But Thomas had consistently rebuffed suggestions that he promote some of the reserves, arguing that it might backfire - a point that seemed to play out Wednesday.

Microsoft said in a statement that it was "disappointed" by the AOL suit, adding that it had consistently tried to cooperate with AOL and had been consistently rebuffed.

Polysar, the former Government-owned Canada Development Corporation, has consistently rebuffed offers from Nova, saying the bids did not reflect the company's underlying value.

Kwan repeatedly tries to get Olivia to reconsider the separation and is consistently rebuffed, a development that's pretty representative of the two sisters' relationship from the start.

Despite pleas for help, New York Republicans say they have been consistently rebuffed or ignored in Washington.

Attempts to contact the U.S. government in order to return were rebuffed consistently.

Charitable trusts cannot be used to promote political changes, and charities attempting such have been "consistently rebuffed" by the courts.

Meanwhile the indigenous guerrillas in El Salvador and Guatemala were consistently rebuffed in their efforts to negotiate, but these facts were suppressed as irrelevant, in conformity with the Washington-media version of the accords.

"This administration has put no limit on global warming pollution and has consistently rebuffed any suggestion to do so," he said.

However, the Marlins have consistently rebuffed all of the Miracle's attempts to resolve this issue, or even to negotiate with the Miracle.