Fighting Anti-Choice/Anti-Access Abortion Bills in Texas: THE NEXT STEP (#HB2 #SB9)

There is a lot for me to say about what has happened over the last week in Texas but since Governor Rick Perry has called a second special session, I?m looking forward as much as possible. (though I do want to say THANK YOU to my fellow Texans)

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They expect us to back down. They expect us to go away. WE WILL NOT!

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First, answers to some questions about how the special session works.

Will there be another filibuster??

Most likely not.

The special session is 30 days long. During the first special session, Perry did not introduce the abortion legislation until about half way through. That is a big reason that we were able to draw out the process to the point where Davis could filibuster and we could yell to push past that midnight deadline this past Tuesday.

This time, the TX GOP will have 30 full days to move through the legislation, a?significantly?longer period of time.

What will happen on Monday in the legislature??

When I asked my friend who knows about these things if anything critically important will happen on Monday, I was told: ?It is possible, but unlikely.?

The decision to waive the regular 2/3 rule to pass legislation and instead implement a majority vote will likely happen on Monday. We expect that there will be a great deal of debate and rules query about this and the mockery of the rules that happend on Tuesday night. Senator Kirk Watson and Senator Kevin Eltife have both filed a blocker bill (the bill at the top of the calendar that creates a need for 2/3rds vote to take other bills up before it). Not sure if we can be in the chamber for this. I have no details yet on that.

What legislation is already on the docket?

New legislation has been introduced: HB 2 on the house side which is the same as SB 5 was when it came out of house?committee, including the 20-week ban. ?Dan Patrick (who has, since Tuesday, announced that he?d like to be Texas? next Lt Gov) has filed SB 9, a stand alone medical abortion bill.

Legislation can continue to be filed before the session starts and then during the session so this may not be all of it. We?ll see.

Here is more information on the specific information in the bills. Please read this.?

Will there be more hearings?

Yes, most likely. They don?t HAVE to hear testimony in the House. BUT we expect that they will hear testimony in both chambers (though Lt. Gov Dewhurst is now threatening to not allow us to participate in those hearings).

We should be prepared for them to move quickly through the process of committee hearing, voting in one chamber, committee hearing, voting in the other chamber.

How do they decide the order of events? How does setting the calendar work?

They don?t ever set a calendar exactly, the process flows from point to point, with certain minimum timelines in between.

So, STAY TUNED. As soon as we know the different points, we will get that information out. I am working on creating a calendar on this site that will list the events based on date, time, and level of importance so that people who are deciding when to come in from out of town or to take time off work will know the most critical time for them to show up.

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They expect us to back down. They expect us to go away. WE WILL NOT!

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FIRST EVENT (low priority for those who need to drive long distances to be in Austin but it will be a great moment of strength and?camaraderie): MONDAY (July 1) AT NOON, Texas Capitol?s South Steps. Here is the?Facebook event page if you?d like more information or to RSVP (over 4,000 people have done so already).

From the coalition of reproductive health groups, Democratic groups, and progressive activists that are planning this event: ?The special session could last for 30 days and we will need you every step of the way. Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get frequent updates. We need to reach as many proud pro-choice women and men across the state, so please take a minute to forward this to your friends.?

I have been told that free orange shirts will be available. I?m not sure of the distribution method, though. Probably there will be people there passing them out.

There is also this: ?The Travis County Democratic Party has ?Stand With Texas Women? shirts for sale. They are free to people who sign up as sustaining members of the county party for 10 dollars a month, or a one time donation of $25. Sustaining memberships are the lifeblood of our Party and helps us be ready to hold the Legislative body in our backyard accountable at a moments notice.There will also be a limited amount of shirts available at the Rally that are free without the TCDP logo. However if you want to guarantee you get one, help support the our efforts with a donation today. We also have a substantial need for volunteers to get ready for this Monday, so come on down to our office at 1311 E. 6th St, get a shirt and get involved!?

Public parking if you drive to the capitol?(found on the map here?http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/SPB/Plan/FloorPlan/Complex.htm).?The first two hours are free. Each half hour is $1. All day parking is $8. The visitor parking lot is on 12th and San Jacinto. There is also a lot of metered parking the area, much of it takes credit cards, though you may want to have some quarters just in case.

WEAR ORANGE, bring water and sunblock, get ready to cheer. See you on Monday!

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If you cannot be there on Monday (or for any event during the second special session), you can join the virtual march on Facebook.

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On Tuesday, join Whole Woman?s Health and Naral Pro-Choice Texas at any of Whole Woman?s Texas clinics (located in Austin, Beaumont, Fort Worth, McAllen, and San Antonio) from 5:30 ? 7:30pm. As it says on WWH?s Facebook page: ?Join us for a chance to take a look at one of our clinics. In light of recent legislation, we want to show you how safe, welcoming, and compassionate we really are.? There is a Facebook event page where you can RSVP. And follow Whole Woman?s Health and NARAL TX on Twitter:?@WholeWomans?and?@naralTX.

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If you do not live in Texas or you cannot make the rally (or any of the events during the second special session) one of the most important things you can do is to SPREAD?OUR MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA.?Help us share our story.?Virginia Pickel has created a handy list of Twitter handles for major media outlets, journalists, and celebrities.

Let people know what is happening in Texas, how they can fight back if they live here, and help us show that we are not just lying down and letting this happen.

For those wanting to send food or drinks, the rally on Monday will not be ideal for that. We will keep you informed of when and where you can send supplies as we need them. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

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If you are a resident of Texas (whether or not you are going to the capitol): CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND ASK THEM TO VOTE ?NO? on #HB2.?You can find your state representative?s name and contact information here.

You can also call HOUSE SPEAKER STRAUS AND STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR BYRON COOK (the same guy who shut down our testimony last week).

Speaker of the House Rep. Joe Straus (R ? San Antonio) (512) 463-1000
Chair of House State Affairs: Rep. Byron Cook (R ? Corsicana) (512) 463-0730

Example script:

To your lawmaker: Hello, my name is _____________ and I am a constituent of Sen/Rep __________. I am calling today to let the senator/representative know that I oppose all of the bills filed regarding abortion. Having the constitutional right of legal abortion, I do not wish any changes, restrictions or amendments to those rights particularly in regard to access to professional medical help. I believe that these proposed restrictions would be harmful to Texas women who might then make harmful choices made during desperate times. I urge the senator/representative to oppose these bills. Thank you.

To Speaker Straus or Rep. Cook: Hello, my name is _____________ and I am a calling today to let Speaker Straus/Rep. Cook know that I oppose all of the bills filed regarding abortion. As a registered voter in the state of Texas, I am very disappointed that the Legislature is spending time on this issue instead of the issues that really matter to Texans. I do not want to see any further changes, restrictions or amendments to reproductive rights in Texas and urge the Speaker/Representative to do everything in his power to focus on other matter and leave abortion rights alone. Thank you.

Also if you are on TWITTER:?here are the twitter handles of Texas legislators that have them:?http://www.texastribune.org/2013/01/07/many-members-83rd-legislature-twitter/

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How to stay informed:

Follow on Twitter:?my twitter account (@scATX),?@TX_women,?@Austin_NOW,?@andreagrimes,?@naralTX,?@lilithfund,?@WholeWomans,?@dansolomon,?@meadowgirl,?@tootwistedTV, and the #HB2, #SB9, #standwithwendy, and?#txlege.

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They expect us to back down. They expect us to go away. WE WILL NOT!

Source: http://jessicawluther.com/2013/06/29/fighting-anti-choiceanti-access-abortion-bills-in-texas-the-next-step-hb2-sb9/

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Publisher cancels multibook Paula Deen contract

FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2010 file photo, Paula Deen speaks in Pasadena, Calif. Sears Holdings Corp. announced Friday, June 28, 2013, that it is cutting ties with Southern celebrity chef Deen, adding to the list of companies severing their relationship following revelations that Deen used racial slurs in the past. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2010 file photo, Paula Deen speaks in Pasadena, Calif. Sears Holdings Corp. announced Friday, June 28, 2013, that it is cutting ties with Southern celebrity chef Deen, adding to the list of companies severing their relationship following revelations that Deen used racial slurs in the past. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

Paula Deen's publisher has canceled a deal with her for multiple books, including an upcoming cookbook that was the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, following her admission she used a racial slur.

Ballantine Books announced Friday it would not release "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up," which was scheduled for October and was the first of a five-book deal announced early last year. Interest in it had surged as Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., and specializes in Southern comfort food, came under increasing attack for acknowledging she had used the N-word.

Ballantine, an imprint of Random House Inc., said it had decided to cancel the book's publication after "careful consideration." It had no comment beyond what was in its brief statement, spokesman Stuart Applebaum said.

Later Friday, Deen's literary agent, Janis Donnaud, said that the entire deal had been called off.

"I am confident that these books will be published and that we will have a new publisher," said Donnaud, who declined to comment on whether she had heard from other publishers.

The trouble for Deen started when comments she made in a court deposition became public. During the deposition in a discrimination lawsuit filed by an ex-employee, Deen admitted using the N-word in the past but denied using it to describe waiters.

Deen said she's not a racist during a tearful "Today" show interview but has lost many of her business relationships. Sears Holdings Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. said Friday that they were cutting ties with Deen following similar announcements from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Home Depot.

Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew her contract. She also was dropped by Smithfield Foods, Caesars Entertainment stripped her name from restaurants and drug company Novo Nordisk said it was suspending its work with her.

Publishers have pulled a wide range of books over the years, usually because of plagiarism, fabrications or other issues with the books themselves. Ballantine's decision highlights a problem for Deen even when the product itself has not been challenged and is in high demand.

Some outlets that might have sold her books, such as Target and Wal-Mart, have cut ties with her. Other stores likely would have been reluctant to promote her new book or to invite her for personal appearances.

Because "Paula Deen's New Testament" was months away from release, no copies had been printed. All purchases had been pre-orders, so refunds aren't necessary.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-28-Books-Paula%20Deen/id-6e7e60f614f4487198622f4714a7928c

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Excitement level high for football at Land O' Lakes

Tribune staff

Published: June 27, 2013

LAND O' LAKES - The new high-tempo Land O' Lakes offense is doing more than testing the fitness of opposing defenses.

The Gators have been moving the ball at will during the summer league, and the defense also appeared to take a major step forward Tuesday when interceptions and deflected passes came in bunches.

Junior Kamal Wells said the excitement level on both sides of the ball is high.

"Everyone's getting the ball, defense is making stops and everything is hyped," Wells said.

Coach Brian Wachtel said his players have picked up the new schemes quickly.

"I've seen a lot of improvement, and I'd say we're becoming more seasoned on offense and defense," Wachtel said. "We had the spring to put the defense in, and the summer has greatly helped us with our understanding of the concepts. The changes offensively, the kids are really picking it up fast. They've done a phenomenal job today, but we've got to keep getting better."

Seahawks looking for new leader

Sunlake has been one of Pasco County's most consistent teams the last three years.

The Seahawks have averaged nine wins per season during that stretch, and did so with three different quarterbacks.

Three years ago it was the hard running and accurate passing of Jacob Jackson. A high-flying attack led by Cameron Stoltz was used in 2011 and a run-heavy offense guided by the speedy Josh Zifer last season.

Senior Esteban LeWallen has taken the majority of first-team snaps during the spring and summer, but coach Bill Browning said junior Dayton Feiden has played well enough to make it a battle for the starting spot.

"I think it's going to go right into the fall before we determine who's the starter," Browning said. "They both have strengths and weaknesses, and we'll have to see where the chips fall."

Browning said either quarterback has the ability to bring balance back to Sunlake's offense, which ran the ball 79 percent of the time last season.

"I try to tweak the offense based on what the quarterback's forte is," Browning said. "We may be more pass mode one year and run mode the next. . I anticipate us being more balanced this year."

Sharks ready for more expectations

A key word for Anclote is expectations.

The Sharks have a new mindset after making their first postseason last fall, but coach Matt Wicks has also made it clear those new standards come with a target.

"Expectations are very high," said Wicks, the only coach in the program's four-year history. "We've got a lot of returning players who want to get back to the playoffs, and we now won't be able to sneak up on anyone."

While managing expectations, Anclote has been searching for a new signal caller after the graduation of John Forgione, the Sharks' starting quarterback since midway through his freshman season.

"Andrew (Janus) hasn't been able to do anything this summer after he broke his leg in our spring game against Springstead, but he's been in the system for going on four years," Wicks said. "He knows the system well. Brandon (Vinkler) is really smart and has been picking things up fast, so we've got some good options."

Vinkler helped lead the Sharks to winning the Weeki Wachee 7-on-7 tournament this past weekend and said his confidence is growing.

"This is the first time I've played with varsity kids, so I'm getting used to things and seeing faster defenses," Vinkler said. "It's tough, but it's getting easier each week."

Bulls preparing to be better

Wiregrass Ranch first-year coach Mike Lawrence said he doesn't know how good his young offense can be, but he is sure the Bulls will put up more than the 61 points scored last fall.

"The pieces are definitely there," said Lawrence, who was the team's offensive coordinator last year. "Here in 7-on-7, without offensive linemen or running the ball, it's never going to be the same. Most of it is making sure timing and spacing on their routes is correct, but we won't know until we put pads back on."

Wiregrass Ranch has been unable to put up much offense the last two seasons, combining for 107 points and an 0-20 record. The Bulls must replace last year's leading receiver Ryan Shea, but return several other offensive threats like quarterback Shane Bucenell, receivers Mark Hutchinson and Jaye Miner and running back John Harris-Scott.

Cobras believe in 7-on-7

Hudson takes the 7-on-7 leagues and tournaments more seriously. Cobras coach Mark Kantor said that during his time coaching Gaither, he noticed Plant took each 7-on-7 opportunity in full and the Panthers have reaped the benefits with state championships.

"We take 7-on-7 seriously," Kantor said. "I've always taken a look at guys I've coached against and there's a dude in south Tampa by the name of Robert Weiner and he's got more rings than I've got in my whole dresser. (Plant) takes it serious down there, and I've talked to Robert and try to take some things from him and the guy has won five titles."

Hudson participated in the Chuck-N-Duck passing tournament at Weeki Wachee High this past weekend and reached the semifinals vs. Anclote, which they lost the game and were not able to complete due to weather. In Hudson's first 7-on-7 game Tuesday vs. Fivay, the Cobras defeated their neighborhood rivals 21-15, and Kantor sees his skill players making great strides this summer.

"We had a really good tournament up in Weeki Wachee," Kantor said. "The kids are starting to mold and really develop. Every day is a chance to make these kids better and our staff is doing a great job of doing that. Staff is coming to work and working hard each day."

Progress seen in young, skill players

River Ridge went through a disappointing 3-7 season in 2012 and also lost some of its top skill players, including quarterback Josh Maisel and two-way standout Brian Clinkscale. Royal Knights coach Ryan Benjamin must now find the athletes to replace a good percentage of the offense.

Benjamin knows his team is going to be young, with the Royal Knights starting 11 underclassmen in the spring game against Fivay, and River Ridge already has players stepping up to fill in for graduated seniors. Sophomore Pat Mathieson is looking like River Ridge's starting quarterback heading into the regular season, and Chris Schwartz, the younger brother of former River Ridge FB Austin Schwartz, has shown promise in the backfield.

"(Chris) is a spitting image of his brother Austin," Benjamin said. "He has a great work ethic and attitude. He's shown to be a great team leader as a sophomore to be. He's in the weight room every single day and he's doing such a great job."

Kyle LoJacono, Andy Villamarzo

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tbo/preps/~3/GDRml5hnXrM/

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Google+ estrena nuevas mejoras para sus fotos a dos a?os de su debut

En su segundo aniversario Google Plus, la red social de la empresa de Mountain View, est? cada vez gozando de mejor salud pese a los p?simos augurios tras su lanzamiento (debido m?s que nada por?Orkut y Buzz) el 28 de junio del 2011.

Adem?s del reciente redise?o de sus ?conos, el servicio lanz? nuevas funciones para Google+ Photos, los que seg?n el?vicepresidente de ingenier?a de Google,?Vic Gundotra, son el resultado directo del feedback de los usuarios de la red social de Google.

Una de las nuevas funciones es la opci?n ?Mover?, la que facilita la operaci?n de mover las fotos entre los ?lbumes. Basta con seleccionarlas y elegir donde estar?n reasignadas (solo funciona para fotos que se encuentren dentro de un ?lbum). Otra funci?n es facilitar la descarga de im?genes, las que antes se deb?an realizar una por una, ahora basta con seleccionar de a varias para elegir ?Descargar?.

Mientras que la tercera novedad que revelaron hoy desde Mountain View son unos peque?os cambios que deber?an aumentar la velocidad de subida de las nuevas im?genes.??Utilizas Google+? ?Que te han parecido las nuevas funciones?

Link:?Google+ Photos gets an option to move images between albums, new Download button, and faster uploading?(The Next Web

More here:
Google+ estrena nuevas mejoras para sus fotos a dos a?os de su debut

Source: http://www.cyanogenmod.info/2013/06/google-estrena-nuevas-mejoras-para-sus-fotos-a-dos-anos-de-su-debut/

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An Illinois Valley Community College student from Ottawa has collected more than...

IVCC student starts online petition against Starved Rock area sand mine

mywebtimes.com

Ashley Williams, 22, a graphic arts student and a 2009 Ottawa Township High School graduate, decided to start her anti-sand mine crusade following work on a paper she wrote on the subject for an English composition class earlier this year.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/mywebtimes/posts/10152060341308266

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Renesas to shutter the modem business it acquired from Nokia in 2010

Today, Renesas is announcing that it's going to "discontinue" the wireless unit it acquired from Nokia. Finnish state media outlet YLE is reporting that all 808 of Renesas' employees in Finland will be let go, of which more than two-thirds are located in the northern city of Oulu. Three years ago, Nokia decided to focus on designing and manufacturing mobile phones. It sold its wireless modem division to the Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas for roughly $200 million. The idea was, with wireless modem R&D moved out of the way, the company could concentrate on developing blockbuster handsets.

Unfortunately, the sale took place half a year before Android phones outsold Symbian devices for the first time and Nokia announced that it was going to switch to Windows Phone -- this put Renesas in the awkward position of being a modem supplier to a company with collapsing sales. Nokia Siemens Networks has large offices in the same city where most of Renesas' employees are located. Though, engineers looking for a change of scenery might want to head south to Espoo where Samsung just opened its own R&D center.

Filed under: Nokia

Comments

Source: The Wall Street Journal, YLE

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LGKqayChi1o/

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Botswana GDP shrinks 2.2 pct in first quarter of 2013

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Botswana's economy contracted by 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2013 after rising by a revised 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, data from the statistics office showed on Friday.

On a year-on-year GDP was up 3.2 percent in the first quarter compared with a revised 4.1 percent expansion for Q4, Statistics Botswana said in a report posted on its website.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/botswana-gdp-shrinks-2-2-pct-first-quarter-154521435.html

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Rescuers believe American schooner carrying 7 sank

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? Rescue crews searching for a classic American schooner carrying seven people believe the boat sank between New Zealand and Australia, although they haven't given up hope of finding survivors.

A third day of aerial searches Friday turned up no sign of the 85-year-old wooden sailboat or its crew. Named Nina, the boat left New Zealand on May 29 bound for Australia. The last known contact with the crew was on June 4. Rescuers were alerted the boat was missing on June 14, but weren't unduly worried at first because the emergency locator beacon had not been activated.

The six Americans on board include captain David Dyche, 58, his wife, Rosemary, 60, and their son David, 17. Also aboard was their friend Evi Nemeth, 73, a man aged 28, a woman aged 18, and a British man aged 35.

The leader of Friday's search efforts, Neville Blakemore of New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre, said it's now logical to assume the 70-foot (21-meter) boat sank in a storm but added that it's possible some crew members survived either in the life raft that was aboard or by making land.

On the day the boat went missing, a storm hit the area with winds gusting up to 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet).

Blakemore said the Southern Hemisphere winter months tend to produce the year's worst storms, although he added that he wouldn't normally expect a sturdy and well-maintained craft like the Nina to sink in a storm like the one in early June.

Friday's search focused on the coastline around northern New Zealand, including the small Three Kings Islands. Rescuers were looking for wreckage or the life raft.

Blakemore said plane searches earlier this week covered a wide band of ocean between New Zealand and Australia. He said searchers were considering their options for the weekend.

He said the logical conclusion is that the boat sank rapidly, preventing the crew from activating the locator beacon or using other devices aboard, including a satellite phone and a spot beacon. He said that unlike many locator beacons, the one aboard the Nina is not activated by water pressure and wouldn't start automatically if the boat sank.

Dyche is a qualified captain, and he and his family are experienced sailors. Blakemore said the family had been sailing around the world for several years and was often joined on different legs by friends and sailors they met along the way.

Susan Payne, harbor master of the St. Andrews Marina near Panama City, Florida, said the couple left Panama City in the Nina a couple of years ago and sailed to Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, where they prepared for the trip.

New Zealand meteorologist Bob McDavitt was the last person known to have been in contact with the schooner, when the boat was about 370 nautical miles west of New Zealand.

He said Nemeth called him by satellite phone on June 3 and said, "The weather's turned nasty, how do we get away from it?"

He advised them to head south and brace for the storm.

The next day he got a text message, the last known communication: "ANY UPDATE 4 NINA? ... EVI"

McDavitt said he advised the crew to stay put and ride out the storm another day. He continued sending messages the next few days, but didn't hear back. Friends of the crew got in touch with McDavitt soon after that, and then alerted authorities.

___

Associated Press writer Melissa Nelson-Gabriel in Pensacola, Florida, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rescuers-believe-american-schooner-carrying-7-sank-053935827.html

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DC picks rock club owner to run Lincoln Theatre

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The owner of a well-known D.C. rock club will soon begin operating the city's historic Lincoln Theatre where Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald once performed.

Mayor Vincent Gray announced Thursday that the entertainment group I.M.P was selected as the winning bidder to operate the theater in the city's U Street neighborhood beginning in September. The city says I.M.P brings a proven track record. It currently operates the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.

In a statement, Seth Hurwitz of I.M.P says it's an honor to be entrusted with bringing new life to an old theater. He says many shows that don't fit in the 9:30 Club will have a place at the Lincoln.

In late 2011, the theater was threatened with closure after the city cut off subsidies and began seeking new management.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dc-picks-rock-club-owner-run-lincoln-theatre-200609219.html

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HTC One launches in 'glamor red', arrives in the UK next month (update: pricing)

Flush from launching in the US in a Google-heavy iteration, HTC is rewarding its UK fans with a sultry "glamor red" option of the One smartphone. It'll arrive at retailer Phones 4U in mid-July, although there's no specifics yet on storage (16 or 32GB?), or whether there will be any price difference between the new colorful hue and existing silver and black options.

Update: Phones4U has confirmed it'll be selling this boudoir of a phone starting at £33 per month on contract.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/w2639o8FyaI/

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Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop" Video Break Justin Bieber VEVO Record

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/miley-cyrus-breaks-justin-bieber-vevo-record/

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Discovery Communications working on a HBO Go-esque streaming service

Discovery Channel, DMAX, 3NET (with Sony and IMAX) and Revision 3 owner Discovery Communications is pondering an HBO Go-style streaming service. In an interview with Reuters, company boss John Hendricks said that shows that are between three and 18 months old can still make money before they're launched on Netflix. His plan is to let subscribers access that programming online for a small additional monthly fee, which, according to Hendricks' autobiography, is between $6 and $8 a month. The boss also said that the company is developing the infrastructure for the platform, but that we won't see such a service arrive for anything up to five years.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Comments

Source: Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/discovery-online-streaming-service/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Meet Wendy Davis, the Democrats' New Superstar

No matter the outcome of last night's Texas legislative debate, it was clear to everyone watching that the world of politics had found itself a new hero in Wendy Davis, the tennis-shoe wearing, abortion-law filibustering State Senator who became a literal overnight sensation. Davis, who?represents?Texas's 10th Senate District, led the charge against the state's strict new abortion bill with ?an 11-hour marathon performance that had supporters echoing her name around the capitol dome.

RELATED: Jesus and the TSA: Rick Perry's 2012 Platform?

Even if the bill somehow becomes law in the future, she already won a huge battle for liberals, for women, and her party's fortunes.?And with that victory comes?notoriety?and a rise in her own political prospects.?Democrats who didn't even know her name two days ago are already looking to hand her a starting spot in their national roster. If you're a political operative looking for a star, there's a lot to like about the 50-year-old Davis.?

RELATED: Missing Texas Teenager Was Accidentally Deported to Colombia

For starters, there's her inspiring biography.?Raised by a single mother, she became a single mother herself at just 19 years old, but still found time and energy to go from junior college to the top of her class at Texas?Christian University and then?graduate from Harvard Law School.?She worked as lawyer in the Fort Worth area for several years, before joining the city council (while continuing to practice law, of course). In 2008, she knocked off a two-term Republican incumbent ?? the only incumbent to not get re-elected that year ? to win a spot in the State Senate. Her office even survived a fire bombing during her re-election campaign last year. (Though that was probably unrelated to politics.)

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That's a pretty good resum?, even before you get to her habit of making principled stands in the legislature.?This wasn't even her first?filibuster, either. In 2011, she "torpedoed" a budget battle (and forced a special legislative session) in a fight over the state's plan to slash public school budgets. That made her a major thorn in the side of Republicans and hero to always undermanned Democrats of Texas. Even back then,?there were rumblings of a future run for governor.?After last night, a statewide race will almost feel like an inevitability.?

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If she launched her campaign tomorrow, she'd have no problem filling the donation box, thanks to her legion of new fans that spreads far beyond Austin. (The same goes for Letitia Van de Putte, last night's other Democratic hero, who left her own father's funeral yesterday to give Davis her biggest assist.) The filibuster?quickly became a win-win situation for Davis. If she made it through the 13 hours, she would kill the?detested?bill. If she lost in a valiant effort, it could only win more sympathy to the cause and draw ire down upon the state's bullying majority. Just as she rasied her own public profile, Republicans like Sen. Bill Zedler and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst managed to turn themselves into national villains.

There is no doubt that the?procedural?roadblocks (or dirty tricks, depending on who you ask) thrown up by the GOP actually helped her cause. When the news broke online that Davis was forced to yield the floor after more than 11 hours of speaking, that only galvanized her supporters and sucked in more viewers to the Texas Tribune's livestream of the hearing. More than 170,000 viewers tuned in at the peak of the drama, with many more following the action on Twitter. (Her own account went from about 1,200 followers on Monday to more than 60,000 today.)

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If the dream of "turning Texas blue" is ever going to come to fruition, no one appears better positioned to lead the charge that Davis. She would face quite an uphill climb should she decide to challenge Rick Perry for the governorship or even go after a U.S. Senate seat, but now that she's on the national stage, even a spot in the U.S. House of Represenatives could make her a household name. (She faces her own re-election next year, but should be a huge favorite now if she decides to stay in her current job, even if the GOP makes her seat a target.)?From there, it could be anything from a Cabinet position to a major judicial appointment to ... who knows?

For now, she'll join the Joaquin and Julio Castro in the vanquard of the young new Texas Democrats, looking to win back the south from the GOP and will be one of the most sought after campaign-stop partners of 2014. (You might as well book her 2016 convention keynote right now.) Not many Democrats make it out of Texas to the national stage these days, but Davis the hard part is already done. For now, she can enjoy her victory and try to keep the?momentum?rolling into next year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/meet-wendy-davis-democrats-superstar-125630075.html

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Computer Science Teacher: CS Educator Interview: Garth Flint

One of my summer projects is to collect stories from different computer science teachers. There are many teachers in many types of schools and many of them often feel like they are alone; that they are the only one in ?their situation.? While all schools and all teachers are different (which is not a bad thing) there are usually similarities if you know where to look for them. That is the purpose of this series. I have asked a good number of teachers to answer some questions for me so I can post the result as a sort of interview.

Garth Flint from Loyola Sacred Heart High School in western Montana is one of the first teachers I approached. Garth is a regular blogger (Garth Flint?s blog) and frequently comments on my blog. The result is that I learn from him. So without more wasted time here is Garth?s response to my questions.

Where do you teach? What sort of school is it?

I teach at a private Catholic High School in a town of about 60,000 in western Montana.? This is a poor Catholic School so close to half of our students are on some kind of scholarship.

How did you get started teaching computer science?

When I interviewed for my first teaching job as a math teacher in ?83 the superintendent was giving me the school tour. We walking into the classroom and he pointed to two TRS-80 computers and asked if I know how to use them.? Apparently they had just bought them and nobody in the school know what to do with them.? I lied and said ?Yes?.? I had some Apple IIe experience from college so I figured I could fudge a little on the answer.? That fall I started using them in my math classes and the kids wanted to learn how to program.? So I said to myself ?I can figure this out.?? I have been saying that ever since.

Describe the computer science curriculum at your school. What courses do you have and what are the focuses of each?

Our curriculum is very flexible but the usual is:

1. Computer Apps (freshman usually) ? the usual Office, Photoshop and odds and ends.
2. Computer Technology (9 ? 12) ? hardware, a little networking, viruses and malware, troubleshooting, ethics and a mish mash of other stuff that is happening in the world of technology.
3. Programming I (9-11) ? Typically Scratch and Small Basic.? Just a intro to the concepts and idea of programming.
4. Programming II/III (10-12) ? Mostly Corona but usually 2 or three other languages.? These courses are somewhat driven by the students in the class.? I like to show them a variety of languages with the intent of making them learn something from the beginning.? I try to teach them to learn, not teach them a language.? If I teach them language X then sure enough the college of their choice will use language Y.
5. Programming Research (11-12) ? Whatever I think is cool.? Again the focus is on learning a language from the beginning and not building Christmas trees with asterisks.? This fall I think we are going to look at TouchDevelop and some C++.? One of the students is in a robotics club that uses C++ so I figured it would be a good direction.
6. Computer Technology II (10-12) ? Offered when I have enough kids interested.? Setting up computers from scratch, building a domain, networking, Active Directory, Group Policy, routers, switches, troubleshooting weird issues, etc.

What is your overall teaching philosophy? Project based learning? Flipped classroom? In short, what makes your CS program ?your CS program??

I try to teach my students how to learn.? I taught math at the local university for 10 years and have friends teaching in the CS department.? College and high school students can learn by rote but they cannot seem to troubleshoot, develop a good trial and error strategy or locate learning resources.? My teaching philosophy/goal is to fix that as much as I am able.? One of my favorite assignments is ?Draw a house using a turtle in language X.? You have two weeks.?? The students reply ?But we do not know language X?.? My reply is usually ?Bummer.? You better get to looking for resources then.?? One year I gave ?Draw a house using a turtle in three different languages.?? One girl drew the house in Python.? I do not know Python.

What is the biggest challenge in teaching CS at your school?

My biggest challenge is keeping up with the kids.? I give these broad assignments then I have to find time to do them or at least be able to give the kids some help when they hit a bump.? Having learned all my CS on the job leaves some huge gaps in my knowledge base.? It also does not help when a good number of the kids are smarter than I am.? I think for any CS teacher the lack of formal education in methods of teaching CS is a massive handicap.? As a math teacher I have had multiple courses in math pedagogy and learning techniques.? There are a huge number of studies on why kids struggle or succeed in math classes.? CS not so much.

What is administration?s support (or lack of support) like at your school?

I get all the support my administration can afford.? Our graduation requirement is two semesters of computer technology.? We pride ourselves on offering more CS that the public schools.? Private schools can end up a little geek heavy demographically so my administration realizes a good percentage of our kids are going into computer intense fields.? We strive to be a tech school on a poor man?s budget and we do a pretty good job of it because the administration is behind the CS.

How do you measure success for your program? For your students?

I measure success by talking to the college students that come back to visit.? When they come back and say their first year of college CS was boringly easy I know I am doing OK.? My graduates are consistently hired to be tech aides at their universities.? Not because they know a lot of computer tech, but because they know how to troubleshoot and know how to learn.? I also measure my success by the way the students that take my CS courses are not absolutely turned off by CS or programming.? They may not go on in the field but they are no longer adverse to learning about computer technology or programming.

What is the one thing you like to talk about regarding your program that I haven?t already asked?

I get to build my own courses which allows me to pick up a new direction as CS changes.? Since we have not spent big money on a textbook or on some ?program? we are able to introduce something new in the time it takes me to figure it out.? CS is not like math.? Math has been pretty much the same for a long time.? Euclid did the geometry we teach today.? CS on the other hand can change last week.

School name and web site: Loyola Sacred Heart High School.? http://www.missoulacatholicschools.org/

Blog:? http://gflint.wordpress.com/

Source: http://blog.acthompson.net/2013/06/cs-educator-interview-garth-flint.html

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PayPal looks to conquer space (payments)

FILE - This Jan. 19, 2011 file photo shows the eBay/PayPal offices in San Jose, Calif. PayPal, which is eBay Inc.?s payments business, says it is launching an initiative called PayPal Galactic with the help of the nonprofit SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., and the Space Tourism Society, an industry group focused on space travel. Its goal, PayPal says, is to work out how commerce will work in space. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - This Jan. 19, 2011 file photo shows the eBay/PayPal offices in San Jose, Calif. PayPal, which is eBay Inc.?s payments business, says it is launching an initiative called PayPal Galactic with the help of the nonprofit SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., and the Space Tourism Society, an industry group focused on space travel. Its goal, PayPal says, is to work out how commerce will work in space. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? PayPal wants to explore space ? or at least begin to figure out how payments and commerce will work beyond Earth's realm once space travel and tourism take off.

PayPal, which is eBay Inc.'s payments business, says it is launching an initiative called PayPal Galactic with the help of the nonprofit SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., and the Space Tourism Society, an industry group focused on space travel. Its goal, PayPal says, is to work out how commerce will work in space.

Questions to be answered include how commerce will be regulated and what currency will be used. PayPal's president, David Marcus, said the company is very serious about the idea. He says that while space tourism was once the stuff of science fiction, it's now becoming a reality.

"There are lots of important questions that the industry needs to answer," he said. There are regulatory and technical issues, along with safety and even what cross-border trade will look like when there are not a lot of borders.

"We feel that it's important for us to start the conversation and find answers," Marcus added. "We don't have that much time."

PayPal is no stranger to outer space. One of its founders, Elon Musk, heads the privately held space company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX. And James Doohan, best known for his role as "Scotty" on "Star Trek," was PayPal's first official spokesman when it launched in 1999.

PayPal said it plans to hold an event announcing the venture at the SETI Institute in Mountain View on Thursday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-27-PayPal-Space/id-d3f5b6c08d4b4f8a83d5e8e6c510ef61

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Obama's Climate Bell Tolls Loudly and Poorly for Virginia Coal Fields

Yahoo News asked voters to comment on President Barack Obama's climate change plan, which he largely unveiled in a speech on Tuesday. Here's one response.

COMMENTARY l Living near Roanoke in the coalfields of southwest Virginia, it was difficult to continue to hope for economic recovery in this region after President Obama's recent speech. The cities, towns and communities in the area are dependent on one thing: coal.

Obama's words are a final bell sadly tolling this truth: Our way of life is over. If Obama's proposals go through, it will decimate our already languishing economy.

Politicians can talk about the need for coal-dependent economies to diversify, and the need for workers to be retrained and learn new skills, but all of these strategies take time to implement, time that families in the coalfields do not have.

Obama ignores the dark side to the utopian goal of reducing carbon emissions by destroying the coal industry -- the truth. Renewable sources of energy are incredibly expensive, undependable and inefficient. Few sources of energy are as cheap and reliable as coal. Rapidly changing energy sources will lead to rising energy costs for households and businesses throughout the nation when few can afford it. Increased costs from changing energy sources will result in dramatic increases in energy costs, and the cost of production will rise for everything else, this will result in rapid growth in both unemployment and inflation throughout the country.

Congratulations, President Obama, you've kept your campaign promise about "fundamentally changing the nation." Most still don't understand that your "change" means destroying our economy and ability to earn a living as you build your brave new Big Brother-esque empire.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-climate-bell-tolls-loudly-poorly-virginia-coal-000400679.html

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The Best Year Ever for Gay Rights in America (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315367025?client_source=feed&format=rss

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A humble pope in an august office

By John Lloyd

(Reuters) - The most potent symbol to date of Pope Francis' five-month papacy is an empty chair. The chair ? a large white throne ? was to seat His Holiness in the Vatican this past Saturday.

The pope was scheduled to hear a performance of Beethoven's ninth symphony, a long-planned event. But minutes before the performance Archbishop Rino Fisichella told the audience that "the Holy Father cannot be present because of an urgent piece of work which cannot be postponed."

Later, it was reported that Francis had privately dismissed the event with a brusque, "I'm not a Renaissance Prince who listens to music instead of working." Regardless of whether the quote is apocryphal, the comment expresses well the man's style.

He has declared an end to the Papal Gentlemen, an office which, reformed under Pope Paul VI (1963-78), became an institution whose often aristocratic members officiated at public ceremonies, with their main duty being to meet and greet distinguished visitors. Reports quote the pope's belief that they were "archaic, useless, even damaging."

That last may refer to a sex scandal allegedly involving Angelo Balducci, a "Gentleman" who is claimed to have been soliciting male lovers through connections in the Vatican. This, in turn, may be part of the reason why Francis ? again, in private ? lamented the presence of a "gay mafia" in high places.

He recently prevailed on the French ambassador to Rome, Alain LeRoy, to greatly simplify a dinner for the Italian members of the Legion d'Honneur. Each guest had a papal note by his plate warning that "food wasted is food stolen from the poor." He has told his bishops not to act like princes; lives in the Vatican hotel, not in the magnificent papal suite; and has repeatedly spoken of living life "as a gift, not as a treasure to be kept to ourselves."

There's substance as well as style here ? substance based on a calculation. In the early years of last century, Europe's Catholics ? living in a relatively wealthy part of the world, even if many were poor ? accounted for 65 percent of the world's 300 million. Today, Europe has 24 percent of the 1.1 billion worldwide Catholics ? with Latin America, the Asia Pacific region and especially sub-Saharan Africa showing rapid growth. Poverty is an often tangible part of everyday Catholic life; a fact that Francis believes contradicts the luxury of cardinals' and archbishops' palaces and the concentrated magnificence of the Vatican.

He has been a harsher critic than his immediate predecessors of the sins of capitalism. Commenting on the collapse of the Bangladeshi sweatshop in May, where some 400 workers died, he said that "not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God!" Receiving new ambassadors to the Holy See in May, he warned against "a return to the golden calf" and "the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."

It's a world away from the scholarly, introverted style of Benedict XVI for whom the scandals and pressures of the Vatican finally became too much to bear. It's closer to the expressive, even crowd-pleasing style of Pope John Paul II, but it's much more militantly humble.

There is some risk in Francis' strategy. There's an argument that a display of power and wealth are needed especially for poor men and women, who wish to belong to a powerful institution led by great men wearing gorgeous garments.

But the pope's efforts are also shrewd. His warnings against the "dictatorship of an economy? lacking any truly humane goal" align with the feeling of many across the world.

In Italy, Francis has found a stroke of luck. A humbled Silvio Berlusconi. His predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, had a hedonistic Italian prime minister to deal with. In Benedict's papacy (2005-2012), Berlusconi was beset with sex and other scandals, about which the papacy largely stayed silent because Berlusconi was a lesser evil than a pro-secular left.

But that silence came at the cost of distress on the part of many Catholics. Berlusconi isn't gone, but earlier this week he was convicted of paying for sex with a minor, and abusing his office and given a seven-year sentence. Lengthy appeals make it all but certain he won't go to jail. But, already appealing other convictions, he won't be back as prime minister either. The Vatican's moral/immoral dance of the past years will no longer need to be danced by Francis, who seems to be further from Berlusconi's personality than any man in Italy.

Yet, if kicking out the Papal Gentlemen and ducking the concert are large gestures, delivering on the substance of his humility agenda will be much harder for Francis. The papacy is not a government of any more than the few hundred souls within the Holy See. While Catholic social teaching is long on ideas, it has no better idea of how to cope with present crises than political parties of the left or right.

Francis has to inspire his priests with the zeal to re-convert their often semi-detached flocks into activists for radical social change. He must avoid the excesses of leftism, yet not collapse into mere populism. He must identify the Church with programs of poverty alleviation. He must develop practical answers to the unemployment of the young (maybe as pastoral assistants, aids to aged parishioners or menders of crumbling churches). He must be present at policy discussions on the economy and he must give social teaching some realist underpinning. The Catholic Church has a great many men (it's chosen to marginalize women, for the most part) of high intelligence, of whom Francis, a Jesuit, is one. Let them bend their minds to address poverty's constant companion ? unemployment.

The choral part of Beethoven's Ninth, the symphony Francis missed, proclaims that "All men will be brothers!" Easier sung than done. Perhaps it was better for the pope to stay at his desk than be discouraged by the height of the hill he has decided to climb.

(John Lloyd is a Reuters columnist but his opinions are his own.)

(John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is Director of Journalism. Lloyd has written several books, including "What the Media Are Doing to Our Politics" (2004). He is also a contributing editor at FT and the founder of FT Magazine.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/humble-pope-august-office-173523775.html

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Mad Catz M.O.U.S. 9

• Pros

  Flexible design. Comfortable.

• Cons Expensive. Sensor isn't quite as gaming-oriented as other Mad Catz mice.
• Bottom Line

  The Mad Catz M.O.U.S. 9 looks and feels like a flexible, albeit pricey, wireless gaming mouse, even if Mad Catz tries to promote it as a mouse for non-gamers.

By Will Greenwald

Mad Catz made a very strange choice when it made the M.O.U.S. 9 wireless mouse. It pitched the mouse as a powerful, everyday, non-gaming mouse. Despite its name being M.O.U.S. 9, its design coming from Mad Catz' R.A.T. gaming mice series, and its $129.99 (direct) price and wireless-mouse-with-nano-dongle-and-carrying-pouch status matching the company's R.A.T. M gaming mouse. Indeed, if you were to compare the two mice at a glance, you'd be hard pressed to see the difference. The M.O.U.S. 9 is more focused on its software-powered productivity features and Mad Catz is hesitant to describe its specific sensitivity compared to the R.A.T. M (but the M.O.U.S. 9 does use a laser sensor that can function on glass and most other surfaces), but as a gaming mouse it fares very well. More importantly, it's simply more comfortable than the R.A.T. M, with a larger design you won't notice packed in your bag but you will notice under your hand. The mouse is available in red, white, and matte and glossy black versions, and while Mad Catz doesn't promote it as a gaming mouse, it gets the job done very well.

Design
The M.O.U.S. 9 is a full-sized Mad Catz mouse, dwarfing the company's similarly equipped R.A.T. M mouse by a few comfortable fractions of an inch. Its palm rest can extend by pressing a button under it, letting you adjust the mouse to fit the size of your hand. It also locks in to place once you stop pressing the button, making it much more secure than the R.A.T. M's palm rest. It's very angular and tech-themed, like other Mad Catz R.A.T. mice, with stark, geometric edges interrupting the smooth mouse's lines. Besides the two main buttons and the mouse wheel, the M.O.U.S. 9 has an additional button to the left of the index finger, a large thumb button and two smaller forward/backward buttons on the thumb rest, a thumb wheel below the left mouse button, and a sensitivity toggle below the mouse wheel. All of these buttons can be configured and programmed with Mad Catz's free PC and Mac software.

The underside of the mouse holds the laser sensor next to a small power switch. A small USB receiver sits in a spring-loaded hole when not in use, and since it's a GameSmart Bluetooth mouse it can be used by any computer or tablet that can accept a Bluetooth pointing device without the adapter. A cylinder under the palm rest hides a compartment for one AA battery, which Mad Catz claims can run the M.O.U.S. 9 for a year. The mouse can fit in a drawstring bag that comes included, giving it extra protection if you toss it in your bag.

Comfort
I found the M.O.U.S. 9 comfortable to use even under my large hand, which felt cramped when using the R.A.T.M. While it lacks the four-way hat switch under the thumb found on the R.A.T.M, the larger thumb button and the thumb wheel are more functional and feel more solid; the hat switch felt slightly fiddle, and it was hard to use it in a given direction instead of pushing it straight down.

While both of Mad Catz's wireless mobile gaming mice offerings are a tad on the expensive side, the M.O.U.S. 9 stands as the superior model, with a larger, more functional design and a palm rest that locks into place. $130 is a lot to pay for a wireless mouse with no cradle, cable, or rechargeable battery, but it performs very well and works as a very convenient package for mice on the go. If you want a full-featured gaming mouse for your notebook and don't want to carry around a sack of cables and accessories, the Mad Catz M.O.U.S. 9 is an excellent choice. If you don't mind a cable, the Logitech G700s is a great, rechargeable wireless gaming mouse available for $30 less and our Editors' Choice for gaming mice.

By Will Greenwald Analyst, Consumer Electronics

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for more than six years, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. Since graduating from Syracuse University in 2005, Will has...

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House investigators: Disability judges are too lax

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Social Security is approving disability benefits at strikingly high rates for people whose claims were rejected by field offices or state agencies, according to House investigators. Compounding the situation, the agency often fails to do required follow-up reviews months or years later to make sure people are still disabled.

Claims for benefits have increased by 25 percent since 2007, pushing the fund that supports the disability program to the brink of insolvency, which could mean reduced benefits. Social Security officials say the primary driver of the increase is demographic, mainly a surge in baby boomers who are more prone to disability as they age but are not quite old enough to qualify for retirement benefits.

The disability program has been swamped by benefit claims since the recession hit a few years ago. Last year, 3.2 million people applied for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income.

In addition, however, management problems "lead to misspending" and add to the financial ills of the program, investigators from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say.

"Federal disability claims are often paid to individuals who are not legally entitled to receive them," three senior Republicans on the House committee declared in a March 11 letter to the agency. Among the signers was the committee's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa of California.

Social Security acknowledges a backlog of 1.3 million overdue follow-up reviews to make sure people still qualify for benefits. But agency officials blame budget cuts for the backlog, saying Congress has denied the funds needed to clear it.

Social Security spokesman Mark Hinkle said the agency follows the strict legal definition of disability when awarding benefits. In order to qualify, a person is supposed to have a disability that prevents him from working and is expected to last at least a year or result in death.

"Even with this very strict standard, there has been growth in the disability program, and the primary reason for this growth is demographics," Hinkle said. He noted that approval rates have declined as applications for benefits have increased.

The most common claimed disability was bone and muscle pain, including lower back pain, followed closely by mental disorders, according to the program's latest annual report.

"Pain cases and mental cases are extremely difficult because ? and even more so with mental cases ? there's no objective medical evidence," said Randall Frye, a Social Security administrative law judge in Charlotte, N.C. "It's all subjective."

Nearly 11 million disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security disability benefits. That's up from 7.6 million a decade ago. The average monthly benefit for a disabled worker is $1,130.

An additional 8.3 million people get Supplemental Security Income, a separately funded disability program for low-income people.

If Congress doesn't act, the trust fund that supports Social Security disability will run out of money in 2016, according to projections by Social Security's trustees. At that point, the system will collect only enough money in payroll taxes to pay 80 percent of benefits, triggering an automatic 20 percent cut in benefits.

Congress could redirect money from Social Security's much bigger retirement program to shore up the disability program, as it did in 1994. But that would worsen the finances of the retirement program, which is facing its own long-term financial problems.

The House oversight subcommittee on entitlements is scheduled to hold the first of several hearings on the disability program Thursday. The hearing will focus on the role of administrative law judges in awarding benefits.

Most Social Security disability claims are initially processed through a network of local Social Security Administration field offices and state agencies, usually Disability Determination Services, and most are rejected. If your claim is rejected, you can ask the field office or state agency to reconsider. If your claim is rejected again, you can appeal to an administrative law judge, who is employed by Social Security.

The hearing process takes an average of a little more than a year, according to Social Security statistics. The agency estimates there are 816,000 hearings pending.

So far this budget year, the vast majority of judges have approved benefits in more than half the cases they've decided, even though they were reviewing applications that had typically been rejected twice by state agencies, according to Social Security data.

Of the 1,560 judges who have decided at least 50 cases since October, 195 judges approved benefits in at least 75 percent of their cases, according to the data, which were analyzed by congressional investigators.

"This is not one or two judges out there just going rogue and saying they are going to approve a lot of cases," said Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Energy, Policy, Health Care, and Entitlements. "This is a very, very high rate" of approving claims.

The union representing administrative law judges says judges are required to decide 500 to 700 cases a year in an effort to reduce the hearings backlog. The union says the requirement is an illegal quota that leads judges to sometimes award benefits they might otherwise deny just to keep up with the flow of cases, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the judges' union in April.

"I wouldn't want to suggest publicly that judges are not following the law or the regulations," said Frye, the North Carolina law judge who also is president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges , But, he added, "Would you want your surgeon to be on a quota system, to have to do so many surgeries every morning? Mistakes are going to be made when you force that kind of system on professional folks whose judgment, skill and experience are critical to coming to a good result."

The agency denies there is a case quota for judges, saying the standard is a productivity goal. The agency has declined to comment on the lawsuit. Former Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said he set the goal in 2007 to help reduce the hearings backlog.

Once people get benefits, their cases are supposed to be reviewed periodically to make sure they are still disabled. The reviews are called continuing disability reviews, or CDRs.

For people whose disabilities are expected to improve, CDRs should be done in six to 18 months, according a 2010 report by the agency's inspector general. If improvement is possible ? but not necessarily likely ? reviews should be done every three years. People with disabilities believed to be permanent should get reviews every five to seven years.

At the end of 1996, there was a backlog of 4.3 million overdue reviews. In response, Congress authorized about $4 billion to fund a seven-year effort to wipe it out, and the backlog was erased in 2002.

But after the funding dried up, the number of annual reviews performed by the agency decreased and the backlog grew. Last year, the agency conducted 443,000 continuing reviews.

President Barack Obama's proposed budget for next year includes $1.5 billion to address the backlog, a nearly 50 percent increase over present funding. With the increase, the agency says it would be able to conduct slightly more than 1 million reviews.

"We have completed every CDR funded by Congress, but our administrative budget has been significantly reduced, resulting in three straight years of funding levels nearly a billion dollars below the president's budget requests," Hinkle said. "As a result, we have lost more than 10,000 employees since the beginning of (fiscal year) 2011. We currently have a backlog of 1.3 million CDRs, which we would be able to address with adequate, dedicated program integrity funding from Congress."

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-investigators-disability-judges-too-lax-194207834.html

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