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Congratulations are in order to both Jean and Cathey, who are going to be writing the Moline Moments in the Prairie Star!!!  I know that the two of them will do a fantastic job of reporting the goings-on of the community.  How lucky Moline is to have two such talented ladies!! 

Thought you'd all find this interesting...and a little disturbing...

THIS  IS BY A GOOD DECENT MAN WHO TOOK THE TIME TO WRITE THIS, AND HE SIGNED THE  STATEMENT AND INCLUDED HIS CONTACT INFO:


READ  ON:


I'm  sure those of you who aren't in the cattle business don't understand the Issues here. But to those of us whose living depends on the cattle market, selling cattle and raising the best beef possible... This is frustrating.


This  will keep us from ever stopping there again, even for a drink.


The  original message is from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association:




American  cattle producers are very passionate about this.


McDonald's  claims that there is not enough beef in the USA to support their  restaurants. Well, we know that is not so. Our opinion is they are looking  to save money at our expense. The sad thing of it is that the people of  the USA are the ones who made McDonald's successful in the first place,  but we are not good enough to provide beef.


We  personally are no longer eating at McDonald's, which  I am sure does not make an impact, but if we pass this around maybe there will be an impact felt.

Please  pass it on. Just to add a note:


All  Americans that sell cows at a livestock auction barn had to sign a paper  stating that we do NOT EVER feed our cows any part of another cow. South  Americans are not required to do this as of yet.




McDonald's  has announced that they are going to start importing much of their beef  from South America . The problem is that South Americans aren't under the  same regulations as American beef producers, and the regulations they have  are loosely controlled.

They  can spray numerous pesticides on their pastures that have been banned here  at home because of residues found in the beef. They can also use various  hormones and growth regulators that we can't. The American public needs to  be aware of this problem and that they may be putting themselves at risk  from now on by eating at good old McDonald's.


American  ranchers raise the highest quality beef in the world and this is what  Americans deserve to eat. Not beef from countries where quality is loosely  controlled. Therefore, I am proposing  a boycott of McDonald's until they see the light.

I'm  sorry but everything is not always about the bottom line, and when it comes to jeopardizing my family's health, that is where I draw the line.


I  am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at  least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ...


And  those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... And so on,  by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will  have reached over THREE MILLION consumers!




I'll  bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you? Acting  together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass  this message on.



David  W. Forrest, Ph.D ., PAS, Dipl. ACAP Department of Animal Science Texas  A&M  University

Phone  (979) 845-3560

Fax  (979) 862-3399
2471 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2471




This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

I am watching O's Congressional address with great interest.  It is interesting that the small section holding the Republicans is the loudest section...I've never heard silence scream louder than it has tonight.  Whoops...the Repub's are finally standing...Guess the news about monies being given out for student loans, car loans and small business loans must be good news...They're even clapping.  Hmmm.  Gods...Now he's putting down CEOs for using private jets and taking expensive vacations...I'll be REALLY impressed when he, Big Bad Joe ('cause you don't mess with Joe, right?), the big pile of Pelosi and the rest of those fat cats take pay cuts and have to stomach an equal share of the common American's pain-filled pie.  I just hope O can deliver on all of the fancy talking he's doing tonight.  Uh oh...Now he's made the statement that he's put forth the funding to make sure teachers don't get cut...That's a pile of bullhooie.  I don't know of a district around here who isn't looking at VERY deep cuts coming...they're predicting as much as 4.5%, possibly more, for the next year.  Wait a minute...now he's said that this legislation is free of earmarks?  Who is he kidding now?  OH NO...Now he's talking about ending payments to big farm corporations.  WHOOPS...Now he's talking about tax cuts to 95% of working people...and the checks are on the way....Where's MINE? 

Just caught the article in the Prairie Star about Stub and Barbara's enterprise...Really liked the picture, too. :-)  It is great to see Barbara using her entreprenurial abilities to bring in people to Elk County!  It is also nice to see that the other two ladies are also operating businesses in the Lodge...This is what is needed in Elk County! :-)  I am so glad that each month, some business is going to be spotlighted.  Maybe this will help drive the economic engine and get more people interested in moving to such a wonderfully rural place. :-)

Hey, you all...there's going to be a new design show coming on to HG TV, "Dear Genevieve" starring Genevieve Gorder, a really good designer.  In a world of Genevieve wanna-be's, she is truly unique.  It always amazes me how she can take relatively simple things and make them outstanding.  It made me think about all of the neat things that I use to decorate with...I love to use Elk Falls Pottery to make a focal point in a corner.  Generally, I try for as many ascending lines as is possible, to draw the eye up from off of the floor.  What do you all do to dress up your homes?

Hello, Everyone.  As I was driving home from work one evening, I happened to be listening to NPR.  They were discussing the fact that one option for stopping the financial bleeding at the state/fed level would be to delay giving out tax refunds.  They were quick to say that this isn't something that has been agreed upon...It's only something that they're considering.  I have already gotten all of my data together and sat down with my computerized tax program...I am getting mine sent in ASAP...Maybe I'll get my refund before "they" decide to withhold tax refunds nationwide!  Has anyone heard anything regarding this?  I only heard it once and then it has not been discussed again.

I thought maybe you all would enjoy this...I read it and thought about all of the boys...Jew, Palestinian, American, Afghani, etc...Who are in real pain this evening.  I have been thinking real hard on the topic of what side I might or might not be on...And I have come to the firm conclusion that the only side I am on is the side that will finally end the madness of our children being sent into harm's way, all because of some upper mucky-muck's religious or political persuasion.  Yes, I believe in defending my homeland from attack.  I stand behind what I said before...but I think we need to be sending all of our elected officials, world-wide, into battle first, on the first wave of the first attack....and I think you'd see a very quick end to hostilities everywhere.

"A Tale of Six Boys"



Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the
eighth grade class from Clinton, WI. where I grew up, to
videotape their trip.  I greatly enjoy visiting our
nation's capitol, and each year I take some special
memories back with me.  This fall's trip was especially
memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima
memorial.  This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the
world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in
history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the
American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of
Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.



Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the
buses and headed towards the memorial.  I noticed a solitary
figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he
asked, "Where are you guys from?"



I told him that we were from Wisconsin.  "Hey, I'm
a cheese head, too!  Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I
will tell you a story."



(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to
speak at the memorial the following day.  He was there that
night to say good night to his dad, who has since passed
away.  He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull
up.  I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his
permission to share what he said from my videotape.  It is
one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with
history in Washington, D.C., but it is quite another to get
the kind of insight we received that night).



When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak.
(Here are his words that night).



"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo,
Wisconsin.  My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a
book called "Flags of Our Fathers" which is #5 on
the New York Times Best Seller list right now.  It is the
story of the six boys you see behind me.



"Six boys raised the flag.  The first guy putting the
pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state
football player.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all
the senior members of his football team.  They were off to
play another type of game.  A game called "War."
But it didn't turn out to be a game.



Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his
hands.  I don't say that to gross you out, I say that
because there are generals who stand in front of this statue
and talk about the glory of war.  You guys need to know that
most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old.



(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy?
That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire.  If you took
Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and
looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a
photograph.  ...a photograph of his girlfriend.  Rene put
that in there for protection because he was scared.  He was
18 years old.  Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys.  Not
old men.



"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was
Sergeant Mike Strank.  Mike is my hero.  He was the hero of
all these guys.  They called him the "old man"
because he was so old.  He was already 24.  When Mike would
motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say,
'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's
die for our country.'  He knew he was talking to little
boys.  Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and
I'll get you home to your mothers.'



"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes,
a Pima Indian from Arizona.  Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima.
He went into the White House with my dad.  President Truman
told him, 'You're a hero.'  He told reporters,
'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit
the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'
So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year
together having fun, doing everything together.  Then all
250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates
walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes.  He had images of horror
in his mind.  Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the
age of 32.  ...ten years after this picture was taken.



"The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin
Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky.  A fun-lovin' hillbilly
boy.  Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19.  When the
telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went
to the Hilltop General Store.  A barefoot boy ran that
telegram up to his mother's farm.  The neighbors could
hear her scream all night and into the morning.  The
neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.



"The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue,
is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was
raised.  My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give
interviews.  When Walter Cronkite's producers, or the
New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to
say, 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He
is in Canada fishing.  No, there is no phone there, sir.
No, we don't know when he is coming back.'  My dad
never fished or even went to Canada.  Usually, he was
sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's
soup.  But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing.
He didn't want to talk to the press.



"You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero.
Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are
in a photo and on a monument.  My dad knew better.  He was a
medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver.  In Iwo
Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died.  And when
boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.



"When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told
me that my dad was a hero.  When I went home and told my dad
that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to
remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did
not come back.  Did NOT come back.'



"So that's the story about six nice young boys.
Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national
heroes.  Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst
battle in the history of the Marine Corps.  My voice is
giving out, so I will end here.  Thank you for your
time."



Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of
metal with a flag sticking out of the top.  It came to life
before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did
indeed have a father who was a hero.  Maybe not a hero for
the reasons most people would believe, but a hero
nonetheless.



We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious
world for us to live in, freely, but also at great
sacrifice.  Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War
to the Gulf War and all the wars in-between that sacrifice
was made for our freedom.  Remember to pray praises for this
great country of ours and also pray for those still in
murderous unrest around the world.  STOP and THANK GOD for
being alive and being free  because of someone else's
sacrifice.

REMINDER:  Every   day you wake up free, IS a great day.

Welcome to the Forum, Imperial...now that we know your favorite brand of margarine, what else can you tell us about you?    You'll enjoy this family...they put the fun in dysfunctional!!    No, seriously...you'll have a great time here. 

Merry Christmas to all my friends, both near and far...
It's that time when wishes are made upon the stars...
My wish for each of you is health, happiness, and abundance, too.
What a sad world this would be without every one of you! 

Here's to a wonderful new 2009...may it be as fabulous as each of you are! 

Welcome to the Forum, itsmeman...You'll enjoy the family here...by the way...is your brother i'mayesman? lol

Mr. Obama is going to try sell the US down the drain in his efforts to become a "world leader".



   
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2433/text

SENATE BILL S. 2433 THE GLOBAL POVERTY ACT

According to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United for American Sovereignty', based out of Merrifield Virginia , website: http://www.citizensunited.org/ the above- mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) is a piece of legislation in the works that all Americans need to know about and know now!

This bill, sponsored by none other than Sen. Barack Obama, with the backing of Joe Biden on the Foreign Relations Committee, and liberal democrats in Congress, is nothing short of a massive giveaway of American wealth around the world, and a betrayal of the public trust, because, if passed, this bill would give over many aspects of our sovereignty to the United Nations.

The noble sounding name of this bill, 'The Global Poverty Act' is actually a Global Tax, payable to the United Nations, that will be required of all American taxpayers. If passed in the Senate, the House has already passed it, this bill would require the U.S. to increase our foreign aid by $65 BILLION per year, or $845 BILLION over the next 13 years! That's on top of the billions of dollars in foreign aid we already pay out!

In addition to the economic burdens this potential law would place on our precarious economy, the bill, if passed in the Senate, would also endanger our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms by obligating us to meet certain United Nations mandates.

According to Senator Obama, we should establish these United Nations' goals as benchmarks for U.S. spending. What are they?
n       The creation of a U.N. International Criminal Court having the power to try and convict American citizens and soldiers   
         without any protection from the U.S. Constitution.
n       A standing United Nations Army forcing U.S. soldiers to serve under U.N. command.
n       A Gun Ban on all small arms and light weapons --which would repeal our Second Amendment right to bear arms.
n       The ratification of the ' Kyoto ' global warming treaty and numerous other anti-American measures.

Recently, the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations (where Sen. Joe Biden sits) approved this plan by a voice vote without any discussion! Why all the secrecy? If Senators Obama and Biden are so proud of this legislation, then why don't they bring it out into the light of day and let the American people have a look at it instead of hiding it behind closed doors and sneaking it through Congress for late night votes.

It may be only a matter of time before this dangerous legislation reaches a floor vote in the full body of the Senate.
Please write or call, email your representatives, the White House, the media, or anyone you think will listen, and express your opinions regarding this Global Tax giveaway and betrayal of the American people at a time when our nation and our people are already heavily burdened with the threats to our freedoms and economic prosperity.
Please get this news out to as many folks out there in your networks as you can.  And ASAP!


So...if the preceding is true...how to explain to our grandchildren that our good American public, of their own volition, elected the person to the Presidency who sold us down the river...

Since we're getting close to Thanksgiving, I thought it might be interesting to see what everyone's favorite meal is...You don't have to list the Thanksgiving feast as your favorite meal...be creative...

My favorite meal is a thick, hearty ribeye steak cooked to an almost medium level, lightly marbled, with a salad or steamed, buttered veggies, a baked potato with all of the great timeless toppings (sour cream, chives, bacon, a little cheese, and a smattering of butter), a bit of cornbread with honey and butter on it, and maybe a rich slice of pie, cake, or a bowl of ice cream with a rich topping for dessert and a glass of wine or iced tea to enjoy while consuming all of the previous.  Now, the reality?...Burger King...McDonald's...Arby's....school lunches...lunches packed from home...left-overs...ad naseum...while entertaining dreams of the previous...

My brood and I carved two ginormous pumpkins tonight...they turned out really spooky.  Anyone else involved in this insanity this evening??

Look not for my word here, upon the electric page...
They have been removed to be rewrit upon a larger stage.
You have proven to be the best critics a bard could ever want...
Too bad I couldn't have gotten the critiques over coffee in a restaurant!

Wish me luck...we'll see what happens.

Catwoman

While the fresh air, open spaces and views are great to behold, they in and of themselves do not generate money/tax base.  The region is ripe for tremendous expansion in the area of agr-tourism.  Possibilities include the great ranches of the Chautauqua Hills region such as the Mullendore, the Cross Bell Ranch, and the Red Buffalo Ranch.  One example that already exists is the Flint Oak Ranch, which entertains people from all over this part of the country.  Take the elements that you already have and enlarge upon them.   

OK, people...we're up to that time of year when soups start to sound really good...does anyone have a good recipe for either soup or salads?  I have been trying to find a chinese broccoli salad (or chinese cole slaw) recipe but haven't liked the looks of the recipes that I have seen so far.  Any suggestions?

What if it were proven that Christianity is the greatest hoax ever pulled on Man...would you quit celebrating Christmas?



Look around you...at all of the brilliant colors, wonderful sounds, intoxicating smells and tastes...what if this is Heaven and we're screwing it up?



When you peel off all of the layers of man-made dogma and you are left with all of the God-given laws, there's not a whole lot of difference between us and everyone else...so why do we keep fighting?



Why is there not a requirement for people to have a license in order to have children...when we are required to have licenses for operating motorized machinery, selling alchohol and marrying people?



If God gave us Free Will, why are so many people the genetic equivilent of sheep?


I'm not trying to be trite...I am genuinely asking these questions...these are thoughts that occur to me at 2:00 in the morning when I'm wide awake, staring at the ceiling.  I had originally called these mini-sermons because the first question was actually a sermon that I heard many years ago...a very short one that has had me thinking ever since.

A president's pension currently is $191,300/year until he's 80 years old.  Assuming the next president lives to age 80, Sen. McCain would receive ZERO pension as he would reach 80 at the end of two terms as president.  Sen. Obama would be retired for 26 years after two terms and would receive $4,973,800 in pension (read it carefully, as it is over 4 million dollars).  Therefore, it would certainly make economic sense to elect McCain in November.  How's that for non-partisan thinking???  I think I've just been given a reason to vote for McCain...it will be my contribution to solving the National Debt problem!

OK, all you foodies out there...here's the place to start putting out some of your antique recipes.  My contribution to this:

Barrel Cured Meat

8 lbs. salt
3 lbs. white sugar
8 gal. water
100 lbs. meat

Bacon....................7 days
Hams/Shoulders.....21 days

Welcome, gcrebel!  Would that be Greenwood County rebel?