Baseball Therapy: Lessons from the Hall of Fame Vote by Russell A. Carleton

January 10, 2013

by Russell A. Carleton

So... the Hall of Fame vote happened. And no one got in.

There have been plenty of threads of analysis and a few angry fingers being pointed to explain how an immensely talented class of potential inductees failed to produce anyone who will get a plaque in Cooperstown next year. The 10-person limit on the ballot is to blame. Steroids are to blame. The vague suspicion of knowing someone who might have at some point taken steroids is to blame. Aaron Sele is to blame. People not taking the process seriously are to blame. The Tea Party (huh?) is to blame. Kirk Radomski is to blame. The difficulty of rallying 75 percent of any group of people anywhere around one definition of "famous" is to blame. Jack Morris and Tim Raines are to blame. A golfing website is to blame. Bacne is to blame. The DH is to blame. The fact that Kid Rock once "wrote" a "song" called BBWAA (or something like that) is to blame. The statheads are to blame. The dinosaurs in the media are to blame. The space aliens are to blame. Bias against first-timers is to blame. Vitamin supplements are to blame.

Okay, so mostly it's been blaming. We get it. The system is broken, and there will be a series of conversations that take place over the next few days about that. But let's drill a little deeper on the Hall of Fame voting and see what lessons we might learn from this year's Cooperstown class:

1) Expanding the ballot might not have gotten anyone elected.
According to the BBWAA, there were 569 ballots submitted, and they contained a grand total of 3,756 names, meaning that each ballot contained an average of 6.6 names. Much of the discussion leading up to the vote centered around how many well-qualified candidates there were. There were plenty of people casting fake ballots who found themselves saying, "I would have voted for Todd Walker, but I ran out of room." The BBWAA voters (the ones who count) weren't so generous with filling out their papers all the way to the bottom.

As of this writing, 114 ballots (20 percent of the total) have been made public on the BBWAA website. These list an average of 7.0 names. Logically, this means that the private ballots contained an average of 6.5 names. Our public voters were a little more likely to write down an extra name, but still, there were an average of three blank spaces on each of their ballots. In addition, only one quarter (29 of the 114 public ballots) were completely full, listing 10 names. Recall that the ballots kept private had even fewer names on them. This means that there was even more extra space out there on those ballots that just went unused. If all ballots were made public, there's a good chance that the number of completely full ballots would actually go down.

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Source: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19355

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Arianna Talks Gun Control, GPS For The Soul On 'Piers Morgan Tonight' (VIDEO)

Arianna Huffington made a guest appearance Wednesday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." The topic: Gun control in America.

During her interview from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Arianna talked about why it has been so difficult to get responsible gun laws passed.

"There is something that happens ... that when we are living in tough economic times that makes people irrational about security. And that's also what we are facing at the moment," Arianna said. "I mean, there is a lot of fear in this country, and a lot of it is fear of the future, fear of unemployment. And in moments like that we often see that kind of desire to cling to something -- like guns -- as a way to guarantee some kind of safety in the future."

Arianna also took a few moments to discuss GPS for the Soul, a new iPhone app that tracks stress levels and shares tips on how to lower them. Click here to learn more.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR THE WHOLE INTERVIEW

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/arianna-on-piers-morgan-tonight-gun-control-gps-for-the-soul_n_2445408.html

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Ned Wertimer: 1923-2013

Ned Wertimer, a prolific character actor who was perhaps best known for playing Ralph the Doorman for 11 seasons on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons, has died. He was 89.

Wertimer died Jan. 2 at the Sherman Village Health Care Center outside of Los Angeles from complications following a fall in his Burbank home in late November, his longtime manager, Brad Lemack, announced Tuesday.

Wertimer had more than 100 TV credits in his career as he guest-starred on such series as Gunsmoke, McMillan and Wife, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Mork & Mindy, He & She and Family Law.

PHOTOS:?Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2012?

On film, he played stockbroker Fred Cates in Lucille Ball?s Mame (1974) and had roles in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), The Impossible Years (1968), The Strongest Man in the World (1975), The Pack (1977) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World?s End (2007).

Wertimer?s character of the money-hungry doorman Ralph Hart was introduced during a 1975 episode of All in the Family titled ?The Jeffersons Move on Up.? On the Norman Lear spinoff, Ralph was always looking for a tip from the increasingly annoyed tenants of the luxury high-rise Colby East building in Manhattan.

Wertimer appeared in 51 of the 253 episodes of?The Jeffersons, which was one of the longest-running sitcoms in TV history.

Wertimer was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on Oct. 27, 1923. After serving as a pilot in World War II, he attended the University of Pennsylvania?s Wharton School and received a degree in business administration.

While at school, Wertimer was active in the Mask and Wig Club, the all-male musical troupe founded in 1889. He had major roles in its 1947 production of Juleo and Romiet, playing Lady Montague, and in the 1948 production of Alaska Right Away, as Senator Forghorn.?

Wertimer soon found success on Broadway. He was an assistant stage manager and cast-member in Texas L?il Darlin?, a Robert Emmett Dolan/Johnny Mercer musical that opened in November 1949, and he appeared in Garson Kanin?s The Live Wire, which opened in August 1950. ?

In New York, Wertimer also began to get roles in the new medium of television, appearing in many of the popular shows of the era. He became a regular guest on the children?s series The Shari Lewis Show, which highlighted his natural gifts for mimicry and improv.

In 1961, Wertimer replaced Paul Lynde in the Tony Award-winning production of Bye Bye Birdie. He also worked in numerous national touring and stock productions of plays and musicals, including Brigadoon, Hatful of Rain, Witness for the Prosecution, A Man for All Seasons, Cyrano de Bergerac, Annie Get Your Gun, Bells Are Ringing, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and, much later, The Best of The Jeffersons, a re-creation of three episodes from the TV series starring its original cast.

In the mid-1960s, Wertimer moved to Los Angeles to continue his career.

Wertimer was ?involved in AFTRA and SAG?s union contract negotiations over the years and served as a dedicated, longtime member of the board of directors of the AFTRA SAG Federal Credit Union.

Survivors include his wife Skyne, professor emerita at California State University Long Beach; his sister-in-law Eleanor; and a niece and three nephews. Services will be private.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926615/news/1926615/

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Major Foods For Skinny Girl ? Nine Excellent Tips On Skinny Girl Diet

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Skinny Girl DietNo one wants to become fat. Everyone wants to remain slim. But too much thinning or what we call is skinny is unwanted. A skinny girl is unattractive and not beautiful at all. Like overweight people most of the dresses do not suit her.

Moreover, a skinny girl is prone to various diseases and infections. Skinniness damages our natural immunity system and the risk of pneumonia and sepsis is increased. Skinniness also leads to osteoporosis. If you are a skinny girl then practice a sensible diet to gain some weight and to lead a healthy life. This article will help you to know the ideal diet for skinny diet.

Tips On Skinny Girl Diet

Eat Frequently in Small Gap

Do not skip your meals. You need at least three major meals or six smaller meals to keep your metabolism working in proper way. Do not give a long gap in between meals and eat in every three hours.

Eat Rice in Good Amount

skinny girl diet

You should eat calorie rich food to increase your weight. Eat rice twice daily to increase the weight. Each 100 grams soft rice contains 380 calories and enhances your weight. In hot and soft rice mix good amount of butter or clarified butter and salt. Mix well and eat twice daily. It will help you to increase the weight of a skinny girl.

Eat Potato Daily

Eat potato in good amount. Eat potato in breakfast, in lunch and in dinner everyday. Use potato in your daily fish curry, meat curry and in vegetables. Eat boiled or fried potato in Tiffin everyday. Too much eating of different preparations of potato will help a skinny girl to gain some weight very quickly. Moreover, potato gives instant energy to a skinny girl. Skinny girls lack energy frequently.

Drink Whole Milk

skinny girls foods

Drink whole milk. Nowadays people generally like to drink fat free milk. But it has no good for skinny persons. Drink at least two cups whole milk daily to increase some weight.

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Eat Egg Daily

Egg is rich in calorie and helps to increase weight. Egg yolk is actually fat and egg white is protein. Eat boiled egg in breakfast, egg curry in lunch and dinner. If you can digest, eat 2-3 egg daily to increase weight quickly.

Increase the Intake of Daily Diet

Increase the intake of daily protein. Eat a good amount of meat everyday to enhance the weight. Red meat is an excellent product to gain weight fast. But if you have cardiac problem or uric acid problem then stay away from red meat. Instead of that add chicken or lamb in your weight gaining diet.

Eat Nuts in Good Amount Daily

skinny girl diet

Eat nuts in good amount. Nuts and dry fruits are rich in fat and other minerals. They enhance your weight, keep your body healthy and give you instant energy. Almonds, cashew nuts, ground nuts, pistachio contain a good amount of fat. Add them to your daily diet to enhance weight.

Eat Fruits Like Mango, Papaya and Banana

Fruits like ripe mango, ripe papaya and banana are good for skinny persons. Eat them in large amount daily to add some weight to your body.

Increase Oil and Butter in Your Cooking

Increase the use of butter and oil in your daily cooking if you want to get rid of skinniness.

Follow this diet and soon add some weight in your skinny body. This will help you to become beautiful and attractive.

Nine Excellent Tips On Skinny Girl Diet, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Source: http://www.ayushveda.com/magazine/nine-excellent-tips-on-skinny-girl-diet/

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Debt-ceiling showdown: 4 reasons it's not a replay of 2011

President Obama told the Business Roundtable in December that another fight over the nation's debt ceiling is 'not a game that I will play.' (Charles Dharapak/AP/File)

While the 2011 debt-ceiling showdown stood alone, the 2013 debt battle comes amid battles over automatic spending reductions known as the "sequester" and the need to pass a federal budget.

So instead of just facing the prospect of default on the nation?s debt, there?s also $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade (the sequester) and the specter of government services grinding to a halt unless a budget or temporary continuing resolution is passed.

This may change the politics of the debt ceiling. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) suggested that the debt ceiling is not the most useful issue on which to make a stand, saying Republicans ?have two wonderful, clear, and far better fights available in [government funding legislation] and the Sequester bill.?

?The debt ceiling involves the faith and credit of the United States. It can not be held hostage because the crisis impact of failing to pay the government?s debts would be immediate, worldwide, and shattering,? Gingrich wrote on one of his websites. ?If Republicans fall for the debt ceiling trap they will once again be isolated in a corner, identified as negative extremists, and ultimately forced to back down with maximum internal conflict and bitterness among conservatives and Republicans.?

Mr. Obama has vowed not to negotiate on the debt ceiling, a shift from 2011, when he and House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio tried to negotiate a large deal before eventually giving way to congressional and White House players.

The trio of issues will come to a head between Feb. 15 and the end of March.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/k3XOK8DDP6w/Debt-ceiling-showdown-4-reasons-it-s-not-a-replay-of-2011

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Yes, Panasonic really made a 20-inch tablet

3 hrs.

A 20-inch tablet doesn't exactly sound like it should be considered a truly?mobile device?? I'd love to see pants with pockets big enough for it?? but Panasonic decided to make one anyway.

Panasonic's new Windows 8 tablet weighs 5.3 pounds and is an incredibly slender 0.4 inches thick. It's battery life is a bit on the brief side, according to Panasonic?? it'll only run for about two hours on a full charge.

It has?a 4K display (3840 x 2560 pixels), a stylus, a?720p HD camera,?a?1.80 GHz?Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM (though it can be upgraded to 16GB), and a 128GB SSD. There's support for USB and microSD.

No word as to when this beast of a tablet will hit shelves or how much it will cost. And jokes about pants pockets and the silliness of such a large tablet aside, I should point out that Panasonic intends to aim this gadget at the business crowd. Editors, architects?and anyone who has to give presentation or plan something on-the-go could get some use out of this huge slab o' tech.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.


Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/yes-panasonic-really-made-20-inch-tablet-1B7896931

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Tag ? You're It! ? Blogforce

?Can you hear me now? Good!? I have some information I?d like to share ?Because You?re Worth It?. Don?t worry, ?You?re in Good Hands?.

You might be scratching your head right now after reading the opening paragraph, possibly thinking that something seems strangely familiar about it. If so, you might have recognized that these are advertising slogans used by Verizon, L?Oreal, and Allstate all strung together.

Why would I do something like that? To prove a point :) I wanted to reinforce the impact that slogans, jingles, and taglines have on us. Sometimes even years after a company stops using a certain advertising slogan, it is still stuck in our memories. Check out this list of influential slogans and see how many of them you remember.

Why does this matter? Because these same techniques could be employed as part of a job search to help make us memorable to individuals that we network with, as well as to potential employers.

How does it work? A tagline can be serious, funny, or anywhere in between; one word, a few words, or a couple of sentences. The most important thing is that this key phrase should reflect your personality and capture what you have to offer ? the value and benefits that you would bring to an employer.

What do you do with it? A tagline can be used in many different ways throughout a job search. Some job seekers will add their tagline under the contact information at the top of their resume. Others will use it on networking business cards that remind people of who they are. Many job seekers also use their tagline on their social media profiles ? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and on other sites that can help them stand out and ?stay in front? of potential employers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So my advice, or as Nike put it, ?Just do it.? Imitate GE, who ?Brings good things to life?, and create a tagline that just might bring your job search efforts to life.

Bobi Cook is a Regional Facilitator for Workforce Solutions in the Houston ? Galveston area. She currently conducts job skills seminars throughout the 13 county Gulf Coast region utilizing her MBA and over ten cumulative years experience as a professional educator, quality systems manager within the automotive industry, and small business administrator to help job seekers develop and implement successful job search campaigns.

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Source: http://blogforce.wrksolutions.com/2013/01/07/tag-youre-it/

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Ask Engadget: best smartphone car mount?

Ask Engadget best Smartphone windshield mount

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Sam, who needs to find a new way of attaching a Galaxy S III to a windshield. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I've ditched my GPS unit for a Galaxy S III in my car, but I can't find a good windshield mount. Are there any models that don't use suction cups? For some reason they won't stick to my window, and yes, before you ask, yes I do keep it clean. Thanks!"

While we wouldn't recommend doing anything unhealthy, we've found a good lick on the suction cup before attaching it sometimes helps. Your mileage, however, may vary. Still, you could always try one of TomTom's generic smartphone dashboard mounts or perhaps even using a Bean Bag mount? As for a window mount that doesn't use suction cups? That's a question we'll leave for our friendly commenters to join in on.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/I6tkbBky-fA/

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Five presidential cabinet nominations that were rejected

President Barack Obama faces a tough nomination process for his proposed defense secretary, Chuck Hagel. But if the past is any indicator, a Senate rejection would be historic in many ways.

johntower

Former senator John Tower. Source: Congress.

Hagel faces vocal opposition from senators from both political parties. However, it?s rare for the Senate to actually reject a cabinet nominee in a public vote?the last such act took place in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

More likely, the Obama administration would withdraw Hagel?s nomination before a vote, if the math proved problematic.

The Senate?s official website has a detailed analysis of the nomination and approval process, which wasn?t spelled out in the Constitution, but follows precedents set by the first president, George Washington.

The Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, says that the president ?shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for.?

The Founding Fathers worked out most of the process in the 1st Congress, as President Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Henry Knox to his first cabinet, and the Senate approved the nominations by a simple majority vote.

Early nominations dramas were more about Supreme Court candidates, but in later years, fights over cabinet nominees were dramatic, even if they were rare.

The first high-profile cabinet rejection by the Senate was in 1834, when President Andrew Jackson lost a fight to get Attorney General Roger Taney named as treasury secretary, in the bitter fight over the Second Bank of the United States.

The Senate rejected Taney?s nomination by a 18-28 vote, but a determined Jackson was able to get Taney appointed as the Supreme Court?s chief justice in 1835 when his Democratic party had a slim Senate majority.

The next nomination fight over the cabinet involved a senator who had played a key role in Taney?s rejection: John Tyler of Virginia.

By 1843, Tyler had become president, after William Henry Harrison died, and he was openly feuding with his own Whig party. On March 3, the Senate rejected Tyler?s nomination of Caleb Cushing?s as treasury secretary three times on the same day. Three other Tyler nominees were later rejected by the Senate, giving him a record six cabinet rejections.

A third historic cabinet rejection came in the troubled administration of President Andrew Johnson. Johnson?s attorney general, Henry Stanbery, resigned his position to defend Johnson at the president?s Senate trial after his impeachment.

Johnson survived the trial, and he nominated Stanbery to resume his job as attorney general in 1868. The Senate promptly rejected Stanbery?s nomination.

Since then, only three cabinet nominations have been rejected by a vote in the Senate. In comparison, six nominations have been withdrawn before a vote, by the president, since 1993.

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In 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower nominated Admiral Lewis Strauss as commerce secretary. The Democrats controlled more than 60 Senate seats and Strauss lost in a contentious nomination process by just four votes.

The fight between the Senate and its former member, John Tower, in 1989 was historic in many ways. Tower had headed the Senate Armed Services Committee until he retired in 1985. President Bush had nominated Tower as defense secretary.

The public debate over Tower?s nomination included a lot of mudslinging, and Tower lost the vote along party lines in the Democrat-controlled Senate. He was the only former Senate member rejected for a cabinet position by the Senate in its history. Dick Cheney was later approved in Tower?s place.

In the current case of Hagel, a former Republican senator, the Democrats have about 55 votes in the Senate, including independents that caucus with them.

But Hagel has bipartisan critics because of his past comments about Israel and his opinions on the war in Iraq.

It?s unlikely Hagel?s nomination would make it to a vote if his candidacy is in trouble, but if Hagel were to lose, it would be a double rarity: a former senator rejected by a Senate controlled by the president?s party.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/five-presidential-cabinet-nominations-were-rejected-163612833--politics.html

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Panasonic's Big Beautiful New Plasma and LED TVs Are Here