As I was watching this video by Youtubers Mike and Alex of This is Mystical, I kept thinking to myself, "Why has this never been done before?"

It seems like fencing with literal fences should be a thing. Yet my half-hearted internet search for "fencing sport with picket fences" brought up lots of, well, fences.

So, touch to Mike and Alex for bringing the world this new sport and to Sam the "real fencing guy" for teaching us fencing's basics.

Big DT writes: Whilst pedalling today my mate Paul went to put his bike over a fence. Half way though he realised that it was electric! So he dropped it on the fence. This is a video of him and my mate Al trying to get it off! Please excuse the swearing and oh yes []

Rgraves says: I literally had JUST built this fence to keep Stella in the yard and was admiring it

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Originally posted here:
Fencing with picket fences / Boing Boing - Boing Boing

A 25-year-old alleged burglar and stalker proved good at jumping fences. So did Officer Joshua Castellano.

The pairs fence-jumping skills were on display in the Hill neighborhood Monday afternoon in a chase that ended up in the 25-year-old mans arrest.

Heres what happened, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman:

A DeWitt Street homeowner saw a man crawling through a bedroom window at house around 3:45 p.m., screamed, slammed the door and called 911.

Officers Castellano and Jeremy Mastroianni responded.

The 25-year-old was by the house and saw the officers arrive. So he walked across the street, into a backyard, then took off running when Castellano ordered him to stop. Castellano chased him in a pursuit that found them both hopping the fences of eight residential properties.

Mastroianni, meanwhile, hopped in his cruiser, and saw the man fall to the pavement trying to scale a tall fence on Rosette Street. Mastroianni handcuffed and arrested him.

A 16-year-old woman from the neighborhood subsequently told police that shed seen her ex-boyfriend in the neighborhood and suspected he was hunting for her. (Police had arrested the man weeks earlier after he allegedly threatened her.) It turned out that 25-year-old fence-jumper was the same guy and had an outstanding domestic violence warrant.

Police charged the man with second-degree burglary, eight counts of third-degree trespassing, staking, and interfering with an officer.

Another foot chase took place four and a half hours later Monday, also in the Hill. This one didnt involve fences. It did involve a U-Haul truck.

Heres what happened, according to Hartman:

Cops were on the lookout for a stolen U-Haul. At 8:17 Officer Christian Carfora saw a driver of a U-Haul truck run a stop sign on Washington Avenue. So he pulled the truck over as it entered a deli parking lot on Ella Grasso Boulevard.

The trucks passenger bolted. Two offers who arrived on the scene, Garry Monk and David Lavorgna, chased the man on foot while Carfora stayed with the U-Haul driver.

The fleeing man had a pistol in his hand. The officers drew their guns as the man brought his hands together in a firing stance. The man then obeyed an order to drop the gun. A fight ensued on school property, ending with the officers wrestling the 26-year-old man to the ground and handcuffing him. The man, a convicted felon, had a loaded and chambered semi-automatic 9mm handgun on him. Cops charged him with a variety of weapons, interfering and reckless endangerment offenses.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old man in the U-Haul drivers seat told Carfora that he didnt know the man whod fled from his passenger seat moments earlier that he was just some guy whod been helping him. Police charged the driver with having a weapon in a motor vehicle, running the stop sign, and driving with a suspended license.

It turned out the truck was not the stolen one cops had been looking for.

I never had my license suspended, but I would not have thought DMV would let you keep it. And I would have thought any rental company would need to see a license before letting a vehicle.

Wow, the second case with the U-Haul clearly could have led to a shooting, whether at or by the police. Assuming all as reported is accurate, hats off to Officers Garry Monk and David Lavorgna for their bravery and restraint in not firing on a man in a firing stance with a loaded and chambered semiautomatic handgun. Thats the best kind of police work! Thank you!

I think its pretty amazing that the cops didnt shoot this guy after he assumed a firing stance. With all of the complaints on this site about perceived police brutality, this tells you a real story about the NHPDs temperament and discipline.

25 year old dating a 16 year old? Thats not cool - and it sounds like he puts his hands on her based on the domestic violence warrant.

High school students are still developing and learning to cope with adversity or even trauma - this nonsense has a seriously detrimental impact on their social and emotional maturation. Hopefully this young man can change his ways and treat women with respect. Also, I hope this young lady gets some counseling and understands that she is too good for men that disrespect her.

Police Chief Anthony Campbell said he wanted to focus on ending domestic violence in New Haven. Does NHPD offer any services for victims? Does NHPD attempt to address root causes of domestic violence? The laundry list of charges he faces are irrelevant to the issue that has caused all of this: domestic violence.

The UHaul..good job by good cops!

See the rest here:
Cop, Suspect Hop Eight Fences | New Haven Independent - New Haven Independent

Good fences make good neighbors or so the old saying goes. And its true, to a point. A moderate amount of privacy is a valuable commodity.

But giving up some degree of personal privacy to work closely with neighbors can break down social fences and allow us to learn about our community.

A group of volunteers organized through Mancelonas Pathway Community Church this week leaped over social fences to lend their construction skills to neighbors. Several teams of three or four volunteers each participants in the Hands and Feet Camp tackled a variety of projects during the course of three days.

They just kind of threw us in, said volunteer Hannah Riffell. When people think of mission work, they think you have to go to Africa. But you can find mission work right in your own backyard.

Any communitys collective backyard is made up of all local residents backyards and front yards. Privacy is valuable, but so is the willingness to notice neighbors in distress and perhaps lend them a hand.

Strong communities rely on citizen involvement and on neighborly concern. That concern can be exercised in council meetings or in volunteer work. Participation in the community requires some breach in the wall of privacy. A cohesive community cannot truly exist without communication and cooperation.

The Hands and Feet Camp in Mancelona started with someone noticing that neighbors could use a little assistance. That, in itself, was a bit of an invasion of privacy but in a good way.

Everyone values privacy. It can feel awkward if neighbors are having a formal garden party and you want to catch some rays in your unfenced backyard. But, like everything in life, the quest for privacy can go too far.

Fences so tall they block the sun make it impossible to enjoy your own backyard. Social fences so sturdy that they prevent interaction with neighbors make it difficult to make friends and influence people. Not all fences are made from wood. Some are constructed of an uncaring attitude.

The practice of ignoring neighbors can turn us into a community of hermits, a collection of individuals who share a physical location but little else.

Paying attention to people who live down the street, particularly those who are elderly or challenged, can help us understand our community and our place in it. Responding to those residents needs by doing something replacing a worn wheelchair ramp, mowing a lawn or painting a house builds a stronger community.

The issue

n Neighbors helping neighbors

Our view

n Work given freely results in a more cohesive community

See original here:
Editorial: Leaping social fences helps build community - Traverse City Record Eagle

By Dan Clasgens • Aug 6, 2017

Getting players at a value is the goal of any fantasy owner. Having players produce well past their value is what wins fantasy leagues.

Weve already taken a look at both quarterbacks and running backs with extremely high ceilings, now we turn our attention to some upside wide receivers.

Heres a look at the players with the highest potential that are currently being selected outside of the top 15 wide receivers on the board, according to FantasyFootballCalulator.com:

With Watkins it all comes down to health. He was limited to just eight games in 2016 following surgery to repair a fracture of his fifth metatarsal and he had a second surgery this offseason. Hes now missed 11 games over the past two years. Even when he played last year Watkins wasnt very effective, finishing with just a pair of touchdowns while averaging just 3.5 receptions and 53.8 yards per contest.

The Bills declined to pick the option on his rookie contract this offseason, but lets not forget that Watkins put up top-five numbers during the second half of the season in 2015 when healthy. He averaged 100 yards and scored seven times during his final nine games of that campaign and helped deliver many fantasy owners to championships. Despite flashing a very high ceiling at times, Watkins has still just finished as a top-24 fantasy producer in 15 of his 37 career outings.

Buffalo lost 171 wide receiver targets from a year ago and a have a new offensive coordinator in Rick Dennison, who is expected to bring some life to the teams passing game. His current late-third-round price tag makes the Bills wideout one of this years highest-risk/highest-reward players heading into the 2017 fantasy season.

While Bryant delivers great upside, he comes with more risk than any other player on this list. Still not fully reinstated yet from his one-year suspension, the Steelers receiver is one slip-up away from another lengthy suspension. When on the field though, there is no denying his playmaking ability.

In the 10 games, he started in 2015 Bryant averaged five catches for 77 yards and scored seven touchdowns. In both 2014 and 2015 Bryant finished inside the top-15 at the position in fantasy points per game (standard). Pittsburghs offense is more explosive when Bryant is on the field. Over the last three seasons theyve scored 5.5 more points per game in the games hes played than the contests he has missed.

Theres hope that he could improve even more. At 6-foot-4 you would think hed better in the red zone, but to this point weve yet to see it. During his breakout campaign two years ago he only pulled in one of his nine targets inside the 10-yard line.

Few players in the league are capable are doing more with the ball in their hands than Hill, as evident by the fact that he scored a touchdown on every 9.4 touches in 2016, the best mark in the league of players with at least 75 touches.

After a slow start to the season, the fifth-round pick finished his rookie year 1,836 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns, including 24 carries for 267 yards and three touchdowns rushing. He played limitedly in college as a receiver and it took time for him to get going a year ago. He showed some signs of progress down the stretch though, by averaging five catches for 47 yards receiving over the final 10 games. That, coupled with injuries elsewhere, led to increased playing time as he played 56 percent of the teams snaps during the final nine weeks after being in on just 20.8 percent of the plays during the first seven games.

The Chiefs were confident enough in Hill to let Jeremy Maclin go earlier in the summer and that will translate into more snaps and targets for the second-year wideout. If Hill can stay healthy and get in the ballpark of 100 touches he should have no problem delivering on his current WR2 price.

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (8.02, WR37)

The first two seasons of his career havent quite been what the Dolphins were hoping for when they invested a first-round pick on Parker two years ago. Yet it hasnt been a total disappointment either. He pulled in 64 percent of his targets and had a 13.2-yard aDOT finishing while scoring 2.0 fantasy points per reception in 2016.

Parker reportedly has looked impressive to start camp, but like other weapons in the Dolphins passing attack the news of the Ryan Tannehills injury could have a negative impact. The hype train was starting to roll a bit fast on the third-year wideout so maybe this speed bump will help the breakout candidate still come at a good value in later drafts.

John Brown, Arizona Cardinals (8.09, WR41)

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Cardinals aging passing attack in 2017, but Brown may be the exception. After battling sickle-cell issues a year ago, the speedy wideout is a prime bounceback candidate heading into this season. He should play a major role in the Bruce Arians vertical passing game as the clear-cut favorite to be the WR2.

Brown bulked up this offseason to 185 pounds and has been drawing rave reviews during most of the teams offseason program. He could easily approach his 2015 numbers when he finished as WR21 in standard formats by pulling in 65 of his 99 targets for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. The fourth-year receiver has dealt with soft-tissue injuries since arriving in the league and is now currently nursing a quad injury. If he can stay healthy hell far outperform his current value.

Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers (9.02, WR43)

With Keenan Allen back healthy, at least for now, and the team drafting rookie wide receiver Mike Williams, many owners dismissed Tyrell Williams and his 2016 production. That is not an advisable approach. After Allen went down for the season with a Week 1 ACL injury, Williams emerged as the Chargers No. 1 wideout as he pulled in 69 catches for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 60 or more receiving yards in 11 of the teams 16 contests last season.

His combination of size, speed, and athleticism make him a legit NFL weapon. Allen will likely be the primary option in the passing game, but with Mike Williams status in question and Allens injury history Tyrell Williams has a ton of potential and is going off the board in the latter rounds of fantasy drafts. Even if Allen stays healthy he should manage to post decent WR3 numbers.

Josh Doctson, Washington Redskins (12.06, WR56)

If healthy, Doctson will have a chance to compete for a big role in the high-powered Washington passing attack. The 2016 first-round pick played in just two games as a rookie and finished with 66 yards and two catches. With DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon leaving via free agency, the second-year wideout will battle Jamison Crowder and newcomer Terrelle Pryor for wide receiver target shares in D.C. He is expected to Garcons role in the offense as the Z receiver.

Prior to entering the NFL, Docston was a highly touted prospect. His overall grade of 92.0 is the highest PFF grade to date for a college wide receiver. With Kirk Cousins and the Redskins poised for another big passing season there are very few players going off the board in Round 12 or later of fantasy drafts with more upside than Doctson carries in 2016.

Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (13.12, WR63)

Lockett was a popular breakout candidate a year ago after making some eye-popping plays as a rookie in 2015, but he could never get going and most of his second season as a pro was marred by injury. Before he suffered a broken leg in Week 16 though, Lockett was having a strong finish to his sophomore campaign, with 16 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown over his final three complete games, Weeks 13-15.

He has 4.4 speed and is electrifying when he gets the ball in his hands. Lockett was just activated from the PUP list this past week and is on pace to be a full go for the start of the season. Lockett is a dart worth throwing in the latter rounds on draft day. If he can beat out Paul Richardson and Jermaine Kearse to be the teams WR2 big things could be ahead for this post-hype sleeper.

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Swing for the fences: The highest-upside WRs at every ADP ... - Pro Football Focus (subscription)

Corey Dillon breaks loose on a 37-yard gain in the third quarter, leaving Denver safety Billy Jenkins in the truf behind him. Dillon set an NFL single-game rushing record with 278 yards.(Photo: Patrick Reddy/The Enquirer)

Corey Dillon made a career of leaving wreckage in his wake.

He left the Denver Broncos bruised and embarrassed during his 22-carry, 278-yard, then-NFL record rushing day in 2000. A string of opponents suffered his tenacious running style racking up six consecutive 1,100-yard seasons for the Bengals from 1997-2002.

Yet, Dillons notorious claim hed rather flip burgers than return to the team in 2000 and stating he wanted out in 2003 left scars on Bengals management before eventually being dealt to New England.

Hed win a Super Bowl during his greatest season with the Patriots in 2004 and career numbers should place him in more Hall of Fame conversations.

Still, the path to his ultimate moment in the league was tattered thanks to a rocky means to his Cincinnati end.

Dillon, 42, can see that now. Hes never made contact with the Bengals nor vice versa about a return to Paul Brown Stadium or opportunity to mend fences.

Until now.

As one of the top 50 players in Bengals history the team reached out to invite him back to be honored during a game, as is the case with 49 others. For him, the opportunity presents an ideal opportunity to repair the most significant carnage left behind during his career.

I am a grown man, I can admit when Im wrong, Dillon said. I did some stuff that was not cool, OK? Not cool at all. But, hey, at the end of the day I got the end result that I wanted. That was to play on a stage and actually winning a Super Bowl. Do I wish it would have been with them? Absolutely. Absolutely. It didnt work out that way. I dont have no ill will toward nobody there.

For anyone expecting a grudge, you wont find one at Dillons home in Los Angeles. All youll find is a man content in his anonymity and only concerned with finally breaking 80 on the golf course he plays nearly every day.

Hes been retired from the NFL for 10 years now. As in-your-face as Dillon was as a player, he took the opposite approach after football.

Dillon hasnt talked about his polarizing career in Cincinnati. In fact, outside of being tracked down by a tenacious TMZ reporter, even a Google search yields few signs of his whereabouts the last decade. But in speaking with The Enquirer last week for the Bengals Beat Podcast, he felt ready to be heard yet again. Only this time, the mature Dillon played the role of peacemaker rather than bully.

They say time heals wounds, Dillon said. I played seven years hard for the Bengals. Im a part of their history. They are a part of mine. I dont dwell on the past. What happened in the past is done. If I had a magic wand to go undo some stuff I would, but I cant. But that doesnt mean we cant move forward and have a better relationship. Thats how I look at it. I appreciate it for them giving me a call and inviting me back. That means a lot.

Bengals' running back Coey Dillon, 28, waves to the fans as he leaves Cinergy Field for the last time following the Bengals' win over the Cleveland Browns. Cincinnati Enquirer photo by Gary Landers.(Photo: Gary Landers/The Enquirer)

Dillons more than part of their history, hes at the forefront of their record books. His 246 rushing yards as a rookie against the Tenessee Oilers then set the NFL mark for most rushing yards in a game by a rookie. Four players topped the mark since led by Adrian Peterson in 2007, but Dillon still holds the top three individual rushing games in team history. His 278 against Denver tops the chart followed by 246 against Houston and 216 against Arizona in 2000.

He also owns the club record for career attempts (1,865), yards (8,061) and 100-yard games (28). He ranks 20th all-time in rushing yards (11,241), between Hall of Famers John Riggins and O.J. Simpson.

What makes Dillons records more impressive was during the six-year run in which he carried the load prior to Rudi Johnson taking over in 2003, heres a list of quarterbacks handing him the ball: Boomer Esiason (his final season in the NFL), Neil ODonnell, Scott Mitchell, Akili Smith, Gus Frerotte, Jon Kitna, Paul Justin.

On the day of Dillons greatest game and against one of the best defenses in football at the time, Smith and Mitchell combined to go 2 for 14 for 34 yards through the air.

Two. Fourteen. Thirty-four.

Dillons effort now ranks fourth all-time behind Peterson (30-296), Jamal Lewis (30-295) and Jerome Harrison (34-286). None of those three can boast the 12.6 yards per rush of that miraculous day at PBS.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon (28) holds up the ball after scoring on a two-yard run in 1999.(Photo: David Kohl/The Enquirer)

I take my record the way I broke it over theirs any day, Dillon said. Thats 22 carries. They took more carries, played worse defenses than I did and I stack my day up against theirs any day. They can have the record. Thats fine. The way I did it, Ill take that over all of them.

Dillons cleats, jersey and pants from the game went to the Hall of Fame and the Bengals gave him a plaque recognizing his effort.

Thats where a telling revelation in this tale emerges 17 years later. Dillon rolled up a career-high 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to powering the Patriots to the Super Bowl XXXIX title. By far his most dominant season. He says his championship ring has only been taken out two or three times since and lives in the darkness of a safe somewhere.

The plaque from the Bengals, however, hangs prominently in his Los Angeles home.

I clean that thing off every other day, Dillon said. Thats one of my favorite items that I have. It never gets old to me. Every time I go into my man cave and I look at it, it brings back that memory.

Thats why the invitation to return as part of the Bengals 50 best players program means so much to Dillon. He looks back understanding the error in the ways of his youth and preferring to remember what went right in Cincinnati rather than what went wrong.

Perhaps time does heal all wounds. And for Dillon, its time.

Whether you like me or not, the fact is Im one of their top 50 players, Dillon said. I would love to come back and have everything smooth, nice and peachy. Absolutely. Thats a dream. Come back and everybody is understanding and we let bygones be bygones. Ive been done with it. Im over it. Its been too long. I havent played in 10 years. Worrying about something that happened in 2003 is not on my list to deal with. Trust me.

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Corey Dillon wishes to mend fences with Bengals - USA TODAY

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Why take down a fence? Because, as farmers and ranchers understand better than most, economies are fluid: much of the barbed wire that once served to keep out livestock grows obsolete in an era when cash crops, not cattle, rule. Fences may feel permanent, but economies and cultures exist in perpetual flux. And in a volatile global economy ruled by volatile leaders, the fences we erect today to protect our assets are sometimes those that limit our potential tomorrow.

I grew up on a seventh-generation farm where Robert Frosts line good fences make good neighbors enjoyed the weight of papal decree. And yet, even for dont-fence-me-in types like me, Trumps $1.6 million budget for a brick-and-mortar wall along Americas southern border demands a common-sense reply.

In over 20 years of fence-building from Iowa to New Mexico, Ive learned that fences come with a built-in paradox. While they make it difficult to get in, they make it proportionally difficult to get out. On Western ranches, Ive put up hundreds of feet of fence in ruggedly beautiful country. And with each post sunk, Ive experienced a sinking feeling at the logic of willingly sacrificing the long view for the myopic and often mythic protections of a wall.

Consider, too, this inconvenient truth: fences require perpetual maintenance. Like the fraught decision to apply a first coat of paint to a home, the building of a fence commits the fencer, or in this case the fencing nation, to years of upkeep. Shouldnt risk-adverse, dont-tread-on-me types like me those of us predisposed to the fencers mentality in the first place be naturally wary of the no-horizon clause and no easy out commitment of a national wall? Even the urbanite putting up store-bought fence panel from a big box store knows the frustration at having to go around where once they exited freely at their own convenience. Its a straight-up paradox: in fencing others out, we often unwittingly box ourselves in.

Dont get me wrong, years of fence-building and mending have shown me that walls do serve a purpose, though they are far from the cure-all our current fencer-in-chief would have us believe. Used strategically and with care, they sometimes solve persistent problems between neighbors locked in territorial disputes or culture wars.

In the end, however, we should be cautious where our impulse to cordon off is concerned. We should weigh carefully our own motives, the alleged benefits and, most urgently, the literal and figurative cost of building walls the angels of our better natures might soon tear down.

Zachary Michael Jack is the author of many books on rural and agrarian culture, most recently Wish You Were Here: Love and Longing in an American Heartland (2017).

The rest is here:
Fences may keep others out, but they keep us in, too - Albuquerque Journal

PERRYSBURG The division of planning and zoning gave several recommendations for renovations and additions during a series of meetings on Monday.

During the Architectural Review Committee meeting, the board reviewed a signage package for Fort Meigs Family Chiropractic. Mark Easterling, zoning inspector, remarked that he found the requested signage to be within requirements. The board unanimously approved the recommendations and a motion for the package was moved forward.

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Fences, maidens, barns brought before Perrysburg planning and zoning - Sentinel-Tribune

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Snow fences along a Lower Valley highway are not going to be replaced any time soon.

State Department of Transportation officials were hoping to replace the State Route 241 fences that were destroyed in a range fire last year in time for this winter. But the work is being delayed so engineers can examine the area and determine the best way to proceed, said WSDOT spokeswoman Summer Derrey.

The fences were used to reduce the amount of snow blowing on to the road, a popular connector route for Lower Valley residents heading to the Hanford nuclear reservation and other points in eastern Washington.

This winter, the road was closed for the equivalent of nine days from mid-December to early February as a result of blowing snow.

Derrey said among the concerns are finding a cost-effective material that could survive wildfires like the one that destroyed the original fencing.

"Creating a wooden structure would be pointless, because it would burn," Derrey said.

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WSDOT: Need more time to replace snow fences along State Route 241 - Yakima Herald-Republic

Dear Carolyn: My fiancs sister and I have a strained relationship. I see her only at Thanksgiving, Christmas and occasional family events. She does not acknowledge me upon entering a room, her home, or my home. She heads straight to one of her family members without a word even when I acknowledge her. As the event progresses, she may engage me in a conversation, but only about her job, her vacation, her husband, etc. Never a question about me.

I believe this stems from her jealousy of my son and his accomplishments, as her son had the same opportunities, but did not put in the same effort as mine did.

I am not sure how to handle this and every time I see her she infuriates me.

Carolyn says: So your best explanation is your own awesomeness, basically.

Its rare that my sympathies change so abruptly over the course of a short letter. Paragraph 1, Im feeling your pain; seven words into Paragraph 2 Im on Team Sister and googling whiplash symptoms.

To each his own, of course, but if I had to pick one common denominator to human likability, Id choose this: humility, manifest as willingness to look inward for fault when something goes awry.

The alternative is to be the finger-pointer, the one who finds someone or something else to blame for her misfortune, thereby asserting by implication her own purity or righteousness. Those are the off-putting ways of a know-it-all.

This is not to say your fiancs sister is blameless; her ignoring you is bush-league stuff. She doesnt have to like you, but civility demands that she at least throw a hi-how-are-you your way. This lapse could hint at other failings, as well (though mere awkwardness seems possible, too).

But you cant fix what she does. You can only fix what you do and for that you have to be open to the possibility that some of your choices are flawed enough to need fixing. Which means admitting fault.

You give yourself a great place to start in your letter: Admit you are smug about your son and his accomplishments.

Then, admit your smugness could have at least some part in alienating your fiancs sister.

Then use this insight to approach her from now on not as a rude familial appendage, but as your equal in the struggle to be understood and appreciated.

Thats a fine place to start any do-over regardless: shared humanity.

Specifically, make the effort to see her, to see how you might legitimately annoy her instead of focusing only on how she annoys you and to see how you can be the one to disarm.

Im not offering this as some miracle path to friendship. You might just not like each other, and for good reasons.

But your marrying her brother means shes not going away, so doing the hard work to soften your opinion of her will be worthwhile no matter how it plays out; compassion mends what contempt tears apart.

Plus, this is not the last difficult relationship you will ever have to navigate. If you can go into these situations from now on with full awareness that sometimes you are the bad guy, then youll have taken the most important step toward not becoming just that.

E-mail Carolyn Hax at tellme@washpost.com.

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Hax: To mend fences, improve yourself - StarTribune.com - Minneapolis Star Tribune

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently held a marathon three-day hearing to discuss the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the Trump era. This effectively began the process of renegotiating one of our most important and controversial trade pacts.

To say NAFTA has been a political lightning rod would be an understatement. On the campaign trail, Trump wasted no opportunity to trash the pact, at one point saying, NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country.

Unfortunately, President Trump does not appear to be following the same pattern as his predecessor. In addition to taking steps to renegotiate NAFTA, the administration has engaged in several smaller, yet still troubling trade spats that have strained economic relationships in North America.

For instance, frustrations over access to Canadian dairy markets led to the administration retaliating with a hefty 20-percent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber, a key product for home building. This could significantly increase the price of new homes, asthe cost of lumber accounts for about 17 percent of the construction cost of the average house, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders.

Tensions have increased further due to a recent spat between U.S.-based Boeing and the Canadian company Bombardier. Boeing has alleged it is being harmed because Bombardier is dumping its aircraft in the United States. This is a peculiar claim because the dispute centers around a Bombardier airplane in a class where Boeing manufactures no competing products.

Nonetheless, the U.S. Commerce Department is currently reviewing Boeings request for duties and is expected to issue a ruling in September. This could raise the price of aircraft and, subsequently, result in higher prices for airline passengers.

Things are escalating even further now that the Trump White House is reportedly considering hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The exact size and scope of these tariffs which almost comically are being suggested in the interest of national security remains unclear. Yet, Canada, which is our largest source for imported steel, is far from pleased with the threat and currently pursuing an exemption.

The economic implications of these tariffs are enormous, as steel and aluminum are essential for the manufacturing of everything from automobiles to beer cans. Consumer prices could skyrocket if the administration puts these taxes into effect.

These are troubling times when it comes to free trade, broadly, and our critical relationship with our North American neighbors, specifically. The worsening climate will only make NAFTA renegotiation more difficult. Still, if done properly, this process could be beneficial to all three nations. That would require the Trump administration to approach the process with several key priorities in mind.

First, NAFTA renegotiation must not result in any new tariffs on imports or exports. One of NAFTAs crowning achievements was phasing out virtually all tariffs between the three countries. Moving in the opposite direction would be harmful to American businesses, consumers and taxpayers. Particularly problematic is the fact that import tariffs are almost always regressive in nature, meaning that lower-income Americans would be hit the hardest.

Second, the Trump administration should push to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade. This means working to open up Canadas highly protected dairy market and liberalize Mexicos protectionist sugar and energy policies. These will not be easy tasks and will arguably be more difficult in a trilateral arrangement than they were in the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership process.

Finally, its imperative for the administration to recognize the vital importance of a strong relationship between the three nations. In an economic sense, Canada and Mexico are our largest trading partners and 14 million U.S. jobs are directly dependent on these relationships.

Outside the economic realm, Canada and Mexico are important allies in geopolitical affairs. NAFTA renegotiation is about far more than economic growth and job creation. The stakes are extremely high, and its essential that this enormous undertaking leads to a stronger, more prosperous integrated relationship with our neighbors to the north and south.

Brandon Arnold is the executive vice president of theNational Taxpayers Union, which supports lower taxes and smaller government at all levels, and theNational Taxpayers Union Foundation. He has testified on fiscal policy before Congress and numerous state legislative committees, and has appeared on several television and radio networks, including C-SPAN, Fox News, Fox Business, BNN, and Russia Today.Previously, he was director of government affairs at the Cato Institute and a research analyst at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Follow him on Twitter@BrandonNTU.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.

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On NAFTA: Good trade deals, not fences, make good neighbors - The Hill (blog)