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THE ARTIS BLOG
2/27/09
* MR. DEAN GROSE, MAYOR OF ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA, JUST SAY NO! PLEASE, JUST SAY NO!
MAYOR DEAN GROSE SENT THIS PICTURE IN AN E-MAIL TO A BLACK BUSINESSWOMAN IN HIS CITY OF ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA
* The caption of this picture said, "NO EASTER HUNT THIS YEAR."
* Mayor Grose claims he did not know this picture with its caption was racist. My question is, how could anyone, especially the mayor of a town just outside of Los Angeles, be so stupid as to think that this picture was not racist?
* Again, I have to ask how could anyone be so stupid?
* I haven't forgotten that this is America. And in America, we all have the Constitutional right to do stupid things or to be an idiot who supports those who do stupid things.
* This explains the supporters of Grose. Grose's supporters claim the mayor did nothing wrong, that people who are upset with the actions of Grose are trying to make a big deal out of nothing.
* Yes, this is a big deal. Anyone who thinks this isn't a big deal is a sad, sad individual. But, that's the nature of idiots.
* That's also the nature of racism in 2008 America. Many racists like to hide behind ignorance in an attempt to hide their racism. You know the routine, "Oh, that was racist? Well, I didn't know. Now, be good boys and girls and please forgive me. And whatever you do, please don't make a big deal out of what I did."
* Mayor Grose has said that due to the embarrassment he has caused his town by sending this picture in his e-mail to a Black constituent, he will resign as Mayor next week. Good. Anyone this stupid isn't fit to serve as mayor of any town in America.
* However, there is a question as to if Grose will resign from City Council. He can resign as mayor and still keep his seat on council. So much for being sorry.
WE THE PEOPLE
I'LL BE BACK MARCH 9'TH WITH A NEW ARTIS BLOG. TAKE CARE.
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/25/09
THE FOLLOWING IS A LETTER TO THE NEW YORK POST FROM SINGER JOHN LEGEND IN RESPONSE TO THE RACIST "OBAMA MONKEY PICTURE" PRINTED LAST WEEK BY THE PAPER.
TAKE CARE. JEFF ARTIS, PUBLISHER JeffArtis.com
John Legend Responds to Racist Cartoon With Open Letter to The New York Post
NEW YORK, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 18, 2009, The New York Post ran an editorial cartoon comparing the author of the federal stimulus bill to a crazed chimpanzee shot and killed by police earlier in the week after attacking a woman in Stamford, Connecticut. John Legend responded to the cartoon with the following open letter to the Post:
Dear Editor:
I'm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had for publishing that vile cartoon depicting the shooting of the chimpanzee that went crazy. I guess you thought it would be funny to suggest that whomever was responsible for writing the Economic Recovery legislation must have the intelligence and judgment of a deranged, violent chimpanzee, and should be shot to protect the larger community. Really? Did it occur to you that this suggestion would imply a connection between President
Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that our president has been receiving death threats since early in his candidacy? Did it occur to you that blacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery? Did you intend to invoke these painful themes when you printed the cartoon?
If that's not what you intended, then it was stupid and willfully ignorant of you not to connect these easily connectable dots. If it is what you intended, then you obviously wanted to be grossly provocative, racist and offensive to the sensibilities of most reasonable Americans. Either way, you should not have printed this cartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible. I can't imagine what possible justification you have for this. I've read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you for dodging the real issue and then using the letter as an opportunity to attack Rev. Sharpton. This is not about Rev. Sharpton. It's about the cartoon being blatantly racist and offensive.
I believe in freedom of speech, and you have every right to print what you want. But freedom of speech still comes with responsibilities and consequences. You are responsible for printing this cartoon, and I hope you experience some real consequences for it. I'm personally boycotting your paper and won't do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well. I implore your advertisers to seriously reconsider their business relationships with you as well.
You should print an apology in your paper acknowledging that this cartoon was ignorant, offensive and racist and should not have been printed.
I'm well aware of our country's history of racism and violence, but I truly believe we are better than this filth. As we attempt to rise above our difficult past and look toward a better future, we don't need the New York Post to resurrect the images of
Jim Crow to deride the new administration and put black folks in our place. Please feel free to criticize and honestly evaluate our new president, but do so without the incendiary images and rhetoric.
Sincerely,
John Legend
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU FRIDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/23/09
* I was talking to a Republican friend of mine the other day. He is one of those gloom and doom Republicans who not only wants President Obama to fail, he wants President Obama to fail miserably. I really don't understand the mentality of these people, these folks who are praying that this country goes to hell in a hand basket. What's odd is these are the same folks who have put this country is such a bad way since the 2000 Election of President George Bush. How quickly people forget, especially the guilty.
My friend asks me, "Your President isn't doing so well. Have you seen the Stock Market lately?"
* I told him that I have been keeping track of the Stock Market, but the Stock Market isn't an accurate measure of what President Obama is trying to do. I told him the Stock Market is down for two reasons. One, the economy is in much worse shape than what people are saying, that the only people who really know the real numbers concerning the economy is Wall Street itself and they aren't saying anything. Wall Street will keep quiet because if it doesn't, Wall Street runs the risk of setting off an economic catastrophe if the whole truth about our economy ever gets out.
* Two, the Stock Market is down because the stimulus package means accountability for Wall Street and the Stock Market. Wall Street and the Stock Market hate accountability. Wall Street and the Stock Market had hoped that President Obama would do what President Bush did, give them money with no strings attached. President Obama was smarter than that. President Obama wasn't about to throw taxpayer's money down a black hole like President Bush did.
Historically, when Presidents talk about Wall Street and Stock Market accountability, the price of stocks always goes down. Wall Street always reacts negatively whenever they can't get free government money to blow.
* He gave me a funny look. He knew I was right.
* Then he asked, "Well, what about the free government money that's being given to people to save their homes? I shouldn't have to pay for someone else making a mistake."
* I told my friend that he had been listening to Rush Limbaugh too much. And when it came to economics, especially this current economic mess, Rush is a fool. Again, he have me a look.
* I explained to my friend that no one is getting any free money to save their home. True, the terms of their mortgage may have to be re-done. True, their mortgage payments may be lowered. True, it may be unfair to the millions of people who have made their mortgage payments on time every month and didn't use their homes as ATM machines.
* My Republican friend smiled until I told him that people must look at the big picture. Local governments do not collect tax revenue from foreclosed homes and foreclosed properties. If you have too many foreclosed homes, schools, police departments and fire departments get their budgets cut and people are laid off due to the shortfall of tax revenue caused by those home and properties being foreclosed on. Too many foreclosed homes means government services have to be cut due to the loss of tax revenue. Too many foreclosed homes means local governments are going to have to raise taxes to make ends meet.
I asked him if that was what he wanted? He gave me that look, again.
* I explained to my Republican friend that if the home down the street is foreclosed on, what's to prevent the home up the street from being next, given the cyclical nature of our economy. In a free market economy, if I'm hurting, it's only a matter of time before you are hurting. In a free market economy, if I go under, it's only a matter of time before you go under. That's the nature of free market economics.
That's the stuff Rush and the Republican Party don't want you to know about. Rush and the Republicans don't want you to know that a free market economy is like a chain. Like a chain, a free market economy is only as strong as its weakest link. Like a chain, if one link breaks, the chain is useless. In a free market economy, if one link breaks, the economy suffers.
* I looked at my friend and smiled. I told my friend, "If Republicans were more concerned with solving this financial crisis than they were concerned about winning the 2012 Presidential Election and the 2010 Congressional Elections, we might get out of this recession/depression sooner rather than later." He gave me that look again. He knows that I'm right.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/20/09
* Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. On that day, America lost a great men. My Mt. Rushmore of great Black men are Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Apologies to President Barack Obama.
* Some of you may disagree with my assessment of Brother Malcolm. Since his death, Malcolm's legacy has been hijacked by so many different self-serving groups for so many self-serving purposes that most people have no idea what the man actually stood for. Few have taken the time to study what the man actually stood for. Few have taken the time to actually understand the changes Malcolm had undergone before and during the last year of his life. Because Malcolm's life has been relegated to sound bites and economic and political exploitation, Malcolm is easily the most misunderstood figure in Black History, if not American History.
* Malcolm was not a racist. He made this perfectly clear the last year he was alive. Yes, he was against racists and racism. However, at the time of his death he no longer believed that all White people were the devil.
* Malcolm did not believe in violence. Malcolm, like most Americans, believed in self-defense. "Be peaceful, be intelligent, obey the law. But, if someone puts their hands on you, send them to the cemetery." Again, self-defense.
* Malcolm was not against Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, in his last year, Malcolm publicly said he had been wrong in his assessment of Dr. King and the Movement, that he wanted to work with King and the Movement to bring about a better way of life for Black people in America and the world.
Few know that Malcolm traveled to Selma, Alabama on behalf of SNCC, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, to talk about gaining Black voting rights through non-violent measures.
* Malcolm was for fatherhood, family, brotherhood, personal improvement, education and personal responsibility and accountability.
* Malcolm was against drugs, gangs, alcohol and criminality. The former pimp, drug dealer and thief once said, "To have been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal, that is the disgrace."
* Malcolm understood that there were problems in the Black community that only the Black community was equipped to solve without the help of liberals and without the help of government intervention.
* Dr. King taught us to love. Malcolm taught us to be proud.
* A great man. A misunderstood man. Malcolm X is a man who should be honored. I am proud to call him one of my heroes.
WE THE PEOPLE
HAVE A NICE WEEKEND
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/16/09
OH, HELL NO!
POLITICAL CARTOON FROM THE NEW YORK POST BY SEAN DELONAS
* Let me be perfectly honest. If Sean Delonas, the cartoonist responsible for this piece of trash, would have been standing beside me when I first saw this so-called political cartoon, folks would be saying, "That Delonas boy got what he deserved."
* I don't want to hear any cornball explanations for this so-called political cartoon printed in "The New York Post" about the Obama Stimulus Package.
* I don't want to hear any cornball explanations for this racist political cartoon printed in "The New York Post" about the Obama Stimulus Package.
* I don't want to hear any cornball explanations for this anti-American political cartoon printed in "The New York Post" about the Obama Stimulus Package.
* This so-called political cartoon is a piece of trash on so many levels.
* Yes, it is racist; White cops, killing a monkey representing the first Black President of the United States. If folks are too stupid to see the racism in this so-called political cartoon, I truly feel sorry for them.
* Yes, it is anti-American; cops killing a figure representing the President of the United States. If folks are too stupid to see the anti-American sentiment in this so-called political cartoon, I truly feel sorry for them. In fact, these same folks need to shut up the next time the Muslim world prints an anti-American political cartoon that depicts the murder of the President of the United States.
* America is a wonderful country. In America, people have the Constitutional right to be racist. In America, people have the Constitutional right to hide behind the First Amendment when promoting their racism. In America, people have the Constitutional right to use cornball excuses to try to justify their racism. In America, people working for "The New York Post" even have the Constitutional right to print a piece of trash depicting the murder of the President of the United States.
My guess is "The New York Post" needs readers so the paper is going after the KKK readership. I can hear the Klansmen talking now. "Hey Bubba, did you see that thing in that New York paper where two White cops killed that monkey Obama? What? You didn't see that thing about White cops killing that nigger President because of that stimulus thing? I'll get you a copy. Funniest thing I've ever seen in the paper. If it happened for real, I wouldn't shed a tear. The country would be better off. If you ask me, it was all that affirmative action crap."
* OH, HELL NO!
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU FRIDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/16/09
* The 2/14/09 edition of "The Roanoke Times" newspaper reported that former Roanoke, Va. City Councilman Mac McCadden has expressed an interest in the open seat on Roanoke City Council, the seat that became open when Alvin Nash resigned from Roanoke City Council. The paper reported that McCadden was either an applicant or a nominee for the open council seat.
I talked with McCadden on Sunday. The news that he was interested in the open Roanoke City Council seat was news to him. McCadden told me he is not interested in the seat. He also told me he has not even expressed interest in the seat. In fact, McCadden told me that he felt former Roanoke City Councilman William White was the best candidate for the open city council seat given the current financial state of Roanoke, Va. McCadden feels that White's knowledge of the upcoming budget process is going to be needed if Roanoke City Government was going to properly address its current financial situation.
The Roanoke Times got it wrong on this one.
* Several people have asked me to throw my hat into the political ring concerning the open seat on the Roanoke, Va. City Council. They tell me that Roanoke City Council needs a councilperson filling that open seat who won't play politics, who will make the tough decisions, who will look out for the needs of all of Roanoke, Va.'s citizens, not just those with money, and who has both short term and long term ideas on how to make Roanoke, Va. the city it should be instead of the city it has become.
* I agree with this assessment. However, with my wife's health, all political activity for me is on hold.
* That said, there are a couple of things to look at. First, on a good day and I mean a really good day, I could only get three votes from the current council to fill the open seat. Four votes are needed to fill the seat. Second, at this time, Roanoke City Council isn't interested in what I have to say; that is Roanoke, Va. is a wonderful city with great potential that is being underserved by people more interested in maintaining the status quo than they are interested in having a government that is mutually beneficial to all of its citizens.
* For example, I am not surprised by the current financial shape Roanoke City Government is in. When I ran for Roanoke City Council in 1996, I told folks about the need for Roanoke City Government to be more financially responsible. I predicted that in 10 years, given the rate of excessive spending by Roanoke City Government in 1996, the city would be in trouble financially. I told folks that there would come a day when Roanoke City Government would look up and say, "Oh no! Where did all the money go?" Well folks, that day is here.
* No, I'm not a financial guru. In 1996, I just looked at the books, or tried to anyway. First, no one could tell me how much debt the city was in. That says something. Second, anyone who can do second grade math can tell you when you spend more money than you take in in taxes, you are in trouble financially. Third, when you depend on outside sources to suppliment tax revenue to run your city, you are asking for trouble. Fourth, when you borrow money to meet capital expenditures because of reduced tax revenue, you are asking for trouble. Fifth, when there isn't any real oversite on the way tax dollars are being spent, you are asking for trouble.
* In my 1996 City Council campaign, I told the people of Roanoke, Va. that when it came to government spending, I would always ask three things. 1) Where is the money coming from? 2) How is city government going to pay for it in the future? 3) What happens when the funding sources for those projects dry up, because eventually, they will dry up?
* I was told not to worry, that everything was under control. I was called a negative person. I was called a pessimist. I was called a worrywart. Well, guess again.
* Actually, all is not lost. Roanoke, Va. can correct its current financial situation rather easily. The question is will Roanoke City Council do what it needs to do to correct its current budget woes?
* We will see. Good luck to the newest person selected to serve on the Roanoke, Va. City Council.
WE THE PEOPLE
I'LL SEE YOU WEDNESDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/13/09
The following is my lastest newspaper column this week's, "The Roanoke Star-Sentinel." Enjoy. Take care.
Jeff Artis, Publisher JeffArtis.com
I want to declare 2009 as, "The Year of the Father." Here is why. We are losing our children. The main reason we are losing our children is men have abdicated their role of being a father to these lost children. These men have decided that their lives are more important than the lives of their children. These men have decided that their wants and needs are more important then the wants and needs of their children. As a consequence, when we ask, "What is wrong with our children?" we already know the answer.
Children are a gift from God. They should to be treated as such. I have three children, one deceased. There is nothing I would not do for my children. I get after them when they are wrong. I support them up when they are right. I have done without so they can have. We have had our fights and arguments. I have been wrong a few times in how I have handled certain situations. Through it all, I love them and they love me. Most important, there is very little I would have done differently in raising my children. I have done nothing special. As a father, I simply did my job.
In this age of Political Correctness, we have forgotten about honesty, personal responsibility and accountability. In this PC world we are supposed to understand failure and accept incompetence. Given the current state of many of our children, we must change. There is nothing wrong with demanding that fathers be fathers. Some men try to justify why they are not the fathers they should be or need to be. There is no justification for not taking care of your children. There is no excuse for not taking care of your children. I will tell any man in a minute, "You made that child. Take care of that child. That child did not ask to come into this world." We all should be saying the same thing. Yes, it is hard to be a good father. However, it is not hard to be an average father. Sadly, in many cases, just raising the bar to average is much better than what many children have now.
The primary goal of all fathers should be to want their children to become successful adults, in fact, more successful than themselves. For this to happen, children need three things; love, structure and discipline. Children must receive love, structure and discipline in equal measure. Giving a child love, structure and discipline must start from day one. Too much of one and not enough of the other is a recipe for problems down the road.
The primary cause for gang activity, teenage pregnancies, America’s high incarceration rate, the drop-out rate, low graduation rates and the other abysmal statistics affecting our society can be traced directly to fathers not being fathers to their children. This is an American disgrace. As long as we remain silent, the situation will only get worse.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU MONDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/11/09
* I understand there are members of the Black press who are upset with President Obama because he did not call on any reporters representing Black newspapers or Black news organizations during his press conference last Monday night.
* I also understand that there are Black fashion designers who are upset with Michele Obama because she hasn't worn any clothes designed by Black fashion designers.
* In both of these cases, the people who are upset with the First Family for their supposed slights really need to get over themselves. We have much more important things to worry about than President Obama not asking a reporter representing a Black news organization a question at a press conference or Michele Obama not wearing a dress designed by a Black designer.
* Look for the Republican Party to give out some serious payback to any Republican who supports the Obama Stimulus Bill. That's just the way Republicans operate these days.
* A year and a half ago, people said I was crazy when I said the Roanoke, Va. Public School System was running out of money. Now, the school system has announced that it will close and consolidate some schools and lay off 100 teachers. Well, I tried to tell you.
* Roanoke, Va. City Councilman Alvin Nash has stepped down from Roanoke City Council in order to return to his position as head of Blue Ridge Public Housing.
* I'm not sure what Nash was thinking when he became a councilman given the obvious conflicts of interest he would face as a council member given the relationship between Blue Ridge Public Housing and Roanoke City Council. Nash did nothing illegal. However, Nash should have known better than to put himself in such an awkward situation.
* Who would be a good replacement for Nash on Roanoke City Council? Former Roanoke City Councilman Mac McCadden would be a good choice.
* I hope Whitney Huston is successful in her comeback.
* You know, if the models in the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition magazine would put on 20-25 pounds, they might not look so sickly.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU FRIDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/9/09
* I read an article asking if it's time to end Black History Month. It was a waste of time and energy. We need to celebrate Black History, just as we need to celebrate Italian-American History, Women's History, Native-American History or the history of any group that has contributed positively to this great country of ours.
* Look at who is supporting Obama's stimulus package. America's mayors and governors from both political parties are in support of the bill. The only folks who just don't get it are the Republicans in Congress. Look, I'm all for tax cuts. But, I don't give a flying flip about a tax cut if I don't have a job. Since I'm a school teacher and my school system has announced that it plans to lay off 100 teachers for the upcoming school year, I'd rather my tax dollars be used to keep my job than to provide myself with a tax cut I cannot use because I'm unemployed or to provide myself with additional unemployment benefits because I've been laid off from my teaching job.
* I've got nothing but love for anyone who has come down with the stomach flu that's going around. I had it last week. I haven't been that sick in a long, long time. A week later, it's still tough just walking around the house. I'm as weak as a kitten.
* I got to watch most of last week's Super Bowl. No, it was not the greatest Super Bowl of all time. The first two Cowboy-Steeler Super Bowls top my list. Frankly, it was a boring game until the fourth quarter. An all time great game is good from beginning to end.
* I only have one word for Michael Phelps. Idiot. Some say Phelps made a little mistake, that he's a young man who should be cut some slack because he's just growing up. To those people, I say remember that when a NBA or NFL rookie, about the same age, but a different race, gets into the same kind of trouble.
* So A-Rod has tested positive for steroids. Someone please tell me why we should be surprised? Look, I love baseball. But, I don't have a problem with an athlete taking something that's not against the rules of his or her sport at the time they took it. A-Rod is a Hall of Famer. Roger Clemens is a Hall of Famer. Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer. Did these folks break the rules of baseball? No. End of discussion.
* And don't give me this role model stuff, that these guys are role models who are hurting the kids by doing the things they do. If a kid looks up to an athlete more than his or her parents, it's not the athletes fault. Charles Barkley was right. Athletes are not role models.
* If you are a parent and your child is doing something they are not supposed to be doing like steroids or drugs, and you don't know anything about it, you are a bad parent. Don't blame Michael Phelps or Barry Bonds for your willingness to stick your head in the sand when it comes to you failing to raise your children.
If parents took more time to be good parents instead of blaming everything under the sun but themselves for their children's failures, our children would be a lot better off. Cane killed Able. It had noting to do with video games, rogue athletes or anything else.
* There is no legitimate reason for non-violent felons not to have their voting rights automatically restored when they have completed their sentencing for the crime they have committed. In Virginia, non-violent felons must petition the Governor to have their voting rights restored. This is unacceptable.
* Again, please wear blue on Fridays to support our troops.
WE THE PEOPLE
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY
THE ARTIS BLOG
2/2/09
* Elections were held in Iraq last week. For the first time since America went into Iraq, Iraq security forces, not American troops, were in charge of maintaining order through the elections. According to reports coming out of Iraq, the elections went off without a hitch. That's good. However, let's not get too carried away with any talk that democracy has come to Iraq. As the Iraq War has taught us, and has taught us well is we must be careful not to declare anything too soon.
* How long will American troops be in Afghanistan? Here's an interesting note. At least fifty percent of the economy of Afghanistan is based on the opium trade. No, that is not a misprint. And we know the opium trade funds all terrorist activities based in that country.
* Congratulations to Michael Steele, the new Chairman and the first Black Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
* If Republicans elected Steele to expand the Republican base, it's not going to work. Here's the problem with the Republican Party. You actually have two Republican Parties. One Republican Party wants diversity and new ideas. The other Republican Party only wants dark-skinned White people to join the party. Those Republicans who only want dark-skinned White people to become Republicans are in control of the Republican Party at this time.
* It's a shame that the Republican Party has become so rigid in its ideology. If you distributed a list of the top 10 items the Republican Party stands for, without identifying the list as coming from the Republican Party, and distributed that list in the Black and Hispanic communities throughout America, Blacks and Hispanics would say, "Now, here's something I can believe in, something I can get behind."
* Now, if you tell those same Blacks and Hispanics that the list is from the Republican Party, and they should join or at least, check out the Republican Party, they will say, "Not interested."
* Why? As long as Sarah Palin, Ann Coultor and Rush Limbaugh are seen as the face of the Republican Party, the Republican Party can forget about expanding its base. Democrats will be in power for a long, long, time.
* I know what I'm talking about. I used to be a Republican. I ran for office as a Republican twice; in 1995 and 1996. Those in control of the Republican Party, that rigid group of Republicans that only wants dark-skinned White people in the Republican Party, made it perfectly clear to me that I wasn't welcome in their little club. More than once, those folks told me in many different ways, "Black Boy, we don't want you here. Leave."
* Here's something to remember about Obama's Stimulus Bill. It's not Obama's bill. It's the House Democrat's bill. Also, the only version of the bill that has passed is the House of Representatives' version. There's more work to be done on the bill. There are some changes that will take place in the bill before the bill becomes law.
* The Senate still has to pass their version of the stimulus bill. If the stimulus bill passes the Senate, the bill then goes to the Conference Committee to consolidate the House and Senate versions of the bill. When this is completed, the consolidated version of the bill goes back to the House of Representatives for a vote. If it passes there, the bill then goes to the Senate for a vote. If the bill passes both the House and the Senate in its consolidated form, the bill then goes to President Obama to be signed into law if the bill. There's still plenty of work to be done.
