Why Not have another Rush to Excellence Tour across America?  I remember being really young when Rush first went on his tour after his first book, and the crowds were electric.  I think most people right now are flummoxed with the current state of the country.  They see the attack on the producers and people with productive jobs as an insult.  I think a lot of those independents, if they were so gullible, could just as easily be won over to our side by pointing out the facts of our current situation.  No one does that better than Rush himself.

Maybe we could get a cooperative deal going here.  Rush, Hannity, Levin, etc.  could appear all over the country at rallies.  I think part of our problem in winning in so-called liberal areas of the country is that conservatives are so beaten down by the left that we don’t want to speak.  It’s not fun being ostracized and ridiculed.  But, if Rush et. al. help buck up our remaining conservatives, we might just convince a few of the squishy moderates.  The positive and negative of the moderate is that they don’t know what they believe.  We need to remember that in 1994 they decidedly went GOP.  We can get that again, if we use Rush and the rest of the radio bunch to our real advantage.

I don’t know if Rush reads what we write on our blog.  And I know that he has a life to live outside of his radio program and traveling to far flung regions of the country to buck up the forlorn conservative, but maybe this is the time to come out.  I know Hannity travels quite a bit.  Levin stays put a lot.  We need the conservatives in the new media, which includes us on RedState, to take the lead.  Our weak-kneed representatives will only get a spine when we get one!  That means saying what we think and mean in public, even at NEA leadership meetings (which I happily do!).  I think Rush can inspire whole new legions of conservatives to speak up and speak out.  He’s not a messiah, he’s not a miracle worker, he just knows, better than most, what makes this nation great.

If Rush would re-create the Rush to Excellence tour, he’d get tons of coverage in the local media where he was speaking.  Most of the moderates, who pay their mortgages on time, think the government is wasting way too much money, and think that there are better ways to reform health care than having a new massive bureaucratic  “solution”,  will  come back around.  It’s not just Rush, but all of us.  I mean he was right, most people live their lives as conservatives.  We need to forge that connection again, and then the administration will be flailing, just like Clinton in 1993-1994.

Anyway, that is my thought.  I’d go to a Rush to Excellence in Colorado Springs or Denver at any time.

As we sit here, we see that the Senate Democrats are preparing to pass a “stimulus” bill.  They are giving bare minimum concessions to the so-called fiscal conservatives in their own party, and passing a socialist revision of the American way of life.  The Republicans have been smart attacking the more egregious parts of the bill, but have been less forthright in offering a true alternative that the president will sign. 

The president has been AWOL only in public.  In private, his people working hard on this.  They have stated publicly that they would accept a smaller, leaner bill.  Why not offer that, and publicly?  Have Steele go on Sunday Shows, or better yet, our Senate Leaders and offer a real alternative.  That alternative would be an elimination of all social spending in the bill and a doubling of infrastructure spending.  The bill would then create jobs, and would help rebuild roads and bridges.  Part of the bill would also fast-track infrastructure projects where they are most needed, allowing the money to be put to good use.  We could put the tax measures on the bill and it would still be at around $500 billion, which is way less than the current boondoggle.  I think the GOP in the country would win major points.  I think that Obama would have to sign it, and I think the liberals would kill it, so we would have something to run on in 2010. 

Let’s keep in mind that our Goal in the minority is to make the Democrats and the Administration pay for each and every one of their gaffes.  We also need to split the Democrats as often as we can.  A common sense alternative like this would achieve both goals.  Republicans need to think strategically again.  This can be the first plank in a new Contract with America.

The House of Representatives is going to debate and vote on the “stimulus package”.  We need to make sure that our representatives on the Republican side oppose the measure.  Our conference needs to make sure that the Democrats retain all the responsibility for this debacle.  If the media isn’t going to spread the pork-barrel nature of this bill, we need to have ads up on television.

I think Rush was right when he said that the media has made Barrack Obama too big to fail.  If he fails, they fail.  That’s why there is no scrutiny of anything he says or does.  The only critics are Rush and Hannity and Levin.  If we don’t stand up now, we never will.  Republican members of congress need to know that we mean business.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution does not apply the Second Amendment to the states.  We need to fight this ruling.  The NRA needs to file a cert petition with the SCOTUS to get this under control.  We need to get this before Obama and the socialist justice department get their way and appoint new justices to the Court.

We did not win in Heller.  We only won the first battle.  All law abiding gun owning citizens need to stand up for the right to keep and bear arms.  We need to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court.  The right to keep and bear arms is the first attempt to make America a fascist/socialist country.  We need to defend our liberty and hopefully the NRA and other groups will hear the clarion call and make effort to do this.

The Senate of the United States has just confirmed an admitted Tax Cheat to be the head of all the money in this country.  Amazing. 

Where is the media outrage?  Imagine the previous Republican nominating a tax felon?  We’d get crucified.

Why did our Senators stand by and let this happen?  The moral blight on the administration by employing a known lawbreaker is beyond understanding.  We should be on the attack.

I hope Obama’s targeting of Rush will make Republicans stiffen their collective spine.  At this point from reading the RedState blogs and posts, I have come to the conclusion that the majority of people that pay attention to the political system are so beleaguered by the current state of affairs that they would enjoy just a little fight from the party right now.

I hear a little grumbling about McConnell and Boehner right now.  The thing they can do most to help themselves as leaders is to fight the Democrats tooth and nail.  No, not every Republican will vote with the party, likewise not every Democrat will be with the “The One” either.  But we can make it harder if we come forward with an actual plan, and offer substitute amendments.  I think our two leaders in the congress will help themselves immeasurably by standing firm on principle and rallying the base to the party.  We need to get back to that model. 

Whatever you all say about Tom DeLay and Newt, they both knew how to take it to the Democrats.  I think the American people would like to see bi-partisanship, but I also think the American people want choices as well.  Without a Republican in the White House to protect, Republican congressmen and Senators need to fight as hard as they can to fire up the base.  That means attacks on the pro-life side as well as the “stimulus”.  Conservatives just want someone to stand on their principles.  For all the naysayers who claim we need to get along with the President, I say fooey!  When was the last time the Washington Post or New York Times looked out for the good of the Republican conference in congress?

Come on guys, fight them a bit.  Standing there and caving in will not get you a majority.  It’s that position that cost us 40 years in the wilderness.  We need to press the Democrats on social and economic issues.  We already know what we believe, now let’s act on it!

I am sorry if I sound awful preachy, but I don’t like the press clippings coming forth from our side.  We need to stay active and get them to see the light.  They need to make a stand, and earlier rather than later.  Some say that you need to be smart when you pick a hill to die on.  Rather, I think we need to pick lots of hills and then the true conservatives will once again work for the GOP.  They should be embracing us, not sending us away!

Let’s be honest, the whole stimulus debate is growing old from my standpoint.  All we hear is that Obama is a post-partisan leader and Republicans are duty bound to help him pass his “stimulus package.”

But what exactly are the Republicans getting from the Democrats?  Are we getting a leaner more efficient government?  Are we really auditing all the social programs of the country to see that they don’t work?  I think the answer is apparent.  All we are getting is the satisfaction of compromising everyone of our principles, so the president can share blame with Republicans.

Bi-partisanship would mean that real conservatives would have to support the initiative.  Bi-partisanship would be major reform in Social Security and Medicare to make them more sustainable into the future.  Bi-partisanship would mean a real tax reform proposal, to de-link social engineering from the business of funding the government.

I don’t see this, so we should go on the offensive against the stimulus plan.  Have the president get all the Blue-Dogs on board.  That will cause major pain and heartache for them.  Republicans are being told to cave in by some of the following:  David Gergen, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Wolf Blitzer, David Gregory, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, et. al..  Republicans are being told to stand on principle by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and those of us here at RedState.  Who has the real best interest of conservatism at heart? 

Republican legislators need to stand up and fight now.  They need to make real good government demands, and fight like we did in 1993.  The Democrats are still feckless, we should shine the light on them and make them more so.

I was taken aback that the new president had the gall to bring Rush into the argument over the “Stimulus Plan” with Republican leaders.  I think they would be better off listening to Rush than Obama.  I mean, how many more of the so-called moderate Republicans are left to help Obama?  Not that many.  We should really fight him tooth and nail. 

He wants a bunch of jelly-legged Republicans to give imprimatur to his foolish plan.  So then the 40-50 Blue-Dogs can vote no, and save their behinds in 2010.  We need to offer him no such succor.  If he wants to be dictator, he can do it as a Democratic only policy.  When the Blue Dogs start jumping ship, he can try pass it with the liberals only.  The plan will indeed fail.  At that point, we have a rallying cry for 2010.  Yes, we should work together, but that does not mean that we give up our principles to do so.

Republicans, the conservatives we have left, should vigorously tell Obama that he can pass his socialistic anti-American plan on his own within the Democratic Party.  We either get some real concessions, or he has to do it by himself. 

Besides, all Rush does is make satire over the new president.  I really feel the Democrats want a president that cannot be the focus of satirical commenary.  Republicans should not be afraid but agressive.  I have said that we need a new Newt to come forth, we need a new DeLay in congress to help stiffen our backbones.

We will be back on the road to recovery if we listen to Rush and put principles first.  I mean all the business people that gave bucket loads of money to the Democrats will re-think when the employee free choice act comes forth.  We will have the money, and if we have the resolve the next two years to weather the storm, we will once again be able to find credible candidates for office.

Stick to your guns, and Rush, thanks for being the last man standing.

This whole fast moving freight train of an economic stimulus plan should be resisted for many reasons.  Certainly many of which have been elucidated by the members of this very informative blog. 

However, we should not merely cave to the Democrats for another important reason.  As the opposition, with a reduced minority, we should see to it that the committees of jurisdiction get a chance to score the package, and we should draw attention to its earmarks et. al..  While I can see a political advantage for the Arlen Specter’s and Olympia Snowe’s of the world to play ball with Obama on many issues, no Republican gains by fast-tracking this legislation. 

The Democrats, with the help of the partisan media, are trying to have their cake and eat it too.  The president in his address on Tuesday stated that this would be a long process.  Republicans should repeat his words to the Democrats in the Senate.  They say this will take a long time, what we need is to make it take a little longer.  Without seeming obstructionist, we can demand an open ended process that will allow minority amendments and oversight.  We will again regain the monniker of the party of responsible government.  While supporting the aim of recovery, our senators can argue that when the President and congress wish to triple the deficit, we should take our time to see the money is actually needed.

Republicans who are worried about looking obstrucitonist only need to stiffen their spine, look in the camera, and repeat that they are lookig out for the intrest of the taxpayer.  If we stand with John Q. Taxpayer as a watchdog, we will then be in good shape.  I think a stimulus package will pass.  I do not think we need to have it pass just the way the Democrats want it to.  I think there will be Democrats falling off the reservation to uphold filibusters and supporting minority offered amendments.  Reid and company need to know that we will not let them logroll us. 

Further, this majority is of such a size that if it takes too long, as per wont of the Senate, Reid will only look more and more feckless as the days move on.  He will then be in more trouble in Nevada in 2010.  I hope a GOP Senator reads this, but I guess that would mean they would care what the base thinks!

I hope we have a solid opposition in congress.  The conservative movement is not dead.  We are here in spades in the blogosphere, but we are not out in the public.  The education system in this country has lost its ability to create informed citizens.  We are going to lose our ability to have individual freedom in this country if we don’t fight them. 

The Democrats have no plan.  We need to stand in the way as much as possible.  I think we need to pull a 1993 and refuse to cooperate as much as possible.  Make this the Democrats’ recession.  Make this the Democrats’ failure.

Conservatives need to point out once again that government is not the maker of a great nation.  That the culture of the people makes the nation great.  The administration will not affirm this, and I fear that without a Jesse Helms or a Phil Gramm in the senate, or a Newt or DeLay in the House, we will blithely let the Democrats have the so-called bi-partisanship.

We need to stiffen the Republican spine.  Let’s get to work. Then we can have the joy of an election day in the future.

I have recently read an article by former Senator Rick Santorum about John McCain being a secret weapon for the Democrats.  I think this story really has me flummoxed.  I know that Senator McCain is a decent man, but the prospect of his collaboration with Obama on healthcare and other issues is hopefully false.  I hope that Rick wrote this piece to warn of a possible problem before it happens.

As a positive note:  I did notice that John McCain stood with Tom Coburn on the ill-begotten lands bill.  Hopefully this is the harbinger of his efforts.  Honestly, the old cranky John McCain who stood to defeat major spending in the past may be back with us.  Regardless of his defeat, I hope McCain takes on the role of Barry Goldwater toward the end of his life.  If that happens, we could be successful in this term in congress.

Read This:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=apH1RkLhuZ6M&refer=worldwide

We need to let out a large voice of support for our California friends who want to make Schwarzenegger and the liberals live in reality.  Cutting social spending should be at the top of the list.  Republicans in the California legislature should hold out until major budget cuts are offered.  Otherwise, let the government shut down, then maybe the freeloaders will leave and California will once again be the golden state.

of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the bad ones.

You mean to tell me that the greatest transition team in modern memory would not understand that their nominee for Treasury Sectretary had not paid any taxes?  And for the press to sit there and allow this man to skate by with a “eh, it’s just an oversight?” is appalling.  We need to beat this drumbeat as often as possible.

The stimulus seems to be geared to send us back to 1977-1981 when we had out of control inflation and intrest rates soared.  It was also the last time that unemployment hit 10%.  I suppose Bush will take the fall for the first six months or so, but we must make this Obama’s as soon as possible. 

As an aside, I noticed that Obama went to George Will’s house and had an off-the-record dinner with some of the “right”.  Now I give him credit for meeting with some of my favorite people in the right wing sphere, namely Larry Kudlow, but I hope they don’t lay off his horrendous policy choices.  Just because Obama meets with our people does not mean he will enact a restrained conservative policy alternative, or even give credence to such views.  He is the president, and I hope we are a bit more classy and respectful than the left over the previous eight years, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that what Obama and the Democrats want to do will destroy America as we know it.  I hope our columnists and “thinkers” on the right don’t fall for the “He acknowledged us!” meme and go light on Obama and his administration.

As an educator, I can tell you that the issue with education is really important to discuss.  Sometimes I think that level of education in our country is falling behind what it was.  While we still have fine colleges and universities, we are doing things to really hurt the overall quality of education in America.

I am an english teacher (sorry for the sometime obtuse grammar and spelling errors, I don’t usually compose well on a computer) in a rural high school.  Here we have very fine students and parents.  Even those nominally Democrat are conservative in their family values.  I am also the english teacher for all the kids in all four years of high school.  As the only teacher, I have the ability to choose the literature curriculum our students read.  In this, I have taken a classic approach.  That seems to work better than reading a lot of the new-age stuff.  Despite what some teachers say about the literature canon, I still teach to it in my school. 

The one thing that a classical approach (A lot of Greeks, Romans interspersed with Shakespeare, Milton and Dickens in the World Literature.  Hawthorne, Melville, Dickinson, Fitzgerald and Hemingway in the American core literature) does is allow for the student to see a narrative within the narratives.  They see the western tradition with all of its blemishes, but they also get to see its tremendous triumphs.  The false god of multi-culturalism has made this impossible.  We have many students who have no understandings of the underpinnings of the traditional culture of the west.  We are told to teach multicultural (non-western) lessons, which have some value, but we are discouraged from looking at them critically.  We are expressly discouraged from looking at Eastern or African cultures as they compare to the west.  Basically, if you have a generation of students who are told from kindergarten that the west is bad and other cultures are great, what do we expect?  Europe gave up classical thinking right after World War I and they have lost all their identity, we are doing the same.

I teach the classics in my classroom, with a healthy look at the underpinnings of western thought.  My kids coming out of High School can tell you what Hobbes meant in Leviathan.

The conservative movement has been built on classically educated people.  The western tradition is being trampled underfoot by an elite that wants to end the importance of the individual.  We need to fight this where possible.  There are things in Chinese and Japanese culture that are important to our modern thought.  I love them, but I don’t think that eastern thought and relativism should replace western thought.  If we are to gain our place at the top again, we will need to be led by those who know why the western tradition has succeeded.  The modern left, even those in the education field, have forsaken this.  They see the individual as the enemy of progress.  The classical western thinker looked to the individual as the creator of progress.

If there are other educators on this blog, I would like to hear from you.  I think we can make a difference.  I go to English teachers’ inservices and challenge the education “experts” every chance I get.  I hold up the traditional viewpoint.  I get jeered at first, then my fellow teachers listen to what I have to say.  They then recognize my thoughts as pertinent.  They say things like:  “But my kids won’t like the Iliad, Odyssey, or Hard Times.”  I respond by simply stating that the teacher affects whether the majority of kids like what they read.  My kids all read the Iliad and Odyssey in the tenth grade.  They think they won’t like it, then we get into the battle scenes and the boys love it.  Girls like to read about Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus and his journey back to Ithaca.

As I write this, I know that our impending decline has very little to do with the students.  In reality, the teachers control the classroom and the material they teach.  My kids have been very successful at University and beyond because they have a core knowledge.  I’d like to hear from any educators on this blog.  Also, I’d like to hear of any new-age theory of education that has got us where we are today.  I think if parents on this site knew what pablum their kids were learning, they’d find a good Catholic/Religious, or private school to send their kids to.

I was up late last night and watched Tom Coburn talk about the problems he sees in the country.  I think he is right that the government of the United States will have to declare itself bankrupt in the next four years if we don’t seriously look at entitlements and other spending.  His objection to the lands bill is one that is important to future generations and is one that has merit.  We conservatives need to help him any way we can.  I have recently sent a letter to my congressman and senators to support comprehensive reform in these areas.  Republicans can redefine themselves if we follow the lead of a man like Senator Coburn.  We should be happy to have him in the Senate.

I plan on donating to his campaign in 2010 and will encourage all RedStaters to do the same.  Hopefully, the rest of the GOP conference will see the light he is trying to shine on the system of mindless spending we now have.  It is not often that a Nebraskan heaps praise on an Oklahoman, but in this case it is warranted.  He has provided leadership on the opposition to earmarks and other types of legislation.  If Republicans are to regain what made us a great party of ideas and ideals, we would do right to support Tom Coburn, and his cohort Jeff Flake in the House. 

We spend and spend, and yet what do we get out of it?  More debt and more unwise government control of the economy.  I hope we have Senator Coburn at the fore of the debate on the Stimulus package, so our side is fairly advanced.  Unfortunately, I think we have a bunch of spineless dogs on our side, arguing these issues.  I think Senator Coburn should really be our voice, because he is an articulate voice of the over-all conservative message.

Really, the Republican party would be better off if a Republican like Newt or Delay were in charge.  We have essentially vindicated John Boehner’s “sterling” run of leadership by letting him lead us when we need real leaders.  We need people who thrive on political combat, and I don’t know if we have that now.

We need to fight them every step of the way.  We need to fork them on the stimulus plan, but that is not going to happen.  I think our leadership may even give imprimatur to the socialistic plan coming forth from the maw of the Democratic Congress.

Newt and Tom would have fought them and drug them out as the liberals they are.  They would enegize rather than enervate the base of the party.

They should start by forking the Blue Dogs out of the Democratic Caucus.  That caucus has almost no unifying factor now that GWB is gone, so we should start picking them apart.  The “Stimulus Plan” should have a Blue Dog alternative that is backed whole heartedly by the Republicans in the House.  Frankly, I think most people posting on this site would support pay-go rules strictly enforced to what we will get in the Obama Administration.  I think this is a fair way to go.  The Blue Dogs excoriated George Bush with his deficits in the $250-$400 billion range.  Yet I have searched high and low to find any Blue Dog criticism of a $1 trillion deficit in FY2010.  Republicans should step in and fill that void.  All through the Bush years, the Congressional Blue Dogs whined and pined for a Pay-Go system.  We should offer to give it to them.  They would then be forced to make spending cuts, which we all would like now.  Or they would be forced to make major tax increases, which would help us in the next election.  Keep in mind that Democrats are not a unified party anymore in absence of GWB.  We Republicans should draw upon that lack of unity to embarrass the Congress and the Administration. 

I think agreeing to go along with Pay-Go could be part of a truly bi-partisan plan to reform the tax code of this country, along more fruitful lines.  Whether the Fair Tax or the Flat Tax, I think we might be able to get that kind of agreement from true Blue Dogs.  Perhaps then we can get the tax code out of the mess of social engineering.

We also gain a tremendous benefit from this in regard to later elections.  Either the Democratic members follow the expressed will of their conservative constituents or the current liberal leadership of the House.  Pelosi and Hoyer will twist thier arms, and this process can serve to illuminate the so-called Blue Dogs from the really fiscally conservative Democrats.  They will cross-pressured to death, possibly resulting in their defeat or leaving of Congress, which is good for the GOP.  I am sure there are posters who are now being represented by liberals who call themselves Blue Dogs.  This will can be a moment of choosing for them, and we win in the end either way.

I hope our current leadership will employ these tactics.  We cannot win strategically yet; we aren’t in power.  But we can do things tactically to make the Democrats, who control every lever of government, look as foolish and feckless as we can make them.  We don’t need to just capitulate and give in this early in the game, we need to put the brakes on the ”stimulus” package as soon as possible.  Because, I don’t even think the Democrats and Obama believe what they are doing will work.  They just want bi-partisan cover.  We cannot be foolish enough to give it to them.  We need to beat the drum about how their plans are not working, and fight them all across the country.  With DeLay and Newt, we’d already be doing that.  But with Boehner and McConnell, we’ll probably give them everything they want.

Really the calls for and against a circular firing squad or lynch mob as it may be have got me to thinking. We really should stop our witch hunt and get down to the brass tacks of what we have left, and how we can better utilize our shrinking power. As conservatives we always say that we never depend on Washington, well, here is our chance!

The first step to solving the problems is to recognize that we have a problem. First and foremost, we got complacent in the Bush years. Instead of fighting back against the bomb throwers on the left, we just assumed that the Republican controlled government would be our protector. We lost the ideological combat of this last election because we stopped fighting for what was right.

We need to suffer a bit in the wilderness, but we also need to know that conservatism is not a viceral think like liberalism. We have to teach our philosophy, and unfortunately, the public schools and colleges don’t honor those traditions any more. That makes it harder for us to make our case. These kids are being taught to see America as a fallen nation. The kids are being taught all of our faults as a nation and none of its greatness. We need to buttress this by re-teaching a generation about the nation they are going to inherit.

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Essentially the State of Nebraska is a solid GOP bastion. Even in a solidly Democratic year, the Republicans can win statewide because of their strong GOP registration advantage. As of October 2008, the numbers look like:

Rep: 558,465
Dem: 392,943
Ind: 195,507
with a smattering of other smaller parties.

Nebraska has all Republicans in Statewide elected office, including:

Governor Dave Heineman
Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy
Secretary of State John Gale
Auditor Mike Foley
Treasurer Shane Osborn
Attorney General John Bruning

We have an all Republican House slate:

CD1 Jeff Fortenberry
CD2 Lee Terry
CD3 Adrian Smith

Our Senators are:
Mike Johanns-R
Ben Nelson-D

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Even though we are supposedly in the Wilderness, that does not mean that we can’t be thankful for what we do have in 2008:

1. No major terror attacks on American soil since 2001.
2. That Sarah Palin has become a major figure in the Right.
3. That our losses in 2008 were not as devastating as they could have been.
4. That we have had a president who puts the taxpayer first for eight years.
5. That despite a horribly poor showing versus the Packers, The Chicago Bears are still in first place…

Feel Free to reply and add your own things to be thankful for… After all, even during the Clinton years, it wasn’t the right that kept running the country down.

Clearly the news media, even in a state as Red as my home state of Nebraska, has thrown its hat in with the liberals. We conservatives need to see to it that there are conservative alternatives to these left slanted news stories. I think we need to bully reporters and editors to print and report stories of failed liberal policy. Now that we are in the minority in congress, the Democrats need to find out the real cost of power.

We need to reclaim our local newspapers. One paper and one news outlet at a time. We need to volunteer stories to the local paper, in fact, I think most of the writers on RedState could moonlight as reporters, given their writing ability dwarfs the average reporter at the average rag.

Where Republicans used to be strong was in the local media in the country at large. The big-time papers have always had a liberal tilt to them. (Save the WSJ.) We need to reclaim the reporting in our local broadsheets by helping them do their work.

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