Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Auto Auction

Volume 9, Issue 44 Friday, November 02, 2007

Hello All,

“Just Do It”

In Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint column this week he challenges us to quit arguing about global warming and go with “the importance of good stewardship toward the rest of creation.” He goes on to say; “A great example of this is a long-time friend of mine named Bill Spears. Bill is a solid Christian, a native oil-belt Texan, a conservative, and an environmentalist wrapped up in one. Bill started a company called Energy Education, Inc., which develops energy conservation plans for school districts, universities, and large churches that “share a common commitment to fiscal and social responsibility and to the wise use of financial and environmental resources.” Why? As Bill Spears says, its clients can invest the financial savings “in the lives of people . . . not the utility companies.” “

You can read the whole article further on in this week’s “Bleat” and I hope you’ll consider getting on the “stewardship” bandwagon as it relates to energy use and the environment. There are many things that we can do today, right now, that save dollars, energy and “trees.”

For instance, an “In Line” or “tankless” water heater will get you a $250 tax rebate this year and will pay for itself in four years or less. After that it’s saving you dollars every year even as it reduces our dependence on foreign oil and reduces carbon emissions. www.foreverhotwater.com
And you can replace your highest used fixtures or the light bulbs in them with energy-efficient models. The five highest use fixtures in a home are typically the kitchen ceiling lights, the living or family room table and floor lamps, and outdoor porch or post lamp. ENERGY STAR lights and fixtures use about 75% less energy than standard lighting, produce 75 percent less heat, and lasts up to 10 times longer. If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $8 billion each year in energy costs.
Want to save more? Replace your thermostat with a programmable one. These are available for as little as $25 and save big bucks. They usually come preprogrammed to automatically raise and lower the thermostat during the day and on weekends. This really added up for us. We didn’t realize how often we left the cool or heat on unnecessarily when we weren’t home.
Of course, it goes without saying that you should have adequate insulation and good windows and doors.
Finally, here are “Ten ways to save gasoline”
So you've noticed that gas prices have jumped up a lot, and you weren't prescient enough to put yourself on the waiting list for a Prius six months ago. What can you do? From cheapest to most expensive:
1. Slow down. Its simple physics, folks-- energy = mass x velocity x velocity. Slow down, you don't burn as much gas. In addition, jackrabbit starts and sudden braking also use up gas more quickly. Plus, if you slow down, the person behind you goes slower too. Think of it as helping enforce your will on others, in a subtle way-- so subtly they barely notice it. If a few people get together and do it, you can save mileage not only for yourself, but also for that SUV behind you that really needs to conserve gas even more.
2. Empty your trunk. Remember the mass part of that equation? Same deal. Every 200 pounds of unnecessary weight reduces mileage by one mile per gallon. (Oddly enough, this is yet another reason for you to lose weight. Drop 20 pounds, and you save 3 gallons of gas a year.)
3. Make sure your tires are properly inflated.
4. Use cruise control. That helps you maintain a constant speed, so you don't have to change velocity (see #1 again).
5. Stop wasting gas to drive to the cheap place to get gas. I've seen people drive 20 miles out of their way to get to "the cheap gas"-- the savings are wiped out because they had to drive to get there.
6. Stop using the drive through window. Park the car and go inside. And stop driving around for a nearby parking space, just take one and walk a bit.
7. Avoid traffic jams. If you live in a major urban area, you burn a lot of extra gas just staring at the license plate in front of you-- the average in this part of the country was 25 gallons or so a year. If you're in a bad traffic jam, turn off your car.
8. Get directions. If you don't get lost, you don't waste gas driving around.
9. Get an oil change. Let a few months go between oil changes, have you? Get one. It'll help.
10. Get a tune up. Your car might be using more gas because it needs new spark plugs, or your tires aren't aligned.
And in the future, if you feel you must vote for oil executives to high public office, could you at least vote for ones that don't run their companies into the ground? Thanks to http://glennhauman.malibulist.com/archives/002891.html
These are also relatively inexpensive steps with a very quick payout, especially with oil approaching $100 a barrel.
~~~~~
The Banner News published my latest “Letter to the Editor” this week. Now I can share it with y’all.

Editor:
Thursday’s Banner-News had yet another letter to the editor concerning the sales of alcohol at a local public restaurant. This letter was one that I’d count in the “for” column concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages in Columbia County.
I have some fairly strong opinions on this subject and I’ve followed the discussion in your paper both on the editorial page and in “The Diary.” I’d like to try and clarify the “against” stand to readers who, like Dr. McGee, can’t understand what all the fuss is about. Before I begin, please understand that I’m not claiming to speak for anyone but myself.

Dr. McGee asked a question that has been repeated various times by the “for” group. To quote; “Are the citizens voicing their concerns over this license also opposed to the licenses previously granted to … the Magnolia Country Club?” My answer is that I’m opposed to the sale of Alcoholic Beverages at public venues in Columbia County. I’m not advocating the rescission of licenses held by private organizations for the sale of Alcoholic Beverages to their members and guests.

At this point, some of you (and I think Dr. McGee would be one) are confused as to why I could object to one and not to the other. I guess you’d have to understand that there are really two separate issues here.
The first issue is the right of the people to lawfully decide wither it’s legal in our community to sell and consume Alcoholic Beverages in public venues.
The second issue is the use of Alcoholic Beverages themselves.

Our community decided in 1943 to go “dry.” Meaning that we would not allow alcoholic beverages to be sold nor consumed at public venues. This issue has been brought back for a vote more than once since then and each time our citizens soundly voted to maintain the county’s “Dry” status. So I see no connection, from that angle, with the sale of alcohol at Private Clubs. The vote of the citizens allowed such sales and use.
So on issue number one, I’m opposed to the state legislating away our right as a community to decide how alcoholic beverages may be sold and consumed. I’m also, to a lesser extent, opposed to establishments that are taking advantage of what I call a “loophole” to offer alcoholic beverages for sale and consumption in a public venue. It’s my contention that the people of Columbia County should have the privilege of voting for or against public sales of alcohol.

As for issue two, I’m personally against the use of alcohol. I quote the late Jerry Clower; “The bible don’t say don’t drink. I wish it did.” The bible does warn against drunkenness and over indulgence. As a Southern, Fundamentalist Christian, I’m opposed to the recreational use of alcohol.
I guess you could trace my opposition to alcohol back to a childhood spent helping my mother minister to alcoholics. Some of my earliest memories are of holding the container of tomato juice while my mother carried the hot coffee as we made another trip to Springhill to help sober up one of her friends who had “fallen off the wagon.”
I was never taught that these people were to be pitied or disparaged. Rather, they were all good and decent folks who had an illness called alcoholism.
Later, I’d see many lives destroyed by alcoholism. These included people who worked for my parents as well as some of my co-workers and relatives who were never able to conquer their attraction to alcohol.
I understand that statistically less than 10% of social drinkers will become an alcoholic. But there is no way of knowing who those will be. It always seemed to me to be too much of a risk to take.

However my opposition to alcohol doesn’t mean that I want a return to prohibition. I believe that the decision to use alcohol or not should be a private one. That’s another reason why I’m not against the actual private club licenses in the County. And, personally I’m not asking that no one ever drink in my presence. I have many friends and acquaintances that are social drinkers. That’s their choice. They don’t try to get me to drink and I don’t disparage them for drinking.

But the photo of the young lady mixing Margaritas on the front page of the Banner-News did disturb me for two reasons. One, because I considered it a “slap in the face’ to a community that had chosen to not allow the public sale of alcohol and; Two because at a personal level, I’m opposed to the sale and use of alcohol.

I know that those who advocate the use of alcohol aren’t going to change their minds after reading this letter. But I hope that they will try to understand why the public sale and consumption of alcohol in a “dry” county disturbs me.

Sincerely,
James F. McClellan
WWW.BugsBleat.Blogspot.Com
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Just so you know. “When an emergency vehicle approaches, what should a driver do? According to Arkansas law, pull over and stop.” Nuff said.
~~~~~
This week, we read; “The Book of Air and Shadows” by Michael Gruber In this ingenious literary thriller the lives of two men are changed forever by William Shakespeare and the letters of Richard Bracegirdle, a 16th-century English spy and soldier.
Now, we’re reading; “Gunner’s Glory” Untold Stories of Marine Machine Gunners by Johnnie M. Clark Gunner’s Glory contains true stories of tough battles in the Pacific, in Korea, and in Vietnam, recounted by the machine gunners who fought them. Bloody, wounded, sometimes barely alive, they stayed with their guns, delivering a stream of firepower that often turned defeat into victory–and always made them the enemy’s first target.
and “Katie: The Real Story" by Edward Klein a candid portrait of a folksy charmer, loving single mother, cunning businesswoman, feminist icon, and notorious diva.
~~~~~
http://www.shelfari.com/BugsBleat/shelf?ec=7D790D174EFS18012
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News From Pattie Stephenson
Missionary to Tanzania

Hello!

I just returned this week from helping with a crusade in a town called Kondoa. We knew this place was different. Over 85% of Kondoa is Muslim. It is like a Mecca of Islam. In every city we visit and in my hometown, we see Muslims everywhere. They are known by their special hats, the men's long white robes, the women in black with only their eyes visible, and of course, their loud and public prayers...........this is not a new scene for me. However, it was obvious immediately that Kondoa was different. Islam seemed to control every dirt street. But God!

Many of the Muslims were concerned about attending any of the meetings, so as not to anger their leaders. However, as the week continued, more and more Muslims filled the crowd. Every day and night, the Gospel was preached with boldness. The Gospel is not declaring the error of other religions. The Gospel is Jesus. And each day, the love of Jesus changed lives.

For the welcome ceremony of the crusade on the first afternoon, Bro. Egon invited the leader of the Islam church to come and sit on the stage. I was amazed as he greeted the man and told him we wished no harm to him but wanted to be a blessing to his town. I was even more shocked when Egon invited him to take the microphone and greet the crowd of thousands. This elderly Muslim preacher stood and began to speak. My heart was beating hard. What if he criticized the crusade? What if he publicly renounced us? But, the contrary happened. He began to speak with kindness and thanked us for coming. He then instructed the Muslims in the crowd. He told them they were welcome to come to the crusade. God does seem to work in mysterious ways!

Every day more and more souls came to Christ. They heard daily that there is only one way to the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. On our last day, we were unfortunately rained out. But after the altar cards were tallied, we were told that almost 800 received Jesus in this small village town. Hallelujah!

There were many things that happened in Kondoa that were unforgettable. One of these was heartbreaking. The Bible speaks clearly about demons being cast out of people. You can read stories of Jesus ministering to people who had evil spirits or demons. In third world countries, you can witness this over and over. People are desperate and they go to witch doctors and open themselves up to evil in many ways. In Kondoa, each night we were
heartbroken to see that most of the people affected by demons in this village were children. It can be hard for those who never see this to understand such things. I am just so thankful that my God is stronger and more powerful than the devil. Every night, children walked home free!

On the evening before the last day of the crusade, we always have a pastors' celebration. The pastors honor us and we honor them and we celebrate what God accomplished that
week. I have been to at least 10 of these parties. However, I will never forget the evening in Kondoa.

When I walked into the room, I knew that it would be a different evening. Sitting in front of us were 4 leaders of the Muslim church all decked out in their religious garb. Among them was the elderly leader we met on the first day. We ate dinner together and fellowshipped among ourselves. I was thinking about when Jesus ate with sinners and was criticized for it. I just knew that Jesus was pleased that we were loving these men in the way He would have if here.

At the end of the dinner, one of the Muslim leaders stood and spoke. He thanked us for coming to Kondoa. He apologized if we were treated wrongly by anyone. He spoke of unity among the religions in order to help the people. He said things we agreed with and also disagreed with. Then Bro. Egon stood and spoke to all of us. I don't remember all he said,
but I will always remember his words to the elderly man. He told him, "I will be in heaven one day. I want you to know that I make a commitment to you today. I am going to pray for you. I am telling you the truth. I will pray for you. Because, I want you to go to heaven." Everyone in the room sat quiet. More words did not have to be spoken. The man knew what Egon was saying and so did we. Each Christian and Muslim in the room must have felt what I felt. The love of Jesus was reaching out to a lost soul that He died for.

The evening was not quite over. During each crusade, the choirs from all of the churches in the area are invited to sing throughout the week during the crusades. On the first evening, I noticed a little boy on the stage dancing with his church's choir. He could not have been over 5 years old. He was dancing with great rhythm and I was impressed. We had a special singer hired to minister at our crusades this year named Musa. His specialty is singing tribal songs in languages that are not Swahili. Many villages we go to know Swahili but still use their tribal language. Musa is an exciting minister of music. He can really get a crowd singing and dancing. He dances in his tribal way as he sings and it is hilarious to watch.

On the second night of the crusade, I asked Musa if we could invite this little boy to come dance with him. He said yes. So, I had our organizer find him in the crowd and ask him if he was interested. He was. He came up on the stage and sat in my lap while he waited for his time to dance. I found out his name was Donnie. When Musa was ready to sing, he took Donnie by the hand and escorted him to the front of the stage. Donnie danced with boldness without a single bit of fear. We had a new star! Each morning and evening Donnie joined Musa to minister. The crowd loved it. Donnie became a part of our crusade family that week. Every day he made his way to sit on my lap and I hugged him and tickled him while we waited for his time of ministry.

On the evening of our party, I noticed Donnie come in dressed in a suit and tie. At the end of the party, the host invited him to the front. He said he had a gift to give to someone, and he began to walk toward me with a box. I took the box and passed it to another missionary. Donnie got in my lap and hugged me. The missionary opened the box for me and inside was a live chicken. Donnie was so proud. After the evening ended, Donnie's mama, whom I had not met, approached me. She talked through an interpreter about what the week meant to Donnie and her. She said that she had always taught him to be a giver and he always took his offering to church to give to God. Earlier that day he told her that he wanted to give me an offering. She asked him what he wanted to give me. He said, "a hen". This was a sacrificial offering for the family, but she told him yes. She had tears coming down her face as she told me the story. I didn't want to take the chicken. I didn't need it. But, I knew she had to give it. Donnie had been affected by the love of God that week and he would never forget it. I prayed for him. I believe that God has a special purpose for little Donnie. Maybe I gave him the attention I did that week for a reason. I don't know. But, everything we do for Jesus matters.

Every time I think I am going to only give, I receive. I have been changed by the little Donnie’s, the Jeffery McClellans, the Sanchez Marshalls and so many more little ones in the world. So, I'll continue to look for the dancers in the crowd.

Keep praying for me. I will be in the US in less than 6 weeks. I host a large children's workers seminar in less than 2 weeks. I am coming near the end of my first 8 months in Africa. I have been blessed.

Thank you for giving.

Love always,
Pattie
~~~~~
2007 Daylight Saving Time Ends on November 4th in US
Check out this website for information on time changes in the United States and Europe:
http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html
and
Want to know what time it is in other parts of the world? Check out this site:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
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The Columbia County Health Unit’s drive-through flu clinic will be 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, Thursday, November 8.
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Health Fair - Thursday, November 8
Maintenance Complex Communications Room
10:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00
A few of the booths that will be set up this year:
Albemarle Medical - Flu shots (Albemarle employees only)
Audibel - "Dirty Ear"
Magnolia Massage - Chair massages
Columbia County Extension Service - Healthy Food Demonstration
SAU Nursing Department - Height/Weight/Blood Pressure
Magnolia Hospital - Respiratory/New Direction
United Blood Service - Blood donation - the van will be parked in front of the Maintenance Complex - be sure to bring the normal identification!!!

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Magnolia Arts Presents: "Till Death Do We Part"
A Murder Mystery Written and Directed: Janet Rider-Babbitt
You are Cordially Invited To Attend the Celebration of Marriage Between:
Jacob Sterling & Cynthia Adams-Sterling, November 9 & 10 at 7:00 pm
At the SAU Reynolds Center - Tickets are On Sale At "Cosmopolitan Ladies' Club and Gallery"
Or call 235-9896 - Ticket Price: $30 (dinner included) - Last Day to buy tickets is Wednesday, November 7th. This is a Fundraiser for magnolia Arts Theater
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Magnolia Circle of Friends Benefit for Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Steak Dinner, Tuesday, November 13, 5 - 7 pm, dine in or carry out.
Call Lacey @ 235-6505 to get tickets ($15)
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Each week the Defense Department highlights military personnel who have gone above and beyond in the war. [http://www.defenselink.mil/heroes/] - - Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel Bogart - Beaufort, SC - - Bronze Star with “V” recipient

Most people try to avoid deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Not Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel Bogart: As an explosive ordnance disposal technician, it’s his job to get up close and personal with these devices, often in combat situations. From August 2006 to March 2007, Bogart neutralized 65 IEDs, saving countless soldiers and Marines from harm. His actions – which required extensive technical knowledge and unflappable concentration – earned him the Bronze Star with “V” for valor.

Bogart’s tasks as the team leader of the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon, 1st Marine Logistics Group, included disarming bombs and clearing explosives. A sense of normalcy is a sign of success: As Bogart told the Midland Reporter-Telegram, “You hear a lot about the [IEDs] that go off, but not about the ones we take apart.”

One of Bogart’s most harrowing missions involved manually disabling three IEDs in Ramadi while under small-arms fire. After disarming the first two, a fourth IED exploded just three feet away, damaging Bogart’s ear drums and injuring his partner as shrapnel covered the area.

Despite being wounded, Bogart refused to let medical personnel into the area since he knew there was at least one more live IED. Despite his injuries, Bogart defused the third IED, moved the injured Marine from the blast area, and then returned to perform a post-blast analysis – before finally allowing himself to be medevaced. After spending twelve days recovering from his wounds, Bogart returned full-time to his job.

Bogart participated in more than 170 combat missions during his seven-month tour, and disposed of over 11,000 pounds of unexploded ordnance. During many of these missions, Bogart had to avoid enemy machine-gun and RPG fire. He is quick to credit his comrades-in-arms for his many successful missions: “It is easy to do good things . . . when you are set up for success, surrounded by the best individuals and a good chain of command. . . . I could not have done anything on my own – it was a team effort.”

After two tours of duty in Iraq, Bogart is now a team leader for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort’s explosive ordnance disposal unit. In that capacity, he trains other Marines in his field. Bogart has also shared his knowledge with other coalition forces: In 2005, he provided assistance in explosive ordnance disposal training to Georgian soldiers set to deploy to Iraq.

While IEDs continue to be one of the greatest dangers our troops face, the efforts of service members such as Bogart have greatly reduced this threat. On October 12, 2007, Bogart received the Bronze Star and his Senior EOD insignia, a well-deserved recognition of his courage and expertise. Bogart’s decorations also include a Purple Heart and the Combat Action Ribbon.
~~~~~
Greetings,

Many interesting developments in Iraq: I am working hard to produce dispatches to convey the situation in the various locations where I've been traveling. I have numerous dispatches on the British and the situation down in Basra that will start going up as early as next week, but timing depends in part on the ground conditions here in south Baghdad.

A new dispatch is published {http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/the-perfect-evil-coming-to-roost.htm}.
I wrote an editorial piece for the New York Post that was published on Sunday. You can read it [http://www.nypost.com/seven/10282007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/inside_the_surge.htm?page=0].

I will publish the first foreign language translation soon. Your support made that happen, and is very much appreciated. I am having difficulty sending thank you acknowledgements due to an ongoing glitch with PayPal that makes it impossible to download the logs. We're working to resolve this, because we want people to know their help is making a very real difference.

Also read Iraqi Islamic Party: "Al Qaeda is Defeated." [http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/iraqi-islamic-party-says-al-qaeda-is-defeated.htm].

V/r,

Michael Yon
~~~~~
A Veterans’ Day ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, November 12 at the Columbia County Courthouse. Veterans groups will also be selling roasted peanuts on the square and at Wal-Mart that day.
~~~~~
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

If you think this is a good idea, pass it on to your e-mail buddies.

Thanks to Norma Kay Rowe
~~~~~
Paul Tibbets, the pilot that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan on Aug. 6, 1945 while flying the U.S. bomber Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress named for his mother, died on Thursday at age 92.
When I was young, we heard that he’d gone insane with grief over the thousands killed in the blast. However, the truth was that Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. believed that dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a justifiable means of shortening World War II and preserving the lives of hundreds of thousands of American servicemen who military experts said might have died in a final Allied invasion of Japan.
For Tibbets, the pilot whose bombing run unleashed the devastating explosive force and insidious nuclear radiation that leveled two-thirds of the city and killed at least 80,000 people, there was never any need to apologize.
"I never lost a night's sleep over it," Tibbets said of the attack.
~~~~~
Jules “Yankee” Kochmanor passed away this week. Jules was retired from the plant and spent the majority of his time fishing. Of course, when he was working, he spent most of his time fishing. During the last few years he worked, he arranged to only work nights. Even when he was working, he’d get off at 3:00 am, go fishing until dawn, eat breakfast, and then go to another lake and fish till noon. Then sleep a few (very few) hours before going back to work that afternoon.
There was a fine crowd of fishermen, coworkers, game wardens and even some acquaintances at his wake.
~~~~~
We extend our sincere sympathy to William Green in the loss of his father earlier this week.
Funeral services for Mr. Willie Green will be Monday, November 5, at the Caver Memorial Funeral Home in Detroit, Michigan.
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We extend our sincere sympathy to David Prothro whose mother, Anna Prothro, passed away.
~~~~~
The Pump Handle. A water cooler for the public health crowd.
http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/

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

** "Setting OSHA Straight on Injuries vs. Illness" by Peter Infante A recent headline in an OSHA newsletter suggests that Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is misinformed about the reporting for illness and injury data, or is mis-representing it to the public. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/setting-osha-straight-on-injuries-vs-illness/

** "Widows Take Aim in KY Governor's Race" by Celeste Monforton Three Kentucky women who lost their husbands in mine disasters have taken to the op-ed pages to explain why they're voting against incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/widows-take-aim-in-ky-governors-race/

** "Living in a Chemical World" by Liz Borkowski The radio show "On Point" looks at mistaken assumptions about how much safety testing is done on common consumer products, and why scientists are worried about our exposure to common chemicals. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/living-in-a-chemical-world/

** "Occupational Health News Roundup" by Liz Borkowski Firefighters battling the California wildfires face dangerous conditions; a UK newspaper finds Indian child laborers making clothing for the Gap; and a new study reports on depression and suicide risk among veterans. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/occupational-health-news-roundup-38/

** "Fightin' Words from OSHA Fairness Coalition" by Celeste Monforton The OSHA Fairness Coalition, made up of several industry groups, expressed its "unequivocal opposition" to a mine safety bill scheduled for mark-up in the House Education and Labor Committee. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/fightin-words-from-osha-fairness-coalition/

** "Pelosi Says CPSC Chair Should Resign" by Liz Borkowski After Consumer Product Safety Commission acting chair Nancy Nord opposed Senate legislation designed to strengthen the agency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for Nord's resignation. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/pelosi-says-cpsc-chair-should-resign/

** "Weekend Work Deadly for WV Coal Miners" by Celeste Monforton The death of Charles Jason Keeney at a Boone, West Virginia mine isn't the first to occur on a weekend – all seven coal-mining related fatalities in West Virginia this year have occurred on weekend shifts. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/weekend-work-deadly-for-wv-coal-miners/

** "CPSC Chairman: Weakness is Strength" by David Michaels A Senate bill would give the Consumer Product Safety Commission more resources and authority – but CPSC acting chair opposes many of the provisions. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/cpsc-chairman-weakness-is-strength/

** "Clean Air Act Penalties at BP Two Times OSHA Fines" by Celeste Monforton Following the Texas City refinery explosion that killed 15 workers, BP is paying $50 million for a Clean Air Act violation, but only $21.6 million for workplace health and safety violations. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/clean-air-act-penalties-at-bp-two-times-osha-fines/

** "Lead's Lingering Effects" by Liz Borkowski New research into lead and crime is attracting attention on both sides of the Atlantic, while local jurisdictions struggle to reduce the rate of childhood lead poisoning. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/leads-lingering-effects/

** "Friday Blog Roundup" by Liz Borkowski Bloggers consider the role of climate change in the California wildfires, question an oft-cited prescription drug statistic, report on changing global attitudes toward maternal health. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/friday-blog-roundup-47/
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What Good Is One Vote?

The nation goes to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. Should you vote?

* In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.

* In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German.

* In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union.

* In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.

* In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.

* In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the U.S. presidency.

* In 1941, one vote saved Selective Service weeks before Pearl Harbor.

And you thought your single vote didn't count!

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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Recipe(s) of the week - - - Whole-Wheat Pasta with Broccoli and Feta From Food Network Kitchens - - In honor of our favorite vegetarian.


1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccoli (about 10 ounces), stems cut into 2-inch stems, and florets
1 medium bunch radishes, trimmed and very thinly sliced
12 ounces whole-wheat rigatoni
1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled


Put the shallots in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes; drain.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and salt it as well. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the radish slices, and cook 30 seconds, more. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to scoop out the vegetables and plunge them immediately into the ice water. Drain the vegetables, pat them very dry.
Add the pasta to the same pot of boiling water, and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 to 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Whisk the sherry vinegar, orange zest, the 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste, in a large serving bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a dressing.

Toss the rigatoni, broccoli, radish and shallot with the dressing. Add the feta cheese and toss lightly. Serve warm or room temperature.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_30053,00.html
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This will put a smile on your face!
GodTube.com - Little Girl and Psalm 23
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9e7c4b40cf5a13cea6ca
Thanks to Julie Morris
~~~~~
MapQuest Gas Prices, Pretty Cool http://gasprices.mapquest.com
~~~~~
If you’d like to write Dr. Antoon, he’d like to hear from you. This is his current address, the latest of the three federal prisons’ he’s been in.
Patrick Antoon #06669-010
Federal Prison Camp-La Tuna
P. O. Box 8000
Anthony, NM/TX 88021
~~~~~
The photos on the front of this week’s “Bleat” were taken at MCC’s annual “Hallelujah Night”
~~~~~
Don’t forget to check out www.mcc2000.net
~~~~~
We’ve now got several addresses on the web for "Da Bleat." For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com
Our photos are posted at http://www.bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com.
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
BreakPoint
With Chuck Colson

Just Do It
11/2/2007

Good Stewardship and Global Warming

A recent headline in the Wall Street Journal read, “Split Over Global Warming Widens Among Evangelicals.” While this story was about Baptists in Texas, the disagreements it described are not limited to the Lone Star State—in part, because when it comes to global warming, we evangelicals are so busy disagreeing with each other that we have lost sight of what can agree on.

The article features a discussion between two “devout Baptists.” One, a woman who represents Texas’s largest Southern Baptist group, wants a pastor to get behind an effort to block the building of a “slew of coal-fired power plants.” A committed environmentalist, she cites the Psalmist’s declaration that “the earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness.”

The pastor, in turn, assures her that “God . . . ‘is sovereign over His creation’ and [that] no amount of coal-burning will alter by a ‘millisecond’ His divine plan for the world.” He, too, cites Scripture, in this case, Genesis 8:22: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.”

The Journal summarizes his position this way: Over-concern about global warming “just distracts from core Christian duties to spread the faith and protect the unborn.”

Not surprisingly, neither is persuaded by the other’s argument. They, like most Americans—liberal and conservative—remain divided on the basic questions: “How serious is [climate change], what causes it, and what should [hu]mankind do about it?”

But for Christians, the question of global warming should not stop us from identifying a critical worldview issue here—one on which every Christian can, or should, agree: and that’s the importance of good stewardship toward the rest of creation. There are things we can do now to be good stewards that do not require us to get all of the answers that are going to come on global warming.

A great example of this is a long-time friend of mine named Bill Spears. Bill is a solid Christian, a native oil-belt Texan, a conservative, and an environmentalist wrapped up in one. Bill started a company called Energy Education, Inc., which develops energy conservation plans for school districts, universities, and large churches that “share a common commitment to fiscal and social responsibility and to the wise use of financial and environmental resources.” Why? As Bill Spears says, its clients can invest the financial savings “in the lives of people . . . not the utility companies.”

Take Prestonwood Baptist Church as an example, a huge church in Plano, Texas. It worked with Energy Education to cut its utility costs by $1.1 million in one year. That’s good stewardship—freeing funds to be used elsewhere in the ministry.

As Prestonwood’s pastor, Jack Graham, told the Journal, “Biblical Christianity . . . has a real answer to the ecological crisis.” Francis Schaeffer, whom Graham quoted, insisted that Christians ought to be the best stewards possible of the environment. Can you think of one instance where Scripture praises excessive consumption or waste? I can’t.

Working with institutions to reduce their energy usage, like Energy Education does, is good stewardship. And it does not depend on what the scientists eventually can prove about global warming. It is all laid out for us already in the Scriptures. All we have got to do is stop arguing long enough to start being good stewards today.

Apply today for the 2008 Centurions Program and study with Chuck Colson and other leading thinkers for one year. The deadline for applications is November 30.

For Further Reading and Information

Andrew Higgins, “Split over Global Warming Widens among Evangelicals,” Wall Street Journal, 28 September 2007, A1.

Learn more about Energy Education, Inc.

Roberto Rivera, “The Tipping Point,” The Point, 15 October 2007.

Roberto Rivera, “Pot Calling Kettle,” The Point, 30 July 2007.

Read more posts about the environment at The Point blog.

Read the fact sheet “Climate Change Policy: Scientific, Moral, and Theological Implications” from the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance.

BreakPoint Commentary No. 070625, “The Red Knot and You: Environmentalism and Stewardship.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 060215, “Evangelical Activism: Stewardship Responsibilities.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 060421, “Attack of the Kudzu People: Man as an Invasive Species.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 050412, “Save the Humans: Bring Balance to Environmentalism.”

Regis Nicoll, “Keeping Our Cool: Environmental Debate Heats Up for Evangelicals,” BreakPoint Online, 23 February 2006.

Anne Morse, “Want to Save the Environment? Have a Baby!” BreakPoint WorldView, September 2005.

Roberto Rivera, “Climate Conflict,” BreakPoint Online, 15 September 2003.

Two views from the September 2004 issue of BreakPoint WorldView magazine: Terry Morrison, Ph.D., “Earthly Responsibility,” and Rev. Robert A. Sirico, “What Stewardship Means.”

Catherina Hurlburt, “Finding the Balance,” BreakPoint WorldView, September 2004.

The BreakPoint Web site and BreakPoint WorldView Magazine feature Colson’s commentaries as well as feature articles by other established and up-and-coming writers to equip readers with a biblical perspective on a variety of issues and topics.
© 2004-2006 Prison Fellowship
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
impecunious: habitually without money; poor.
valetudinarian: a weak or sickly person.
terminus: the end of a transportation line or route; any finishing point.
soi-disant: self-styled; so-called.
ensorcell: to enchant; to bewitch.
forcible: effected by force used against resistance; also, powerful.
myrmidon: a loyal follower.
from Dictionary.Com
~~~~~
"Those who are silent, self-effacing and attentive become the recipients of confidences." - Thornton Wilder

"Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair." - Elie Wiesel

"Life is an adventure in forgiveness." - Norman Cousins

"History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances." - Donald Creighton

"Our consciences are littered like an old attic with the junk of sheer conviction." - Wilford O. Cross

"Fanaticism is ... overcompensation for doubt." - Robertson Davies

"God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road." - Isak Dinesen
~~~~~
Emerson’s Tiller Race in 2008 Old Farmer’s Almanac

One of the Ark-La-Tex's most unusual sporting events is currently featured in a national publication.
Emerson’s World Championship Rotary Tiller Race has made it into the 2008 Old Farmer’s Almanac.
The race of souped-up garden tillers, the marquee event of the annual Emerson PurpleHull Pea Festival, is featured in a section of the almanac highlighting unusual or “quirky” competitions in the United States and Canada.
“You know the sport has arrived when it makes it into the Old Farmer’s Almanac,” says Bill Dailey, spokesman for the festival. “I was wondering why the festival was suddenly getting emails from all over the country asking about tiller racing.”
The World Championship Rotary Tiller Race began in 1990, the first year of the festival’s existence. At the time, it was thought a race of garden tillers would be an appropriate, quaint side event, given tillers were widely used to grow purple hull peas in local backyard gardens.
Since then, it’s grown into a monster.
In the very first race, 16-year-old Jason Hines surprised event organizers when he showed up with a tiller that he and his grandfather had modified for speed. In following years, racers arrived with tillers using various combinations of engines and homemade tiller tines.
“We went through a period when alcohol burning engines were all the rage,” said Dailey. “We’ve even had electric tillers there. Now it’s mostly back to gasoline.”
The current world record is held by Shane Waller of Junction City, Arkansas, who in 2005 tilled the 200-foot track of plowed ground in 5.72 seconds, an average speed of almost 24 miles-per-hour.
The Emerson PurpleHull Pea Festival & World Championship Rotary Tiller Race is held annually on the last weekend in June. The 2008 event will be June 27-28.

Thanks to Teddy Allen (Poet, Taxpayer, Man About Town) - - http://teddyallen.blogspot.com/2007/11/pea-festival-arrives-hits-big-time.html
~~~~~
BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://breakingchristiannews.com/

# Peruvian Missionaries Give JESUS Film to Terrorists Threatening to Murder them; One Year Later they Discover Many of the Terrorists Were Saved after Watching the Film
# French Clay May Heal Antibiotic Resistant Infections Such as MRSA
# 40 Days for Life Calls for 24-Hour Vigils at all Abortion Clinics Nationwide on November 3
# Blows to the Flesh and to the Spirit—Jesus Can Heal them Both, Says Dr. Alveda King

# VA Allows God back into Flag Folding Ceremony
# Former Police Inspector Credits God with Giving Him the Strength to Cope With Plane Disaster
# Update on California Residents' Battle to Stop SB 777
# Success Story: Well Known African-American Bible Teacher Was Terrified at First of Pastoring a Mostly White Church in Georgia

# Parental Alert: Golden Compass Movie said to be a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
# Jewish Art Museum Hosts "Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve" Collection to Highlight Global Appreciation of Old Testament Stories
# Iraqi Prime Minister Pledges to Support and Protect Christians in Iraq
# Ecuador's Giant Handwritten Bible Project

# Californians Give God Thanks for Blessings Great and Small after Devastating Fires
# White Ribbon Week: Taking a Stand against the Hideous Plague of Our Time
# Ministry Taking Place in Iraq Despite Turmoil
# Solemn Assembly: Kiwis stand united in prayer

# Laura's Story—a Mother's Account of Her Daughter's Death in an Abortion Mill, and the Hope She Believes God Will bring out of it
# The Award-winning Bella comes to the Big Screen—a Movie about Sacrificial Love and the Value of Life
# Unlikely Ally: ACLU Helps Prisoner Win Back the Right to Preach the Gospel
# Queen Elizabeth's Royal Composer Gives Her a New Christmas Carol

# Seattle's Mars Hill Church to Transform House of Ill Repute into Vibrant Church
# Oregon Churches Band Together to Strengthen Marriages, Reduce Divorce Rates
# Who Needs Israel? We All Do! Pat Boone Comments on the Immense Importance the Tiny Nation Carries

# Kidnapped Missionaries Let Go By Captors after Being Told They Would Not be Killed Because of Prayers being Prayed for Them
# Falsely Accused Man Finds Freedom from Prison of Hate, through the Lord and Song
# Lindsay Lohan's Father Strives for Reconciliation and Redemption for His Family

Breaking Christian News
310 2nd Ave SE
Albany, Oregon 97321
541-928-2642
E-mail
US Orders: 1-866-358-7426

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GCF: Auto Auction

Emailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to: gcfl-request@gcfl.net with subject = add

If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! A smile will enhance the quality of your life. Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the Good Clean Fun web site http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor/ Unsubscribe info for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by F-Secure before it was sent.
--------------------------------------------

The auto auction I attended was selling cars to benefit charity. Vehicles were classified as either "Running" or "No Start." On the block was a No Starter. It had a shattered windshield, two missing tires, a sagging front bumper, a cockeyed grille, a hood that was sprung up at an angle, and dings and dents all over the body.

Before he started the bidding, the auctioneer announced the car's year, make, and model, and then read the owner's comments: "Please note - the radio does not work."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Bar Tab

Emailed to me from another humor list (Daily Humor) -Tom To subscribe to Daily Humor, send a blank email to: Daily-Humor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
--------------------------------------------

Patrick, an Irish oil worker, is on a job in Alaska up on the North Slope. It's forty below zero one winter night and Patrick is imbibing at his local saloon.

The bartender says to him, "Patrick, you owe me quite a bit on your tab."

"Sure'n I'm flat broke this week."

"That's OK. I'll just write your name and the amount you owe me right here on the wall."

"But I'm not wantin' any of me friends to see that."

"They won't. I'll just hang your parka over it until it's paid."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Jury Excuse

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
--------------------------------------------

"Please, Your Honor, I'd like to be excused from jury duty," pleaded an anxious-looking man.

"Why should I excuse you?" asked the judge.

"You see, I owe a man fifty dollars, and he's leaving in a few hours for a post abroad. He'll be there for years and I want to catch him before he leaves, for it may be my last chance to repay him."

"Excused," stated the judge coldly. "We don't want anyone on the jury who can lie like that."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Tacklebox Lures

mailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to: gcfl-request@gcfl.net with subject = add
--------------------------------------------

On her 15th birthday, my daughter opened a package from her mom and her sisters. Out came a beauty case containing many samples of makeup.

"Neat!" I exclaimed. "Your own tackle box!"

My wife calmly explained that it was NOT a tackle box; it was a beauty kit. My daughter proceeded to open it up and show us all the mascara, eye shadow, rouge, and other cosmetics.

At this point I leaned over to my wife and whispered, "I told you it was a tackle box. Just look at all those lures."

_ ____________________________ _
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / The first sign of maturity \ \_/ ////
\ / is the discovery that \ /
\ _/ the volume knob also \_ /
/ / turns to the left. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / Sound travels slowly..... \ \_/ ////
\ / Sometimes the things you say \ /
\ _/when your kids are teenagers don't \_ /
/ / reach them till they're in their 40's.\ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Those who say they \ /
\ _/ "sleep like a baby" \_ /
/ / haven't got one. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )______________________( \_| \\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Summer vacation is a time \ /
\ _/ when parents realize that \_ /
/ / teachers are grossly underpaid. \ \
_ ____________________________ _
| Thomas S. Ellsworth |
| tellswor@slonet.org |
| http://www.slonet.org/~tellswor |
|___________________________|
Stop for a visit, leave with a smile! To join Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.Com To leave Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.Com Or visit the Good Clean Fun web site at http://www. slonet.org/~tellswor/
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Ancient Artifact?

A little boy opened the big, old family Bible with fascination, looking at the old pages as he turned them. Then something fell out of the Bible and he picked up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree. The leaf had been pressed in between pages.

"Momma, look what I found," the boy called out.

"What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked.

With astonishment in his voice, the young boy answered: "It's Adam's suit!"

Received from Joe.

(-:][:-)

Air Conditioning

A customer was continually bothering the waiter in a restaurant; first, he'd asked that the air conditioning be turned up because he was too hot, then he asked it be turned down because he was too cold, and so on for about half an hour.

Surprisingly, the waiter was very patient, walking back and forth and never once getting angry. So finally, a second customer asked why didn't they just throw out the pest.

"Oh, I don't care," said the waiter with a smile. "We don't even have an air conditioner."

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

(-:][:-)

Halloween Rocky

One Halloween a trick-or-treater came to my door dressed as "Rocky," in boxing gloves and satin shorts. Soon after I gave him some goodies, he returned for more.

"Aren't you the same 'Rocky' who left my doorstep several minutes ago?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied, "but now I'm the sequel. I'll be back three more times tonight, too."

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

(-:][:-)

Halloween Definitions

Boogieman: The guy who passes time at a stoplight picking his nose.

Coffin: What you do when you get a piece of popcorn stuck in your throat.

Frankenstein: Hot dog and a mug of beer.

Full Moon: What your repairman reveals when he bends over to fix your fridge.

Goblin: How you eat the Snickers bars you got for Halloween.

Invisible Man: What a guy becomes when there's housework to be done.

Jack O' Lantern: An Irish Pumpkin.

Jack the Ripper: What Jack does to his lottery tickets after losing each week.

Mummy: The person who kisses the boo-boo after you scrape your knee.

Pumpkin Patch: What a pumpkin wears when trying to quit smoking.

Skeleton: Any supermodel.

Vampire Bat: What Dracula hits a baseball with.

Zombie: What you look like before that first cup of morning coffee.

Received from Stan Kegel.

(-:][:-)

Insurance Salesman

"My cousin applied for a job as an insurance salesman. Where the form requested "prior experience," he jotted down "Lifeguard." Nothing else.

"We're looking for someone who can not only sell insurance, but, who can sell himself," said the hiring manager for the Insurance company. "How does working as a lifeguard pertain to salesmanship?"

"I could not swim," my cousin replied.

He got the job.

Received from Jim Jackson, Sour Lake, Texas.

(-:][:-)

-=+=-
Rate this funny at http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA
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No one believes seniors . . . everyone thinks they are senile.

An elderly couple was celebrating their sixtieth anniversary.
The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighborhood after they retired.
Holding hands they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they'd shared, where Andy had carved "I love you, Sally."

On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armored car, practically landing at their feet. Sally quickly picked it up, but not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money--fifty-thousand dollars.

Andy said, "We've got to give it back."

Sally said, "Finders keepers." She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic.

The next day, two FBI men were canvassing the neighborhood looking for the money, and knocked on the door.

"Pardon me, but did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armored car yesterday?"

Sally said, "No."

Andy said, "She's lying. She hid it up in the attic."

Sally said, "Don't believe him, he's getting senile."

The agents turn to Andy and began to question him.
One says: "Tell us the story from the beginning."

Andy said, "Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday."

The first FBI guy turns to his partner and says, "We're outta here."

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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Two men were walking home after a Halloween party and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs. Right in the middle of the cemetery, they were startled by a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from the misty shadows. Trembling with fear, they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones.

"Holy cow, Mister," one of them said, after catching his breath, "You scared us half to death! We thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working out here so late at night?"

"Those fools!" the old man grumbled. "They misspelled my name!"

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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Cajun Math Test
A Cajun man wants a job, but the foreman won't hire him until he passes a little math test.
Here is your first question, the foreman said. 'Without using numbers, represent the number 9.'

'Without numbers?' The Cajun says, 'Dat is easy.' And proceeds to draw three trees.
'What's this?' the boss asks 'Ave you got no brain?

Tree and tree and tree make nine,' says the Cajun.

'Fair enough,' says the boss. 'Here's your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.'

The Cajun stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree. 'Ere you go.'

The boss scratches his head and says, 'How on earth do you get that to represent 99?'

'Each of da trees is dirty now. So, it's dirty tree, and dirty tree, and dirty tree. Dat is 99.'

The boss is getting worried that he's going to actually have to hire this Cajun, so he says, 'All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.

The Cajun stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, 'Ere you go. One hundred.'

The boss looks at the attempt. 'You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!'

The Cajun leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and says, 'A little dog come along and “dudy” by each tree.
So now you got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, which makes one hundred.'
'So, when I start?'

Thanks to Don V Smith
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A couple of real oldies but goodies

Boudreaux and his mule

Boudreaux had a bad vehicle accident, caused by a truck. In court, the trucking company's fancy lawyer was questioning Boudreaux.
"Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, "I'm fine, the lawyer asked?
Boudreaux responded, "Mais, Let me told you what happened. Me, I had jus loaded my favorite mule, Bessie, into da…
"I didn't ask for any details", the lawyer interrupted. Just answer the question? Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, "I'm fine!"?
Boudreaux said, "I had jus got Bessie into da trailer and I was driving down da road . . . ."
The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to answer the question."
By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Boudreaux's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Bessie".
Boudreaux thanked the Judge and proceeded; "I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into da trailer and was driving her down da highway when dis huge semi-truck and trailer ran da stop sign and smacked my truck right in da side. Me, I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie wa thrown into da udder. I was hurting, real bad and didn't want to move att all.
But, I could herd ole Bessie moanin and groanin. Me, I knew she was in some kind o' terrible shape just by her groans."
"Shortly after da accident, a Highway Patrolman, he came on da scene.
He herd Bessie moanin' and groanin' so, him, he went over ta her. After he took hisself a look at her, he took out his gun and shot her between da eyes.
Den da Patrolman came cross da road, gun in hand, and looked at me, and said 'How are you feeling?'
Now what da heck would you say?

~~~

Think before you speak!
WIFE: "What would you do if I die? Would you get married again?"
HUSBAND: "Definitely not!"
WIFE: "Why not - don't you like being married?"
HUSBAND: "Of course I do."
WIFE: "Then why wouldn't you remarry?"
HUSBAND: "Okay, I'd get married again."
WIFE: "You would? (with a hurtful look on her face).
HUSBAND: (makes audible groan).
WIFE: "Would you live in our house?"
HUSBAND: "Sure, it's a great house."
WIFE: "Would you sleep with her in our bed?"
HUSBAND: "Where else would we sleep?"
WIFE: "Would you let her drive my car?"
HUSBAND: "Probably, it is almost new."
WIFE: "Would you replace my pictures with hers?"
HUSBAND: "That would seem like the proper thing to do."
WIFE: "Would she use my golf clubs?"
HUSBAND: "No, she's left-handed."
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A nice joke with a subtle Louisiana flavor:

Boudreaux the mortician

A man who just died is delivered to a Louisiana mortuary wearing an expensive, expertly tailored black suit. Boudreaux the mortician asks the deceased's wife how she would like the body dressed. He points out that the man does look very good in the black suit he is already wearing The widow however, says that she always thought her husband looked his best in blue, and that she wants him in a blue suit. She gives Boudreaux a blank check and says, "I don't care what it costs, just have my husband in a blue suit for the viewing."

The woman returns the next day for the viewing. To her delight she finds her husband dressed in a gorgeous blue suit with a subtle chalk stripe; the suit fits him perfectly. She says to Boudreaux, "Whatever the suit cost, I'm very satisfied. You did an excellent job and I'm very grateful. How much did you spend?"

To her astonishment, Boudreaux presents her with the blank check. "Dere's no charge," he says.

"No, really, I must pay you for the cost of that exquisite blue suit!" she says. "Honestly, ma'am," Boudreaux says, "it didn't cost me a ting. You see, a deceased gentleman of about your husband's size was brought in shortly after you left yesterday, and he was wearing an attractive blue suit. I asked his missus if she minded him going to his grave wearing a black suit instead, and she said it made no difference as long as he looked nice." "So, I just switched the heads."

Thanks to Sam Boggs
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Mujibar was trying to get a job in India. The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."
Mujibar said, "I am ready"
The manager said, "Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink and Green."
Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister manager, I am ready"
The manager said, "Go ahead."
Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'"
Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer problems.
No doubt you have spoken to him. I have.

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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The members of Quench The Spirit Baptist Church have been looking for Pastor since its world renowned Pastor Jacovis Davis has decided to start his own television ministry called Shackle Free Ministries. Pastor Davis has become more of an evangelist since leaving Spirit Led Christian Ministries.

I’m About them Dollars and the chairman of the deacon board. I have organized a Pastor Search Committee since we have been without a pastor for at least one year. The following report has been complied and now is beginning brought before the congregation. The candidates are all accounted for and I ask that each candidate please stand when your name is called. Although we have not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church to replace Pastor Davis, we have one promising prospect. Each candidate was followed up with interviews or by calling at least three references.

Adam: Good man but has problems with his wife. One reference told us how he and his wife enjoyed walking nude in the woods.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream interpreting and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator; even stutters at time. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

Deborah: One word….Female

Solomon: Great preacher, but serious woman problem.

Elijah: Prone to depression; collapses under pressure.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor, but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Jonah: Told us he was swallowed up by great fish. He said the fish ate him and spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too much of a country hick. Backward and unpolished. With some seminary training, he might have promise; but he as a hang-up against wealthy people.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but doesn’t dress like one. May be too Pentecostal. Tends to lift both hands in the air to worship when he gets excited. You know we limit to one hand. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher. However, he’s short on tact, unforgiving with young minister, harsh, and has been known to preach all night.

Timothy: Too young

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000, He managed to offend them all; and his church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he is single.

Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money, we’re inviting him to preach this Sunday in view of a call.

Thanks to Don Dumas
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It’s just a joke....

Advance Copy + 2008 Democratic National Convention Schedule of Events

7:00 pm ~ Opening flag burning
7:15 pm ~ Pledge of Allegiance to the U. N.
7:20 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
7:25 pm ~ Nonreligious prayer and worship
7:45 pm ~ Ceremonial tree hugging
7:55 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
8:00 pm ~ How I Invented the Internet - Al Gore
8:35 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
10:00 pm ~ 'Answering Machine Etiquette' - Alec Baldwin
11:00 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
11:05 pm ~ Collection for the Osama Bin Laden kidney transplant fund - Barbra Streisand
11:15 pm ~ Free the Freedom Fighters from Guantanamo Bay - Sean Penn
11:30 pm ~ Oval Office Affairs - William Jefferson Clinton
11:45 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
11:50 pm ~ How George Bush Brought Down the World Trade Towers - Howard Dean
12:15 am ~ 'Truth in Broadcasting Award' - Presented to Dan Rather by Michael Moore
12:25 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
12:30 am ~ Satellite address by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
12:45 am ~ Nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Nancy Pelosi
1:00 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
1:05 am ~ Coronation of Hillary Rodham Clinton
1:30 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast
1:35 am ~ Bill Clinton asks Ted Kennedy to drive Hillary home
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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/humor_blog/2007/11/02/problem-poetry/ - - Problem Poetry
Problem Poetry (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

“Your verses belong in the can,”
Said the prof to a man. “They don’t scan.
The problem’s your beat,
Plus your poems have no meat.”
I’m guessing he wasn’t a fan.

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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The top US conservatives and liberals
Sam Boggs sent us an interesting article from a British newspaper.

Any list such as best 100 songs or top ten wonders of the world will hardly be exact science, but fun to peruse. And probably intended to stir a little controversy. Interesting to see observations from across the Pond.

You can launch the actual article from one of the links below:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/uselection/nosplit/listintro.xml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/uselection/nosplit/listintro.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

The top US conservatives and liberals
By Toby Harnden

With a year and a few days to go before voters across the United States go to the polls to elect their 44th president, The Daily Telegraph today unveils its list of the 100 most influential conservatives and 100 most influential liberals in America.
The 2008 election is arguably the most open contest since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or incumbent vice president running for their party's nomination. The victor will become the most powerful person in the world at a time of almost unprecedented challenge and turmoil.
Selecting just 200 principal political figures in such a diverse, ideologically intense and divided country in a time of war was no straightforward task. We consulted widely among our contacts across the political spectrum and outside it, as well as engaging in vigorous internal debate before deciding on our choices.
To qualify for the lists, people have to live and work in the United States. Conservatives are people identifiably – though not always self-described – as right of centre. Liberals – though the term is an unpopular one in the US, with even Hillary Clinton preferring “progressive” – are those identifiably left of centre.
Although there are many Republicans on the conservative list and many liberals on the Democratic list, not all 200 are aligned with a party. The key to inclusion was the term “influence” – which people do, and will, most affect American politics both in terms of ideas and the enactment of policy.
We have chosen political candidates, pollsters, campaign operatives, members of think tanks, journalists, bloggers, fundraisers, big-money donors and the occasional celebrity.
Inclusion does not imply the approval of this newspaper or its correspondents – and the views of many on the lists will be anathema to large numbers of our readers.
When in doubt, we have leant towards those likely to be most influential in the future rather than those whose careers and impact lies in the past. But some historical figures cast such a long shadow that it would have been perverse to have excluded them.
The mere holding of a high office did not guarantee inclusion, though it was often an important factor. The future influence of some figures will depend largely on whether the candidate they are associated with wins their party’s nomination or the presidency. Certainly, a year and a week from today, these lists will probably be very – though by no means entirely – different.
It was far from easy to agree among ourselves as to who to include and in what order. Many readers will dispute a number of those who appear on our lists and no doubt be eager to put forward substitutes.
These are our lists. We know that you will not agree with all our choices and we encourage you to submit your own lists. Let the debate begin.
# Lists compiled by the Telegraph staff in Washington – Toby Harnden, Alex Spillius, Tim Shipman, Amanda Halligan and Jessica Jerrell.
# Toby Harnden's Washington DC blog
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/uselection/nosplit/listintro.xml

Thanks to Sam Boggs
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After clocks are turned back this weekend, pedestrians walking during the evening rush hour are nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars than before the time change, two scientists calculate. Ending daylight saving time translates into about 37 more U.S. pedestrian deaths around 6 p.m. in November compared to October, the researchers report.

Their study of risk to pedestrians is preliminary but confirms previous findings of higher deaths after clocks are set back in fall.

It's not the darkness itself, but the adjustment to earlier nighttime that's the killer, said professors Paul Fischbeck and David Gerard, both of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Fischbeck, who regularly walks with his 4-year-old twins around 6 p.m., is worried enough that he'll be more cautious starting Monday.

"A three times increase in the risk is really dramatic, and because of that we're carrying a flashlight," he said.

Fischbeck and Gerard conducted a preliminary study of seven years of federal traffic fatalities and calculated risk per mile walked for pedestrians. They found that per-mile risk jumps 186 percent from October to November, but then drops 21 percent in December.

They said the drop-off by December indicates the risk is caused by the trouble both drivers and pedestrians have adjusting when darkness suddenly comes an hour earlier.

The reverse happens in the morning when clocks are set back and daylight comes earlier. Pedestrian risk plummets, but there are fewer walkers then, too. The 13 lives saved at 6 a.m. don't offset the 37 lost at 6 p.m., the researchers found.

The risk for pedestrian deaths at 6 p.m. is by far the highest in November than any other month, the scientists said. The danger declines each month through May.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of Arlington, Va., in earlier studies found the switch from daylight saving time to standard time increased pedestrian deaths. Going to a year-round daylight saving time would save about 200 deaths a year, the institute calculated, said spokesman Russ Rader.

"Benjamin Franklin conceived of daylight savings time as a way of saving candles," Rader said Friday. "Today we know it saves lives."

The risk at 6 p.m. in November, after daylight saving time ends, is 11 times higher than the risk for the same hour in April, when daylight saving begins, according to the Carnegie Mellon researchers.

Fischbeck and Gerard used federal traffic fatality data that they've incorporated into a searchable database for different risk factors. Their analysis was not peer-reviewed or being published in a scientific journal.

But it does jibe with other peer-reviewed studies that looked at raw fatalities.

A 2001 study by John M. Sullivan at the University of Michigan looked at national traffic statistics from 1987 to 1997 and found that there were 65 crashes killing pedestrians in the week before the clocks fell back and 227 in the week after.

Fischbeck and Gerard found the increase in fatality risk after the end of daylight saving time is only for pedestrians. No such jump was seen for drivers or passengers in cars.

Once everyone "springs forward" to daylight saving time in April, there is a 78 percent drop in risk at 6 p.m., they said.

But overall for the evening rush hour, turning the clock back is a killer. In seven years there have been 250 more deaths in the fall and 139 fewer deaths in the spring.

"This clearly shows that both drivers and pedestrians should think about this daylight savings adjustment," Gerard said. "There are lives at stake."

The Traffic Stats database: http://www.traffic-stats.us

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTtEwZID6oUTKI5TAVfpVmQMo81QD8SLSM4O0
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Love Ya!

One day a husband's Wife died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the Husband was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say

"I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage ... And old cars .. And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, We keep them close!

I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had Any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.

Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.

And just in case GOD calls me home .
I LOVE YA!!!
:-)

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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STOP WATCHING THE NEWS, and START TALKING TO A RETURNING SERVICE MEMBER!!!

This video was written, sung and produced by one of our own soldiers in the middle east . Please enjoy it, ponder your loved ones that are over there, and wrap your arms around every service man or woman who has gone before us. Most importantly, our fallen who've made the ultimate sacrifice, did so ready to sacrifice for you, the unnamed citizen, for you, the country God has so richly blessed.

Blessings, and thank you for listening,

David Weinberg, Special Agent
United States Air Force

http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm

Thanks to Jeanette Ford
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ATTENTION

Some of you may have already seen this, but for those that may not have seen it yet, I thought it should be brought to your attention. Attacks on religion and Christianity are nothing new, but, as a parent, this particular subject caught my eye because it seems to target children. I haven't sent a colleagues email of this nature in quite some time, but felt compelled to share this one, especially since it is proven by Snopes.com not to be an Internet/email hoax. Read the following and click on the link for even more information. I understand that subject matter of any sort is open to individual interpretation, so I will, of course, leave that task to you.
Yours In Christ,

WARNING regarding children's' movie THE GOLDEN COMPASS. This film, due out on December 7, 2007, has been drawing fire from concerned Christians. It is a movie directed at children but is based on a series of books with anti-religious themes. It is based on books written by Phillip Pullman, a proud atheist who belongs to secular humanist societies. He hates C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narniaand has written a trilogy to show the other side. The movie has been dumbed down to fool kids and their unsuspecting parents in the hope that they will buy his trilogy where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please. Nicole Kidman stars in the movie, so it will probably be advertised a lot. Please take this as forewarning. Information on The Golden Compasscan be verified on www.snopes.com.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Thanks to Denni Peek & Kristy Ellington
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Making Pancakes
Six -year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.

He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon 's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.

Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!

That's how God deals with us.. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour.

Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to 'make pancakes' for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried...

I was thinking, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that need rekindling or three words needing to be said, sometimes, 'I love you' can heal & bless!

Just in case I haven't told you lately... I LOVE YA!!! .. And never stop 'making pancakes.'

Thanks to Julie Morris
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Evangelical movement shows deep rifts - The New York Times - MSNBC.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21508301/

Thanks to Ricky and Sarah Shepherd
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| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
Car Battery Exploded
Today's Message is from Bob Weber (a Pasadena Albemarle employee).

Some friends came home from a trip and their car, after sitting in the airport garage for several days, was very slow to crank. But it started and they made it home. Too tired to cook that night, they decided to go out for something light to eat. The car stalled backing out of the drive. On restarting there was a BANG! The battery had a leak. Some hydrogen gas escaped and found a spark or enough heat to light it off. The battery had exploded making a mess and putting a nice dent in the hood.
Hydrogen is extremely dangerous (remember the Hindenberg) because the range between the explosivity limits (LEL and UEL) is unusually wide. You might say that hydrogen is very good at finding an ignition source. And it packs a wallop.
If your car battery or your golf cart battery starts acting up, get it recharged in a well-ventilated area away from heat or flame. If it doesn't hold the charge very well, it's time to get a new one.
BW
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| Safety from the Heart |
----------------------------------------------------
Pressurized Can Warning
Today's Safety From the Heart message is from Gordon Woodroof.
DON'T KEEP PRESSURIZED CANS IN YOUR CAR
Do you keep WD-40, hair spray, Off, Fix-A-Fla t, etc. in your vehicle? If so, you might want to reconsider. The picture above is of a pressurized can that exploded in a person's vehicle and imbedded itself in the back seat of the car. The temperature outside of the closed up vehicle was about 100 degrees F. What if you or a loved one had been sitting in that seat? Do any of your family members keep aerosol cans in their vehicles? If they do, please pass this warning along to them!
The incident pictured below happened at a refinery in Beaumont. A deodorant spray can was left in the back of the vehicle that was parked in an open space in the middle of a hot, sunny day.
Without warning, the can exploded inside the car. Fortunately, no one was inside or near the car when it happened.
Lesson:
Do NOT leave pressurized containers (of any kind) in your vehicle where they can be exposed to sunlight. You should always read and follow the manufacturer's safety recommendations that come with the can. Reporting incidents such as this can help inform personnel of possible risks and dangers both inside and outside the workplace!
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Activities and Events of Interest
~~
2007 Daylight Saving Time Ends on November 4th in US
~~~~~
The Columbia County Health Unit’s drive-through flu clinic will be 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, Thursday, November 8.
~~~~~
Health Fair - Thursday, November 8
Maintenance Complex Communications Room
10:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00
~~
YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE..........
Don't be a turkey, donate blood!!
Thursday, November 8
9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Bloodmobile @ Health Fair
~~~~~
November 9 & 10 at 7:00 pm - Magnolia Arts Presents:
"Till Death Do We Part" - A Murder Mystery Written and Directed: Janet Rider-Babbitt
This is a Fundraiser for Magnolia Arts Theater
~~~~~
Magnolia Circle of Friends Benefit for Arkansas Childrens Hospital.
Steak Dinner, Tuesday, November 13, 5 - 7 pm, dine in or carry out.
Call Lacey @ 235-6505 to get tickets ($15)
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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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Weekly Toll - - http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/
Death In The Workplace w/News & Updates
John Donne - ...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
A partial list of workplace fatalities.

[Bug’s Note: Everyone has the right to “Rant” from time to time. Tammy more than some. But I have to remind us to not fall victim to hysteria. Actual cancer rates are falling. This doesn’t mean that work related and / or environmental cancers don’t exist, they do. But every worker who contracts a cancer doesn’t get it from their work place.
Tammy is right that we need to hold fast to requiring employers to provide a safe, healthy work place. But, as consumers we have a responsibility also to purchase product from companies that don’t abuse their workforce. So, be educated on health and on the source of the products you buy. - - Bug.]

How many warnings do we need?

Before I give the following by Rory O’Neill I have to rant. From time to time I am just plain tired and today is one of those days. So if you don't want to hear the ranting and raving then plug in to the next blog.
The same old same old no matter what government you are working with. The statement made by Steve Coldrick of HSE states "Reducing Occupational Cancer is his top priority." However it seems that unless industry pays for the study the study is not a priority.

To be honest my first reaction to this all is "Why ... do companies have a right to kill. Why not just put it out there as is: instead of "You have a right to a safe and healthful workplace free from recognized hazards"
"The company has a right to give you a safe and healthful workplace free from recognized hazards so long as it doesn't interfere with production, profit, and prestige. "

The Right to three P's. God, know one could possible know how sick and disappointed I am with they way our government has allowed what was meant to be a good thing such as OSHA and workers comp to be tarnished by creating the opposite effect. To many efforts on the part of official's who really did give a dang, unions, EPA, workers and all other the other groups involved in H&S have been thrown to the way side. We need to once again aggressively combine efforts and commit to a new wave of change. We have to watch each others backs otherwise who will...the industry?

While watching one of the Education and Labor Committee video's it was stated that only 20% of the industry is defiant. We have close to 6,000 families members who have lost a loved one and many organizations doing great things You can not convince me that together with strategic planning and the willingness to do so we cannot take on that 20%.

Let me put it another way. If it continues we have allowed it! So get off your butt's and bump some heads and if your foot is working well kick some A** so we don't have to loose another life be it a slow and agonizing illness or a sudden and unexpected incident.

Now that I have finished Rory has worked very heard to get the workplace cancer epidemic out. I have viewed most of what has been covered and it is a must see!

Rory O’Neill held a Cancer and work conference in Glasgow, 14 September 2006

The title "Burying the evidence the great workplace cancer cover up" Hazards also has a page on site just for cancer at www.hazards.org/cancer

Losing the workplace cancer fight – BBC
The Stirling University study mentioned in the BBC programme blurb below will appear in the October-December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (IJOEH), available free online www.ijoeh.com It concludes the contribution of workplace factors to all cancers is at least double and possibly four times the commonly cited Doll/Peto contribution (4 per cent of all cancers related to work). The BBC piece, a 40 minute documentary, concentrates on the UK, but most of the lessons apply equally well in other modern, industrialised nations – and certainly to the situation the US, Canada and Australia.

Figures prepared for the International Labour Office (ILO) will also claim a work contribution to all cancers far in excess of the Doll/Peto figure. They indicate almost one in 10 cancers worldwide (9.6 per cent) are related to work. ILO says the rates in developed nations are considerably higher (developing nations have higher deaths from work-related infectious diseases and accidents). Even the lower world figure is more than twice the Doll/Peto estimate of the work contribution to all cancers.

Britain is seriously underestimating the risk of contracting cancer at work, according to research. For the last 25 years the Government's occupational health watchdog, the Health and Safety Executive, has estimated that only four per cent of cancers are work related - resulting in about 6,000 deaths a year. But a new study by Stirling University has found the figure is four times as much as the official estimate. They argue Britain is facing an epidemic of work-related cancers costing the economy at least £29bn a year and the HSE's recommendations for action range "from complacent to non-existent." BBC File On 4 asks are we lagging behind some other European countries in controlling known workplace carcinogens.
Related materials are available online at: www.hazards.org/cancer and www.hazards.org/cancer/preventionkit

Hazards www.hazards.org
TUC Risks www.tuc.org.uk/risks
TUC Changing Times www.tuc.org.uk/ctn
Health, safety and environment officer
International Federation of Journalists
Professor, Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group,
University of Stirling

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

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds sustained when they came in contact with enemy forces using RPG, machine gun and small arms fire during combat operations on Oct 25, in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. The soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy. Killed were:
01. Sgt. Joshua C. Brennan, 22, of Ontario, Ore., who died Oct 26 in Asadabad, Afghanistan..
02. Spc. Hugo V. Mendoza, 29, of Glendale, Ariz., who died Oct 25.

03. Spc. David E. Lambert, 39, of Cedar Bluff, Va, died Oct. 26, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command of the Virginia National Guard.

04. Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, 27, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Oct. 27 in Siet, Lake Jolo Island, Philippines from injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wash.

05. Master Sgt. Thomas L. Bruner, 50, of Owensboro, Ky., died Oct. 28, in Kabul, Afghanistan from a non-combat related illness. He was assigned to the Headquarters, 2nd Brigade, 100th Division, U.S. Army Reserve, Owensboro, Ky.

06. Maj. Jeffrey R. Calero, 34, of Queens Village, N.Y., died Oct. 29 in Kajaki, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Massachusetts National Guard, Springfield, Mass.

07. Staff Sgt. James D. Bullard, 28, of Marion, S.C., died Oct. 30 in Spearwan Ghar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using RPG rounds, machine gun fire, mortars and small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to the South Carolina National Guard's 1st Battalion, 263rd Armor Battalion, in Marion, S.C.

08. Sgt. Louis A. Griese, 30, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., died Oct 31 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered north of Samarra when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Oct. 31 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. Killed were:
09. Cpt. Timothy I. McGovern, 28, of Indiana.
10. Spc. Brandon W. Smitherman, 21, of Conroe, Texas.

The Department of Defense announced the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Oct. 30 of wounds suffered in Salman Pak, Iraq, when enemy forces engaged their unit with small arms fire and an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. Killed were:
11. Sgt. Daniel L. McCall, 24, of Pace, Fla. He died in Baghdad, Iraq.
12. Pfc. Rush M. Jenkins, 22, of Clarksville, Tenn. He died in Salman Pak, Iraq.
13. Pvt. Cody M. Carver, 19, of Haskell, Okla. He died in Salman Pak, Iraq.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two airmen and a Department of the Air Force civilian who were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Nov. 1 near Balad Air Base, Iraq, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device. All were assigned as special agents to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Killed were:
14. Master Sgt. Thomas A. Crowell, 36, of Neosho, Mo.
15. Staff Sgt. David A. Wieger, 28, of North Huntingdon, Pa.
16. Nathan J. Schuldheiss, 27, of Newport R.I.
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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
~~~
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.
~~~
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.
~~~
MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
~~~
Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
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Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
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"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"It's no big deal doing what God tells you to do. A big deal would be NOT doing what God tells you to do. Just ask Jonah." - - Paul Troquille
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out." - - Tony Blair
"Information is the currency of democracy." - Jefferson
"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now."
Comments on the first Earth Day - James F. McClellan via "Fuzzy" Thurman
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.

God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Job 28:20-28 2 Chr 15:10-12 2 Pet 3:15-16 Exo 6:28-30 Gen 31:1-3 http://www.e-min.org/
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII

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