Abortion: the Democrat sacrament

House rejects bill penalizing doctors for sex-selective abortions

Oh, Teh Stupidity

Two items currently making the blog rounds just strike me as complete idiocy.


 #1 Nanny Bloomberg's proposed ban on large sized sugary drinks. Even Bloomberg admits that people could just buy two smaller drinks. So, what then, is the #$@#!@ point of the law. Put aside whether the government has any business legislating what you can eat, drink, etc... It doesn't. But even if it did this law would do nothing to prevent people from consuming large quantities of sugary beverages. It is just an example of wasted government resources.

#2 The abortion legislation proposed below. Again forget whether you are pro- or anti- abortion or somewhere in-between. The law does nothing to make abortion illegal. It only makes abortion for the purpose of sex determination illegal. And where will they get this information from? Ask the parents? "Are you having this abortion because you don't want a girl?" "Of course not!" "Well, alright then."

It is lawmaking to make a point. A pointless point, but a point. And sides are lining up, money and resources wasted to support and oppose it. Government for the pure sake of government. It is why federal regulations take up over 100k pages.

Obama/Pelosi's friends in a "giddy frenzy of destruction"

EXCLUSIVE: MEET DUSTIN BOYER, THE MYSTERY MAN WHO DEFENDED SAN FRANCISCO FROM OCCUPY VIOLENCE

On the eve of May 1--the infamous May Day Riot--the Black Bloc mob had paraded along Valencia Street through the heart of San Francisco's mission district, shouting slogans, ripping up street signs, throwing newspaper racks into the street--and even attacking police cars in a giddy frenzy of destruction.

Click headline for whole article.

The war against women as prosecuted by Planned Parenthood and the abortionists

White House Unsure if Obama's For or Against Banning Sex-Selection Abortions

(CNSNews.com) – The White House does not yet know whether President Barack Obama is for or against banning sex-selection abortions.

Asked on Wednesday about where the president stands on a bill proposed in the House that would ban abortions based on the gender of the unborn child, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said he would have to check.

A reporter asked Carney, “The House is, I think this afternoon, preparing to take up a bill that would ban gender selection as a factor in abortions in this country. And I was wondering -- I haven’t seen it in a statement of administration policy, and I was wondering if the White House had a position on that.”

Carney did not have an answer. “I will have to take that as well,” Carney answered. “Been focused on other things. But I will get back to you.”

The Parental Non-Discrimination Act is expected to come to the House floor Thursday, according to the office of Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). The bill would make abortions based on a baby’s gender illegal by creating a penalty for those who knowingly have gender-selective abortions, coerce a woman into having one, or provide transportation to a woman so she can come to the U.S. to have a gender-selective abortion.

“There are more than two hundred million missing little girls who were aborted for the sole reason that they were girls,” King said in a statement.

“The three most dangerous words are ‘it's a girl,’ but decision time does not happen when you find out the sex of your baby. PRENDA (the House bill) will protect unborn babies from being aborted because it's about a child, not a choice. I will continue to defend the unborn. There should be no question where to stand because the choice is clear -- every child deserves the right to a fulfilling life.”

"We are the only advanced country left in the world that still doesn't restrict sex-selection abortion in any way," said Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), the bill’s sponsor. "This evil practice has now allowed thousands of little girls in America and millions of little girls across the world to be brutally dismembered."

Franks and others say there is evidence of sex-selection abortions in the United States among certain ethnic groups from countries such as China and India, where there is a traditional preference for sons.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation’s largest abortion provider, issued a statement opposing the legislation.

“As the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood knows all too well that women still face gender discrimination in this country,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement. “We oppose sex selection abortion. But this bill does nothing to advance protections against discrimination and instead will have the result of further shaming and stigmatizing women.”

Remember when Obama as a state Senator voted for partial birth abortions. Secular morality is based on convenience and not doing the hard stuff.

Who knew?

'For Greater Glory' With Andy Garcia Breaks Every Rule In Hollywood

Hollywood puts out a lot of rubbish, but now and then something unexpected breaks through. Such as "For Greater Glory," a film that opens Friday and portrays Christianity, of all things, as heroic. Lead actor Andy Garcia talked with IBD about why it's different.

The film was originally called "Cristiada," a Spanish reference to a little-known rebellion in western Mexico from 1926 to 1929, where Christians rose up against a socialist secularist government that tried to stomp out religion in the name of "progress."

After peaceful protests failed, Mexico's "Cristeros" formed an army to fight the government in the name of defending their religious freedom. The three-year war cost 56,000 lives, but in the end, the Cristeros mostly prevailed.

Hollywood wouldn't be expected to touch a topic that put Christians in a heroic role.

But that isn't where the film's uniqueness starts: "Many Mexicans have never heard of the Cristiada," Garcia told IBD. The film was made not by Hollywood producers, he said, but by a Mexican producer who wanted to inform his countrymen about their own invisible past.

"It's a fairly taboo topic in Mexico, where the history has been swept under the rug," Garcia said. "They did it because they believed in it."

As for why they did it now: "These things can't be kept on the back burner any longer."

It was Mexico's close relations with the U.S., Garcia said, that enabled the film to reach U.S. shores as the producers checked out distribution channels, landed a big-name U.S. and Latin American cast, and decided to make the movie because they felt it could succeed. That in turn opened the door for unconventional details rarely seen in U.S. commercial films.

Priests, for instance, aren't shown as Hollywood normally portrays them — as martinets or perverts — but in the way most people know them: with a matter-of-fact ordinariness.

Peter O'Toole portrays a priest whose everyday kindness conceals a saintly willingness to die for his faith — an image that hasn't been seen in Hollywood since the 1940s.

With such characters placed in a sweeping historic drama, "it's like an old classic Hollywood movie, like a 'Lawrence of Arabia' — a historic epic to enlighten," said Garcia. The fact that Garcia even had to bring that up points to the absence of such fare in today's movies.

And that's the tip of the iceberg. In "For Greater Glory," the call goes out for freedom, specifically freedom of religion — an unthinkable idea in highly secular Hollywood.

The Cristeros' determined effort against the state has drawn high interest from U.S. Catholic and Protestant churches, given that 13 Catholic institutions have launched lawsuits against the Obama administration health care mandates that require religious institutions to provide services that go against their teachings.

Does Garcia see parallels between the Cristiada and the U.S. political conflict?

"There are elements of that in it, but there are struggles for religious freedom and absolute freedom all over the world, and for different religions, not just Catholicism," he said.

"In Cuba, there's a struggle for human rights for 50 years," he said, referring to his own experience as a Cuban exile whose family fled the Castro regime for the U.S. when he was a child.

Garcia said the film — and his role as a Cristero army commander who converts to Christianity as a result of his exposure to Christians — was not about politics, but permanent truths he hoped audiences would take with them. "You want your work to have resonance, to provoke thought ... to hold up 20 years down the line."

The actors include both liberals such as Eva Longoria, Ruben Blades and Catalina Sandino Moreno, and conservatives such as Garcia and Eduardo Verastegui. But they worked well together, Garcia said, and put in memorable individual performances.

"We're all just actors, and it's not a political film," said Garcia. In fact, he said, maybe actors should act instead of be activists. "There are just two kinds of film — good and bad."

"You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy the movie," he said. Nor do you have to be Latino or Latin American. The making of a major commercial film about Latin America is a rarity in itself. The industry normally uses the region for U.S. tourist-comedies or niche foreign films.

Garcia, whose 2005 film, "The Lost City," depicts the Cuban-American experience, signals that Latin America is a fertile topic for more films like it.

"The conventional wisdom is that Latin American topics do not carry a large enough demographic to be commercially viable. I disagree with that. I think that sells the audience short.

"I believe you can have a movie like 'Schindler's List' about the Holocaust that appeals to everyone. 'Doctor Zhivago' was appealing because of the nature of the story, not because people experienced the (Russian Revolution). I think that in Latin America we have great stories, too, of classical universal value."

This, too, is different. These days, Hollywood can use the new ideas — and taboo-breaking — so evident in "For Greater Glory."

The left despises the very concept and efficiency of "creative destruction"

Mr. Biden, here’s the truth about private equity

When jobs are the primary objective you get the products made by the old Soviet Union and eventually the "they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work" mentality.

She's an honor student but that obvious fact took a while to register on this judge

Texas judge dismisses contempt charges against honor student jailed for truancy

Deconstructing our fabulist, President and why the Rev. Wright matters

Mystery Religion: Mr. Obama's Contradictory Conversions to Christianity

Cultural truths

Culture Still Matters By Victor Davis Hanson Rudesheim, Germany — This week I am leading a military-history tour on the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam. You can learn a lot about Europe’s current economic crises by ignoring the sophisticated barrage of news analysis and instead just watching, listening, and talking to people as you go down river. Switzerland, by modern standards, should be poor. Like Bolivia, it is landlocked. Like Italy, it has no real gas or oil wealth. Like Afghanistan, its northern climate and mountainous terrain limit agricultural productivity to upland plains. And like Turkey, it is not a part of the European Union. Unlike Americans, the Swiss are among the most homogeneous people in the world, without much diversity, and they make it nearly impossible to immigrate to their country. So Switzerland supposedly has everything going against it, and yet it is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Why and how? To answer that is also to learn why roughly 82 million Germans produce almost as much national wealth as do 130 million Greeks, Portuguese, Italians, and Spaniards. Yet the climate of Germany is also somewhat harsh; it too has no oil or gas. By 1945, German cities lay in ruins, while Detroit and Cleveland were booming. The Roman historian Tacitus remarked that pre-civilized Germany was a bleak land of cold weather, with little natural wealth and inhabited by tribal savages. Race does not explain present-day national wealth. From 500 B.C. to A.D. 1300, Switzerland and Germany were considered brutal and backward in comparison to classical Greece and Rome, and later, to Renaissance Venice and Florence. Instead, culture explains far more — a seemingly taboo topic when economists nonchalantly suggest that contemporary export-minded Germans simply need to spend and relax like laid-back southern Mediterraneans, and that the latter borrowers should save and produce like workaholic Germans to even the playing field of the European Union. But government-driven efforts to change national behavior often ignore stubborn cultural differences that reflect centuries of complex history as well as ancient habits and adaptations to geography and climate. Greeks can no more easily give up siestas than the Swiss can mandate two-hour afternoon naps. If tax cheating is a national pastime in Palermo, by comparison it is difficult along the Rhine. I lived in Greece for over two years and often travel to northern and Mediterranean Europe and North Africa. While I prefer the Peloponnese to the Rhineland, over the years I have developed an unscientific and haphazard — but often accurate — politically incorrect method of guessing whether a nation is likely to be perennially insolvent and wracked by corruption. Do average passersby throw down or pick up litter? After a minor fender-bender, do drivers politely exchange information, or do they scream and yell with wild gesticulations? Is honking constant or sporadic? Are crosswalks sacrosanct? Do restaurant dinners usually start or wind down at 9 P.M.? Can you drink tap water, or should you avoid it? Do you mostly pay what the price tag says, or are you expected to pay in untaxed cash and then haggle over the unstated cost? Are construction sites clearly marked and fenced to protect pedestrians, or do you risk walking into an open pit or getting stabbed by exposed rebar? To put these crude stereotypes more abstractly, is civil society mostly moderate, predicated on the rule of law, and meritocratic — or is it characterized by self-indulgence, cynicism, and tribalism? The answers to these questions do not hinge on race, money, or natural wealth, but they do involve culture and the way average people predictably live minute by minute. Again, these national habits and traditions accrued over centuries, and as much as politics or economics, they explain in part why Bonn is not Athens, and Zurich is not Naples, or for that matter why Cairo is unlike Tel Aviv or why Mexico City differs from Toronto. There is one final funny thing about contemporary culture. What people say and do about it are two different things. We in the post-modern, politically correct West publicly pontificate that all cultures are just different and that to assume otherwise is pop generalization, but we privately assume that you would prefer your bank account to be in Frankfurt rather than Athens, or the tumor in your brain to be removed in London rather than Lisbon. A warm sunset with an ouzo on a Greek-island beach may be more relaxing than schnapps on the foggy Rhine shore, but to learn why Greeks will probably not pay back what they owe Germany — and why they do not believe that they should have to — take a walk through central Athens and then do the same in Munich.

Not as well reported as it should be

US economic growth slower than thought in first quarter

The US economy grew at an annualised 1.9% in the first three months of 2012, less than the 2.2% first thought.

The slower growth rate - which was in line with forecasts - followed a modest downward revision in consumer spending.

A rise in the growth in imports also accounted for the weaker outlook.

The second official estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) from the Commerce Department also showed that after-tax corporate profits fell for the first time in three years.

The department said that after-tax corporate profits fell by 4.1%, the biggest fall since the last three months of 2008.

The figures showed that consumer spending grew at 2.7% instead of the previously estimated 2.9%, while a drop in government spending from 3.9% to 3% also held back economic growth.

In addition, businesses restocked at a modest pace, reflecting weakening demand.

Retail boost

Estimates for the current April-to-June quarter show that analysts expect growth to pick up to an annualised pace of 2.5%, although that would still be below the 3% growth rate the Commerce Department said the US economy was growing at in the fourth quarter of last year.

Many economists expect US economic growth to continue at about 2.5% for the rest of the year, a better performance than the 1.7% growth recorded in 2011.

That picture was enhanced by news from US retailers, with many stores reporting stronger-than-expected sales in May.

Limited Brands, the parent company of underwear chain Victoria's Secret, the discount chain Target and clothing companies Gap and TJX Cos, which owns TJX and TJ Maxx, were among those reporting sales that beat analysts' forecasts.

Many analysts had feared that warmer-than-usual spring weather meant shoppers had brought forward clothing purchases which would mean fewer sales in May.

There was more good news from the Thomson Reuters Same Store Sales index, which was 3.9% higher in May, beating forecasts for a 3.6% rise.

However, the fragility of the US economy was highlighted by employment data, which showed private payroll growth rose only slightly in April, and the Labor Department said claims for jobless benefits were higher last week, suggesting a slowdown in the jobs market from its stronger showing earlier this year.

The most widely watched employment figures - the non-farm payrolls - will be released on Friday.

The first-quarter GDP figures are subject to at least one more revision, as more data comes in to the department for assessment.

The truth is not the first thing to come to the lips of liberals

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren acknowledged for the first time late Wednesday night that she told Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania that she was Native American, but she continued to insist that race played no role in her recruitment.

Now if he said that about Islam it would be believable.

Obama: ‘I probably know more about Judaism than any other president, because I read about it’ by Say It Ain't So Oh, he knows so much, but in all his reading he seems to have missed the partabout Jerusalem being Israel's eternal capital. He missed the parts about Judea and Samaria, about the patriarchs and matriarchs buried in Hebron, the Tabernacle in Shilo, and all the rest of the Biblical places so fundamental to the Jewish people that he demands Israel surrender to the Fakestinians. ”[He] wondered how come no one asks Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner or Senate minority leader Mitch McConnel [sic] about their support to Israel.” [below] Because they aren't president. Because they aren't demanding Israel return to the 49' armistice lines. Because they aren't insisting that Jerusalem be divided. Because they didn't go to Cairo to kiss the butts of the Muslim Brotherhood. Because they have never said or done anything to put their friendship with Israel into question. Because they don't pal around with Jew-hating Marxist revolutionaries. Via Weekly Standard - President Obama met yesterday with “about 20 Conservative Jewish community leaders, thanking them for the work they do to improve communities around the country and discussed their shared commitment to rebuilding the U.S. economy,” Haaretz reports. In the meeting, Obama reportedly boasted about his knowledge of Judaism, telling the leaders that he thinks he knows more “about Judaism” than all past presidents. He said he gained this knowledge of Judaism from reading. “Obama … stressed he probably knows about Judaism more than any other president, because he read about it,” Haaretz reports. ”[He] wondered how come no one asks Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner or Senate minority leader Mitch McConnel [sic] about their support to Israel.” Similarly, he said to the group, “I [am] not going to tell you again how I even feel about Israel, but why [are] we still talking about it?”

Could it be any more clearly stated?

Christians Should "Convert, Pay Tribute, or Leave," Says Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Candidate?

by Raymond Ibrahim
May 30, 2012 at 4:00 am

"They need to know that conquest is coming, that Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must payjizya or emigrate," Morsi reportedly said.

According to the popular Egyptian website, El Bashayer, Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, just declared that he will "achieve the Islamic conquest (fath) of Egypt for the second time, and make all Christians convert to Islam, or else pay the jizya," the additional Islamic tax, or financial tribute, required of non-Muslims, or financial tribute.

In a brief report written by Samuel al-Ashay and published by El Bashayer on May 27, Morsi allegedly made these comments while speaking with a journalist at the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, adding "We will not allow Ahmed Shafiq [his contending presidential candidate] or anyone else to impede our second Islamic conquest of Egypt."

After his interviewer pointed out that the first Muslim conquest of Egypt was "carried out at the hands of Amr bin al-As [in 641]," he asked Morsi, "Who will the second Islamic conqueror be?" Morsi, replied, "The second Muslim conqueror will be Muhammad Morsi," referring to himself, "and history will record it."

When asked what he thought about many Christian Copts coming out to vote for his secular opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, Morsi reportedly said, "They need to know that conquest is coming, and Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate."

If this interview is accurate, certainly Morsi would not be the first political Islamist in Egypt to say he wants to see the nation's Christians subjugated and made to pay jizya (see here for more examples).

However, considering that the English language media are currently reporting that Morsi is trying to woo Egypt's Christians and women to win more votes, it is difficult to imagine that he actually made those comments: one does not doubt that he favors the idea of a "second Islamic conquest" and the subjugation of Christians; one doubts that he would be so foolish as to reveal his mind now, publicly, and thereby jeopardize his chances of winning the presidency.

Then again, his remarks are reported in the context of a private meeting at the headquarters of the Brotherhood's political party. Perhaps Morsi thought he was speaking to a fellow Islamist who would not expose him? Perhaps he was frustrated at having to win Copts over and was "venting"? Stay tuned.

Why the government is hated

California 9/11 license plate funds used to shore up deficit

Defanging unión thugs

Feds Confirm Gov. Walker's Job-Growth Numbers

How socialism fuels a death spiral

France to cap top pay in state groups

The Fifth column...Obama's friends

ALLAH WILL ‘BRING DOWN’ AMERICA’S SKYSCRAPERS: HORRIFIC NEW FARRAKHAN AUDIO PRAISING SHARIA LAW AND THREATENING ‘DEATH’ UNLESS ‘AMERICA SUBMITS’

• Farrakhan erupts in fervent conclusion to nearly three-hour speech
• Speaks favorably of sharia law and seems highlights violent actions within it
• Says that if the U.S. bombs Iran, Allah will “take out” U.S. cities “with earthquakes”
• Farrakhan promises that Allah will “kill a lot” and bring calamity until “America submits”

The Blaze’s Benny Johnson contributed to this report.

The Minister Louis Farrakhan isn’t one to avoid controversial language. In his Sunday address in San Diego, the Nation of Islam leader slammed Israel, lamented Mexico’s loss of land at the hands of American “trickery” and derided President Barack Obama for his endorsement of same-sex marriage. But that’s only a portion of what was uttered in his nearly three-hour address. During the last 10 minutes, the fiery Farrakhan erupted with fervency, applauding the violence of sharia law and giving some cryptic warnings to America regarding Iranian intervention.

(Related: Farrakhan Laments: ‘Sad That Mexico Lost California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico‘ Through American ’Trickery’)

In speaking to his “Arab brothers,” Farrakhan said that they should not kill their children who shame them. But rather than merely lambasting those who participate in honor crimes, he turned the discussion into a referendum on America (in all fairness, while making these comments, he did say that “Islam needs reform,“ and that his Arab brothers need ”mercy from God“ so they can get ”strong enough to live sharia” — but both statements came without proper explanation).

“To my Arab brothers, you should not kill your children in this honor killing after you bring yourself and them into a country that is a modern Babylon and they get sucked up into the culture of decadence,” he said. “They you’re angry with them because they brought shame on the family. Let me tell you, shame on you for looking to America for your health and bringing your children into this and not creating a world for them to revolve in that will keep the decency that you taught them in the old country.”

(Related: Farrakhan Slams Obama’s Gay Marriage Endorsement: ‘He’s the First President That Sanctioned What the Scriptures Forbid’)

From here, the conversation turned into a rant about what goes on in the Islamic holy city of Mecca. Farrakhan explained that, following Jumu’ah prayer on Fridays, if someone is guilty of stealing something, locals don’t wait for that individual to go to jail where he or she will be fed and cared for. Instead, he says the offender has his or her hand cut off in the middle of the prayer square and in front of everyone.

If the man or woman steals again, the other hand is lopped off, he said. This would essentially serve as an example of the punishment that one would encounter if entering into crime. Farrakhan then moved on to another story in which he discussed a Filipino man who apparently raped a Muslim woman in Saudi Arabia. This man, too, faced a harsh retribution for his alleged actions. Here’s his commentary on the matter:

“Oh they couldn’t wait. I mean after they find you guilty ain‘t nobody that’s law-abiding feeding a guilty person. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you people. The taxpayers gotta come out of their pocket to feed murderers, thieves, cutthroats. ‘Ah Farrakhan now that is kind of harsh.’ Yeah, but what you do to people — if you’re innocent that is harsh — but if you’re guilty, brother — see, you expect mercy, but you don’t show it to those whom you rob and kill and rape — see. So, in our world, that man that raped that sister, his head came off. Oh it was quick too. They called it poke chop, that’s right…and when that head goes off, it rolls down the street, you know…”

Farrakhan went on to claim that stealing, fornicating and committing adultery “blinds the eyes, deafens the ears and dumbs the tongue.” Committing such actions, he contends, is as if one’s “head is gone,” as this is indicative of destroying the family — an action that is “worthy of death.”

Then, Farrakhan’s tough message for America was weaved into his closing, as the faith leader warned of potential calamity if the United States decides to take military action against Iran. This danger, he contends, would be thrust upon America by Allah.

“So, America I close. I tell you, you’re on your way to war and if you declare war on Iran at the behest of Israel and you bomb Iran and some of you are saying we should invoke Hiroshima again on Iran, meaning drop an atomic bomb on Muslims — I have even heard that they’re talking about even bombing Mecca…,” he continued.

Of course, there was no mention of where Farrakhan heard that Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia, was on the U.S.’s list of bomb targets, but that didn’t stop him from making the allegation. He progressed, going on to explain how important it is that someone warn Mecca of the potential danger and that “somebody gotta do what God needs done.” Then, Farrakhan went on to say that he’s willing to give his life, if needed, to properly warn of the danger that will befall the world if America attacks Iran. His words for the U.S. were cryptic.

“So I’m warning you, America, if you bomb Iran, I’m looking at San Diego, I’m looking at your beautiful cities — the God that I represent is going to take out some of your cities with earthquakes,” he proclaimed. “You live in the city, I live in the city, but some of us are going to die, because we agree with them, agree with evil. So the God of judgement and justice, he’s going to kill a lot.”

And he wasn’t done there. Farrakhan continued:

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but I’m saying this to our president and the warmongers [at another point in the speech 'warmongers' was used to describe Israel]. We can‘t stop you from bombing Iran if that’s what you want to do, but as you take out somebody else’s cities — as you destroy the lives of innocent people like you did in Baghdad on the basis of a lie — then what are you doing for the American people? You’re sentencing them in the weight of justice to the same death you have dealt to other people in other nations.

I am warning you: Take it or let it alone. He will take down cities and when I look at the skyscrapers in some of these major metropolis. He’s not going to take the big ones down first. He’s going to show you his power. In the meantime, one calamity after another until you submit, America, and know that judgement is here. You can escape it but you gotta do right by this people. And if you don’t do right by them, you can’t do right by the people outside of America, if you won’t do right for those who have…built your country.”

This, of course, was the conclusion to his conflagrant speech, as he showcased his distaste for America and the impending wrath he believes the nation is going to potentially face. While it’s not surprising to hear extreme rhetoric coming from Farrakhan, there are certainly some troubling — and new — tidbits embedded here.