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This article supports Linda's idea:

Posted By: Z on 2008-06-22
In Reply to: it wasn't much mentioned or - Linda F

http://www.zylstra.org/blog/archives/2007/04/katrina_foreign.html


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meant who works and supports their children on their own nm
x
to linda
Happy to share. If you've ever had Hummingbird Cake, I have been told that this is a lot like that, without the spice (I think the spice would make it more like Carrot Cake, but not sure).

Pineapple Nut Cake

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. drained crushed pineapple
1 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla 'til sugar is dissolved. Add flour, baking soda, and pineapple. Add nuts and pour into greased/floured 13 X 9 pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8-oz package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Hope you try it and like it! This is another thing that I could live on for days.
They have been looking for Linda at my
house for the last 7 years. The funny thing, though, she is still using MY phone number for more current bills.
LOVE your pic Linda:-) no msg

To Linda: Please see message.

I try to look at it realistically.  Cystic fibrosis is a pretty serious disease, one that usually attacks babies and young children.  That's the tragedy.  I'm 56 years old and didn't find out until I was 53.  That's something I never heard of.  The majority of my life has been good and healthy.  One of my docs told me that first my pancreas will destroy itself, and then I'll become diabetic, (which is why I was so interested in what the poster down a little bit where she questioned about whether I might have diabetes.  Once my pancreas is "gone," then my lungs will take over, and that's what will kill me.  I haven't been coughing very much in the last 3 years, but now, for about 2 weeks, I can't stop coughing.


I feel ashamed to even be griping about this, considering those poor babies and young children who get this disease and die early.


Thank you very much for the compliment, but she isn't going to change.  I'm waiting for this voucher program to go into effect (I've been accepted) so I can move out.  I don't have a car, and I don't even have a phone.  I have to depend on her to give me messages, and it's a 50%/50% chance whether I'll get those.  I figure that I lost my apartment in PA, and as I got sicker, I lost my car and then my phone.  So I'm trying like heck to get a phone.  There's one that I like on Cricket; I've been watching it for a few months now, and the price sometimes goes down to $9.99.  Unfortunately, this isn't one of those times!  Maybe a couple of soup cans and a string??


I honestly don't know why my son-in-law stays with my daughter.  She treats everyone badly.  She even cheated on him a couple of years ago, so he is often guarded in his relationship with her.


My parents were very dysfunctional.  My father especially was physically and verbally abusive.  I remember taking my mom to the doctor's office to be scheduled for surgery because she had colon cancer.


When we got back to my parents' house, my father was lying on the couch, mean as usual, and told her, "You fat b***h, there's nothing wrong with you.  You just want some attention."  I looked at my mom, who didn't say a word -- just silent tears streaming down her face.  Then I reamed him a new one.


A week later, she was dead.


My daughter knows nothing about my diseases because she's not interested in doing any research about it.  If I come home from the doctor's and try to tell her what happened, she simply isn't interested in hearing it.


One one of my more serious hospitalizations (11 days), I had pneumonia and pancreatitis, she was especially nasty.  She knew if I wasn't home working, I wasn't earning anything.  So she called me and asked about when I would be paying the rent because if I don't, they'll get evicted, and it will all be my fault.  Then she called later in the day, SCREAMING about my 15-year-old cat spraying all over the basement and making it stink and ordered me to get rid of it that day.  I had no choice but to call the Humane Society, where I know nobody would adopt a 15-year-old cat.  No doubt in my mind:  That cat is dead.  The best part is that the "stinking up the place" wasn't even my cat because it continued after she had me get rid of it.  It was one of HER cats.


She reminds me of how my father treated my mother, and I need to get out of here ASAP because she's made it clear that I'm a burden and she wants me out.  I try not to be a burden.  I purchase and cook my own food (I'm not allowed to eat with the family, but I prefer it the way it is.)


Oh, sheesh!  I've written a novel here and didn't mean to.


Thank you again, Linda, for th e kind words.  I really appreciate them.


Sorry to hear of your loss, Linda. nm
x
saw Paul when Linda was still alive and with him
okay - I've done a lot of concerts!
Linda....nn wasn't watching - don't waste your time

Linda Lavin? - She played Alice in the TV show "Alice." sm
the one where she worked at Mel's diner?
Linda Chavez has great articles and makes a lot of sense.
This is long but I think worth it.

As if a housing crisis, rising energy costs and a soft labor market weren't enough to cause economic anxiety for the average American, now consumers are feeling the pinch of rapidly escalating food costs. The United States has long prided itself in being the breadbasket of the world, and Americans have traditionally paid a smaller share of their income on food than citizens of other developed countries. But the days of cheap milk, bread, beef and poultry may well be over — and Uncle Sam is partly to blame.

In 2007, the cost of a gallon of milk increased 26 percent; eggs went up 40 percent; and a loaf of white bread went from $1.05 to $1.28 from 2006 to 2008. Steep increases in the price of oil have contributed to these higher costs, but the federal government has played a pernicious role as well. By mandating that oil companies increase the amount of ethanol they blend with gasoline, the government has not only artificially increased the cost of corn, which is what most U.S. ethanol is made of, but has driven up the cost of other grains as well. Inflated corn prices encourage farmers to divert more acreage to corn, which means they plant less soy and wheat, which, in turn, drives the prices of those commodities up as well. The aggregate price of wheat, corn, soy oil and soy meal in the U.S. will be $61.7 billion higher in the 2007/2008 crop year than it was in 2005/2006.

Corn prices affect a host of other food prices as well. If you've ever looked at the ingredient labels on everything from bologna to canned tomato soup, you'll see that corn syrup is a common ingredient of many processed foods. Corn is also a common grain used in feed for cattle, poultry and hogs. As a result, prices for meat and poultry are going up, but even with higher prices, some companies in the meat industry still can't make a profit, and many are being forced to cut jobs and close plants. I've seen this firsthand as a member of the board of directors of Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer, where we have already had to shut down one plant and close six distribution centers to cope with record losses directly attributable to soaring feed costs.

But what is most galling about the impact of government mandated ethanol production is that it does little or nothing to solve our energy problems.
Ethanol proponents argue that it is cleaner than petroleum — which improves air quality — and that it and other alternative fuels will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Both claims are dubious.

Corn-based ethanol is inefficient as a fuel for automobiles, reducing vehicle gas mileage by 20-30 percent in vehicles using E85, the highest ethanol content fuel. Fewer miles-per-gallon of gas essentially eliminates any savings achieved, even by mixing ethanol with gasoline in the lower 9 percent ethanol blends required in all U.S. gasoline today. And of course, it also takes energy to produce ethanol — for farming and distilling the corn and transporting the final product to the pump — and much of that energy will come from carbon-based fuels.

None of these arguments has stopped the aggressive ethanol lobby from getting its way with Congress, however, and pressure increases in presidential election years as Iowa farmers encourage candidates to pledge allegiance to ethanol during the Iowa caucuses.

If ethanol really were the miracle fuel its proponents claim, you'd think there would be huge profits in producing it in the free market. But that's not the case. Consumers not only pay for ethanol at the pump, they're paying taxes as well to subsidize ethanol production in the U.S. — and they're paying a hidden tax to keep cheaper, foreign sugar cane ethanol from competing with the domestic corn-based product. Subsidies to gasoline blenders amount to about 51 cents per gallon, and the government imposes a 54-cent tariff on foreign ethanol so that it can't provide a cheaper alternative for U.S. consumers.

And matters will only get worse as government mandates higher bio-fuel content in U.S. gasoline from the current 9 percent to 15 percent by 2015. Ethanol won't solve the energy crisis, but it may well lead to a food crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. The U.S. Agency for International Development reports that the cost of providing wheat, corn, cereal and other foodstuffs to poor nations has gone up 41 percent since October 2007, which will mean we can provide less assistance to starving people around the world. Federal policy is literally diverting food from the table to the gas tank — and it's time we stopped it.

Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal." To find out more about Linda Chavez, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.


sorry. forgot to mention Linda Chavez is in refernce to threads about high food prices.
nm
see article
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1018801
the web article said...
Don't know though, never tried anything but softener sheets.  Geez, I can't go without my fabric softener sheets or something.  I can't stand staticy clothes, rough towels...guess we are danged if we do and danged if we don't...
The article also said--sm
and this was FOX, not CNN, my mistake. Anyway, the article also said that she had been sitting in her cell for 23 hours with absolutely nothing to do. I guess she had picked out quite a few books to take with her, but the prison would not allow her to bring them in with her. awwwwww. poor thing! It's funny how she always ends up getting what she wants...or is it her daddy's money?
Who was the article about?
xx
WoW - can you believe this article

www.healthmad.com/Men's-Health/Circumcision-of-Males-in-America-and-How-it-is-Viewed-by-American-Women.541911


Apparently women are responsible for infant male circ's? Well, perhaps they are - perhaps they aren't - but what is so wrong in circ'g. Isn't that recommended by docs??


Here's one article:
http://www.usmagazine.com/news/jon-and-kate-dads-three-month-affair-confirmed-200955
Interesting article...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15769975/site/newsweek/
Check out article :)

The Meaning of R.S.V.P.


Let's Clear Up the Confusion



I hope that this week's tip will benefit hosts and guests alike, because there seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of the above term.

Lack of RSVP's - A Growing Problem


I hear more and more often, and have found in my personal experience, that hosts often do not receive firm indications whether guests plan to attend their parties, even if R.S.V.P. is clearly printed on the invitation. This could mean either one of two things. First it could mean that rudeness is a growing trend in our society. Or, as I would prefer to believe, people no longer understand what the term means. Assuming the best, and that the decline in R.S.V.P.'s can be attributed to ignorance and not rudeness, I will clarify this for the record.

What RSVP Means


The term R.S.V.P. comes from the French expression "répondez s'il vous plaît", meaning "please respond". If R.S.V.P. is written on an invitation it means the invited guest must tell the host whether or not they plan to attend the party. It does not mean to respond only if you're coming, and it does not mean respond only if you're not coming (the expression "regrets only" is reserved for that instance). It means the host needs a definite head count for the planned event, and needs it by the date specified on the invitation.

Why It's Inconsiderate to Not RSVP


An incomplete list of respondents can cause numerous problems for a host including difficulty in planning food quantities, issues relating to minimum guarantees with catering halls, uncertainty over the number of party favors and difficulties in planning appropriate seating, among other things.

So the next time you see R.S.V.P. on an invitation you receive, please call your host and respond promptly.



I had not seen that. I just read an article--sm
on the web today that said the wheat gluten, rice gluten was put into the chicken feed and the pig feed, as well. I don't recall reading anything about them buying the dog food and using that. How dumb! It has already killed thousands of dogs and cats, and they are going to try to kill the rest of our livestock too? animal murderers!
Very interesting article........

Here is the link........


http://www.newstarget.com/022096.html


This article is along the same lines...

I read this a short time ago and thought it was interesting:  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/VictoriasSecretBossWereTooSexy.aspx?page=all


Moderator


cnn.com article schedule
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/28/news/economy/rebate_update_monday/index.htm?cnn=yes
Here's the link to the article I got it from
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/Advice/SeeWhenYouWillGetATaxRebateCheck.aspx
That's a poor article.
That article is written by a self-proclaimed expert writing on a conspiracy-theory website. It's mostly made-up nonsense.

If you want information, find something better.
You should read this article

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081202/ap_on_go_co/meltdown_autos_20


 


Found it rather amusing just reading the headline:


Ford says CEO will work for $1 to get loans


They did a huge article on him
in Homelife magazine. It is amazing the faith and courage he has after all he has been through!
I tried to find the article
but I don't think they have it online. He has a website called www.lifewithoutlimbs.org with some articles and video clips and tour dates.
I think the writer of this article sm
has too much time on his hands!

Having said that, there are places where I think jeans are in appropriate just like other types of dress. But to go to the extent the writer is going to is ridiculous.

I do think that most Americans don't pay attention to how they dress when they go out in public anymore, but again to just "boycott" jeans is ridiculous.

I will take my plain comfy jeans any day of the week!

Also, IMHO, in this bad economy people really are not worrying about what everybody is wearing. They are worrying about keeping their jobs and putting food on the table and keeping the lights on in the house!
The article said he had to get the principal's -sm
signature on a form allowing him to go, which the principal did sign (which says he can go obviously) but then said, well if you go you will be suspended even though I said it was okay. What total nits.
did you read the above article someone posted?

The Meaning of R.S.V.P.



Let's Clear Up the Confusion





I hope that this week's tip will benefit hosts and guests alike, because there seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of the above term.

Lack of RSVP's - A Growing Problem



I hear more and more often, and have found in my personal experience, that hosts often do not receive firm indications whether guests plan to attend their parties, even if R.S.V.P. is clearly printed on the invitation. This could mean either one of two things. First it could mean that rudeness is a growing trend in our society. Or, as I would prefer to believe, people no longer understand what the term means. Assuming the best, and that the decline in R.S.V.P.'s can be attributed to ignorance and not rudeness, I will clarify this for the record.

What RSVP Means



The term R.S.V.P. comes from the French expression "répondez s'il vous plaît", meaning "please respond". If R.S.V.P. is written on an invitation it means the invited guest must tell the host whether or not they plan to attend the party. It does not mean to respond only if you're coming, and it does not mean respond only if you're not coming (the expression "regrets only" is reserved for that instance). It means the host needs a definite head count for the planned event, and needs it by the date specified on the invitation.

Why It's Inconsiderate to Not RSVP



An incomplete list of respondents can cause numerous problems for a host including difficulty in planning food quantities, issues relating to minimum guarantees with catering halls, uncertainty over the number of party favors and difficulties in planning appropriate seating, among other things.

So the next time you see R.S.V.P. on an invitation you receive, please call your host and respond promptly.


Here's an interesting article to read.....
http://www.michaelreidministries.org/live/index.php?id=240901m

“My faith is built not on what I’ve done but what He’s done for me”.


Read article the other day and as children age
the amount of pleasure with the parents went down dramatically. From infants and toddlers great but reaching preteens and older, just took a dramatic downturn. I would totally agree with that article, lived it myself.
The alternative list is in that article
and this is for many, many things but other than the mention of aluminum foil, I did not see an alternative for fabric softener on there. Aluminum foil? I would think that could break down and then you would have aluminum to contend with? Never-ending!!
I cant even bear to read the article
These girls must be monsters. Also the pro football player just indicted on charges of dog fighting sickens me. If you want to help, you can go to the Humane Society website and they have pre-written letters that can be sent off to the powers that be for him to get maximum sentencing. This world is a mess.
Read the article, and it's not a tsunami -
o
Article with brand suggestions (sm)
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_14_22/ai_65953286

featherbed...long article

Ms. Evelyn is an extraordinaryly bright little young lady with real sharp wit and humor.  Here's the bi-weekly column that she writes.  Cat


*************************************************


Here and There: New mattresses can't beat good featherbed

By Evelyn Richardson












Featherbeds were once a luxury when compared to a hard felt mattress or a pallet on the floor. They were a definite step up from a straw tick whose stuffing became pulverized by the time the next threshing season came around to provide fresh straw.

We never raised geese, so when we dressed chickens, we gathered their soft breast and underside feathers to fill our featherbed. There was no concern about dander and feather allergies because we had not heard of such.

Not only was the featherbed luxuriously soft but also it was warm. As we lay on it, the fluff came up around us to give us a snugly feeling.

Of course, when the season changed to summer, we didn't want to sink into the featherbed. It was put underneath the mattress next to the open coil springs for storage until the hot weather was gone.

When this switch was made, we took all of the bed equipment outside for cleaning. The sunshine revitalized the featherbed and made the mattress smell sweet.

Dust and lint were thick on the springs and it fell my lot to deal with each coil individually and get them clean. My mother bought a cleaning tool from the Stanley salesman that was especially designed to fit the conical shape of the coils and I welcomed it as a godsend. These were the days before the miracle of running water and the availability of a spray hose to wash away the dust and lint. We propped the springs against a tree trunk and I began the painstaking task.

There was a knack for making up the bed when the featherbed was on top. We lifted, patted and punched the higher spots to redistribute the feathers evenly. When linens were changed each week, we flipped and rotated the featherbed before tucking the clean sheet tightly around the sides.

Blankets and quilts were added and a counterpane was the top decorative cover. Then to make the bed appear perfectly level, we took a broom handle and smoothed the surface, much the same as we would level a measuring spoon of salt with a spatula. We were not allowed to play on the bed when it was made up or to sit on the edge because there was no way to repair the dents without starting from scratch.

Today we have scientifically engineered sleeping foundations, some with pushbutton controls, to give our body the support it needs when we are at rest. Once my father had a severe back problem during the days when doctors made house calls. A new doctor in town visited him and declared that the first thing he should do was to get rid of the featherbed. My father was both angered and insulted by that young whippersnapper. I suppose he took the pills prescribed, but he kept right on sleeping on the featherbed and eventually got better.

Water, foam, air and all sorts of materials fill our mattresses here in the twenty-first century to give us a wide choice. And they cost considerably more than striped ticking that we sewed to make our own featherbed.


Well at least post a link to the article!

Just read a new article on sentence
I didn't get a chance to read it, because I'm on my out, but the headline read they his sentence is now 33 years. My daughter said she heard they upped it. Not sure if it's true or not, but he certainly deserves it.
Where was the article? Not a tabloid I hope.
I hope it's true in any event. I used to like Tom Cruise, but now he's just too strange for me. I had heard about the breastfeeding too. I was always wondering if it was true. Tom Cruise talked about the silent birth as well as another star that's a scientologist.
An article for you...and woohoo...congrats ;-)
There appears to be a trend of older women dating younger men, notably illustrated by celebrity couples including Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher, Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry, and the most recent fling between 48-year-old Linda Hogan and 19-year-old Charlie Hill. According to a study of 50,000 women daters over 30, conducted by an online dating site in 2007, more than one-third of the subjects showed interest in men at least 5 years younger. And in 2003, an AARP survey revealed 34 percent of 3,500 women (between ages 40 and 69) dated men who are 10 or more years younger than themselves. This trend appears to be shocking to some people, but I don't find it so unusual.
Socially, there's a role reversal of sorts going on, women are more powerful now than ever before and may want men who are younger, and perhaps, more flexible; men who can handle it if the woman's career and lifestyle takes priority over their own. Media portrayals in "Sex and the City" (like movie characters Smith Jerrod and Samantha Jones) and "Desperate Housewives" are also showing women that dates don't have to be older. Women who have high-powered careers -- or a well-developed self-image -- are exercising more choice. Women who have been divorced and are established single moms may enjoy having a playmate, someone to have fun with; who doesn't try to control her.
Can these older woman/younger man relationships last?
In my counseling office, I have seen many relationships succeed with this kind of older woman/younger man scenario.
The media focuses on the age difference, but what really makes or breaks the relationship is how well the couple can form a partnership that works
The media focuses on the age difference, but what really makes or breaks the relationship is how well the couple can form a partnership that works.
Age difference is an adolescent worry: When you're a teenager, an age difference of even two or three years makes a vast difference in your experience and your outlook on life. Such a difference can interfere with communication, life goals, outlook, and relationship experience. In addition, for the young, the social reaction to such a relationship is often negative. If one partner is underage, a sexual relationship is even against the law.
But, as you get older, life experience and emotional growth help to equalize your relationship skills and resources. A 10-year or more difference in your ages makes little difference in how well you can conduct your relationship.
Don't focus on an arbitrary numbers difference in your ages. If you are getting along, you have good communication and problem solving, and you love each other, that's a precious thing, and far more important than any age difference could be. If other people have a problem with it, let it be their problem.
Whether or not a relationship is healthy is not determined by age differences, but by the interaction between the partners. A 10-year difference is not too difficult to bridge, but a 20-year differences or more in age can lead to some difficulties as the partners get older. For example, the younger partner may mature and reconsider his or her choices, or an older partner may confront aging problems much sooner. But, as long as both parties are adult, and the couple has talked about their age difference and the future possibilities, I don't make judgments about their respective ages.
Dealing with the generation gap
There are healthy and unhealthy reasons to date someone of a different generation.
One inappropriate motivation for dating a younger person is fear of aging on the older person's part.
One inappropriate motivation for dating a younger person is fear of aging on the older person's part. A younger partner isn't going to reverse the aging process or protect you from old age. Obviously, a man or woman who dates someone as young as his or her children is going to run into some social opposition, but the differences that can cause the biggest problems within the couple's relationship are differing maturity levels.
As more and more women choose younger partners for relationships, the question arises: Are women in their late 30s and early 40s likely to be successful with partners who are 10 to 15 years younger than themselves?
Success in these relationships depends on what the motivations of both people are. Some older people feel younger at heart than their contemporaries and like to date people who are as active as they are. Chronological age doesn't always reflect either physical capability or emotional maturity. Sometimes an age difference creates a mentoring relationship the older person advises the younger one on life or career. This can backfire if and when the younger person decides he or she has learned enough, and wants to move on.
If you're asking: "Is it OK for me to have a partner who is much older or younger than I am?" You'll do better off if you forget about your ages and concentrate on whether the relationship works for both of you, or not. What really makes a romantic relationship succeed is the emotional connection.

Article about this in the last Woman's Day magazine....
Changes go into effect 07/11, and there are tips in the article on how to fight them jacking your rates, too. I only use prepaid credit cards but I skimmed the article anyway and it seemed very interesting.

Check their archives and have a peek at it. It might be able to guide you in stopping that interest rate hike.

Good luck.
Article - Vaccine in September
Here's why it all smacks of something rotten in Denmark to me, with these timelines, etc.:

No swine flu vaccine before September
2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A top US health official told lawmakers that vaccines against seasonal flu likely to not protect against swine flu and that a vaccine against that deadly disease cannot be ready before September.

"If everything went great, production could lead to availability as early as September," Anne Schuchat, acting deputy director for science and public health program at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But "everything doesn't always go great," she warned the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Schuchat said there were "active efforts" to prepare for making the vaccine, but, when asked whether it would definitely be made, replied: "I don't believe that decision has been made yet."

Schuchat warned that scientists did not believe that vaccines against seasonal influenza, which kills 36,000 people each year, would protect against the "novel" virus now making headlines.

"We don't expect there to be protection," she said. "Based on the laboratory testing that's been done so far, we don't expect there to be cross-protection."

Asked why experts worried about swine flu given the annual havoc wreaked by regular, seasonal influenza, Schuchat said "we are dealing with a novel virus" and that the general population had not built up resistance to the illness.

"It's a virus that hasn't been around before," she said. "The general population doesn't have immunity to this virus. With seasonal flu, a good proportion of the population has some immunity."

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

LINKAGE: http:// www.google.com/ hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gMaFE6vojZpKyS5HUDqGAT8GTFug
Link to NY Times article - there are plenty of others
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/03/us/03texas.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I misquoted article--just 3 years confinement

not solitary.  Still though, not nearly punishment enough in my opinion.


THANKS -- great article -- loving your responses ! n/m
n
AND WALMART canceled order-article inside..sm

Wal-Mart: We're not afraid to say Merry Christmas


No. 1 retailer has decided to abandon its generic 'Happy Holidays' greeting in favor of 'Merry Christmas.'





NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart has told its employees that it's OK to once again greet shoppers by saying "Merry Christmas" this holiday season instead of the generic "Happy Holidays."


CNN confirmed that Wal-Mart will announce Thursday that it plans to use the phrase "Merry Christmas" in products and around its stores this holiday season.










 

The announcement comes a year after religious groups such as The American Family Association and The Catholic League boycotted retailers including Wal-Mart last holiday season for excluding the word "Christmas" from products sold in stores.


"We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley told USA Today in a separate report. "We're not afraid to use the term 'Merry Christmas.' We'll use it early, and we'll use it often."


Besides resurrecting its Christmas pitch, the retailer is also determined to be the leader in this year's holiday price wars.


The November-December holiday shopping period is a critical time for merchants since it can account for as much as 50 percent of their profits and sales.


To that end, Wal-Mart was the first out of the gate to chop prices on toys and electronics much ahead of its competitors like Target (Charts), Toys 'R Us, Costco (Charts) and others.


To support its Christmas deals, the report said Wal-Mart will launch TV ads next week that trumpet "Christmas." It's changing the name of its seasonal decorations department to "The Christmas Shop" from "The Holiday Shop."


Moreover, Wal-Mart stores will play Christmas carols throughout the holiday period and about 60 percent more merchandise will be labeled as "Christmas" rather than "holiday" items, the paper said.



Ok..I found part of the article from Tricare Dental
The most profound sentence for us was, "only one-half the number of persons diagnosed with oral cancer are alive five years after the diagnosis." The article can be found at http://www.tricaredentalprogram.com/tdptws/dentalhealth/your_tdp/00009.jsp.

Also, you only have to be 18 to buy tobacco products. So, your son is old enough to buy this stuff. Anyway, hope this helps, but as I'm sure you know, 18 y/o boys think they're invincible and really don't like to listen to their parents. Hopefully he'll at least read all the information and make the best decision and quit before it can do any harm. Good luck!
See this article about a newly discovered petrified forest.

Scientists explore land bridge, petrified trees in Lake Huron



PONTIAC, Mich. -- Scientists hope to learn more about what the Great Lakes' shorelines looked like about 10,000 years ago.


They explored a limestone land bridge that went from Alpena to Goderich, Ontario _ a distance of about 125 miles _ and an underwater forest of petrified trees in Lake Huron.

The 2006 research, in which more than 500 dives were made, is the subject of a documentary film, "Great Lakes, Ancient Shores, Sinkholes." It premiered recently at the Cranbrook Institute of Arts in Bloomfield Hills, The Oakland Press reported in a story published Monday.

Another study is planned for 2007 and should result in a second film, "Great Lakes, Ancient Shores," said Luke Clyburn, lieutenant commander of the Great Lakes Division of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps and a Great Lakes ship captain.

"What we are learning about the Great Lakes of several thousand years ago may change the way we think of this area," Clyburn said.

Clyburn and other scientists have been filming in the Great Lakes for at least 25 years.

There is a petrified forest in 40 feet of water in Lake Huron about two miles offshore from Lexington, he said. Some of the trees have been carbon-dated to indicate they are 6,980 years old.

The Straits of Mackinac, a passage between lakes Michigan and Huron, have been spanned by the Mackinac Bridge since the mid-1950s but didn't exist several thousand years ago, Clyburn said.

"Lake Michigan was much higher than Lake Huron, and the two did not join as they do today at the straits," he said. But water from Lake Michigan seeped underground toward Lake Huron and the two bodies of water eventually became connected.

Clyburn's current film focuses on a sinkhole in Lake Huron about two miles from Alpena near Middle Island. In prehistoric times, the sinkholes were on dry land. Native Americans lived near these sinkholes because they provided water, which attracted game, he said.

Have you tried aluminum foil? Pasted in part of article...
Deterring pets

Aluminium foil is also sometimes used in the training of cats; as cats have an inborn dislike of either the texture or noise caused by sheets of aluminium foil, it is possible to prevent cats from jumping on or otherwise damaging furniture by covering its surfaces.