAlister collectibles seem to be his full, miniature room sets — created for his TV show on WGN in Chicago. Yes, he had a TV show about interior design and home planning — the first in the nation. Apparently, for each episode he would make a new room set.
He seems to have made all the furniture in the rooms. After he died, there was a quantity of furniture that was sold as part of his estate. The seller of my Plan-A-Room sets sold a lot of it five years ago. Obviously, I am quite late to this party.
MacAlister also illustrated bookplates. There were the sundials. The biographical references also say he designed wallpaper and textiles. He wrote a book in 1954 (affiliate link). Super creative!
The Plan-A-Room kits were quite famous, it seems — used in some 1,500 schools and colleges nationwide as well as among decorators and designers.
Thank you, Dan, for turning me on to Paul MacAlister and his legacy!
Yes! A giveaway! 🙂
"Yes, A Giveaway, Pam! Yippee"
"Yes, A Giveaway, Pam! Yippee"
Yes, a giveaway Pam! Yippee!
Yes, A Giveaway, Pam! Yippee!!!
dont even bother with the giveaway…i'll just send my address and slap the stamp on it!… (pleasee? maybe…?)
cant blame me for trying!
"Yes a giveaway !"
Pam you have sent me down memory lane! My grandmother was an interior decorator back in St Joseph MO. She ran her business out of an old house from the 1870's that had once housed the city museum. After the museum moved out, she rescued the house from Urban Renewal and restored it to it's former glory when it was first built as a private residence. She had one of these kits and I spent many weekends playing with it for hours on end when we'd go to visit her. Loved the wooden furniture! It beats a doll house any day!
I just found one of these sets while cleaning out my grandparents' home. My grandfather was an architect. He graduated from Cornell in 1932. I wonder if he used it in class. I love having more information about it's value, before I list it on ebay.


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NBC orders The Black Tapes podcast adaptation
Deadline reports that NBC has ordered a series adaptation of the supernatural drama podcast The Black Tapes from creator Paul Bae and Terry Miles alongside Emerald City co-creator Matthew Arnold.
RELATED: TV Adaptation of NPR's Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! in Development
The series will follow a journalist investigating the cases of the evangelical skeptic Dr. Richard Strand, who set out on various missions to debunk the supernatural, encountering people and events that involve personal and literal ghosts.
The Black Tapes began airing in 2015 with its 12-episode first season and has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike since its start for its deep themes, intelligent writing and solid production efforts, with a 12-episode second season airing in 2016 and a six-episode third season that debuted in August 2017 and ended on a cliff hanger for the supposed final season of the series, although the creators announced in March that a fourth season was in the works. The series has accumulated 41.5 million downloads to date and continues to hold a top 10 spot on Apple's podcast category.
RELATED: TV Adaptation of NPR's Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! in Development
The Black Tapes joins a slew of upcoming series adaptations based on podcasts, with Facebook Watch adapting Limetown starring Jessica Biel (The Sinner) and Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) and National Public Radio's Wait, Wait…Don't Tell Me! being adapted at NBCUniversal's Wilshire Studios.