.............................
Richmond Branch
Closed - Saturday
January 31, 2009
Staff Shortage
.............................
Signage posted at said Library Branch
related:
Library Plan Is Hard To Read
It's not clear how many days a week branches will remain open. Free Library Director Siobhan Reardon calls the situation "fluid."
article by Alfred Lubrano
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Keeping Score - A Case For Ray Guy Belonging In The Pro Football Hall of Fame
By K C JOYNERPublished: January 24, 2009
The New York Times
The voting for the 2009 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will take place Saturday, and it will once again not include a candidate for the most underrepresented position in football —punter. The roster of immortals in Canton, Ohio, includes a player from each of the other 23 starting positions, offensive and defensive coaches, owners and administrators of every sort and even one supervisor of officials (Shorty Ray). But nary a pure punter graces the list.
This omission is doubly glaring when one considers the case of Ray Guy. Guy significantly improved what was already a championship-caliber franchise when he was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders in 1973. His versatility and overall excellence were evident throughout his 14-year career, which included three Super Bowl championships with the Raiders.
Guy is one of only five eligible players who are not in the Hall despite having at least six consensus All-Pro nominations and nine over all. The other 45 made it. He is also one of only two players on the N.F.L.’s 75th anniversary All-Time team not in the Hall.
“We knew no matter what happened in a game, Guy would be able to pin the other team back,” Willie Brown, the Raiders’ Hall of Fame cornerback, said. “He had more of an impact on our team than Stenerud had on Kansas City,” Brown added, referring to Jan Stenerud, the only pure place-kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
So why hasn’t Guy received the league’s ultimate individual honor? The primary impediment is a misperception of his statistical dominance. The Holy Grail of punting statistics is net average, and Guy’s highest season ranking was second.
This leads his detractors to say that Guy, the first punter to be drafted in the first round, was all hype, but that argument does not take into account that the league did not track all of the statistics necessary to calculate net-punting average during Guy’s first three seasons. His career started in 1973, but the N.F.L. did not keep a count of the number of touchbacks and punt-return yards gained against specific punters until 1976.
This hurts Guy because his first three years were his best. There is, however, a way to measure his dominance. Most teams use only one punter a year, so it is possible in most cases to generate a subtotal net average that subtracts punt-return yards out of a punter’s gross yards.
When the punting numbers from 1973 to 1975 are recalculated using this method, Guy’s statistical dominance becomes clear. He was second in this category with a 41.1-yard mark in 1973, an impressive showing for a rookie. But his real value was illustrated after the N.F.L. implemented a rule change before the 1974 season. Up to that point, everyone on the punt team could rush downfield to cover a kick immediately after the snap. The new rule limited that right to two gunners and forced all other blockers to stay behind the scrimmage line until the ball was kicked.
That change made hang time more important, and that is why Guy posted totals in 1974 and 1975 that gave him a Babe Ruth-like lead over the rest of the league.
These figures do not take into account touchbacks, but Guy had such a huge net-average lead in 1974 that were he to be given 13 touchbacks and all of his competitors none, he would have still led the league in net average. The situation was similar in 1975.
That illustrates his peak performance in net average. But he also fared well in net average in the other years of his career. Guy ranks fourth on the list of punters who played at least five seasons from 1976 to 1986.
The second complaint about Guy is that he was said to be the punting equivalent of a fastball pitcher in baseball — all power and no control. His detractors say that he led the league in touchbacks four times while leading the league only once in inside-the-20-yard-line punts.
But this approach fails to take into account that measuring in raw volumes does not put these statistics into a proper attempt-based context. Once again, take a look at how Guy fared against his competitors from 1976 to 1986. His No. 3 ranking here shows Guy was a master at short-range punting.
The other undervalued part of Guy’s statistics is how valuable his high hang times were in preventing punt returns.
The 1973-76 totals partly illustrate this, but Guy ranks third in the 1976-86 comparisons. Considering that he is being compared to punters who played as few as five seasons, his dominance is even more evident.
In the end, football coaches want three things from their punter — the ability to hit a long punt when the offense is caught deep in its own territory, to be able to pin the ball inside an opponent’s 20 and to give coverage teams time to get downfield.
Guy had a combination of these skills wholly unmatched among his peers. If that does not say Hall of Famer, what does?
K C Joyner is the author of “Blindsided: Why the Left Tackle is Overrated and Other Contrarian Football Thoughts.”
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Letter To The Editor
Ancient Wisdom Amid Fiscal Chaos
Given the federal government's financial situation, I find this quote from Cicero in 63 B.C. to be quite appropriate:
"The budget should be balanced, and the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest we become bankrupt."
He was right on the money, and I feel that every member of our government should have a copy of this framed and hung in his office - and if he fails to act accordingly he should be made accountable and sent to federal prison. This situation must change, or Cicero's observation will surely come true.
Paul N. Kelly Sr.
Philadelphia, Pa.
published Jan. 16, 2009
Philadelphia Daily News
More:
House Republicans urged to oppose stimulus bill
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON – House Republican leaders are urging their rank and file to oppose the economic stimulus bill heading for a vote on Wednesday, delivering their appeal hours before President Obama heads to the Capitol to seek bipartisan support.
Two officials say the top House Republican leaders — Rep. John Boehner and Eric Cantor — made the request.
In a gesture of bipartisanship, Obama on Monday urged Democrats to delete money from the bill for family planning funds for the low-income.
The House bill includes about $825 billion in tax cuts and spending. Republicans say much of the spending is wasteful and will not stimulate the economy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is making good on his promise to hear from Republicans as he pushes for swift passage and bipartisan backing of his massive $825 billion plan intended to jolt the country out of recession.
The unanswered question: Whether the new Democratic president will actually listen to GOP concerns about the amount of spending and the tax approach — and modify his proposal accordingly.
With the economy worsening, Obama was making his first trip to Capitol Hill since his swearing-in last week for two private afternoon sessions Tuesday with House and Senate Republicans. A former Republican congressman who is a member of Obama's Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was accompanying the president.
"The goal is to seek their input. He wants to hear their ideas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "If there are good ideas — and I think he assumes there will be — we will look at those ideas."
"I think the president is genuinely serious about this," Gibbs added.
The presidential spokesman would not, however, reveal what concessions Obama may be willing to make, if any, to demonstrate his seriousness about securing Republican support. Gibbs, however, noted that there already are tax provisions in the measure, mostly small business cuts, that are direct GOP suggestions to Obama and his economic team.
"We don't have pride of authorship. We understand that this is a process of give and take to produce what the president believes is the strongest plan to get the economy going again," Gibbs said.
In a sign that Obama may be willing to compromise, officials said the president made a personal appeal to House Democrats to jettison from the package family planning funds for low-income people. Republicans have criticized the provision as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy. A decision on the provision was expected Tuesday.
Ahead of the meetings, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blamed Democrats for holding up progress on the bill.
"We're anxious to help him," the Kentucky Republican said of Obama. "Frankly, the biggest problem is with his own party, the Democratic Party, which seems to be drifting away from what he said he wanted, which is a package that is at least 40 percent tax cuts and earmark free."
"We think the country needs a stimulus," McConnell said on NBC's "Today" show. But he also said that he believes most people do not believe it will be accomplished through projects like "fixing up the mall."
Under the Obama team's watchful eye, the Democratic-controlled House and the Senate are in the midst of modifying the package that melds new government spending with a series of tax cuts. It seems to grow with every turn as it wends its way through Congress, and it's likely to be the largest single piece of legislation ever, once it ends up on Obama's desk. He wants it ready to sign by mid-February.
As Senate committees prepared to take up the measure and the full House got ready to vote on it this week, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis that found that Obama's plan would flow into the economy a little more slowly than he predicted.
At this point, two-thirds of the package consists of new spending on everything from unemployment aid to construction projects while the rest is tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. Republicans are griping that the price tag is too high because of nonessential spending and that the tax provisions are flawed.
Obama's meetings come as the Federal Reserve examines unconventional ways to lift the economy, and one day after several companies, including Sprint Nextel Corp., Home Depot Inc., and General Motors Corp., announced sweeping job cuts as they seek to remain solvent in an economic environment that worsens by the day amid turmoil in the financial, housing and credit sectors.
Given the gravity of the economic situation, the stimulus measure is widely expected to pass Congress with bipartisan support. The question is just how many Republicans will side with majority Democrats to pass it; House GOP leader John Boehner has said he couldn't support the measure in its current form and McConnell has been noncommittal.
Footnote: Editorial Cartoon by Tony Auth
Given the federal government's financial situation, I find this quote from Cicero in 63 B.C. to be quite appropriate:
"The budget should be balanced, and the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest we become bankrupt."
He was right on the money, and I feel that every member of our government should have a copy of this framed and hung in his office - and if he fails to act accordingly he should be made accountable and sent to federal prison. This situation must change, or Cicero's observation will surely come true.
Paul N. Kelly Sr.
Philadelphia, Pa.
published Jan. 16, 2009
Philadelphia Daily News
More:
House Republicans urged to oppose stimulus bill
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON – House Republican leaders are urging their rank and file to oppose the economic stimulus bill heading for a vote on Wednesday, delivering their appeal hours before President Obama heads to the Capitol to seek bipartisan support.
Two officials say the top House Republican leaders — Rep. John Boehner and Eric Cantor — made the request.
In a gesture of bipartisanship, Obama on Monday urged Democrats to delete money from the bill for family planning funds for the low-income.
The House bill includes about $825 billion in tax cuts and spending. Republicans say much of the spending is wasteful and will not stimulate the economy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is making good on his promise to hear from Republicans as he pushes for swift passage and bipartisan backing of his massive $825 billion plan intended to jolt the country out of recession.
The unanswered question: Whether the new Democratic president will actually listen to GOP concerns about the amount of spending and the tax approach — and modify his proposal accordingly.
With the economy worsening, Obama was making his first trip to Capitol Hill since his swearing-in last week for two private afternoon sessions Tuesday with House and Senate Republicans. A former Republican congressman who is a member of Obama's Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was accompanying the president.
"The goal is to seek their input. He wants to hear their ideas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "If there are good ideas — and I think he assumes there will be — we will look at those ideas."
"I think the president is genuinely serious about this," Gibbs added.
The presidential spokesman would not, however, reveal what concessions Obama may be willing to make, if any, to demonstrate his seriousness about securing Republican support. Gibbs, however, noted that there already are tax provisions in the measure, mostly small business cuts, that are direct GOP suggestions to Obama and his economic team.
"We don't have pride of authorship. We understand that this is a process of give and take to produce what the president believes is the strongest plan to get the economy going again," Gibbs said.
In a sign that Obama may be willing to compromise, officials said the president made a personal appeal to House Democrats to jettison from the package family planning funds for low-income people. Republicans have criticized the provision as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy. A decision on the provision was expected Tuesday.
Ahead of the meetings, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blamed Democrats for holding up progress on the bill.
"We're anxious to help him," the Kentucky Republican said of Obama. "Frankly, the biggest problem is with his own party, the Democratic Party, which seems to be drifting away from what he said he wanted, which is a package that is at least 40 percent tax cuts and earmark free."
"We think the country needs a stimulus," McConnell said on NBC's "Today" show. But he also said that he believes most people do not believe it will be accomplished through projects like "fixing up the mall."
Under the Obama team's watchful eye, the Democratic-controlled House and the Senate are in the midst of modifying the package that melds new government spending with a series of tax cuts. It seems to grow with every turn as it wends its way through Congress, and it's likely to be the largest single piece of legislation ever, once it ends up on Obama's desk. He wants it ready to sign by mid-February.
As Senate committees prepared to take up the measure and the full House got ready to vote on it this week, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis that found that Obama's plan would flow into the economy a little more slowly than he predicted.
At this point, two-thirds of the package consists of new spending on everything from unemployment aid to construction projects while the rest is tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. Republicans are griping that the price tag is too high because of nonessential spending and that the tax provisions are flawed.
Obama's meetings come as the Federal Reserve examines unconventional ways to lift the economy, and one day after several companies, including Sprint Nextel Corp., Home Depot Inc., and General Motors Corp., announced sweeping job cuts as they seek to remain solvent in an economic environment that worsens by the day amid turmoil in the financial, housing and credit sectors.
Given the gravity of the economic situation, the stimulus measure is widely expected to pass Congress with bipartisan support. The question is just how many Republicans will side with majority Democrats to pass it; House GOP leader John Boehner has said he couldn't support the measure in its current form and McConnell has been noncommittal.
Footnote: Editorial Cartoon by Tony Auth
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
$20 Budget - Thursday, Jan. 22nd
* $0.90 - sm coffee (light/sweet)
* $4.76 - pack of Marlboro Reds (box)
* $0.50 - lighter
* $0.75 - newspaper (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* $0.75 - newspaper (Philadelphia Daily News)
* $6.00 - 3 pints of Kenzinger beer
* $2.00 - tip for barkeep
* $2.00 - Septa (#15 trolley) fare - didn't have a token
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* $17.66 total
($2.34 remaining)
* $4.76 - pack of Marlboro Reds (box)
* $0.50 - lighter
* $0.75 - newspaper (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* $0.75 - newspaper (Philadelphia Daily News)
* $6.00 - 3 pints of Kenzinger beer
* $2.00 - tip for barkeep
* $2.00 - Septa (#15 trolley) fare - didn't have a token
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* $17.66 total
($2.34 remaining)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Conservatives & The Right... So Wrong In So Many Ways (Cont.)
Christine M. Flowers: My Big Fat Patriotic Promise
At the risk of sounding like I've been sucking on sour grapes for the past few days, let me say something that, for me at least, needs to be said:
We non-Obama voters shouldn't be bullied into supporting our new president.
Now that I've gotten your attention, allow me to explain.
It's become common since the election to hear people say "even if you didn't vote for him, even if you don't agree with his policies, we as Americans should all support Barack Obama." The implication: If we love this country, we want its leader to succeed. You know, the old "If we don't hang together, we shall all hang separately."
We all know how well that worked with George Bush, don't we? (In fact, haven't we had eight years of hearing that the highest form of patriotism is dissent?)
So it's one thing to wish President Obama well as a human being, to acknowledge the historic magnitude of his getting elected, to admire his sweet family and his mellifluent speaking voice and his prodigious brain.
But it's quite another to endorse his social, economic and national security policies if, in fact, you think they pose a serious threat to the fabric and essence of this country we all claim to love.
And that's where the bullying comes in. On Michael Smerconish's show earlier this week, a caller named "Ken" observed that anyone who didn't support this president had lost his grip, and pretty much accused critics of Obama as being unpatriotic.
Others have echoed those sentiments, reminding me of how exercised some critics of Sen. McCain were when conservatives accused them of being unpatriotic and dishonoring the military when they objected to his references to his POW days.
But regardless of who is doing the finger-wagging, it's pretty clear you can't tell someone to just shut up and get with the program if they actually don't like the program. Or if they think it's a blueprint for disaster. This is America, after all. Home of the Free. Land of the Critics.
So here is my promise to our new president. I will pray that he and his family continue to be happy and healthy. I'll assume that everything he does is undertaken in a good-faith effort to preserve, protect and defend these United States (even if the words got jumbled on Inauguration Day). I'll continue to honor the monumental significance of his elevation to the Oval Office, and be respectful of those who are uplifted by the words "President Barack Hussein Obama."
But I won't be pressured into being quiet when I see him straying off course, pushing this country in what I believe is the wrong direction. And if success means he'll challenge the fundamental nature of everything I believe in and cherish, I won't root for his success.
So I hope he fails in trying to force Catholic hospitals to provide abortion services. If he signs the Freedom of Choice Act as anticipated, it will severely limit the ability of those who oppose abortion on moral principles to avoid performing abortions themselves, or having to make referrals for the procedure. FOCA should actually be called "The Freedom to Impose My Choice on Others Act." I know Obama is an ardent abortion-rights advocate, but I hope he has the integrity to respect the religious beliefs of those who disagree with him.
And I hope he fails in intimidating employees to unionize. If Obama has his way, the Employee Freedom of Choice Act will become law, thereby eliminating the secret ballot (how un-American) that allows employees to decide whether they want to belong to a union.
Under EFCA, employees will be forced to publicly declare their vote. To replace the allegedly intimidating tactics of employers, we'll now be giving the same tactics to the unions. It would be sad and chilling if our new president condoned them.
And high on my wish list is that No. 44 fails in closing Guantanamo. It's become conventional to say it's a gulag and we have committed war crimes in its corridors. But just because the American Civil Liberties Union believes it, and just because a passel of liberal lawyers believe it's an embarrassment (with no definitive answer from the courts) doesn't mean it should be shut, particularly when no one has figured out what do with the "guests."
For eight years, many people insisted that they'd lost their country. They detested Bush, hated his politics and condemned his choices when they disagreed. Loudly.
Good for them. Now, it's my turn. God bless America.
Published Friday, Jan. 23, 2009
The Philadelphia Daily News
Page 21
Previous Column Comedy by C. Flowers:
As 43 Leaves The Stage . . .
Footnote: Editorial Cartoon by Tony Auth
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Today's Highlights in History
On The Cusp Of Change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.
On Jan. 20, 1920, Federico Fellini , the Italian film director , was born.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this date in:
1801 - John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States.
1841 - Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain.
1887 - The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.
1896 - Comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City.
1920 - Movie director Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Italy.
1936 - Britain's King George V died.
1942 - Nazi officials arrived at a "final solution" that called for exterminating Europe's Jews, during a conference at Lake Wannsee in Berlin.
1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.
1981 - Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days.
1986 - The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1986 - Britain and France announced plans to build the Channel Tunnel.
1987 - Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages.
1989 - George H.W. Bush took the oath of office as the 41st U.S. president.
1993 - Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States.
1993 - Actress Audrey Hepburn died at age 63.
2001 - George W. Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States.
2001 - Hundreds of thousands of protesting Filipinos forced President Joseph Estrada to step down; Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as the new president.
2004 - The Salvation Army announced it had received a $1.5 billion donation from the estate of Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc.
note: Hat-Tip to Phawker
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Jan. 20, 1981, Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.
On Jan. 20, 1920, Federico Fellini , the Italian film director , was born.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this date in:
1801 - John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States.
1841 - Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain.
1887 - The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.
1896 - Comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City.
1920 - Movie director Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, Italy.
1936 - Britain's King George V died.
1942 - Nazi officials arrived at a "final solution" that called for exterminating Europe's Jews, during a conference at Lake Wannsee in Berlin.
1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.
1981 - Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days.
1986 - The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1986 - Britain and France announced plans to build the Channel Tunnel.
1987 - Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages.
1989 - George H.W. Bush took the oath of office as the 41st U.S. president.
1993 - Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States.
1993 - Actress Audrey Hepburn died at age 63.
2001 - George W. Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States.
2001 - Hundreds of thousands of protesting Filipinos forced President Joseph Estrada to step down; Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as the new president.
2004 - The Salvation Army announced it had received a $1.5 billion donation from the estate of Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc.
note: Hat-Tip to Phawker
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