Heckle's Rants

Montebello CA

2007-10-14T14:44:00.001-07:00

Wake up people!!!

Montebello High School in California

You will not see this heart-stopping photo on the front page of the NY Times or on the lead story of the major news networks. The protestors put up the Mexican flag over the American flag flying upside down at MontebelloHigh School in California .

I predict this stunt will be the nail in the coffin of any guest-worker/amnesty plan on the table Washington . The image of the American flag subsumed to another and turned upside down on American soil is already spreading on Internet forums and via e-mail.

Pass this along to every American citizen in your address books and to every representative in the state and federal government. If you choose to remain uninvolved, do not be amazed when you no longer have a nation to call your own nor anything you have worked for left since it will be 'redistributed' to the activists while you are so peacefully staying out of the 'fray'. Check history, it is full of nations/empires that disappeared when its citizens no longer held their core beliefs and values. One person CAN make a difference.

One plus one plus one plus one plus one plus one....... .

The battle for our secure borders and immigration laws that actually mean something, however, hasn't even begun.

If this ticks YOU off...PASS IT ON!

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Raymond Jedele

2007-10-13T10:35:00.001-07:00

Gunshot killed abducted father


Enlarge	North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.

The Elizabeth II was one of the 16th-century ships that delivered members of the so-called Lost Colony to the New World. The replica seen in this 2001 photo can be found at the Roanoke Island Festival Park, in Manteo, NC.

By Mike Baker, Associated Press

GREAT DISMAL SWAMP, N.C. — After trudging for two hours through thick vegetation to a blurry mark found on Google Earth, George Ray started making up a song: "If you're lost, I'll find you tomorrow," he sang in a thick Southern drawl.

Or, perhaps, he'll find you four centuries later.

Ray is one of the many amateur archaeologists entranced by the Lost Colony — the 117 English settlers who disappeared from North Carolina's Outer Banks in the late 1500s, having left behind only a single clue to their fate. In all the years since, no one has found much of anything else.

But there have long been stories told about a rotting boat in the Great Dismal Swamp, a national wildlife refuge that straddles North Carolina's border with Virginia. Ray's colleagues think the colonists may have passed through the swamp after leaving Roanoke Island. They studied satellite images until they found something that looked like a boat, then set out to find it.

"We're not looking for gold," Ray said. "We're looking for history."

But the search for the Lost Colony has confounded experts and enthusiasts alike.

Eric Klingelhofer, a Mercer University professor, is an archaeologist with a doctorate from Johns Hopkins. He helped uncover the English colony at Jamestown, Va., and is working with the National Park Service to conduct digs on Roanoke Island.

"This is one of the hardest archaeological puzzles imaginable," said Klingelhofer, who serves as vice president of the First Colony Foundation, a research team of archaeologists and historians founded three years ago to dig at Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island.

Ray is a retired home builder from Durham who got his start as a member of the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research, a group comprised mostly of amateurs pursuing a variety of theories: that the colony left Roanoke Island for the southern Outer Banks, or North Carolina's interior, or Virginia via the swamp.

Though The Lost Colony Center has consulted with academics and experts, other observers dismiss their work, which is published primarily on a blog instead of a peer-reviewed academic journal.

"I fear that they are only out looking for publicity," said Charles Ewen, who heads the Department of Anthropology at East Carolina University.

Perhaps, but no one with a degree and university tenure has been able to figure out exactly what happened to the Lost Colony, either.

Here's what's known: In 1585, English explorer Ralph Lane landed on the Outer Banks with a crew of 75 men, writing upon his arrival that they had come upon the "goodliest soyle under the cope of heaven."

The enchantment didn't last. The "First Colony" fought with natives, and food supplies quickly dwindled. They sent a party back to England seeking fresh supplies, but didn't wait for their return. Instead, they hitched a ride back home with Sir Francis Drake, who was passing through after raiding Spanish ports in the Caribbean.

When the men with relief supplies arrived to find the colony abandoned, they left a detachment of about 15 and sailed themselves for England.

Undeterred by the chaos, Sir Walter Raleigh sent John White and a new group of settlers one year later to pick up the so-called "holding colony" and to found a new settlement in what is now Virginia. White was unable to find the men left behind, and Indians reported that other natives had attacked the group and forced them to flee by boat.

Concerned about their own future and plagued by a lack of food, the colonists persuaded White to return to England for help. He agreed, leaving behind 116 colonists and his newborn granddaughter Virginia Dare — the first English child born in the New World. The colonists promised White they would carve a Maltese cross into a tree if they encountered turmoil and were forced to flee.

White made it back to England, but was delayed for three years by war between Spain and England. When he returned in 1590, he found no trace of the colonists he left behind, aside from the post and the word "Croatoan."

Some researchers speculate the Lost Colony could have assimilated with the Croatan tribe, which lived to the south near Cape Hatteras and is now considered part of the Lumbee tribe that lives in the sandhills of North Carolina.

Others have suggested the colonists moved farther inland and joined with other American Indians. Some suspect the natives simply killed the foreigners, or that the colonists died off from illness, malnutrition or in flight back to England.

Fred Willard, the director of the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research, called the colony "the greatest unsolved mystery in the Americas."

"And the things we're finding could rewrite history books," he said.

It took six months for volunteers working with The Lost Colony Center to win permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explore the Great Dismal Swamp. When they arrived, guided by GPS equipment and escorted by a pair of refuge officers, they found no conclusive answers.

In a mucky marsh, there was some partially buried wood that faintly — with the benefit of an active imagination — resembled the outline of an 80-foot-long boat. There were no other clues, such as the copper-sheathed hull common on seafaring vessels of Lost Colony's time, and none of the three searchers had a scientific background or expertise to conclude much of anything.

Ray was convinced they'd found something. His son, Frank, wasn't as certain.

"There's no boarding ladder here, that's for sure," Frank Ray said. "You start with theory. This is a starting point. You're not convinced until you get proof."

Proof will have to wait for another venture into the swamp. The wildlife service refused to let the group probe the ground, dig for clues, or even take a wood sample for carbon dating. That will require a different permit.

"Anything seems plausible, but we can't be sure until we can do more than just walk in and look," Frank Ray said. Both Rays have split with The Lost Colony Center since their trip into the swamp, and are now pursuing their research on their own.

A Fort Raleigh archaeological dig led by veteran researcher Ivor Noel Hume in the early 1990s turned up the remnants of a scientific workshop — dating to the abandoned attempt at colonizing Roanoke two years prior to the Lost Colony — but didn't uncover the colonists' living area. In 1998, an archaeological dig led by East Carolina University on Hatteras Island turned up a signet ring that may have ties to English colonists.

The First Colony Foundation plans to use ground-penetrating radar to search for artifacts or structures at Roanoke Island. The group also plans to survey the shoreline to determine how it has eroded. Divers have already checked offshore areas, and researchers believe Fort Raleigh's original site may be buried under water or eroded away altogether. If that's the case, little would have been left behind to prove any theories about the colony's fate.

"Every theory is probably partially true. Every theory is, however, significantly wrong," said Phil Evans, president of the First Colony Foundation. "Everybody wants one answer, but the reality is that you're looking to determine the fate of 117 different individuals."

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Puppy size

2007-09-24T08:29:00.001-07:00

Puppy Size

This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end (you'll want to share this one with your loved ones and special friends)!

'Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,' the mother told the volunteer.

'What is it she keeps asking for?' the volunteer asked.

'Puppy size!' replied the mother.

'Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for.'

'I know...we have seen most of them,' the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office.
'Well, did you find one?' asked her mom. 'No, not this time,' Danielle said with sadness in her voice. 'Can we come back on the weekend?'

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. 'You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply,' the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. 'Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend,' she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. 'It's this weekend or we're not looking any more,' Dad finally said in frustration.

'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either,' Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, 'Sorry, you're not the one.'

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

'Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!' she screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!'

'But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said.

'No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,' she said.

'Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!'

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

'Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,' she said.

Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, 'Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!'

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you igh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of
cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. 'Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.'

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moth boat

2007-09-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

Joe Courter, left, and others prepare for the Classic Moth Boat National Championship on Sunday. The moth boat was created in Elizabeth City in 1929 by Capt. Joel Van Sant. For the past 19 years, the national competition has been held blocks away from the shipyard where the first moth boat was built. HYUNSOO LEO KIM PHOTOS | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

By LAUREN KING, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 17, 2007

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.

As children, Chuck Higgins and Jimmy Van Sant built their own boats that they raced in the Pasquotank River.

But when Van Sant's father developed a faster sailboat - the moth boat - they quickly abandoned their heavy, 8-foot boats.

"I've been in the moth class ever since," Higgins, now 87, said.

Higgins stopped racing six years ago but still likes to watch, and on Sunday he saw the final race of this year's Classic Moth Boat National Championship. He got a prominent seat at the front corner of a pier near the start line and heard stories about the previous day's events, which included the appearance of international class moths that, with enough wind, can lift off the water and seem to fly through the air.

Higgins was in Elizabeth City when the original moth boat was built. It was 1929, and he was 9 years old.

Pete Wallio of Hampton sets up the sail on his moth boat for Sunday’s competition, next to the Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City.

Capt. Joel Van Sant, Jimmy Van Sant's father, regularly passed through Elizabeth City on his way from New Jersey to Florida to get his boat cleaned, said Greg Duncan, a member of the Classic Moth Boat Association. He wanted something to do in his downtime, so he came up with plans for a small sailboat that could easily be raced on inland rivers and lakes.

Joel Van Sant showed his plans to Ernest Sanders of the Elizabeth City Shipyard, and the two worked after hours to build the small sailboat in the shipyard's carpenter shop, which is where the sailboat earned its name, Higgins said.

"People always ask why it's called a moth boat," Higgins said. "Every night they worked under an old light... and a moth was flitting around it. Capt. Van Sant said that the way that moth is flitting around the light, let's call it a moth boat."

Duncan said there are other theories, such as the boat's ability to flit across the waves or a moth that got caught in the varnish. Duncan said he believes the latter, based on his own experience.

"I consider it good luck if I get a moth caught," he said. "I usually varnish right over it."

When the first moth boat was complete, Joel Van Sant took it with him to Florida and eventually back up to his home in New Jersey. It grew popular quickly, and by 1933 races were held annually along the East Coast. Variations of the moth boat also appeared in Europe.

Interest in moth boats waned in the 1970s, but in 1989, a club was formed and members began racing "classic moths."

For the past 19 years, the national championship has been held in the Riverside Avenue backyard of Erky and Alma Gregory, blocks away from the shipyard where the first moth boat was built. The event has grown in popularity and stretched into the yard of neighbors John and Sarah Pugh.

Races began Saturday and were part of the Museum of the Albemarle's "A Day on the River, featuring the 19th annual Moth Boat Regatta." Saturday and Sunday's race results were combined for the championship.

At the sound of the horn acknowledging his national win Sunday, Jeff Linton of Tampa, Fla., leaped from his moth boat into the water.

Higgins laughed along with other spectators and then headed down to the yard where he could visit with the racers as they pulled their boats in.

Each year is like a homecoming, Alma Gregory said.

"Everybody knows each other here," she said.

Lauren King, (252) 338-2413, lauren.king@pilotonline.com

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Dredging

2007-09-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge Currituck pulls sand from the shallow entrance to Rudee Inlet on Friday. To the right is part of the jetty on the south side of the inlet. STEVE EARLEY PHOTOS | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

The Virginian-Pilot
© September 15, 2007

ABOARD THE DREDGE CURRITUCK

All they’re doing is fighting Mother Nature.

Turns out, the natural life cycle for most of the sand that makes Virginia Beach a resort city involved riding the surf north from Sandbridge, straight up to Cape Henry.

Then, men built an inlet named Rudee.

“An inlet screws everything up,” said Gregg Williams, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “It interrupts the flow.”

Dredges get the flow going again.

So it was Friday as the diesel-powered Currituck chugged its 150-foot-long hull through the inlet and did what dredges do: trim the sandy ocean floor, allowing boats to pass without fear of running aground.

The dredge drains the water and dumps the sand through its hinged split hull off of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Friday.

How does the sand build up in the first place?

The answer starts in Sandbridge, said Phillip Roehrs, the city’s coastal engineer.

Every time sand drifts north, that’s less sand for Sandbridge. That’s why every three years or so, the city adds more to the beach line between the Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam Neck and Little Island Park.

Roehrs said this year’s replenishment was a $9.7 million job that began July 1 and should end Tuesday. The city paid $8 million, and the Corps of Engineers paid the rest.

The work pumped about 2 million cubic yards of sand, enough to stack three feet of sand on top of 400 football fields, FEMA once calculated.

The new sand is more hurricane protection than anything else.

It doesn’t take that sand long to begin its pilgrimage north. Unblocked, millions of grains would naturally settle offshore, somewhere between the Oceanfront and Cape Henry.

Except for that inlet.

The same inlet that protects boats coming out of Croatan and the marinas along Winston Salem Avenue also causes sand to pile up where it should’t. The build-ups make the inlet more shallow and more dangerous for boats.

Dredges owned by the city and Army Corps of Engineers siphon that sand and deliver it to the other side of the inlet, where the natural flow starts again.

The guys getting it there are Marty Willis and Weldon Davis.

At the helm of the Currituck on Friday, they ran the ship’s two outboard propulsion drivers and its two mechanical boom arms.

Willis was in charge of direction and speed. He cupped two, hand-sized steering wheels and swiveled them back and forth as he moved the so-called hopper dredge through the inlet.

Davis’ hands flitted between toggles for the boom arms and the gear shifts that run their clutches.

The process was really quite simple.

Each 30-foot arm had a steel grate on the end that acted like an underwater Dust Buster.

It sucked up slurry, pushed it through pipes and then spat it into the “hopper,” the gutted out bin that takes up most of the dredge’s bow.

“They’re like little vacuum cleaners,” Davis said. “And we’re a big dump truck.”

It took about an hour to fill that truck.

Willis navigated out of the inlet and then made a U-turn toward the Oceanfront.

He pulled up within a few hundred yards of the shoreline – on a good day he can get within 50 yards – and then the ship broke in half.

On purpose.

The Currituck is a split-hull vessel, meaning the ship has hinges on either end of its 315-cubic-yard hopper.

One pass down. Hundreds more to go. Each trip from the Currituck lasts about 10 days – at roughly $10,000 a day – and the dredge is usually at Rudee Inlet three times a year.

“It’s just like cutting your grass,” Davis said. “You know you’ve got to go back and maintain.”

Richard Quinn, (757) 222-5119,

richard.quinn@pilotonline.com

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Path to confusion

2007-09-16T07:45:00.001-07:00

Path to confusion

Bennewitz said he isn't certain what Tudor's plans are for the real estate after Sept. 8. Tudor could not be reached for comment.

The Oktoberfest will incorporate the familiar traditions of the Manteo celebration, with new additions from the Eco Farm. The two-day event will include music by The Little German Band, games for children, face painting, door prizes, and a drawing for a free trip will be held on Saturday, Sept. 8.

Gunter Kuhle, a fifth generation master butcher from Germany will unveil a selection from the Butchery. The blessing of the special Oktoberfest Maerzen Beer will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7 followed by free samples.

"I want to thank the Town of Manteo for 21 years of wonderful support," said Bennewitz.

paul@obsentinel.com | 480-2234

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Weeping Radish moving from Manteo to Jarvisburg

2007-09-08T09:22:00.001-07:00

Weeping Radish moving from Manteo to Jarvisburg
BY PAUL GORZKOWSKI | SENTINEL STAFF

The Weeping Radish's 22nd Annual Oktoberfest celebration to be held on Sept. 7 and 8 will mark the last days of operation of the popular Manteo restaurant at the site where it opened 21 years ago.

Operations of the business, owned by Uli and Eileen Bennewitz and located beside the former Christmas Shop, will be moved to Jarvisburg on Currituck County mainland to the same location of the couple's butchery and brewery.

The Jarvisburg site features an expanded brewery, with a new overlook that allows visitors to see the traditional craft-brewing of the Weeping Radish's award-winning beers. The butchery/smokehouse provides hormone-free meats from local farms, under the supervision of Gunter Kuhle of Germany, and smoked local seafood prepared by Hannon Fry, a Manteo native.

The Barn Cafe serves food daily. Brewery tours are held on Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

Bennewitz said he and his wife have been working on this idea since purchasing the 24,000-square-foot property in Currituck County in 2000.

"We built this beautiful building in Jarvisburg to enhance the business. We are just going on to a different concept," said Bennewitz.

In 2005, Bennewitz sold the property in Manteo to John D. Tudor of Hunnington, Va. for a little more than $2 million and then leased the site from the new owner to continue operating the restaurant.

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Second annual pirate festival:

2007-09-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

Second annual pirate festival: Jack Sparrow and crew to invade the Banks

Kitty Hawk Kites' second annual Outer Banks Pirate Festival will be held Sept. 17-22. Special fun-filled events are planned on the Outer Banks every day throughout the week. All week at Kitty Hawk Kites in Nags Head, residents and visitors will find a selection of pirate gear (including t-shirts), flags and gifts to help celebrate this Outer Banks tradition.

"Pirate invasions" will begin on Monday, Sept. 17 and run throughout the week at various locations along the Outer Banks. Captain Jack Sparrow and Blackburn the Pirate can be found at various Kitty Hawk Kite locations from Corolla to Nags Head during the week. Wednesday, Sept. 19 is National-Talk-like-a-Pirate Day and Captain Jack, along with crew hand Blackburn, will be invading the Jolly Roger in Kill Devil Hills from 6 to 8 p.m. On Friday, Sept. 21 pirates will invade Roanoke Island Festival Park in from Manteo 2 to 5 p.m. Captain Jack and five of his crew members will be on hand dueling, fighting, signing autographs and more (remember to bring your camera). Then it's off to the Weeping Radish Farm Brewery in Jarvisburg over the Wright Memorial Bridge, where Captain Jack and his whole crew will feast from 6 to 8 p.m.

From 10 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, visitors will be able to step back in time at Kitty Hawk Kites in Nags Head. Captain Jack Sparrow and crew will set up their encampment. Impromptu skirmishes will break out between the pirates and militia; a thieves market will stock various toys and pirate souvenirs; and Captain Jack's Tavern will be set up with games and amusements. The day will be filled with photo opportunities.

For more information and a calendar of events, contact Kitty Hawk Kites at 441-4124 or visit http://www.kittyhawk.com.

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Tooter Lingo Liqueurs

2007-09-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

Tooter Lingo Liqueurs
Tooter Lingo Liqueurs have been described by some as “the most innovative packaging of distilled spirits produced in the last fifty years”. The package consists of fifteen (15) or thirty (30) individually sealed 25ml Tooters and is approved as a 750ml container. Tooter Lingo Liqueurs may sound familiar. The original Tooters are the empty test tube shooters that continue to be extremely popular on-premise after twenty-one years in the market. People can now drink Tooters at home and at parties. For the ultimate convenience we have included the glassware and even poured the drink. It really is "The Party in a Tube."

Tooter Lingo Liqueurs are thirty (30) proof and come in seven brands (flavors).
1. Blu-Dacious Kamikazi – blue curacao and vodka
2. Zipper Head – grape & black raspberry liqueur
3. Red-Diculous on the Beach – sex on the beach
4. Yellin’ Melon Balls – vodka and melon liqueur
5. Ala Bama Slama – A fruity blend with a southern “punch"

Coming Soon!
6. Ultimate Apple-tini - vodka and sour apple liqueur
7. Mango Smash - mango rum with a little taste of the islands

Tooter Wine Specialties 13.5% ALC/VOL and come in three brands (flavors).
1. On the Beach - peach and raspberry flavors
2. Melon Balls - melon and lemon flavors
3. Blue Kamikazi - lime flavor

PRODUCTS | DISTRIBUTORS | NEWS | PROMOTIONS | RETAILERS | CONTACT US
© 2006 Mango
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Disturbed Weather May Affect the Outer

2007-09-07T09:31:00.001-07:00

Area of Disturbed Weather May Affect the Outer Banks

Thursday, Sep 06, 2007 - 11:52 AM Updated: 12:33 PM

By Public Relations Office

An area of disturbed weather 360 miles southwest of Bermuda may threaten the Outer Banks and Dare County through Monday.

Area residents should monitor local news outlets for the latest advisories from the National Weather Service as well as state and local emergency management officials. Now is the time for residents to prepare their homes and gather supplies. Anyone traveling to the Outer Banks this weekend should also monitor reports and be aware of the possible weather situation.

In the event this disturbance becomes a storm, Emergency Management urges residents to do the following before the storm approaches the Outer Banks:

Prepare an emergency kit: To prepare for a storm, it is best to have an emergency kit available. This kit should contain nonperishable food, water and clothing to sustain each family member for three days. The kit should also include a flashlight, radio and spare batteries. Blankets, rain gear and appropriate footwear also are recommended. Special considerations must be made for the young or disabled. Remember to include baby food and medicines as appropriate. In addition, the kit should include photocopies of important family documents, such as birth certificates and insurance policies.

Secure outdoor property and homes: It is recommended that all residents begin protecting their homes clearing the yard of loose branches and other debris. Residents should also be prepared to board up windows if a storm forms and approaches the area.

Register for special care: Residents needing transportation or medical care should contact Dare County Social Services, if they have not already done so. Special needs shelters require advance registration. Dare County Social Services can be reached at 475-5500.

Prepare to evacuate if ordered to do so: If evacuations are called for, public shelters will be set up for evacuees further inland. However, it might be more comfortable for those who evacuate to stay at a hotel or friend’s home that is out of the storm’s path. These arrangements must be made early since hotels fill up quickly and evacuations take time. Begin thinking about your plan.

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illegals who commit crimes reported to immigration agency

2007-09-07T09:28:00.001-07:00
Only illegals who commit crimes reported to immigration agency

No bomb was found and court resumed.

Abrahamian is charged with making a false bomb report, a felony. His bond is set at $100,000.

Sheriff Rodney Midgett says deputies were able to track the call to Abrahamian's cell phone.

Abrahamian was scheduled to be in district court yesterday for two counts of secret peeping in the town of Southern Shores.

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Highway Patrol trooper making sexual advances

2007-09-06T10:57:00.001-07:00

By Dan Kane, Staff Writer
A second female motorist is accusing a former Highway Patrol trooper of making sexual advances while he was on patrol in Orange County.
The trooper, Michael A. Steele Jr., 28, resigned Sunday after another woman complained that he forced her to kiss him during a traffic stop and threatened to kill her family.

Steele resigned to avoid dismissal, said patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin.

Both women are Hispanic and have hired the same attorney, Ebher Rossi of Burlington. He said that the second woman had complained to the Highway Patrol before the incident that led to Steele's resignation.

Clendenin said the patrol has no record of the other complaint.

"We only know of the one," Clendenin said.

Rossi said Steele pulled over the second woman on N.C. 54 in Carrboro on Aug. 16th and ordered her to leave her car. He then he drove her to another location and wanted to kiss her, Rossi said.

"The woman is making the same allegations," Rossi said.

The incident involving the second woman happened in the same area eight days before his other client said Steele harassed and threatened her, Rossi said.

He said SBI and FBI agents are looking into the traffic stops.

Staff writer Dan Kane can be reached at 919-829-4861 or dan.kane@newsobserver.com.

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Blackwater North Carolina

2007-09-06T10:50:00.001-07:00
Others not so neighborly to Blackwater as North Carolina

The town of Moyock has been rubbing elbows with Blackwater for 10 years. STEVE EARLEY PHOTOS | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

By JOANNE KIMBERLIN, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 26, 2007

Protest marches. Recall elections. Fiery speeches. Dire predictions. Even the shaking of rattles to ward off the company's "evil" spirit.

Blackwater USA says reports of opposition to its expansion plans in Illinois and California are "greatly exaggerated," but a look at the happenings in those states makes one thing pretty clear, They see things a little differently out there.

Just south of the line that separates Virginia from North Carolina, Moyock has been rubbing elbows with Blackwater for 10 years. The company's 7,000-acre home base lies just outside town.

When asked about their neighbor - described in a recent book as "The World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" - folks around Moyock mostly shrug.

"What's the big deal?" asked H.R. Thomas, a retired Ford worker and long time local resident. "They don't bother nobody. If they didn't have the T-shirt on, you wouldn't even know who they were."

Moyock is a company town. Money flows out of Black-water's compound in the form of paychecks, purchases and taxes. Its bear-paw logo is practically a symbol of hometown pride.

To be sure, there are spats. Sherry Motes shares a property line with Blackwater. She complains that there are nights when the sound of gunfire disturbs her sleep.

"But I worry that if I'm too vocal, I'll be an outcast from society," Motes said. "I'm surrounded by people who think everything they do is great."

In other parts of the country, that's hardly the case.

Foreign, hostile lands? That's Blackwater's comfort zone. The company's security contractors provide armed protection for diplomats and other targets in Iraq - a risky role in a deadly place.

"In the ’60s we used to call those kind of people 'peaceniks.’ I never liked ’em very much." - Bill Winslow, who helps run The Border Station, a popular tourist quick-stop in Moyock, N.C., speaking about protesters in Illinois and California.

Domestic issues, however, can be thorny - at least outside North Carolina.

This month, in the northwest corner of Illinois, protesters sang, chanted and drummed outside the gates of Blackwater's new, 80-acre compound in Mount Carroll.

A bid to open an 800-acre facility in the hills outside San Diego has led to a recall election of the Potrero, Calif., planning group.

The usual concerns have reared their heads in both places - noise, traffic, zoning, environment. But now there's a new, bigger player: the war.

Opposition to it grows daily on the home front. Even the strongest objectors, however, avoid blaming the soldiers. But "hate the war, support the troops" is not being extended to Blackwater.

Gordon Hammers is chairman of the planning group facing recall in California. He said the group is merely an advisory board and its only advice on the Blackwater West proposal was to seek more information.

"And for that, they want to kick us out of office," he said. "We have a group of people here who are dedicated to their anti-war principal, and they see Blackwater as a villain."

The company's timing was particularly bad in Illinois. Mount Carroll lies in a conservative piece of rolling countryside near the Mississippi, but it's surrounded by a hotbed of liberal thinking. Illinois has a quiet tradition of political and social activism, with a standing network of peace and justice groups. Voters have passed resolutions demanding the United States bring home its troops.

One group in Dekalb has been staging an anti-war vigil at a busy intersection every Friday afternoon - blizzards notwithstanding - since before the war even began.

Dan Kenney, a fourth-grade teacher, is a member of that group. He said the peace and justice coalition had just moved private soldiers to the top of its hit list when he saw a small article in a local newspaper about Blackwater North opening in Mount Carroll.

"Companies like Blackwater are profiteers making money off war," Kenney said. "Our focus on that and their arrival here just happened to come together at the same time."

The debate over private guns hired by the military has been sharpened by their unprecedented numbers - an estimated 25,000 working in Iraq. Problems have cropped up with control and accountability, but in an era of military downsizing, they've become such a fixture on the front that a recent congressional report said security contractors are widely viewed as "vital to U.S. efforts to stabilize and reconstruct Iraq."

Blackwater’s plans for a facility near San Diego have sparked protests such as this one. A facility opened in Illinois also stirred opposition. Scott Linnett | The San Diego Union-Tribune

No matter: An opposition group named Clearwater has organized in Illinois. No one will say exactly how many members the group has, but there's nothing murky about its agenda. Clearwater wants to drive Blackwater out of the state.

"They're a lethal force, hired by our government, that is not accountable to the citizens," said Mary Shesgreen, a psychotherapist and member of Clearwater.

Since Blackwater North opened in April, Clearwater has kept the compound on Skunk Hollow Road in its sights. A farmer rented a plane and provided surveillance photos. Kenney posed as a prospective client and received a tour. A long time Illinois peace activist who calls himself Martin Hippie stood outside the property shaking rattles and meditating to ward off "the evil Blackwater spirits."

Ernie Lieb, who runs an excavation outfit in the area, said Clearwater doesn't speak for working folks like him. He says he's already earned some money moving dirt at Blackwater North.

"Locals just hope the company will bring some jobs and spend some money here," Lieb said. "Most of the people I know are glad about it."

On Aug. 11, Clearwater held a "Gathering at the Gate" protest. The group said 80 or so people showed up; Blackwater said it was more like 30. A video, available on YouTube, shows what appears to be part revival, part '60s-style peace rally.

Kenney was one of the speakers.

"We must stop Blackwater before it spreads further," he said to the protesters, "before it washes away all semblances of democracy, before they turn their trained guns for hire on us. Today we stand here and ask: What becomes of our souls when war is waged for profit?"

In the end, the people sang:

"We're on our way

And we won't turn back...

We'll shut you down, Blackwater

We'll shut you down..."

In California, well-known for its counter culture, it's not surprising that Blackwater isn't exactly feeling the love, either.

The company's main foe there is the East County Democratic Club. Its "Stop Blackwater" Web site warns: "These are the bases of an invading force bent on stealing our country from us, right out from under our noses. CONNECT THE DOTS!"

Back in Moyock, folks shake their heads when they hear talk like that.

"In the '60s we used to call those kind of people 'peaceniks,' " said Bill Winslow, who helps run The Border Station, a popular tourist quick-stop. "I never liked 'em very much."

What makes Moyock so different? For one thing, location. Moyock is nestled in the right-leaning Old South. But even more important, just about every branch of the service has at least one installation within an hour of town. Retired military move here. Weapons and camouflage don't raise an eyebrow.

“Do they really think that if we don’t have Blackwater, there won’t be a war?” Stylist Joni Colonna, who’s puzzled over the opposition to Blackwater in other states

Timing is another. In 1997, when Blackwater set up shop, there was no war. The compound was little more than a training site, and 9/11 had yet to change the world.

"Moyock is where we started," said Anne Tyrrell, Blackwater's spokeswoman. "First impressions made there were those Blackwater made in the community, not in the headlines around the world."

Those headlines have hurt the company, said Scott Silliman, executive director of Duke University's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security.

"Blackwater is not well thought of outside eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia," Silliman said. "When you mention them, the first thing people think about is Fallujah, and it's not a good image. Remember that? Desecrated, burned bodies hung from a bridge?"

Lawsuits filed against the company by the families of the four contractors killed in Fallujah in 2004 have generated even more negative publicity. So has this year's release of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" - a conspiracy-heavy book written by Jeremy Scahill that made it to No. 9 on the New York Times best-seller list for non fiction.

In an attempt to calm the waters, Blackwater has pledged to use its new facilities only to train law enforcement and military personnel, and to keep the most controversial aspect of its business in Moyock.

"When it comes to our security consulting work," Tyrrell said, "the contractors we train and send abroad remain in Moyock and they always will."

That's fine with Moyock. Outsiders might think of them as mercenaries, but to locals they're simply known as "those Blackwater boys."

Living in the shadow of a Blackwater compound that's nearly 10 times as big as the one proposed for California - and almost 100 times as large as the one in Illinois - does not seem to trouble the town.

On a smoke break outside a hair salon, stylist Joni Colonna puzzled over the out-of-state firestorms.

"Do they really think that if we don't have Blackwater, there won't be a war?" she ask ed.

Home might not always provide such refuge. Opposition in Illinois and California is nurturing Blackwater Watch, a North Carolina-based counterpart. Christian Stalberg is one of the group's organizers. He's a computer consultant and native Californian who lives near Raleigh.

Stalberg said Blackwater Watch has only a handful of members so far, most with activist backgrounds. It's not even sure of its goal.

"We're just getting our legs under us," he said.

Establishing a beachhead in Blackwater's backyard won't be easy.

"Don't I know it," Stalberg said quietly. "Don't I know it."
Joanne Kimberlin, (757) 446-2338, joanne.kimberlin@pilotonline.com
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bomb threat to Justice Center

2007-09-06T08:00:00.001-07:00
N.C. man charged with making bomb threat to Justice Center
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 5, 2007 | Last updated 3:53 PM Sep. 5

Police have arrested a Corolla man and charged him with making a bomb threat to the Dare County Justice Center the same day he was scheduled to appear there on other charges.

Gary Milton Abrahamian, 36, was arrested in Corolla Tuesday and charged with “making a false bomb report on a public building,” a felony, according to a news release from the Dare County Sheriff’s Office. Police say they tracked the Justice Center call to a cell phone.

On April 8, Abrahamian was arrested in Southern Shores and charged with two counts of secret peeping. He was scheduled to be in District Court Tuesday for those charges, the news release said.

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An employee at the Justice Center received a call about 9:12 a.m. Tuesday from a person who said there was a bomb in the building.

All were evacuated from the 70,000-square-foot Justice Center, which houses court rooms, the clerk of courts office, the sheriff’s office, register of deeds office and several tax offices, said Dorothy Toolan, the county’s public relations coordinator.

Court was in session at the time, she said. After a search that lasted less than 45 minutes, the building was deemed safe. It reopened by 10 a.m.

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two new schools

2007-09-03T07:47:00.001-07:00
Work on elementary school set to begin
County now building two new schools

And, Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) who voted against the bill, said the legislature should have let the fisheries commission handle the Brunswick County situation too.

"The legislature does not need to insinuate itself into fishery management disputes. We don't have the expertise or experience to make these sorts of decisions," Harrison said.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) opposed the menhaden bill.

"We are concerned that the General Assembly's impending action undermines the spirit and intent of the 1997 Fisheries Reform Act and usurps the authority of the Marine Fisheries Commission," wrote MFC chairman Mac Currin in a letter to legislators.

The Fisheries Reform Act set up a process for the development of comprehensive management plans for species important to commercial and recreational fishermen. The state writes some plans, and adopts others developed by regional and federal fisheries councils.

Menhaden management falls under a plan developed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a compact of East Coast states charged with managing inshore migrating species.

Stock assessments show that the menhaden population is healthy.

Currin noted that the issue is "social and perceptual rather than a resource issue."

Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, agreed that it isn't a resource issue.

"Make no mistake about it, this has nothing to do with menhaden and everything to do with further bans on commercial fishing in our state, including the ultimate prize for the recreational interests — a net ban in coastal waters," said McKeon.

Proponents of the ban said better recreational fishing and increased tourism would come to Brunswick County if the pogie boats were outlawed. Some recreational anglers said the boats break the food chain for king mackerel and other species targeted by sport fishermen.

Supporters also argued that the state had nothing to lose with a ban.

"It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to allow menhaden boats from Virginia to come into the waters of North Carolina and remove a resource that belongs to all eight million citizens of the state," Representative Bonner Stiller (R-Brunswick), the bill's sponsor, told the Wilmington Star News. "They don't leave a dollar bill in North Carolina."

Purse seiners from Omega Protein's plant in Reedville, Va. still fish for menhaden off the Carolina coast.

North Carolina's last menhaden plant, Beaufort Fisheries, closed its doors in 2005. A residential community is planned for the former fish factory site on Taylor's Creek in Carteret County.

The Coastal Mariner, one of the company's vessels, is now an artificial fishing reef. Renamed The MicKey, the 180-foot vessel was sunk earlier this month near Frying Pan Shoals.

Jim Francesconi, artificial reef coordinator with DMF, said another vessel, the Gregory Poole, was purchased by Dominion Marine in Norfolk, Virginia, and is being prepared for towing and sinking.

Two locations for the sinking, Hardee's Reef and Howard Chapin Reef, both accessible from Beaufort Inlet, are under consideration.

Francesconi explained that the state doesn't fund these projects, and that the private individuals, fishing clubs, or conservation groups that buy the vessel from the Norfolk company would determine the site.

"The project is in the works but isn't an absolute until we come up with the cash," he said.

ridgeroad@earthlink.net

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Nantahala Lake salmon

2007-08-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

Two state records for the kokanee salmon were broken within a day of each other.

Mark Swann of Black Mountain reeled in his 2.48-pound record-breaker on Aug. 3 from Nantahala Lake. The next day, Levi Towery of Forest City, caught a salmon from Nantahala that topped Swann's by two-tenths of a pound, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said in a news release.

Towery, 9, caught his 2.68-pounder, which measured 18.4 inches in length, using a Browning rod, with a 6500C Ambassador reel and a Doctor Spoon lure.

Nantahala Lake is the only spot in North Carolina where kokanee salmon are found. The fish, which is native to the western United States, was stocked in the lake in the mid-1960s by the commission as a forage fish for predator fishes. The stock has become a target for anglers.

The salmon do not grow very large, generally less than 20 inches in length. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and on small aquatic organisms.

For a list of all freshwater fish state records in North Carolina, visit the commission's Web site at www.ncwildlife.org.

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Kitty Hawk honors ship that bears its name

2007-08-28T09:24:00.001-07:00
Kitty Hawk honors ship that bears its name

Photos and an American flag that flew on the carrier Kitty Hawk adorn the walls of the Kitty Hawk Fire Department. CHRIS CURRY | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

By KRISTIN DAVIS, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 27, 2007

KITTY HAWK, N.C.

In 1961, when the U.S. Navy celebrated 50 years of aviation, it also commissioned a $265.2 million aircraft carrier and named it Kitty Hawk for a town celebrated as the birthplace of flight.

Now, the Kitty Hawk is in its twilight.

Based in Yokosuka, Japan, the Navy's oldest active ship is scheduled for decommissioning late next year. There will be a ceremony marking the end of its service and a film to celebrate its history and its namesake.

The town of Kitty Hawk will be a part of it.

These fishers are in it for the fun. They're dressed in swim suits, T-shirts and ball caps instead of slickers and rubber boots like a serious commercial angler. Back-and-forth banter is plentiful. Friend Ben Burgess took some ribbing over his lime green T-shirt and matching wading shoes, In case they got lost, they could use him for a beacon.

Cuthrell, a tall, lean 70-year-old, has been catching, cooking and eating mullets all his life, as his folks did before him. As far as he knows, nobody else around these parts fishes for mullets like this - just for fun.

"People used to go down to the river and cook mullets and drink bootleg liquor," he said. "That was a big thing years ago."

These days, beer and soft drinks replace the bootleg liquor. Well, there might be some liquor.

Deputies say after getting a search warrant, they found several pot plants growing in three different plots at Wyche's home in Enfield. During the search authorities also seized a food dehydrator, several containers of marijuana and different types of smoking devices. Agents also seized almost five pounds of marijuana during this investigation.

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Vaccines

2007-08-24T10:29:00.001-07:00
1. Vaccines are toxic.

*Vaccines contain substances poisonous to humans (i.e. mercury,
formaldehyde, aluminum, etc.) Vaccine package inserts give this and other
information required by law to be disclosed to the public. Although these
inserts are produced for consumers, doctors do not make them available to
their patients.

*Vaccines are grown on and contain foreign tissue and altered genetic
material of both human and animal origin.

2. Immunization (the act of injecting vaccines) depresses and disables
brain and immune function. Honest, unbiased scientific investigation has
shown vaccinations to be a causative factor in many illnesses including:

*Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (aka SIDS, crib or cot death)
*developmental disorders (autism, seizures, mental retardation,
hyperactivity, dyslexia, etc.)
*immune deficiency (i.e. AIDS, Epstein Barre Syndrome, etc.)
*degenerative disease (i.e. muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis,
arthritis, cancer, leukemia, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc.)

3. The high rate of adverse vaccine reactions is being ignored and denied
by conventional medicine.

*Prior to 1990, doctors were not legally required to report adverse
reactions to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
*Adverse reactions are considered "normal", are ignored or diagnosed as
other diseases. Even with this poor system, reported damage is
substantial.
*Despite their current legal obligation, less than 10% of doctors report
the damage they witness to the CDC.
*Throughout history, many prominent medical and non-medical health
professionals around the world have voiced their vehement opposition to
vaccination calling it scientific fraud.

4. Mass Vaccination Programs systematically and recklessly endanger the
public while disregarding our rights.

*Since vaccination breaks the skin, it is technically a surgery. All
surgeries by law require informed consent. Informed consent is rarely
attained before vaccines are administered.
*Doctors vaccinate the unwitting and uninformed. The vaccine
manufacturers' package inserts which contain biased industry claims and
the bare minimum required by law to reveal are not routinely made
available to consumers so that they can make a more informed choice.
*Double-talk and unethical enforcement such as threats, intimidation and
coercion are used to ensure vaccination compliance.

5. There is no proof that vaccinations are safe or effective.

*There are no control group studies. Authorities consider that "to not
vaccinate" is unethical and have refused to study unvaccinated volunteers.
If control studies were done according ' to honest science, vaccination
would be outlawed.
*Studies which have been done are not designed to eliminate the examiners
bias. Authorities who compile and report disease statistics work closely
with and have a vested interest in companies which produce the vaccines.
In other industries, this kind of bias is not tolerated. Injuries and
deaths in these studies are attributed to anything but vaccination to skew
the results and make it appear that vaccines have some merit.

6. Laws allow drug companies to violate the public trust.

*In private vaccine damage suits, information is revealed condemning
vaccines as deadly.
*Vaccine manufacturers use "gag orders" as a leverage tool in vaccine
damage legal settlements to restrict the plaintiff from disclosing to the
public the truth about the dangerous nature of vaccines. Our government
has allowed these unethical tactics to be used which jeopardize public
welfare.

7. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1987 is a pacifier.

*This compensation program pretends to acknowledge the existence of
vaccine damage by making "right" the wrongs done. Nothing in this Act
attempts to avert these adverse events from happening in the future. *This
Act is the result of vaccine producers pressuring the government to
"immunize" them from private lawsuits which can run an average of $4
million per case.
*The fund is made up of tax added into the cost to the consumer of each
vaccine, thereby making vaccine consumers pay for one another's and
perhaps their own injury; the vaccine manufacturers have made themselves
quite "immune" from accountability. In recent years it has become even
more difficult to be compensated through this program due to the
parameters for determining vaccine damage changing and coroners now ruling
out vaccine damage and charging the parents with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

8. Private insurance companies, which do the best liability studies, have
totally abandoned coverage for damage to life and property due to:

*Acts of God
*Nuclear war and nuclear power plant accidents
*Vaccination

9. Vaccination is not emergency medicine.

*It is claimed that vaccines avert a possible future risk and yet people
are pressured to decide on the spot. A doctor's use of fear and
intimidation to force compliance is not ethical. Vaccines are drugs with
potential serious adverse reactions. Time and forethought should be given
before a decision is made.

10. There is no law enforcing vaccination for babies or anyone else.

*Vaccination is linked with school attendance but is not compulsory.
Exemptions from vaccinations, although restricted and monitored, are part
of every state public health law and can be expanded by public pressure.
*Departments of Health, Education and the American Medical Association
personnel profit from the sale of vaccines. They keep the existence of and
details about exemptions relatively unknown.

The Rockefeller Foundation has been the pre-eminent advocate of population
reduction since at least the early 1970s, so why is the Rockefeller
Foundation 'so concerned' about HPV deaths ...
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laws on illegal aliens

2007-08-24T10:25:00.001-07:00
Task force eyes uniform laws on illegal aliens
By Natasha Altamirano
August 24, 2007
A Virginia task force is looking for ways to take control of the widespread
and varied laws that localities have recently enacted to crack down on
illegal aliens.
The Virginia State Crime Commission's task force on illegal immigration is
scheduled to meet Tuesday in Richmond, and it expects to hear presentations on
the number of illegal aliens in the state's jails and prisons and the
federal government's handling of incarcerated criminal aliens.
The task force, made up of lawmakers and law-enforcement officials, last
month requested the data from commission staff after proposing a mandate for
state sheriffs and jail wardens to initiate deportation proceedings for illegal
aliens.
The proposal is intended to create a uniform statewide policy on immigration
enforcement to replace the current "patchwork approach" of sometimes
conflicting policies at the county and city levels, said state Sen. Kenneth W.
Stolle, Virginia Beach Republican and co-chairman of the task force.
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram on Wednesday ordered state and
local police to notify federal immigration officials when an illegal alien is
arrested for an indictable offense or drunken driving.
The decision was made with a similar goal of creating a statewide policy
after a suspect in the Aug. 4 execution-style killings of three Newark, N.J.,
college students was found to be an illegal alien who had been granted bail on
child rape and aggravated-assault charges.
Immigration officials had not been notified of the suspect's existence.
Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell said his powers are not as
broad as those of New Jersey's attorney general, but that he's been working
closely with the crime commission's task force to implement statewide immigration
enforcement through what's known as federal 287(g) training.
"I'm 100 percent in support of that kind of effort," Mr. McDonnell said
yesterday. "I'm a strong advocate that ... sheriff's departments make inquiries
at the point of arrest."

Virginia Delegate David B. Albo, Fairfax County Republican and co-chairman
of the task force, said state law already requires sheriffs and jail
administrators to notify federal immigration officials when illegal aliens are
convicted of certain crimes, but that the law isn't always enforced due in part to
lack of resources.
"That's already the law, but sheriffs are not always doing it and don't
necessarily have all the resources to do it," Mr. Albo said in an interview
yesterday. "What we're trying to do is exactly that - and do it so it works, not
so it can be put in some brochure."
A number of Virginia localities have enacted measures to crack down on
illegal aliens.
The Manassas Park City Council is one of the latest jurisdictions to take
action on illegal immigration.
Earlier this week, council members said they would monitor a Prince William
County resolution on illegal aliens and, if the resolution withstands legal
challenges, they would consider adopting similar measures.
Last month, Prince William County supervisors unanimously passed a
resolution aimed at denying public services to illegal aliens and toughening local
immigration enforcement.
Loudoun County supervisors passed a similar resolution the following week,
and government officials in Culpeper, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Chesterfield and
James City counties have followed suit.
oThis article is based in part on wire service reports.
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Read the Bills Before they Vote

2007-08-24T10:24:00.001-07:00
Ron Paul: Congress Should Read the Bills Before they Vote!

Congress Should Read the Bills Before they Vote!
Paul Introduces the Sunlight Rule

March 14, 2006

Washington, DC: Congressman Ron Paul of Texas recently introduced the "Sunlight Rule," which would radically change the way Washington does business-- for the better. As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously stated, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
" Congressman Paul proposes to shine a bright light on the House of Representatives and restore integrity to that institution by putting an end to the outrageous practice of voting on huge spending bills that have not been read.
The Sunlight Rule changes the actual procedural practices of the U.S. House of Representatives. It requires all bills to be made available to members of Congress at least ten days before a vote. The Rule also allows ordinary citizens to publicly censure their Representative if he or she votes for a bill brought to the floor without the ten-day review period.
While it might amaze many Americans to know that members of Congress virtually never read the bills they pass, it's a common practice. Many bills are thousands of pages long and contain thousands of spending earmarks. Since most bills are never read except by their actual authors-- often staffers or even lobbyists, not the elected Representatives themselves-- the opportunities for taxpayer abuse are enormous.
"Average Americans often wonder how so much pork-barrel spending happens in Washington, and why it can't be stopped," Paul stated. "One big reason is that most members of Congress have no idea what's really in the bills they pass. The latest budget vote is a perfect example. We voted at 4 in the morning on a huge bill that wasn't even finished until midnight. Nobody could have read it. It funded thousands of pet projects and earmarks. Is this any way to vote on a budget that spends 2.7 trillion dollars?"
"That's why I introduced the Sunlight Rule, to let Congress actually read the bills they pass," Paul concluded. "It's the least they can do with your money."

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Chatoic Reflections on the Nation's Capital

2007-08-24T10:17:00.001-07:00
Chatoic Reflections on the Nation's Capital
by Fred Reed
August 24, 2007
I have just returned from two weeks in Washington and find myself almost giggling with despair, or perhaps chortling at the madness. I need a bottle of Padre Kino, maybe laced with Haldol.
I figure the whole country must be smoking dope, because theyve all got the fears. Or so it appears at first. In stations of Metro, the citys subway, a recording told us over and over that Metro had new secure trash cans andI think this is verbatimYou can now put your trash where it belongs without fear. Yes, brethren and cistern, you can throw away that newspaper in a state of calm.
Were afraid of trash cans? What would Davy Crockett think?
As best I can tell, Homeland Security thought, or pretended to think, that a wily terrorist might put a bomb in the trash cans. So they built blast-proof cans after taking out the vulnerable old cans. Some company made a fortune supplying them, Homeland Security being a richly flowing monetary teat. Personally I feel much safer.
The city is like an acid trip gone bad. On electronic signs on overpasses one sees that the Threat Level is Orange--kind of scared, but not yet with the screaming shaking gollywoggles. What does that mean? What do you do in Condition Orange that you dont do in Condition Green? (Actually Green seems not to exist. The point appears to be to keep people in a constant state of moderate anxiety,)
At National Airport, my plane had minor maintenance problems and the repair crews had the engines opened. The announcer or whatever you call him repeatedly told us not to panic. Oh. Im going to panic because theyre putting a new valve in the de-icing generator? Meanwhile, everywhere the government can insert its fingers, the recorded warnings: Watch everybody else and call this number ifreport suspicious behaviorlook for abandoned packageslift your feet when using the escalatorsThreat Level Orange.
I looked for indications that anyone was paying the slightest attention to this twaddle and couldnt find any. I half expected people to approach a trash can on tiptoe, from behind, so that it Wouldnt Suspect. No. They just stuffed things into it. The passengers didnt watch each other, instead burying themselves in the sports section or bouncing to whatever was on the iPod.
A lot of people think that all this fearaganda springs from some closely calculated plot to make people support the wars, or give the feds unlimited power so they can protect us. Well, it looks that way. Perhaps a few in government take it seriously. You know, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, rather than a good way to lose it.
I dont know. But it is a bureaucratized terror, coated with a sort of Madison Avenue inanity. Terror by Disney. I get the impression that it is a response more to boredom than to peril. Life is pretty tedious going to the cubicle farm every day. Living in an imaginary war zone relieves the ennui. The Homeland Security people, not exactly a scintillating crew, get to feel important, have a sense of mission and maybe even be noticed. In a meaningless life, the chance to go mano a mano with bin Laden, even if only by tilting at trash cans, is better than nothing.
The disjuncture between the wars of Mr. Bush and the country as a whole was striking. While the wars are a topic of conversation, there is little passion. In the absence of a draft, no one is affected by them who doesnt want to be. Washingtons sophisticated send few of their sons to Iraq voluntarily or otherwise. Being savvy and therefore cynical, they know the wars are politically driven spasms in which they have no stake. They dont know soldiers and would have little in common with them. Thus they view the conflicts as they might an earthquake in Peru.
On this trip I spent several hours at Walter Reed Army Hospital, where guys with one leg hobbled around on crutches. Having passed a year as a patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital as a consequence of another witless war, I knew what I would find should I visit the wards at Walter Reed: the blind, the faceless, the hopelessly gutshot, and the quadriplegics who would spend the rest of what cant quite be called a life being turned at intervals to avoid bedsores.
I do not know todays soldiers, having left the military beat midway through the Nineties. How many of them know they were suckered as we were, and how many still buy the patriotic hoopla favored in small towns, I dont know. Theirs is a very different world from that of the intimate blues bars of Upper Connecticut Avenue. I wonder what the spindly milquetoast hawks of National Review would think if they saw the human wreckage of the military hospitals, which they wont.
When I am dictator, I will strap the mothers of the graduating class of Harvard to the front bumpers of Humvees in Baghdad, and see how long support for the war lasts.
Washington is a curious city, separated from most of the rest of the United States by a gaping cultural chasm. It is probably the nations best educated town, and it is certainly a place where people know the score. The population consists of politicians, reporters, beltway bandits attached to Uncle Suckers well-worn mammaries, wonks from policy shops, or outfits supplying all of them with one thing or another. In a country that doesnt, they travel.
It doesnt make them better people than others. It means that they know its all a game, a matter of whose rice bowl gets filled by what contract and who gets re-elected how. Things are dirty and rigged and one either hides things from the public or misrepresents them to gull the rubes. This of course is no secret. It doesnt have to be. It works anyway.
One night I sat in the Zoo Bar, across Connecticut Avenue from the entrance to the zoo, with friends just back from Yemen. The Zoo Bar isnt upscale, running to burgers and Bud. Washington is more about power than glitter. Important staffers from the Hill will show up in jeans for blues and brew.
At the next table two guys were talking of some contract with DoD, talking in detail of RFPs and set-asides and who on what committee on the Hill had to be sold. Thats DC. Meanwhile the subway reassured riders about the safety of trash cans and, only a few stops away, soldiers from other worlds learned to use their wheel chairs. An acid trip gone bad.
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Tattoo shop asked to close in Currituck

2007-08-23T11:22:00.001-07:00
Tattoo shop asked to close in Currituck
Aug 22, 2007 06:41 PM

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The opening of a tattoo studio in North Carolina is stirring up some controversy. The county's Board of Adjustment voted against the studios opening along the main roadway.

That's where the "Dreamcatchers Soundside Tattoo Studio" is in Currituck and "Ace In The Hole Tattoo Studio" in Moyock wants to open there too.

Instead of going through the appeals process, one man opened his studio anyway. Steven Canady is facing $100 a day in fines for not having a conditional use permit.

Tattoos have been Steven Canady's life for the past 20 years. Even his daughters have joined the family business. He's opened shops in other cities across North Carolina with few problems.

"I was the first ever, legally licensed tattoo artist and studio in the whole Albermarle area," says Canady.

This time he's run into a problem with his tattoo and piercing shop in Currituck, North Carolina. He can't get a conditional use permit for this zoning area.

Canady and the owner of another tattoo studio were told they couldn't open their doors because the business is considered a sexually oriented business. Canady decided to go against the ruling and opened anyway.

"I can't throw my daughters out on the street because of this man's opinion of me. Trying to block my use permit. I am legally licensed with the Health Department of North Carolina state," explains Canady.

Janet Taylor sits on the county Board of Commissioners, which actually changed the ordinance to allow studios.

Janet says, "We took tattoo and piercing out of the sexually oriented ordinance and changed some of the things on that to allow them to set up their studios."

But even she can't reverse the ruling of the county's Board of Adjustment. She says they'll have to got to the Superior Court and appeal the decision of the Board of Adjustments.

Until then, Canady says he doesn't agree and feels justified by staying open.

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Build the (other) Bridge

2007-08-23T11:13:00.001-07:00
Build the (other) Bridge

Once again, an incident has happened in the U.S. that has citizens and government regulators scrambling to prevent it from happening again.

Much like the deaths caused by the broken levees in New Orleans, the deaths caused by the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis could have been prevented if measures had been taken to inspect and repair the structures as necessary.

A disturbing trend in ths country is to wait until disaster strikes, then scranmble to prevent these things from happeniong again or elsewhere. After Katrina, levies across the country were inspected and shored up. Now bridges across the country will be inspected and repiared as necessary.

I can see it now — a large hurricane will strike the Outer Banks, and thousands will be left stranded, injured and dead because they all tried, but failed, to get off the island via the Wright Memorial Bridge. In the aftermath, the entire country will ask why no northern bridge exists, and everyone will scramble to get a bridge built so that it doesn't happen again.

Although start and end dates for a Mid-Currituck Bridge have tentatively been set, I believe it will take a tragedy like that described above to make everyone realize the importance of a Mid-Currituck Bridge. Sure it will cost alot of money and may temporarily disrupt the environment, but wouldn't it be better to pay that price now than to undertake a massive recovery effort and then be forever left to question why?

PAUL BRUDER | Corolla property owner
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Tulls Creek Rd

2007-08-23T11:11:00.001-07:00
Beach man, 21, dies after he is thrown from car
By JEFF HAMPTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 17, 2007 | Last updated 2:07 PM Aug. 18

A Virginia Beach man was killed early Wednesday on Tulls Creek Road in Currituck County after the Jeep he was driving hit a culvert.

David Keith Sumrell, 21, was driving south on Tulls Creek Road about 3 a.m. when he ran off the right side of the road and hit a driveway ditch just south of Lou Sawyer Road, said Trooper J.R. Chappell of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Sumrell was ejected from the Jeep and landed on the road, he said.

No passengers were in the Jeep, and no other vehicles were involved. There was no sign of excessive speed, Chappell said. Toxicology tests are pending.

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The death toll on Currituck roads has reached 11 this year, three short of the record number killed in 2002. Five people were killed on N.C. 168 between June 13 and 16.

In 2002, 14 people were killed in traffic accidents in Currituck County, the most since records were first kept in 1978. Twelve people were killed in 2001, the second-worst year since 1978, when 12 were also killed.

Tulls Creek Road winds about 12 miles through Currituck County parallel to N.C. 168 and is often used as an alternative route. The road was widened two years ago from 18 feet to 22 feet to increase safety.

According to online maps from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, traffic on Tulls Creek Road increased considerably between 2000 and 2005. The count rises during summer weekends.

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FDA Approves Seconds

2007-08-22T13:43:00.001-07:00

FDA Approves Seconds

August 22, 2007 | Issue 43•34

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<DIV class="customize">Include: <INPUT type="checkbox" id="check_image" onclick="afns_embedToggleImage(this);" checked="checked" name="image" /> <LABEL id="check_image_label" for="check_image">Image</LABEL> <INPUT type="checkbox" onclick="afns_embedToggleTeaser(this);" id="check_teaser" name="teaser" /> <LABEL id="check_teasere_label" for="check_teaser">Blurb</LABEL> </DIV> <H4 class="embed_label">Preview</H4> <DIV id="embedded_preview"><DIV class="onion_embed headline"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/fda_approves_seconds?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion" class="img"></a><H2><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion"></a></H2><H3 style="font-size: 21px ! important; line-height: 20px ! important;"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/fda_approves_seconds?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion">FDA Approves Seconds</a></H3></DIV></DIV> <DIV class="buttons"> <p id="embedded_help"> Copy and paste this code into a new post in Blogger, MySpace, or any other blog tool. It will display this Onion headline, picture, and teaser copy on your page, depending on what you select above.<br/> <br/> It's up to you to write the rest of the blog post. </p> <a id="embedded_close" onclick="afns_toggle_tool( afns_blogTool, afns_blogTool.isTop );return false;" title="Close Blog Window" href="http://www.theonion.com/content/" style="bottom: 5px;"> </a> </DIV> </FORM> </DIV></DIV> <DIV class="sect" id="related"> <H2 class="subheading">Related Articles</H2> <ul> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45109" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45109" class="title">Millions Of Americans Succumbing To Sudden Elder Death Syndrome</a> <span class="date">February 8, 2006</span> </li> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28512" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28512" class="title">The JFK Jr. Tragedy:</a> <span class="date">March 4, 2001</span> </li> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/most_e_mailed_list_tearing_new" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/most_e_mailed_list_tearing_new" class="title">'Most E-Mailed' List Tearing <i>New York Times</i>' Newsroom Apart</a> <span class="date">April 7, 2007</span> </li> </ul> </DIV> <H2><a title="email_this">Email This Article</a></H2> <FORM onsubmit="email_submit_ticket();return false;" action="" id="email_this"> <DIV id="email_entry"> <LABEL for="email_to">To:</LABEL> <INPUT type="text" onkeypress="javascript: email_clear_status();" value="" name="email" id="email_to" /> <LABEL for="email_from">From:</LABEL> <INPUT type="text" value="" name="from" id="email_from" /> <p id="email_submit_line"> <INPUT type="image" alt="Submit" src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/onion/assets/buttons/submit.gif" id="email_submit" class="image_submit" /> </p> <INPUT type="hidden" value="65488" class="hidden" id="email_nid" name="nid" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_ticket" name="ticket" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_action" name="action" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_message" name="message" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="onion_email" class="hidden" id="email_site" name="site" /> </DIV> <DIV class="sponsorship"> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript">OAS_AD('Frame1');</SCRIPT><a target="_top" href="http://oascentral.theonion.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/theonion/national/news/2060789501/Frame1/default/empty.gif/64383061623833333436326264626230?"></a> </DIV> </FORM> </DIV>  </DIV></DIV> <p>WASHINGTON, DC—In a surprising reversal of its longtime single-helping policy, the Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of seconds Tuesday, claiming that an additional plateful of food with every meal can greatly reduce the risk of hunger as well as provide an excellent source of deliciousness. </p> <DIV style="width: 250px;" class="article_photo"> <a onclick="javascript:open('http://www.theonion.com/content/node/65500', 'enlarge_image_window', 'width=411px, height=550px, scrollbars=yes, lend=20px, top=20px');" href="javascript:void(0);"> <span>Enlarge Image</span> </a><p>The Department of Agriculture has revised its old food pyramid to reflect the new guidelines.</p> </DIV> <p>Addressing what it calls a "growing epidemic of cravings and hankerings," the federal agency recommended redesigning food labels to prominently display extra-serving sizes and pledged to better educate consumers on how to make informed additional-portion choices at home and in restaurants.</p> <p>"There's plenty to go around," FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said between spoonfuls of mashed potatoes during a benefit luncheon at the Clean Plate Club in Washington. "We've found that eating seconds is essential for keeping up the country's strength."</p> <p>"Besides, with people starving in other parts of the world, it would be an absolute shame to let our nice food supply all go to waste," the commissioner added. </p> <p>Once restricted to the head of the household, on Thanksgiving, or to those who had been extra good, seconds will now be made available to the general public in over-the-kitchen-counter form. However, FDA officials warn that those with a history of health problems should consult their doctor first. </p> <p>"Seconds may not be suitable for everyone," von Eschenbach said. "Especially those who suffer from heart disease, those at risk for diabetes, people trying to lose weight, and women."</p> <DIV style="width: 249px;" class="article_photo_alt"> <a onclick="javascript:open('http://www.theonion.com/content/node/65487', 'enlarge_image_window', 'width=625px, height=571px, scrollbars=yes, lend=20px, top=20px');" href="javascript:void(0);"> <span>Enlarge Image</span> </a><p>Uneaten potential seconds, like those seen in this file photo, could soon become a thing of the past.</p> </DIV> <p>The FDA also recommended moderation in consuming seconds. Researchers in the seconds field have noted occasional side effects, such as hardly being able to get up from the table, pants-loosening, drowsiness, and the feeling that one "might explode" if one eats just one more bite. </p> <p>A report commissioned by the Las Vegas–based International Brotherhood of Buffet Owners revealed that 75 percent of undereating occurs in those afflicted by a rare disorder in which their eyes are smaller than their stomachs, preventing them from taking advantage of all-you-can-eat opportunites. Picky eating habits and an unwillingness to stuff oneself are considered the leading preventable causes of scrawniness among Americans. </p> <p>"Growing boys represent the greatest at-risk group, as unprecedented numbers of them are wasting away," registered dietician and grandmother of six Irma Jacobs said. "They'll just turn into skin and bones before our very eyes unless we make a concerted effort to get them to eat, eat, eat up."</p> <p>Other nutritionists suggest that the need for seconds could be eliminated by an initial very large, or "heaping," helping.</p> <p>"Larger portions could entirely eliminate the need to reach over, pass dishes, or get out of a chair," said clinical nutritionist Gary Bergen of Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who estimates that millions of calories and thousands of hours of eating time are wasted annually by making unnecessary second-serving trips. "I find it ironic that the FDA has approved seconds, yet still hasn't standardized the dollop."</p> Despite months of work and the purchase of several new wardrobes, FDA researchers say their study of the consumption of thirds and fourths has been inconclusive, but they suggest a possible link between these additional servings and tummy aches.<p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>FDA Approves Seconds</h1> <p>2007-08-22T13:42:00.001-07:00</p> <H2 class="title">FDA Approves Seconds</H2> <p class="meta"> August 22, 2007 | <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/index/4334">Issue 43•34</a> </p> <DIV id="toolset"><DIV id="move_to_toolset">  <DIV id="tools"> <DIV id="tools-top" class="article_tools"> <UL class="textable"><LI class="email"> <a onclick="afns_email_this();return true;" href="javascript:void(0);">E-mail</a> </li> <LI class="print"> <a href="javascript:window.print();">Print</a> </li> <LI class="blog"> <a onclick="afns_blog_toggle_top();return false;" href="javascript:void(0);">blog this</a> </li> <LI class="text"> <a onclick="afns_text_this_toggle_top();return false;" href="javascript:void(0);">text this</a> </li> </ul> <DIV class="sponsorship"> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript">OAS_AD('Bottom1');</SCRIPT><a target="_top" href="http://oascentral.theonion.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/theonion/national/news/267060034/Bottom1/default/empty.gif/64383061623833333436326264626230?"></a> </DIV> <DIV id="embedded" class="embedded-top" style="overflow: hidden; display: block; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 75px;"> <FORM name="embedForm" action=""> <H3 class="embed_label">Cut-and-paste</H3> <TEXTAREA id="embedded_html" name="embedded_html" readonly="readonly" onfocus="this.select();" onclick="this.select();" cols="100" rows="3" class="text" /> <DIV class="customize">Include: <INPUT type="checkbox" id="check_image" onclick="afns_embedToggleImage(this);" checked="checked" name="image" /> <LABEL id="check_image_label" for="check_image">Image</LABEL> <INPUT type="checkbox" onclick="afns_embedToggleTeaser(this);" id="check_teaser" name="teaser" /> <LABEL id="check_teasere_label" for="check_teaser">Blurb</LABEL> </DIV> <H4 class="embed_label">Preview</H4> <DIV id="embedded_preview"><DIV class="onion_embed headline"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/fda_approves_seconds?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion" class="img"></a><H2><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion"></a></H2><H3 style="font-size: 21px ! important; line-height: 20px ! important;"><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/fda_approves_seconds?utm_source=Distributed&utm_medium=Embedded%2BHTML&utm_campaign=Widgets" target="theonion">FDA Approves Seconds</a></H3></DIV></DIV> <DIV class="buttons"> <p id="embedded_help"> Copy and paste this code into a new post in Blogger, MySpace, or any other blog tool. It will display this Onion headline, picture, and teaser copy on your page, depending on what you select above.<br/> <br/> It's up to you to write the rest of the blog post. </p> <a id="embedded_close" onclick="afns_toggle_tool( afns_blogTool, afns_blogTool.isTop );return false;" title="Close Blog Window" href="http://www.theonion.com/content/" style="bottom: 5px;"> </a> </DIV> </FORM> </DIV></DIV> <DIV class="sect" id="related"> <H2 class="subheading">Related Articles</H2> <ul> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45109" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45109" class="title">Millions Of Americans Succumbing To Sudden Elder Death Syndrome</a> <span class="date">February 8, 2006</span> </li> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28512" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28512" class="title">The JFK Jr. Tragedy:</a> <span class="date">March 4, 2001</span> </li> <LI class="related"> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/most_e_mailed_list_tearing_new" class="thumbnail"></a> <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/most_e_mailed_list_tearing_new" class="title">'Most E-Mailed' List Tearing <i>New York Times</i>' Newsroom Apart</a> <span class="date">April 7, 2007</span> </li> </ul> </DIV> <H2><a title="email_this">Email This Article</a></H2> <FORM onsubmit="email_submit_ticket();return false;" action="" id="email_this"> <DIV id="email_entry"> <LABEL for="email_to">To:</LABEL> <INPUT type="text" onkeypress="javascript: email_clear_status();" value="" name="email" id="email_to" /> <LABEL for="email_from">From:</LABEL> <INPUT type="text" value="" name="from" id="email_from" /> <p id="email_submit_line"> <INPUT type="image" alt="Submit" src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/onion/assets/buttons/submit.gif" id="email_submit" class="image_submit" /> </p> <INPUT type="hidden" value="65488" class="hidden" id="email_nid" name="nid" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_ticket" name="ticket" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_action" name="action" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="" class="hidden" id="email_message" name="message" /> <INPUT type="hidden" value="onion_email" class="hidden" id="email_site" name="site" /> </DIV> <DIV class="sponsorship"> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript">OAS_AD('Frame1');</SCRIPT><a target="_top" href="http://oascentral.theonion.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/theonion/national/news/2060789501/Frame1/default/empty.gif/64383061623833333436326264626230?"></a> </DIV> </FORM> </DIV>  </DIV></DIV> <p>WASHINGTON, DC—In a surprising reversal of its longtime single-helping policy, the Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of seconds Tuesday, claiming that an additional plateful of food with every meal can greatly reduce the risk of hunger as well as provide an excellent source of deliciousness. </p> <DIV style="width: 250px;" class="article_photo"> <a onclick="javascript:open('http://www.theonion.com/content/node/65500', 'enlarge_image_window', 'width=411px, height=550px, scrollbars=yes, lend=20px, top=20px');" href="javascript:void(0);"> <span>Enlarge Image</span> </a><p>The Department of Agriculture has revised its old food pyramid to reflect the new guidelines.</p> </DIV> <p>Addressing what it calls a "growing epidemic of cravings and hankerings," the federal agency recommended redesigning food labels to prominently display extra-serving sizes and pledged to better educate consumers on how to make informed additional-portion choices at home and in restaurants.</p> <p>"There's plenty to go around," FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said between spoonfuls of mashed potatoes during a benefit luncheon at the Clean Plate Club in Washington. "We've found that eating seconds is essential for keeping up the country's strength."</p> <p>"Besides, with people starving in other parts of the world, it would be an absolute shame to let our nice food supply all go to waste," the commissioner added. </p> <p>Once restricted to the head of the household, on Thanksgiving, or to those who had been extra good, seconds will now be made available to the general public in over-the-kitchen-counter form. However, FDA officials warn that those with a history of health problems should consult their doctor first. </p> <p>"Seconds may not be suitable for everyone," von Eschenbach said. "Especially those who suffer from heart disease, those at risk for diabetes, people trying to lose weight, and women."</p> <DIV style="width: 249px;" class="article_photo_alt"> <a onclick="javascript:open('http://www.theonion.com/content/node/65487', 'enlarge_image_window', 'width=625px, height=571px, scrollbars=yes, lend=20px, top=20px');" href="javascript:void(0);"> <span>Enlarge Image</span> </a><p>Uneaten potential seconds, like those seen in this file photo, could soon become a thing of the past.</p> </DIV> <p>The FDA also recommended moderation in consuming seconds. Researchers in the seconds field have noted occasional side effects, such as hardly being able to get up from the table, pants-loosening, drowsiness, and the feeling that one "might explode" if one eats just one more bite. </p> <p>A report commissioned by the Las Vegas–based International Brotherhood of Buffet Owners revealed that 75 percent of undereating occurs in those afflicted by a rare disorder in which their eyes are smaller than their stomachs, preventing them from taking advantage of all-you-can-eat opportunites. Picky eating habits and an unwillingness to stuff oneself are considered the leading preventable causes of scrawniness among Americans. </p> <p>"Growing boys represent the greatest at-risk group, as unprecedented numbers of them are wasting away," registered dietician and grandmother of six Irma Jacobs said. "They'll just turn into skin and bones before our very eyes unless we make a concerted effort to get them to eat, eat, eat up."</p> <p>Other nutritionists suggest that the need for seconds could be eliminated by an initial very large, or "heaping," helping.</p> <p>"Larger portions could entirely eliminate the need to reach over, pass dishes, or get out of a chair," said clinical nutritionist Gary Bergen of Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who estimates that millions of calories and thousands of hours of eating time are wasted annually by making unnecessary second-serving trips. "I find it ironic that the FDA has approved seconds, yet still hasn't standardized the dollop."</p> Despite months of work and the purchase of several new wardrobes, FDA researchers say their study of the consumption of thirds and fourths has been inconclusive, but they suggest a possible link between these additional servings and tummy aches.<p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Here Kitty Kitty</h1> <p>2007-08-22T12:43:00.001-07:00</p> <FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> <strong><DIV class="art_hdln">Here Kitty Kitty</DIV></strong></FONT></FONT><DIV class="art_subhdln"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Riders say they spotted a mountain lion on N.C. 181 Monday</FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br/> </FONT></FONT><DIV class="art_byln"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">By Ragan Robinson</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV class="art_crdtln"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">rrobinson@morganton.com</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV class="art_date"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Wednesday, August 22, 2007</FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><BR clear="all" /> <TABLE cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="right"> <TBODY><TR valign="top"> <TD rowspan="4"><DIV style="font-size: 1px; width: 5px;"> </DIV></TD> <TD>  <TABLE width="250" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="left"><TBODY><TR><TD class="art_img_blck"><FONT size="1" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br/> <DIV class="art_img_caption">A mountain lion prowls the grounds at Grandfather Mountain. While many wildlife experts say the big cats are extinct in most of the eastern seabord's wilderness, one thinks they might still be out there. Two men said they saw a mountain lion in Burke. </DIV><span class="art_img_artist">Photo contributed | By Helen Hopper </span><span class="art_img_credit">(The News Herald)</span></FONT></TD> <TD><DIV style="font-size: 1px; width: 5px;"> </DIV></TD> </TR></TBODY></TABLE>  </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><DIV style="font-size: 1px; height: 5px;"> </DIV></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/morganton.com/frontpage/1173352460129.htm/1769025895@Top,Top1,Top2,Top3,Middle,Middle1,Middle2,Middle3,Left,Left1,Left2,Left3,Right,Right1,Right2,Right3,x01,x02,x03,x04,x05,x06%21Left3" language="JavaScript1.1" /><SCRIPT type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT><a href="http://c.casalemedia.com/c?s=86890&amp;f=4&amp;id=8173765979.618047" target="_blank"><img src="http://as.casalemedia.com/s?s=86890&amp;u=mediageneral.com&amp;f=4&amp;id=8173765979.618047&amp;if=0" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a></IFRAME><NOSCRIPT> <iframe src="http://as.casalemedia.com/s?s=86890&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmediageneral.com&f=4&id=1" width="300" height="250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"> <a href="http://c.casalemedia.com/c?s=86890&f=4&id=0" target="_blank"><img src="http://as.casalemedia.com/s?s=86890&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmediageneral.com&f=4&id=0&if=0" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt=""></a></iframe></NOSCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <a href="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/morganton.com/news@Left3?x"><img src="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/morganton.com/news@Left3?x" border="0" alt=""></a> </NOSCRIPT> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> <SCRIPT type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">  </SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/morganton.com/frontpage/1173352460129.htm/1769025895@Top,Top1,Top2,Top3,Middle,Middle1,Middle2,Middle3,Left,Left1,Left2,Left3,Right,Right1,Right2,Right3,x01,x02,x03,x04,x05,x06%21x06" language="JavaScript1.1" /><a target="_top" href="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/morganton.com/frontpage/1173352460129.htm/1155890337/x06/default/empty.gif/64383061623830353436363330333330"></a> <NOSCRIPT><a href="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/morganton.com/news@x06?x"><img src="http://ads.mgnetwork.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/morganton.com/news@x06?x" border="0" alt=""></a> </NOSCRIPT> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> </FONT></FONT><DIV class="art_body"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Morganton - The mountain lion is Western North Carolina's more majestic - and more believable - big foot. </FONT></FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Sightings like the one two local men reported Monday come in spurts but are hardly rare. What's missing is proof the big cats still stalk the eastern part of the country, said a Morganton wildlife technician. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Conventional thinking holds that the mountain lion - or panther or cougar or puma, depending on which name you choose - was hunted to extinction in the east, except in Florida. Still, one area biologist thinks they could be out there. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Jerry Rector of Drexel and Jim DeVries of Burke County are sure of it. The two said they saw a four-foot, fawn-colored cat, its long tail down and curled at the tip, cross N.C. 181 as they came down the mountain on motorcycles Monday. They were near the Barkhouse Picnic Area between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., said Rector. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">DeVries got a shorter glimpse but both men said they're sure it wasn't a deer or a dog or a bobcat. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"This guy was definitely a cat and it was a big one," DeVries said. "It was just smooth and sleek and it was well muscled. Apparently, he's been having good luck hunting." </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Wildlife Technician Chip Alexander said in his 35 years with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, he's never seen evidence that mountain lions exist in North Carolina's wilderness. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Wildlife officers are always on creek banks and in mudholes, he said, and never see a footprint. Alexander said they've followed up on reports of tracks in dirt and snow, only to find they came from large dogs or other animals. He said no hunter has shot a panther and no one in the woods has seen evidence of a mountain lion's kill. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Wildlife Biologist Sandy Burnet, who works for the U.S. Forest Service, said she did find proof - in the form of wildcat scat, or feces - when she surveyed land in West Virginia. She believes wild cougars do live in the east but said their numbers are likely so small and the animals so secretive that no one can confirm it. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Burnet said she thinks if deer populations stay steady or get bigger, the number of cats could grow. </FONT></FONT></p> <p><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><FONT size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"I dread that day," she added. "I really don't think the public would tolerate a mountain lion population of any size.</FONT></FONT></p> </DIV><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>First flight comes at 100</h1> <p>2007-08-22T12:09:00.001-07:00</p> <DIV class="storyheader"><H2>First flight comes at 100</H2><H4>Local businessman makes Vera Samuelson's dream of flying in a small plane come true</H4></DIV><DIV class="feed_details"><H4>Mike Chouinard, The Times</H4><span>Published: Tuesday, August 21, 2007</span></DIV><p>The Wright Brothers had only made their historic flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C. a few years before centenarian Vera Samuelson was born.</p> <p>And yet somehow, despite riding in large jets, the Chilliwack resident has never been in a small plane in her 100 years. That changed Monday morning. Inside the Chilliwack Airport, she was getting ready to take her first-ever ride in a small plane in order to have a look at Vancouver and the surrounding area where she lived for years.</p> <p>"It's something different. Actually I do enjoy it in a plane," she said.</p> <DIV id="imageBox"><H4 id="storyphotocaption">One-hundred years young, Vera Samuelson was thrilled Monday morning to be going on her first-ever ride in a small plane. Despite the grey skies, she was able to get a great birds' eye look at the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.</H4><H6 id="storyphotocredit">Darren McDonald/TIMES</H6><a href="javascript:void window.open('/components/email.aspx?id=46063924-d758-4399-a768-81666debbc49&referrer=http://www.canada.com/chilliwacktimes/chilliwacktimes/news/story.html?id=46063924-d758-4399-a768-81666debbc49&k=2672', '', 'width=450,height=410,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no')" class="additionals"><span>Email to a friend</span></a><a href="javascript:void window.open('/components/print.aspx?id=46063924-d758-4399-a768-81666debbc49&k=2672', '', 'width=700,height=400,location=no,menubar=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes')" class="additionals printer"><span>Printer friendly</span></a><DIV class="fontsize_label">Font: </DIV><UL class="size01" id="fontsizecontainer"><li><a href="javascript:setClassName('article','para10'); setClassName('fontsizecontainer','size00');"><span>*</span></a></li> <li><a href="javascript:setClassName('article','para12'); setClassName('fontsizecontainer','size01');"><span>*</span></a></li> <li><a href="javascript:setClassName('article','para14'); setClassName('fontsizecontainer','size02');"><span>*</span></a></li> <li><a href="JavaScript:setClassName('article','para16'); setClassName('fontsizecontainer','size03');"><span>*</span></a></li> </ul> </DIV><p>Samuelson, who turned 100 in June, came to B.C. from Saskatchewan and lived all over the Lower Mainland.</p> <p>"The last place was in the West End--the Lost Lagoon--in one of those small apartments," she said. "I haven't been round that way for a long time."</p> <p>Samuelson and late husband Thomas even lived in Chilliwack for a while during the 1950s but lived in a number of places.</p> <p>She was happy to be getting a look at some of these on Monday from the birds' eye perspective, as the Piper Cherokee that came to pick her up would take her over downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park.</p> <p>Crystal Vision One-Hour Optical knows Samuelson as a customer and made the arrangements for the trip.</p> <p>"They've been promising one for quite a long time. Finally, here it is," she said.</p> <p>Steve Wiens of Crystal Vision was inspired by her enthusiasm, so he decided to take her up in his plane.</p> <p>"One-hundred years old and she wants to go for a flight. I think that's fantastic," he said.</p> <p>Wiens and his brother bought the Cherokee. He is taking lessons but has not had time to get certification, so he was not able to fly Samuelson, himself.</p> <p>"Originally, when I told her," he said, "I was going to take her."</p> <p>Instead, he did the next best thing and hired 3 Lines Aviation, who are training him. Wiens said they actually wanted to send her up for her 99th birthday.</p> <p>"We tried to do it last year. It was a better day," he said.</p> <p>However, Samuelson was not feeling up for it at the time. This week though, she was in fine spirits.</p> <p>Pilot Jeff Wittrup of 3 Lines Aviation went through the final check Monday morning with his obviously excited passenger. With a little assistance, she had no problem climbing up on the wing to get into the plane and then politely asked for her purse once she was in, something that brought some chuckles from the well-wishers who had come to see her off into the wild blue--well, grey--yonder. Then she pulled the door closed herself and they were off in short order.</p> <p>When she returned to the ground about 90 minutes later, she said she had a very good time, though the cloudy weather meant some of the scenery was not always visible. Still, the grey skies did nothing to dampen her spirits. "I really enjoyed it....I liked it all. It was very interesting," she said.</p> <br/> <br/> <H6 class="copyright">© Chilliwack Times 2007</H6><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>another name for OBX</h1> <p>2007-08-22T12:04:00.001-07:00</p> <H1>Community Forum</H1><br/> <br/> <strong>News Page 4-<br/> <br/> <br/> A COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE FOR THE EXPRESSIONS OF OPINIONS AND IDEAS. YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED.</strong><br/> <br/> <br/> <a target="blank" href="http://www.kenlynews.com/email_this_story.asp?smenu=150&sdetail=3315&wpage=1"></a> <a target="blank" href="http://www.kenlynews.com/print_this_story.asp?smenu=150&sdetail=3315"></a><br/> <FONT class="CH1">Maybe we should come up with another name for OBX</FONT><br/> <FONT class="BYLINE">For What It is Worth by Rick Stewart 21.AUG.07</FONT><br/> <br/> Could you, in your wildest dreams, image that you could walk into a restaurant in Eastern North Carolina, order a glass of sweet ice tea and get a bottle of tea out of a refrigerator?<br/> <br/> Could you, in your wildest dreams, imagine walking into a restaurant in Eastern N.C. and noticing that everyone seated around you sounded differently than you do?<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> And, could you imagine going into the parking lot of the same restaurant, and finding that your car was the only car in the parking lot that had North Carolina license plates?<br/> <br/> I know. It’s hard to believe. All of this in Eastern North Carolina. But, it’s true. It happened to Karen and me this weekend.<br/> <br/> Saturday was our 34th wedding anniversary. We decided to head to the Outer Banks since it had been a few years since we were there. I regret to tell you that much of the Outer Banks in North Carolina has been taken over by folks from other states.<br/> <br/> I absolutely have nothing against folks from the North--I married one. Karen is from Maine.<br/> <br/> But, they don’t drink sweet tea. What’s more, some of their other favorites don’t include grits, okra and the other things we eat around these parts.<br/> We were in Duck, north of Kitty Hawk, about lunch time on Saturday. We found a nice little cafe and decided to eat.<br/> <br/> Actually, it was Karen who ordered the sweet iced tea. (She’s one of us, now.) Since I was sitting across the table from her, I immediately noticed the shocked look on her face when the waiter brought her a bottle of tea and a glass of ice.<br/> <br/> Of course, it didn’t taste like the tea we drink around here, either.<br/> As we waited for our order, it became obvious to us that we were surrounded by folks who were not from Eastern North Carolina. Their accents just didn’t fit.<br/> <br/> When we departed, I did a check of the cars in the parking lot. There might have been one other car from North Carolina in the parking lot. The other cars were from the Northeast, Midwest and West.<br/> <br/> Actually, we really felt out of place as residents of Eastern North Carolina.<br/> And, the traffic. It was awful. We had to get in line to get to Duck way back in Kitty Hawk. It probably took us a good 30 minutes to go the few miles. It was bumper-to-bumper.<br/> <br/> We spent the better part of the day just riding around and looking. We walked on the beach but it was difficult to get to the beach in the Nags Head area.<br/> While there were numerous public beach access points, there were few places to park a car.<br/> <br/> As we headed south toward Hatteras, we found numerous public parking areas in the National Park section. But, where there are those multi-million dollar cottages, it’s tough to get on the beach.<br/> <br/> We eventually found ourselves in Hatteras, and we immediately noticed that many of the motels were sporting “no vacancy” signs.<br/> <br/> Although we weren’t really worried about where we’d stay, we began to look for a place.<br/> <br/> We ended up at a place next to where the ferry goes over to Ocracoke Island. We learned it once was a Holiday Inn Express but had been converted to condominiums.<br/> <br/> Basically, it was two rooms--a bedroom and a kitchen-living room. It certainly was fine for a night’s lodging. In fact it was conveniently located next to a shopping area with several restaurants, which made getting supper easy.<br/> <br/> Thirty-four years ago we ate pizza on our first night as a married couple. Saturday night we ate seafood. Although we did eat dessert at a pizza place and bakery.<br/> <br/> By the way, our room in what had been a motel was for sale--just $249,000. That doesn’t sound too Eastern North Carolina, either.<br/> <br/> <TABLE width="100%" align="center" valign="TOP"><TBODY><TR><TD><br/> </TD></TR><TR><TD align="center" class="WB"><strong>Submit your opinion on this story</strong></TD></TR><TR><TD><br/> </TD></TR><TR><TD><br/> </TD></TR><TR><TD><br/> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><INPUT type="hidden" value="3315" name="SysInformationID" />Name:<p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hemochromatosis</h1> <p>2007-08-22T10:59:00.001-07:00</p> <strong><FONT size="4" face="helvetica"><TABLE cellspacing="0" cellpadding="8" border="0"><TBODY><TR height="40"><TD width="205" valign="top" height="40" align="left"><FONT size="4" face="Verdana"><strong>Irish in the blood</strong></FONT></TD> <TD width="4" height="40"><br/> </TD> </TR> </TBODY> </TABLE> </FONT></strong> <strong><FONT size="4" face="helvetica"> </FONT></strong> <strong><FONT size="4" face="helvetica"> </FONT></strong><DIV align="center"><strong><FONT size="4" face="helvetica"> </FONT></strong><CENTER> <strong><FONT size="4" face="helvetica"> <TABLE width="365" cellspacing="8" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width="349" valign="top"><FONT size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <FONT face="Geneva,Arial"> </FONT><TABLE width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0"> <TBODY> <TR><TD><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"><strong>Although often misdiagnosed, an ancient blood disease is still making its presence known in those of Irish extraction.</strong> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">by <a href="mailto:cdougher-telcik@tribune.com">Colleen Dougher</a></FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Sandra Thomas loves a good St. Paddy’s Day party.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">It’s not the great Irish music and dance, the corned beef and cabbage, or even the abundant supply of Guinness. It’s just that having all those people of Celtic heritage gathered in one place makes her mission so much easier.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">For 16 years, Thomas, who runs American Hemochromatosis Society out of her Delray Beach home, has been using St. Paddy’s Day as a way to tell people about what she calls "The Celtic Curse," a disease that deposits iron in the heart, joints, liver, pancreas and pituitary gland, and eventually "rusts" the insides of bodies.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Her group does everything from distributing literature at Irish festivals to placing fliers in Palm Beach County Irish pubs and using the opportunity to contact the media about this common, yet little-known genetic disorder. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">While no one is immune to hemochromatosis, those with Irish, Scottish or British heritage have a significantly higher chance of carrying the gene mutation that may cause them to develop the potentially deadly disorder.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Some researchers believe that hemochromatosis originated more than 40,000 years ago in the area we now know as Ireland with a single person whose genes mutated so that he or she could over-absorb iron to compensate for an iron-poor diet.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Today, with iron-enriched foods, iron supplements and plenty of red meat, there’s no need to pull in extra iron, yet many still carry the ancient mutated genes that cause their bodies to do so, at toxic levels.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Left untreated, hemochromatosis can lead to everything from early menopause and infertility to diabetes, heart failure, cirrhosis, primary liver cancer and even death. But if caught before damage is done, hemochromatosis patients can be saved, and their health restored through a process called bloodletting, or phlebotomies.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Initially, a patient may be required to have a pint of blood drawn once or twice a week, until excess iron is depleted. Each time blood is drawn, the brain tells the red blood cells they need iron, so the blood taps the iron stored in organs and tissues. Eventually, and sometimes this takes a few years, the stores of iron are depleted. Afterward, a patient will be required to have phlebotomies maybe three or four times a year to keep iron from accumulating.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Despite the simple cure, many hemochromatosis patients remain untreated and die from diseases caused by iron overload. Even though many exhibit symptoms and simple, relatively inexpensive tests are available, they’re often not administered.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The Centers for Disease Control now calls hemochromatosis the most common genetic disorder in the United States, one that affects 33.5 million Americans. An estimated 32 million are silent carriers, meaning they exhibit no symptoms, while 1.5 million have a double gene mutation because both parents carried the mutant gene, which puts them at high risk. Yet many doctors still believe what they were taught in medical school — that hemochromatosis is a rare disorder that only strikes middle-aged or elderly white men.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"They want to see someone who’s at death’s door before they can actually consider hemochromatosis," Thomas says. "And that’s the old training, this middle-aged man coming in with a swollen belly, enlarged liver, cirrhosis of the liver, jaundice, diabetes, heart bad. That’s hemochromatosis."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But since the genes that cause hemochromatosis were discovered in 1996, several studies have been done that revealed that women, once thought to be spared from the disease because they lose excess iron when they menstruate each month, are not immune from the disease. Nor are African-Americans, Hispanics, or children. In fact, no one is immune, and people in their 30s — and some even younger — are already dying by the time they’re diagnosed. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Yet experts also have discovered that if treated early, damage to organs and tissues is completely preventable. Ask a doctor about being tested for the disease, however, and there’s a chance you’ll be laughed out of the office.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"><strong>Teach your doctor well</strong></FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But Thomas, whose mother died of liver cancer caused by iron overload, isn’t laughing. Nor are others who struggled for years to find out what was wrong with them, only to be diagnosed too late. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Sixteen years into her awareness campaign, Thomas, a silent carrier of the disease, still finds herself talking to people whose doctors know they have high iron levels and won’t treat them because they don’t have what they believe to be the classic symptoms (i.e., they’re not at death’s door).</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">In 1997, a year after researchers isolated the mutated genes that cause hemochromatosis, a genetic mail-order test was developed that allows people to be screened for the disease. Those who test positive for the gene can keep their iron levels in check, and prevent iron from ever invading their organs and destroying their lives.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Thomas is on a mission to make people aware of the $125 test, as well as simple blood tests (serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin) that doctors seem so reluctant to give.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">It’s not that there’s a conspiracy against patients with iron overload. It’s just that many doctors haven’t been educated about the latest facts regarding the disease. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And since people aren’t routinely tested for iron overload, doctors must be able to recognize warning signs. Unfortunately, the symptoms of hemochromatosis are often serious diseases themselves, and doctors wind up treating the heart trouble, the diabetes or the liver cancer without looking for an underlying cause. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">In other cases, symptoms are all over the map, ranging from elevated liver enzymes, cirrhosis, tender swollen joints, heart problems, changes in skin pigmentation (turning bronze without going to the beach), depression, increase in blood glucose levels, a swollen stomach or a heavy feeling (mostly on the right side of the belly), redness in the palms of the hands, an enlarged spleen, chronic fatigue and, believe it or not, anemia.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">While it may seem unlikely that someone with anemia, which we’ve been trained to think of as iron deficiency, could suffer from iron overload, they can. One may be anemic (meaning the blood has a deficiency of red blood cells) and still have loads of iron stored in their organs. Yet, many think nothing of popping iron supplements without knowing their iron storage levels, and some do so on the advice of their physicians.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Roberta Crawford, who heads the Iron Over Diseases Association in North Palm Beach, nearly killed herself with iron pills prescribed by doctors. While they diagnosed her with anemia, they never tested her iron storage levels. Years later, she would learn that her body was storing too much iron, not in her blood but in her vital organs, and the iron pills added to the problem. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And it wasn’t just one misguided physician who prescribed the supplements, she says. It was several doctors across five states.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Finally, in 1978, she was diagnosed with hemochromatosis. As is often the case, her diagnosis came by accident. Her liver was enlarged, and since she didn’t drink, her doctor ordered a biopsy to look for cancer. What they found instead was a liver loaded with iron. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">That’s when her doctor told her she had a "rare and interesting disease, hemochromatosis."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">She would soon learn, however, that, fascinating as the disease is — she’s still researching it more than two decades later — it’s not rare. "What’s rare," she says, "is getting diagnosed."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Equally rare is finding a doctor who understands that prescribing iron supplements to people whose iron levels haven’t been properly tested could be like giving a bottle of Jack Daniel’s to someone with cirrhosis of the liver. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The supplements become particularly risky if they are taken by people who have family histories of heart trouble, diabetes and liver problems, or their liver enzymes are elevated.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">One could try explaining this to one’s doctor, but Thomas recommends that people choose their words carefully. Many doctors don’t take kindly to patients who want to educate them.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">It’s what she likes to call the "Me-Tarzan-You-Jane Syndrome."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And those of Irish heritage, who are among the most likely to have this disorder, have even more to overcome when they try to convince a doctor that they may have hemochromatosis. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The disease tends to assault the liver. So does alcohol. And whether the reputation is earned or not, the Irish have long been known for their love of drinking. When a doctor looks at a report that reveals elevated liver enzymes — the sign of a distressed liver — iron overload isn’t always the first thought that comes to mind.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Consider the story, posted on the Internet, of Patrick, an Illinois man who was sent for an ultrasound when his doctor discovered high iron levels and an enlarged liver. The results showed a fatty infusion in his liver and the doctor advised Patrick, who only drank socially, to stop drinking, which he did. After months of abstaining, he was retested, but his liver still hadn’t returned to normal. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">When tests for hepatitis came back negative, his doctor insisted he was still drinking. Each year, he returned for a checkup, only to find his liver enzymes still elevated. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">When Patrick asked if a genetic problem could be affecting his liver, the doctor laughed. The doctor continued to insist Patrick was lying about the amount he drank and urged him to get help for alcoholism.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Meanwhile, Patrick had read a story about a guy called "Iron Man" who was diagnosed with hemochromatosis after setting off metal detectors at airports because of the high level of iron stored in his body. Patrick asked his doctor if he could have this and his doctor reluctantly agreed to send him to a specialist who took one look at his lab reports and said, "You have hemochromatosis."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">It took eight years for his doctor to refer him to the specialist. Later, the specialist told Patrick how lucky he was that his doctor recognized his symptoms. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But even after Patrick was diagnosed, his regular doctor only sent him for a phlebotomy four times. Fortunately, Patrick sought the help of an experienced hematologist who explained that he would need at least 40 treatments. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">With those treatments, his liver enzymes finally returned to normal.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"><strong>One of many tales</strong></FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">It seems that behind every story of diagnosis, there’s a much longer story of the struggle for answers. And the story of Thomas’ mother, Josephine Bogie Thomas, is no different. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">In 1981, when her mom started feeling tired and began limping, her doctor told her she probably had osteoporosis, and that her aches and fatigue were common for a woman in her early 60s.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">He suggested that she might one day need a hip replacement and ran some tests, which picked up on her elevated liver enzymes, a common indicator for hemochromatosis. But her doctor, never suspecting "a rare disease that only affects men," couldn’t figure out why her liver enzymes were elevated, and Josephine Thomas spent the next few years bouncing from one doctor to the next seeking answers.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Then, in 1983, she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer and her doctors ordered a CAT scan of her liver. According to Thomas, the radiologist noted in the accompanying report that her liver was dense with iron, but never mentioned it, perhaps because he didn’t expect her to beat the cancer.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But after two surgeries and eight grueling months of chemotherapy, she did. Later Thomas, while sifting through her mom’s medical records, discovered the radiologist’s note, investigated it and got the diagnosis that would explain her consistently elevated liver enzymes: hereditary hemochromatosis. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">By this time, Josephine Thomas’ body was loaded with iron and she had developed cirrhosis.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The 103 pints of blood she gave during regular phlebotomies returned her iron levels to normal and she lived 14 more years. But eventually the damaged cells in her liver turned malignant, and last May she died of advanced primary liver cancer.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But not before educating everyone within earshot about the disease. Even while in the hospital for tests and treatments, she distributed literature about the disease to nurses, doctors, medical students, visitors, janitors, anyone who would listen.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Thomas and her father were devastated when she died, but found comfort in knowing that there would be no more needles stuck in her abdomen, no more CAT scans, ultrasounds, biopsies or staring at a fax machine waiting for lab results. No more jaundice, nausea or looking like she was eight months pregnant, and no more helplessness, worry or pain.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"Her dying wish," Sandra says, "was that everyone would get tested for hereditary hemochromatosis/iron overload, so they wouldn’t have to go through what she was going through."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"><strong>Warnings fall on deaf ears</strong></FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Sandra Thomas continues to spread the word, but unfortunately, her warnings, like her mother’s, sometimes fall on deaf ears.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Even the nurses who cared for her mother — people who consistently see patients dying of liver cancer brought on by iron overload — turned down her offers for free genetic testing. </FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Not that the test kit is complicated, time-consuming or particularly expensive. It costs about $125 and consists of two long swabs that you rub several times on the inside of each cheek. Afterward, the swabs are mailed to a lab. Within a week, the results are mailed to your doctor.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">If it were up to Thomas, genetic testing would be done at birth. But not all of the organizations struggling to make people aware of hemochromatosis support genetic testing.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Crawford makes it clear on the Iron Overload Disease Association’s Web site that her group does not recommend DNA testing. While labs can test for gene mutations, not all the genes have been discovered yet, so the test could miss people who have iron overload, she says. And a negative result, could make it harder for people to convince their doctors that they may be suffering from the disease.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Crawford, author of <EM>The Iron Elephant</EM>, which has become a bible for many hemochromatosis patients, recently heard from an internist who referred a patient with hyptertension, cirrhosis and blood tests indicative of high iron storage levels to a San Francisco clinic for bloodletting. When a genetic test turned up negative, the internist told her, the clinic concluded it was not primary hemochromatosis and recommended against phlebotomy.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Crawford says this story is typical. At least once a week, she says, she gets a call from someone whose doctor refuses to treat dangerously high iron levels because of a negative DNA test result.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The way Thomas sees it, however, this is not so much an argument against genetic testing as it is an argument for finding a doctor who knows about iron overload, or is willing to learn.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Thomas was national director of public education for Crawford’s organization for 10 years, but in 1998 started her own organization, where she takes a more active role in promoting genetic testing.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And while she’ll be the first to admit that the genetic test should be done along with blood tests, she says getting a doctor’s attention is often difficult.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">A negative test may not necessarily mean that a person doesn’t have iron overload, she says, but a positive result helps identify those at high risk for developing it. It also sounds a warning bell for family members who, in turn, get tested. And having that positive result, she says, makes it easier to persuade a doctor that they should get a blood test.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"If you say ‘Well, look at this result. I have the mutation,’ 99 percent of the doctors are going to back down on that one," she says.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The reality is that many people are too intimidated to confront their doctors. Without confirmation from the genetic test that they’re at high risk, many won’t push their doctors to look further to find out conclusively that they have hemochromatosis.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"If you did a survey of practicing physicians, you would probably find that 95 percent of them still think it’s a rare disease," says Geoffrey Block, a liver and genetic disease specialist at the Hemochromatosis Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where Thomas’ mother was treated.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And that misconception is costing people their lives.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">The CDC, Block says, has done a number of studies on how long it takes people with the classic symptoms to be diagnosed.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"On average," he says, "it took seven years and 10 physicians. And this [study] was on people who were aggressive enough about their personal health care to not take ‘It’s all in your head’ as an answer."</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Meanwhile, Block’s clinic is full of the people who didn’t get that answer soon enough. He is now treating 75 to 80 patients who have cirrhosis and another seven who have cancer, and all tested positive on the genetic screen.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">And while he also has patients who have iron overload for other reasons, he says, he has no doubt that genetic testing early in life would help a huge number of people who have an 80 to 90 percent chance of developing iron overload.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">As people continue to be diagnosed, doctors will be trained to recognize the disease, Block says. Eventually, there will be routine blood screening.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">But it could take 10 to 15 years, he says, and in the interim people will die.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">Fortunately, Block says, many will learn about this disease through grass-roots groups like American Hemochromatosis Society and Iron Overload Diseases Association, the two Palm Beach County organizations with decidedly different views on genetic testing.</FONT></p> <FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000"> </FONT><p><FONT size="2" face="Verdana" color="#000000">"They may disagree and squabble about what’s important and what’s not," Block says. "But they’re both part of trying to promote awareness, and to tell people that if you have a suspicion, you need to follow it up and pursue it."</FONT></p> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></strong></CENTER></DIV><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Message from Ron Paul</h1> <p>2007-08-22T10:19:00.001-07:00</p> <TABLE width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0"><TBODY><TR class="subhead"><TD colspan="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Message from Ron Paul</span></TD></TR> <TR class="subhead"> <TD width="1%" valign="top" nowrap="nowrap">Date: </TD> <TD colspan="3"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aug 22, 2007 12:29 PM</span></TD></TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <pRE>August 22, 2007<br/> <br/> Not all the media are biased. A local newspaper in New Hampshire reported on an<br/> annual GOP bbq in the town of Hollis. It could be called "the Ron Paul show,"<br/> they said, since the far bigger crowd that usual consisted mostly of our supporters. <br/> One volunteer even rented an airplane and flew a wonderful sign around the sky. <br/> What great, creative, self-starting people I'm meeting, at every stop, all of<br/> them united by a love of America and American freedom. <br/> <br/> Politics is usually about division. But this campaign is just the opposite. Not<br/> only are our volunteers a bunch of happy warriors, but they also practice the virtues<br/> of tolerance and peace, just as they want the nation to do. <br/> <br/> The other day, the state chairman of an opposing campaign (not in New Hampshire!),<br/> angrily tore a sign out of one of our supporter's hands and trashed it. Different<br/> people with different beliefs might have responded differently. But our people,<br/> though they'd been standing in the rain all day, applied the Golden Rule. It's<br/> because of quiet heroes that I know we can change this country. <br/> <br/> A reporter in New Hampshire told me this story about Florida: she had seen the <br/> same three supporters working every day passing out our literature, and so decided<br/> to interview them. She was startled to discover that one was a Republican, one <br/> was a Democrat, and one was an Independent. But I wasn't. <br/> <br/> Freedom brings us all together. We can all agree on leaving people alone to plan<br/> and live their own lives, rather than trying to force them to obey at the point <br/> of a gun, as runaway government does. Instead of clawing at each other via the <br/> warfare-welfare state, people under liberty can cooperate in a unity of diversity.<br/> <br/> There is no need to use government to threaten others who have different standards,<br/> or to be threatened by them. Looking to our Founders, our traditions, and the Constitution,<br/> we can build, in peaceful cooperation, a free and prosperous society. <br/> <br/> At a talk show in Nashua, New Hampshire, the host asked me about the fair tax. <br/> Well, I agree on getting rid of the IRS, I told her, but I want to replace it with<br/> nothing, not another tax. But let's not forget the inflation tax, I said. <br/> <br/> This was something she had never considered, but after I talked about the depreciation<br/> of our dollar by the Federal Reserve, its creation of artificial booms and busts,<br/> and its bailouts of the big banks and Wall Street firms, to the detriment of the<br/> average person, she loved it. That is another tax, she agreed, a hidden and particularly<br/> vicious tax. <br/> <br/> They try to tell us that the money issue is boring or irrelevant. In fact, it is<br/> the very pith of our social lives, and morally, Constitutionally, and economically,<br/> the central bank is a disaster. Thanks to the work of this movement, Americans are<br/> starting to understand what has been hidden from them for so long: that we have<br/> a right to sound and honest money, not to a dollar debauched for the special interests.<br/> <br/> Unconstitutional government has created a war crisis, a financial crisis, a dollar<br/> crisis, and a freedom crisis. But we don't have to take it. We don't have<br/> to passively accept more dead soldiers, a lower standard of living, rising prices,<br/> a national ID, eavesdropping on our emails and phone calls, and all the rest. <br/> <br/> We can return to first principles, and build the brightest, most brilliant future<br/> any people on earth has ever aspired to. Help me teach this lesson. Help me campaign<br/> all over this country, in cooperation with our huge and growing volunteer army. <br/> Help me show that change is not only possible, but also essential. Please, make<br/> your most generous contribution (https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate/) to this campaign<br/> for a Constitutional presidency worthy of our people. Invest in freedom: for yourself,<br/> for your family, for your future. <br/> <br/> Sincerely, <br/> <br/> Ron</PRE><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>world-record croaker</h1> <p>2007-08-22T08:56:00.001-07:00</p> <FONT class="header"><FONT color="#000000">Portsmouth fisherman hauls in world-record croaker</FONT></FONT><p> </p> <TABLE width="585" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <TBODY><TR><TD><DIV></DIV></TD></TR> <TR><TD align="center" class="arial"> <FONT size="2" color="#333333"> <strong>Norman Jenkins of Portsmouth holds the largest croaker ever caught, at 8 pounds, 11 ounces. With Jenkins is longtime fishing buddy Sammy Brooks of Portsmouth. </strong> </FONT> <FONT size="1" color="#666666"> SPECIAL TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT </FONT> <br/> <br/> </TD></TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <FONT class="verdanasmall"> <strong>By LEE TOLLIVER</strong>, The Virginian-Pilot <br/> © August 18, 2007 | <FONT size="1" color="#990000">Last updated 7:41 PM Aug. 21</FONT> </FONT><br/> <br/> <FONT class="arialbody"> </FONT><p><FONT class="arialbody">Norman Jenkins has given new meaning to catching a "horse" croaker. </FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody"> On Friday, the angler from Portsmouth caught one that weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces from New Point Comfort near the southern tip of Mathews County. The fish is believed to be the biggest croaker ever caught - in a net or on rod and reel.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">According to area headboat and fishing pier operators, more Atlantic croaker are caught from Virginia waters during the summer than any other species.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"Good Lord, that's a big croaker," Virginia Beach captain Skip Feller said. "We're catching a lot of croaker right now, but nothing like that."</FONT></p> <FONT class="arialbody"> </FONT><DIV style="margin: 0pt; float: right;"> <FONT class="arialbody"> <SCRIPT src="http://oascentral.hamptonroads.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.hamptonroads.com/sports@Middle" language="JavaScript1.1" /><SCRIPT language="JavaScript1.1">  </SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://imagec05.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/PilotOnl/beachevents_hrmedrect_aug07/TFSMFlashWrapper201.js/1187352141" /><pARAM value="http://imagec05.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/PilotOnl/beachevents_hrmedrect_aug07/amf_07_300x250.swf/1187352141?clickTAG=http://oascentral.hamptonroads.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.hamptonroads.com/sports/L27/1053763292/Middle/PilotOnl/beachevents_hrmedrect_aug07/beachevents_americanmusicfest0807_medrect.html/32417134425559614a34634141636967?http://www.beacheventsfun.com/beachstreetusa_web_site_045.htm" name="movie" /><pARAM value="high" name="quality" /><pARAM value="window" name="wmode" /> <NOSCRIPT> <a href="http://oascentral.hamptonroads.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.hamptonroads.com/sports/L27/1053763292/Middle/PilotOnl/beachevents_hrmedrect_aug07/beachevents_americanmusicfest0807_medrect.html/32417134425559614a34634141636967?http://www.beacheventsfun.com/beachstreetusa_web_site_045.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://imagec05.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/PilotOnl/beachevents_hrmedrect_aug07/amf_07_300x250.jpg/1187352141" alt="Click Here" border=0></a> </NOSCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://oascentral.hamptonroads.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.hamptonroads.com/sports@Middle?x"> <IMG SRC="http://oascentral.hamptonroads.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/www.hamptonroads.com/sports@Middle?x" border=0 width="300" height="250" > </a> </NOSCRIPT> </FONT></DIV> <FONT class="arialbody"> </FONT><p><FONT class="arialbody">The species is a summer mainstay because of its abundance and taste. Those that weigh 2 pounds or more are affectionately called horses. Jenkins' fish was more like a Clydesdale. And it shattered world and state records.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">The International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record for the species was 5 pounds, 8 ounces. It was caught in 2000 off the coast of Alabama. </FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">The previous Virginia record weighed 5 ounces more, but it was caught in 1982, before the IGFA recognized the species for world record consideration.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody"> The fish gets its name for the deep croaking sound it makes. The average croaker is 12 inches long and about 1-1/2 pounds. </FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">A 3-pounder is large enough to earn an award from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. But fish topping 4 pounds are a rarity throughout the species' range. </FONT></p> <FONT class="arialbody"> <TABLE width="159" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="0" align="right"> <TBODY><TR><TD style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);"> <p><strong>CORRECTION</strong></p> <p>The 8-pound, 11-ounce croaker caught by Norman Jenkins of Portsmouth was caught near New Point Comfort near the southern tip of Mathews County. The original version of this story incorrectly identified the location. </p> </TD></TR> <TR><TD style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);"><SCRIPT src="http://hamptonroads.tv/includes/flashobject.js" type="text/javascript" /> <DIV id="flashcontent"> <a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv"></a> <TABLE width="159" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0" bgcolor="#d6dfe8"> <TBODY><TR> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="center" colspan="2"><span class="latestVids">Latest Videos</span></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD valign="middle" align="center" class="hrtvPromo" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?locvid=130842"></a> <DIV align="center"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?locvid=130842">Raw video: Chinchilla reported stolen from Beach pet store</a></DIV></TD></TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?locvid=130770"> Portsmouth spot prime for $158 million development</a></TD> </TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?apf=15996"> Raw Video: Man Steals Elvis' Gun at Graceland</a></TD> </TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?apf=15989"> Raw Video: Dean Damage in Cancun</a></TD> </TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?apf=15988"> Lawyer: Wrestler Needed Steroids</a></TD> </TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?apf=16014"> Russia Resumes Bomber Patrols</a></TD> </TR> <TR> </TR><TR> <TD valign="middle" bgcolor="#eaeff4" align="left" class="hrtvPromo"> </TD> <TD bgcolor="#eaeff4" class="hrtvPromo"><a href="http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?apf=16008"> Bush Promises Help to Rebuild Bridge</a></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> </DIV> </TD></TR> <TR> <TD align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);"> <TABLE width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" border="0" bgcolor="#efefef"><TBODY><TR><TD style="border: 1px dashed rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: ms sans serif;"> <a href="http://welcome.hamptonroads.com/epilot/index.cfm"></a><BR clear="all" /> <strong>See the complete Pilot, exactly as in print</strong> <br/> - View stories, photos and ads <br/> - E-mail clippings <br/> - Print copies <br/> <a href="http://welcome.hamptonroads.com/epilot/index.cfm"><strong>Log in</strong></a> or <a href="http://welcome.hamptonroads.com/epilot/index.cfm"><strong>learn more</strong></a> <br/> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> </FONT><p><FONT class="arialbody">The species rarely lives past five years but can survive up to nine, according to Jon Lucy, a marine recreation specialist with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody"> "With all the people who bottom-fish along the coast and in the Gulf, with all that activity, for there not to be more big croaker caught is an amazement," Lucy said. "That's what makes this particular fish so unusual."</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">The easy-to-catch bottom feeder is a mainstay for many Virginia anglers.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"Spot and croaker are our bread and butter," said Brock Baskette, a bait shop employee at the Ocean View Fishing Pier in Norfolk. </FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"We've been catching them pretty good lately. We even had a 4-1/2 -pounder a couple of days ago.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"But an 8-pounder? Geesh!"</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">Jenkins was flounder fishing with his lifelong friend, Sammy Brooks, also of Portsmouth.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"We thought it was a puppy drum or something by the way it was fighting," said Jenkins, a 63-year-old retired railroad employee. "When we got it close to the net, Sammy thought it was a small black drum."</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">When the two measured the grunting fish at whopping 28 inches, they realized they had a real horse on their hands.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"He started croaking like crazy, louder than most croaker you catch," said Jenkins, who added that the fish was his first award-winning fish. "We started realizing it was a croaker.</FONT></p> <p><FONT class="arialbody">"One heck of a big croaker."</FONT></p> <span class="tagline"> <FONT class="arialbody">Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com</FONT></span><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Sand and Stone</h1> <p>2007-08-21T08:02:00.001-07:00</p> <pRE>>><br/> >> > Sand and Stone<br/> >><br/> >> > TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING<br/> >> > THROUGH THE DESERT.<br/> >> > DURING SOME POINT OF THE<br/> >> > JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN<br/> >> > ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND<br/> >> > SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE<br/> >> > IN THE FACE.<br/> >> > THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED<br/> >> > WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT<br/> >> > SAYING ANYTHING,<br/> >> > WROTE IN THE SAND:<br/> >> ><br/> >> > TODAY MY BEST FRIEND<br/> >> > SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.<br/> >> ><br/> >> > THEY KEPT ON WALKING,<br/> >> > UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,<br/> >> > WHERE THEY DECIDED<br/> >> > TO TAKE A BATH<br/> >> ><br/> >> > THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN<br/> >> > SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE<br/> >> > MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,<br/> >> > BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.<br/> >> ><br/> >> > AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM<br/> >> > THE NEAR DROWNING,<br/> >> > HE W ROTE ON A STONE:<br/> >> ><br/> >> > "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND<br/> >> > SAVED MY LIFE ".<br/> >> ><br/> >> > THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED<br/> >> > AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND<br/> >> > ASKED HIM, "AFTER I HURT YOU,<br/> >> > YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,<br/> >> > YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?"<br/> >> ><br/> >> > THE FRIEND REPLIED<br/> >> > "WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US<br/> >> > WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN<br/> >> > IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF<br/> >> > FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.<br/> >> > BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES<br/> >> > SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,<br/> >> > WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE<br/> >> > WHERE NO WIND<br/> >> > CAN EVER ERASE IT."<br/> >> ><br/> >> > LEARN TO WRITE<br/> >> > YOUR HURTS IN<br/> >> > THE SAND AND TO<br/> >> > CARVE YOUR<br/> >> > BENEFITS IN STONE.<br/> >> ><br/> >> > THEY SAY IT TAKES A<br/> >> > MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL<br/> >> > PERSON, AN HOUR TO<br/> >> > APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY<br/> >> > TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN<br/> >> > AN ENTIRE LIFE<br/> >> > TO FORGET THEM.<br/> >> ><br/> >> > SEND THIS PHRASE TO<br/> >> > THE PEOPLE YOU'LL NEVER<br/> >> > FORGET. I JUST DID.<br/> >> ><br/> >> ><br/> >> > DO NOT VALUE THE THINGS<br/> >> > YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE, BUT VALUE<br/> >> > WHO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE !<br/> >> > AND IF I HAPPEN TO GET IT BACK,<br/> >> > THEN I KNOW MY PLACE IN YOUR LIFE.</PRE><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Robert Hughes murder</h1> <p>2007-08-20T06:19:00.001-07:00</p> <span class="template"><span class="headline">Cracking a cold case</span><br/> <span class="subhead">1989 slaying one of ECPD's three unsolved homicides</span><br/> <br/>  <SCRIPT src="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/js/NewsworthyAudioC2L.js" type="text/javascript" /> <SCRIPT src="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/newsworthy/dailyadvance/news/stories/2007/08/20/dailyadvance_news_stories_2007_08_20_0819murders.js" type="text/javascript" /><DIV align="right"><a onclick="javascript:OpenC2LWindow('COXNewspapers','dailyadvance_news_stories_2007_08_20_0819murders','http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/newsworthy/dailyadvance//news/stories/2007/08/20//dailyadvance_news_stories_2007_08_20_0819murders.mp3','AdUrl=http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/advance.cni/$PAGE%23ap%40click2listen%23pg%40$PAGE%23sub%40$SUB%23fromsite%40dailyadvance%23','dailyadvance','','');return false;" href="http://www.dailyadvance.com/local/content/news/stories/2007/08/20/0819murders.html#"><strong>Click-2-Listen</strong></a></DIV>  <span class="byline">By <a href="mailto:dmazzella@coxnc.com">DIANA MAZZELLA</a></span><br/> <span class="source">Staff Writer</span><br/> <p class="npodate">Monday, August 20, 2007</p> <span class="body"> <p>Jerry Boyce remembers Bob Hughes well.</p> <p>Hughes, 50, was someone who enjoyed riding his bicycle around town, stopping now and again at the fire station on Elizabeth Street to joke with Boyce and other firefighters.</p>  <p>Boyce, who was then Elizabeth City's fire marshal, couldn't have known at the time that Hughes would one day be brutally murdered in 1989 or that he, Boyce, would be working 18 years later as a police detective, doggedly pursuing the killer.</p> <p>But time and events brought that circumstance, and now Boyce, who joined the police department after stints with both the fire department and the N.C. Division of Probation and Parole, is working to solve Hughes' murder.</p> <p>"I feel like it is a solvable case," he said. "There's never a case that I've seen that is not solvable."</p> <p>The Hughes murder case is in fact one of only three unsolved murder cases still being worked by Boyce and the four other detectives in the Elizabeth City Police Department's Investigative Services Unit.</p> <p>Here's what police have said about the case:</p> <p>Sometime between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Nov. 18, 1989, someone stabbed Hughes more than 50 times inside his home at 212 N. Cobb Street. Though the house had been ransacked, police at the time didn't believe Hughes' death was the result of a robbery. Hughes wasn't thought to have much money, and a jar of money wasn't taken from the house.</p> <p>Police have a suspect in Hughes' murder, Boyce said. Thus far, however, they haven't been able to gather enough evidence to make an arrest.</p> <p>As police Capt. G.F. Koch explains when discussing the department's investigation of another unsolved murder: "Just because there hasn't been an arrest in it doesn't mean we don't know who did it."</p> <p>Police also have suspects in the two other unsolved homicides, that of Thurson Pittman on July 10, 2005, and of Gerric Roundtree on June 29, 2005. But like the Hughes' case, they haven't been able to make arrests yet.</p> <p>According to police, Pittman, 26, of Plymouth, was shot to death outside the Brothers and Sisters Club. Police say Pittman had come to the Elizabeth City nightspot to celebrate his birthday which had been a few weeks before. They found his body about 2 a.m., inside the car in which he had arrived. The case, which detectives refer to as "the Brothers and Sisters Club homicide," officially remains unsolved.</p> <p>Also unsolved is the shooting death of Roundtree, whose body was found in his home at the Fran Mar Trailer Court on Hull Drive. Police said Roundtree died of a single shot to the head. The home where he was found is gone, as is the trailer park. Roundtree's murder and complaints about persistent drug activity convinced the property's owner to demolish the park.</p> <p>Police reopened the Hughes investigation several months ago, Boyce said, after new information surfaced in the case. Investigators are currently poring over evidence collected from the crime scene 18 years ago and resubmitting it to an FBI crime lab for improved DNA testing.</p> <p>Still Boyce worries that too much time may have gone by, and that most city residents have forgotten about what happened to Hughes.</p> <p>That appears to be the case even in the neighborhood where Hughes lived.</p> <p>Dora Dillard, who has lived in the community of federally subsidized houses for more than 10 years, said when neighbors do discuss the murder, which is rare, they say various things but do not mention a specific home.</p> <p>"They don't think no more about it because it's been so long," Dillard said.</p> <p>Though solving Hughes' murder has taken more time than they'd like, police emphasize that crime-solving isn't something done easily or quickly.</p> <p>"I think one of the biggest misconceptions people have (about crime-solving comes from) watching too much TV," Sgt. Mike Boone said. "Not every crime can be solved in less than an hour, including commercials."</p> <p>One of police's biggest obstacles to solving murders and other crimes is getting witnesses with pertinent information to come forward, Boone says.</p> <p>"They're in fear of retaliation from a suspect or an associate," he said.</p> <p>"And you have some people who just don't want to have to come to court and possibly testify."</p> <p>That won't stop police detectives from continuing to work those cases, however.</p> <p>"We don't ever give up," Boone said.</p> <p>And if that break comes that allows them to solve the case and make an arrest, the families of the murder victims will be the first notified, Boyce said. That will be more difficult in the Hughes case — investigators lost track of the victim's only living brother some time ago — but that doesn't mean police still won't try to ensure family members don't first hear about the arrest on television.</p> <p>"Each one of these victims was a son to someone," Boyce said.</p> <p>Police ask if you have information about either of these unsolved murders or any other crime, contact the ECPD's Investigative Services Unit at 335-9600.</p> </span></span><p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8px">Blogged with <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" title="Flock" target="_new">Flock</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> </main></body></html>