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Monday, January 19, 2015

Mid Term Election

There are some interesting results coming out about the midterm election.

Everyone knows it was a low voter turnout both nationally and in California.  According to Wikipedia, 36.4 percent voted nationwide.  In California, about 42 percent voted based on statistics put forth by the League of Woman Voters.

At the national level, President Obama has threatened he may very well be vetoing more legislation.  In his  first 6 years he has vetoed 2 pieces of legislation.  Things to watch for are issues involving the environment, such as the Keystone Pipeline, and the Affordable Care Act including changing the definition of full time workers from 30 Hours to 40 hours.  You also may see issues come up on immigration.

The voters seem to have said they don’t like gridlock and the big question is whether the Republicans can control the Tea Party votes and put forth legislation to move the country forward.  Or will the Democrats become the obstructionist party?

In the California Assembly, the election resulted in a tally of 52 Democrats and 28 Republicans.  In the Senate, there are now 25 Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 3 vacancies.  Neither party has a super majority.
In my mind, the thing to watch for is what will happen with initiatives.  To put forward a constitutional measure you need 8% of the voters in the midterm election.  For a statute you need 5%.  The low voter turnout means that someone can put something on the ballot with between 100,000 and 200,000 less signatures than the numbers based on the 2012 election.  We may see a lot of initiatives on the 2016 ballot.

California was the only state in the country where a Republican House seat was lost to a Democrat.  There are now 39 Democrats and 14 Republicans in the House of Representatives from California.

What did you think about the election both nationally and in California?

No comments:


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• Pasquale Hebert posted an update 1 week ago

    Virginia public records can be accessed by its local resident in accordance to the Freedom of Information Act. This allows the people of Virginia to easily access any of the public documents which can be used anytime.In Virginia, there are family related documents and crime related files as their public records. Birth, death, marriage along with divorce records are what family related documents consist. Reports from the police such as arrest, police blotters and other reports submitted by any government agencies are considered as crime related documents.A lot of information can be obtained from a public record in the state of Virginia. However, not all of these records have the same information. One common thing that can be found on any of the document is the name and birth date of the involved individual. Family related documents contain details about the birth, death or marriage. Such information includes the date, cause and place when the incident took place. Information about the misdemeanors and crimes are indicated on crime related files. One can also find other details of the incident such as the names of the people involved with the crime.These records are used for many different reasons. Public records are primarily used when processing government transactions. Background check is also one of the top reasons for requesting crime related files while genealogy research is the top reason for requesting family related documents. This document is used also used when processing personal matters such as insurance claims and application.One has to keep in mind that the retrieval process of each document is not the same. One can go to the office of the Vital Records Section where family related files are being managed and the Department of Criminal Information services of the Virginia can provide any of the criminal records. Although the documents are public, there are some that can only be obtained by the person involved such as crime. Criminal records can be obtained by other people if they have a court order and an authorization for the person himself. The cost for obtaining a public document may differ per county and type of document. The cost may be incurred per page or per request. When requesting for any of this files, it would take some time in order to get a copy of it. This can now be avoided with the use of technology. The local government of Virginia has used the Internet to deliver information to its people. A search for free public records can be done through the Internet which can save you time and effort thus many would go for his option to avoid hassle. The requested record can actually be obtained even without leaving your homes.

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Admiral Mullen tries again to prepare for the future

Yesterday, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen released a new version of the National Military Strategy. The 21-page document attempts to describe "the ways and means by which our military will advance our enduring national interests." Like its cousins, the 2010 National Security Strategy and the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the National Military Strategy assembles a long list of aspirations and describes in the most general terms some approaches for achieving those aspirations. As with the other two documents, the National Military Strategy avoids difficult discussions about priorities, constraints, resource limits, trade-offs, or consequences. Readers of the document, whether they be allies or adversaries, are likely to be hard-pressed to discern what about America's military strategy is actually changing as result of this document and the preparation that went into it.

The headline of Thom Shanker's piece on the new strategy read, "Joint Chiefs Chairman Says Military Must Focus Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan." This may be true; the new strategy declares that, "The Nation's strategic priorities and interests will increasingly emanate from the Asia-Pacific region." Perhaps this means that Mullen believes that now is the time for the U.S. military to prepare for the future beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a letter to all hands he put out on October 1, 2007 -- his first day as Joint Chiefs Chairman -- Mullen made the same declaration, on that occasion even more explicitly:

I intend to properly balance global strategic risk. We must stay mindful of our many global security commitments and of the core warfighting capabilities, resources, and partnerships required to conduct operations across the full spectrum of peace and conflict. The demands of current operations, however great, should not dominate our training exercises, education curricula, and readiness programs.

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will one day end. We must be ready for who and what comes after.

Mullen must receive a mixed score on achieving these goals he set out for himself at the beginning of his term. The U.S. campaign in Iraq is winding down. But the campaign in Afghanistan accelerated sharply during Mullen's tenure. According to Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars, Mullen strongly defended every reinforcement request for Afghanistan - U.S. troop levels more than tripled there during his time as Chairman. And one must question whether "[t]he demands of current operations, however great, should not dominate our training exercises, education curricula, and readiness programs" has been achieved.

Mullen's advocacy for the larger ground campaign in Afghanistan committed the Pentagon to hundreds of billions of additional expenditures for that effort, a sum that very roughly approximates the funding shortfall over the next decade in shipbuilding, airpower, space, and command and control modernization. Naturally the debate will go on as to whether Mullen's advocacy for the larger war in Afghanistan was the best way "to properly balance global strategic risk."

If the new National Military Strategy is Mullen's attempt to chart a course past Iraq and Afghanistan, we can see that he tried to do the same thing over three years ago. It will now seem to require a much bigger turn of the wheel to get on that course.

Your rating: None

I thought the paper did an outstanding job of leveraging the facilitation of strategic, whole-of-government, approaches to global paradigms that could affect us now or in the future.


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El Chapo’s Capture, Gulf Cartel Divisions, and an Attempted Zeta Comeback

El Chapo’s Capture, Gulf Cartel Divisions, and an Attempted Zeta Comeback

George W. Grayson

The February 2014 take-down of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, the notorious over-lord of the Sinaloa Cartel, has had a rippling effect on the drug war in northern Mexico—to the point of sparking an attempted comeback by the sadistic Zetas. These desperados, whose founders deserted from the elite Airborne Special Forces Group in the late-1990s, served as the paramilitary arm of the Gulf Cartel based in Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas.

Los Zetas Sadistic Chieftains

Thanks to instruction from ex-Kaibiles, the Guatemalan army’s heinous commandos, Los Zetas acquired training in butchering their prey—with an emphasis on loping off heads, performing castrations, and skinning bodies of live victims.

Especially apt students of these macabre techniques were Zeta chieftains Heriberto “The Executioner” Lozano and Miguel Ángel “El 40” Treviño Morales. These men thrived on aggression, manipulation, and the infliction of unspeakable pain on others, including children.

Single decapitations inured the public and Fourth Estate to such ghastly deeds.  After years of these atrocities, a single incident often made only local news. To broad print and electronic media coverage, these agents of Satan began slicing and dicing multiple enemies and arrayed their corpses in a pattern convenient for TV and newspaper photographers. In December 2008, Los Zetas captured and executed eight Army officers and enlisted men in Guerrero, a violence-torn, impoverished southern state that is home to Acapulco. Pictures of the headless cadavers lying side-by-side flashed around the world on television and YouTube. In addition, Los Zetas adeptly employing Google, Face Book, Twitter, and other social outlets to alert authorities and the populace to their ineffable viciousness.

They also mastered the preparation of a “guiso” or “stew.”  The simple recipe entailed plunging a tortured child or adult into a pig cooker or 55-gallon oil drum, dousing the body with gasoline, and setting their quarry on fire.

In July 2009, they assaulted the home of the police chief in the south-central state of Veracruz.  Within five minutes, they blasted their way into the house and murdered the law-enforcement official, his wife, their son, and a police officer.  They then torched the residence, incinerating the remaining three children, all girls.

No wonder the White House labeled them a “global menace” comparable to the Camrorra secret society in southern Italy, the Yakuza mob in Japan, and the Brothers’ Circle of Eastern Europe.

The Bottom Line

Like the dominant Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s traditional narco-traffickers emphasized the economic aspects of their trade.  The Gulf Cartel also stressed profitability over gratuitous carnage.  The increasing tendency of Los Zetas to brutalize their quarry was bad for business, and further strained Gulf-Zeta relations, which snapped in early 2010.

This blood-lust attracted a plethora of enemies: the armed forces, the Federal Police, U.S. security agencies, and rival cartels.  For instance, the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels—once akin to two scorpions in a bottle—joined forces against the villains. El Chapo’s Sinaloans sought access to Nuevo Laredo, the busiest portal with the United States; the Gulf Cartel endeavored to maintain control of Matamoros, Reynosa, and other frontier crossings in Tamaulipas.

Top Leaders Fall

Mexican Marines, armed with intelligence from DEA wire-taps, eliminated the top leaders of the ghoulish Mafiosi. After a withering gun-battle on October 7, 2012, Marines killed Zeta kingpin Heriberto “The Executioner” Lazcano while he nonchalantly watched a baseball game in Progreso, Coahuila, a state infested with Zetas.  Blows continued to rain down on these evil-doers under Enrique Peña Nieto, the successor of President Felipe Calderón (2006-12), who took office on December 1, 2012, seeking to concentrate on energy, educational, telecommunications, tourism, and labor reforms rather than warring against DTOs.

In mid-July 2013, Marines captured “El 40” Treviño Morales on a dirt road near Nuevo Laredo, his hometown and a Zeta bastion.  He is the most sadistic drug capo in all of Mexico. As one analyst averred:  “He deserves to rot for eternity in the lowest rung of hell.”

These reverses thrust Omar Treviño Morales into the Zeta’s leadership.  Lacking the skills and legitimacy of his older brother Miguel Ángel, Omar, also known as “El 42,” has watched the dismantling of his venal syndicate’s command and control apparatus. For example, a March 27, 2014, police and military operation in the eastern state of Veracruz terminated in the death of 10 Zetas, who specialized in kidnapping.

Internecine Fighting

Just when it seemed that Los Zetas were doomed, El Chapo’s arrest sidelined the one strongman who could force cooperation on the badly divided Gulf Cartel factions—the Cyclones (Matamoros) and Los Metros (Reynosa)—that were lunging at each other’s throats, according to stellar crime reporter Ildefonso Ortiz of The Monitor (McAllen).   Recently, however, warfare has erupted within Los Metros, allowing Los Cyclones a chance to heal their wounds.   One of the fatalities in the intra-Metro brawl was Galindo “Z-9,” an original Zeta who remained with the Gulf Cartel and held a prominent post in the Reynosa area.

Officials reported 23 dead in recent firefights in Reynosa, including two citizens, two federal policemen, one soldier, and 18 gunmen.  The figure was closer to 30 according to an anti-crime specialist who lamented the image-conscious Peña Nieto’s low-balling of casualty numbers.

As a result of mayhem enveloping Reynosa, on Saturday, May 10, 2014—Mexico’s Mother’s Day—irate residents dispatched expletive-laden messages to Peña Nieto and Tamaulipas Governor Egidio Torre Cantú.

Amid these internecine clashes, Los Zetas are moving rapidly to regain lost territory in Reynosa, Matamoros, Río Bravo in Tamaulipas, as well as Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Zeta Diversification

While never top-tier drug traffickers, the band has diversified into such felonious ventures as extortion, murder-for-hire, child prostitution, kidnapping, migrant smuggling, loan-sharking, contraband, money laundering, gun-running, and thefts from Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the hugely corrupt, featherbedded state oil monopoly.

With respect to the last item, Los Zetas from their redoubts in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, have targeted PEMEX.  The scoundrels have tapped into oil and gas pipelines, undoubtedly with the aid of PEMEX personnel; hijacked gasoline tanker trucks; stolen TNT and other explosives acquired for well blasting; and robbed such solvents as toluene and xylene.  These chemicals are acquired for hydraulic fracking, but they can also be used to process cocaine and methamphetamines.  While not involved in methamphetamine commerce, Los Zetas can sell their booty to producers of synthetic drugs, as well as to legal, but complicit, pharmaceutical firms, dye-makers, and soap manufacturers eager to reduce input costs.

Penetrating PEMEX pipelines has spiraled from 213 incidents in 2006 to 1,449 incidents in 2012, giving rise to losses of hundreds of millions of dollars annually.  "The illegal trafficking in large quantities of natural gas, gasoline, aviation fuel and diesel has surged as one of the principle sources of financing for Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and other criminal cells,” Carlos Mendoza Mora, president of a Mexico City security firm, told the Coahuila newspaper Vanguardia.

Energy Reform Will Afford More Opportunities

An ambitious reform of the energy sector will spur imports of vital materials from outside the country, thus magnifying prospects for theft, extortion, and other criminality.  Will foreign firms be willing to hire companies to protect their managers, workers, and resources?  PEMEX Director General Emilio Lozano Austin has expanded the role of the company’s security chief, Eduardo León Trauwitz; however, the retired brigadier general has failed to stem losses since his 2012 appointment.  It’s important to remember that Los Zetas’ presence in the Petén territory has severely constricted Guatemala’s ability to entice investment in its hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Los Zetas are also underwriting their demonic deeds by taking possession of another natural resource—coal.  Humberto Moreira Valdés claimed that the brigands were extracting coal from five municipalities in Sabinas region Coahuila, a state that he once governed. The miscreants mine the coal and market it to intermediaries, which Moreira insists, turn around and resell it to the government-owned Federal Electricity Commission.

Incursions into Central America

Los Zetas have also made extensive inroads into Central America. The United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime has called Los Zetas the “dominant” narco-traffickers in the region.  In late April 2014, the El Salvador’s Public Security and Justice Minister Ricardo Perdomo denounced Los Zetas for selling high-powered rifles to the Mara Salvatruchas (MS-13) and other gangs in Honduras and Guatemala.  They are also accused of training these heinous outfits.  The Salvadoran official said that in exchange for weapons, Los Zetas turn over small amounts of cocaine to the gangs for street-level sales known as menudeo.

Horizontal, Decentralized Structure

As scholars Dwight Dyer and Daniel Sachs pointed out in Foreign Affairs magazine:  “Instead of developing a strong vertical hierarchy, they have built a horizontal, decentralized one.  The Zetas do not have identifiable leaders, but its individual cells have always been empowered to exploit opportunities available to their respective locales.”  This means that parochial jefes, who may be young, inexperienced, and ill-trained in the use of AR-15s and AK-47s can act without waiting for orders from a commander.   At times advantageous, this flexibility may trigger imprudent moves, which can result in the capture or killing of the aggressors, even as “zetanization”—mimicking Los Zetas’ heinous antics—gains greater acceptance in Mexico’s ever-expanding underworld.

Government’s Gambit

The tsunami of killings and a barrage of social media complaints about insecurity led Gobernación Secretary Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong to jet to Reynosa on May 13 to unveil a security program for Tamaulipas.  Among other items, he said the state would be divided into four areas (border, coast, center, and south)—with federal prosecutors and special military personnel assigned to each zone.  He also promised the establishment of a new police academy.  These designees will have to be on constant guard.  For instance, on May 5, desperados ambushed and killed the state police intelligence chief, Col. Salvador Haro Muñoz.  A week later, it was announced that Governor Egidio Torre Cantú’s top bodyguard had been sacked for allegedly masterminding the assassination. Confidence in federal and state authorities is zero to nil.

With the Marines, the DEA, and other law-enforcement agencies on his tail, Omar Treviño Morales should think twice about purchasing green bananas.  Still, dispersed bosses such as the leader of the “Sangre Zetas” or “Blood Zetas” will continue to spew their venom on rival cartels, politicians, public officials, the police, and average citizens.

Your rating: None


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Get Cheap Car Insurance Rates in Alamo IN

Tired of overpaying on your Alamo car insurance? Looking to save more money on your auto insurance? is here to help you locate the best quality affordable vehicle insurance in Alamo, IN. Begin your search by entering your Zip Code at the top and you will be presented with the list of the top recommended insurers for your area.

Cheap Car Insurance Online Tips That Can Save You Money Every Month

car-insurance-savingsThe price that you pay for your auto insurance coverage every month typically stays about the same. You may have subtle fluctuations every now and then, but unless there is a claim that you have recently filed, you will likely have consisted rates for many years. However, there are some Indiana companies that are struggling financially due to the sheer volume of claims that have come in that year. They will have to raise their rates in order to stay solvent, and when this occurs, many people start looking for new coverage. It does not matter what type of auto insurance coverage you have. You can save money on anything from liability to collision coverage. The best place to begin researching different rates, preferably lower ones, is to search online for new car insurance. These cheap car insurance online tips should lead you to the best Indiana deals available online.

Switching Your Provider Can Save You Money

Even if your car insurance rates have not gone up that much, or might be other reasons that you are switching to another business. You may have noticed other changes that are occurring with your policy, ones that could eventually cost you a substantial amount of money for example, if you currently have a $500 deductible that you have to pay, and your premiums are low, this might be the best option for you. However, you may have heard of another company that is offering a $250 deductible with the same amount of coverage, and they may actually have premiums that are less than you are paying right now. It is important to research if this information is true, and if it is, you should switch over right away. However, it is sometimes not that easy to locate these businesses with these exceptional deals unless you are willing to do a little bit of research.

How To Find Low Car Insurance Rates in Alamo, Indiana

low-cost-car-insuranceTo quickly find the businesses that will offer you the most savings, you will want to start searching for cheap car insurance on the web. Google is a great resource for companies that offer more affordable premiums, allowing you to find 10 or 20 different companies within minutes. In order to get a quote, you will have to contact each individual company, submitting a form so that they can reply to you. On this form you will tell them what type of vehicles you drive, what your existing coverages right now, and then they will be able to work up a quote for you. This is such a time-consuming process, although it does work, but you have better things to do with your time. Of all of the cheap car insurance online tips that you can use, finding a quote website is probably the best strategy you can use.

Get Multiple Quotes Online

A strategy for people are strapped for time is to use an online website that can provide them with multiple quotes. They will typically have a form that is on their main page. You simply enter in your information including your name, email address, and information about your cars and existing auto insurance policy, and the companies will do the rest. This information will be submitted to all of the businesses they are affiliated with, and these companies will create a quote just for you. Some of them may come within hours, whereas others you may have to wait for several days. Just depends on the company and the type of coverage that you are looking for. After you have received 5 or 10 in your email, you need to quickly determine which ones are offering you the lowest rates. Once you have found those, you will want to compare the different coverages that the offer, and also the deductibles on each of the policies. All of this information can help you make a quick decision on which new policy would be best suited for you. Sometimes you can get great discounts if you are signing up for multiple policies, so keep that in mind as you get your quotes back from each business.

The Best Alamo Cheap Auto Insurance Tips

multiple-car-insurance-quotesThe following tips are actually two of the best that you can use in order to get the lowest rates possible on auto insurance. It actually doesn’t matter how much you are paying right now. You simply need to find businesses that are not advertising heavily, but actually offer the lowest premiums and deductibles in the industry. Many people think that large national companies offer the best rates, but that is not always the case. These businesses are also perfect for individuals that have multiple ticket where there premiums have gone through the roof, yet these businesses will provide them with reasonable rates even though they have a bad driving record. The second strategy is to get quotes from businesses that offer different types of insurance. Instead of working with a company that only offers auto insurance, find one that also sells other types of insurance that you already have. If you have life insurance, health insurance, or even renters insurance, you should try to get all of these policies through one company. The quote that you will receive will include each and every policy that you have, and the combined rates should be much lower than you are paying right now in total for all of the policies that you currently are paying for. Essentially, you are getting umbrella coverage, placing everything under one particular company. By getting access to the group rate, you can save a substantial amount of money on every policy that you own, and that will include your car insurance rates.

These cheap car insurance online tips should provide you with at least one option when it comes to saving money with vehicle insurance premiums. Whether you choose to submit your information to a website that will provide you with quotes, or if you decide to work with one company to combine all of your insurance policies, you will be able to start saving money right away.

More Infoon How to Get Affordable Car Insurance in Alamo, IN

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Protection beyond the lawfully required bare minimum is usually an alternative. Even however these possibilities will increase your high quality, they are normally worth the further price. Uninsured motorist coverage guards you when you experience damages to your vehicle or oneself that are induced by an uninsured driver.

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Attempt to vehicle pool to function. This will preserve the quantity of miles that you place on your individual vehicle down. If you can hold the mileage that you travel every single year low, you will probably qualify for the reduced-mileage price cut that a lot of insurers offer you. It will preserve you bundles over the years.

Reduce your mileage to decrease your rates. The volume of miles you generate truly has a very big impact on the volume you pay out for your quality. If you can reduce down the volume of miles you generate, your premiums will fall with it. Give by yourself a split, and take the bus on occasion.

One particular of the complete finest factors in the cost of your automobile insurance policy continues to be, however, fully outside of your control, this is your age. The bulk of organizations consider men and women beneath 25 to be a larger risk and owing to this you will stop up paying more. Remember, specifically when you are more youthful, to examine consistently with your agency for reductions primarily based on age calendar year by yr.

When you get in the vehicle to push to function each and every morning, you want to know, that should the worst take place, you have the required vehicle insurance policies to cover your liability charges and the hurt to your auto. If you place the suggestions in this write-up to good use, you will lessen the trouble included in getting and employing car insurance policy.

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Get Cheap Car Insurance Rates in Fulshear TX

Tired of overpaying on your Fulshear car insurance? Looking to save more money on your auto insurance? is here to help you locate the best quality affordable vehicle insurance in Fulshear, TX. Begin your search by entering your Zip Code at the top and you will be presented with the list of the top recommended insurers for your area.

Cheap Car Insurance Online Tips That Can Save You Money Every Month

vehicle-insuranceThe price that you pay for your auto insurance coverage every month typically stays about the same. You may have subtle fluctuations every now and then, but unless there is a claim that you have recently filed, you will likely have consisted rates for many years. However, there are some Texas companies that are struggling financially due to the sheer volume of claims that have come in that year. They will have to raise their rates in order to stay solvent, and when this occurs, many people start looking for new coverage. It does not matter what type of auto insurance coverage you have. You can save money on anything from liability to collision coverage. The best place to begin researching different rates, preferably lower ones, is to search online for new car insurance. These cheap car insurance online tips should lead you to the best Texas deals available online.

Switching Your Provider Can Save You Money

Even if your car insurance rates have not gone up that much, or might be other reasons that you are switching to another business. You may have noticed other changes that are occurring with your policy, ones that could eventually cost you a substantial amount of money for example, if you currently have a $500 deductible that you have to pay, and your premiums are low, this might be the best option for you. However, you may have heard of another company that is offering a $250 deductible with the same amount of coverage, and they may actually have premiums that are less than you are paying right now. It is important to research if this information is true, and if it is, you should switch over right away. However, it is sometimes not that easy to locate these businesses with these exceptional deals unless you are willing to do a little bit of research.

How To Find Low Car Insurance Rates in Fulshear, Texas

Affordable-Auto-Insurance-QuotesTo quickly find the businesses that will offer you the most savings, you will want to start searching for cheap car insurance on the web. Google is a great resource for companies that offer lower car insurance prices, allowing you to find 10 or 20 different companies within minutes. In order to get a quote, you will have to contact each individual company, submitting a form so that they can reply to you. On this form you will tell them what type of vehicles you drive, what your existing coverages right now, and then they will be able to work up a quote for you. This is such a time-consuming process, although it does work, but you have better things to do with your time. Of all of the cheap car insurance online tips that you can use, finding a quote website is probably the best strategy you can use.

Get Multiple Quotes Online

A strategy for people are strapped for time is to use an online website that can provide them with multiple quotes. They will typically have a form that is on their main page. You simply enter in your information including your name, email address, and information about your cars and existing auto insurance policy, and the companies will do the rest. This information will be submitted to all of the businesses they are affiliated with, and these companies will create a quote just for you. Some of them may come within hours, whereas others you may have to wait for several days. Just depends on the company and the type of coverage that you are looking for. After you have received 5 or 10 in your email, you need to quickly determine which ones are offering you the lowest rates. Once you have found those, you will want to compare the different coverages that the offer, and also the deductibles on each of the policies. All of this information can help you make a quick decision on which new policy would be best suited for you. Sometimes you can get great discounts if you are signing up for multiple policies, so keep that in mind as you get your quotes back from each business.

The Best Fulshear Cheap Auto Insurance Tips

Quotes-CarThe following tips are actually two of the best that you can use in order to get the lowest rates possible on auto insurance. It actually doesn’t matter how much you are paying right now. You simply need to find businesses that are not advertising heavily, but actually offer the lowest premiums and deductibles in the industry. Many people think that large national companies offer the best rates, but that is not always the case. These businesses are also perfect for individuals that have multiple ticket where there premiums have gone through the roof, yet these businesses will provide them with reasonable rates even though they have a bad driving record. The second strategy is to get quotes from businesses that offer different types of insurance. Instead of working with a company that only offers auto insurance, find one that also sells other types of insurance that you already have. If you have life insurance, health insurance, or even renters insurance, you should try to get all of these policies through one company. The quote that you will receive will include each and every policy that you have, and the combined rates should be much lower than you are paying right now in total for all of the policies that you currently are paying for. Essentially, you are getting umbrella coverage, placing everything under one particular company. By getting access to the group rate, you can save a substantial amount of money on every policy that you own, and that will include your car insurance rates.

These cheap car insurance online tips should provide you with at least one option when it comes to saving money with car insurance rates. Whether you choose to submit your information to a website that will provide you with quotes, or if you decide to work with one company to combine all of your insurance policies, you will be able to start saving money right away.

More Infoon How to Get Affordable Car Insurance in Fulshear, TX

BAM! You just crashed your automobile. At this level, what occurs following can rely on the high quality of your car insurance policies. Just before you crash your car, it truly is crucial to uncover excellent answers to questions about what kind of coverage you require and who must offer it. This article will aid you realize the complex entire world of car insurance coverage.

When it will come to vehicle insurance policy, a great suggestion is to select a far more inexpensive option of automobile, particularly if you have a teen of driving age in the family. For instance, if you have a option among a sedan or a athletics automobile, go with the former. Insurance for a sports activities vehicle is often more high-priced.

Reassess what type of auto you are driving. Your vehicle insurance rates could be based on what variety of vehicle you are driving. Sportier autos or SUV's can carry increased premiums simply because they have far more legal responsibility and they are typically more expensive to change or correct when they have been ruined.

If your vehicle is a important asset, (i.e. expensive and having large resale benefit) make positive you buy further liability protection for it when you insure it. The lawful minimum legal responsibility coverage which is your least expensive option will not offer enough payment if your valuable automobile receives damaged. The added price of extra protection is well worth having to pay to protect a vehicle with genuine worth.

A great way to help save some income on your automobile or truck insurance policy is to push your vehicle significantly less frequently. Several of present-day ideal automobile insurance policies firms offer you discounts to consumers for minimal-mileage, incentivizing people to hold their automobiles parked. If you can wander instead of travel, you can get some great physical exercise and save cash on your insurance policies.

Carpooling or having community transit can help save you funds on your vehicle insurance. Reducing your mileage is a very good way to exhibit to your insurance policies company that you are a liable specific. Inform your agent about your initiatives to decrease mileage, and there is certainly positive to be a low cost that applies to you.

Inquire the men and women you know for a recommendation. Every person who drives has insurance policy, and numerous of them have had the two good and undesirable activities with various businesses. Ask them which organization they use, and why. You could discover that your close friends have found much better discounts at a company you wouldn't have believed to look at.

If you don't drive really far or very usually, ask your insurance business if they provide a minimal mileage price reduction. Even if your main auto is pushed a lot, you can rather get this price cut on any secondary autos you may possibly have that are pushed less typically. This can conserve you a bunch of income on your rates.

One particular of the complete best aspects in the price of your car insurance coverage remains, unfortunately, totally outdoors of your manage, this is your age. The majority of firms think about folks under 25 to be a larger chance and due to this you will end up paying out a lot more. Keep in mind, specifically when you are younger, to check consistently with your company for discount rates based on age year by calendar year.

Even if you may be short on cash, auto insurance policies is not some thing you must skip out on. The street can be a hazardous place, even for the most secure of motorists. Automobile insurance policy will aid safeguard you (and your loved ones) when you are out on the highway. Utilize the suggestions from this article to select the very best auto insurance policy for you.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

First soaker

This is the first of many soakers (cloth diaper covers) to come, if I get my way. I took a couple different patterns and melded them to make my own. This was made using my hand-dyed yarn. I do have another soaker OTN and almost ready to BO, I'll be posting that one in the next couple days, I'm sure. Knitting my own soakers was the entire reason I taught myself how to knit, since buying them I could easily spend $30 on one, but I can make one for materials costing under $5 and a couple hours of my time.

Granny Squares

Without giving too much detail, I received an email from a classmate regarding an afghan being done as a gift. She asked for 8x8 squares from everyone, and I whipped these 3 out in a couple hours, stuck them in the mail yesterday. I got all three patterns from the book 99 Granny Squares to Crochet.

More Dyeing

I delivered the order of superwash to the LYS yesterday. While these pictures don't do the vibrancy of the colors justice, they're the best I could manage.

These 9 skeins are DK weight, in the color groups (from left to right) pink/blue/purple, pink/yellow/orange and blue/yellow/green:

These Worsted weight skeins (from left to right) are red/blue/yellow, the large one in the center is a triple skein of teal, yellow/tan and purple, the one across the bottom is the 6-color rainbow I've posted previously, and the ones on the right are orange/green/purple:

Monday, January 28, 2008

Baby Sweater

This was the first complex article of clothing I've ever crocheted, and I've been crocheting for more than 20 years. This is from the Baby it's Cold Outside pattern, crocheted in Lion Brand Homespun, color Tudor with Gothic trim (it's purple, not black). I've had a pile of Homespun sitting here for years, and this was a great use for a full skein. This really only takes a couple hours to make, and it's so easy I want to size it up to make one for myself.

I really love how the subtle color changes produced a sunrise effect.

BICO front

BICO back

These are the skeins I dyed for myself. They will all eventually get made up into baby clothes, most likely.

My very first skein. This one taught me that I really needed longer skeins. It has already been stitched up into a soaker.
Apple Green and Berry Cherry

This is grapes. It is currently OTN.

Wool dyeing

First knitting projects

I've wanted to learn how to knit for years, so I taught myself around Thanksgiving.

This is my very first project, a hat I made for a friend's birthday. It's a beautiful wool that I've picked up in several diferent colorways since I enjoyed it so much:

K's Hat

And my second, a garter-stitch shawl I made my grandmother for Christmas. It's a lovely laceweight alpaca that I can't wait to work with again.

Grandma's Shawl

Warping Board

Since my warping board has disappeared, I've been warping my yarn for dyeing on my ironing board. Needless to say this takes up a lot of room and isn't exactly ideal. Since I didn't feel like paying $100 for another one, I figured a quick trip to the hardware store was in order. This took me about an hour to assemble, and cost about $20. It's completely adjustable... the only downside is that I can't warp wet yarn or I'll ruin it.

Warping board with 16 foot skein:
Warping board with 16 ft color repeat

I started dyeing yarn for my own purposes, and on a whim I took it into my LYS and asked if they were interested in carrying it. She asked specifically for superwash, since she has trouble getting superwash in non-solid colors.

This is what I have so far, in DK weight. Three different tri-colors

Superwash wool

and a 6-color rainbow.

6 Color Superwash

I've been contemplating starting a blog for a while. I've been spending a lot of time doing crafts lately and really wanted somewhere to show off my handiwork. So here we are.


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Advanced Cosmetic Surgery

Advanced Cosmetic Surgery

Do You Need Cosmetic Surgery? Check Out These Tips!

Getting cosmetic surgery is not a light decision. You need to take your time and research the surgery you are having done, before committing to it. It is important that you find out as much as you can beforehand. Here are some things you need to consider, when you are deciding to have cosmetic surgery done.

Not only should you research the actual surgical procedure, but you should also thoroughly investigate the recovery process required for the procedure. Understanding exactly what you are going through is the best way to feel assured about the process.

To ensure your cosmetic procedure is being being done by a trained professional, research the doctor’s background. Learn where they were educated. What kinds of licenses, and certifications they have. Any extra training they may have undergone, and if there are any records of them with your local Department of Health. Also, ask the doctor how many times they’ve done the procedure you want.

You should ask specific questions and think about certain issues when you are selecting a cosmetic surgeon. You should not select a surgeon on price alone. You will want a board-certified surgeon. You want a surgeon who takes the time to answer your questions and fears. You should trust your instinct, if your surgeon makes your uncomfortable, you should find another one.

Investigate whether, or not the surgeon you are considering has been sued for malpractice. You can use online resources to find out whether, or not any claims have been made. Knowing their history makes it easier to make an educated decision about whether, or not you want someone to perform your surgery. You should be suspect of anyone with multiple malpractice suits.

Finding out what you need to know, before you have cosmetic surgery, is important. Use the tips in this article to help form a foundation of knowledge about the surgery. Then you’ll have a better idea of what to expect. Find out as much as you can, and you will make smart decisions about your surgery.

George Hricko MD, FACS
Advanced Cosmetic Surgery
67 Union St, Suites 301-302 Natick, MA 01760
Phone: 508-655-7070


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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Places I've Cleaned at Work (in chronological order)

I work in an optometrist's office owned by a family friend and neighbor. The owner, my eye doctor and now my boss as well, is only slightly crazy if you're a patient, but once you start working for him he's a real nut job. Every day is an adventure for me at work, and my life would be so boring if I didn't have this job.

I've been working at this place for nearly three months now, and so far these are some of the more interesting cleaning jobs I've had to do:

1. The corners of the exam room, which is carpeted, with wet paper towels. The Doc thought I needed to do something "productive" and degrading, since I'm the new girl.

2. The employee's bathroom, after I let a patient use it because I didn't know not to. I was told that syphilis is spread that way and if I had to clean it I'd never do it again.

3. The front floor, right in front of the counter (also carpeted), after a kid and his dad spilled red Slushy everywhere then threatened to sue when Doc kicked them out.

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BookDragon Books for the Multi-Culti Reader

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons [in Booklist]

Zinzi Clemmons’ spectacular debut is written in bursts, from single-sentence pages to sparse paragraphs, and combines photographs, diagrams, charts, articles, and blog posts to amplify an intimate story of personal loss into a larger narrative of identity, family, race, and socioeconomic access.

Thandi is the daughter of a New York-born mathematics-professor father and Johannesburg-born-nurse mother. She grows up privileged as a “light” African American in Philadelphia. Her lifelong best friend is Aminah, their bond cemented by their parents’ friendship, which resulted from their fathers being two of the only five African American faculty at their university. Thandi’s mother dies of cancer while Thandi is in college, leaving her with a gaping emotional void that only intensifies when she, too, becomes a mother.

Clemmons creates haunting authenticity by imbuing Thandi with autobiographical elements – parentage, life in Philadelphia, attending Columbia, her mother’s death – but through enhanced fiction, she pushes Thandi into global citizenry, shows her skin color to be a barometer of fraught relationships and race politics, explores mother-child bonds with brutal honesty, and even reveals cancer to be “a disease of privilege” elevated with ribbons and campaigns. Clemmons performs an exceptional sleight of hand that is both affecting and illuminating.

Review: “Fiction,” Booklist, July 1, 2017

Readers: Adult

Published: 2017


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November 12th, 2010
Rebels seek first football playoff win since 2006

One memorable Saturday afternoon in December 2006, the Hays Rebels appeared to be vanquished in the Region IV high school football semifinals in the Alamodome.

The Rebels trailed third-ranked Corpus Christi Calallen, 20-14, and had the ball on their own two yard line with 43 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Hays fans already know what happened next.

The Rebels put together a drive like no other, led by quarterback Brooks Pinckard and wide receiver Clayton Rogers. The Rebels ripped down field, mostly on sideline passes, until Pinckard connected with Rogers for a touchdown on the final play of the game. With the extra-point kick, the Rebels were 21-20 victors, and the players celebrated with the coaches as Hays claimed another heart-stopping victory.

To this day, though, that is the last time Hays won a playoff game. The Rebels finished out of the playoffs in 2007, then lost in the first round to Magnolia in 2008 and lost in the first round to Huntsville in 2009.

Friday night, the Rebels will try it again, but their path through the playoffs is as difficult as that faced by any team in Texas.

The Rebels, 6-4, play Friday night in Schertz against an explosive Kerrville Tivy squad. The winner will play next week against three-time defending state champion Lake Travis (10-1), which escaped with a 28-20 win against McCallum in the first round of the playoffs Thursday night. Tivy’s only loss this year came against Lake Travis, 37-33, on Sept. 17.

Leading the way for Tivy is one of the most dynamic players in the San Antonio area, quarterback Johnny Manzeil, who averages 300.7 passing yards per game and 140.3 rushing yards, for a total of 441.0 yards per game.

That’s what one player for Tivy averages in a game. The entire Hays team is averaging 298.3 offensive yards per game. Quarterback Caleb Kimbro leads the Rebels with 848 total yards — 574 passing and 274 rushing. Torrance Smith is the leading ball carrier with 759 rushing yards.

In the only other high school football playoff game involving a Hays County team, Wimberley will take up the fruits of its 10-0 regular season against Llano at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock. Llano is 6-4.

If the Texans can advance, they expect running back Dennis Smith, a Texas A&M recruit, to return next week. Smith rushed for 720 yards before a foot injury against Sealy sidelined him on Sept. 24.

The winner between Wimberley and Llano will play next week against the winner of a Friday night game between Cuero and Devine. Cuero is 8-2, winning eight straight. Its only two losses came in its first two games. The Gobblers lost at home to Wimberley, 49-42, in their first game, then lost the next week to Liberty Hill, 36-28.

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December 24th, 2010
The Weekend: Lights, music (as always) and a Merry Christmas

The Trail of Lights at the EmilyAnn Theatre will be open through the holidays for all your holiday light-gazing needs.

Scene Editor

The tad bit of poetry that each and every person gets all year may be from Christmas carols. Whether you like it or not, Christmas carols are ubiquitous in the grocery store, the mall, the television, the bars and just about anywhere else you go.

You can complain about this all you like, but the fact remains that Christmas, at least in retail establishments, starts early, assaulting us with decorations, present ideas, wrappings and those songs. We say, don’t fight it any longer. Just give in to it and belt out those songs.

What other holiday can you think of where it is permissible to sing along with the background music just about anywhere with relative impunity? Other folks may actually join in singing with you. It makes you feel good to carry a tune, whether you are particularly gifted or not. It’s not the talent this time of year. It’s the spirited sheer pleasure of the song.

A closer examination of Christmas carols yields up some fine and touching poetry. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” has lovely deep lyrics, and who doesn’t know Martin Luther’s famous “Away in a Manger”? And you’ll be singing catchy tunes, many of which have been passed down for hundreds of years. In the case of a carol like “In the Bleak Midwinter,” you are singing a poem by Christina Rossetti with music by Gustav Holz. Pretty nice pedigree.

As you sing these songs, you’ll be amazed at how many song lyrics your memory has retained. It’s a tribute to the potential of the human brain that so much is treasured there. Even if you despise the overt commercialism of Christmas, you surely cannot blame the songs. There is nothing commercial about them. Well, not until some ad wit changes the lyrics to contain a store name or a bargain.

Christmas shows the sheer power of music. Music is not just a “soundtrack” for life. It’s a privilege of the human voice and a drive to make lovely or compelling sounds. The birds may be chatting or scolding or searching for food but, every once in a while, you’ll hear them singing just for the pure pleasure of it. Even the elements of the universe, the stars, the planets, make music. It’s an important part of life.

Of course, often the birds are singing to impress the chicks. This isn’t really so far from human behavior.

At any rate, do not fear to sing out at this festive season. What is Christmas without music? It’s a nice dinner and some presents. Just not the same without the tunes expressing the day’s deeper meanings. Even if the dinner isn’t so great and the presents are mostly socks and underwear, it’s the Christmas carols that buoy the day.

Don’t limit your singing to church, now. Break out and sing at home, in the car, in the grocery store. Life is short. You need to sing.

Of course, if you would rather leave the singing to others this weekend, there are plenty of folks who will do that for your enjoyment. There are lights to gaze in wonder at, also. Herewith a couple of suggestions if you need a breather from your family gathering — and who doesn’t once in a while? Of course, the schedule is a little lighter due to the holidays. We’re always happy to see folks get a day off.

Friday, December 24

Continuing its tradition of live music every day for the last 14 years, the Triple Crown (206 North Edward Gary) features the always appealing Mark Jungers for an early set at 6 p.m. Free juke box and free pool start at 8 p.m. There’s no cover to get in, and you can play your favorite non-Christmas songs, if you’ve a mind to.

The EmilyAnn Theatre’s (1101 FM 2325) Trail of Lights is open from 6-10 p.m. There are eight acres of lighted displays sponsored by more than 100 local businesses on which to clap your eyes. It’s a wonderful way to start out your holiday celebration. Admission is free, but a donation always helps with the electric bill.

There is no bingo tonight at the Wimberley VFW, but there will be on New Year’s Eve. We’ll mention it again next week. If the weather is good, they’ll have fireworks after the game, too.

Riley’s Tavern (8894 FM 1102) will be open tonight after 5 p.m., if you’d like to spend time in the historic roadhouse that was Texas’ first tavern after prohibition.

Some folks like to drive through Santa’s Ranch (Interstate-35 between Posey Road and York Creek Road). The fee is $20 per car and there are supposed to be more than one million lights with 100 displays and animations. You get to drive through in the comfort of your truck or car, so you can sing those carols as you ride along. The hours are 6-11 p.m. tonight for the mile-long cruise, which takes about 20 minutes.

Saturday, December 25

Merry Christmas to one and all. Of course, there are fun things on television to use as background to your festivities today. AMC is running Bill Murray in “Scrooged” all day in a continuous loop. TBS will run “A Christmas Story” in a loop. The Ovation network will run five, count’ em, five different ballet companies performing “The Nutcracker” today, including the Bolshoi Ballet, the Royal Ballet, the Berlin State Ballet, the modern stylings of Maurice Bejart and the refreshingly unusual Casse Noisette Circus with the Ballet of Monte Carlo.

If you feel the need to get out of the house, the Organics will be at the Triple Crown tonight. The band is a popular local favorite and they’re good sports to play on Christmas night to help brighten the spirits of holiday attendees. The rockin’ Van Sanchez will be there, too. What a great Christmas treat!

You could load up the car and head over to Santa’s Ranch to see the 50-foot tree of lights and drive through the “tunnels” of lights. The blue tunnel is pretty cool. You could get a little exercise after that big dinner and walk through the Trail of Lights at the EmilyAnn Theatre, as well.

Sunday, December 26

Before you try to return that “Old Fart” baseball cap your nephew gave you or that reindeer sweater from Aunt I-didn’t-know-what-to-get-you, you could stop by the Phoenix (193 San Antonio Street, New Braunfels) for Al Barlow’s Kwanzaa party. He’ll be playing music and makin’ with the jokes. No cover.

If you want a fun quick family trip, how about going to the Zweite Weihnachten (Second Christmas) Fest in Fredericksburg (312 San Antonio Street)? Refreshments, decorations, German music and a festival committed to keeping the German tradition of community gathering the day after Christmas runs from 2-4 p.m. Admission is free.

If Donald Fagen had been born in Beaumont instead of New Jersey, it’s possible that Steely Dan would sound more like Ezra Charles, who is playing at Gruene Hall today. Charles and his band have that jazzy rock sound, but there’s quite a bit of Texas grit in the mix. The band plays today from 4-8 p.m. No cover.

If you haven’t seen the lights at Santa’s Ranch or the EmilyAnn Theatre, they are both open tonight for sparkling Christmas magic.

The mics are open tonight at Riley’s and the Triple Crown, if all that singing has given you an urge for a career with it.

Tonight on NBC, the Philadelphia Eagles play the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes will more than likely go on without Bret Favre and they may take a beating, but, who knows, at this stage of the game, what will happen. Should be interesting.

ABC carries on its traditional presentation of “The Sound of Music.”  BBC America features the musical “Oliver!”

Oh, there’s bound to be some Christmas leftovers, too. Sometimes the leftovers are as good as or better than the meal.

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Wednesday, 11 September 2013 15:04

This must be the place

Written by

He slinked by, turned and glanced at me.

“Well, hey there, you must be Jack, eh?” I said to him.

He raised his head, strode over to my front porch, and extended a handshake. I had heard I was getting a new upstairs neighbor, and there he was standing before me.

Living above me for the better part of this year, “Papa” Jack was a beautiful, troubled soul. Growing up in Virginia, he got into some mishaps and was kicked out of his house at age 14. From there, he worked in the orange fields in Florida, then enlisted in the Army after more run-ins with the law and eventually became a sharpshooter during Vietnam.

“Well, my job was to kill. I did that, then went to bed, everyday,” he told me through saddened eyes.

After the war, he developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which overtook the latter years of his life, resulting in alcoholism and drug abuse. Add that to being a roofer for 30 years and his body paid the price. He’d routinely stop by my porch and chat, always wanting to know, “What’s in the news today?”

The last time we crossed paths, he and I sat on the porch and shot the bull. We just talked and watched the world drift by. I’ll never forget his eyes, which were full of regret and loss. He’d light his cigarette, inhale deeply and exhale while leaning back into the musty couch with a sigh.

Before and after becoming a journalist, I’d crossed paths with numerous Vietnam veterans. Not that their stories are better or worse than those from other wars, but their faces and sentiments stuck out more. They didn’t get a “ticker tape” parade upon returning home or were properly diagnosed when something went wrong, physically or mentally. They came back and dealt with themselves and their thoughts, many-a-time alone with nobody to turn to.

I’ve always been an advocate of the phrase, “You may not support the war, but support the troops.” Being 28 years old, from a military family, I’ve seen plenty of my high school classmates enlist and be deployed into Afghanistan and Iraq. Many came home ready to take on the day, while a handful never seemed to ever want to arise from bed again. It’s heartbreaking.

“Papa” Jack carried his traumas with him like a bag of weights. He was broken soul among thousands of similar folks, people we all come across day in and day out. Recently, I was strolling Main Street in downtown Waynesville during their Labor Day weekend “Block Party.” My friend Louie approached me.

“Jack died yesterday, had a heart attack. Dead as a doornail, so I just thought you should know,” he said before disappearing back into the crowd as fast as he appeared.

I’ll never forget “Papa” Jack, and I hope, through this poem, that you won’t either…

“For ‘Papa’ Jack”

He moved like a man carrying two full suitcases

Swaying back and forth, laboring up the stairwell

Back to his sweaty bed and coffee-stained carpet

Sheets unwashed due to a lack of quarters

And lack of energy to make the two-block walk

And sit there at the coin laundry with faces

As ragged, distraught and demoralized

As what he saw every morning in the mirror

Tattoos on his chest of soldiers fallen

And remembered by those, and him

Who was bittersweet about being lucky enough

To not come home in a wooden box

Tattoos on his chest in faded black ink

Covering his heart and lungs

Like marks of past transgressions

And burnt from infinite cigarettes

In shaky hands and lonely lips

Two polished, large sapphire pools

Tucked behind wrinkled flesh

Permanent lines and creases

From rare laughter in a rowdy bar

From often sorrow in an empty room

Another night on sweaty sheets

Another night of fear

From twilight visions he cannot escape

Grab for the bottle

The pill

The smoke

And blur the madness

Head upon his pillow

Eyes upward and out the window

Branches sway in southern winds

One day he won’t wake up alone

A day he’ll never witness from his empty room

For he’ll already be in that wooden box

As tattooed skin, wrinkles and creases

And a broken heart

Will dissolve where only bone remains

The common denominator of a man

Forgotten by the land he was birthed from

Hot picks

1: The inaugural Shining Rock Riverfest will be Sept. 14 at Camp Hope in Cruso.

2: Poet Karen Kay Knauss will discuss her new work The Thorny Truth and Their Civil War on Sept. 14 in Waynesville.

3: The Pickin’ On The Square summer concert series continues with Earl Cowart and the Heart of the South on Sept. 14 in Franklin.

4: Seven Clans Rodeo runs from Sept. 13-15 in Cherokee.

5: The Macon Aero Modelers BBQ will be Sept. 21-22 in Otto.

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Executive and Professional Development

Budgeting Essentials

If accounting isn’t your background, it can be frustrating when tasked with reviewing transactions or trying to understand how transactions are recorded. This two-day seminar will simplify budgeting, accounting, and allow you to focus on keeping track of your finances. Starting with basic journal entries, you will learn how each entry builds to create the final financial statements. Learn about the key steps in budget preparation including month-end accruals and adjustments. This course is taught in an entertaining and easy-to-understand format that will leave you with sound knowledge about the essentials of budgeting.

Budgeting Essentials is an elective seminar for the Certificate in Skills for New Managers.

REQUIREMENT:  Please bring a calculator to class.

DATES - 2 Day Seminar

February 14 - 15, 2018
June 5 - 6, 2018

Facilitator: Debi Peverill, BComm, CA
Location: Saint Mary’s at the World Trade Centre, 8th Floor, 1800 Argyle Street

Program Content

BudgetingEssentialsImage1Accounting Definitions

  • Become familiar with accounting terms and phrases used by experts
  • Gain an understanding of the main statement categories such as assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses

Budgeting Essentials

  • Understand books of original entry – the source of all bookkeeping entries
  • Understand the building blocks of financial statements
  • Gain hands-on experience recording entries

Interactive Case Studies

  • Participate in hands-on, problem-solving exercises designed to help you understand the basics of accounting
  • Prepare budgets for a sample company; compute all calculations for sales, depreciation, interest, prepaid expenses, and month-end accruals

What You Will Learn

  • Basic accounting terminology
  • How to record entries
  • Month-end adjustments
  • Debits and credits
  • Acceptable accounting methods
  • Budget categories and their contents
  • Important factors used in budgeting
  • Key concepts and steps to follow when preparing a budget

Who Should Attend?

You will benefit from this seminar if you:

  • Are a new manager
  • Work in business and need an overall understanding of accounting and budgeting
  • Are a small business owner/office manager
  • Have a budget you must work from or need to improve your knowledge of budgeting as part of your job
  • Want a better understanding of budgeting terminology


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Athletics & Recreation

Rev. Al Brown, Jr.

Inducted in 2011
Category: Athlete - Basketball

Among the thousands of athletes who have passed through the hallowed halls of our esteemed university over these many years, few raised the standards of skills, character and leadership to a particular program more than Alfred E. Brown, Jr. From 1966 to 1970, the young man recruited by then Huskies varsity basketball coach Les Goodwin out of a New Jersey high school compiled career achievements that continue to withstand the tests of time. At the time of his graduation (Class of 1970), Al Brown was the leading rebounder in AUBC history (15.6 RPG in conference in '68) and over the past 38 years, his rebounding record has only been eclipsed once.

On his way to setting the University record of 1,237, Al set a single game record of 24 rebounds in the CIAU tournament of 1968 that still stands. In the same tournament he captured 19 rebounds in a game against Waterloo Lutheran and finished the '68 season by averaging 16.4 rebounds per game and became the first SMU player to make the CIAU All-Tournament team. During his four seasons, the Huskies conference record of 41-14 is a reflection of the impact Al Brown brought to the program and set the stage for the national championship teams that emerged in the following years. But beyond the statistical evidence that raised his personal performance to another level is the story of a natural leader whose commitment to excellence and personal deportment set the example for teammates to respect and many to follow. His late coach Goodwin probably summed it up best in a letter to Brown after graduation when the athlete chose a career in the Christian ministry. "You are a great competitor and a pleasure to coach. The way you helped other players and kept the team together was tremendous. You were a loyal friend, a clean living young man and I am glad you have chosen to serve Him". It was signed, "The Old Goat". Off campus, Al and teammate Billy Thomas voluntarily conducted a basketball camp for kids on Saturday mornings in Cherry Brook and also served on the 1969 Canada Summer Games Lacrosse Committee.

After graduation, Al received a Master of Divinity degree from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He served for over 30 years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Cranford, N.J. During this tenure, he has also served two terms as president of the Cranford Clergy Council and since 1992 he has served on the Union County Human Relations Commission. Al was awarded the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. award for 2006 by the Cranford Clergy Council and Interfaith Human Relations Committee for his contribution to the cause of Human and Civil Rights in the community. Beginning in 1973, Al Brown has worked at Kean University, Union, N.J. as Assistant and Associate Director of Student Financial Aid and is at present Assistant to the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts.

As Al Brown takes his rightful place among the great Huskies enshrined in the Hall of Fame, the last word on this inductee surely belongs to the late Saint Mary's Athletic Director Emeritus Bob Hayes in a letter to the departing athlete in 1970. "In my mind's eye, I can easily conjure a vision of your grace and strength on the basketball court. Both on and off the playing field you had exceptional qualities. You epitomize what coaches all hope their student-athletes would be. You were one of the outstanding athletes in the 1960's in this country.

Portrait Artist: Barb Dorey
Portrait Art Photographer: Joe Chrvala

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