stanford-cs336/owt-sample · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 105k
Sitting at cageside, Kevin Kay, the president of Spike — who estimates that he has attended more than 400 fights — is talking over loud rock music to Mr. Rebney about getting Bellator ready for prime time. They agree, for one thing, that Bellator has to discover its own fighters. “We don’t want to be picking up rejects from the U.F.C., because there’s a reason they’re leaving,” Mr. Kay says later. “Either they weren’t a fan favorite or they weren’t making money. You have to build your own talent up.”

As they look around the converted ballroom, they discuss bigger locations that would look better on television. (The Atlantic City fights were broadcast only on MTV2 and on Spike.com as practice for the Spike premiere in January. Those fights took place at the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. and were watched by 938,000 viewers on Spike. Later, Mr. Kay said, “We’ve saved up to make sure we’re in the right kinds of venues. There are no ballrooms on Spike.”)

Outside, in the casino parking garage, a traveling circus of Bellator-branded 18-wheelers is packed with men who travel to each location and work as sound editors and producers, putting the final touches on the bouts and cutting highlights for online broadcasts and television replays. Viacom has provided additional television staff members, experts at making combat sports look good on TV.

Unlike Dana White, the U.F.C. president, who has become a constant presence inseparable from the league’s brand, Mr. Rebney plans to maintain a more distant role as Bellator’s C.E.O. Still, several fans called out for photographs and autographs from Mr. Rebney, whose black suit seemed the unofficial uniform of the evening’s V.I.P.’s.

THE new league, renamed Bellator M.M.A., certainly has not stopped the bad blood between the U.F.C. and Viacom. Mr. Dauman of Viacom says that “in airing U.F.C. fights and reality shows, Spike really built U.F.C. from almost nothing.”<\|endoftext\|>Maryland's 1st district

Andy Harris

The Boycott of Maryland's 1st District (also known as the Boycott of Ocean City and Boycott of the Eastern Shore) is a boycott of the 1st Congressional District of Maryland in response to 2014 congressional legislation that interfered with the ability of the District of Columbia to pass its own laws.[1] The boycott was prompted by an appropriation amendment by Maryland Representative Andy Harris that would nullify DC laws on marijuana decriminalization.[2][3]

Background [ edit ]

In March 2014, the D.C. Council voted overwhelmingly to eliminate jail time for possession of marijuana, calling it necessary to combat deep racial disparities in drug arrests in the city.[4] In a January 2014 poll by The Washington Post, roughly eight in 10 city residents supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.[4]

On June 25, 2014, House Republicans blocked funding for the D.C. law.[4] The effort to keep the District from loosening its marijuana laws was led by Andy Harris, a Republican in Congress representing Maryland's 1st District which includes the Eastern Shore and Ocean City.[4][5] The Harris amendment bans the D.C. government from spending any funds on efforts to lessen penalties for Schedule I federal drug crimes.[1] Once enacted, the measure will interfere with DC's decriminalization law and a possible legalization ballot initiative.[2][3]

Appropriations riders are a strategy frequently used to block unfavorable local legislation. It took a decade for medical marijuana backers to remove a rider preventing the District from moving forward with the system.[6] DC currently lacks voting representation in Congress and all locally passed laws must be sent to Congress for review and approval.[7]

In February 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser implemented the popular legislation legalizing possession of marijuana. Harris said if one of his fellow Republicans captures the White House in 2016, he hopes they revisit Bowser's actions and prosecute her.[8]

Opposition to Harris [ edit ]

The interference by Harris was viewed as a defeat for District of Columbia home rule, and the ability of its Democratic mayor and the DC council to self-govern.[4][1] Harris explained his initiative by saying "Our constitution is very specific on how the federal enclave of the District of Columbia is to be treated".[9] Some speculated that Harris' interest in a leadership position in Congress prompted his amendment.[10]

It was uncertain if the legislation would force the city to shut down its entire medical marijuana program, which started in 2013.[4] In April 2014, Maryland became the latest of three states that have passed similar laws eliminating jail time for marijuana possession when Martin O'Malley signed a bill to move possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana from a criminal to a civil offense.[11] Harris argued that the D.C. law was "bad policy" assessing a fine of $25—a fraction of the $100 fine in Maryland.

On July 2, the ACLU and NAACP were among 41 other local and national organizations in delivering letters to all members of Congress urging them to oppose policy riders that would undermine the District's local autonomy. The groups, collectively representing millions of Americans, pledged a united front in opposing measures that they say "target" the district.[12]

Boycott planning and announcement [ edit ]

The nonprofit group D.C. Vote called for an all-out boycott of vacation spots in the 1st Congressional District, saying Harris "acted in wanton disregard" of the views of D.C. residents.[13][3][14]

Before announcing the boycott, D.C. Vote said it had contacted local officials in the 1st district, informing them that the call for a boycott was not a reflection on them as businesses. It was emphasized that a similar attack on their local jurisdictions' laws would never be tolerated.[13][15][14] DC Vote Director Kimberly Perry explained that while District residents may not have a vote in Congress, they can vote with their wallets.[16] Alternate vacation spots in Delaware, Virginia and even Maryland were suggested instead of the Eastern Shore.[15]

Mayor Vincent Gray encouraged the boycott, saying "I don't think we should support someone who doesn't support us, who doesn't support democracy, period".[2][17] Gray also suggested that those D.C. residents who do visit Harris's district might picket his office.[13] In response, Harris attacked the mayor for his loss in the primary election.[18]

Organizers identified "#BoycottMD1D" as their Twitter hashtag.[15]

Reaction by politicians and businesses [ edit ]

Harris rebuffed efforts by DC Councilmember David Catania to meet with him about the boycott.[19]

Businesses in the Eastern Shore said that they hoped that other measures could be pursued besides a boycott of their businesses and said they welcome visitors of all political affiliations.[13]

Harris said city residents "know better" than to boycott his district's beauty spots. "Spending the weekend on the beautiful, family friendly Eastern Shore is more important than increasing drug use by D.C. teenagers."[13]

Other forms of protest [ edit ]

An initiative was launched encouraging businesses to ban Maryland Rep. Andy Harris and his congressional staff from their establishments.[20] At least one bike shop posted a picture of Harris with the words "Not Welcome".[21]

In 2015, protest efforts were re-energized following a segment on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Organizers arranged buses to the Eastern Shore to educate tourists and protest Washingtonians lack of voting rights, encouraging more calls to Harris' office.[22]<\|endoftext\|>EDIT– Apple reconsidered its decision and approved the Bobble Rep app after a media storm of protest was set off by this innocent little rant on my insignificant little blog. Below is the original blog post:

Just yesterday I was complaining about how Apple sometimes treats its customers as if they were stupid.

I had no idea how right I was.

Back in the late summer movie director/entrepreneur Ray Griggs, for whom I did all that art for his movie “Super Capers“, approached me with an idea for an iPhone app. The concept was a database of all the members of the United States Congress which allowed the user to find the names and contact information of their senators and congressional representative either via zipcode or by using the iPhone’s GPS location services. He wanted the visuals to be more than just a bunch of pictures, and asked me to do caricatures for each senator and representative.

That’s 540 caricature if you are keeping count (including those non-voting members of the house from Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.). FIVE HUNDRED FORTY. Five-four-Oh. Whew.

The caricature “heads” would be placed on one of 12 different bodies I has also drawn to make a cartoon, virtual “bobblehead” for each member of congress’s page. You can make the heads bobble by shaking your phone or flicking the head with your finger. Of course that’s just a novelty, and the real purpose of the app is the database that allows you to find out who your representatives in Washington are and how to contact them.

I did all 540 caricatures. In fact I finished the last few dozen in my hotel room in Washington DC prior to my USO trip. Ray and his programmers wrapped up the programming and the app was sent to Apple for approval.

Here are some of the visuals that were sent to Apple:

Ray had showed a lot of people this app, and there was a fair amount of interest in it. In fact, he tells me that he is booked to appear on both the Glenn Beck John Stossel show and the Mike Huckabee show next week to talk about the app and his upcoming documentary. Both Beck Stossel and Huckabee loved the app and that’s what precipitated his appearance on their shows.

Looks like all Ray will have to talk about is how ridiculous Apple’s app approval folks are, since the app was REJECTED yesterday . Here is Apple’s official rejection letter and the “reason”:

Subject: Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition 1.0: Application Submission Feedback Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request. Follow-up:¬¨‚Ä† 87280909 Dear Mr. Griggs, Thank you for submitting Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition to the App Store. We’ve reviewed Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section¬¨‚Ä† 3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states: “Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.” A screenshot of this issue has been attached for your reference. If you believe that you can make the necessary changes so that Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition does not violate the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review. Regards,

iPhone Developer Program

****************************

Wow. I’ve had rejections in theme parks before but never because my drawings were considered “obscene, pornographic, or defamatory”. I can see where they are coming from, though. Check out these “hard hitting” caricatures (said with tongue firmly in cheek):

CA- Harman

ND- Pomeroy

OH- Kucinich

Brutal, I know. I mean, if Dennis Kucinich ever saw that he’d doubtless curl up in the fetal position and cry for a week. What was I thinking, doing these over-the-top, cut-throat abominations of caricatures for a public iPhone app????

Wait… someone is at the door. MAYBE IT’S THE SECRET SERVICE!!!!!!

This is truly ridiculous. These caricatures aren’t mean or very exaggerated. They are simple, fun cartoon likenesses of the politicians and the purpose of the app is a informational database. There is no editorial commentary involved at all.

This is the very reason that Apple as a company should be taken to task over its ludicrous and inconsistent app approval policies. Clearly this app does not “ridicule public figures” and is violating nothing, but Apple has decided the world must be protected from the insidious subversiveness this would force upon the public and the brutal, heinous ridicule that my cruel, cruel caricatures would subject these politicians to.

Hard to believe that anybody could be this blind. Maybe they just have a monkey doing the approval of their apps, and he throws a dart at a dartboard with “approved” and “rejected” targets on it and whatever it hits is the fate of that app. That would explain how they could approve an app with a cartoon baby picture and when you shake the phone hard enough the baby dies. Yes, that one got through only to be yanked after some outraged people complained, but no way are a bunch of flame-throwing caricatures going to get through!!!

Unbelievable.

Sitting at cageside, Kevin Kay, the president of Spike — who estimates that he has attended more than 400 fights — is talking over loud rock music to Mr. Rebney about getting Bellator ready for prime time. They agree, for one thing, that Bellator has to discover its own fighters. “We don’t want to be picking up rejects from the U.F.C., because there’s a reason they’re leaving,” Mr. Kay says later. “Either they weren’t a fan favorite or they weren’t making money. You have to build your own talent up.”

As they look around the converted ballroom, they discuss bigger locations that would look better on television. (The Atlantic City fights were broadcast only on MTV2 and on Spike.com as practice for the Spike premiere in January. Those fights took place at the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. and were watched by 938,000 viewers on Spike. Later, Mr. Kay said, “We’ve saved up to make sure we’re in the right kinds of venues. There are no ballrooms on Spike.”)

Outside, in the casino parking garage, a traveling circus of Bellator-branded 18-wheelers is packed with men who travel to each location and work as sound editors and producers, putting the final touches on the bouts and cutting highlights for online broadcasts and television replays. Viacom has provided additional television staff members, experts at making combat sports look good on TV.

Unlike Dana White, the U.F.C. president, who has become a constant presence inseparable from the league’s brand, Mr. Rebney plans to maintain a more distant role as Bellator’s C.E.O. Still, several fans called out for photographs and autographs from Mr. Rebney, whose black suit seemed the unofficial uniform of the evening’s V.I.P.’s.

THE new league, renamed Bellator M.M.A., certainly has not stopped the bad blood between the U.F.C. and Viacom. Mr. Dauman of Viacom says that “in airing U.F.C. fights and reality shows, Spike really built U.F.C. from almost nothing.”<|endoftext|>Maryland's 1st district

Andy Harris

The Boycott of Maryland's 1st District (also known as the Boycott of Ocean City and Boycott of the Eastern Shore) is a boycott of the 1st Congressional District of Maryland in response to 2014 congressional legislation that interfered with the ability of the District of Columbia to pass its own laws.[1] The boycott was prompted by an appropriation amendment by Maryland Representative Andy Harris that would nullify DC laws on marijuana decriminalization.[2][3]

Background [ edit ]

In March 2014, the D.C. Council voted overwhelmingly to eliminate jail time for possession of marijuana, calling it necessary to combat deep racial disparities in drug arrests in the city.[4] In a January 2014 poll by The Washington Post, roughly eight in 10 city residents supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.[4]

On June 25, 2014, House Republicans blocked funding for the D.C. law.[4] The effort to keep the District from loosening its marijuana laws was led by Andy Harris, a Republican in Congress representing Maryland's 1st District which includes the Eastern Shore and Ocean City.[4][5] The Harris amendment bans the D.C. government from spending any funds on efforts to lessen penalties for Schedule I federal drug crimes.[1] Once enacted, the measure will interfere with DC's decriminalization law and a possible legalization ballot initiative.[2][3]

Appropriations riders are a strategy frequently used to block unfavorable local legislation. It took a decade for medical marijuana backers to remove a rider preventing the District from moving forward with the system.[6] DC currently lacks voting representation in Congress and all locally passed laws must be sent to Congress for review and approval.[7]

In February 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser implemented the popular legislation legalizing possession of marijuana. Harris said if one of his fellow Republicans captures the White House in 2016, he hopes they revisit Bowser's actions and prosecute her.[8]

Opposition to Harris [ edit ]

The interference by Harris was viewed as a defeat for District of Columbia home rule, and the ability of its Democratic mayor and the DC council to self-govern.[4][1] Harris explained his initiative by saying "Our constitution is very specific on how the federal enclave of the District of Columbia is to be treated".[9] Some speculated that Harris' interest in a leadership position in Congress prompted his amendment.[10]

It was uncertain if the legislation would force the city to shut down its entire medical marijuana program, which started in 2013.[4] In April 2014, Maryland became the latest of three states that have passed similar laws eliminating jail time for marijuana possession when Martin O'Malley signed a bill to move possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana from a criminal to a civil offense.[11] Harris argued that the D.C. law was "bad policy" assessing a fine of $25—a fraction of the $100 fine in Maryland.

On July 2, the ACLU and NAACP were among 41 other local and national organizations in delivering letters to all members of Congress urging them to oppose policy riders that would undermine the District's local autonomy. The groups, collectively representing millions of Americans, pledged a united front in opposing measures that they say "target" the district.[12]

Boycott planning and announcement [ edit ]

The nonprofit group D.C. Vote called for an all-out boycott of vacation spots in the 1st Congressional District, saying Harris "acted in wanton disregard" of the views of D.C. residents.[13][3][14]

Before announcing the boycott, D.C. Vote said it had contacted local officials in the 1st district, informing them that the call for a boycott was not a reflection on them as businesses. It was emphasized that a similar attack on their local jurisdictions' laws would never be tolerated.[13][15][14] DC Vote Director Kimberly Perry explained that while District residents may not have a vote in Congress, they can vote with their wallets.[16] Alternate vacation spots in Delaware, Virginia and even Maryland were suggested instead of the Eastern Shore.[15]

Mayor Vincent Gray encouraged the boycott, saying "I don't think we should support someone who doesn't support us, who doesn't support democracy, period".[2][17] Gray also suggested that those D.C. residents who do visit Harris's district might picket his office.[13] In response, Harris attacked the mayor for his loss in the primary election.[18]

Organizers identified "#BoycottMD1D" as their Twitter hashtag.[15]

Reaction by politicians and businesses [ edit ]

Harris rebuffed efforts by DC Councilmember David Catania to meet with him about the boycott.[19]

Businesses in the Eastern Shore said that they hoped that other measures could be pursued besides a boycott of their businesses and said they welcome visitors of all political affiliations.[13]

Harris said city residents "know better" than to boycott his district's beauty spots. "Spending the weekend on the beautiful, family friendly Eastern Shore is more important than increasing drug use by D.C. teenagers."[13]

Other forms of protest [ edit ]

An initiative was launched encouraging businesses to ban Maryland Rep. Andy Harris and his congressional staff from their establishments.[20] At least one bike shop posted a picture of Harris with the words "Not Welcome".[21]

In 2015, protest efforts were re-energized following a segment on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Organizers arranged buses to the Eastern Shore to educate tourists and protest Washingtonians lack of voting rights, encouraging more calls to Harris' office.[22]<|endoftext|>EDIT– Apple reconsidered its decision and approved the Bobble Rep app after a media storm of protest was set off by this innocent little rant on my insignificant little blog. Below is the original blog post:

Just yesterday I was complaining about how Apple sometimes treats its customers as if they were stupid.

I had no idea how right I was.

Back in the late summer movie director/entrepreneur Ray Griggs, for whom I did all that art for his movie “Super Capers“, approached me with an idea for an iPhone app. The concept was a database of all the members of the United States Congress which allowed the user to find the names and contact information of their senators and congressional representative either via zipcode or by using the iPhone’s GPS location services. He wanted the visuals to be more than just a bunch of pictures, and asked me to do caricatures for each senator and representative.

That’s 540 caricature if you are keeping count (including those non-voting members of the house from Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.). FIVE HUNDRED FORTY. Five-four-Oh. Whew.

The caricature “heads” would be placed on one of 12 different bodies I has also drawn to make a cartoon, virtual “bobblehead” for each member of congress’s page. You can make the heads bobble by shaking your phone or flicking the head with your finger. Of course that’s just a novelty, and the real purpose of the app is the database that allows you to find out who your representatives in Washington are and how to contact them.

I did all 540 caricatures. In fact I finished the last few dozen in my hotel room in Washington DC prior to my USO trip. Ray and his programmers wrapped up the programming and the app was sent to Apple for approval.

Here are some of the visuals that were sent to Apple:

Ray had showed a lot of people this app, and there was a fair amount of interest in it. In fact, he tells me that he is booked to appear on both the Glenn Beck John Stossel show and the Mike Huckabee show next week to talk about the app and his upcoming documentary. Both Beck Stossel and Huckabee loved the app and that’s what precipitated his appearance on their shows.

Looks like all Ray will have to talk about is how ridiculous Apple’s app approval folks are, since the app was REJECTED yesterday . Here is Apple’s official rejection letter and the “reason”:

Subject: Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition 1.0: Application Submission Feedback Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request. Follow-up:¬¨‚Ä† 87280909 Dear Mr. Griggs, Thank you for submitting Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition to the App Store. We’ve reviewed Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section¬¨‚Ä† 3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states: “Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.” A screenshot of this issue has been attached for your reference. If you believe that you can make the necessary changes so that Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition does not violate the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review. Regards,

iPhone Developer Program

****************************

Wow. I’ve had rejections in theme parks before but never because my drawings were considered “obscene, pornographic, or defamatory”. I can see where they are coming from, though. Check out these “hard hitting” caricatures (said with tongue firmly in cheek):

CA- Harman

ND- Pomeroy

OH- Kucinich

Brutal, I know. I mean, if Dennis Kucinich ever saw that he’d doubtless curl up in the fetal position and cry for a week. What was I thinking, doing these over-the-top, cut-throat abominations of caricatures for a public iPhone app????

Wait… someone is at the door. MAYBE IT’S THE SECRET SERVICE!!!!!!

This is truly ridiculous. These caricatures aren’t mean or very exaggerated. They are simple, fun cartoon likenesses of the politicians and the purpose of the app is a informational database. There is no editorial commentary involved at all.

This is the very reason that Apple as a company should be taken to task over its ludicrous and inconsistent app approval policies. Clearly this app does not “ridicule public figures” and is violating nothing, but Apple has decided the world must be protected from the insidious subversiveness this would force upon the public and the brutal, heinous ridicule that my cruel, cruel caricatures would subject these politicians to.

Hard to believe that anybody could be this blind. Maybe they just have a monkey doing the approval of their apps, and he throws a dart at a dartboard with “approved” and “rejected” targets on it and whatever it hits is the fate of that app. That would explain how they could approve an app with a cartoon baby picture and when you shake the phone hard enough the baby dies. Yes, that one got through only to be yanked after some outraged people complained, but no way are a bunch of flame-throwing caricatures going to get through!!!

Unbelievable.