Scientists rediscover rarest US bumblebee

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside

Cockerell's Bumblebee was last seen in the United States in 1956, say UC Riverside entomologists

RIVERSIDE, Calif. A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside recently rediscovered the rarest species of bumblebee in the United States, last seen in 1956, living in the White Mountains of south-central New Mexico.

Known as "Cockerell's Bumblebee," the bee was originally described in 1913 from six specimens collected along the Rio Ruidoso, with another 16 specimens collected near the town of Cloudcroft, and one more from Ruidoso, the most recent being in 1956. No other specimens had been recorded until three more were collected on weeds along a highway north of Cloudcroft on Aug. 31, 2011.

"Most bumblebees in the U.S. are known from dozens to thousands of specimens, but not this species," said Douglas Yanega, senior museum scientist at UC Riverside. "The area it occurs in is infrequently visited by entomologists, and the species has long been ignored because it was thought that it was not actually a genuine species, but only a regional color variant of another well-known species."

Yanega pointed out that there are nearly 50 species of native U.S. bumblebees, including a few on the verge of extinction, such as the species known as "Franklin's Bumblebee," which has been seen only once since 2003. That species, as rare as it is, is known from a distribution covering some 13,000 square miles, whereas Cockerell's Bumblebee is known from an area of less than 300 square miles, giving it the most limited range of any bumblebee species in the world.

"There is much concern lately about declines in our native bumblebee species, and as we now have tools at our disposal to assess their genetic makeup, these new specimens give fairly conclusive evidence that Cockerell's Bumblebee is a genuine species," he said. "With appropriate comparative research, we hope to be able to determine which other species is its closest living relative. Given that this bee occurs in an area that's largely composed of National Forest and Apache tribal land, it's unlikely to be under serious threat of habitat loss at the moment. Since its biology is completely unknown, however, it nevertheless may require some more formal assessment in the future."

Yanega went on to point out that it is not especially surprising for an insect species to be rediscovered after decades, when people might otherwise imagine that it may have gone extinct.

"When an insect species is very rare, or highly localized, it can fairly easily escape detection for very long periods of time," he said. "There are many precedents some of them very recently in the news, in fact of insects that have been unseen for anywhere from 70 to more than 100 years, suddenly turning up again when someone either got lucky enough, or persistent enough, to cross paths with them again. It is much harder to give conclusive evidence that an insect species has gone extinct than for something like a bird or mammal or plant."

UCR entomologists rediscover many such "lost" insect species and discover entirely new species on a regular basis, at the rate of several dozen species every year, primarily in groups such as bees, wasps, beetles, and plant bugs. According to recent estimates, approximately 8 million species are in existence, the vast majority being insects of which only about 1 million have been described.

"It should come as no surprise that we discover so many new species of insects so easily," Yanega said. "But the pace of species discovery and description is incredibly slow because there are so few insect taxonomists relative to the number of undescribed insects. Moreover, the work is painstaking, time-consuming, and not very glamorous, at least in the public's perception, when compared to studying things like dinosaurs."

As for plans regarding additional work with Cockerell's Bumblebee, Yanega said that the recent expedition, carried out together with UCR scientists Keve Ribardo and Greg Ballmer, was funded in part by the Friends of the Entomology Research Museum, a non-profit organization supporting UCR's Entomology Research Museum, but that nothing further was yet planned. The DNA sequencing was also carried out at UCR, as part of a larger study on wasp and bee relationships.

"The first step is to come to a firm conclusion regarding the status of this bee as a species," he said. "The second step is spreading the word to the scientific community that this bee deserves some attention, as it has been completely overlooked. Here at UCR we may or may not be involved beyond that point, in gathering data on the distribution and biology of this species, but at the very least our discovery can get the proverbial ball rolling."

###

The University of California, Riverside (http://www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call 951-UCR-NEWS.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside

Cockerell's Bumblebee was last seen in the United States in 1956, say UC Riverside entomologists

RIVERSIDE, Calif. A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside recently rediscovered the rarest species of bumblebee in the United States, last seen in 1956, living in the White Mountains of south-central New Mexico.

Known as "Cockerell's Bumblebee," the bee was originally described in 1913 from six specimens collected along the Rio Ruidoso, with another 16 specimens collected near the town of Cloudcroft, and one more from Ruidoso, the most recent being in 1956. No other specimens had been recorded until three more were collected on weeds along a highway north of Cloudcroft on Aug. 31, 2011.

"Most bumblebees in the U.S. are known from dozens to thousands of specimens, but not this species," said Douglas Yanega, senior museum scientist at UC Riverside. "The area it occurs in is infrequently visited by entomologists, and the species has long been ignored because it was thought that it was not actually a genuine species, but only a regional color variant of another well-known species."

Yanega pointed out that there are nearly 50 species of native U.S. bumblebees, including a few on the verge of extinction, such as the species known as "Franklin's Bumblebee," which has been seen only once since 2003. That species, as rare as it is, is known from a distribution covering some 13,000 square miles, whereas Cockerell's Bumblebee is known from an area of less than 300 square miles, giving it the most limited range of any bumblebee species in the world.

"There is much concern lately about declines in our native bumblebee species, and as we now have tools at our disposal to assess their genetic makeup, these new specimens give fairly conclusive evidence that Cockerell's Bumblebee is a genuine species," he said. "With appropriate comparative research, we hope to be able to determine which other species is its closest living relative. Given that this bee occurs in an area that's largely composed of National Forest and Apache tribal land, it's unlikely to be under serious threat of habitat loss at the moment. Since its biology is completely unknown, however, it nevertheless may require some more formal assessment in the future."

Yanega went on to point out that it is not especially surprising for an insect species to be rediscovered after decades, when people might otherwise imagine that it may have gone extinct.

"When an insect species is very rare, or highly localized, it can fairly easily escape detection for very long periods of time," he said. "There are many precedents some of them very recently in the news, in fact of insects that have been unseen for anywhere from 70 to more than 100 years, suddenly turning up again when someone either got lucky enough, or persistent enough, to cross paths with them again. It is much harder to give conclusive evidence that an insect species has gone extinct than for something like a bird or mammal or plant."

UCR entomologists rediscover many such "lost" insect species and discover entirely new species on a regular basis, at the rate of several dozen species every year, primarily in groups such as bees, wasps, beetles, and plant bugs. According to recent estimates, approximately 8 million species are in existence, the vast majority being insects of which only about 1 million have been described.

"It should come as no surprise that we discover so many new species of insects so easily," Yanega said. "But the pace of species discovery and description is incredibly slow because there are so few insect taxonomists relative to the number of undescribed insects. Moreover, the work is painstaking, time-consuming, and not very glamorous, at least in the public's perception, when compared to studying things like dinosaurs."

As for plans regarding additional work with Cockerell's Bumblebee, Yanega said that the recent expedition, carried out together with UCR scientists Keve Ribardo and Greg Ballmer, was funded in part by the Friends of the Entomology Research Museum, a non-profit organization supporting UCR's Entomology Research Museum, but that nothing further was yet planned. The DNA sequencing was also carried out at UCR, as part of a larger study on wasp and bee relationships.

"The first step is to come to a firm conclusion regarding the status of this bee as a species," he said. "The second step is spreading the word to the scientific community that this bee deserves some attention, as it has been completely overlooked. Here at UCR we may or may not be involved beyond that point, in gathering data on the distribution and biology of this species, but at the very least our discovery can get the proverbial ball rolling."

###

The University of California, Riverside (http://www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call 951-UCR-NEWS.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/uoc--srr120511.php

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Newton sets rushing TD mark in Panthers 38-19 win

Injured Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman watches an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers during the second quarter on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Injured Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman watches an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers during the second quarter on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth (10) follows through on a 44-yard field goal in front of Carolina Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn (41) during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. Tampa Bay' Michael Koenen holds for Barth. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Legedu Naanee (17) celebrates after scoring on a 19-yard touchdown pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) eludes Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Quincy Black (58) during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Legedu Naanee (17) pulls in a 19-yard touchdown pass while being covered by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenders middle linebacker Mason Foster (59), defensive back E.J. Biggers (31) and strong safety Sean Jones (26) during the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Cam Newton ran for three touchdowns to set the NFL single-season record for rushing TDs by a quarterback, leading the Carolina Panthers to a 38-19 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner scored the 11th, 12th and 13th TDs of his career on a trio of 1-yard runs. The rookie also had a reception to set up a touchdown and threw a pass to Legedu Naanee to finish one of Carolina's three scoring drives of 80-plus yards.

The Panthers (4-8) have doubled their victory total for last season. Tampa Bay (4-8) has lost six straight and seven of eight following a 3-1 start.

The Bucs played without quarterback Josh Freeman, who sat out with an injury to his throwing shoulder.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-04-Panthers-Buccaneers/id-2557bb9ae5dc4f39b1037bea049529e4

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Japan's 'nuclear gypsies' face radioactive peril at power plants

Reporting from Namie, Japan?

Kazuo Okawa's luckless career as a "nuclear gypsy" began one night at a poker game.

The year was 1992, and jobs were scarce in this farming town in the shadow of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. An unemployed Okawa gambled and drank a lot.

He was dealing cards when a stranger made him an offer: manage a crew of unskilled workers at the nearby plant. "Just gather a team of young guys and show up at the front gate; I'll tell you what to do," instructed the man, who Okawa later learned was a recruiter for a local job subcontracting firm.

Okawa didn't know the first thing about nuclear power, but he figured, what could go wrong?

He became what's known in Japan as a "jumper" or "nuclear gypsy" for the way he moved among various nuclear plants. But the nickname that Okawa disliked most was burakumin, a derisive label for those who worked the thankless jobs he and others performed.

Such unskilled contractors exist at the bottom rung of the nation's employment ladder, subjecting themselves to perilous doses of radioactivity.

Solicited from day labor sites across the country, many contractors are told little of the task ahead.

"The recruiters call out their windows that they have two days of work; it's not unlike the way migrant farm workers are hired in the U.S.," said Kim Kearfott, a nuclear engineer and radiation health expert at the University of Michigan.

"Many are given their training en route to the plant. They're told: 'Oh, by the way, we're going to Fukushima. If you don't like it, you can get off the truck right now.' There's no such thing as informed consent, like you would have in a human medical experiment," she said.

After an earthquake-triggered tsunami deluged the Fukushima plant in March, a disaster that cascaded into reactor core meltdowns, activists are calling for better government regulation of what they call the nuclear industry's dirtiest secret.

For decades, they say, atomic plants have maintained a two-tiered workforce: one made up of highly paid and well-trained utility employees, and another of contractors with less training and fewer health benefits.

Last year, 88% of the 83,000 workers at the nation's 18 commercial nuclear power plants were contract workers, according to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, a government regulator.

A study by the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, a Tokyo-based watchdog group, found that contractors last year accounted for 96% of the harmful radiation absorbed by workers at the nation's nuclear power plants. Temporary workers at the Fukushima plant in 2010 also faced radiation levels 16 times higher than did employees of the plant's owner-operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., because contractors are called in for the most dangerous work, according to the government's industrial safety agency.

"This job is a death sentence, performed by workers who aren't being given information about the dangers they face," said Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at Kyoto University's Research Reactor Institute and author of the book "The Lie of Nuclear Power."

Okawa, who was off work from the plant the day of the tsunami, immediately quit the job and the "suicidal work" he performed there: mopping up leaks of radioactive water, wiping down "hot" equipment and filling drums with contaminated nuclear waste.

He described an unofficial pecking order at most nuclear plants among contractors, with the greenest workers often assigned the most dangerous jobs until they got enough experience to question the work or a newer worker came along.

"In the beginning, you get a little training; they show you how to use your tools," said Okawa, 56. "But then you're left to work with radiation you can't see, smell or taste. If you think about it, you imagine it might be killing you. But you don't want to think about it."

Okawa, a small man with powerfully built hands, said contractors knew they faced layoff once they reached exposure limits, so many switched off dosimeters and other radiation measuring devices.

"Guys needed the work, so they cut corners," he said. "The plant bosses knew it but looked the other way."

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/pjOyTztzcOc/la-fg-japan-nuclear-gypsies-20111204,0,6661765.story

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Clinton, Suu Kyi promote closer US-Burma ties

Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton embrace while speaking to the press after meetings at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton embrace while speaking to the press after meetings at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, and Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, embrace after a meeting at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and opposition leader Suu Kyi, two of the world's most recognizable female leaders, pledged Friday to work together to bring democracy to Suu Kyi's long isolated and repressive nation. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tour the grounds after meetings at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tour the grounds after meetings at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, right, talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton following a meeting at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Soe Than Win, Pool)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? In a striking display of solidarity and sisterhood between two of the world's most recognizable women, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed on Friday to work together to promote democratic reforms in Suu Kyi's long-isolated and authoritarian homeland.

Wrapping up a historic three-day visit to Myanmar, the first by a secretary of state to the Southeast Asian nation in more than 50 years, Clinton and Suu Kyi held hands on the porch of the lakeside home where the Nobel peace laureate spent much of the past two decades under house arrest. Clinton thanked her for her "steadfast and very clear leadership."

Suu Kyi has welcomed Clinton's visit and tentatively embraced reforms enacted by Myanmar's new civilian government. She thanked the secretary and U.S. President Barack Obama for their "careful and calibrated" engagement that has seen the United States take some modest steps to improve ties.

"If we move forward together I am confident there will be no turning back on the road to democracy," Suu Kyi said, referring to her opposition National League for Democracy party, the government, the United States and other countries, including Myanmar's giant neighbor China. "We are not on that road yet, but we hope to get there as soon as possible with the help and understanding of our friends."

"We are happy with the way in which the United States is engaging with us," she added. "It is through engagement that we hope to promote the process of democratization. Because of this engagement, I think our way ahead will be clearer and we will be able to trust that the process of democratization will go forward."

As she did in the capital of Naypyidaw on Thursday, Clinton said more significant incentives will be offered, but only if the government releases all political prisoners, ends brutal campaigns against ethnic minorities, respects the rule of law and improves human rights conditions.

"We are prepared to go further if reforms maintain momentum," Clinton said. "But history teaches us to be cautious. We know that there have been serious setbacks and grave disappointments over the past decades."

Clinton's meetings with Suu Kyi were the highlight of the U.S. secretary of state's visit to the long-isolated country also known as Burma and forcefully underscored a U.S. challenge to Myanmar's leaders.

In addition to the modest incentives Clinton announced Thursday for the government, she said Friday that the U.S. would spend about $1.2 million for preliminary projects aimed at helping the people of Myanmar. The money will go to microcredit and health care initiatives and assistance to land-mine victims, particularly in rural areas.

Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections that were ignored by the then-military junta but now plans to run in upcoming parliamentary elections, endorsed that approach and called for the immediate release of all political prisoners and cease-fires to end the ethnic conflicts..

Suu Kyi, a heroine for pro-democracy advocates around the world, said Clinton's visit represented "a historical moment for both our countries."

With U.S. assistance and pressure on the government, which is still backed by the military, she said she believed change was on the horizon for Myanmar.

The meeting was the second in as many days for the pair who bonded deeply at a three-hour, one-on-one dinner in Yangon on Thursday, according to U.S. officials. One senior official said the dinner marked the beginning of what appeared to be a "very warm friendship" between the former first lady, New York senator and presidential hopeful and Suu Kyi, who plans to re-enter the political arena in upcoming parliamentary elections.

"We have been inspired by her fearlessness in the face of intimidation and her serenity through decades of isolation, but most of all through her devotion to her country and to the freedom and dignity of her fellow citizens," Clinton told reporters after the meeting Suu Kyi.

Clinton said the two had discussed the "ups and downs and slings and arrows of political participation" at dinner and that Suu Kyi would be an "excellent member" of Myanmar's parliament but declined to discuss any electoral advice she may have given here.

___

Associated Press writer Aye Aye Win in Yangon contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-02-Clinton-Myanmar/id-0ab561f31016455b9ac03a311c53f1a6

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Campaigns turning more to Web to link with voters (AP)

NEW YORK ? As they peruse the Internet, voters in New Hampshire and Iowa are probably seeing ads for Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama alongside those for shoes and holiday gifts. The ads will then follow those voters around the Web, popping up on news sites, Google searches and on social networking sites like Facebook.

Online advertising, once used primarily as a way to reach young and heavily wired consumers, has emerged as an essential communications tool in the 2012 presidential contest. While few expect Web ads to supplant television commercials anytime soon, strategists say online ads may be the most nimble, efficient and cost-effective way to reach voters.

"Online advertising cuts through because of its ability to target. It's unparalleled in any other medium," said Romney's digital director, Zac Moffatt. "TV may be more effective for driving a big message, but per usage, the Internet is more powerful. We are probably one presidential cycle from everyone believing that."

Web ads can take many forms, from small display boxes to clickable videos to 15- or 30-second commercials known as "pre-rolls" a viewer sees before the start of a news clip or YouTube video.

Targeting is key. While campaigns invest heavily in television ads to reach a mass audience, Web ads are geared specifically to people based on their ZIP code, demographics and, most importantly, their Internet browsing history.

That means someone who has visited the Obama campaign website will likely start seeing his ads on a number of different Web pages. And those who use Google to search for information on the Republican candidates might notice a Romney campaign pre-roll the next time they watch a TV show online.

Campaigns also buy ads on websites that cater to the different demographic groups the campaigns are hoping to reach.

"When someone expresses interest in politics online, it's an incredibly good time for the campaigns to talk to them," said Andrew Roos, a Google account leader who works with Democratic campaigns on Web ad strategy. "You want to grab people when they are paying attention and ask them to take another action, like send money or attend an offline event. It's an old-school organization principle that has been working its way online."

Campaigns were slow to adapt to online advertising even as the corporate world flocked to the Web with product ads years ago. Internet ad revenue climbed to nearly $7.9 billion in the third quarter of 2011, up 22 percent from the same time last year, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau, which tracks online ad spending.

Corporations now spend from 18 to 28 percent of their advertising budget online, while campaigns historically have spent no more than 5 percent.

Chris Talbot, a freelance campaign digital strategist, noted that big companies can devote considerable time, money and research to figuring out what works online and what doesn't. Campaigns don't have that luxury.

"There is no `next quarter' in politics, so campaigns usually revert to a template of what's worked in the past," he said.

In 2008, Obama and Republican presidential rival John McCain both did limited online campaign advertising. Web ads grew more prevalent in the 2010 midterm elections, when 85 of the top-spending House races and 600 interest groups bought display ads on Google.

To be sure, plenty of Internet users say they aren't thrilled with the proliferation of online ads, particularly those that follow them from site to site.

A USA Today/Gallup poll taken in late 2010 found 9 out of 10 respondents said they pay little attention to online ads. Two-thirds said they don't believe advertisers should be able to target them based on their past Web searches.

"The only way it works is on a mass scale. Most people ignore ads on the Web," said Aaron Shapiro, head of the digital marking firm HUGE.

Web ads' biggest advantage, many strategists say, is accountability.

"Online ads are very metric driven ? you can figure out how many impressions you got, how many people clicked, how many people signed up for an email address. All of that is calculated in real time," Google's Roos said. "It's much more efficient than direct mail and TV."

The Romney campaign's Moffatt said Web ads became part of the media strategy when officials there realized how much their own viewing habits had changed.

"Strategists here acknowledge they really don't watch live TV," Moffatt said.

___

Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_el_pr/us_online_campaign_ads

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The radical dangers of Mitt Romney's America (The Week)

New York ? As president, the shape-shifting Republican would bow to the far Right ? and sacrifice many of the programs and ideals that make this nation great

One of the nation's most prominent columnists told me in the past few days that he had almost written that Mitt Romney was the inevitable Republican nominee, but at the last minute, pulled back and hedged his prediction with a formulaic qualifier. Not me. For months, I've been boldly stating that it's Romney. After all, I asked, who the hell else have they got?

Well, right now, Newt Gingrich ? ahead in Iowa, closing in New Hampshire, pulling away in South Carolina, beating Romney by the astounding margin of 47 percent to 17 percent?in the probable rubber-match state of Florida. Can it last? Is the year so weird that the traditional metrics ? money, organization, a long-term strategic plan ? don't matter, or won't make enough of a difference? I still believe, logically, perhaps stubbornly, that in the end, the unpalatable Romney is likely to prevail over the improbable Gingrich or some last hour, unthinkable incarnation of yet another non-Mitt.?

SEE MORE: Can Mitt Romney win Iowa?

?

The resistance to the obvious nominee reflects the nagging instinct of the GOP's dominant right wing that, whatever his peccadilloes and his pyrotechnic deviations from orthodoxy, Newt is at heart a conservative and Mitt is at heart a con man.?

Both propositions are amply justified on the public record, but for conservatives, the judgment about Romney should be irrelevant. The Right shouldn't be afraid of him; it's the rest of us who should. If elected, Romney would be imprisoned in his presidency by wary Republicans who would watch his every move and threaten his re-nomination if he ever dared to be pragmatic. Whether he means what he says, doing it would be his only politically viable choice in the White House.

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney's 'incredible' waffling on Ohio's union fight

?

Mitt Romney's America would be a narrow and bigoted place.

Romney often invokes Ronald Reagan, the man he blithely disclaimed during his 1994 Senate race in Massachusetts. But Romney is no Reagan, who so embodied the conservative principles to which he did genuinely subscribe that he was free to transcend them ? to compromise and event to commit moderation ? when he decided that was the sensible course, or even essential to the national interest.?

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney's Obama attack ad: 'Brazen in its dishonesty'?

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Thus, Reagan raised taxes after cutting them. He worked with Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill to save Social Security despite his earlier view that it "should be made voluntary." Then he worked with Ted Kennedy to pass sweeping immigration reform that provided for amnesty. He denounced "the evil empire" and then made peace with Mikhail Gorbachev. This was, to certain conservative elites, the most unthinkable transgression of all. William F. Buckley, Jr. called Reagan's nuclear arms control treaty a "suicide pact." Rep. Dick Cheney rebuked the president, who in turn said of his critics: They "have accepted that war is inevitable."

And long before his second-term treaty-making with the Soviets, Reagan's pragmatism had riled the self-appointed keepers of the right-wing flame. For permitting grain sales to the Soviet Union, columnist George Will attacked the administration "for lov[ing] commerce more than it loathes communism." William Safire delivered his harsh verdict on the president's move toward the middle on Social Security and taxes, including his move away from the flat tax. All this, he wrote, was "Reagan's White Flag" ? which "invited... grinning contempt."?

SEE MORE: Why Mitt Romney won't embrace a flat tax

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Yet none of this noise mattered, and no one seriously thought to challenge the president inside his own party in 1984. He was simply, unassailably "Mr. Conservative" ? and he could bend or change the rules, holding his base in the country while inside-the-Beltway critics spoke mostly to themselves. As the Moral Majority's Ron Godwin conceded in a 1982 Washington Post piece?(subscription required)?reporting on complaints about Reagan's "liberal" and "moderate" advisers, the president had a bond of trust with GOP voters: "They like him and are pleased with them."

In contrast, Romney's seeking ? and at best, will have to settle for ? grudging acceptance from skeptical Republicans. As president, he would be on permanent probation because he lacks fundamental strength with a GOP base that is decidedly more hardline than it was during the Reagan era. Romney more closely resembles the first George Bush, who, after courageously recognizing the fiscal folly of his famous pledge of "no new taxes," was harried and wounded by Pat Buchanan in the 1992 Republican primaries. Bush had been Reagan's vice president, his natural successor; but like Romney now, Bush senior faced a wall of conservative skepticism, both when he lost the nomination in 1980 and when he finally won it in 1988. Then he violated his parole by agreeing to a tax increase. Romney knows this history, and would not choose to repeat it. As president, he would not be that Bush. He would have to be the anti-Reagan ? not because he would be less right wing, but more reliably and inflexibly just that, incapable of dispensing with his party's dogma where and when it was wrong.?

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney's Medicare plan: Resurrecting the public option?

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So it's time to rethink the comforting, conventional wisdom that Romney doesn't mean all the stuff he says, that underneath it there's a streak of moderation which he would bring to the presidency. It's a backhanded compliment which treats the candidate's insincerity as a kind of insurance policy against his own professed convictions. In fact, and almost certainly, Romney would govern as he campaigns, no matter what he actually believes. That's why the rest of us should be afraid of what Mitt Romney's America would look like.?

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney: 'Boring' by design?

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In Mitt Romney's America, unemployment could escalate ? or soar ? as he prematurely slashed the budget and drained demand from a fragile economy. His long-term fiscal policy ? which tracks Rep. Paul Ryan's draconian model ? could turn the next recession into a depression; it would shred the social safety net and devastate programs ranging from college loans to research and development and environmental protections. (Listen to the cheers from the science-denying fringe.) The wealthy would never be asked to pay their fair share by a president who would never risk alienating Grover Norquist. And Romney's enmity toward regulation would invite a repetition of the 2008 financial crash.?

Thus the "jobs" candidate could become the jobs destroyer as president ? which, of course, was what he was when he dismembered companies and fired workers during his years in the private sector. He is not just the tribune of the 1 percent; he is the 1/10th of 1 percent. (In Iowa, his son Josh just talked about the Romneys'?"pretty small" $12 million beachfront house in La Jolla, Calif.)

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney is the only adult in the room

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In Mitt Romney's America, Medicare would be voucherized and Social Security would be privatized. Insurance companies would be free again to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and to cancel policies as the costs of life-saving treatment mounted. Tens of millions more would be left without health insurance.?

And Mitt Romney's America would be a narrow and bigoted place, too. He opposed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He's proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages. His Supreme Court nominees would tip the balance and overturn Roe v. Wade. And what about civil rights? Romney has become an immigrant-baiter who now wants to build that "danged fence" along the border. The co-chair of his Justice Advisory Committee is Robert Bork, who called the 1964 Civil Rights Act "unsurpassed ugliness". On issues of equality, Mitt Romney's America would look a lot like Ted Kennedy's famous description of Robert Bork's America, where "rigid ideology will tip the scales of justice against the kind of country [this] is and ought to be."?

SEE MORE: Is Mitt Romney's business experience really a plus?

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Congress could stop some of Romney's initiatives, and slow or modify others. But if Republicans control both houses, the only breakwater would be Democratic filibusters in the Senate. They wouldn't always be there, and couldn't always work. For example, Romney could reinstate the ban on stem cell research by executive order. He would.?

The ascendant right wing in the Republican Party worries about what's in Romney's soul. But if he wins, they will have him in thrall ? and get what they want from his presidency. Captive to his own opportunism, Romney would have no opportunity to slip the surly bonds of his newly proclaimed ideology. Republican primary voters may fall for Gingrich as they recoil from Romney, but they don't have to. They may not like the flip-flopper, but they would like the firm stands he would take in the White House.

SEE MORE: Has Mitt Romney become a climate-change skeptic?

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And that's why I hope we never have to live in Mitt Romney's America.?

View this article on TheWeek.com
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Conner River ? Dealing with your own Household pets in Moving

30November2011

When moving to a different location of house you?d probably surely not want your pets to be forgotten. In the end, they?ve been a part of the loved ones for a long and have spent time and also emotions together. In moving areas, pets also ought to be thought to be secondly following all of your things. Phoenix moving company tells that moving is usually a stressful matter for persons and it really is the same along with your pets. But somewhat understand how of this matter, the trip can be pleasant for each you and your pet.

Most moving company in Phoenix will allow pets within their automobiles. Prior to travelling, it really is much better to provide pets drinking water in the morning and also limit the amount of food you might let them have the night just before the travel. If travelling involves nighttime journey, limit also the food you might give them at night. Kennels of huge canines ought to be placed on the vehicle first, then put every canine one by one after the kennel is in its correct location. Don?t forget to bring along water and also food for pets so they may not get starved until eventually you reach house. Leashes of pets ought to be placed on the kennel door so it will be prepared after necessary. For a mess free travel, normally maintain a poop scooper prepared. As travel possibly as well a lot stressful for pets, be sure to provide them objects to maintain them cozy and also calm like blanket or favorite toys. Household pets ought to also be kept protected in their kennels or cages by making certain that the doors are locked securely and adequately. Household pets may well move around the vehicle and get into furniture and boxes that could result to injuries.

In the course of stopovers or when at rest location, it really is much better to walk canines and cats to relieve them from stress. If time permits that you just quit inside a hotel, give your pets little food. Enable canines out of their kennels and the cats outdoors of their cage. If the hotel includes a pet area, you can leave them there till you?ve enough rest and are set to continue your trip.

Source: http://www.connriver.net/dealing-with-your-own-household-pets-in-moving.html

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