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USS Anchorage (LSD-36)

USS Anchorage (LSD-36) was the lead ship of the Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. In the ship's 34 years of service, she completed 19 deployments in the western Pacific and became the most decorated dock landing ship on the west coast.

Construction
Anchorage was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 29 June 1965 and her keel was laid down on 13 March 1967. She was launched on 5 May 1968; sponsored by Mrs. Alexander S. Heyward, Jr., the wife of Vice Admiral Alexander S. Heyward; and commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 15 March 1969.

Outfitted with a large floodable stern section accessed through an enormous operable stern gate, Anchorage served as a launch platform for large landing craft, such as the LCU, as well as a "boat haven" to shelter other small craft utilized in an amphibious landing. The ship was able to provide a minimal degree of naval gunfire support through the use of two sets of twin 3 in/50 caliber guns mounted on the 02-level fore and aft. In later years these guns were removed to be replaced with Mk-38 machine guns and two Phalanx CIWS for missile defense. In its final decade of service with the US Navy, it functioned primarily as a platform for two LCAC hovercraft landing vehicles and embarked Marines.

Service history
After a brief, round-trip cruise to Andros Island, Bahamas, the Anchorage left Norfolk on 24 June, bound for the west coast. She paused at Mayport and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; transited the Panama Canal on 16 July; and arrived at her home port San Diego, California, on 26 July. At the end of shakedown training off the California coast, she entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, on 1 November, for post-shakedown availability.

1970
Anchorage participated in numerous military operations. At the end of the Vietnam War, the ship carried Marines back to the United States as a part of the US withdrawal from Vietnam.

Anchorage returned to San Diego on 9 January 1970. She set sail on the 31st for the western Pacific (WestPac) to transport Marine Corps personnel back to the United States as part of Operation Keystone Bluejay, a planned withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. On 19 February, the ship arrived at Danang, Republic of Vietnam; took on board the personnel and equipment of the 7th Motor Battalion; and sailed for the United States. She reached Delmar, California, on 12 March and debarked her passengers.

Following a month and one-half in port at San Diego for training and upkeep, Anchorage got underway on 1 May with other units of Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 5 for the Far East. She stopped at Pearl Harbor and then sailed to Johnston Atoll to deliver several landing craft. The ship next proceeded to Yokosuka, Japan, and arrived there on 19 May for voyage repairs. Her next port call was at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where Marines came on board for transportation to Subic Bay, Philippines. Upon the completion of that embarkation, PhibRon 5 units assumed duty as Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) Alfa.

From 6 to 18 June, Anchorage carried small craft between ports along the coast of Vietnam. Her ports of call included Vung Tau, Camranh Bay, Qui Nhon, Danang, and An Thoi, near Phú Quốc. She anchored near An Thoi from 11 to 14 June to provide dry dock services for the ships at the naval activity there.

On 22 June, the ship participated in the first of several amphibious exercises conducted by ARG Alfa at Green Beach, near Subic Bay. During these operations, she acted as a primary control ship for the direction and control of landing craft while they moved to the beach.

The ship pulled into Sasebo, Japan, early in July for a period of rest and relaxation for the crew. She got underway again on 16 July for amphibious exercises off Green Beach. On the 31st, she arrived at Okinawa to take Battalion Landing Team 2/9 on board for transportation to Subic Bay. Anchorage arrived at Subic Bay on 18 August for upkeep. Her next port of call was Hong Kong, which she visited from 10 until 18 September and then returned to the Subic Bay operating area.

From 24 September through 8 October, Anchorage traveled among Subic Bay and Vung Tau, Camranh Bay and Danang, Vietnam, carrying various small craft. Late in October, she carried out relief operations in Lagonoy Gulf on the eastern coast of the Philippines for victims of Typhoons Joan and Kate. After touching at Keelung, Taiwan, on 29 October, the ship proceeded to Okinawa to pick up a landing craft for transportation to Subic Bay. She took part in amphibious exercises at Green Beach on 7 November, then put into port at Subic Bay. From the 20th to the 23d, Anchorage was at Okinawa to disembark Marines and to unload their equipment. During this time, PhibRon 5 was relieved of duties as ARG Alfa. The ship then paid a short visit to Yokosuka, Japan, for liberty and the loading of equipment for transportation to the United States. Sailing from Japan on 30 November, the vessel arrived in San Diego on 10 December.

1971
Anchorage remained in availability until 20 February 1971, when she got underway for Port Hueneme, California. There, she loaded construction materials for a communications center on the island in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia, to be built as a part of Operation Reindeer Station. She left the California coast on 22 February bound for Australia. The vessel made port calls at Sydney and Perth, Australia, late in March and then pushed on into the Indian Ocean. Upon arriving at Diego Garcia on 4 April, she unloaded the construction materials and sailed the next day for Subic Bay to obtain minor repairs and replenishment. Following a visit to Hong Kong from 17 to 22 April, the ship sailed to Danang where she embarked Marine Corps personnel and equipment for return to the United States as part of Operation Keystone Robin. On 23 April, she shaped a course for San Diego.

Anchorage arrived in her home port on 11 May and, on 28 June, resumed operations as a training ship for landing exercises off Seal Beach, California. This study was followed by refresher training and a period inport at San Diego. From 2 to 6 August, the vessel was again involved in exercises off Seal Beach. She left San Diego on 16 August to sail to her namesake city, Anchorage, Alaska, where she remained from 22 to 26 August. After pausing at Alameda, California, to unload aircraft, she arrived back at San Diego on 1 September and entered upkeep.

The ship sailed for Hawaii on 1 October and, en route, participated in Convoy Exercise 3-71. She spent two days at Pearl Harbor before continuing on to Buckner Bay, Okinawa. There, she rejoined ARG Alfa and embarked Marines for transportation to Subic Bay. Early in November, the ship visited Kaohsiung, Taiwan. From 13 to 20 November, she shuttled landing craft between Vung Tau and Subic Bay. During the last few weeks of 1971, the ship visited Sasebo, Japan, and Hong Kong for liberty calls and also carried Marines and equipment from Okinawa to Subic Bay.

1972
After a period of repair work, Anchorage sailed for Buckner Bay on 17 January 1972 to embark Marines for transportation back to Subic Bay. Late in January, she carried out wet-well operations at Danang, Qui Nhon, and Vung Tau and, in mid-February, traveled to Singapore for a visit before returning to Subic Bay. After a brief trip to Kure, Japan, in early March, the ship was involved in amphibious exercises. On 31 March, she got underway to rendezvous with Task Group 76.5 which she met on 2 April for operations off the coast of Vietnam through 6 May.

The ship was at Subic Bay from 9 to 18 May and then sailed back to Vietnamese waters for wet-well lifts to Vung Tau, Hoi An, and Danang. On 24 May, she took part in Exercise "Song Thanh 6-72". She reached Okinawa on 14 June to embark troops bound for the Philippines and arrived at Subic Bay on the 20th. After a series of amphibious landing exercises, Anchorage resumed wet-well operations between Vung Tau and Subic Bay.

The vessel visited Kaohsiung in early July, then arrived back at Subic Bay on the 8th. She left the Philippines, bound for home, on 9 July and made San Diego on 24 July. She remained in port through 4 December, when the vessel got underway for independent type exercises off the southern California coast. She returned to San Diego on the 7th and entered a holiday leave and upkeep status.

1973
After local operations, Anchorage traveled to Seal Beach late in January 1973 to unload her ammunition. She returned to San Diego on 1 February and began overhaul there on the 19th. During this yard work, a fire broke out in a maintenance shop and prolonged her stay in overhaul. The ship finally got underway on 23 September for sea trials and started refresher amphibious training late in October. On 8 December, the vessel commenced another WestPac deployment.

1974
During the cruise, the ship visited Subic Bay; Buckner Bay; Sasebo and Iwakuni, Japan; Diego Garcia; and Singapore. While off Korea, Anchorage joined ARG Bravo for Operation Fly Away. Leaving Subic Bay on 28 March 1974, she made stops at Guam and Pearl Harbor before arriving back in San Diego on 18 April and entering a standdown period which lasted through 29 July. On that day, the ship sailed northward to carry out a survey mission of potential amphibious training areas in Alaska. During her cruise, embarked scientists surveyed 10 possible landing sites and the vessel visited in Seattle, Washington; Nanaimo, British Columbia; and Sitka and Anchorage, Alaska, before reaching San Diego again on 5 September. Anchorage began a restricted availability at Long Beach, California, on 17 October and, after the work was completed on 16 December, she returned to home port for the holidays.

1975
On 6 January 1975, the ship began two weeks of amphibious refresher training off the southern California coast. She then participated in Operation Bedstream with other ships of PhibRon 5. After a period of upkeep in San Diego, Anchorage again sailed for the Orient on 28 March.

In April 1975, Anchorage participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam. The ship reached Vietnamese waters on 30 April and provided material support to ships evacuating Vietnamese refugees. On 2 May, she left the Vung Tau holding area with the other ships involved in Operation Frequent Wind.

On 13 May, her scheduled operations were interrupted by the Mayaguez incident. Anchorage was ordered to proceed south to provide support as needed for the rescue of SS Mayaguez. Following the ship's rescue, Anchorage resumed her original schedule which included upkeep in Sasebo, Japan; a visit to Keelung, Taiwan; and a port call to Inchon, Republic of Korea. Early September brought her a liberty call at Hong Kong. She then proceeded to Yokosuka for upkeep. Following stops at Keelung and Buckner Bay, Anchorage sailed from Okinawa on 28 October to return to her home port. En route, she participated in Operation Polymode before arriving at San Diego on 16 November for upkeep and local operations through the end of the year.

1976
During the first three and one-half months of 1976 Anchorage continued local operations off the southern California coast. From 26 April through 17 June, she was in restricted availability in preparation for a visit to Alaska. However, that trip was cancelled, and the ship prepared to deploy for the rest of the year.

1977
Tests and inspections occupied Anchorage during the first two and one-half months of 1977 before another WestPac deployment began on 28 March. She stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor, then pushed on to Eniwetok to unload cargo and vehicles. During her cruise, the ship served as a member of ARG Alfa. She also visited Guam; Subic Bay and Iloilo, Philippines; Singapore; Hong Kong; Keelung; and Yokosuka. Among the amphibious exercises in which she participated was Operation Fortress Lightning, held in the Philippines, in waters near Santa Cruz, Mindanao Island, from 10 to 23 October. Upon the conclusion of this exercise, the vessel made her way back to the west coast of the United States via Okinawa, Guam, and Hawaii. On 17 November, she pulled into San Diego and spent the rest of the year in upkeep.

1978
The ship was involved in training operations along the California coast in January 1978. On 20 February, she got underway for Bremerton, Washington, to carry Army troops to their home base. The ship arrived at San Diego on 3 March and began preparations for overhaul. She got underway, in tow of USS Abnaki (ATF-96), for the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 14 April, and commenced a regular overhaul there the next day. Upon completion of this work, the ship resumed operations on 13 December when she began sea trials.

1979
Anchorage returned to San Diego on 15 January 1979. During the next eight months, she was involved in post-overhaul maintenance and training. She operated along the southern California coast and held refresher training and amphibious refresher training. On 24 September, the ship got underway to take part in Exercise Kernal Potlatch II, a joint American-Canadian fleet exercise. Having concluded a successful amphibious landing on the northern coast of Vancouver Island, she made a port call at Esquimalt, British Columbia. After debarking Marines at Camp Pendleton, Anchorage returned to San Diego on 13 October. She participated in local operations and training exercises through the end of the year in preparation for an upcoming deployment in 1980.

1980
Four days into the new year, Anchorage slipped her moorings and left San Diego bound for the exotic Orient. Along the way, she visited Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and Guam in the Mariana Islands before arriving at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 6 February 1980. Upon arrival, she loaded a refurbished utility landing craft (LCU) for transportation to the Republic of Djibouti, former French Somaliland, located on the northeast coast of Africa near the Horn of Africa. The LCU-dubbed Le Bac de la Paix (tr. the boat of peace)-was a gift from the United States to Djibouti to enhance the country's inadequate commercial transportation system. Anchorage stood out of Subic Bay on 15 February to begin her goodwill mission. Steaming by way of Singapore, she crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived in Djibouti on 3 March. The Anchorage spent two days in Djibouti, delivering America's gift and helping to cement relations between the two governments and peoples. From Djibouti, she headed for Diego Garcia Island to deliver barges to that isolated American outpost in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The ship stopped at Diego Garcia from 12 to 15 March and then resumed her voyage back to the Philippines. She made a stop at Penang, Malaysia, along the way and reentered Subic Bay on 24 March.

During the three months that remained of her 1980 deployment, Anchorage carried out operations in surroundings more familiar to 7th Fleet ships than the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Early in April, she visited Hong Kong before voyaging to Okinawa to embark Marine Corps units on the 17th and 18th. From Okinawa, the dock landing ship sailed via Subic Bay and Singapore to Thailand where she joined elements of the Royal Thai Navy and the Royal Thai Marine Corps in amphibious training exercises. She concluded the interlude in Thai waters with a visit to Pattaya between 5 and 10 May. Anchorage returned to Subic Bay on 19 May and remained in port until near the end of the first week in June. On 6 June, she got underway to return the embarked Marines to their base on Okinawa. She stopped at Naha, Okinawa, from 10 to 12 June and then returned to sea for the voyage back to the United States. The trip home included a two-day stop at Pearl Harbor and ended back at San Diego on 3 July.

After the usual month of relative inactivity following an overseas deployment, Anchorage began west coast operations early in August with a courtesy visit to Seattle, Washington, for the city's annual sea fair. Normal duties continued until late September when she returned to San Diego for a two-month availability. Anchorage completed repairs on 20 November and resumed operations out of her home port.

1981
Various training evolutions occupied her time through May and into June 1981. On 23 June, Anchorage stood out of San Diego on her way to duty with the 7th Fleet in the Far East. She stopped at Pearl Harbor at the beginning of July and remained in the Hawaiian Islands for the first three weeks of the month completing an oft-delayed propulsion plant certification. On the 22d, she resumed her voyage west. Anchorage entered her first western Pacific port at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 3 August and embarked Marine Corps units for transportation to Yokosuka, Japan. Throughout, her assignment with the 7th Fleet, Anchorage spent much of her time carrying Marines between their bases and training exercises. In some cases, Anchorage herself participated in the exercises; in others, she simply provided transportation to the location of the exercise. Consequently, she called at a number of ports in the Orient-most frequently at ports in Okinawa, Japan, and Korea but also at Thai ports occasionally. Anchorage completed her last 7th Fleet mission at Naha, Okinawa, late in November and, on the 21st got underway for the voyage back to California. En route, she made an 11-day visit to Guam and a brief, one-day pause at Pearl Harbor. She pulled into San Diego two days before Christmas.

1982
Post-deployment leave and upkeep carried her well into January 1982. After a brief period underway in the southern California operating area Anchorage began preparations at the end of January for regular overhaul at San Diego. The actual repair and modification work began on 1 March. Over the ensuing seven months, the ship received general repairs and upgrading throughout as well as work on her propulsion plant, modernization of her communications spaces, and an enhancement of her defense capability against antiship missiles. Anchorage conducted sea trials in the local operating area during the first half of November and then spent the remainder of the year in port.

1983
Anchorage resumed operations out of San Diego early in 1983. In May, she paid a courtesy visit to her namesake city, Anchorage, Alaska. Upon her return to San Diego in the middle of June, Anchorage began a three-month availability in preparation for a deployment to the western Pacific scheduled to start in the middle of September. Except for a period underway between 22 and 31 August, Anchorage was in San Diego continuously from 11 June to 12 September. On the latter day, she slipped her moorings and stood out to sea on her way back to the Far East. The usual stop at Pearl Harbor lasted from 20 September to 2 October, and then Anchorage resumed the voyage west. The dock landing ship arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, on 14 October. She spent the rest of October at Yokosuka, then got underway for Okinawa on 1 November to begin conveying Marine Corps units between their bases and the sites of training exercises. As in the past, the dock landing ship participated in some, but not all, of the exercises to which she provided transportation for the Marines.

1984
The deployment lasted through the end of 1983 and into the early months of 1984. She disembarked her last Marine Corps passengers at Yokosuka at the end of January 1984 and remained there until the beginning of the second week in February. On the 8th, Anchorage set out upon the first leg of the voyage back to the United States. On her way, she made stops at Guam and at Pearl Harbor before ending the deployment at San Diego on 6 March 1984. Except for a brief period underway inside the port on 17 April, Anchorage remained moored at San Diego for almost five months performing repairs and modifications. Near the end of July, she began sea trials out of San Diego that lasted into the fourth week in August. On 23 August the dock landing ship made the brief passage from San Diego to her new home port, Long Beach. Anchorage took about two weeks to get settled into her new base of operations and then embarked upon a series of training evolutions in the local operating area.

1985–1986
Those drills and exercises - punctuated by periods in port for upkeep and repairs - occupied her time during the remaining months of 1984 and for most of the first quarter of 1985. On 27 March 1985, she left Long Beach bound for the Orient. The dock landing ship interrupted her long voyage briefly at Sasebo, Japan, on 16 April to pick up mail and then arrived at Pohang, Korea, on the 17th. At Pohang, Anchorage embarked a Marine Corps contingent and set sail for Okinawa on 18 April. For the next four months, she criss-crossed the distant reaches of the Pacific delivering Marines to various points for combat training and returning them to their bases. On occasion, she joined in the exercises herself to practice her role as an amphibious warship. Her final group of passengers came on board at Yokohama, Japan, between 9 and 11 August and disembarked at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on the 14th.

On the 15th Anchorage began the passage home. She stopped at Pearl Harbor from the 26th to the 28th and arrived in Del Mar, Calif., on 3 September 1985. The following day, Anchorage moved to Long Beach where she began a five-week post-deployment stand-down. With her return to active operations on 10 October, Anchorage embarked upon an extended period of local operations that occupied her not only during the remainder of 1985 but for the whole of 1986 as well.

1987
As of the beginning of 1987, Anchorage was moored at Long Beach. In January 1987, Anchorage got underway for her Westpac deployment. Whilst in the Bering Sea, the ship and crew battled 90-foot (27 m) seas sailing through an area where two cyclones had merged. Unfortunately, the USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3) received extensive damage from the storm which led to an extended stay in the naval shipyards at Subic Bay. Other ports of call during the deployment included Okinawa, Japan; Pohang and Pusan, Korea; Pattaya Beach, Thailand; Hobart, Tasmania and Pearl Harbor, HI.

Anchorage had the privilege to turn sailors and Marines into Golden Shellbacks on 4 March 1987 when she crossed the Equator and the International Dateline simultaneously. During the 1987 crossing, Anchorage was hosting Golf Battery 3/12. After the Crossing the Line Ceremony at the Equator, Belleau Wood lost power as both engines and one of two generators stopped, causing her to drift for 5 days at sea and have to be towed by the Anchorage. Destined for Tasmania, the Belleau Wood limped into Sydney Harbor for repairs to the boilers while the Anchorage replaced her in Tasmania. This left the Belleau Wood with the unfortunate nickname 'The USS Driftwood'.

1991
In 1991, she served in Operation Desert Storm.

1994
In 1994, she served in Operation Continue Hope in Mogadishu, Somalia. Also while there assisted in Operation Quick Draw and Operation Distant Runner with the Hotel Rwanda incident and Burundi.

1996
In 1996, following completion of a deployment during which she supported Operation Southern Watch in the Persian Gulf, Anchorage entered dry dock for her final dry dock planned maintenance availability during which she received numerous systems upgrades and modifications.

2000
Later in 2000 she was used to assist USS Cole (DDG-67) following her bombing in Yemen.

2003
In July 2003, Anchorage returned to her home port of San Diego, California after supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was decommissioned on 1 October 2003.

Anchorage was approved for transfer to Taiwan by the United States Senate in November 2003. She was scheduled to replace the former USS Comstock (LSD-19), now Chung Cheng, however the transfer never took place and Anchorage remained at the Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor.

2010
On 17 July 2010, Anchorage was used as a target during RIMPAC for Maverick and Harpoon missiles fired from US Patrol Squadrons VP-5 and VP-40. After nearly 6 hours of being pounded by anti-ship cruise missiles and air dropped bombs, Anchorage would not sink and the USS Bremerton (SSN-698), was called in to finish the job. One well-placed torpedo lifted the ship out of the water and broke her keel. Nearly 22 minutes later, Anchorage slipped beneath the waves completing the final stage of the RIMPAC 2010 SINKEX.

title: USS Anchorage (LSD-36)


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Excellence in Broadcasting

"Excellence in Broadcasting" is the second episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 3, 2010. The episode features anthropomorphic dog Brian, an adamant liberal, confronting conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh at a book signing in Quahog, and ultimately having a political change of heart when Limbaugh persuades him to read his latest book. Brian soon decides to become a devoted member of the Republican Party, and soon begins criticizing liberals. This leads Brian to become roommates with Limbaugh, and begin following him everywhere; Limbaugh eventually gets annoyed with Brian and ends up disclosing his true political convictions.

The episode was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by John Holmquist. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving both praise and criticism from conservative news outlets. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 7.94 million homes in its original airing. As well as Limbaugh, the episode featured guest performances by Gary Cole, Christine Lakin, Phil LaMarr, Shelley Long, Nana Visitor and Rainn Wilson, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Excellence in Broadcasting" was released on DVD along with three other episodes from the season on December 13, 2011.

Plot
In light of "And Then There Were Fewer", the Griffins are watching the news—where Tom Tucker casually reveals that Diane Simmons committed the murders at James Woods' mansion and is now dead. Free of the false charges she tried to frame him for, he then introduces Diane's successor, Joyce Kinney. As Lois reads the newspaper, she discovers that conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is holding a book signing in Quahog. Chris is confused as he thought Rush Limbaugh was secretly Fred Savage, which Lois herself reported when she worked for Fox in "Fox-y Lady" only for Lois to explain that anything reported on Fox News either is or becomes a lie, even if it's the truth. Enraged, Brian, who despises Limbaugh over his political beliefs, decides to confront him at the signing. There, Limbaugh is criticized by Brian, but he counters by asking him whether he has read any of his books, leaving Brian dumbfounded and angry. As he curses Limbaugh to himself on his way home, Brian is mugged by a gang; Limbaugh abruptly shows up and beats them all to rescue Brian. Thankful, Brian agrees to read four pages of Limbaugh's book. This he does, but Brian grows interested enough to continue reading the book overnight. By then, he becomes a conservative Republican. Lois questions Brian's conviction, citing his past liberalism, while Brian defends his ability to change his mind based on new information. Lois points out that Brian purposefully disagrees with the general consensus on many things just so he can feel like "the smartest guy in the room" and accuses him of being a contrarian rather than a genuine believer; for example, he hated Titanic and Slumdog Millionaire but defends the movie Cocktail. Brian meets with Limbaugh to thank him for helping his political conversion, and the two travel to the Republican National Headquarters, where they are greeted by former President of the United States George W. Bush and United States Senator John McCain.

Returning home, Lois is unimpressed when Brian tells her that Limbaugh will be coming over for dinner. That night, Lois begins arguing and challenging Limbaugh politically—with Peter joining in as well. She then accuses Limbaugh of brainwashing Brian, and demands for their dog to go back to the way he used to be. Limbaugh insists Brian became a conservative on his own terms, and the two sing a number based on "The Company Way", "Republican Town". Brian, outraged by Lois's unsupportive behavior, decides to move out and become roommates with Limbaugh—who reluctantly allows him to move into his house. Brian soon begins to irritate Limbaugh with his blind devotion. He replaces many of Limbaugh's possessions with American-Made versions, which all go wrong. Brian then proceeds to follow Limbaugh to his radio show, where he attempts to voice his own political opinions on the air about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. This frustrates Limbaugh, who ends up having Brian thrown out. Despite this, Brian continues to try and prove his devotion to the conservative cause by waterboarding Pelosi—only to end up getting apprehended and sent to jail.

Later on, Limbaugh bails out Brian, but he grows annoyed when Brian again tries to assert his conservatism. This prompts Limbaugh to tell Brian he is only fighting against the Establishment due to his desire of being the underdog. He proves his point by telling Brian that a child was executed in Texas, causing Brian to be visibly horrified; Limbaugh then says that he made up the story, but Brian's honest reaction to it shows he is a liberal at heart. Reassuring Brian of his liberal convictions, Limbaugh leaves the jail, making a Grapes of Wrath-like pledge to "be around" wherever conservative causes need help. Outside, they heckle each other with reassurance before waving goodbye to the other. The episode ends with Brian watching Limbaugh transform into a bald eagle and subsequently flying away into the skyline.

Production and development
First announced by series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane in an interview on August 13, 2009, the episode was written by series regular Patrick Meighan, and directed by series regular John Holmquist shortly after the conclusion of the production of the eighth season. In the interview, with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane conceded that Family Guy tends to be very liberal because "it's written by liberals". In choosing the conservatives who would be featured in the episode, MacFarlane stated, "we put it out there to a lot of Republicans—'we're doing this show, who wants in?'—and we got some bites." Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdum served as supervising director, with Andrew Goldberg, Alex Carter, Elaine Ko and Spencer Porter serving as staff writers for the episode. Composer Walter Murphy, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Excellence in Broadcasting". It is the first episode to feature a high-definition opening credit sequence.

On The Rush Limbaugh Show on September 27, 2010, Limbaugh explained that he agreed to do the episode based on his continuing friendly relationship with Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane, commenting, "Seth appreciates and has a great affection for professionals, and we're all professionals here." Limbaugh went on to reveal that he was in the studio's sound booth for "three or four days at four hours at a time," while recording his lines for the episode, as well as for the accompanying musical number, which Limbaugh admitted to being something of a challenge. Later on his radio show, Limbaugh went on to criticize 20th Century Fox's public relations department, following a comment by author and commentator Andrew Breitbart, accusing the Fox Broadcasting Company of "burying" the episode. Limbaugh also admitted, however, that "there was nothing in the script that would want them to edit out."

"Excellence in Broadcasting", along with two other episodes from Family Guy's ninth season, was released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on December 13, 2011. The sets include brief audio commentaries by various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes and animatics, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "And Then There Were Fewer", a mini-feature entitled "The Comical Adventures of Family Guy – Brian & Stewie: The Lost Phone Call", and footage of the Family Guy panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.

In addition to the regular cast and Limbaugh, actor Gary Cole, actress Christine Lakin, voice actor Phil LaMarr, actress Shelley Long, actress Nana Visitor and actor Rainn Wilson guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Chris Cox, actor Ralph Garman, and writers Danny Smith, Alec Sulkin, John Viener and Wellesley Wild also made minor appearances.

Family Guy series producer Kara Vallow is not credited in this episode. According to an Instagram post Vallow made following Limbaugh's death in 2021, she had her name removed in protest.

Cultural references
In the opening scene of the episode, the Griffin family are shown watching the syndicated television show The Brady Bunch, with Mike and Carol Brady then appearing in bed with one another. After Lois discovers that Limbaugh will be appearing at a book signing in Quahog, Chris references a previous episode, "FOX-y Lady", in which Limbaugh appeared as a character created by actor Fred Savage, which was subsequently reported on by Lois for Fox News. The episode featured a brief cameo appearance of conservative character Stan Smith from Seth MacFarlane's second show, American Dad!.

The scene of Limbaugh rescuing Brian is an almost shot-for-shot homage to the scene of Mr. Miyagi rescuing Daniel in The Karate Kid. Returning home after being saved by Limbaugh, Brian begins watching the NBC comedy series The Office, featuring actor and comedian Rainn Wilson. Deciding to thank Limbaugh for his newfound conservatism, Brian is taken by Limbaugh to the National Republican Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., in order to meet former President of the United States George W. Bush and United States Senator John McCain from Arizona. McCain then recalls when he and Limbaugh solved mysteries together. A parody of the animated television series Scooby-Doo is then shown, including McCain and Limbaugh capturing United States Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts, disguised as a mummy.

After deciding to sing a song entitled "Republicantown," several political figures are shown and parodied, including former Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney and former Presidents of the United States Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Actors Mickey Rourke, Chuck Norris and Jon Voight also appear, while Voight's "pretty hot at one time" daughter is Angelina Jolie. The song "Republicantown" is a parody of the song "The Company Way" from the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Reception
"Excellence in Broadcasting" was broadcast on October 3, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by The Simpsons, and Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's spin-off, The Cleveland Show, and followed by the 100th episode of American Dad!. It was watched by 7.94 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, despite airing simultaneously with Desperate Housewives on ABC, the season premiere of Undercover Boss on CBS and Sunday Night Football on NBC. The episode also acquired a 3.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic, beating American Dad! and The Cleveland Show in addition to significantly edging out both shows in total viewership. The episode's ratings decreased significantly from the show's season premiere.

Television critics reacted mostly mixed to "Excellence in Broadcasting", calling the storyline "funny," but "toothless." In a simultaneous review of the episodes of The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show that preceded the show, and the broadcast of American Dad! that followed it, The A.V. Club reviewer Rowan Kaiser noted, "most of the episode was spent justifying its existence as a Rush Limbaugh episode of Family Guy," and that the episode "failed to do that." In the conclusion of his review Kaiser praised Family Guy for its past political humor, but ultimately rated it as a D, the second worst rating, behind The Simpsons episode "Loan-a Lisa" and the American Dad! episode "100 A.D.", beating only The Cleveland Show's F-grade episode "Cleveland Live!". In a slightly more positive review, Jason Hughes of TV Squad praised Limbaugh's appearance in the episode, commenting Limbaugh "certainly deserves credit for his willingness to participate and lend his own voice." Hughes went on to comment positively on the episode's debut of the high-definition opening sequence, and its introduction of Joyce Kinney as a replacement for news anchor Diane Simmons, who was killed off in "And Then There Were Fewer." Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The show definitely skewered Brian’s hardcore conservative conversion, but overall it seemed like a pretty fair fight."

Limbaugh's appearance in the episode has drawn both praise and criticism from news outlets, including Daniel Foster of National Review who commented, "It is to Mr. Limbaugh's credit that he can make fun of himself. But Seth MacFarlane, the whiskey-soaked Dada creator of Family Guy, is responsible for more sophomoric cartooning than the combined patrons of America’s truck stop and dive bar bathrooms." Foster went on to add, "I can only look at the Limbaugh-MacFarlane mash-up with a wary eye." Columnist Matt Lewis of Politics Daily also questioned Limbaugh's appearance on Family Guy, citing his support for former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, whose daughter, Bristol Palin, has openly criticized MacFarlane and called the show's writers "heartless jerks." In contrast, John Nolte of Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood wrote, "What MacFarlane’s doing fits exactly into our template. He’s entitled to his opinion, worked very hard to reach the top of the most difficult business there is to succeed in, and in turn uses that forum to further his own agenda—that’s how it’s supposed to work. But at the same time he doesn’t completely shut us out." Prior to the episode's official broadcast on television in the United States, Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post called Limbaugh's guest appearance in the episode "genuinely funny," and David Weigel of Slate commented, "I'm not at all surprised that Limbaugh would embrace the show and answer its mockery of conservatives; the plotline is a perfect conservative narrative."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Excellence in Broadcasting


text:
Shank

Shank may refer to:

Objects

 * Shank (footwear), part of a shoe or boot
 * Shank (sewing), a spacing device
 * Shank (weapon), a makeshift knife or stabbing weapon
 * Lead shank, a type of lead used for horses
 * Tang (tools), the back portion of the blade component of a tool
 * Drill bit shank, the non-cutting end of a drill bit
 * Sheepshank, a knot used to shorten a rope

Art and entertainment

 * Shank (video game), an action game
 * Shank (2009 film), a British drama
 * Shank (2010 film), a thriller set in futuristic London
 * Shank, a play by Richard Vincent
 * Warlord Shank, a villain in the TV series Space Cases
 * "Shank", a 1962 song by Bo Diddley from Bo Diddley's a Twister

Places

 * Mount Schank, a dormant volcano in Australia
 * Shankh Monastery, a monastery in Mongolia
 * Forward Operating Base Shank, a U.S. military base in Afghanistan (named after SSG Michael A. Shank)
 * Shanksville, Pennsylvania

Other uses

 * Another name for the lower leg in humans
 * Tibia, one of the two main bones of the leg
 * Shank (meat), a cut of meat (e.g., beef shank)
 * Shank, a poor golf stroke
 * Shanks, wading birds in the genus Tringa
 * Shankh, a quantity in the Indian numbering system
 * SHANK1, SHANK2, and SHANK3, types of protein

People with the name

 * Bud Shank, an American saxophonist
 * Christopher B. Shank, Maryland politician
 * Daniel Shank, a Canadian ice hockey player
 * Harvey Shank, Canadian baseball player
 * John Shank, a 17th-century English actor
 * David E. Shank, co-founder and long-time General Manager of the co-op that developed Shenandoah's Pride milk brand
 * Charles V. Shank, physicist, inventor of femtosecond lasers

title: Shank


text:
BAC Mustard

The Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD, usually written as Mustard, was a reusable launch system concept that was explored by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) during the mid-1960s.

Mustard was intended to operate as a multistage rocket, the individual stages comprising near-identical spaceplane modules. These planes, or stages, were hypersonic vehicles, capable of flying at speeds in excess of five times the speed of sound. Following a vertically standing launch, each stage was to progressively separate during the ascent, after which they would individually fly back towards a suitable landing strip. The final spaceplane was to be capable of attaining such an altitude that it would be able to achieve a sub-orbital trajectory before also performing a controlled return. Following a conventional landing, all of the stages were intended to be reused multiple times. It was projected that Mustard was suitable for launching payloads weighing as much as 5000 lb into orbit.

The concept originated from studies performed by British manufacturing conglomerate English Electric, who had drawn inspiration from an American proposal, the Douglas Astro, which was proposed in 1962. Throughout the 1960s, the Mustard project was refined and prepared for programme launch. However, financing for the initiative was not forthcoming from the British government and the concept ultimately languished following the completion of the last major design study in early 1967. According to BAC's successor company BAE Systems, the projected cost of completing Mustard's development had been estimated as being between 20 and 30 times cheaper than the conventional expendable launch system used for the American Apollo program. The knowledge and expertise from Mustard was applied in various other avenues, the most prominent being the HOTOL spaceplane programme during the 1980s.

Origins
During the 1940s and 1950s, the United Kingdom had undertaken numerous independent space-related ventures, such as the Black Knight ballistic missile programme and the abortive Black Arrow satellite launcher. While the ambitions of these programmes had been tempered both by cost and a political desire to collaborate with other Commonwealth and Western nations, such as the Europa launcher, Britain retained a considerable interest in the pursuit of various space-related technologies. The field of re-usable space vehicles was no exception to this interest, British manufacturing conglomerate English Electric had undertaken preliminary work on the topic at their facility in Warton, Lancashire, as part of a government-sponsored series of wider studies into high-speed vehicles and sub-orbital spaceplanes. During 1960, the aerospace activities of English Electric merged with those of multiple other firms in the formation of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). The new entity continued its sponsored research into these concepts.

According to author Nigel Henbest, one of BAC's research teams, headed by engineer Tom Smith, Chief of the Aerospace Department at BAC, that was initially investigating supersonic and hypersonic flight problems, became interested in the application of such a vehicle for space-related activities. The team compared their performance estimates of a winged reusable launch vehicle against conventional multistage rockets, determining that the approach was not cost-effective, largely due to it requiring different rockets to power each stage. Instead, by simplifying the launcher to use near-identical winged vehicles, considerable cost savings would then be achievable both in terms of its development and manufacture. Associated costs would have been further reduced by all of the elements being reusable and without any need for post-mission refurbishment, only requiring refuelling. Furthermore, the scale of the vehicles could be increased or decreased to produce launch vehicles to suit virtually any weight and thrust requirements.

It has been claimed that from an early stage, BAC's space-related research was being influenced by foreign space programmes, most significant of these being the United States; reportedly, the company engaged in detailed studies of various transatlantic projects and proposals. One particular proposed vehicle, the Douglas Astro, is said to have impressed British researchers; around the beginning of 1964, the Astro was adopted as a conceptual starting point for BAC's own clustered design, which the company came to refer to as the Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device or MUSTARD; however, in common parlance, this moniker was usually written simply as Mustard. In the most intensely-studied design, Mustard was to have weighed roughly 420 tonnes prior to launch, and be capable of delivering a payload of three tonnes into a geostationary earth orbit (GEO).

Stall and termination
During 1964, the design of Mustard had reached the point where it was effectively complete. However, Smith acknowledges that in order to have continued the project through to the manufacturing stage, several billion pounds of investment would have been required, the financing of which was neither budgeted nor planned for by any entity. Writing for the scientific periodical New Scientist, author Nigel Henbest commented that it was unlikely that Britain could pursue the development of Mustard alone, but also suggested that there was potential value for the platform if organised as a multinational European venture, similar to the conventional Europa and Ariane launchers.

In early 1967, the last major design study on the topic was drawn up, after which the project was continued at a lower level until work on Mustard was finally terminated in 1970 by the British government, who had decided to participate in the new American post-Apollo project instead. Accordingly, a number of key Mustard project staff had spent the first two years of the 1970s overseas at North American Rockwell, where they contributed to the initial study which would eventually lead to the US Space Shuttle. Around this time, the prospect of collaboration is said to have faded and, in the absence of significant interest from the British government, the Mustard project was effectively terminated.

In early 1977, BAC was itself later merged with rival Hawker Siddeley to form British Aerospace (B.Ae) and when the reusable HOTOL spaceplane project arose in 1984, the project team was relocated to Warton, where they took advantage of the expertise that had been accumulated during the earlier Mustard project. Writing of Mustard's cancellation, Henbest wrote that the absence of "political courage" had been largely responsible for the failure of the venture to become reality; furthermore, if further research had been financed by the Ministry of Aviation, then Britain may have been able to play a larger role in other space programmes, such as the American Space Shuttle.

Modules
Mustard was a modular reusable space launch system, comprising multiple copies of a single vehicle design, each of which was configured for a different role as a booster stage or an orbital spaceplane. The core vehicle design resembled the basic layout of the Douglas Astro, both being delta-winged reusable vehicles, as would the later American Space Shuttle. Furthermore, all three functioned as vertically launched rockets and used integral wings so that they could land horizontally, akin to an aeroplane.

The design evolved through a total of fifteen proposed variants or schemes, each typically comprising a deep-keeled lifting-body airframe with delta wings in a smooth blended wing body layout, with twin tail fins rising from the wing tips and canted outwards. Some early variants featured a compound-delta wing, complete with inboard tail fins. Power was provided by an arrangement of between one and four rocket engines positioned upon the rear fuselage. Due to the relatively low re-entry speed anticipated, it was believed that complex heat-resistant tiling could be dispensed with in favour of simpler and cheaper nickel-alloy panelling across the vehicle's underside. Mustard was to be crewed by between three and six astronauts.

Operationally, there were two primary vehicle configurations, the orbiter and booster stages, respectively. The orbiter vehicle, which carried the desired payload, featured ducting to receive fuel from the boosters, while the booster units incorporated systems for transferring fuel across to the orbiter vehicle or between one another. In this fashion, the orbiter could remain fully topped-up for its long orbital injection flight, while all the vehicles could still share a standardised fuel tank design. According to Smith, the orbiting vehicle would have been capable of performing between 30 and 50 launches before needing to be replaced, while the booster engines, which wouldn't have been subject to as much heat and stress, would have remained usable for up to 200 times.

Clustering and stacking
Various clustering and stacking arrangements were explored. Where the Astro would have launched as a two-stage step-rocket, for which the booster would have been much larger than the orbiter, Mustard comprised from three to five near-identically sized modules. Early studies focused on a vehicle with a shallow 120° "vee" underside to both body and wings so that three could be clustered in a triangle. Some included a fourth, orbital vehicle mounted on top of three boosters. The most efficient regime was to empty one booster at a time, keeping the others topped up for as long as possible, so that the first-stage booster could be dropped as soon as possible. The three boosters would be emptied in turn. But this led to an asymmetric mass loading which BAC believed to be a significant problem, so later designs used a sideways stacking system in which flatter modules were stacked more like sheets of paper.

At 150,000 to 200,000 ft, at around 30 nautical miles, the last of the booster units would separate; once clear, these units would glide downwards and land upon a runway similar to conventional aircraft, allowing for their reuse. The spacecraft would place its payload into orbit at around 1,000 nautical miles, which would be achieved roughly 10 minutes after launch, and then return to Earth via a controlled gliding descent before conducting a landing in a similar fashion to the booster units. Originally, it was envisioned that all three vehicles would be crewed, however, when commenting during the mid-1980s, Smith observed that, due to technological advances, it would be possible for the booster units to be entirely automated using existing technology.

title: BAC Mustard


text:
Tam Paton

Thomas Dougal "Tam" Paton (5 August 1938 – 8 April 2009) was a pop group manager, most notably of the Scottish boy band the Bay City Rollers, and convicted child sex offender.

Biography
Born in Prestonpans, Scotland, he was the son of a potato merchant. Paton initially drove a truck to aid the Bay City Rollers financially. He guided the band through to their period of success during the mid-1970s, nurturing their image of being the "boys next door". He was responsible for beginning a myth that the band members preferred drinking milk to alcohol, in order to cultivate a clean, innocent image. However, vocalist Les McKeown later said Paton introduced the band members to drugs. "When we got a wee bit tired, he'd give us amphetamines," McKeown recalled in 2005. "He'd keep us awake with speed, black bombers. You end up almost showing off to each other what stupid drugs you've taken."

In 1979, Paton was fired as manager, and subsequently developed a multi-million-pound real estate business based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In the late 1970s Paton managed the band Rosetta Stone, and had a romantic relationship with the guitarist Paul Lerwill, who later changed his name to Gregory Gray.

In his autobiography I Ran With The Gang: My Life In And Out Of The Bay City Rollers (2018), Alan Longmuir suggests Paton benefited from friendships with politicians, police officers and senior members of the justiciary, and wrote of his fears that more will emerge about Paton that will show “his depravity ran deeper than we currently know”.

Longmuir states: "He had friends in high and low places. The friends in high places included politicians and senior members of the police and judiciary. The friends in low places included scum that would slash your face for a bag of Tam’s finest Colombian cocaine. A dangerous combination.

... I could not help noticing boys drifting around the house. 'Who are all these boys, Tam?' I asked. 'They’re Edinburgh's waifs and strays'. My brow furrowed. 'Alan, the police bring them here. It's all above board. The police find them on the streets and to keep them out of trouble they bring them here.'"

Criminal convictions and child sex abuse allegations
Paton, who was openly gay, was involved in a number of legal controversies. In 1982 he was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to the sexual abuse of 10 boys over a three-year period.

He was arrested on child sexual abuse charges in January 2003, but was later cleared of all allegations. In April 2004, Paton was convicted of supplying cannabis and fined £200,000. In 2003, he was accused of trying to rape the Bay City Rollers guitarist Pat McGlynn, in a hotel room in 1977. The police decided there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution.

In 2016, Bay City Rollers singer Les McKeown accused Paton of raping him. In the documentary Secrets of the Bay City Rollers (2023): "Presenter Nicky Campbell uncovers a near inconceivably sadistic and far-reaching network of cruelty that the young men comprising Scottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers were forced to endure – as their manager Tam Paton controlled every aspect of their lives, sexually and emotionally abused them and facilitated their abuse by others. Those triggered by sexual violence and child abuse should give this programme the widest possible berth as it unflinchingly lays bare not just the abuse of the band, but also the widespread sexual abuse of children in Scotland in the 1970s." In 2023, Gert Magnus, who had lived at a children's home, claimed that Paton blackmailed him into taking other youngsters to his house so he could sexually abuse them. In the 1970s Magnus had lived at Paton's Little Kellerstain home near Edinburgh, and had been told by Paton that, if he procured other boys for him from care homes, he would stop raping him. While at Paton's house, he said, "There were always parties and lots of young boys and lots of producers... Going to the room and coming out. Big party." He also recalled Jimmy Savile being present. "I was so young. And I thought that's normal in this business," he said. The band's original singer Nobby Clarke elsewhere said that Paton once told him the band would get better promotion on BBC Radio 1 if a member slept with DJ Chris Denning, who was later convicted of paedophilia.

In October 2022 John Wilson was convicted of sexually assaulting children, with Paton, at Paton's home.

Death
Paton died of a suspected heart attack aged 70 at his Edinburgh home on 8 April 2009. At the time of his death he weighed 25 stone. On the night of his death, drugs and cash worth £1.5m were stolen from his house.

title: Tam Paton


text:
Stephen Owen (politician)

Stephen Douglas Owen (September 8, 1948 – June 29, 2023) was a Canadian lawyer, administrator and politician. From 2000 to 2007 he served as Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Vancouver Quadra, encompassing the western end of the City of Vancouver. As part of the Liberal Party of Canada caucus, he was a member of Prime Minister Paul Martin's government, serving in cabinet as Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2003 to 2004, and as Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State for Sport from 2004 to 2006. He left parliament to join the University of British Columbia (UBC) as the vice-president of External, Legal and Community Relations, serving in that role until 2012.

Early life and career
Born in Vancouver on September 8, 1948, Owen attended Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island before studying at UBC, graduating with a law degree in 1972. He went on to receive an LL.M. from University College London/University of London in 1974, and an MBA from the International Management Institute at the University of Geneva in 1986. In 1975 he began a two-year assignment with Canadian University Service Overseas teaching high school in Nigeria, before returning to Canada in 1977 to work as a staff lawyer with the legal aid office in Surrey, eventually becoming executive director of the Legal Services Society of British Columbia.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Owen worked for the government of British Columbia as a non-partisan official. He served as that province's ombudsman from 1986 to 1992, and as Commissioner for the ground-breaking Commission on Resources and Environment, which pioneered the province's multi-stakeholder land-use planning approach, from 1992 to 1995. After serving as Deputy Attorney General for B.C. from 1995 to 1997, he joined the University of Victoria as David Lam Professor of Law and Public Policy, and director of the university's Institute for Dispute Resolution. He concurrently served as commissioner and vice-president of the Law Commission of Canada from 1997 to 2000.

Federal politics
Owen ran as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Quadra at the 2000 federal election, defeating Kerry-Lynne Findlay of the Canadian Alliance to become the riding's Member of Parliament. He was appointed Secretary of State for both Western Economic Diversification and Indian Affairs and Northern Development by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on January 15, 2002. On December 12, 2003, Owen was promoted by the newly appointed Martin to Minister of Public Works and Government Services. In this capacity, he was a frequent target of opposition questions on the "sponsorship scandal". During his tenure, Owen was involved in the recovery of misappropriated public funds from Hewlett-Packard; the company paid C$146 million to the government of Canada, and both parties agreed to jointly pursue companies who may also have been involved.

Owen defeated former provincial cabinet minister and Conservative candidate Stephen Rogers in the federal election of 2004, receiving 52% of the vote compared to Rogers' 26%. He was named Minister of Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State for Sport on July 20, 2004. Under normal circumstances, this would have been considered a demotion, but the shuffle placed Owen in a powerful managerial position for preparation for the upcoming Winter Olympics in British Columbia.

During the federal election of 2006, held to elect the 39th Parliament, Owen again defeated Rogers and maintained his seat in Vancouver Quadra. With the Liberals becoming the Official Opposition, Owen was named critic for democratic reform. Following the election, Owen endorsed Michael Ignatieff for the Liberal Party leadership to replace the outgoing Paul Martin.

Owen resigned his seat on July 27, 2007, to become UBC's vice-president of External, Legal and Community Relations, finishing his five-year term in 2012.

Personal life
Owen married his wife Diane in 1971; the couple had two sons together. His cousin Philip Owen is a former mayor of Vancouver, and uncle Walter Stewart Owen served as Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia from 1973 to 1978.

Owen died at a care home in Vancouver on June 29, 2023, at age 74. He had dementia in the years leading up to his death.

title: Stephen Owen (politician)


text: Talk:Hudson Motor Car Company

title: Talk:Hudson Motor Car Company


text:
KIKU

KIKU (channel 20) is an independent television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, which primarily airs Japanese and Filipino programming. It is owned by Allen Media Group alongside ABC affiliate KITV (channel 4). The two stations share studios on South King Street in downtown Honolulu; KIKU's transmitter is located in Nānākuli.

Channel 20 in Honolulu went on air in December 1983 as KHAI-TV. Though built and originally owned by Tennessee-based Media Central, it has specialized in Asian programming for nearly its entire history. International Channel Network acquired KHAI-TV in 1989 as part of Media Central's bankruptcy. JN Productions took over operations in 1993 and changed the station's call sign to KIKU; its owner, Joanne Ninomiya, had been the general manager of channel 13 when that station was Japanese-language KIKU-TV. JN continued to supply Japanese-language programming for KIKU until 2004. UPN programming aired on channel 20 from 2004 to the network's closure in 2006. In addition, the station produced local programming, some of which was aimed at the Vietnamese and Filipino communities in Hawaii.

After passing through a number of owners including AsianMedia Group and NRJ TV, WRNN-TV Associates acquired the station in 2019. As part of a group affiliation agreement, KIKU converted to the home shopping network ShopHQ in June 2021, a switch met with outcry and dismay by Hawaii viewers. Allen Media Group acquired KIKU in 2022 and immediately restored its prior program format, augmented by English-language syndicated programs and local newscasts from KITV.

KIKU on channel 13
The call sign KIKU first was associated with Japanese-language television in Honolulu in 1967, when Richard Eaton bought KTRG-TV (channel 13) from David Watumull and renamed it KIKU-TV (kiku (キク(菊)) being the Japanese word for the chrysanthemum flower ). His announced plans to make channel 13 a primarily Japanese-language station had led to scrutiny of the transaction by the Federal Communications Commission; during this time, the station's intended general manager programmed two hours a week of Japanese-language shows. By 1967, the station programmed entirely in Japanese.

In 1968, it began nightly telecasts of sumo wrestling. The station introduced English-language subtitles on its Japanese-language programs in 1970, which proved popular and expanded to having half of all programs subtitled by 1975. Another channel 13 specialty was children's programming; it aired such tokusatsu programs as Kamen Rider, Rainbowman, and Android Kikaider (known in Hawaii as Kikaida). The success of the latter was particularly noteworthy; the show beat Sesame Street in the ratings, and it was noted in an article in Time magazine. A station employee, Hideo Fujii, recalled that "older people in the Nikkei community would sit up straight in bed and weep" watching KIKU's programs.

In 1979, KIKU-TV was sold by Eaton to Mid-Pacific Television Associates. The new ownership proposed to reduce the proportion of Japanese-language programming at the station. This prompted general manager Joanne Ninomiya, who had run channel 13 since 1969, to depart in January 1981; she then started her own company, JN Productions, to broadcast Japanese-language shows on cable. The new KIKU-TV ownership instituted a mostly English-language program lineup in June 1981.

Under new general manager Rick Blangiardi, in 1984, KIKU-TV changed its call sign to KHNL. Ninomiya renewed her association with KHNL beginning in 1986, providing six hours of Japanese programs on Sundays as well as a daily newscast from Japan and subtitled sumo broadcasts.

Construction
In late 1978, a group of investors known as Sunset Communications Corporation was formed to file for channel 20. Sunset shared investors with Delta Television, a subsidiary of advertising firm Petry Television that had put WPTY-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, on air earlier that year. For one of the principals, John A. Serrao, it was a return to Hawaii, as he had been general manager of KHVH-TV (channel 4) in the early 1960s when it was owned by Kaiser Broadcasting. The channel 20 construction permit was granted on August 12, 1980.

The group sold the permit to Media Central of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1982; under Media Central, the station began broadcasting as KHAI-TV on December 30, 1983, with Japanese-language programming from the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It was the fifth station Media Central built during 1983. In addition to Japanese-language programming, the station added Filipino programming in 1986 and shows in Korean in March 1989. However, its broadcast day was limited. In 1986, the station switched from signing on at noon to beginning at 4 p.m. because Oceanic Cable, the dominant cable provider on Oahu, placed it on the same channel as The Discovery Channel.

ICN/AsianMedia ownership
In 1987, Media Central filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KHAI was sold for $1.75 million to International Channel Network (ICN), which owned Los Angeles multicultural station KSCI, in 1989. ICN moved the station to new studios on Sand Island Access Road in 1991, built a new transmitter, and expanded its weekly broadcasting by 28 hours; more than half of the new airtime featured programming in Chinese.

ICN brokered the station's airtime to JN Productions, the programming and subtitling company owned by Joanne Ninomiya, in 1993; JN began handling sales and programming duties. The first move made with the change in management was the consolidation of the cable programming from JN Productions as well as KHNL's Japanese-language shows onto channel 20's schedule. Ninomiya also changed the station's call sign to KIKU.

KSCI and KIKU were sold in 2000 to a consortium of The Korea Times and private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, known as AsianMedia Group. In 2004, JN Productions ceased providing programming functions for the station, though it continued to supply KIKU with subtitles for its Japanese-language programming; the station brought programming operations in-house. In 2007, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs honored Ninomiya with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for contributing to "introducing Japanese culture and promoting friendship between Japan and the United States".

KIKU was the last of four stations to air UPN programming in Hawaii when it began airing the network's programs on November 1, 2004. UPN programs were usually broadcast in the late afternoon, leaving Japanese-language shows in prime time. The original UPN affiliate had been KFVE; when it dropped UPN to emphasize The WB, KHON-TV and KGMB then split UPN programming. KIKU was the only Honolulu station that could provide a two-hour block to air UPN prime time programming. When The WB and UPN merged to form The CW in 2006, KIKU passed on the offering because The CW wanted prime time clearance for its programming. In addition to shows it purchased, KIKU produced local programming. This included short-form segments such as The Wisdom of Hawai‘i's Elders, Japanese Word of the Day, and Itadakimasu. Its output also included a local show in Vietnamese and another in English aimed at the Filipino community. For a time, it aired anime syndicated by the Funimation Channel, making it the service's first non-cable affiliate; KIKU broadcast dubbed versions of select shows every weekday from 6 to 7 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m.

KIKU discontinued analog broadcasting on January 15, 2009, the date on which full-power television stations in Hawaii transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts. The transition in Hawaii had been brought forward from the original February 17 national switch date—itself later delayed to June—because of concern that the dismantling of existing transmitter towers atop Haleakalā on Maui would affect the mating season of the endangered Hawaiian petrel, which begins in February. KIKU continued to broadcast on its pre-transition channel 19, using virtual channel 20.

In January 2012, AsianMedia Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; the station, along with KSCI in Los Angeles and its San Diego repeater KUAN-LP, was sold to NRJ TV (a company unrelated to European broadcaster NRJ Radio) for $45 million in March 2012, in a transaction that included the assumption of AsianMedia Group's debt.

Sale to WRNN-TV Associates; home shopping programming
On December 9, 2019, WRNN-TV Associates announced it would purchase NRJ's TV stations; the acquisition received FCC approval in January 2020 and was completed the next month. WRNN-TV Associates continued the Asian format until announcing in May 2021 that it would affiliate all of the stations it owned with ShopHQ, a home shopping network, on June 28. For ShopHQ, this deal brought high-definition cable and satellite carriage on TV stations reaching more than 20 million homes in the major markets of New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas–Fort Worth, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, and Boston. The deal included KIKU; eight days later, the station announced that "The Rumor Is True" and that ShopHQ would displace all of KIKU's existing programming. It also meant the closure of the KIKU studio in the Pacific Guardian Center, in part because ShopHQ programming did not include local advertising.

The change led to considerable outcry, including among older viewers that had watched the station for decades and were not necessarily fluent in English. Station manager Phyllis Kihara told Pacific Business News, "We've been getting calls and emails and texts all day. When you look at Facebook, the messages people are leaving, we're really sorry we're going to lose this and I think that's what the people of Hawaii feel like, too." Kihara went as far as to provide aggrieved viewers her direct contact information. Observers, including Ninomiya, noted that running a Japanese-language TV station carried with it significant costs for licensing programs and additional expenses and needed personnel skills to translate and subtitle them. While a variety of sources for Japanese- and Filipino-language programming, such as Nippon Golden Network, continued to be available, these were all pay services to which viewers may not have necessarily been able to subscribe. In advance of the change in format, KIKU scheduled episodes in such a way as to complete series, airing some shows twice a week or more.

Sale to Allen Media Group
Only three months after the change to ShopHQ, on September 27, 2021, it was announced that KIKU would be sold to Allen Media Broadcasting, owner of KITV, for $4,000,000. The sale was completed on January 31, 2022.

Allen immediately moved to restore much of the prior programming and format to KIKU. On January 31, KIKU returned to airing Japanese and Filipino programming, as well as local newscasts from KITV. It also added Entertainment Studios and other syndicated content to fill the schedule out further. The general manager of KITV said that KIKU's new schedule would include about 75 percent of the programs the station had been airing prior to switching to ShopHQ, including some subtitled shows.

Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed:

title: KIKU


text: Category:Graphing calculators

title: Category:Graphing calculators


text:
Helictite

A helictite is a speleothem (cave-formed mineral) found in a limestone cave that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth. Helictites have a curving or angular form that looks as if they were grown in zero gravity. They are most likely the result of capillary forces acting on tiny water droplets, a force often strong enough at this scale to defy gravity.

Helictites are, perhaps, the most delicate of cave formations. They are usually made of needle-form calcite and aragonite. Helictite forms have been described in several types: ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, "hands", curly-fries, and "clumps of worms". They typically have radial symmetry. They can be easily crushed or broken by the slightest touch. Because of this, helictites are rarely seen within arm's reach in tourist caves.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument in Utah has one of the largest collections of these formations in the world. Large numbers are also in the Jenolan Caves in Australia and in the Pozalagua Cave in Karrantza, Spain. A remarkable suite of helictites also occurs in Asperge Cave, France. Can also be found in Black Chasm Cavern in California, USA.

Formation
The growth of helictites is still quite enigmatic. To this day, there has been no satisfactory explanation for how they are formed. Currently, formation by capillary forces is the most likely hypothesis, but another hypothesis based on wind formation is also viable.

Capillary forces
The most likely hypothesis explains helictites as a result of capillary forces. If the helictite has a very thin central tube where the water flows as it does in straws, capillary forces would be able to transport water against gravity. This idea was inspired by some hollow helictites. However, the majority of helictites are not hollow. Despite this, droplets can be drawn to the tips of existing structures and deposit their calcite load almost anywhere thereon. This can lead to the wandering and curling structures seen in many helictites.

Wind
Another hypothesis names the wind in the cave as the main reason for the strange appearance. Drops hanging on a stalactite are blown to one side, so the dripstone grows in that direction. If the wind changes, the direction of growth changes too. However, this hypothesis is very problematic, because wind directions change very often. The wind in caves depends on air pressure changes outside, which in turn depend on the weather. The wind direction changes as often as the weather conditions outside change. But the dripstones grow very slowly – several centimeters in 100 years – meaning that the wind direction would have to stay steady for long periods of time, changing for every fragment of a millimeter of growth. A second problem with this idea is that many caves with helictites have no natural entrance where wind could enter.

Piezoelectric forces
Another hypothesis that has been proposed is that slowly changing geological pressure causing stresses on the crystals at the base alters the piezo electrostatic potential and causes particle deposition to be oriented in some relationship to the prevailing pressure orientation.

Bacterial
A recent hypothesis, which is supported by observation, is that a prokaryotic bacterial film provides a nucleation site for mineralization process.

Helictite growth

A helictite starts its growth as a tiny stalactite. The direction of the end of the straw may wander, twist like a corkscrew, or the main part may form normally while small helictites pop out of its side like rootlets or fishhooks. In some caves, helictites cluster together and form bushes as large as six feet tall. These bushes grow from the floor of the cave. When helictites are found on cave floors, they are referred to as heligmites, though there is debate as to whether this is a genuine subcategory.

For an unknown reason, when the chemical composition of the water is slightly altered, the single crystal structure can change from a cylindrical shape to a conical one. In some of these cases, each crystal fits into the prior one like an inverted stack of ice cream cones.

title: Helictite


text:
Talk:XTERRA Triathlon

What does the "In the United States" section mean? Is this event held in more than one country? Could someone explain which countries? As of right now, it only mentions Maui. RickK 19:07, Jul 20, 2004 (UTC)

I believe XTERRA is always spelled in all capital letters, and is indeed trademarked that way. I've changed all instances and moved the page accordingly. IdahoEv 09:10, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

race list
Instead of listing all the American races, (as Wikipedia isn't an American webpage) it's probably best to reference the XTERRA Triathlon Global Tour 2007 page and not cite all that information twice.

JKrabbe 17:55, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:XTERRA Triathlon


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Gregory Wilker

No evidence of notability; I strongly suspect vanity. May be new user not understanding what we're about. see autobiography. Dunc_Harris|☺ 19:08, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * definitely need a notice: Please do not write articles about yourself. If you are notable enough for a page on this site, some else who you do not know will write the article for you. If this does not happen - you know why. Delete nicely. Ianb 19:14, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I rather liked his spelling of "Pittsburg, Pennsilvania." Though he's a brother-in-arms in the trenches of the broadcast industry, conscience tells me to vote delete. - Lucky 6.9 19:19, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. I refer to Ianb's statement. Kaelus 06:58, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Can we move it to wiktionary as an antonym for "notable"? Ugh.  Delete.  Postdlf 01:54, 22 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * No need to be mean, just delete the vanity. -- Cyrius|✎ 05:15, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)


text: User talk:68.58.61.106

title: User talk:68.58.61.106


text:
Texas Water Safari

The Texas Water Safari is a boat race down waterways from San Marcos, Texas, to Seadrift, Texas. The total distance traveled is 262 miles. Racers must take all equipment needed with them, receiving only medical supplies, food, water, and ice along the way. The primary requirement is a boat powered only by human muscle. The event was first held in 1963, and is run annually. The race begins on the second Saturday of June of each year, barring bad weather.

In 1962 Frank Brown and Bill "Big Willie" George navigated from San Marcos to Corpus Christi without a motor. In 1963 they created the Texas Water Safari which would become an annual race.

Course
The course includes natural rivers like the San Marcos, with rapids and dams. Most boats destroyed on the course are lost in the upper river. The San Marcos River converges with the Guadalupe River and becomes wider and slower. The main dangers in the middle river are sweepers, downed trees, logjams and dams. Near the end of the course there are lakes and swamps, and it ends with a crossing of the San Antonio Bay. Other challenges include alligators, sharks, water moccasin, fire ants, and mosquitos.

There are 11 checkpoints including the finish line. Their locations are published and they are staffed with officials. Each checkpoint has a cutoff time the racers must meet or be disqualified. The final cutoff time at the finish is 100 hours. The team captain of each team must be present at the checkpoint to sign off the team's time as the team leaves. Checkpoints:
 * Staples Dam
 * Luling 90
 * Palmetto State Park
 * Gonzales Dam
 * Hochheim
 * Cuero 766 (Cheapside)
 * Cuero 236
 * Victoria City Park
 * Swinging Bridge (often referred to as Invista or Dupont)
 * Calhoun Riverside RV Retreat
 * Seadrift

Records
Athletes compete in classes. The Unlimited class has no restriction, except that the watercraft is powered only by human muscle, and restricted since 2006 to crews no greater than six. Attempts have been made to race craft of unconventional form, but the best results have been achieved by well-trained teams in crewboats.
 * Overall Fastest Time / Unlimited: 29:46, 1997, Bryan & Fred Mynar, John Dunn, Jerry Cochran, Steve Landick, and Soloman Carriere
 * Tandem Unlimited: Fastest Time 35:17, 1987, John Bugge & Mike Shively
 * Men's Solo Unlimited: Fastest Time 36:03, 2007, Carter Johnson
 * Master's: Fastest Time 36:06, 2004, John Maika, Vance Sherrod, Pete Binnion, Jim Pye, and Pat Petrisky
 * USCA C-2: Fastest Time 36:27, 1997, Allen Spelce and West Hansen
 * Men's USCA C-1: Fastest Time 37:07, 2007, Jerry Rayburn
 * Mixed: Fastest Time 37:45, 2007, Deborah Lane and Fred Mynar
 * Standard: Fastest Time 38:18, 1992, Lynn Wilson and Ron Lightfoot of Canada
 * Aluminum: Fastest Time 38:55, 1997, Donald and Daniel Baumbach
 * Women's Unlimited: Fastest Time 41:39, 2015, Virginia Condie & Kaitlin Jiral
 * Novice: Fastest Time 44:03, 2004, Allen Chellette & George Melder
 * Adult-Child: Fastest Finish: 46:11, 1997, Kyle & Joe Mynar
 * Women's Solo Unlimited: Fastest Time 49:26, 2004, Holly Nelson (now Holly Orr)
 * Women's USCA C1: Fastest Time 57:49, 2014, Holly Orr
 * Youngest USCA C-1 Finisher & Winner, Female: Courtney Weber, 20Y 11M 28D, 2011
 * Youngest USCA C-1 Finisher & Winner, Male: Max Feaster, 17Y 9M 1D, 2010
 * Youngest Finisher: Jessica Bugge, 9Y 5M 12D, 2003
 * Youngest Woman Solo Finisher: Rebekah Zeek, 18Y 4M 28D, 2009
 * All-Time Tandem 'Safari Spirit' Team: Chris and Matthew "Matt" Baker, 2002, 2003

title: Texas Water Safari