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Could "mommy porn" have value in the doctor's office? Unless you live in a cave (and we physicians sometimes do), you have heard of British author E.L. James' modern erotic 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, 30-plus million copies sold, overwhelmingly to women. The trilogy is an erotic love story about a naïve college graduate who rescues an abused billionaire – a blend of the Story of O, Pretty Woman and a Danielle Steele novel. Not great literature, but clearly having some effect on the libido of millions of women. Do we finally have a safe and affordable clinical tool for women with blunted libidos and hypoactive sexual desire?
The prevalence of decreased female sexual desire and responsiveness has been estimated from 15 – 53%, higher in menopause and perimenopause. In one study, half of women with these symptoms spoke to their doctors about the problem, yet doctors have very few tools for women with hypoactive sexual desire. The phosphodiesterase inhibitors (nitric oxide agonists) such as Viagra increase genital circulation and can effectively treat erectile dysfunction in men, but have shown no benefit in women. Testosterone patches may increase sexual desire and satisfaction in both surgically and naturally menopausal women, but side effects can be uncomfortable, and long-term safety has not yet been established. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of adrenal hormone DHEA replacement, and herbal remedies such as gingko biloba.
So into your office walks a middle-aged female with a normal amount of stress, in a relationship that is comfortable but not passionate, and she wants her mojo back. Where do you start and what can you offer?
First, the differential diagnosis for diminished sexual desire and responsiveness in women: stress, relationship problems, depression, diabetes, endocrine (thyroid, prolactin, sex hormones), medication side effects (particularly antidepressants and blood pressure medication), vascular disease, nutritional deficiencies (and side effects of too much junk food), substance abuse, past history of trauma for starters. Eventually you've corrected everything correctable, made a joint decision with the patient about the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy … and still … no fire. Now what?
Think the missing hormone … oxytocin. Yes, that old induce-labor bag of pitocin you used to hang on all those moms-to-be who weren't progressing. Oxytocin, a major player in female sexual desire and responsiveness, released during any kind of cuddling – romantic, parental, puppies, and released during orgasm. And most importantly, released while reading romantic, erotic literature. But oxytocin blood tests are largely experimental and oxytocin replacement is not easily available at the pharmacy. How do you know if your patient has an oxytocin deficiency, and if can be behaviorally corrected?
You ask them to read the entire Fifty Shades trilogy (yes all 3 books) in one week's time, and see how they feel.
One middle-aged woman reported her animals sat next to her while she was reading, and she felt more connected and cuddly, but it didn't save her relationship. She realized her lack of sexual desire was not physiological, but a result of relationship issues.
A younger woman reported more intense bonding with her young children and husband, and the "biggest orgasm" of her life.
A post-menopausal woman reported that she started to feel desire for her husband again, and had an increase in frequency of intercourse "like 20 years ago," without hormone replacement, and with no change in their marriage. (He was delighted).
No meds, just books.
The key to the success of these books in women is not the abundant sex scenes, but the romance, and the massive release of oxytocin women experience as a result of immersing themselves in the "love" part of the book. Hearts and flowers increase desire in women; thus the success of the "chick flick" for dates.
Let's face it. Pornography, written and visual, has existed forever, but remains a greater male stimulant than female. That difference is driven by physiology – women are not aroused by visual pornography to the degree that men are aroused. Male libido is stimulated more by visual and tactile erotic images and sensations – leading to a massive release of norepinephrine (energy/aggression) and dopamine (pleasure/reward). For men, increases in dopamine and norepinephrine appear to play a greater role in arousal than in women, whose arousal seems to be largely oxytocin driven.
What about men? Is there a diagnostic and treatment role for Fifty Shades and the like genre? As a sex manual, Fifty Shades has merit as a "touch here, kiss there, try this" benefit. As a male turn-on … maybe, but don't count on it. Cuddle? Pleasant, but not erection-inducing.
Is there anyone for whom you should NOT prescribe the Fifty Shades series? Yes – it may be too intense for younger women, even if sexually active, and it may be a trigger for women with sexual trauma or abuse histories, or it may simply be offensive. That said it's certainly worth having a conversation with your patient, and maybe writing a prescription for the bookstore or the library (if the waiting list isn't too long!). They'll love you in the end.
Sara Stein is an integrative and bariatric psychiatrist and functional medicine physician at Stein Wellness Center and can be reached on Twitter and Facebook. She is the author of Obese from the Heart.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com


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Texas Is Now the Fastest State in the Country
Texas is such an amazing, important place that its residents are now allowed to drive faster than anyone else in the country, or at least they are on one fancy new road. A new, 41-mile stretch of highway running from Austin to Seguin will have a speed limit of 85 MPH when it opens in November, besting the previous fastest roads by 5 MPH. As the Los Angeles Times notes, that's the same speed as a Category 1 hurricane.
Naturally, some people in the insurance industry are being Debbie Downers about Texas's awesome new law.
If you're looking at an 85 mph speed limit, we could possibly see drivers going 95 up to 100 miles per hour," Sandra Helin, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June. She also noted drivers often exceed the posted speed limit.
"When you get to those speeds, your accidents are going to be a lot worse. You're going to have a lot more fatalities," she said.
What she doesn't mention, though, is how much faster we'll get places. Think of all the time saved. Who cares about a few more accidents?
Not the Federal Highway Administration. They're keeping their distance from this one.
States are allowed to set their own speed rules, according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Highway Administration.
"In 1995, Congress eliminated all federal restrictions on the maximum speed limits and left those decisions to the states," she said in a prepared statement.
"As always, drivers should be vigilant and drive as safely as possible to protect themselves and others on the roads," she stated.
Good decisions, all around. It's not like Texas has the second highest number of traffic-related fatalities since 1990, or anything.

subset: commoncrawl


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Five to be inducted into local bowling hall of fame
The Greater Rockford Area Bowlers Hall of Fame will welcome five inductees Saturday night.
Veteran PBA bowler Charlie Tapp will be the guest speaker at the 35th annual banquet at Hoffman House.
Tapp has been a member of the PBA since 1978, garnering three PBA National Tour titles, two PBA 50 Senior Tour titles and three PBA Regional victories.
Here are the five inductees:
Jan Pratt ~ Outstanding Bowler: Pratt bowled her first 300 game at Cherry Bowl with a ball from pro bowler DeDe Davidson. It was not sanctioned, but she went on to roll three sanctioned 300 games: March 2008 at B&B, November 2010 at Park Lanes, and December 2011 at Park Lanes. She has also rolled 32 700 series.
She has carried the high average at Park Lanes four times with her highest being 214 and has been on the Rockford All Star Team four times; twice on the 1st Place Team and twice on the 2nd Place Team.
Rick Reynolds ~ Outstanding Bowler: Reynolds started bowling at age 3 in the Bantam Leagues at Westmor Bowl.
Bowling with his brother Jon in 1990, they won the Blackhawk Brothers Tournament at Fairview Lanes when he rolled an 814. He teamed up with his brothers Jim and Jon to win the Pabst Classic Trio league championships in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
Reynolds has rolled 25 sanctioned 300 games and nine 800 series. His highest seasonal average, 236, was last year in the Miller Lite Scratch league at Cherry Bowl. His highest series is 827.
He has held the Highest Average in the House title once at Cherry Bowl, three times at Ten Pin and nine times at Westmor Lanes.
He was a member of the "Reynolds Wrap" team that captured the RBA City Championship in 2010 along with his brother Jim. The team rolled a 3,500 scratch and a 3,653 handicap to win in both categories.
Stu Meek, Jr. ~ Outstanding Bowler: Meek rolled his first 300 in 1989 at Westmor Lanes. His highest series came in the Beloit Daily News Tournament when he rolled an 843 that included another 300 game. He has 10 perfect games and four 800 series.
He's won the All Events category in the Beloit City Tournament rolling a 2,125. Doubling with Tom Wagoner, they captured the RBA City Scratch Doubles title in 2000 with a 1,430 series. He has won the King of the Hill and the Senior's King of the Hill. In his only PBA venture, he place 18th rolling a 212.5 average for 8 games on the "Cheetah Pattern."
He bowled in the PBA Expo League every year until he injured his arm two years ago. Determined to keep bowling, he bowled left handed for a year averaging 159.
Tim Gustman ~ Outstanding Bowler: Gustman has rolled 12 300 games and three 800 series. He is also a three time Rockford Men's City Tournament Champion. In 2000, he captured the Scratch All Events category rolling 2,138.
He has been the recipient of the High Average House Award six times; once at Don Carters, once at Cherry Bowl and four times at B&B.
He was also a member of the All Star Teams four times; with three titles in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and one second -place finish in 2000.
Sharon Bontjes ~ Meritorious Service: Bontjes held the office of secretary/treasurer in the early days for over 15 years. She also was league president for over 10 years. When Rockford hosted the Eagle's National Bowling Tournament, Sharon was the tournament chairman.
Bontjes joined the RWBA in 2004. While a director, she has served on the auditing, Hall of Fame, Publicity and Ways and Means committees. Sharon was instrumental in starting the "Celebrate Hope Tournament" to support breast cancer patients' needs and helping the money stay local. She is a strong supporter for the "Veterans Provide the Ride Program." She also served as a co-chairman of lane monitors for the IWBA State Tournament in 2012.
Currently she is the Sergeant of Arms for the RWBA. She is also the secretary/treasurer for the Blackhawk Valley 600 club, and treasurer for the Greater Rockford Area Bowlers Hall of Fame committee.


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Watch Pat, Terry, and Gordon on your iPod as they bring you amazing stories and celebrity interviews.
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Has your washer stopped operating? Does your tv demonstrate fuzzy photos every now and then? Does your metal get too hot and burn off your costly garments by staying on them? Don't be concerned you will find a remedy for all these problems. A solution that may be quick and efficient. There are a variety of firms and maintenance pros who can correct these defective devices at reasonable prices.
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Inspired by: ezinearticles


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Second edition of "Bread" by J. Hamelman
Hi all,
I think I might have some good news for those of us that love the book "Bread" by Jeffrey Hamelman! On amazon.co.uk, there is an entry for the second edition of the book, expanded to 512 pages (the 1st edition is 432 pages). The release date is listed as November 21, 2012 - just in time for the Christmas rush! Start saving up, folks. Here's a link to the entry, and the production description reads as follows (third bullet point emphasised by me):
An updated new edition of the essential resource for professionals and seasoned home bakers
Hailed as a "revelation" when it first appeared in 2004, Jeffrey Hamelman′s Bread is a legendary resource praised by baking luminaries from around the world. Explaining complex techniques with simple and helpful illustrations, the book includes recipes for a vast array of breads, including sourdoughs, brioche, authentic rye breads, flat breads, French breads, and much more.
- Features nearly 150 detailed, step–by–step recipes, along with vivid drawings and photographs showing techniques and finished products
- Written by Jeffrey Hamelman, one of fewer than 200 Certified Master Bakers in the United States and a recipient of the Golden Baguette Award (2005), the highest honor bestowed by the Bread Baker′s Guild of America
- Fully updated to include the latest techniques, methods, trends, and bread varieties
Whether you′re an aspiring or practicing professional baker or a dedicated home hobbyist, Bread is the ultimate resource for almost any variety of bread you can imagine.
I love the book, and use it in conjunction with AB&P as my definitive guides when it comes to bread. Eight years on, I still think the 2004 edition remains very fresh with an exciting and interesting range of recipes. Nevertheless, I'm now very much looking forward to an updated version of a definitive text.


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Personalized Care you can Feel Good About.
We'll give you something to smile about.
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Welcome to our dental office in Weston, MA, where we keep your best interest at the forefront of our care. Patients have entrusted their dental care with us for more than 30 years, and our office expertly meets the needs of patients. Quality, kindness, and hospitality are marks of our staff, so join us in achieving a beautiful and healthy smile.
Our dental office considers it a privilege to get to know patients.
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Connect with us and leave a review!
Maria Moser, D.M.D., C.A.G.S.


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Table of Contents
PHILADELPHIA, January 26, 2006—The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation released a report Tuesday claiming that 62 percent of students surveyed have been sexually harassed at college. The report's definition of sexual harassment, however, includes large amounts of constitutionally protected expression, such as any unwanted "sexual comments, jokes, gestures, or looks." This definition is so broad that the report's conclusions are highly misleading and dangerous to free expression on campus.
"For all of FIRE's existence, 'harassment' has been the most common accusation students and faculty members have abused to punish speech they simply dislike," declared Greg Lukianoff, interim president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). "Real harassment is a real problem, but the AAUW conflates harassment with any expression deemed sexually 'offensive' and thus endangers free expression while trivializing actual harassment."
By defining harassment to include speech protected by the First Amendment, the report elevates personal feelings over fundamental freedoms. As its authors freely admit, "what may be a laughing matter for one student may be offensive to another." Students living with such a definition of harassment would be at the mercy of every other student's sensitivities.
The Department of Education defines sexual harassment as conduct "so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it affects a student's ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity, or creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment." The AAUW report admits that this legal definition of harassment differs from its own "intentionally broad" standard. If the report's suggested "harassment-free campuses" used this broad standard, students' First Amendment rights would be subordinated to the supposed "right" of students to be free from offense.
"If this report proves anything, it is that students are being grossly misinformed about what sexual harassment is," said Lukianoff. "With millions of students allegedly believing they were 'harassed' by merely rude or bawdy speech, it is no wonder that colleges and universities are inundated with frivolous harassment claims and lawsuits. This report is actually evidence that harassment law and policies must be reformed to more clearly protect free speech rights."
In addition, the report states that "the top reason that students gave for not reporting sexual harassment is that their experience was not serious or 'not a big deal.'"
"If the recipient of a sexual joke or comment feels that the incident was insignificant, then there has been no harassment, period. That is part of the very definition of harassment under any reasonable standard," stated Lukianoff. "This study is an important reminder to students and faculty who value their free speech rights that they must guard them vigilantly against those who would restrict liberty in the name of 'politeness' and 'civility.'"
FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience at our nation's colleges and universities. FIRE's efforts to preserve liberty on campuses across the United States can be viewed at thefire.org.
Greg Lukianoff, Interim President, FIRE: 215-717-3473; firstname.lastname@example.com
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FIRE's award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.


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Cartoon furor deepens divisions
As controversy escalates over the publication in Europe of 12 controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims from Saudi Arabia to Britain are decrying what they see as but one more installment in a worldwide attack against Islam.
"This is a revival of the Crusades of old," says Anjem Choudary, spokesman for Al-Ghurabaa, a radical Muslim group that organized protests in London this weekend.
"European nations are joining hands against Islam. We have seen the invasion of Iraq, the banning of the hijab in France, and now this." The cartoons were first published five months ago by a Danish newspaper to challenge a climate of fear and self-censorship. But Muslim anger escalated after numerous European newspapers republished the cartoons last week, threatening to make the issue a milestone in modern Muslim-Christian relations.
With Muslim anger still strong over the Iraq war, and Islamic radicals such as Hamas gaining strength, the cartoons - and the debate they have provoked about free speech versus respect for religious beliefs - have become fodder for those who say that a clash of civilizations is inevitable.
"The fundamentalists are jumping on this as an opportunity to mobilize people," says Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East analyst at Chatham House in London. "The moderate voices who called for calm and reason are getting overwhelmed."
The newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which first published the cartoons - including one that showed the prophet wearing a turban that held a bomb - apologized last week, but the statement did little to appease Muslim ire. Saudi Arabia called for boycotts last week of Danish goods, and several Muslim nations recalled ambassadors from Denmark. Over the weekend, Muslims set fire to Denmark's embassies in Syria and Lebanon.
Moderate voices have emerged amid the debate and the violence. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said Sunday that "this is absolutely not the way we express our opinions." And Mohammad Rashid Qabani, Lebanon's top Sunni Muslim cleric, said Muslims must exercise restraint. "We don't want the expression of our condemnation [of the cartoons] to be used by some to portray a distorted image of Islam," he said.
The world's leading Islamic body also rejected the violence. "Overreactions surpassing the limits of peaceful democratic acts ... are dangerous and detrimental to the efforts to defend the legitimate case of the Muslim world," said the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Last week, the editor of a Jordanian newspaper chastized his fellow Muslims in an editorial. "What brings more prejudice against Islam? These caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?" asked Jihad Momani.
But Mr. Momani has since been fired and arrested. The newspaper was removed from newsstands.
The outrage has grown from a base of preexisting issues, including frustration over perceived discrimination against Muslims in Europe, say some experts.
"This is not about the cartoons themselves. There was a lot of tension between the West and Muslims because of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine," says Mr. Shehadi. "This is just the spark that set it off."
While much attention has focused on the principle of free speech, the increasingly bitter dispute has raised questions about whether Europe is consistent in applying its aggressive hate-crimes laws.
"In the Arab world, there is a feeling that Europeans' freedom of expression is selective," explains Obeida Nahas, director of thisissyria.net, a Syrian opposition website. "There is a feeling that Europeans secretly hate Muslims."
As a result, the controversy has allowed fringe organizations like Al-Ghurabaa to present themselves as defenders of Islam.
"People feel targeted because they are Muslims," says Shehadi. "The only people they see standing up for Islam are the radicals."
Across Europe, Muslims are reacting to the cartoons in many ways, their perceptions shaped by local coverage and their experiences living in Europe.
In France, France Soir reprinted all 12 cartoons. For the country's 5 million Muslims, the gesture added to concerns raised by the government's banning of the hijab, or head scarf, in government buildings, some say.
"These caricatures of the prophet, that's more serious. Things could go farther. Yes, I'm angry - everybody's angry," says Hassan Defi, an unemployed handyman in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois, where fierce rioting occurred last year. "One should have the right to express oneself, but in a way that doesn't attack any religion."
In the neighboring suburb of Bondy, the director of the local mosque, Mohamed Meniri, concurs. "Freedom of expression must exist - it's necessary," he says, shivering outside his mosque as snow swirls around his shoulders. "But if [non-Muslims] are allowed to express themselves in their way, then we must be allowed to express ourselves in our way. We at our mosque advise calmness. We must do all that is possible to make ourselves heard, and to say that we must live together."
The manner in which the protests were carried out around the Muslim world often reflected the prevailing political environment in each country. In the Gulf, the protests have been few and peaceful, with anger manifested in a boycott of Danish and Norwegian goods. But the protests have taken on a more violent edge in the increasingly lawless Gaza Strip.
In Syria, the tense struggle with the West - chiefly over Iraq and its support for alleged terrorist groups - shaped the rare outburst of violence in Damascus on Saturday. Street demonstrations there tend to be organized by the authorities rather than spontaneous manifestations.
Lingering problems between Syria and Lebanon also provided context for Sunday's demonstration in Lebanon, with some Lebanese saying that the instigators of the violence were pro-Syrian activists.
"It's very hard to separate the local motivation from the global motivation," says Rami Khouri, a Beirut-based syndicated columnist.
Mr. Nahas, of thisissyria.net, hopes that dialogue will emerge from the violence. "In a way these events may have brought people together," he says. "My European friends want to know more and I want to explain how we feel. And this same freedom of expression is, after all, what we are calling for in the Arab world."
• Nicholas Blanford in Beirut and John Thorne in Paris contributed to this report.
• Sept. 30, 2005: Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten publishes 12 cartoons of Muhammad.
• January 2006: Norwegian publication reprints cartoons. Boycotts, diplomatic protests intensify against Denmark.
• Jan. 30: Gunmen storm EU offices in the Gaza Strip. The Danish paper apologizes.
• Feb. 1: Papers in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain run reprints.
• Feb. 4: Mobs burn the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Chilean embassies in Syria. Protests in Denmark turn violent.
• Feb. 5: Danish Consulate in Beirut, Lebanon, is torched.
Source: Compiled from wires.


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text:
An extract from my memoir
Readers: I'm writing a memoir. The below is a section. I'd like to know if you're interested in this sort of thing. If not, I won't put any more sections up here on my blog:
California seems like a big state, but the wine industry is actually a little village. And if there are town criers who know what's happening all the time and tell everyone else about it, it's the cadre of public relations experts, whose jobs it is to keep track of every sparrow. Wine critics are very big sparrows, and I was one of the biggest of all. So it wasn't long before the word went out: "Steve doesn't travel anymore."
It was true; I didn't. But I was aware of the negative side to this. It was that I ran the risk of being perceived as a Diva. It was turning into a case of "If you want to see Steve, you must travel to Oakland, because Steve doesn't have the time to drive to your place." Or "If you want Steve to attend an event, you're going to have to send a car and driver to Oakland and then bring him back again, because Steve no longer drinks and drives."
You'd think I would have stumbled across the concept of "Don't drink and drive, ever. Period. End of story." before 2001, but I didn't. I'd been drinking and driving all my adult life. When I lived in San Francisco, and especially during my Noe Valley days of the early 1980s, weekend after weekend I'd wake up on a Saturday or Sunday morning and have no idea where I'd parked my car the night before. There were times I'd have to walk the neighborhood for 30 minutes before I found it. I'd have no memory of driving home, or indeed even of what I'd done or where I'd been. I might recall leaving home at 10 p.m. and heading down to my favorite bar, the Headquarters, which was South of Market. I might have a memory of the bartender giving me free drinks. But after that, nothing. Nada. It was even scarier when I'd wake up with a stranger in my bed. Who is this person? Where did we meet? What did we do?
But what really persuaded me not to drink and drive anymore was an incident that scared the hell out of me.
It was Beaulieu's 100th birthday. They'd arranged for a super-tasting at the winery, which is in Rutherford. I was covering it for Wine Enthusiast, and staying the night at the Embassy Suites hotel, in Napa city, about 20 miles south of Beaulieu.
The tasting was stunning: every vintage ever made of the winery's Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, plus the three Pinot Noirs that André Tchelistcheff had said were the only ones he'd ever made that succeeded: 1946, 1947 and 1968. Needless to say, everybody at that tasting, which also included plenty of champagne and white wines with appetizers, was basically blitzed when it was over.
It was past midnight, in the dead of winter. Cold, windy. As soon as I got to the parking lot, the sky opened up, and a deluge of Biblical proportions poured down, from a gale that had descended upon Northern California from the Gulf of Alaska.
Now, anyone familiar with the stretch of Highway 29 that runs from Rutherford down to Napa (and up past Calistoga) knows there are no street lights. Much of the road is two lanes only. As I drove, the rain became so heavy that I couldn't see a thing out my windshield. The wipers did nothing at all, even though I turned them on full speed. In fact, they made things worse. I had no idea where the center lane was, where the shoulders were. I was driving completely blind, and I was drunk. I figured my blood alcohol must have been well north of the legal limit.
Yet what could I do, but to plow on and try to get to the Embassy Suites safe and sound? So I made a little prayer: Please get me to the hotel without an accident or getting stopped by the cops. If you do, I will never again drink and drive.
He did. And I did. Or didn't, rather — didn't drink and drive again, ever, for any reason. It wasn't just the fear of getting a DUI conviction, although that would have been bad enough. It was the thought of what the San Francisco Chronicle would do with it.
Steve Heimoff taken to jail, booked, out on bail
There was no way I was going to let that happen!
But the price I paid was the Diva thing. Once I started blogging, and became fair game for the criticism of half the wine bloggers in the world, the charges of "limousine Steve" and his "all expenses paid lifestyle" mounted. They were serious enough that I had to spend considerable time and energy refuting them. But tell me, dear reader, how should I have dealt with the matter of drinking and driving? If you're invited to a wine event, chances are likely that there's wine to be consumed. I mean, that's what a wine event is all about! If I want to go to an event, but I won't permit myself to drink and drive, then my only option is to tell the people who want me to come to the event that they have to provide transportation. I am single, and thus don't have the luxury of bringing a designated driver-spouse with me. So it's not because I'm a Diva that I insist on these arrangements.
Yet, to this day, I get phone calls from people, both P.R. types and winemakers, who say, "I know you don't have a car, but we were wondering if you'd visit us, if we send a car." I have a car! I drive almost every day! I just don't drink and drive. So I patiently explain my situation, and then hope that people don't think I'm a Diva. But I guess sometimes they do.
You're not a diva. You're responsible. Plus, I'd rather be called a diva than a drunk driver (or worse if you ever harmed someone).
I, for one, appreciate your candidness in discussing this part of your past. It certainly isn't enviable, but I'm just glad that you put a stop to it. I fear that others that read this might not be so forgiving, and I'm not sure that I would blame them.
When I attend tastings (or any drinking event for that matter), I have a simple rule: I spit, or I get a ride (or take a cab, if possible). It sucks to spit, cabs can be expensive, and it's inconvenient as hell to get someone to pick me up, but that's the way it has to be.
As for including these excerpts on your blog, I say fire away. You'll know the right balance of this type of posts vs. your normal. Plus, If people don't like them, they can skip them. Your readership is loyal enough that we're not going anywhere.
No comments? I absolutely love this post! I think you should put them up here more often! You have a great writing style here! Very captivating. Thank you for sharing and for your honesty, humor, and courage! I am just sad the post came to an end! I want more! =) Looking forward to the full memoir!
Steve, I loved this piece and I have to be very candid in telling you that I have only heard that you require a car and driver to attend a tasting and never heard anything about the real back story. I'm a big fan of your work and I welcome more posts like this. Keep going on the memoir!
Good, Steve, good.
It's tough to walk the line between interesting narrative and sappy confessional. I think what you have here manages that pretty well. You don't want sympathy but, at the same time, you have to get the readers invested. At the end of it, I'm intrigued enough to read more. For instance, I want to know more about how the little incantation said that night affected other aspects of your life or if the deal was strictly one category only?
I for one would like to put a stop to this here and now. Sharing of personal and at times embarrassing stories?! Dude, that's kind of my gig and junk. Sheesh, you professional writers are always trying to hold us bloggers down. Humpf. That being said I thought it was honest and quite compelling…dammit.
Steve, want to borrow my boa? you're not being a Diva, you're being aware and smart. It's a good reminder to all of us in the wine biz. I had almost the exact same scenario (dealing with God) 6 years ago and have not driven tipsy since. A glass or two with dinner – fine. I'm driving. A few sips at the end of the day at the winery? Yes, I'm driving home. But, some of the events we attend don't allow for that low level of consumption and, despite what some people think (in the business, no less!), there are some events where spitting is either not a good option or where there's so much wine involved and you are drinking almost continuously (big vertical tastings), no amount of spitting will really keep you under the legal limit. It's a crime the limo business in Nor Cal is so shamefully expensive and that "industry deals" to winery peeps = about 10%. Taxis are no better, and north of Napa nearly impossible to either initially hire or rely on a return trip. I was stood up once at Redd by a taxi return to St Helena, for which I'd already paid (duh), and you can imagine how difficult it was to get another one at 10 pm. It ruined the evening for everyone. There's got to be a good business plan in there somewhere….?
Don't worry about name-calling. As Thomas Paine said, "Character is much easier kept than recovered."
Thank you for your honesty. I think it opens up a subject that isn't spoken about at all-that of over-consumption among those of us (me included) who work in this fine industry. We usually are focused on our visitors in the tasting room–which are of great concern since they are basically drinking and driving. Ah, the stories we all could tell and I look forward to reading more of your work.
Steve, your vignette reminds me of a similar situation, different profession, different circumstances, but same "coming to Jesus moment". I made it thru it, but only because of divine intervention, and like you, a steel will to, in your case, get home. You're a gifted writer, and as long as the bio stuff isn't maudlin, or fru-fru, it makes captivating, as well as instructional reading. As for the "Diva" thing, hey, if that's the way some folks feel, well so be it. "you can please some of the folks some of the time, but you can't please everybody all of the time". I believe that was A. Lincoln, and it holds as true today as it did several centuries back. I say good for you, and it brings up an interesting question: what do all these other wine scribes, attending other tastings, do? Hopefully, they don't drink and drive, but who knows? Actually I have had 3 of these moments, all vastly different and unrelated(one, long ago, was drinking related), and as one poster above alluded to, it does make one sit back and do a self assessment as to self, existence of a greater power, and perhaps, luck. Whatever, you survived it, maybe by the grace of God, maybe not, but it certainly served to get your mind straight about how you would act or behave in the future.
Who cares if you are a Diva anyway? We all know you to be a hard working, well intentioned, and talented wine taster, who is both a fun and informational wine scribe. Anything else is, frankly, just unimportant. Write on!
As evident by the comments so far, your candor and great writing hit one out of the park. We can all relate, and those of us who have been around the business for a while have some pretty similar stories, whether about ourselves or others. When the issue comes up, I often find myself arguing that all of us in the industry are not doing ourselves any favor by ignoring it. More than once I was given the look that says: "don't be a prude" when suggesting to someone they should stop or slow down on their drinking during a wine event. In our tasting room we stop serving anyone who exhibits signs they have had enough. You would not believe how badly folk react to such an act (of course… they are drunk!). We even got a scalding review on a popular website, saying a server was rude, from someone who we gently suggested to that they should stop tasting. Maybe just like good wines need time to mature, so do good people. It sure is a sign of maturity (and NOT "Divaness") that get's someone to to draw the line and say 'No Mas'.
Steve –
To answer your question, Yes. Post more of it. I found it gripping, well told, and wonderfully compelling. Your raw honesty is laudable.
I'm not sure you should have decided not to travel at all. After all, commiting to spit every taste is a sacrifice many writers make. But on the whole, I understand your sentiment and I appreciate it. There is far too much drinking and driving in the wine world, and this is a strong reminder. Thanks.
Compelling and thoughtfully written. Your vantage point as a wine writer provides you the perspective to paint us the "scene behind the seen". If the rest of your memior continues to connect these dots, both to you personally and the wine business at large, I'll be the first in line to purchase the completed work.
Thanks for sharing!
Steve –
Ah, very good. Let me also add: I recall you once commented that it's a shame there is very little long-term research and writing anymore. You were remarking about writing New Classic Winemakers. I couldn't agree more. I deeply enjoyed that read, and I appreciate the effort you undertook to produce it. I'm sure you're investing similar energy and thought this time around, and you should know it's appreciated as well. Cheers.
I just blogged about someone who wanted me to drive one way for two hours, do a huge tasting,then turn myself around and drive home – another two hours.
I have to admit that you inspired me a long time ago to realize the dangers to you, and not wanting to put myself into the same harm's way.
Good read… Keep going.
Steve: Having worked there, I don't think The Chronicle would give you a headline for a DUI. Sorry. But don't test the theory.
They call you "limousine Steve", do they?
I, for another, am very interested in this sort of thing. I think it had most of the elements I like in literature.
What did Richard Pryor say? ""I had to stop drinking because I got tired of waking up in my car driving 90."
Steve, it is obvious from the above positive feedback that your readers appreciate the candor you have displayed in telling about that scary experience on Hwy 29. You are also giving a friendly reminder to all of us that we have to keep our guard up at all times so we should never find ourselves in such a predicament. Just for doing that your article is a very valuable piece.
However, in answering the question you posed at the very beginning "I'd like to know if you're interested in this sort of thing", which I infer is about sharing your memoirs, why I wonder, you feel compelled to ask the question? I realize that I am answering a question with another question, but that's because the answers should be so obvious: your blog is about you, first and foremost. What I mean is that I can see that you portray the subject of wine as it evolves from your own experience, and as that knowledge matures in your mind you bring your thoughts into your blog for your readers to know how Steve Heimhoff feels about this or that subject. So, in essence the blog is about you, and that's why is successful. It offers perspectives and insights that are unique and genuine. And on top of that they are valuable.
Steve, thanks for a thoughtful post on an important subject. It's one of the key differences I noted in moving from NYC to Napa. For writers living in NYC, there are ample ways to get home safely from a big tasting or late night winemaker dinner – hardly anybody drives anyway (I bought my first car ever when I moved here). But even in NY, I'd send writers coming in from farther afield home via car service, or put them up in a hotel for the night. No one should be thought a Diva for wanting to practice safe sipping! As for your memoirs, you've had an intriguing life (I want to know more about the commune pix on Facebook, that's some hairdo) and it's great having you share some of it.
If it's of any consolation to you, Steve, I've had to walk around looking for my car in the morning, often when I've had nothing more than steaming cup of coffee or tea at dinner.
Bravo Steve. Great write-up and with a message too! Please share more, from all the comments, I think we all like it. I stopped drinking and driving 28 years ago when I was in college and was on a "task force" on drunk driving (i.e., trying to stop it, not encouraging it!) and, as part of the job, had to go with the various police departments on "ride alongs" to accidents caused by drunk drivers. Let me tell you, it was a sobering (no pun intended) experience – I won't give you the sordid details, but there were, more often than not, fatalities – in about 70% of the cases, it was not the drunk driver.
I also echo Oded's comments as well – as someone who pours my wine at the various wine tastings in Northern Californig, I have had to refuse to serve people who are obviously drunk – and they get very angry – and like Oded's tasting room experience, I refused to serve a blogger who was extremely drunk – he became very angry and walked around the event trashing my wines – it was actually helpful to me because he was so obviously drunk – many people came up to thank me and try the wine and buy some. He never blogged about it, I'm thinking because he forgot!
But it is a very serious issue, which I'm glad you take seriously – and you are not a Diva at all, or if you are, we should all follow your example. Thanks again.
Lynn Alley, you're so funny, and great to see your name and thoughts pop up here!
Truth be known, Jo, I love Steve's blog! Read it often. Just quietly.
Yes, keep writing and sharing the story as you saw it. You have had a chance to go behind the scenes and we want to go there with you. Breathe life again into the amazing personalities who have poured their lives into what is today's California wine business. The risk takers, the driven, the smoozers, the slippery ones… the characters that moved out of their comfort zone to add to what today's wine drinkers think is a wonderful relaxing way of life! It's going to be compelling and hurorous, I'm sure. So lock the door, light the light: pour your self a glass of wine and get writing – looks as if people can't wait to read Steve's Story!
** So glad to hear you found a way to handle tastings. About drinking & driving – there are more & more good tour/limo companies that make visitng wine country a pleasure and keep our roads safe. Everyone needs to encourage visitors to use them. So glad to hear you found a responsible way to handle tastings… don't hide it – share your wisdom.
Write with the class you've always stood for.
Please keep up the memoir entries, Steve. I'd wager that many of us who follow the blog do so not just because we like your style and we appreciate your opinions, but we simply like you, and reading more about Steve makes us feel a bit closer.
Alcoholism and drunk driving seem to be the two elephants in the room for the wine industry. As a relative newbie to the industry, I am appalled at how virtually no one will address these issues. The more light we shed on this the better. Thanks for being brave enough to personally and publicly speak out. Keep it up.
Yes, you're a Diva – with a capital D. Don't want to risk getting a DUI? Fine – hire your own driver. Ride with a friend. Or don't drink and be a professional – spit. If I asked my friends to provide me with a driver every time I was invited to their parties, well, I wouldn't be invited to many parties. Man up, Dude!


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Marcus Vorwaller's How to Find a Great Domain Name is a great find if you are looking for a domain name and you are stumped. He lists a wide variety of resources and tools that will help you find and choose a great domain name. Resources and tools include:
- Dislexicon
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You can also start by checking Thesarus.com to look for synonyms.
As you choose your domain name for your website or blog, think it through thoroughly. It can be your name if the blog is all about you and your life. But if your blog or site is about boating, fishing, walking, hiking, climbing, cars, travel, sewing, crochet, or ceramics, specifically targetting a theme or subject, then make sure that is in the title of your domain helping people associate the subject matter with the domain name. Remember, creativity is fine but simplicity wins every time.
Site Search Tags: domain, name, blog, website, help, tips
Copyright Lorelle VanFossen


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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- Syfy viewers will get to revisit "Riverworld" and "The Phantom" later this year.
Mark Stern, the network's head of original programming, confirmed to me during the TCA Winter Press Tour we'll see one this spring with the other due later in 2010.
Tahmoh Penikett and Laura Vandervoort both topline its "Riverworld" update while Ryan Carnes plays the title role in "The Phantom" revival. Both projects were ordered as backdoor pilot mini-series back in April, meaning each could continue as weekly series should the ratings merit.
They'll be joined by recent series pickups "Haven," based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid," and "Being Human," a re-imagining of the U.K. series of the same name, both of which could be ready for summer launches.
Stern also revealed that husband-and-wife duo Jeremy Carver ("Supernatural") and Anna Fricke ("Privileged") have been tapped as the writers of the latter. "[He's] kind of got the genre cred and Anna comes out of a more character-based drama world so between them they'll be really interesting."
And on the development side, "Alphas," from Zak Penn and Michael Karnow, is still a go as a 90-minute pilot while
"Unfinished Business," from Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment, is in the script stage.


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Peterson (2003) online here is an influential study cited by IPCC AR4 purporting to show that the urbanization effect is negligible. It concluded:
Using satellite night-lights—derived urban/rural metadata, urban and rural temperatures from 289 stations in 40 clusters were compared using data from 1989 to 1991. Contrary to generally accepted wisdom, no statistically significant impact of urbanization could be found in annual temperatures.
AR4 said of this study:
Over the conterminous USA, after adjustment for time-of-observation bias and other changes, rural station trends were almost indistinguishable from series including urban sites (Peterson, 2003; Figure 3.3… One possible reason for the patchiness of UHIs is the location of observing stations in parks where urban influences are reduced (Peterson, 2003).
The 289 stations are not listed in the article and no SI is available. One of our readers inquired about the stations and I wrote to Peterson asking him for the information as follows:
Dear Dr Peterson, could you please provide me a list of the USHCN id numbers of the 289 stations used in Peterson 2003, together with information on how they are allocated to the 40 clusters and how they are classified rural-urban? It would be helpful if you provided an SI with this sort of information. Thanks, Steve McIntyre
As I anticipated, Peterson responded promptly with the list together which I've posted up here with some additional information that I've collated. The first 5 columns are from Peterson. Peterson did not provide lat-long's; I looked these up in the state files at http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/inventory/sodca.html (CA) etc. I also compared the ID numbers to USHCN id numbers and marked the USHCN-overlapping series. Peterson added the following additional comments:
a) If you read the article, you will notice that I did not specifically use USHCN stations in the analysis.
b) If you read the article, you will notice that I did not classify the stations as rural or urban. That was done by Owen et al. (1998) based on night lights data and used by Gallo and Owen (1999). Kevin Gallo provided me with the metadata he used in Gallo and Owen. I'm sure Dr. Gallo would be happy to answer any questions you might have that are not already addressed in those two papers.
c) The attached file is a list of the 289 stations I evaluated and processed for Peterson 2003. The first number is the group, 1-40; the second column is the rural/urban satellite nigh lights based metadata classification; the third column is the station number and the fourth the station name. If you read Peterson and Owen (2005) you will come across this statement: "The mean urban minus rural difference is 0.03°C using adjusted data and 0.00 with the modified adjusted data. The first result differs slightly from the 0.04°C reported in Peterson (2003) with the difference due to correcting a processing error in the metadata assignments at a few of the stations." The metadata I provided you are the corrected metadata.
Of the 289 stations, only 63 came from the USHCN network.
In the article, Peterson said that 85 of these stations were rural, 191 urban, and 13 suburban. In the file, there were 84 rural, 6 suburban and 199 urban. Although Peterson attributed the 40 clusters to Gallo and Owen 1999, that article only used 28 clusters and not all of the 28 clusters could be identified in the Peterson list. So some additional selection procedure has been applied.
I did some cross-analyses of the 63 USHCN stations in the Peterson network – the USHCN network being said elsewhere to be mostly "rural". Of these stations, 13 were rural, 2 suburban and 48 urban.
On an earlier occasion, I did a concordance of USHCN identification numbers to GISS lights – such concordances take a surprising amont of time and I used this information to cross-check GISS lights against Peterson's network – with the usual surprising results. Of the 63 USHCN stations in the Peterson network, 9 had GISS-lights of 0. However, 3 of the 9 sites with lights=0 were classed by Peterson as urban (Fort Yates ND; Utah Lake Lehi UT; Fort Valley AZ) while 6 were classified as rural.
Of the 13 Peterson USHCN sites classified as "rural", the GISS lights were as high as 19. Checking the 48 Peterson USHCN sites classified as "urban", 15 had GISS lights less than or equal to 19 (including 3 with lights=0 as noted above.)
One of the Peterson clusters is in California, where surfacestations.org has a strong survey presence. Here Peterson compared 7 sites classified as "urban": USHCN sites DAVIS 2 WSW EXP FARM, Lodi; non-USHCN urban sites: Placerville, Sacramento FAA AP, Sacramento WSO City, Antioch Pump Plant, Folson Dam; against one rural non-USHCN non-GHCN site: Camp Pardee. I'm not sure what exactly this proves. If the USHCN is supposed to be a "high quality" network, it's puzzling that so many sites in the Peterson network do not come from either this network or the GHCN network.
In a follow-up email, Peterson said that the data could be obtained from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/mpp/digitalfiles.html which unfortunately is a pay-for-view site. JerryB observed that most of the identification numbers could be matched in the GHCND station inventory. I tested this and matched all but 3 sites (Kissimmee, New Orleans Audubon and Red Rock NV) to GHCND identifications. With a change of one digit, New Orleans Audubon and Kissimmee can be matched to GHCND series. The GHCND station inventory seems to missing NV stations from the last half of the alphabet. Daily data for each of these stations can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/ghcn/daily/all by adding a prefix and suffix to the station id. For example:
I haven't done any further tests on this yet, but spot checking of some clusters seems quite practical. Though the basis for selection of these comparisons seems very unclear. See related posts here and here.)
Peterson, T.C., 2003: Assessment of urban versus rural in situ surface temperatures in the contiguous United States: no difference found. J. Clim., 16, 2941—2959.


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Here are the latest real estate market statistics from Macdonald Realty on Greater Victoria, Parksville/Qualicum, and Nanaimo listings and sales in March 2019.
Greater Victoria
In March 2019, there were 278 sales of single family homes and 836 active listings in Greater Victoria. The benchmark sale price was $741,000 with an average days on market of 41. The hottest market for sales was Saanich East with 59 sales. There were also 12 sales and 117 active listings at the end of the month for waterfront homes.
In comparison, the Condo market had 196 sales and 505 active listings at the end of the month. The benchmark sale price was $497,100 with an average days on market of 36. The hottest market for sales was Victoria, 72 sales.
Townhome sales were 76, active listings were 205 and the benchmark sale price was $598,000. The average days on market were 37, and the hottest market was Langford with 14 sales.
It's a seller's market in Greater Victoria.
Parksville / Qualicum
Looking for more information about the real estate market in specific neighbourhoods in Victoria, Parksville, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands?
Macdonald Realty has offices in downtown Victoria, Sidney, Parksville and on Salt Spring Island. Please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 1-877-278-3888 to be matched with a REALTOR® working in your area.
MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price
Average and median home prices are often misinterpreted, are affected by change in the mix of homes sold, and can swing dramatically from month to month (based on the types and prices of properties that sold in a given month). The MLS® HPI overcomes these shortcomings and uses the concept of a benchmark home, a notional home with common attributes of typical homes in a defined area. Visit www.housepriceindex.ca for more information.
This blog post is based on market data provided by the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) www.vreb.org and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) www.vireb.com. Market data from the VIREB includes listings and sales in Campbell River, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley Nanaimo, Parksville/Qualicum, Port Alberni/West, North Island, and the Islands.


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Crested Drongo
Sakalava Weaver and Nest
Ankarana Map
Ankarana Sign
Ankarana Mural
Ankarana Entrance
Ankarana Sportive Lemur Hiding
It's almost out...
Whoomp, there it is!
White-breasted Mesite
Madagascar Day Gecko
"How you do'in?"
Don't believe it...it's longer...
Ankarana Tsingy
Tsingy Hike
Yup, it's sharp.
Tsingy in all directions
Of course I didn't go first...
But, I did cross
The world's most obvious sign
Ankarana Baobab Tree
Crowned Lemur
Hamming it up...
Tail Grooming
Leaf Censorship
Ankarana Cave Approach
Cave Entrance Looking Out
Dining Area
Relais de l'Ankarana
Our Room
Oustalet's Chameleon
Panther Chameleon
Panther Chameleon Closeup
The Nature Lodge
Nature Lodge Grounds
View from the breakfast table
Outside view of our room
Uncomfortable Sofa
The bathroom
The "old ball and chain"
Giant Day Gecko Eating
"I'm Not Looking"
"I'm Sort of looking"
"Bam, there you are"
"How did you find me?"


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Every Saturday, I will share a photo that touches my heart, makes me happy, or lifts my spirits in some way. The purpose? To send love, light, peace, and kindness out into the ether. Scintillating Saturdays: one definition of the word scintillating is as follows: witty; brilliantly clever."
Can we do that here, beautiful people, spark something brilliantly clever that touches others every Saturday? Please share this to all of your social media outlets. We can give a little love, can't we?
Using up to 7 words, tell me what this photo sparks in you. Here's mine:
bubbles blown–
from the sweetest
*Children are the best gifts, truly they are. Isn't she a doll?!
Now, it's your turn. This'll be our "Scintillating Saturday Share #4." You can respond to this post, reblog and respond, or create a standalone post of your own, but please ping or tag this post so that I'll know to read and respond to yours.
Using up to 7 words, tell me what this photo sparks in you.
Let your light shine, beautiful people!


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Move over, Iraq. Tribal politics have arrived at home.
It's not like our tribes will arm themselves, but American politics is developing a disturbing resemblance to Mesopotamia's ever-feuding Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds as the 2012 election rapidly devolves into a power struggle between irreconcilable factions rather than a healthy debate among citizens.
The blame here falls in large part on President Barack Obama, who after four years of economic lethargy needs to recast the election as anything other than what it naturally is: a referendum on the incumbent and the state of the nation.
To turn the page, he has revived the kind of divisive 50 percent–plus–one politics Bush political guru Karl Rove successfully championed in 2004. As former George W. Bush strategist Mark McKinnon has observed, Obama is now following the same playbook used in 2004 against another Massachusetts faux blueblood, Sen. John Kerry. Like Obama, Bush was a polarizing president of meager accomplishments and modest popularity. And like Bush, Obama is hoping to rally his base and demonize his opponent to achieve a fairly comfortable reelection.
To do that, Obama is offering an array of appeals based on tribal totems—gay marriage, contraception, cheap loans for kids, charges of racism by his opponents. Every "grand" statement is aimed at specific groups, either to offer them something or to show how Romney would threaten their interests.
It's a self-perpetuating dynamic: as he's aimed his appeal at targeted groups to cobble together a winning coalition, he's consistently lost ground with middle- and lower-income white Americans. That in turn compels him to double down on his appeals to single women, gays, youth, and minority voters—which in turn further alienates working and retired white voters.
Obama's gambit creates an election in which turnout and mobilization—a fittingly military concept—of the faithful may be more important than the art of persuasion. It also guarantees a very ugly campaign, filled with even more than its usual share of innuendos, smears, and outright lies aimed at enthusing his base or—particularly for the GOP—discouraging members of unfriendly tribes from showing up to vote.
Obama starts off with natural advantages in the tribal sweepstakes. He's black, he's got a "creative class" university pedigree, and he's hip and cool, not to mention the first post-boomer president. It's a powerful base for an electoral win.
While Romney's core tribe, the Mormons, constitute less than 2 percent of the nation's population. That's a lot less than the Alawites who have constituted the core of strongman Bashar al-Assad's support in Syria. (Of course, part of why Obama needs to cobble together a more complicated coalition is that Romney can also count on winning most white voters, who last favored a Democratic candidate in 1964.)
But Obama and his party have been playing the race card with the aplomb of a Jim Crow Democrat. Assaults on the president or his attorney general, Eric Holder, are immediately blamed on "racism" by groups like the Congressional Black Caucus and "leaders" like the Rev. Al Sharpton—who compared the investigation into the Fast and Furious gun-running case to the stop-and-frisk policies in urban police departments.
This appeal to race makes sense with African-American unemployment at its worst level in more than three decades and enthusiasm for the first black president understandably diminished since 2008. Tribal politics help cover up economic failings, as the old Dixiecrats did by using racism as a screen for the then-backward condition of their region.
More recently, Obama has also directed his tribal charm at Latinos. Hispanic families, according to the census, have done the worst of all groups in the recession, losing 66 percent of their household wealth. Unemployment in the group hovers near 11 percent, and more than 6 million Hispanic children live in poverty—exceeding for the first time the number of black children living in poverty.
Despite those sobering numbers, Obama is favored among Latinos by better than 2 to 1. This is in part because of Mitt Romney's pivot to a hardline immigration stance during the Republican primary, as well as Obama's election-year decree effectively giving mass amnesty to a large number of undocumented youth. Obama's policy conversion is a seminal triumph for Latino politics, marking the group's ascension into the first rung of American tribes. For many Hispanics, this was seen as an issue of family as well as identity.
Obama has also worked hard to cultivate culture and gender-oriented tribes. The most obvious example of special-interest pandering was his well-timed "evolution" favoring gay marriage. Perhaps more important in terms of votes, the president's conflict with the Catholic Church over contraception could appeal to single women, who now constitute a critical part of his base. Recent polling shows single women opting for the president by as much as 2 to 1.
Then finally there are the millennials. In 2008, Obama could count on both their votes and their enthusiasm. Now amid hard times—particularly for the "screwed generation"—he has to appeal by offering lower interest rates for student loans and expanded aid to education.
Against these powerful alliance of tribes, what can ultra-white-bread Romney do in response? No doubt he can win the majority of white evangelicals—the largest tribe in the GOP base—but it's hard to see how they will be much energized for a man whose religion is widely considered a cult among some prominent evangelical preachers. As late as this month, Romney still has to pour time and resources into what has been in recent years a solidly GOP bulwark. At the same time, his other natural "base," high-income earners in the private sector, is simply not numerous enough to push him even near the electoral requisite.
To counter Obama's tribal strategy, Romney has to move the discussion away from issues of race, gender, or immigration to the economy and unemployment, which, according to Gallup, remains far and away the dominant issue—with three times more voters calling it their primary concern than those for all social issues combined.
Perhaps the most inviting tribal group for Romney to contest is the "youth vote," whose members of course shift dramatically every four years as voters age in and out of the cohort. The poor performance of the current economy has already blunted the once widespread youthful enthusiasm for Obama; in 2008 turnout reached 64 percent among young people, the highest in 16 years. This year the portion of 18- to 24-year-olds who say they'll definitely vote has fallen to 47 percent, according to polls conducted by Harvard University's Institute of Politics.
Overall, Democrats' support among millennial voters has dropped from 66 percent in 2008 to close to 54 percent in 2010. Part of this may be because a vast majority of millennials, like other Americans, rank the economy as by far their greatest concern. Obama is already trailing the GOP candidate among white millennials by more than 20 points.
Due in large part to the heavy minority cohort among millennials, Obama still should win this group in November, but the margin may be somewhat lower and the vote totals much reduced due to rising apathy, something that was notable in the 2010 election. Perhaps more troubling for Democrats, in the critical Scott Walker recall race in Wisconsin, more than 45 percent of voters between 18 and 29 voted for the GOP governor, who had garnered barely 40 percent of their support in his first race against Democrat Tom Barrett two years earlier.
Other tribes could also be targeted, particularly American-born Latinos, who constitute about half the Hispanic adult population. They have been hard-hit by the recession and, according to a recent University of Arkansas study, tend to be somewhat more hardline on border control than their foreign-born counterparts.
And even after his amnesty move, Obama's support among Hispanics is only 57 percent compared with 67 percent four years ago.
Of course, there are dangers to an ugly tribal win. While Bush significantly moderated his policies in his second term, he received little credit for that shift from the half of the country he'd alienated in 2004 and during his first four years in office.
Another politician who's recognized the dangers of tribalism? Barack Obama, circa 2007:
"You've got to break out of what I call the 50-plus-1 pattern of presidential politics, which means you have nasty primaries where everyone's disheartened, then you divide the country 45 percent on one side, 45 percent on the other, 10 percent in middle, all of whom live in Florida and Ohio," Obama told the Concord Monitor.
"Then maybe you eke out a victory of 50 plus one. [But] you can't govern."
Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and is a distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and contributing editor to the City Journal in New York. He is author of The City: A Global History. His newest book is The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, released in February, 2010.
This piece originally appeared in The Daily Beast.
Barack Obama photo by BigStockPhoto.com.