States Weigh Letting Noncitizens Vote
Like his neighbors, Claude Rwaganje pays taxes on his income and taxes on his cars. His children have gone to Portland's public schools. He's interested in the workings of Maine's largest city, which he has called home for 13 years.
There's one vital difference, though: Rwaganje isn't a U.S. citizen and isn't allowed to vote on those taxes or on school issues. That may soon change.
Portland residents will vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to give legal residents who are not U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it. –Read more at Fox News
Oct 31, 2010
7 Smart Resume White Lies
Everyone bends the truth a little sometimes -- is it okay to bend your resume?
To declare in writing that you were the associate vice president of your company for four years when you were really just an assistant running around getting coffee is never acceptable. Nor is claiming that you attended an entirely different school or got a degree from said school even though you were three credits short.
Playing it like that is certainly not the way to get ahead. You've heard of background checks and, um, Facebook, right?
But sometimes it's okay to omit certain information on your resume to make you a more viable candidate. Those ever increasing housing bills and tuition for the kids gotta get paid somehow. Here are a few widely accepted ways you can teeter that line without feeling like you've checked your ethics at the door ...
1. When your resume is too many pages long
You don't need to go on and on about your 15+ years of experience if your resume is starting to hit the dreaded three-page mark. You especially don't need to discuss anything you did in high school, nor should you talk about your job as a cashier at Target when you have 10+ years of more recent and relevant experience.
2. When you're an older worker, and you fear age discrimination
More From The Stir: 4 Ways Your Job Can Help You Get Thin
It's illegal, but many companies discriminate candidates based on age. If you list your graduation date, it's easy for them to estimate how old you are. Of course, if you have a face-to-face interview, your boss will be able to guess your age. But at least you'd have a chance to wow the interviewer who may not have even called you back in the first place. If your field is notorious for age discrimination (let's face it, some are), you can also leave off jobs that could indicate how old you are if you have more recent experience that makes up for it.
3. When your skills or passions have no significance to the job you're applying for
So you love dancing and college football. You won a pageant when you were 17. You were the starter of your Division III college soccer team. Your boss most likely won't care about any of these. Career experience will always look far more impressive than anything that's personally important to you. You may think it sets you apart from other candidates, but your qualifications and professional skills will impress your potential manager the most. Unless, of course, you are applying for a dancing instructor job -- then go ahead and talk about all your dancing experience. Bottom line: Tailor your resume to the job's specific qualifications.
4. When you think you can learn a required skill before you start the job
Who doesn't know how to use Word nowadays? And everyone's an "effective communicator" and "team player." If the job requires you to know a program that you're not familiar with, list it on your resume (as long as it isn't too technical and requires years of study to master -- use your best judgment). Ask for help from friends or friendly acquaintances in the field to give you a how-to. Many will be happy to help, and you won't be going into the interview being completely ignorant of the new skill. Then you can pick up everything else you need to know on the job.
5. When your experience speaks volumes more than your grades
The rule of thumb is if your GPA is less than 3.0, don't include it. But if you've been in your field for 5+ years, your experience is far more important than your GPA, so unless you're super-proud of it, you can leave it off entirely.
6. When you'd rather not advertise crappy references
There is no need to take up precious resume space with the contact information of all your references. You don't even need to take up a line that says "references available upon request." All employers should know that you'd give references if you're asked for them.
7. When you're unsure how to present yourself if you just got fired/laid off
There's no requirement that says you have to state why you left any of your jobs on your resume. Use your resume as a stepping stone to getting an interview. It's easier to talk about why you got fired or laid off and have a response prepared in person instead of having words like "fired" or "quit" or "personal reasons" on your resume, which are big red flags for managers and recruiters. Still include an end date and list everything you learned while you were at that job. Then figure out how to address your termination once you get that phone call to set up a meeting.
Have you ever "lied" on your resume? Do you think it's helped you get a job? -Yahoo Shine
To declare in writing that you were the associate vice president of your company for four years when you were really just an assistant running around getting coffee is never acceptable. Nor is claiming that you attended an entirely different school or got a degree from said school even though you were three credits short.
Playing it like that is certainly not the way to get ahead. You've heard of background checks and, um, Facebook, right?
But sometimes it's okay to omit certain information on your resume to make you a more viable candidate. Those ever increasing housing bills and tuition for the kids gotta get paid somehow. Here are a few widely accepted ways you can teeter that line without feeling like you've checked your ethics at the door ...
1. When your resume is too many pages long
You don't need to go on and on about your 15+ years of experience if your resume is starting to hit the dreaded three-page mark. You especially don't need to discuss anything you did in high school, nor should you talk about your job as a cashier at Target when you have 10+ years of more recent and relevant experience.
2. When you're an older worker, and you fear age discrimination
More From The Stir: 4 Ways Your Job Can Help You Get Thin
It's illegal, but many companies discriminate candidates based on age. If you list your graduation date, it's easy for them to estimate how old you are. Of course, if you have a face-to-face interview, your boss will be able to guess your age. But at least you'd have a chance to wow the interviewer who may not have even called you back in the first place. If your field is notorious for age discrimination (let's face it, some are), you can also leave off jobs that could indicate how old you are if you have more recent experience that makes up for it.
3. When your skills or passions have no significance to the job you're applying for
So you love dancing and college football. You won a pageant when you were 17. You were the starter of your Division III college soccer team. Your boss most likely won't care about any of these. Career experience will always look far more impressive than anything that's personally important to you. You may think it sets you apart from other candidates, but your qualifications and professional skills will impress your potential manager the most. Unless, of course, you are applying for a dancing instructor job -- then go ahead and talk about all your dancing experience. Bottom line: Tailor your resume to the job's specific qualifications.
4. When you think you can learn a required skill before you start the job
Who doesn't know how to use Word nowadays? And everyone's an "effective communicator" and "team player." If the job requires you to know a program that you're not familiar with, list it on your resume (as long as it isn't too technical and requires years of study to master -- use your best judgment). Ask for help from friends or friendly acquaintances in the field to give you a how-to. Many will be happy to help, and you won't be going into the interview being completely ignorant of the new skill. Then you can pick up everything else you need to know on the job.
5. When your experience speaks volumes more than your grades
The rule of thumb is if your GPA is less than 3.0, don't include it. But if you've been in your field for 5+ years, your experience is far more important than your GPA, so unless you're super-proud of it, you can leave it off entirely.
6. When you'd rather not advertise crappy references
There is no need to take up precious resume space with the contact information of all your references. You don't even need to take up a line that says "references available upon request." All employers should know that you'd give references if you're asked for them.
7. When you're unsure how to present yourself if you just got fired/laid off
There's no requirement that says you have to state why you left any of your jobs on your resume. Use your resume as a stepping stone to getting an interview. It's easier to talk about why you got fired or laid off and have a response prepared in person instead of having words like "fired" or "quit" or "personal reasons" on your resume, which are big red flags for managers and recruiters. Still include an end date and list everything you learned while you were at that job. Then figure out how to address your termination once you get that phone call to set up a meeting.
Have you ever "lied" on your resume? Do you think it's helped you get a job? -Yahoo Shine
A True Story
This story was published in The Houston Herald in Houston, Texas ...
A woman was arrested and charged with manslaughter for shooting a man six times on the back.
When asked in court to explain her action, the woman replied, "I am a waitress at a local cafe. Just before midnight, I was standing alone at the bus stop after work waiting for the bus. Since I am often at the bus stop alone at that late hour of the night, for my own protection, I have made it my habit to have my right hand on my pistol, which I always carry in my purse, and which I hang over my left shoulder. That particular night, all of a sudden some grabbed my purse and I was being spun around hard to my left. As I caught my balance, I saw a man running away with my purse. I looked down at my right hand and I saw that my fingers were wrapped tightly around my pistol. The next thing I remember is saying out loud, 'No way, you punk! You're not stealing my pay check and tips.' I then raised my right hand, pointed my pistol at the man, and squeezed the trigger six times!"
When asked by the judge why she shot the man six times, the woman answered, "Because when I pulled the trigger the seventh time, it only went click."
The woman was acquitted of all charges, and she is back at work at the cafe!
Why Missouri Has NO Illegal Aliens
So, why doesn't Missouri receive attention for its stand on illegal aliens?
Answer: There are no Mexican illegals in Missouri to demonstrate!
The "Show Me" state has once again showed us how it should be done.
In 2007, Missouri placed on the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment designating English as the official language of Missouri.
In November, 2008, nearly 90% voted in favor! Thus, English became the official language for all governmental activity in Missouri.
No individual has the right to demand government services in any language other than English.
In 2008 a measure was passed that required the Missouri Highway Patrol and other law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of any person arrested, and inform federal authorities if the person is found to be in Missouri illegally. Missouri law enforcement offices receive specific training with respect to enforcement of federal immigration laws.
In Missouri illegal immigrants do not have access to taxpayers benefits such as food stamps or health care through Missouri HealthNET.
In 2009, a measure was passed that ensures Missouri's public institutions of higher education do not award financial aid to individuals who are illegally in the United States.
In Missouri, all post-secondary institutions of higher education annually certify to the Missouri Dept. of Higher Education that they have not knowingly awarded financial aid to students who are unlawfully present in the United States.
So while Arizona has made national news for its new law, it is important to remember Missouri has been far more proactive in addressing this horrific problem.
Missouri has made it clear that illegal immigrants are not welcome in the State and they will certainly not receive public benefits at the expense of Missouri taxpayers!
Answer: There are no Mexican illegals in Missouri to demonstrate!
The "Show Me" state has once again showed us how it should be done.
In 2007, Missouri placed on the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment designating English as the official language of Missouri.
In November, 2008, nearly 90% voted in favor! Thus, English became the official language for all governmental activity in Missouri.
No individual has the right to demand government services in any language other than English.
In 2008 a measure was passed that required the Missouri Highway Patrol and other law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of any person arrested, and inform federal authorities if the person is found to be in Missouri illegally. Missouri law enforcement offices receive specific training with respect to enforcement of federal immigration laws.
In Missouri illegal immigrants do not have access to taxpayers benefits such as food stamps or health care through Missouri HealthNET.
In 2009, a measure was passed that ensures Missouri's public institutions of higher education do not award financial aid to individuals who are illegally in the United States.
In Missouri, all post-secondary institutions of higher education annually certify to the Missouri Dept. of Higher Education that they have not knowingly awarded financial aid to students who are unlawfully present in the United States.
So while Arizona has made national news for its new law, it is important to remember Missouri has been far more proactive in addressing this horrific problem.
Missouri has made it clear that illegal immigrants are not welcome in the State and they will certainly not receive public benefits at the expense of Missouri taxpayers!
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See, op-ed article by Nita Ayres published in The Ozarks Sentinel May 13, 2010
Missouri Voters Enact English-Only Law
Posted on: 2008-11-11 @ 00:07:43
WASHINGTON, Nov 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved HJ Res. 7 [a constitutional amendment] yesterday, strengthening the state's official English law. The measure passed with more than 85 percent of the vote as 2.4 million Missourians cast ballots in favor of the measure.
The approved measure makes English the official language of all official proceedings in Missouri including the discussion of public business and roll call votes.
Oct 24, 2010
This Weeks Sound Off
Bin Laden, Deputy Hiding In Northwest Pakistan
Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are believed to be hiding close to each other in houses in northwest Pakistan, but are not together, a senior NATO official said.
"Nobody in al Qaeda is living in a cave," said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the intelligence matters involved.
Rather, al Qaeda's top leadership is believed to be living in relative comfort, protected by locals and some members of the Pakistani intelligence services, the official said.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied protecting members of the al Qaeda leadership. –Read more at CNN World
I really don’t get it! With all the “modern technology” our government “supposedly” has at its disposal why is it that they can’t find Osama bin Laden and bring this asshole to justice? Furthermore, I’ve never accepted the fact that Pakistan doesn’t know where this character is hiding! There is no doubt in my mind that they are harboring this fugitive!
Either our “technology” isn’t all that or our government has no real desire to hunt the barbarian down. If “anonymous sources” can figure out where bin Laden is living and we can’t, what’s wrong with our this picture? Furthermore, I don’t understand why our government doesn’t pressure Pakistan into surrendering the worlds most wanted criminal? Something just doesn’t smell right with this whole thing. I’m just saying!
If our government is serious about finding bin Laden then it should focus solely on this adventure liken to a sporting hunt. Furthermore, our government should stop giving Pakistan U.S. tax dollars (yes, OUR money) which just might produce cooperation in apprehending this religious infidel. After all, Pakistan is a relatively poor country and since U.S. dollars is like gold to them, yeah, dangle the carrot and let them bite … after all, money talks!
It’s time our government get serious in finding bin Laden and his cronies and bring the bunch to justice … actually, just hunt them down and kill them would be justice served!
Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are believed to be hiding close to each other in houses in northwest Pakistan, but are not together, a senior NATO official said.
"Nobody in al Qaeda is living in a cave," said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the intelligence matters involved.
Rather, al Qaeda's top leadership is believed to be living in relative comfort, protected by locals and some members of the Pakistani intelligence services, the official said.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied protecting members of the al Qaeda leadership. –Read more at CNN World
I really don’t get it! With all the “modern technology” our government “supposedly” has at its disposal why is it that they can’t find Osama bin Laden and bring this asshole to justice? Furthermore, I’ve never accepted the fact that Pakistan doesn’t know where this character is hiding! There is no doubt in my mind that they are harboring this fugitive!
Either our “technology” isn’t all that or our government has no real desire to hunt the barbarian down. If “anonymous sources” can figure out where bin Laden is living and we can’t, what’s wrong with our this picture? Furthermore, I don’t understand why our government doesn’t pressure Pakistan into surrendering the worlds most wanted criminal? Something just doesn’t smell right with this whole thing. I’m just saying!
If our government is serious about finding bin Laden then it should focus solely on this adventure liken to a sporting hunt. Furthermore, our government should stop giving Pakistan U.S. tax dollars (yes, OUR money) which just might produce cooperation in apprehending this religious infidel. After all, Pakistan is a relatively poor country and since U.S. dollars is like gold to them, yeah, dangle the carrot and let them bite … after all, money talks!
It’s time our government get serious in finding bin Laden and his cronies and bring the bunch to justice … actually, just hunt them down and kill them would be justice served!
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Cutting The Deficit
President Obama has promised to do it. He convened a bipartisan fiscal commission to recommend ways to do it. And, as always, it's entirely unclear whether Congress will have the will to do it.
But one thing is clear: Even with all the willpower in the world, getting the annual deficit down to 3% of the economy by 2015 -- Obama's goal -- will be no mean feat. It could mean having to cut spending or raise taxes by $240 billion that year alone.
As if that's not tough enough, nearly two-thirds of the budget is effectively impossible to cut in the short term. Namely, Medicare, Social Security, other mandatory programs and interest on the debt.
Meanwhile, there are no quick savings in the entitlement programs. Any changes Congress might make will most likely be phased in slowly and savings won't show up this decade, let alone by 2015. –Read more at CNN Money
Hold up! I know exactly where we could start saving money immediately. BAN ALL ILLEGALS ( Oh, sorry, None-American citizens) FROM ACCESSING OUR TAX DOLLARS! I mean, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out, does it? Benefits American’s pay for should be solely for naturalized citizens only! Screw the illegals … they have no right to expect us to support them and we shouldn’t! Furthermore, if we hear about our representatives even suggest that we should help the illegals … kick the bastard(s) out of office! Enough is enough and for this I make no apology!
Meanwhile, there are no quick savings in the entitlement programs. Any changes Congress might make will most likely be phased in slowly and savings won't show up this decade, let alone by 2015. –Read more at CNN Money
Hold up! I know exactly where we could start saving money immediately. BAN ALL ILLEGALS ( Oh, sorry, None-American citizens) FROM ACCESSING OUR TAX DOLLARS! I mean, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out, does it? Benefits American’s pay for should be solely for naturalized citizens only! Screw the illegals … they have no right to expect us to support them and we shouldn’t! Furthermore, if we hear about our representatives even suggest that we should help the illegals … kick the bastard(s) out of office! Enough is enough and for this I make no apology!
Locally Speaking
Horry County Ranks Worst For Wages Fifth Quarter In A Row
Horry County ranked last for wages among the largest U.S. counties for the first quarter of 2010, continuing a more than yearlong streak at the bottom of the list, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released this morning.
The average weekly wage in the county was $519. The next three lowest paying counties were all in Texas: Cameron County at $531, Hidalgo County at $540 and Webb County at $561. The report ranks only the largest 326 counties in the U.S.
Horry County has had the lowest weekly wage since first quarter 2009 with today's report ranking it last for the fifth consecutive quarter.
In South Carolina, Columbia-area jobs were the best paying with Richland County averaging $774 a week, followed by Spartanburg County at $748, Charleston County at $737, Greenville County at $732 and Lexington County at $624.
Horry County weekly wages decreased 1.5 percent in the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year. –Sun News
Horry County ranked last for wages among the largest U.S. counties for the first quarter of 2010, continuing a more than yearlong streak at the bottom of the list, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released this morning.
The average weekly wage in the county was $519. The next three lowest paying counties were all in Texas: Cameron County at $531, Hidalgo County at $540 and Webb County at $561. The report ranks only the largest 326 counties in the U.S.
Horry County has had the lowest weekly wage since first quarter 2009 with today's report ranking it last for the fifth consecutive quarter.
In South Carolina, Columbia-area jobs were the best paying with Richland County averaging $774 a week, followed by Spartanburg County at $748, Charleston County at $737, Greenville County at $732 and Lexington County at $624.
Horry County weekly wages decreased 1.5 percent in the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year. –Sun News
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Myrtle Beach Snuffing Out Smoking Around City Buildings
Myrtle Beach is taking away the outdoor ash trays and putting up the “no smoking” signs.
Starting Nov. 1, tobacco products are off-limits outside city buildings and banned during work hours for the city’s 825 full-time employees. That means no smoking - even outside - at buildings such as City Hall, Chapin Memorial Library and the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center.
There’s some notable exceptions though. Smoking or tobacco use still is OK on the beach, outside the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, on the course at Whispering Pines Golf Course and in city parks. Those areas are in more open spaces where the smoke is less likely to collect and bother others, city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
The city banned the products aiming to improve the health of its employees and remove an annoyance for visitors to city buildings, he said.
“There’s no reason why a visitor to a city building should have to [go through] a gauntlet of second-hand smoke to get inside,” Kruea said.
Myrtle Beach becomes the latest in a wave of cities banning tobacco on its properties - even in what used to be the heart of the tobacco industry. The move comes just weeks after Smoke-Free Horry kicked off an 18-month campaign to limit tobacco use and urge area governments to ban the products.
Surfside Beach banned smoking several years ago, not only on town property but in public places throughout the town, and Conway considered it in 2007 but hasn’t revisited it since.
In Myrtle Beach, employees won’t be able to smoke while on duty, and the city has offered them classes to help them stop the habit. Employees who continue to smoke or use tobacco will have to pay about $40 more a month for health insurance starting Jan. 1, Kruea said. –Sun News
Ragbag Headliners
Former Surgeon General Calls For Marijuana Legalization
Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told CNN Sunday she supports legalizing marijuana.
The trend-setting state of California is voting next month on a ballot initiative to legalize pot, also known as Proposition 19. The measure would legalize recreational use in the state, though federal officials have said they would continue to enforce drug laws in California if the initiative is approved.
"What I think is horrible about all of this, is that we criminalize young people. And we use so many of our excellent resources ... for things that aren't really causing any problems," said Elders. "It's not a toxic substance."
Supporters of California's Prop. 19 say it would raise revenue and cut the cost of enforcement, while opponents point to drug's harmful side-effects. –Read more at CNN Health
Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told CNN Sunday she supports legalizing marijuana.
The trend-setting state of California is voting next month on a ballot initiative to legalize pot, also known as Proposition 19. The measure would legalize recreational use in the state, though federal officials have said they would continue to enforce drug laws in California if the initiative is approved.
"What I think is horrible about all of this, is that we criminalize young people. And we use so many of our excellent resources ... for things that aren't really causing any problems," said Elders. "It's not a toxic substance."
Supporters of California's Prop. 19 say it would raise revenue and cut the cost of enforcement, while opponents point to drug's harmful side-effects. –Read more at CNN Health
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Gift Card Smarts
In 2009, Americans spent more than $87 billion on gift cards. But for years, a confusing system of fees, regulations and expiration dates hampered recipients' attempts to redeem the cards. New laws have reformed gift cards, making them an even more attractive option. Whether giving or receiving, you still need to know what you're getting into with pre-loaded plastic.
Consumer protection has improved. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 stipulates that gift cards won't incur fees during the first 12 months after purchase, and they won't expire before 5 years post-purchase. Some states have even stronger consumer protection laws.
There are options if you don't want it. There are many online sites that give people a place to sell and buy unwanted gift cards at a discount—sellers get cash, and buyers get deals on gift cards. Leah Ingram, whose book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less offers advice for those giving and receiving gift cards, prefers the old-fashioned way of dealing with an unwanted card. "You can always re-gift it," she says.
You may not have to spend it all. When they make a $47 purchase on a $50 gift card, most people probably write off the remaining $3. But more states are enacting laws requiring stores to give cash change for partial gift card purchases. If you have less than $10 on a card in California, you can request the balance in cash. In Maine, Massachusetts and Montana, it's a $5 or less limit. In Vermont, the limit is $1 or less.
You lose it, it's gone. Unlike a credit card, most gift cards don't offer any protection if lost or stolen. "I always advise the gift-giver to include a receipt with the card so that if there are any problems or it gets lost, at least they have some proof the gift card existed," Ingram says. –State Farm
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America's Poor: Where Poverty Is Rising In America
Thanks to the recession, 2009 was one of the worst years for poverty in America in more than half a century. The total number of Americans living in poverty hit 43.6 million, the highest level in 51 years and the national poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent, according to data released last month by the Census Bureau.
All told, one in seven Americans are living in poverty. To visualize America's startling rise in poverty, Mint, the personal finance site, put together this interactive chart of regional poverty rates.
Among the hardest-hit states are Louisiana, Mississippi and certain areas of Texas. States with the lowest poverty statistics include Wyoming, Hawaii, Minnesota and several East Coast states. (See: List of the poorest states in America.) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/11-poorest-states-in-the-_n_742967.html#s146774) -Yahoo News
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Opposition To DADT Repeal
With Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck's recent comments comparing being gay to alcoholism raising eyebrows, another Republican candidate in Kentucky came out last week and seemed to compare homosexuality with obesity.
In an Oct. 12 debate hosted by KET's "Kentucky Tonight," KY-3 Republican candidate Todd Lally said he is firmly against repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), based on his many years serving in the military. He further added that he doesn't want to "trample" on the rights" of "straight" soldiers:
LALLY: I'm a 22-year veteran, I've been to war three times. I know what it's like to live for a year in a tent with 10 men, and I can tell you, it poses a lot of problems for the military. It does absolutely nothing for military readiness, and two, it's a logistics issue. Now are we going to have dorms and facilities for men, gay men, women, gay women -- and at what cost to the taxpayer are we going to do that?
So we have only discharged only 13,000 people under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is a policy that works, and it has kept the troops very happy over the years, and I'm not going to sit there and trample on any troop's rights that is straight because this is not a place for this. -Read more & view video at The Huffington Post
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Military Recruiters Told They Can Accept Openly Gay Applicants
The Pentagon has advised recruiting commands that they can accept openly gay and lesbian recruit candidates, given the recent federal court decision that bars the military from expelling openly gay service members, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The guidance from the Personnel and Readiness office was sent to recruiting commands on Friday, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.
The recruiters were told that if a candidate admits he or she is openly gay, and qualify under normal recruiting guidelines, their application can be processed. Recruiters are not allowed to ask candidates if they are gay as part of the application process.
The notice also reminded recruiters that they have to "manage expectations" of applicants by informing them that a reversal of the court decision might occur, whereby the "don't ask, don't tell" policy could be reinstated, Smith said. –Read more at CNN U.S.
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Rapleaf Is Selling Your Identity
Rapleaf knows your name, your age and where you live. It knows your e-mail address, your income and what social networks you use. It knows your likes and dislikes. And it makes money by selling much of that personal information to advertisers.
Of course, Rapleaf is far from the only company that does this. Acxiom, ChoicePoint, Quantcast, and BluKai also collect and sell your data, as do many others. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Facebook and other Web companies also gather data about you in an attempt to target very personal ads.
But Rapleaf was thrust into the spotlight this week after the Wall Street Journal reported that the San Francisco-based company obtained Facebook IDs from many of the social network's apps and sold those IDs to advertisers -- even from users who requested that data be kept private.
By merging a user's Facebook ID with other data about them, Rapleaf gave advertisers a detailed window into many Web users' personal information. In a recent blog post on the issue, Rapleaf called it "a serious potential privacy risk." -Read more at CNN Money
A Message From The Queen
To : The Citizens of the United States of Americ
From : Her Sovereign Majesty - Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your recent failure to financially manage yourselves and to elect a competent President of the USA in 2008, therefore, not be able to govern yourselves properly, I hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence effective immediately. [Look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.]
I, Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories [except Kansas, which I do not fancy].
The new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
The two Houses of the US Congress will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
The letter "u" shall be reinstated in words, such as, colour, favour, labour, and neighbour. Likewise, you will learn to spell doughnut without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. [Look up 'vocabulary'].
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as American English. I shall let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of '-ize'.
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suingsomeone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol [which you have been calling gasoline] of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried inanimal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as lager. Australian beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatestsporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also berequired to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt Englishdialogue in Four Weddings and A Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There are only three kinds of proper football; one you callsoccer, Australian rules and rugby (dominated by the All Blacks). Those of you brave enough will, in time,be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America.. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Black Caps (again World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups with saucers, and never mugs, with highquality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol [which you have been calling gasoline] of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried inanimal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as lager. Australian beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatestsporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also berequired to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt Englishdialogue in Four Weddings and A Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There are only three kinds of proper football; one you callsoccer, Australian rules and rugby (dominated by the All Blacks). Those of you brave enough will, in time,be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America.. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Black Caps (again World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups with saucers, and never mugs, with highquality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
Dear Meat
A man kills a deer and takes it home to cook for dinner.
Both he and his wife decide that they won't tell the kids what kind of meat it is, but will give them a clue and let them guess.
The kids were eager to know what the meat was on their plates, so they begged their dad for the clue.
Well, he said, 'It's what mommy calls me sometimes'.
The little girl screams to her brother 'Don't eat it, it's an asshole.
Author Unknown
Both he and his wife decide that they won't tell the kids what kind of meat it is, but will give them a clue and let them guess.
The kids were eager to know what the meat was on their plates, so they begged their dad for the clue.
Well, he said, 'It's what mommy calls me sometimes'.
The little girl screams to her brother 'Don't eat it, it's an asshole.
Author Unknown
A Letter To A Hotel
A potential customer wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwestern town where he hoped to stay during his vacation. The letter went as follows:
"I would like to know whether pets are allowed in your hotel. I very much would like to bring my dog with me during my vacation. He is well-groomed and very well-behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room during my stay in your hotel?”
"I would like to know whether pets are allowed in your hotel. I very much would like to bring my dog with me during my vacation. He is well-groomed and very well-behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room during my stay in your hotel?”
A few days later, a reply from the hotel manager came which went as follows:
"In the years that I have managed and owned this hotel, I've never had any problem with a dog. . .
> stealing towels, bedclothes, silverware, or pictures off the walls;
> being drunk and disorderly in the middle of the night; taking off without properly settling a hotel bill.
Therefore, your dog is indeed welcome to stay in my hotel. And if your dog will vouch for your cleanliness, decency, honesty, and integrity, you are welcome to stay here, too."
Author Unknown
"In the years that I have managed and owned this hotel, I've never had any problem with a dog. . .
> stealing towels, bedclothes, silverware, or pictures off the walls;
> being drunk and disorderly in the middle of the night; taking off without properly settling a hotel bill.
Therefore, your dog is indeed welcome to stay in my hotel. And if your dog will vouch for your cleanliness, decency, honesty, and integrity, you are welcome to stay here, too."
Author Unknown
Quickie In The Bushes
There are two statues in a park; one of a nude man and one of a nude woman. They had been facing each other across a pathway for a hundred years, when one day an angel comes down from the sky and, with a single gesture, brings the two to life.
The angel tells them, 'As a reward for being so patient through a hundred blazing summers and dismal winters, you have been given life for thirty minutes to do what you've wished to do the most.'
He looks at her, she looks at him, and they go running behind the shrubbery.
The angel waits patiently as the bushes rustle and giggling ensues.
After fifteen minutes, the two return, out of breath and laughing.
The angel tells them, 'Um, you have fifteen minutes left, would you care to do it again?'
He asks her 'Shall we?'
She eagerly replies, 'Oh, yes, let's! But let's change positions.
This time, I 'll hold the pigeon down and you shit on its head.'
The angel tells them, 'As a reward for being so patient through a hundred blazing summers and dismal winters, you have been given life for thirty minutes to do what you've wished to do the most.'
He looks at her, she looks at him, and they go running behind the shrubbery.
The angel waits patiently as the bushes rustle and giggling ensues.
After fifteen minutes, the two return, out of breath and laughing.
The angel tells them, 'Um, you have fifteen minutes left, would you care to do it again?'
He asks her 'Shall we?'
She eagerly replies, 'Oh, yes, let's! But let's change positions.
This time, I 'll hold the pigeon down and you shit on its head.'
AND WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???
Author Unknown
Oct 17, 2010
This Weeks Sound Off
Though you may disagree with an individuals life-style choices, it is no reason to sit back and keep silent when wrong and hate is allowed to manifest itself in the form of murder. Being murdered for who you are is not a social value, and in God’s eyes, sitting in our comfort zone and not speaking out against intolerance and bigotry, we are equally in the wrong.
Yes, it may not be your concern. It may not affect you directly. But in the long run, if we keep silent on any issue that involves hate of any kind, we are opening the doors to further intolerance that may one day come to sit on your own door step. And when this happens, who will speak out for you? No one, cause by this time hate will have triumphed and there will be no one left to care for you.
No, I don’t advocate that every one should flaunt their life-style. But I do believe that we should respect each person’s choices and allow them to be all that they can be without fear of being shunned or rejected, even murdered. Being directly or indirectly murdered is like so totally wrong and inexcusable, and as a civil society, we should be ashamed of ourselves in how we treat those who may be different than us.
It’s time to stop social and religious bigotry and intolerance. It is time to save our children, regardless of their skin color and life-style choices. Do you have the guts? I certainly hope so! Stand up and be what we all should be … defending the week, loving the individual, and understand that they too have a place at the table of life.
Please watch the video below titled “Eight Hours of Pure Hell”.
Yes, it may not be your concern. It may not affect you directly. But in the long run, if we keep silent on any issue that involves hate of any kind, we are opening the doors to further intolerance that may one day come to sit on your own door step. And when this happens, who will speak out for you? No one, cause by this time hate will have triumphed and there will be no one left to care for you.
No, I don’t advocate that every one should flaunt their life-style. But I do believe that we should respect each person’s choices and allow them to be all that they can be without fear of being shunned or rejected, even murdered. Being directly or indirectly murdered is like so totally wrong and inexcusable, and as a civil society, we should be ashamed of ourselves in how we treat those who may be different than us.
It’s time to stop social and religious bigotry and intolerance. It is time to save our children, regardless of their skin color and life-style choices. Do you have the guts? I certainly hope so! Stand up and be what we all should be … defending the week, loving the individual, and understand that they too have a place at the table of life.
Please watch the video below titled “Eight Hours of Pure Hell”.
Locally Speaking
S.C. Levies Tax On Services
Service providers oppose policy
North Charleston business owner BJ Rodgers doesn't usually sell plants. She waters them.
To brighten up otherwise drab corners of hotels, office buildings and health care facilities, she and her staff of 16 workers tend to neatly manicured pots of tropical plants through her company, Greenery Gallery Inc.
But five years after lawmakers tweaked South Carolina's sales tax policy, state revenue collectors now say that service providers - people who repair equipment, fix cars and maintain boats, for example - should levy a sales tax on their services.-Read more at Sun News
Service providers oppose policy
North Charleston business owner BJ Rodgers doesn't usually sell plants. She waters them.
To brighten up otherwise drab corners of hotels, office buildings and health care facilities, she and her staff of 16 workers tend to neatly manicured pots of tropical plants through her company, Greenery Gallery Inc.
But five years after lawmakers tweaked South Carolina's sales tax policy, state revenue collectors now say that service providers - people who repair equipment, fix cars and maintain boats, for example - should levy a sales tax on their services.-Read more at Sun News
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Smoking Foes Step Up In Myrtle Beach Area
Grants support push for smoke-free Horry
Smoke-free ordinances could be coming soon to a council meeting near you.
Horry County community groups have received $2.3 million from a federal grant to try to make the county smoke-free, and a large part of the success of that effort will depend on how convincing a team of smoke-free champions is to area city and county officials.
Horry County was one of 44 communities across the United States to be awarded money in March to help tackle obesity and tobacco use, two of the leading preventable causes of premature death and disability.
Some $373 million was given to those communities through the Department of Health and Human Services' Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, overseen by the Centers for Disease Control. The program ends in March 2012.
Smoke Free Horry, the main organization, along with the BREATHE coalition and other groups, will work to reduce smoking in the county and encourage advocates for a smoke-free Horry County in the community.
The kickoff for the 18-month-long campaign was held Tuesday in Surfside Beach. The town is the only community in Horry County to have passed a smoking ban. –Read more at Sun News
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SC Town To Vote On Workers' Citizenship Checks
A South Carolina town council is set to vote on a law to require employers to check the citizenship of their workers.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Summerville Town Council will vote on Wednesday night on whether to require employers to check the immigration status of workers.
The original proposal also would have required landlords to check the citizenship of renters, but the council rejected that part of the measure last month.
The council had tentatively endorsed requiring businesses to check workers' status at the September meeting.
There are questions about whether the town action is needed. But some council members say they need to take a stand on immigration because federal authorities have not done so. –Sun News
Ragbag Headliners
After miners' 69 days in purgatory, 'Welcome to life'
World rejoices as men see sky again
The last of the Chilean miners, the foreman who held them together when they were feared lost, was raised from the depths of the earth Wednesday night - a joyous ending to a 69-day ordeal that riveted the world. No one has ever been trapped so long and survived.
Luis Urzua ascended smoothly through 2,000 feet of rock, completing a 221/2-hour rescue operation that unfolded with remarkable speed and flawless execution. Before a jubilant crowd of about 2,000 people, he became the 33rd miner to be rescued.
"We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he told Chilean President Sebastian Pinera after his rescue. "The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain. We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing."
The president told him: "You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter." With Urzua by his side, he led the crowd in singing the national anthem.
The rescue exceeded expectations every step of the way. Officials first said it might be four months before they could get the men out; it turned out to be 69 days and about 8 hours. –Read more at Sun News
World rejoices as men see sky again
The last of the Chilean miners, the foreman who held them together when they were feared lost, was raised from the depths of the earth Wednesday night - a joyous ending to a 69-day ordeal that riveted the world. No one has ever been trapped so long and survived.
Luis Urzua ascended smoothly through 2,000 feet of rock, completing a 221/2-hour rescue operation that unfolded with remarkable speed and flawless execution. Before a jubilant crowd of about 2,000 people, he became the 33rd miner to be rescued.
"We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he told Chilean President Sebastian Pinera after his rescue. "The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain. We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing."
The president told him: "You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter." With Urzua by his side, he led the crowd in singing the national anthem.
The rescue exceeded expectations every step of the way. Officials first said it might be four months before they could get the men out; it turned out to be 69 days and about 8 hours. –Read more at Sun News
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8 Arraigned In String Of Anti-Gay Hate Crimes In New York City
Eight suspects arrested in connection with a series of brutal, anti-gay hate crimes in New York City were arraigned Sunday.
Charges against them include harassment, criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful imprisonment, assault, robbery and sexual abuse as hate crimes.
Authorities identified the suspects arraigned as Bryan Almonte, 17, Steven Carabello, 17, Brian Cepeda, 17, Nelson Falu, 17, Idelfonso Mendez, 23, Dennis Piters, 17, David Rivera, 21, and Elmer Confresi, 23.
Bronx Criminal Court Judge Harold Adler set bail at $100,000 for defendants Piters and Carabello, according to the spokesman for the Bronx district attorney. The remaining suspects were ordered held without bail, he said. –Read more at CNN Justice
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World's First Commercial Spacecraft Completes Manned Flight
A pair of pilots flew the world's first manned commercial spacecraft over California's Mojave Desert on Sunday, though they were the only ones aboard.
The mission was a test flight for Richard Branson's dream of affordable space travel and put his vision a step closer to reality, he said after watching the spaceship land.
"Now, the sky is no longer the limit, and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year," Branson said, according to a statement released by his company, Virgin Galactic, which is behind the project.
The spaceship, called the VSS Enterprise, completed a successful free flight from a mothership at 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) to a landing in Mojave, California, Virgin Galactic said. –Read more at CNN Travel
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Beyond The Tea Party: What Americans Really Think Of Government
If there is an overarching theme of election 2010, it is the question of how big the government should be and how far it should reach into people's lives.
Americans have a more negative view of government today than they did a decade ago, or even a few years ago. Most say it focuses on the wrong things and lack confidence that it can solve big domestic problems; this general anti-Washington sentiment is helping to fuel a potential Republican takeover of Congress next month.
But ask people what they expect the government to do for themselves and their families, and a more complicated picture emerges.
A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University shows that most Americans who say they want more limited government also call Social Security and Medicare "very important." They want Washington to be involved in schools and to help reduce poverty. Nearly half want the government to maintain a role in regulating health care. -Read more at Washington Post
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Google Is Testing Cars That Drive Themselves
Google announced Sunday that it has developed cars that drive themselves automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project for Google, but it could actually have big benefits.
We're not just talking about cars running Google Android. This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop light. Human error!
The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.
Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The person in the passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a computer. –Read more at CNN Tech
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Judge Rejects Motion To Dismiss 20 States' Lawsuit Against Health Care Law
A federal judge in Florida on Thursday rejected a motion by the government to dismiss some counts of a multistate challenge to the sweeping health care reform signed into law by President Barack Obama earlier this year.
The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson means the lawsuit filed by attorneys general from Florida and 19 other states can proceed on questions of whether the health care law is constitutional in requiring citizens to obtain health care coverage or face financial penalties, as well as forcing states to expand Medicaid.
Vinson threw out four other counts of the lawsuit.
"At this stage of the case, the plaintiffs have most definitely stated a plausible claim," Vinson's ruling said of the challenge to whether the health coverage mandate is constitutional. –Read more at CNN U.S.
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Facebook Working With GLAAD To Stop Anti-Gay Bullying
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has teamed up with Facebook to reduce the amount of hate speech and anti-gay bullying that goes on around the internet.
Members of the gay community reached out to GLAAD recently when a Facebook page created to remember the victims of anti-gay bullying who had committed suicide was flooded with hateful, violent and derogatory remarks and images.
Fortunately, GLAAD was able to work with Facebook to remove the content, and this organization's work with Facebook has just begun. –Read more at CNN Tech
A Wise 6-Year Old
One day, a neighbor tried to make small talk with the 6-year old daughter of some friends who are die-hard liberal Democrats. He asked what the little one wants to be when she grows up. After a few seconds of thought, the little girl said she wants to be President some day. Her parents stood nearby smiling ear-to-ear. So he asked her further, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?"
She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people." The parents' glowed with amazement and pride at their daughter's precocity and quick wit.
"Wow! what a worthy goal," he exclaimed. Then, he added, ". . .but did you know that you don't have to wait until you're President to do that? You can come over to my house, and you can mow my lawn, pull the weeds, and rake my yard, and I'll pay you $20. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store, where some homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $20 so he can use the money to buy food."
One could almost see the wheels turing inside the little one's head as she pondered the suggestion. Then she looked him straight in the eye and countered, "Why doesn't the homeless guy just go over to your house and do the work, and you can just pay him the $20?"
And he blurted, "Welcome to the Republican Party!"
Her parents still aren't speaking to my neighbor.
Author Unknown
She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people." The parents' glowed with amazement and pride at their daughter's precocity and quick wit.
"Wow! what a worthy goal," he exclaimed. Then, he added, ". . .but did you know that you don't have to wait until you're President to do that? You can come over to my house, and you can mow my lawn, pull the weeds, and rake my yard, and I'll pay you $20. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store, where some homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $20 so he can use the money to buy food."
One could almost see the wheels turing inside the little one's head as she pondered the suggestion. Then she looked him straight in the eye and countered, "Why doesn't the homeless guy just go over to your house and do the work, and you can just pay him the $20?"
And he blurted, "Welcome to the Republican Party!"
Her parents still aren't speaking to my neighbor.
Author Unknown
Netanyahu's Speech to the UN General Assembly
Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen:
Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland.
I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.
The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth.
Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.
Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942 , after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people. The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments. Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews. Is this a lie?
A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Those plans are signed by Hitler's deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself. Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered. Is this too a lie?
This June, President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp. Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie?
And what of the Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie?
One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration. Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own. My wife's grandparents, her father's two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis. Is that also a lie?
Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency?
A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state. What a disgrace! What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations! Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews. You're wrong.
History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others.
This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries. In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims. It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others. Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times. Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated. The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization. It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death. The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century. The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day. Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope. The pace of progress is growing exponentially.
It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet. What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code. We will cure the incurable. We will lengthen our lives. We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.
I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances - by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment. These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise.
But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time. And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after an horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind. That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction.
The most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom? Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world's most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism? Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?
The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime. People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall. Will the United Nations stand by their side?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging. Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims. That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.
For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks. We heard nothing - absolutely nothing - from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one.
In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza. It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis. We didn't get peace. Instead we got an Iranian-backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv. Life in Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare. You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.
Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault, Israel was finally forced to respond. But how should we have responded? Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country's civilian population. It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II. During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. Israel chose to respond differently. Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians - Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.
That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances. Israel , by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas.
We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave. Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy's civilian population from harm's way.
Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn? Israel. A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot. By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals. What a perversion of truth! What a perversion of justice!
Delegates of the United Nations, Will you accept this farce? Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the Earth is flat.
If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity. And in condemning Israel, this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace. Here's why.
When Israel left Gaza, many hoped that the missile attacks would stop. Others believed that at the very least, Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense. What legitimacy? What self-defense?
The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us -my people, my country - of war crimes? And for what? For acting responsibly in self-defense. What a travesty!
Israel justly defended itself against terror. This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?
We must know the answer to that question now. Now and not later. Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All of Israel wants peace. Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace. We made peace with Egypt led by Anwar Sadat. We made peace with Jordan led by King Hussein. And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of Israel will make peace. But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace.
In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples - a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted that resolution. The Arabs rejected it.
We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years: Say yes to a Jewish state. Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people.
The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of Israel. This is the land of our forefathers. Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. They shall learn war no more." These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city, in the hills of Judea, and in the streets of Jerusalem. We are not strangers to this land. It is our homeland. As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own. We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity. But we must have security.
The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel . That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized. We don't want another Gaza, another Iranian-backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.
We want peace. I believe such a peace can be achieved. But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran, that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order. The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.
Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the "confirmed unteachability of mankind", the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them. Churchill bemoaned what he called the "want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong."
I speak here today in the hope that Churchill's assessment of the "unteachability of mankind" is for once proven wrong.
I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history -- that we can prevent danger in time.
In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage. Let us confront this peril, secure our future, and, God-willing, forge an enduring peace for generations to come.
Oct 10, 2010
Locally Speaking
Hard Feelings Linger In Wake Of Helmet Law In Myrtle Beach Area Biker Rally
Myrtle Beach's helmet law may be history, but the hard feelings that came with it aren't, at least among bikers and some locals.
"If you live in a tourist town, you need to be able to put up with tourists," said Mercedes Meyers of Little River, who was introducing her new line of handmade chocolates at the second annual Scandinavian Heritage Festival at St. Philip Lutheran Church on Kings Highway at 63rd Avenue North.
Her words echoed those of Roanoke, Va., biker Dave Simmons outside Jamin' Leather South on U.S. 17 Business in Surfside Beach, where the parking lot was filled with Harleys and bikers strolled through the complex and sat watching lap dances for T-shirts and men's tattoos contests. –Read more at Sun News
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Myrtle Beach Area Wraps Up A Solid Summer
New flights, a new boardwalk and more marketing of the Grand Strand helped create a solid summer for tourism despite a still wobbly economy, and the momentum should continue into the fall, officials said.
Hotel gains ranged from fragile to near record-breaking, while attractions such as Broadway at the Beach and Ripley's properties say they have had steady growth. Hotel and condohotel occupancy far surpassed expectations - up about 8 percentage points from last year - and that upward trend is likely to continue, said Taylor Damonte, director of the Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism at Coastal Carolina University.
"The big picture is that we are now in the beginning stages of the new business cycle," Damonte said.
Rising occupancy will lead to higher hotel rates, Damonte said, and as revenue grows, developers will see the opportunity to build new hotels. Construction on new hotels could start again in three to five years, leading the industry toward growth not seen since 2006 or 2007, he said. –Read more at Sun News
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