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BOWLING GREEN—An artist who traveled the United States in a Model T Ford during the Depression and painted watercolor scenes would have been proud on Sept. 26.
Dignitaries, elected officials and artists gathered for a ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Sidney E. King Arts Center along North Main Street in Bowling Green. Located in the south wing of the old courthouse, it features 13 of King's original paintings, along with the work of local artists.
King died at 95 in 2002 after spending much of his life in Caroline County. The paintings hanging in Bowling Green were commissioned by the National Park Service 30 years ago and were on display at battlefields around Fredericksburg. A 14th painting hangs in the Caroline County Visitor's Center in Carmel Church.
King painted nearly 200 historic murals in national parks across the eastern United States. He painted six days a week into his 90s, painting landscapes, people, animals, flowers, still lifes, religious and historical subjects. He taught art in Caroline County, Warsaw and Tappahannock.
Those who spoke at the dedication were Lucy Lawliss, superintendent of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park; Bowling Green Mayor David W. Storke; John W. Stoddard, a member of the Caroline Industrial Development Authority (IDA); Floyd W. Thomas, chairman of the Caroline County Board of Supervisors; and Jeff M. Sili, a member of the Board of Supervisors representing the Bowling Green District of the board.
Stoddard has been a preservation specialist at the National Military Park for 30 years and he worked with King on repair of the paintings when they were damaged by vandals.
"Over the years, I have repaired, polished, installed and moved these paintings," he told the crowd gathered on the courthouse lawn. "I have watched them weather hurricanes, major snow storms, falling trees, insect damage and vandalism."
Stoddard noted that getting to know King "was one of the great privileges and high points of working with the National Park Service. On numerous occasions I would have to remove one of the paintings due to vandalism or some other damage and take it to Sidney at his studio for repairs. While he was working on the repairs, we would sit and talk about this and that or take a walk down to his pond to drown a few worms in hopes of catching" a fish.
Eventually, the park service took down King's paintings at the battlefield sites to make way for new interpretive signs. "Every time I moved one of the paintings and put it in storage at Chatham Manor, I couldn't help but feel that we were all losing a bit of local lore, a bit of something special."
Stoddard contacted Gary Wilson, Caroline's director of economic development and tourism, and asked if Caroline had a place that would allow them "to bring these paintings home." Wilson called a few days later and said he had found "the perfect venue."
Stoddard noted that a stipulation of the park service's chief historian, John Hennessey, was that the paintings be "housed in a controlled environment that was secure and open to the public."
The IDA provided $5,000 for installation of a security system to meet requirements of the park service because the paintings are valued at $3,000 each. IDA provided another $1,800 for installation of the paintings.
The county partnered with the Bowling Green Arts Commission, Bowling Green Town Council and the Caroline Historical Society to create an arts center. The county will continue to maintain the utilities of the building, wireless connection, insurance and landscaping. The center's development also involved Kathy Beard and Patrick DeCrane, chairperson of the arts commission, and Bernard Collins, president of the historical society.
Museums and arts centers "are colorful threads in the tapestry of communities" that "will bring tourists who seek out these special places, in turn bolstering the local economy through tax revenues from meals, sales and lodging," Stoddard said.
"I feel that Sidney King would be very pleased to know that his talents and legacy will be honored in such a grand fashion," Stoddard noted.
Lawliss told the gathering that King's work was also on display in Jamestown, Manassas, the Wilderness, Kennesaw Mountain in George, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pea Ridge in Missouri, Fort Raleigh and Petersburg.
"Probably 40 million people have laid eyes on Sidney King's illustrations in the national parks alone, including queens and presidents," she noted. He also painted a 200-foot long mural for the 1964 Word's Fair in New York, which was seen by 30 million. He did a 400-foot long mural in the rotunda of the Mormon Information Center in Utah.
"Certainly more than 100 million people have seen the original works of Sidney King—this kind, gentle man who married a Caroline County girl and spent most of his life here," Lawliss said.
"His great joy came from his illustrations of history and historic places. Therein lies the key to a very happy match between Sidney King and the National Park Service." He "pioneered the idea of creating art specifically to be placed at a specific place."
His first great project was 40 paintings for Jamestown and Yorktown in 1957 for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. He researched details, such as uniforms, flags and tack. He also worked with DuPont Company to develop special paints that would withstand 100 degree variations in temperature and summertime sun.
Several paintings for the park included the faces of staff members, Lawliss noted.
"Sidney King was an unpretentious man who worked at his home," she said. He even created the 200-foot long mural for the World's Fair in his 16-foot garage, doubling back on the mural over and over. He didn't see the entire painting until it was on display in New York.
"He was a rare man whose work became far more famous than his name," she noted. "One of the great ironies of the art of Sidney King that was created in Caroline County is that most of it ended up in faraway places. That's what makes this opening, this exhibit special. Sidney King's work is now where Sidney King lived—in a community where for over 40 years, he taught young artists in the hundreds."
The mayor said the Board of Supervisors and the Town Council joined together for a project that would bring to the citizens "an educational and artistic experience that has not before been available." He thanked the IDA and Union First Market Bank for "generous gifts" to make the project a reality. He acknowledged Paul Keeler, the stepson of King, and Collins, in the audience.
The mayor thanked Chris Flora for framing and mounting the King paintings in a way that prevents "a single nail or screw or hole" from being in any of the paintings. Greg Woodward donated his electrical services to modify the electrical system of the building. A&M Home Center and G&G Hardware donated some materials and provided others at cost. Jim Thomas of Thomas' Art & Sign Shop in Tappahannock created the signs for the arts center.
Thomas was the "last male student" of King and he studied under King from 1985 to 1991, Thomas said.
"Mr. King was a beloved local personality as well as artist and I am lucky to have at least one of his works in each room of my home as well as an original pen and ink drawing of my wife as a child," Sili told the gathering. "As you can see, I am a big fan of Mr. King."
Collectors of Sidney King's work will also loan paintings to the center on a rotating basis and local artists will display their work to "ensure that visitors and residents alike return to see what's new on a regular basis," Sili noted.
King traveled the United States in a Model T Ford and painted scenes in watercolor after he lost his Boston studio during the Depression. He wound up almost penniless and stranded in Fredericksburg in 1939, and painted signs and drew newspaper advertisements. He worked at Quantico during World War II and camouflaged combat planes, and designed aircraft insignia and recruiting posters.
He married Peggy Taylor and they lived in Caroline County in her ancestral home, "The Willows," near Bowling Green. She became his assistant and handled the business part of his career. He worked in a shed-like studio that he built near their home. He died at The Willows, survived by his second wife, Mary Keeler King, a sister and two step children.
The center will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
The arts commission will begin offering children's art classes at the center in mid October on Saturday. The classes are geared for children ages 5 and up and will meet for three to five weeks. The initial classes will be for children's drawing, batik, multicultural crafts, color pencil techniques and paper Mache masks. Registration forms can be obtained at the Bowling Green Town Hall or at the arts center.


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subset: commoncrawl


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It takes a lot to convince people to trade in their reasonably-new car for something fresh off the showroom floor. For carmakers, that means lots of big ad campaigns and stunts.
Few have been quite as ballsy as Volvo Trucks' new slackline stunt, which had a woman walking between two trucks as they sped towards a tunnel. We're not entirely sure what it's supposed to tell us about the trucks (smooth ride?), but we want one anyway.
What's the craziest stunt an automaker has pulled to try and sell cars?
(QOTD is your chance to address the day's most pressing automotive questions and to experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits, and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good Question of the Day, send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)


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This month Mixmag have 5 live broadcasts planned from Ibiza.
The first live show is Scuba live from We Love @ Space on Sunday and it will; be broadcast at 11pm UK time.
Other sets you can catch this month include
- 4th August 23:00 Scuba Live @ We Love Space, Ibiza
- 6th August 23:00 The Mekanism Live from Space Ibiza
- 9th August 23:00 Hypercolour live from Sankeys
- 11th August 23:00 Joris Voorn at We Love Space, Ibiza
- 20th August 23:00 Frankie Knuckles Live from Space, Ibiza


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Oilers Agree to Terms with Petrell on Contract Extension
Link: http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=635073General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have agreed to terms with left-winger Lennart Petrell on a one-year contract extension.
Petrell, 28, played in his first season in the National Hockey League with the Oilers appearing in 60 games recording four goals and five assists with 45 penalty minutes. He also played in nine games with the Oklahoma City Barons in the American Hockey League scoring two goals and adding two assists.
The 63, 198-pound Helsinki, Finland native scored his first NHL goal on November 2, 2011 after signing as a free agent last summer. Petrell spent the previous seven seasons with HIFK Helsinki-Finland in the SM-Iiiga league.
Petrell was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 6th round, 190th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.


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MILWAUKEE — A congresswoman's son and three Democratic campaign workers were sentenced Wednesday to four to six months in jail for slashing tires outside a Bush-Cheney campaign office on Election Day 2004.
Other political news of note
Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
House Speaker John Boehner became animated Tuesday over the proposed Keystone Pipeline, castigating the Obama administration for not having approved the project yet.
- Budget deficits shrinking but set to grow after 2015
- Senate readies another volley on unemployment aid
- Obama faces Syria standstill
- Fluke files to run in California
- Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
The men pleaded no contest in January to misdemeanor property damage. A fifth worker was found not guilty.
"This case had to be a public example of what can happen when you interfere with voters' rights," said Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Brennan, who rejected prosecutors' recommendation of probation for the four men.
The state Republican Party had rented more than 100 vehicles to give rides to voters and poll monitors on Nov. 2, 2004. The cars were parked outside a GOP campaign office when the tires were punctured. The vandalism left the drivers scrambling for new vehicles.
Among those sentenced Wednesday were Sowande A. Omokunde, the son of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin, and Michael Pratt, the son of former acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt.
"I love my son very much. I'm very proud of him," Moore said. "He's accepted responsibility."
Omokunde was sentenced to four months in jail; Pratt and Lewis Caldwell of Milwaukee were sentenced to six months; and Lavelle Mohammad of Milwaukee was sentenced to five months. All were granted work-release privileges.
Brennan also ordered them to pay a $1,000 fine each, in addition to the $5,317 in total restitution ordered earlier.
The four could have faced up to nine months in jail term and fines of $10,000.
Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes in the 2004 election ended up going to Democrat John Kerry.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Hello and Welcome! Here in Wyoming near the Southern Big Horn Mtns on our Buffalo Creek Ranch, we are cattle ranchers and run a commercial herd of Angus beef cattle. The country here is rugged and rough and as a result, we do our cow work the old-fashioned way, on the back of good horses with the help of great Australian Cattle Dogs.
Our dogs are of particular pride to us as they are part of our family and an integral part of ranch work. We depend on our dogs for working cattle year round, all seasons, all conditions, over tens of thousands of acres of rangeland. They are our trusted partners and friends.
We started breeding our own dogs after it became increasingly hard to find working dogs from other breeders that satisfied our needs for a true hardworking cattle dog. Then our relatives and neighboring ranchers requested our pups, and word of mouth spread even further, and years later, we now have pups coast to coast in the US and Canada from loyal, smart, hardworking stock out of proven bloodlines bred and raised here on the ranch. Our dogs are AKC registered, and fully health tested. At times I also have older pups, started or finished dogs for sale too. Our family has been ranching cattle for over 100 years and have always had working dogs.
Many of our puppies have found work and families on ranches and farms, while others are just as happy competing in disc, agility, obedience, conformation and herding as well as providing loving companionship to their families in many states. We have met some great people along the way, and that is the best part!
Please visit the
page for pictures and info on all our dogs, the
page for available puppies/dogs and
Upcoming Litters
page for information on our next planned litters. The
Puppy Info
page has answers to commonly asked questions, information about reserving litter picks, our Waiting List, purchasing a puppy, picking up your puppy, our policies, and contract terms. Please visit the
About Us
page and the
Contact Us
page to find more information about the ranch, our family and our dogs.
Puppies from previous litters are pictured the
Previous Litters
page, and many on other pages as well.
Make yourself at home and thank you for visiting to our site.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Gwen Shepperson, Buffalo Creek Ranch Australian Cattle Dogs
About Us
Our Dogs
Puppy Info
Puppy Contract
Puppy Application
Upcoming Litters
Previous Litters
Contact Us
Australian Cattle Dogs
I advertise for FREE on PupCity.com!
Dogs for Sale
Dog Breeds
Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Cattle Dog Puppies
KS Ranch Cattle Dogs
Website Updated: April 19, 2019
God Bless
Cowboy.com - The Western Connection
(click here)
- Puppies for sale, Dog Breeder Directory, & Dog Breed Information.
We Support
Herding Rescue Dogs of WY
See Adoptable Dogs Here
All images/content on this website are
and property of
Gwen Shepperson,
and shall not be copied, reproduced,
shared, or used in any way
without written permission
Australian Cattle Dog Websites
Dog Breeding Information & Dog Breeding Advice
for our YouTube Channel
Videos of dogs working, puppies, etc.
Australian Cattle Dog
Club of America Member
Code of Ethics Breeder
Our Name Has Changed!
Formerly KS Ranch,
We Are Now: Buffalo Creek Ranch Cattle Dogs,
Same hardworking dogs on the same ranch,
just a new name!
Find us on Facebook!
Website Designed
for Your Business


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It's almost Christmas, and Dragon Age: Inquisition was my whole gaming life for a few weeks, so I think it's time for some link love. I haven't done this in a while. Here are some blogs, sites, and podcasts that I heartily recommend.
The Toast – One of the few non-gaming related sites on this list, The Toast is where I go when I need a laugh. Or a reason to have an evil smirk on my face (though I'm usually pretty good with coming up with my own reasons). The Toast does amazing things with classic works of literature and art, from dark rewrites of childhood favourites, to turning classic characters into dirtbags, to the fantastic Western Art History series. Also, amazingly for a larger site, it's a place where it's totally fine to read the comments.
Critical Distance aims to find all the great writing about games on the internet. Their This Week in Video Games feature is a great place to start if you want to find a good read and discover new blogs and writers.
A Game of Me is Carolyn Petit's tumblr, where she writes a lot about video games and video games culture. Carolyn is a fantastic writer. Whether it's a best of the year list, a quick piece of what games mean to her, or thoughts on the feminist agenda, I always find these posts worth reading.
Go Make Me a Sandwich focuses on sexist imagery used in geek spaces. Not just video games, but also tabletop, pen & paper, and comics. Some of my favourite posts involve criticism from an artist's standpoint, and breaking down just how unrealistic and ridiculous the design of women's bodies in games often are.
I only listen to a handful of podcasts, so I can recommend them all.
Justice Points is the podcast I've been listening to the longest. It's a really great look at feminism and social justice in video games. Over the past year, Tzufit and Applecidermage have had some really amazing guests and have covered some topics that I don't get to hear much about otherwise. Always worth a listen.
Cat Context features Liore, Arolaide, and Ellyndrial talking about the games they're playing. They cover a wide variety of games and sometimes movies in a nice, short podcast. One thing I really enjoy is that the hosts don't always agree, and the arguments are great to listen to. Aro in particular has a way of arguing that makes me feel like everything I once thought is wrong.
Isometric looks at video games from a different perspective, and these different perspectives are the highlight. Bri, Maddy, Georgia, and Steve all have wildly different tastes in games and it's refreshing to hear about a game from many different sides at once. Occasionally too much time is spent on in-jokes, but it's a very entertaining podcast and the hosts work really well together.
Less Than or Equal pursues equality in geekdom. Aleen Simms hosts a number of great guests who bring diversity to their chosen fields and hobbies. From the video game industry, to tabletop gaming, to books, Aleen and her guests bring something new to the table and give me things to think about.
Polygamer is a podcast I just recently discovered, that focuses on diversity and equality in video games. I've only listened to a couple episodes so far, but I think it's going to be a mainstay in my podcast list. The conversations so far have been very frank and thought-inspiring.
I'd also recommend Contains Moderate Peril, though sadly they've just announced they'll be ending the podcast soon. Still, if you're not overly concerned about timely topics, the episodes are worth a listen.
Do you have any recommendations for me?


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So you just won $500! Your first thought might be a shopping spree or a weekend get-away. But hold on, there are ways to stretch that $500 which can really pay off in the long run.
Save it for retirement: If you can wait a couple of decades to spend that $500, then it may be worth much more! If you put $500 into a Roth IRA account at age 30, then by the time you retire at age 65, it could reach $5,338 (based on an expected rate of return of 7%), according to Bankrate.com's Roth IRA calculator.
Invest in your child's education: Consider a 529 prepaid tuition plan. Basically it locks in tuition prices (for eligible school) at whatever the current rate is. If you bought shares worth half a year's tuition, those shares will always be worth half a year's tuition, no matter how much the price goes up.
Pay it forward: Find an organization that will match your donation. Not only will you feel good about your money doing some good, but you can potentially double its value. The first step would be to check with your HR department and see if your company offers a matching program. Many do.
Get acquainted with the stock market: Some people think they can't dive into the stock market with only $500, but that's not true. It can be difficult to diversify with $500, but it's still possible. Avoid individual stocks and go with an exchanged traded fund (ETF). This will spread your $500 across multiple stocks, and as an added bonus, fees are typically low. With stock you can make money but remember there is always the risk of losing money too.
Before you shop: Now that we've told you how to stretch $500 and get the most out of your money, maybe we should tell you how you can have a chance to win $500! Enter our SuperheroMom Giveaway this final week to win a $500 Visa gift card.


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PAWNOGRAFFITI wrote:Ok so i had a dream last night that i was attending a few Oakland Raiders roadgames and after big losses by the Raiders on Sunday, there was news articles coming out in the newspapers on Monday morning that a Gorilla in the forest has been tieing Police Officers upside down in trees and leaving them in there underwear.
Eventually the NFL was catching on to suspect no.1 Gorilla Rilla and after raiders roadgames they were following him outside and spying his movements. So they were at the BUCS Game and the police were just about to arrest him but he ducked into some forrest and the police followed... he went into the forrest with his Gorilla Rilla shirt, Goggles and top hat on... he tied up all the Police that followed in trees upside down only in there underwear but when he emerged from one forrest he didn't have his trademark accessories on... (only the Gorilla suit) The Police followed overhead in a Helicopter and kept firing off rounds of Tranquilizers and large capturing nets... but he kept ducking in and out of forrest areas.
I ended up losing himsomewhere in the South United States of America ... i was trying to help him get back to Oakland, however as me and the person i was driving with was crossing some cornfields (Probably Kansas, Nebraska or Missouri) we heard on the radio that the FBI had caught a Gorilla in Atlanta.
Ahem... let's start the analysis of the dream:
End of the analysis.
It HAD to be a Bucs game, Pawno?


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A plan for real election reform in Florida
Gov. Rick Scott has announced that he now supports reforms to address problems voters faced during the November elections.
"Our ultimate goal must be to restore Floridians' confidence in our election system. We must continually push to make improvements," he said. He wants shorter ballots, more early voting locations and more early voting hours and days.
These bare bones need flesh. Will ballots be shortened by requiring the Legislature to adhere to the same 75-word limit as required for ballot summaries of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments? Will he allow county supervisors of elections discretion to identify appropriate early voting sites for their communities? Will he support a uniform number of early voting days and hours, permitting early voting on the Sundays before election days?
Of course, candor dictates that the reforms the governor now supports will simply undo the problems created as a result of him signing the 2011 Legislature's HB 1355 into law (aka The Voter Suppression Act).
Candor also dictates making clear that the shift in policy comes after the governor has spent almost two years (and a reported half-million dollars in state funds) defending voter suppression laws against several lawsuits, including some filed by the ACLU.
Sure, there's a lot of anger, especially from voters who heroically stood in line for hours — even after the presidential election had been called — and who were determined not to allow the Legislature's attempted election manipulation to deprive them of their right to vote.
But if all we do is address the problems voters endured in November, we will have lost the opportunity to address badly needed reforms.
Just undoing restrictions imposed by the Legislature and returning to the way it was before the governor signed HB 1355 into law is not a program for election reform.
Online voter registration, already used in 15 states, should be employed here too. It is convenient, and reduces cost and errors that come from misinterpreting handwritten forms.
Ubiquitous digital communication allows the state to employ same-day voter registration or, at the very least, shorten the period to register to vote from Florida's traditional 30 days prior to an election.
As of 2010, there were more than 1.5 million disfranchised former felons in Florida. Our state has the nation's highest rate of African-American disfranchisement (23 percent) — more than one in five African-Americans in Florida have been disenfranchised.
In March 2011, the governor and the Cabinet issued new rules that made this scandalous remnant of Florida's Civil War history worse. The governor should also shift direction on the Restoration of Civil (and voting) Rights.
Addressing voter anger over laws that contributed to the chaos of the 2012 election should not be the only voting reforms the state makes.
That would be a missed opportunity.


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Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, jumped into the political fray Tuesday to protect the bureau from what she calls lawmaker attempts to defang the agency. In a statement, Warren specifically referenced two House bills — H.R. 1315 and H.R. 1121 — as well as a drafted bill that aims to postpone the transfer of regulatory powers to the CFPB until the agency has a director. The CFPB is set to open July 21, but has yet to name a director. When the bureau does open, it will be the mortgage industry's top cop, creating protective guidelines under the Truth in Lending Act and implementing new prototypes for mortgage applications. Warren, who is currently a special adviser to President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, is reportedly still in the running for the director post. A mark-up of the bills takes place Wednesday, which prompted Warren's office to issue a statement. "Many in Congress have made clear their intention to defund, delay and defang the consumer agency before it can help one family," Warren said. "These bills are about preventing the CFPB from operating effectively — a dangerous game to play in light of recent lessons in the marketplace and how quickly financial threats to consumers emerge." Warren also is pushing back against H.R. 1315 and H.R. 1121. The two bills outline proposals to replace the CFPB director with a five-person commission and to strengthen oversight over the agency. Since January, lawmakers have publicly criticized the make-up of the CFPB, claiming the agency lacks congressional oversight. Write to Kerri Panchuk.
About the Author
Kerri Ann Panchuk was the Online Editor of HousingWire.com, and regular contributor to HousingWire magazine. Kerri joined HousingWire as a Reporter in early 2011 and since earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University. She previously worked at the Dallas Business Journal.


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"Blindsided … stunned …" These are the reactions from business groups and Republicans to yesterday's announcement of a redefinition of overtime exemption from Barack Obama, according to The Hill. Both have been fighting the White House proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, which lost support among Democrats after the CBO estimated it would cost 500,000 jobs by 2016. This time, Obama can go it alone … sort of:
Business groups and congressional Republicans are blasting regulations President Obama will announce Thursday that could extend overtime pay to as many as 10 million workers who are now ineligible for it.
While liberals lauded the plan as putting more cash in the pockets of millions of workers, business groups warned it would damage the economy and Republicans said it was another example of executive overreach.
Trade associations already battling the White House over a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour said they were blindsided by the announcement.
"This came as a shot out of the blue," said David French, the National Retail Federation's senior vice president for government relations. "Just on the surface, this looks like an enormous new administrative burden."
It's not really executive overreach, though. Unlike the minimum wage, which is set by statute and has to be amended by Congress, the definition of overtime exemption is handled by Department of Labor regulation. However, that regulatory process takes quite a long time, and it may be months or even into next year before Labor can act on the directive from Obama. Business groups and Congress will weigh in on the proposal, and no doubt Republicans will demand a CBO analysis of the impact of this change, too.
And … what is the proposal, anyway? No one knows, and the White House isn't saying. Right now, the exemption allows businesses to claim overtime exemption for people earning $455 a week or more (annual salary of $23,660)* just by asserting that any part of their duties is "executive" in nature. That's a ridiculously low level, but businesses have structured their work forces on the basis of this regulation. No matter what level the White House chooses, it's going to impact staffing decisions; the question is how bad it will get, and how many jobs end up going from full- to part-time in defense of potential unforecasted costs in smaller businesses especially. Ron Fournier reports that former Obama economic adviser Jared Bernstein wants it raised to about $51,000, which would impact five million workers, or less than 4% of the currently employed in the US.
The real problem in flat compensation, though, is the dysfunctional job-creation that exists under Obamanomics — high regulation, hikes in capital-gains tax rates, and ObamaCare. I argue in my column for The Fiscal Times that this is just another intervention that's likely to produce a lot of unintended consequences, like the rest of the White House's policies:
Almost all of these ills, however, and especially that of burgeoning corporate ledgers, comes from the interventions conducted by the Obama administration's economic policies. At the end of prior recessions, the US has acted to reduce costs on investment through lower taxes and regulatory costs.
The Obama administration has piled on in both areas, especially with the added hiring costs of the Affordable Care Act and the 2012 increase in the capital-gains tax rate. Capital that might have gone into business expansion that creates jobs instead stays in corporate coffers to earn interest instead of return on risk.
In a growing economy, businesses would add staff to deal with increased demand, not increased regulation and mandates from Washington. The civilian workforce participation rate has dropped to lows not seen since the Jimmy Carter era, and chronic unemployment has made workers nearly powerless in the labor market.
In a healthy economy with robust job creation, employers would not be able to force low-income workers into exempt definitions, because those workers would find better-compensated work elsewhere. Businesses that might have hired more workers are now looking for ways to duck the costs of employer-subsidized health insurance by cutting hours to less than 30 a week.
The problem Obama claims to be solving is largely that of his own making – and this top-down change will have significant consequences as well. The White House argues that it will either force employers to pay overtime or to hire more workers to perform the work. Forcing a change of any significance through regulation now, with job creation at stagnation levels, will not inspire confidence in the necessary expanded investment to boost hiring and then compensation.
Can Obama do this on his own? Yes, within the parameters of regulatory changes at Labor, and the White House has already said it will respect that process. Should he? Republicans and the business community will have trouble defending the current definition, but this ignores the real problems of the economy – and may well aggravate them, especially if the redefinition is as sharp as Bernstein wants. It's recutting a shrinking pie rather than figuring out how to make it larger, and it's bound to fail in every way except perhaps politically — and even that win will be minor and short-lived.
Update: I rewrote the explanation of the current definition in order to make it more clear.


text:
While the live-action Akira may never surpass the original in the minds of fans, this live-action version of Shotaro Kaneda's cherry-red motorcycle certainly does the trick. Built over the span of seven years at a cost of $121,000 by Akira fan, Masashi Teshima, this replica is officially recognized by Akira creator, Katsuhiro Otomo. Teshima is currently riding across Japan in order to raise money and awareness for a children's autism charity. He'll end up in Tokyo where the bike will be put on exhibit for Otomo where visitors can take pictures with the iconic ride. Proceeds from the exhibit will go to help the victims of last year's earthquakes and tsunami. While the live-action version of Akira is still mired in development hell, you can hit the jump to check out what Kaneda's sweet ride looks like in real life.
Thanks to Kotaku for providing these images. Check them out after familiarizing yourself with the synopsis for Akira:
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop.
And check out the motorcycle in action here:


text:
[some formatting tweaked, and the question copied from the title to the main body, by YC]
I've been struggling a lot to calculate this integral.
$$ \int_0^\infty \frac{k^{n-1}}{\prod_{i=1}^n (k^2+ x_i^2)}\; dk $$ where $x_i$ are constants and $n\geq 1$.
I did the calculation for n=1,2,3,4, with the hope of identifying some form and then find the result by induction. But here is what I got:
n=1: I= (pi/2) * abs(x1)
n=2: I= (1/2) * 1/(x2ˆ(2)-x1ˆ(2)) * log(x2ˆ(2) / x1ˆ(2))
n=3: I= (pi/2) * [abs(x1) (x2ˆ(2)-x3ˆ(2)) +abs(x2) (x3ˆ(2)-x1ˆ(2))+ abs(x3) (x1ˆ(2)-x2ˆ(2))] / [(x2ˆ(2)-x3ˆ(2) (x3ˆ(2)-x1ˆ(2)) (x1ˆ(2)-x2ˆ(2)]
n=4: I= (1/2) * [ A1 log(x1ˆ(2)) + A2 log(x2ˆ(2)) +... A4 log(x4ˆ(2))), where Ai= xiˆ(2) / [ prod (xjˆ(2)-xiˆ(2))]
-->> This makes me think that the result depends on whether n is even or uneven; that is, we would have a form in log( ) for n even, and something in pi/2 for n uneven?
Could you please help me here? What is the correct result and how to get it?
Your help is so much appreciated, many many thanks in advance! Elise


text:
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (KPHO) – An actor in the movie Dazed and Confused was arrested early Sunday morning after a fight at a Scottsdale bar, police said.
Jason London was booked into jail on charges of assault and disorderly conduct.
A patron at Martini Ranch at 7295 E. Stetson told officers he was walking through the crowd gathered at the bar and had to move London to get by, according to a police report.
The unidentified customer said London turned around and intentionally sneezed directly in his face, the police report stated.
Officers said the man asked London to apologize. London refused and punched the man on the right side of his face with a closed right fist, police said.
Security escorted the pair out of the bar.
When police arrived, they said they saw London cursing and struggling with crews from the Scottsdale Fire Department, who were trying to treat him.
One of the officers said he tried to prevent London from assaulting the paramedics. The officer said he was forced to deliver a knee blow to the outer part of London's right thigh and seat him on the ground.
London eventually refused any medical treatment, officers said.
Police said as they drove London to jail, the actor continued cursing and defecated in his pants.
Authorities said London showed signs of extreme alcohol impairment.
The actor is known for his role as Randall Floyd in the movie Dazed and Confused.
Source: kpho.com
By Phil Benson
Copyright 2013 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.


text:
No. The correct word order is "Children are never as/so naughty as Bill."
Student or Learner
Please tell me whether we can say "Never children are so naughty as Bill." and why.
Thank you,teachers!
No. The correct word order is "Children are never as/so naughty as Bill."
"Never child is so naughty as Bill. "
It is in a Chinese book dealing with articles. So I thought of the question.
By the way I have read such a sentence as "Never a word he said."
Would you help me in comparing them.
Sorry to trouble you so much! Thanks!
There are situations where we put "never" etc at the beginning of a sentence but it can sound old-fashioned or as if you are trying to be clever.
Never have I seen such a naughty child = I have never seen such a naughty child.
Rarely have I eaten such a delicious meal = I have rarely eaten such a delicious meal.
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
That's fine because 'never' is followed by an article – not a plural noun.Never a word he said.


text:
We'll change the way you think about church!
For the last several years, one of the biggest things we have been attempting to do at Eagle Pointe is to "change the way people think about church". You might be wondering: "WHY would we want to change the way people think about church?" Well, most people in our world who don't go to church aren't necessarily turned off from God. They're turned off from church! They're turned off from Christians! Why? When many people think about church and Christians they think of words like:
- Boring
- Irrelevant
- Judgmental
- Stuffy
- Hypocritical
- After my money
SO when we re-started Eagle Pointe, one of our primary goals was to "Change the way people think about church" – because if we change the way they think about church, we can change the way they think about Jesus! We can help them see that Jesus is incredibly relevant to their lives today – and that having a relationship with Him is a whole lot more simple, fun, rewarding, and fulfilling than they could ever imagine!
Changing the way people think about church is our motivation behind our:
- Casual, Contemporary, & highly Relational Atmosphere
- Great music people can relate to
- Dramas with a sense of humor that connect with the heart and mind
- Messages that are relevant, understandable, and that help people Monday thru Saturday – not just on Sunday
- Fun & Engaging children's and teen environments
- REAL people doing REAL life!
If you haven't been into church for a while – PLEASE give it another shot at Eagle Pointe. We'll change the way you think about church!
October 10, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, Missions - Local & Global, Serve The World, Social Media, Spiritual growth | Tags: Acworth, Atlanta, Bible, Christianity, church | Leave a comment
Why We're Cancelling Our 5:30pm Easter Sunday Service & It's Not Because We Don't Love Jesus ;-)
As many of you know, almost 4 weeks ago we started a 3rd service time here at Eagle Pointe at 5:30PM. It has gotten off to a great start and it is accomplishing our goal – freeing up space in our 2 Sunday morning services & it is reaching new people who, because of work schedules, etc, cannot do Sunday mornings.
We originally decided to add a 5:30pm service on Easter Sunday – in addition to our 9am, 10:30am, & 12pm services – so that none of those folks would have to miss Easter services & for many of those 5:30pm crowd who are just getting in the habit of coming to church, we didn't want to give an excuse to fall out of that habit.
However, as I've had time to think & pray more about this (As I say all the time, just like all of you – I am human, I don't always get it right, I'm figuring all of this out on a daily basis, but fortunately I have a heart that wants to please God & I am open to His correction) I believe God has helped me look at this from a different perspective…
1) Many of our 5:30pm crowd, who are just getting in the habit of coming to church, probably are not coming anyways. They will probably be doing family dinners, getting together with friends, etc. I also understand that there are some who were planning on coming, who may not be happy with this decision. If that's you, I hope you will understand the next couple of reasons for this decision.
2) 3 Easter Sunday morning services & a 5:30PM service that same day are going to flat wear out our volunteers, ministry leaders, and staff. I know Easter Sunday is the Super Bowl for Christian churches, and some will ask "how can you pull back on this day? It's only 1 day!" I get that, but I also know that 1 of the reasons we have so many leaders in our church who have been here for years serving at a very high level, is because we try to strike that all elusive balance & not burn out our volunteers and their familes (sometimes we do a better job than others at that).
3) I want our volunteers, leaders, and staff to have some time with their families on Easter Sunday, which will not really happen with a 5:30pm service. Listen – I want myself & all of us to go crazy, bust our tails, to do whatever it takes this next 1 1/2 weeks leading up to Easter to reach as many in our community as we possibly can, to prepare & be ready for all the people who are going to be here, and serve like it's our last opportunity to do so ever on Easter Sunday to blow people's minds, change the way they think about church, & help them experience Jesus!
BUT – then I want them to go home, spend time with their family & friends, and be able to relax & soak in the beauty of the Resurrection and all that it means & provided for us.
So, there you have it! We will have 3 Easter Sunday services at 9am, 10:30am, & 12pm. Join us in letting God use each of us this next 1 1/2 weeks to to whatever it takes to bring as many people as you can with you to Easter at Eagle Pointe.
April 8, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, Family Ministries, Leadership, ministry, Personal Life, Relationships, Serve The World | Tags: Acworth, Appreciation, Atlanta, blogging, celebration, Christianity, church, Easter, facebook, faith, God, helping others, Holidays, internet, invite people to church, Jesus, Kennesaw, servant evangelism, Social Media | Leave a comment
One Invite Literally Changed My Life
That's my story – how about you? One invite really did change my life! Well, it was actually one person inviting me a whole bunch of times to his church until I finally gave in! THANK GOD my buddy Garland Robertson cared enough about me that he didn't give up on me. I knew Garland for many years, but we had lost touch for a period of our lives. Then one day we ran into each other at a University of Miami football game. We both had season tickets & his were a few rows behind me.
At every football game we would catch up, talk about life, and at some point in the discussion he would work into the conversation something cool that his church was doing & invite me to come check it out. I was always polite about it – but would always blow off his invites. If you look up the word "determination" – there will be a picture of Garland there. He never gave up on me! For 2 years, every time he saw me, he would invite me. He was never pushy or obnoxious about it – he was just determined! He cared enough about me, my life, my family & where I was going to spend eternity – that he wouldn't give up.
Finally, one day when I was at a place in my life where I was ready – I said "yes"! My life has never been the same since! Thanks Gar & Thanks Jesus – for caring enough about me & not giving up on me.
Easter Sunday (April 20) is the greatest God-given opportunity of the year for you to reach out to & invite people to Eagle Pointe! Don't waste this God-given opportunity!
Now, here are a few things I challenge you to join me in doing these 2 weeks leading up to Easter:
1) PRAY & FAST! – Let's unleash the power of prayer! Pray for your friends, our community, our church, our Easter services & for CHANGED LIVES!!! (If you want to learn more about Fasting – check out "Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough".
2) EXPECT! Expect God to show up & do the miraculous. Let's add a big-time dose of faith to our prayers & let's do our part! Let's give God some actions (on our part) that He can bless!
3) INVITE, INVITE, INVITE! Go stark raving crazy these next 2 weeks inviting everyone God brings across your path – friends, neighbors, co-workers… If you need more "Easter at Eagle Pointe" invite cards drop by the church & get them. The reality is that most people want to be, or feel like they should, be in church on Easter — so let's help them out with that! (Check out a recent blog post "Fun Ways to Invite People to Church")
4) FIRE UP YOUR FACEBOOK! Get on my Facebook page or our Eagle Pointe Facebook page & start sharing the invites & videos we have to promote "Easter at Eagle Pointe". Change your Facebook profile pic to our Easter profile pic. BTW: It's working! Since we started our Facebook campaign 2 weeks ago – the number of people who are seeing something about Eagle Pointe & our Easter services have been mind-blowing. So, help us blow up Facebook these next 2 weeks by inviting all your Facebook friends.
5) BE HERE, SERVE & DO WHATEVER IT TAKES! Arrive early & help out in any way you can! We need a number of you to go to our 9:00AM, 12:00pm, & 5:30pm services to make room in our 10:30 service. Please help us pack out our 2 back gravel lots & car pool with family & friends. We need to free up some seating & parking this Easter! As with every weekend at Eagle Pointe – EVERYONE is on Host Team on Easter! You see something that needs picked up – a bathroom that needs restocked – just do it! You see people looking unsure of where they're going – introduce yourself & show them around. You see people sitting by themselves – go sit with them & make them feel comfortable.
Again, join us in doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to reach our community for Jesus this Easter!
PS. I wonder who will be doing 1 of our "One Invite Changed My Life" videos someday because you cared enough to invite them???
April 7, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, Leadership, ministry, Personal Life, Relationships, Serve The World, Social Media, Spiritual growth | Tags: Acworth, Appreciation, Atlanta, blogging, blogs, celebration, Christianity, church, compassion, Easter, evangelism, facebook, faith, God, helping others, Holidays, internet, invite people to church, Jesus, Kennesaw, love, mercy, Ministry, mission, missions, servant evangelism, serve, serving, Social Media, technology | Leave a comment
Fun Ways to Invite People to Church!
Jesus said "GO & make disciples…". He said "I will build my church…". One of the primary reasons Eagle Pointe church exists is to live out & share the gospel, to reach our community where 90% of the people do not go to church, & to be used by Jesus to bring about "changed lives". However, that cannot happen until people come & continue coming to an environment where Jesus can work in their lives. So, us inviting people to our church is absolutely essential to us fulfilling a HUGE part of our core mission. To that end, here are some great ways you can invite people to Eagle Pointe church. Look over this, pray about it, talk with your life group and friends, have some fun, & just do it!
BTW: The biggest GOD-SIZED opportunity of the year to invite people to church is coming up in 3 weeks on Easter Sunday. I HATE wasting God-given & God-sized opportunities! I'm challenging every individual in our church to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to bring AT LEAST 2 people with them to our Easter Sunday services. So, let's get after it, let's do this thing, & let's allow God to use us to impact our community for Him this Easter!
- Grill out for the employees of a local company or business.
- Host a block party in your neighborhood, get to know your neighbors, & invite them to church.
- Tailgate at high school and/or local sporting events, ballfields, etc. Give away hot dogs and invite people.
- Always keep some invite cards on you & give them to your waitress, checkout person at a store, person standing behind you in line, etc.
- Cookout at a local park & give away hot dogs and/or bottled water.
- Borrow our popcorn machine & giveaway popcorn & invite cards at a movie rental store.
- Provide "full service" at a local gas station – wash windows, pump gas, and leave a car freshener.
- Put out road signs on the weekend (did you know about 40% of people who attend our church for the first time do so because they saw a road sign?)
- Follow me on Facebook & Twitter, and/or Eagle Pointe on Facebook – & share postings, videos, etc with your friends.
- Help local schools with their festivals. Instead of re-creating the wheel, just help a school make their event better.
- Take a couple of hours and put out invite cards on mailboxes in your neighborhood.
- Go to local shopping centers & put invite cards on car windshields. Try not to get arrested…that keeps it fun!
- Coach or help out with a local kids sports team. Build relationships with families & invite.
- You and your kids set up a lemonade stand.
- Have a free garage sale…give away things and invite people to church.
- Do a free car wash.
- Go around a neighborhood and collect canned food. Invite people to church while asking for food.
- Hand out helium balloons at special events. We have a helium tank you can use.
- Set up a bounce house at the movie theater when a big kids movie premiers. Or in front of another store. Managers are often open to anything that draws attention to their store.
- Put a giant Eagle Pointe sign in the back of your truck. Politicians do it – our cause is way more important!
- Take breakfast to school teachers. Simply email the principal and ask if you can do it, set a day, and make it happen.
- Help with field days at a local elementary school. What school wouldn't appreciate volunteers?
- Take food to fire stations. Let them know you appreciate them and that they are always welcome at your church.
Better yet… come up with your own idea, get your friends or group/team involved, and make it happen. Let us know what you're doing & how we can help! ***BTW: Your friends, neighbors, & co-workers are the easiest of all to invite because you already have a personal relationship with them.
April 3, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, Faith In Action, ministry, Personal Life, Relationships, Social Media, Spiritual growth | Tags: Acworth, Appreciation, Atlanta, blogging, blogs, celebration, Christianity, church, compassion, Easter, evangelism, facebook, faith, God, help, helping others, Holidays, internet, invite people to church, Jesus, Kennesaw, Ministry, servant evangelism, serve, serving, Social Media, technology, twitter, Volunteer, Volunteers | 1 Comment
Your Teaching/Preaching Isn't "Deep Enough"
Here's a blog post I did a while back, that fit really well with my message/sermon from this past Sunday at Eagle Pointe. So, I thought I'd share it again…
Once in a while we will have someone say that the messages/sermons at Eagle Pointe church are not "deep enough". Here are just some of my thoughts on this…
We didn't start Eagle Pointe because Christians couldn't find a good church to attend. There are some really good churches in our area led by some really good pastors. Instead, we wanted to start a church determined to reach the 90% of people in our area who did not go to church anywhere. That choice/conviction affects just about everything we do.
In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul writes that his goal was to preach the gospel "not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of it's power." For me, teaching/preaching isn't about impressing people & showing them how smart I am or how much I know, it's about connecting people with Jesus & helping them know how to live out the Christian life the way Jesus intended.
Someone once said that great teachers take complex material & make it simple, while bad teachers take simple ideas & make them complex. The reality is that the Gospel is very simple – it takes "theologians" to complicate it! Jesus taught in very simple easy to understand ways. He used stories & illustrations. All of His sermons were very topical in nature. He took complex ideas & laid out step by step explanations of what they mean & how ordinary people could live them out. (And we simply try to follow Jesus' example)
Simple sermons are not the same thing as simplistic sermons. Our mission here at Eagle Pointe is to "Lead people to Love God, Love Others, & Serve the World" (a summary of The Great Commandment & Great Commission). These concepts are very simple. It's following them that's tough. In my humble opinion – the problem for most "Christians" is not that they don't have enough knowledge about the Bible – it's that they are simply not living out, or don't know how to live out, what the Bible says. (They know what to do – they're just not doing it).
Below is a great example of a very typical message here at Eagle Pointe. We studied Joshua 1:6-11 (6 verses). We taught on God's righteousness, faithfulness, grace, & forgiveness. Now, I could have broken down the Hebrew translation of different words, the historical meaning & context of word usage, how this lines up with other promises of God in the Bible, etc. Some people would have walked out saying that it was such a great sermon & now they could run out & try to impress people with their new found knowledge. However, they would have no clue how to apply this to their lives & live out these truths.
As is our goal every weekend, in this message below, we taught some very deep spiritual & theological truths in a way that was very easy to understand; easy for people to see how this is relevant to their everyday lives; easy for people to know how to apply these truths to their lives & truly live this out; & then we challenged them to action (to do something with/about it). Our goal is to teach the Bible in a way that truly benefits people Monday through Saturday – not just on Sunday.
We also challenge people, and challenge them hard, to – "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22). We challenge people to not just come to church, hear a good message, feel good about themselves, leave & do nothing with/about it. We challenge people to apply it, live it out, & to actually DO the things Jesus commands us to do. BTW: A LOT of Christians don't like that. (But I'll save that for another post)
We designed our church services to be the front door of our church. It's an environment designed to help people take steps in their faith – it's not designed to be the end-all & only source of teaching in your life.
Every weekend we have to strike that delicate balance of teaching Christians and non-Christians – people who've been in church for 20 years & people who are coming for the 1st time – young, old & everywhere in between – to take simple steps to follow Jesus. We have several other environments designed to help you "go deeper" in your faith. There are life groups, men's & ladies groups that study the Bible. About once a month we offer "Disciple U" classes on subjects like apologetics, theology, church history, and books of the Bible. People have plenty of opportunities to "go deeper" around here.
A question we ask A LOT around here is – "Where's the fruit?" Think about it – "Where's the fruit?" You know – Jesus' whole "I am the vine, you are the branches" thing? And – Jesus' whole "if a branch does not bear fruit, it will be cut off from the vine" thing? (But I'll save that for another post as well)
Catch the Wave – Pt. 4: Courage from Howard J Koepka on Vimeo.

April 1, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, faith, Faith In Action, Leadership, ministry, Serve The World, Spiritual growth | Tags: Acworth, Appreciation, Atlanta, blogging, blogs, Christianity, church, Easter, evangelism, facebook, faith, God, helping others, internet, invite people to church, Jesus, Kennesaw, love, Ministry, servant evangelism, serve, serving, Social Media, technology, twitter | Leave a comment
We're Launching a 3rd Service at Eagle Pointe!
In case you haven't heard – we are launching a 3rd service time/worship experience here at Eagle Pointe & I am beyond pumped about this!
Since January we've been talking about the need to add a 3rd service time here at Eagle Pointe. And as I shared at Momentum on Jan. 26th (if you missed it – watch it here), I said that we needed to add about another 60 adults to make this work. Meaning – we didn't want to have 1 service with only 50 people & not much energy in it & we needed more people to volunteer & attend a 3rd service.
Well, we have added those 60 more adults. Both of our Sunday morning services are getting uncomfortably crowded, our Children's ministry growing very fast, and we are maxing out our facility's capacity. (Which will very soon hurt our retention of guests). So, after a lot of talks, prayer, fasting, & planning over the month or so with our staff & ministry leaders, we have made the decision to step out in faith & launch our 3rd service.
I will confess to you that as the leader/pastor of this amazing church family, I feel the weight & responsibility that comes with every decision we make. I will also confess to you that I struggled a little with this decision (Yes – I am human). I was a bit worried about making this decision prematurely, what if it doesn't work, do we have enough volunteers, etc. I also know that we sometimes have waited too long in the past to make a decision & that delay has caused us to lose the momentum God was building.
As I was praying about & wrestling with this decision – God reminded me that the results aren't up to me (I/we just have to do our part, give God actions He can bless, & be obedient to Him). During a recent staff meeting, I did not share what I was thinking/feeling, I just asked each of them to share what they were thinking/feeling/sensing about all of this. To my surprise, every one of our staff members said we needed to go to 3 services quickly. They acknowledged that yes it would be more work, require us to recruit & train more volunteers, & that it would be a challenge – but that with all the people & families coming to & getting connected here at Eagle Pointe, that we could not afford to wait any longer. I LOVE OUR STAFF!
So, next Sunday March 16th we will launch our 3rd service time. It will be at 5:30PM on Sunday evenings. This will also coincide with the kick-off of our next teaching series "Full Throttle" (appropriate series for stepping out in faith in God's direction). I've been encouraged to hear from a number of people who were excited about this. In addition to freeing up space on Sunday mornings, I am very excited about the potential for us to reach another demographic of people who Sunday mornings are just not an option for. A lot of people in retail, restaurants, medical, etc either work too late on Saturdays or work on Sunday mornings. This Sunday evening service will be a great vehicle for us to reach out to these people & share with them about Jesus.
PS. I can tell you that families with young children will LOVE Sunday evenings. 5:30PM is late enough for families to enjoy Sunday afternoon activities & it is early enough to get the kids in bed at a reasonable time before school the next day. Also, once these families figure out how much easier it is to get kids who are already up & about to a 5:30PM service, rather than fighting to get kids up, dressed, & fed in time to get to church in the morning – they will never do morning church again 😉
Now, here's what I need your help with:
1) We need you to talk this up in your groups & teams. Your groups/teams will take on the same attitude you have about this. Will it require extra work for some of us? Yes! Especially for our staff & I. But as Tim Roman said in our staff meeting – "It's only 1 stinkin' extra hour a week in order to reach a whole bunch more people for Jesus! I think in light of what Jesus did for us, that we can do this for Him!" I LOVE TIM! I encourage you have & share Tim's attitude as we communicate with & get our church family involved with this.
2) We need more of you to jump in & serve in a minstry & we will need some of you to "double-dip". We will need people for the first 2 or 3 months to come back & just serve & help us get this Sunday evening service off to a great start. If you can help with this, please email Tim Roman. (BTW: Some of our greatest needs right now are Children's ministry, Ushers, & Parking team. Please help us encourage people to sign up!)
3) Join us in praying for this endeavor – praying that God would use it & bless it in order to reach a whole bunch more people for Him.
4) Go crazy inviting! Go out of your way to "run into" people who Sunday evening may appeal to & invite them to come on March 16th & beyond. We have invite cards available in the cafe. We have a lot of stuff on social media to share with people. We also will have new roadsigns available this Sunday for you to help us get out into our community. Let's do our part & allow God to use us to pack all 3 services next Sunday March 16 & beyond.
Well, that enough info for now. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact me or any of our staff if you have any questions.
THANK YOU for being on this wild, crazy, God-sized adventure with me! THANK YOU for having a heart that is all about Loving God, Loving Others, & Serving the World. THANK YOU for having a WHATEVER IT TAKES heart & attitude. I am really excited about what God has in store for us.
Let's do this!!!
March 6, 2014 | Categories: Church Life, faith, Leadership, ministry, Social Media | Tags: Acworth, Appreciation, Atlanta, blogging, blogs, Christianity, church, evangelism, facebook, faith, God, invite people to church, Jesus, Kennesaw, love, Ministry, mission, missions, servant evangelism, serve, serving, Social Media, technology, twitter, Volunteer, Volunteers | Leave a comment
Haiti Mission Trip Needs – Updated Feb. 18
We will have a mission team heading back to Haiti February 22 – March 1. We will run a free clinic for the week seeing 400+ families a day. We will also be providing medical care at 2 orphanages & 2 tent cities that we work with. In addition, we will be doing some construction projects at a local church, as well as, building homes around the local community. And we need your help to pull this off!
Below is a list of supplies needed & a list of the money for projects we need to fundraise. PLEASE help us round up these supplies & donations. We need supplies dropped off at Eagle Pointe by this Wed. Feb. 20th – we are packing everything up that evening.
If you are unable to bring items to Eagle Pointe – again, donations of money are definitely needed (we will be buying a lot of needed supplies in Haiti – easier than carrying it all & supports the local economy). You can donate online HERE (be sure to select "Haiti") or email me.
Money – fundraised: (This is what is left to be raised before we go)
- $1000 – medical supplies for free clinic we run while there.
- $1000 – building materials for homes (purchased in Haiti)
General Items:
- Tooth paste
- Small toys, dolls, etc to giveaway to children (LOTS of small items are easier to pack in suitcases & can cover more kids – 'happy meal size' is ideal)
- Candy to giveaway to children (lg bags of smaller pieces)
- Reading glasses (varying strengths)
Medical Items: (Donations to help purchase these are greatly needed as well)
- Anti-fungal medicine (Lotrimin or other otc athletes foot meds)
- Permethrin 5%
- Benadryl (tabs & children's liquid)
- Ibuprofen (adult and children's liquid)
- Acetaminophen (adult and children's liquid)
- Antibiotics by prescription (Amoxicillin, Keflex, Bactrim, Ciprofloxacin, Augmentin, etc)
- Mebendazole by prescription
- Antibiotic eye drops – by prescription
- Visine and Visine allergy
- Albuterol inhaler by prescription
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Instant download of a repair manual for the 1985-1987 Honda FourTrax 250 atv. Covers complete tear down and rebuild, pictures and part diagrams, torque specs, maintenance, troubleshooting, etc. You name it and its in here. 233 pages. Has click......
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"Matter of concern for mankind is not about invention alone but about updating your experience to the next level with utmost efficiency and certainty."
The above quote holds true for the world of gaming where players craves for hi-tech experiences with their gaming products. Gone are the days when home experience of gaming was bound to Television video games and now is the era of techno games that left you spell bound. Sports and adventure genres have been incorporated into gaming with games based on the themes of street fights, explorations, racing and shooting.
Are you the one who is still trapped among those legacy games where you fly your way through enemy landscapes with your aircraft? Well, here is the time to upgrade you to the next extensive and hyper experience through "Flight Simulators".
Flight sim games tries to bring you the ultimate experience of realistic aircraft flying through modern computer technology.
Features to look out for while playing Flight sim games:
– Complete range of computer-based simulations with different themes and approach.
– Replicas of cockpit mounted on hydraulic actuators controlled by computer technology.
– Spacecraft flight simulations with three-dimensional coordinate system to provide realistic effects.
– Flight simulation games with a pure real experience can be used to train pilots.
– Complete range of controls that lets you operates the real flight right from the walls of your home.
– Flight combat with enemies and fighter plans equipped with weapons to hunt them down.
– No risk of casualty in combating enemy fighter plans.
– An entertainment that may cost you millions can be grabbed cheaply right from your home.
– Flight simulator games also allow you to track your route to your destination giving you the hands on training of being a successful navigator and explorer.
– Few varieties of Flight simulator games will also provide you with accessories like television and radio to enhance you flight experience.
Above mentioned features are just the blueprint of the flight simulation and you are always allowed to implement you own methods and creativity on the top of this modern training gadget.


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Only 3–5 percent of the Museum's approximately 23,000-object collection is on view at any given time in the galleries. However, faculty and researchers can search our online database or you can consult with Museum staff to find other works of art in storage that may be of interest for teaching or study.
Faculty and researchers can gain access to to prints, drawings and photographs by making an appointment with the Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. Works may be pulled for individual study or a class visit.
Faculty and researchers can gain access to paintings, sculptures, and other objects by making an appointment with Museum staff to see works in storage. If scheduled in advance, these objects may be displayed for class use in the Winslow Teaching Gallery.
To schedule an appointment to see works in storage, contact:
Charlene Shang Miller
Associate Educator for Academic Programs


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The 2012 Concours d'Elegance of America (formerly the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance) was held in Plymouth, Michigan, at an upscale hotel/golf course. The spacious grounds were an ideal setting to display so many vintage cars and accommodate thousands of people.
The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.


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Shirley Horn
Jazz pianist and singer Shirley Horn learned to play the piano in her grandmother's parlor in Washington D.C. Her first record, Embers and Ashes, was released in 1960. She had been performing in relative obscurity until 1961, when Miles Davis invited her to open for him at the Village Vanguard. Despite her flourishing reputation and an exception vocal ability with poignant slow ballads, Horn elected to leave the music scene behind to devote herself to motherhood until her early 50s when she reemerged onto the Jazz world and cemented her reputation as a top notch musician. Shirley remarkable talents are captured on the DVD 'Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute' and the Benny Golson album 'One Day Forever.'
Dueling Guitar 1: Paul Bollenback & John Hart
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A headline like "Pope charged for not wearing seat belt," almost feels like a piece from The Onion, but sometimes truth is funnier than fiction.
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and culture editor for America magazine, is a big fan of humor, as displayed in his most recent book, Between Heaven and Mirth. But he also wants journalists to understand the difference between funny and offensive.
Martin's commentary has appeared in outlets like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, FoxNews, and Time magazine, and comedian Stephen Colbert calls him "The Colbert Report chaplain." Before Martin entered the Jesuits in 1988, he graduated from the Wharton School of Business and worked in corporate finance at General Electric for six years. Here, Martin discusses a twist on GetReligion's 5Q+1, focusing on how the mainstream media covers the "funny side" of religion.
(1) What's a journalist's role in covering religion and humor? Are there stories the reporters are missing? Part of the challenge for the journalist is finding the humor in religious organizations without crossing the line to mockery. Frankly, most "funny" stories about religion tend to be vaguely mocking--for example, stories that profess astonishment that a priest or a member of a religious order could start a website, run a business or do something athletic without breaking a leg. (I.e., "Meet a Nun who Surfs!" or "The Monks Who Blog!") They tend to traffic in stereotypes that priests or religious order members are idiots, clueless or have no idea what the "modern world" is like. It gets a little tiresome. The challenge is to find humorous people and funny stories without mocking.
As for stories they are missing, I would say that the great unreported story is the optimism of hope of aging Catholic sisters, who have done remarkable work for the poor in this country. So many of them have great senses of humor and amazing stories to tell about overcoming hardships. Catholic sisters are among the cleverest people I know; and thanks to living through times when they've not always been treated well, have made no money, and are now facing diminishment, they often have very healthy--and bracing--perspectives on life.
(2) How can a journalist covering religion figure out when funny crosses the line into offensive? As I mentioned, any time the journalist finds himself or herself shocked that a priest or a member of a religious order can do something that lay people do on a regular basis--run a corporation, make a joke, cheer at a football game--there will be an element of mockery. I mean, after all, priests and sisters have run (and often founded) universities, hospitals and high schools for decades. Also, even the best journalists occasionally write things that they're not even aware are offensive, like, "Even though Jane is a devout Catholic, she enjoys her work as a science teacher." As if once you become Catholic you check your brain at the door. You see that quite frequently in stories that are trying to be lighthearted.
(3) What's the story you will be watching carefully in the next year or two? The reaction to the new English translation of the Mass. I'm very curious how the people in the pews respond to this big change.
(4) If journalists are trying to prioritize, should they even spend much time finding funnier religion stories? Well, I think it's not as much about finding "funny" stories as finding stories that aren't about scandal or sexual abuse or otherwise serious topics. There are a zillion interesting personal interest stories about religious types: stories about enterprising priests, ministers and rabbis who are doing creative things, as well as churches, synagogues and mosques that sponsor interesting programs, but you rarely hear about that. This is a reflection of the diminishing coverage of religion overall. And one reason for that is that the mainstream media has cut back on its religion coverage. Where in the past each paper would have a full-time religion reporter, that job is now farmed out to someone, say, on the "Culture" or "Arts" beat. One reporter said to me, "Well, I covered the Arts and my editor thought that was close enough to religion, so I'm covering that now, too." As a result, there are only a handful of reporters covering religion full time, and they have to cover all religions. So the "funny" stories, which are considered less important, are few and far between.
(5) What is the funniest, most ironic twist that you have seen in a religion news story lately? In Germany, someone brought a civil case against Pope Benedict XVI for not wearing a seat belt during his recent trip there. I thought that was just hysterical. I mean, the Popemobile goes about three miles an hour. It's not exactly zooming down the Autobahn. When the suit was dismissed Catholic News Agency reported it as follows: "There will be no fine for the Pope," city spokeswoman Edith Lamersdorf told German news agency Badische Zeitung on Nov. 30. "The charges were quashed." It sounds like something out of a Monty Python skit, including the woman's name.
Then the Vatican responded as follows, according to CNA:
Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., said on Nov. 30 that the charges provoked "curiosity and smiles of amusement" at the Holy See, "beginning with the Pope himself." He explained the need for Pope Benedict to not be restricted by seat belts during his visits, since he "turns continually to the right and to the left to greet and bless the faithful...Often he gets up and takes in his arms babies to bless, to the joy of the parents and everyone present," Fr. Lombardi said. "All these gestures presume a certain freedom of movement." The spokesman was, nevertheless, "grateful for the affectionate concern for the Pope's safety."
That's funny on so many levels.
BONUS: Do you have anything else you want to tell us about religion coverage in the mainstream news media? Today, there are only a handful of people covering religion full time these days, compared with, say, dozens and dozens just ten years ago. As papers shrink their staffs, you have fewer people doing real reporting. Much of the stuff on the web is just aggregating--or bloviating. And so much of the stuff on the web about religion is nasty, nasty, nasty. Overall, that represents a huge loss--especially for local coverage of religion. It also means that the few people who are still doing it full time now exercise a great deal more influence. But overall, it's a great loss for a society that needs to better understand religion and religious people. Illustration by Anita Kunz.


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First of all I realize what I'm proposing here has about a snowball's chance of actually happening. I think it's relatively fair to both teams though, and they can both plug holes. A 7 asset for 5 asset swap between Toronto and L.A. is what I've come up with. (I'll include the cap numbers for next year that I was able to find.)
To Los Angeles
Tomas Kaberle - cap hit of $4.25 million - Sad to see him go, but he would more than fill the holes left by Tom Preissing and Kyle Quincey from the Smyth trade, a top flight PP quarterback, and pretty good 5-on-5 D-man for a reasonable cap hit.
Garnet Exelby - cap hit of $1.392 million - Add some size and grit to the Kings back end at a decent salary. Kabby and Exelby for essentially the same price as Bouwmeester isn't that bad
Matt Stajan - cap hit of $1.75 million - again, sad to see him leave, but LA. would get a young, cheap, experienced 3rd line/spot 2nd Line forward, and a pretty good penalty killer.
Jiri Tlusty - cap hit of $855,000 - potential 1st line winger down the road who showed flashes of brilliance (5 and 6 point games) late last year for the Marlies.
Vesa Toskala - $ 4 million, or Justin Pogge - RFA, guessing maybe $800,000 - Either L.A. can have Toskala for a contract year at 4 mil, or Pogge to try and push Bernier in Manchester if the Kings leave him there for seasoning.
2010 1st Round Pick, 2010 3rd Round Pick - If both teams miss the playoffs, LA will have 2 lottery picks, and even if they both make it, they end up with 5 of the top 90 picks next year (provided they hold their own 1st through 3rd Rounders next year). This could allow them to add 2 assets roughly the value of (have you guessed why I picked L.A. yet) Brayden Schenn.
So, with the different cap hits for Toskala or Pogge the cap hit going to L.A. would be between 9.05 and 12.25 million.
To Toronto
Alexander Frolov - cap hit = $4 million - First line talent, only 4 million. (I'd swap out Handzus for the same cap hit to make this deal work if L.A. doesn't want to give up Frolov.)
Brayden Schenn - cap hit approx. $2.5 million - Potential Schenn and Schenn Foundation for the franchise... enough said.
Jack Johnson - RFA - I'd give him 3 yrs for 7-9 million or 4 for 9-12 million, or Sean O'Donnell - cap hit 1.25 million - If L.A. doesn't want to give up Frolov, I'd insist on Johnson's rights being included. O'Donnell can tutor the Marlies d-men like Harrison and Oreskovic or be bought out.
2010 2nd Round Pick, 2010 4th Round Pick - Multiple middle round picks next year to add depth to the farm.
Cap hit going back to Toronto would be between $7.75 million (O'Donnell instead of Johnson) and $8.75-$9.50 million (depending on how much Johnson signed for)
I realize L.A. didn't want to give up the 5 pick this year just for Kaberle, but I think the added pieces makes it a pretty even swap. Toronto does overpay in my scenario for Johnson, but with his salary demands (apparently) L.A. is hesitant to sign him. 2.25-3 million for a kid with his potential would be underpaid by the end of the deal if he fulfills said potential. Also, this type of scenario should appeal to Burke because he can lay the foundation with a massive trade to unite a brother tandem like he did with the Sedins, only the Leafs end up with a couple Saskatchewan boys as the heart and soul of the roster (Brayden will be on equal footing with Luke based on how much the Leafs would have to work to get him) I'd have Brayden start the year on the 3rd line and give him spot 2nd line duty, essentially replacing Stajan and if he has a rough first 9 games, to the A it is.
What do you guys think? Too much time on my hands, crackpot, what?
P.S. If you can't tell, I kinda want to see the Schenns together in Blue and White.
P.P.S. You guys still owe us for '93! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N51jmflc5Io http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvP5UrXWNA


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While I've always been interested in cooking, there is no shortage of recent college graduates who have lived the past four years surviving on top ramen and making very good friends with the pizza delivery guy! There are also those people out there that may not be recent college graduates, but somehow missed that moment when they were supposed to delete the local Chinese restaurant number from their "favorites list" on the iPhone!
Now that we're in "the real world", it's time to start cooking REAL food! Learning to cook, and I mean cooking that doesn't involve placing a bowl in the microwave, can be both daunting and confusing. More than that, the last thing anyone wants to do is dish out hundreds of dollars on kitchen items that will barely get used! That's why I'm here. This week, Little Leopard Book has compiled a list of our top kitchen essentials to make even the most novice cooking experiences run smoothly. While these items vary in price depending on how fancy and high-tech they are, by purchasing the most basic option of each item, everything on the list can be added to the kitchen for under $200! Combine our list of essentials with our delicious recipes and anyone can fall in love with cooking and all that homemade has to offer!
Cutting board: I don't think I could survive in the kitchen without a cutting board. Not only does cutting directly on the counter create a mess, I would argue that it's not even socially acceptable! My advice is to have a couple on hand, this is especially useful when cutting both veggies and raw meat. The two should definitely not mix! I recommend using a wood cutting board for veggies, herbs or bread and a plastic cutting board for preparing raw meats.
Chef's knife: This item goes hand in hand with a cutting board. Life in the kitchen is much easier when struggling to saw through food is not an issue! A good knife cuts down on time, reduces the probability of slicing fingers, and makes it easier to chop food evenly, ultimately making the end result more appetizing.
Measuring Cups: While the experts may not rely on exact measuring, when learning and trying new recipes it is necessary to do so. With correct measurements, new recipes are much more likely to turn out delicious the first time around!
Measuring Spoons: Like measuring cups, these make sure a new dish turns out perfect on the first try. Use these to measure seasonings for that extra pop of flavor in recipes!
Colander: From my experience pasta is one of the easiest dishes to make, but only if there's a colander around to help the process! Pasta dishes can be prepared a number of ways depending on the type of sauce used, the veggies or meat added, and the cheese inside or atop the dish. Experiment with different ingredients and flavors to find your favorite! My favorite is our Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Penne! A colander can also be used to rinse fruits and veggies quickly and easily.
Blender: Even though we're growing out of our "college phase" in the kitchen, that doesn't mean we have to ditch our friend, the blended margarita, after all, we're never too old for margaritas! And of course after those margaritas over the weekend, a blender is an awesome item to have on Monday morning for a delicious Lean and Green Superfood Smoothie to prepare for the week!
Garlic Press: I have my mom to thank for my obsession with the garlic press. While ready-to-go minced garlic in a jar can be purchased, I highly suggest taking the route of buying fresh garlic cloves and a garlic press. The flavor is much better with fresh garlic and a garlic press is simple to use. Many recipes give ingredients in the number of garlic cloves, which can be hard to measure with jarred garlic. Most importantly, this will save money!
Baking Stone: I may have lied at the beginning of this post, pizza is still allowed in "real life" but why not make your own? Baking stones are perfect for making pizzas and baked goods. They help in creating a more even temperature, prevent burning, and are non-stick. I love using mine to make Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies 😉
Zester: No matter how easy a dish is to make, a zester gives the impression of mad cooking skills! Use it with lemons, limes, and other garnishes for a pop of color and flavor. Easily grate fresh parmesan on top of pasta or pizza or use the zester with a little chocolate to amp up any dessert!
Cast Iron Skillet: A cast iron skillet is durable and will last forever! It can be used on the stove, grill, or in the oven. I love using mine for our Cast Iron Skillet Rustic Potatoes.


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Each serving of this tasty risotto provides two veggie servings.
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Grease a medium casserole dish.
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until soft. Add rice; cook for 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients, except Parmesan cheese.
Pour mixture into casserole dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir in cheese. Serve immediately.


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Edmund Burke famously said, "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." The Arab-Israeli conflict, steeped in history, is a case in point. A major piece of US Middle East policy presents a clear example of history being forgotten, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's recent statehood bid at the United Nations serves as an example of history being remembered.
If 90 years ago someone had said that England, France, and Germany would become the strongest of allies with integrated economies, he would have been laughed out of the room. Forty years later that impossible vision had become a reality. It was made possible because a lesson of history was not lost; the mistake made after World War I of severely punishing Germany through the Treaty of Versailles was not repeated after World War II. Rather Germany was allowed to rebuild both economically and politically.
In addition, through the brilliance of the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan, the countries of Europe moved toward integration. With the exception of the Balkan wars following the breakup of Yugoslavia, that integration has led to a period of peace in Europe that has not been seen for centuries. One of the key ingredients to that success has been that nations were pushed to work with each other in various endeavors and formats, and in the process relationships were forged.
That lesson has been lost on successive US administrations as billions and billions of taxpayers dollars have been invested in the separate economies of Egypt, Israel, and Jordan – much of it directed toward military aid. While these dollars were intended to bolster the Egyptian-Israeli and Jordanian-Israeli Peace Treaties of 1979 and 1994, they failed to do so.
Neither aid for separate economies or militaries strengthens peace. The weakening of these two peace treaties in the wake of the Arab Spring has happened in large part because those billions of dollars in US aid did nothing to bring Israelis and their Jordanian and Egyptian neighbors together.
To rectify this poor investment of foreign aid, the United States needs to reevaluate where it directs these billions. To support lasting peace in the region and the kind of relations the US had hoped to foster between aid recipients, it would be wise to take some of these funds and reallocate them toward economic projects between Israel, and Jordan and Egypt. In addition, funding for the United States Agency for International Development's Middle East Regional Cooperation Program and USAID's Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation should be increased.
Finally, the US should take the lead in establishing an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace as advocated by the Alliance for Middle East Peace. This fund, especially with US support, would create better on-the-ground conditions necessary for bringing about a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis. To do this, the fund would bolster the actions of the Israeli and Palestinian people-to-people nongovernmental organizations that work to create touch points of meeting and cooperation for people in both the Israeli and Palestinian communities. I work for one of those organizations: the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, which prepares future Arab and Jewish leaders to solve the region's environmental challenges.
One recent example highlights the important role these NGOs have to play in the region: Gershon Baskin, of The Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information, played a key role in negotiating the Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange, which saw the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Because of his organization's grassroots work within both Israeli and Palestinian communities, Mr. Baskin was uniquely qualified to act as the conduit between Hamas and the Israeli government.
Meanwhile, Mr. Abbas has come under a lot of criticism by the US and a number of European countries for taking the issue of Palestinian statehood to the United Nations earlier this fall. With the subsequent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's vote to admit Palestine to its organization, the US has said it will not pay the $60 million this month it had previously committed to UNESCO. If the US decides to go through with withholding the funds, it will only isolate America further from much of the world community and do absolutely nothing for the peace process.
If the aim really is to support lasting peace and pave the way for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, the US could at least use the $60 million originally designated for UNESCO to fund USAID peacebuilding and development programs and the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, is withholding $192 million in humanitarian and infrastructure aid to the Palestinians. The funds were previously committed for nongovernmental groups working on state-building and economic development projects, most of which are overseen by USAID. Palestinians working peacefully to build infrastructure are facing layoffs and offices are threatened with closure. This punitive action, too, does nothing to advance the peace process.
While the US and some others may be angry with the Palestinians for pursuing statehood recognition at the UN, it would be wise to pause and understand why Abbas is doing this.
For all intents and purposes, the peace process has gone nowhere for years in spite of the efforts of nations in the "Quartet." Over the decades, movement forward on the peace process has most often taken place only after something shook things up.
The 1990-91 Persian Gulf War led directly to the Madrid Conference in 1991, which led to the Oslo Accords in 1993, which led to the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. Similarly, the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was a direct result of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Many have speculated that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's goal in the 1973 confrontation was not to defeat Israel, but only to shake things up by gaining a foothold on the western bank of the Suez Canal.
Abbas, perhaps remembering these history lessons, apparently came to the conclusion that the status quo needed to be shaken up. To his credit he did not chose a violent option for this action. Abbas's goal of going to the UN was to peacefully shake things up. History also teaches that such a decision should be not be so easily dismissed.
Rabbi Michael M. Cohen is the author of "Einstein's Rabbi: A Tale of Science and the Soul" and works for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.