v1.jpg)
Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Fruit Stand
Volume 7, Issue 32
Hello All,
Who’s afraid of the big bad Bone Marrow test? Nothing to it. After Becky Horne loaded me up with Valium and Demerol, who cared what Dr. Mendelsohm did?
Seriously, thanks to Becky and Debbie for calming me down and keeping me calm. They listened to my dumb stories and talked me through the procedure. I’m not sure which one was holding my hand (I kept my eyes closed during the whole time) but I hope I didn’t injure her when I started squeezing it.
Special thanks to the wife of my youth who prayed for me as well as my friends who knew how much I dreaded this and sought to allay my fears. Y’alls support and prayers made this bearable.
I didn’t even scream.
{Note to Dr. M.: It might make things easier if you didn’t ask the nurse for a longer needle when patients are in earshot.}
~~~~~
For you who are new readers, they’ve been sampling my bone marrow periodically for almost 50 years. As before, the report this year was pretty much the same; Megaloblastic anemia (at least that’s what I think they call it. I never think to have them spell it when they call me with the results) with Post Spleenectomy Syndrome.
The good news is that my hemoglobin counts are trending up slightly. The EPO continues to work and Dr. Mendelsohm says there’s another drug out there that we can try if the Procrit becomes ineffective.
~~~~~
Shell got it's start in the U.S. when they could not get a contract for oil transport with Standard Oil in California - so the Shell Trading and Transport Company (in London) started it's own distribution network in California. The entire Shell organization has been (still is) a variety of somewhat independent companies - when I came to Shell, I was told the company organization was strongly influenced by the organization of Standard Oil - whatever they were doing must be wrong, and we are doing it differently.
Thanks to Joe R. Tudor
~~~~~
The 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower - - http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22jul_perseids2005.htm - - The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th
~~~~~
Keith Burton, Terry Stockdale and I recommend Google Earth http://earth.google.com. If you have broadband. Terry explains it best at Terry's Computer Tips newsletter - http://www.terryscomputertips.com
~~~~~
Speaking of technology, one of the welder's at work was talking cell phones and I heard him say he planned to get one of those new ones with "hounds tooth."
I hope he likes the pattern.
~~~~~
Re: Standard Oil is born (1882), Joe Tudor writes “Shell got it's start in the U.S. when they could not get a contract for oil transport with Standard Oil in California - so the Shell Trading and Transport Company (in London) started it's own distribution network in California. The entire Shell organization has been (still is) a variety of somewhat independent companies - when I came to Shell, I was told the company organization was strongly influenced by the organization of Standard Oil - whatever they were doing must be wrong, and we are doing it differently.”
~~~~~
Don't forget ... "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
www.aaa.com Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current Avg. $2.41 $2.56 $2.65 $2.49
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/
~~~~~
Recipe(s) of the week - Chicken Carbonara
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
See this recipe on air Friday Sep. 02 at 4:30 PM ET/PT.
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1-pound spaghetti
4 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and garlic and sauté until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and serve.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31016,00.html
~~~~~
BREAKPOINT Commentaries
by Chuck Colson. - Prison Fellowship
Fears and Fallacies
How to Stand Your Ground
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
A professor at a well known liberal arts college became infamous for starting each semester by holding up a Bible and asking, “How many of you believe this book is the Word of God?” One or two undergraduates might have sheepishly raised their hands. The professor would then say, “Do you want to know what I think of this book? This is what I think of it”—and he would hurl the Bible out an open window.
Even more astonishing, this display took place at a Christian college. Hostility to biblical faith is now common on both secular and religious campuses, says J. Budziszewski in his newly updated book How to Stay Christian in College. The attitude seems to be “ABC”—Anything But Christianity.
Consider the story of a student named Frank. When he expressed a Christian point of view in a course on family law, a female student shouted, “Why don’t you just shut up!” The professor merely smirked and said to Frank, “I guess she told you!”
Or consider Kathy. In her ethics course, the textbook explained that there are two approaches to morality: supernaturalistic theories, which base morality on God, and naturalistic theories, which try to derive morality apart from God. The textbook then excluded supernaturalistic theories from its discussion. When Kathy asked the professor why, he replied, “We don’t have time for superstitions.”
Then there’s Keesha. On the first day of her graduate seminar on public policy, the teacher announced that every point of view was welcome. Keesha looked forward to an open debate on abortion. But the second day, the teacher opened class by asking, “All of you here are too intelligent to be pro-life, right?”
Sad to say, such tactics of intimidation are common in today’s university classrooms—and it’s important for Christian students to learn to see through them. Telling a student to “just shut up” is technically called the fallacy of argumentum ad baculum, or “argument to the stick,” which means abusing someone instead of reasoning with him.
Dismissing Christian ideas as mere “superstition” is another fallacy—the fallacy of “begging the question”—which means merely assuming a point instead of proving it. And asking students if they are too intelligent to hold Christian values is the fallacy of “complex question”—which means posing a question that one cannot answer without incriminating oneself, much like, “Have you stopped beating your wife?”
Christian students need to be intellectually prepared to see through the common tactics of intimidation. They must be able to demonstrate that Christianity really is a more rational explanation of reality than any of its competitors in the marketplace of ideas. A practical resource is J. Budziszewski’s book How to Stay Christian in College. If you call BreakPoint (1-877-322-5527), we’ll tell you how to get a copy of it for the kids in your life who are headed off to college this fall.
Christian students don’t need to feel intimidated by professors who insult both their intelligence and their faith. All they need to do is think rationally—because God’s truth is far more reasonable than any of the logical fallacies used to dismiss it in the classroom today.
This commentary first aired on August 17, 2004.
For further reading and information:
Today’s BreakPoint offer: The book How to Stay Christian in College and the CD interview “College Life Today” with Professor Budziszewski are both included in the BreakPoint College Survival Kit for Students. To order, call 1-877-322-5527.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 040816, “Academic Fables and Myths: Does Believing Make It So?”
Fred Barnes, “Dare to Stand Out,” Boundless, 21 July 2005.
See FIRE’s Guide to Religious Liberty on Campus.
http://www.pfm.org/Content/NavigationMenu5/BreakPoint/LearnMore/About_BreakPoint/default.htm 2005 Prison Fellowship.
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
beholden: obliged; indebted.
waylay: to ambush or accost.
castigate: to punish or criticize severely.
somniferous: causing or inducing sleep.
captious: disposed to find fault or raise objections.
sojourn: to dwell for a time; also, a temporary stay.
nugatory: insignificant; also, ineffectual.
ubiquitous: being everywhere.
from Dictionary.Com
~~~~~
"A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world." - Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) Canadian Philosopher, Author
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." - Voltaire
"There will be a time when loud-mouthed, incompetent people seem to be getting the best of you. When that happens, you only have to be patient and wait for them to self destruct. It never fails." - Richard Rybolt
"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day." - W. Earl Hall
"Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt." - George Sewell
"The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful theory by an ugly fact." - Thomas Huxley
"And none will hear the postman's knock / Without a quickening of the heart. / For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?" - W.H. Auden
"An open mind is all very well, but it ought not to be so open that there's no keeping anything in or out." - Samuel Butler
"Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love - and to put its trust in life." - Joseph Conrad
~~~~~
This weekend, America celebrates the 70th birthday of Social Security. On August 14, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law a system that would provide an avenue for millions of Americans to retire in dignity and with security. On the 70th birthday of Social Security, we not only celebrate President Roosevelt’s incredible vision, but are also invigorated to renew our commitment to protect Social Security for decades and generations to come.
Arkansas ranks third in the nation with the largest percentage of the population receiving Social Security benefits with 543,669 people receive benefits. This includes over 300,000 retired workers, 91,000 disabled workers, and 54,000 children. Without Social Security, 58% of beneficiaries over the age of 65 would have incomes below the poverty line.
My first action as a Member of Congress was to tell the politicians in Washington to keep their hands off the Social Security Trust Fund. I did this by introducing the Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001, which prohibited the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund surpluses from being used in national budget surplus projections.
The Social Security Administration projects that the Social Security Trust Fund’s reserves will be depleted by 2041. Some politicians claim that the only way to save Social Security is by privatization. Taking money out of the Social Security Trust Fund and placing it into unstable private accounts is a risk our seniors simply cannot afford. With privatization, workers will assume the risk of their retirement security. American citizens will be forced to cope with the risk of a bad investment, the risk that they will outlive their assets, or the risk of a stock market crash.
As your Member of Congress in the United States House of Representatives, I remain committed to protecting Social Security and ensuring that the Social Security safety net created by President Roosevelt in 1935 will continue to pay beneficiaries, in full, the security they have worked a lifetime to receive. I will work in a bipartisan manner to produce common-sense legislation that will strengthen Social Security so that the trust fund can continue to pay its beneficiaries without increasing the deficit or reducing guaranteed benefits.
Sincerely,
Congressman Mike Ross - Representing Arkansas's 4th District
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GCF: Fruit Stand
Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to: andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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.slonet.org/~tellswor/ UNSUBSCRIBE INFO for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2005 before it was sent.
-----------------------------------
A picky customer comes to a small food shop and sees a new delivery of fresh fruit. "Give me two kilograms of oranges and wrap every orange up in a separate piece of paper, please," he says to the saleswoman. She does.
"And three kilograms of cherries, please, and wrap up every one in a separate piece of paper, too." She does.
"And what is that there," he asks pointing out a bushel basket in the corner.
"Raisins," says the saleswoman, "but they are not for sale!"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Weather Related
Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to: andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-----------------------------------
The band at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, was required to play for all generals who arrived on base. One morning, when the commanding officer heard on the radio that a General Frost was expected just after noon, he sent the band scrambling to the flight line with instruments.
One of the musicians had also heard the radio announcement. He took the C.O. aside for a whispered conference. When they returned, the officer told us the performance was canceled.
There was no arriving general. We had almost played for the weather forecast.
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Worm Stubborn
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
-----------------------------------
Little Josh was brought to Dr. Gill cause he hadn't eaten anything for days. Dr. Gill offered him all the goodies he could think of. No luck. He tried a little scolding. It didn't work. A little pleading, to no avail.
Finally he sat down, faced the boy, looked him in the eye. He said, "Look young man, if you can be stubborn, so can I. You're not going anywhere until you eat something. You can have whatever you want, but only after you have eaten will you leave."
Josh just sat and glared for some time, then said "OK. I'll eat but I have some conditions. First, I'll have exactly what I want and exactly how I want it and second you'll share with me."
Dr. Gill was OK with this. He asked the child what he'd like. "Worms!" said Josh.
Dr. Gill was horrified but didn't want to back out and seem like a loser. So, he ordered a plate of worms to be brought in. "Not that many, just one," yelled Josh as he saw the plate.
So, everything other than one worm was removed. Josh then demanded that the single worm be cut into two pieces and then Dr. Gill eat half. Dr. Gill went through the worst ordeal of his life, and after finishing, barely managing to keep his cool, said, "OK, now eat!"
Josh refused as he sobbed, "No way! You ate my half!"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Automation?
Found at The Shark Tank (Computerworld) -Tom
http://www.computerworld.com/departments/opinions/sharktank/0,4885,103571,00.html
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With HIPAA regulations in full force, this hospital IT technician reminds users that when they print reports containing patient information, those reports can't be left in the printer tray. "They must be either secured under lock and key or shredded," he says. But one user has a problem: "I don't always have time to pick up my reports from the printer. Is there any way I can set up my PC so I can send my documents directly to the shredder?"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Mechanic?
Emailed to me from another humor list (Cascade Express E-zine) -Tom
To subscribe to Cascade Express E-zine, send a blank email to:
Cascade_Express-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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The helicopter lost power while flying over a remote Scottish island and was forced to make an emergency landing. Luckily there was a small cottage nearby. The pilot walked over to it and knocked on the door. "Is there a mechanic in the area?" he asked the woman who answered the door.
She scratched her head and thought for a few seconds. "No," she finally said, pointing down the road, "but we do have a McArdle and a McKay."
_ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Indecision is the \ /
\ _/ key to flexibility. \_ /
/ / \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / Are you longing for the \ \_/ ////
\ / pitter-patter of little feet? \ /
\ _/ Buy a dog. It's cheaper, \_ /
/ / and you get more feet. \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / There are two theories \ /
\ _/ to arguing with women. \_ /
/ / Neither one works. \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Isn't it a bit unnerving \ /
\ _/ that doctors call \_ /
/ / what they do "practice"? \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| _ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
_( (_ | *** Good Clean Fun *** | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_|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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[GCFL.net] Collateral Required
Long ago there was once an old native American who wanted a loan for $500. The banker pulled out the loan application, "What are you going to do with the money?"
"Take jewellery to city and sell it," was the response.
"What have you got for collateral?"
"Don't know collateral."
"Well that's something of value that would cover the cost of the loan.Have you got any vehicles?"
"Yes, 1949 Chevy pickup."
The banker shook his head, "How about livestock?"
"Yes, I have a horse."
"How old is it?"
"Don't know, has no teeth."
Finally the banker decided to make the $500 loan. Several weeks later the old man was back in the bank. He pulled out a roll of bills, "Here to pay." he said. He then handed the banker the money to pay his loan off.
"What are you going to do with the rest of that money?"
"Put in tepee."
"Why don't you deposit it in my bank," he asked.
"Don't know deposit."
"You put the money in our bank and we take care of it for you. When you want to use it you can withdraw it."
The old Indian leaned across the desk, "What you got for collateral?"
Received from Cathy Gilstrap.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] The Zoo
Kimo is a bus driver for the Honolulu Transit Company. One day Kimo is headed to work on his bus route, when he runs across a delivery van stranded at the side of the road. The van driver works for the Honolulu Zoo. He pleads with Kimo
to do him a favor.
He offers a $100 bill to Kimo to help him deliver a
truckload of penguins to the zoo, because they needed to be there within the hour. Agreeing, Kimo proceeds to load two dozen penguins onto his bus. Then, off they drive towards the zoo.
An hour later, the delivery driver gets his van fixed and heads off to the zoo to catch up with his delivery. As he's driving down the road, he see's Kimo and the busload of penguins heading in the opposite direction. He turns his van around and chases in pursuit. He finally catches up to the bus and pulls over Kimo on the side of the road. In an irate voice he asks, "Hey, Kimo. I thought I gave you a $100 dollars to go and take the penguins to the zoo for me?"
"Calm down," Kimo says. "I took the penguins to the zoo. We had change left over, so now I'm taking them to the movies!"
Received from Michael Whalan.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] Park Pun
We took my sons, ages seven and five, up to Friendship Park for a picnic.
My seven year old read the sign with the playground rules to his brother.
"Do not jump on the merry-go-round when in motion."
"Go down the slide while sitting, only."
"Only one child on a swing at a time."
(There were a good twenty rules.)
The boys promised to obey them if I would let them play without Daddy standing by. So, I joined my wife at the picnic table.
Just before it was time to eat, I went over and watched them play. They were obeying the rules, that is, all but one. On the tall semicircular slide, they were coming down head first!
I took them over to the posted regulations. We read them, again. I asked the boys what they had to say for themselves.
"Oh, don't be silly, Dad...no one uses the slide rule
anymore!"
Received from Pastor Tim.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] Getting Out Of Jury Duty
A man was chosen for jury duty who very much wanted to be dismissed from serving. He tried every excuse he could think of but none of them worked. On the day of the trial he decided to give it one more shot. As the trial was about to begin he asked if he could approach the bench.
"Your Honor," he said, " I must be excused from this trial because I am prejudiced against the defendant. I took one look at the man in his blue suit with those beady eyes and that dishonest face and I said 'He's a crook! He's guilty, guilty, guilty!' So your Honor, I can not possibly stay on this jury!"
With a tired annoyance, the judge replied, "Get back in the jury box. That man is his lawyer."
Received from Scott Neville.
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[GCFL.net] Little Tim
Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the rosy-cheeked youngster was up to, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Tim?"
"My goldfish died," replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him."
The neighbor was concerned, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it?"
Tim patted down the last heap of earth then replied, "That's because he's inside your cat!"
Received from Bill Thrash.
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– NEW! Go to http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20050124 to rate this funny from 0 to 5.
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Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List "A cheerful heart is good medicine!" (Prov 17:22a) Go to http://gcfl.net/mlfrontend.php to change your subscription options or unsubscribe. To email this funny to a friend, go to http://gcfl.net/emailit.php?funny=20050107 The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://gcfl.net/latest.php
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I took the liberty of editing the first two quotes, as they were a little “colorful”.
Pam
To the Girls !!
Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what happened. (edited) - Cora Harvey Armstrong-
Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies. (edited) - (Unknown)
The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. - Helen Hayes (at 73)-
I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. - Janette Barber-
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. - Lily Tomlin-
A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car. - Carrie Snow-
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends. - Laurie Kuslansky-
My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being -- hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. - Erma Bombeck-
Old age ain't no place for sissies. - Bette Davis-
A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. - Rhonda Hansome-
The phrase "working mother" is redundant. - Jane Sellman-
Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows. - Jennifer Unlimited-
Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. - Charlotte Whitton-
Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. - Caryn Leschen-
I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. - Jennifer Unlimited-
If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. Catherine
I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde.. - Dolly Parton-
If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them. - Sue Grafton-
I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on. - Roseanne Barr-
When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. - Elayne Boosler-
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. - Maryon Pearson-
In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman. - Margaret Thatcher-
I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. - Gloria Steinem-
I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. -Zsa Zsa Gabor-
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. -Eleanor Roosevelt-
Thanks to Pam Burton
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Welcome to You Make Me Laugh, a free newsletter from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
Today's Clean Laugh
Anniversary Card
It was our second anniversary, and my husband sent me flowers at the office.
He told the florist to write "Happy Anniversary, Year Number 2" on the card. I was thrilled with the flowers, but not so pleased about the card.
It read "Happy Anniversary. You're Number 2."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
Clean Cup
Bill and Doug went into a diner that looked as though it had seen better days.
As they slid in to a booth, Bill wiped some crumbs from the seat. Then he took a napkin and wiped some moisture from the table. The waitress came over and asked if they wanted some menus.
"No thanks," said Doug. "I'll just have a cup of black coffee."
"I'll have black coffee too," Bill said. "And please make sure the cup is clean."
The waitress shot him a nasty look. She turned and marched off into the kitchen.
Two minutes later, she was back. "Two cups of black coffee," she announced.
"Which one of you wanted the clean cup?"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
Division of Labor
The Rosenthals had an outstandingly happy and successful marriage, and Mr. Rosenthal was once asked to what he attributed this remarkable situation.
"It's simple," he said. "Division of labor. My wife makes all the small, routine decisions. She decides what house we buy, where we go on vacation, whether the kids go to private schools, if I should change my job, and so on."
"And you?"
"I make the big, fundamental decisions. I decide if the United States should declare war on China, if Congress should appropriate money for a manned expedition to Mars, and so on."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
No Stairs
An elderly lady, who lived on the third floor of a boardinghouse, broke her leg. As the doctor put a cast on it, he warned her not to climb any stairs. Several months later, the doctor took off the cast.
"Can I climb stairs now?" asked the little old lady.
"Yes," he replied.
"Thank goodness!" she said. "I'm sick and tired of shinnying up and down that drainpipe!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
State of the Pastor
The old pastor made it to a practice to visit the parish school one day a week.
He walked into the 4th grade class, where the children were studying the states, and asked them how many states they could name. They came up with about 40 names. He jokingly told them that in his day students knew the names of all the states.
One lad raised his hand and said, "Yes, but in those days there were only 13."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
*Eye Laugh*
"Weakest Link"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw234
"Street Office"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=103
"Horse Limo"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=104
"Toe Spa"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=106
"Dog Buddy"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=107
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Daily devotionals are available at http://link.Crosswalk.Com/UM/T.asp?A1. 39. 17757. 1. 494611 You can access more information on Crosswalk's Fun page http://www.Crosswalk.Com/fun/! Crosswalk gives credit to the author of a joke when author is known. Feel free to send notification to admin@cybersalt.org in cases where credit has not been given to the author! -SUBSCRIPTION INFO- * Copyright2004 Crosswalk.Com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. Introducing www.Crossguide.Com Where Christians find Products, Services & Ministries.
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"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
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Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/workingstiffed.html - - Working Stiffed -- Job Hunting Humor (text and audio versions)
"Finding a new job can be a daunting challenge. But if you follow my simple 21-step plan, you'll soon be battling cranky alarm clocks, rush-hour traffic, and the "living for the weekend" daily grind..."
http://www.madkane.com
http://www.madkane.com/notable.html (Notables Weblog)
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html (Dubya's Dayly Diary)
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
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New York Public Library Digital Gallery - - http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm - - This site provides access to over 300,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.
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Digital History - - http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/ - - This University of Houston site provides a U.S. history textbook, essays, documents, maps, photos, audio files, and more for teachers and students of American history in schools and colleges.
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Freedom: A History of US - - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/ - - Based on Joy Hakim's award-winning history books for kids, this PBS site explores America's promise of freedom, which has attracted everyone from the original colonists-turned-rebels to 19th- and 20th-century immigrants. It also addresses the many 'unfreedoms' in this country, particularly the fatal contradiction of slavery.
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Pandia Search Central - - http://www.pandia.com/ - - At Pandia you can learn how to search the Web more efficiently, read about search engines and sites devoted to searching, and gain easy access to all the best tools and search engineering resources on the Internet.
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Ocean Explorer - - http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/ - - The Ocean Explorer Web site is designed to be an engaging and educational Internet offering for all who wish to learn about, discover, and virtually explore the ocean realm. The site is primarily directed to the general public, educators, and students. Other important groups include the press, nongovernmental organizations, marine scientists and resource managers, marine protected area professionals, ocean exploration groups, and policymakers interested in the marine environment.
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The National Council of the Aging - - http://www.ncoa.org/ - - Founded in 1950, The National Council on the Aging is a national network of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health and independence of older persons; increasing their continuing contributions to communities, society and future generations; and building caring communities.
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The Educator's Reference Desk - - http://www.eduref.org/ - - The Educator's Reference Desk builds on over a quarter century of experience providing high-quality resources and services to the education community. From the Information Institute of Syracuse, the people who created AskERIC, the Gateway to Educational Materials, and the Virtual Reference Desk, the Educator's Reference Desk brings you the resources you have come to depend on. 2,000+ lesson plans, 3,000+ links to online education information, and 200+ question archive responses.
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FindArticles - - http://www.findarticles.com/ - - Search millions of articles from leading academic, industry and general interest publications. FindArticles has articles from thousands of resources, with archives dating back to 1984.
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"A recent Justice Department report on the threat posed by gangs underestimated the number of gang members nationwide because thousands of police agencies refused to provide information about their jurisdictions. The surprising lack of cooperation by police agencies means the Justice Department's estimate of more than 700,000 gang members nationwide could be too low by at least 200,000, said Patrick Word, vice chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network, a group that helps collect data for the Justice Department. Nearly 20,000 state and local police agencies were contacted to participate in the National Gang Threat Assessment report, but only 455 provided information, said a federal law enforcement official who asked not to be identified to avoid future conflicts with local police in obtaining information. The report did not specify which agencies did not participate, so they could not be contacted for comment."
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"Three out of four Americans aged 80 or older have high blood pressure but most do not get adequate treatment, exposing them to a risk of heart attack or stroke, researchers said on July 26, 2005. 'Many more men and women are now living healthy and active lives into their 80s and 90s. As clinicians, we should not loosen our management of high blood pressure just because a patient has had the good fortune to reach an older age,' said Dr. Daniel Levy, co-author of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 'For these patients, managing high blood pressure may make the difference between living many more healthy years, or spending those years recovering from a debilitating stroke or heart attack,' said Levy, who is the director of the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, Massachusetts. The researchers tracked participants from the earliest phase of the study that began in 1948 and their offspring who enrolled two decades later." - Source
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"A new survey says that the Internet has all but saturated the youth market. The report compiled for the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly nine out of 10 young people, ages 12 through 17, have online access - up from about three-quarters of young people in 2000. By comparison, about 66 percent of American adults now use the Internet. David Pulliam, a 17-year-old high school senior from Indianapolis, is a typical example of a wired teen. He first got access to the Internet when he was 13, as did most of those who were surveyed. He has a blog and loves to use instant messaging to stay in touch with friends he's met at camps and sporting events. He also gets his news online, as do about three-quarters of teen Internet users who were surveyed. That's an increase of about 38 percent, compared with 2000 results. 'It's hard to imagine my life without it,' Pulliam says of the Net. 'In some ways, life would become a little easier because it would slow down. But it would become a lot more boring and hard because you would always be waiting for letters and responses.' " - Source
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"Technology that helps the military align targets and motorists find their way is being tapped to track some sex offenders forever. Spurred by headlines of released sex offenders accused of murder, some states are mandating use of the Global Positioning System for tracking. Many lawmakers see electronic monitoring as a natural evolution of statutes that already require sex offenders to register their addresses with authorities. At least four states - Florida, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma - passed laws this year requiring lifetime electronic monitoring for some sex offenders, even if their sentences would normally have expired. Similar bills have been proposed in Congress and other states, including Alabama and North Dakota." - Source
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"Another study finds that high consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages contributes to obesity. But this study, conducted in mice, suggests that one form of natural sweetener -- fructose -- may be especially likely to encourage weight gain. In the study, researchers at the University of Cincinnati allowed mice to freely consume either plain water or fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks. The mice that drank the fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks gained weight, even though they took in fewer calories from solid food. By the end of the study, the mice that consumed fructose-sweetened beverages had 90 percent more body fat than the mice that consumed water only. The findings suggest that the total amount of calories consumed when someone includes fructose in their diets may not be the only cause of weight gain. Consuming fructose may actually affect metabolism in a way that leads to more fat storage, at least in mice, the researchers said." - Source
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"It's icy, rocky and bigger than Pluto. And according to scientists who found it orbiting the sun, it's the newest planet on our solar system's block. The planet - the farthest-known object in the solar system - is currently 9 billion miles away from the sun, or about three times Pluto's current distance from the sun. 'This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system,' Michael Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said Friday in a telephone briefing announcing the discovery. Brown labeled the object as a 10th planet, but there are scientists who dispute the classification of Pluto as such. Astronomers do not know the new planet's exact size, but its brightness shows that it is at least as large as Pluto and could be up to 1 1/2 times bigger. The research was funded by NASA." - Source
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"The number of alcohol-related fatalities on U.S. highways dropped for a second straight year, as did traffic deaths overall, the government reported August 1, 2005. The Department of Transportation said alcohol-related fatalities fell 2.4 percent, from 17,105 in 2003 to 16,694 in 2004. Overall, 42,636 people died on the nation's highways in 2004, down 248 - or 0.6 percent - from the previous year. The decline in traffic deaths for the second straight year was underscored by the growing number of motorists. When measured by the estimated miles driven, the number of deaths per 100 million miles traveled dropped to 1.46." - Source
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"The nation has so vastly extended taxpayer-funded Medicaid to the working poor this decade that it has produced the biggest expansion of a government entitlement since the Great Society was launched in the 1960s, an analysis has found. With little notice, the medical care program paid by federal and state taxpayers has grown from covering 34 million people in 1999 to 47 million in 2004, an examination of government data shows. The expansion has cemented government's role as the nation's primary health insurer. About 100 million people - 1 in 3 - now have government coverage through Medicaid, Medicare, the military and federal employee health plans. More than 10 million others are eligible for Medicaid but have not signed up."
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TOURBUS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -:) - :)- :)
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Volume 11, Number 05 -- 09 August 2005
Tourbus Home - http://www.TOURBUS.com
Best of Tourbus -- http://tourbus.com/best.html
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TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: GOOGLE SMS
You've got a burning question... but you're stuck somewhere with no internet connection. News Flash... Google SMS lets you search the web from your mobile phone!
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Google SMS serves up answers to specialized queries, and it's as simple as sending a text message. Even if you don't have web access on your cell phone or mobile device, you can send your query as a text message and get phone book listings, dictionary definitions, movie listings, driving directions, stock quotes, product prices and more.
OK, upfront disclaimer time. Google SMS is still in beta (test mode) and only works on major wireless providers in the USA, namely AT&T, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The good news is you don't need a brand-new fancy phone with web browsing built in.
Google SMS should work on almost any mobile or handheld, as long as you have the ability to send and receive text messages.
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Must... Have... Pizza!
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And wings, please, with medium sauce. So let's try a query. We'll find a nearby pizza joint in Millwood, NY. Send your text message to 46645 (the numbers spell "GOOGL") like this:
pizza millwood ny
Or, if you know the zipcode, you can shorten it to:
pizza 10546
You'll get your answer in a reply text message, usually within a few seconds in a format like this:
(1of2) Google Local:
Euro Pizzeria
238 Saw Mill River Rd
Millwood NY 10546
(914) 944-3500
The "1of2" tells you to look for another message labelled "2of2" with more results. You may get up to four responses.
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86ing 4-1-1
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Google SMS also serves up business and residential phone listings. Why would anyone ever call the phone company for information and *pay* for it, when Google SMS is free? Here are some examples:
Home Depot 02116
Blue Martini 12550
Or to find publicly listed phone numbers and addresses for residences in the US, try a query like one of these. Specify all the info you know to increase the chances of a successful search. Note that you can omit first name, use an initial, specify the city and/or state, or just the zipcode or area code.
john smith palo alto ca
smith 10940
j smith 914
845-343-2623
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Lampshade Now Optional
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Google SMS will make you the life of the party when people around you notice your skill at retrieving dictionary definitions and doing price comparisons. "Hey Alice, Bob just looked up the word 'bloviate' using his cell phone!"
define bloviate
If you're in a store bargain hunting, Google SMS will access Froogle to search millions of products from stores on the web. The results contain no ads, just current prices for products available online.
price dvd player
price knife sharpener
price 27 inch sony television
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SMS to Impress
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Suppose that girl at the party is just not impressed that you can get phone listings and compare coffee makers with your phone. What if she says "Well that's fine, but what about the moons of Uranus?" Not a problem... Snippets to the rescue! A snippet is an excerpt from the results page when you do a search on Google. You don't get the full web results and you can't click on any of the links, but sometimes the answer to your question will be found in the snippets. Happily,
G moons of uranus
returns this:
Google Web: * The Moons
of Uranus-The following
image (Ref) shows the 5
largest satellites of
Uranus: Miranda, Ariel,
Umbriel, Titania, and
Oberon...
Surely that will leave her speechless. Here are some other snippet search examples:
G population fresno ca
G somers education foundation
G USMA concert band schedule
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It Slices, It Dices
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So your old, clunky cell phone doesn't have a calculator? Google SMS does! The calculator can solve basic math problems, convert units of measure and other fun stuff. Some examples:
52134*98.6
23967/12
2^20
sqrt(490)
half a cup in teaspoons
2 gallons in liters
Query with an area code and see the region that area code covers.
914
845
Or query by zipcode and get results for the area that zip covers.
10505
94404
If you forget any of the Google SMS commands, just send 'help' as a text message to 46645 and you'll receive instructions and tips on how to use the service. Oh, and if your phone is configured to add a signature to outgoing text messages, you'll have to turn that off to receive Google SMS results. Want more info on Google SMS? Visit
http://sms.google.com
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Not For Geeks Only: LowFat Linux
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Long-time readers will remember that I wrote a book called "The No BS Guide to Linux" a few years ago. That book is out of print, but the contents are as fresh and relevant as ever, so I decided to put all that material online, freely available for anyone who wants to learn the basics of using Linux without getting bogged down in too much detail or technobabble.
http://www.LowFatLinux.com
This free online tutorial will teach you about the Linux file system useful commands, text editors, data manipulation, shell programming, accesing DOS and Windows Files from Linux and much more. I hope you find it useful.
+-------------------------------------------------+
That's it for today. Have a safe and happy week, and we'll talk again soon.
+---------------------------------------+
==[ Tourbus Rider Information ]==
The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Tourbus News Service - http://tourbus.com/news.html
Subscribe, Signoff, Archives, Free Stuff and More at the
Tourbus Website - http://www.TOURBUS.com
========================
.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { crispen@netsquirrel.com
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ -' \ } )) AOL Instant Messenger: Squirrel2K
_( ( )_.'
---..{____} Warning: squirrels.
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Our Church, Magnolia Christian Center, has the following mission statement. Our purpose is to build a great church for the glory of God through the great commission and the great commandment. MCC' Vision - That MCC will be a place hopping with children, energized with teenagers, balanced with diversity and transformed by the power of God! We want to turn uninterested people into interested people and win the lost to make fully devoted followers of Christ.
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"National Fire & Rescue"
We published Chief Dan Jones' editorial in our July/August issue and have received numerous letters and e-mails in response to his opinions.
To make sure we're reaching all of our audience with this information, we'd like to share it with you.
Sincerely,
The Editors of National Fire & Rescue
COURAGE AND SAFETY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
By Dan Jones, Editor-in-Chief
If you think the National Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was just an opportunity to review some safety procedures and remember line-of-duty deaths, then I think you missed the point. I believe the Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was about a spark intended to ignite a flame of cultural change in the American fire service. The quote below from Albert Einstein accurately describes the depth of the firefighter safety problem we face. We as an industry give lots of lip service to firefighter safety and we spend lots of money on the problem, but I believe we have an underlying flaw in our thinking that prevents us from really addressing the issue of why we kill and injure firefighters and then accept it as the cost of doing what we do. The flaw involves our perception of courage and how we must accept risk.
According to Ask Jeeves, www. ask. com, the definition of courage is "that quality of mind which enables one to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear, or fainting of heart; valor; boldness; resolution. "Safety is defined as the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury or loss. "
The definitions of courage and safety above are found on the Internet and reflect common thinking about what the two words mean. Both are words used frequently in the fire service, and both words are important to our culture in emergency services. However, the word courage carries more weight emotionally. Courage is an expected norm in our firefighter culture. It is a subconscious measuring tool we apply to ourselves and our colleagues. It is a word used reverently to describe those lost in the line of duty regardless of circumstance. It cannot be overstated how important this word and concept is to our fraternal culture.
Safety is also important but does not carry the emotional baggage for the fire service like the word courage does. In fact, I think that we as an industry view the word and concept of safety as counter to courage, which we place such value upon.
In our traditional risk-taking culture do we believe that the concept of safety is a threat to our value of courage? Have we over a long period of time come to value courage over safety and our own lives? We must learn to keep courage in its rightful place and put our effort and priority on safety. We clearly put heart and soul into creating safety for our citizens and victims, but we are not so zealous when it comes to ourselves. Firefighters are risk takers. It is valued in the brotherhood and sisterhood of firefighting. We have deluded ourselves into believing that safety tears at our fabric of courage. We rationalize that belief by buying the best safety gear and then taking even greater risks and pushing deeper into the flame. Safety is something we spend money on, not something we practice. Our collective cultural belief is flawed.
Policy notwithstanding in most fire departments, violations of safety practices are frequently overlooked or winked at. Safety technology is frequently purchased by fire departments but unused by its firefighters. Eye rolls and yawns are the expected reaction from firefighters if a training officer spends "too much time" on the subject of safety during a drill. A fire officer who halts or holds back on a fireground operation sometimes has his courage questioned in the aftermath.
So could it be that the whole concept of a Stand Down for Safety idea was an initial effort to begin the process of changing how we as members of the culture we call "fire and rescue" think about safety? Are the leaders of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, United States Fire Administration, National Volunteer Fire Council and other fire service organizations asking us to reconsider how we view safety and what it should really mean to all of us?
I believe a lot of credit for this beginning wave of awareness should go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which, with its 16 safety initiatives, has called upon us all to pause and consider what we allow to happen and then rationalize it to each other and ourselves as the cost of courage. If you have not yet taken a good look at those initiatives, please be sure to do so.
They can be found in their entirety on page 20 of this issue of National Fire & Rescue as well as on our Web site at www. nfrmag. com. You can also find them on the Web site of virtually any of the leading organizations in the fire service. Look them over and think about how broad and deep necessary change is in our culture.
I truly hope that the National Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was not a one-time event. We should do it again and again and again until the cultural change begins to take hold. Make sure your fire and rescue department participates in every Safety Stand Down and commits to the follow-up that makes the lessons useful and accepted.
The Firefighter Life Safety Summit, which helped create those 16 initiatives, was created by courageous fire service leaders who recognized the futility of burying firefighters and accepting it as part of the industry. Fighting fire and making rescues will always have inherent dangers, but not using all of our skills, intelligence and technology to apply safety practices for those who must take the calculated risks is collective idiocy. IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese once described the firefighter death rate as "fratricide" the killing of our own.
Let's all work to create a fire service culture that values safety at the same level we value courage and celebrates both with equal fervor. Courage is not working a vehicle accident without a roadblock or visibility vest. Courage is not making a deep interior attack in a well-involved abandoned building. Courage is not driving a fire apparatus so fast that wheels leave the ground. Courage is not using flammable liquids in an acquired structure training burn. All of those are stupid and we should stop glorifying them under the veil of courage.
I don't know how or when safety became counter to courage in our collective psyche, but now is when it must stop. Safety and courage can both be expected norms in our work. They are not mutually exclusive.
Dan Jones
Editor-in-Chief
This opinion-based editorial does not necessarily reflect the beliefs, opinions or positions of the publisher of National Fire & Rescue magazine, SpecComm International Inc. , the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section of the IAFC (VCOS), the Chapel Hill Fire Department, or any of the advertisers or contributors to National Fire & Rescue magazine.
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Verse of the Day
To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4:26 (NASB95)
There are so many questions that I want to ask God when I get to see Him face-to-face. Today’s verse brings one to mind. What happened that men ceased calling upon Him after the death of Abel? I know they did because today’s verse tells us that men BEGAN to call upon the Lord after the birth of Seth’s son, Enosh. Of course, the next question arises on the heals of the first. What caused men to begin to CALL upon the Lord’s name? Certainly it wasn’t the birth of a son. That happened often enough that it wasn’t a supernatural event – not out of the ordinary enough to bring revival. It is also obvious that Seth wasn’t the only one to call upon the Lord. The text says “men”. That is plural and is the word meaning “mankind”.
I don’t have answers to my questions, but it seems that revival took hold of the inhabited world at that time. Men recognized their need for a relationship with God. Evidently they had abandoned the relationship that God sought to continue with Adam and Cain. We can also begin to see a pattern. Take a look at the next few verses. It isn’t until Genesis 5:22 that we see another reference to God. It is there that we see that Enoch “walked with God”. That doesn’t necessarily mean that no one else did, but for some reason Enoch stood out to the historians of the day. Enoch walked with God. We haven’t heard that language since Adam was in the garden. Enoch had a special relationship with the Father, the Creator, the great “I AM”. It seems that Enoch’s relationship was so close that God gathered him into His very presence … permanently. “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24 (NASB95)
It isn’t until generations later that we see another revival burst. The first part of chapter 6 tells us that the world had become an evil place … so evil that God was about ready to destroy the whole mess and start over. At last it seems that God’s patience had finally matched mine at the beginning! But alas, God walked the earth one last time and found Noah. The historian tells us, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Gen 6:8 (NASB95) This revival wasn’t very predominant … only Noah and his immediate family were involved. However, it was enough for God to develop a relationship with this righteous human. Noah and God walked together (vs.. 9) and they communed together (vs.. 13). God even shared His plans with Noah (vs.. 13 ff).
“So, Harley, how does this help us as we seek to walk with God? What can we learn from these tales?”
It seems apparent that God is longsuffering. He never did give up on all of mankind. He could always find at least some good … even if it was one righteous man. God kept trying to rebuild the relationship He had with mankind. I think it is safe to translate that into our own personal quest for that relationship. There is none of us who is sinless. Agreed? I know I’m far from that lofty position. Still, God has seen some good in each of us. He recognizes, not our depravity, but our potential for godliness. No matter how far we have wandered from perfection, God sees in us the ideal He created. He longs to restore that relationship … and He will not cease trying to get our attention by revealing our need. If God roamed the earth to find one man whom He could use to begin again, he is certainly willing to hound me … and you … until we are ready to “walk with God.”
Keep hounding, Father. I feel myself weakening! Please don’t give up now!
Harley
-=+=-
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:6-7 (NASB95)
So Eve sinned. And Adam sinned. And God drove them out of the garden for their own good. If I were God, I would have abandoned the whole mess and walked away to create a new version … and eliminated the “freedom to choose” gene in man. Fortunately, I am not God, and God has a different perspective on things that I do.
It seems that Abel and Cain were farmers. (Who said the oldest profession was prostitution? He was wrong! The oldest profession is farming.) Somehow it had been transferred to them that they should offer sacrifices to God from the products they raised. It also appears that God required that these sacrifices would be of the “blood sacrifice” type. There is absolutely no text reason for this, it just was.
Now the day of sacrifice came and Abel, being a shepherd, looked through his flock, selected a nice lamb and offered it to the Father as his sacrifice. Cain, on the other hand, went to the granary and pulled out a bushel or so of his best crops. This is where the assumption must be made that the information about the “blood” thing had been transferred to the sons. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable as a sweet offering to God. Cain’s was refused. Quite honestly, I can understand God’s position. I have smelled both burnt meat and burnt grain. I prefer the former as well!
It is evident from the text that Cain was not a happy farmer. I suspect that he was ranting and raving to Abel and God about the failure. Now comes the good part. God still has a relationship with man … and not just Adam and Eve. God spoke directly to Cain. God was interested in Cain’s reaction. Notice that the question is about Cain’s attitude. “Why has your countenance fallen?” He asked. He did not inquire about the sacrifice. He did not scold Cain for his lack of obedience. He wanted to open a dialogue in an effort to instruct Cain and help him improve the relationship.
I honestly believe God desired to restore the relationship between Himself and man at that point. His desire was to obliterate sin at that point. Perhaps the next generation of mankind would fare better than the first. God did not condemn at all. “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?” Positive instruction. In essence, God said, “Hey, Cain. It’s ok. All you have to do is take one of your sheep, or trade some corn for one of your brother’s and make an appropriate sacrifice.” That sounds pretty reasonable to me. Make a slight course adjustment and everything will be ok. Any reasonable man would have accepted that instruction. But God was not finished. He proceeded to instruct Cain. He warned him what was around the corner if Cain did not change his tune! Again God did not condemn. He instructed. “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” You see, Cain had not yet sinned! Anger is not sin. Even the unacceptable sacrifice was not a sin. Both could be remedied. However, should the attitude persist, sin would be the eventual result.
Cain persisted. We know the result. He took his anger out on Abel … and the sin of murder entered the near pristine world that God had made just for mankind.
Isn’t it interesting that we assume the Old Testament is all about an angry God, one who was on the warpath in an effort to scare mankind into obedience? It appears that we are wrong in that perception. God, from the very beginning, longed for a relationship with man … and longed to keep that relationship going even after man sinned … and sinned again. God was in the teaching business … and the loving business … and the restoration business from the very introduction of sin into paradise!
He continues the practice today … for you and for me.
Harley
-=+=-
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Gen 3:21 (NASB)
Ok, I know I should move on, but I just can’t. I’m stuck on Adam … at least for today. All too often, we think of sin separating us from … well, everything and every one. I wish I had a dollar for every time I though, “If they knew what I was really like, they wouldn’t want me around.” I suspect that all of us have entertained such thoughts. The reason is simple. We know the innermost workings of our souls, and that innermost is rotten. We are unworthy. We cannot be trusted. We are too “evil”.
While we may entertain those thoughts, we must know that they are not true – not true to God, anyway. Take a look at today’s verse. What did God do when He found Adam and Eve hiding? Did He condemn them to hell? Did He yell and scream? Sure, He meted out discipline. It was necessary. However, He didn’t give up on them. We find that God helped Adam and Eve in their discomfort. He made them durable garments. Fig leaves could only go so far in hiding their nakedness. God sacrificed one of His creations to begin the atonement process. Remember, God is relational. He longed for a being that He could commune with. He loved Adam and Eve enough to make them comfortable … before each other and before Him.
While God did drive Adam and Eve from the garden, even that was for their good. He knew that should that gain eternal life on earth and in their sinful condition, they would live in eternal misery. Once they had sinned, sin would become a way of life. And that way of life would be continually escalating in scope. If we don’t believe that, look what happened in Babylon! There we find a people who were living an unrestrained life of sin. They had abandoned God. They were in the process of advancing themselves into God’s place. The tower they were building was an overt affront to Him. No, Adam and Eve were blessed by God when He drove them from the Garden. Only in that way could God’s plan for salvation be consummated in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
Likewise, God has not abandoned us because of our sinfulness. A bolt of lightning does not strike us when we sin. The church building does not come crashing down when a sinner enters into the sanctuary. God never gives up hope that we will return to Him. Sure, He must mete out the discipline … that is the only way that God can draw us back to Himself. If our lives were always easy, what would cause us to realize our need for salvation? If our paths were always straight, what would cause us to need a map? No, discipline is essential for God’s plan of redemption to work in us. God has not abandoned us … even in our most odious and sinful condition. Instead, He does all that is necessary to lead us back into a loving relationship with Him.
It is that relationship that I long for now. It is that ability to walk with Him that I desire more than anything else. There is not a day that passes that I don’t cry out for God to reveal Himself to me in the way He did with the pre-sin Adam. Now I understand that the separation is crucial if the relationship is to be restored.
Lord, bring the separation to an end! I want to walk in Your presence.
Harley
-=+=-
c. 2005 Harley E. Hudson
If you received Verse of the Day as a forward and you wish to have your own subscription, simply send an e-mail to hhudson719@earthlink.net and request a free subscription.
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TGIF-Today God Is First
Business as Ministry
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Friday, August 12, 2005
by Os Hillman
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ~ Colossians 3:23-24
The Bible is very clear that the purpose for our work life is to reflect Christ in and through our lives. It is an attitude that says our work is to have an overriding "ministry" objective to it. Our work is our worship to God. These two words even originate from the same Hebrew word, avodah.
Robert Laidlaw was born in Scotland in 1885 but grew up in New Zealand. Born to Christian parents, he committed his life fully to the Lord when he was 17. Laidlaw began working in a hardware merchant company as a traveling sales representative when he was 19. Later he had the idea for a mail-order catalogue business that sold everything imaginable including underwear, groceries, cosmetics, and farm equipment, all at bargain-basement prices. His concept proved successful and his business later merged with the Farmer's Union Trading Company. He became general manager and held that position for 50 years.
But this is not the most significant thing that can be said about Robert Laidlaw. He understood that his work life was a tool to affect others for Jesus Christ. He began giving ten percent of his income early in his business life. Later, however, he entered this into his journal: "September 1919, age twenty-five. I have decided to change my earlier graduated scale, and start now giving half (fifty percent) of all my earnings." This he continued for the next 60 years. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 351.]
The result of that commitment was countless numbers affected for Jesus Christ through the resources he gave to mission groups and other worthy Christian causes. He was personally involved in ministry. He wrote a small book that gave a thoughtful answer to basic questions about life and faith. It was titled The Reason. Many hundreds of thousands came to faith in Christ because of this 46-page booklet. He publicly spoke to many of his faith in Christ and became very involved in the Soldier's and Airmen's Association when World War II broke out. Robert Laidlaw understood what it meant to view business with an overriding ministry objective.
Does the Lord have complete control of your life? If so, you will be able to see your work life as an extension of His life in you. Let the Lord live in and through your work life today.
-=+=-
Reflecting His Glory
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They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. ~ Psalm 145:11-12
How do you measure your effectiveness in God, or should you even be thinking like this? The early Church turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective? Was it their theology? Was it great preaching? Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus?
The Scriptures are clear as to what made the early Church effective. It is at the core of God's heart, and it is quite simple. God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual. When this happens, the world is automatically changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world.
We serve a jealous God. He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone. God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them. He has done this since the day He created man. His desire is to reflect His glory through you and me, so that all men may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of His Kingdom.
The apostle Paul understood this principle: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why. He has promised to do so if we will walk in obedience to His commands.
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Embracing the Mess
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Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. ~ Proverbs 14:4
My wife and I run together through a new home subdivision. Often we see the street filled with red clay from the land as bulldozers clear it to lay a foundation. The job site is littered with lumber, all sorts of trash from workers, and is generally a mess. The house looks ugly; it has all its insides exposed as it is being pieced together, yet this process is necessary to get to the finished product. When completed, the home is beautiful. The landscaping looks like it came out of a home-design magazine. Everything is clean and perfect in order for the new homeowner to move in.
Our walk with God is much the same process. Often we must go through a messy period of our lives in which all aspects of it are in disarray. It is in these times that God builds a new structure. He might remove some structural timbers in our lives and replace them with new ones. He might even add on another room. And unless this process takes place, we will never see the end product. The goal is more Christlikeness. In order to achieve this in us, He requires a period of removing all that is not of Him. It can be a painful process.
It would be impossible to keep oxen in a barn without having to clean up the mess from time to time. It just comes with the territory, but the result of the oxen is an abundant harvest. God may be allowing a mess in order to ensure a fruitful harvest in your life. Learn from Him so that you might experience the fulfillment of His purposes for you in these times.
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The Causes of Failure
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You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. ~ Joshua 7:13b
The first battle for the people of Israel traveling from Egypt was at Jericho, once they crossed the Jordan River. God had given them a great victory at Jericho, and Joshua was now ready to move to their next battle at Ai. After they spied out the enemy camp, they determined they needed only a few thousand men to gain victory. They went up against Ai only to fail miserably. They lost 32 men in a battle that should have been an easy victory, but instead they were forced to retreat. Joshua was devastated. "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?" (Josh. 7:7a)
In this case, the people fell short because they failed to uphold the standard God had set for them. God had told them not to take any plunder from their first battle. However, Achan hid some forbidden treasures, and God was now judging the entire nation for one man's sin.
Whenever we act without God's complete blessing on our activity, we can expect God to thwart our plans. God's word to Joshua was that he could not stand against his enemies as long as there was disobedience among his troops.
Whenever we launch a business endeavor, we should make sure there are no unclean things in our dealings that would allow us to be vulnerable to a failed effort: unpaid vendors, disgruntled employees who were not treated fairly, lawsuits, dishonesty. Many of these things can hinder God from blessing our enterprises. These things can remove the shield of protection from our workplace, which God wants to bless, but cannot because He is committed to upholding righteousness. His name is blemished when unrighteousness is allowed to permeate our lives.
Is the Lord able to bless your enterprises today? If not, you may need to go back and clean up a few things before He can do so. Take whatever steps are needed to ensure the blessing of God today.
-=+=-
Copyright 2005. www.MarketplaceLeaders.org
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To contact Os Hillman, request reprint permission, or to book Os to speak in your town write to os@marketplaceleaders.org. Marketplace Leaders Website: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/ Copyright 2005
--------------------------------------------------
Please recommend this TGIF daily devotional to everyone interested in applying their faith to their worklife. Tell them to subscribe at http://www.TodayGodIsFirst.com
Os Hillman Copyright 2005
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Activities and Events of Interest
~~~
Steak & Bingo (Sep 10 06:00 PM CDT in Jr. High cafeteria)
~~~
The Emancipation Proclamation will be on display at the Clinton Library September 22-25, 2007.
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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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NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink. mil/releases/
01. Lance Cpl. Adam J. Strain, 20, of Smartsville, Calif., died Aug 3 as result of enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Strain was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
02. Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died Aug 3 when the amphibious assault vehicle in which he was a passenger was hit by an improvised explosive device. Dyer’s unit was conducting combat operations south of Haditha, Iraq. Dyer was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Columbus, Ohio. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
03. Staff Sgt. Chad J. Simon, 32, of Madison, Wis., died Aug. 4, while under hospice care in Madison, Wis., from wounds he received on Nov. 8, 2004 from an explosion while conducting combat operations in Babil Province, Iraq. Simon was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Madison, Wis.
The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Killed were:
04. Sgt. Jerry L. Ganey Jr., 29, of Folkston, Ga.
05. Spc. Mathew V. Gibbs, 21, of Ambrose, Ga.
06. Sgt. 1st Class Charles H. Warren, 36, of Duluth, Ga.
They died on Aug. 3, in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their armored personnel carrier. Gibbs was in the vehicle at the time; Warren and Ganey were conducting a dismounted security patrol. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 648th Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade, Statesboro, Ga.
The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Killed were:
07. Sgt. 1st Class Victor A. Anderson, 39, of Ellaville, Ga.
08. Staff Sgt. David R. Jones Sr., 45, of Augusta, Ga.
09. Sgt. Ronnie L. Shelley Sr., 34, of Valdosta, Ga.
Final identification of a fourth soldier who was killed in the same incident is forthcoming.
They died on July 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV while they were on patrol. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Albany, Ga.
10. Gunnery Sgt. Theodore Clark Jr., 31, of Emporia, Va., died Aug. 4 when the vehicle in which he was a passenger was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Gardez, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
11. Pvt. 1st Class Nils G. Thompson, 19, of Confluence, Pa., died Aug. 4, in Mosul, Iraq, when he was struck by enemy fire while on a routine patrol at an Iraqi police station. Thompson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died on Aug. 4, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when their vehicle left the road and went into a river. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga. Killed were:
12. Pvt. 1st Class Damian J. Garza, 19, of Odessa, Texas.
13. Pvt. John M. Henderson Jr., 21, of Columbus, Ga.
14. Gunnery Sgt. Terry W. Ball Jr., 36, of East Peoria, Ill., died Aug. 5 from wounds received as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Karmah, Iraq, on June 12. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Both died on August 5, 2005, in Rubiah, Iraq, when a civilian fuel truck collided with their HMMWV while performing a convoy mission. Killed were:
15. Sgt. 1st Class Robert V. Derenda, 42, of Ledbetter, Ky. Derenda was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve's 1st Brigade, 98th Division, Rochester, N.Y.
16. Sgt. 1st Class Brett E. Walden, 40, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Walden was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.
17. Spc. Seferino J. Reyna, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., died on Aug. 7, 2005, in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.
18. Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, 21, of Lexington, Ky., died Aug. 6 as a result of an explosion from a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Amiriyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on August 6, 2005, near Balad, Iraq, where they were conducting convoy operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV. Both soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Philadelphia, Pa.
19. Sgt. Brahim J. Jeffcoat, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.
20. Spc. Kurt E. Krout, 43, of Spinnerstown, Pa.
21. Sgt. Jonathon C. Haggin, 26, of Kingsland, Ga., died on July 30, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
Three other soldiers whose names were announced on August 5, 2005, were also killed in this incident. Haggin was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Albany, Ga.
22. Staff Sgt. Ramon E. Gonzales Cordova, 30, of Davie, Fla., died Aug. 8 as a result of enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
23. Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Falkel, 22, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., died on Aug. 8, 2005, in Deh Afghan, Afghanistan, when his unit was conducting combat operations and was engaged by enemy forces using small arms fire. Falkel was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
24. Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Benson, 40, of Winona, Minn., died on Aug. 10 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of injuries sustained on Aug. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device struck his convoy. Benson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 314th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 78th Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
25. Spc. Christopher M. Katzenberger, 25, of St. Louis, Mo., died on Aug. 9, 2005, in Bagram, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained earlier that day in Ghazni, Afghanistan, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Katzenberger was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on Aug. 9, 2005, in Bayji, Iraq, where a mine exploded and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. The attack occurred while the soldiers were investigating a rocket-propelled grenade incident. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Philadelphia, Pa.
Killed were:
26. Pfc. Nathaniel E. Detample, 19, of Morrisville, Pa.
27. Spc. John Kulick, 35, of Harleysville, Pa.
28. Spc. Gennaro Pellegrini Jr., 31, of Philadelphia, Pa.
29. Sgt. Francis J. Straub Jr., 24, of Philadelphia, Pa
30. Lance Cpl. Evenor C. Herrera, 22, of Gypsum, Colo., died Aug. 10 from wounds received from the detonation of an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
31. Spc. Miguel Carrasquillo, 25, of River Grove, Ill., died on Aug. 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Carrasquillo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
32. Staff Sgt. Ryan S. Ostrom, 25, of Liberty, Pa., died on Aug. 9 in Taqaddum, Iraq, from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire earlier in Habbaniya, Iraq. Ostrom was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, Williamsport, Pa.
33. Sgt. Edward R. Heselton, 23, of Easley, S.C., died on Aug. 11, in Orgun-E, Afghanistan, when ordnance exploded near the vehicle he was driving as his unit performed a route clearing mission. Heselton was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve's 391st Engineer Battalion, 415th Chemical Brigade, Greenville, S.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
They died on Aug. 8 in Baghdad, Iraq from injuries sustained on Aug. 7, when their HMMWV was struck by two improvised explosive devices and they received small arms fire. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, New York, N.Y. Killed were:
34. Spc. Anthony N. Kalladeen, 26, of Purchase, N.Y.
35. Pfc. Hernando Rios, 29, of Queens, N.Y.
~~~
Twelve MIAS from Vietnam War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today the identification of the remains of 12 U.S. servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War. Five of those identified are being returned to their families for burial, and the remaining seven will be buried as a group in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.
The men who were individually identified are: Cpl. Gerald E. King, of Knoxville, Tenn.; Lance Cpls. Joseph F. Cook, of Foxboro, Mass.; Raymond T. Heyne, of Mason, Wis.; Donald W. Mitchell, of Princeton, Ky.; and Thomas W. Fritsch, of Cromwell, Conn., all of the U.S. Marine Corps. Additional group remains are those of: Pfcs. Thomas J. Blackman, of Racine, Wis.; Paul S. Czerwonka, of Stoughton, Mass.; Barry L. Hempel, of Garden Grove, Calif.; Robert C. Lopez, of Albuquerque, N.M.; William D. McGonigle, of Wichita, Kan.; and Lance Cpl. James R. Sargent, of Anawalt, W. Va., all of the U.S. Marine Corps. Additionally, the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Glenn E. Miller, of Oakland, Calif. will be included in the group burial.
The Marines were part of an artillery platoon airlifted to provide support to the 11th Mobile Strike Force, which was under threat of attack from North Vietnamese forces near Kham Duc in South Vietnam. On May 9, 1968, the Strike Force had been directed to reconnoiter an area known as Little Ngok Tavak Hill near the Laos-Vietnam border. Their base came under attack by North Vietnamese Army troops, and after a 10-hour battle, all of the survivors were able to withdraw from the area.
Six investigations beginning in 1993 and a series of interviews of villagers and former Vietnamese soldiers led U.S. recovery teams in 1994, 1997 and 1998 to specific defensive positions within the large battle site. Additionally, maps provided by American survivors helped to locate some key areas on the battlefield. Three excavations by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in 1998 and 1999 yielded human remains, personal effects and other material evidence.
JPAC scientists and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory specialists used mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic tools to help identify the remains.
Of the 88,000 Americans missing in action from all conflicts, 1,815 are from the Vietnam War, with 1,381 of those within the country of Vietnam. Another 768 Americans have been accounted for in Southeast Asia since the end of the war. Of those, 540 are from within Vietnam.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
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Remember that for every soldier killed in modern war, 10 are wounded. Don't forget to pray for them and their families.
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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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Scheduled Activities
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Alcoholics Anonymous meets at 8 p.m. Monday - Friday. At noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at 7 p.m. Sunday at 914 N. Vine
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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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Columbia County Diabetes Support Group - Every third Monday, 7:00 p.m. room 222, Magnolia Hospital
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"Focus on the Family" with Dr. James Dobson weekday afternoons at 1 PM on KVMA am 630 it's a great show!
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MCC - Abraham Prayer - Sunday at 5:00 p.m and Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
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MCC - Early Morning Prayer - Monday - Friday, From 6:30 am to 8:00 am
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MCC - "Beth Moore" Video Class - Thursday nights at 5:45 pm
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MCC - "Faith Builders" Small group meets at 1051 Columbia 36 the second and fourth Tuesdays, 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm.
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MCC - Firm Foundations Class, Sunday 9:30 to 10:15 a.m
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MCC - Meadow Brook Nursing Home Ministry Tuesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m
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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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MCC - Over comers: Fridays @ 7:00 p.m- Director, Traci Foster invites you to a 12 step Christian support program. For anyone with a life controlling problem. Child care is provided.
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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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Narcotics Anonymous 5-6 pm every Monday at 220 Pine street.
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TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 5 pm every Tuesday in the Magnolia Hospital break room.
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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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"Fight till you win!" - - Mark Brazee
"Bring 'em on!" - -President George W. Bush
"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"
"If you can read this e-mail, thank a teacher. - - If you read it in English, thank a serviceman."
"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
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - - Margaret Mead
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.
God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Eph 1:17-19a Psa 71:20-24 Gen 37:9-11
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII
P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E-mail at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format. For the "Blog" version just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com/ to see the latest issue. This week, "Word" and "PDF" subscribers get to see photos of Dream Center Cooks.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. Of course "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com to see the latest issue (usually updated sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2005 before it was sent.
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Hello All,
Who’s afraid of the big bad Bone Marrow test? Nothing to it. After Becky Horne loaded me up with Valium and Demerol, who cared what Dr. Mendelsohm did?
Seriously, thanks to Becky and Debbie for calming me down and keeping me calm. They listened to my dumb stories and talked me through the procedure. I’m not sure which one was holding my hand (I kept my eyes closed during the whole time) but I hope I didn’t injure her when I started squeezing it.
Special thanks to the wife of my youth who prayed for me as well as my friends who knew how much I dreaded this and sought to allay my fears. Y’alls support and prayers made this bearable.
I didn’t even scream.
{Note to Dr. M.: It might make things easier if you didn’t ask the nurse for a longer needle when patients are in earshot.}
~~~~~
For you who are new readers, they’ve been sampling my bone marrow periodically for almost 50 years. As before, the report this year was pretty much the same; Megaloblastic anemia (at least that’s what I think they call it. I never think to have them spell it when they call me with the results) with Post Spleenectomy Syndrome.
The good news is that my hemoglobin counts are trending up slightly. The EPO continues to work and Dr. Mendelsohm says there’s another drug out there that we can try if the Procrit becomes ineffective.
~~~~~
Shell got it's start in the U.S. when they could not get a contract for oil transport with Standard Oil in California - so the Shell Trading and Transport Company (in London) started it's own distribution network in California. The entire Shell organization has been (still is) a variety of somewhat independent companies - when I came to Shell, I was told the company organization was strongly influenced by the organization of Standard Oil - whatever they were doing must be wrong, and we are doing it differently.
Thanks to Joe R. Tudor
~~~~~
The 2005 Perseid Meteor Shower - - http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22jul_perseids2005.htm - - The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th
~~~~~
Keith Burton, Terry Stockdale and I recommend Google Earth http://earth.google.com. If you have broadband. Terry explains it best at Terry's Computer Tips newsletter - http://www.terryscomputertips.com
~~~~~
Speaking of technology, one of the welder's at work was talking cell phones and I heard him say he planned to get one of those new ones with "hounds tooth."
I hope he likes the pattern.
~~~~~
Re: Standard Oil is born (1882), Joe Tudor writes “Shell got it's start in the U.S. when they could not get a contract for oil transport with Standard Oil in California - so the Shell Trading and Transport Company (in London) started it's own distribution network in California. The entire Shell organization has been (still is) a variety of somewhat independent companies - when I came to Shell, I was told the company organization was strongly influenced by the organization of Standard Oil - whatever they were doing must be wrong, and we are doing it differently.”
~~~~~
Don't forget ... "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
www.aaa.com Regular Mid Premium Diesel
Current Avg. $2.41 $2.56 $2.65 $2.49
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/
~~~~~
Recipe(s) of the week - Chicken Carbonara
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
See this recipe on air Friday Sep. 02 at 4:30 PM ET/PT.
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1-pound spaghetti
4 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and garlic and sauté until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and serve.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31016,00.html
~~~~~
BREAKPOINT Commentaries
by Chuck Colson. - Prison Fellowship
Fears and Fallacies
How to Stand Your Ground
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
A professor at a well known liberal arts college became infamous for starting each semester by holding up a Bible and asking, “How many of you believe this book is the Word of God?” One or two undergraduates might have sheepishly raised their hands. The professor would then say, “Do you want to know what I think of this book? This is what I think of it”—and he would hurl the Bible out an open window.
Even more astonishing, this display took place at a Christian college. Hostility to biblical faith is now common on both secular and religious campuses, says J. Budziszewski in his newly updated book How to Stay Christian in College. The attitude seems to be “ABC”—Anything But Christianity.
Consider the story of a student named Frank. When he expressed a Christian point of view in a course on family law, a female student shouted, “Why don’t you just shut up!” The professor merely smirked and said to Frank, “I guess she told you!”
Or consider Kathy. In her ethics course, the textbook explained that there are two approaches to morality: supernaturalistic theories, which base morality on God, and naturalistic theories, which try to derive morality apart from God. The textbook then excluded supernaturalistic theories from its discussion. When Kathy asked the professor why, he replied, “We don’t have time for superstitions.”
Then there’s Keesha. On the first day of her graduate seminar on public policy, the teacher announced that every point of view was welcome. Keesha looked forward to an open debate on abortion. But the second day, the teacher opened class by asking, “All of you here are too intelligent to be pro-life, right?”
Sad to say, such tactics of intimidation are common in today’s university classrooms—and it’s important for Christian students to learn to see through them. Telling a student to “just shut up” is technically called the fallacy of argumentum ad baculum, or “argument to the stick,” which means abusing someone instead of reasoning with him.
Dismissing Christian ideas as mere “superstition” is another fallacy—the fallacy of “begging the question”—which means merely assuming a point instead of proving it. And asking students if they are too intelligent to hold Christian values is the fallacy of “complex question”—which means posing a question that one cannot answer without incriminating oneself, much like, “Have you stopped beating your wife?”
Christian students need to be intellectually prepared to see through the common tactics of intimidation. They must be able to demonstrate that Christianity really is a more rational explanation of reality than any of its competitors in the marketplace of ideas. A practical resource is J. Budziszewski’s book How to Stay Christian in College. If you call BreakPoint (1-877-322-5527), we’ll tell you how to get a copy of it for the kids in your life who are headed off to college this fall.
Christian students don’t need to feel intimidated by professors who insult both their intelligence and their faith. All they need to do is think rationally—because God’s truth is far more reasonable than any of the logical fallacies used to dismiss it in the classroom today.
This commentary first aired on August 17, 2004.
For further reading and information:
Today’s BreakPoint offer: The book How to Stay Christian in College and the CD interview “College Life Today” with Professor Budziszewski are both included in the BreakPoint College Survival Kit for Students. To order, call 1-877-322-5527.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 040816, “Academic Fables and Myths: Does Believing Make It So?”
Fred Barnes, “Dare to Stand Out,” Boundless, 21 July 2005.
See FIRE’s Guide to Religious Liberty on Campus.
http://www.pfm.org/Content/NavigationMenu5/BreakPoint/LearnMore/About_BreakPoint/default.htm 2005 Prison Fellowship.
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
beholden: obliged; indebted.
waylay: to ambush or accost.
castigate: to punish or criticize severely.
somniferous: causing or inducing sleep.
captious: disposed to find fault or raise objections.
sojourn: to dwell for a time; also, a temporary stay.
nugatory: insignificant; also, ineffectual.
ubiquitous: being everywhere.
from Dictionary.Com
~~~~~
"A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world." - Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) Canadian Philosopher, Author
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." - Voltaire
"There will be a time when loud-mouthed, incompetent people seem to be getting the best of you. When that happens, you only have to be patient and wait for them to self destruct. It never fails." - Richard Rybolt
"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day." - W. Earl Hall
"Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt." - George Sewell
"The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful theory by an ugly fact." - Thomas Huxley
"And none will hear the postman's knock / Without a quickening of the heart. / For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?" - W.H. Auden
"An open mind is all very well, but it ought not to be so open that there's no keeping anything in or out." - Samuel Butler
"Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love - and to put its trust in life." - Joseph Conrad
~~~~~
This weekend, America celebrates the 70th birthday of Social Security. On August 14, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law a system that would provide an avenue for millions of Americans to retire in dignity and with security. On the 70th birthday of Social Security, we not only celebrate President Roosevelt’s incredible vision, but are also invigorated to renew our commitment to protect Social Security for decades and generations to come.
Arkansas ranks third in the nation with the largest percentage of the population receiving Social Security benefits with 543,669 people receive benefits. This includes over 300,000 retired workers, 91,000 disabled workers, and 54,000 children. Without Social Security, 58% of beneficiaries over the age of 65 would have incomes below the poverty line.
My first action as a Member of Congress was to tell the politicians in Washington to keep their hands off the Social Security Trust Fund. I did this by introducing the Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001, which prohibited the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund surpluses from being used in national budget surplus projections.
The Social Security Administration projects that the Social Security Trust Fund’s reserves will be depleted by 2041. Some politicians claim that the only way to save Social Security is by privatization. Taking money out of the Social Security Trust Fund and placing it into unstable private accounts is a risk our seniors simply cannot afford. With privatization, workers will assume the risk of their retirement security. American citizens will be forced to cope with the risk of a bad investment, the risk that they will outlive their assets, or the risk of a stock market crash.
As your Member of Congress in the United States House of Representatives, I remain committed to protecting Social Security and ensuring that the Social Security safety net created by President Roosevelt in 1935 will continue to pay beneficiaries, in full, the security they have worked a lifetime to receive. I will work in a bipartisan manner to produce common-sense legislation that will strengthen Social Security so that the trust fund can continue to pay its beneficiaries without increasing the deficit or reducing guaranteed benefits.
Sincerely,
Congressman Mike Ross - Representing Arkansas's 4th District
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GCF: Fruit Stand
Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to: andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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.slonet.org/~tellswor/ UNSUBSCRIBE INFO for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2005 before it was sent.
-----------------------------------
A picky customer comes to a small food shop and sees a new delivery of fresh fruit. "Give me two kilograms of oranges and wrap every orange up in a separate piece of paper, please," he says to the saleswoman. She does.
"And three kilograms of cherries, please, and wrap up every one in a separate piece of paper, too." She does.
"And what is that there," he asks pointing out a bushel basket in the corner.
"Raisins," says the saleswoman, "but they are not for sale!"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Weather Related
Emailed to me from another humor list (The Funnies) -Tom To subscribe to The Funnies, send a blank email to: andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-----------------------------------
The band at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, was required to play for all generals who arrived on base. One morning, when the commanding officer heard on the radio that a General Frost was expected just after noon, he sent the band scrambling to the flight line with instruments.
One of the musicians had also heard the radio announcement. He took the C.O. aside for a whispered conference. When they returned, the officer told us the performance was canceled.
There was no arriving general. We had almost played for the weather forecast.
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Worm Stubborn
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
-----------------------------------
Little Josh was brought to Dr. Gill cause he hadn't eaten anything for days. Dr. Gill offered him all the goodies he could think of. No luck. He tried a little scolding. It didn't work. A little pleading, to no avail.
Finally he sat down, faced the boy, looked him in the eye. He said, "Look young man, if you can be stubborn, so can I. You're not going anywhere until you eat something. You can have whatever you want, but only after you have eaten will you leave."
Josh just sat and glared for some time, then said "OK. I'll eat but I have some conditions. First, I'll have exactly what I want and exactly how I want it and second you'll share with me."
Dr. Gill was OK with this. He asked the child what he'd like. "Worms!" said Josh.
Dr. Gill was horrified but didn't want to back out and seem like a loser. So, he ordered a plate of worms to be brought in. "Not that many, just one," yelled Josh as he saw the plate.
So, everything other than one worm was removed. Josh then demanded that the single worm be cut into two pieces and then Dr. Gill eat half. Dr. Gill went through the worst ordeal of his life, and after finishing, barely managing to keep his cool, said, "OK, now eat!"
Josh refused as he sobbed, "No way! You ate my half!"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Automation?
Found at The Shark Tank (Computerworld) -Tom
http://www.computerworld.com/departments/opinions/sharktank/0,4885,103571,00.html
-----------------------------------
With HIPAA regulations in full force, this hospital IT technician reminds users that when they print reports containing patient information, those reports can't be left in the printer tray. "They must be either secured under lock and key or shredded," he says. But one user has a problem: "I don't always have time to pick up my reports from the printer. Is there any way I can set up my PC so I can send my documents directly to the shredder?"
_ ____________________________ _
GCF: Mechanic?
Emailed to me from another humor list (Cascade Express E-zine) -Tom
To subscribe to Cascade Express E-zine, send a blank email to:
Cascade_Express-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-------------------------------------------
The helicopter lost power while flying over a remote Scottish island and was forced to make an emergency landing. Luckily there was a small cottage nearby. The pilot walked over to it and knocked on the door. "Is there a mechanic in the area?" he asked the woman who answered the door.
She scratched her head and thought for a few seconds. "No," she finally said, pointing down the road, "but we do have a McArdle and a McKay."
_ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Indecision is the \ /
\ _/ key to flexibility. \_ /
/ / \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / Are you longing for the \ \_/ ////
\ / pitter-patter of little feet? \ /
\ _/ Buy a dog. It's cheaper, \_ /
/ / and you get more feet. \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / There are two theories \ /
\ _/ to arguing with women. \_ /
/ / Neither one works. \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Isn't it a bit unnerving \ /
\ _/ that doctors call \_ /
/ / what they do "practice"? \ (((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_| _ ____________________________ _
/ )| Thomas S. Ellsworth |( / / | tellswor@slonet.org | \ _( (_ | http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor | _) )_
_( (_ | *** Good Clean Fun *** | _) )_
(((\ \>|_/ )_______________________( \_|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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[GCFL.net] Collateral Required
Long ago there was once an old native American who wanted a loan for $500. The banker pulled out the loan application, "What are you going to do with the money?"
"Take jewellery to city and sell it," was the response.
"What have you got for collateral?"
"Don't know collateral."
"Well that's something of value that would cover the cost of the loan.Have you got any vehicles?"
"Yes, 1949 Chevy pickup."
The banker shook his head, "How about livestock?"
"Yes, I have a horse."
"How old is it?"
"Don't know, has no teeth."
Finally the banker decided to make the $500 loan. Several weeks later the old man was back in the bank. He pulled out a roll of bills, "Here to pay." he said. He then handed the banker the money to pay his loan off.
"What are you going to do with the rest of that money?"
"Put in tepee."
"Why don't you deposit it in my bank," he asked.
"Don't know deposit."
"You put the money in our bank and we take care of it for you. When you want to use it you can withdraw it."
The old Indian leaned across the desk, "What you got for collateral?"
Received from Cathy Gilstrap.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] The Zoo
Kimo is a bus driver for the Honolulu Transit Company. One day Kimo is headed to work on his bus route, when he runs across a delivery van stranded at the side of the road. The van driver works for the Honolulu Zoo. He pleads with Kimo
to do him a favor.
He offers a $100 bill to Kimo to help him deliver a
truckload of penguins to the zoo, because they needed to be there within the hour. Agreeing, Kimo proceeds to load two dozen penguins onto his bus. Then, off they drive towards the zoo.
An hour later, the delivery driver gets his van fixed and heads off to the zoo to catch up with his delivery. As he's driving down the road, he see's Kimo and the busload of penguins heading in the opposite direction. He turns his van around and chases in pursuit. He finally catches up to the bus and pulls over Kimo on the side of the road. In an irate voice he asks, "Hey, Kimo. I thought I gave you a $100 dollars to go and take the penguins to the zoo for me?"
"Calm down," Kimo says. "I took the penguins to the zoo. We had change left over, so now I'm taking them to the movies!"
Received from Michael Whalan.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] Park Pun
We took my sons, ages seven and five, up to Friendship Park for a picnic.
My seven year old read the sign with the playground rules to his brother.
"Do not jump on the merry-go-round when in motion."
"Go down the slide while sitting, only."
"Only one child on a swing at a time."
(There were a good twenty rules.)
The boys promised to obey them if I would let them play without Daddy standing by. So, I joined my wife at the picnic table.
Just before it was time to eat, I went over and watched them play. They were obeying the rules, that is, all but one. On the tall semicircular slide, they were coming down head first!
I took them over to the posted regulations. We read them, again. I asked the boys what they had to say for themselves.
"Oh, don't be silly, Dad...no one uses the slide rule
anymore!"
Received from Pastor Tim.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] Getting Out Of Jury Duty
A man was chosen for jury duty who very much wanted to be dismissed from serving. He tried every excuse he could think of but none of them worked. On the day of the trial he decided to give it one more shot. As the trial was about to begin he asked if he could approach the bench.
"Your Honor," he said, " I must be excused from this trial because I am prejudiced against the defendant. I took one look at the man in his blue suit with those beady eyes and that dishonest face and I said 'He's a crook! He's guilty, guilty, guilty!' So your Honor, I can not possibly stay on this jury!"
With a tired annoyance, the judge replied, "Get back in the jury box. That man is his lawyer."
Received from Scott Neville.
-=+=-
[GCFL.net] Little Tim
Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the rosy-cheeked youngster was up to, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Tim?"
"My goldfish died," replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him."
The neighbor was concerned, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it?"
Tim patted down the last heap of earth then replied, "That's because he's inside your cat!"
Received from Bill Thrash.
-=+=-
– NEW! Go to http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20050124 to rate this funny from 0 to 5.
-=+=-
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List "A cheerful heart is good medicine!" (Prov 17:22a) Go to http://gcfl.net/mlfrontend.php to change your subscription options or unsubscribe. To email this funny to a friend, go to http://gcfl.net/emailit.php?funny=20050107 The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://gcfl.net/latest.php
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I took the liberty of editing the first two quotes, as they were a little “colorful”.
Pam
To the Girls !!
Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what happened. (edited) - Cora Harvey Armstrong-
Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies. (edited) - (Unknown)
The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy. - Helen Hayes (at 73)-
I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows. - Janette Barber-
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse. - Lily Tomlin-
A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car. - Carrie Snow-
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends. - Laurie Kuslansky-
My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being -- hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. - Erma Bombeck-
Old age ain't no place for sissies. - Bette Davis-
A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't. - Rhonda Hansome-
The phrase "working mother" is redundant. - Jane Sellman-
Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows. - Jennifer Unlimited-
Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. - Charlotte Whitton-
Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. - Caryn Leschen-
I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. - Jennifer Unlimited-
If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. Catherine
I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde.. - Dolly Parton-
If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them. - Sue Grafton-
I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on. - Roseanne Barr-
When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. - Elayne Boosler-
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman. - Maryon Pearson-
In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman. - Margaret Thatcher-
I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career. - Gloria Steinem-
I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. -Zsa Zsa Gabor-
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. -Eleanor Roosevelt-
Thanks to Pam Burton
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Welcome to You Make Me Laugh, a free newsletter from Crosswalk.com, the world's largest Christian website.
Today's Clean Laugh
Anniversary Card
It was our second anniversary, and my husband sent me flowers at the office.
He told the florist to write "Happy Anniversary, Year Number 2" on the card. I was thrilled with the flowers, but not so pleased about the card.
It read "Happy Anniversary. You're Number 2."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
Clean Cup
Bill and Doug went into a diner that looked as though it had seen better days.
As they slid in to a booth, Bill wiped some crumbs from the seat. Then he took a napkin and wiped some moisture from the table. The waitress came over and asked if they wanted some menus.
"No thanks," said Doug. "I'll just have a cup of black coffee."
"I'll have black coffee too," Bill said. "And please make sure the cup is clean."
The waitress shot him a nasty look. She turned and marched off into the kitchen.
Two minutes later, she was back. "Two cups of black coffee," she announced.
"Which one of you wanted the clean cup?"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
Division of Labor
The Rosenthals had an outstandingly happy and successful marriage, and Mr. Rosenthal was once asked to what he attributed this remarkable situation.
"It's simple," he said. "Division of labor. My wife makes all the small, routine decisions. She decides what house we buy, where we go on vacation, whether the kids go to private schools, if I should change my job, and so on."
"And you?"
"I make the big, fundamental decisions. I decide if the United States should declare war on China, if Congress should appropriate money for a manned expedition to Mars, and so on."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
No Stairs
An elderly lady, who lived on the third floor of a boardinghouse, broke her leg. As the doctor put a cast on it, he warned her not to climb any stairs. Several months later, the doctor took off the cast.
"Can I climb stairs now?" asked the little old lady.
"Yes," he replied.
"Thank goodness!" she said. "I'm sick and tired of shinnying up and down that drainpipe!"
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
-=+=-
State of the Pastor
The old pastor made it to a practice to visit the parish school one day a week.
He walked into the 4th grade class, where the children were studying the states, and asked them how many states they could name. They came up with about 40 names. He jokingly told them that in his day students knew the names of all the states.
One lad raised his hand and said, "Yes, but in those days there were only 13."
*Thanks to Pastor Tim for this joke!*
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh
*Eye Laugh*
"Weakest Link"
http://www.cybersalt.org/go.php?id=cw234
"Street Office"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=103
"Horse Limo"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=104
"Toe Spa"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=106
"Dog Buddy"
http://www.cybersalt.org/g05.php?id=107
-=+=-
Daily devotionals are available at http://link.Crosswalk.Com/UM/T.asp?A1. 39. 17757. 1. 494611 You can access more information on Crosswalk's Fun page http://www.Crosswalk.Com/fun/! Crosswalk gives credit to the author of a joke when author is known. Feel free to send notification to admin@cybersalt.org in cases where credit has not been given to the author! -SUBSCRIPTION INFO- * Copyright2004 Crosswalk.Com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. Introducing www.Crossguide.Com Where Christians find Products, Services & Ministries.
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"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
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Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/workingstiffed.html - - Working Stiffed -- Job Hunting Humor (text and audio versions)
"Finding a new job can be a daunting challenge. But if you follow my simple 21-step plan, you'll soon be battling cranky alarm clocks, rush-hour traffic, and the "living for the weekend" daily grind..."
http://www.madkane.com
http://www.madkane.com/notable.html (Notables Weblog)
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html (Dubya's Dayly Diary)
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
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New York Public Library Digital Gallery - - http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm - - This site provides access to over 300,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.
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Digital History - - http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/ - - This University of Houston site provides a U.S. history textbook, essays, documents, maps, photos, audio files, and more for teachers and students of American history in schools and colleges.
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Freedom: A History of US - - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/ - - Based on Joy Hakim's award-winning history books for kids, this PBS site explores America's promise of freedom, which has attracted everyone from the original colonists-turned-rebels to 19th- and 20th-century immigrants. It also addresses the many 'unfreedoms' in this country, particularly the fatal contradiction of slavery.
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Pandia Search Central - - http://www.pandia.com/ - - At Pandia you can learn how to search the Web more efficiently, read about search engines and sites devoted to searching, and gain easy access to all the best tools and search engineering resources on the Internet.
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Ocean Explorer - - http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/ - - The Ocean Explorer Web site is designed to be an engaging and educational Internet offering for all who wish to learn about, discover, and virtually explore the ocean realm. The site is primarily directed to the general public, educators, and students. Other important groups include the press, nongovernmental organizations, marine scientists and resource managers, marine protected area professionals, ocean exploration groups, and policymakers interested in the marine environment.
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The National Council of the Aging - - http://www.ncoa.org/ - - Founded in 1950, The National Council on the Aging is a national network of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health and independence of older persons; increasing their continuing contributions to communities, society and future generations; and building caring communities.
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The Educator's Reference Desk - - http://www.eduref.org/ - - The Educator's Reference Desk builds on over a quarter century of experience providing high-quality resources and services to the education community. From the Information Institute of Syracuse, the people who created AskERIC, the Gateway to Educational Materials, and the Virtual Reference Desk, the Educator's Reference Desk brings you the resources you have come to depend on. 2,000+ lesson plans, 3,000+ links to online education information, and 200+ question archive responses.
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FindArticles - - http://www.findarticles.com/ - - Search millions of articles from leading academic, industry and general interest publications. FindArticles has articles from thousands of resources, with archives dating back to 1984.
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"A recent Justice Department report on the threat posed by gangs underestimated the number of gang members nationwide because thousands of police agencies refused to provide information about their jurisdictions. The surprising lack of cooperation by police agencies means the Justice Department's estimate of more than 700,000 gang members nationwide could be too low by at least 200,000, said Patrick Word, vice chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network, a group that helps collect data for the Justice Department. Nearly 20,000 state and local police agencies were contacted to participate in the National Gang Threat Assessment report, but only 455 provided information, said a federal law enforcement official who asked not to be identified to avoid future conflicts with local police in obtaining information. The report did not specify which agencies did not participate, so they could not be contacted for comment."
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"Three out of four Americans aged 80 or older have high blood pressure but most do not get adequate treatment, exposing them to a risk of heart attack or stroke, researchers said on July 26, 2005. 'Many more men and women are now living healthy and active lives into their 80s and 90s. As clinicians, we should not loosen our management of high blood pressure just because a patient has had the good fortune to reach an older age,' said Dr. Daniel Levy, co-author of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 'For these patients, managing high blood pressure may make the difference between living many more healthy years, or spending those years recovering from a debilitating stroke or heart attack,' said Levy, who is the director of the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, Massachusetts. The researchers tracked participants from the earliest phase of the study that began in 1948 and their offspring who enrolled two decades later." - Source
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"A new survey says that the Internet has all but saturated the youth market. The report compiled for the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly nine out of 10 young people, ages 12 through 17, have online access - up from about three-quarters of young people in 2000. By comparison, about 66 percent of American adults now use the Internet. David Pulliam, a 17-year-old high school senior from Indianapolis, is a typical example of a wired teen. He first got access to the Internet when he was 13, as did most of those who were surveyed. He has a blog and loves to use instant messaging to stay in touch with friends he's met at camps and sporting events. He also gets his news online, as do about three-quarters of teen Internet users who were surveyed. That's an increase of about 38 percent, compared with 2000 results. 'It's hard to imagine my life without it,' Pulliam says of the Net. 'In some ways, life would become a little easier because it would slow down. But it would become a lot more boring and hard because you would always be waiting for letters and responses.' " - Source
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"Technology that helps the military align targets and motorists find their way is being tapped to track some sex offenders forever. Spurred by headlines of released sex offenders accused of murder, some states are mandating use of the Global Positioning System for tracking. Many lawmakers see electronic monitoring as a natural evolution of statutes that already require sex offenders to register their addresses with authorities. At least four states - Florida, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma - passed laws this year requiring lifetime electronic monitoring for some sex offenders, even if their sentences would normally have expired. Similar bills have been proposed in Congress and other states, including Alabama and North Dakota." - Source
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"Another study finds that high consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages contributes to obesity. But this study, conducted in mice, suggests that one form of natural sweetener -- fructose -- may be especially likely to encourage weight gain. In the study, researchers at the University of Cincinnati allowed mice to freely consume either plain water or fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks. The mice that drank the fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks gained weight, even though they took in fewer calories from solid food. By the end of the study, the mice that consumed fructose-sweetened beverages had 90 percent more body fat than the mice that consumed water only. The findings suggest that the total amount of calories consumed when someone includes fructose in their diets may not be the only cause of weight gain. Consuming fructose may actually affect metabolism in a way that leads to more fat storage, at least in mice, the researchers said." - Source
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"It's icy, rocky and bigger than Pluto. And according to scientists who found it orbiting the sun, it's the newest planet on our solar system's block. The planet - the farthest-known object in the solar system - is currently 9 billion miles away from the sun, or about three times Pluto's current distance from the sun. 'This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system,' Michael Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said Friday in a telephone briefing announcing the discovery. Brown labeled the object as a 10th planet, but there are scientists who dispute the classification of Pluto as such. Astronomers do not know the new planet's exact size, but its brightness shows that it is at least as large as Pluto and could be up to 1 1/2 times bigger. The research was funded by NASA." - Source
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"The number of alcohol-related fatalities on U.S. highways dropped for a second straight year, as did traffic deaths overall, the government reported August 1, 2005. The Department of Transportation said alcohol-related fatalities fell 2.4 percent, from 17,105 in 2003 to 16,694 in 2004. Overall, 42,636 people died on the nation's highways in 2004, down 248 - or 0.6 percent - from the previous year. The decline in traffic deaths for the second straight year was underscored by the growing number of motorists. When measured by the estimated miles driven, the number of deaths per 100 million miles traveled dropped to 1.46." - Source
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"The nation has so vastly extended taxpayer-funded Medicaid to the working poor this decade that it has produced the biggest expansion of a government entitlement since the Great Society was launched in the 1960s, an analysis has found. With little notice, the medical care program paid by federal and state taxpayers has grown from covering 34 million people in 1999 to 47 million in 2004, an examination of government data shows. The expansion has cemented government's role as the nation's primary health insurer. About 100 million people - 1 in 3 - now have government coverage through Medicaid, Medicare, the military and federal employee health plans. More than 10 million others are eligible for Medicaid but have not signed up."
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TOURBUS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -:) - :)- :)
-----------------------------------------------------
Volume 11, Number 05 -- 09 August 2005
Tourbus Home - http://www.TOURBUS.com
Best of Tourbus -- http://tourbus.com/best.html
+-------------------------------------------------+
----------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: GOOGLE SMS
You've got a burning question... but you're stuck somewhere with no internet connection. News Flash... Google SMS lets you search the web from your mobile phone!
+-------------------------------------------------+
Google SMS serves up answers to specialized queries, and it's as simple as sending a text message. Even if you don't have web access on your cell phone or mobile device, you can send your query as a text message and get phone book listings, dictionary definitions, movie listings, driving directions, stock quotes, product prices and more.
OK, upfront disclaimer time. Google SMS is still in beta (test mode) and only works on major wireless providers in the USA, namely AT&T, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The good news is you don't need a brand-new fancy phone with web browsing built in.
Google SMS should work on almost any mobile or handheld, as long as you have the ability to send and receive text messages.
------------------------
Must... Have... Pizza!
------------------------
And wings, please, with medium sauce. So let's try a query. We'll find a nearby pizza joint in Millwood, NY. Send your text message to 46645 (the numbers spell "GOOGL") like this:
pizza millwood ny
Or, if you know the zipcode, you can shorten it to:
pizza 10546
You'll get your answer in a reply text message, usually within a few seconds in a format like this:
(1of2) Google Local:
Euro Pizzeria
238 Saw Mill River Rd
Millwood NY 10546
(914) 944-3500
The "1of2" tells you to look for another message labelled "2of2" with more results. You may get up to four responses.
-------------
86ing 4-1-1
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Google SMS also serves up business and residential phone listings. Why would anyone ever call the phone company for information and *pay* for it, when Google SMS is free? Here are some examples:
Home Depot 02116
Blue Martini 12550
Or to find publicly listed phone numbers and addresses for residences in the US, try a query like one of these. Specify all the info you know to increase the chances of a successful search. Note that you can omit first name, use an initial, specify the city and/or state, or just the zipcode or area code.
john smith palo alto ca
smith 10940
j smith 914
845-343-2623
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Lampshade Now Optional
------------------------
Google SMS will make you the life of the party when people around you notice your skill at retrieving dictionary definitions and doing price comparisons. "Hey Alice, Bob just looked up the word 'bloviate' using his cell phone!"
define bloviate
If you're in a store bargain hunting, Google SMS will access Froogle to search millions of products from stores on the web. The results contain no ads, just current prices for products available online.
price dvd player
price knife sharpener
price 27 inch sony television
----------------
SMS to Impress
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Suppose that girl at the party is just not impressed that you can get phone listings and compare coffee makers with your phone. What if she says "Well that's fine, but what about the moons of Uranus?" Not a problem... Snippets to the rescue! A snippet is an excerpt from the results page when you do a search on Google. You don't get the full web results and you can't click on any of the links, but sometimes the answer to your question will be found in the snippets. Happily,
G moons of uranus
returns this:
Google Web: * The Moons
of Uranus-The following
image (Ref) shows the 5
largest satellites of
Uranus: Miranda, Ariel,
Umbriel, Titania, and
Oberon...
Surely that will leave her speechless. Here are some other snippet search examples:
G population fresno ca
G somers education foundation
G USMA concert band schedule
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It Slices, It Dices
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So your old, clunky cell phone doesn't have a calculator? Google SMS does! The calculator can solve basic math problems, convert units of measure and other fun stuff. Some examples:
52134*98.6
23967/12
2^20
sqrt(490)
half a cup in teaspoons
2 gallons in liters
Query with an area code and see the region that area code covers.
914
845
Or query by zipcode and get results for the area that zip covers.
10505
94404
If you forget any of the Google SMS commands, just send 'help' as a text message to 46645 and you'll receive instructions and tips on how to use the service. Oh, and if your phone is configured to add a signature to outgoing text messages, you'll have to turn that off to receive Google SMS results. Want more info on Google SMS? Visit
http://sms.google.com
----------------------------------
Not For Geeks Only: LowFat Linux
----------------------------------
Long-time readers will remember that I wrote a book called "The No BS Guide to Linux" a few years ago. That book is out of print, but the contents are as fresh and relevant as ever, so I decided to put all that material online, freely available for anyone who wants to learn the basics of using Linux without getting bogged down in too much detail or technobabble.
http://www.LowFatLinux.com
This free online tutorial will teach you about the Linux file system useful commands, text editors, data manipulation, shell programming, accesing DOS and Windows Files from Linux and much more. I hope you find it useful.
+-------------------------------------------------+
That's it for today. Have a safe and happy week, and we'll talk again soon.
+---------------------------------------+
==[ Tourbus Rider Information ]==
The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238
Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
Tourbus News Service - http://tourbus.com/news.html
Subscribe, Signoff, Archives, Free Stuff and More at the
Tourbus Website - http://www.TOURBUS.com
========================
.~~~. ))
(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
/o o \/ .~
{o_, \ { crispen@netsquirrel.com
/ , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/
`~ -' \ } )) AOL Instant Messenger: Squirrel2K
_( ( )_.'
---..{____} Warning: squirrels.
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Our Church, Magnolia Christian Center, has the following mission statement. Our purpose is to build a great church for the glory of God through the great commission and the great commandment. MCC' Vision - That MCC will be a place hopping with children, energized with teenagers, balanced with diversity and transformed by the power of God! We want to turn uninterested people into interested people and win the lost to make fully devoted followers of Christ.
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"National Fire & Rescue"
We published Chief Dan Jones' editorial in our July/August issue and have received numerous letters and e-mails in response to his opinions.
To make sure we're reaching all of our audience with this information, we'd like to share it with you.
Sincerely,
The Editors of National Fire & Rescue
COURAGE AND SAFETY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
By Dan Jones, Editor-in-Chief
If you think the National Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was just an opportunity to review some safety procedures and remember line-of-duty deaths, then I think you missed the point. I believe the Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was about a spark intended to ignite a flame of cultural change in the American fire service. The quote below from Albert Einstein accurately describes the depth of the firefighter safety problem we face. We as an industry give lots of lip service to firefighter safety and we spend lots of money on the problem, but I believe we have an underlying flaw in our thinking that prevents us from really addressing the issue of why we kill and injure firefighters and then accept it as the cost of doing what we do. The flaw involves our perception of courage and how we must accept risk.
According to Ask Jeeves, www. ask. com, the definition of courage is "that quality of mind which enables one to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear, or fainting of heart; valor; boldness; resolution. "Safety is defined as the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury or loss. "
The definitions of courage and safety above are found on the Internet and reflect common thinking about what the two words mean. Both are words used frequently in the fire service, and both words are important to our culture in emergency services. However, the word courage carries more weight emotionally. Courage is an expected norm in our firefighter culture. It is a subconscious measuring tool we apply to ourselves and our colleagues. It is a word used reverently to describe those lost in the line of duty regardless of circumstance. It cannot be overstated how important this word and concept is to our fraternal culture.
Safety is also important but does not carry the emotional baggage for the fire service like the word courage does. In fact, I think that we as an industry view the word and concept of safety as counter to courage, which we place such value upon.
In our traditional risk-taking culture do we believe that the concept of safety is a threat to our value of courage? Have we over a long period of time come to value courage over safety and our own lives? We must learn to keep courage in its rightful place and put our effort and priority on safety. We clearly put heart and soul into creating safety for our citizens and victims, but we are not so zealous when it comes to ourselves. Firefighters are risk takers. It is valued in the brotherhood and sisterhood of firefighting. We have deluded ourselves into believing that safety tears at our fabric of courage. We rationalize that belief by buying the best safety gear and then taking even greater risks and pushing deeper into the flame. Safety is something we spend money on, not something we practice. Our collective cultural belief is flawed.
Policy notwithstanding in most fire departments, violations of safety practices are frequently overlooked or winked at. Safety technology is frequently purchased by fire departments but unused by its firefighters. Eye rolls and yawns are the expected reaction from firefighters if a training officer spends "too much time" on the subject of safety during a drill. A fire officer who halts or holds back on a fireground operation sometimes has his courage questioned in the aftermath.
So could it be that the whole concept of a Stand Down for Safety idea was an initial effort to begin the process of changing how we as members of the culture we call "fire and rescue" think about safety? Are the leaders of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, United States Fire Administration, National Volunteer Fire Council and other fire service organizations asking us to reconsider how we view safety and what it should really mean to all of us?
I believe a lot of credit for this beginning wave of awareness should go to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which, with its 16 safety initiatives, has called upon us all to pause and consider what we allow to happen and then rationalize it to each other and ourselves as the cost of courage. If you have not yet taken a good look at those initiatives, please be sure to do so.
They can be found in their entirety on page 20 of this issue of National Fire & Rescue as well as on our Web site at www. nfrmag. com. You can also find them on the Web site of virtually any of the leading organizations in the fire service. Look them over and think about how broad and deep necessary change is in our culture.
I truly hope that the National Stand Down for Firefighter Safety was not a one-time event. We should do it again and again and again until the cultural change begins to take hold. Make sure your fire and rescue department participates in every Safety Stand Down and commits to the follow-up that makes the lessons useful and accepted.
The Firefighter Life Safety Summit, which helped create those 16 initiatives, was created by courageous fire service leaders who recognized the futility of burying firefighters and accepting it as part of the industry. Fighting fire and making rescues will always have inherent dangers, but not using all of our skills, intelligence and technology to apply safety practices for those who must take the calculated risks is collective idiocy. IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese once described the firefighter death rate as "fratricide" the killing of our own.
Let's all work to create a fire service culture that values safety at the same level we value courage and celebrates both with equal fervor. Courage is not working a vehicle accident without a roadblock or visibility vest. Courage is not making a deep interior attack in a well-involved abandoned building. Courage is not driving a fire apparatus so fast that wheels leave the ground. Courage is not using flammable liquids in an acquired structure training burn. All of those are stupid and we should stop glorifying them under the veil of courage.
I don't know how or when safety became counter to courage in our collective psyche, but now is when it must stop. Safety and courage can both be expected norms in our work. They are not mutually exclusive.
Dan Jones
Editor-in-Chief
This opinion-based editorial does not necessarily reflect the beliefs, opinions or positions of the publisher of National Fire & Rescue magazine, SpecComm International Inc. , the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section of the IAFC (VCOS), the Chapel Hill Fire Department, or any of the advertisers or contributors to National Fire & Rescue magazine.
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Verse of the Day
To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4:26 (NASB95)
There are so many questions that I want to ask God when I get to see Him face-to-face. Today’s verse brings one to mind. What happened that men ceased calling upon Him after the death of Abel? I know they did because today’s verse tells us that men BEGAN to call upon the Lord after the birth of Seth’s son, Enosh. Of course, the next question arises on the heals of the first. What caused men to begin to CALL upon the Lord’s name? Certainly it wasn’t the birth of a son. That happened often enough that it wasn’t a supernatural event – not out of the ordinary enough to bring revival. It is also obvious that Seth wasn’t the only one to call upon the Lord. The text says “men”. That is plural and is the word meaning “mankind”.
I don’t have answers to my questions, but it seems that revival took hold of the inhabited world at that time. Men recognized their need for a relationship with God. Evidently they had abandoned the relationship that God sought to continue with Adam and Cain. We can also begin to see a pattern. Take a look at the next few verses. It isn’t until Genesis 5:22 that we see another reference to God. It is there that we see that Enoch “walked with God”. That doesn’t necessarily mean that no one else did, but for some reason Enoch stood out to the historians of the day. Enoch walked with God. We haven’t heard that language since Adam was in the garden. Enoch had a special relationship with the Father, the Creator, the great “I AM”. It seems that Enoch’s relationship was so close that God gathered him into His very presence … permanently. “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24 (NASB95)
It isn’t until generations later that we see another revival burst. The first part of chapter 6 tells us that the world had become an evil place … so evil that God was about ready to destroy the whole mess and start over. At last it seems that God’s patience had finally matched mine at the beginning! But alas, God walked the earth one last time and found Noah. The historian tells us, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Gen 6:8 (NASB95) This revival wasn’t very predominant … only Noah and his immediate family were involved. However, it was enough for God to develop a relationship with this righteous human. Noah and God walked together (vs.. 9) and they communed together (vs.. 13). God even shared His plans with Noah (vs.. 13 ff).
“So, Harley, how does this help us as we seek to walk with God? What can we learn from these tales?”
It seems apparent that God is longsuffering. He never did give up on all of mankind. He could always find at least some good … even if it was one righteous man. God kept trying to rebuild the relationship He had with mankind. I think it is safe to translate that into our own personal quest for that relationship. There is none of us who is sinless. Agreed? I know I’m far from that lofty position. Still, God has seen some good in each of us. He recognizes, not our depravity, but our potential for godliness. No matter how far we have wandered from perfection, God sees in us the ideal He created. He longs to restore that relationship … and He will not cease trying to get our attention by revealing our need. If God roamed the earth to find one man whom He could use to begin again, he is certainly willing to hound me … and you … until we are ready to “walk with God.”
Keep hounding, Father. I feel myself weakening! Please don’t give up now!
Harley
-=+=-
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:6-7 (NASB95)
So Eve sinned. And Adam sinned. And God drove them out of the garden for their own good. If I were God, I would have abandoned the whole mess and walked away to create a new version … and eliminated the “freedom to choose” gene in man. Fortunately, I am not God, and God has a different perspective on things that I do.
It seems that Abel and Cain were farmers. (Who said the oldest profession was prostitution? He was wrong! The oldest profession is farming.) Somehow it had been transferred to them that they should offer sacrifices to God from the products they raised. It also appears that God required that these sacrifices would be of the “blood sacrifice” type. There is absolutely no text reason for this, it just was.
Now the day of sacrifice came and Abel, being a shepherd, looked through his flock, selected a nice lamb and offered it to the Father as his sacrifice. Cain, on the other hand, went to the granary and pulled out a bushel or so of his best crops. This is where the assumption must be made that the information about the “blood” thing had been transferred to the sons. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable as a sweet offering to God. Cain’s was refused. Quite honestly, I can understand God’s position. I have smelled both burnt meat and burnt grain. I prefer the former as well!
It is evident from the text that Cain was not a happy farmer. I suspect that he was ranting and raving to Abel and God about the failure. Now comes the good part. God still has a relationship with man … and not just Adam and Eve. God spoke directly to Cain. God was interested in Cain’s reaction. Notice that the question is about Cain’s attitude. “Why has your countenance fallen?” He asked. He did not inquire about the sacrifice. He did not scold Cain for his lack of obedience. He wanted to open a dialogue in an effort to instruct Cain and help him improve the relationship.
I honestly believe God desired to restore the relationship between Himself and man at that point. His desire was to obliterate sin at that point. Perhaps the next generation of mankind would fare better than the first. God did not condemn at all. “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?” Positive instruction. In essence, God said, “Hey, Cain. It’s ok. All you have to do is take one of your sheep, or trade some corn for one of your brother’s and make an appropriate sacrifice.” That sounds pretty reasonable to me. Make a slight course adjustment and everything will be ok. Any reasonable man would have accepted that instruction. But God was not finished. He proceeded to instruct Cain. He warned him what was around the corner if Cain did not change his tune! Again God did not condemn. He instructed. “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” You see, Cain had not yet sinned! Anger is not sin. Even the unacceptable sacrifice was not a sin. Both could be remedied. However, should the attitude persist, sin would be the eventual result.
Cain persisted. We know the result. He took his anger out on Abel … and the sin of murder entered the near pristine world that God had made just for mankind.
Isn’t it interesting that we assume the Old Testament is all about an angry God, one who was on the warpath in an effort to scare mankind into obedience? It appears that we are wrong in that perception. God, from the very beginning, longed for a relationship with man … and longed to keep that relationship going even after man sinned … and sinned again. God was in the teaching business … and the loving business … and the restoration business from the very introduction of sin into paradise!
He continues the practice today … for you and for me.
Harley
-=+=-
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Gen 3:21 (NASB)
Ok, I know I should move on, but I just can’t. I’m stuck on Adam … at least for today. All too often, we think of sin separating us from … well, everything and every one. I wish I had a dollar for every time I though, “If they knew what I was really like, they wouldn’t want me around.” I suspect that all of us have entertained such thoughts. The reason is simple. We know the innermost workings of our souls, and that innermost is rotten. We are unworthy. We cannot be trusted. We are too “evil”.
While we may entertain those thoughts, we must know that they are not true – not true to God, anyway. Take a look at today’s verse. What did God do when He found Adam and Eve hiding? Did He condemn them to hell? Did He yell and scream? Sure, He meted out discipline. It was necessary. However, He didn’t give up on them. We find that God helped Adam and Eve in their discomfort. He made them durable garments. Fig leaves could only go so far in hiding their nakedness. God sacrificed one of His creations to begin the atonement process. Remember, God is relational. He longed for a being that He could commune with. He loved Adam and Eve enough to make them comfortable … before each other and before Him.
While God did drive Adam and Eve from the garden, even that was for their good. He knew that should that gain eternal life on earth and in their sinful condition, they would live in eternal misery. Once they had sinned, sin would become a way of life. And that way of life would be continually escalating in scope. If we don’t believe that, look what happened in Babylon! There we find a people who were living an unrestrained life of sin. They had abandoned God. They were in the process of advancing themselves into God’s place. The tower they were building was an overt affront to Him. No, Adam and Eve were blessed by God when He drove them from the Garden. Only in that way could God’s plan for salvation be consummated in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
Likewise, God has not abandoned us because of our sinfulness. A bolt of lightning does not strike us when we sin. The church building does not come crashing down when a sinner enters into the sanctuary. God never gives up hope that we will return to Him. Sure, He must mete out the discipline … that is the only way that God can draw us back to Himself. If our lives were always easy, what would cause us to realize our need for salvation? If our paths were always straight, what would cause us to need a map? No, discipline is essential for God’s plan of redemption to work in us. God has not abandoned us … even in our most odious and sinful condition. Instead, He does all that is necessary to lead us back into a loving relationship with Him.
It is that relationship that I long for now. It is that ability to walk with Him that I desire more than anything else. There is not a day that passes that I don’t cry out for God to reveal Himself to me in the way He did with the pre-sin Adam. Now I understand that the separation is crucial if the relationship is to be restored.
Lord, bring the separation to an end! I want to walk in Your presence.
Harley
-=+=-
c. 2005 Harley E. Hudson
If you received Verse of the Day as a forward and you wish to have your own subscription, simply send an e-mail to hhudson719@earthlink.net and request a free subscription.
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TGIF-Today God Is First
Business as Ministry
----------------------------------
Friday, August 12, 2005
by Os Hillman
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ~ Colossians 3:23-24
The Bible is very clear that the purpose for our work life is to reflect Christ in and through our lives. It is an attitude that says our work is to have an overriding "ministry" objective to it. Our work is our worship to God. These two words even originate from the same Hebrew word, avodah.
Robert Laidlaw was born in Scotland in 1885 but grew up in New Zealand. Born to Christian parents, he committed his life fully to the Lord when he was 17. Laidlaw began working in a hardware merchant company as a traveling sales representative when he was 19. Later he had the idea for a mail-order catalogue business that sold everything imaginable including underwear, groceries, cosmetics, and farm equipment, all at bargain-basement prices. His concept proved successful and his business later merged with the Farmer's Union Trading Company. He became general manager and held that position for 50 years.
But this is not the most significant thing that can be said about Robert Laidlaw. He understood that his work life was a tool to affect others for Jesus Christ. He began giving ten percent of his income early in his business life. Later, however, he entered this into his journal: "September 1919, age twenty-five. I have decided to change my earlier graduated scale, and start now giving half (fifty percent) of all my earnings." This he continued for the next 60 years. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 351.]
The result of that commitment was countless numbers affected for Jesus Christ through the resources he gave to mission groups and other worthy Christian causes. He was personally involved in ministry. He wrote a small book that gave a thoughtful answer to basic questions about life and faith. It was titled The Reason. Many hundreds of thousands came to faith in Christ because of this 46-page booklet. He publicly spoke to many of his faith in Christ and became very involved in the Soldier's and Airmen's Association when World War II broke out. Robert Laidlaw understood what it meant to view business with an overriding ministry objective.
Does the Lord have complete control of your life? If so, you will be able to see your work life as an extension of His life in you. Let the Lord live in and through your work life today.
-=+=-
Reflecting His Glory
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They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. ~ Psalm 145:11-12
How do you measure your effectiveness in God, or should you even be thinking like this? The early Church turned the world upside down in that first century. What made them so effective? Was it their theology? Was it great preaching? Was it due to one man's influence apart from Jesus?
The Scriptures are clear as to what made the early Church effective. It is at the core of God's heart, and it is quite simple. God desires to reflect His nature and power through every individual. When this happens, the world is automatically changed because those who reflect His glory affect the world.
We serve a jealous God. He is a God who will not share His glory with anyone. God sets up situations in order to demonstrate His power through them. He has done this since the day He created man. His desire is to reflect His glory through you and me, so that all men may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of His Kingdom.
The apostle Paul understood this principle: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
If you do not see His glory being reflected through your life, then you need to ask why. He has promised to do so if we will walk in obedience to His commands.
-=+=-
Embracing the Mess
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Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. ~ Proverbs 14:4
My wife and I run together through a new home subdivision. Often we see the street filled with red clay from the land as bulldozers clear it to lay a foundation. The job site is littered with lumber, all sorts of trash from workers, and is generally a mess. The house looks ugly; it has all its insides exposed as it is being pieced together, yet this process is necessary to get to the finished product. When completed, the home is beautiful. The landscaping looks like it came out of a home-design magazine. Everything is clean and perfect in order for the new homeowner to move in.
Our walk with God is much the same process. Often we must go through a messy period of our lives in which all aspects of it are in disarray. It is in these times that God builds a new structure. He might remove some structural timbers in our lives and replace them with new ones. He might even add on another room. And unless this process takes place, we will never see the end product. The goal is more Christlikeness. In order to achieve this in us, He requires a period of removing all that is not of Him. It can be a painful process.
It would be impossible to keep oxen in a barn without having to clean up the mess from time to time. It just comes with the territory, but the result of the oxen is an abundant harvest. God may be allowing a mess in order to ensure a fruitful harvest in your life. Learn from Him so that you might experience the fulfillment of His purposes for you in these times.
-=+=-
The Causes of Failure
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You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. ~ Joshua 7:13b
The first battle for the people of Israel traveling from Egypt was at Jericho, once they crossed the Jordan River. God had given them a great victory at Jericho, and Joshua was now ready to move to their next battle at Ai. After they spied out the enemy camp, they determined they needed only a few thousand men to gain victory. They went up against Ai only to fail miserably. They lost 32 men in a battle that should have been an easy victory, but instead they were forced to retreat. Joshua was devastated. "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?" (Josh. 7:7a)
In this case, the people fell short because they failed to uphold the standard God had set for them. God had told them not to take any plunder from their first battle. However, Achan hid some forbidden treasures, and God was now judging the entire nation for one man's sin.
Whenever we act without God's complete blessing on our activity, we can expect God to thwart our plans. God's word to Joshua was that he could not stand against his enemies as long as there was disobedience among his troops.
Whenever we launch a business endeavor, we should make sure there are no unclean things in our dealings that would allow us to be vulnerable to a failed effort: unpaid vendors, disgruntled employees who were not treated fairly, lawsuits, dishonesty. Many of these things can hinder God from blessing our enterprises. These things can remove the shield of protection from our workplace, which God wants to bless, but cannot because He is committed to upholding righteousness. His name is blemished when unrighteousness is allowed to permeate our lives.
Is the Lord able to bless your enterprises today? If not, you may need to go back and clean up a few things before He can do so. Take whatever steps are needed to ensure the blessing of God today.
-=+=-
Copyright 2005. www.MarketplaceLeaders.org
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To contact Os Hillman, request reprint permission, or to book Os to speak in your town write to os@marketplaceleaders.org. Marketplace Leaders Website: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/ Copyright 2005
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Please recommend this TGIF daily devotional to everyone interested in applying their faith to their worklife. Tell them to subscribe at http://www.TodayGodIsFirst.com
Os Hillman Copyright 2005
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Activities and Events of Interest
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Steak & Bingo (Sep 10 06:00 PM CDT in Jr. High cafeteria)
~~~
The Emancipation Proclamation will be on display at the Clinton Library September 22-25, 2007.
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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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NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink. mil/releases/
01. Lance Cpl. Adam J. Strain, 20, of Smartsville, Calif., died Aug 3 as result of enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Strain was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
02. Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died Aug 3 when the amphibious assault vehicle in which he was a passenger was hit by an improvised explosive device. Dyer’s unit was conducting combat operations south of Haditha, Iraq. Dyer was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Columbus, Ohio. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
03. Staff Sgt. Chad J. Simon, 32, of Madison, Wis., died Aug. 4, while under hospice care in Madison, Wis., from wounds he received on Nov. 8, 2004 from an explosion while conducting combat operations in Babil Province, Iraq. Simon was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Madison, Wis.
The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Killed were:
04. Sgt. Jerry L. Ganey Jr., 29, of Folkston, Ga.
05. Spc. Mathew V. Gibbs, 21, of Ambrose, Ga.
06. Sgt. 1st Class Charles H. Warren, 36, of Duluth, Ga.
They died on Aug. 3, in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their armored personnel carrier. Gibbs was in the vehicle at the time; Warren and Ganey were conducting a dismounted security patrol. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 648th Engineer Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade, Statesboro, Ga.
The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Killed were:
07. Sgt. 1st Class Victor A. Anderson, 39, of Ellaville, Ga.
08. Staff Sgt. David R. Jones Sr., 45, of Augusta, Ga.
09. Sgt. Ronnie L. Shelley Sr., 34, of Valdosta, Ga.
Final identification of a fourth soldier who was killed in the same incident is forthcoming.
They died on July 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV while they were on patrol. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Albany, Ga.
10. Gunnery Sgt. Theodore Clark Jr., 31, of Emporia, Va., died Aug. 4 when the vehicle in which he was a passenger was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Gardez, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
11. Pvt. 1st Class Nils G. Thompson, 19, of Confluence, Pa., died Aug. 4, in Mosul, Iraq, when he was struck by enemy fire while on a routine patrol at an Iraqi police station. Thompson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died on Aug. 4, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when their vehicle left the road and went into a river. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga. Killed were:
12. Pvt. 1st Class Damian J. Garza, 19, of Odessa, Texas.
13. Pvt. John M. Henderson Jr., 21, of Columbus, Ga.
14. Gunnery Sgt. Terry W. Ball Jr., 36, of East Peoria, Ill., died Aug. 5 from wounds received as a result of an explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Karmah, Iraq, on June 12. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Both died on August 5, 2005, in Rubiah, Iraq, when a civilian fuel truck collided with their HMMWV while performing a convoy mission. Killed were:
15. Sgt. 1st Class Robert V. Derenda, 42, of Ledbetter, Ky. Derenda was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve's 1st Brigade, 98th Division, Rochester, N.Y.
16. Sgt. 1st Class Brett E. Walden, 40, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Walden was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.
17. Spc. Seferino J. Reyna, 20, of Phoenix, Ariz., died on Aug. 7, 2005, in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.
18. Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, 21, of Lexington, Ky., died Aug. 6 as a result of an explosion from a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Al Amiriyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on August 6, 2005, near Balad, Iraq, where they were conducting convoy operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV. Both soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Philadelphia, Pa.
19. Sgt. Brahim J. Jeffcoat, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.
20. Spc. Kurt E. Krout, 43, of Spinnerstown, Pa.
21. Sgt. Jonathon C. Haggin, 26, of Kingsland, Ga., died on July 30, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV while he was on patrol.
Three other soldiers whose names were announced on August 5, 2005, were also killed in this incident. Haggin was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Albany, Ga.
22. Staff Sgt. Ramon E. Gonzales Cordova, 30, of Davie, Fla., died Aug. 8 as a result of enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
23. Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Falkel, 22, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., died on Aug. 8, 2005, in Deh Afghan, Afghanistan, when his unit was conducting combat operations and was engaged by enemy forces using small arms fire. Falkel was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
24. Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Benson, 40, of Winona, Minn., died on Aug. 10 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of injuries sustained on Aug. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device struck his convoy. Benson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 314th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 78th Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
25. Spc. Christopher M. Katzenberger, 25, of St. Louis, Mo., died on Aug. 9, 2005, in Bagram, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained earlier that day in Ghazni, Afghanistan, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Katzenberger was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died on Aug. 9, 2005, in Bayji, Iraq, where a mine exploded and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. The attack occurred while the soldiers were investigating a rocket-propelled grenade incident. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Philadelphia, Pa.
Killed were:
26. Pfc. Nathaniel E. Detample, 19, of Morrisville, Pa.
27. Spc. John Kulick, 35, of Harleysville, Pa.
28. Spc. Gennaro Pellegrini Jr., 31, of Philadelphia, Pa.
29. Sgt. Francis J. Straub Jr., 24, of Philadelphia, Pa
30. Lance Cpl. Evenor C. Herrera, 22, of Gypsum, Colo., died Aug. 10 from wounds received from the detonation of an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
31. Spc. Miguel Carrasquillo, 25, of River Grove, Ill., died on Aug. 9 in Baghdad, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. Carrasquillo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
32. Staff Sgt. Ryan S. Ostrom, 25, of Liberty, Pa., died on Aug. 9 in Taqaddum, Iraq, from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire earlier in Habbaniya, Iraq. Ostrom was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, Williamsport, Pa.
33. Sgt. Edward R. Heselton, 23, of Easley, S.C., died on Aug. 11, in Orgun-E, Afghanistan, when ordnance exploded near the vehicle he was driving as his unit performed a route clearing mission. Heselton was assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve's 391st Engineer Battalion, 415th Chemical Brigade, Greenville, S.C.
The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
They died on Aug. 8 in Baghdad, Iraq from injuries sustained on Aug. 7, when their HMMWV was struck by two improvised explosive devices and they received small arms fire. The soldiers were assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, New York, N.Y. Killed were:
34. Spc. Anthony N. Kalladeen, 26, of Purchase, N.Y.
35. Pfc. Hernando Rios, 29, of Queens, N.Y.
~~~
Twelve MIAS from Vietnam War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today the identification of the remains of 12 U.S. servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War. Five of those identified are being returned to their families for burial, and the remaining seven will be buried as a group in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.
The men who were individually identified are: Cpl. Gerald E. King, of Knoxville, Tenn.; Lance Cpls. Joseph F. Cook, of Foxboro, Mass.; Raymond T. Heyne, of Mason, Wis.; Donald W. Mitchell, of Princeton, Ky.; and Thomas W. Fritsch, of Cromwell, Conn., all of the U.S. Marine Corps. Additional group remains are those of: Pfcs. Thomas J. Blackman, of Racine, Wis.; Paul S. Czerwonka, of Stoughton, Mass.; Barry L. Hempel, of Garden Grove, Calif.; Robert C. Lopez, of Albuquerque, N.M.; William D. McGonigle, of Wichita, Kan.; and Lance Cpl. James R. Sargent, of Anawalt, W. Va., all of the U.S. Marine Corps. Additionally, the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Glenn E. Miller, of Oakland, Calif. will be included in the group burial.
The Marines were part of an artillery platoon airlifted to provide support to the 11th Mobile Strike Force, which was under threat of attack from North Vietnamese forces near Kham Duc in South Vietnam. On May 9, 1968, the Strike Force had been directed to reconnoiter an area known as Little Ngok Tavak Hill near the Laos-Vietnam border. Their base came under attack by North Vietnamese Army troops, and after a 10-hour battle, all of the survivors were able to withdraw from the area.
Six investigations beginning in 1993 and a series of interviews of villagers and former Vietnamese soldiers led U.S. recovery teams in 1994, 1997 and 1998 to specific defensive positions within the large battle site. Additionally, maps provided by American survivors helped to locate some key areas on the battlefield. Three excavations by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in 1998 and 1999 yielded human remains, personal effects and other material evidence.
JPAC scientists and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory specialists used mitochondrial DNA as one of the forensic tools to help identify the remains.
Of the 88,000 Americans missing in action from all conflicts, 1,815 are from the Vietnam War, with 1,381 of those within the country of Vietnam. Another 768 Americans have been accounted for in Southeast Asia since the end of the war. Of those, 540 are from within Vietnam.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
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Remember that for every soldier killed in modern war, 10 are wounded. Don't forget to pray for them and their families.
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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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Scheduled Activities
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Alcoholics Anonymous meets at 8 p.m. Monday - Friday. At noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at 7 p.m. Sunday at 914 N. Vine
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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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Columbia County Diabetes Support Group - Every third Monday, 7:00 p.m. room 222, Magnolia Hospital
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"Focus on the Family" with Dr. James Dobson weekday afternoons at 1 PM on KVMA am 630 it's a great show!
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MCC - Abraham Prayer - Sunday at 5:00 p.m and Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
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MCC - Early Morning Prayer - Monday - Friday, From 6:30 am to 8:00 am
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MCC - "Beth Moore" Video Class - Thursday nights at 5:45 pm
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MCC - "Faith Builders" Small group meets at 1051 Columbia 36 the second and fourth Tuesdays, 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm.
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MCC - Firm Foundations Class, Sunday 9:30 to 10:15 a.m
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MCC - Meadow Brook Nursing Home Ministry Tuesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m
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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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MCC - Over comers: Fridays @ 7:00 p.m- Director, Traci Foster invites you to a 12 step Christian support program. For anyone with a life controlling problem. Child care is provided.
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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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Narcotics Anonymous 5-6 pm every Monday at 220 Pine street.
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TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 5 pm every Tuesday in the Magnolia Hospital break room.
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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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"Fight till you win!" - - Mark Brazee
"Bring 'em on!" - -President George W. Bush
"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"
"If you can read this e-mail, thank a teacher. - - If you read it in English, thank a serviceman."
"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
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - - Margaret Mead
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.
God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Eph 1:17-19a Psa 71:20-24 Gen 37:9-11
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII
P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E-mail at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format. For the "Blog" version just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com/ to see the latest issue. This week, "Word" and "PDF" subscribers get to see photos of Dream Center Cooks.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at KC5HII@Magnolia-Net.Com and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. Of course "Da Bleat" is now on the web. Just go to http://bugsbleatnew.blogspot.com to see the latest issue (usually updated sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2005 before it was sent.
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