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Members of the Legislature and fellow citizens and taxpayers:
Earlier this week, I signed into law the budget for Fiscal Year 2011. I thank you for your cooperation and your courage in making the tough choices.
They said it couldn't be done, but together, we made the necessary spending cuts. We kept the promise: we balanced the budget without raising taxes on the people of New Jersey.
The spirit of bi-partisanship that we struck earlier this week must be sustained and built upon. The people we serve deserve nothing less.
I want to particularly thank Speaker Oliver and Majority Leader Cryan for their bi-partisan leadership by standing up and voting for this budget. Decisions like that are not easy, but they are right and they are the things that line the path to accomplishment for our state and its citizens.
Madame Speaker—Mr. Majority leader—thank you for your bi-partisan leadership and for your votes.
I also want to thank Senator Sweeney and the members of his caucus for their leadership. Their good work helped to build the bi-partisan bridge that I hope we choose to walk over together this week to finally end the nightmare of property taxes in New Jersey.
Senator Sweeney—thank you.
Finally, to my Republican colleagues in both houses, led by Senator Kean and Assemblyman Decroce, thank you for standing up, for sponsoring the budget and all the necessary legislation to implement it. Thank you for standing together with me—strong and united—to lead the rebuilding of the state we love. Our state owes all of you a debt of gratitude—and so does a grateful governor. Thank you.
As good as making the hard decisions we made this week should make us feel, we must now immediately set out in a new direction.
The job is not complete.
As much as state government spending has grown in past years, local government spending has grown even more.
In the past decade, local government spending has grown 69%. And property taxes have grown 70%.
This is not a coincidence, it is a cause.
It is not a mystery, it is a mandate – to hold down property tax increases and control the spending which gives rise to them.
I have called you back to Trenton during this summer holiday period when many escape to the beach or the mountains, because for New Jersey taxpayers, there has been no escape.
Senior citizens have been struggling to keep their homes – because of property taxes.
Young couples have refrained from buying homes – because of property taxes.
Middle income families are struggling to make ends meet, and in some cases leaving the state – because of property taxes.
Today, I ask you to join me in taming the property tax beast – by capping their growth; by getting rid of excuses to avoid that cap; and by letting the voters have a say in their own destiny.
It is time to let New Jersey's property tax payers be the keepers of their own fate – not the victim of forces beyond their control.
We must help the citizens take back their state.
As you know, I have proposed to send to the voters an amendment to our constitution which could cap property tax growth at 2.5% above the prior year's receipts. That's 2.5% growth in total for everything – municipal tax, county tax, and school tax.
There is only one exception to this cap – to pay required debt service.
And there is only one way to override it – when the voters themselves vote to do so. So the voters will control their own destiny. They can vote to override the cap.
But they can't be bound, gagged, and forced to endure ever higher taxes without their consent.
We have tried caps in the past that allowed exceptions for health costs and pension costs. Not surprisingly, health and pension costs have grown at alarming rates.
We have tried caps in the past that allowed for exceptions for cuts in state aid. But the reality is that state aid has increased as a percentage of overall state spending.
In the budget we passed last week, state spending in total was below the level of Fiscal Year 2005, due to the slow economy. But state aid was actually above the level of Fiscal Year 2005. In the last 15 years, school aid has grown by 110%, and overall state spending has grown by 84%. So these items – state aid and school aid – have been growing over the long term as a share of the budget pie.
We have tried caps in the past that allowed for exceptions for spending that protects the health, safety and welfare of the people. But in reality this is the purpose of almost all local spending – so this is a cap without a cap.
The state will do its part. Side by side with the property tax cap, the constitutional amendment I propose would hold spending on state operations – that is, exclusive of debt service and aid to municipalities and school districts — to less than 2.5% growth as well. That is only fair. We can't just talk the talk; we have to walk the walk.
I know some fear a constitutional amendment and the permanency of it. I know some disagree with my view that this is the only solution to this problem. I hear you. I respect your point of view. I know we disagree.
I also know that some of you came into this chamber today expecting that I would offer you a take it or leave it proposition. Put Cap 2.5 on the ballot or else. My way or the highway. I don't know why any of you would think that about me.
Yes, I believe firmly in Cap 2.5 in our constitution. But I will not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I will not stand for the proposition that the only good idea is the one you come up with yourself. So, I have an alternative to present as well.
You have passed your Cap 2.9 bill and sent it to my desk for my consideration. While I am happy that we are all now talking about capping property taxes, I respectfully cannot sign this bill.
However, I am willing to consider something else.
I would be able to support a statutory cap at 2.5%. A cap that would have only one permanent exception—an exception for capital expenditures, including debt service.
I would be able to support that cap if it also includes a temporary exception for increases in costs in excess of 2.5% for existing collectively bargained contracts. But once those contracts reach their end date, this exception must disappear and all new contracts must conform to the new, hard 2.5% cap including all labor costs going forward.
I would be able to support that cap if it includes a vote of the people as the only way to override the 2.5% cap. On this ground we must stand: the people have been let down by politicians of both parties for 30 years who promised to control property taxes for them. It is time to make the people a part of controlling and determining their own taxes. Anything less would be unacceptable to me.
This is less than a constitutional cap but much more than we have now. A hard cap, at 2.5%, with just those limited exceptions and the ability for voters to determine their own tax fate in their own town—these are the principles of Cap 2.5 and these are my principles.
This will reduce property taxes.
This will improve our state.
This will control runaway local spending.
This can also bring our citizens some of the relief they so desperately need.
So there you have it—a choice. A constitutional cap which I have proposed. Or the statutory cap some of you prefer—but one that is a hard 2.5% and involves the voters in voting on their own taxes. I can accept either in order to slay the beast of property taxes.
But here is what I will not accept.
We will work every day until we do one or the other. We cannot take a vacation when our citizens get no vacation from escalating property taxes.
We do not disserve a break when these taxes are breaking the backs of our families.
We cannot leave this town for the summer and leave our citizens with an ever growing property tax bill to pay because we refused to act.
We must act and we must act now.
We have entered a new era in New Jersey.
We have woken up as a people, and as a government, to the fiscal dangers around us, and restraint has begun to take hold.
Our budget for next year will help us tame the beast of state government spending. Now let's slay the threat of property tax growth.
Let the voters have a say in their own future.
Give the people the ability to control high taxes, and the mayors the ability to control the high costs that cause them with the municipal tool kit.
Then we can turn, for the long-term to the business at hand. Making New Jersey once again a great place to find a job and raise a family. Fixing our cities, improving our schools, strengthening our colleges and universities. Making New Jersey a home for growth.
We have begun to control the factors that have put us in crisis. Before we leave for this summer… let us finish the job.
The voters have told us clearly – the biggest problem they worry about in New Jersey is property taxes. How can we not act to address the people's biggest worry?
Robert F. Kennedy has famously been said to have asked: "If not us, who? If not now, when?"
When it comes to the property tax crisis in New Jersey, the evidence is overwhelming. The fear and frustration of the taxpayers is real. If we cannot act in this time of crisis to permanently address this problem, when will we act?
Another summer looms ahead, and with it the promise of time spent with family.
For New Jersey families, let them head to the shore, and take their picnics, and attend their kids' baseball games, with one less worry. Let them know that property taxes will not bankrupt them, or drive them out of our state, or cost them vacation or college tuition.
Let them know that, before we left here, we fulfilled our obligation to attend to the people's business. Let us resolve to act so that New Jersey's families can replace fear and frustration about the present hope and dreams for a better future.
As we hit the middle of this year, we are in the middle of the task of reclaiming New Jersey's future. In the Cap 2.5 and tool kit proposals, we have the tools – now let's finish the job.
Thank you very much, God bless New Jersey, and God bless America.


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No doubt about it: James Cameron's flashy epic is this year's top dog
The Hollywood marketing machine has been at full throttle since the Oscar nominations were announced on Feb 2, and James Cameron's "Avatar" has been at the top of the hype heap with cover stories in publications ranging from Entertainment Weekly to The New York Times Magazine.
All of that attention inevitably rekindled some public resentment going back to Cameron's 1997 win for "Titanic." Yes, it was a massive feat of special effects and envelope-pushing scope, but the best film? When Cameron accepted the award and obnoxiously shouted "I'm king of the world!" to an industry crowd that already disliked him, even the pro-"Titanic" people were a little resentful.
But don't hold that against "Avatar," Cameron's mind-blowingly real, 3-D epic about a planet (Pandora) and its native inhabitants (the Na'vi) about to be destroyed by prospecting humans. Like "Titanic," "Avatar" is a special effects spectacle that broke records with its budget (reportedly $300 million), and box-office take (now more than $2.4 billion worldwide). But it deserves the best picture Oscar for more reasons than that.
It's rumored that when moving pictures were first introduced, the images felt so real that a scene of an approaching train sent audiences scrambling from their seats. The introduction of sound, and then color, pushed the audience experience even closer to the real world. "Avatar's" blending of live action, animation and 3-D is a huge leap ahead, creating a seamless experience that's more real than reality itself.
Cameron knew exactly what he needed to pull off his ambitious vision. It just didn't exist yet. So, he invented it himself (with a lot of help from his long-suffering technical advisers): things like a stereoscopic camera, a groundbreaking "simulcam" monitor that allows the director to instantaneously superimpose CGI effects onto the live action, and a camera-equipped helmet that records the actors' facial movements, to be incorporated later onto the CGI character.
If this just sounds like film geek talk, don't worry. All you need to know is that these advances make the 10-foot-tall blue Na'vi feel truly present, at times delivering "performances" more moving than the real-life actors (particularly with Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana). Can we give Oscars to aliens?
But just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should. Especially when we're talking about spending massive amounts of cash during a down economy. But "Avatar" and its costly technology have spurred an entire industry. More high-caliber 3-D movies are coming out this year than ever before and theaters are scrambling to upgrade their systems to meet the demand. Home entertainment systems to match are just around the corner. There are even companies using "Avatar"-inspired image capture and computer animation to develop medical applications. A movie saving lives? A stretch — but not by much.
If you've heard any criticism of "Avatar," it probably focused on its unoriginal storyline (often described as "Dances With Wolves" with aliens). The story does rely on well-worn themes, but these themes are recycled through generations for a reason — they are universal. Some might even call them fables. And the familiar territory lets the audience feel comfortable and open to a new, rather intense, sensory experience. Sure, 30 years from now we might look back and snicker at how unevolved our tastes were. But the future is never possible without the present. And right now, "Avatar" is the state of the art.
Even with its by-the-book story, "Avatar's" environmental theme has inspired people all over the world to consider protecting their own planet, lest they feel like the film's human villains, determined to use up and destroy the Pandora paradise. The reaction has been strong enough to inspire a right-wing backlash against the film, not to mention a minor epidemic of depression among young people growing dismayed with reality after experiencing the utopian planet. A movie that can tap that deeply into our global psyche deserves the Best Picture statue.
Pop culture sensations like "Star Wars" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" prove just how much we value the science fiction genre. Yet, despite several nominations over the decades, the academy has not awarded a sci-fi film the best picture Oscar. How many times have you heard "Avatar" referred to as a "game changer" (a quick Google search returns more than 36 million results)? "Avatar" will forever alter the way filmmakers approach these imaginative tales. What better way to declare science fiction's worthiness than by giving the top Oscar to the film that set the standard for the next generation of sci-fi movies?
Bigelow's "Hurt Locker" is a worthy best picture choice. It's a masterfully crafted film with incredible performances (including best actor nominee Jeremy Renner), topical subject matter (the soldier's experience on the ground in Iraq), and, as much as it shouldn't be an issue anymore, a woman in the director's chair (no woman has ever won a directing Oscar). But the juiciest reason? Bigelow and Cameron are ex-spouses — and wouldn't it be satisfying to stick it to the cocky Cameron by giving the Oscar to his ex-wife?
These are all tempting arguments, but if academy members buy into them in this year's best picture race, they will have missed the chance to recognize film history in the making. For once, all the pre-Oscar hyperbole (including the previous sentence) is actually true. "Avatar" has earned the right to be called the best picture of 2009 — even if it means Cameron will be more obnoxious because of it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Human Services
Volunteer Action Center Run for the Roses 2016
Event Navigation
Toyota of Scranton was extremely honored to be the presenting sponsor of Run For The Roses. This great event was an opportunity to support the vital causes administered by Voluntary Action Center of NEPA while having fun taking chances on a real horse race.
Everyone wore their race day best and had a wonderful time!
To learn more about Voluntary Action Center of NEPA visit their website at vacnepa.org.
To make a donation click below.


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Forums › Community › AxCrypt Premium › Reply To: AxCrypt Premium
Hello Curious,
The Premium plan is per account, on any number of devices. So, if you plan to sign in using the same AxCrypt ID email on all 4 computers, you're good to go with just one Premium plan.
Other family members, if they wish to have their own accounts, must use their own plans though.


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You Can Now Use Later to Find Out the Best Time to Post on Instagram
Now they've added in a new feature which may well be their most useful yet - one which shows you when the best time to post is. Since Instagram changed the way posts are ordered in the main feed, engagement has been steadily declining, but weirdly timing is more important than ever. Despite posts no longer appearing chronologically, there are certain peak posting times in different time zones during which more users, and particularly those likely to engage, are active.
What Later can now do is show you these time slots and recommend the best time to post something. It's a tailored system, Later will actually scan your Instagram account to determine your audience, and when the best time to post to them is. Those times will appear highlighted in the calendar view. That's pretty much it.
It's simple, but it homes in on a key issue with Instagram, because each audience is personal, figuring out when it's best to reach them turns into a perpetual game of trial and error, and if you're lucky enough to get some growth, it only becomes more difficult. Even with the feature active, you won't be able to see the best slots for each day, you might get three on one day and none on another. Also, if you're posting at around the same times every day, the feature won't work, because it won't be able to differentiate the data.
Additionally, it will only work if you've posted 50 times in the past six months, but if you haven't been posting that frequently, it hardly seems worth it to use Later at all, especially given the price tag. The feature is only available to those using the $16 per month version of the service or higher, so if you're not using Instagram for business in some sense or another, it's not worth it. That being said, it's certainly cemented Later's position as one of the best Instagram tools on the market, if not the best.
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum
Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info: TheSMFGroup.com
You Can Now Use Later to Find Out the Best Time to Post on Instagram Reviewed by Unknown on Friday, June 16, 2017 Rating:


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My Memories
Scrapbooking. There are very few mothers (and fathers) who do not document their family's lives in some manner or another. Instagram and Facebook posts and albums. Photos sheets and photo albums. We all want to preserve the memories of times gone by because they go by so fast. It is a short period that our babies are babies. They move… Continue reading


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South Africa's State-owned national power utility Eskom says its capacity expansion programme is still on track, noting that one of the highlights when it released its integrated results for the six months ended Sept 30 last week is the significant progress on the new build programme with the Ingula project's units 4, 2, and 1 having gone into commercial operation since June 10, Aug 22 and August 30 respectively, adding 999 megawatts (MW) of peaking capacity to the country's national grid.
Eskom said in a media statement here over the weekend that the remaining unit at Ingula, Unit 3, was synchronised to the grid on Oct 29 after repairs were completed and the unit was on track for commercial operation by 2017.
It also noted that Unit 6 of the new Medupi Power Station in Limpopo Province had been in commercial operation since August 2015 while Unit 5 of Medupi was synchronised to the national grid on Sept 8 this year.
The synchronisation of Medupi's Unit 5 marked a key milestone towards the full commercial operation of the unit ahead of its scheduled commercial operation in March 2018. Eskom said good progress was also being made on Unit 4 of the Medupi project.
Meanwhile, progress on the new Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga Province was also registering significant strides with its Unit 1 continuing to achieve set milestones on the path to commercial operation by the second half of 2018.
"On the transmission side, 53 kilometres of lines have been installed and 1,050 MVA transformers have been commissioned for electricity transmission. We remain focused on bringing new capacity online, with 9,104 MW to be commissioned over the next six years," added Eskom.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK.


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Pretty 3 bedroom cottage (sleeps 6)
Strawberry Cottage is in a fantastic location, being tucked away in the lower corner of the park, overlooking the countryside with distant sea views (from the terrace).
The cottage has been totally renovated over the past few years with double glazing, new flooring throughout, a new kitchen with dishwasher and fridge freezer.
Up to 1 medium size dog is welcome at the cottage. Please see our terms and condition for further details about our dog policy.
New for 2019 you now have free wi-fi.
You also have the use of the shared, heated indoor swimming pool (from the beginning of March to the end of October).
From the cottage you're 1.5 miles to the nearest beach and and around 10-15 minutes to an even larger choice of gorgeous West Cornwall beaches.
Property Summary
- Bedrooms all on first floor (double bedroom, twin bedroom and single bed room).
- Bathroom on the ground floor with bath (shower over), basin and WC.
- Well equipped kitchen with fridge-freezer, dishwasher, microwave, electric hob and oven.
- Open plan dining and living area.
- Patio doors out to small terrace area with bench seating and distant views to the sea.
- Free Wifi
- Strawberry Cottage is pet friendly. (please check our terms and conditions for further details).
Pricing and Check in dates
During Whitsun, July, August and October half term you can book for 7 nights, from Saturday to Saturday.
At other times through the year you'll be able to book 4 or 7 nights.
Please contact us if you'd like a price for long term winter rental (1-4 months).


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Learn to code in 30 Days
Hacker News
Hacker News is Dead?
Lessons learned from the Hacker News outage… 1) THE big mistake Hacker News made this week 2) One quick trick to check less email...
Chris Castiglione
Jan 9, 2014
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We got rejected from Y Combinator…
…the first time. And that's why this week on Hacker News Nation, we'll be sharing tips for applying to Y Combinator. As well as the stories...
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Nov 21, 2013
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Hacker News Nation: Episode #1
It's showtime! Today I'm pumped to share our first episode of Hacker News Nation! Students often ask me, "What do I use to to...
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Tomorrow is August 21, 2017, the day of the Great American Eclipse, the best view of a total eclipse from coast to coast in America in the past 100 years! As with many ecliptic events, many try to aimlessly tie it to an End Times prophecy with no real evidence or data to back it up. Let me save you the suspense, this isn't that type of event. While still a remarkable event that a random set of countries get to view a few times a year, the event has certainly brought about some interesting thought and research. If this isn't the solar eclipse predicted in Joel 2:31, "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.", then when is it?
First, the blood moon also mentioned in the verse means that there is a red or dark orange moon very soon before or possibly after the solar eclipse. This year, there was a blood moon on August 13, 2017, one week ago tonight, because of its proximity to the Earth's Penumbra (partial) shadow cast on the moon that night. So why isn't this THE prophetic solar eclipse that indicates that we are near the 2nd Coming of Christ? The answer is relatively simple. Bible prophecy is always related to Israel in some way, including the proximity of such celestial events to Israel. Tomorrow's solar eclipse will reach its Totality over southeast Kentucky, specifically 37.0°N 87.7°W at 12:26:40 pm CDT according to Wikipedia's List of Solar Eclipses in the 21st Century. Looking at all of the Totality locations for the next 2 centuries on Wikipedia, there is one annular solar eclipse with a Totality location very close to Israel, especially the one on July 4, 2103 located in the Sinai Peninsula, specifically the Wilderness of Shur (the same wilderness in the Exodus route), at 30.3°N 33.2°E at 1:01:48 pm IDT. No other solar eclipse Totality location in the next 200 hundred years is this close to Israel!
If that isn't interesting enough, July 4, 2103 A.D. happens to be exactly 2 years, 6 months and 14 days after December 21, 2100, which is my calculated end date of Daniel's 2300 Evenings & Mornings Prophecy, the reconsecration of the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem and the Winter Solstice.
Revelation 12:14 says, "14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach." The wilderness mentioned in this passage could very well be the Wilderness of Shur during the 3.5 year part of the Tribulation. This suggests the first half of the Tribulation with the solar eclipse occurring during this period over the same Wilderness in Egypt.
Daniel 12:7 says, "7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed." This references a 3.5 year period of Tribulation. This suggests the second half of the Tribulation when the 3rd Temple is desecrated by the Anti-Christ and Jewish people flee everywhere for their lives until Christ returns during the Battle of Armageddon.
Isaiah 34:8 says, "For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause."
Based on these 3 verses and the location of this particular annular solar eclipse focused directly over the Wilderness of Shur, 2.5 years and 2 weeks after the reconsecration of the 3rd Temple in Jerusalem, an interesting timeline unfolds.
The Trumpet's YouTube video, The Great American Solar Eclipse of August 21—Does It Fulfill Bible Prophecy?, shows that a solar eclipse marks the separation of Satan's 2.5 years of wrath and the Lord's 1 year of His wrath according to Isaiah 34:8.
2 Extra Weeks? Feast Of Dedication and Hanukkah
I have determined the explanation of the 2 additional weeks between December 21, 2100 A.D. and January 4, 2101 A.D. before the start of the first half or 3.5 years of the Tribulation period. Using a Hebrew calendar, a 2 week Feast of Dedication begins on December 21, 2100 A.D. and the eight-day Feast of Lights, also called Hanukkah, begins on December 27, 2100 A.D. and ends on January 3, 2101, the day before the beginning of the Tribulation, also before the day that is exactly 2.5 years before the Wilderness of Shur Solar Eclipse. When Solomon dedicated the first Temple in Jerusalem, they had a Feast of Dedication that lasted 2 weeks. When the second Temple was rededicated with a 2-week Feast of Dedication after the defilement of Antiochus Epiphanies, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (high priest) was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that one flask was found with only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle, Hanukkah.
The Beginning of the Tribulation
The first 2 1/2 years of the Tribulation before the Great Wilderness Solar Eclipse, is from January 4, 2101 A.D. to July 4, 2103. The 'Day (or solar year) of the Lord' in Isaiah 34:8 is from July 4, 2103 A.D. to July 4, 2104. This suggests that the Rapture will occur sometime during this one year period. Matthew 24:36 says, 36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father."
Once the Church is Raptured, God will exercise a specific judgment during The Day of the Lord, one year period, which concludes the first half of the Tribulation by all indications.
Copyright MeridianProphecy.com 2015 ©


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Updated Business Retention and Expansion Fact Sheets Now Available
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An initiative led by Congressman John Kline (MN-R) would do more than terminate the federal stimulus renewable energy program that funded the bankrupt $535 million notorious Solyndra solar power project. If successful, it would also knock the wind out of a key funding source for one of the nation's most controversial wind projects.
Featuring: Rochester's "Zip Rail" project, Monticello FiberNet, MN's connection to LightSquared, and a call for FFM interns!
Featuring: Senate hearing on MN daycare unionization, CenterPoint Energy's pricing plan, Brooklyn Center levy goes down, and Anoka County's budget.
CenterPoint Energy has announced its support for the suspension of the controversial Inverted Block Rate natural gas pricing system for the utility's 715,000 ratepayers. In a joint filing with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), several environmental groups defended the premise of the program of charging some customers more than others for the amount of energy they use.
Heat's Off! Controversial Energy Pricing Repealed? Thousands of CenterPoint Energy customers who were slapped with skyrocketing natural gas bills due to a controversial pilot program detailed in a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota investigative report may see much lower heating bills in the near future.
Energy official Cathy Zoi was subject of extensive FFM investigation
Cathy Zoi, President Obama's number two official at the Department of Energy, abruptly resigned earlier this week. Zoi was also the subject of an extensive investigation by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.
Featuring: the Ramsey Town Center debacle, St. Anthony Village Watchdog keeping their school district accountable, green jobs, and personal responsibility and individual liberties!
Pajamas Media featured FFM research in their ongoing investigation of a potential conflict of interest between the Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi and her husband Robin Roy, an executive for "green window" company Serious Materials.
Featuring: a statement from FFM CEO Annette Meeks, Rochester Watchdog Training 6/29, transit truths, and more!
The Pioneer Press featured FFM in an article on the brand new "green roof" for St. Paul's fire station.
Featuring: Northstar hoarders, the number of state employees making more than $100,000, FFM in the news, and more!
Significant Freedom Foundation of Minnesota research was cited in Timothy Carney's column in the Washington Examiner on a top energy official, the "cash for caulkers" program, and how she would profit from a company that has lobbied for the bill.
Investor's Business Daily featured significant FFM research on the serious conflict of interest between a top Obama energy official and an energy efficient window company located in California. The article focuses on how cronyism is investing cap-and-trade.
Featuring: local governments getting creative during tough times, FFM in local and national news, FFM Watchdog training, and more.
Ed Morrissey at Hot Air picked up the serious conflict of interest first reported by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota between top energy official Cathy Zoi and her husband, Robin Roy, executive of Serious Materials, an energy efficient window company that has received significant attention from the Obama administration.
FFM's investigation into the Obama administration's serious conflict of interest was featured on the green energy website GreenEnergy101.net.
BigGovernment.com ran the "symbolic wind turbines" piece by FFM's Tom Steward on its website. The article examines twelve wind turbines across Minnesota that have been in the news lately because they've been shutting down from the cold temperatures. What are these turbines generating if they're not generating energy?
Now that most of twelve California wind turbines retrofitted for Minnesota winters are finally operational, several cities acknowledged to the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota that the $5 million project may be more suited for generating PR—both good and bad—than producing significant quantities of power.
The Daily Bail featured John Stossel's op-ed and a video clip from the Stossel episode on "crony capitalism." The FFM investigation on green energy Secretary Cathy Zoi and a potential conflict of interest was first released on that show and featured FFM CEO Annette Meeks and FFM Vice President Jonathan Blake.
Our friends at Reason.com featured John Stossel's article that ran on Townhall.com, Real Clear Politics, and other media outlets yesterday.
John Stossel's latest commentary piece prominently featured FFM's investigation into the Department of Energy and a serious conflict of interest with a high ranking member and her husband, an executive at Serious Materials, a company getting favorable treatment from the White House.
The San Francisco Examiner featured FFM's investigation into a serious conflict of interest in author Mark Tapscott's latest piece. As Tapscott describes, "In a city full of conflicts of interest, this one ranks near the top of the "Most Blatant Ever."" The hard-hitting piece features FFM research and an original video created by FFM titled: The Obama Administration's Serious Conflict of Interest.
BREAKING: FFM broke a serious investigation on the Fox Business Channel's Stossel on a potential conflict of interest between the Obama administration's top renewable energy secretary and a small California window company.
Christmas came early this week for several Minnesota farmers when state regulators unanimously rejected a permit for a controversial wind farm proposed by the City of New Ulm, which had threatened to use eminent domain authority for the first time on record to seize the wind rights over the opponents' property in order to force through the 8-megawatt project.
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| 9.1°C Belfast
Novak Djokovic provided an engaging picture of himself after feeding the powerful and talented Tomas Berdych into the tennis equivalent of a shredding machine.
It was of him sitting in an ice bath chatting amiably with the old favourite of the Australian Open crowd, Lleyton Hewitt, but if this was just a snapshot of his remarkable recovery from the five-hour, five-set win over the defiant Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka it came, as you might have expected, with another philosophical statement of the most formidable intent.
We talk often and casually enough about the great competitors moving into "the zone". Here is one who is suggesting he might have filled it with an armoured division.
There may never have been another Grand Slam champion, not even the raging John McEnroe or the impassioned Andre Agassi, to have conveyed quite so explicitly the intensity of his passion to win and all of it was reporting for duty in the demolition of the world's sixth-ranked player from the Czech Republic.
This was the collision of a gifted player and someone who continues to drive himself on to another plateau.
With the great Roger Federer fanning the last flames of a unique talent and Rafa Nadal battling against career-threatening infirmities, the 25-year-old Serbian is moving towards his sixth Grand Slam title in something resembling a controlled competitive rage.
His work this week has sent out a whole series of warnings and not the least among them, signalled to Andy Murray that his new status as US Open champion and Olympic gold medallist may well be heading for its most demanding examination. No doubt it was something tugging at the corners of the Scotsman's psyche when he went out in the early hours of this morning hoping to stifle as routinely as possible the ambitions of the Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. This, surely, is the effect of Djokovic on the march. His aggression spills into every corner. He doesn't walk into an arena, he invades it.
Djokovic explained that the evisceration of Berdych – in precisely half the time it took to dispatch the obdurate Wawrinka – could only have happened after perfect handling of the fatigue that came with his earlier labours. "People who don't know tennis," he said, "who have never been in these kind of situations would not truly understand what a player has to go through, not just when you prepare for a Grand Slam but also during a Grand Slam.
"After five hours of a match you really need to put a lot of time into recovery, different kinds of recovery. I understand that many have different views and opinions and I respect that. But I'm doing everything that is legal, that is correct, that I naturally can, possibly can in my power – and it is going well."
Translation: I am in charge of my body and my ambition and good luck to anyone who dreams of stopping me.
There is huge terrain to conquer if Djokovic is to get anywhere near the empire created by Federer with his record mark of 17 Grand Slams. Even if Melbourne falls to the Serb for a fourth straight time, he will still be 11 titles short of the Federer mark or, put another way, the career-long accumulations of such epic achievers as Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.
Nadal is locked on 11, Murray in the foothills of one title and maybe it is that Federer's time, finally, has passed. So where does this leave Djokovic as he moves between his bed and ice baths and the arena he has come to dominate so profoundly?
It is in an astonishing place that has become one of the most compelling in all of sport, somewhere filled with an ambition which has become ferociously overt and spectacular. Against Berdych there was the brief torment of the lost second set after a 28-minute rampage through the first. The rest was filled with play that stretched the bounds of tennis possibility.
The Czech walked off court with the downcast demeanour of a man that had been confronted again by the misfortune of being born at the wrong time. This was his 12th defeat in 13 meetings. It wasn't so much futility as persecution.
Djokovic's semi-final opponent, David Ferrer, ranked No 5 and briefly glowing from his "miraculous" five-set victory over Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro, rolled his eyes when asked about his prospects. Of course Djokovic was a big favourite but he had a chance – the kind, he seemed to be saying, when a firing squad appears at the other side of the net.
No doubt Murray awoke in a rather more sanguine frame of mind.
He, too, has been to the mountain top. However, it has been rather less frequently than the man from Serbia who was born a week later but with an impatience that the highest level of sport has rarely seen.
Belfast Telegraph


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Johnny Come Greatly
Turkey Marzetti ($14)
The Draw: An almost forgotten Columbus classic gussied-up and healthed-up with handmade whole wheat pasta plus other fantastic local ingredients
Dig in: As American as Hamburger Helper -and likely the inspiration for it, too - Johnny Marzetti is the most famous dish ever invented in Columbus, Ohio. These days, Johnny has been mostly relegated to the pages of history, yellowing recipe books and Wikipedia, but this classic U.S. casserole once was as popular throughout the country as those old sitcoms rerunning endlessly in TV-land limbo.
Leave it to the incredible Knead to resuscitate our nearly dormant, municipally renowned meal. But leave it to local-ingredient-obsessed and furiously scratch cooking Knead to vastly improve ol' Johnny, too.
This marvelous Marzetti makeover stars an impressive wine and dairy-inflected meat sauce closer to an authentic Bolognese sauce than scores of pretenders laying claim to that genius creation of Italian cuisine. Knead's green-peppered beauty also includes lean Ohio-raised ground turkey, great Canal Junction cheese, house-made farfalle pasta and locally harvested herbs and veggies.


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I'm fairly new to this chase, but I wanted to share the thrill. I hope you can spare the time to share it with me. First a little background. I'm a little like the person you hope will find the treasure, though maybe older. I'm 59 and have had two heart attacks and quintuple bypass surgery. Unable to work full days installing power plants in telephone offices throughout the country any longer, I was put on disability. Nothing could be worse for a person like me. I HAVE to feel like I'm accomplishing SOMETHING. Fortunately, my girlfriend, Claudia, had a little savings and I received a large first disability check, so we moved from Mansfield, Ohio (a ghost town of old factories and no work) to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and bought a small RV Park. Now I can work at my own pace and we've doubled the size of the park in the last year.
A couple months ago, a friend of mine sent me an article about you and your treasure. I was intrigued. I LOVE a good puzzle or riddle and I like to think I'm pretty good with them. I learned I need to improve my skill. Within an hour, I was looking at the ruins of a small settlement on a tributary of Rio Oso on Google Earth, and convinced I had figured it out. I was at least sure I had the first part figured out. The Rio Ojo Caliente (warm pool river) ends in Chili (chilly). If I cross the Chama River and go up the canyon down, it is Oso Canyon. Not far, but too far to walk. But Rt. 114 from Espanola going west takes you to Rt. 31 going north to Abiquiu, and crosses Rio Oso. Then it follows along it to a point below a cabin owned by Spanish ranchers where, if you "put in" at the stream coming down the south side of the cabin, leads you up to the settlement.
Furthermore, when you come to the settlement, Polvadera Peak comes into view. Research showed me that this mountain was described by the news as a "blaze" shooting into the sky in 2010, the year the treasure was hidden. I was convinced that when I got there, the rest would fall into place.
After being convinced that it was too early in the year for the bears and the rattlers to be out, Claudia agreed to go with me. Unfortunately, it was also too early in the year to get through Rt. 114 without a 4X4 and I was without one. We parked our little gas saver at the side of the road when we came to our first pile of snow, and walked the next 5 miles to Rt 31.
Worn out, but exited, we started down the road. Only a half a mile into it we came to a cattle guard with signs posted on both sides of the road, "No Trespassing – Private Property". Not sure what we might encounter if we proceeded on foot, we decided to go back out to 114 and continue on it, as it ran parallel to the canyon. After two more miles we could see the hill we wanted to get to, but it was getting late and I wasn't sure it was approachable from this point.
We turned around and had gone maybe a mile when I heard the sound of a car coming up the road. It was a 4X4 with two guys in it who stopped and asked if that was our car back a ways. We told them yes and suddenly I realized that I was in the middle of NOWHERE with a beautiful woman and two strangers are stopping and talking to us and I started getting nervous because I had absolutely NO weapon with which to defend us if necessary. They seemed friendly and offered us a ride on their way back from wherever they were going if we were still walking. Then they pulled away. I was determined they would NOT see us on their way back, JUST IN CASE. So we walked off road the rest of the way back and hid when they came back by. You never know. The next day we could barely walk at all.
So, while I waited for the snow to melt, I did some research. Oso Canyon has been inhabited by humans for 10,000 years. Sounds like a place you would be interested in, I thought. I looked at pictures of Tipi rings and maps of forest fires and files on land grants. I love research. The more I looked into it, the more convinced I was that I was on the right track. I talked to the Forest Service and found out that Rt. 31 was washed out in a flood last year and was impassable by vehicle. I discovered a different trail that would lead me to the settlement from Rt. 114 and walked it so many times I wore a path on Google Earth.
In early April, Claudia's dad broke his hip and she went back to Ohio to see him and visit her grandchildren. She left STRICT orders that I was NOT to go out to the mountains alone. I was to go to Ohio myself in the beginning of May to get her and visit my family.
By the time May rolled around, I had convinced her that if I was adequately prepared and left all of my info with the Forest Service that I could go out ONE day before I caught the bus in Albuquerque to Ohio. So I bought bear spray and a first aid kit and a snake bite kit and called the Forest Service in Espanola and gave them my agenda. I rented a motel room there on Friday night and got some sleep for my big day on Saturday.
Saturday morning was perfect. It was sunny and just cool enough to make hiking comfortable. It was probably ten o'clock by the time I parked and put on my backpack full of safety gear that I knew I was going to abandon as soon as I found the treasure, to make room for the box in my pack.
The terrain was not quite what I had expected. On Google Earth it looked very clear. Now that I was here, it was very bushy and lots of needles and rocks. Rough walking and no trail that I could see. None the less, I took off for the treasure. I had been struggling about ten minutes in the brush, thinking I was off to a bad start and that it would probably take me all day to get there, when suddenly I heard some clomping behind me along with heavy animal breathing. I turned around, almost having my third heart attack, thinking I was only ten minutes into my adventure and was already being attacked by a bear. And my spray was in my pack.
But, to my surprise, there was a cowboy on a horse heading up toward my van. He hadn't even seen me. Then I realized, hey, he's on a trail. Just a short struggle and it was a walk in the park. Once I got to the bottom of the first canyon, the path opened up and the walking became easy and the scenery became beautiful.
Because of my heart, I can only walk so far before I take a break, so I found a big boulder to lean against and take a drink when I was startled again. It was the same cowboy coming back down the trail. This time he saw me and stopped. "Was that your campfire I saw up there?" he asked. I told him I had just pulled in about twenty minutes ago and had called the Forest Service to let them know I would be here, and that I would NEVER start a fire up here. He seemed satisfied and we talked for a few minutes. I told him I was headed for Oso Canyon and he told me it was a couple miles up the trail. He ranched back there and wondered if I had seen a cow and calf wandering around. I hadn't and he told me to have a good day and rode away.
Now I was beginning to feel VERY comfortable. Another mile and I was looking at the little settlement I had come to investigate. I could see the cowboy and two others working in the distance while I took pictures and searched for treasure. I had heard that you said the treasure was not associated with a structure, so I stayed away from the log cabin ruins and adobe ruins other than for pictures. I was more interested in the clues.
I went down the ravine that I thought began below the cabin that I was now looking at, where the next clue said it was "no place for the meek". I went down until it got fairly steep near the bottom and I could see that the clue made sense. This ravine was BEAUTIFUL. Little pools of water and waterfalls splashing around large boulders. Then I turned and headed back up the way I would have if I had come the way I thought the clues would lead me.
Next, I thought I would find a grave or graves that would satisfy the clue, " the end is ever nigh". I found no grave. Nor did I find ANYTHING that would justify that clue. My first disappointment. What DID fit was the clue, "There will be no paddle for your creek." This creek opened into a beautiful clearing and became just a large wet green grassy valley.
It was enchanting. The little settlement had been built along side it. It also clearly had heavy loads (logs for cabins and rocks for walls and fences) and water high. SO many clues fit. The other clue that fit perfectly was the forest fire from 2010.
As soon as you come into the settlement from the ravine, Polvadera Peak comes into view. But, try as I did, no matter how I did it, when "the blaze" came into view and I looked down, there was nothing. Of course, "blaze" can mean several things, so I gave up on that meaning and started looking for markings on every tree and rock, and looking into every grove of trees and bushes around the settlement. It reminded me of an Easter egg hunt. Still nothing.
So I moved on up the creek without a paddle. At the upper end of the creek where it entered back into the forest from the huge cleared area where the settlement was, it once again became fast moving and narrow. The terrain was getting steeper again and the creek was cutting a small gorge into the soil. As I looked up the creek, I could see a point where the water looked like it was coming right out of the ground. "That's interesting", I thought.
As I got closer I could see that it was a small tunnel through a little hill. Maybe ten feet long and collapsed in the middle so there were two short tunnels about three or four feet long. Trees were growing above it with roots hanging down into the tunnel which was about three feet in diameter. Just about dark enough in there to use that flashlight. Then, as I looked up and to the right, there was an Aspen tree with a fairly fresh carving in it. My heart started pounding and I remembered jokingly telling Claudia that my biggest fear was that I would get so exited when I found it that I would have a heart attack and someone would eventually find ME sitting there with the treasure in my lap instead of YOU. She didn't find it as amusing as I did. But my heart slowed down when I read the inscription, "EJ iz BJ" followed by three upside down "J's". It made no sense to me. But WHY would it be HERE? In the middle of NOWHERE. That also made no sense. I spent a while there, poking around in the water and moving rocks around, but eventually ran out of ideas.
I went back to the settlement and looked one last time before I gave up for this trip and headed back down the trail to Albuquerque. What a beautiful day it was. And that's why I wrote you this letter. Though I have yet to find a penny, THANKS A MILLION!!!
Dave Gorka


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Bond Allocation―Louisiana Public Facilities Authority
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and Act 51 of the 1986 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, Executive Order No. KBB 2005-12 was issued to establish:
(1) a method for allocating bonds subject to private activity bond volume limits, including the method of allocating bonds subject to the private activity bond volume limits for the calendar year of 2006 (hereafter "the 2006 Ceiling");
(2) the procedure for obtaining an allocation of bonds under the 2006 Ceiling; and
(3) a system of central record keeping for such allocations; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority has requested an allocation from the 2006 Ceiling to be used to finance the acquisition, construction and installation of a hydrogen production facility and other facilities for use as solid waste disposal facilities, recycling facilities, resource recovery facilities or industrial sewage and wastewater facilities in connection with the Motiva Enterprises Refinery in Convent, Louisiana and/or the nearby Marathon Ashland Refinery, and the Company's pipeline system, located in the parish of St. James, state of Louisiana, in accordance with the provisions of Section 146 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
NOW THEREFORE, I, KATHLEEN BABINEAUX BLANCO, Governor of the state of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and the laws of the state of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:
SECTION 1: The bond issue, as described in this Section, shall be and is hereby granted an allocation from the 2006 Ceiling in the amount shown:
Amount of Allocation
Name of Issuer
Name of Project
Louisiana Public Facilities
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
SECTION 2: The allocation granted herein shall be used only for the bond issue described in Section 1 and for the general purpose set forth in the "Application for Allocation of a Portion of the State of Louisiana Private Activity Bond Ceiling" submitted in connection with the bond issue described in Section 1.
SECTION 3: The allocation granted herein shall be valid and in full force and effect through December 31, 2006, provided that such bonds are delivered to the initial purchasers thereof on or before December 28, 2006.
SECTION 4: All references in this Order to the singular shall include the plural, and all plural references shall include the singular.
SECTION 5: This Order is effective upon signature and shall remain in effect until amended, modified, terminated, or rescinded by the governor, or terminated by operation of law.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of Louisiana, at the Capitol, in the city of Baton Rouge, on this 2nd day of November, 2006.
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Al Ater
Secretary of State


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Status Check: You've just inked a deal.
Log on to your favored Managed Services Chat Group and proclaim your victory.
But then what?
Now we have to take care of some very practical stuff.
The client sit-down isn't over until you take care of the long list of little things that need to be done. How do I handle this? Well, for anyone that's read my other blogs, it probably won't come as any surprise that there's a checklist for that.
First, make a cover page that includes the following data:
On the next page you'll start a list with actions that need to take place, who is responsible for each and the date completed. You might even use this document as a "routing" slip to make sure each person or department does what they need to do.
If you're the only one responsible for the actions, you still need to make this list and you still need to take care of all these things.
Of course, this is just a fictional example and does not in any way represent exactly what we do in our company.
Your List:
Collect Money:
This list has been edited for public consumption. You'll edit again for your tools and procedures.
Do you see all the stuff you have to do in order to provide spectacular support? And this list doesn't include maintaining your RMM tools, managing portals and passwords, creating documentation flyers and PowerPoints.
You're not a trunk-slamming fly-by-night interloper. You're a trained technical professional, running a business to provide top-drawer technical support to people who are willing to outsource their IT department.
So, no, you don't have time to deal with break/fix junk on six-year old servers. Those aren't your clients.
And yes, you will charge a setup fee and feel good about it.
There's always trepidation over the topic of saying goodbye to "good" clients.
After you meet with three or four suspected silver clients, you'll have two or three signed agreements. You'll have immediately increased your recurring revenue. And you'll have money in the bank: Monthly prepays, first months and setup fees.
Now you see the value of this business model. Now you see that clients who you thought would drop off have signed up for Platinum! Who knew? These clients have not just gone along with your program, they have told you with financial commitment that they believe in your new model.
The future is a brighter place because of you. I'm not kidding.
This is the way technical support should be bought and sold and delivered. This is the future. And you and your clients are going to go there together.
So if you've heard a client say that they don't value preventive maintenance, and they just want break/fix, you're not going to be very sympathetic.
You're going to realize, after about three service agreements, that you have clients who have literally placed their business in your hands. They trust you and rely on you. And when their servers go down, or their email stops, you're going to take care of it. You have accepted a higher level of liability in exchange for money.
Meanwhile, Cousin Larry wants to do his own tech support and call you in when he's broken something so bad he can't fix it. When you've got two or three service agreements under your belt, you'll understand that you can't provide Cousin Larry with ad hoc support when you've got clients who've stepped up to the next level.
You can't leave a contract client waiting while you go work on some snake pit of a server that you don't maintain, don't manage, don't monitor and don't know what's been done to it.
You will come to believe that your future is with clients who value your services. And that will make it easier to be committed to walking away from clients who just want break/fix.
If you don't believe me yet, wait until you've signed some agreements. This really is your future.
So now you can go into meetings with a much higher level of confidence. When someone says they don't want to sign, you won't be offended and you won't be upset. And you won't retreat to a mentality of poverty. You'll simply, casually, say "That's no problem. We work with the local IT Pro group. We can help you find a Small Business Specialist who is still providing break/fix work."
When you're willing to walk away, you don't have to give in.
And when you honestly believe in your heart that you don't need every dollar that walks in the door, your business will move to the next level.
(Used with permission of Karl W. Palachuk, SmallBizThoughts.com)
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Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.
How do you attract potential new employees when the job isn't quite the most stimulating in the world?
Do you trumpet your corporate values and the perks that come with them?
Burger King decided to plow a different furrow, one that might make quite a few foreheads furrow with discomfort.
The burger chain's German arm just released a recruitment campaign that shows young people playing with fire.
And when I say playing, I mean, you know, fire-breathing, tossing fireworks at a soccer match or, oh, throwing firebombs during a protest.
It's quite illuminating thinking.
When you think about whom the company is trying to attract, it's likely young people whose sense of outrage and anti-establishmentarianism is rather strong.
Let's face it, it's not as if young people are breaking down Burger King's doors, desperate to flip their lives toward an upward path.
And if your point of difference is flame-grilling, why not use it in this imaginative way?
The campaign's creators told AdFreak that the images are deliberately provocative.
No! Really?
You mean you can provoke young people into reacting?
And there I was thinking they were passive humans, allowing their Earth to be destroyed before their very eyes and being unprepared to do anything about it.


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Oscar Pistorius was accused on Monday of deliberately breaking down into tearful histrionics to avoid difficult questions about the night he shot dead his girlfriend.
The Paralympic athlete's meltdowns have been a daily feature of his evidence from the witness box at the high-profile murder trial in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, often forcing the judge to halt proceedings.
On Monday alone he sobbed four times and vomited in court. "Mr Pistorius, you're not using your emotional state as an escape, are you?" state prosecutor Gerrie Nel demanded as the 27-year-old's voice became shrill and he again seemed on the verge of losing on his composure. "You're getting frustrated because your version is improbable and you're getting emotional."
A frustrated Nel repeatedly demanded to know why Pistorius was becoming emotional at tough moments during another day of punishing cross-examination. The sprinter replied that it is still traumatic for him to relive the night he lost his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in what he insists was a terrible accident.
Rubbing his eyes and looking exhausted, Pistorius recalled screaming at what he believed to be an intruder in his bathroom in the early hours of 14 February 2013. "Do you remember what you shouted?" Nel asked.
After clenching his jaw for several long seconds and putting his hand to his face, the athlete replied: "I do. I said: 'Get the fuck out of my house! Get the fuck out of my house!'" His voice cracked and he wept.
Asked why he was getting emotional, the athlete replied: "It was a traumatic evening for me."
But Nel claimed Pistorius was crying because he knew he was shouting at Steenkamp and not a supposed intruder, putting the state's case that she was preparing to leave after an argument when she was shot.
Pistorius denied this, saying: "I heard the noise and I did not have time to interpret it and fired out of fear."
Nel replied: "You know exactly, you fired at Reeva. These other versions cannot work: you fired at her, you did. Why are you getting emotional now?"
Pistorius wailed through tears in a choking, high-pitched crescendo: "I did not fire at Reeva!"
Judge Thokozile Masipa immediately called another adjournment and Pistorius stood bent over in the witness box, crying and retching. His psychologist placed her hands on his back to comfort him.
When the trial resumed, Pistorius's defence counsel Barry Roux asked the judge to intervene because the cross-examination was becoming repetitive. "The emotional response is the same. It's causing a delay." But Masipa rejected the appeal.
Nel accused Pistorius of crying not out of grief but because he was getting his testimony confused. "I'm going to argue that you got emotional because you got your defences mixed up."
Nel probed Pistorius mercilessly on Monday, exploring inconsistencies in his account in an attempt to show that his version of events was improbable and accusing him of tailoring evidence.
Pistorius has repeatedly claimed that he fired the shots accidentally, even though he feared there was an intruder behind the door. "I didn't have time to think," he said. "I heard this noise, and I thought it was somebody coming out to attack me so I fired my firearm."
Nel responded: "Your defence has now changed, sir, from putative self-defence to involuntary action. Is that what you're telling me?"
The Olympic runner said: "I don't understand the law, ma'am, what I can reply and tell the court is what I'm asked and I can reply as to what I thought."
Nel noted that Pistorius earlier said he warned Steenkamp to call police about an intruder in a whisper, contradicting later testimony that he spoke in a "low tone". The prosecutor also said blood spatter evidence indicated that the athlete's statement about the location of a duvet in the bedroom was false.
At the end of another gruelling day, the defence team looked downcast while Pistorius paused to sign a fan's autograph, writing: "Thank you for your love and kindness."
When Pistorius began his testimony last week he stunned the courtroom with a series of wrenching howls that forced an early adjournment. At the start of his cross-examination he was confronted with a photo of Steenkamp's bloodied head that caused another emotional collapse. Some following the trial on TV and Twitter accused him of play-acting.
At one point Nel put it to the accused: "Why are you emotional now? Now that the questions are difficult? Why are you emotional? What happened now?"
But on that occasion Masipa stepped in, saying: "Now, hold on, hold on! It's fine. He may be emotional. He has been emotional throughout."
Gerrie Nel is my personal hero right now. He completely destroyed Pistorius on the witness stand today.


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|Project by Rebarn
|posted 01-11-2014 01:42 AM
|1417 views
|1 time favorited
|2 comments
This mantel was just installed the other day. This piece is a 10"x10"x72" pine beam from a barn that was built 1n 1893. It was stained dark walnut to match the flooring in this house that is currently under renovation.
This was my fastest install ever. It took one hour from the time we arrived to the time we loaded the van.
I like that!!
-- A day without slivers is a day without sunshine!
2 comments so far
#1 posted 01-11-2014 10:34 AM
This came out nice.
So, what is your secret for installing this massive piece of wood? It must to weigh 80 – 100 lbs.!
#2 posted 01-11-2014 03:23 PM
Hi Mark
I posted a lot of finished mantels in project posts before this post. If you look back you will see them.
Most often we install mantels over drywall or cement board. After we are done, the stone guy comes in and does his part. What sucks for me is that about half of the time the home owner leaves the mantel order to the last minute, so we have to get mantels in a hurry quite often. Not a huge problem, but most of our mantels are custom ripped at the saw mill, so it's a logistical thing.
As far as how we install, please send me your email and I can show you a video series on our method.
-- A day without slivers is a day without sunshine!
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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi has responded to Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett's warning urging Tehran to get out of Syria, telling reporters that Iran would continue to defend its interests both in Syria and throughout the Middle East, and warning Israel against escalatory behavior.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will show a crushing and regrettable response to any act of aggression or stupid move from that Zionist regime against our country's interests in Syria and the region," Mousavi said, his remarks published on the foreign ministry's website.
Mousavi noted that Iran "has been present in Syria at the invitation and with the agreement of that country's government with the purpose of fighting against terrorism sponsored by the US and Israel." The spokesman warned that Tehran "will not hesitate for a moment over safeguarding its presence in Syria and defending its national security and regional interests."
The official's comments come on the heels of remarks by Bennett on Tuesday warning Tehran that it had "nothing to look for in Syria."
"When an octopus's tentacles hit you, don't just fight back against those arms, but strangle the head as well. That's how we must deal with Iran," Bennett said. According to the official, Israel has been "fighting the arms of the Iranian octopus in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza" for "generations."
"Now we are changing the concept: we are engaged in an ongoing campaign to weaken the Iranian octopus head itself, through economic, policy, intelligence and military action, as well as other dimensions," Bennett said.


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TVMA About Us
For over a decade, TVMA has offered mediation programs to attorneys, Rule 31 mediators and community mediators. These programs enhance the skills of mediators in East Tennessee.
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution. Mediation uses the services of a neutral, the mediator (and sometimes a team of mediators), to facilitate discussion between parties with the aim of finding and recording a resolution that works well for that situation. These mediations may be related to court action, such as a divorce mediation, or be outside the purview of the courts.
Here are some examples of how mediation is used:
- Divorce mediation, in which couples go through the process of uncoupling their assets and lives, while protecting their children.
- Civil mediations such as disputes between
- contractors and landowners, or
- landlords and tenants, or
- home associations and homeowners
- Parenting mediation between never-married parents.
- Mediation between parents and teenagers.
- Resolving disputes between neighbors.
- Clarifying disagreements between church groups.
- Delineating responsibilities in matters of auto sales and service.
- Mediation of disputes between couples who wish to continue to remain a couple.
Mediators have training to assist everyone to find ways to transform conflict into a positive, constructive avenue to a more fruitful and serene future relationship.Mediation is intended to facilitate communication between people and find solutions through clarifying needs and exploring options that best meet the unique situation and circumstances.
TVMA is made up of an eclectic group of non-lawyer and lawyer mediators with diverse backgrounds. Members collaborate to provide better mediation skills and practices to the East Tennessee community.
Tennessee Valley Mediation Association is a 501(c) non-profit organization with the mission to provide Rule 31 mediation training and continuous education for existing and prospective professionals wanting to perform mediation services. The TVMA offers Rule 31 training in civil and family law.
TVMA Mission Statement
The Tennessee Valley Mediation Association has two distinct missions: to foster high quality mediation and to promote mediation as an alternative dispute resolution process. TVMA is an inclusive organization that welcomes all supporters of mediation and alternative dispute resolution practices.
TVMA Strategic Plan
The TVMA will host monthly hour long presentations year round on particular mediation subjects. Continuing education credit will be available for each program as appropriate for attorneys and Rule 31 mediators under the guidelines of the Tennessee AOC and the CLE Commission.
The TVMA is committed to promoting mediation and conflict resolution practices and increasing public awareness.


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CIP International
Ges. für copyrights, intellectual properties, Marketing und R & D mbH
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D-49509 Recke
Internet: www.plasmaNorm.de
CIP International
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Copyright and trademark law
The Author strives to observe copyright laws with regard to the graphics, audio files, video sequences, and texts used in all publications. The Author also tries to use graphics, audio files, video sequences and text produced by the Author internally or to access license-free graphics, audio files, video sequences and texts. All logos and trademarks mentioned in this website and, if applicable, protected by third parties are subject without limitation to the provisions of the respective trademark law and the ownership rights of the respectively registered trademark owners. If a trademark alone is mentioned, it should not be surmised that it is not protected by the rights of third parties! The copyright for published content prepared by the Author internally shall remain solely with the Author. Duplication or reproduction or use of such graphics, audio files, video sequences and texts in other electronic or printed publications is not permitted without the express permission of the Author.
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Excellent service and very professional. My tax preparer Ashley was very knowledgeable and quick. She explained the process therefore answering all my questions. I will definitely be a returning customer next year.Excellent service and very professional
Ashley is a great tax preparer and she treats her customers like family. She's quick and detailed and her staff is the best. Forrest Taxes will be my lifelong tax location.Great tax preparer
This Place is a perfect place to get your taxes done! Completely Professional and the person who answers the calls is so good!!!Completely Professional
They made the tedious task of tax prep easy n understandable. No matter you're tax situation they got the answers. Professionalism at its finest I'm a customer for life from now on.Professionalism at its finest
This office is a hidden gem, I am so happy that I found them. Everyone is very helpful and friendly. They are more than accommodating to people like me who has a crazy schedule. I would recommend them to anyone I know. Thank you so much for making me feel welcomed and comfortable.A hidden gem
Best Tax Professionals Ever!!! They let you know what's going on from the very beginning.. No Surprises.. No hidden fees.. Maximum Refund Queen...Maximum Refund Queen
Friendly Service! Great Staff! They Will Continue to Do My Taxes!Friendly Service
Ashley was amazing and very professional and had lots of advice and tips when filing my taxes. She was honest and straight forward but oh so friendly! Will definitely be going here every year to file my taxes. Thanks so much!Lots of advice and tips
Ashley and all the staff at Forrest Tax are super knowledgeable, friendly, and easy to work with! In the past I always did taxes online, on my own, but NEVER AGAIN! They walk you through any variables and are just as affordable. I'll be back next year!Super knowledgeable, friendly
Great place to work and everyone in the office is there to help with tax, accounting, bookkeeping, and credit repair questions.Great place


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Replicable Best Practices for Accessing Mainstream Resources: A Guide for Continuums of Care
This guide is a tool for helping homeless Continuums of Care (CoCs) discover new practices for improving access to four mainstream resources for people who are homeless: Medicaid, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), Social Security disability programs, and Food Stamps. Featured in this guide are replicable best practices from around the U.S. The intent is to share strategies that CoCs can consider implementing to increase access to mainstream resources. (2006)


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Conservative care beats medication for neck pain according to the January 3, 2012 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The article states that the six year study confirms conservative care of either spinal manipulation or home exercise is more effective than over-the-counter medication for acute and sub-acute neck pain. Spinal manipulative therapy (chiropractic adjustments) was more effective than medication in both the short term and the long term, as was the exercise regimen treatment at a slightly less but not statistically significant rate.
The take from this is such: a course of treatment for neck pain involving both chiropractic adjustments (manipulative therapy) and home exercises (actually doing them!) will yield the highest outcome....less pain and a quick return back to your daily activities!
......but in case it does, and this is New England so I can't imagine we will be lucky enough to escape Old Man Winter's grasp all season, there are some important tips on shovelling the white stuff available here as well as how to stay healthy in fun winter activities.
Thanks to the American Chiropractic Association for the info!
The American Chiropractic Association urges Americans to adopt the following 10 healthy New Years resolutions.
- I will limit my intake of caffeinated coffee, sodas and teas. The caffeine in these drinks can cause dehydration and can rob the body of essential nutrients. Stick to water, natural juices and other decaffeinated beverages.
- I will avoid over medicating myself and my family. Many over-the- counter and prescription medications have unknown side effects. Discuss alternative remedies with a doctor of chiropractic.
- I will not carry a heavy purse or briefcase with its strap over my shoulder, unless I place the strap over my head on the side opposite the bag. Wearing a shoulder strap over one shoulder unevenly places the weight of the bag on one side of the body, potentially causing shoulder and back pain.
- I will not allow my children to carry backpacks that weigh more than 15 percent of their body weight. Beyond that weight, the backpack can cause the wearer to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back, instead of the shoulders.
- I will not lift heavy objects over my head. These types of movements can strain muscles and affect nerves, causing severe neck, shoulder and arm problems.
- I will not turn my torso while lifting relatively heavy objects. This rotates the spine and can bring on a "back attack."
- I will avoid the habit of consistently crossing the same knee over the other. Such a habit can also eventually cause misalignment of the spine.
- I will try to keep moving while I'm at work. If sedentary for the majority of the work day, it is very important to take periodic stretch breaks. Get up from the desk and take a brief walk, and stretch arms and legs as frequently as possible to avoid postural and spinal stress.
- I will, when using a shovel - in winter or summer - remember to push rather than lift, whenever possible.
- I will use luggage with wheels whenever possible. Carrying, lifting and moving a heavy suitcase can ruin a vacation.
Have a Healthy and Happy 2012!
Our redesigned website is now live!
You can schedule an appointment, check out our Doctor's bio's, learn about your condition, and more!
Please stop by www.miltonchiropractic.com.
Welcome to the Blog of Milton Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, Inc.
Whether you are an existing patient or searching for a chiropractor in the Quincy, Dorchester, West Roxbury, Attleboro, Brockton, Weymouth, Taunton, and Somerset area, we're excited you are here. With the chiropractic industry advancing, we recognize the importance of keeping our patients and visitors up to date with all of the new and exciting things taking place in our practice.
As we move forward with our blog, we hope to promote chiropractic health awareness as a vital part of your healthy lifestyle. Here you will find a variety of articles and topics including chiropractic news, advancements in chiropractic technology and treatments, and updates from our practice.
We hope you find our blog to be helpful, engaging and informational to ensure your best health.
As always, feel free to contact Milton Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, Inc. with any chiropractic questions or concerns.
-- The Chiropractic Team at Milton Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, Inc.


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ENGS 12: Design Thinking (Section 1; Section 2)
A foundation course on the cognitive strategies and methodologies that form the basis of creative design practice. Design thinking applies to innovation across the built environment, including the design of products, services, interactive technology, environments, and experiences. Topics include design principles, human need-finding, formal methodologies, brainstorming, heuristics, thinking by analogy, scenario building, visual thinking, and study of experienced thinkers. Weekly projects and exercises in a variety of media provide practice and development of students' personal creative abilities. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.


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When I look at my little boy today it is difficult to believe that two and a half years of his life was pure torture…. torture for him as well as I. I watched my baby deteriorate in front of my eyes and all the while his doctor kept assuring me, 'It is something viral. Let it run its course.' Or, 'Your son has asthma and reflux, he is going to cough.' His doctor couldn't have been more wrong. Here is our journey, in a very small nutshell.
My pregnancy was hard. When I say hard I mean I was incredibly sick, vomiting up to 30 times a day, suffering from Hyperemesis, Polyhydramnios and an incompetent cervix. These three things had never been a part of my vocabulary but I never knew how many more words that I would add to my vocabulary after my pregnancy and caring for my child. I was on bed rest for a total of almost 7 months and had a PIC line to administer fluids and IV Zofran so I could stay hydrated. At 23 weeks I went into active labor with my son and at that time I had about a millimeter of cervix left to protect my son from being born. I felt cheated. I had worked so hard doing everything I was told to protect my son and sustain a pregnancy and then I get hit with that? Thankfully, my contractions were stopped for the most part and I was released from the hospital after a week on strict bed rest. My doctor advised me, if I made it to 32 weeks it would be a miracle… yet we were shooting for 28 weeks. 28 weeks came, then 29, 30, 31, 32, (I was ecstatic and my doctor was amazed!) 33weeks, 34, 35, 36, 37, then 38 weeks. I was more proud of myself, my body and my unborn child for lasting that long! It worked, I kept him in! At 38 ½ weeks I was induced and ready to finally hold my precious baby. After 14 hours of labor I had progressed NONE. I couldn't believe that I was begging my son to stay in and then he wouldn't come out!? My doctor knew I was less than happy and scheduled a C-Section for that next Monday due to having way too much fluid and the potential of another failed induction. I went in to the hospital and checked in for my C-Section, knowing I was leaving with a baby this time. Twenty minutes after I was wheeled into the operating room I heard, 'Happy birthday big boy!' I lost it. I heard this squeal cry… the most amazing sound I have ever heard in my life. The doctor held him over the curtain and I couldn't believe he was finally here. Evan Kingston was born at 7lbs 5oz, 19 ½ inches long and he was PERFECT. He had ten fingers, ten toes, he was active and alert. He had some trouble breastfeeding but I was assured that was fairly normal and to keep trying. I tried at the hospital and continued at home. No matter what I did, I had to stop. My production was gone and my post partum started at that time. Felling like a terrible mother was an understatement.
Then, he started getting sick. Everything started with what seemed like a constant cold and problems feeding. Evan vomited at almost every feeding and when I say vomit, I don't mean a little spit up I am talking about full blown projectile vomit. Evan was a frequent flyer at the pediatrician's office but I was always assured that this was all normal and the mucousy cough, nasal discharge and wheezing was very likely due to me giving birth via C-Section. I was also assured it would all get better with time. When Evan was roughly four months old his pediatrician finally referred him to a Pediatric Pulmonologist. The visit to that doctor left me less than thrilled as my son was diagnosed with 'asthma.' Over the first year, Evan was diagnosed with asthma and GERD, (reflux) which was still not good enough for me. They were missing something…. I knew it. After many appointments to Evan's pediatrician over the first year of his life, he ended up having a sweat test to determine whether he had Cystic Fibrosis. The wait for the test result was grueling. Thankfully, his sweat test came back negative for CF. I was very thankful for the answer but still confused because we still had no diagnosis and I was beginning to feel like maybe I really was just a, 'crazy over-bearing first time mother.'
At 15 ½ months old, my mother gave me the name of a new pediatrician and I promptly made an appointment. I showed the doctor pictures and videos of Evan and his breathing, coughing and vomiting. She LISTENED and allowed me to cry and beg her to help my poor baby. She immediately knew something was very wrong. We were referred to a Pediatric Otolaryngologist (ENT doc) and anxiously awaited the appointment. The day came and I took my smiling, happy, sick baby into the office praying that we would finally get some answers. 30 minutes later I met my son's angel…. Dr Adrian Latz of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. I call her my son's angel because she truly saved my son's life. Dr Latz listened to Evan's medical history and did her usual question and answer for each new patient. She used a very small tube and inserted it into Evan's nasal passage to get a better look at his throat and airway. That is when I heard that word for the first time… Laryngomalacia.
Evan was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia instantly after the scope and a plan of action was set forth. I have been asked many times how I felt in the moment of his diagnosis and I believe that to be a pretty loaded question. I felt angry, sad, scared, unprepared but most of all I felt VINDICATED. I was right all along. For 16 months my child was drowning in his own fluids. After all of the bronchitis, pneumonia, nasal discharge, vomiting, stridor etc, WHY did it take so long for someone to catch this?
A swallow study was scheduled, his diet was changed and we discussed the other ailments that can follow an LM diagnosis. I was assured we would know more after the swallow study and yes…. we learned more. His swallow study showed penetrations on every thickness of liquid until we reached honey. I was devastated for my child. I knew we had an even harder road ahead of us but felt very optimistic and ready to do whatever it took to get my child healthy. We started thickening all of his liquids and watching for any progress. Sadly, there wasn't as much progress as we had hoped and we discussed the possibility of performing a Supraglottoplasty and also gel foam injections if he did in fact have a laryngeal cleft. We did another swallow study before making the decision of surgery and the result came back that his penetrations/aspirations were worse.
Less than a month before my son's 2nd birthday, I took my son into the hospital and signed the paperwork to allow his procedure to be performed. My mother and I played with him and took pictures while we waited for him to go back to the operating room to keep him from getting anxious. He was already used to hospitals so that wasn't too big of a deal to him. When the nurse said it was time, I remember thinking in my mind, 'Please God, guide his surgeons hands and heal my child. Please God, allow this procedure to change his life so he can have a more normal life.' I handed my baby to the nurse and watched her walk away with him while he was screaming for me and crying…. I have never felt so guilty in my life. I chose this surgery for him, I put him in her arms, I signed the consent form and if something happens to him it is all on ME.
The doctor told us the surgery would take roughly an hour or two and she would come down after the surgery and let me know how it went. My mother and I waited in the room with all the other parents and grandparents waiting to find out the fate of their child. An hour and a half later his surgeon came down and took me into a conference room where she told me that Evan's surgery went excellent. She said we had made the right choice because there is no way that his condition would have improved over time. She ended up doing the Supraglottoplasty and gel foam injections into Evan's larynx due to the significant laryngeal cleft that he had. I was ELATED! My sweet boy will get better and I made the right choice! The surgeon said that Evan would be in recovery for about an hour and a half then be transported to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. I came out of the room to update my mom and we cried, hugged and thanked God for this opportunity for Evan. Then we waited. One hour went by…. And hour and a half went by and I started feeling strange. I finally got an update from the recovery room nurse who said, 'Evan has had a hard time with the anesthesia. He is having dips in his oxygen and not waking up like we want him to. We ask parents to prepare themselves in times like these.' I just hung up the phone. I was frozen. I couldn't talk, I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. Then my brain flipped back on and I said to myself, 'I will not prepare myself for ANYTHING, other than taking my child HOME.'
3 ½ hours after his surgery ended, we got the call to meet my son in the 'reunion hallway.' He was in this cage like crib and hooked up to monitors with tubes everywhere. I had never seen something like that and I had a lot of silent tears. The nurses had us follow behind his bed so that Evan didn't see us and get agitated. We got to the room and he was still very groggy and wasn't opening his eyes much in the first few minutes. I walked over to his bed once they got him settled, played with his sweaty hair, held his hand and kept telling him, 'Mommy is here baby, Mommy is here. Everything is going to be okay, I promise you.' The nurses asked if I wanted to hold him and I of course said YES! I got situated in the recliner in his room and they brought him over to me and placed him in my arms. I tried so hard to be strong but at the moment I lost it…. I cried and held him tight in my arms and couldn't stop kissing his head and moving his hair around. Something came over me in that moment they put him in my arms- something similar to the first time he was EVER placed in my arms, except it felt better than that. I never though anything would feel better than holding my son for the first time yet, this was 100x better than that. I said out loud, 'Thank you GOD, oh thank you GOD!' Over and over and I have no idea how many times I said it. Everyone in the room was crying and my mother was able to get a few photos of the moment.
Evan recovered well from the surgery and after a few months of weaning him off of his thickener…. He was done. No more thickener. No more reflux medication. No more limited diet. My son was finally freed from the unfair prison he had been locked into for so long. My son IS a fighter. My son survived.
Evan turns 4 years old in just three short weeks and I couldn't be more optimistic about his health and future. He has grown out of every symptom of LM including recurrent croup which was the last on the list and that stopped about 6 months ago. I have to assure you parents that it WILL get better. Some get better faster while some take a little more time and more medical intervention. Some get diagnosed within days or weeks and some take 16 months or more, like my son. Every LM,TB or BM child is different but the one thing they all have in common is their will to fight. They are innocent and should never have to go through what they have but I can assure you, there IS a reason for everything. Although we may not know the reasons now, we will find out. We weren't blessed with children who have perfect health but we were blessed with children that are perfect for US. God wont ever give us anything we cannot handle so take it as a fine compliment that God believes in US so much, that he entrusted us to care for his most special creations.
When I look at my little boy today, I think how blessed we are to have each other. I think of how my life and his life may not have gone as we could have ever imagined but we faced a demon and we beat it.
Always counting my blessings…. Evan- I will hug you, cuddle you, kiss you, hold you and love you all the days of my life. I will never take a single second for granted. You fought to stay with me and I will continue to fight to keep you happy and healthy.
-Megan Crone