April is Donate Life Month

Alright alright. Not the most uplifting topic, I know. But it can be. And I want to educate you on the importance and relevance of this topic, as well as encourage discussion between your family on the topic of…organ donation. Before you stop reading, PLEASE just hear me out. I understand this is a topic that most people don’t like to think about. But, it can be even more difficult when you’re faced with a decision down the road that you haven’t put any thought into. I have a lot of experience seeing this decision emotionally destroy families because it was something they had never talked about. And because of the lack of conversations about organ donation, thousands of lives are lost that could have been saved.

Lets start with some stats. More than 119,000 Americans are waiting for a life-saving transplant. Every ten minutes, someone is added to this list. And unfortunately, 8000 Americans a year (22/day) die waiting for a transplant. About 54% of Americans are registered organ donors. We need that percentage to go up. Are you in that 54%?

So here comes the truth. YOU….die. Yes, its true. You actually will die. Very weird to think about, I know. But it happens, and it happens to every one of us. Sometimes it will happen young, hopefully it happens when we’re older. But that’s not our decision to make. What is our decision, is what we do with our bodies after death, and how we choose to manage our bodies when we are hospitalized.

My hospital lights up in pretty blue and green lights for the month of April, in honor of Donate Life month 🙂

As an ICU nurse, I see death a lot. It’s never easy, and it’s always hard to comfort families during this difficult time. One thing you can do now to decrease that stress is to have a conversation about your end-of-life preferences. One of the biggest issues families face when a family member is dying, is that they never talked about what their preferences were. This is a conversation that should happen in the home, not in the ICU.

You think – Oh, I’ll just talk about those issues when the time comes. Well guess what. Majority of the time, nobody knows when they’re going to get sick! Or hit by a car. Or have a heart attack. Or fall off a cliff (cough). And if you’re unable to speak? Does your family know what you would want in that situation? Are you comfortable with a ventilator helping you breathe, a feeding tube in your stomach? CPR? (which FYI = hard chest compressions possibly breaking ribs and causing more complications if you survive). This is TOUGH STUFF! Stuff that no one normally thinks about. You need to contemplate what you would want if you do end up that sick. And if you don’t make it. I’m really not trying to scare you, I just want you to be able to make that choice, so your family doesn’t have to.

Okay, so if you’re still with me here…I promise it’s going to get more positive! I am writing this post as National Healthcare Decisions Week is April 16-22, in addition to Donate Life month being April. One more stat: 90% of people agree that discussing end-of-life decisions with family is important. 27% have actually done so. That means that 73% of people are leaving a major decision up in the air; which is so distressing to family members when the doctor asks them: “what would they have wanted?” And unfortunately, when family doesn’t know the patient’s choices, they usually opt out of organ donation, which could give life to others who do not have the diagnosis to survive without it.

Here’s some organ donation info:

ANYONE can potentially be an organ donor. It depends on your diagnosis and medical history at the time. Don’t let any past medical history keep you from registering. Register, and the physicians will decide at the appropriate time.

All major religions support organ donation as a compassionate choice.

Organ donation is free to the donor.

You can still have an open casket funeral.

Donation is only considered AFTER brain death is declared. A lot of people worry that your medical care will be different if you are a registered donor. Your life is the number one priority of medical staff when you are a patient. They will do everything and anything they can to keep you alive, registered donor or not. The conversation to donate is only an option and brought up AFTER you have been declared brain dead, which is irreversible. Nobody will give up on you just so they can get your organs. It’s not like that at all.

I hope all of my readers out there live long, happy and healthy lives. The truth is, all of us will die eventually. Do you want to just die, or live on through the most generous gift of all? Register to be a donor, and save up to 8 lives.

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The Strength of the Pack

is the Wolf

East's Top-Scoring Reserve Looks to Expand His Game

When you’ve been labeled “a wolf” by your head coach, it’s a tough nickname to live down.

Jordan Clarkson just flashes a shy smile and looks away when he’s confronted with his new nom de guerre. But he knows that his game fits the lupine bill – and he’ll be ready to bark at the moon when the regular season rolls around in exactly two weeks.

The origin story unfolded on just the third day of Training Camp. With rookie Dylan Windler on the shelf through the preseason, Coach John Beilein made the decision to move Clarkson over to play some 3 when he goes with a small backcourt.

”You've got to have a wolf mentality as a small forward in some of the things we do,” praised Beilein. “There's not a better wolf on the team than Jordan Clarkson. He's huntin'. And we need a hunter at that position.”

The Clarkson experiment worked well in the Cavs preseason opener against San Lorenzo. Although Clarkson seemed even less concerned about the position label than his head coach.

”I’m just out there, trying to play-make and score – that’s my job,” smiled the sixth-year man. “Three, two, one, four, over in the corner, up top, back screens, (I’m just) getting the ball and finding a way to impact the game.”

Clarkson has made an impact on the game from almost the minute he arrived via a trade with the Lakers at the 2018 Trade Deadline – arriving alongside Larry Nance Jr., with Cleveland surrendering Channing Frye, Isaiah Thomas and a 2018 first rounder that turned out to be Moritz Wagner.

In his first game with the Cavs after the deal – a blowout win over the Celtics on the day they retired Paul Pierce’s jersey – Clarkson scored 17 points, going 7-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long-range. And he’s barely slowed down since.

Jordan Clarkson established himself as one of the top sixth men in the history of the Cavs franchise.

Photo: David Liam Kyle/NBAE/Getty Images

In his first full season with Cleveland, Clarkson was outstanding from start to finish – leading all Eastern Conference reserves in scoring, netting 72 games in double-figures and missing just a single contest in a season in which the squad was consumed by the injury bug.

Clarkson put his name on the map last year, but he’s been the model of consistency for some time now. Over his last four seasons, the 46th overall pick of the 2014 Draft has averaged 15.2 points and 81 games played. He averages double-figure scoring in every arena in the league.

And he’s ready to pick up where he left off.

”I did a lot of similar stuff to what I did last summer in terms of working out on the court, my diet,” said Clarkson. “I feel like last year I was in the best shape I've been in since I've been in the NBA. So, this summer I did a lot of similar stuff.”

If Clarkson plans to fulfill Coach Beilein’s vision for him, he’ll take even more pounding than he takes running through screens as a 2-guard – and that’ll mean more time in the weight room. But through his first five NBA seasons, his durability is unquestioned.

"You know, since my rookie year, I've been kind of put in a box that I'm just a scorer – and I can do that, too – but it's just about finding a balance." Jordan Clarkson, on becoming more versatile this season

”The year before last year – well, actually, all my years before I came here – I wasn't really big on the weight room,” said Clarkson. “So just being able to get in the weight room, trying to convert my body and just be able to take that beating and be ready to bounce back and to have my muscles intact for that. It's always about being able to bounce back because you've got to be able to do that on a consistent basis. And the weight room really helps me with that.”

Only the Clippers’ Lou Williams – the NBA’s three-time and reigning Sixth Man of the Year – scored more points (1,485) than Clarkson last year, with the former Tulane standout becoming just the 19th player in NBA history to score more than 1,300 points off the bench in a season.

Clarkson was also the major reason Cleveland ranked 6th in the league in bench scoring, averaging a franchise-record 42.6 points per game. In a triple-overtime thriller against Brooklyn just before the All-Star Break, Clarkson notched a career-best 42 points – drilling a season-high seven bombs in the loss.

It was the most points scored by a reserve in franchise history (topping Phil Hubbard’s 37), the first 40-point night of his career and the most by any Cavalier last season. In another game against the Nets, he became the first Cavs reserve to net at least 20 points and 10 boards in less than 30 minutes off the bench since 2014.

Overall, Clarkson averaged a career-best 16.8 points – 3rd best among all NBA bench players – topping the 20-point plateau on 25 occasions.

After his career year, Clarkson didn’t take his foot off the gas this summer and looks to add some new tools to his repertoire this season.

”(This year), just to try to score with less dribbles – being able to play off the ball, being able to play off the catch; catching and driving immediately or making a play for my teammates,” listed Clarkson. “With the new system that coach is putting in, it gives me a lot more opportunity to make plays in terms of getting other guys shots instead of just me scoring.”

Aside from moving over to play some 3, Clarkson wants to prove that he’s more than just a scorer.

”I think it's a good system we've got in place, and I feel like I'm going to be able to succeed, because I can pass the ball – I think I've proven that,” said Clarkson, adding: “You know, since my rookie year, I've been kind of put in a box that I'm just a scorer – and I can do that, too – but it's just about finding a balance.”

Last year, Clarkson etched his name into franchise history – eclipsing the great Campy Russell as the all-time single-season leader in points off the bench. But he still came up just short against arguably the greatest sixth man in team history – Hot Rod Williams – who averaged 16.87 points per in 1989-90 compared to Clarkson’s 16.84 this past year.

The lithe swingman also sees some of last season’s success as an extension of his outstanding play in the Asian Games in August of last year, suiting up for the Philippines for the first time. (His mother is of half-Filipino descent and Jordan holds dual citizenship.) Clarkson scored at least 20 points in each game and led the Philippines to its best finish in 16 years.

”The (international) game is really different, the physicality is different, you don't get as many calls,” said Clarkson. The game is just totally different. You really have to be able to play without the ball and really rely on your teammates to get you shots because they're clogging the paint.

”I think it really helps your development, to be honest with you -- just on how to play and how to get open without the ball.”

Still just 27 years of age, Clarkson finds himself as one of the young squad’s seasoned vets. And he’ll have a chance to pass down some NBA wisdom to Cleveland’s collection of youngbloods.

”I’m probably more like an older brother; I wouldn't say 'a mentor' because I'm still learning too,” said Clarkson. “But definitely like an older brother, especially like for Darius, even though he's already got a really good feel for the game. He and I have talked about where he wants me to be on the floor and where he wants to be. We want this to be successful for him and successful for me.”

Coach Beilein would love a few more wolves like Clarkson in his pack. But for now, he’s got an alpha male who’s ready to start hunting right where he left off last year.


Q:

The following mesh/grid like diagram in tikz

I need to create a picture as shown in the attachment. I know how to create the hexagonal substructure and the code for the same can be found in this question: Hyperbolic polyhedron in tikz
Please help me out as I'm new to tikz.

Edit: The function which maps the subdivided icosahedron to the plane behaves like $z^{6/5}$ at the vertex of degree 5 (hereby denoted by $v$).

A:

You can draw such grids with \foreach loops.
\documentclass[tikz,border=3.14mm]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.geometric,calc}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[web/.style={append after command={foreach \XX in {1,...,#1}
 {(current.corner \XX)
 -- (current.center)}},regular polygon,regular polygon sides=#1,minimum
  size=1cm,draw,alias=current},
  pics/outerior/.style={code={
  \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\idiv}{pow(2,#1-1)}
  \draw (90:#1*0.5) foreach \XX in {1,...,5}
   {-- (90+72*\XX:#1*0.5) coordinate (P-\XX)};
  \draw (90:#1*0.5+0.5) foreach \XX in {1,...,5}
   {-- coordinate[midway] (M-\XX) (90+72*\XX:#1*0.5+0.5) coordinate (Q-\XX)};
  \foreach \XX [remember=\XX as \YY (initially 5)] in {1,...,5}
  {\draw (P-\XX) -- (Q-\XX);
  \foreach \ZZ in {0,...,#1}
   {\draw ($(Q-\XX)!{(\ZZ+1)/(#1+1)}!(Q-\YY)$) -- ($(P-\XX)!{\ZZ/#1}!(P-\YY)$) --
   ($(Q-\XX)!{\ZZ/(#1+1)}!(Q-\YY)$) ;}
  }
  }}]
 \draw (0,0) node[web=5] (c5) {};
 \clip (-3,-3) rectangle (3,3);
 \draw foreach \X in {1,...,9} {(0,0) pic{outerior=\X}};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

P.S. Your prescription does not seem to yield the drawn lattice when using regular polygons (and also to introduce polygons that automatically have the internal lines added via append after command.
\documentclass[tikz,border=3.14mm]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{shapes.geometric,calc}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[web/.style={append after command={foreach \XX in {1,...,#1}
 {(current.corner \XX)
 -- (current.center)}},regular polygon,regular polygon sides=#1,minimum
  size=1cm,draw,alias=current}]
 \draw (0,0) node[web=5] (c5) {};
 \foreach \X [remember=\X as \Y (initially 5)] in {1,...,5}
 {\draw
 let \p1=($(c5.corner \Y)-(c5.corner \X)$),\n1={atan2(\y1,\x1)}
 in ($(c5.corner \Y)!0.5!(c5.corner \X)$) coordinate (aux)
    ($(aux)!{-(1/2)*1cm}!90:(c5.corner \X)$)
    node[web=6,minimum size=6cm/5,rotate=\n1]{};}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}


The efficiency of Australia’s ports is critical to our efforts to broaden Australia’s sources of economic and jobs growth in the wake of the end of the investment stage of the mining boom.

At a time of economic transition, we must ensure that our railways, roads and ports have sufficient capacity to support non-mining sectors, particularly in regional areas.

Businesses crave logistical certainty.

That’s why 2017 is the right time to lift investment in transport infrastructure, a point made repeatedly by business leaders and economists including Reserve Bank chairman Philip Lowe and his predecessor, Glenn Stevens.

We could start by getting on with the long-proposed Inland Rail project linking Brisbane and Melbourne, which would significantly boost capacity through our nation’s eastern agricultural heartland.

The former Labor Government invested $600 million improving those parts of the existing lines that would form part of Inland Rail and left $300 million in the Budget for further work.

But since 2013, not a single sleeper has been laid.

That’s not good enough.

In NSW we need to increase the capacity of the Port Botany by completing the duplication of the Port Botany Rail Line as well as the Maldon-Dombarton rail link, which would connect Port Kembla and south-west Sydney.

But as important as it is to lift investment, that investment must meet long-term strategic imperatives. If the wrong projects are funded, it will divert funds from productivity boosting projects.

The Perth Freight Link was announced in its 2014 Budget, without the benefit of a detailed plan or any cost-benefit analysis into the project.

While the stated aim of this project is to take trucks to the Port of Fremantle, planning has been so chaotic that on the current design, the road would stop 3km short of the port.

That’s not good enough either.

But the broader strategic issue is that the Port of Fremantle will reach full capacity within just a few years.

Rather than building the Freight Link, we should focus on port capacity in the long term.

It makes more sense to focus on the development of the Outer Harbour proposal, along with investment in public transport in Perth to take cars off the roads and deliver productivity gains across the entire economy.

Strategic planning is critical.

Last November, in his annual address to Parliament on infrastructure, the Prime Minister announced a plan to develop a strategy to increase the productivity and efficiency of Australia’s freight supply chain.

This is unnecessary. The work has already been done.

Under the former Federal Labor Government, Infrastructure Australia and the National Transport Commission were tasked with consulting with industry, as well as the states and territories, to produce the National Ports Strategy and the National Land Freight Strategy.

Together with the creation of national regulators, historic shipping reforms and Labor’s Government’s record infrastructure budget, these strategies provided a strong foundation for rising productivity and faster economic growth.

In the globalised world of the 21st Century, the prices consumers pay and the health of businesses more depends than ever on having better, less congested roads, faster, more reliable railways and modern, efficient sea and air ports.

The National Ports Strategy, produced in January, 2011, promotes better long term planning on the waterfront, with operators required to publish 15 to 30 year master plans detailing expected growth at their ports and the facilities required to handle that growth.

It also streamlined environmental approval processes and established protocols for better planning around ports, with state and local planning authorities required to implement “buffer” strategies to prevent encroachment on the ports as well as road and rail corridors.

The National Land Freight Strategy set out principles for greater focus on an integrated transport system designed to move goods into and out of major ports and around our country quickly, reliably and at lowest cost.

These strategies provide a clear framework for moving forward.

Anthony Albanese is the opposition spokesman for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development.


The Betty White Show

The Betty White Show is an American sitcom television series which aired on CBS from September 12, 1977, to January 9, 1978. Fourteen episodes were broadcast. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises. Note: This program should not be confused with two earlier television programs that had the same title—a daytime talk show that ran on NBC February 8, 1954 – December 31, 1954, and a prime-time comedy variety show that ran on ABC February 5, 1958 – April 30, 1958.

Synopsis
Joyce Whitman (Betty White), a middle-aged actress, lands the lead in a fictitious police series, Undercover Woman (a parody of Angie Dickinson's Police Woman). Joyce is thrilled with the show, but less pleased to learn that the director is her ex-husband, John Elliot (John Hillerman), whom she unfondly refers to as "old pickle puss". He responds in kind, supplying his star with an oversized male double named Hugo (Charles Cyphers), a sexy, much younger onscreen sidekick (Caren Kaye), and dialogue not nearly as sharp as her tongue. Also on hand are Joyce's best friend, Mitzi Maloney (Georgia Engel), co-star actor Fletcher Huff (Barney Phillips) and network penny-pincher Doug Porterfield (Alex Henteloff).

Reception
The series was scheduled opposite ABC's Monday Night Football and The NBC Monday Movie and failed to generate viewers.  The show was canceled after fourteen episodes. Nick at Nite and TV Land briefly reran the show during the 1990s.

Cast
 Betty White as Joyce Whitman, a sharp-tongued actress.
 John Hillerman as John Elliot, Joyce's ex-husband and director of her show.
 Georgia Engel as Mitzi Maloney, Joyce's naive best friend/roommate.

Recurring
 Caren Kaye as Tracy Garrett, Joyce's younger, sexier co-star.
 Charles Cyphers as Hugo Muncy, Joyce's hunky stunt double, who is over-sized.
 Barney Phillips as Fletcher Huff, Joyce's co-star.
 Alex Henteloff as Doug Porterfield, a network executive who oversees Undercover Woman.

Episodes

References

External links

Category:1977 American television series debuts
Category:1978 American television series endings
Category:1970s American sitcoms
Category:1970s American workplace comedy television series
Category:English-language television programs
Category:Television series about television
Category:CBS original programming
Category:Television series by MTM Enterprises
Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles


The Argument Against Paying Development Professionals Based on Amount of Funds Raised

Few topics generate more heated discussion in non-profit organizations than whether development professionals (staff or consultants) should be paid a percentage of the money raised, receive commission-based compensation, or be paid a performance bonus. Perhaps because it is a practice of giving financial rewards to development professionals contingent upon the achievement of fixed money goals, we can simply refer to it as “contingent-pay.” Whatever you want to call it, two things are becoming more and more apparent.

The practice is increasing.

The practice is troubling the development profession.

Thinking about why we have seen more contingent-pay in recent years, I found myself reflecting on a change I have witnessed in how we development professionals describe and perhaps even think about ourselves. There is a tendency these days to describe our work as fundraising and to call ourselves fundraisers. I have always thought of the volunteers as being the true fundraisers and we development professionals as the people who develop the atmosphere for that fundraising. To some this may seem like an exercise in semantics, but I think it is a great deal more.

Many development professionals today enter into consulting agreements or are hired as staff to “raise funds.” Sometimes they even seek to be THE fundraiser for the organization they serve. The result is that these development professionals and their organizations have blurred the once clear difference between the fundraising role of development officers and that of trustees and other volunteer leaders.

Many development professionals have become the “fundraisers” for organizations. As a result, contingent-pay methods of compensation have gained acceptance. The argument being, let’s reward people for results and penalize them for poor performance. Contingent-pay becomes an inducement for development professionals to take on the tough job of fundraising and a way for boards to justify turning over to staff or consultants what is essentially a trustee responsibility.

To me, the answer to the question of why contingent-pay is so troublesome seems obvious. It is one thing for development professionals to discuss fundraising techniques and philosophies and to strenuously air disagreements. It is quite another to tell people that the way or amount they are paid is unethical.

However, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) takes a strong and unequivocal stand on contingent-pay. Their 1992 position paper developed by the ethics committee states: “Members shall work for a salary or fee, not percentage-based compensation or a commission.” The AFP cites the main consequences of contingent pay:

Charitable mission can become secondary to self-gain.

Donor trust can be unalterably damaged.

There is incentive for self-dealing to prevail over donors’ best interests.

AFP, Giving Institute, AHP and other major “for-the-profession” associations tell their thousands of members and all other development professionals not to engage in contingent-pay arrangements. Despite that admonition, many development professionals are not only continuing to do so, but accelerating their acceptance of such compensation schemes. How then do these development professionals deal with the fact that the governing bodies of their profession hold them to be engaging in an unethical practice?

I believe that very few of those who work for contingent-pay are truly unethical, rather they are guilty of bad judgment. In this instance, as in so many others in our society, individuals fail to follow long-standing codes of ethics because they reject them as tenets of conduct. What were held in the past to be standards to live by, are often viewed today as mere opinions, open to interpretation and argument. This is a societal problem that we see manifesting itself in this instance in the disavowal of strictures against maximizing personal gain while in the pursuit of recognized philanthropic good. The rationalizations are there for anyone who wants to find them.

Commonly Voiced Justifications for Contingent-Pay

“Sales incentive programs used effectively in for-profit businesses will work as well in non-profit settings. It makes no difference whether you are selling light bulbs or support for symphony orchestras.”

Well, I’ve sold light bulbs and I’ve “sold” support for orchestras, and I’m here to tell you there is a difference. Incentive-driven efforts for the sale of commercial products involve an explicit selling and buying environment which customers understand and expect. When we are seeking voluntary charitable contributions we are not working in the same transactional environment. We are not selling to prospective donors; we are presenting them with an opportunity to realize their own desire to contribute to their community and concerns. We are not telling prospective donors to buy our product because it accomplishes something they need at the best value in the marketplace; we are asking them to consider making a gift to something in which they believe and that they want to support. An individual soliciting a gift is involved in a very different transaction from one selling a product. Ask someone if he or she expects salespeople to get a percentage of the price paid for a purchase; ask a donor if he or she expects the person asking for a gift to get a percentage of that gift. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts the answers are different.

“The board won’t or can’t raise the money, so we have to do it.”

Time and again I have found that this situation occurs because the development professionals either did not know how to present encouraging and workable fundraising plans to board members involving them as the leaders of the effort, or because the development professionals simply chose not to do so.

“If we compensate our development professional on a contingent-pay basis we will not have to pay for development efforts that fail.”

This is sheer folly. Boards that say they have nothing to lose actually lose everything. Such an attitude assumes failure.

“Contingent-pay means that both the board and the development professionals share the risk.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. They share the risk when the risk is the same: that the organization will not make its goal. Contingent-pay creates a situation where the board’s risk is that the organization will not make its goal and the development professionals’ risk is that they will not make their money.

Still Not Convinced?

While I have no problem espousing with vigor the concept that non-profit development professionals should work only for salaries or predetermined fees, I recognize that the emotional baggage that accompanies discussions of pay and ethical behavior can easily cloud the issue. Therefore, let me point out some additional pitfalls associated with contingent-pay for both the non-profit organization and the development professional.

Abrogation of responsibility The board can be less likely to contribute its time to the fundraising effort. That can leave the development professional out on a limb and the organization with an atrophied board.

The future be damned! The development professional will find it hard to justify expending time or effort on work that does anything other than maximize the amount of money to be raised in the identified time period. The organization therefore loses the benefit of a development professional working to build a strong base of committed volunteers for future fundraising and other projects and programs. The organization sacrifices long-term health in order to achieve short-term gain.

The “hired-gun” syndrome The development professional sees his/her future as based upon simply the achievement of one short-term goal after another rather than the organization accomplishing its overall objectives. It therefore becomes more likely that the development professional will identify his/her professional identity with his/her track record, not with the organization.

Whose “customers” are they? When the development professional leaves the organization, relationships established by him/her will leave also, or at the very least, the history of those relationships will disappear.

“Raising the bar”Each time the goal is accomplished and the incentives are paid, the board will have the tendency to view itself as having been too easy on the development professional. They will feel they have been “had,” and their goal setting will evolve toward unobtainable levels in order to make sure they are getting full value. This is not how campaign goals should be set. Money is raised to meet a stated purpose and the “well” is never arbitrarily “pumped dry.”

The lucky so and so!Should an unexpectedly large gift come in, the board will not want to give the same percentage to the development professional, creating great potential for ill will and bitterness.

Not with my money you don’t! Some foundations, corporations, and private donors will not make a contribution if a portion of the gift is to be paid out as a commission. In some instances they will not give to a campaign that pays any commission at all. Read the fine print in any grant, and be prepared to disclose how the development professional is being paid before accepting somebody’s gift.

No, no, no, it’s not worth that much! It is hard to pay a commission on in-kind donations. Who determines the cash value? Are you going by wholesale or retail or what? How do you figure the commission? More opportunity for ill will and bitterness.

Promises, promises!Most of the money raised in capital and endowment campaigns comes in the form of pledges, with payments often spanning a number of years. The contingent-pay development professional will want his/her money when the pledge is made. What happens when a pledge is not fulfilled? Does the non-profit organization ask the development professional to return the commission? What happens when a multi-year pledge payment schedule is extended an additional number of years by the donor? Does the non-profit organization expect the development professional to wait for years as the payments are made?

It was your fault! Development professionals working on a contingent-pay basis are more likely to be viewed by the organization as personally having caused the failure when a goal is not reached. The board does not accept its responsibility, and the development professional is more likely to be fired.

No, it was your fault, you misled me! The development professional expects to earn his/her incentives. When he/she doesn’t, it creates a personal financial problem. The development professional is likely to blame the organization and move on to another job, even if he/she isn’t fired.

Why don’t I have the chance to make more money too?Contingent-pay is out of line with other compensation practices within a non-profit organization. This can create resentment and lessen the team spirit of staff. In fact, it can create resentment and lead to a failure by other staff to support fundraising efforts.

Fair’s Fair

What should the rewards be for development professionals of non-profit organizations? Simply, the best market-value compensation that can be managed in the form of annual salaries or reasonable and fair fees paid by the hour, day or for a project. As with other members of any organizations’ staff, the development professionals should be valued for their contributions to their organizations and for the cost to replace them.

It’s Your Decision

I believe in the standards that have resulted from thousands of development professionals working to help raise billions of dollars over decades of time. For me, not everything should be a matter of personal opinion; codes of ethics are established through collective wisdom because we do need absolutes by which to live. When I see all the wrong that can befall an organization or an individual in contingent-pay schemes, I cannot imagine for the life of me why either would want to go that route.

There is a difference between the ethical selling of light bulbs and symphony orchestras. When I was selling light bulbs, I had the responsibility to make sure my customers got full value for the dollar they spent. When I was “selling” a symphony orchestra, I had the responsibility for helping to keep a community asset healthy and strong for my and succeeding generations. It’s that simple. One is about value and the other is about what we value in life.

Those are my views on the subject. What are yours? I welcome your comments and suggestions.

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19 Comments

commission based fundraising would work well for my situation. i am by myself with little connections and poor people skills…yet i have a non-profit nature camp for disadvantaged children that needs funding…i would greatly benefit from a professional fundraiser motivated by commission. could you please direct me to such services?..thank you.

Hello Mike,
With sincere respect to you personally, and to your obvious hard work and dedication to help disadvantaged kids, were I even to know of “professional” fund-raisers or such firms, I would do you the greatest service in not telling you who they might be.

First, they do not advertise. They are not true professionals. When they do surface, and are hired by unwary non-profits, if they raise any money, the average “take” for them is about 75% of the donations. Many times much more.

Check out the website of your own state’s office of the Attorney General and look for the listing of charities and how they fared during the previous year, especially in relation to hired professional fund-raisers. I guarantee you will se how such bandits bilk non-profits out of most of any money raised.

You read my article regarding the serious consequences befalling an organization which hires a staff development person to himself or herself raise all, or most, of the funds needed by the organization—made even worse when that person works on a commission, percentage, etc., basis from the funds raised. Read again the admonitions, as they are real.

Mike, I know is sounds easy for me to say what I am saying from such a distance, but my experience gives me credibility.

—Such hired guns will not work best for you.

—You should not be by yourself. As a founder/manager of an accredited non-profit, you should (actually legally must) have others serving as a board of directors. You make connections happen. They do not come to you.

—With the great and touching work you do, your only “people skills” needed is to let what good you do for the kids speak for you.

Have site visits by people whom you want involved. Let them meet the kids and their parents.

Will any of the working parents ask their bosses to look in to your camp?

Identify and invite for visits individual in charge of funding from area firms and corporations. Search for local charitable foundations and invite the decision makers to see the good you do.

Ideas such as that are the ways for you to move forward with the help of others.

Hiring a one-time paid solicitor, or even a staff person to raise the money, is absolutely not the way to go.

Slice it, dice it any way you want – it's selling. Here's a thought – how about selling the donors–which you claim would not want the fund raiser to receive a commission–on the same concept we all already know….they do!

It's all selling and it's all about compensation – be it salary, commissions, etc. Do you think that a donor believes a lackluster fund raiser will keep their job? Do you think a donor wants them to? Do you think a donor wants the end result of the non profit's service to be accomplished?

Do you really think there is a difference between selling the light bulb and selling the donor on how their money accompishes something for the community?

Instead of attempting to label selling and compensation as something different than it is…how about you and the ethics committee try to edeucate donors, if this is such a big deal?

To me, every argument you presented–and very articulate at that–can be made for people on salary. As a sales professional when did you stop buying into the idea that all humans are in sales? When spouses, students, employees, or salespeople stop performing or "meeting their quota/expectations" they become divorced from each other.

Maybe it's time the old ways of claiming what is ethical be transformed instead of the constant attempt to sell us on the difference between selling and…selling?

I enjoy all of your writing. Thanks for the thought-provoking discussion.

I’ve been a salesperson, a manager of sales forces, and the CEO of companies that rely heavily on spirited selling which is then rewarded by commissions that travel upward with performance. I’ve also asked for charitable donations, headed fundraising efforts, and been CEO of nonprofit organizations.

There is a difference between selling products and services and working as a development officer for a nonprofit organization. Fundraising and selling are not the same thing. Many skills and attributes are shared by development officers and salespersons, but a better comparison could be made between the development officer and the sales manager or in some cases the marketing department.

The job of a development officer in a nonprofit organization is to manage and execute some or all of the organization’s fundraising endeavors. Having paid, on-staff professionals ask donors for gifts is neither preferred nor desirable. Gifts should be asked for by a peer of the prospective donor. Peer-to-peer asks yield the largest return. The job of the professional development officer is to create the support and environment that prepares peer-group solicitors to make a strong, convincing, and compelling ask.

A donor is not a customer. Making a donation is not the same thing as buying a product or service. Making a donation is choosing to expend social capital in support of something you believe makes society better. People also make gifts because, for business or societal reasons, they want to be associated with the cause or associate with its supporters. Whether you are making a donation out of heartfelt conviction or because you want to establish relationships that can help in climbing the social or career ladder, you will want to be asked for that donation by someone you view as “important.” That someone is not a sales person. It is a peer or someone you would like have consider you as a peer.

Some time ago, I was given the responsibility for acquiring donations from CEOs of banks and other companies. As CEO of the nonprofit in search of the donations, I could have attempted to ask for the money from these men and women. Now mind you, they either didn’t know me or were acquainted with me in only the most passing manner. I could have attempted to “sell” them on the cause and the amount. Most likely, I would have been shuffled down to a lower level contributions manager, and I would have received a smaller gift or no gift at all. Instead I chose to have current supporters of my organization who were peers of the CEOs make the ask. Every CEO made a gift and made it within the range of what we wanted to acquire from them and their companies.

That’s fundraising! And it’s not selling. It’s managing.

Yes, there are small-gift solicitation efforts that do not function on a peer-to-peer basis. I have managed such an effort that was responsible for collecting tens of millions of dollars a year, and no one who was “selling” was involved. These efforts were about marketing and technology support not sales. Think database marketing and fulfillment skills.

Do I believe that good development officers should be rewarded based on the success they achieve? You bet I do. But I do not believe in making that reward a commission. Annual review and raises are the way to go. Add to that development professionals moving from smaller to larger organizations capable of paying at a higher scale and you have a system of fundraising compensation that has worked well.

Finally, a person who is motivated entirely by money–I believe you said, “It’s all about selling and it’s all about compensation – be it salary, commissions, etc.”–is not someone well equipped to be a development officer of a nonprofit organization. When it comes to raising money for a nonprofit the most successful development officers are more committed to the mission of their organization and a belief in the value of the philanthropic sector than they are to defining themselves by how much money they earn.

I hope I haven’t sounded too pugnacious in my defense of these points. I do realize that these issues are a topic of discussion that is receiving more attention today than it did a decade or two ago. However, after considerable thought and having walked both sides of the street–and around the block for that matter–I am still convinced of the differences between selling and fundraising and the validity of separate compensation strategies.

Thanks for your response – very though-provoking. I have a question – it applies to a more specific case but still on this subject;

What if the salary-paid developer isn't able (for whatever reason) to find enough volunteers? He puts into place a monthly membership program which aligns with the non-profit's missions.

Would it be feasable/reasonable/ethical for that developer to pay/offer commissions to any paying member who beleived enough in the mission [and wanted to earn extra income] the opportunity to recruit/resale memberships to other people?

For the sake of conversation/clarity – say a non-profit gym had a free membership, and also an upgraded $30 monthly membership. Their primary means for raising funds is by allowing any upgraded member to recruit/resale memberships to others for a commission of $10 per month from each member they brought in/sold. Not an MLM but more of a direct sales force promoting the cause of the gym.

All the free members, non sales people, etc. benefit from the cause….yet all the "salespeople", in addition to benefitting also get to earn some income. In this sense, the donors are also consumers and beneficiaries of the over cause.

Or am I missing some details? If I am missing some details, is there a way to do the example and ensure it's a win/win/win, legal and ethical for everyone?

Thanks,

James

David Patterson
on August 13, 2013 at 3:30 pm

James,

The example you give doesn't seem like fundraising to me. It seems more like recruiting a sales force to sell memberships that have a specific benefit which can be measured in terms of dollars, than asking for donations to a 501c3 nonprofit. I just don't see how this is fundraising as it is understood in the nonprofit world. The very fact that you are offering a quantfiable value exchange would not make the membership a donation. The "donor" would not be able to decare it as a charitable donation. I think the hypothetical gym you suggest would be better served by being a for-profit. I doubt that it could qualify as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Also, I don't understand the use of the term "developer." That makes the whole proposition sound like a business development to me.

That being the case…with the gym example…if it were NP it sounds like you're saying that scenario wouldn't be fundraising, it would be selling/recruting? Which all sounds good to me…or am I missing some details?

I'd enjoy emailing you with my specific case which is similar to this if you're available.

Thanks,

James

David Patterson
on August 20, 2013 at 12:40 pm

James,

If a nonprofit organization provides benefits to donors that have material value, the value of those benefits cannot be declared as a tax deduction by the donor and the nonprofit has to declare to the donor the amount of that value and that it is not tax deductible. If your gym qualifies under IRS rules as a nonprofit, then any amount that a member would contribute over and above the value of the membership or any other quantifiable benefit would be tax deductible. All of this would depend on your gym qualifying as a nonprofit under IRS rules and the value of the gym membership that you would be awarding to donors.

As far as the whole issue about paying by commission goes, I stand by my earlier statements and arguments about what is ethical best practice for a nonprofit.

Thank you for your kind words about our exchanges. I work on this website as a gift to the nonprofit community, and the type of exchange you are suggesting is more in line with how I earn my living. This is not a project I could take on at this time. I suggest you find a consultant in your community or seek advice from those in your community working in philanthropy. A place you might start is by your local community foundation. Many communities also have chapters of professional socities for development pros.

Jack Benson
on June 10, 2013 at 6:04 pm

With commission based fundraising, the benefits to a Not-For-Profit can enormous. Especially for a NFP with limited resources — and cannot afford the upfront fees associated with traditional fundraising fee structures. Lawyers have embraced this practice it for years, taking 30-40 percent on contingency — AND IS CONSIDERED ETHICAL. Like lawyers, if the fundraiser doesn’t produce, they get nothing. If they both only make a phone call to produce big results, it’s a windfall. Other times, it may take more work than the contingency/commission covers. But over time, it balances out.

Jack, one big difference is the relatonship between a donor and the organization to which he/she makes a donation. The donor has the righful expectation that as close as possible the money given will go to support the work of the organization. Exorbitant charges such as the 30 to 40 percent you suggest would drive donor's away. Fundraising expense of that magnitude is considered unethical in the nonprofit world and is condemened by all organizations monitoring ethical fundraising.

Fundraising for nonprofit organizations is about more than getting money out of prospective donors. It is also about fulfilling a donor's charitable intent.

Jack,
To my way of thinking, the biggest difference is that the lawyer is working totally on behalf of her or his client. In non-profit fund-raising, there is always a two-pronged approach: being true to the organization’s mission, and at the same time, giving donors the opportunity to give money to something in which they believe and that they want to support.

I believe that your favoring of contingent-pay is driven more by the limited, or unavailable, salary-paying resources of a non-profit, rather than by any good argument in support of what is almost always a failing practice.

You have read in my article that I have a long and unyieldingly stand against any form of contingent-pay in the non-profit sector—having an organization’s staff development officer working for compensation based on a percentage of funds raised, a bonus, or a commission.
Such arrangements, and any variations, are denounced by major “for-the-profession” associations. They go so far as to state, emphatically, that contingent-pay is unethical.
Most development professionals themselves think it’s a bad idea. But I do far more than just cite high standards and strong ethics as good reasons to have nothing at all to do with the contingent-pay practice. (Though they could stand alone.)

I let the contingent-pay principals know of the very real harm possible when working in that way. In my article on the subject I list a number of very real and damaging consequences that may befall both parties when working to such an arrangement. Read them again, and I hope you will be convinced that they far outweigh what you described as such benefits being enormous in value or quatity.

My hard stance against contingent-pay was bolstered even more by a personal experience, several years ago, when I was engaged as a fundraising consultant for a major organization. Sadly, it represents what appears to be an ever-growing issue.

During my several months serving the organization, I conceived, developed and produced fundraising plans where there had been none. Annual, endowment, capital, sponsorship, and underwriting campaigns were all fully developed and were being phased into the duties of the organization’s new and first-ever Director of Development … whom I helped hire.

The individual was hired at a straight annual salary basis while I was nearing the end of my consulting term. Soon, the Director of Development was up and running very well and I concluded my consulting engagement.

In a routine phone call some months later, just to check in to see how that individual was doing, it became readily clear that the several key development initiatives I had set out for the organization had not progressed much, if at all, except for the Annual Fund.
There were no ongoing cultivation activities. Recruitment of a volunteer fundraising team was abandoned. There was nothing in place to ensure opportunities for long-term funding. What was clear was that the Director of Development was dead set only on meeting the Annual Fund goal.

Why? Because after I left, the next salary review with management allowed the D.O.D. to work toward a bonus of $5,000, contingent upon meeting the Annual Fund goal by the end of the campaign/fiscal year.
Just about all of the warnings I cite in my article were at work in this case. Money was being raised only for this year. There was no thinking/planning for tomorrow.

When I see all the wrong that can befall an organization, or an individual, in contingent-pay schemes, I cannot imagine for the life of me why anyone would want to go that route.

What if the 5000 bonus would have been for meeting goals in ALL the areas your developed?

PS
on March 21, 2013 at 6:21 pm

We are debating about this as a NP about a specific short-term position that is soley responsible for selling marketing/promotions package as part of a fundraiser. We are looking to develop some business/corporate partners to build our respective lists while providing marketing opportunities to the wider community. We are also approaching prospects to support through their marketing budgets and not their philanthropic budgets. We would like to have a sales person in this position and incentivize through commissions. Thoughts?

PS, My first thought would be that you should consider that you are a non-profit organization, balancing what you do for the public good according to your mission, then to give considerable thought that, perhaps, the marketing focus you are debating about might take you away from that mission and cause problems with your regular support and volunteer base, and the IRS.
Foregoing philanthropy, and getting into “sales,” with a commission-based approach, can be risky, if not causing problems connected to your non-profit status, then to discourage your volunteer base and donors who could think that your money needs are being satisfied by what is a commercial endeavor.

There are IRS rules regarding percentages of income a non-profit is allowed through such means, if support from the public in the form of contributions is minimal.
If the main thrust of the plan is to offer to sell and promote the products and services of commercial businesses and vendors, and this program will take considerable time and effort, balanced to paying a commission to the staff facilitator, then I would sugges that you think about abandoning the plan.
Maybe my article, which is somewhat based on this idea, will be of use:
Should Your Organization Sell Products And Services To Raise Money?http://www.raise-funds.com/2001/should-your-organization-sell-products-services-to-raise-money/

Rodney: You have shown me all of the good reasons why you must hire a Director of Development now.

— Spectacular and well-received performances;

— Large expense budget, enough to operate a large and complex organization;

— Five years of successful operation, which means you should have a reasonably-sized, appreciative, and some moneyed audience—patrons needing to be asked in the right way for money;

— You are already paying a host of people, so adding one more—a critically important individual—must be done.

Biting the bullet now, and getting a seasoned and capable pro will help begin to have those board members know a good deal about fund-raising, and have them do something about it.
You do have income from the performances. You can have working capital from the board members and from those patrons whom you know could give major gifts.

I am on the board of Spectacular Senior Follies, an organization that produces a variety show once a year for four performances. We are going into our fifth year of struggling to keep a very successful venture (attendancewise) afloat working with a board, the individual members of which know nothing about development or fundraising (using the distinction in your article). We have somehow managed to pay most of our bills (which runs to six figures) to date, but that's all. No one receives monetary compensation except the creative staff, i.e., the director, the musicians, the wardrobe person, the choreographer, the state crew, and the lighting and sound people. I don't see how we can keep this up much longer, despite the success of the show from an attendance standpoint. My question is very simple, if not simplistic. How do you pay the salary of a development professional when you have no income or working capital?
Thank you for any response and ideas you may have.

Let me add to Tony’s comments one more thought. Development directors and personnel of nonprofits are not in an equivalent position to sales persons. Maybe to a sales or a marketing manager. Development professionals devise and execute plans to take an organization’s fundraising needs to market–that market being donors and potential donors. With the exception of small-gifts and annual campaigns, the people “making the sale” are volunteer solicitors. That is because peer-to-peer requests yield more and larger gifts. As a development director, or even an executive director, you don’t want me asking a person with a net worth of $150 million for a gift of a million dollars. You want another person from his/her economic/business/social set making that ask. Getting back to small-gifts and annual campaigns: in them you rely strongly on tools like direct mail and the internet to generate “sales”–to bring in the donations.

Hello RW: Thank you for your welcome comment. You said in your last paragraph: “Best of all, there is no risk to the nfp. If the development agent brings in revenue, they get paid, if they do not, they will not be compensated. Their survival is tied to the health and welfare of the nfp.”

There is indeed great risk to the non-profit. No non-profit’s survival should ever be in the hands of any one person to bring in the revenue. It’s far more than just not being compensated when she or he does not bring in revenue. Others on staff will not be compensated as well. Worse, the dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people in need depending on the programs and services of the non-profit, are left high and dry. The job of seeing to it that the necessary funds are raised, is that of the non-profit’s Board of Trustees. Non-profits are public entities, and as such, belong the community. The operation of them is the responsibility of a volunteer board of trustees who must take on fund-raising as their duty.

I appreciate that a for-profit sales rep does as well have risk to her or his livelihood, including her or his family’s financial security, but should the rep not bring in enough revenue, the company does not go under. The product is still available in the marketplace, but for sure, not the food bank that so many people counted upon once the revenue support stream was not sufficient.

Your well-articulated countering argument is appreciated. I know it well, as you can see from my article, which juxtaposes the concepts of a commercial sales transaction to the very different non-profit solicitation of a donation. I came from nineteen years with General Electric marketing light bulbs, then on to twenty years as Director of Development for The Cleveland Orchestra. So, I know well the customer/sales and donor/gift process of each, and I have seen and worked the differences and similarities of each.

Note the many similarities as you have correctly implied, but the marked and stark differences in mission and bottom-line, must be taken into account to make impossible the commission compensation arrangement to work for the non-profit fund-raising professional.

Here is an example of the real difference between the sales rep and the development officer. It’s a brief summary of what was an actual experience I had as consultant for a major organization.

During my sixteen months in service, I worked a great deal to develop and fine-tune fund-raising plans where there had been none previously. annual, endowment, capital, sponsorship, and underwriting campaigns were all fully developed and were phased into the duties of the organization’s first-ever Director of Development. He was hired on a straight salary while I was there.

Soon, he was up and running, doing well, and I concluded my engagement. In a routine phone call some months later, just to check in to see how he was doing, it became readily clear that he had not progressed much, if at all, in the development of any fund-raising campaign but the Annual Fund.

There were no cultivation activities, no building of a volunteer solicitation team led by the Board, or any effort expended for long-term funding. He was just dead set to get to the Annual Fund number goal set out for him. Why? Because after I left, the next salary review had him set to work to a bonus of $5,000 to be given to him should he meet the Annual Fund goal by the end of the campaign and Fiscal Year. Just about all of the warnings I give in my article were at work in this case, and were not heeded. All future development/cultivation plans were abandoned in favor of the immediate reward, and the need to himself bring in the revenue for this year’s ability to make a living. I rest my case.
Thanks again for your welcome interest.

Thank you for a well-thought and well written article. I must respectfully disagree.

For 24 years I have been a straight commission sales rep, working for “for-profit” companies. Early in my career I made very little and rubbed nickels together to make ends meet. The more I learned, and the more relationships I built, the more my income grew. I have grossed over $400k per year in some years, less than$100k in others. Those of us in this business ride the economic boom and bust, carving out a living and supporting our families the best we can.

What is the cost of my efforts to the company? A straight 10% of sales. I am a known quantity and my rate is built into the operating cost of goods. Whether that company has one rep or 100 reps in the field, the cost per sale is still a steady 10%. When I close a large sale, I celebrate, if I close a number of small sales, I celebrate. If I receive an order that is spread out over months or potentially years, I receive my commission upon payment. If I leave a company with receivables on the books, I continue to receive my split of commissions for those months or years, even after I leave. It is a nice bonus in my income that is paid because it was earned.

The for-profit world uses independent reps and have built a system that works. Independent Reps want these jobs because they are potentially lucrative. We stay on the job for many years because our early investment grows year over year.

Non-Profits must embrace commission development because it does provide an opportunity for those who give of their time and effort to earn a living wage. It encourages development professionals to continue to build relationships with donors and foundations. It provides a financial base for their effort to become a career, not just a summer job. Best of all, there is no risk to the nfp. If the development agent brings in revenue, they get paid, if they do not, they will not be compensated. Their survival is tied to the health and welfare of the nfp.


Many people don’t know that influenza — the respiratory disease we often call the flu — kills thousands of people each year and sends hundreds of thousands more to the hospital. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says most people who are six months or older should get a yearly flu shot.

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*Preventive services at no cost applies only to members enrolled in non-grandfathered health plans. You may have to pay all or part of the cost of preventive care if your health plan is grandfathered. To find out if your plan is grandfathered or non-grandfathered, call the customer service number on your member ID card.


// Copyright (C) 2020 Igalia, S.L. All rights reserved.
// This code is governed by the BSD license found in the LICENSE file.

/*---
esid: sec-get-temporal.date.prototype.day
---*/

const day = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(Temporal.Date.prototype, "day").get;

assert.sameValue(typeof day, "function");

assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(undefined), "undefined");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(null), "null");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(true), "true");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(""), "empty string");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(Symbol()), "symbol");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(1), "1");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call({}), "plain object");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(Temporal.Date), "Temporal.Date");
assert.throws(TypeError, () => day.call(Temporal.Date.prototype), "Temporal.Date.prototype");


Verified Services

Mar 11

Good morning, Father!
Thank you for my tiny little toaster oven, just big enough to toast myself some homemade granola for my breakfast!! I now have a way to make small amounts of baked goods (anything that can fit on a pie plate) and give some as gifts to my peeps! Yay!! I am just about to walk over to give my adopted family a gift of granola in a little stoneware pot… after I finish this post and get done eating my own granola in yogurt breakfast, lol.

Luke 6:37-45 ERV

“Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you. Don’t condemn others, and you will not be condemned. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give to others, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”
Jesus told them this story: “Can a blind man lead another blind man? No. Both of them will fall into a ditch.
Students are not better than their teacher. But when they have been fully taught, they will be like their teacher.
“Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye?
You say to your friend, ‘Let me get that little piece of dust out of your eye.’ Why do you say this? Can’t you see that big piece of wood in your own eye? You are a hypocrite. First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye.
“A good tree does not produce bad fruit. And a bad tree does not produce good fruit.
Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You won’t find figs on thorny weeds. And you can’t pick grapes from thornbushes!
Good people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts.

Lord, many times what comes out my mouth does not seem to accurately reflect what is in my heart. I ask you to purify my words, my mind, my heart. Help me to be filled with YOUR goodness on the inside, and to be able to express goodness in a way that people do not misinterpret. Help me to become more skilled at both listening and speaking with kindness and compassion. Amen.


Posts

James Tobin was a leading - perhaps the leading - American neo-Keynesian macroeconomist in the era of Keynesian dominance after World War II that extended through to the early 1970s. Along with growth theorist Robert Solow and micro and trade theorist Paul Samuelson, the three substantially shaped what became known as the neoclassical synthesis which fused neoclassical microeconomic theory, Keynesian macro theory, and neoclassical growth theory. The macroeconomic component of the neoclassical synthesis is termed neo-Keynesianism. All three received the Royal Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Science in Memory of Alfred Nobel, with Tobin winning his prize in 1981. Tobin died in 2002, aged 84.

Robert Dimand (2014) has written a short book, which is part of The Great Thinkers in Economics series edited by Tony Thirlwall, on Tobin’s economics. For purposes of truth in advertising, it should be noted that Dimand was a student of Tobin’s at Yale University and wro…

Central Banks Going Beyond Their Range -- John Eatwell and John B. Taylor (yep, that's correct). A bit old, but worth reading. They are against lower rates, but I doubt they agree on fiscal and regulatory issues

I don't normally post about this stuff, but the possible implications of this technological change are far reaching, not just in terms of safety as implied in the video (somewhat promotional; hey, it's WIRED), but also in terms of employment. Jimmy Hoffa is turning on his grave, wherever that is. The original WIRED piece here.

According to the BEA, the advance estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter is 2.9%, which is a significant improvement on the second quarter (1.4%). So maybe there is no recession in the near future (Neil Irwin might be right about that), which does not mean Yellen should hike the Fed rate in December anyway.

Next semester I'll be teaching a senior seminar on the history of central banks. The idea is to blend economic history, history of economics ideas and monetary theory in equal parts. And I decided to post on some of the topics I'll discuss in the class, very much like Robert Paul Wolff's tutorials in his blog The Philosopher's Stone, but probably in a less instructive and interesting way than the ones he posts (see this multi-part tutorial on Marx that starts here, and continues here and here and so on; last of nineteen parts here). In the same spirit, I'll suggest some readings for those interested in the topic. An obvious place to start is with the paper "The changing role of central banks" by Charles Goodhart, or for an alternative interpretation by yours truly go here.

The new Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Triennial Central Bank Survey was published last month. The Foreign exchange turnover is down for the first time since they started in 1996. As the press release says: "Trading in FX markets averaged $5.1 trillion per day in April 2016. This is down from $5.4 trillion in April 2013." The figure below shows the main results.
Not surprisingly the dollar remained the key vehicle currency, being on one side of around 88% of all trades, while the euro has continued to slide down approximately from 39% in 2010 to 31% now. Also, while the yuan or renminbi is now the most actively traded developing country currency, the rise in the share in global foreign exchange turnover is from 2.2% to 4%.

PS: For those interested here there is an old paper, but I think still relevant, on the dollar after the crisis, and why there should be no fear about its dominant position.

In their recent NYTimes op-ed Paul Volcker and Peter Peterson say:
Yes, this country can handle the nearly $600 billion federal deficit estimated for 2016. But the deficit has grown sharply this year, and will keep the national debt at about 75 percent of the gross domestic product, a ratio not seen since 1950, after the budget ballooned during World War II.
The practical consequence of large deficits and debts, according to them is that:
Our current debt may be manageable at a time of unprecedentedly low interest rates. But if we let our debt grow, and interest rates normalize, the interest burden alone would choke our budget and squeeze out other essential spending. There would be no room for the infrastructure programs and the defense rebuilding that today have wide support.
It’s not just federal spending that would be squeezed. The projected rise in federal deficits would compete for funds in our capital markets and far outrun the private sector’s capacity to save, to finance in…

This paper explores lock-in and lock-out via economic policy. It argues
policy decisions may near-irrevocably change the economy’s structure,
thereby changing its performance. That causes changed economic outcomes
concerning distribution of wealth, income and power, which in turn
induces locked-in changes in political outcomes. That is a different way
of thinking about policy compared to conventional macroeconomic
stabilization theory. The latter treats policy as a dial which is dialed
up or down, depending on the economy’s state. Lock-in policy is
illustrated by the euro, globalization, and the neoliberal policy
experiment.

The persistence of low interest rates has dominated the news. In general related to whether the Fed will or will not increase the interest rate by the end of the year. The Economist tried a few weeks ago to put things in perspective, and suggested not only that the current nominal rates close to zero are unprecedented, but it sort of indicated that the negative real rates are also to some extent a new phenomenon. The explanations for low rates can be found here, and the consequences, according to The Economist here (btw, for them is a pension crisis; and yeah, just wait this will be used to call for privatization).

I'm not particular keen, as you know, on the idea of a savings glut, as an explanation for the low rates. The reason is much simpler and is associated to the fall out from the previous crisis. But at any rate I just wanted to check the data. They showed the nominal short term rate in the UK (below), which is not very different from what can be found in other sources us…

Economists for Peace and Security will conduct its 9th annual policy symposium at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington DC on November 14, 2016 to discuss the economic dimensions of the most pressing global security issues and those facing the domestic economy. Following one of the most unusual presidential and congressional elections in US history, three panels of senior specialists will present ideas for improving prospects for peace, and growth with fairness for all Americans.

This is a bit old. The Economic Report of the President was published a while ago. I just was looking recently, essentially because it has a chapter on the 70th anniversary of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). The report discusses the role of Leon Keyserling, the second chair of the CEA, but the most relevant one in the early period, who, like Eccles at the Fed, tends to be a relatively underestimated and forgotten influence on the rise of Keynesian economics (that's in this chapter). That is enough to make this Report worth reading.

But the first chapter (on inclusive growth) tackles the issue of inequality, and not just income, but wealth too. Below the shares in wealth distribution for the top 0.1%, 1% and the bottom 90%.
It's very clear that while the New Deal compressed the shares of the top groups, the Reagan Revolution has completely reversed the earlier achievements. And it is also clear that inequality is important also at the top, since the 0.1% do so much bet…

New paper. From the abstract:
Prebisch believed that understanding the evolution of capitalist economies over time and in different contexts required a general cycle approach, encompassing all the different areas of economic activity, which he labelled “economic dynamics.” This theory, developed between 1945 and 1949, stemmed from a critique of both neoclassical and Keynesian theories, which Prebisch viewed as static representations of capitalism. It was applied first to a closed economy and then to a centre-periphery context. The theory combined the notion that profit is the driving force of economic activity, with a process of forced savings and the idea that the time lag between income circulation (and the resulting demand) and the completion of the production process are the main source of cyclical fluctuations. Prebisch’s dynamics theory, which he never completed, influenced his “development manifesto” (Prebisch, 1950).
Read full paper here.

New paper on INET. Here is from Lance's conclusion:
... writing in the General Theory after leaving his Wicksellian phase, Keynes said that “... I had not then understood that, in certain conditions, the system could be in equilibrium with less than full employment….I am now no longer of the opinion that the concept of a ‘natural’ rate of interest, which previously seemed to me a most promising idea, has anything very useful or significant to contribute to our analysis (pp. 242-43).” Today’s New “Keynesians” have tremendous intellectual firepower. The puzzle is why they revert to Wicksell on loanable funds and the natural rate while ignoring Keynes’s innovations. Maybe, as he said in the preface to the General Theory, “The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones… (p. viii).”
His point is that while there are good reasons to believe in the forces of stagnation, the reasons are not the Wicksellian ones given in New Keynesian models. Worth reading.

By Thomas Palley
I received an e-mail from an undergraduate economics student who was curious about economic policy in Washington, DC. His question says a lot about the current state of affairs. Here it is with my reply.
From: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx [mailto:xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 1, 2016 10:56 AM
To: mail
Subject: Question from an undergraduate
Dear Dr. Palley,
I am a first-year undergraduate in economics and political theory, and a longtime admirer of your work.
What are your thoughts on how Keynesian/Post-Keynesian ideas are treated in current political discourse?

I was in Washington D.C. recently and I had conversation with a Brookings fellow who told me that he thought Joseph Stiglitz was an “extremist who isn’t taken seriously by anyone who knows their way around the Beltway.”

Does it worry you that ideas which used to be considered “mainstream” (like social democracy) are now increasingly considered “extreme”?
Deeply grateful for your time and attention
Sinc…


Here is the overwhelming evidence gathered by the top researchers made in an effort to prove Obama's Reptilian bloodline. Control: Obama has already created an economic dependency upon the government in order to establish a level of control never seen before in the United States. The control of the Auto industry and the Financial System, as well as the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government set up our society for Reptilian control. Think about it, in the United States of America has their ever been a desire for a completely control system by any of our leaders? Missing Birth Certificate: The majority of American citizens would have no problem producing a birth certificate should the need arise. Why would the President of the United States of America, the most powerful man in the world, have to desperately hide his identity? Quite obviously, if Obama's birth certificate was found,his Reptilian bloodline and questionable heritage would be revealed. Body Language: Experts on body language have noted (although largely silenced by the media) very odd almost animal-like body language from our President. Notice the way Obama holds his head. The neck is thrust upwards and often to one side or the other (identical to a lizard). Additionally, Obama's walk has a distinctly nonhuman side-to-side sway (you could say slither). Experts have also noted the president's speech patterns as being abnormally rhythmic and musical.

On the off chance Romney is elected Tuesday, I'm going to miss this kind of crazy. I mean, sure, the nonsense "ZOMG-the-other-guy-and-his-evil-special-interests-are-going-to-destro y-the-country-and-I-don't-know-if-we'll-get-it-back" nonsense will shift over to the Democrats, and they'll make all sorts of insinuation about *his* religion, but I somehow suspect the Romney conspiracy theories just won't be as much fun.

Fluorescent Testicle:Bonus: He's technically almost correct, but that somebody was Darrell Issa (R-Traitor).

"Look we have to make priorities and choices in this country. We have...15,000 contractors in Iraq. We have more than 6,000 contractors, a private army there, for President Obama, in Baghdad. And we're talking about can we get two dozen or so people into Libya to help protect our forces. When you're in tough economic times, you have to make difficult choices. You have to prioritize things."

This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

Lenny_da_Hog:StopArrestingMe: This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

So I'm in the car right now with my mother in law. She hates Obama with a passion. She swears up and down that if O is reelected, the economy will crash again. She believes that he is the reason that it crashed to begin with. When I mentioned that the crash happened before he was elected, she said that the stock market is "predictive" and it crashed because wall St new he was going to win. It's Obama-the-president's fault the housing market crashed and so many Americans are out of work. If McCain had won, the crash would have never have happened.

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

mgshamster:So I'm in the car right now with my mother in law. She hates Obama with a passion. She swears up and down that if O is reelected, the economy will crash again. She believes that he is the reason that it crashed to begin with. When I mentioned that the crash happened before he was elected, she said that the stock market is "predictive" and it crashed because wall St new he was going to win. It's Obama-the-president's fault the housing market crashed and so many Americans are out of work. If McCain had won, the crash would have never have happened.

If O wins and things improve, try this: At six month intervals ask why her fears never came true. Chart the responses. After four years you will have an interesting report on the human psyche. Publish. Profit!

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars ) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

Fluorescent Testicle:StopArrestingMe: This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.

StopArrestingMe:This type of thing gets on my nerve and I hate how they grouped the obviously false stuff (time travel on Mars) with the true stuff (born in Kenya). Trying to make all of us who know the truth look silly with there stupid venn. U.S. patroits wont be deterred by this tactic though. You want conspiracies then look at libs who said that Trig Palin isnt really Sarahs son and she she didnt give birth in Juno. Thats false and its blood libel. Michelle Obama saying Whitey? True. She has a very mercurial temper and is racist and she said it in the heat of the moment. Obama is the anti christ? True. He is proof that true evul can prevail when evulution is taught in schools and gays allowed to flourish. He will bring 100 million muslins to the US? True. He wants to wipe Isreal from the map turning it into a flaming Jew pit. Earned his funds from a Saudi Prince? True. He recruited Dodi Fayed to kill Princess Diana for the Saudi Royal family and was rewarded with a fortune. And he caused the shooting in Aurora, the Neptunes ghostwrote his love raps, the list goes on and on. People call Romney a plutocrat but Obama is the one trying to make the government rich off taxing the working man, and his cup runneth over. And if you took a look at the cup Id bet that youd find that it is all being given to the Muslin Brotherhood. By the way Romney is a genius who actually took his SAT earning his way into college. Obama faked his transcripts. Heres the bottom line: Obamas real father was Apollo Creed and he WAS married to his gay Pakistani roommate, Freddy Mercury. Little known fact, Mercury died of aids. Could Obama have been patient 0? Yes, because he is literally 0bama. Case closed.