Subj:
Crosswalk - Religion Today Feature: Judge Orders Bible Removed From Monument at Texas Courthouse, August 12, 2004
Date:
8/12/2004 1:23:55 PM Eastern Standard TimeFrom: Religion_Today_Feature_Story@lists.crosswalk.com (Crosswalk)
Today Feature Story a close-up look at the people, issues and events making newshttp://link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.8.25305.1.1168306Judge Orders Bible Removed From Monument at Texas CourthouseRandy HallEditor(CNSNews.com) - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Bible must be takenout of a monument outside a courthouse in Houston, Texas, within 10 daysbecause the display violates the constitutional separation of church andstate.U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ordered that Harris County officials mustremove a King James Version Bible from a lighted glass display case in afour-foot-high stone monument outside the civil courts building, as wellas pay $41,000 in court costs and attorney fees.In his ruling, Lake stated that the county should exercise religiousneutrality and "not be seen as endorsing Christianity.
My Question is why haven't these same Judges ordered the Supreme Court to take the sculpture of Moses holding the Ten Comandments off of there building and Congress to stop starting every session with prayer and the Supreme court from opening with prayer and other various exhibitions of Christianity, HUH?
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Sunday, August 08, 2004
The Anti-christ
Will not be a Catholic.
He will be a Jew, a tracable member of the Levite Tribe, and of the House of King David.
Why you might ask. Because the Jews will not suffer anyone else to stand between the pillars of the temple.
So any talk left of saying that the Catholic church will be the house of the Anti Christ is a waste of time, speculative and simply will not be. The Catholics inspite of the thier terrible history and in my opinion having some incredibly wrong ways of doing things are still Christians endevoring to abide in the vine of Jesus Christ. Not my place to figure out what God had in mind concerning them but is my place to tell them how to better themselves as I find it in the scripture.
He will be a Jew, a tracable member of the Levite Tribe, and of the House of King David.
Why you might ask. Because the Jews will not suffer anyone else to stand between the pillars of the temple.
So any talk left of saying that the Catholic church will be the house of the Anti Christ is a waste of time, speculative and simply will not be. The Catholics inspite of the thier terrible history and in my opinion having some incredibly wrong ways of doing things are still Christians endevoring to abide in the vine of Jesus Christ. Not my place to figure out what God had in mind concerning them but is my place to tell them how to better themselves as I find it in the scripture.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
No Gay Marriage
From AFR
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Pro-Family Leaders Hail Missouri Marriage Amendment's Passage
By Jenni ParkerAugust 5, 2004
(AgapePress) - Marriage defenders are commending pro-family Missourians who voted more than two-to-one on August 3 in favor of a state constitutional amendment to protect the sacred institution of marriage, defining it as the union of one man and one woman. The big win in Missouri is part of a trend and offers further proof that an overwhelming majority of Americans favors the biblical view of marriage.
Gary Bauer
Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families called the vote "a crushing defeat to the same-sex 'marriage' crowd." He notes that voter turnout was extremely high for an August election, which proves that the win was "no fluke," despite the fact that the same-sex marriage proponents had hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on promoting their agenda, while the traditional marriage crowd had only "a shoestring budget."
The conservative spokesman also called attention to the fact that, just this week, Ohio and North Dakota appear to have collected enough signatures to put this issue on the ballot in those states. "That means that in November, as many as a dozen states will vote up or down on same-sex 'marriage,' Bauer stated, adding, "I believe we will be out-spent and out-advertised in every one of those states and nonetheless, we will win!"
Bauer feels the Missouri vote showed, once again, what he and other pro-family leaders have been contending for some time: "The American people don't want same-sex 'marriage' -- period," he says.
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, agrees. He also issued a response to Missouri's passage of the constitutional marriage amendment, noting that the citizens' nearly 71 percent support for the measure made the will of the people crystal clear. In that statement, he commented, "The lopsided results of this election prove, once again, the mind of everyday Americans on the crucial issue of how marriage should be defined for future generations."
The pro-family ministry spokesman noted how politicians and the media often portray the U.S. as a nation closely divided, "split right down the middle" on several hot-button social issues. Yet, he pointed out, "nearly three-fourths of Missourians say they want marriage to continue to mean what it's meant for thousands of years."
Is Missouri a Sign of Things to Come?Dobson observes that every time the people have been asked this question -- every time a state constitutional marriage amendment has been put on the ballot for the people to vote on -- their answer has been the same. And his assertion is statistically verifiable: in fact, each of the states that has enacted a constitutional marriage amendment had its citizens decisively supporting the measure by nearly the same margins.
In 1998, the people of Hawaii voted 69.2% to 28.6% in favor of an amendment that reserved the right of the legislature, not the judiciary, to define marriage. That same year, Alaska's citizens voted 68.11% to 31.89% to enact a constitutional amendment defining marriage. And in 2000, Nebraska's citizens voted in such an amendment, 70.1% to 29.9%. Nevada followed in 2002, supporting the constitutional amendment 67.1% to 32.7%; and, of course, Missouri has now joined this trend, voting 70.7% to 29.3% in favor of the Missouri Marriage Amendment.
Focus on the Family Action's founder considers it particularly significant that Missouri is the first state to constitutionally protect marriage since the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision last year that legalized same-sex marriage in that state. He notes that Missouri has been nicknamed "the bellwether state," for its seeming political prescience (having failed only once in the last century to vote for the winner in the presidential race) and hopes that, perhaps, America's bellwether is forecasting a fair wind in the fight to defend marriage.
As many as a dozen other states will be considering constitutional marriage amendments between now and November. Among them are Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Montana, and Oregon. At press time, Ohio was on the brink of becoming the 13th state that could vote on the issue this fall.
Dobson says his group firmly believes the August 3 vote in Missouri was "just the start of a coast-to-coast movement of the people, who are fed up with judicial tyrants arrogantly making law from the bench." And the pro-family leader says when the ballots in the other states are counted, "we are confident Missouri will again prove itself to be a bellwether."
Political ImplicationsGary Bauer believes the same-sex marriage issue, by itself, could decide the November presidential election in George Bush's favor. However, the conservative pundit says Bush's team must understand how vulnerable John Kerry is in this area and must have the confidence to take him on directly.
Bauer points out that Kerry has repeatedly taken what the conservative describes as a "two-faced position," claiming to be in favor of defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but voting against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and opposing the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which the Democrat candidate says would put "hate into our Constitution."
The issue is sure to come up during the presidential debates, and Bauer predicts Kerry will try to convince voters that he and Bush agree on the definition of marriage but not on the appropriateness of amending the Constitution of the United States." If George W. Bush is to prevail," Bauer says, he has to be bold and work to "show the stark differences between [himself] and Kerry."
» Please support our sponsors «
Pro-Family Leaders Hail Missouri Marriage Amendment's Passage
By Jenni ParkerAugust 5, 2004
(AgapePress) - Marriage defenders are commending pro-family Missourians who voted more than two-to-one on August 3 in favor of a state constitutional amendment to protect the sacred institution of marriage, defining it as the union of one man and one woman. The big win in Missouri is part of a trend and offers further proof that an overwhelming majority of Americans favors the biblical view of marriage.
Gary Bauer
Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families called the vote "a crushing defeat to the same-sex 'marriage' crowd." He notes that voter turnout was extremely high for an August election, which proves that the win was "no fluke," despite the fact that the same-sex marriage proponents had hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on promoting their agenda, while the traditional marriage crowd had only "a shoestring budget."
The conservative spokesman also called attention to the fact that, just this week, Ohio and North Dakota appear to have collected enough signatures to put this issue on the ballot in those states. "That means that in November, as many as a dozen states will vote up or down on same-sex 'marriage,' Bauer stated, adding, "I believe we will be out-spent and out-advertised in every one of those states and nonetheless, we will win!"
Bauer feels the Missouri vote showed, once again, what he and other pro-family leaders have been contending for some time: "The American people don't want same-sex 'marriage' -- period," he says.
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, agrees. He also issued a response to Missouri's passage of the constitutional marriage amendment, noting that the citizens' nearly 71 percent support for the measure made the will of the people crystal clear. In that statement, he commented, "The lopsided results of this election prove, once again, the mind of everyday Americans on the crucial issue of how marriage should be defined for future generations."
The pro-family ministry spokesman noted how politicians and the media often portray the U.S. as a nation closely divided, "split right down the middle" on several hot-button social issues. Yet, he pointed out, "nearly three-fourths of Missourians say they want marriage to continue to mean what it's meant for thousands of years."
Is Missouri a Sign of Things to Come?Dobson observes that every time the people have been asked this question -- every time a state constitutional marriage amendment has been put on the ballot for the people to vote on -- their answer has been the same. And his assertion is statistically verifiable: in fact, each of the states that has enacted a constitutional marriage amendment had its citizens decisively supporting the measure by nearly the same margins.
In 1998, the people of Hawaii voted 69.2% to 28.6% in favor of an amendment that reserved the right of the legislature, not the judiciary, to define marriage. That same year, Alaska's citizens voted 68.11% to 31.89% to enact a constitutional amendment defining marriage. And in 2000, Nebraska's citizens voted in such an amendment, 70.1% to 29.9%. Nevada followed in 2002, supporting the constitutional amendment 67.1% to 32.7%; and, of course, Missouri has now joined this trend, voting 70.7% to 29.3% in favor of the Missouri Marriage Amendment.
Focus on the Family Action's founder considers it particularly significant that Missouri is the first state to constitutionally protect marriage since the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision last year that legalized same-sex marriage in that state. He notes that Missouri has been nicknamed "the bellwether state," for its seeming political prescience (having failed only once in the last century to vote for the winner in the presidential race) and hopes that, perhaps, America's bellwether is forecasting a fair wind in the fight to defend marriage.
As many as a dozen other states will be considering constitutional marriage amendments between now and November. Among them are Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Montana, and Oregon. At press time, Ohio was on the brink of becoming the 13th state that could vote on the issue this fall.
Dobson says his group firmly believes the August 3 vote in Missouri was "just the start of a coast-to-coast movement of the people, who are fed up with judicial tyrants arrogantly making law from the bench." And the pro-family leader says when the ballots in the other states are counted, "we are confident Missouri will again prove itself to be a bellwether."
Political ImplicationsGary Bauer believes the same-sex marriage issue, by itself, could decide the November presidential election in George Bush's favor. However, the conservative pundit says Bush's team must understand how vulnerable John Kerry is in this area and must have the confidence to take him on directly.
Bauer points out that Kerry has repeatedly taken what the conservative describes as a "two-faced position," claiming to be in favor of defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but voting against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and opposing the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which the Democrat candidate says would put "hate into our Constitution."
The issue is sure to come up during the presidential debates, and Bauer predicts Kerry will try to convince voters that he and Bush agree on the definition of marriage but not on the appropriateness of amending the Constitution of the United States." If George W. Bush is to prevail," Bauer says, he has to be bold and work to "show the stark differences between [himself] and Kerry."
Friday, July 30, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
The Boo Hoo's
Just because we get the waa's a little does't mean we need counseling or chemicals to feel better. Here is a little survey from wmconnect about it.
Uh Oh. Americans Do This 3 Days a Month The average American is "sad, blue, or depressed" about three days a month, according to a survey of 166,000 adults in 38 states conducted between 1995 and 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., reports HealthDayNews. Not surprisingly, the more days each month that a person feels sad, the more likely he or she takes risks, including cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and not wearing seat belts.
This is the first study ever to examine this type of sadness, which is more along the lines of a bad mood and not a diagnosable mental disorder. Women reported feeling blue 3.5 days a month, compared to men's 2.4 down days. Young adults felt the worst, with 18- and 19-year-olds saying they were sad an average of 3.6 days a month. Some are so depressed they are unable to work or go to school. Meanwhile, college graduates and those who reported an annual household income over $50,000 reported fewer episodes of depression.
Why are we so sad? The CDC blames it on lifestyle. "Feeling sad, blue, or depressed three days a month as a result of a stressful life situation is perfectly normal," lead researcher Rosemarie Kobau, a CDC public health analyst, told HealthDayNews. People who regularly exercise and do not smoke reported feeling blue fewer days each month. If you or someone you love feels sad or depressed for more than two weeks a month or loses interest in things that were once enjoyed, it's a sign of a bigger problem for which medical assistance should be sought.
And to this article I ask What did they do 50 or 100 years ago? They lived with it and got over it.
Uh Oh. Americans Do This 3 Days a Month The average American is "sad, blue, or depressed" about three days a month, according to a survey of 166,000 adults in 38 states conducted between 1995 and 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., reports HealthDayNews. Not surprisingly, the more days each month that a person feels sad, the more likely he or she takes risks, including cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and not wearing seat belts.
This is the first study ever to examine this type of sadness, which is more along the lines of a bad mood and not a diagnosable mental disorder. Women reported feeling blue 3.5 days a month, compared to men's 2.4 down days. Young adults felt the worst, with 18- and 19-year-olds saying they were sad an average of 3.6 days a month. Some are so depressed they are unable to work or go to school. Meanwhile, college graduates and those who reported an annual household income over $50,000 reported fewer episodes of depression.
Why are we so sad? The CDC blames it on lifestyle. "Feeling sad, blue, or depressed three days a month as a result of a stressful life situation is perfectly normal," lead researcher Rosemarie Kobau, a CDC public health analyst, told HealthDayNews. People who regularly exercise and do not smoke reported feeling blue fewer days each month. If you or someone you love feels sad or depressed for more than two weeks a month or loses interest in things that were once enjoyed, it's a sign of a bigger problem for which medical assistance should be sought.
And to this article I ask What did they do 50 or 100 years ago? They lived with it and got over it.
Astounding Benefit of Believing in Hell
Countries whose citizens believe in hell are not only less corrupt, but also more prosperous. That's the word from economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, who were trying to figure out why some nations are so much richer than others. In addition to looking at productivity and investment factors, they examined some unconventional ideas to explain differences in national prosperity, reports Reuters. It turned out that belief in hell was very telling.
Drawing on the research from several outside economists, the St. Louis Fed studied 35 countries, including the United States, European nations, Japan, India, and Turkey and realized that religion was a powerful economic force. "In countries where large percentages of the population believe in hell, there seems to be less corruption and a higher standard of living," the St. Louis Fed wrote in its July quarterly review. In the United States, 71 percent of the population believes in hell. Perhaps it's no coincidence that it also has the world's highest per capita income. Don't believe it? Look at Ireland. As Reuters says, the Irish have a healthy fear of a nether world with 53 percent of the population acknowledging hell's existence, and the country is not far behind the United States in terms of income.
from wmconnect
Monday, July 26, 2004
It is my life
You cannot live my life, I must. You cannot see through my eyes, I must, and you cannot walk in my shoes, I must. You cannot experience the things I do ; I must, and you all cannot be me; I must be me, in fact there will never be anyone else like me-ever. I would appreciate if if ya'll would stop trying to; it is seriously annoying. Or would you rather I cussed you out like I normally do.
I cannot live your life, you must. I cannot see through your eyes, you must. I cannot walk in your shoes, you must. I cannot experience the things you experience, you must. I cannot be you, you must be you. In fact there will never be anyone else like you-ever. would appreciate it if you would stop trying to make me like you, it is seriously annoying, or would you rather I just cussed you out like I normally do.
Or would you rather I just cussed you out like I normally do. HUH?
I cannot live your life, you must. I cannot see through your eyes, you must. I cannot walk in your shoes, you must. I cannot experience the things you experience, you must. I cannot be you, you must be you. In fact there will never be anyone else like you-ever. would appreciate it if you would stop trying to make me like you, it is seriously annoying, or would you rather I just cussed you out like I normally do.
Or would you rather I just cussed you out like I normally do. HUH?
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Rebellion
When we accept Jesus as our Savior we are in essence commiting an act of rebellion from our old world sin self and of course our old sin self doesn't like it and fights back. In some the old self wins but never the less Jesus says we are never lost to him because in that day he will claim us as purchased by his labor of love and sacrificed himself to do so. I say we were payed for with blood.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Once we were the slaves of uncleaness but rebelled to follow the path of right-eousness. I hyphinate that word to emphasize the word right in righteousness. For the world is unright we now dwell in right-ness and should not succumb to un-rightness. Fortunately for God's Grace we can repent that is to change our minds into the direction of rightness and must do so most daily.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Woa Awsome
More on Budget, Taxes, and the Economy
A Minimum-Wage Hike Wouldn’t Add Up
Book review: P.J. O'Rourke's "Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics"
Economics balks at the benefits of a Virginia major-league team
[More]
Today's Opinion
Top Ten as rated by you
Saturday
Neil CavutoFor the life of me ... what about life?Robert NovakBerger bluesJay BryantNot With a Bang, But a WhimperEdwin J. FeulnerDangerous DelayRich TuckerYou Can’t be SeriousMark AlexanderDefending, protecting and extending the peaceJonah GoldbergBerger's revealing footnotesJohn McCaslinClinton coup
Today's American Minute
[ More Opinion]
A Capital Idea from Microsoft
by Larry Kudlow (archive)
July 23, 2004 Print Send
The stunning Microsoft decision to return more than $75 billion in cash to shareholders over the next four years is a smashing endorsement of the importance of President Bush’s pro-growth tax cuts. It is also a tremendous boon to investors, who will recycle this windfall into thousands of businesses both large and small -- a process that will significantly increase new jobs and grow the economy.
The Redmond, Washington-based software maker intends to pay a special $3 dividend for every investor share, for a total of $32 billion. Additionally, Microsoft will double its annual dividend and buy as much as $30 billion of its own stock over the next four years. If this new policy raises the Microsoft share price -- as is likely -- then the total package could be worth over $100 billion to shareholders.
Ironically, Microsoft’s corporate decision, induced by supply-side tax cuts, will also provide a huge Keynesian injection of fiscal stimulus to the economy, one that will more than offset the temporary effects of higher energy costs on consumer purchasing power. Even better, this sea-change policy will ripple through corporate America, forcing public companies to take similar actions.
When President Bush launched his initiative to equalize the tax rate on capital gains and investor dividends at 15 percent, there was a derisive outcry. Mainstream thinkers claimed the plan would only benefit the rich and have no impact on economic growth or jobs. Now that the economy -- led by business investment -- is growing at the fastest pace in two decades, the liberal establishment may wish to rethink its position.
Basically, the Bush plan significantly reduces Uncle Sam’s tax bite on profits and investment capital, leaving more in private hands for channeling into job-creating businesses. Remember, both dividends and capital gains are taxed at the corporate level, the individual level, and as capital gains. While this triple taxation of capital was not eliminated, the tax penalty was substantially lowered. As the capital-gains levy was cut from 20 percent to 15 percent on the marginal dollar, the dividend rate was reduced at the top income level from 40 percent to 15 percent. Meanwhile, personal income-tax rates were reduced across the board.
The charge that this policy would only benefit the rich is patently false. A recent Zogby poll shows that a substantial 59 percent majority of investors has a portfolio valued at less than $100,000. In addition, 28 percent of investors earn a modest $50,000 to $75,000 a year; another 19 percent earn $35,000 to $50,000; and 7 percent earn less than $35,000. According to Zogby, “The majority of investors earn less than $75,000. . . . This helps explain why old-fashioned [class-warfare] populism does not work in political campaigns nationwide.”
Steady dividend flows over time reduce equity risk and add enormous investor protection for retirement and other purposes. So what we’re seeing now is a return to the old-time religion of investing for both dividends and capital-gains returns.
According to the American Shareholders Association, investor wealth has increased $2.2 trillion, or 25 percent, since May 20, 2003, the start date of the Bush policy. So far this year, 161 of the S&P 500 companies have raised or initiated dividends. According to Standard & Poor’s, year-to-date dividend-paying issues in the S&P 500 index are averaging a 4.8 percent gain while non-dividend payers are down 3.5 percent.
Professor Jeremy Siegel of the University of Pennsylvania calculates that stock market returns including dividends have produced a 7 percent annual increase (adjusted for inflation) over long periods of time. But dividends fell behind in the last two decades because capital gains were taxed at a lower rate. Now, however, with a sharp reduction of the double-tax on dividends, dividend issuance is more efficient, with corporate payout policies more often based on the economics of a decision than just the tax consequence. Stock buybacks now have equal footing with dividend issuance. At lower tax rates, CEOs also have an incentive to pay out more cash to shareholders, rather than build internal empires or make unwise investment decisions.
In effect, the new law democratizes corporate governance. It puts real financial power into the hands of the shareholder constituency and removes it from the corpocratic front office.
Bush critics -- especially Kerry and Edwards, who wish to overturn the Bush policy -- fail to understand that reducing the double and triple taxation of investment capital is a business-funder, job-creator, and economic-grower. Simply put, capital is the best friend of both businesses and workers.
Bush’s policies make more capital available by reducing its after-tax cost and raising its post-tax investment return. When it is more profitable after-tax to invest, the mighty investor class will do so. And by supplying ever more capital to business and the economy, 90 million investors will expand America’s virtually unlimited potential to grow, create jobs, and prosper.
A Minimum-Wage Hike Wouldn’t Add Up
Book review: P.J. O'Rourke's "Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics"
Economics balks at the benefits of a Virginia major-league team
[More]
Today's Opinion
Top Ten as rated by you
Saturday
Neil CavutoFor the life of me ... what about life?Robert NovakBerger bluesJay BryantNot With a Bang, But a WhimperEdwin J. FeulnerDangerous DelayRich TuckerYou Can’t be SeriousMark AlexanderDefending, protecting and extending the peaceJonah GoldbergBerger's revealing footnotesJohn McCaslinClinton coup
Today's American Minute
[ More Opinion]
A Capital Idea from Microsoft
by Larry Kudlow (archive)
July 23, 2004 Print Send
The stunning Microsoft decision to return more than $75 billion in cash to shareholders over the next four years is a smashing endorsement of the importance of President Bush’s pro-growth tax cuts. It is also a tremendous boon to investors, who will recycle this windfall into thousands of businesses both large and small -- a process that will significantly increase new jobs and grow the economy.
The Redmond, Washington-based software maker intends to pay a special $3 dividend for every investor share, for a total of $32 billion. Additionally, Microsoft will double its annual dividend and buy as much as $30 billion of its own stock over the next four years. If this new policy raises the Microsoft share price -- as is likely -- then the total package could be worth over $100 billion to shareholders.
Ironically, Microsoft’s corporate decision, induced by supply-side tax cuts, will also provide a huge Keynesian injection of fiscal stimulus to the economy, one that will more than offset the temporary effects of higher energy costs on consumer purchasing power. Even better, this sea-change policy will ripple through corporate America, forcing public companies to take similar actions.
When President Bush launched his initiative to equalize the tax rate on capital gains and investor dividends at 15 percent, there was a derisive outcry. Mainstream thinkers claimed the plan would only benefit the rich and have no impact on economic growth or jobs. Now that the economy -- led by business investment -- is growing at the fastest pace in two decades, the liberal establishment may wish to rethink its position.
Basically, the Bush plan significantly reduces Uncle Sam’s tax bite on profits and investment capital, leaving more in private hands for channeling into job-creating businesses. Remember, both dividends and capital gains are taxed at the corporate level, the individual level, and as capital gains. While this triple taxation of capital was not eliminated, the tax penalty was substantially lowered. As the capital-gains levy was cut from 20 percent to 15 percent on the marginal dollar, the dividend rate was reduced at the top income level from 40 percent to 15 percent. Meanwhile, personal income-tax rates were reduced across the board.
The charge that this policy would only benefit the rich is patently false. A recent Zogby poll shows that a substantial 59 percent majority of investors has a portfolio valued at less than $100,000. In addition, 28 percent of investors earn a modest $50,000 to $75,000 a year; another 19 percent earn $35,000 to $50,000; and 7 percent earn less than $35,000. According to Zogby, “The majority of investors earn less than $75,000. . . . This helps explain why old-fashioned [class-warfare] populism does not work in political campaigns nationwide.”
Steady dividend flows over time reduce equity risk and add enormous investor protection for retirement and other purposes. So what we’re seeing now is a return to the old-time religion of investing for both dividends and capital-gains returns.
According to the American Shareholders Association, investor wealth has increased $2.2 trillion, or 25 percent, since May 20, 2003, the start date of the Bush policy. So far this year, 161 of the S&P 500 companies have raised or initiated dividends. According to Standard & Poor’s, year-to-date dividend-paying issues in the S&P 500 index are averaging a 4.8 percent gain while non-dividend payers are down 3.5 percent.
Professor Jeremy Siegel of the University of Pennsylvania calculates that stock market returns including dividends have produced a 7 percent annual increase (adjusted for inflation) over long periods of time. But dividends fell behind in the last two decades because capital gains were taxed at a lower rate. Now, however, with a sharp reduction of the double-tax on dividends, dividend issuance is more efficient, with corporate payout policies more often based on the economics of a decision than just the tax consequence. Stock buybacks now have equal footing with dividend issuance. At lower tax rates, CEOs also have an incentive to pay out more cash to shareholders, rather than build internal empires or make unwise investment decisions.
In effect, the new law democratizes corporate governance. It puts real financial power into the hands of the shareholder constituency and removes it from the corpocratic front office.
Bush critics -- especially Kerry and Edwards, who wish to overturn the Bush policy -- fail to understand that reducing the double and triple taxation of investment capital is a business-funder, job-creator, and economic-grower. Simply put, capital is the best friend of both businesses and workers.
Bush’s policies make more capital available by reducing its after-tax cost and raising its post-tax investment return. When it is more profitable after-tax to invest, the mighty investor class will do so. And by supplying ever more capital to business and the economy, 90 million investors will expand America’s virtually unlimited potential to grow, create jobs, and prosper.
Old wisdom misses the mark
I have heard some say that you should take care of the details and the big stuff will take care of it self. I have also heard that you should take care of the big stuff and the little stuff will take care of itself.
I say you have to know when to take care of the big stuff and when to take care of the little stuff and then the picture will begin to develope.
Breaking them
Mar 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into an old bag: else the new wine doth burst the bag, and the wine is spilled, and the bag will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bags.
As you can see this verse is about old bags and what they think they know and believe. It seems that once old people get set in thier ways they gotta die with what they believe lest they get messed up in the head about what the truth really is. Blessed is the old one who still has a supple enough of a mind to know the truth when they hear it and thank God for learning it.
As you can see this verse is about old bags and what they think they know and believe. It seems that once old people get set in thier ways they gotta die with what they believe lest they get messed up in the head about what the truth really is. Blessed is the old one who still has a supple enough of a mind to know the truth when they hear it and thank God for learning it.
Distressing Side Effect of Many Diets
Uh oh. New research shows many people gain more weight than they lose when they go on a diet. Why? Blame it on yo-yo dieting and food cravings gone bad. The British Dietetic Association commissioned a survey of 4,000 people to determine the success of the average dieter.
Here are the surprising results, reported by the BBC News Online:--20 percent dieted for up to a month at a time, while 10 percent lasted a full eight weeks.--25 percent said they got bored with dieting and gave up.--Nearly 50 percent said they found dieting too hard and gave in to food cravings and temptation.--Only 20 percent ever reached their target weight.--33 percent said they ended up heavier than their original weight just weeks after their diet ended.--36 percent returned to their original weight. --20 percent of those who gained weight soon after the diet ended, admitted to gaining more than 14 pounds.--66 percent put all the weight back on that they had lost on the diet with nearly half of those taking just a month to pile on the pounds.--Women were less successful in their dieting than men. Nearly 40 percent of women ended up being heavier than when they had started dieting, compared with 20 percent of men.--Most of the men and women said they were unhappy with their weight."This really confirms what we have been saying all along. All these fad diets don't work," dietician Amanda Wynne told the BBC News Online. "They are very temporary solutions to weight loss. People are putting the weight back on afterwards.
" What can you do to successfully lose weight? Wynne advises people to make small, achievable changes to their diet, such as less fat, smaller portion sizes, eating more fruits and vegetables, and exercising more.
from wmconnect
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I want to add my thoughts in support of the very last statement that also you must let yourselves be a little hungry for a time each day and that should allow your stomach to shrink a little. I also eat less per meal and eat more times during the day creating a very stable weight for myself. I also believe that pushing yourself to a training heart rate for as little as 5 mimutes a week will keep your body metabolism up. Mainly people need to realize we eat to survive. A little self hypnosis will help in that department. Meditatiing which I of course recommend the Bible. Doing stuff that keeps your mind off of food. When you get those hunger pangs find the high in them. Think about God in the pain. Ride the wave. It is amazing what God may reveal to in those moments. People think I have a high tolerance for pain but I do everything I can to avoid injury yet when I get injured or ill I find that wave that is there and float in it. Sounds Zen I guess but that is where I go. I don't cut the pain off necessarily because it is always there but I ride it not fight it. I don't need no drugs I got God in the spirit. Makes a big difference.
Here are the surprising results, reported by the BBC News Online:--20 percent dieted for up to a month at a time, while 10 percent lasted a full eight weeks.--25 percent said they got bored with dieting and gave up.--Nearly 50 percent said they found dieting too hard and gave in to food cravings and temptation.--Only 20 percent ever reached their target weight.--33 percent said they ended up heavier than their original weight just weeks after their diet ended.--36 percent returned to their original weight. --20 percent of those who gained weight soon after the diet ended, admitted to gaining more than 14 pounds.--66 percent put all the weight back on that they had lost on the diet with nearly half of those taking just a month to pile on the pounds.--Women were less successful in their dieting than men. Nearly 40 percent of women ended up being heavier than when they had started dieting, compared with 20 percent of men.--Most of the men and women said they were unhappy with their weight."This really confirms what we have been saying all along. All these fad diets don't work," dietician Amanda Wynne told the BBC News Online. "They are very temporary solutions to weight loss. People are putting the weight back on afterwards.
" What can you do to successfully lose weight? Wynne advises people to make small, achievable changes to their diet, such as less fat, smaller portion sizes, eating more fruits and vegetables, and exercising more.
from wmconnect
________________________________________________________________________
I want to add my thoughts in support of the very last statement that also you must let yourselves be a little hungry for a time each day and that should allow your stomach to shrink a little. I also eat less per meal and eat more times during the day creating a very stable weight for myself. I also believe that pushing yourself to a training heart rate for as little as 5 mimutes a week will keep your body metabolism up. Mainly people need to realize we eat to survive. A little self hypnosis will help in that department. Meditatiing which I of course recommend the Bible. Doing stuff that keeps your mind off of food. When you get those hunger pangs find the high in them. Think about God in the pain. Ride the wave. It is amazing what God may reveal to in those moments. People think I have a high tolerance for pain but I do everything I can to avoid injury yet when I get injured or ill I find that wave that is there and float in it. Sounds Zen I guess but that is where I go. I don't cut the pain off necessarily because it is always there but I ride it not fight it. I don't need no drugs I got God in the spirit. Makes a big difference.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Another group of people Kerry tried to associate himself gives him the...
[Open letter to veterans signed by twenty-one Medal of Honor recipients]
Dear fellow veterans:
We have listened to Senator Kerry falsely attack President Bush for months over funding for veterans, and it's time to set the record straight. The truth is President Bush has led the way on improving veterans' benefits, supporting our troops and restoring honor and dignity to the White House.
Since 2001, President Bush has increased veterans funding by over $20 billion, and funding for veterans' health care has increased by 40 percent since he took office. Funding for veterans has gone up twice as fast under President Bush as it did under President Clinton, and those who accuse the President of cutting funding are simply not being honest with veterans.
Meanwhile, John Kerry voted against a $1.3 billion increase in veterans health care, skipped votes on concurrent receipt and voted against funding for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. And while he talks a good game, Kerry's record shows he is out of the mainstream. The American Flag symbolizes our ideals, our history and our values. President Bush shares this belief and supports a Constitutional Amendment banning desecration of the Flag. John Kerry believes this is "an attack on free speech."
We are disturbed that John Kerry would try to scare veterans with his false accusations, and we are disappointed in his lack of support for today's troops. Please join us in setting the record straight and showing your support for President Bush -- a leader who has proven his support for those who have served, backs our troops defending our nation and shares our values.
Sincerely,
*The signatures on this letter of Medal of Honor recipients does not denote the support or endorsement of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Zacchaeus
I am wondering why Paul would tell us to judge but that we are not worthy to judge yet Jesus tells us to judge not lest we be judged and in the old testament it says that God loves good judgement yet we live in a world where we must make judgemental descisions, sometimes every day. For a man to go through his whole life without running into troubles that require some kind of moral descision that goes against another appears to be a curse on men.
1Co 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 1Co 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 1Co 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between, his brethren? 1Co 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 1Co 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law, one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 1Co 6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Any way on to the title of this entry. Zacchaeus a man most despised of men yet God loved him anyway and desired him to be in his eternal court. This comes to my attention from the preache's son in a sermon from last Sunday. I am just finally now getting around to making comments on the matter.
Luk 19:1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.Luk 19:2 And, behold, there was a man named, Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.Luk 19:3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. Luk 19:4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. Luk 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.Luk 19:6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.Luk 19:7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
During this dinner Zaccaeus true heart came out because God had seen fit to visit him and what he truly desired was the recognition from God. I have no doubt that he had desired this all his life and God made it so. Also note that no man can come to this place without God putting it in his heart and keeping it there.
Zaccheus was so overjoyed that he repented and deamed to make all things whatsoever he could right.
1Co 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 1Co 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 1Co 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between, his brethren? 1Co 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 1Co 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law, one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 1Co 6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Any way on to the title of this entry. Zacchaeus a man most despised of men yet God loved him anyway and desired him to be in his eternal court. This comes to my attention from the preache's son in a sermon from last Sunday. I am just finally now getting around to making comments on the matter.
Luk 19:1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.Luk 19:2 And, behold, there was a man named, Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.Luk 19:3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. Luk 19:4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. Luk 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.Luk 19:6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.Luk 19:7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
During this dinner Zaccaeus true heart came out because God had seen fit to visit him and what he truly desired was the recognition from God. I have no doubt that he had desired this all his life and God made it so. Also note that no man can come to this place without God putting it in his heart and keeping it there.
Zaccheus was so overjoyed that he repented and deamed to make all things whatsoever he could right.
And now for your health
Eat This & You'll Keep Your Brain Sharp Older women who eat more cruciferous and green leafy vegetables--that would be broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce, and spinach--are more likely to keep their brains sharp as they age than women who don't eat these vegetables, Reuters reports of new research from Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. While the study did not include men, lead study author Jae Hee Kang says the results probably apply to them as well.
The study: More than 13,300 nurses participated in a long-running health study that included tracking their eating habits over a span of 10 years when they were in their 60s. When they reached their 70s, the women were given a bundle of tests measuring memory, verbal ability, and attention. The tests were administered twice, two years apart. They included remembering word lists after 15 minutes, naming as many animals as possible in one minute, and reciting a list of numbers backwards. Then the researchers compared the women's diets when they were in their 60s to their test results in their 70s, especially noting score declines in the two years between testing sessions. A pronounced drop in performance could signal the start of Alzheimer's disease. The results: Most of the women showed some decline, but those who had regularly eaten the most green leafy vegetables showed less decline than those who ate the least veggies. "It was almost like they were younger by one or two years in terms of their cognitive declining," Kang told Reuters.
The magic amount to eat? It appears to be eight servings a week. The study findings were reported to the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related D
From wmconnect
The study: More than 13,300 nurses participated in a long-running health study that included tracking their eating habits over a span of 10 years when they were in their 60s. When they reached their 70s, the women were given a bundle of tests measuring memory, verbal ability, and attention. The tests were administered twice, two years apart. They included remembering word lists after 15 minutes, naming as many animals as possible in one minute, and reciting a list of numbers backwards. Then the researchers compared the women's diets when they were in their 60s to their test results in their 70s, especially noting score declines in the two years between testing sessions. A pronounced drop in performance could signal the start of Alzheimer's disease. The results: Most of the women showed some decline, but those who had regularly eaten the most green leafy vegetables showed less decline than those who ate the least veggies. "It was almost like they were younger by one or two years in terms of their cognitive declining," Kang told Reuters.
The magic amount to eat? It appears to be eight servings a week. The study findings were reported to the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related D
From wmconnect
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Ah the good ol days of Highschool football
My Brother Al(Old Whig) brought something up I havent written about.
Go ahead, afflict! Afflict!Being a non-traditional student, I'm surrounded by really young people. It is very easy for me to be the old guy telling old stories. Depending on the specific individuals around me, I fight the urge in differing degrees. Dump punks get the full telling in the most rambling fashion. Attractive young women get ethe same stories but in a slightly more heroic form.Of course, my web site gets absolute gibberish.LiberyBob Homepage 07.19.04 - 12:53 pm #
Gotta be careful around those dump punks. Hey! I gotta check up on the poetry... uh... thing, at LibertyBob's.Old Whig Email Homepage 07.19.04 - 2:58 pm #
Ah yes. The good old days. Remember when I had you bring your gear home and we went out in the back yd and I......Hm. Well any way showed you what it felt like to put a lick on someone. Me no pads and you fully padded. I want you to know that those damn pads hurt. I was looking through my old year books and showing Karen a few things we had not gotten around to looking at and showed her the picture of the young Tim Larsen ( the guy who accidentally hit me just right and gave me whiplash). My teammates thought I was wild. I played on a broken ankle, broke my hand, had one stroke and got whiplash. Whooee I wanted to play bad. I would have had to die to have stopped playing. There was nothing like being out there thumpin and gettin thumped. And there was nothin like playing for a team that played as well as we did.ron Homepage 07.20.04 - 5:59 pm #
I remember watching our former q-back Bruce Mathison finally getting a start with the B-Bills and the announcer mentions that he was from Superior; Wisconsin, and that they play good football up there. Now thats some vicarious living. It still puts a smile on my face.Bruce won the game for the Bills that day. The one and only game they won that year.He scored on an option left from 3 yds. out.ron Homepage 07.20.04 - 6:04 pm #
As for watching you I could not see you in the cluster but I learned to watch the Left side backside linebacker. They always did a dissapearing act. I knew you were responsible for them. Its kinda funny when your watching a bunch of people flowing left and one of them goes boop! Gone.ron Homepage 07.20.04 - 6:08 pm #
I don't know if I was a star even thoug I got two defensive player of the game awards, and a player of the region award the previous year( for blocking a punt that sealed the game against St. Paul Benilde)but I know I saw plenty of stars. You know the kind that flash in front of your eyes as you momentarily blank out from a crusing hit. If I didn't see stars a couple of times a game it was a lame game.Well on and on I could go You know how it is.ron Homepage 07.20.04 - 6:13 pm #
Friday, July 16, 2004
Nya nya nya nya
I am running a spyware program and you wouldn't believe how much spyware has attached itself to my service. Holy cow. 77.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Another verse concerning who ain't
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Are not inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. If you ain't you got no say. Not that you don't try but for some strange reason the sayings fail. I wonder why?
btciuya.
Are not inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. If you ain't you got no say. Not that you don't try but for some strange reason the sayings fail. I wonder why?
btciuya.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Yeah-it looks like freedom is the problem.
So the slavers would think. This nation is larger than others are and we have been so used to going and doing what we want,( I am not proposing we be anything else)that a bullet train may very well be a novelty. But then again it would not be the first time that a novelty became a necessity here in the U.S.. I say build it and see if we don't learn something from it other than what getting bit is like, not that we don't know what that feels like.
Here is a thought. Airplanes don't pay taxes for thier medium of travel (air), just airport access, and truckers don,t pay road fees just gas taxes. Hmmm. main reason railroads don't make it are taxes. I see a need for underground railroads. Oh yeah, that has already been thought of. The government used to subsidize railroads by not taxing them for the land they owned to put the tracks on. Jessy James was born out of railroad excesses. Pay backs are always a .... you know. If the Gov. owned the tracks and private companies owned the trains and paid access fees trains might make it. But then again I am for keeping a couple of years worth of food around too.
This is a response that I gave to an article by Mr. Lance Burri from Barraboo Wisconsin, a place I have been a time or two. Nice little town.
Here is a thought. Airplanes don't pay taxes for thier medium of travel (air), just airport access, and truckers don,t pay road fees just gas taxes. Hmmm. main reason railroads don't make it are taxes. I see a need for underground railroads. Oh yeah, that has already been thought of. The government used to subsidize railroads by not taxing them for the land they owned to put the tracks on. Jessy James was born out of railroad excesses. Pay backs are always a .... you know. If the Gov. owned the tracks and private companies owned the trains and paid access fees trains might make it. But then again I am for keeping a couple of years worth of food around too.
This is a response that I gave to an article by Mr. Lance Burri from Barraboo Wisconsin, a place I have been a time or two. Nice little town.
Ronald Cody Erkkila
There that is so friends of mine can look me up and laugh and say yeah that's Erks.
I am taking a break
From cramming things up people's .....tu tu's so here is a couple of blogs on the more practical side.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Here is a blog about nothin
- The Campbell Soup Company uses more than 44 billion stars each year in its canned Chicken + Stars Soup. In three years, Campbell's produces more tiny pasta stars than there are in the Milky Way.
Lightning strikes the Earth 1,800 times at any moment.
The strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workmen. After several minutes, the older worker had had enough."Why don't you put your money where your mouth is," he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won't be able to wheel back.""You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see what you got."The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right. Get in."
A young minister, in the first days of his first parish, was obliged to call upon the widow of an eccentric man who had just died. Standing before the open casket and consoling the widow, he said, "I know this must be a very hard blow, Mrs. Vernon. But we must remember that what we see here is the husk only, the shell...the nut has gone to heaven."
From Keepahead.com
Lightning strikes the Earth 1,800 times at any moment.
The strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workmen. After several minutes, the older worker had had enough."Why don't you put your money where your mouth is," he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won't be able to wheel back.""You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see what you got."The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right. Get in."
A young minister, in the first days of his first parish, was obliged to call upon the widow of an eccentric man who had just died. Standing before the open casket and consoling the widow, he said, "I know this must be a very hard blow, Mrs. Vernon. But we must remember that what we see here is the husk only, the shell...the nut has gone to heaven."
From Keepahead.com
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