text:
II. The Inside Story on the Kabbalah
The statue that the Jews worshipped when they departed from their true religion was, according to many researchers, was an Egyptian idol made of gold in the form of a calf.
"Exodus" is the title of the second book of the Torah. This book describes how the Israelites, under the leadership of the Prophet Moses (pbuh), left Egypt and escaped the tyranny of Pharaoh. Pharaoh made the Israelites work as slaves and would not consent to set them free. But, when confronted by the miracles Allah performed through the Prophet Moses (pbuh), and the disasters He inflicted on his people, Pharaoh relented. And so, one night the Israelites gathered en masse, and began their emigration from Egypt. Later, Pharaoh attacked the Israelites, but Allah saved them through a further miracle He performed through the Prophet Moses (pbuh).
But, it is in the Qur'an that we find the most accurate account of the exodus from Egypt, because the Torah underwent much textual corruption after it was originally revealed to the Prophet Moses (pbuh). An important proof of this is that in the five books of the Torah—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—there are many contradictions. The fact that the book of Deuteronomy ends with an account of the death and burial of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) is indisputable proof that this portion would have to have been added after the Prophet Moses' (pbuh) death.
In the Qur'an, the account of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is recounted in detail and most accurately. As with all other stories related in the Qur'an, Allah reveals much wisdom and many secrets in the course of what is related. For this reason, when believers examine these stories closely, they can extract a number of lessons from them.
The Golden Calf
An Ancient Egyptian statue of Hathor.
One of the important facts concerning the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, as related in the Qur'an, is that some of them rebelled against the religion revealed to them by Allah in spite of the fact that Allah had rescued them through the Prophet Moses (pbuh) from the tyranny of Pharaoh. Some of the Israelites were not able to comprehend the monotheism that the Prophet Moses (pbuh) communicated to them, but tended continually toward idolatry.
The Qur'an describes this immoral tendency here:
We conveyed the tribe of Israel across the sea and they came upon some people who were devoting themselves to some idols which they had. They said, "Moses, give us a god just as these people have gods." He said, "You are indeed an ignorant people.
What these people are doing is destined for destruction. What they are doing is purposeless." (Surat al-A'raf: 138-139)
Despite the Prophet Moses' (pbuh) warnings, some Israelites continued in such perversion, and when the Prophet Moses (pbuh) left them, to ascend to Mt. Sinai, it manifested itself fully. Taking advantage of the Prophet Moses' (pbuh) absence, a man by the name of Samiri came forth. He fanned the sparks of some Israelites' inclination towards idolatry, and persuaded them to fabricate the statue of a calf and worship it.
Moses returned to his people in anger and great sorrow. He said, "My people, did not your Lord make you a handsome promise? Did the fulfillment of the contract seem too long to you or did you want to unleash your Lord's anger upon yourselves, so you broke your promise to me?"
They said, "We did not break our promise to you of our own volition. But we were weighed down with the heavy loads of the people's jewelry and we threw them in, for that is what the Samaritan did."
Then he produced a calf for them, a physical form which made a lowing sound. So they said, "This is your god—and Moses' god as well, but he forgot." (Surah Ta Ha: 86-88)
Why was there such a deviant tendency among some Israelites to erect idols and worship them? What was the source of this inclination?
Clearly, a society that had never before believed in idols would not suddenly adopt such inane behavior as to construct an idol and begin to worship it. Only those for whom idolatry was natural inclination could have believed in such nonsense.
However, the Israelites were a people that had believed in one Allah since the days of their ancestor the Prophet Abraham (pbuh). The name "Israelites" or "the Sons of Israel" was given first to the sons of the Prophet Jacob, the Prophet Abraham's grandson (peace be upon them both), and afterwards to the whole Jewish people who derived from him. The Israelites had safeguarded the monotheistic faith that they had inherited from their ancestors the Prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, peace be upon them. Together with Joseph, peace be upon him, they went into Egypt and preserved their monotheism for a long period of time, despite the fact that they had lived amidst Egyptian idolatry. It is clear from the stories related in the Qur'an that, when the Prophet Moses (pbuh) came to them, the Israelites were a people that believed in one Allah.
Another Ancient Egyptian idol: Hathor, the golden calf.
The only explanation for this is that although the Israelites adhered to a monotheistic belief, some of them were influenced by the pagan peoples among whom them lived, and began to imitate them, replacing the religion chosen for them by Allah with the idolatry of foreign nations.
When we investigate this matter in light of historical records, we see that the pagan cult that influenced the Israelites was that of Ancient Egypt. An important evidence in support of this conclusion is that the golden calf the Israelites worshipped, while the Prophet Moses (pbuh) was on Mt. Sinai, was actually a replica of the Egyptian idols Hathor and Aphis. In his book, Too Long in the Sun, the Christian author Richard Rives writes:
Hathor and Aphis, the cow and bull gods of Egypt, were representatives of sun worship. Their worship was just one stage in the long Egyptian history of solar veneration. The golden calf at Mount Sinai is more than sufficient evidence to prove that the feast proclaimed was related to sun worship…23
The influence of the Egyptian pagan religion on some Israelites occurred in many different stages. As soon as they had encountered a pagan people, this leaning towards heretical belief appeared and, as the verse maintains, they said "Moses, give us a god just as these people have gods." (Surat al-A'raf: 138) What they unwisely said to their Prophet,"Moses, we will not believe in you until we see Allah with our own eyes." (Surat al-Baqara: 55) reveals that they were inclined to worship a material being that they could see, as their pagan religion provided the Egyptians with.
The tendency of some Israelites to the paganism of Ancient Egypt, that we have here outlined, is important to understand and gives us some insight into the corruption of the text of the Torah and the origins of the Kabbalah. When we consider these two topics carefully, we will see that, at their source, is found Ancient Egyptian paganism and the materialist philosophy.
From Ancient Egypt to the Kabbalah
While the Prophet Moses (pbuh) was still alive, some Israelites began to create likenesses of the idols they had seen in Egypt and to worship them. After the Prophet Moses (pbuh) died, some among them backslid farther into perversity. Of course, the same thing cannot be said of all Jews, but some of them did adopt Egyptian paganism. Indeed, they carried on the false doctrines of Pharaoh's magicians, that lay at the foundation of that society's beliefs, and corrupted their own faith by introducing these doctrines into it.
The false doctrine that was introduced into Judaism from Ancient Egypt was also introduced into the Kabbalah. Like the system of the Egyptian priests, it was an esoteric system, and its basis was the practice of magic. Interestingly, the Kabbalah provides an account of creation quite perverted from that found in the Torah. It is a materialist account, based on the Ancient Egyptian mistaken idea of the eternal existence of matter. Murat Ozgen, a Turkish Freemason, has this to say on this topic:
It is evident that the Kabbalah was composed many years before the Torah came into existence. The most important section of the Kabbalah is a theory about the formation of the universe. This theory is very different from the story of creation accepted by theist religions. According to the Kabbalah, at the beginning of creation, things called Sefiroth, meaning "circles" or "orbits," with both material and spiritual characteristics came into being. The total number of these things was 32. The first ten represented the solar system and the others represented the masses of stars in space. This particularity of the Kabbalah shows that it is closely connected to ancient astrological systems of belief... So, the Kabbalah is far removed from Jewish religion and much more closely related to the ancient mystery religions of the East.24
A sefiroth is one of the most blatant expressions of the distorted teachings of the Kabbalah. The figure composed of circles on the Kabbalistic engraving on the right is a sefiroth. Kabbalists attempt to explain the process of creation by means of the sefiroth. The scenario they propose is really a pagan myth totally at odds with the facts revealed in holy books.
The Jews, by adopting these Ancient Egyptian materialist and esoteric doctrines that were founded on magic, ignored the related prohibitions in the Torah. They took on the magic rituals of other pagan peoples, and thus, the Kabbalah became a mystical doctrine within Judaism, but contrary to the Torah. In her book entitled Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, the English writer Nesta H. Webster says:
Sorcery, as we know, had been practised by the Canaanites before the occupation of Palestine by the Israelites; Egypt, India, and Greece also had their soothsayers and diviners. In spite of the imprecations against sorcery contained in the Law of Moses, the Jews, disregarding these warnings, caught the contagion and mingled the sacred tradition they had inherited with magical ideas partly borrowed from other races partly of their own devising. At the same time the speculative side of the Jewish Cabala borrowed from the philosophy of the Persian Magi, of the Neo-Platonists, and of the Neo-Pythagoreans. There is, then, some justification for the anti-Cabalists' contention that what we know to-day as the Cabala is not of purely Jewish origin.25
Some Jews, influenced by the cultures of the pagan civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, turned away from the Torah that Allah gave them as a guide, and began to worship various material objects. Above is pictured a pagan temple to the sun.
There is a verse in the Qur'an that refers to this topic. Allah says that some Israelites learned satanic sorcery rituals from sources outside their own religion:
They follow what the satans recited in the reign of Solomon. Solomon did not become unbeliever, but the satans did, teaching people sorcery and what had been sent down to Harut and Marut, the two angels in Babylon, who taught no one without first saying to him, "We are merely a trial and temptation, so do not become unbeliever." People learned from them how to separate a man and his wife but they cannot harm anyone by it, except with Allah's permission. They have learned what will harm them and will not benefit them. They know that any who deal in it will have no share in the hereafter. What an evil thing they have sold themselves for if they only knew! (Surat al-Baqara: 102)
This verse maintains that certain Jews, although they knew that they would lose out in the hereafter, learned and adopted the practices of magic. Thus, they strayed away from the Law that Allah had sent them and, having sold their own souls, fell into paganism (magic doctrines). "They have sold themselves" for an evil thing, in other words, they abandoned their faith.
The facts related in this verse demonstrate the main features of an important conflict in Jewish history. This struggle was, on the one hand, between the prophets that Allah sent to the Jews and those believing Jews who obeyed them, and on the other hand, those perverse Jews who rebelled against Allah's commandments, imitated the pagan culture of the peoples around them, and followed their cultural practices rather than the Law of Allah.
Pagan Doctrines Added to the Torah
The errors of those Jews departing from the true path are often reported in the holy book of the Jews itself—the Old Testament. In the book of Nehemiah, a kind of history book within the Old Testament, the Jews confess their sins and repent:
Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God [for one-fourth] of the day; and [for another] fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, [and] Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
...[They said:] "...they [our fathers] were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, when they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hand of their enemies.But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, and testified against them, that You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks, and would not hear.
...Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You [are] God, gracious and merciful.
Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, ...You [are] just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly. Neither our kings nor our princes, our priests nor our fathers, have kept Your law, nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, with which You testified against them. For they have not served You in their kingdom, or in the many good [things] that You gave them, or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works." (Nehemiah 9: 2-4, 26-29, 31-35)
This passage expresses the desire that a number of Jews had in returning to their faith in Allah, but in the course of Jewish history sometimes a different segment gained strength, and came to dominate the Jews and later partly altered the religion itself. For this reason, in the Torah and the other books of the Old Testament, there are elements that derive from heretical pagan doctrines, as well as those mentioned above which accord with the true religion.
For example (Allah is surely beyond all these expressions):
• In the first book of the Torah, it is said that Allah created the entire universe in six days from nothing. This is correct and derives from the original revelation. But, then it maintains that Allah rested on the seventh day, though it is a completely fabricated assertion. It is a perverse idea derived from paganism which attributes human qualities to Allah. In a verse of the Qur'an, Allah says:
We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us. (Surah Qaf: 38)
• In other parts of the Torah, there is a style of writing that is not respectful of the honor of Allah, especially in those places where human weakness is falsely attributed to Him. (Allah is surely beyond that) These anthropomorphisms are made to resemble the human weaknesses that pagans applied to their own fictitious gods.
• One such blasphemous assertion is another that claims that Jacob, ancestor of the Israelites, wrestled with Allah, and won. This is clearly a story invented to confer the Israelites with racial superiority, in emulation of the racial feelings widespread among pagan peoples. (or, in the words of the Qur'an: "fanatical rage")
• There is a tendency in the Old Testament to present Allah as a national deity—that He is God of the Isrealites only. However, Allah is the Lord and God of the universe and of all human beings. This notion of national religion, in the Old Testament, corresponds to tendencies of paganism, in which every tribe worships its own god.
• In some books of the Old Testament (for example, Joshua) commandments are given to commit horrible violence against non-Jewish peoples. Mass murder is commanded, with no regard for women, children or the elderly. This merciless savagery is totally against Allah's justice, and recalls the barbarism of pagan cultures, who worshipped a mythical god of war.
These pagan ideas that were introduced into the Torah must have an origin. There must have been Jews who adopted, honored and cherished a tradition foreign to the Torah, and changed the latter by adding into it ideas derived from the tradition they espoused. The origin of this tradition stretches back to the priests of Ancient Egypt (the magicians of Pharaoh's regime). It is, in fact, the Kabbalah which was passed on from there by a number of Jews. The Kabbalah assumed a form that enabled Ancient Egyptian and other pagan doctrines to insinuate themselves into Judaism and develop within it. Kabbalists, of course, assert that the Kabbalah simply explains in more detail the hidden secrets of the Torah, but, in reality, as Jewish historian of the Kabbalah, Theodore Reinach, says, the Kabbalah contains "a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it."26
It is possible, then, to find in the Kabbalah clear traces of the materialist ideology of the Ancient Egyptians.
The Kabbalah's False Doctrine that Ignores the Fact of Creation
Allah reveals in the Qur'an that the original Torah is a Divine book that was sent as a light to humanity:
We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light, and the Prophets who had submitted themselves gave judgment by it for the Jews—as did their scholars and their rabbis—by what they had been allowed to preserve of Allah's Book to which they were witnesses…(Surat al-Ma'ida: 44)
Therefore, the Torah, like the Qur'an, contains knowledge and commands related to such topics as the existence of Allah, His unity, His qualities, the Creation of the universe, the purpose of human creation, and Allah's moral laws for humanity. (But, the original Torah is not extant today. What we possess today is an altered and corrupted version of the Torah.)
There is an important point that both the true Torah and the Qur'an share in common: Allah is recognized as Creator. Allah is absolute, and has existed since the beginning of time. Everything other than Allah is His creation, created by Him from nothing. He has created and formed the whole universe, the heavenly bodies, lifeless matter, human beings and all living things. Allah is One; He exists alone.
While this is the truth, there is a quite different interpretation found in the Kabbalah, that "subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it." Its doctrine of Allah is totally opposed to the "fact of Creation," found in the real Torah and the Qur'an. In one of his works on the Kabbalah, the American researcher, Lance S. Owens, presents his view on the possible origins of this doctrine (Allah is surely beyond all the expressions in the extract below):
Kabbalistic experience engendered several perceptions about the Divine, many of which departured from the orthodox view. The most central tenet of Israel's faith had been the proclamation that "our God is One." But Kabbalah asserted that while God exists in highest form as a totally ineffable unity—called by Kabbalah Ein Sof, the infinite—this unknowable singularity had necessarily emanated into a great number of Divine forms: a plurality of Gods. These the Kabbalist called Sefiroth, the vessels or faces of God. The manner by which God descended from incomprehensible unity into plurality was a mystery to which Kabbalists devoted a great deal of meditation and speculation. Obviously, this multifaceted God image admits to accusations of being polytheistic, a charge which was vehemently, if never entirely successfully, rebutted by the Kabbalists.
Not only was the Divine plural in Kabbalistic theosophy, but in its first subtle emanation from unknowable unity God had taken on a dual form as Male and Female; a supernal Father and Mother, Hokhmah and Binah, were God's first emanated forms. Kabbalists used frankly sexual metaphors to explain how the creative intercourse of Hokhmah and Binah generated further creation...27
The Kabbalah's teaching about the origins of the universe and living things is a story replete with myths totally contrary to the facts of Creation revealed in holy books.
An interesting feature of this mystical theology is that, according to it, human beings are not created, but are in some way divine. Owens describes this myth:
The complex Divine image …was also visualized by Kabbalah as having a unitary, anthropomorphic form. God was, by one Kabbalistic recension, Adam Kadmon: the first primordial or archetypal Man. Man shared with God both an intrinsic, uncreated divine spark and a complex, organic form. This strange equation of Adam as God was supported by a Kabbalistic cipher: the numerical value in Hebrew of the names Adam and Jehovah (the Tetragrammaton, Yod he vav he) was both 45. Thus in Kabbalistic exegesis Jehovah equaled Adam: Adam was God. With this affirmation went the assertion that all humankind in highest realization was like God.28
This perverted theology comprises of a mythology of paganism, and formed the basis of the degeneration of Judaism. Some Jewish Kabbalists breached the limits of common sense to such an extent that they even tried to make human beings into supposed deities. In addition, according to this false theology, not only was humanity divine, but it consisted only of Jews; other races were not considered human. As a result, faith in the one Almighty Allah and serving Him began to be replaced by pagan beliefs and practices. These false beliefs then led to the corruption of the Torah and the inclusion within it of various ideas incompatible with true religious moral values.
Another interesting point about the corrupt doctrines in the Kabbalah is its similarity to the pagan ideas of Ancient Egypt. As we have discussed in earlier pages, the Ancient Egyptians erroneously believed that matter had always existed; in other words, they rejected the idea that matter was created from nothing. Some sections of the Kabbalah assert the same thing in relation to human beings; it falsely claims that human beings were not created, and that they are responsible for their own existence.
To state it in modern terms: the Ancient Egyptians were materialists, and the doctrine of some sections in the Kabbalah can be called secular humanism.
It is interesting to note that these two erroneous concepts—materialism and secular humanism—describe the ideology that has dominated the majority of the world over the last two centuries.
It is tempting to ask if there are forces who have carried the doctrines of Ancient Egypt and the Kabbalah from the midst of ancient history to the present day.
From the Templars to the Masons
When we mentioned the Templars earlier, we noted that this peculiar order of crusaders was affected by a "secret" found in Jerusalem, as a result of which they abandoned Christianity and began to practice magic rites. We said that many researchers had reached the opinion that this secret was related to the Kabbalah. For example, in his book Histoire de la Magie (The History of Magic) the French writer, Eliphas Lévi, presents detailed evidence that the Templars were initiated into the mysterious doctrines of the Kabbalah, that is, they were secretly trained in this doctrine.29 Therefore, a doctrine with its roots in Ancient Egypt was transmitted to the Templars through the Kabbalah.
In Foucault's Pendulum, the Italian novelist, Umberto Eco, relates these facts in the course of the plot. Throughout the novel, he relates, through the mouths of its protagonists, how the Templars were influenced by the Kabbalah and that the Kabbalists possessed a secret that could be traced back to the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. According to Eco, some prominent Jews learned certain secrets taken from the Ancient Egyptians, and later inserted these into the first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch). But, this secret, which was transmitted secretly, could be understood only by the Kabbalists. (The Zohar, written later in Spain, and forming the fundamental book of the Kabbalah, deals with the secrets of these five books) After stating that the Kabbalists read this Ancient Egyptian secret also in the geometric measurements of the temple of Solomon, Eco writes that the Templars learned it from the Kabbalist rabbis in Jerusalem:
The secret—what the Temple already said in full—is suspected only by a small group of rabbis who remained in Palestine… And from them the Templars learn it.30
When the Templars adopted this ancient Egyptian-Kabbalist doctrine, naturally, they came into conflict with the Christian establishment that dominated Europe. This was a conflict they shared with another important force—certain Jews. After the Templars were arrested, by joint order of the king of France and the Pope in 1307, the order went underground, but its influence continued, and in a more radical and determined way.
As we said earlier, a significant number of Templars escaped arrest and appealed to the king of Scotland, the only European kingdom at that time that had not accepted the authority of the Pope. In Scotland, they infiltrated the wall-builders' guild and, in time, took it over. The guilds adopted the traditions of the Templars, and thus, the Masonic seed was planted in Scotland. Still, to this day, the mainline of Masonry is the "Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite."
As we investigated in detail in The New Masonic Order, from the beginnings of the fourteenth century it is possible to detect traces of the Templars—and some Jews associated with them—at various stages of European history. Without going into detail, here are some of the headings under which we examined this topic:
• In Provence, in France, there was an important Templar refuge. During the arrests, very many hid here. Another important feature of the area is that it is the most well known center of Kabbalism in Europe. Provence is the place where the oral tradition of the Kabbalah was made into a book.
• The Peasants Revolt in England, in 1381, was, according to some historians, fanned to flame by a secret organization. Those experts who study the history of Masonry agree that this secret organization was the Templars. It was more than a mere civil uprising, it was a planned assault on the Catholic Church. 31
• Half a century after this revolt, a clergyman in Bohemia by the name of John Huss started an uprising in opposition to the Catholic Church. Behind the scenes of this uprising were again the Templars. Moreover, Huss was very interested in the Kabbalah. Avigdor Ben Isaac Kara was one of the most important names that he was influenced by in the development of his doctrines. Kara was a rabbi of the Jewish community in Prague and a Kabbalist. 32
A model of Solomon's Temple. The Templars and Masons, because of their superstitious beliefs concerning the Prophet Solomon (pbuh), believe that there is a "secret" in this temple passed down from ancient pagan civilizations. It is for this reason that Masonic literature places so much emphasis on the temple of Solomon.
Examples such as these are signs that the alliance between the Templars and the Kabbalists was directed at a change in the social order of Europe. This change involved an alteration in the basic Christian culture of Europe, and its replacement by a culture based on pagan doctrines, like the Kabbalah. And, after this cultural change, political changes would follow. The French and Italian revolutions, for example…
In the coming sections, we will look at some important turning-points in the history of Europe. At every stage the fact that will confront us is that there existed a force that wanted to alienate Europe from its Christian heritage, replace it with a secular ideology and, with this program in mind, to alienate people from religious morality. This force attempted to cause Europe to accept a doctrine that had been handed down from Ancient Egypt through the Kabbalah. As we pointed out earlier, at the basis of this doctrine were two important concepts: humanism and materialism.
First, let us look at humanism.
23 Richard Rives, Too Long in the Sun, Partakers Pub., 1996, pp. 130-31
24 Murat Ozgen Ayfer, Masonluk Nedir ve Nasildir? (What is Freemasonry?), Istanbul, 1992, pp. 298-299
25 Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies And Subversive Movements, Boswell Publishing Co., Ltd., London, 1924, (emphasis added)
26 Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies And Subversive Movements, Boswell Publishing Co., Ltd., London, 1924; Theodore Reinach, Histoire des Israélites, p. 221, Salomon Reinach, Orpheus, p. 299, (emphasis added)
27 Lance S. Owens, Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 117-194
28 Lance S. Owens, Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 117-194, (emphasis added)
29 Eliphas Lévi, Histoire de la Magie, p. 273; Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies And Subversive Movements, Boswell Publishing Co. Ltd., London, 1924
30 Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum, Translated from the Italian by William Weaver, A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, p. 450, (emphasis added)
31 For further information, see, John J. Robinson, Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry, New York: M. Evans & Company, 1989
32 Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 10, p. 759.


text:
Chicken Milano
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- 1 pound thinly sliced chicken breasts, grilled and cut into small pieces
- 1 jar garlic Alfredo sauce
- ½ cup thinly sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, drained
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked and drained
Mix everything together except cheese and pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.

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Christian democracy
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (October 2012)
|Part of a series on
|Christian democracy
|Politics portal
Christian democracy is a political ideology which emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching.[1][2] It was originally conceived as a combination of traditional Catholic beliefs and modern democratic ideas, but over time it grew to incorporate a variety of views from different Christian denominations and from different political thinkers. Christian democracy continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, though throughout Europe the movement has been weakened by growing secularism.[3]
In practice, Christian democracy is often considered centre-right on cultural, social, and moral issues (and is thus a supporter of social conservatism), while advocating a social market economy. In Europe, where Christian democrats defined their views as an alternative to the more leftist ideology of social democracy, Christian democratic parties are moderately conservative and center-right overall, whereas in the very different cultural and political environment of South America they tend to lean to the left in economical issues, and to the right in social issues.[4]
Examples of Christian democratic parties include Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), The Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP), Ireland's Fine Gael, Chile's Christian Democratic Party, Belgium's Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams and Humanist Democratic Centre, Switzerland's Christian Democratic People's Party, the Netherlands' Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Italy's Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), and some factions of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).[5] Today, many European Christian democratic parties are affiliated with the European People's Party.
- 1 Political viewpoints
- 2 History
- 3 Christian democracy around the world
- 4 Notable Christian democrats
- 5 See also
- 6 Literature
- 7 References
- 8 External links
Political viewpoints
As with any political ideology, Christian democracy has had different manifestations over time and between countries; there are several types of ideology that are called Christian democracy.
As a generalization, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderately conservative, and in several cases form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g. in Germany, Spain, and Belgium).[citation needed] In Latin America, by contrast, Christian democratic parties tend to be left leaning and to some degree influenced by liberation theology.[6] These generalizations, however, must be nuanced by the consideration that Christian democracy does not fit precisely into the usual categories of political thought, but rather includes elements common to several other political ideologies:
- In common with conservatism, traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, etc.), opposition to secularization, a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, an emphasis on law and order, and a rejection of communism.
- In contrast to conservatism, open to change (for example, in the structure of society) and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo.
- In common with liberalism, an emphasis on human rights and individual initiative.
- In contrast to liberalism, a rejection of secularism, and an emphasis on the fact that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it.
- In common with social democracy, an emphasis on the community, social justice and solidarity, support for a welfare state and support for regulation of market forces.[citation needed]
- In contrast to social democracy, most European Christian Democrats support a relatively free-market economy and do not adhere to the concept of class struggle. This has not always carried over to some Latin American Christian Democratic Parties, which have been influenced by liberation theology.
Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood have noted that "Christian democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles."[7]
Christian democrats are usually socially conservative, and, as such, generally have a relatively skeptical stance towards abortion and same-sex marriage, though some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert the Christian heritage of their country, and to affirm explicitly Christian ethics, rather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance.
On economic issues, Christian democrats normally do not completely oppose capitalism as an economic system, unlike their repudiation of atheistic communism and similar ideologies,[8] though they do see the economy as being at the service of humanity. The duty of the state towards society is of real importance for Christian democrats, though some would see this duty as being mostly to create the conditions for civil society to flourish, while others would see it as a more direct duty of the state towards citizens. In recent decades, some right-leaning Christian democratic parties in Europe have adopted policies consistent with an economically liberal point of view but still support a regulated economy with a welfare state, while by contrast other Christian democrats at times seem to hold views similar to Christian socialism.
Christian democracy as a political movement was born at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of the papal encyclical Rerum novarum of Pope Leo XIII, in which the Vatican recognized workers' misery and agreed that something should be done about it, in reaction to the rise of the socialist and trade union movements. The position of the Roman Catholic Church on this matter was further clarified in subsequent encyclicals, such as Quadragesimo anno, by Pope Pius XI in 1931, Populorum progressio by Pope Paul VI in 1967, Centesimus annus, by Pope John Paul II in 1991, and Caritas in veritate by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.[9] Christian democracy has evolved considerably since then, and it is no longer the Catholic ideology of Distributism, although it is based on Catholic social teaching, as outlined in the 2006 official "Catechism of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church". (In Germany, for example, the Christian Democratic Party emerged as a grouping dominated by Rhenish and Westphalian Catholics, but also encompassed the more conservative elements of the Protestant population.) Following World War II, Christian democracy was seen as a neutral and unifying voice of compassionate conservatism, and distinguished itself from the far right. It gave a voice to "conservatives of the heart", particularly in Germany, who had detested Adolf Hitler's regime yet agreed with the right on many issues.
In Protestant countries, Christian democratic parties were founded by more conservative Protestants in reaction to the political power of liberal tendencies within the Protestant churches. In the Netherlands, for instance, the Anti Revolutionary Party was founded in 1879 by conservative Protestants; it institutionalized early 19th century opposition against the ideas from the French Revolution on popular sovereignty and held that government derived its authority from God, not from the people. This Burkean position is sometimes also called Christian Historian. It was a response to the liberal ideas that predominated in political life. The Christian Democrats of Sweden, rooted in the Pentecostal religious tradition, has a similar history.
While Christian democracy is of Roman Catholic origin, it has been adopted by many Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians as well. Some Christian democratic parties, particularly in Europe, no longer emphasize religion and have become much more secular in recent years. Also within Europe, two essentially Islamic parties, the Democratic League of Kosovo and Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (usually known by the Turkish acronym AKP, for Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) have moved towards the tradition. The Democratic League of Kosovo is now a full member of the Centrist Democrat International (see below).
Christian democracy can trace its philosophical roots back to Thomas Aquinas and his thoughts on Aristotelian ontology and the Christian tradition. According to Aquinas, human rights are based on natural law and defined as the things that humans need to function properly. For example, food is a human right because without food humans cannot function properly. Modern authors important to the formation of Christian democratic ideology include Emmanuel Mounier, Étienne Gilson, and Jacques Maritain.[citation needed]
Christian Democratic initiatives based on its philosophy also have practical and political results in the movement's direction. Christian Democrats believe in the importance of intermediary organizations that operate in between the individual and the state. Therefore, they support labor unions but in many countries organized their own Christian trade unions separate from socialist unions. These unions in turn formed the strong left wing of many CD parties. Christian democratic opposition to secularism and support of religious organizations as intermediary organizations led to support for church operated schools, hospitals, charities and even social insurance funds. This resulted in strong Christian Democratic support for the government (or mandatory payroll tax) social welfare funding of these institutions.
Christian democracy around the world
The international organization of Christian democratic parties, the Centrist Democrat International (CDI), formerly known as the Christian Democratic International, is the second largest international political organization in the world (second only to the Socialist International). European Christian democratic parties have their own regional organization called the European People's Party, which form the largest group in the European Parliament, the EPP Group.
Christian democracy in Europe
This section requires expansion. (June 2008)
Christian democracy has been especially important in the politics of Italy (inspired by Luigi Sturzo; see Christian Democracy (Italy)), Norway (see Christian Democratic Party of Norway), and Germany (see Christian Democratic Union (Germany) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria). Major Christian democratic influence can also be seen in the politics of Austria (see Austrian People's Party), Hungary (see Fidesz/Hungarian Civic Party, Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)), Belgium (see Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) and Christian Social Party (CSP)), Finland (see Christian Democrats (Finland)), France, Ireland (see Fine Gael), Luxembourg (see Christian Social People's Party), Malta, the Netherlands (see Christian Democratic Appeal), Portugal (see Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party), Poland (see Civic Platform and Polish Peasants' Party), Romania (see Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party), Spain (see, Partido Popular, Democratic Union of Catalonia), Sweden (see Christian Democrats (Sweden)), Ukraine (see Christian Democratic Union (Ukraine)) and Serbia (see Christian Democratic Party of Serbia). Christian democracy is not very strong in the United Kingdom where the Conservative Party dominates conservative politics and does not advocate Christian democratic platforms, but Christian democratic parties do exist. The Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA), The Common Good, the Christian Party and the Christian Democratic Party are the four Christian democratic parties currently in the UK. Recently there is a Christian democracy party in Greece but not very strong yet.
Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party in the Czech Republic is an example of relatively small Party with major influence. Eventhough its electorate is lower than 10% it remained in almost every Government since fall of Communism due to its Centrist nature and high Coalition potential.
Slovakia has two major Christian Democratic Parties. Christian Democratic Movement was established in 1990 and became the second strongest party in the Country after the first Democratic Election. The Party then dropped to only 8%. Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party was formed in 2000 as a split from Christian Democratic Movement and became the major Centre-Right Party until 2012 Election defeat. Both Parties are considered to be political Partners.
The Nationalist Party of Malta is a Christian democratic party and has won seven out of eleven general elections since Malta's independence in 1964. It advocates staunch Christian values including bans on abortion and, until recently, divorce. It is currently in opposition after a landslide victory by its rival the Labour Party in 2013.
Christian democracy in Latin America
This section requires expansion. (June 2008)
Christian democracy has been especially important in Chile (see Christian Democrat Party of Chile) and Venezuela (see COPEI – Christian Democratic Party of Venezuela), among others, and partly also in Mexico, starting with the ascendancy of President Vicente Fox in 2000, followed by Felipe Calderón (see National Action Party (Mexico)). Cuba counts with several Christian democratic political associations, both on the island and in exile. The most significant is perhaps the Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación (MCL) (www.oswaldopaya.org), led by Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá, who was killed in a tragic automobile accident in the summer of 2012 and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In Uruguay, the Christian Democratic Party of Uruguay, although numerically small, was instrumental in the creation of the leftist Broad Front in 1971.
Christian democracy in Australia
Christian democratic parties in Australia include the Christian Democratic Party, the Democratic Labor Party (regarded by some as a social democratic party), and the Family First Party (regarded by some as a liberal democratic party).
In Victoria, and NSW Australian Labor Party (ALP) state executive members, parliamentarians and branch members associated (rightly or wrongly) with the Industrial Groups or B. A. Santamaria and The Movement, were expelled from the party (against that party's rules). They formed a new party, soon to be known as the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). Later in 1957, a similar split occurred in Queensland, with the resulting group subsequently joining the DLP. The party also had sitting members from Tasmania and New South Wales at various times, though it was much stronger in the former mentioned states.
The party was in agreement with the ruling conservative Liberal and Country parties on many issues, which resulted in their preferencing of these parties over the ALP. However, it was more morally conservative, militantly anti-communist and socially compassionate than the Liberals. The DLP was defeated by the federal election of 1974 that saw its primary vote cut by nearly two thirds, and the entry of an ALP government. The DLP never regained its previous support in subsequent elections and formally disbanded in 1978, but a small group within the party refused to accept this decision and created a small, reformed successor party.
Though his party was effectively gone, Santamaria and his National Civic Council took a strong diametrically opposed stance to dominant Third Way/neoliberal/New Right tendencies within both the ALP and Liberal parties throughout the eighties and early nineties.
In 2006, the new DLP experienced a resurgence. The successor party struggled through decades of Victorian elections before finally gaining a parliamentary seat when the Victorian upper house was redesigned. Nevertheless, its electoral support is still very small in Victoria (around 2%). It has recently reformed state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. In the Australian federal election, 2010, the DLP won the sixth senate seat in Victoria, giving it representation in the Australian Senate.[10]
Another Christian party that found strength in 1981 was the Christian Democratic Party (initially known as the "Call to Australia" party). It gained 9.1% of the vote in the New South Wales (NSW) state election of 1981, but its vote rapidly[citation needed] declined thereafter. This Protestant party had some very similar social policies to the DLP. Its support base has generally been restricted to NSW and Western Australia, where it usually gains between 2–4% of votes, with its support being minuscule in other states. It has had two members of the NSW state parliament for most of its existence.
Another Australian Christian democratic party of note is the Family First Party. It has had one or two members in the SA parliament since 2002, and in 2004 also managed to elect a Victorian senator. Its electoral support is small, with the largest constituencies being South Australia (4–6%), and Victoria (around 4%). Family First generally receives lower support in national elections than in state elections.
Christian democracy in the United States
In the United States there have been various attempts to create Christian democratic parties, similar to their European and Latin American counterparts, but efforts have generally run against the formidable strength of the existing bipartisan Democratic/Republican party system. One such party, the Christian Democratic Party USA, recently changed its name to the American Solidarity Party. The name is based on the Polish Solidarity Movement, whose first chairman was Lech Walesa. The Party has incorporated the Consistent Life Ethic into its platform. Its emblem is the Pelican, a traditional Christian symbol of charity.
Notable Christian democrats
- Konrad Adenauer, first chancellor of West Germany after World War II and architect of the social market economy
- Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary
- Giulio Andreotti, long-time Prime Minister of Italy (1972–1973, 1976–1979, 1989–1992)
- Iuliu Maniu, former Prime Minister of Romania
- Jerzy Buzek, former President of the European Parliament (2009–2012)
- Alcide De Gasperi, Italian prime minister and pro-European leader
- Éamon de Valera, president and prime minister of Ireland, whose Constitution of Ireland was influenced by Catholic social teaching
- Eddie Fenech Adami, former leader of the Nationalist Party in Malta (Partit Nazzjonalista); former prime minister and former President of the Republic of Malta
- Helmut Kohl, chancellor of West Germany and later the unified Germany
- Abraham Kuyper, founder of the Netherlands' Anti Revolutionary Party (the first Christian democratic party), as well as the Neo-Calvinist Protestant movement, and a Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- Giorgio La Pira, Italian politician, from the left wing of Democrazia Cristiana
- Ruud Lubbers, a prime minister of the Netherlands and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Wilfried Martens, former Prime Minister of Belgium, president of the European People's Party
- Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway
- Angela Merkel, since 2005, the first female Chancellor of Germany
- Xabier Arzalluz, leader of the Basque Nationalist Party for two decades, until 2004
- Luigi Sturzo, Italian politician and one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919
- Aldo Moro, prime minister of Italy, killed by the Brigate Rosse
- Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia
- Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain
- Herman Van Rompuy, first fixed-term President of the European Council
- Robert Schuman, French politician who has served both as head of government and foreign minister, leader of Popular Republican Movement; one of the founders of the European Union
- Wolfgang Schüssel, former Chancellor of Austria
- Adone Zoli, former Prime Minister of Italy
- Lech Wałęsa, Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland 1990–1995.
- Lech Aleksander Kaczyński, President of Poland from 2005 until his sudden death in 2010
- Ludwig Windthorst, German politician and leader of Centre Party
- Joseph Görres, German writer and journalist, co-founder of an idea of the political Catholic movement
- Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1995–2013), President of the Eurogroup (1989–2009) and President of the European Commission (2014–present)
- Nikos Nikolopoulos, former labor minister of Greece
- Vladan Batić, Serbian politician
The Americas
- Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician who served as president when Chile returned to democracy after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet
- Joaquín Balaguer, former President of the Dominican Republic
- Rafael Caldera, two-time President of Venezuela and author. Founder of Copei and National Convergence
- Claudio Avelar, a Brazilian politician and founder – president of the Partido União da Democracia Cristã do Brasil – UDCdoB
- Felipe Calderón, former President of Mexico (2006–2012)
- José Napoleón Duarte, democratically elected President of El Salvador during its Civil War
- José Maria Eymael, a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and businessman, and founder of the Partido Social Democrata Cristão (PSDC)
- Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician and former president from 1958–1964
- Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chilean politician and former president from 1994–2000
- André Franco Montoro, former governor of São Paulo and founder of Brazilian Social Democracy Party
- Oswaldo Payá, founder and leader of the dissident Cuban Christian Liberation Movement (Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación – MCL) (www.oswaldopaya.org). Died in a car accident in 2012. Has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Luis Herrera Campins, former President of Venezuela.
- Luis Bedoya Reyes, Peruvian politician and former mayor of Lima. Founder of the Christian People's Party.
- Lourdes Flores, Peruvian politician and former candidate to the Peruvian Presidency in 2001 and 2006.
- Ernesto Alayza Grundy, Peruvian politician and former member of the Peruvian Congress.
See also
- Catholic social teaching
- Christianity and politics
- Islamic democracy
- List of Christian democratic parties around the world
- Political Catholicism
International Christian democratic organizations
- Centrist Democrat International (CDI) – formerly Christian Democratic International
- Christian Democratic Organization of America (ODCA) – a CDI regional organization for the Americas
- European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) – a European party (non-CDI)
- European Democratic Party (EDP) – a European party (non-CDI)
- European People's Party (EPP) – the largest transnational European party of Christian democratic and conservative parties (a CDI and IDU regional)
Related concepts
- Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram (2004), Political Catholicism in Europe 1918—1945, Routledge, ISBN 0-7146-5650-X<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram (2004), Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945, Routledge, ISBN 0-7146-5662-3<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram; Wohnout, Helmut, eds. (2001), Christdemokratie in Europa im 20. Jahrhundert / Christian Democracy in 20th Century Europe, Böhlau Verlag, ISBN 3-205-99360-8<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Kaiser, Wolfram (2007), Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521883108<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Kalyvas, Stathis N. (1996). The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8320-4.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- van Kersbergen, Kees (1995). Social Capitalism: A study of Christian democracy and the welfare state. Routledge.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Lamberts, Emiel, ed. (1997), Christian Democracy in the European Union, 1945/1995, Leuven University Press<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Mainwaring, Scott; Scully, Timothy R. (2003), Christian Democracy in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Regime Conflicts, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-4597-8<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Van Hecke, Steven; Gerard, Emmanuel (2004), Christian Democratic Parties in Europe since the End of the Cold War, Leuven University Press, ISBN 978-90-5867-377-0<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Kalyvas, Stathis N. and Kees van Kersbergen (2010). "Christian Democracy". Annual Review of Political Science 2010. 13:183–209.
- ↑ A. Heywood, Political ideologies. An introduction, New York, Macmillan, 2003, 89.
- ↑ A. Galetto, Nino. Christian Democracy: Principles and Policy Making, Berlin, Konrad Adeneaur Stiftung, 1990.
- ↑ Müller, Jan-Werner. The End of Christian Democracy. 2014
- ↑ Petri, Dennis. A Short History of Christian Democracy. http://plataformac.org/en/short-history-of-christian-democracy-in-latin-america/
- ↑ Van Hecke, Steven and Gerard, Emannuel. Christian Democratic Parties in Europe since the End of the Cold War, Cornell Press.
- ↑ Szulc, Tad. "Communists, Socialists and Christian Democrats". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 360: 102.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Roberts and Hogwood, European Politics Today, Manchester University Press, 1997
- ↑ Moos, M. (1945) 'Don Luigi Sturzo – Christian Democrat', American Political Science Review, 39(2), pp. 269–292, p. 269
- ↑ Sturzo, L. (1947) 'The Philosophic Background of Christian Democracy', The Review of Politics, 9(1), pp. 3–15, p. 5
- ↑ 'It's official – DLP wins Vic Senate seat', Australian Conservative, http://australianconservative.com/2010/09/its-official-%E2%80%93-dlp-wins-vic-senate-seat/
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christian Democracy.
- American Solidarity Party — Christian democratic party in the United States
- Christian Democracy Magazine — Online magazine exploring policy solutions in line with Catholic Social Teaching
- New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia — an article on Christian Democracy
- Christian Democracy in Western Europe: 1820–1953 — a book by Michael Fogarty
- 'Conservativism and Christian Democracy' — an essay by UK Conservative MP David Willetts
- 'Blue Labour + Red Tory = Christian Democracy?' — an article by Nicholas Townsend, April 2015
- The Commoner — a Christian Democratic blog
- Use dmy dates from January 2011
- Use American English from January 2014
- All Wikipedia articles written in American English
- Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2012
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013
- Articles to be expanded from June 2008
- Articles using small message boxes
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015
- Christian democracy
- Democracy
- Political ideologies


text:
Can You Keep A Secret? Josh Reddick Can
Pawtucket outfielder Josh Reddick is the third-rated prospect in the Red Sox organization, and according to Baseball America, "all five of Reddick's tools are average or better."
But they left something out of the scouting report: Reddick can keep a secret.
(photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor)
For the past two days, Josh has essentially been hiding in a Boston hotel room in case either Mike Cameron or Jacoby Ellsbury had to go on the disabled list. After the Red Sox determined that neither outfielder would be placed on the D.L., Reddick rejoined the PawSox in Rochester on Saturday night and is back in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Wings.
"I was told not to tell anybody that I was leaving these guys, so it was pretty hush-hush," Reddick told me. "I did tell my parents. I said, 'Look – I'm going up there but there's no guarantee that I'll be activated.' They keep a pretty good track of what's going on in Pawtucket and I knew that if they saw I wasn't in the lineup they would say, 'Hey, what's wrong? Are you hurt?' So I had to tell them just in case."
So how did the 23-year-old spent his time?
"A lot of sitting around and waiting," Reddick said. "The first night I didn't do a whole lot. I basically went and grabbed some food and headed right back and enjoyed the hotel hot tub. I think I fell asleep at about 8:30 that night. They told me three different times the first night that I got there that, 'We'll let you know something tonight.' Then it was, 'We'll let you know something tomorrow because we don't know if we're going to play because of the weather.' Then they called me in the morning and said, 'We'll let you know around 4 o'clock. Just have your mind set to come to Fenway or go back to the other guys.' It just didn't work out in my favor."
Although Reddick was not activated, he was happy to be the player chosen to be ready just-in-case.
"Definitely," Josh said. "It's always good to be that guy that gets called no matter how it works out for you because it means that they see you as one of their guys that they want up there. So that's always a good feeling."
Sunday's game in Rochester will be the first time that Josh has played since going 0-for-4 on Wednesday in Buffalo. After hitting .390 in spring training for Boston, Reddick is off to a slow start with the PawSox batting .138 (4-for-29) in his first seven games.
"I feel like I haven't played in a week, so hopefully the days off will give me a nice little boost here and get me in the groove," Reddick said.
* * * * *
The PawSox will look to snap a 4-game losing streak on Sunday at 1:05. I hope you'll join us for radio coverage beginning with the pre-game show at 12:50 on the PawSox radio network and PawSox.com.
I'd love to hear from you. The address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
And if you Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard


text:
You might remember our post in which we dug into the plight of young Peyton Manning, a 14-year-old Littleton, Colo., boy who was dealing with identity problems caused by his super-famous namesake.
In a storyline that sounded ripped from the plot of a straight-to-video sequel to "The Social Network," young Peyton Manning couldn't even get Facebook to let him use his own name in creating a profile. You're better than that, Zuckerberg.
Well, we suppose this story has a happy ending, because young Peyton Manning met the, um, old Peyton Manning on Friday at Denver Broncos practice. The visual proof was provided by a Broncos PR guy.
Image of Broncos QB Peyton Manning meeting 14-year-old Littleton native Peyton Manning post practice. pic.twitter.com/TBvtm0H3- Patrick Smythe (@psmyth12) November 30, 2012
According to The Associated Press, the quarterback signed a football that read: "To Peyton, great name. All my best, your friend, Peyton Manning, 18."
The lesson? Name your kid after a famous contemporary athlete. He'll probably meet him one day.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.


text:
Ixtellor wrote:I'm going to disagree that all Trump supporters are racist assuming that the Trump campaign was racist in its nature.
1) There is no evidence that Trump supporters actually pay attention the campaign. Outside of the "build the wall" I think you will find that his supports don't have any idea what he has promised to do other than "make America great again" which isn't explicitly racist. (it might be implicitly racist for reasons a Trump supporter would never bother to read about). Anecdotally, my entire family are lifelong Republicans and they didn't watch a single debate and can't name an policy proposals other than the wall. This doesn't mean they aren't racist, but the point is that if you support a candidate and don't actually follow the election its hard to claim they support X because of Y policy if they can't even name Y.
2) Racism has been overused. Romney is racist, taxes are racist, using pronouns is racist.... its the boy who cried wolf. So living in their bubbles of Fox news and Breitbart Conservatives don't pay attention to claims of racism because they seem to be effectively immune to the label.
3) White non-educated workers in 3 States won Trump the Presidency and it has nothing to do with his polices, campaign, or racist comments. They voted for him because their jobs left 20 years ago, have never returned, and they decided to try something different. (While Dem's did convince them Romney didn't care which prevented those voters from switching, that same level of attack was never leveled against Trump with the focus being on his qualifications and temperment while he was focused on jobs jobs jobs ) The motivation was economic relief after decades of decline, not racism.
I overall agree with your post and just felt like adding this tidbit:
On #3: it has been repeatedly pointed out that Obama won this demographic 8 years ago and that Trump's message was very similar to Obama's. (I'm an inexperienced politician who will change Washington DC)


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Just my 2 cents regarding the sampling approach: Testing is expensive and gets more expensive with larger samples. So there is a trade-off between thoroughness and the viability of testing. For many, especially smaller and non-commercial site owners, a test with a cost calculated on the basis of a reasonable hourly rate quickly gets too expensive - and then it will not happen. Let me simplify for the sake of the argument. It comes down to the expectation towards the methodology: A. Is the ultimate aim to reveal all significant practical a11y issues for the chosen scope, the real barriers, without the imperative to detect even the slightest violation somewhere? Unless the site is very large and diverse, this can often be achieved based on a relatively small page sample composed during an initial survey of the site, taking the core pages/templates and then actively looking-out for 'issues' and, of course, crucial processes. For a simple site, 4-6 pages may do the job. (For more complex ones, you will need more, of course.) B. Is the aim to check for full compliance on the chosen level of WCAG rigorously, using a a rather large sample (core, task-based *and* random), trying to making sure no violation goes undetected? It seems clear that option B will cost a lot, with the consequence that only large organisations and those that absolutely must comply will commission such a test. And even those sites that try hard to meet WCAG will be frustrated when they discover that despite their best efforts, they will often still not manage to achieve strict and full compliance with option B even on level A (think of the multitude of ways editorial content can fail SC 1.3.1, if criteria are applied strictly). Why? Given the nature of diverse and multi-source content in many modern sites ("Web 2.0") it is obvious that the overall test result would usually be "fail" in terms of strict conformance, unless there is an agreement that minor violations need not rule out the statement of WCAG on the chosen level (this is what we have been calling 'tolerance metrics' without being quite clear how it would actually work). And to be sure, getting a WCAG conformance statement and seal for the selected scope will often be the main incentive for site owners making a real effort to conform and then commissioning a test. When testing sites that make *no* effort to conform, even a small sample will quickly reveal that WCAG is not met, and by a large margin. Here, having a larger sample may further drag down results a bit, but the verdict is already very clear. I think that any practically applicable testing approach must strike a balance between relevance of results and the effort invested. If we raise the bar and try to be very strict and thorough, if we use just pass and fail and every instance fail fails the page and every page fail fails conformance for the chosen SC and scope, we are in for a very frustrating experience. This is why BITV-Test applies a more fine-grained approach to rating in order to differentiate between the pretty good, the not so good, and the pretty awful - compare our paper at the recent accessibility metrics symposium: http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2011/metrics/paper7/ From a black-or-white conformance standpoint, all this talk about the 'degree of conformance' may seem irrelevant. For the customer of a test, however, having a measure of the degree of accessibility based on an established benchmark like WCAG is important (and, of course, having a list of issues for the designers to work through, a list which both approaches can equally supply). Regards, Detlev Am 04.01.2012 17:08, schrieb Velleman, Eric: > Hi Kathy, > > This could be related to the barrier probability: would you find more if you look at more pages? > We have to consider how comparable the results will be if we do not use what seems to be the minimum 25 pages. > We will cover barrier probability in a later part of the Methodology. > Kindest regards, > > Eric > > ========================= > Eric Velleman > Technisch directeur > Stichting Accessibility > Universiteit Twente > > Oudenoord 325, > 3513EP Utrecht (The Netherlands); > Tel: +31 (0)30 - 2398270 > www.accessibility.nl / www.wabcluster.org / www.econformance.eu / > www.game-accessibility.com/ www.eaccessplus.eu > > Lees onze disclaimer: www.accessibility.nl/algemeen/disclaimer > Accessibility is Member van het W3C > ========================= > > ________________________________________ > Van: Kathy Wahlbin [email@example.com] > Verzonden: woensdag 4 januari 2012 15:44 > Aan: Velleman, Eric; firstname.lastname@example.com > Onderwerp: RE: EvalTF Size of Sample > > Hi Eric - > > I agree with you that the three sample lists should be included. I think > that the number of pages will vary based on the website purpose, size and > functions. It will be very difficult to say that you should evaluate at > least 25 pages on every site. > > That said, here are the questions that I have: > > 1. Should we consider defining the number of pages in a sample based > different scenarios or types of websites? > > 2. To defined size, do we need to talk about the number of pages or could > we define it like you have done with the three sample lists and let the > evaluator determine from those lists how many pages should be reviewed? > > Kathy > > Phone: 978.443.0798 > Cell: 978.760.0682 > Fax: 978.560.1251 > email@example.com > > > > NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential > information. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to the > sender indicating that fact and delete the copy you received. Thank you. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Velleman, Eric [mailto:email@example.com] > Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 6:15 PM > To: email@example.com > Subject: EvalTF Size of Sample > > Dear all, > > We had a short discussion in our last telco about the size of a > representative sample of a website. > The discussion varied between 6 and 5000... How many pages should we have in > a sample to be replicable and at the same time achievable in terms of time > and money? > > In the updated version of the Methodology that will be online in the coming > days I added: > - the three sample lists that should be included into an evaluation (core, > task-based and random). If we just take one of every resource named there, > we have at least 25 pages. > > Kindest regards, > > Eric > > ========================= > Eric Velleman > Technisch directeur > Stichting Accessibility > Universiteit Twente > > Oudenoord 325, > 3513EP Utrecht (The Netherlands); > Tel: +31 (0)30 - 2398270 > www.accessibility.nl / www.wabcluster.org / www.econformance.eu / > www.game-accessibility.com/ www.eaccessplus.eu > > Lees onze disclaimer: www.accessibility.nl/algemeen/disclaimer > Accessibility is Member van het W3C > ========================= > > > >Received on Thursday, 5 January 2012 13:09:14 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 20:40:19 UTC


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Re: IF Boba Fett never fell into the Sarlaac
Part of what drew me to Fett even more as i grew older was the fact he fell into the pitt. As a 3 year old watching that, IT really scared me, and this was before it had a beak(when it was just a big hole with tentacles). As i got older and found out he got out of the pit, it drew me even mre to fett. It was "woa, he got out of that pitt, no one else ever did". If you ever get the chance to read "A Barve like this" then u understand about how Boba dosnt quit, he dosnt fell sorry for himself, he just dosn't quite, and got out". It just shows how much grit and determination he has. Also ppl love gory deaths in movies(well i do), and been digested (or rather the thought of some1 been digested) is pretty gory. If he had been defeatd like other members of Jabba's retinue, i.e sliced with a lightsaber, then it wouldn't have that appeal.
SO if he didnt fall in, then i dnt think he would have been as popular.


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Open, edit, and send back email attachments using Excel for iPad.
Other tutorial videos for Excel for iPad:
Open files from the cloud. Open files from OneDrive for Business (for your work or school stuff), OneDrive.com (for your personal stuff), or from a Dropbox account.
Open email attachments. (You are here!) Open, edit, and send back email attachments using Excel for iPad.
How saving works in Excel for iPad. Excel for iPad automatically saves your work every time you make even a small change. In most cases, you don't have to do anything at all to save your document. Watch this training video to learn about AutoSave.
Type in Excel for iPad. Typing in Excel for iPad can be tricky at first, especially if you're used to a physical keyboard. This training video shows you some typing tips for Excel for iPad. It covers typing text, numbers and formulas.
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How to print in Excel for iPad. You tap the File button to print in Excel for iPad. Watch this video to learn how. At this time, you can only print to an AirPrint compatible printer.


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Paralegals join firm , Business of the month , Economic forecast on Jan. 9, Firm offers help for non-profits, Whitford elected to soybean position, Time Warner expands Pamlico cable, Henderson certified
Paralegals join firm
Nicole Barwick, paralegal for C. Gray Johnsey, and Elizabeth Stalls, paralegal for Sherwood �Chris� Henderson, recently became certified paralegals by the North Carolina State Bar. Barwick graduated from South Lenoir High School in 2004. She attended Pitt Community College and received her associates in applied science in paralegal technology in May of 2013. Stalls graduated from Surry Central High School in 2006 and attended North Carolina State University, receiving her bachelor of science in natural resources -- policy and administration with a minor in political science. She then attended Meredith College and graduated in May of 2012 from the Post-Baccalaureate Paralegal Program with a Concentration in Business Organizations. White & Allen, P.A. is a full-service law firm with offices in Kinston, New Bern, and Snow Hill.
Business of the month
Norandex Distribution, Inc. was this month�s recipient of the Craven County Clean Sweep Business of the month. Between their seven employees and the landscapers, this property is kept spotless. Norandex distributes roofing, siding, windows and doors and has been around for eight years. Buzz Raines is their district manager (pictured here with two employees and Pat Sager, Clean Sweep�s chairperson).
Economic forecast on Jan. 9
The 22nd annual Economic Forecast will be presented by McGladrey, in association with the Craven County Committee of 100, the New Bern Chamber of Commerce and the Havelock Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Jan. 9, at New Bern Convention Center. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the lunch and program with speaker Richard Kaglic, senior regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte Branch. He will provide a detailed analysis of national and state conditions, general economic patterns and future trends. He will also discuss factors affecting local economic performance and employment trends in the area. Registration deadline is Dec. 28. There is no charge for the event. To register, visit events.mcgladrey.com/NewBernAnnualEconomicForecast2014.
Firm offers help for non-profits
Through Marketing that Matters, Bellagurl will provide 12 non-profits with new website design and development, as well as social media and blog training during 2014. To qualify, the non-profit must be able to provide the following: proof of 501(c)3 status and a 1,000-word essay on why they are in need of Marketing that Matters. The application process began Dec. 1. Each applicant will be carefully reviewed and the selected non-profits will be notified throughout 2014. Chosen non-profits will be notified via letter and email of acceptance, along with the needs and timeline provided by Bellagurl. For more information on the Marketing that Matters project and to download the application, visit Bellagurl.com/MarketingThatMatters. Bellagurl is a full service advertising, marketing and website design agency in Morehead City, NC, that serves businesses in eastern North Carolina and beyond. For more information visit bellagurl.net/services/marketing-that-matters.aspx.
Whitford elected to soybean position
Wyatt Whitford, a soybean farmer from Ernul, and North Carolina Soybean Producers Association director, was elected last week to serve on the American Soybean Association (ASA) Executive Committee as secretary. Whitford has served on the board of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association for 11 years. He is a partner in Whitford Farms LLC, farming 2,500 acres, growing soybeans, corn, wheat and tobacco. Prior to his career in farming, he worked for 14 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Home Administration. Whitford also serves on the N.C. State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Agricultural Foundation board. Elections were held in St. Louis during ASA�s annual winter board meeting. The Executive Committee will meet in Iowa next week to finalize plans, task forces and committees for 2014. For more information, call Charles Hall, CEO of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association at 800-839-5775.
Time Warner expands Pamlico cable
Time Warner Cable announced the launch of an expanded channel lineup in the Pamlico service area. Time Warner Cable customers will now be able to choose from over 400 channels and many new features. The new lineup includes News 14 Carolina, the award-winning 24-hour local news channel. For the first time, Time Warner Cable Internet and Home Phone will be available in the Pamlico area as well. The expanded channel lineup and internet service in the Pamlico service area started on Dec. 10. Home Phone is expected to be available starting today.
Henderson certified
Sherwood �Chris� Henderson was recently certified by the N.C. State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in estate planning and probate. Henderson�s practice is concentrated in estate planning and estate administration, tax, qualified retirement plans, business planning, corporations and limited liability companies. He was awarded the Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) credential through the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) in November, 2008. He attended Davidson College in 1992 with a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish. He attended the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University and received his Juris Doctorate in 1996. He received his masters of laws (LL.M.) in taxation from the Villanova University School of Law in 1997. White & Allen, P.A. is a full-service law firm with offices in Kinston, New Bern, and Snow Hill. For more information, visit whiteandallen.com.


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Hey guys!
I used to be here as 'Gollumn' but I have changed and I just can't use that old name anymore. So, here I am, Mark v.2 (or 2.0 but that sounds so dated), happier smoother and living my life.
Short and sweet update:
Started stick 9 years ago this month
Got crazy frustrated
Got help, but it didn't work
Carlos Thomas at Shifters helped!
Going to a good psychologist out of town helped a tonne! I worked on anxiety and depression and got assessed. Found out I have (mild) NonVerbal Learning Disorder. This can cause issues with spatial awareness and coordination. As well, it seems to involve some abnormalities in the right brain hemisphere, which controls the left side (left foot!) of the body so no wonder footwork pushed me to the brink.
I will admit, I drove high on herb a number of times (not impaired, though some will argue, I know this is very controversial and divisive) because I found that my footwork smoothed out when I had cannabis in my system. I studied cannabis extensively and found it doesn't kill brain cells, it grows them, neurogenesis in certain brain regions. Hey, but so does exercise! Anyway, I worked hard after the assessment to relax, detach, recondition myself emotionally, and try to apply this new knowledge to physical (torso) balance and footwork.
I also started doing things such as:
-going to physiotherapy and working on my posture
-doing deadlifts for posture, as well as pullups and stretching etc for general fitness
As I did this, I found that I stood up straighter, and then got the brainwave to look up and straight ahead (instead of down) while walking up a flight of four steps at work. Up, and down, over and over. I just kept going by feel. Over time, it got easier. I think a life time of looking down at the ground (to see if the ground was safe or flat or if there was debris there?) conditioned me to do this. Looking up has so many benefits, such as projecting more confidence, seeing things farther away (perspective), and just allowing your body to walk as it should and only looking down every now and then if needed.
I noticed this stair work paid off with my foot work. My feet could now feel where the pedals should be coming together more easily, more accurately and instinctively. Not perfect, but it helped.
I watched TVO's Mysteries of the Mind week a few years back, learned lots. Dr Doidge's book the Brain that Changes Itself (neuroplasticity), as well as taking a keen interest in the Arrowsmith School's method of covering one eye, tracing shapes, then the other eye to stimulate the opposite hemisphere. Many times I would do ten shifts with my left eye closed, then switch and do ten more with right eye closed. It wasn't very scientific, but I knew it was helping, and I have been proven right!
Those of you who've read my old posts will sense that I have gone from frustration to enjoyment. I still make little clumsy mistakes here and there, and when I'm tired or stiff, most of my shifts will suffer. But I got to a new place and it feels great. I feel like my soul regrew inside my chest, replacing the excruciating agony in the centre with inner calm and light.
I also relate to the quote from the Matrix "Try to realise, there is no spoon, there is only yourself".
Ahhh.. ok, now that I got that off my chest and you're all up to speed, I am going for a drive!
Oh yes, one more point. I learned a great deal about how Miyamoto Musashi found enlightenment through the sword in ancient Japan. I know it may sound a little outlandish, but the Japanese vehicles are so refined, it is my firm belief now, that the collective wisdom of the samurai and Japanese zen/spirituality have been deliberately crafted into their cars to 'teach the driver' these same principles, through feedback (rough or smoothness), and training (driving practise).
Back under a new name!
Just sign up? Feel free to tell your fellow Standardshifters about yourself, your car or anything else.
Post Reply
7 posts • Page 1 of 1
- theholycow
- Master Standardshifter
- Posts: 16021
- Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
- Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
- Location: Glocester, RI
- Contact:
Re: Back under a new name!
Welcome back. Glad you're doing better with everything!
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT
Put your car in your sig!
Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
Put your car in your sig!
Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
- potownrob
- Master Standardshifter
- Posts: 7463
- Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:35 pm
- Cars: '16 Golf; '07 Altima
- Location: Dutchess County
Re: Back under a new name!
welcome back!! for some reason, your re-introduction reminded me of this episode of always sunny:
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
- Senior Standardshifter
- Posts: 736
- Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:50 pm
- Cars: 2008 Ford Fusion 2.3L 5MT
- Location: Detroit area
Re: Back under a new name!
Welcome back to the forums!
Re: Back under a new name!
Welcome back. Sounds like you're doing well for yourself.
And there is some joke about Aerosmith in there somewhere...
And there is some joke about Aerosmith in there somewhere...
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
For Pony!
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi
For Pony!
Re: Back under a new name!
Welcome to the forum again dude.
- potownrob
- Master Standardshifter
- Posts: 7463
- Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:35 pm
- Cars: '16 Golf; '07 Altima
- Location: Dutchess County
Re: Back under a new name!
NOOB, what are you doing!?!?!!!! Oh, if you're not a spambot, welcome to the forums
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
Post Reply
7 posts • Page 1 of 1


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Life with Guidelines
"Have you ever heard of AIDS?" Since it was March of 1982, I hadn't. But I was glad to have someone put a name to my chronic illness. I asked the intern in the emergency room what treatment he suggested, and he replied there was none. "Okay," I said "I'll find something on my own."
That was my first experience looking for a treatment recommendation for HIV, and I'm grateful for it now. It taught me never to take any "official word" as gospel, but to look for my own answers.
The first "official" recommendation for HIV treatment appeared in 1989 when the results of trial ACTG 019 were released. The pressure on anyone with fewer than 500 CD4 cells to start AZT became tremendous -- pressure not only from my doctor, but also from every nurse who took my temperature. "So are you on AZT?" "No, I don't feel it's appropriate for me yet." "I see -- and where did you get your medical degree?" And pressure from fellow activists, who were starting AZT as soon as they dropped below 500. Even greater was the pressure I put on myself. Though I was stable at 300 CD4s, I felt I had to do something. So I tried AL-721, oral alpha interferon, Chinese herbs -- even infusions of Compound Q at a guerilla clinic, an experiment that almost killed me.
I know now, from frozen blood, that my viral load at that time was 360 copies, so there was no need to be on antiretrovirals. But the experience taught me how powerful official treatment recommendations can be. Even though I was feeling fine, and my CD4 count was stable, I thought it was foolish to do nothing.
As time went on and my counts remained around 300, I began to feel that "magic numbers" like 500 weren't the answer. The trend over time seemed more important. In 1992, I lobbied unsuccessfully for New York State to put something like this in their guidelines. When the results of the Concord study showed that starting treatment below 500 didn't extend life, that information was inserted into the state guidelines.
When triple-combination therapy appeared in 1995, everyone (including my ex-doctors) told me I had been smart to avoid AZT monotherapy, but that now it really was time. "Hit Hard, Hit Early" was the mantra of the day. I couldn't find any clinical data showing that starting treatment when your CD4s were above 200 extended life, so I promised myself that I would start only if my count dropped below 200. In early 1996 it did, and I prepared to start a three-drug combination. While I hesitated, my count went back up to 300. I decided once again to wait, which is where I am now -- still waiting to start treatment.
Living with the rigid numbers of guidelines has been one of the hardest parts of having HIV. I felt vindicated when the new federal guidelines were released saying that waiting until CD4 counts drop below 350 is reasonable. And I tell myself that if mine drop below 200 or my viral load goes above 50,000 I'll start treatment. But to be honest, when it happens I tend to wait for the numbers to get better. Having waited almost 20 years, I have a somewhat higher psychological hurdle than most people, but I've always said I would start treatment when the time is right. I'll decide when the time is right using my own guidelines, not someone else's.
Mark Milano is a longtime AIDS treatment activist and educator.


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#10. Picante Taqueria
2016 ½ W. Division
Chicken Tacos
3 @ $1.80 each = $5.40 (no extras)
I thought that Picante Taqueria would make a good pairing for Chipotle, because these are the two restaurants in the bracket that were created more or less unapologetically by white people and for white people. In Picante's case, the denomination seems to be South Side Irish, judging by the accents (Chi-KAA-go) and the fact that you can sometimes buy White Sox tickets with your burritos. Picante even riffs on the fact their clientele is a bit melanin-challenged, by offering something called the "White Boy Tacos" -- a Taco Bell style creation featuring a hardshell tortilla and ground beef. I had to defer on the Whiteys for the time being because today's item is chicken, but surely they'll provide a good nightcap on an evening to be named later.
The Food: Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Picante must know that white boys like their chicken, because they took a lot of care in preparing it. The flavor of the meat is excellent, seasoned with the right amount of salt and pepper and maintaining a strong grilled flavor. The meat also tasted like it must have been marinated in something, because there were some overtones of citrus. It was all white meat too, diced up into presentable little chunks.
The tortillas were also a strong point, especially after Chipotle's grievous error of serving flour tortillas. They had a fair amount of character, with a fresh corn taste and a little but of flakiness to them; the only issue was that they tended to adhere a little bit to the wax paper that the tacos were wrapped in. The green salsa was also above-average, and complimented the chicken particularly well. On the other hand, the garnishes were a little weak. They were fresh enough and everything, but I've gotten used to having my tacos with onions and cilantro, and you had to look hard to find either of those ingredients on these tacos; instead they were loaded up heavy on tomatoes and lettuce.
The Experience: "Is that to go or to go, sir?". Picante's address is 2016 ½ West Division, which tells you everything that you need to know. It's literally a hole in the wall, not even big enough to maintain its own address. As a consequence of this, there is no indoor seating area at all. Instead, there is a set of seven or eight tables outside if you want to go al fresco. In the summertime, this might be considered an asset -- you do get a nice view of Division Avenue -- and on a comfortable, breezy afternoon like today, it was all well and good enough. But God forbid that Picante advances in the bracket, and we have to do another review in November or something. How much to hold this against Picante is hard to say -- the Burrito Bracket is mostly about the food -- but surely it has to result in a deduction of a couple of points.
Picante also has something of a reputation for inefficient service, and I think that's probably a fair characterization. When I got there today, the clerk told me to come back in 10 minutes, because he had just arrived and had to set up the register. He was nice enough about it -- in fact the Picante people are always very sweet -- but this was in the middle of the day and from the standpoint of efficiency, it was certainly not a plus. In addition, the wait times from the kitchen tend to be longer than average, perhaps because the kitchen is as cramped as the rest of the establishment and so it's hard to prepare multiple orders at once. Picante manages to be at once off-putting and endearing.
Picante Taqueria: Round 1 Review
#10. Picante Taqueria
Posted by Nate Silver at 5:40 PM
3 comments:
- Dan W said...
There's no way Picante should have been rated #10 coming into this bracket. They should be neck and neck with La Pasadita. They must have had an off season last year to fall so behind in the polls. Bad draft choices or something.
- Nate said...
Seedings were based heavily on Yelp ratings as well as past experiences at the restaurant in question. Picante got 3.5 stars on Yelp which isn't great given the number of reviews it got. At my last experience there was just OK. Better than I remembered and I think you can argue that it should have been an 8 or 9 seed, but that would have ruined the Arturo's-Lazo's grudge match in the first round.
- Sarah said...
Well...I've actually never eaten there. But my boyfriend used to, all the time...until he went there drunk once this summer and asked for his usual nearly-plain burrito (not the white boy, but fairly close). He's always polite, but he also says that they mess up his order about half the time.
This time, however, they got the order perfect and he was thrilled. Until the second bite where there was a PLASTIC KNIFE wrapped up in his burrito. I mean...seriously?


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Jordan's King Abdullah II named former royal court minister Samir Rifai as new prime minister in a royal decree on Wednesday following the resignation of Nader Dahabi's government. The move follows the dissolution of the lower house of parliament late last month and instructions by the monarch to reform the electoral process and amend the kingdom's election law.
In the past, Rifai assumed the post of Jordan Dubai Capital (JDC) CEO. He was the minister of the Royal Court in 2003.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported Abdullah asked his palace aide Nasser Lozi to form a new cabinet to push forward economic reforms before parliamentary elections later next year.
The outgoing PM Dahabi was named as prime minister in November 2007, presiding over a cabinet of 27 ministers.


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Waxhaw NC In Home Care & Elder Care
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Our elder care staff is available around the clock to provide a wide range of personal services to our clients needing home care help. Our Waxhaw, NC staff has experience in providing meal preparation, safety supervision, and grooming services to our clients.
As an senior care agency, we have worked with everyone from handicapped children to aging adults, so our home care staff can help you and your family no matter what the situation may be. Our elder care specialists can help with all of your home care needs.
For more information about our Waxhaw home care services please fill out the form to your right or call us at 704-543-0630


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Welcome to the GardaWorld recruiting platform.
If you are interested in opportunities within the Middle East, Emerging Markets and Latin America, please select our International Protective Services Division from the dropdown menu to search and apply for available roles within those regions. The next steps to apply are simple:
1. Browse in the list of job opportunities and select one that suits you.
2. Once on the job description page, click on Apply Now.
3. Creating an account will give you the opportunity to apply for positions and maintain your career profile.
4. Once your account is open, complete the online application and apply.
5. Our recruiters will review your application and will get back to you shortly.
If you already have an account and wish to log in, please click on the Sign In button on the upper right side of the screen.