text:
Habermas and Brandom, Facts and Norms
3 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on October 29, 2007
Update: This piece has subsequently been revised into a conference paper. The revised version is available online, and the comments section there includes a very good discussion and debate about the conference paper. We recommend that readers interested in this piece, consult the revised version and the subsequent discussion to see the further development of the thoughts originally outlined here.
In spite of the obvious difficulties of joint-authoring a paper with a fictional collaborator, NP and I have decided to submit a presentation for the upcoming Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy conference entitled Dialogues in Place. This comes on the back of a welcome return to the Reading Group, which has been in temporary hiatus. It's been a while since I've been in a position to blog or comment here, but notwithstanding… NP has exhorted invited me to initiate a discussion around some aspects of our proposed presentation. The conference itself
will focus on the conception of dialogue
in philosophy, but with particular emphasis on the opening
up of philosophical dialogue between traditions and cultures
especially between east and west and on the way the happening
of dialogue in place sheds light on both the nature of dialogue
as well as on the place in which such dialogic engagement
takes place.
Our own presentation is somewhat tangential to these concerns, but closely enough related: it aims to examine the work of Habermas and Brandom in relation to the question of normative ideals. The purpose of the following discussion is to outline, in suitably rough and tentative fashion, some thoughts in relation to a recent interchange between Habermas and Brandom, following on from the publication of Brandom's Making It Explicit. Signficant caveat lector: both NP and I are still slowly progressing through the substantive portions of Making It Explicit, and the following remarks should be interpreted in the light of an as-yet incomplete reading of Brandom's work. I'll start with an overview of the exchange, and an all-too-brief synopsis of Brandom's account, followed by a break-down of Habermas' objections and Brandom's replies.
Habermas' interest in Brandom can be seen as an extension of his engagement with the Anglo-American pragmatist tradition, which began in the 70's, and forms a cornerstone of his own magnus opus, The Theory of Communicative Action. Two distinct strains of this tradition concern Habermas: on the one hand, linguistic pragmatics, through the work of J L Austin and John Searle; and on the other, the philosophical pragmatism which runs through, most explicitly, James, Dewey and Rorty, but which can also be found in Wittgenstein, Quine and Davidson. It is therefore not surprising that he would be particularly interested in a major work which in part aims to marry together the two. Brandom summarises the project of Making it Explicit in a precis to a volume of Philosophy and Phenomenological Research dedicated to that work:
The book is an attempt to explain the meanings of linguistic expressions in terms of their use. The explanatory strategy is to begin with an account of social practices, to identify the particular structure they must exhibit in order to qualify as specifically linguistic practices, and then to consider what different sorts of semantic contents those practices can confer on states, performances, and expressions caught up in them in suitable ways. The result is a kind of conceptual role semantics that is at once firmly rooted in actual practices of producing and consuming speech acts, and sufficiently finely articulated to make clear how those practices are capable of conferring a rich variety of kinds of content. [my emphases in bold]
The privileging of use over meaning, pragmatics over semantics, and social practices over cognitive states in the order of explanation marks Brandom's account as avowedly pragmatist in both of the senses described above. Throughout the nuanced passages of Making It Explicit, the overarching gambit is that of bringing the finely tuned semantic analyses of language characteristic of much Anglo-American philosophy in the twentieth century within the broader rubric of societised and historicised linguistic users which is the substance of a social theoretic account like Habermas'. Nevertheless Brandom stops far short of a commitment to the kind of social quasi-transcendental categories employed by Habermas, using terms like the 'social' as simple 'unexplained explainers'. This is not necessarily a weakness of his approach; however it forms an important point of aporetic disagreement between Habermas and Brandom in what follows.
Writing in 2000, in an article entitled From Kant to Hegel: On Robert Brandom's Pragmatic Philosophy of Language, Habermas begins with high praise:
Making it Explicit is a milestone in theoretical philosophy just as A Theory of Justice was a milestone in practical philosophy in the early 1970's. Displaying a sovereign command of the intricate discussion in the analytic philosophy of language, Brandom manages successfully to carry out a programme within the philosophy of language that has already been sketched by others [note: Habermas footnotes a number of prior pragmatist accounts, including his own], without losing sight of the vision inspiring the enterprise in the important details of his investigation. The work owes its exceptional rank to its rare combination of speculative impulse and staying power. It painstakingly works out an innovative connection of formal pragmatics with inferential semantics, articulating a self-understanding that was already available as a tradition but in need of renewal. Using the tools of a complex theory of language Brandom succeeds in describing convincingly the practices in which the reason and autonomy of subjects capable of speech and action are developed.
The remainder of the article is in two parts: the first is largely an articulation of Brandom's position, though phrased in idioms more familiar to Habermas. The second part adopts a more critical tone, through a series of objections to which Brandom, in turn, replies in Facts, Norms, and Normative Facts: A Reply to Habermas (also published in the European Journal of Philosophy, 2000). As Brandom's title highlights, at the heart of the exchange is the conceptual status of facts and norms in their respective frameworks. Habermas states three key objections, respectively, in sections 4, 5 and 6 of his paper. I will try to provide a simplified explanation of these objections here, along Brandom's replies; however the differing idioms make this a difficult exercise in terms of explication.
The problem of 'conceptual realism'
In Habermas' recitation of Brandom's thesis, Brandom wants firstly to avoid the naturalist account of language, in which words designate objects in some real world. This entails a number of corresponding arguments: that of semantic atomism, in which words, rather than sentences, are prior in the order of explanation of linguistic meaning; of representationalism, in which the correspondence between words and objects is taken as given, or at any rate, non-problematic; of verificationalism, in which truth, rather than inference, plays the primary functional role of language. Brandom avowedly wants to submit an account that is normative rather than naturalistic; semantically holistic rather than atomistic; inferentialist rather than representationalist; and oriented firstly towards use-via-inference, rather than meaning-via-truth. For Habermas, what is just as distinctive about Brandom is his desire to retain an Enlightenment commitment to objectivity, without the trappings (in Brandom's terms) of its Cartesian overtones. So:
Brandom, who is evidently not prepared to tolerate anti-realist consequences, cannot accept a transcendentalised linguistic approach, whether this be given a culturalist turn (MacIntyre), an onto-historical one (Derrida) or a pragmatist one (Rorty).
Such a position – both realist and pragmatist – could be brought about by referral to a social grounding which gives linguistic participants its conceptual tools ready-made in the form of concretised facts; but in this event there would be no availability of critical 'kick-back' from those participants. The first problem for Habermas then is that Brandom must be committed to either circularity or contradiction:
How is it possible at all to conceive of the sedimentation of world-knowledge in linguistic knowledge as the checking of linguistic knowledge through world-knowledge? Semantically relevant learning processes would have to explain how empirical contact with things and events can trigger off a revision of the ("world-disclosing") linguistic categories and conceptual norms that have been supplied in advance. Brandom rejects a naturalist explanation. However, as I show in (1), a pragmatist one, which would suit the construction of his theory, cannot be developed solely from the phenomenalist viewpoint of an interpreter who understands a language. For this reason, as I show in (2), Brandom sees himself compelled to adopt a conceptual realism that, with its propositions about the structure 'in itself', undermines his discourse-theoretically based analysis of a reality that 'appears' in language.
Further on:
In perceiving an unsuccessful action, the actor 'rubs up' against a disappointing reality that, as it were, terminates its hitherto proven willingness to play along in an action-context that no longer functions. The objective world can register this 'protest' only performatively by refusing to 'go along with' targeted interventions in a world of causally interpreted sequences of events. This explains why Brandom, who has committed himself to a phenomenalist analysis of language, does not take into consideration the pragmatist explanation of semantically learning processes… Only when agents distance themselves from their practical dealings with the world and enter argumentation or rational discourse, objectifying the situation 'ready to hand' in order to reach understanding with one another about something in the world, does a perception that challenges reality and shakes up behavioural certainties become a 'reason' that as a criticism gains entry into the conceptual balance and the semantic reservoir of potential inferences attached to existing views, setting in motion revisions, if necessary.
In this way Brandom's investigation can proceed unwaveringly in a linear fashion from perception to action without taking any notice of how perceptions are embedded in contexts of action and without paying attention to the revisionary power that accrues to peceptions only through their feedback relation to 'coping' – to the success-controlled practice of dealing with problems.
For Habermas, Brandom's pragmatism is a strangely quietist one. It allows for only a one-way entry of phenomena into discourse, at an initial point of perception. Thereafter linguistic practice takes its course, without providing further feedback via a loop of subsequent perception-action, which Habermas would like to foreground.
Thus Brandom's hard-fought gain of reality is a hollow one, in which "both our discursively won thoughts as well as the world grasped in thoughts are inherently of a conceptual nature – that is, are made of the same stuff – grants to experience no more than a passively mediating role". Habermas then locates Brandom's position as a reaction to forms of naturalism, hermeneuticism and pragmatism expounded by his predecessors, and terminates this line of critique with a contrastive positioning of Brandom and Wittgenstein:
Together with the Wittgenstein of the Tractatus Brandom conceives of the world as the totality of facts… In constrast to Wittgenstein, however, Brandom does not understand this formulation in the sense of a transcendental linguistic idealism according to which the limits of our language are the limits of our world. He finds an objective linguistic idealism more congenial: because facts, in which the world consists, are essentially what can be stated in true sentences, the world itself is of this kind – namely, of a conceptual nature. For this reason the objectivity of the world is not attested to by contingencies that we experience through being affected by the senses and in our practical dealings [with the world] but only through the discursive resistances of stubborn objections.
One of the governing impulses of The Theory of Communicative Action is the potential for human agency within the overwhelmingly system-regulated character of capitalist modernity. While Habermas would applaud Brandom's rigorous dissection of linguistic practice and overarching argument on the locus of rationality within linguistic practice, what he sees as the inevitable result of Brandom's turn from naturalism leads to an untenable "semantic passivity". For both Habermas and Brandom, as it turns out, this is an objectionable stance; though for Habermas it is objectionable both on epistemological grounds – it gives insufficient space for the dialectical relationship between perception and action in acquiring knowledge – and on moral grounds – it rules out precisely the possibility for "communicative action". Since this is related to Habermas' third line of critique (and Brandom's reply), I'll return to it shortly.
The essence of Brandom's response to this objection is, I think, to emphasise that his distinctive brand of realism is one of priority, an emphasis upon a given "order of explication". Hence he can say: "I agree with all of these criticisms of epistemological theories that present knowers as passive spectators. But I deny that seeing our cognitive job as getting the facts right – commiting ourselves to claims that were in many cases already true independently of our activities – implies any such passive conception". As preparation for his more forceful rebuttal, he states:
This claim about order of explication in ontology reflects a more fundamental asymmetry between the conceptions of sentence and of singular term. Object-based ontologies suffer by comparison to fact-based ones in the same ways and for the same reasons that nominalistic semantics suffers by contrast to sentential semantics.
Objects are not, however, dispensed with: they simply are secondary in the "order of explication" to facts. "The conceptual articulation of facts is such that the most basic ones must have the structure of attributing properties and relations to objects". The nub of Brandom's response is articulated a little further on:
Here is a diagnosis: Habermas seems to take it that my attempt at securing objectivity intersubjectively (as the product of the orthogonal distinctions on the one hand between the two sorts of deontic status, commitment and entitlement, and on the other between the two sorts of deontic attitude, acknowledging and attributing) either fails to underwrite anything recognizable as, or cannot be the whole story about objectivity. Given that, it then seems natural to assume that I look elsewhere to get what I cannot procure socially – namely to an objective, already conceptually structured reality… But my intent is just the other way around. The recognition of an independent, conceptually structured objective reality is a product of the social (intersubjective) account of objectivity, not something that is either prior to or a substitute for that account… If this diagnosis is correct – that Habermas takes my talk of facts as something that is supposed to explanatory work, rather than (as intended) just as something that is to be explained in social practical terms – then the point that will turn out to bear the most weight must be the social-perspectival account of objectivity, that is, of the nature of the auhority (according to Making It Explicit, always a social category) of how things can be discovered to be (the facts).
It is in fact extremely difficult to know to what extent the "diagnosis is correct" here. A sympathetic view of Habermas' objection sees Brandom as hedging between a naturalistic realism and transcendental idealism, with the consequence of a "conceptual realism" that permits no place for improvement on the pre-given conceptual structures given to us by language. A sympathetic view of Brandom's reply (and broader enterprise) sees a social and dialogical process (idiomatically expressed as the "giving and asking for reasons") as foundational to his account – the "feedback loop" between perception and action required for verification is still available to this process, but downstream in the order of explanation from the essentially normative character of the process itself.
There are two points which are striking here however:
1. If Habermas' criticism here is deemed to hold, it is somewhat fundamental in its implications for Brandom's overall account. It is therefore surprising to see this in the context of an overall positive appraisal of Making It Explicit. More specifically, the last few paragraphs of section 4 of Habermas' essay conclude in surprisingly ambiguous terms. The nature of Habermas' criticism is far from the minor point-scoring objection it appears to be in context.
2. On a superficial reading it would appear that a social-theoretically oriented, pragmatist, inferentialist and holist account of meaning is not so very far from that described at length in Theory of Communicative Action. The problematic of how to describe meaning in ways that are neither naturalist-realist nor conceptualist-idealist would elicit greater sympathy from Habermas (this in turn could well be the response to the first point – that for its deficiencies Making It Explicit at least makes a number of the right kinds of moves).
The problem of speakers: "I-You", "I-We", "I-Them"
The second objection Habermas raises concerns the focus of Making It Explict on forms of discursive practice which are intersubjective only in narrowest sense – dialogue between two participants, between a "I" and "you":
Brandom wants to grant priority to symmetric 'I-you relations' between first and second persons over asymmetric 'I-we relations' in which the individual is, so to speak, overwhelmed by the collectivity. But does he redeem this claim?
To the collectivist picture of a linguistic community that commands ultimate authority Brandom opposes the individualist picture of single pairs of interpersonal relationships, but he does not give its due to the horizon of meaning of a linguistically disclosed world that is shared intersubjectively by all members.
In other words, Brandom's notion of discursive practice is limited to an idealised case of the 'social', which does not faithfully represent the rough-and-tumble world of communication between first, second and third persons, singularly and plurally. Of course Brandom follows conventional practice within the analytical tradition (echoed by Wittgenstein, Austin, Quine and Davidson among others) of using simplistic exemplars, to isolate minimalist cases precisely to avoid the complications of real-world dialogical interactions. But Habermas further charges that Brandom does not even remain faithful to this minimalist case:
On closer examination, however, it becomes evident that the act of attributing, which is of fundamental importance for discursive practice, is not really carried out by a second person… It is no accident that Brandom prefers to identify the interpreter with a public that assesses the utterance of a speaker – and not with an addressee who is expected to give the speaker an answer.
Not only does Brandom miss the importance of the 'I-we relation'; he subverts the 'I-you relation' into an 'I-they relation', which misses the essential character of communication: 'Evidently Brandom assumes that the result of communication consists in the simplest case in an epistemic relation – a relation between what the speaker says about something in the world and the attribution of what is said undertaken by the interpreter'. This would seem to be bourn about in the central position Brandom accords to the 'de re'/'de dicta' distinction.
Furthermore, Brandom's individualistic emphasis belie what for Habermas is the central communicative function:
Communication is not a self-sufficient game with which the interlocutors reciprocally inform each other about their beliefs and intentions. It is only the imperative of social integration – the need to coordinate the action-plans of independently deciding participants in action – that explains the point of linguistic communication.
Where Brandom has repeatedly emphasised, in Making It Explicit and Articulating Reasons, the value derived from adopting a position of semantic holism, here Habermas accuses him of being socially atomistic. Rather communication belongs to the social whole, to the need to integrate individuals within a social structure. Habermas takes aim too at Brandom's central metaphor of the "score-keeping" that happens in the game of "giving and asking for reasons":
However, in the case of a strategic team game such as baseball, it is a matter of a calculated adjustment to the reactions of others and not of a consensual co-operation that can satisfy the requirements of social integration… [According to this view] discursive practive emerges on the basis of reciprocal observation from inferences drawn by individual participant, each of them for herself. This picture falls short of establishing that the participants can converge in their intersubjective recognition of the same validity claim and can share knowledge in the strict sense of the verb.
Brandom has some sympathy with the starting point of this objection, although he soon states in reply "I believe that the conceptual raw materials provided are entirely sufficient to characterize such interactions". But the brunt of his response is directed towards the broader target Habermas outlines as that of the communicative function. For Brandom, it is meaningless to talk about some overriding function at all in this way:
Linguistic practice is not for something. It does not, as a whole, have an aim or a goal. It may and does, of course, fulfill many functions. But none of them is its raison d'etre. Language is certainly not a tool for the expression of thoughts intelligible as such apart from their relation to such a means of expression, as Locke, in the company of most of the Cartesian tradition thought. For that conception of thoughts is mythological.
Brandom in turn accuses Habermas of an unsustainable reductionism here. For Brandom language is the multi-purpose tool that allows for a switching of many means to many ends, within a paradigmatically rationalist rubric. Put more elegantally: "For discursive practice is a mighty engine for the envisaging and engendering of new ends – thereby transforming the very concept of an end or goal, giving it for the first time its proper, practical-rational, sense". To treat linguistic practice instead as merely a form of socially-binding adhesive is to assimilate it to a host of related social-functional practices – preparing meals, conducting rituals or sharing artifacts, for example. Whereas Brandom wants to insist upon the difference of specifically linguistic practice, namely, in that it enables a form of rationalised engagement with others unavailable by other means.
Brandom concludes his second response by emphasising another reason why he cannot condone the social integration functionalist account – in that it relies ultimately upon psychologistic conceptions, like "belief, intention and expectation". A key feature of his account is again that "assertional practice" comes earlier in the order of explanation of meaning. Habermas' implicit premise in turns requires just these kinds of "representalist" conceptions – language functions to "express" beliefs, intentions and so on – and thus succumbs, implicitly, to the very same charge of out-dated "mythologism".
As with the first objection, despite the sometimes ambivalent and courteous phrasing, both objection and reply point to substantive differences between Habermas and Brandom. For Habermas, Brandom is mistakenly individualist and socially atomist; for Brandom, Habermas suffers from the fallibilism of functional representationalism. These are large chasms to navigate if one wanted to find means to marry Brandom's pragmatic-semantic project to Habermas' social-theoretic one.
The Problem of Facts and Norms
Habermas' third objection concerns the pivotal concepts of facts and norms in Brandom's work. For Habermas, facts and norms are differentiated at a "metatheoretical" level. Thus Brandom makes something like a category error in collapsing the fact/norm distinction:
Brandom himself uses the vocabulary with the help of which we, in the horizon of our world, distinguish between facts and norms, events and action. However, he conceives of everything we do in applying concepts as action in a broader sense. Unlike Kant, Brandom reduces practical and theoretical reason to the common denominator of rational activity. According to this view, judgements and beliefs are guided by norms just as much as the intentions to act, with the result that they cannot be differentiated according to descriptive and prescriptive relations to action.
All communicative practices – even those that, like expressive, aesthetic, ethical, moral or legal discourses, do not refer to the stating of facts – are supposed to be able to be analysed on the basis of assertions.
On the one hand, Brandom relativises the metatheoretical distinction between facts and norms with respective to the normative language within which this distinction has to be made. On the other, he treats normative states of affairs as facts on the assumption that we have always to use a normative language when we make statements.
Brandom's response to this series of charges involves a justification of a different use of the terms, 'facts' and 'norms'. These are operationalised within Brandom's system in a fundamentally different way to how Habermas uses them within his theory in Theory of Communicative Action. For Habermas, facts belong to a realm of instrumental reason: the sorts of statements which are produced in rationalised systems, like science, technology and the economic market. Norms contrast with facts; they are produced within the moral-judicial sphere that stands opposed to rationalised systems. Blurring this "metatheoretical" distinction is thus a critical category error. Brandom does not however want to deny this Kantian distinction. Rather, his prototypical use of "facts" and "norms" is in some sense pre-spherical – they are constituents of the general linguistic framework required for the production of specific kinds of statements. Put crudely (indeed this general discussion obscures the more precise and systematic exposition Brandom supplies in Making It Explicit): facts are the matter which are crafted and shaped in social discourse to produce agreement between agents. Agreement is what for Brandom brings an irrevocably normative dimension to this kind of social practice. That is, by proceeding to make factual claims, agents are attempting to "normalise" eachother's beliefs and attitudes, regardless of the content of such claims. Thus Brandom can say:
The difference in question shows up in the systematically central distinction between nonnormative facts and normative facts. Using 'fact' in such a way as to acknowledge that there are normative facts does not require blurring this distinction. One important way of distinguishing regions of facts is by the vocabulary needed to state them. This is how we pick out physical facts, mathematical facts, intentional facts, the problematic category of semantic vocabulary, and so on. Normative facts are those whose statements require normative vocabulary.
Unfortunately Brandom's own use of "normative" here contravenes his use elsewhere – here he means something like what Habermas would expect, moral or ethical edicts of some kind. But the general use of "norm" by Brandom is in a linguistic (and derivatively) functional sense: the function of a given assertion, paradigmatically, is bring about agreement through a normalising of beliefs and attitudes. Brandom does however have equivalent terms to what Habermas means in his fact/norm distinction:
Statements expressing practical commitments have a normative force that is a close analog (in my somewhat different system) to prescriptve force: indicating, for instance, what someone is committed to doing, rather than how things simply are. Of course, that someone is committed to act in a certain way is also a fact about how things are. But it is a different kind of fact from those formulable using nonnormative vocabulary.
Earlier Brandom has characterised this distinction as that of doxastic commitments (corresponding to a belief in a given state of affairs) and practical commitments (corresponding to an intention to do something). If it is accepted that the criticism is founded only on the basis of a mistranslation or misconstrual of Brandom's terms – if, for instance, Habermas' facts and norms are substituted for Brandom's doxastic and practical commitments – then naturally the criticism vanishes, or at least must take a different form. However Habermas wants to make a stronger case. Brandom's retention of distinctions is insufficient from the point of view of proper adherence to Kantian kinds of rationality. Regardless of merit, for Habermas Brandom still collapses a vital qualitative difference between the purposive-rational sphere of facts and the practical-moral sphere of norms:
From a Kantian point of view a practical project is all the more rational the more the agent's will is determined by rational considerations. An agent acts autonomously to the extent that he frees himself from arbitrary determinations, that is, from mere preferences or from conventional considerations of status and tradition… Only moral reasons, however, bind the wills of agents unconditionally, that is, independently even of the value-orientations of a given community.
In Habermas' view Brandom's account does not allow for something like universal morality to emerge from the game of "giving and asking for reasons". And yet, this is what a properly Kantian account must do, or lapse again into contradiction:
The deontological understanding of morality, which Brandom himself also favours, does not fit the conceptual-realist understanding of the moral vocabulary he proposes in order to anchor the objective content of our concepts (of all concepts, including evaluative and moral ones) in the conceptual structures of the universe. In other words, a Kantian conception of autonomy does not sit well with a picture that levels the discontinuity between facts and norms…. under the contingent restrictions of an objective world from which they can obtain no normative guidance for their dealings with one another, they have to reach agreement in common on which norms they want in order to regulate their co-existence legitimately.
The title of Habermas' paper catches up this final, and most problematic of objections: 'From Kant to Hegel'. For all Brandom's rigorous explication of inferential semantics couched within a normative pragmatics, there is ground for the positing of valid norms that do not emerge naturalistically from discourse within traditional constraints. This is to repeat the Hegelian turn from a universal categorical imperative towards an endless dialectical process, which in a secular context has neither moral foundation nor teleological endpoint.
Brandom is alive to the moral ambivalence of his account, although he wants to emphasise that "practical commitments… should not be assimilate to the doxastic commitments". He closes his reply with the provision of two possible moral-theoretic inflections, introduced with the following caveat:
The words 'morality' and 'ethics' (like 'experience') do not so much as occur in this long book. Such an omission may seem strange in a work that takes normativity as one of its principal guiding themes. It is, of course, not inadvertent. Its approach is motivated in part by the thought that the understanding of conceptual normativity has been hampered by the fact that theorists of normativity have typically focussed on moral norms.
The two options are "natural kind skepticism" or "a trancendental moral theory". In the first view, moral reasons are justly undifferentiated from other kinds of reasons – they are reasons for action, but qualitatively indistinct. Here, "one might even suspect that the concept of distinctly moral reasons is a historical relic, an artifact (as one might think the concept of distinctively aesthetic reasons i) of a philosophical outlook and project that belong to an age we have rightly moved beyond". Brandom is characterising, perhaps with a hint of parody, the kind of "Hegelian-Brandomism" Habermas is conplaining about. Conversely, in the second view, "one would look to ground one's ethics in commitments that turn out to be implicit in engaging in discursive practices at all". Thus a ethical orientation would be found to underwrite the entire "giving and asking for reasons" project, as a kind of meta-level "stance", perhaps stated in social-contractual terms, which permits dialogue to proceed. Brandom connects such a theory with Hegel's project:
Since in this way making explicit what is implicit in concept-use generally is precisely the expressive role distinctive of logical vocabulary, it would follow that the road to ethics is paved by logic. I take it that this thought is one of the central structures animating Hegel's approach to ethical concepts and commitments.
Thus Brandom concludes with the animating thought that the ethical dimension to linguistic practice remains underdetermined rather than undermined by his account.
This may be insufficient to counter Habermas' objections, since after all the role of the analysis of pragmatics within Theory of Communicative Action is to bolster an overarching analysis of society within modernity, to give impetus to the potentials for transformation of an overly rationalised and systematised world. To leave open the very issue of ethical grounds for discursive practice is therefore to erect a hollow, if elegantly baroque, theoretical apparatus. An inverted form of this dilemma remains, which has prompted some discussion between NP, myself and others: to what extent does a more fleshed-out, analytically capable account of discursive practice like Brandom's serve to strengthen, or alternatively undermine, a social-theoretical framework like Habermas'? This is one of the points our presentation is likely to revolve around, and a key motive for exposing these otherwise fragmentary remarks.
I mentioned at the outset that the discussion seems, however respectful, ultimately aporetic. Yet there is a sense among some of the secondary literature that succeeded this debate that Brandom can represent an updated and more forceful pragmatist cornerstone to Habermas' social theory – or conversely, something like Habermas' theory is required to supplement the 'unexplained explainer' of the 'social' in Brandom's work. The (highly) preliminary "results" suggest that this would be difficult to arrive at, without some systematic re-wiring of either or both accounts.
Critical Theory, Dialogue, Events, Linguistics, Reading Group
← Capital, Volume 1, Chapter 1: The Universal as Particular	"Mainstreaming" Academic Blogging →
3 responses to "Habermas and Brandom, Facts and Norms"
Pingback: Social Security « Grundlegung
Beautiful, masterful piece – to which I won't be able to respond in any detail, unfortunately, until Friday at the earliest (field interviews, and then an all-day school conference, in the intervening days). Many thanks for getting this started, and hopefully others will respond before I have the opportunity.
N Pepperell December 7, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Just a pointer here to LM's revised version of this argument, in the conference presentation that grew out of this piece.


Newmark Knight Frank represented Millis Properties, LLC in the purchase of 9330 W. Martin Ave., an 8,705 square foot office building, from Joseph & Geraldine Dehorty Living Trust. Total consideration was $1,415,000. NKF's Managing Director Ben Millis, SIOR, and Associate Director Dave Wrzesinski represented the buyer in the transaction. Tina Taylor and Ryan McCullough of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction.


^ U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2014 to FY 2015 (PDF). National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute. 2016. (原始内容 (PDF)存档于2016-01-31).
^ Suppliers and Other Useful Contacts - Amherst College. Amherst College. [26 September 2014]. (原始内容存档于2015年1月11日).


ALLEN, TX – The Allen Americans got off to a fast start last night scoring three unanswered goals in the first period and cruised to a 7-3 victory over the Wichita Thunder. One of the largest Wednesday night crowds ever (4271) at the Allen Event Center (AEC) saw a balanced Allen attack score multiple goals in all three periods. With the win, Allen leapfrogged Wichita into third place in the Mountain Division.
Goal scorers for Allen were Zach Hall (1), Mathieu Aubin (6), Casey Pierro-Zabotel (9&10), Colby McAuley (5), Olivier Archambault (5) and Eric Roy (7).
– It was good to see Hall finally score. It was a great second effort on his part and a nice pass from Schoenborn. Basara also made a nice pass to McAuley on his goal.
– It is nice to score seven goals and know you are getting the second leading points per game guy (Bryan Moore) back for the next game.
– I have never seen a player in this league that is as quick as Archambault and sees the ice as well. He is so quick when he makes his moves and you saw that little head fake he made to get everyone moving before he passed the puck to Roy on his goal. He is one of those guys where you have to be ready at all times. It is a lot of fun watching him play.
– Our defense goes "D" to "D" better than any other group in the league if you ask me. We practice that every day with guys in front of the net and it pays off with those tipped goals. We actually work on shots from the point in the air, to sticks in front of the net and that worked tonight.
– We will have an easy practice tomorrow and work on our set breakout and forecheck as we have some new guys that haven't done it in a while. Some of the guys don't need to skate but we need to get some shots for our goalies so we will practice for 30 minutes or so.
– Vincent Arseneau didn't play for Utica (AHL) tonight because he has the flu. (The Barracuda did not play but play Stockton on Thursday at home).
– The win against Wichita last night was a good start, but only a start with three more games against the Thunder this weekend. The team will have a light practice this morning before heading to Wichita for games on Friday and Saturday. The Americans close out the four-game set with Wichita at the AEC on Sunday (5:05 pm).
– It was quite an offensive outburst by the Americans last night. The seven goals are the most goals scored all season at home. Allen did have eight goals in their first game of the season in Rapid City. The big offensive night helped several players maintain or take over the ECHL lead in the following categories.
David Makowski – David is #1, leading all ECHL defensemen in points (29) and assists (22).
– Jeremy Brodeur earned his ninth win of the season and now has a record of 9-2-2-1. He is #2 in the ECHL with a save percentage of .931.


text:
Community & EventsIssue 12
It gets hot in Cleveland (during CLAW)!
August 30, 2022 ·5 mins read·110 views
Marco Hohl Author
Mr Evidence Leather 2023 Interview
An interview with CLAW co-founder Bob Miller
When you live in two completely different time zones, and you are supposed to meet for an interview on WhatsApp Video, things can get a bit confusing. That's how I ended up chatting with CLAW co-founder, President and Executive Director Bob Miller in his (Californian) bed, which even included some unexpected pillow talk! #noneedtoreschedule
CLAW, short for Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend, is a fetish event that takes place every year in late April/early May. Unlike most of its North American counterparts, CLAW doesn't revolve around finding a sashy new title holder bearing its name. Instead, the popular event focuses on kinky sex education, meeting like-minded people and having tons of consensual fun. The first edition took place in a small bar way back in January 2002. CLAW has been growing ever since, now filling multiple downtown hotels and several nearby bars and clubs.
Good morning Bob! Let's talk CLAW. Tell us about the event!
"CLAW is a 4-day leather convention for men with over 250 events. There's a huge leather vendor mart and we have dozens of dance, sex and dungeon parties. We offer more than a hundred education sessions on bondage, SM, fetish, sexual health, power dynamics and a range of other topics. We encourage our educators to have as many hands-on sessions as possible, so participants can experience on the spot what they've been taught. There are speed dating sessions, auctions and banquets. And, there's entertainment and a private, equipped cigar deck with 24-hour action. Last time two thousand people got the badge, which allows access to almost all the events; hundreds more just came for the vendor mart and the parties."
How did you come up with the idea for CLAW?
"In 2001 I was a contestant for International Mr. Leather in Chicago, and I became friends with Dennis McMahon, who was Mr. Cleveland Leather at the time. We both didn't win the contest – we didn't even make it to the top 20 – but we had a great time meeting our fellow competitors. Together, Dennis and I came up with the idea for CLAW, a leather convention in Cleveland without a contest. It opened our eyes to what else a leather event might be, and we've been building on that idea ever since. One thousand volunteers make CLAW possible every year. The event is organized as a community charity and all our profits are donated to other community charities; so far, we've donated almost 1 million dollars."
What's your favourite memory of CLAW? Is there an event that you look back on fondly?
"In 2009 I started the Leather Hall of Fame. This organization has an academic mission: to recognize and honour individuals and organizations that have made substantial contributions to the leather community. Every year a committee selects three people or organizations for induction into the Leather Hall of Fame. We research, write and publish their stories, and hold an induction ceremony that takes place during CLAW. In 2010 we honoured Frank Olsen and Don Morisson. They held private leather BDSM play parties in their home in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s, way before there were bars and clubs. They made the leather scene happen before it could actually happen. Frank and Don had left New York and they were living together in rural Pennsylvania. They had been disconnected from the community for many years. We invited them to attend the induction ceremony, so these handsome old men in their late eighties came to Cleveland. They wore their leather vests and pants, buttoned-up white shirts, both dressed identically, and they told us what it was like back in the old days. They received a well-deserved standing ovation from a room of people, most of whom had never heard of them before that day. It was very joyous and very gratifying."
As Executive Director you must be a very busy man during the whole weekend. Do you have time for some fun yourself or maybe even a hookup?
"It has happened, but only once. During the event I try to spend a little bit of time with as many different people as I can; sponsors, vendors, volunteers, first time visitors. That's my job. But in 2019 there was this French guy who came to CLAW with the specific intention of seducing me. I had met him once before, but I didn't remember it at the time. He had planned in advance that we would sit next to each other during the BLUF dinner. He was bragging to me about all these dates that he had had, and he told me it was his first CLAW. He bought me a glass of wine and eventually asked if he could kiss me, and I was like, 'Suuuure!' Then I got this long kiss. When it was over, I told him: 'I've been waiting my whole life for that kiss.' That reaction was completely spontaneous and truthful; it wasn't a line that I had rehearsed."
Not Yet Yes, Queer Day curated by Simon(e) van Saarloos
You still look intoxicated thinking of that kiss Bob. Hahaha. What happened next?
"Well, he asked me if he could spend the rest of the weekend with me. He knew I had lots to do, but he promised to help me out where he could, and that he would cancel all his plans. And he had this sexy French accent… what was I supposed to do? Of course, I said yes!"
After this year, you're stepping down as President and Executive Director. You've been involved with CLAW for more than two decades. What has kept you going all this time?
"CLAW started as a volunteer thing for me, back when I was still a lawyer. Eventually, it became so big that it took over my life and I gave up my day job. I've been motivated by my belief that 'our' interest in leather, fetish and BDSM, is natural and healthy, and that the world at large still doesn't know that. Most cultures regard the way we have sex as abnormal and pathological. We're told it's wrong to thrive on power dynamics during sex. Oscar Wilde once said: 'Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.' I believe that's true. Whether gay or straight, fetish events like CLAW provide opportunities to meet up and learn from each other how healthy and 'normal' our sexualities are. In fifty or hundred years, when society has a better understanding of sex and kink, they'll look back at the leather communities of the late 20th and early 21st century and see us as heroic. We queued up outside of clubs in full leather or latex, while cars drove by honking, their drivers taunting us. The society around us told us we were 'sick', but we knew better!"
CLAW 2022 takes place from April 27 – May 1 in Cleveland, Ohio (a big, liberal city on Lake Erie, halfway between New York and Chicago). Check out https://clawinfo.org for tickets, reservations and more information. And make sure to visit CLAW's second annual event, the Thanksgiving Leather Getaway from November 23 – 27 in Los Angeles, California.
Previous ArticleHey Bryan #5 – Shamelessly Prefers Asian Guys
Next ArticleSuperheroes and fetishism
Marco Hohl
Marco Hohl is a Dutch/German freelance journalist living in Amsterdam. He's out, proud and opinionated and thinks sex and humour go hand in hand – especially when you write about topics that are taboo to most people. You can follow his adventures on Instagram @hohlinone, where he has been documenting his day-to-day life for the last 5 years #365daysofinstagram.
A conversation with Stephen Monaghan.
EventsParty Report
GOING 'ALL OUT'
CommunityHuman Rights & SocietyIssue 13
Café 't Mandje, Nothing to hide.
HistoryQUEER SPACES SPOTLIGHT

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You call it Easter Week; Latin America calls it Semana Santa. You celebrate with chocolate, colorful eggs, and meals based on ham or perhaps lamb. Costa Rica celebrates with…none of the above. Costa Rica celebrates with stuffed tamales, corn and dried cheese biscuits called "rosquillas," trips to the beach, and lots of guaro. It's going to be the cultural experience of your life. We're creating this guide for you so that you can know what to expect when to expect it, and how to have the best vacation of your life in the midst of this unique cultural experience.
First, lets' talk about the weather. Semana Santa comes at the hottest time of year. If you love hot, you're going to be the happiest beach bum on the beach! If you don't do well with heat and you have booked an Easter vacation in a Tamarindo, you will probably choose to spend the middle part of the days in air-conditioned places or up to your neck in the pool. This is no problem! Your Tamarindo vacation rental or Tamarindo hotel will have air conditioning and a pool, so enjoy! Open-air dining in Costa Rica is common, but some air-conditioned Tamarindo restaurant options are The Santa Rita Café, Nordico Coffee, Rumors, Wok n Roll, Wabi Sabi Sushi, Antichi Sapori, and Buon Appetit. Hit the beach in the early mornings before 9 or after 5 pm for sunset, and you will still catch it at the most beautiful times of the day.
Semana Santa starts on the Monday before Easter, and for the first few days, it's pretty much like any other week of the year. This is our busy season, so the town will be lively, the streets will be busy and this Tuesday won't look much different than last Tuesday. Things will start changing though, on Wednesday because from Thursday to Monday, the entire country shuts down. Everybody in Costa Rica is on vacation.
The beaches, which up until Wednesday afternoon/evening have been full of vacationers from around the world, will now be visited, additionally, by all of Costa Rica.
Anybody who has a car or can get into a bus or a van goes to the beach with as many members of their family as possible during Semana Santa. It's a national tradition. Costa Ricans from San Jose who doesn't get to the beach at any other time of year escapes the city now for some sand and sun. It gets wild. Hotels are full. Hostels are full. Any place you can park a car becomes a campground. You kind of have to see it to believe it. It's got its pros and its cons. If you chose Tamarindo for its lively nightlife and colorful people-watching, you will be thrilled with the spectacle Semana Santa provides. If you chose Tamarindo for its peaceful sunsets and laid-back vibe…you might experience the cons a little more acutely. Just so you know.
The "real" Costa Rica blends itself in with the designed-for-the-tourist Costa Rica beach experience during Semana Santa and it is truly a unique once-a-year experience.
–There will be lines in the grocery stores. Expect this, and be prepared to practice your pura vida.
–The beach is going to be very full. Some people don't mind this and some do. Just know that in Semana Santa it is totally normal and to be expected.
–There will be traffic chaos in Tamarindo. Again, we want your expectations to be realistic. Tamarindo is a resort town built along the streets of a sleepy fishing village, so Semana Santa traffic is a mess. It isn't dangerous, but it will require everyone to practice their patience.
–Go to the grocery store early in the week and STOCK UP. We know you're on vacation and you'd like to take a break from meal planning, but believe us: stock up. You'll be able to go to the store any day, but do yourself this favor. It will make your vacation more restful. When you do need to make a store run, the earlier hours of the day will have shorter lines and the people in them will be soberer. That helps.
–Remember this: In Costa Rica, it is technically illegal to buy/sell alcohol from Thursday through Saturday. In tourist-centered areas like Tamarindo, this law is no longer enforced, so you won't run into trouble right here. You may not be able to buy a beer in small towns or other less-tourist-oriented locations. Just so you know.
–Download a Tamarindo tide chart https://crsurf.com/costa-rica-surf-report/costa-rica-tide-charts-2019/ and enjoy the beach at low tide as often as you can during Semana Santa. At low tide, there's more beach! High tide compresses the Semana Santa throngs into a thin ribbon along the street and the buildings, and honestly, it can be kind of a lot. A quick glance at the tide chart shows that the tide will be low in the mornings and evenings when the climate is the kindest, so already the elements are conspiring to give you a break.
–Make dinner reservations. This is a good idea during the whole busy tourist season, and especially in Semana Santa. You don't need to book weeks ahead—a few hours, or a day at the most, should be fine.
–Walk. Seriously. If at all possible from your Tamarindo vacation rental or hotel, walk where you need to go. Wear comfortable walking sandals, bring a hat, bring a light-colored long-sleeved cotton shirt to keep the sun off, bring a backpack to carry your stuff (avoid the shoulder/back pain that comes from heavy shoulder bags that cause you to walk in an unbalanced manner), and WALK. You will get where you're going faster on foot than taking the car and getting stuck in Semana Santa Tamarindo traffic. Walk. You won't be able to find anywhere to park the car, anyway.
Take an estuary tour. The tour lasts only about 2 hours, but the Las Baulas Estuary that separates Tamarindo from Playa Grande is an untouched national park and is probably the single most relaxing thing you can do in Tamarindo besides floating in the pool with a pina colada. Which you could also do.
Take an afternoon sailing/snorkeling trip. Anything that puts you on a boat and gets you out to sea is a great idea. The tours will probably be full, but they won't be too full to be fantastic. The ocean is relaxing, and whereas there is no limit on how many people can go to the beach, there is a limit on how many people can get on the boat. Tamarindo offers a list of sailboats and catamarans that do half-day sailing trips with drinks, munchies and snorkel gear included. You'll escape the crowds for the afternoon and be back just after sunset.
Sign up for a day-trip adventure package. There are lots of them and they are so much fun! Since everyone who can get to the beach will be here, spend a day in the mountains zip-lining, horseback riding, checking out wildlife refuges and butterfly gardens, river rafting, hiking…there are all kinds of options. Let our concierge help you decide which adventure center offers the package that best suits your style.
How about a hug from a friendly boa constrictor?
Semana Santa is lots of fun and marks the end of our high season. Next up is the time when things slow down and, hopefully, sooner rather than later, the rains begin. We really need them! Contact us now about activities to plan during your Semana Santa stay in Tamarindo or to make a reservation during our upcoming green season.


It took a while, but now the pictures of my farewell as the caretaker of the Digna and Zeelandiahoeve.
A big farewell where I am well-indulged and praised for all services rendered during the 16 years that I have been a caretaker there.
I am not a person of farewell in great interest, but it did me good. The last 5 years have been tiring years because of many changes in my job. As a caretaker you were close to the people which I also loved.
As a caretaker you did the front and final admission of the houses when the resident (star) left. Always nice you were involved in the process of the one who left, but also assisted you in any takeover of furniture or carpets with the new resident (s). So you knew who went away and who came in. This was abolished after a merger. The viewing of homes was also taken away from us. After the merger, no house keys from the vacant houses could remain with the caretaker, they have to go to the head office in Amsterdam. From there, there came a colleague with a car to do the sightseeing, while a caretaker was present.
The following presented itself, one had to do plenty of courses and many more meetings. This was impossible for me to learn, learning at school or on a course has always been a problem for me.
Can put a lot more here, but then it will be a very long story, so I'll conclude that the mercy was that my review was not good the last time!
Well my work was more than fine, at my farewell speech my supervisor told me that I had high marks, even eights and nines. But the fact that I could not do courses and quickly got lost in the meetings was much more important for the housing company I worked for. When I also got to hear that I had to go into conversations with a psychiatrist, that was all the mercy blow.
I started looking if I could stop with my 65th, after all, have been sitting for more than 50 years.
To this day I have no regrets, it is so wonderful. Because of this good feeling I do not have any resentment to what happened!


text:
Q: Would this switching power supply work? I'm trying to design an integrated power supply to use in IoT projects that I'm working on, some including microcontrollers like the ESP8266 or ESP32. In previous projects I've made, power supply ripple was extremely important to keep low so I just used a linear regulator (along with alkaline batteries since it was a portable product). This time, I'm making projects that are stationary and outlet powered so I'm wondering if this circuit is a way that I can integrate the power supply onto my PCB's directly or if I should just use a wall-wart instead.
The transformer I'm using steps down the input \$120V_{AC}\$ to \$12V_{AC}\$ with a maximum current of 200mA. The target output power for the power supply is 3.3V @ 250mA or approximately 825mW. The BOM list can be found here if component choice would matter overall.

A: A crude answer is that this power supply would work. However to confirm that it would meet your requirements is not something that can be confirmed without knowing the actual specifications. It is commendable that you are using discrete components to power your board. The BoM you have is quite costly. I would recommend using an integrated solution. Something more like this

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Food Institute Report
Today in Food
Food Price Outlook
Merger Search
Economic Benchmarking
Latest Sales Data
Market Info Center
U.S. Trade Data
Food Institute Focus
National & Regional Associations
Focus on FSMA
Food Institute In the News
Restaurant Sales Are Making Inroads
By Brian Todd
While sales of food for at-home consumption at $147.3 billion totaled over 50% more than eating and drinking place sales in the first two months of 2015 according to The Food Institute, eating and drinking places' share of overall food sales did increase 1.5 percentage points in the two month period at the expense of at-home food sales. (See our earlier blog here detailing at-home food consumption.)
Although grocery sales will almost certainly continue to outpace eating out sales for the foreseeable future, people are eating away from home more. During the first two months of 2015, grocery sales accounted for 61.1% of all food sales while compared to 62.6% a year earlier – down 1.5%. Eating and drinking places' share meanwhile, rose 1.5% to 38.9%. And delving a bit deeper, The Food Institute finds that consumers are spending more at both full service restaurants and limited outlets, including fast-food.
In the future, we will break down grocery and away-from-home food sales to portray how the business is trending overall, to give a much greater perspective on the entire business. We welcome your comments on this new analysis via email to questions@foodinstitute.com, or via comments below.
Consumer Convenience is Key
Consumers are increasingly prioritizing convenience when it comes to purchases.
Retail Grocery Delivery Convenience
How to Win Over Gen Z
Instagram and food delivery are the future of restaurants when it comes to attracting Gen Z.
Gen Z Foodservice Grocery Delivery Online Shopping Instagram
Foodservice Food Retail
Brian Todd
The Food Institute
Brian became president of The Food Institute in 2002 and has worked for this non-profit, founded in 1928, since 1980. Brian has been interviewed on consumer and food industry trends on a number of television programs, including Fox News, The Today Show, NBC News, the CBS Evening News and the PBS Nightly Business Report, and quoted in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal and New York Times to Supermarket News, Progressive Grocer and Food Processing magazine. He has also been a frequent guest on various Public radio programs discussing food prices, mergers & acquisitions, and other industry issues.
Brian graduated from Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ with a B.A. in Political Science and also holds a Masters in Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
You must be a registered member before commenting. Login or join.
There are no comments, yet. Why don't you add one?
questions@foodinstitute.com
10 Mountainview Road
Suite S125
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Food Institute reps are available to answer your questions
Become a Food Institute Member
For close to 90 years, The Food Institute has been the best "single source" for food industry executives, delivering actionable information daily via email updates, weekly through The Food Institute Report and via a comprehensive web research library. Our information gathering method is not just a "keyword search."
Copyright © 2020, Food Institute, LLC


text:
Tag: #metoo
Jason Lewis Says Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar Have Made a Mockery of #MeToo Movement
Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith have made a mockery of the #MeToo Movement by remaining silent in the face of sexual assault accusations against former Vice President Joe Biden, Senate candidate Jason Lewis said.
Battleground State News, Minnesota, The Upper-Midwest#metoo, Amy Klobuchar, Brett Kavanaugh, Jason Lewis, Joe Biden, Minnesota, Tara Read, Tina SmithLeave a comment
Commentary: Democrats Hoist Their Own Petard
Since at least 2016, CNN has mostly ceased being a news agency, but that hasn't stopped it from being an active participant in #TheResistance. The network is so caught up in the fervor of this movement that many of its guests and regular hosts have been fired, reprimanded, or apologized for threats to the president or general obscene references (e.g., Reza Aslan, the late Anthony Bourdain, Kathy Griffin).
Commentary, News#metoo, #TheResistance, bias, CNN, Democrats, media bias, President Trump, The Left, Trump Derangement SyndromeLeave a comment
Megyn Kelly Advocates for 'Proportionality in the #METOO Movement,' Says She Doesn't 'Believe All Women'
Journalist Megyn Kelly advocated for "proportionality in the #MeToo movement," saying she does not believe in the statement "believe all women."
News, Uncategorized#metoo, Bombshell, Megyn Kelly1 Comment
University of Michigan and Harvard Professor Says #MeToo Wouldn't Have Happened if Hillary Won
by John Hasson A University of Michigan professor and Harvard University visiting professor recently claimed that the #MeToo movement would not have occurred if Hillary Clinton were president. Catharine MacKinnon, a UMich law professor and Harvard visiting professor, made the remark at the University of California, Berkeley's annual #MeToo…
News#metoo, Catharine Mackinnon, Harvard, University of MichiganLeave a comment
Commentary: Crack-ups at the Crossroads of Intersectionality
by Victor Davis Hanson Progressives do not see the United States as an exceptional uniter of factions and tribes into a cohesive whole – each citizen subordinating his tribal, ethnic, and religious affinities to a shared Americanism, emblemized by our national motto e pluribus unum. Instead, they prefer e uno plures:…
Commentary, News#metoo, #WalkAway, 2020 election, Black Lives Matter, Democrats, identity politics, intersectional, Intersectionality, Joe Biden, nihilism, pajama boys, Pete Buttigieg, progressivism, unwoke, wokeLeave a comment
We Build the Wall Approaches Record of Top GoFundMe Page, Founder Brian Kolfage Says
June 18, 2019 June 17, 2019 Jason M. Reynolds
We Build the Wall is on the verge of becoming GoFundMe's largest ever fundraising campaign, founder Brian Kolfage says. Kolfage made the announcement Monday in a press release. He said the record belongs to TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund which is a major force in the "MeToo" movement. TIME'S…
Battleground State News, News#metoo, Border Wall, Brian Kolfage, GoFundMe, New Mexico, Sunland Park, TIME'S UP, We Build the Wall1 Comment
Joe Biden in 2018: 'Nothing Justifies' Touching a Woman 'Without Her Consent'
April 4, 2019 April 3, 2019 Admin
by Peter Hasson Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently under fire for his reported habit of touching women without their consent, said in 2018 that there is no justification for touching women without their consent. Four women have come forward to say Biden made them uncomfortable by…
News, Uncategorized#metoo, 2020 Presidential Candidates, Joe Biden1 Comment
Minnesota's #MeToo Casualties Al Franken and Garrison Keillor Plot Comebacks
January 7, 2019 January 6, 2019 Anthony Gockowski
Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and iconic Minnesota Public Radio host Garrison Keillor were among the biggest names brought down by the #MeToo Movement, but both are plotting comebacks as the dust begins to settle. Franken, a one-time SNL cast member, is trying his hand at podcasts, and has so…
Battleground State News, BG-TN, Minnesota, News, The Upper-Midwest#metoo, A Prairie Home Companion, Al Franken, Donald Trump, Garrison Keillor, Minnesota, MPR, POTUS, Senate, Star TribuneLeave a comment
Allegations of Sexual Harassment And Sexism In Bernie Sanders' 2016 Campaign Haunt 2020 Chances
by Molly Prince As Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders gears up for a potential 2020 presidential run, allegations regarding the mistreatment of women on his 2016 campaign may hinder his chances at the White House. Former staffers on the Sanders campaign have been detailing instances of sexism and sexual harassment…
News, Uncategorized#metoo, Bernie Sanders, New York TimesLeave a comment
Wall Street Bankers Following Pence's Lead in #MeToo Era
by John Elliott If a young, female executive wants to find an experienced male colleague on Wall Street to mentor her, she can stop looking now. In the wake of #Metoo and the Brett Kavanaugh affair, male bankers and lawyers are quite literally fleeing to their man caves. Bloomberg reporters Gillian Tan and Katia Porzecanski have…
News#metoo, sexual harrassment, Vice President Mike Pence, Wall StreetLeave a comment
Commentary: Midterms Prove the Left's #MeToo Was More About Partisanship Than Protecting Women
by Natalia Castro One of the real losers in this week's midterms was not the right or the left — it was the #MeToo movement. This week's midterms proved two things — that the Democrats only care about women when it is Republicans on the chopping block and that…
Commentary, News, Uncategorized#metoo, Democrats, partisanshipLeave a comment
Keith Ellison Accuser, Karen Monahan, Says Democratic Party Doesn't Believe Her
by Hanna Bogorowski Karen Monahan, the woman accusing Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of domestic abuse, responded to a Twitter user on Monday who asked if Democrats believe Monahan's allegations, saying they don't, and that she's been threatened and isolated from her own party. The user was following up on a tweet…
News#metoo, 2018 elections, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Keith Ellison4 Comments
Unnamed and Uncorroborated Accuser Claims Brett Kavanaugh Tried To Force Himself Onto Her More Than Thirty Years Ago
by Kevin Daley An unnamed woman has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to force himself onto her during an non-consensual encounter at a party, one day after Democratic lawmakers released a cryptic statement referring to possible misconduct in the judge's past. The allegation, which appeared Friday morning…
News#metoo, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, SCOTUS, Sen Diane Feinstein, Senate Confirmation Hearing, sexual harassment, Supreme CourtLeave a comment
Los Angeles Prosecutors Drop Criminal Charges Against Kevin Spacey And Two Other Celebrities Accused Of Sexual Assault
by Hanna Bogorowski The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office declined Tuesday to file criminal charges against a trio of Hollywood actors, including Kevin Spacey, Anthony Anderson and Steven Seagal, all of whom have been accused of sexual assault. The District Attorney's office said it would not prosecute Spacey on…
News#metoo, House of Cards, Kevin SpaceyLeave a comment
Daily Caller's Stephanie Hamill Accuses Democrats Of Ignoring Allegations Against Keith Ellison
by Nick Givas The Daily Caller's video columnist Stephanie Hamill accused the Democratic party of purposely ignoring abuse allegations against House Democrat Keith Ellison, on "Fox & Friends First" Saturday. "You would think that the #MeToo movement people, the women's march, the Democrat leadership, you think they would be speaking out…
Battleground State News#metoo, 2018 elections, Democrats, Keith Ellison, MinnesotaLeave a comment
Keith Ellison's Daughter Criticizes Accuser for 'Exploiting A Movement'
August 24, 2018 August 23, 2018 Anthony Gockowski
Rep. Keith Ellison's daughter is now speaking out against his father's accuser, saying the Minnesota Democrat's ex-girlfriend is "exploiting a movement." In early August, accusations surfaced on Facebook that Ellison committed an act of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, who later claimed to have a "tape" of the incident. Ellison…
Battleground State News, News, Politics#metoo, Karen Monahan, Keith Ellison, MinnesotaLeave a comment
NOW Calls on Keith Ellison to Drop Out of Race for Minnesota Attorney General Amid Abuse Allegations
Rep. Keith Ellison managed to win last week's primary in his bid for Minnesota attorney general, but one organization is now calling on the controversial Democrat to drop out of the race amid abuse allegations. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party offered Ellison its official endorsement Saturday during its state executive committee…
Battleground State News, News#metoo, Al Franken, Doug Wardlow, Keith Ellison, Minnesota, Minnesota Attorney General, National Organization for Women, NOWLeave a comment
DNC Breaks Silence On Keith Ellison Domestic Abuse Allegations
by Peter Hasson – The DNC is "reviewing" domestic abuse allegations against Minnesota Rep. and Deputy DNC Chairman Keith Ellison. – Ellison is accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend, Sierra Club activist Karen Monahan. – The DNC should have suspended Ellison "at a minimum," according to the former DNC communications…
Battleground State News, News#metoo, abuse, Democrats, DNC, Minnesota, Rep. Keith EllisonLeave a comment
Commentary: Democrats' Cultural Vulnerabilities to Produce November Reckoning
by Jeffery Rendall I think most people (even liberals) would agree – someone like Bill Clinton shouldn't be talking about how to treat women and the "Me too" movement. After all, guys such as philandering 'ol Bubba Bill are more or less responsible for starting the phenomenon having moved…
Commentary, News#metoo, Bill Clinton, sexual harassment1 Comment
Elizabeth Esty Will Not Seek Re-Election After Sexual Harassment Issues Among Staff
Rep. Elizabeth Esty announced Monday that she will not run for re-election after allegations that her male chief of staff verbally and physically attacked a female staff member. "Too many women have been harmed by harassment in the workplace. In the terrible situation in my office, I could have and…
News#metooLeave a comment
Artist Savages Hollywood Elite With 'We All Knew' Posters, Just In Time For Golden Globes
Los Angeles Artist Sabo has taken credit for the "They Knew" campaign that highlights Hollywood's hypocrisy and slams tinsel town's elite for ignoring sexual assault and harassment. In an interview with VICE, Sabo showed a camera crew his studio and said, "This is awards season. There's no reason for me…
News#metoo, #theyknew1 Comment
Hollywood About to Celebrate Its Worst Year Ever
Will the star-studded Golden Globes on Sunday night be a celebration of the creative arts — or a self-congratulatory, Trump-bashing hatefest served up by a pampered elite dressed in black?
News#metoo, Harvey WeinsteinLeave a comment
Susan Gingrich Commentary: My Wish for the New Year – End the War on Men!
by Susan E Gingrich I'm starting this commentary with a confession. I've always liked men, and I still like them a lot. My husband is the best man I know. I like compliments from men, doors opened for me, harmless hugs, and other things some women don't. Throughout my…
Commentary#metooLeave a comment
Senator Al Franken (D-MN): Resignation to be Effective January 2, 2018
After a spate of so-called "#metoo" allegations of sexual harassment – along with photographic proof – former TV comic-turned-politician Senator Al Franken announced on the Senate floor last week that he would resign his office. In his Senate speech, however, he did not say when he would resign, only that it…
News#metoo, Minnesota, US SenateLeave a comment
Democrat Pundit and Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. Fired by Morgan Stanley for Allegedly Harassing, Intimidating, and Forcibly Grabbing a Woman
Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr was summarily dismissed from his position at a Managing Director at the investment firm Morgan Stanley amid an internal investigation by its Human Resource department, the Huffington Post reports. In an email to the progressive news and opinion giant, a Morgan Stanley spokesperson wrote, "He…
News#metoo, House of Representatives, Morgan Stanley, sexual harassment3 Comments
Commentary: #MeToo Campaign Means Nothing if It's Temporary
Some people have criticized the growing trend of #MeToo, a social media phenomenon of women breaking their silence about sexual assault and harassment, as another example of "slacktivism" or "armchair activism" that will equal little change. But this effort is different from, say, — because this time it is personal.…
Commentary#metoo, Harvey Weinstein, slacktivismLeave a comment


Make peace, those of you chosen few that called Jerde Hall home. These $22M residence halls were designed and built on the Northern State Campus, and have replaced Jerde. This project was in collaboration with Mackey Mitchell Architects and was designed with student retainage and retention in mind.


At 15, Bobby Dekeyser stood up in class and announced that he was quitting school, effective immediately, to become a professional soccer goalie. Four years later, at 19, he signed to FC Bayern Munich. At 26, after suffering a serious injury to his face during a match, Bobby stood up once again, announcing that he was quitting soccer to start his own airbrushed skis business. The skis flopped, but the endeavour evolved into trailblazing outdoor furniture empire DEDON. His desire to inspire young entre- preneurs through education and development programs (the mission of his Dekeyser & Friends Foundation, which dares kids to dream big), his belief in giving back and his latest adventure DEDON Island, make him a perfect fit for C2MTL.


Yes these are a new species that i have been watching for a long time. They are human when they feed but are butterfly when they are not. in this way they do not have to worry with the sunlight bothering them.


Break dancing after school club!
You are here: Home » News » Break dancing after school club!
Zack Franks runs a Break Dancing After school club at his school - the club has become so popular that he has now had to split the club in to two parts. Well done Zack and well done children! We want to join!


text:
Home » Vienna » Overview of Covid-19 measures taken by the City of Vienna
Overview of Covid-19 measures taken by the City of Vienna
As of May 20th, 2020
Cautious exit, inclusive recovery
As Austria´s government continues the relief of Covid-19 measures, businesses, restaurants,
schools and childcare facilities, services and spaces in the cities and regions of the country
re-open again step-by-step. The city of Vienna has decided to go for a cautious and inclusive
exit and recovery strategy, accompanied by increased testing of staff in critical
infrastructure, schools as well as child care facilities, and rapid detection of new infection
spots. However, this is overshadowed by political debates that are due to upcoming
municipal elections, leading contradictory statements by different members of the national
government about Vienna´s capacity to manage recovery. While the Minister of Health
reports excellent cooperation with Vienna and a good handling of the crisis, the Minister of
the Interior repeatedly accuses the city of being reluctant to share information and to work
together with the police. Mayor Michael Ludwig has shown irritation and rejected criticisms:
"Contradictory statements on the management of the Covid-19 situation unsettle our
citizens. This is exactly what cannot be allowed to happen now. It is important to bring the
country through this difficult time with calm and deliberation."
One big hotspot for infections has been detected and followed up fast, with first cases
found in a home for refugees in April. However, contact tracing showed clear indication that
a mail distribution centre in Hagenbrunn, a small town in Lower Austria, or the contract
employment agencies were the triggers. Only ten percent of those affected in Vienna
apparently showed symptoms. On Sunday, Vienna City Councillor for Health, Peter Hacker,
presented a first analysis of the current cluster of coronavirus infections: "A close
examination of the latest figures showed that many of the workers working in the mail
distribution centre live in Vienna. Contract work is apparently a big problem in this context.
This had nothing to do with refugees. Most of the cases, for example in the home for
refugees in Vienna, could be traced back to the postal distribution centres – and not vice
versa." Hacker explained that the city changed its testing strategy to target larger facilities
at an early stage instead of waiting for an infection being reported. In this context, he sees
the issue of contract work as a more serious problem: "People don't go on sick leave
because then they don't get any more money. They don't call in when they are sick. So it's
fatal if they're together in the company bus or in the staff room," said Peter Hacker. Vienna
will therefore take a closer look at the topic of contract work and precarious employment in
Vienna.
Current key figures from Vienna
As of May 20th there are 3.020 confirmed cases of the disease in Vienna, 2.405 people have
recovered. 144 people died due to Covid-19; since more than one week, no new fatalities due
to Covid-19 have been reported. Around 50.000 people in Vienna lost jobs and currently,
270,000 Viennese are registered for short-time work. Most affected sectors are tourism,
catering, trade and construction. The increase in unemployment among young people is
above average, leading city government to develop more support in this field.
 The social affairs department ensured its services to its 133,000 users during the crisis
by extending the duration of expiring social benefits; an automatic procedure and
postponed controls were set up, allowing everyone in need to get their social
allowances and stay financially stable. Communication in the main languages of
Vienna´s diverse population reached out to all concerned citizens (12.5.).
 Recent data analysis of Vienna´s department for statistics shows that there is no
excess mortality rate in Vienna; the mortality rate has stayed in a normal range (11.5.).
 Vienna Hospitals: Giving birth under normal circumstances is possible; there is no
need to wear a facemask (9.5.).
 City of Vienna accelerates corona tests: tests of teachers and healthcare sector
workers are increased (8.5.).
 Relaxed rules for visiting nursing homes: From May 4th, visiting family members and
friends in residential homes and nursing homes is allowed again, guidelines are
established to control the visits (29.4.).
 Vienna Hospitals: Cancer patients get unrestricted treatments under safe conditions
(27.4.).
 24h-caregivers, mainly women from countries as Rumania, Slovakia and Hungary,
who had to extend their stay receive a bonus of 500 Euros (27.4.).
Public services: energy, water, waste and transport
 In time with the rising temperatures, Vienna's drinking fountains will be turned up
again from 4 May. The commissioning of all fountains will take a few days. Then free
spring water will flow out of about 1,000 drinking fountains from the mountains.
People are asked not drink directly from the drinking fountains, but to fill a bottle
they have brought with them. The 55 monumental and memorial fountains will also
be put back into operation (4.5.).
© Wiener Wasser/Novotny
Vienna is well-known for its excellent water quality: now, the 1000 drinking fountains
are operational again. They can be found on an interactive website:
https://www.wien.gv.at/stadtplanmobil/#
zoom=14&lat=48.20602&lon=16.37709&layer=trinkbrunnen&base=karte
 Normal intervals for public underground have started on May 11th, and on May 18th,
for busses and trams (4.5.).
 Student semester tickets for the "Wiener Linien", public transport, are valid until
September 30th (3.5.).
 Vienna´s first pop-up bike lane opened on Praterstraße in the second district; as it
used a former lane of cars, this lead to a lot of discussions (7.5.).
 The short-term parking zone regulation is on force again from April 27th; also for
parking garages, the normal rates will be valid again (24.4.).
Helping the economy and people to keep jobs
 Gastro vouchers for Vienna´s citizens: In order to support the Viennese gastronomy
up to 50 Euros will be given to every household. In total, the City of Vienna provides
40 million Euros for this campaign to help and support the Viennese gastronomy. The
citizens can redeem these vouchers for food and non-alcoholic beverages (13.5.).
 The Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (waff) is the City of Vienna's labour market
organization. It is currently urgently seeking applicants who wish to start training to
become home care, nursing assistants and social workers, all careers leading to safe
jobs (13.5.).
 Vienna companies can apply for tax relief for Vienna provincial and municipal taxes.
Among other things, deferrals or instalment payments are possible upon request;
there will be no surcharges for late payment, interest on deferral and late payment
penalties, as decided by the legislative assembly of the city on April 30th (30.4.).
 The guarantee scheme for companies was doubled – the aid package for bridging
loans was increased to 20 million Euros (26.4.).
 Vienna´s 1st Municipal Housing Choir (1. Wiener Gemeindebau-Chor) invites to sing
along since April 15th. Instructions are published weekly for download on
https://wohnpartner-wien.at/aktuelles/detail/1-wiener-gemeindebau-chor-laedtzum-
mitsingen-ein and on the YouTube channel "wohnpartner wien", so that a new
song can be rehearsed every week. Participating is very easy: listen to the
instructions, open or print out the sheet music and you can sing along.
© Wohnpartner Wien/Screenshot
Education, arts and culture
 Schools in Vienna open in 3 stages: on May 4th, school-leavers about to graduate, as
well as for apprentices in their final year return to school. As of May 18th, children up
to 14 years of age, i.e. all classes of primary schools, new secondary schools, lower
secondary schools, special schools and all German language classes start again. From
June 3rd, school students of the higher school levels, return. Classes are divided into 2
groups of about 11 children each, unless the class is already small enough. These
groups are taught in their classrooms, but alternately in shifts. There will be no crossclass
lessons or project work. If possible, it is recommended that classes start at
staggered intervals. This will result in different break times and class ends. Although
the information from the national government came on a very short notice, the city
had very quickly ordered around 100,000 masks for kindergartens and schools as
well as 30,000 children's masks, disinfectants, etc. (3.5.).
 Phased plan for child care facilities: Starting from May 4th, kindergartens are
gradually opened again for children under certain circumstances (23.4.).
 Music schools open again: Lessons with physical presence start again on May 18th,
initially only one-to-one lessons are possible (13.5.).
 Libraries open again from May 18th: For the moment only borrowing and returning
books is possible, there are renewal offers for new customers of the Viennese
libraries (11.5.).
Communication, citizen engagement and neighbourhood initiatives
 At the first children's press conference on corona in the Vienna City Hall on May
14th, the focus was on questions from children. In the city hall´s huge ballroom, where
the press conferences of the city government take place usually now, Mayor Michael
Ludwig and City Councillor Juergen Czernohorszky, responsible for children and
youth, answered the questions of young citizens between 4 and 10 years of age sent
in previously by video (14.5).
 The city undertook an online survey with more than 1.000 citizens aged 16 and over,
which showed great satisfaction with the services provided by Vienna in the context
of the corona pandemic. The way the City of Vienna is dealing with the current
situation was assessed positively:
o 43,4 % are of the opinion that Vienna handles the current situation and the
measures "much better" or "somewhat better" than the rest of Austria. 41,6%
conceded "equally good handling".
o 59,8 % are "very or rather satisfied" with the crisis communication/information
provided by the city, while 16,2% are "less satisfied or not satisfied at all". 69,1
% of the respondents feel sufficiently informed, almost a third of all
respondents give the best value "yes, definitely".
o The information prepared by the City of Vienna in the various media channels
is rated by 77,0 % as "very useful or useful", by 74,2 % as "very comprehensive
or comprehensive" and by 73,1% as "very credible or credible".
o 66,7 % are "very or rather satisfied" with the crisis management of the City of
Vienna. 79,4 % also trust that Vienna will master the Corona crisis and 50 %
are of the opinion that the current situation will strengthen social cohesion in
More room outdoors
 Open child and youth work starts again: "wienXtra", the organization for all children
and young people in Vienna, offers a range of services, as festivals, concerts, movies,
games and media – und this invites young citizens to join and shape the city. Ten
facilities offer lots of information, events, educational services and advice as well as
adult education programmes– at low cost or free of charges. As of May 15th there will
be a focus on public space and wienXtra initiatives re-opened (7.5.).
 As of 15th May, the city administration gradually increases its normal contacts with
customers. "Face-to-face" are only provided after prior appointment reservation.
Appointments can be made online via a newly set up online appointment calendar, by
phone or e-mail directly with the responsible office.
 Clear rules have been established to protect both customers and staff from risks; as
keeping a distance of 1 m between all persons and following general hygiene
measures (such as washing hands). Where a 1 m distance between employees can be
maintained, no mask is required. If possible, work procedures are planned to ensure
that the number of staff working simultaneously in one place is kept to a minimum.
Urban life after corona
Mayor Michael Ludwig, who is also the President of the Austrian Association of Cities and
Towns has stated at several occasions that it will be vital ensuring that cities benefit from aid
and investment programmes at both national and European level. Vienna as Austria's
biggest economic powerhouse is securing and creating jobs. In order to keep it that way, the
city will need financial assistance and more room to manoeuvre, particularly as many
revenues such as municipal taxes are collapsing or even disappearing completely. Mayor
Ludwig therefore calls on the federal government to safeguard the cities and municipalities'
finances. He also addresses the planned EU recovery package with the clear demand that
this needs to be applied to cities and municipalities, as their investments directly benefit
small and medium-sized enterprises. Towns and municipalities are the most important public
investors in Austria.
Michaela Kauer
Director Brussels Liaison Office
Department for European Affairs of the City of Vienna
Parisian measures to ease the lockdown related to COVID-19 pandemic
VIENNA [Frequently Asked Questions -FAQs-]


A few days ago I took my mom and her friend Randy up to the village of Ozein. It's a paradise…there is no other word for it! Well, a paradise for people who love ancient picturesque villages immersed in a sea of wildflowers, with breathtaking views of the tallest mountains of Europe. It's pretty spectacular. As my momma says, better than a poke in the face.
We decided to try and find the village's community bread oven, because Ozein is pretty well known for their wood fired pane nero festivals. Pane nero, or black bread, is the traditional bread of Valle d'Aosta. Twice a year (sometimes more often) the villages fire up their massive community bread ovens, and the locals come and bake their bread that will last them the year. The bread is low and dense, and made with either rye or whole wheat flour. Some people make it with a starter, others with yeast. They dry out the bread on racks, and have a special cutter for it so that they can saw off hunks that they then soak in liquid so that it is edible. For dinner, it can be soaked in broth and made into soup, or for a snack it is soaked in homemade red wine, called zuppa di asino (donkey soup).
….old woman goes into her house, and comes out with a loaf of bread, which she hands over to us. She seemed so heartbroken that we weren't there for the firing of the bread oven, she wanted to give us a loaf of her bread that she made last December. Yes, you heard right. Last December, either on the 14thor 15th, she doesn't remember which day. She said it would be good for another few years, so we don't need to use it right away.
She insisted we take the whole thing (not like it could be easily split, anyways), wrapped it in newspaper, and we went on our way to explore the old village. When we got come, I called up my friend Angelo, whose mother is famous in the Valley for her zuppa valpellinese, a traditional Valdostano recipe using black bread. He gave me the recipe, which resulted in a glorious dinner. If you can scrounge up some dried up whole grain bread, here is an excellent use for it! Measurements aren't really important. Folks here don't measure for this soup, so neither should you. This isn't a soup with much liquid in it, and is baked in the oven with Fontina cheese on top.
First, caramelize the onions, which should take about 40 minutes. To be honest, caramelized onions aren't usually added to this, but it makes it so much tastier.
Preheat your oven to 350 F or so. Prepare your broth, salting it to taste if necessary, and slice the Fontina. Slice the bread (or in the case of black bread, get it into manageable sized chunks), and toast it with a good amount of butter. Take off the leaves from the cabbage, and leave them in pieces as large as your hand. Blanch the cabbage leaves (put them in boiling water for a minute, and then dunk them in cold water).
In individual portion sized, oven safe casserole-type dishes, layer the ingredients. First bread, then caramelized onions, then blanched cabbage, and then Fontina. If your dish is deep enough, layer until it is filled, always finishing with Fontina. Pour the broth over your layers, making holes in the cabbage and cheese if the liquid can't pass through. Put dishes in the oven for about 45 minutes, and if the cheese isn't well browned by then, put the broiler on briefly. Serve hot!


Kid Facts - Learn something new every day!
Fun kid facts about stars, sculptures, planets, paintings, bones, volcanoes, muscles, marsupials and more. Learn something new every day!
We just learned how to say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in ASL.
Let's keep learning the days of the week!
To say "Thursday" make the hand sign for the letter "H" and then move your hand up and down in a circle.
You can also make the hand sign for "T" and then the hand sign for "H".
To say "Friday", make the hand sign for "F" but turn it around so your palm is facing you, and move it around in a circle.
Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


text:
Sub Pop signee Shannon Lay releases captivating folk-pop track "Nowhere"
By Olivia Swash / 04 June 2019, 18:14 BST
Photo by Denée Segall
Shannon Lay's rousing new cut "Nowhere" is the first track drawn from her forthcoming second full-length, August, recorded with Ty Segall in his home studio.
Inspired by a carpe diem sense of gratitude in the everyday, Shannon Lay's new track is a sun-soaked adventure through blossoming acoustic guitars and soft, hazy vocals, flourishing into an accentuated climax.
"I want this song to emphasise the importance of enjoying the journey," says Lay. The poignant and uplifting spirit behind the track translates through to its video: a patchwork of sunny-day adventures directed by Lay herself alongside Chris Slater. "The video is moments of in between travel footage," she says, "different settings around my home, singing in the bounty of spring. There is so much power in presence, enjoy every moment, savour every second. Cherish the memories made along the way and appreciate how they change and shape you."
Her staunch support within the music community is clear from the credits on her releases: Kevin Morby set up the Mare Records imprint especially for her previous LP, 2017's Living Water, and she worked with Ty Segall on her second album due later this summer, and will tour as part of his Freedom Band throughout his full album residencies.
On the recording process of the upcoming August, Lay says: "Some songs as they were had this room to grow. I believe whoever you record with tends to affect the mood of music and Ty really brought this jovial sense that I hadn't really explored yet. Once you get rolling with him, he just throws these ideas at the wall. And you're like, 'I would never have thought of that!' I couldn't have hoped for a better guide and energy to help create this record."
"Nowhere" is out now and August will be released 23 August via Sub Pop, and is available to pre-order now. Find Shannon Lay on Facebook.
Robert Freeman - The Greatest Forgotten Photographer of the 60s
South London crooner Alex Burey picks his Green Man Festival highlights