Wednesday 14 December 2011

Obama can't say Iraq war over

President Barack Obama marked the end of the U.S. war in Iraq with a salute to American troops at a military base central to the fight and a pledge to support veterans who are returning home to face a difficult economy.


"I'm proud to finally say these two words," Obama said in a speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command. "Welcome home."


The conclusion of the war is "an extraordinary achievement, nearly nine years in the making," he said. "And today, we remember everything that you did to make it possible."


A promise to end the conflict in Iraq was a central element of Obama's campaign for the presidency in 2008. When he took office in January 2009, there were almost 150,000 troops in Iraq. That number has dwindled to less than 8,000 and the number of U.S. military bases in the country has fallen to five from 505. When the pullout is complete, the U.S. presence will be at the embassy in Baghdad, with an array of diplomats, military advisers and contractors.


He also made time this week to speak about Iraq to regional television stations serving military communities, most of them in states targeted by his re-election campaign.
Without question, the ending of a war is moment for any president to reflect with the country. Yet even Obama noted people have seen this one coming for a while.
Since George W. Bush was president, in fact.
Bush was the one who struck a deal with Iraq to set Dec. 31, 2011, as the final day of the war. Yet it was Obama who accelerated the end of the U.S. combat mission when he took office, shifted attention to Afghanistan, and decided to leave no troops behind in Iraq after this year.
The final U.S. forces will be out in days.
This, in essence, is Obama's mission accomplished: Getting out of Iraq as promised under solid enough circumstances and making sure to remind voters that he did what he said.
It is harder to remember now, with joblessness dominating the presidential debate and souring the public mood, but it was not long ago that the Iraq war consumed about everything.
In a new Associated Press-GfK poll, about half of those surveyed called the Iraq war highly important to them. It placed lower in importance than all but one of 14 current issues.
"It's understandable that he's trying to bring it back to the forefront of the public consciousness," said Ole Holsti, a retired Duke University professor who has written a book about American public opinion of the Iraq war.
"From a purely domestic political viewpoint, this is something that the president can bank on — most Americans are eager to bring it to an end," he said. "I think after all this time, there's probably a kind of overriding sense of relief: 'This is when we'll have the boys home.'"
Obama's approval rating on handling the situation in Iraq has been above 50 percent since last fall. In the new AP-GfK poll, he has ticked up four points since October to 55 percent.
Twice now, Obama has delivered we're-ending-the-war speeches in North Carolina, a state he barely won in 2008 and that is integral to his re-election prospects.
This is hardly a moment of national unity. About every issue seems politically toxic now.
As troops leave Iraq, 77 percent of Democrats approve of Obama's handling of the war compared to 33 percent of Republicans, an enormous gap. Independents are in the middle.
Obama's challenge has been to get out of the war without leaving Iraq in mess, to be consistent in his opposition without undermining the military under his command.
Nearly 4,500 Americans have been killed in the war. More than 1.5 million Americans have served in Iraq. The toll stretches in all directions.
So Obama was effusive in heralding the troops and their families. With no mention of victory, he called their service toward a self-reliant Iraq an extraordinary achievement.
"Americans expect the valor of the troops to be lauded no matter what they thought of the war itself, and Obama is very sensitive to that," said Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. "That's one big part of what he's doing."
The other parts, Jillson said, have been to check the box of his campaign promise kept, and to close out the war as best as possible.
"Saying the troops performed nobly is easy," Jillson said. "The more difficult task is to make the case that the resources were well expended and the future of Iraq looks bright."
Especially for a president who called the war dumb and rash before it even began.
Obama has, though, been offering pronouncements of better days ahead in Iraq. Bush used to talk of Iraq becoming a beacon of hope in a region desperate for it. For those who caught it, Obama this week sure sounded plenty similar, arguing that "a successful, democratic Iraq can be a model for the entire region."
But mainly, Obama's message has been that it's all over, on his terms, just like he said. Again and again.

Boehner invites Obama to deliver State of the Union

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) formally invited President Obama to present the State of the Union address Jan. 24 in a letter sent to the White House on Wednesday.


"As we work together to end this legislative year by advancing initiatives to help Americans struggling in a difficult economy, we must also look ahead for new opportunities to put solutions before politics," Boehner wrote in the letter.


The GOP leader also seemed to nod to the current budget debate, with the Senate and House clashed over extensions of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits program.


"In the coming year, Republicans will continue our efforts to create an environment for economic growth and job creation, and we welcome an opportunity to hear your new ideas for working with the Congress," Boehner wrote.


“As we work together to end this legislative year by advancing initiatives to help Americans struggling in a difficult economy, we must also look ahead for new opportunities to put solutions before politics,” Boehner wrote in his letter to Obama. “In the coming year, Republicans will continue our efforts to create an environment for economic growth and job creation, and we welcome an opportunity to hear your new ideas for working with the Congress. Therefore, I am privileged to invite you to deliver an address on the State of the Union on January 24, 2012, before a Joint Session of Congress.”


Obama’s State of the Union will also come at a key moment in the heated race for the Republican presidential nomination: Jan. 24 falls three days after the South Carolina presidential primary and one week before Florida holds its nominating contest.

Letters to Santa Claus

The Linton Public Library is corresponding directly with the North Pole so children can get their wish lists to Santa Claus in time for Christmas.
Library director Jamie Tyner said the children are given a letter to fill out, and drop into the special mailbox for Santa Claus.


"They can come pick the letter up at the circulation desk. ... When they fold it in half there is a fake stamp in corner and they can write name and address on it," Tyner explained.


Children can fill out the letter at the library or take it home and return it to the special mailbox later.


The letters are then forwarded onto Santa, and he sends a letter back to the children. The children will also get treats to set out for Santa's reindeer and possibly a gift for themselves.


"Everyone who comes in to get their letter back from Santa gets a special treat for Santa's furry friends, and first eight or so get another special treat for themselves," Tyner said.


Some of the letters that came in to the Pegasus branch this year are very touching. One is from a young person whose parents are losing their home because of tax problems and she asked Santa to save their home. Another young person asked Santa for a Sony DS3 player. He added that he's sorry for how bad he's been all year, but hopes Santa leaves the gift under the tree anyway.
Not all letters are asking for gifts, some have questions. One young person wants to know which reindeer Santa likes the best, he says he thinks it's Rudolph, but his friend thinks Santa likes all the reindeer equally. Another young lady wants to get her dog back that was lost earlier this year and she hopes to find it under the tree Christmas morning.
"Every year we're talking about how there's a greater need. This year, I won't say that. There's a greater need every year. And there are always folks out there that need the help of the community and the support of the community. Many times it's because of circumstances outside of their control. Certainly, the children are the innocent ones here," said Jim Brouillard, Bakersfield Postmaster
For many families writing a letter is a tradition and Santa knows who has been naughty or nice, but the post office seems to know who is in need.
"We know who's had their heat turned off. We know who's had their electricity turned off. We know which kids are outside with clothes that aren't fitting for the weather. So the carriers get to know the people in their neighborhood. They know who has jobs, who doesn't have jobs, who has children that don't have shoes or don't have a coat to wear," said Brouillard.
Santa's postal elves will answer all the letters. In some instances, where Santa needs a little more assistance for a holiday wish, the post office is looking for organizations to partner with them.
Over the past 69 years, the program has taken on a life of its own. Postal facilities in cities around the country today let charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and individuals adopt letters to Santa to make children's holiday dreams come true from coast to coast.
"When there are people in the community that want to help, we know where the need is. Sometimes we can put those two together and make it a brighter day, a brighter Christmas," said Brouillard.
If you'd like to help, requests for letters to Santa must be made in person at a participating local post office.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Shawano has a holiday parade each year where folks can drink cider and celebrate the season with Santa and their kids and, in some cases, maybe even start to rejoice in the real meaning of Christmas and what matters most.


"I did ask a few people to be there" and collect signatures, said Leone Schneidewend, chairperson of the Shawano County Democrats. "But the majority were there on their own."


"Wasn't this a Christmas parade?" I asked of the event that took place on Dec. 2.


"It is a Christmas parade," she said. "Actually, what they call it is the Santa Claus parade." After that there is a walk in the downtown area called the Holiday Stroll.


Schneidewend wanted to talk about stuff other than the parade, which is similar to ones held all across the state around this time of year. She criticized Scott Walker for referring to the state's "holiday tree" as a "Christmas tree" — which caused me to ask if she thought it was appropriate for protesters at the Capitol the other day to turn their backs as he flipped on the tree's lights.


Even she seemed to concede that was not a nice thing to do. Not really in keeping, you might say, with the holiday spirit of showing good will to all men at this time of year — even those of a different political persuasion you might eventually succeed in ousting. At the same time, she saw absolutely nothing wrong with politicizing the Christmas parade in Shawano by collecting signatures.


I am going to reveal a long hidden secret I have never shared with anyone concerning Santa’s visits. The Walton Circle house had a nice fireplace in the living room complete with chimney on the roof for Santa to slide down. There was one glitch to this mode of entry: there was a metal flue just inside the fireplace which could be opened when there was a fire. When it was closed, it sealed the inside of the fireplace. As a child, I knew Santa would have no trouble slipping down the chimney but when he got to that metal door, there was no way he could gain entry into the living room. One Christmas Eve 60-odd years ago, my father found me in tears as I sat on top of the logs inside the fireplace looking up toward the flue. When questioned as to my distress, I told him how discouraged I was Santa could not gain entrance to the living room and leave what I was hoping for. Pulling me on his lap, in his gentle way, he explained to me Santa had a “special key” which allowed him to gain access to every house on his list to visit that night. “Not to worry”, my father said as he quietly soothed away my fears, “Santa will use his special key and you will be happily surprised in the morning. Now isn’t it time for you to be going to bed?”
As always true to his word, on Christmas morning as I made my way to the living room, Santa had been that night and even left a plate of crumbs and an empty Coke bottle on top of the logs in the fireplace to let me know he was able to gain access to the house. After that fretful Christmas Eve, I never again worried about Santa’s ability to make his appointed rounds ... chimney or no chimney.

Best Ever Santa Claus

I have a long way to travel in the morning from the North Pole to west Auckland but I can get here pretty quickly using Santa magic.


I have between 200 to 250 children visit me here every day and even more at the weekends.


A few days out from Christmas it's not unusual to see close to 500 kids a day.


I've had 3500 photos with kids since the six-week Santa season began at Westfield.


I reckon this is the best job in the world because of the way a child's face will just light up when they see me.


What's even better is this job can put that same childlike smile on the face of parents and grandparents.


I get to have photos with little children and even some newborn babies when mums do their best to get out of hospital for Christmas.


I had a 98-year-old woman come in for a photo with me this year. She came in her wheelchair with her two daughters and having a photo made her day.


Small kids will always ask for scooters, barbie dolls and baby doll prams.


A lot of them will ask for puppies and horses too but I have to tell them there's no room for animals on my sleigh. And Rudolf doesn't like other animals. Blame it all on Rudolf.


You ask kids if they've been good and the answer is always yes. Never fail.


Parents will have a laugh too by asking for a vacuum cleaner or a husband. Older ladies will say I forgot to bring them that diamond necklace last year and it's all in good fun.


One man brought in his eight-year-old son who had stopped believing in Santa magic. He needed me to convince him it was real.


Young children from about 12 months to three or four years old are afraid of someone whose face is almost completely covered and is loud and boisterous. The young child is literally thrown at Santa, and is expected to love it and smile,” he said.


He advises that the best strategy is to allow the child to get gradually closer to Santa while being held by a parent. He will get down to the child’s level, speak softly, and hold out a candy cane, while attempting to gain confidence and persuade a child to come to him.


“Usually a picture of the parent holding the child is the only thing that we are able to get,” he said.


“If the child accepts Santa on their terms and not the parent’s, all will be well.”


Santa explained that children’s feelings about him come in stages. When the little ones get over their fear, the next stage is love and adoration for Santa, and then fear sets in once again. This time it is the fear of embarrassment, the chance that a peer will see them, or that they will be condemned for believing.


Santa can be heard saying, almost continually, “You are never too old to sit on Santa’s lap.”


Eventually, most people reach the stage when it is once again acceptable to sit on Santa’s lap and enjoy the magic.


Santa told about his first experience with the joy of giving, when he helped a needy family with seven young children.


“That very experience of delivering the presents to a family that had next to nothing forever changed my outlook on Christmas and has made me the person I am today.”


The genuine love he feels for his fellowman shines in Santa’s eyes as he speaks. “Just as Jesus Christ gave to each and every one of us that we might have joy, we give to others to help them feel the joy that a present brings,” he said.


It is a bittersweet time for Santa when Christmas is finally over, the last child visited, the last gift delivered, and he takes off the red suit until next year.

The Crucified Santa Claus:‘Skeleton Santa’

The historic Loudoun County Court House in Leesburg, Virginia is the site of an ongoing clash over religious displays on the lawn. A Nativity scene has been placed on the lawn at Christmas for years. For a long time, no other signage or displays were permitted.


Two years ago, a resident-led committee made the decision to unilaterally ban all holiday displays on the courthouse lawn. However, after much backlash from the religious community, that decision was reversed a few days later, and the old policy of allowing up to 10 unattended displays on the lawn was reinstated.


In 2010, members of the Atheist community in Loudoun County acquired seven of the 10 available permits for spots on the lawn. Some of the ensuing displays were tongue-in-cheek, such as one of a Jedi and one of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Others were more abrasive, and openly questioned some core tenets of Christianity, like a Santa/Easter Bunny/Jesus comparison. Others were more positive, honoring the Constitution and the separation of church and state.


Over the last year, members of NOVA Atheists and Beltway Atheists have put an upbeat and positive banner on the lawn every month, celebrating persons or events pertaining to science or the separation of church and state.


I get the free speech issue. Allow everyone to have a voice, but what is everyone voicing? If you want to have a religious holiday display have it at a church, temple, or private property. A courthouse is not the best location to have a Christmas display. What does a courthouse have to do with Santa Claus? Or even a cross?


By displaying a Nativity next to the crucified skeleton Santa it sends the message that the story of Jesus Christ is just as equal as the crucified skeleton Santa. It’s not equal. It’s a holy story. The story of the birth of Christ does not belong to a courthouse, a government, or even to Christians. The story belongs to God. Why must we believe that government should be the keeper of religious stories or religious expression? Sure, religious people founded our country – and that is part of our story – but those people wanted to create a society where government and religion would not entangle one another.


As for the crucified skeleton Santa, take it down. Take all those religious displays down at the Loudoun County court house. Even the Christian ones. As Christians, we are doing no good service to the message of the Gospel by allowing it to be an equal message with crucified skeleton Santa. Let the churches, religious groups, and private people freely express their faith without government playing a role.


We only water down the message of Jesus Christ by turning a display of a nativity or a cross into a media circus.

Operation Santa Claus

There are no red suits, snowy white beards or a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer.


But for the small group of Washington County volunteers, the mission is the same as the jolly old elf’s  to deliver holiday cheer.


They are part of Operation Santa Claus, a project that provides gifts to adolescents and adults at the Thomas B. Finan Center in Cumberland, Md.


Local volunteer Curt Miller said the project began in 1965 with the goal of spreading the holiday spirit to individuals at mental health treatment facilities who otherwise might not be remembered.


It is an undertaking of The Mental Health Association of Maryland, Washington County Branch (a volunteer organization), and Turning Point of Washington County Inc.


Miller, who is chairman of the local MHA, is the director of public relations at Brook Lane and said his involvement was a natural fit.


“It also is a rewarding one, knowing you are brightening the lives of others,” he said.


“We’re a very small group of volunteers and we operate on a shoestring,” Miller noted. “But we work to make it happen.”


Miller said plans for the project began several months ago when fliers were sent to organizations and churches “who often adopt us and bring in donations.”


“We’ve always been blessed with great community support,” he said. “After all these years, many people are aware of Operation Santa Claus and want to help.”


But Miller knows that the tight economy can play havoc with donations, even during the Christmas season.


What do the U.S. Postal Service and Santa Claus have in common? Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night will keep them from delivering dreams this holiday season.


"While Santa's been making wishes come true a bit longer than the Postal Service, for more than two centuries he's relied almost exclusively on postal employees to bring him letters from boys and girls around the country and to help him deliver their presents," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe states.


Operation Santa Claus offers individuals or organizations an opportunity to obtain access to Santa letters written by local children. After completing an application and providing photo ID, letters will be provided with any identification of the child or their address obliterated. Each applicant will be asked to fulfill as many of the child's wishes as possible. They will be required to return to the Downtown Fort Myers post office with the wrapped presents boxed and ready to mail to the child's parents. Each applicant will be required to pay postage to mail the box and the return address will be Operation Santa North Pole.


Local businesses are encouraged to participate in Operation Santa Claus. Businesses can designate a representative and choose up to ten letters.

Santa's Christmas Eve Workload, Calculated

(i). Pick your battles


You're not going to make it through the entire holiday season (especially the last two weeks of the year) without at least some indulgence, and you'd be setting yourself up for failure if you tried.


You can have your cake and eat it too, but you can't eat it every day. Some indulgence is fine. Indulgence is only a problem when everyday becomes a holiday, and peppermint brownies become your lunch.


Look at your calendar, and decide when you're going to relax your nutrition rules. Which parties and feasts will you enjoy the most? Write those dates down, and have a great time, but honor yourself by saying "no" to the not-so-good cookies that are passed around at work. Speaking of junk food at work...


(ii) Don't debate


So, when you say "no thanks" to the cookies being passed around at work, sometimes people will ask why. This is where the danger is.


If the cookie pusher asks why you don't want cookies, the worst thing you can say is, "Oh, I'm watching my figure."


Now you're in a debate because, they'll reply with, "Oh, one little cookie won't hurt... On TV they said you can lose weight and eat cookies... you look great anyway... you could stand to gain a little weight anyway..." And before you know it you're eating those cookies out of guilt.


When the follow up "why" comes, stick to the "I don't want any, thanks for asking though." And, if you get pressed further with a "Are you trying to watch your weight?" Stick to the, "I just don't want any, but thanks for asking. Have a great day."


(iii) Treat, don't cheat


Indulge on the days you said you would above, but don't try to see how much food you can possibly fit inside your body without rupturing your stomach. Remember you are not trying to cram as much "cheat food" into your pie hole as possible, you're just having a good meal.


(iv) Pre-game


Before you go to a party that you decided that you would not be "treating" yourself at, be sure to ruin your appetite beforehand. Have a healthy meal right beforehand, and it becomes much easier to stick to your guns. You also have the opportunity to talk to people.


(v) Keep an eye on your belly


Measure your belly and/or your hips and thighs regularly. Don't trust your eyes humans can't objectively evaluate themselves in the mirror. Know the numbers because they tell the real story. It's much easier to do something about your girth when it's a small change just an inch up vs. letting it get to the point where you need to buy new jeans.


Action: once a week measure your waist (or whatever body part(s) and jot them down. This takes 2 minutes, but it keeps you objective about what is and what is not going on in your body.


(vi) Respect your house


If you host the party, send the pecan pie home with someone else. Your best intentions are no match for a pie sitting on your counter that is all yours. You won't win the will-power showdown with that pie. The only way to ensure success is to avoid it.


If you have to, throw the pie away. Better to waste a little food than to look and feel like you ate the whole thing. (Killing your energy levels is probably the worst side effect.)


If you attend a party at someone else's place, this is so easy. Just don't take any junk home.


(vii). Remember the most important person


The most important person to take care of in your life is you. Contributing to and doing nice things for other people is great, but if you put everyone else ahead of yourself, eventually you'll get to a point where you are run down and can no longer give.


Patriots punter apologizes for Christmas blunder

New England players spent their day off by spreading a little holiday cheer, getting wrapped up with their teammates as a part of an annual tradition with the Kraft Foundation. Julian Edelman said that the worst part of being wrapped with Tom Brady is the quarterback's odor.
Zoltan Mesko said how he loved this tradition, but then told a lie so egregious that it may not be forgiven.


He claims that Santa Claus isn't real. Where does a man come up with such a terrible lie? At least this lapse in truth won't go unpunished. Shutdown Corner had an exclusive interview with Kris Kringle on the subject.
"It's disappointing," Santa said. "I've been working around the clock to ensure a nice Christmas for children around the world, and then this guy can't even believe in me. Obviously, there's no room for him on the nice list."


Don't drink too much at the office party.


Get the wife at least one present that sparkles.


And whatever you do, don't ever tell the truth about Santa Claus around a little kid.


As the video below shows, New England Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko seriously violated that last rule last night, on live television no less.


Maybe that kind of humor is permitted in Mesko's homeland of Romania, but not here, right?


Accordingly, he has since issued an apology on Twitter where, he assures everyone, that Santa Claus is as real as it gets.

LAUSD Will Sue State Over $38M in Mid-Year Budget Cuts

Acting on behalf of 38,000 magnet and special-education students, Los Angeles Unified will file suit today in federal court challenging state budget cuts that wipe out the district's $38million busing program for the rest of the school year.
Superintendent John Deasy got authorization for the suit during a closed-door session Tuesday with the school board. The meeting took place as Gov. Jerry Brown was announcing that a $2.2 billion shortfall in new revenue would trigger $980 million in cuts statewide.
"We will file a lawsuit that supports our students and will seek a (temporary restraining order)," Deasy said, sparking applause from magnet students in the audience who had spoken out against the looming reductions. "The district cannot tolerate another single solitary cut."
Along with the loss of $38 million for transportation - essentially half of the district's annual budget for busing - Los Angeles Unified will have to trim $8 million from its general fund. That's significantly less than the $188 million hit the district could have faced under the worst-case scenario envisioned by Deasy in the days leading up to Brown's announcement. However, the superintendent added that Brown said the state's public schools would hear about additional cuts in January if revenues still lag.
Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, put the trigger cuts into context, noting that the loss of even $8 million comes atop multibillion-dollar


That $38 million is going to be taken from the LAUSD's transportation budget. "A cut of this magnitude is devastating as it would deplete half of the District’s transportation budget after it has provided half a year of transportation services," said Deasy in a statement issued today by the LAUSD. Deasy goes on to explain that it is not as simple as just cutting services, because some of the services in question are mandated by a 1981 court order regarding desegregation as well as what allows for the transportation of thousands of special needs students.
Deasy on the cuts and the mandated services:
Due to the combined mandates, the trigger cuts force the District to choose between two illegal and unconstitutional outcomes. It must either terminate its transportation services in direct violation the Crawford court order (and federal and State law), or divert precious classroom dollars from its general fund to pay for the required transportation services
.
Citing harm to their students as a consequence of these cuts, the LAUSD " will file a lawsuit tomorrow that supports our students in schools and acts aggressively to halt these devastating cuts associated with the budget triggers."
"They're not good,'' Governor Jerry Brown said of the cuts, according to City News Service. ``It's not the way we'd like to run California, but we have to live within our means.

NYC Office:Emergency text message statewide in New Jersey on Friday

Get ready for an alert from the government on your phone on Thursday.
The New York City Office of Emergency Management and the federal government are sending out a test over the Wireless Emergency Alert System.
It will be sent to mobile phones ofto AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers in New York City sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says the messages will look similar to a text message and may be accompanied by audible alerts regardless of the user’s ring tone or volume settings.
A notification will be displayed on the screen with text that reads: “Severe Alert” or “Extreme Alert.” Users will see the following test alert when they open the WEA message: “This is a test from NYC Office of Emergency Mgmt. Test Message 1. This is only a test.” Some WEA‑capable mobile devices may receive more than one message, according to NYC officials.
The test is part of the new system that allows the government to send messages directly to mobile phones. They do note that some phones are not able to receive the message.
Phones can receive up to three classes of text-based alerts, such as Presidential, Imminent Threat (e.g., tornado), and Amber Alerts under rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.


It is possible that messages broadcasts over the cellular network may be received by enabled cell phones in the State of New Jersey. This event will be just a test, and not a real emergency alert.
Cellular phone customers who have questions about the technology should contact their mobile phone service provider’s customer service number. Customer service representatives have been informed of the new technology and are aware of the test.

Stony Brook University to Get $150 Million Gift

Stony Brook University today confirmed it has secured a $150 million gift from Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation, a donation that school President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. called “a milestone moment in the history” of the university.


Stanley described the donation as the largest gift to any higher education institution in the state and one of the largest to any public university in the nation.


Jim Simons is chairman of the Simons Foundation and hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and former chairman of Stony Brook’s Department of Mathematics.


Marilyn Simons is a Stony Brook alumna and president of the Simons Foundation.


Stony Brook announced the gift along with a $35 million challenge grant from New York state, a key component in the school’s NYSUNY 2020 plan.


This year, the Legislature and Mr. Cuomo enacted a law that allowed SUNY and the City University of New York to raise tuition by $300 a year for five years and also committed the state to maintaining its support for the universities. Full-time, in-state tuition at SUNY is set to climb to $6,170 in 2014-15, up from $4,970 last year, and for the first time, the system’s four main research campuses — Stony Brook, Binghamton, Albany and Buffalo — can also charge somewhat more than its smaller universities to out-of-state students.


Dr. Stanley said the Simons gift was being tailored to the areas in which Stony Brook lags noticeably behind the most prestigious public universities around the country: the student-to-faculty ratio, the number of endowed professorships and the life sciences.


“We want to be a top-25 research university,” he said. “There’s no reason why New York shouldn’t have that kind of flagship public university.”


Public universities generally raise far less money from donors than private universities do, but Mr. Simons said he saw support for public schools as vital, “especially in these days when private universities are so unbelievably expensive.” As for Stony Brook, he said, “We have a warm spot in our hearts for that particular institution.”


Marilyn Simons, the president of their foundation, went to Stony Brook as an undergraduate and received a doctorate in economics there. Mr. Simons, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from M.I.T. and a Ph.D., also in mathematics, from the University of California, Berkeley, was appointed chairman of Stony Brook’s math department in 1968.


But in 1978, he left academia for finance, becoming one of the first highly successful “quants” — quantitative analysts who use sophisticated math to guide investments. In 1982, he founded Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund firm; though he stepped down as chief executive two years ago, he remains chairman.


In October, Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $10.6 billion, making him the 30th wealthiest person in the country.


Now semi-retired, he spends more time on charitable work.


“It is fun,” he said, “but it’s not as much fun as it seems like it would be, since we have to say no a lot.

Christmas Strippers



Working on christmas and im a dancer. everyone says that its crazy busy on those days, and ill make like major $$$
my work doesnt touch, thats the law in orlando.no contact, and we keep panties on if that matters. and there will only be like 3 girls on christmas compared to 23 that is usually is on fridays and saturdays.


Not much has changed, but bedlam in the local Best Buy on Black Friday is not my topic today. My topic today is the Cabaret.


The Cabaret is a 24-hour strip club located along a major route just outside of Boston. And I drove by it today around 5:30pm. And the parking lot was full. Not just full—I mean FULL. There wasn't a single empty parking spot available.

Virginia Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty To Spanking Women

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia restaurant owner accused of spanking three young women he was helping financially has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery.


Media outlets say Henry Allen Fitzsimmons was sentenced to two years in prison after he entered his plea Wednesday in a Virginia Beach court.


Authorities say the 54-year-old Fitzsimmons agreed to provide an allowance and college tuition to the women under a so-called scholarship program. As part of the plan, the women agreed to be spanked if they violated certain rules, such as failing to call Fitzsimmons or drinking alcohol.


Media outlets say Henry Allen Fitzsimmons also pleaded guilty to perjury involving a liquor license application for his restaurant. He was sentenced to two years in prison after he entered his pleas Wednesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.


Authorities say the 54-year-old Fitzsimmons agreed to provide college tuition to the women as part of his so-called Spencer Scholarship Program. As part of the plan, the women agreed to be spanked if they violated certain rules, such as failing to call Fitzsimmons or drinking alcohol.

Former POW Jessica Lynch Finishing Teaching Degree



Jessica Lynch was just 19 when the world first saw her — a broken, blond soldier caught on combat video in Iraq, her face wearing something between a grimace and a grin.


The Army supply clerk was being carried on a stretcher after nine days as a prisoner of war. She had been captured along with five others after the 507th Maintenance Company took a wrong turn and came under attack in Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Eleven of her fellow soldiers died.


Lynch had joined the Army at 18 to earn money for college and become a school teacher. This Friday, at 28, she completes that mission.


She'll spend Thursday finishing her training as a student teacher at the same elementary school she attended in sparsely populated Wirt County. Then, on badly damaged legs and a right foot that still pains her, she'll walk across a stage Friday evening and get her education degree from West Virginia University at Parkersburg.


"It's tough to walk, but I look at it as, `At least I'm walking,'" she says. "At least I have my legs. They may not work. I have no feeling in the left one. But it's attached, at least. ... At least I'm alive."


Nearly 4,500 Americans died and some 32,000 were wounded during the war in Iraq, winding down this month as the last American troops withdraw. The first woman lost was Lynch's friend and fellow soldier, 23-year-old Army Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa of Arizona, killed in the convoy attack.


"Knowing she died right beside me and that could fairly well have been me brings a whole new perspective," Lynch said. "You're just thankful for what you've been given, even if it's not what you wanted."


When she was rescued, the U.S. government used footage of Lynch to spin a tale that exaggerated the truth. To make her seem more heroic and rally public support for the war, the military claimed she'd gone down firing — when, in fact, her rifle had jammed. She wrote a book, "I Am A Soldier, Too," with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg, and has repeatedly worked to set the record straight.


"The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes," she told Congress in 2007, "and they don't need to be told elaborate lies."


And the lies cost her. For a long time, she got hate mail. Some said she'd done nothing to deserve the attention or the title of hero. She once told Glamour magazine she felt like "the most hated person in America."


Every now and then, after a high-profile appearance, a hateful missive still arrives.


"They say things like, 'Who do you think you are? That was so eight years ago,'" Lynch said. "I just don't respond. It just doesn't bother me anymore. It used to, because I couldn't understand why people were hating me. I was just a soldier like the 100,000 others over there."


Sometimes Lynch is paid for her appearances. Often, she asks the audience to donate to Jessi's Pals, a venture she launched to provide blankets and stuffed animals to patients at WVU Children's Hospital.


Awkward questions aside, she thrives on the interaction of those three to five lectures a month. Four years ago, Lynch said she wanted to bow out of the spotlight and have a normal life. But now, attention is normal.


She is often recognized. Sometimes she's caught with a mouthful of food as people speak to her and try to touch her. She is no longer annoyed. She embraces it. She says hello and introduces herself to people who know her face but can't quite place it.


"Honestly, it does surprise me that so many people still are familiar with the story. I sometimes get taken aback when I hear people talking about it because it's like reading it in a book," Lynch said. "I forget, 'That's me.'"


If her fame has one benefit, it's the reminder that people are still thinking about U.S. troops, at home and overseas.


"And that's good," Lynch said, "because they still need our prayers just like they did nine or 10 years ago."

Eric Holder vows to enforce voting rights

AUSTIN, Tex. — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday entered the turbulent political waters of voting rights, signaling that the Justice Department would be aggressive in reviewing new voting laws that civil rights advocates say will dampen minority participation in next year’s elections.


Declaring in a speech that protecting ballot access for all eligible voters “must be viewed not only as a legal issue but as a moral imperative,” Mr. Holder urged Americans to “call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success and, instead, achieve success by appealing to more voters.”


The speech by Mr. Holder could inflame a smoldering partisan dispute over race and ballot access as the 2012 campaign cycle intensifies. It comes as the Justice Department’s civil rights division is scrutinizing a series of new state voting laws that were enacted — largely by Republican officials — in the name of fighting fraud.


Most of the changes have been promoted and approved by Republicans, who argue they are needed to avert voter fraud. Democrats, citing studies suggesting there is little voter fraud, say the measures are actually aimed at reducing minority votes for their candidates.


Where a state can't meet its legal burden in showing an absence of discriminatory impact, "we will object," the attorney general said in his speech at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum.


As president in 1965, Johnson was instrumental in passing the landmark law the Justice Department now uses to ensure voting rights in Texas, South Carolina and all or parts of 14 other states. Most of the 16 states are in the South and all of them with a history of discrimination against blacks, American Indians, Asian Americans, Alaska Natives or Hispanics.


Besides Texas and South Carolina, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin have enacted more stringent voter ID laws this year.


Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a former Texas attorney general, said voter identification laws are constitutional and necessary to prevent fraud at the ballot box.


"Facing an election challenge next year, this administration has chosen to target efforts by the states to protect the democratic process," said Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.


Holder was appearing in a Republican-controlled state which has taken a redistricting dispute with civil rights groups all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.


Texas gained four congressional seats based on the 2010 census. Minority groups sued in federal court in San Antonio, arguing that the Legislature's redistricting maps did not reflect growth in the state's Hispanic and black populations.

Mitt Romney in New York City: DNC hires airplane $10K bet

WASHINGTON -- In anticipation of Mitt Romney's set of fundraisers in New York City on Wednesday night, the Democratic National Committee is taking some extraordinary measures to hammer home their favorite frame: that the former governor is a plutocrat in Tea Party disguise.


The DNC will be hiring a pilot to fly over the Hudson River between the George Washington Bridge and Hoboken with a 175-foot sign reading: "Bet You 10K Romney's Out of Touch - Mitts10KBet.com."


Romney is set do several fundraisers with top finance types in the city. A breakfast will be held with John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who made billions betting against the bad mortgages that he hand-picked, along with John Whitehead, the former chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets. According to the New York Post, Romney will head to the Waldorf-Astoria for a lunch-time fundraising event hosted by J.P. Morgan Chase vice chairman Jimmy Lee. For the nightcap, Romney will visit the Park Avenue home of Steve Schwarzman, the head of Blackstone, where he will be joined by another famous hedge fund type: Paul Singer.


Needless to say, the crowd would be comfortable (financially at least) making the type of $10,000 bet that got Romney in trouble during last Saturday's GOP debate. In fact, they will likely be offering up significantly more to the former governor's campaign.


Team Romney did not immediately responds to requests for comment.


Although the Big Apple votes reliably Democratic, Czin said "we're not going to stop New York and New Jersey from getting the message that is running a very dishonest, deceitful campaign.


The initial bet stemmed from Texas governor Rick Perry accusing Romney of deleting parts of his book that said he supported mandates for individuals to buy health insurance.


Perry turned down the gamble, saying "I'm not in the betting business."


Romney has since shrugged off the criticism, but has said he's been reminded he's not a good gambler.


"After the debate was over Ann came up and gave me a kiss," Romney said. "And she said 'there are lot of things you do well. Betting isn't one of them.'"

Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich rift has old roots

WASHINGTON - The defining moment of the current Republican presidential campaign may have come 17 years ago.


In his unsuccessful 1994 bid for a US Senate seat, Mitt Romney wooed Massachusetts moderates by famously declaring: “I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.’’ Less remembered, but perhaps even more relevant today, was how he labeled Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America “a mistake.’’


Gingrich, meanwhile, used the contract to lead a GOP revolution that took over the US House. Casting himself as a loyal disciple of Ronald Reagan, he won and became speaker.


That crucial period defines both men as they battle for the conservative base to become their party’s presidential nominee. It also provides a window into the split among Republicans about the direction of their party, which continues to be divided between the establishment wing associated with Romney and the more revolutionary faction linked to Gingrich.


“I think it has always haunted him,’’ said John Lakian, Romney’s primary opponent in the 1994 race, referring to the way Romney distanced himself from the conservative wing. For Lakian, who said he “tilts toward Gingrich,’’ watching the current race seems like an echo of his own campaign against Romney, in which he positioned himself as the more conservative candidate.


Gingrich, meanwhile, used the contract to lead a GOP revolution that took over the US House. Casting himself as a loyal disciple of Ronald Reagan, he won and became speaker.


That crucial period defines both men as they battle for the conservative base to become their party’s presidential nominee. It also provides a window into the split among Republicans about the direction of their party, which continues to be divided between the establishment wing associated with Romney and the more revolutionary faction linked to Gingrich.


“I think it has always haunted him,’’said John Lakian, Romney’s primary opponent in the 1994 race, referring to the way Romney distanced himself from the conservative wing. For Lakian, who said he “tilts toward Gingrich,’’ watching the current race seems like an echo of his own campaign against Romney, in which he positioned himself as the more conservative candidate.


Gingrich, 68, spent 20 years in the U.S. House, including four as speaker. Since 1998, he has had a lucrative, Washington-based career as a consultant, speaker and author.


Both men have earned millions of dollars over the years.


The AP-GfK nationwide poll of Republicans found Gingrich with an edge over Romney as the candidate they'd like to see win the nomination. However, it falls just within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.


Voter preferences in early voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina do not necessarily match those in national polls. The Iowa caucus is Jan. 3. The New Hampshire primary is one week later.


For months, Romney has hovered at or near the top of Republican polls, while various rivals have risen and fallen. Gingrich's rise is at least as dramatic as the recent plummets of businessman Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.


An October AP-GfK poll of Republicans found Gingrich well behind the leading candidates, with 7 percent. Romney had 30 percent. The new poll finds Gingrich preferred by 33 percent of Republicans and Romney by 27 percent. All other candidates are in single digits.

Tags: Mitt Romney,  Newt GingrichHerman CainRick Perry

Harry Reid: Senate will block payroll tax cuts

"Congress took a collective step backward in wrapping up a bitter year of legislating, as President Barack Obama’s top priority over the payroll tax holiday became mired in a battle over unrelated, partisan issues," groused Politico's Jake Sherman and Manu Raju in a December 14 story.


"House Republicans jammed through a version of the payroll tax bill Tuesday evening" Sherman and Raju complained, noting that the bill "calls for construction of the controversial Keystone KL sic oil pipeline, scales back an air-pollution rule, cuts Obama’s health reform law and reduces the length of unemployment benefits."


"It was largely a message vote — the GOP bill is dead on arrival in the Democratic Senate and faced a veto threat anyway — but it sets the stage again for a final, frenzied bout of deal making that has defined this divided Congress," the Politico staffers added.


Of course, the Republican-controlled House is actually passing legislation for consideration by the Democratic-led Senate. What's more, Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is, on advice from President Obama, threatening to hold up a vote on an unrelated spending measure to keep the government running past Friday.


Mr. Reid later slammed his Republican counterpart, saying Mr. McConnell is “living in a world of non-reality” and that the Republican payroll tax cut plan passed Tuesday by the House was “dead on arrival” in the Senate.


Mr. McConnell shot back that Democrats wasted weeks of time with political “show votes” intended to bolster President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.


“Quit wasting our time here in the Senate scoring points with the shutdown two days away,” said Mr. McConnell. “The last time I looked, Christmas is a week from Sunday. Time is a’wastin’.”


The measure, which passed the House late Tuesday, includes a controversial provision concerning the Keystone XL project. President Obama said Tuesday that he would veto any measure containing the provision, noting that lawmakers will remain in Washington until a deal is reached. The proposal would also trim federal spending without forcing the wealthy to contribute as much as Democrats want.


Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner urged Senate lawmakers to begin talks on reaching a compromise on the proposal. The Ohio Republican said Republicans in the House remain committed to reaching a deal before the holiday recess.


“The Senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it, they can move their own bill,” said Mr. Boehner. “But it is time for the Senate to act. Democrats who run the United States Senate can’t continue to hide and sit on the sidelines.”


Mr. Reid has sought to push for a vote on the measure, which is likely to fail. A vote on the proposal would allow Senate lawmakers to forge a compromise before the upcoming holiday recess.