Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Mortgage Salesman

Volume 10, Issue 16 Friday, April 18, 2008

Hello All,

Have you ever been to the ballet? Annette and I got to see the Russian ballet in St. Louis years ago. The grace and beauty of the dancers was unbelievable. Since that time, I’ve been privileged to attend the Hulcher [http://www.hulcher.com/services_rr_md.html] and the Corman [http://www.rjcorman.com/emergency.htm] Ballets at several train wrecks.
These companies specialize in railroad emergency response and their performances are spectacular to watch. (One warning, never get close to a performance in progress. There are NO safe front row seats.) When they arrive on scene, as they did today, the show starts with a string of trucks hauling heavy equipment.
The unloading of this equipment is done with grace, speed and a minimum of delay. Then, there’s usually a short interlude where the ballet leaders gather to discuss their show plan. After that, the ballet usually continues nonstop until it’s complete.
It’s amazing to watch these men and machines work in coordination, moving constantly, never seeming to communicate except via hand signals. The use of sign language for their performances make sense as the roar of equipment drowns out most speech.
As huge side booms, bull dozers and track hoes move gracefully back and forth on the stage of the incident, teams of workers flow among the machines, connecting rigging, cutting through mangled steel, digging under wreckage and guiding the equipment. It’s truly incredible that this is all accomplished with such speed, efficiency and lack of injury.
Often, the behemoth machinery parts for a moment and you see gangs of men assembling wheel sets and pushing them along the track to be re-mated with cars that have been wrenched from the wreckage piles. Time after time, I watched men dart between wreckage and machinery, sure that there would be terrible consequences but relieved to see the individuals emerge unscathed.
It’s truly a moving spectacle that, to me, never gets old. If you ever get a chance to attend, don’t miss it. Just remember to stay a safe distance away from the main actors.
~~~~~
Magnolia made the national news today [http://www.ksla.com/Global/category.asp?C=2801&nav=menu50_2] when five full chlorine cars derailed along Shanhouse drive in north western Magnolia. There were no leaks, but much of Northern Magnolia was evacuated for several hours as a precaution while the cars were re-railed. We were privileged to assist in the response to this incident along with The Magnolia Fire Department, the Albemarle Hazmat Team, Magnolia and SAU Police Departments, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and several members of the Columbia County Office of Emergency Management.
As I’ve said before, we have a GREAT group of emergency responders and it’s always a pleasure to work with them, even though the cause of our meetings may be hazardous or even tragic.
I’m posting photos of the incident on the web and in the Word Version of “Da Bleat”.
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This brief article, which draws on the memories of Jack Welch (former CEO of GE) is an interesting read. Some interesting blunders of underlings (at least they were blunders in the exalted eyes of the boss).
Blunder #2 strikes home with lots of folks. [http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-4_things_you_should_never_say_to_the_ceo-309]
Thanks to Sam Boggs
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We visited Dr. Carlotta Wells at the Southwest Arkansas Foot & Ankle Center (234-2740 / 1010 North Dudney, Suite A, Magnolia) this week. I’ve been battling a “crack” in the sole of my feet for some time. Burt’s Bees Coconut foot cream helped most of my diabetic foot problems but this “crack” just refused to heal up.
Dr. Wells is GREAT! She not only diagnosed the problem and gave me a treatment regime that I think will work, she also gently took care of some nail problems I’ve had. If you have diabetes, you need to see a Podiatrist on, at least, an annual basis and I highly recommend Dr. Wells.
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I owe an apology to an Anthem Better Care Registered Nurse. Annette has five herniated discs (three in her neck and two in her lower back) and it’s been a month since Dr. Safman prescribed a new medicine for Annette’s pain. This is a fairly new FDA approved drug that is widely recognized as successful in treating pain like Annette’s.
However, we’re caught between the Doctor and the Insurance Company. The Dr. says (and I saw the paperwork myself) that he filled out and filed the “pre authorization” paperwork required by the insurance company for this new drug. Anthem says they never got the paperwork.
We’ve been back and forth for over four weeks while Annette’s pain only gets worse.
So, Thursday, when the Anthem Better Care Nurse called to see how Annette was doing, I told her. Of course, the Nurse has nothing to do with the approval of prescriptions but she was on the phone and I was tired and angry and I wasn’t pleasant to her.
It wasn’t fair to her. And it didn’t help Annette. So, if you talk to one of those Anthem nurses, tell them I’m sorry for “venting” on the nurse. If they call back, I’ll tell them.
~~~~~
The Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff is coming - MAY 17TH
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Mark Your Calendars!!!! Albemarle Kids' Fishing Tournament - May 31
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Each week the Defense Department highlights military personnel who have gone above and beyond in the war. [http://www.defenselink.mil/heroes/] - - CWO Michael Zanders
Hometown: Gary, IN - - Awarded: Bronze Star

April 15, 2006 would prove to be unlike any other day during his near 800 hours of combat flight in Iraq. In Mosul around mid-day, Zanders received a "911" call from a nearby combat outpost. Zanders took off in one of two Kiowa Warrior helicopters from Forward Operating Base Mosul and arrived on site in minutes. As they approached, they saw gunfire and explosions blackening the desert. The heavy dust rising from the chaos obstructed the choppers’ view of the kill-zone, forcing them to fly as close to the ground as possible. After frantic communiqués from the combat outpost warning their position could be overrun, the Kiowas helicopters went into action. Zanders’ sister ship took the lead. Both choppers unloaded on the attacking insurgents with volleys of high explosive rockets and 50 caliber machine gun fire.
After several low-flying orbits of the battlefield, the other chopper took hostile fire and was forced to pull out of the fight. The pilot had smelled gas and performed an emergency landing within a kilometer of the engagement zone to assess the damage. Zanders kept one eye on the downed aircrew and the other on the still pitched battle.
The Army pilots had feared such a situation could arise. With insurgents threatening to overwhelm their haphazard landing zone, the pilots knew there was no time to wait. Without pause, Zanders landed next to the downed crew – the most vulnerable sort of maneuver for a helicopter – and signaled to the pilot and copilot of the fellow Warrior to climb onto his craft’s weapons struts and hold on. With a "thumbs up" from the precariously secured aircrew, Zanders climbed back into the sky, and flew at over 80 knots back to FOB Mosul.
Flying through the Iraqi air with an additional aircrew barely on board made for a challenging flight in the insurgent–contested territory. In the air, as Zanders flew passed a Black Hawk helicopter that had scrambled to perform the rescue, Zanders saw the surprise on the face of the passing pilots as they took in the sight of the downed aircrew strapped to the side of Zanders’ chopper. That heroic act – which Zanders modestly called "instinct" – was later confirmed to be the first ever attempted of its kind.
Successfully evacuating the aircrew at the base, Zanders prepared to head back out. The situation at the besieged combat outpost was stabilized while he refueled and rearmed, but instead of debriefing, he took off again to provide security around the downed chopper until it could be recovered.
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The latest from Michael Yon, the foremost “milnews” blogger on the web.
~
Dear friends,

Our soldiers are turning defeat and disaster into victory and hope. But we could still fumble—if the American people don’t hear the truth now. There remain serious perils in Iraq [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/] and this is a time for action.
To get the message out, please help me get Moment of Truth in Iraq [http://yhst-80051593642880.stores.yahoo.net/] stocked in bookstores, and especially in free libraries and military exchanges.
Here’s how: Please click on “Handout for Bookstores and Libraries” below. This will open a printable one-page handout that can be given to any local bookstore manager, librarian, or military exchange. (Or all three if you can.)
The handout will tell bookstores and libraries everything they need to order Moment of Truth in Iraq. But what will really motivate retailers and librarians is you, the reader, a member of their community, requesting the book.
So please click [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=758:downloads-banners-and-code&catid=65:moment-of-truth&Itemid=118] and ask your bookstore, library, or military exchange to please stock Moment of Truth in Iraq today.
Moment of Truth in Iraq is available on Amazon.com. We have hit the Amazon top 50 before the book even hit stores or libraries.

Thank you for your help,
Michael

P.S. To make this appeal at even more effective, please give a copy of the flyer to a friend or family member and ask him or her to do the same. My publisher says that two people asking the same library or store to stock a book is far more effective than one person asking.

P.P.S. This may be the biggest favor I’ll ever ask for, but if we pull this off we can get the message about what our soldiers have achieved to millions of people!
~~
Greetings,

I'm in Florida, but on the way to Washington DC. It's great to touch American soil again. I miss this place a lot--especially when bullets are flying by my head in the war. Where we are winning.
"Moment of Truth in Iraq" [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0980076323/ref=s9subs_c3_img1-rfc_p-2814_g2_95_2_1_1_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0HMATRS698J7W2YF844Z&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240801&pf_rd_i=507846]is selling very well. I am very surprised; lot's of folks apparently really do want to know the truth about Iraq. My publisher just called my attorney with a quote from the movie "Jaws." The publisher said, "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat."
"Moment of Truth" has actually made it to #8 on Amazon.com before it even hit bookstores. Additionally, I signed the title pages (which were inserted after they were printed) for 5,200 books in Mosul, and all those books are almost sold out. (I'll sign a couple more thousand in DC, if folks keep ordering them.)
Your help is amazing. Folks who are taking the printable flier [http://www.michaelyon-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=758:downloads-banners-and-code&catid=65:moment-of-truth&Itemid=118] to stores are making a real difference. Barnes & Noble will stock it very soon largely thanks to your efforts. Now we have to go after Borders
and Books-a-Million and especially libraries and military exchanges.

A few more folks buying from Amazon might push is to #1. And then the message surely will start to get out.

V/r,

Michael
Florida
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Now what did the bible say about the number of a man?
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First Enlistment Contract with Biometric Signature
The Department of Defense announced today the signing of the first military enlistment contract using biometric technology at the Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS), located at Fort Meade, Md.
Eliminating the traditional “wet” signature using a pen, an applicant simply places an index finger on a special reader that records the fingerprint on an electronic enlistment contract, making the enlistment official. The enlistment contract becomes a part of the service member’s permanent electronic personnel record.
The biometric signing of the contract is the first step in a multi-year effort by the U. S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) to leverage technology in a way that streamlines applicant enlistment processes and eliminates the more than 70 million pieces of paper per year currently expended.
Referred to as “e-Security,” the biometric signature protects the integrity and heightens security of the enlistment process, as well as paving the way to paperless enlistment recordkeeping. The successful implementation of e-Security is the product of a six-year effort by USMEPCOM and the project’s prime contractor, Northrop Grumman.
The MEPS will initially obtain each applicant’s biometric at first contact. The biometric will be used to verify the individual’s identity and track his or her progress through the qualification process: aptitude testing, medical screening, background check, enlistment contracting and departure for travel to initial entry training.
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We extend our heartfelt sympathy to George Quick and his family. George's wife, Janice, passed away Thursday afternoon.
Funeral service for Janice Quick were held Monday,
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Magnolia Blossom Festival (May 16-17) T-Shirts are now on sale! S - XL $11, XXL $13 and XXXL $15.
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Parents Argue Over Which Gang 4-Year-Old Son Should Join

A couple can't agree on which gang their 4-year-old toddler should join.
A fight about the decision led to a public disturbance with the father's arrest. Joseph Manzanares went to the video store where his girlfriend worked, threatened to kill her and knocked over several video displays, police told KMGH Denver.
Police arrested Manzanares at his home, Commerce City police Sgt. Joe Sandoval told KMGH Denver.
The girlfriend told authorities they were fighting over which gang their son should join. The girlfriend, who is black, is a member of the Crips while Manzanares, who is Hispanic, belongs to the Westside Ballers.
"They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised," Sandoval said. "Basically, she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would 'claim.'"
Thanks To Barry Brownlee
~
Well, at least they care enough to plan for the kid’s future associations. . . . Bug
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COMMUNICATION NOTICE: We have switched Internet Service Providers and our e-mail address is now kc5hii@suddenlink.net.
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Last week we watched (from NetFlix) [Ratings are my own]:
The Island (2005) [4] Starring Ewan McGregor ... Scarlett Johansson ... Djimon Hounsou
Veronica Mars: Season 3: Disc 3(2006) [7.5] Starring Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni
Veronica Mars: Season 3: Disc 4(2006) [7.5] Starring Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni
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Last week we read; The translator : a tribesman's memoir of Darfur / Daoud Hari. And Blasphemy / Douglas Preston.
We’re currently reading; The accidental sleuth : an Emma Winberry mystery / by Helen Macie Osterman.
We recommend “The Translator” a biography of a young man from Darfur caught up in global politics and economics. But his outlook on life is uplifting and revealing.
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http://www.shelfari.com/BugsBleat/shelf?ec=7D790D174EFS18012
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We saw two incredible websites during our missions conference.
First: www.lookingforgod.com then click on the Father's Love Letter (about 5 minutes)
People responding to the Love Letter (praying a prayer to receive Jesus Christ) show up by their city in the second website (this will bless everyone who wants people to know Jesus as Savior).
www.godrev.com/joy-in-heaven
This is a real time, place reporting on people receiving Jesus through the first website.

Thanks to Waneta
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The photos on the front of this week’s “Bleat” show chlorine railcars lying along Shanhouse drive in Magnolia.
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We’ve now got several addresses on the web for "Da Bleat." For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Last quarter’s issues can be seen at http://www.bugsbleat4q08.blogspot.com.
Our photos are posted at http://www.bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com.
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Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
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Recipe(s) of the week - - - Quick Tacos - [If you need to watch your sodium intake, use onion powder instead of onion salt.] - Number of Servings: 8 - Serving Size: 1 taco

Ingredients
90% lean ground beef --- 1 lb
water 5/8 cup ---
cumin 1 tsp ---
chili powder 1 Tbsp ---
cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp ---
onion salt 1 tsp ---
6-inch flour or corn tortillas 8 ea ---
shredded, reduced-fat cheddar cheese ½ cup ---
shredded lettuce 1 cup —
large tomato, diced 1 ea ---
Hot pepper sauce (optional) 1 ea ---

Preparation Instructions
1 Brown beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. Drain fat.
2 Add water, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and onion salt and simmer 2-4 minutes.
3 Warm tortillas. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup taco meat, 2 tablespoons cheese, lettuce, tomato, and hot pepper sauce.

Exchanges Per Serving

1 Starch
1 Lean Meat
1 Vegetable
1 Fat

Nutrition Information (Amount per serving)
Calories 211
Calories From Fat 77
Total Fat 9 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Cholesterol 39 mg
Sodium 410 mg* [* Not appropriate for low sodium diets.]
Total Carbohydrate 19 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 2 g
Protein 16 g

This recipe is from Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking. This remarkable book provides the perfect combination of easy and elegant recipes so you have the widest range of choices for making quick, tasty meals every day. Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking was written by a winning chef-dietitian team, bringing you truly delicious food with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. Included are daily menus and complete shopping lists for every week--and recipes to celebrate the foods that make each season of the year special. You couldn't ask for a better companion in the kitchen.

You can order a copy of this and many other cookbooks from our online bookstore [http://store.diabetes.org/?WTLPromo=RECIPEStextlink] or call 1-800-ADA-ORDER (1-800-232-6733).
~~~~~
BreakPoint
With Chuck Colson
Israel's Exposed Flank
4/18/2008

The Consequence of Withdrawal

A crowd of students was studying in a rabbinical seminary library in Jerusalem last month when a gunman opened fire. Seven Israelis and one American were killed, nine others wounded. Before their blood had dried on the library floor, thousands of Palestinians were celebrating in the streets while Hamas leaders promised more attacks. According to CBS News, “At mosques in Gaza City . . . many residents performed prayers of thanksgiving—only performed in cases of great victory to thank God.”

This tragedy weighs heavily on my heart—as it does, no doubt, on the hearts of many Americans, and well it should. Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East—and America’s only true ally there. Only Israel allows freedom for all faiths: freedom of the press, freedom for women, and a respect for human life unknown in the Muslim world. Israel is the only country that mourns when America mourns, and that stands up for the same values we do.

So last week, while American General David Petraeus appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss the war in Iraq, I wonder how many Americans thought about what withdrawing from Iraq might mean for the Jewish state: probably not many—certainly not the media nor the politicians screaming for an immediate withdrawal.

Whether we should have invaded Iraq or not in the first place is something historians will debate for years to come. But withdrawing without establishing order and some measure of stability is another matter—one with devastating consequences. A bloody civil war in Iraq would only be the beginning.

U.S. leaders have to consider what will also happen if the United States abandons Iraq, and that is, Israel would be placed in great danger. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has already promised to “wipe Israel off the map” as soon as he gets the chance.

Anybody who thinks that an American withdrawal from Iraq would not embolden Iran and its apocalyptically minded leader is fooling himself. And I am not alone in thinking this.

Four years ago, I was invited to a luncheon for Christian leaders to meet Ehud Olmert, now Israel’s prime minister. I asked Mr. Olmert, at the lunch, what effect the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces had had on Israel. He looked startled. “You would have to ask me?” he said. He then told me the invasion had secured Israel’s east flank—and that military might was the only thing the Islamic world would understand. The Iraq invasion, he added, was one of the great steps that had been taken to protect Israel and bring about eventual peace in the Middle East.

I am assuming he feels the same way now, four years later.

Many of us have forgotten—perhaps because the press declines to air it—that videotape of Palestinians dancing with joy on September 11. Just as they celebrate the mass murder of Americans, Palestinians celebrate the mass murder of Israelis. Iranian-backed Hamas leaders officially bless the massacres, as does the military wing of the PLO, which declares them heroic acts.

Much of the world shrugged at this latest mass murder in Israel. But we, as followers of Jesus Christ, can do no less than raise our voices in outrage for our elder brothers in the faith. Sound the alarm over the consequences if we pull out of Iraq. How many friends do you suppose we would have left in the Middle East if Israel is destroyed?

The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters by Chuck Colson with Harold Fickett.

For Further Reading and Information

Alex Spillius, “John McCain: Early US pull-out from Iraq will cause ‘genocide,’ UK Telegraph, 16 March 2008.

“Gunman Kills 8 at Jerusalem Seminary,” CBS News, 6 March 2008.

Sarah Baxter, “US Braced for Bloody Pull-Out,” Times (London), 29 July 2007.

Seven experts discuss strategies on how to get out of Iraq at the Guardian.

Steve Watson, “Iraq Mission Accomplished: They’re Not Fighting Us Anymore, They’re Fighting Each Other,” InfoWars, 23 November 2006.

“Bush Says Iraq War is Good for Israel,” Cephas Library, 16 December 2005.

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, “The Israel Lobby,” London Review, 23 March 2006.

Jorge Hirsch, “Israel, Iran, and the US: Nuclear War, Here We Come,” AnitWar.com, 17 October 2005.

Tim Butcher, “Wipe Israel off Map, Says Iran’s President,” UK Telegraph, 27 October 2005.

Shirzad Bozorghmehr, “Iranian Leader: Wipe Out Israel,” CNN International, 27 October 2005.

Nazila Fathi, “Wipe Israel ‘Of the Map’ Iranian Says,” International Herald Tribune, 27 October 2005.

“Ahmadinejad: Wipe Israel off Map,” Aljazeera.net, 28 October 2005.

Further thoughts from the Prime Minister of Israel in “An Interview with Ehud Olmert.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 070928, “Two Visions: Tyranny and Liberty.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 061205, “Why Iran Matters: Ahmadinejad and the Mahdi.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 061204, “Later Rather than Sooner: Withdrawing from Iraq.”

© 2008 Prison Fellowship - - http://www.breakpoint.org/site_hmpg.asp
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Words of the Week:
abulia: loss or impairment of the ability to act or to make decisions.
pin money: money for incidental expenses; also, a trivial sum.
miasma: a thick vaporous atmosphere, often noxious.
objurgate: to scold or rebuke sharply.
roister: to revel; to carouse.
inveigle: to persuade or obtain by ingenuity or flattery.
portent: a sign or omen.
lambaste: to scold sharply; also, to beat.
from Dictionary.Com
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"The greatest blunders, like the thickest ropes, are often compounded of a multitude of strands. Take the rope apart, separate it into the small threads that compose it, and you can break them one by one. You think, 'That is all there was!' But twist them all together and you have something tremendous." - Victor Hugo

"What we are, that only can we see. All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobbler's trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar's garret. Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs, though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We grow weary of things (and perhaps soonest) which we most desire." - Samuel Butler

"To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be." - Miguel de Unamuno

"A man may be so much of everything that his is nothing of anything." - Samuel Johnson

"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval." - George Santayana

"The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others." - Bertrand Russell
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Featured Links: Columbia County’s Natural Disaster Mitigation Plan
http://www.geofemme.com/columbia/ColumbiaComplete.pdf
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BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://breakingchristiannews.com/

Expelled: a Movie that Exposes the Startling Bias against Intelligent Design
Aimee Herd (April 18, 2008)
"We want to break that open so these [scientists] feel safe enough to come out and express their disbelief, or at least their questions, about Darwinism without having their careers crushed. I'm hoping this film will be a catalyst to help drive that. We've got a long way to go, but the goal here is freedom in science…when people can freely discuss ideas, the truth will come."
The following is an exclusive interview with Mark Mathis, Associate Producer for the film, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."

Mark, how did you originally become involved with this film? What was it that made you want to work on it?

I was contacted by one of the executive producers. They needed someone with my experience, who could line up interviews, then one thing led to another and before I knew it I was right in the middle of the whole deal.

You're a 'media veteran'… Author of the book Feeding the Media Beast, you've been a consultant to such companies as AOL, the NFL and last year you played an ABC News reporter in the movie The Astronaut Farmer. As you consider your most recent experience—with the film Expelled—was it a different 'animal,' working on that, especially considering how the subject matter was received? And did you and Ben [Stein] expect a derogatory reaction?

Yes, we fully expected that the mainstream press would be very antagonistic to the film, but I was a little surprised at the level of animosity and hostility towards us. The thing that has surprised me is the number of journalists who really don't even want to pretend that their trying to maintain a balance—they've so given over themselves to their own biases and their own worldview that they really just come after you.

Why such an intense reaction against the movie?

Well, it strikes at their core belief system, and this is why we're getting the same reaction out of the elite scientific establishment. What our film exposes is that there really is a debate about science, and it certainly is not a debate as the elitists portray it—science vs. religion. This is a 'world view' battle, and that's why the responses are so negative, so hostile. We're challenging the foundational principle of an entire belief system. Darwinism is the scientific validation of atheism….

Mark, talk about the film, is it truly a documentary that explores both sides?

It definitely explores both sides, but more than anything, it's a 'pro-freedom' film. What we're saying is that Darwin had some compelling insights into what we see in life, but by no means is it the entire picture. When you really take an honest look at the science, and you look at some of the issues that are conveniently ignored by the established Darwinists [there is much more to consider]. Such as the cosmos; we've got hundreds of components that have to be absolutely perfectly finely-tuned, and if even one of them is out of sync by only a little bit, then life's not even possible. The size of the earth, the tilt of the earth on its axis, the composition of its core, the size of our moon, the positioning of our moon to our planet, and of our planet to the sun, or of the solar system to the galaxy; all of these have to be perfect in order for life to exist, is that plausible to think that this all happened by accident? But really, the bigger question—ignored in Darwinism and most biology—is how did life come from non-life? Darwinism begins with the cell, but the cell is enormously complex—beyond even what we can comprehend—so how did we get from an inanimate substance like mud, to the cell…with no guidance, no programming, just sheer accidental mutation and selection? It defies reason! And yet they persecute and expel any scientist who even talks about the possibility of design, and that is wholly dishonest, immoral, and unscientific. We're arguing that the possibility that we can scientifically detect design in the universe should be allowed to be discussed freely and openly, which is good for science.

When you first went into this project, did you land on one side or the other?

Well, I came to the debate with a belief system, I am a Christian. But I didn't really have any depth of knowledge about the subject [of Darwinism] itself. So it was very interesting to travel the United States and the world, interviewing scientists and talking to them about these issues, seeing the logic and reasoning applied, and seeing my own view—as well as others on the crew—change a little and move in one direction. A lot of these scientists that we interviewed, the Darwinists, are very likable people, and they're very convinced that they're right. But I don't think their argument is anywhere near as solid as they might think. They don't seem to realize it's their philosophy that's driving them.

Well, Intelligent Design connotes accountability on some level, which they don't want to be a part of.

Right, it's that, and it's also ego. [Darwinists] are the "high priests" of "origins." Everybody defers to them; they control the data, the power, they have all the money, and they like this favored position where no competition to their idea is allowed. And of course, if you're an atheist, the worst thing you could imagine is having to have accountability to a Higher Power.

Talk about Ben Stein, was this your first time working with him?

It was my first time working with Ben, and the reason he got involved was that he saw this as a "freedom" issue. It's not good when societies become less free, and it's certainly not good for science. Having that completely unnecessary restriction in science appalled him. It was very interesting working with Ben, we went to London and Berlin, and different places around the U.S. Ben would sit down and interview these scientists—he's kind like a Colombo character—he would ask very basic and straightforward questions, playing kind of dumb to a degree. [In that way] he would get people to reveal what was really going on. He is a lawyer, so he plays that role pretty well.

What can the public do—the average person—to help facilitate even just the discussion of Intelligent Design?

Well, I hope the first thing they will do is to go out this weekend and watch the film, because they're going to get a tremendous amount of information about what's really going on in this controversy. They'll see how important it is to our culture and directly to their lives. This is not just an academic issue, [Darwinism] validates all kinds of social issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, or eugenics. These are the kinds of things that people should be thinking about, and why the scientific validation of a naturalistic, materialistic world has a very real impact on our culture and society.

So, the first thing I would encourage people to do is to go see the movie. And then I would encourage them to start discussions among themselves, and then start talking to people who are like-minded about the way that we can break this grip in science that is held by the elitist establishment that denies the existence of anything outside of human intelligence. One thing we're seeing now is academic freedom bills that are being discussed and pushed through in legislatures, in Missouri, in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, where we can provide some legal protection for university professors and teachers to be allowed to at least acknowledge that the idea of Intelligent Design exists. Because these university professors are being villainized, losing their jobs and getting pushed out, simply for disagreeing with the establishment view. If Darwinism was such a strong and compelling idea, why is it that there is such a fear in the establishment that they cannot allow any challenge to exist?

I think the general public have the view that there are only a handful of Intelligent Design-oriented scientists out there, but in fact there are many more than we are aware of, is that true?

Many, many more. Anecdotally, I can tell you this… because the atmosphere is so hostile [toward Intelligent Design] it really gets broken down into three categories. First you have the elitists—who really run the show and the big science organizations along with the people who hold the power within the university system—who are absolutely committed Darwinists, they think that anybody who believes in God or in ID is stupid. Then you have a second group of people, who haven't really studied Darwinism to the degree that they would really know [the inconsistencies], and they say, "I don't know, but I think the [Darwinists] have it all figured out. Then you have a third group, which is much, much larger than the scientific establishment is willing to admit to itself, (perhaps tens of thousands of scientists in critical areas like geology, anthropology, and biology) who've looked at this theory, and say, "I don't believe that this Darwinian theory accounts for all that we see. I believe there is intelligence in this universe outside of ourselves." A lot of these people believe that intelligence is God, but they're keeping quiet because they've seen what happens to anyone who dares to step out of line. They don't want to have their career destroyed, so for now, they're staying quiet. I think that is a very large group of scientists.

We want to break that open so these people feel safe enough to come out and express their disbelief or at least their questions about Darwinism, without having their careers crushed. I'm hoping this film will be a catalyst to help drive that. We've got a long way to go, but the goal here is freedom in science…when people can freely discuss ideas, the truth will come.

Find out more about the movie "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," featuring Ben Stein, by using the link provided. There is also a tool on the website to see where the film is being shown in your area. "Expelled" opens in theaters across the U.S. on Friday, April 18th.
Source: BCN exclusive interview

Statements by Pope Benedict XVI on Traditional Marriage, Abortion and the Beauty and Power of America's Religious Heritage
Scientists Say Mushroom Extract May Stop Breast Cancer
Powerful Ring-Like Oscillations Reflect the "Hum" of the Earth; Like a Giant Symphony of Unexpected Tunes
Millions of Americans Expected to Gather on May 1st to Pray for America
London to Host Pentecost Festival Featuring Bollywood-Style Gospel Musical
Rabbi Removes Prayer Notes from Western Wall, Buries Them in Mount of Olives According to Jewish Law
Charlton Heston in Memoriam: "Wholly Taken" With Playing Moses
Virginia Tech: One Year of Healing after the Tragedy
On his 81st Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI receives Hardy Welcome in Washington DC
Ben Stein Exposes the Agenda behind the "Darwinian Machine" in EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed
Getting Down to Basics: Study Reveals Divorce, Breakdown of the Family, Costs American Taxpayers More Than $112 Billion a Year
Israeli President Attends Ceremony in Poland Commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
President Bush to Honor Pope Benedict XVI by Meeting His Plane at Andrews Air Force Base
Dolphins in the Line of Duty
Mountain Renamed to Honor Native American Soldier Lori Ann Piestewa, Slain in Iraq in 2003
Violent Campaign Ends With Peaceful Elections in Nepal
Christians Build Reverse Confessional on Campus
Mother of Soldier Killed in Iraq Honor's Her Son's Memory by Donating Gifts to Iraqi Children, Community
White House Frustrated by Unfair Media Bias Forced to Use Own Website to Appeal to American Sense of Justice
Survey Reveals Vast Majority of Christians in All Key U.S. Denominations Believe They Have a "Moral and Biblical Obligation to Love and Support Israel and Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem"
For Pope Benedict XVI, Defending the Right to Life is Very Personal
Watch Children around the World Praying and Praising God

310 2nd Ave SE
Albany, Oregon 97321
541-928-2642
E-mail editor@breakingchristiannews.com
US Orders: 1-866-358-7426
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GCF: Mortgage Salesman

Emailed to me by a friend (Thanks, Howard) -Tom

If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! A smile will enhance the quality of your life. Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the Good Clean Fun web site http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor/ Unsubscribe info for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by F-Secure before it was sent.
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The phone rang and the lady picked it up... It was a salesman from a Mortgage refinance company. "Do you have a second mortgage on your home?"

"No," she replied.

"Would you like to consolidate all your debts?"

"I really don't have any," she said.

"How about freeing up cash for home improvements?” he tried.

"I don't need any. I just recently had some done and paid cash," she parried.

There was a brief silence, and then he asked, "Are you looking for a Husband?"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Lost Wallet

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
----------------------------------------------

While shopping in a supermarket I heard the following over the PA system:

"A wallet containing a large sum of money was found, but it contains no ID. Will those laying claim to it please form a double line at the customer service counter?"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: New Apartment

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
----------------------------------------------

A property manager of single-family residence was showing a unit to prospective tenants and asking the usual questions.

"Professionally employed?" he asked.

"We're a military family," the wife answered.

"Children?"

"Oh, yes, ages nine and twelve," she answered proudly.

"Animals?"

"Oh, no," she said earnestly. "They're very well behaved."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Family Vacation

Emailed to me from another humor list (Humor_G) -Tom To subscribe to Humor_G, send a blank email to: Humor_G-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Preparing for a family vacation, my sister-in-law and her husband explained to their young children that they would be sitting in the car for a very long time. The kids were told they would not be arriving at their destination until after dark, and were warned not to keep saying, "Are we there yet?"

After a few minutes of peaceful driving, their five-year-old daughter perked up. "Is it dark yet?"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: I Hope I'm Sick

Emailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to: gcfl-request@gcfl.net with subject = add
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A fellow was sitting in the doctor's waiting room, and said to himself every so often, "Boy, I hope I'm sick!"

After about the fifth or sixth time, the receptionist couldn't stand it any longer, and asked, "Why in the world would you want to be sick, Mr. Adams?"

The man replied, "I'd hate to be well and feel this bad."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Employment Search

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
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My employment search preoccupied our family for months. One day my husband told our three boys that to make things easier for me, he had a list of jobs for them.

They were all silent until our six-year-old spoke up: "When are the interviews?"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Grandpa's Driving

Emailed to me another humor list (Tickled by Tony - Clean) -Tom Subscribe to the Tickled by Tony list by sending an email to: tickledbytony_clean-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Grandpa was driving with his 9 year old granddaughter and beeped the horn by mistake. She turned and looked at him for an explanation.

He said, "I did that by accident."

She replied, "I know that, Grandpa."

He replied, "How did you know?"

She said, "Because you didn't say, 'Idiot!' afterwards."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Memory Improvement

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
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I knew that as I was getting older, I was finally able to admit that certain things were starting to "slip". In an effort to prevent this memory "slippage", I went enthusiastically to a three-hour seminar on memory improvement.

After an hour I slipped out. I took the same course, given by the same professor, last year.
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Country Tunes

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
----------------------------------------------

My wife and I were browsing in a crafts store when I noticed a display of country-style musical instruments. After looking over the flutes, dulcimers and recorders, I picked up a shiny, one-stringed instrument I took to be a mouth harp. I put it to my lips and, much to the amusement of other shoppers, twanged a few notes on it.

After watching from a distance, my wife came up and whispered in my ear, "I hate to tell you this, honey, but you're trying to play a cheese slicer."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Jean Squeeze

Emailed to me another humor list (Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh List) -Tom Subscribe to Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh list at the website: Subscribe
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A woman had gained a few pounds. It was most noticeable to her when she squeezed into a pair of her old blue jeans. Wondering if the added weight was noticeable to everyone else, she asked her husband, "Honey, do these jeans make me look like the side of the house?"

"No, dear, not at all," he replied, "Our house isn't blue."

He is almost over the cold he caught sleeping in the garage for 3 nights.
_ ____________________________ _
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / "Laughter is the shortest \ /
\ _/ distance between two people." \_ /
/ / -- Victor Borge \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / "I know that you believe that \ \_/ ////
\ / you understood what you think \ /
\ _/ I said, but I am not sure you \_ /
/ / realize that what you heard \ \
is not what I meant."
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / The most destructive force \ /
\ _/ in the universe is gossip. \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / If you have trouble getting \ /
\ _/ your children's attention, just \_ /
/ / sit down and look comfortable. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / On anniversaries, the wise \ /
\ _/ husband always forgets the past \_ /
/ / ... but never the present. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Seat belts are not as \ /
\ _/ confining as wheelchairs. \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / Why do croutons come in \ \_/ ////
\ / airtight packages? \ /
\ _/ Aren't they just \_ /
/ / stale bread to begin with? \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / The aging process could \ \_/ ////
\ / be slowed down if it had \ /
\ _/ to work its way through Congress. \_ /
/ / \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ /If you had to identify, in one \ \_/ ////
\ / word, the reason why the human \ /
\ _/ race has not achieved and never. \_ /
/ / will achieve its full potential, \ \
that word would be "meetings."
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / If you don't have a sense of \ /
\ _/ humor, you probably don't. \_ /
/ / have any sense at all. \ \
_ ____________________________ _
| Thomas S. Ellsworth |
| tellswor@kcbx.net |
| http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor |
|____________________________|
Stop for a visit, leave with a smile! To join Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.Com To leave Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.Com Or visit the Good Clean Fun web site at http://www. slonet.org/~tellswor/
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A mechanic was removing a cylinder-head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop........
The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"
The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I make $39,675 a year and you get the really big bucks ($1,695,759) when you and I are doing basically the same work?"
The cardiologist paused, smiled and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic... "Try doing it with the engine running."
Thanks to David Lamb
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A Child's Prayer

A Sunday school teacher asked her pupils, "Now, children, do you all say your prayers at night?"

A little boy answered, "My mommy says my prayers."

"I see," said the teacher. "And what does your mother say?"

The little boy replied, "THANK GOD HE'S IN BED!"

Received from John.

(-:][:-)

Fishing Advice

Two buddies are fishing, but they haven't caught anything all day. Then another fisherman walks by with a huge load of fish. They ask him, "Excuse me, but where did you get all those fish?"

The other fisherman replies, "If you just go down the stream until the water isn't salty, you will find a ton of hungry fish."

They thank him and go on their way. Fifteen minutes later, one fisherman says to the other, "Fill the bucket up with water and see if the water is salty."

He dips the bucket in the stream and drinks some. "Nope. Still salty." Thirty minutes later, he asks him to check again.

"Nope, still salty." One hour later they check again. "Nope. Still salty."

"This isn't good," one fisherman finally says. "We have been walking for almost two hours and the water is still salty!"

"I know," says the other. "And the bucket is almost empty!"

Received from Pastor Tim.

(-:][:-)

A Deep Voice

A man walks along a lonely beach. Suddenly he hears a deep voice: DIG!

He looks around; nobody's there. "I am having hallucinations," he thinks. Then he hears the voice again: I SAID, DIG!

So he starts to dig in the sand with his bare hands, and after a bit, he finds a small chest with a rusty lock.

The deep voice says: OPEN!

OK, the man thinks, let's open the thing. He finds a rock with which to break the lock, and when the chest is finally open, he sees a lot of gold coins.

The deep voice says: TO THE CASINO!

Well, the casino is only a few miles away, so the man takes the chest and walks to the casino.

The deep voice says: ROULETTE!

So he changes all the gold into a huge pile of roulette tokens and goes to one of the tables where the players gaze at him with disbelief.

The deep voice says: 27!

The man takes the whole pile and drops it at the 27. The table nearly bursts. Everybody is quiet when the croupier throws the ball.

The ball stays at the 26.

The deep voice says: OOOPS!

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

(-:][:-)

Fairest Tax?

At a business conference in Montpelier, Vermont, the state tax commissioner asked the audience which sort of taxation they found fairest. There was a pause, and then a white-haired man in the back raised his hand. "The poll tax," he said.

"But the poll tax was repealed," replied the commissioner. "Ay-ah," declared the man, "that's what I like about it."

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

(-:][:-)

Tax Forms, Long vs. Short

Ah, spring and the month of April. The chirping of birds, the fresh smell of flowers, the sunny days ... and the time that taxes are due. Yes, it's that time of year, when you put sum 5A into slot 6B, subtract the lesser of 12Z or 11Q from 10C, check the number of boxes entered and enter the number of checkered boxes, and try to figure out of you weigh more than last year's tax return. I just did my taxes and when I was done I was happy to see that I'm getting a refund ... look at the money the government is giving to me ... until I thought, "Hey, it was MY money to begin with!"

The difference between the short tax form and long tax form is simple.

If you use the short form, the government gets your money.

If you use the long form, the accountant gets your money.

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

(-:][:-)

-=+=-
Rate this funny at http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA
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The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://www.gcfl.net/latest.php
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Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/madness/2008/01/16/hey-pundits-stifle-yourselves/ - - Hey Pundits, Stifle Yourselves! (Limerick)

I can’t decide what’s more annoying — when pundits are wrong, or when they insist on finding meaning in the meaningless, deep significance in utter nonsense. Digby provides a fine example of the latter:

Matthews, Olbermann, Norah O’Donnell and David Gregory are sitting around interpreting the Michigan Democratic vote and examining the exit polls to determine meaningful trends about the upcoming primaries.

Michigan means nothing, good or bad, for Democrats. … [CLINTON] WAS THE ONLY ONE OF THE TOP THREE ON THE FRIGGING BALLOT! …

… The primary doesn’t count. …

But they’re out there spewing junk anyway, trying to impact the race, making predictions, being fortune tellers as usual …

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

Hey Pundits, Stifle Yourselves!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

The pundits opine and expound:
On sheer nonsense they chew and they pound,
Finding meaning in stuff
That means nothing. Enough!
Watch them frown as they wax so profound.

http://www.madkane.com
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
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The 91st Psalm for our soldiers.
Song written in Iraq
This soldier video. It is moving and heartwarming.
The singer needs a recording contract when he comes home!
American Idol should contact him and he shouldn't have to wait in line!
Just click on the link below:
http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

Thanks to Gary Foreman
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"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
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| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
April 11, 2008
Take a Moment to Focus on Task

Today's Message is from Becky Wofford (a Pasadena Albemarle employee).
....................................................................
During these days of additional work load, extra distractions and the lure of beautiful springtime weather, keep focused on our goal - to work and play SAFELY.
Take just a moment to focus on the task at hand and make sure to do each job the safe way every time!
----------------------------------------------------
| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
April 15, 2008
Be Safe

Today's Message is from Linda Nierlich (a Pasadena Albemarle employee).
-----------------------------------------------------
Spring is here and summer is right around the corner! It's time for picnics, camping, boating, swimming and bike riding and much more.
Please... let's all remember to be safe in whatever we do and have fun!

----------------------------------------------------
| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
April 14, 2008
Today's Message is from Bob StClair (a Pasadena Albemarle employee).
----------------------------------------------------

STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN
----------------------------------------------------
| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
April 16, 2008
Pool Safety
Today's Message is from Brenda Pritchard (a Pasadena Albemarle employee).
------------------------------------------------------
Summer time is just around the corner. Pool safety is not just a necessary concern for parents with young children. The elderly and pets are also at risk.
Elderly dogs are prone to falling in the swimming pool. A dog's eyesight tends to become diminished after ten years of age. They need special care to prevent an accidental drowning. The elderly are also at risk. Medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease make them no longer aware of the dangers of the swimming pool. If you have a swimming pool in your backyard you should be aware of everyone that comes into your hard; young and old alike can become victims of an unprotected swimming pool. Be aware and become secure. The safety of others is in your hands. Pool fences can protect people and pets of all ages.
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The Pump Handle. A water cooler for the public health crowd.
http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/

Here are links to items posted on The Pump Handle over the past week:

** "Occupational Health News Roundup" by Liz Borkowski This week's news includes stories on worker deaths in the fishing industry, China's new labor law, and delay in a study of Agent Orange's effects on Vietnam veterans. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/occupational-health-news-roundup-61/

** "Slate on Doubt is Their Product" by Liz Borkowski Slate's Daniel Engber writes about Doubt is Their Product in a series that explores how scientists, advocates, and industry address scientific uncertainty – and how the public responds. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/slate-on-doubt-is-their-product/

** "Bisphenol A Saga Continues" by Liz Borkowski As the National Toxicology Program releases a draft brief expressing concern about bisphenol A's health effects, a new SKAPP case study provides the background on how U.S. agencies are dealing with this chemical. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/bisphenol-a-saga-continues/

** "Justice Sought for 54 (Dead) Burmese Workers" by Celeste Monforton Fifty-four Burmese workers suffocated inside a truck as they tried, like so many of their fellow Burmese, to get to Thailand to find work. The UN-affiliated Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims urges the worldwide community of workers' rights advocates to condemn the economic, social, and political environment in Burma that spurs this illegal migration. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/justice-sought-for-54-dead-burmese-workers/

** "Water Fixes Needed Nationwide" by Liz Borkowski Contaminated water, aging infrastructure, and inadequate water supplies spell trouble for communities across the U.S. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/water-fixes-needed-nationwide/

** "Labor Dept Lawyers Turn Backs on Whistleblowers" by Celeste Monforton Lawyer Tony Oppegard sent a scathing letter to the Deputy Solicitor of Labor about the SOL's consistent failure to pursue the cases of mineworkers fired after complaining about safety conditions. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/labor-dept-lawyers-turn-backs-on-whistleblowers/

** "Do we point the finger somewhere for global climate change?" by Emilie Hedlund A lawsuit by the Alaskan village of Kivalina, which blames fossil-fuel companies for the climate change that's causing flooding in their community, raises interesting questions about big business and public health. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/do-we-point-the-finger-somewhere-for-global-climate-change/

** "Friday Blog Roundup" by Liz Borkowski Bloggers consider big-picture healthcare issues; NIH's newly implemented public access law; and American Idol's involvement in global health issues. Plus, congratulations to RH Reality Check and NRDC's Switchboard for their Webby honors! http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/friday-blog-roundup-70/

** "Time for MSHA to Redefine Mining-Related Deaths" by Celeste Monforton MSHA's failure to investigate the death of mineworker Ricky Collins, who was killed while doing his job, shows that the agency is interpreting investigation rules too narrowly. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/time-for-msha-to-redefine-mining-related-deaths/

** "Why Did CDC Slash Its Beryllium Study?" by Liz Borkowski CBS News asks whether CDC officials caved to political and corporate pressure in dramatically downscaling a health study of residents living near Brush Wellman's largest beryllium-manufacturing plant. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/cbs-investigates-cdc-beryllium-study/

http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/
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Weekly Toll - - http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/
Death In The Workplace w/News & Updates
John Donne - ...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
A partial list of workplace fatalities.

Friday, April 18, 2008
NUMBERS ARE UP!

How many times have we heard it? The proof is in the pudding, numbers are down. Rewind after to corrections NUMBERS ARE UP! Revised BLS 2006 Stats Point to Rise, Not Decrease, in Workplace Deaths "Revised figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on workplace fatalities in 2006 indicate that the numbers were higher than previously thought: The final count of 5,840 means that the overall occupational fatality rate increased 2 percent between 2005 and 2006."

Yep in your face EF for all the times I have heard

We don't need more regulations Our famous Alliance program is working.
We don't need more funding.
We don't need more inspectors.
We don't need higher fines.
The problem here is the we don't; they should be say we don't, make regulations, fund, inspect or fine. Lets also add to this list we (OSHA) don't have support from our peeps. Influenced, OSHA bends After involvement of Gibbons appointee, violations, fines in case of Orleans workers’ deaths were reduced "The case so angered Boyd’s safety manager, Don Barker, and OSHA inspector John Olaechea, who investigated the accident, that both men quit their jobs."

On Feb. 2, 2007 Richard Luzier fell into a manhole, Travis Koehler and David Snow both went in to save the others all lost consciousness. Richard and Travis lost their lives while David recovered only after several weeks on life support.

Boyed Officials were warned by both OSHA and their own environmental safety and health manager about the issues involving confined spaces. Boyd had previous violations at another of their facilities and even left a trail of emails, memos and statements without a second thought.

"Olaechea wrote his findings on March 13, 2007. “Boyd Corporate had knowledge and failed to act,” Olaechea concluded. “That is the exact definition of a willful (by indifference).”

What did Boyd get, "The “willful” violations were reduced to “serious.” Fines of about $400,00 were cut to $185,000, still among the largest in state history. But to reach that level, the department had to engage in another odd maneuver. OSHA law caps fines for a willful violation at $70,000 and for a serious violation, at $7,000 — too low to reach the $185,000 total. So the state once again went outside of normal procedures, attaching $23,000 to each of the eight serious violations, plus other fines."

Also included in this agreement was free training, no regular inspections for 2 years unless there is a complaint.

So how much does it cost to get away with a double murder?

Let the case drag out longer than the allotted 6 months helps. Then you get rid of the man that issues the willful violations and change them to serious violations, which by the way gets them out of any liability.

Get a few of your peeps involved like Gov. Jim Gibbons’ who gained $45,000 from Boyd Gaming and related interests in his 2006 race for governor and nearly $40,000 in his congressional campaigns dating to 1996. Elliott, director of the Business and Industry Department, which includes OSHA (talk about a conflict of interest), Cornwall, Gov. Gibbon’s chief operating officer and Roger Bremner, the administrator for the Industrial Relations Division, who directly oversees OSHA. So the final decision left out the original OSHA investigator Involved in the negotiation were Coffined, Elliott and Bremner, whose of Industrial Relations Division oversees OSHA and reports to Elliott.

Guess who wasn’t involved…the families. All the decisions made, all those allowed to make a case and the was no representation for the families both gone and still here. now the case can be made that there is never representation for the families but that is not so. if you are in a union they may have a representative involved. Seems to me since this was such a special case and exceptions were made then there should have been for the families....let them have a rep come in in their behalf!

Well I'm pretty sure they make our Scarlet letter Award. Make Momma Proud you all! and by the way that does include those who enabled and condoned what some would call manslaughter for sale!
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Battle Cries

The battle is on. Doctors feel push to downplay injuries, Group tells OSHA of pressure by companies
"To outline their concerns, the physicians have sent a letter to federal workplace safety regulators and held a conference session in New York City on Monday. They're also planning to testify before Congress.
If successful, their campaign could affect the treatment of injured workers and might help change how the government assesses workplace safety.
"Our members feel they are being methodically pressured ... to under-treat and mistreat," said Dr. Robert McLellan, president of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "...This is a grave ethical concern for our members. It's a grave medical concern."
His group represents 5,000 doctors; some treat workers referred to them by employers, while others work directly for companies."
Doctors explain in a New York conference that the loop holes, per say, in system reporting causes few inspections and ethical doctors to loose business. They are calling OSHA to investigate the accuracy of company injury logs, regulators to expand workplace safety measures and to rewrite rules pertaining to reporting injuries.
McLellan said he doesn't recall his group ever before taking such a strong stance on the issue. As one doctor at Monday's conference put it: "We need to treat the patient. Not the log."
I think OSHA is going to be busy in the near future, you can only play the game crooked for so long and sooner or later you lose the hand. Now it's time to ante up and start working for the people again.

http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com
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NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/

01. Sgt. William E. Allmon, 25, of Ardmore, Okla., died April 12 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
02. Cpl. Richard J. Nelson, 23, of Racine, Wis.
03. Lance Cpl. Dean D. Opicka, 29, of Waukesha, Wis.
Both Marines died April 14 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. They were both assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Milwaukee, Wis.

04. Sgt. Joseph A. Richard III, 27, of Lafayette, La., died April 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), located at Fort Polk, La.

05. Spc. Arturo Huerta-Cruz, 23, of Clearwater, Fla., died April 14 in Tuz, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
06. 1st Sgt. Luke J. Mercardante, 35, of Athens, Ga.
07. Cpl. Kyle W. Wilks, 24, of Rogers, Ark.
Both Marines died April 15 while conducting combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. They were both assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejuene, N.C.

08. Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown, 29, of Magnolia, Texas, died April 17 in Sama Village, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire and grenades. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.
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Please remember to pray for the American soldiers stationed everywhere around the globe and especially in Iraq. Times have been and are very tough and it would be nice if you would all just say a prayer for their safety and for their families.
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"September 11 WDYTJWD" W. P. Florence
Justice first, then peace."
"September 11" Never forget.--Tony Moses
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD ...the only way"--Phillip Story
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Keeping my head down but face toward Heaven" - - Jody Eldred, ABC News Cameraman in Kuwait
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" --"Bug"
Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. - - George Carlin
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" - - Queen E. Watson
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Activities and Events of Interest - - Coming Events

The Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff is coming - MAY 17TH
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Mark Your Calendars!!!! Albemarle Kids' Fishing Tournament - May 31
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Scheduled Activities
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CQ CQ all Hams. We have restarted a 2 meter net on the Willisville repeater, 146.655, every Tuesday evening at 7 PM. Please check in and spread the word. We would like to get some renewed interest in amateur radio and the ARKLA Amateur Radio Association. Will be listening for everyone next Tuesday night.
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Columbia County Amateur Radio Club meets Every second Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. Union Street Station. And YOU'RE invited. Net is every Sunday at 20:30 on 147.105.
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MCC - Mom's Day Out - Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2.$10 for the first child, $5 for the second. Call 234-3225 for reservations.
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MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
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Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
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Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
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Interested in getting in touch with the Banner-News through e-mail?
E-mail addresses for communicating with the newspaper’s various departments are: news@bannernews.net For news and sports items, Coming Events, Diary, Church News, school and civic events.
advertising@bannernews. net For retail and classified advertising.
circulation@bannernews. net To start, stop or cancel newspaper delivery or for comments about delivery.
outfitters @bannernews.net For Office Outfitters, the office supply division of the Banner-News.
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"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"It's no big deal doing what God tells you to do. A big deal would be NOT doing what God tells you to do. Just ask Jonah." - - Paul Troquille
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out." - - Tony Blair
"Information is the currency of democracy." - Jefferson
“Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.” Knowledge is power. - Francis Bacon
"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now."
Comments on the first Earth Day - James F. McClellan via "Fuzzy" Thurman
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Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.

God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Mark 9:43-47 Mark 14:27-30 Phil 3:13-14 Luke 16:10 http://www.e-min.org/
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII

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