By Bob Barr
Two months before the November 1994 off-year elections, I and several dozen other Republican candidates were scrambling to raise funds necessary to have a chance of unseating our Democratic incumbent opponents. Although we hoped to prevail, few if any of us really grasped what was about to happen. The gathering tsunami that would sweep the GOP to a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in four decades on November 8th of that year, was a secret known only by then-Minority Leader Newt Gingrich and a tight-knit fraternity of associates and consultants.
President Clinton’s unpopularity in the fall of 1994 was palpable; but few prognosticators or media pundits understood the depth of the disdain with which large segments of the voting population viewed the chief executive. The economy was in far better shape than now, and although Clinton’s embrace of gun control that year, and of a large tax increase the year before, clearly had sapped his popularity, neither he nor most analysts expected he would wake up on November 9th facing a hostile House and Senate.
It was, more than anything, a tribute to the hard work and vision of Newt Gingrich that caused a seismic shift in American politics 16 years ago. It was not simply that he worked his fingers to the bone in the months leading to the election; but his untiring efforts over the decade before, that provided the horsepower that undercut 40 years of Democratic control.
In 1994, the Republican Party nationally had vision, an articulated agenda, and well-known leadership. The Democratic Party had control of a Congress that was a mile wide and an inch deep; led by a president blinded by his own hubris. It turned out to be a toxic recipe for the incumbent party.
Here we are, eight election cycles later, and the respected Cook Political Report is predicting another major political shift similar to that of ‘94. In his latest crystal ball gaze, Charlie Cook foresees a 40-seat shift in the House (enough for a GOP majority) and a possible nine-seat dislocation in the Senate (which would change the majority there, too). Yet, few politically-knowledgeable Americans could articulate anything resembling a Republican agenda, vision or leadership; they couldn’t, because there simply is no national GOP vision, agenda or leadership.
This time, it is the party in power that is doing it all on its own; the master of its own looming demise. Fair or not, the Democratic Party nationally is being tarred with the broad brush that is the continuing bad economy. The sour mood infecting the electorate is made bitterer still by the health care legislation championed by a hubris-infected president pushing against a citizenry clearly not on the same page.
And while the Tea Party movement has failed thus far to realize the potential attributed to it a year ago, it clearly reflects very broad-based voter dissatisfaction. Already, several Republican candidates who would not likely on their own be poised to win against Democratic incumbents, have successfully tapped into that sense of general unease to boost their poll numbers. Just ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Unlike 1994, when the Democrats were caught napping, this time they see it coming already. Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly is strong-arming her colleagues in safe districts to dig deep into their war chests to help more vulnerable members. Attack ads are appearing early and often. In another obvious effort to stanch the growing hemorrhage, the weakest and most vulnerable Democratic incumbents already are being cut loose.
Whether all this will enable Pelosi and Reid to cling to small majorities in their respective bodies remains an open question; there are, after all, eight weeks remaining before Election Day. But right now, despite themselves, the Republicans may reap what the Democrats have sown; and with very little effort.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
GOP may win big despite itself
South Side Pops to meet tonight
I don't have the lawn mower, nor the attraction to splash parks, nor the office cubical, nor.....
Thanks Mike for sending this pointer:
Thanks Mike for sending this pointer:
Yes, it's been one year since our first gathering in September of 2009 at The Intermission Lounge. Hope to see all of you there to kick off our second year, tonight, Wed, Sept 15. Welcome to all the new dads -- hope that you'll join us.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Civic Arena's future could be known by Thursday
Civic Arena's future could be known by Thursday: "Civic Arena's future"Bike Polo.
RenewPittsburgh - Support Youth Football in Homewood!
RenewPittsburgh is sponsoring an on-line fundraiser during September to support the Homewood Community Sports Youth Football program! You may have heard that there was a tragic triple shooting outside of the team's home opener last month.
Please consider sponsoring a player for $25 each, and 100% of the proceeds of the fundraiser will help take care of the equipment needs, purchase gift cards for players, and support additional security at future games. Please consider helping us reach our goal of raising $2,500 for the team, and we would greatly appreciate your support.
You can donate to support the team by clicking on the donation button below.
![DonationsTracker.com - Make a Donation to Homewood Youth Football program]()
We think it is critical that we show these kids and coaches that there is City-wide support for what they are trying to accomplish. Many of us have witnessed firsthand the great work that these players and coaches are doing in the Homewood community. For many of these kids, the football team provides a unique outlet for learning the virtues of teamwork and discipline.
Thanks very much for your invaluable support and for believing in Pittsburgh. Please see below for additional upcoming volunteer opportunities in September and October in a local neighborhood.
Best regards,
Kevin Acklin
Executive Director
Please consider sponsoring a player for $25 each, and 100% of the proceeds of the fundraiser will help take care of the equipment needs, purchase gift cards for players, and support additional security at future games. Please consider helping us reach our goal of raising $2,500 for the team, and we would greatly appreciate your support.
You can donate to support the team by clicking on the donation button below.
We also have featured a donation thermometer on the RenewPittsburgh homepage, to track the progress toward our goal.
We think it is critical that we show these kids and coaches that there is City-wide support for what they are trying to accomplish. Many of us have witnessed firsthand the great work that these players and coaches are doing in the Homewood community. For many of these kids, the football team provides a unique outlet for learning the virtues of teamwork and discipline.
Thanks very much for your invaluable support and for believing in Pittsburgh. Please see below for additional upcoming volunteer opportunities in September and October in a local neighborhood.
Best regards,
Kevin Acklin
Executive Director
Friday, September 10, 2010
Duquesne president outlines university's commitments
Duquesne president outlines university's commitments: "He talked about striving for programmatic excellence. He made reference to his decision to discontinue men's swimming, golf, wrestling and baseball programs.I would love to hear a tape of this interview, in full. Anyone got that? Can it be made into a P-G blog posting (full transcript) or else even a P-G podcast?
'Sometimes when excellence is genuinely impossible, ending a program is the honest answer,' he said. 'We faced this directly last year in athletics.'"
Amen to this: Complaints spur change in Brookline bus route
Wow. Real listening and adjustments. Imagine that. Amen!
Now on to those other bottlenecks.
Complaints spur change in Brookline bus route: "Complaints spur change in Brookline bus route"
Now on to those other bottlenecks.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Penguins open training camp to public
This article was from years ago. The Pens wanted a practice ice and it was NOT yet built. But, we already have the Civic Arena. And, we used to have the indoor rink on the South Side that crashed due to lack of proper management.
Penguins open training camp to public: "The Penguins are opening their first two days of training camp practices, Sept. 18 and 19, to the public as the team skates together at Consol Energy Center for the first time.
There will be open seating and no charge for admission. Vendors and features will be available at the new arena.
The three main gates will open at 8:45 each morning, with practice beginning at 9 and running until 1:30 p.m. There will be a scrimmage each day at 10 a.m."
Statement by Apple on App Store Review Guidelines
Statement by Apple on App Store Review Guidelines: "In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need."
Huge move.
Rolling, keep on rolling.
Principal rides bike for 18 hours to honor students: "His motivations were simple: to show his appreciation 'for all of the hard work that Woodland Hills students have done in the past year' and to 'raise awareness' for the Tour du District fundraiser, a bike ride scheduled for Oct. 2 and sponsored by the Woodland Hills Foundation."
Fw: [DW] Civic Commons - Sharing Technology for the Public Good
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2010 08:04:25
To: newswire<newswire@groups.dowire.org>; <munigov@googlegroups.com>; <locallabs@forums.e-democracy.org>; sunlightlabs<sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: clift@publicus.net
Subject: [DW] Civic Commons - Sharing Technology for the Public Good
This is a really big deal - for years I've talked about how it is
impossible for one local government to justify subsidizing the
technology needs of other governments. Bundling up, sharing, and
supporting code just can't be paid solely by one jurisdiction's
taxpayers. The Civic Commons has the potential to grease the wheel and
allow some real sharing. Key is to find resources and partners to
bolster the support for sharing and to recognize that "civic code"
used by a government in one place, might be used by a non-profit in
another, etc. I think "e-democracy/e-participation" tools for example
could benefit strongly from these efforts.
One thing we are contributing to this "space," working with OpenPlans
on (a lead Civic Commons partner) is a simple online group for locally
minded technologists - those in government, citizen geeks, etc. - if
you code, design, etc. join up: http://e-democracy.org/locallabs
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.org
P.S. In Europe they have - http://www.osor.eu - "The Open Source
Observatory and Repository for European public administrations (OSOR)
is a platform for exchanging information, experiences and FLOSS-based
code for use in public administrations." Hey, time to meet.
See:
http://civiccommons.com/about/
About
In the face of budget crises, government entities at every level must
cut costs and find efficiencies. An enormous opportunity lies in their
IT infrastructure — the technology they require to provide their
citizens essential services. For the most part, each city, county,
state, agency and office builds or buys their technology solutions
independently, creating huge redundancies in civic software and
wasting millions of tax-payer dollars. They should be able to work
together. An independent non-profit organization, Civic Commons will
help these institutions share code and best practices, reform
procurement practices, and learn to function not only as a provider of
services but as a platform to which an ecosystem of industry can add
value for government and its citizens.
Civic Commons is a collaboration between many organizations, including:
Code for America, OpenPlans
[E-Democracy.org is signing on as a supporter as well - Steve]
What We Do
Civic Commons is just starting as an organization, however, we are
committed to the following:
* Facilitating the sharing of code among government entities, with
an eye towards developing an "Open Civic Stack"
* Connecting governments throughout all phases of technology
procurement, and building systems for more transparent & informed
technology choices
* Developing and supporting Open Data and Open Standards as
foundations of an "Open Civic API"
* Spreading government technology best practices
* Building a community of "civic hackers" and give them clear
opportunities to assist in the development of government technology
Values & Principles
The following principles guide the development of Civic Commons' activities:
* Be Agile. While being inclusive and open, retain the ability to
move quickly and prove ideas through actions
* Be a Connector
* Never get in the way. For efforts that are already successfully
under way, Civic Commons' role is to be an information exchange, to
provide discoverability, and to provide advice where needed; not to
set up barriers or process requirements
More:
http://codeforamerica.org/2010/09/08/announcing-civic-commons/
Sep 8th, 2010
Announcing Civic Commons
by Jennifer Pahlka
Jennifer Pahlka
Today we are here at the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington DC for the
exciting announcement of the Code for America project for DC. The
project is called Civic Commons, and it's a way to help governments
share software they have developed, and thereby reduce IT costs,
foster collaboration, and spur innovation.
...
Finally Bryan got a gleam in his eye and said, "You know, DC doesn't
need another cool software project. What we need is a way to share
what we have with other cities, and for them to be able to share what
they build with us." When Tim suggested that the Code for America
Fellows assigned to DC could focus on solving this bigger problem,
Bryan jumped at the chance.
....
Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
New Tel: +1.612.234.7072
-----------------------------------------
Group home for Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire:
http://groups.dowire.org/groups/newswire
Replies go to members of Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire with all posts on this topic here:
http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/2ug9QXXvLELJPU1wcC6ij4
For digest version or to leave Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire,
email newswire@groups.dowire.org
with "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in the *subject*.
Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire is hosted by Democracies Online - http://dowire.org.
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2010 08:04:25
To: newswire<newswire@groups.dowire.org>; <munigov@googlegroups.com>; <locallabs@forums.e-democracy.org>; sunlightlabs<sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: clift@publicus.net
Subject: [DW] Civic Commons - Sharing Technology for the Public Good
This is a really big deal - for years I've talked about how it is
impossible for one local government to justify subsidizing the
technology needs of other governments. Bundling up, sharing, and
supporting code just can't be paid solely by one jurisdiction's
taxpayers. The Civic Commons has the potential to grease the wheel and
allow some real sharing. Key is to find resources and partners to
bolster the support for sharing and to recognize that "civic code"
used by a government in one place, might be used by a non-profit in
another, etc. I think "e-democracy/e-participation" tools for example
could benefit strongly from these efforts.
One thing we are contributing to this "space," working with OpenPlans
on (a lead Civic Commons partner) is a simple online group for locally
minded technologists - those in government, citizen geeks, etc. - if
you code, design, etc. join up: http://e-democracy.org/locallabs
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.org
P.S. In Europe they have - http://www.osor.eu - "The Open Source
Observatory and Repository for European public administrations (OSOR)
is a platform for exchanging information, experiences and FLOSS-based
code for use in public administrations." Hey, time to meet.
See:
http://civiccommons.com/about/
About
In the face of budget crises, government entities at every level must
cut costs and find efficiencies. An enormous opportunity lies in their
IT infrastructure — the technology they require to provide their
citizens essential services. For the most part, each city, county,
state, agency and office builds or buys their technology solutions
independently, creating huge redundancies in civic software and
wasting millions of tax-payer dollars. They should be able to work
together. An independent non-profit organization, Civic Commons will
help these institutions share code and best practices, reform
procurement practices, and learn to function not only as a provider of
services but as a platform to which an ecosystem of industry can add
value for government and its citizens.
Civic Commons is a collaboration between many organizations, including:
Code for America, OpenPlans
[E-Democracy.org is signing on as a supporter as well - Steve]
What We Do
Civic Commons is just starting as an organization, however, we are
committed to the following:
* Facilitating the sharing of code among government entities, with
an eye towards developing an "Open Civic Stack"
* Connecting governments throughout all phases of technology
procurement, and building systems for more transparent & informed
technology choices
* Developing and supporting Open Data and Open Standards as
foundations of an "Open Civic API"
* Spreading government technology best practices
* Building a community of "civic hackers" and give them clear
opportunities to assist in the development of government technology
Values & Principles
The following principles guide the development of Civic Commons' activities:
* Be Agile. While being inclusive and open, retain the ability to
move quickly and prove ideas through actions
* Be a Connector
* Never get in the way. For efforts that are already successfully
under way, Civic Commons' role is to be an information exchange, to
provide discoverability, and to provide advice where needed; not to
set up barriers or process requirements
More:
http://codeforamerica.org/2010/09/08/announcing-civic-commons/
Sep 8th, 2010
Announcing Civic Commons
by Jennifer Pahlka
Jennifer Pahlka
Today we are here at the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington DC for the
exciting announcement of the Code for America project for DC. The
project is called Civic Commons, and it's a way to help governments
share software they have developed, and thereby reduce IT costs,
foster collaboration, and spur innovation.
...
Finally Bryan got a gleam in his eye and said, "You know, DC doesn't
need another cool software project. What we need is a way to share
what we have with other cities, and for them to be able to share what
they build with us." When Tim suggested that the Code for America
Fellows assigned to DC could focus on solving this bigger problem,
Bryan jumped at the chance.
....
Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
New Tel: +1.612.234.7072
-----------------------------------------
Group home for Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire:
http://groups.dowire.org/groups/newswire
Replies go to members of Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire with all posts on this topic here:
http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/2ug9QXXvLELJPU1wcC6ij4
For digest version or to leave Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire,
email newswire@groups.dowire.org
with "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in the *subject*.
Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire is hosted by Democracies Online - http://dowire.org.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Fw: Reminder: Danielle Miraglia in Friendship September 19
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
-----Original Message-----
From: Friendship House Concerts <friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 22:20:26
To: altesj<altesj@yahoo.com>
Subject: Reminder: Danielle Miraglia in Friendship September 19
Check out this Virtual Flyer Danielle made for our concert
http://www.trespassmusic.org/miragliapittsburgh
Friendship House Concerts is proud to present
Danielle Miraglia
Sunday, September 19
4:00 PM
A strong steady thumb on an old Gibson guitar is the driving force
behind Danielle Miraglia's delta blues influenced guitar style. Add a
raw, powerful, whiskey tinged voice and one might be tempted to label
her a blues artist. But while Miraglia's style pays homage to these
blues traditions, her classic rock verve, catchy melodies and eclectic
array of song subjects that range from deeply personal to socially
relevant give it an original twist that is all her own. A fresh sound
along with a sharp wit and a captivating stage presence is gaining her
fans all over the map. "A heart-on-sleeve storyteller with an innate
sense for melody, her voice bends and sinks and floats in all the
right places, with a raspy, whiskey bottle scrape most reminiscent of
Lucinda Williams." - Dissolver Magazine
Her songs range from heartfelt as in "Moment by Moment" a gospel-like
promise to live in the present, to thought-provoking as in "You Don't
Know Nothin'" which Jon Sobel of Blogcritics.com describes as "One of
the best new folk songs I've heard in years. Its depiction and
dissection of human misunderstanding is both sharp and tender. All you
need to know about what drives people apart and what draws them
together can be witnessed in a few hours spent in a bar. Many of us
feel something along those lines, but Danielle Miraglia is that rare
songwriter who can put it into words."
The continually growing fan-base and attention she has received in a
short time is a clear testament to her talent and growth as a writer
and performer. With poignant themes that get under the listener's
skin, she leaves music fans and critics alike yearning for more.
Check out Danielle & her music at: http://www.daniellem.com
Seating is limited. For information and/or an invitation, call or email:
LLouise & Jim Altes
412.361.6051
friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Suggested donation: $10.00. All proceeds go to the performer.
After the concert, there will be a pot luck dinner. Please bring an
entree, an hors d'oeuvre, a salad, a side dish, or dessert to share.
Upcoming events of interest:
Sept 19, Danielle Miraglia http://www.daniellem.com/ at Jim and
LLouise's friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Sept 22, Ronny Cox http://www.ronnycox.com at Cefalo's in Carnegie
tombreiding@verizon.net
Sept 25, Joe Crookston www.joecrookston at Song Space at First
Unitarian Church songspace.firstuu@yahoo.com
Sept 26, Craig Bickhardt http://www.craigbickhardt.com at Cindy and
Rick's cah329a@gmail.com
Sept 29, Bill Staines http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines at Bill &
Judy Locke's lockewn@comcast.net
Oct 3, Matt Brown http://www.brownsdream.us at Curt & Annie's
Oct 24, Zoe Mulford http://www.zoemulford.com/ at Jim and LLouise's
friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Oct 24, Phil Cooper & Susan Urban (February Sky)
http://www.februarysky.com at Curt and Annie's
Nov 15, Bryan Bowers at Cindy & Rick's
Dec 4, Dwight Diller @ Rick & Cindy's
-----Original Message-----
From: Friendship House Concerts <friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 22:20:26
To: altesj<altesj@yahoo.com>
Subject: Reminder: Danielle Miraglia in Friendship September 19
Check out this Virtual Flyer Danielle made for our concert
http://www.trespassmusic.org/miragliapittsburgh
Friendship House Concerts is proud to present
Danielle Miraglia
Sunday, September 19
4:00 PM
A strong steady thumb on an old Gibson guitar is the driving force
behind Danielle Miraglia's delta blues influenced guitar style. Add a
raw, powerful, whiskey tinged voice and one might be tempted to label
her a blues artist. But while Miraglia's style pays homage to these
blues traditions, her classic rock verve, catchy melodies and eclectic
array of song subjects that range from deeply personal to socially
relevant give it an original twist that is all her own. A fresh sound
along with a sharp wit and a captivating stage presence is gaining her
fans all over the map. "A heart-on-sleeve storyteller with an innate
sense for melody, her voice bends and sinks and floats in all the
right places, with a raspy, whiskey bottle scrape most reminiscent of
Lucinda Williams." - Dissolver Magazine
Her songs range from heartfelt as in "Moment by Moment" a gospel-like
promise to live in the present, to thought-provoking as in "You Don't
Know Nothin'" which Jon Sobel of Blogcritics.com describes as "One of
the best new folk songs I've heard in years. Its depiction and
dissection of human misunderstanding is both sharp and tender. All you
need to know about what drives people apart and what draws them
together can be witnessed in a few hours spent in a bar. Many of us
feel something along those lines, but Danielle Miraglia is that rare
songwriter who can put it into words."
The continually growing fan-base and attention she has received in a
short time is a clear testament to her talent and growth as a writer
and performer. With poignant themes that get under the listener's
skin, she leaves music fans and critics alike yearning for more.
Check out Danielle & her music at: http://www.daniellem.com
Seating is limited. For information and/or an invitation, call or email:
LLouise & Jim Altes
412.361.6051
friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Suggested donation: $10.00. All proceeds go to the performer.
After the concert, there will be a pot luck dinner. Please bring an
entree, an hors d'oeuvre, a salad, a side dish, or dessert to share.
Upcoming events of interest:
Sept 19, Danielle Miraglia http://www.daniellem.com/ at Jim and
LLouise's friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Sept 22, Ronny Cox http://www.ronnycox.com at Cefalo's in Carnegie
tombreiding@verizon.net
Sept 25, Joe Crookston www.joecrookston at Song Space at First
Unitarian Church songspace.firstuu@yahoo.com
Sept 26, Craig Bickhardt http://www.craigbickhardt.com at Cindy and
Rick's cah329a@gmail.com
Sept 29, Bill Staines http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines at Bill &
Judy Locke's lockewn@comcast.net
Oct 3, Matt Brown http://www.brownsdream.us at Curt & Annie's
Oct 24, Zoe Mulford http://www.zoemulford.com/ at Jim and LLouise's
friendshiphouseconcerts@gmail.com
Oct 24, Phil Cooper & Susan Urban (February Sky)
http://www.februarysky.com at Curt and Annie's
Nov 15, Bryan Bowers at Cindy & Rick's
Dec 4, Dwight Diller @ Rick & Cindy's
Mini Polo
This summer, with 2010 Summer Dreamers, we did much of the same thing as mini polo movie above. But, we didn't have the goal set-up as we should have. We used simple cones.
I'm working on our audio visual show still.
Christchurch Quake Map
Holly shit.
Christchurch Quake Map: "Christchurch Quake Map"That's not an earthquake. It is a series of serious shakes and quakes.
Blogger on the Earthquake in New Zealand. Interesting read.
Public Address | Southerly: "Refugee Status | Sep 08, 2010 22:28
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake, as we discovered on Saturday morning, sounds rather like a thousand empty wheelie bins being trundled over cobble-stones.
We'd had difficulty getting our three-year-old son to sleep the night before. Several books (one novel-length) had been read aloud by my wife; soporific ukulele music had been played until my fingers had cramp; there'd been sobbing and tears of frustration (mostly from me). Eventually, around midnight, our household slipped into a fitful slumber.
I suspect, therefore, that we were more traumatized than most to be awoken at 4.35 am. The heaving and plunging of the floor reminded me of being in a storm at sea. It's a sensation that I don't much enjoy in a boat; I absolutely loathe it on dry land.
The movement was so violent that my wife had some difficultly picking up our son. We huddled in the doorway in total darkness as pictures fell from our walls and crockery smashed in the kitchen. A series of aftershocks kept us in the doorway for an hour."
DePaul grads move into classes with hearing children
DePaul grads move into classes with hearing children: "Madison Miller of Grove City was born with moderate to severe hearing loss, but wore hearing aids from the age of 6 months, so she had some hearing ability.DePaul rocks!
But then her hearing worsened when she was about 3 1/2 or 4, with no definite cause identified, and her otolaryngologist, David Chi, recommended she get cochlear implants. She got her right ear done at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC at age 5 and then waited, while still wearing a hearing aid in the left ear, to get the other cochlear implant a year later."
Open data, democracy and public sector reform
Open data, democracy and public sector reform: "This is an online report based on an MSc Dissertation at the Oxford Internet Institute by Tim Davies submitted to the University of Oxford, July 2010. It is shared using the Digress.it platform which allows for paragraph level commenting and hyperlinking to elements of the document.
A downloadable PDF copy of the report is available here.
The original research, underlying data, and further work has been blogged in detail on the Open Data Impacts blog."
M2Z's Free, Wireless Nationwide Broadband Plan Killed: Thank the FCC | Fast Company
Free wireless with a coast to coast coverage sacked for USA thanks to some paper pushers.
M2Z's Free, Wireless Nationwide Broadband Plan Killed: Thank the FCC | Fast Company: "Despite a seemingly stout business plan, and all the financial, social, and educational benefits it would bring, the FCC's just turned down M2Z's application for a coast-to-coast free wireless broadband system.
The FCC did not elaborate on why it turned down a plan from a new company called M2Z which would've created a U.S.-wide, free wireless broadband network. M2Z's trick was going to be to use a spare bit of the radio spectrum, the 2GHz 'AWS-3' band, and earn itself cash by embedding ads in its free Net service as well as licensing out part of the spectrum it would then be controlling for other commercial uses. The entire nationwide system could've been up and running inside 10 years, and 5% of M2Z's revenues would've gone straight to the Treasury."
New Song: My Country...
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8630731
The song is a bit PG-13-ish. But it has a beat and some strong messages.
Lyrics
Now tell me again how this country is the land of the free and the home of the brave
You can't really believe that what you see now is the reason so many brave men gave
Teacher used to say we had the Bill of Rights
I think they took our rights and sent us the bill
Well I don't know about you my friend but I think I've had my fill
They been walking on me for my whole life I think it's finally time to draw the line
You can tell old John Cougar Mellencamp he can stick his song where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Got a checkpoint up the road ahead better pull out your ID
And your taxes just went up again gotta cough up some more money
Be careful what you're saying when you're on the phone you never know who might be listening in
They got cameras watching everywhere you go so they know just where you been
You know you better think about the books you read or your name might go on a list
Don't take too many pictures now, or they'll think you're a terrorist
They're watching you every time you turn around and they don't like what they see
You gotta be f*** ing kidding me if you think this country's free
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Well the banks messed up so they took money from us and gave a zillion dollar bonus
And they didn't give a damn what we had to say I swear to God they think they own us
But when they say "bend over" and you say "yes sir" and then you vote for them again
If you're the kind of people who fought our wars tell me how'd we ever win?
They been walking on us for far too long and don't you think it's time to draw the line?
Why don't you tell those jerks in Washington to stick their laws where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
They say America love it or leave it
Well I loved it, and it left me
The song is a bit PG-13-ish. But it has a beat and some strong messages.
Lyrics
Now tell me again how this country is the land of the free and the home of the brave
You can't really believe that what you see now is the reason so many brave men gave
Teacher used to say we had the Bill of Rights
I think they took our rights and sent us the bill
Well I don't know about you my friend but I think I've had my fill
They been walking on me for my whole life I think it's finally time to draw the line
You can tell old John Cougar Mellencamp he can stick his song where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Got a checkpoint up the road ahead better pull out your ID
And your taxes just went up again gotta cough up some more money
Be careful what you're saying when you're on the phone you never know who might be listening in
They got cameras watching everywhere you go so they know just where you been
You know you better think about the books you read or your name might go on a list
Don't take too many pictures now, or they'll think you're a terrorist
They're watching you every time you turn around and they don't like what they see
You gotta be f*** ing kidding me if you think this country's free
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
Well the banks messed up so they took money from us and gave a zillion dollar bonus
And they didn't give a damn what we had to say I swear to God they think they own us
But when they say "bend over" and you say "yes sir" and then you vote for them again
If you're the kind of people who fought our wars tell me how'd we ever win?
They been walking on us for far too long and don't you think it's time to draw the line?
Why don't you tell those jerks in Washington to stick their laws where the sun don't shine
My country my ass- This is not the land I learned about in class
My country my ass- That freedom justice stuff is all in the past
They say America love it or leave it
Well I loved it, and it left me
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