How Tea Partiers get the Constitution Wrong.

America’s Holy Writ

Tea Party evangelists claim the Constitution as their sacred text. Why that’s wrong.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Tea Partiers hold up the Constitution on Tax Day in Washington.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/17/how-tea-partiers-get-the-constitution-wrong.html

Since winning the Republican senate primary in Delaware last month, Christine O’Donnell has not had trouble getting noticed. When the Tea Party icon admitted to “dabbl[ing] into witchcraft” as a youngster, the press went wild. When she revealed that she was “not a witch” after all, the response was rabid. O’Donnell has fudged her academic credentials, defaulted on her mortgage, sued a former employer, and campaigned against masturbation, and her efforts have been rewarded with round-the-clock coverage. Yet few observers seem to have given her views on the United States Constitution the same level of consideration. Which is too bad, because O’Donnell’s Tea Party take on our founding text is as unusual as her stance on autoeroticism. Except that it could actually have consequences.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Inside the Tea Party

Inside the Tea Party

Last month, the candidate spoke to 2,000 right-wing activists at the annual Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. She wore a black suit and pearls, and swept on stage to the sound of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Most of the speech was unremarkable: a laundry list of conservative platitudes. But near the end she veered into stranger—and more revealing—territory. O’Donnell once told voters that her “No. 1” qualification for the Senate is an eight-day course she took at a conservative think tank in 2002. Now she was revisiting its subject: the Constitution.

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy | How to Start a Movement

Many thanks to Derek Sivers for his inspiring post. Check out his the full blog post on his site at http://sivers.org/ff. You can also watch him deliver his talk like on Ted Talks, http://blog.ted.com/2010/04/how_to_start_a.php. 

Transcript:

If you've learned a lot about leadership and making a movement, then let's watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, and dissect some lessons:

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire....

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading | Tim Ferriss

Dancing Walrus 'Smooth Criminal'

Arthur Jones and High Intensity Training - Thegymmonkey's Blog

Arthur Jones and 

High Intensity Training

by thegymmonkey on March 27, 2010

http://thegymmonkey.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/arthur-jones/

Casey Viator before and after the Colorado experiment

Arthur Jones was one of the giants of modern body building, and his ideas are still controversial in the body building world today. He was famously the originator of High Intensity Training. A training method he developed in the 70’s that relied on short, single sets with high intensity (always to failure), which, according to Jones, triggers maximal muscular growth.

Jones was a highly unconventional man. Born on November 22 1926 in Mrilton, Arkansas, both his parents were doctors. Jones taught himself to read and by the time he was 5 he could understand both German and English Newspapers [1]. He started flying planes at the age of 13 and maintained a log of every flight he ever made (14,090 flights, 17,393.6 hours, across every state in America and 56 countries [1]. He joined the Navy in 1941 (at only 15) with almost a perfect test score on the entry exam. After the war Jones lived in Mexico, South America and Africa, before returning to America where he invented several weight training exercise machines and most famously created the Nautilus company to produce and market his Nautilus machines. He then went on to founded MedX Corporation, in which he invested millions to develop medical-based exercise and testing equipment. Jones was also the creator of the “Jumbolair” estate, 350 acres (1.4 km²) of wildlife sanctuary for orphaned African elephants and other wildlife.

The High Line Celebrates its 2,000,000th Visitor!

April 02, 2010 | Author: Auzelle Epeneter | Categories: On the High Line

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Co-Founder Joshua David, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, 
Zach Hauser, City Planning Commission Chair Amanda Burden, and Lexi Hauser plant an eastern 
redbud tree in the Gansevoort Woodland. Photo by Joan Garvin

Earlier today we welcomed our 2,000,000th visitor to the High Line since the park opened to the public ten months ago.

To celebrate the occasion, and to mark the arrival of the very first spring on the High Line, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, City Planning Commission Chair Amanda Burden, and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Co-Founder Joshua David to plant a flowering eastern redbud tree (Cercis Canadensis) in the Gansevoort Woodland.

Our lucky 2,000,000th (and 2,000,001st!) visitors were Lexi and Zach Hauser, from Raleigh, North Carolina. This was the first trip to the High Line for Lexi and Zach, who were joined by their mother, Deb, and their family friend, Richard Conolly, a native New Yorker and Chelsea resident. The gang helped plant the new tree and received some very special commemorative gifts: a framed photo of the High Line and limited edition High Line beach towels designed by Diane von Furstenberg.

Read more at http://www.thehighline.org/blog

Quote: Parkinson's Law

"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."

The Empathic Civilization

Great new book from Jeremy Rifkin, "One of the leading big-picture thinkers of our day" delivers his boldest work in this erudite, tough-minded, and far-reaching manifesto. Never has the world seemed so completely united-in the form of communication, commerce, and culture-and so savagely torn apart-in the form of war, financial meltdown, global warming, and even the migration of diseases.

Here's an excerpt:

Author: Jeremy Rifkin
'The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global consciousness in a World of Crisis'
Posted: March 1, 2010

While our radio talk shows and 24-hour cable TV news programs incessantly play off the political rift between conservative and liberal ideologies, the deeper conflict in America has always been the cultural divide between faith versus reason.

At the dawn of the modern market economy and nation-state era, the philosophers of the Enlightenment challenged the Age of Faith that governed over the feudal economy with the Age of Reason. Theologians and philosophers have continued to battle over faith vs. reason ever since, their debates often spilling over into the cultural and political arenas, with profound consequences for society.

Today, however, at the outset of a global economy and the biosphere era, a new generation of scientists, scholars, and social reformers are beginning to challenge some of the underlying assumptions of both the Age of Faith and the Age of Reason, taking us into the Age of Empathy.

The empathic advocates argue that, for the most part, both earlier narratives about human nature fail to plumb the depths of what makes us human and therefore leave us with cosmologies that are incomplete stories--that is, they fail to touch the deepest realities of existence. That's not to dismiss the critical elements that make the stories of faith and reason so compelling. It's only that something essential is missing--and that something is "embodied experience."

Vitra Unveils Its Stunning New Museum Designed by Herzog & deMeuron

BY CLIFF KUANGMon Feb 22, 2010
View original post at www.fastcompany.com

The German furniture-maker maker adds another jewel to its starchitect-studded corporate campus.

The Vitra campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, is already a mecca for contemporary architecture, featuring a design museum by Frank Gehry, a conference center by Tadao Ando, and another building on the way by SANAA. And they've just finished what might be the greatest of them of them all: a new building, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, to showcase the company's home-furniture collection.

A Woman's First Week at the Gym

My friend Laura sent me this. If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.


Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Chito, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

HOW TO: Make Your Small Business Geolocation-Ready

HOW TO: Make Your Small Business Geolocation-Ready

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Small businesses stand to increase their local audience and further their market reach through geolocation platforms, which attach real-world locations to mobile phones. Here are a few ways companies can become part of the location tagging world of social media.

Green Design: Hobbit Style

A Real-Life Hobbit House

View original post at www.shelterpop.com

By Laura Fenton (Subscribe to Laura Fenton's posts)
Feb 4th 2010 8:00AM

Photos: SimonDale.net

A low-impact, eco-conscious house fit for a hobbit in Wales.


I am the sort of girl who read all of The Lord of the Rings books (this was longbefore the films came out) and I even devoured Tolkien's prequel to the series, The Simarillion. So, when I saw a post on lace & tea titled 'The Hobbit House,' I was intrigued.


This Wales-based home is, in fact, designed much like much like what I imagine a hobbit house would be, but this is more than a novelty home. The builder, Simon Dale, and his father-in-law created this house with a low-impact approach and maximum regard for the environment in mind. It was also a do-it-yourself project, built on the cheap by hand: A-mazing! ....click to read more.

Great Ideas: Sustainable Dance Floor

The Sustainable Dance Floor generates energy as you bust a move by translating the vertical movement into electricity.

Sun is in Capricorn - My personality profile

Surprisingly accurate. Although I completely disagree with the negative aspects. Capricorns are perfect, we don't have flaws! LOL See your profile at www.astrolis.com.

Kevin's Sun is in Capricorn Vitality You are basically down to earth and practical. You generally possess a great deal of patience and quiet ambition. Once you have decided on a course of action you can work hard for many years, enduring many setbacks, to achieve what you have set out to do. This will often be an achievement that meets with conventional standards of approval, but even if your life-style and goals are not so conventional you'll still need to see some sort of material or tangible result for your efforts. There's also a tendency to take life too seriously, and you may have little patience with those who take a more laid back approach to life and love. Remember to loosen up a bit every now and then, so that you can enjoy life here and now. Kevin's Moon is in Libra Habits You have a need for harmony and honesty in your emotional life. You also need intellectual nourishment in order to feel happy and secure. You're naturally diplomatic and fair in your dealings with others, with an easygoing nature and an innate ability to see the many sides to any issue. On the negative side, however, this same fairness and balance of viewpoint can become indecisiveness and a tendency to avoid direct action when it's necessary. You would probably do well to work in a partnership where decision-making can be shared, as decisiveness may not be your strong point. Kevin's Rising Sign is Aquarius Self-identity Being restless, original and rebellious, you need to be seen as an individual with the freedom to make your own choices and your own way in life. You don't like being taken for granted and at times will deliberately shock others with your unpredictable conduct. Kevin, click here to find out more about the area of life concerned with your sense of self-identity, the impression you give and how others see you. Kevin's Mercury is in Sagittarius Mentality You prefer to think in broad philosophical terms rather than get bogged down in petty details. Although this is generally not a bad thing you may tend to overlook the fact that some details are important. You will try to live your life by what you believe and what you think is the best way to be, regardless of what other people may think, and you can be rather tactless in what you say. Your mind is restless and open to the future, refusing to be tied down by the past or present. Your refusal to be pinned down or express a definite opinion on some issues may frustrate other people. It's not that you don't have opinions; it's just that tomorrow it may suit you to change them - so it's best to keep your options open. Kevin's Venus is in Scorpio Capacity for love You approach relationships with deep emotional intensity. Sometimes these intense feelings may be difficult for even you to understand or accept. You may handle this by giving the impression of being unemotional, but you're not as hard as you like people to think. You may find yourself involved in relationships that have a powerful and transforming effect on your life. You'll be possessive, but, like most of your deeper feelings, that will probably be safely hidden beneath the surface. To expose how you really feel would only make you feel vulnerable. Kevin's Mars is in Aquarius Driving force You possess a tremendous amount of determination to achieve your goals. There's a great need for personal freedom, which can occasionally lead to unpredictable conduct. You're prepared to defend your thoughts and opinions with great force and regard criticism of your opinions as a personal attack. This will probably lead to conflict until you either stop taking yourself so seriously or learn to respect the opinions of others.

Design Ideas: Hiding your television

Great post on www.apartmenttherapy.com

The Power Of Distraction, Part II: Hiding TVs In Plain View

While I love watching movies, I will never love the look of a TV, but I love the idea of a bulky media cabinet even less...so what's a flick-obsessed aesthete to do? Well,Kyle's post on her TV curtain got me thinking about subtler ways to distract the eye from these mammoth eyesores. Here are some tips.