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Gilmat Door Design, 2017-11-03 14:10:11.A good quality folding door should be able to last a lifetime. Therefore, always think carefully about the folding door systems you are looking to specify. Today, we will briefly show you some important features you should consider and expect from any folding door systems… aside from proper installation and the right choice of folding door hardware to install. Well, without further ado, here they are!Since folding door is much larger than ordinary, regular patio doors, folding option tends to be more susceptible to the effects of rain and wind. Therefore, always choose folding doors with weather resistance ability—for sheltered spaces, a 100pa water resistance will suffice. But if the doors aren't protected from the elements, 250pa water resistance is minimum. Besides, be careful when choosing the glass. Any larger expanse of glass will end up with increased heat loss. Therefore, opt for the best performing glass you can buy for the sake of lower heating bills.Another possible drawback from the larger size of folding door is the greater chance for noise pollution to occur. Keep the room comfortable and inviting by blocking as much as external noise as possible. Double glazed panels can make an effective choice, but remember you will also need to use the effective panel sealing. Choose triple sealing which incorporates the high-performing acoustic seals filled with foam for your option. Sealing aside, intermediate locking and inter-leaving panels are also important so the doors will not rattle even though they are exposed to a huge amount of wind pressure.Therefore, strength is always an important matter when you choose folding door. As the doors are required to stand up to all kinds of pressure, both when moving and when closed, the panel profiles that hold the glass in place must be strong. We recommend you to choose the thicker rail and stile profiles in depth, yet they can still narrow when they are viewed front on for the sake of aesthetics.It is always important for the folding doors to feature the sufficiently rigid panels to adequately support the adjacent one. Compared to PVC, the folding door with aluminum offers more strength, in addition to a square cut corner (instead of mitred) to improve the torsional stability to the panels, which later benefits you from overall ease of movement for the folding doors to operate smoothly and conveniently. And speaking of easy movement, it's always recommended to try the door before buying.
Gilmat Bedroom, 2017-10-08 01:00:11.When you are thinking about old bed design, then you may have some choices as in the market there is a wide selection. That is if you consider the bed from the design. However, if you consider the material of the bed frame, you will see wood or iron that makes the bed has an old expression. Look at the collections of iron bed frames then you will see a beautiful old bed frame design. This bed frame has head, foot, rails and legs that are made of iron. So, you can say it is heavy.Indeed, iron bed frames are heavy. It is not easy to move this bed frame to other places. But this is how this bed must be. This bed frame is even heavier than wood bed frame. This makes this bed frame is sturdy and very durable. It can stand for very long years. Therefore, you need to ensure you pick this bed frame with beautiful designs. If you love this bed with old-fashioned look, then you can consider this bed with classic design.Look the various designs of iron bed frames that are available in the market. There are many beautiful classic designs you can look here. Most of them are really impressive due its classic style. Also, you can find unique bed frames if you want it in unique design. So, if you have a classic bedroom interior decoration, this bed frame will surely complete the bedroom design and accent as well. You will not need to worry about the comfort offered by this bed frame.Iron bed frames come in various sizes too. It means you can make your bed more comfortable with this bed frame as you can find the right size as you want. If this is for couple, you can consider iron bed frames king. This bed king size gives you a wider bed frame size where it can be used for two. You just need to find the right mattress that is soft and comfortable.So, if you want the right bed frame that has classic design, iron bed frames should be in your list. This bed frame can give you more benefits as you can find the frame with various classic designs. You will not need to worry about the quality and durability too. Even, you can build your comfortable bed with this bed frame. You will love the various designs and styles too based on what you like most.
Gilmat Interior, 2017-10-07 14:53:07.Looking for the right patio table sets can be tricky. You have so many choices out there. Hundreds of options make you get confused. Actually, the wide selection should make you more selective as not all of outdoor patio furniture sets sale that you see out there are made by selected material and high standard for your comfort and style. So, you can start with selecting the materials and how the table set is finished.First of all, you can start with the popular material to build patio table sets. Wood is a favorite material that is always selected to build furniture set either for indoor or outdoor. It is due to the excellence of the structure of the material. It is very durable and sturdy. You just need to know how to care this table set to elongate the life of the table set. There are some tips recommended to care your wood furniture set. You have some choices of types of wood that are selected.Second choice, you have a wonderful patio table sets that is made of wicker. Wicker is also the popular choice to build outdoor furniture set. It can be for deck, patio, backyard or porch. Wicker is more relaxing due to its natural material. Look at how these wicker patio furniture sets can be finished. You can find this table set really outstanding due to the complication of the structure to make this furniture set. It is only made by skilled craftsmen that make this table set excellent.Then, you will see these patio table sets are made of metal. Metal is very strong and durable material to build furniture set. Even, it is always selected to build outdoor furniture like this table set. Therefore, you can say this table set is designed for all-weather. You just need to coat it to protect the structure from staining if it is placed in the outdoor space for long time. Coating can enhance the look of the table set, too.There are other choices of the materials of patio table sets such as stainless steel and glass. They are also popular among others. You can find them in modern patio table set. They look slim, simple but indeed stylish and excellent. If you are confused to pick the best one, then it is good idea to read the pros and cons of each of them or just consider the design you like most.
Gilmat Kitchen, 2017-10-07 03:58:20.Sometimes, you need to refresh your kitchen look. And by doing several changes like cabinet door replacement, you can make your kitchen look new and fresh. Why is it the cabinet door? Why is it not anything else? Well, cabinet door is the one that is seen and very much visible by anyone including your guests when they enter your kitchen. So, it becomes the most important element of design. You can choose starting from the cheapest to the most expensive one and then adjust it to your kitchen design.Cabinet Door Styles You Can Pick to Refresh Your KitchenThe first style is Flat style. This is the one that is suitable for you who likes simple yet still stylish kitchen cabinet door. This style has board cabinet door which is flat. This is an empty space that has classy details. For you who have modern and contemporary interiors, you might choose this style because it offers minimalist form and hard lines. You need to know that the varieties of the flat doors are available in decorative wood or laminate. If you have limited budget, you'd better choose laminate one. It also offers many choices of sheens and colors.Another cabinet door styles is shaker style. This is the most famous and common in today's option. It has flat panels which come with five pieces. They have frame that is made of one flat core panel that is used for the five piece and four other pieces. This kind of kitchen cabinet door emphasizes simplicity, utility, and line cleanness. It becomes well known since it can be suitable for any kind of kitchen designs from traditional to contemporary. It also comes with various hardware, wood species, paint colors, and stains.Other kitchen cabinet door style is inset style. This style is perceived as the most priceless ones. This has classic appearance. As the name suggests, this is set in the frame of the cabinet. The door is constructed and designed with very exact measurements in order to make it stays in the frame. It is used also to make sure that it'll close and open well.The other kitchen cabinet door fronts style is louvered. This style has spaces between slats. So, it makes this cabinet door good for the cabinets which need ventilation, such as the cabinets that are used to dry the clothes in the laundry or drying room, the cabinets for DVD players and cable box, and in the cabinets placed near radiator.
Gilmat Decoration, 2017-10-06 16:16:07.Your home can be more incredible or not depending on what design you add to your home both the interior and exterior. This is including for the home windows. Windows are like eyes of your home. Any window designs you build, they will add impressions to your home. For interior, you can instantly add window curtains. What about for the exterior? Look at the designs and ideas of decorative window film. You can be inspired with the decorative designs that look remarkable.Here, the glass of the window will be decorated. You have so many wonderful ideas to add to your window glass. First of all, you may be interested to buy this decorative window film. It is an instant way to add decorative window glass. There is a wide selection offered by the manufacturers or distributors. Either it is for privacy window film or others; you will definitely find the best one. Think about personal decoration to enhance the windows look. This should be easy to find the best one.However, if you want to save more budgets, then you can try DIY ideas to make decorative window film. There are some DIY ideas you can add to build this decorative window appearance. Look at how decorative window film stained glass is created. You can use certain paint that work on glass. Then, play your creative ideas. It can be anything as what you really want. You may need more inspirations to find what you want to draw on the glass. The images of window film decoration should give you more ideas.Any ideas you want to make, decorative window film will instantly update your window look either you see it from inside or outside. You have so many wonderful choices to enhance the window look. If your old window doesn't give you any spirit, then stylish window film decoration should add more impressions and enhancement to your window as well as the room interior decoration. You have so many benefits installing this window idea to your home.Don't forget to select the patterns you like most to create decorative window film. Wonderful patterns with beautiful colors should lead you with incredible ideas. Your window film should be well enchanted. Flowers, birds, abstract patterns and others will finish the window appearance to be more outstanding. The blend of patterns, textures even to details and colors will create artistic decorations.
Gilmat Interior, 2017-10-06 13:20:35.Whatever your reason to create your own reclaimed wood dining table, here we have some basic ideas to see and follow. DIY reclaimed wood table is usually appropriate to express your rustic appetite. It has good aesthetic value to show off. Besides, it can be also an excellent alternative if you have limited budget to purchase any dining table from the market.The following are the materials that you may need. Remember that you may have different materials for the legs. The materials will be reclaimed wood, steel, sand paper, wood screws and steel wool. Steel can be replaced with wood, plastic or iron for the table legs. Then, you will need also the following tools such as drill or screwdriver, pliers, gloves, hammer, saw horses and rip saw or hand saw.To start the instruction, you need to prepare the salvaged wood. According to the size, you can make use of 3 to 12 boards that are strapped down. Be careful with the nails, screws or metal on these wooden boards. For safer work, you may wear your gloves. Then, it is the time to pull the nails, screws etc. Make sure that you don't damage the grain of the wood. After that, decide the size of the table that you want so that you can precisely measure the width and length of the woods.Set the wood boards. It will be little bit easy when the boards have straight lines. Thus, it is good for you to find some straight wooden planks. Then, you can easily screw them. Commonly, 9 screws are enough. Each support is with 3 screws. Then, re-measure your candidate of wooden table. Not fixed security may lead to unsymmetrical shape. Clear up the edges of the woods before this wooden planks are set with the legs. You can build the legs by yourself. But if you find it difficult, you can simply purchase the legs from IKEA.Set the wood plank with the legs. Secure them by using some screws. For the finishing, you need to work with sand paper and steel wool. They make the wood have smooth surface. Then, it can be completed with polishing or painting. Polishing will still keep the natural pattern of the wood and it is perfect for bold rustic look. Having different tones of the table top and legs is interesting. It is a good idea for a modern reclaimed wood dining table.
Gilmat Interior, 2017-10-05 07:26:57.Cabin decor adds improvement to your cabin. Remember that cabin is the perfect place to retreat at winter. Decoration you add to the cabin will influence how it will be warm and comfortable during the winter. Cabin is usually decorated with rustic style. Look at the expression of rustic cabin furniture. The furniture spreads warmth to the cabin interior. It makes the cabin more comfortable. Indeed, it is not only from the furniture but also from the decors and ideas for decorating.Then you need to shop cabin decor first. First plan is make a list of what decors you want to buy. The decors you buy will be displayed on the cabin wall, ceiling and floor. You can start with looking at the images of the cabin interior decoration. You may see some decors on the cabin interior decoration then. To make a good list, you can look at the list of popular items for cabin decor that is provided from certain online store. They have selected what decors you may need.If you have bought all from the list of cabin decor, then it is the time to decorate or display your cabin. Remember that any decors you buy, you will not miss log cabin decor. Rustic log decoration should be more entertaining for winter season. It is so warm and comfortable, too. Looking at the images of cabin interior decoration gives you an easier way to see the ideas to decorate the cabin. However, you will not follow all ideas that are in the pictures.You need more personal ideas. Remember that this is for your family retreat. You cannot just copy the ideas of cabin decor that you can find from the images as those ideas are created for other families. You may take some but not all. Think about what your family loves more. Wall decoration, furniture, flooring ideas and others including lighting can completely decorate the cabin interior.As long as this cabin decor comes with rustic design, then DIY ideas will be considered with rustic decoration. If you have inspirations about rustic interior decoration, you can apply those inspirations to your cabin. However if it is not, then your creativity will lead you decorate the cabin impressively. Images of cabin interior decoration can inspire you but the decision to decorate your cabin should be based on your personal feeling as well as your family's feeling.
Gilmat Interior, 2017-10-06 11:44:03.That is the right description to tell about rollaway bed. This bed is an excellent choice for bedroom sizes. If you don't have a guest bedroom, then you can also use this bed for your guests. As long as it is portable, foldable and comfortable, this bed is versatile. It has durable bed frame as it is made of metal. It combines strong metal with comfortable and soft mattress. It promises you a good sleep. What are you waiting for? Just pick the best rollaway bed from the wide selection here.That is right that this bed is portable. It has four wheels with various sizes and designs depending on the bed design. The wheels will ease you in moving this rollaway bed to any room or space. The wheels are in the center of the bed. So, when the bed is not folded, these wheels work as the bed legs to support the bed. If you want to move the bed, then you need to fold it first. You can easily move the bed to be placed in the room you want or just to store it whenever it is not used.That is why this rollaway bed is versatile. In the small size, this bed can be very useful without taking much space. You will only unfold or use the bed when it is needed. Then this bed has smaller and slimmer size. So, it can be kept in the storage or just place it beside the closet or bedroom cabinet. It is easy to use and easy to store. This is what you can call versatility.This rollaway bed comes in various sizes. You can select this bed in twin size if you want to use it for single person. However, if you want to use it for couple, you can pick queen size rollaway bed. Queen size is wider and larger. It can be more comfortable. But you don't need to worry about the large size. Although it is large, it is still portable, foldable, and comfortable. You will not regret purchasing this bed.Moreover, you will see this rollaway bed in various colors and patterns. You can select the bed with the appearance that you like most. Look at the wide selection here and see all of them. They are wonderful with many color options. You can pick the bed with your favorite color like white, blue, brown or others.
Gilmat Interior, 2017-10-06 04:58:29.Living room is an important place for your family to have a guest. Your guests will have first impression towards your house, your personality and the characteristics only by observing the living room you have. So, it can be said that living room decoration is quite necessary. And, you can start it by its wall. Are you looking for some ideas about Living Room Wall Decor? Well, your first choice must directly go to Living room wall decor stickers, or living room wallpapers. But actually, there are bunch of choices of wall decorations not only wallpapers and wall stickers that you could choose.What Can You Apply for Living Room Wall Decor?To have Living Room Wall Decor, you can start it from the wallpaper. Many wallpapers designs can be chosen by you. It depends on your choice and the design of your living room. Wall stickers can be another choice, too. If you have contemporary and modern living room design, you can choose simple wallpapers with white and black colors.Other option is 3D Wallpapers. It is now becoming more popular. 3D Living Room Wall Decor is a great option for luxurious and modern design of living room. But, the most crucial thing if you choose this kind of wallpaper is that it is quite expensive. Then, you can forget it and go for some low price Living room wall decor art such as frames. The frames can be the photos of your family, or frames of some great fine art. Many paintings that can be put on your wall are abstract painting art, or contemporary art.Other Living room wall decor ideas are antique vases that can be put on the wall, for example some antique and unique plates from Victorian Era. Or, if you have collection of books, you can make unique shape of bookshelves and arrange your book collections there. It is okay though it is in the living room. Who knows your guests will read some of them while waiting for you. If you do not like the idea of books, maybe you can choose the other Living Room Wall Decor ideas such as hanging plants.If you want to make your living room look fresher and just like in nature, you might apply some plants on the wall as Living Room Wall Decor. But, if you choose the real plants, the weakness is that it can decay and you have to change it. Flowers can be another option, too, or you can combine hanging flowers and plants on the wall. But, again and again, it's better to choose the artificial one rather than the real one since it will be inside the home.
Gilmat Decoration, 2017-10-07 18:41:45.Dining room is the great place for gathering. You can host a fund holiday party at home and dining room will become the right place to come together. As people will be in the dining room, you need to select wonderful design to the room interior decoration. If you have done dining room interior, then you need to decorate the dining table centerpieces. Indeed, this centerpiece is even the focal point of the dining room interior. So, you need to focus on the designs and ideas of dining table decoration.As long as the point of the dining room is the table, then beautiful table design should be rightly selected. Indeed, amazing table design will complete the dining room interior decoration. Then, you can start building wonderful dining table centerpieces. It is because the centerpiece will be on the table. When the table is awesomely designed, the beautiful centerpiece can be displayed. From here, you need to find ideas and tips for the beautiful centerpiece for your dining table.Abundance of beautiful dining table centerpieces can be created even from affordable things. Eye catching appearance can become the key of how the centerpiece can draw more attention even by affordable prices. Theme is the first thing you need to consider. You need certain theme for your beautiful centerpiece decoration. You can look at the floral theme for centerpiece where flowers become the focal point of the centerpiece. Look at the pictures of flower centerpieces for dining table.You will get amazed how the flowers can transform your dining table into really fun and wonderful appearance. Besides the theme, don't forget about dishes that you will place on the dining table centerpieces. Arrangement of the tableware and glassware on the table should be arranged beautifully. It will look sweet when the table has linen on it. The arrangement will look more beautiful with the beautiful linens on the table. Your creative display will absolutely draw more attentions.The last is about finishing touches. For finishing the dining table centerpieces, you can add something personal. Candles become the favorite idea to add for finishing the centerpiece. Candle with aroma of therapy will not only finish the centerpiece but also beautify and sweeten the atmosphere. Candles can make the centerpiece even more romantic. You can think other else to finish the centerpiece decoration. Your creative ideas will not only personalize the centerpiece decoration but also more than that.
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In what seems to be a great nod to Houston's education system, the White House and the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics invited not one, but two, Houston educators to be honored as "Champions of Change." Ben Hernandez and Armando Orduña were two of ten educators invited to share the stories of how they became involved in education and to provide insight into the education of Latino communities.
Presiden Obama's Hispanic agenda includes a detailed section on education, which the White House says focuses on ensuring that "Latino students graduate from high school prepared for college and their careers."
"America's future is inseparable from the Hispanic community's future – and by strengthening the academic success of Latino students, we strengthen our nation's long-term economic prosperity," said U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the press release announcing the event. "These leaders have shown an absolute dedication to helping their students succeed and are examples of the profound impact that educators can have not only in their classrooms, but in their communities."
Due to the Latino emphasis on family, the communities and classrooms are more than what most people would think, said Orduña. "I don't see them as kids from the neighborhood," he said of his students, explaining that to him they represent his daughter, his brother, and even himself. Orduña, who spent the first seven years of his career extending outreach programs through the education department of The Children's Museum of Houston, described his job as playing, not working. He currently trains high school students for careers in education and stressed that if one establishes a "sense of family in the classroom, it will extend out."
Hernandez, who described himself as the "mouthy one" at the beginning of his panel made sure to air some of his grievances with current education system.
"In education, we together need to start redefining what "success" means," he said. Instead of defining success for educators as moving up the career ladder and outside of the classroom, the success should be defined as "I stayed in the classroom for 30 years." He admitted that this is hard, especially when you consider the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about: compensation and the competition with private sector jobs that pay better.
He stressed that teachers need better "career pathways" so that they feel utilized beyond the classroom, adding that this is something that his district is "doing well." Hernandez himself has recently moved out of the classroom and now work "in Professional Support and Development, where he works to support and develop teacher instruction," according to the White House press release.
"It doesn't surprise me that Ben Hernandez is being honored at the White House. Mr. Hernandez has always demonstrated leadership qualities and has always had a passion for helping children," said Magdalena V. Strickland, principal at the Lantrip Elementary where Hernandez has taught Kinder Bilingual and math. She described him as a male role model, "He was always helping his colleagues get prepared for the first day of school before he thought of himself. He has a caring heart and great sense of humor. We are very proud of him and his accomplishments."
"It is an honor to have them represent the dedicated, loving teachers of our state whose goal is not only to teach academics but also to invest in helping improve the lives of their students," said Barbara Cargill, Chair of the Texas State Board of Education, of Hernandez and Orduña. Debbie Ratcliffe, spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, agreed with Cargill calling them "examples of the many fine teachers who are in Texas classrooms."

subset: commoncrawl


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Speaking Thursday at the Big Ten's media days in Chicago, UW head coach Bret Bielema more than chimed in on the recent NCAA investigations involving allegations of major violations at several noted programs, most prominently the Big Ten's own Ohio State.
Bielema took a hard stance against flagrant disregard for the rules throughout the offseason and showed no change of heart Thursday morning. While dancing around questions involving specific programs, Bielema managed to sneak subtle commentary on the situation into seemingly every one of his answers throughout the 15 minute question and answer session.
Beyond the issues involving specific violations and legal technicalities, Bielema expressed a true displeasure for the lack of integrity he and many others have begun to associate with the college football community. Describing the recruiting of Badger transfer quarterback Russel Wilson, Bielema noted that he could not have much contact with the former NC State starter "because of NCAA rules, which we follow".
Bielema's subtle commentary continued throughout his time on the podium. In seemingly every answer, the sixth year coach made a point of the belief that the integrity of a program is fully within the control and responsibilities of the head coach.
"I can control, handle, and manage the things on my desk," Bielema said. "When you are consciously abusing an NCAA rule, there's no excuse for that."
The problem with today's game, as the Wisconsin coach pointed out, is not the technicalities the pervade NCAA regulations, but rather with the flagrant disregard with compliance with the rules. Coaches across the country have shown a willingness to consciously choose the "competitive" solution, rather than sticking to the rules when it comes to recruiting, practice, and player "compensation."
While Wisconsin's insistence on doing things the right way may have taken them out of the running for the nation's top recruits Bielema has managed to turn UWs' clean program image into a positive recruiting tool.
It is good to see how Wisconsin athletics work. GO BUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!


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Blower Motor Resistor at 1A Auto
What is a blower motor resistor and where is it located?
The blower motor resistor, also commonly referred to as an A/C blower motor resistor or a heater blower motor resistor, is an important component to your vehicle's heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system. While a blower motor is what actually forces the hot or cold air through ducting and your car's interior vents into the cabin, the resistor is what regulates the speed of the blower fan by reducing voltage going to the fan. It allows you to vary the settings of the blower motor so that you can lessen the amount of air that comes into the cabin, as opposed to only being able to have it blasted at you. The blower motor resistor works between a vehicle's heater and A/C controls and the blower motor and is typically attached under the dash to the heater ducting near the blower motor to help keep it cool while in use.
Basically, there are two types of blower motor resistors—one that uses coil wires and one that uses transistors and a circuit board. The wire-type, which is more common in older cars, uses a different size coil of wire for each fan speed with different resistances, while the transistorized blower motor resistor, found in more modern cars, consists of a printed circuit board with a fully integrated circuit.
How do I know my blower motor resistor needs to be replaced?
On most vehicles, the highest blower motor speed setting bypasses the blower motor resistor to give the fan full vehicle voltage (typically between 12 and 14.4 volts). If the blower motor still works on high, but will not work on any other speed, it usually points to a bad blower motor resistor. Since the part gets hot and draws a lot of power from the electrical system, a failed blower resistor may also melt part of the wiring harness when it fails. When a blower motor starts to go bad, it can draw more power than the resistor is rated for and cause it to fail. Lastly, a malfunctioning heater core can leak coolant into the car and damage the blower motor and resistor as well.
Can I replace a blower motor resistor myself?
Replacing a bad blower resistor can usually be done by a novice do-it-yourselfer. The repair typically requires only a screwdriver or wrench to unbolt it from the HVAC ducts. To access the motor resistor, you usually have to remove the glove compartment. Then simply unbolt the and disconnect the resistor. In the case of a burnt or melted connector, the replacement will be a bit more involved. While soldering and shrink wrapping the new connector is the best method, crimping the new pigtail in place will also suffice.


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Sometimes it's worth looking at current events through the eyes of a historian chronicling the end of an age, or those of a district attorney in a time of corruption. Come to think of it, the two perspectives aren't all that different.
However you look at it, calling the Wisconsin struggle a "labor dispute" is like calling the Battle of Normandy "a fight over a beach." There's a war on, one that's best understand by using an Latin expression popular among prosecutors: Cui bono? Who benefits? Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting budget contains buried goodies for somebody, including possibly the Koch Brothers who paid to have it drafted. More importantly, it's another step toward replacing the American dream of prosperity for all with imperial visions of massive wealth for the few.
The heavily-financed forces behind Scott Walker want to bring down the American Republic. If that sounds like rhetorical overkill, it's worth remembering the words of someone who watched a republic fall. "The enemy is within the gates," said Cicero. "It is with our own opulence, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend."
"Money money money money," added the O'Jays, "some people do things, do things, do bad things with it."
If this end-of-the-republic rhetoric sounds extreme, listen to Gov. Walker's phone call with a prankster pretending to be David Koch. He spoke to Koch the way an employee talks to the boss. That's a glimpse into the world of corporate political power. Madison's the epicenter for a battle between the dying American middle class and a plutocracy – no, make that a "Lootocracy" – determined to rob it of everything it's earned over the last 75 years.
But wait, says Joe Klein. He says they're protesting against democracy in Wisconsin. "The Republicans won," Klein says, "and there are consequences to elections." But did Scott Walker announce that he would magnify a budget problem and use it to break the ability of state employees to negotiate on their own behalf? That approach is opposed by 61% of Wisconsin voters, according to the latest Gallup poll.
The election in Wisconsin is the latest example of a two-party system where neither party adequately represents the majority's will. One tramples on it, using lies and fear, and the other offers only the weakest defense. The system's been corrupted by money – "cash money," as the O'Jays would say – which casts a shadow over its results. Those results include the election of leaders like Gov. Walker, who's just a footsoldier in the war on the American Dream. There's big money at stake – cash money – and the government swag in Wisconsin's just the tip of the iceberg.
Klein's energy would be better spent fighting for a truly representative democracy, rather than dismissing protestors who represent a majority of their own state's people.
Civil Discourse vs. Civil War
Historians of the future may look back on our time with an indulgent chuckle when they consider the pundits and politicians who, in their anxiety to ensure a 'civil dialogue,' ignored the cui bono principle. Under current conventions, we're supposed to assume that every political action must be the result of selfless ideologies. We must "disagree without being disagreeable," as the President would say.
Meanwhile the plunder goes on unabated. Kevin Drum toted up the score so far from the plutocratic project: a massive upward redistribution of wealth, and the growing dominance of wealthy interests in politics and the media.
How would things would have turned out if during the days of Tammany Hall in New York City or Huey Long in Louisiana journalists and reformers had adopted that attitude? Wall Street caused a global crash two years ago. Today it's richer than ever and throwing its weight around politically as if nothing happened. Next time someone lectures you about 'civil discourse' just say, Look around, pal. This ain't a debating society. Somebody's wheels are getting greased – and the rest of us are on the skids.
Power Grab
At the risk of sounding disagreeable, it's hard to find an "honest difference of opinion" on ideology that explains a paragraph like this one in Gov. Walker's new bill, spotted by my eagle-eyed pal Mike Konczal: "… the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount … no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant …"
This allows the governor to bypass regulators and legislators and sell the state's power plants, built with millions in taxpayer money to anybody he likes. This paragraph goes on to say that " any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project." The governor can give these plants away if he wants, and nobody can stop him.
Cui bono? Who could possibly benefit from giving the governor the ability to sell the state's "heating, cooling, and power plants" (there are 32 of them), or "contract with a private entity" to operate them, without a bid process or any regulatory oversight?
Let's see now: Wisconsin has nearly one million natural gas customers, so it would presumably be a company that "provides consulting, engineering, design, procurement, fabrication and construction services for the natural gas and gas processing industries worldwide" and has "been the general contractor on some of the largest natural gas plants built in the U.S." And since there are a number of coal-fired plants on the state's list, our corporation would need to be a "leading supplier of coal and related products typically used in industrial applications or to generate electricity."
Those quotes were taken from the website of Koch Industries, the company whose owners are bankrolling a little-known group that's behind initiatives like Walker's budget proposal.
Of course, the winning candidate doesn't have to be Koch Industries. Kris Broughton at BigThink found anothe candidate. ThinkEnergy says it "eliminates the waste of energy and money in facilities through a blend of Supply-Side and Demand-Side energy management measures," and they've placed a hiring ad that reads "Energy client is looking for experienced Plant Managers for multiple power plants located in Wisconsin."
The real issue isn't whether Koch Industries gets the deal to operate Wisconsin's power plants. Somebody will – and the assets built by Wisconsin taxpayers (including the public employees now under assault) will undoubtedly be given to the private sector at very favorable rates. It will be one more step in the Great American Giveaway — the seizure of public resources by the private sector.
The Great American Giveaway
One of the Lootocracy's objectives is to confiscate all the assets that the middle class has built with its tax dollars. For decades the "privatization" movement has been a front for this plunder of the public's resources, allowing private corporations to enrich themselves by providing services that were once provided at lower cost by the government itself.
How did that work out? Xe, the Company Formerly Known as Blackwater, provides mercenaries for our Middle Eastern wars – at great public expense, and sometimes acting outside the law in ways that harm our national security. The privatization of prisons and reform schools gave us the case of the monstrous judges who railroaded innocent kids into incarceration in return for bribes from a private youth detention facility contractor.
On a national scale, money intended for worthy college students got diverted into private jets and fat salaries after the privatization of the student loan enterprise Sallie Mae, and the privatization of mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac led to a series of scandals, multimillion dollar payouts for incompetent executives, and a worsening of our financial crisis.
Private Parties
With a record like that, you'd think the privatization movement would be dead. And you'd be right – if it weren't for the billions being provided to it by the Koch Brothers and other private financiers. They're major backers of "ALEC" – the "American Legislative Exchange Council" – an organization that proves how smart and determined the armies of the Lootocrats really are. There are two very smart strategies behind ALEC:
1) While everybody's focused on what goes on in Washington, ALEC is able to plunder the massive resources of state and local government.
2) State legislatures are the "farm league" for tomorrow's governors, Senators, and Presidents. ALEC isn't just buying state government. It's buying tomorrow's national leaders too.
This secret army has a clear agenda: Attain power, give away the "store" once in office, and decimate programs that help the middle class and lower income people. Scott Walker's actions fit the playbook perfectly. In fact, his bill was reportedly drafted by ALEC, whose primary objectives include the drafting of "model legislation."
Two enterprising representatives from People for the American Way were able to get into an ALEC meeting in 2005 and, as Joshua Holland reported, they cast a light on ALEC's role as " the connective tissue that links state legislators with right-wing think tanks, leading anti-tax activists and corporate money." They were also able to collect information on the breadth and audacious scope of the ALEC agenda, which is mirrored by other groups offering support for Walker's efforts – groups such as "Americans For Prosperity," another Koch-funded front group.
The war on unions is an essential part of the ALEC Assault. Unions are a double threat: First, they interfere with the Lootocracy's ability to treat its private-sector employees as badly as the law will allow. And government employees are fighting for pay and benefits that interfere with the broader agenda of strangling all forms of government spending so that taxes can be kept low for the Lootocrats. That's why, as Harold Meyerson points out, unions are under attack in a number of GOP-led states, and by Republican members of Congress who are trying to strip funding from the National Labor Relations Board.
All across the nation Republican governors are using the same playbook: Cry "poor" while giving tax cuts to the rich, then use the resulting crises to bust unions and gut services for the poor and middle class. They're all reading from the same script, and if their line readings aren't convincing it doesn't really matter. Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger have already taught us that Republicans don't need to be good actors to succeed.
As Wisconsin Goes
Gov. Walker insists that the state's pension plan is a key driver of the state's fiscal problems. But the state is actually projected to have a small surplus next year, depending on how it handles its debt to Minnesota and a couple of other key issues. In any case, the state's pension plan is extremely well-funded, with 99.67% already in its accounts.
What happened in Wisconsin? The Governor cut taxes for the wealthy, then declared a budget emergency. In classic "Shock Doctrine" fashion, he used that emergency to slash a retirement plan that's highly stable financially, along with medical services for middle-class and lower-income people.
What's happening in Washington? In the name of "austerity economics" and deficit-cutting, a deal was cut that extends tax cuts for the wealthy. Now the conventional wisdom is that we must cut Social Security, a benefit program that's much more solvent than most government programs, and then gut medical assistance programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Let's see: A tax cut for the wealthy, followed by the declaration of a budget emergency and the gutting of retirement and medical programs. And along the way, a giveaway of public resources to private corporations. That's not coincidence: It's the plan.
The Home Front
So, cui bono? The richest 1% of Americans, along with the corporations – and politicians – they own. We know who the warriors are, we know their strategy. We know they're winning, too. Can the tide be turned? Not if the people opposed to this Lootocracy refuse to acknowledge what's happening. Republicans are gutting the republic and not enough Democrats will fight for democracy.
"Don't let money rule you," said the O'Jays. And Cicero, who knew a thing or two about military and economic warfare, said "Nothing is so strongly fortified that it cannot be taken by money."
Cicero and the O'Jays … have they ever been to Madison?
This post was produced as part of the Curbing Wall Street project and the Strengthen Social Security campaign.


text:
This morning, we are going to walk where Jesus walked when He walked to Nazareth. Our text is Matthew 13:53-58. We are really completing a study which we began last Lord's Day of this often overlooked text. I want to read the text as we begin.
"Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, 'Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?' So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.' Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
In these two Sundays, as we've been finishing up Matthew 13, we are discussing the power of unbelief. He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. History chronicles for us the power of unbelief to stop the blessing of God.
Eve failed to believe God, and the whole world was cursed. The world itself failed to believe God's word through Noah, and was destroyed in the flood. Israel refused to believe God and wandered 40 years in the desert. They again refused to believe God, and were ultimately scattered throughout the earth to suffer for centuries. Pharaoh refused to believe God's word through Moses and lost his slaves, his son, and his army. Aaron refused to believe the word of God about worship, led the people into idolatry, and as a result, lost 3,000 lives. Moses refused to believe God, and it cost him the long-awaited Promised Land. Achan refused to believe God and was killed along with his whole family. Nebuchadnezzar rejected God's word and became a raving maniac. Sennacherib blasphemed God's word, and an angel of the Lord slew 185,000 of his soldiers, and he himself was slain by his own sons.
The rich young ruler refused to believe in the words of Jesus Christ and was damned to Hell. The Pharisees refused to believe Jesus Christ and died in their sins, and went to a place where they would never know anything but pain and suffering. Many would-be disciples refused to believe Jesus when He talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and they walked no more with Him, and stepped into eternity without God. Felix, Festus, Agrippa wouldn't believe when Paul presented to them the Gospel of the grace of God. They were lost forever. Maybe the greatest illustration of unbelief, because of his proximity to the truth, was Judas, who after living three years in the presence of the Living Truth never did believe, and was damned to go to his own place.
We talk a lot about the power of faith. Faith has the power to bring blessing, to bring eternal life, to bring Heaven. Conversely, unbelief brings pain, sorrow, remorse, and eternal Hell. This is the fearful power of unbelief. Our Lord says, "He that believes is redeemed. But he who does not believe is condemned."
This is the final element in our Lord's instruction to the disciples in chapter 13. He has given them the parables of the Kingdom which describe the age which they will confront. The parables have warned them that when they go out into the world to preach the Kingdom, as we must do today as well, they and we will be confronted with unbelief. There will be that hard soil, that shallow soil, that thorny and weedy soil. There will be plenty of people who will not see the Kingdom as a pearl of great price, who will not see salvation as a treasure hidden in a field, to be purchased by the trading of all that they possess. There will be unbelief out there; that is the character of this form of the Kingdom. Our Lord is telling His disciples that as they go into the harvest field to proclaim the Kingdom, as they go to call men to repentance and salvation, they must be aware that they will face unbelief.
In fact, beginning in Matthew 13:53 and extending to Matthew 16:12, the Lord gives eight little incidents where people are confronted with the message of the Kingdom. In only two of the eight is there belief. In six of the eight, there is not. It is the same ratio as the soils - one to four. One good soil, and three that are not receptive to the Gospel. So having said that it will be this way, the Lord then illustrates it in Matthew's gospel with eight responses to the message of the Kingdom. The first response is given to us in the end of this chapter. It is an incident where our Lord leaves Capernaum and enters the village where He was raised, the village of Nazareth. Verse 54 calls it His own country; the parallel passage in Mark affirms the same. It is Nazareth, the little village where our Lord lived until His ministry began.
Here is the real fulfillment of John 1:11, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." For 30 years, in their presence, He had lived a perfect life. When He comes back to present to them the message of the Kingdom, their unbelief stares Him in the face and He is thwarted from doing mighty works in their presence. The power of unbelief.
As I told you last time, this is the Lord's second visit to Nazareth. He had been there about a year earlier, at which time they had tried to throw Him off a cliff and kill Him because they were so upset that He claimed to be the Messiah. His wisdom they couldn't deny, His miracles they couldn't deny; they had benefited from both. He promised them that He was the Messiah, showed them that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61, but instead of embracing their Messiah and His Kingdom with joy, they endeavored to kill him. Now, about a year later, He comes back. He follows basically the same format as the first time. He taught them in their synagogue. He again went into the synagogue, sat down, and taught. And you know well what He taught - He taught them the wisdom of God, that He was the fulfillment of the promise of God, and they were astonished. It sounds like a great beginning.
At the end of verse 54, they said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" They couldn't deny His wisdom; it was undeniable. When He opened His mouth, everything that came out was so profound that it staggered them. It was so clear and simple, but equally hard to believe. His speech was that which was unique to Himself, and that is why they said on another occasion, "No one has ever spoken like this man." They couldn't deny His mighty deeds or miracles, either; they were everywhere. So in hearing Him teach, they were astonished, astounded, amazed, in wonder. It was hard for them to comprehend the depth and clarity of His wisdom, and the obvious power that He had to do miracles.
Yet, in verse 58, it says, "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." How is it that you can be unbelieving in the face of such an astounding individual? How is it that you can reject Jesus Christ when His wisdom and power are inexplicable in human terms? How is it that you cannot believe that He is from God when there is only one explanation for what He says and does, and that is God is with Him? Even Nicodemus came to Him and said in John 3, "We know you are a teacher from God, for no man can do the things You do unless God is with Him."
Again and again, Jesus said to the people, "Believe My words and believe Me for the sake of My works." The amazing thing is, as I pointed out to you last time, one of the greatest apologetics for the deity of Christ is that His enemies always affirmed His power. His enemies never denied His miracles or His wisdom; it is only His contemporary enemies who are foolish enough to do that. The ones who were alive when He lived never tried that; it was too obvious that He had wisdom and power beyond human explanation. They never denied that. But they never made the logical connection between that power and wisdom and God. It wasn't because the connection wasn't apparent, but because they were willfully unbelieving. That is one of the responses that we will see to the proclamation of the Gospel in this age. That is the stony ground, the hard soil. The seed never even penetrates because there is a hard heart of bitter unbelief.
We saw last time why it is that men's hearts are hardened in unbelief. In John 3:18, it says, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The reason that he is condemned for his unbelief is that, "Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
It was not a lack of evidence that caused them to be unbelieving, it was a love of evil. There is a big difference. It was not a lack of proof, but a love of their sin. They did not want to abandon themselves to what was obvious, or be exposed as sinners, or turn from their sin. I submit to you that that is still the problem. It isn't a lack of evidence that causes people to be hard and unbelieving today, it is a love of evil. They do not wish to come to the truth, lest their deeds should be exposed.
With that in mind as a sense of what was happening in Nazareth, let me remind you of the four lessons that we learn about unbelief in this incident. The first one, we looked at last week: unbelief blurs the obvious. They asked the most ridiculous question imaginable at the end of verse 54, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" There was only one answer to that, and it was obvious what it was - it was from God. Only God could do what He did: banish disease from Palestine, speak with such astounding clarity, wisdom, depth, and profound truth. That could only come from God, but because they would not accept Jesus as from God, they blurred out what is obvious with a question that only shows their stupidity, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" They blurred out the obvious.
Remember this, that when you propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and have done it with clarity, and people are hard and unbelieving, it is not that they need more proof, even though they may demand it. It is that they need to be broken in their love of their sin.
That leads us to a second point that is connected closely to the first one. Unbelief also builds up the irrelevant. If you have ever had the occasion to witness to someone who is resistant and unbelieving, inevitably, after they have blocked out what is patently obvious in the presentation of the Gospel message, and willingly refused to see what is clear, they will then attach themselves to something that is totally irrelevant and press that to divert you from the real issue.
Maybe you have brought someone to church, and as you're going home or as you spend time with them, you present Christ to them. You may get comments like this, "They weren't very friendly. I didn't like the seat; the guy in front of me kept moving his head, and I was distracted. The preacher is too loud, or long." That last one is a sure mark of carnality. Or maybe your friend was offended by something that was said, and they build up this big smokescreen of that which is irrelevant, and the real issue is their eternal soul, the claims of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of the Kingdom, not the pew or the length of the sermon or the looks of the preacher or whatever.
Invariably, unbelief diverts from the main issue and settles on self-justification, and moves to that which is irrelevant. You can tell a true seeker from one that isn't. Just present the Gospel, and they'll say, "Tell me more about that. How does that happen? How do I make that my own? How do I appropriate the Gospel? How do I really know the resurrection is valid?" Then you present the evidence, and they say, "How wonderful! It is true." You can tell that from the person who just doesn't believe any of it and wants to divert you from that which is the real issue at hand and get you off onto all kinds of other stuff. In their self-justification, that's what they do.
They were the ultimate kind of egotists, believing that they had already attained the Kingdom of God through their legalism. They weren't willing to back up and confess their sinfulness and accept Jesus Christ. They were also totally blown away by the fact that anyone from their town could have arisen to such power. They just wouldn't accept that anyone from their community could have gone higher than they did; it was a pride issue, a jealousy issue, an envy issue, a pettiness issue. It was all bound up in their evil, unbelieving hearts, so they come up with all of this totally irrelevant stuff in verses 55-56.
"Is this not the carpenter's son?" I can't think of anything more irrelevant than that; what does that have to do with the truth of what He said? The fact that His father was a carpenter has nothing to do with it. Then it says, "Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?" James is the one who later became the head of the Jerusalem church and presided at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Joseph was obviously named for his father; Simon is not to be confused with Peter, and Judas is not to be confused with the apostle.
Verse 56. "And His sisters, are they not all with us?" They're saying, "This is just Jesus, the son of the carpenter." The word is tekton, and it means 'one who works with hard material,' and some believe that it could indicate Joseph was a mason, because homes were built out of brick. If he was a homebuilder, he would have built out of brick, and would have made door frames and window frames out of wood, so he would have worked with both hard materials. It may well have been that he was a carpenter who made plows, yokes, and other wood implements. But he was a common laborer, and it's wonderful how God dignifies common labor by bringing the Messiah into such a family. No doubt, when his father died (and he is unnamed here, which may mean that he was dead by this time), Jesus had taken over the business, perhaps, before He began His ministry.
So they are saying, "This can't be anyone special; we know His family!" What an irrelevant thought. What does that have to do with His message? How does that impact in any way, shape, or form the fact that He did miracles? How can you use that to explain away the fact that He raised the dead? It is irrelevant. That is not the issue, but that is so typical of unbelief. It will find something that doesn't matter, attach itself to that, and make it an issue to divert you. Now, they want to get into a discussion of whether He has the 'family credentials.' How silly! What a betrayal.
Mark adds that they said, "Is He not also a carpenter?" Not only did He not have the right family, but also He didn't have the right kind of trade; He was just a common person. His brothers were just His brothers, and His sisters, "We know them. This can't be anyone special!" It is hard for us to understand, as Christians, how they could ignore this mass of miracles and tremendous teaching, and get stuck on this issue. But that is the character of unbelief.
In John 7:15, the same approach is used again, this time in Jerusalem. He comes there, and verse 14 tells us that He went into the temple and taught, just as He had done in Nazareth. And there is the same reaction; the Jews marveled, and were literally amazed at His teaching. But this is their reaction. "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" They're saying, "This guy can't be who He obviously is because He hasn't been to the right school, or have a degree." They had all this false criteria. They ignore His words and works, and disqualify Him because of a lack of credentials.
They did the same thing to the apostles in Acts 4. Peter and John say, "'Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.' Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled." They're thinking, "How can these hayseeds from northern Galilee know all this?" That isn't the issue. The fact is, they do. So they divert to that which is totally extraneous to the issue.
Just a note, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" and as Mark indicates, "Is he not a carpenter Himself?" indicate that Joseph was probably dead. "Is not His mother called Mary?" indicates that they perceived Mary as an ordinary person, certainly far less than some perceive her under the term 'The Queen of Heaven.' She was very common. "And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?" and He certainly is being connected to them in the family.
There are some who would like us to believe that Mary never had any other children; the Roman Church calls it perpetual virginity, but that is against the obvious indication of this text. They would say that perhaps they are using the word 'brothers' in a religious sense, but that is hardly the case, since these are the enemies of Jesus who are trying to debunk Him and discredit Him, and they're trying to do it by showing that He comes from a common family. That is the intent of their criticism.
That is why in Luke, it says that Jesus was her firstborn, and the implication is that there were others that followed. Here, they are even named, and we met them in Matthew 12:46-47. They are indicated in John 2:12, John 7, Acts 1, and so forth. So Mary was a very ordinary woman, albeit a woman of great godliness, but not supernatural. The brothers and sisters were very ordinary people. The question is, "With this kind of family, from where did He get all these things?" He didn't have the heredity to pull this off, or the training, or the education, He isn't from the elite.
This says something very interesting. When we think about he period of time from the Lord's birth to His ministry, that 30-year period, most Bible teachers think that Luke 2 is the only insight we get into that whole period. There, the Lord was 12, and went to the temple with His parents. He was asking questions of the doctors in the temple, and his parents went back to get Him, and the text says He was, "Growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Many believe this is the only insight we have into that gap of time, when He was growing. But I believe this is also one of those kinds of passages, and we don't always see it that way. This, to me, is a tremendous insight.
There are many fanciful, wishful dreams about the time of our Lord from His childhood to the beginning of His ministry, and some have tried to tell us that He was manifesting His deity in many ways. There are stories that, as a little boy, walking down the road, He found a bird with a broken wing, and He would stroke its wing and it would fly away. Or He would find a calf with a broken leg and heal its leg, or would find a little child that was ill, and heal the child. They sort of have Jesus going through these 30 years and doing all kinds of miracles here and there. But this text militates directly against that.
You see, the problem the people in Nazareth have is very simply that they cannot relate the Jesus they're seeing now to the Jesus they had known in prior years, which indicates that there was nothing about Him that went beyond that which was human, in the sense of overt acts of deity. Oh yes, He was perfect and sinless, but there are no indications that He demonstrated divine power during that time. I believe that when Jesus became man, as it tells us in Philippians 2, He humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant, a human form. I believe that in every sense, those years were lived in the confines of His humanness. Sinless, yes, but not with manifestation of divine power.
That is why they didn't make the connection; this was the carpenter's son, the one we knew as a common laborer, the son of Mary, the brother of these men and women. This isn't any special person. I think that rises from the fact that there were no indications during that period of the manifestation of His deity. Their initial confusion was based on His commonness. Oh, how humble and obscure did God become that He might be a sympathetic High Priest for us!
So they drag out the commonness of His life as if it were the issue. They say at the end of verse 56, "Where then did this Man get all these things?" They asked the right question, but they will not believe the right answer. They are unbelieving in spite of the right question. The one thing they can't believe is that it is from God, because He is too common, and they can't live with the fact that one of their own should be so anointed above His fellows. It is hard for people to handle that.
Unbelief blurs the obvious, builds up the irrelevant, and thirdly, it blinds to the truth. Now we see how blind they are. In verse 57, it says they were offended by Him. The word 'offense' is skandalizo, which means 'scandalized.' They stumbled, and it simply means there was a wall. They couldn't handle it, this couldn't be the Messiah; they were offended at Him. "It can't be Him!"
They were offended by His background, His commonness, the fact that He came from their town, and believe me, they were offended by what He taught, because He must have unmasked their hypocrisy and spoken to them in true terms of entrance into the Kingdom. He must have talked to them of their sinfulness, and the need to repent, and the whole thing offended and scandalized them. They were not neutral, but were adamantly antagonistic and bitter toward Him. Just as Isaiah had said, and as our Lord had reiterated in the beginning of chapter 13, their eyes would not see, their ears would not hear, their minds would not understand; they were blinded.
Paul tells about it in I Corinthians 1:23-28. He says that the Jews look at Christ and stumble, but we who believe see Him as the power and wisdom of God. His words and works reveal God to us. His words and works cause them to stumble, because they wouldn't believe. Why wouldn't they believe? Because they weren't ready to have the sin revealed.
When you go out to present the Gospel, that is the bottom line. It is not more proof that people need, it is a willingness to abandon their sinfulness, and that demands a plowing of the hard soil that is the preparation work of the Spirit of God. Sometimes God will use us a tools to help in that plowing process, but until that is done and they are willing to break with their sinfulness, there can be no believing, seeing, understanding.
Paul says, "The natural man does not understand the things of God." When he talks about why God set Israel aside, he says in one sentence, "They were broken off by unbelief." A refusal to believe, not because the facts aren't there, but because there is not a willingness to deal with sin.
Our Lord is giving us a beautiful illustration, and to the disciples as well, that when you go out into the world in this era of the Kingdom, in this mystery form, you will hit unbelief, and this is how you can recognize it. Only those who believe will understand. In John 8, the Lord said, "If you continue in My word, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." It is only those who show a willingness who will understand; the heart has to be open. Remember the story of Lydia, in Acts, whose heart the Lord opened, and the Gospel message came? That's the pattern.
The Lord responds with a statement He used on several occasions in verse 57. "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." That was a proverb. He was saying, in a sense, "I am fulfilling a proverb. All the experts aren't from out of town." They were saying, "No one from our town could be an expert. This is just Him, no one special." But He is saying, "You have fulfilled the proverb, you have rejected Me."
Even more tragic, in John 7:5, it says, "For even His brothers did not believe in Him." Even in His own house, they didn't believe in Him, which again demonstrates to me that there was a tremendous amount of obscurity in those years. It also demonstrates to me the typical human envy and jealousy, even within His own family. You can imagine how it would be to live 30 years with a brother who was perfect and never sinned once; that would get to you, constantly being the perfect standard by which you saw your own imperfection. So there was no honor in His own town; He was nobody. There was no honor in His own house; He was just the older brother. There was a lot of jealousy and envy.
Their unbelief blinded them; as it says in Deuteronomy 32:20, they were, "Children in whom there is no faith." And what happened? The fourth lesson is that unbelief blocks the supernatural. As a result, verse 58 says, "He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Listen, and I'll try to explain that verse to you simply. God did, through Christ, many mighty works. Many of them were done in response to a person's faith, and some were done where there was no faith exercised. Many of Jesus' miracles were done where there was no faith. For example, when He raised the dead, you can believe there was no faith on the part of the corpse. You can also believe that when He cast demons out of demoniacs, there was no faith on the part of the demoniac.
There are times when He acted in response to faith, and times when He acted where there was no faith. But He acted sovereignly, with or without faith, in terms of His healings and dealing with people. While faith, then, is not necessary for miracles in the gospels, unbelief that is willing, hard, and overt will always stop miracles. He may heal someone who is neutral or somewhat open, or the man who says, "I believe, help my unbelief," where there is a mixture. But where there is hardhearted unbelief, that blocks the supernatural.
I think of it in reference to Luke 17 where the ten lepers met Jesus, and Jesus said, "Go to the priest and show Him you are clean, and pass the test he gives." They did that so that they could put lepers back into society, because they were outcasts. Jesus healed all ten of them, but only one came back. The one came back to give glory to God, and Jesus asked, "Where are the other nine? Only one has come back to glorify Me." And He said to him, "Your faith has made you whole."
What did He mean? He didn't mean the man was cleansed from leprosy; he already had that, and so did the other nine. What He meant was, "I healed them physically by My sovereign choice. Their unbelief ended the process at that point. You came back, and receive not only physical healing, but your faith has made you whole," and wholeness is not just physical. It is physical and spiritual, and that man received the salvation of his soul. So while God will heal with or without faith by His sovereign choice, when it comes to the unbelief of the heart, that will stop the divine and supernatural intervention.
It goes right back to Matthew 7, where it says, "Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet." In Matthew 12, the Jews came and said, "We want a sign; do a miracle, do a mighty work." He responded, "I will give no such sign to this evil, adulterous, unbelieving nation." So here it is, folks. Find a person who is willfully hardhearted and unbelieving, and they can run around all they want demanding miracles, and God is not going to give them any, because that is not the issue at all. The issue is their sinfulness.
Unbelief is powerful. It blurs the obvious, builds up the irrelevant, blinds to the truth, and blocks out the supernatural. I want to illustrate this with an incident in John 9. We'll pull it all together with this wonderful story. I confess to you that the man in John 9 is one of my favorite people; I am so anxious to meet him in Heaven.
"Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'" They are holding on to the tradition that the sins of the parents are borne by the children. So was it his fault that he got punished, or did his parents sin and he got punished for their sin? The Lord said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." He's saying, "He is blind for the glory of God. It is no sin issue at all; he is blind for today, that he may be given his sight and God may be glorified. He was created, and made blind, for a miracle."
Verse 6. "When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,'" and you'll notice it didn't say anything about the faith of the man. "So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, 'Is not this he who sat and begged?' Some said, 'This is he.' Others said, 'He is like him.' He said, 'I am he.'" I like this guy; he's in there, giving his testimony.
"Therefore they said to him, 'How were your eyes opened?' He answered and said, 'A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, "Go to the pool of Siloam and wash." So I went and washed, and I received sight.' Then they said to him, 'Where is He?'" You know why they said that? Because they had problems too - aches, pains, diseases, and whatever. And they wanted to see Him. "He said, 'I do not know.'" So they get the guy, and scoop him up to bring him to the theological experts for an investigation. I call this part of the chapter 'Unbelief Investigates a Miracle.'
You know what happens when unbelief investigates a miracle? Nothing really, and we'll see that. "They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees." Now these blind beggars sat at the gate every day; everyone knew who they were. "Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, 'He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.' Therefore," and that is a great logical, legal, sequential word, "Some of the Pharisees said, 'This Man is not from God.'" This was a brilliant conclusion, astounding.
They bring the guy in, he has been blind all his life, he can now see, Jesus did it, therefore Jesus could not be of God; great reasoning. But you see, that is what happens when unbelief investigates a miracle. It sets up false standards, does biased research. You say, "How in the world could they say that? How could they be so stupid as to say He was not of God?"
Verse 16. "Because He doesn't keep the Sabbath day." What a false standard; that is blurring the obvious and building up the irrelevant. That doesn't answer the question, "How can he see?" You can't just say, "He's not of God because He didn't keep our tradition on the Sabbath." In the first place, their tradition was ridiculous, and secondly, it wasn't even the issue. So they blur the obvious, build up the irrelevant; it is so typical.
"Others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?'" There were a few rational people in the group. "And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.'" You didn't have to be Phi Beta Kappa to figure that out. "But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight."
They are so hard that they get his parents, and say, "'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.'" He's a big boy, he can talk for himself. You see, they don't even want to get in on this; they are afraid.
Verse 22. "His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue," which is excommunication from the Jewish society, so anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue, and they wanted nothing to do with this, "Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'"
So they come back to this man again, and this is ridiculous. "So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, 'Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.'" So they told him, "We've already reached a conclusion about Jesus, so just praise God because He must have done it." It's unbelievable unbelief, isn't it? It flies in the face of all the evidence, rejecting the facts, blurring the obvious, building up the irrelevant, blind to the truth, blinded because of unbelief.
"He answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.' Then they said to him again, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?'" This time, the guy is getting irritated, because they keep asking him the same question. I like his boldness. "He answered them, 'I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?'" I love that! He's sarcastic, isn't he?
"Then they reviled him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.'" But they should have known, shouldn't they? It was obvious.
"The man answered and said to them, 'Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.'" Now he is preaching; he's a better theologian than all of them put together. He was ready to believe, wasn't he? And they weren't. Both had the same facts, but one had a heart that was open, and the other, a heart that was closed.
"They answered and said to him, 'You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?' And they cast him out." They shouted profanity at him. They were name-calling. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?' And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.' Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!' And he worshiped Him." That man will spend forever in Christ's presence, but the others, because of unbelief, blocked the supernatural. In verse 39, Jesus says, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." He's talking about the Pharisees, who think they see everything. "Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, 'Are we blind also?' Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, "We see." Therefore your sin remains.'" He's saying, "You are sinners."
Unbelief is tragic. Be warned, would you? Be warned with the words of Hebrews 3:12. The writer says, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." Take heed, lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief. Let's bow in prayer.
Father, we see in this text the power of unbelief. God, we pray two things this morning, that there would not be any here who are living in unbelief, blurring the obvious, building up the irrelevant, blind to the truth, blocking the supernatural in self-justifying, loving sin, investigating Jesus Christ with such bias that they could never see the truth though it were as obvious as it was to the Pharisees when they saw the blind man who could see.
Father, plow up the hard soil by Your Spirit, that there might be a receptive heart. Father, beyond those who need You here, give us a vision to reach a lost and unbelieving world, realizing that we can't convince against the will, but need to be available when Your Spirit is softening the will and plowing the soil. We need to be there to sow the seed. Help us not to be discouraged when we see unbelief, but to know it as a fulfillment of Your own prophecies. Help us to continue faithfully with that good soil, to sow the seed, that we may come rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us. In Christ's name, Amen.
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text: Please, accept our apologies for multiple postings. ========================================================================================= CIBB 2008 FIFTH INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE METHODS FOR BIOINFORMATICS AND BIOSTATISTICS IIASS - Vietri sul Mare, Salerno (Italy) 3-4 October, 2008 Conference Website: http://cibb08.disi.unige.it/ The main goal of the CIBB meetings is to provide a forum open to researchers from different disciplines to present and discuss problems concerning computational techniques in bioinformatics, systems biology and medical informatics with a particular focus on Neural Networks, Machine Learning, Fuzzy Logic, and Evolutionary Computation methods. CIBB 2008 is jointly organized by: * INNS - International Neural Network Society, SIG Bioinformatics * ISCB International Society for Computational Biology * GNCS Gruppo Nazionale Calcolo Scientifico * SIREN - Italian Neural Networks Society * DISI - Univ. Genova (Italy) * DMI - Univ. Salerno (Italy) Technical areas addressed by CIBB 2008 include, but are not limited to: * Sequence analysis, promoter analysis and identification of transcription factor binding sites * Gene expression data analysis * Methods for the integration of clinical and genetic data * Algorithms for alternative splicing analysis * Methods for the functional classification of genes * Methods for the unsupervised analysis, validation and visualization of structures discovered in bio-molecular data * Prediction of secondary and tertiary protein structures * Mass spectrometry data analysis in proteomics * Methods for comparative genomics * Algorithms for molecular evolution and phylogenetic analysis * Mathematical modelling and simulation of biological systems * Heterogeneous data integration and data fusion for diagnostics * Bio-molecular databases and data mining * Algorithms for pharmacogenetics * Bio-medical text mining and imaging * Methods for diagnosis and prognosis * Software tools for bioinformatics Prof. Giuseppe Russo of Temple Univ, Philadelphia (PA-USA) has confirmed to deliver an invited talk at CIBB 2008. The scientific program will include, besides some plenary talks, contributed papers that will be presented in plenary oral or poster sessions. Accepted papers will be published in the compact disk of conference proceedings. A selection of papers presented at CIBB 2008 will be published a in post conference volume printed by an international publisher. Moreover, a selection of more relevant papers will be considered for publication in extended form in a special issue of a scientific journal we are planning. Chairs: Francesco Masulli, Università di Genova, Italy and Temple University, PA, USA Roberto Tagliaferri, Università di Salerno, Italy Gennady M. Verkhivker, University of Kansas, KS, USA, and University of California San Diego, CA, USA Scientific Program Committee: Joaquin Dopazo, Centro de Investigacion Principe Felipe, Valencia, Spain Antonio Giordano, Temple Univ, Philadelphia, PA, USA Emmanuel Ifeachor, University of Plymouth, UK Samuel Kaski, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland Natalio Krasnogor, University of Nottingham, UK Giancarlo Mauri,University of Milano Bicocca, Italy Oleg Okun, University of Oulu, Finland Giulio Pavesi, University of Milan, Italy David Alejandro Pelta, University of Granada, Spain Graziano Pesole, University of Bari, Italy Leif E. Peterson, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, USA Volker Roth, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Giuseppe Russo, Temple Univ, Philadelphia, PA, USA Jean-Philippe Vert, Ecole des Mines de Paris, France (list to be updated) Steering Commitee: Pierre Baldi, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Alexandru Floares, Oncological Institute Cluj-Napoca, Romania Jon Garibaldi, University of Nottingham, UK Francesco Masulli, University of Genova, Italy and Temple University, PA, USA Roberto Tagliaferri, University of Salerno, Italy Important Dates: Special Session Proposals: 15 May 2008 Paper submission deadline: 30 May 2008 Notification of acceptance: 30 June 2008 Final paper due: 1 September 2008 Conference: 3-4 October 2008 Special sessions: Special sessions proposals including session's title and scope, short cv of sessions chairs, preliminary list of papers (titles and authors) are due by May 15 2008. Proposals of special sessions will be evaluated as soon as they will be submitted. Please, send the proposals to cibb2008chair at disi.unige.it Paper submission: Papers must be prepared following the guidelines illustrated on the CIBB web site and cannot be longer than 10 pages. The submission of papers will be done by uploading their PDF version on the CIBB web site. =================================================== CIBB 2008 FIFTH INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE METHODS FOR BIOINFORMATICS AND BIOSTATISTICS IIASS - Vietri sul Mare, Salerno (Italy) 3-4 October, 2008 Conference Website: http://cibb08.disi.unige.it/ email: cibb2008chair at disi.unige.it ==================================================


text:
'El Perdio' Wins Acclaim
Mon 13 Dec 2004
The Spanish wine guide PEÑÍN 2005 has rated one of our wines, 'El Perdio' 2001 from Bodegas Virasa Vinícola, the third best wine in its region (Utiel-Requena), awarding it 89 points. This follows the Commended awarded to the wine by Decanter Magazine earlier this year.
Limited quantities of this wine were made and we are lucky enough to have some here in the UK. Packed in wooden boxes of six bottles, we recommend that the wine is kept for a little while longer for it to reach its best - this wine will definitely be a star of the future.


text:
So uhmm.....syndicate anyone?
pero may problem ako sa graphics ng syndicate....laggy sya
Syndicate anyone?
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1 post • Page 1 of 1
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text:
Pals of the Pen
edited November 2011 in Non-Animal Collective Discussion
Who wants to be pen pals? And for those of you who think mail is lame: YOU'RE LAME!  this way we could send each other lollypops shaped like Geo's head and stuff. (whoever has these, please send me some.)
this is something I am going to think on. Not because I don't trust you, and I want to be your pen pal! But I live with family that might be creeped out about me recieving mail from strangers (to them) from around the world. I will sleep on it and see what I think in the morning. I really want to, so I think I will end up doing it! We should think of something special to send each other. Drawings, written jokes, poems, or something!
I'm totally up for being pen pals. I love writing letters but don't really have anyone to send them to.. It'd be fun sending art and aussie treats, or short stories even : )
I totally understand tigers! I live on my own so it's no big deal for me. If they feel uncomfortable with it, just tell them it's all in good AC fun  I was thinking it'd be fun to send art as well:D postcards... random things. awesome!! we can organize it over PM's, so nobody has to post their mailing address openly, and we can choose who we want to share with. woop woop!
of course! I can send postcards with Moose on them. i'll do it. i'm in. Let's give it a day and see what others are interested.
deal:D also... where is everybody? phantom? G.O? winnie? .... they've dissapparated.
I knowwwww! Its tragic! I almost want to hunt them down!
my mamatuschka will definitely think this whole pen pal thing is not kosher. even thought I love the idea, she'll be wary of the whole "let's give our address to people on the internet!" thought. I'd spend all my money sending you guys my pictures! I like to draw logos in my spare time, by the way.
I'm here, finally back. Before the internet, people ONLY had pen pals. I used to do a lot of mail art and zine trading and letter writing. I still do some of each and would be delighted to mail each and every one of you a special mail art goodie. PM me your address and I'll have it posted asap!
Thanks! I had to temporarily obsess about different life aspects. But now I'm back.
YAY! Glad you'r back. I think I trust you guys, so I will PM you my info! I'd love to send you some stuff.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. grizzles:)
Can I still get in on this??
FUCK YEAH. pm your address!
so i'm totally going to do this no matter what, but i'm going away on 'vacation' for a couple weeks or maybe a month or maybe longer so, i'm going to wait to start the participation until I get back. I'm excited though!
PM me too because I send special librarian stickers to my friends.
The stickers are delightful.
aw man, i've been missing out
PM'd. I need to write/make you guys stuff...
Anyone want to be pen pals with me?! I feel kinda nervous just sort of butting in here..
YA SILLY GOOSE OH I AM STILL IN ALL CAPS FROM THE RANT FORUM WHERE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT DREAMS SO I GUESS I WILL JUST RANT EVERYWHERE BLARRRGGGGGHHHHH PM me Curses and I'll write you!! PM ME EVERYONE AND I WILL WRITE YOOOOOO
curses don't be silly PM me your address NAOO.
Ms. Toasty, I am sending you a large manila envelope full of goodies. Be wary, for I am sending it tomorrow and it shall arrive whenever. Be on the lookout!
i am SOOOOO excited:D it'll probably come by the end of next week!!!! -9Q830URA;LKEHF
Pen pals are awesome, (though sorry I haven't sent anyone anything yet!! Though soon, I promise!!). I believe that personal writing and such is a lot more friendlier than the internet, of course, and [i]personal[/i] and it has a lot more thought in it and detail.. Ever since I was a young child I would write every single day, and I still do.  More people should write letters. I can't imagine what future communication will be like!
I just got a postcard from Wini! Thank you so much! I love it! Sadly, I must say that I need to exclude myself from all of this pen pal action, so anyone I gave my address to, would you mind holding back the sending of things for the time being? My family is a little creeped out by this mail from strangers (though I haven't directly told them its from 'strangers' and say 'from a friend' and divert to a new subject). They still act creeped out and i'd rather avoid that. When I have my own place at some point i'd very gladly partake!
Aww that's too bad Tigers. I just got a postcard from Wini too!  I put it on my wall and I made a post card and I will send it to her.
Miss Curses, yours just needs international postage and it will be sent as well. Miss Toast, another package awaits you. Miss Tigers, I am so sad, because I bought you 2 presents PLUS the jams of mine. I'll have to wait to send them. I'm sorry if I made problems.
you certainly didn't make problems. Let me think on your package for meee...because I want it and know you aren't a murderer!
I sent Toasty a postcard too  watch for it, it's pretty cool. A little less messy looking than Wini's xD
aw MAN i need to go check the mail right now. it's 2:04 AM.
I love my postcard dear Shinsy Doodles. it's on my wall and oozes with your unique brand of cute.
Aww thanks Wini. DO IT! CHECK THE MAIL.
I GOT IT SHINS. so awesome! I giggled at its cuteness for 20 minutes. hung it on my wall next to grizz's collage:D maybe next week when I have free time I will send you all some more loverly things. it's been so long since i've had time for crafty art fun-ness.
Wini, I haven't got your postcard yet.. maybe it got lost in the mail.. And shinsy! I don't know what to write about to you, (since I only have your address) so maybe I'll make some art and send that instead. (: I'll tell you when I send it.
Miss Curses, your postcard is in a box that has yet to be sent back to me from oregon. He took his time mailing it! It's trapped in there (I needed special postage) and as soon as I receive MY package I will send it to you. It is not lost. Teetles, your additional package will be sent today and I'll have to mail something else to someone else because the love needs to be shared. anyone who wants a piece of mail, PM me!
Curses, PM me, I need to send you one of my weird postcards too!!
oh boy oh boy oh boy i'm going to make you guys gifts today! and send them all on MONDAY! [size=150]HORRAY![/size]
The Internet hype is inevitable. Today, you may sell online, meet new friends and work for an online community.
Sent a [img]http://flashhq.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/postcard.gif[/img] to Grizzles today.
REALLY!!!! I'M EXCITED! I feel really bad. I still haven't sent you your collage. I still have to get stamps!
It's okay!! I'm patient! Plus I get a bunch of free samples in the mail every day to hold me over so.
btw, Wini, I got your postcard. Thank you. I don't know if you remember the postcard exactly, but Oregon looks like an exciting state. : )
I NEED TO GET BACK ON THE PEN PAL WAGON AND MAIL YOU GUYS YOUR STUFF! It's been sitting on my desk for a month! I have to finish your little surprises though, and its very time consuming! SIGH.
GUYS I MISS WRITING LETTERS. I only write to Wini now! And the only person who ever wrote to me besides Wini was curses and she's gone!
For those of you new to the board, I do write letters and send envelopes of entertainment. Anyone who PMs me their address I will write you! My generation is the letter-writing, zine-making, mail art fanatics...but the internet made us all lazy. (and babies and spouses and jobs and car payments and crap)
Shinsy you can PM if youd like to be my pal of the pen i can send you my adress.. Evorybody in here can
send me yr address and i will send you a dress! __<" title="mad" />


text:
Second edition of Forehand and Friends set for Wednesday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With first pitch set for Valentine's night, the Lipscomb baseball program is set to host a second installment of "Forehand and Friends" on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m with a special look at Sulpher Dell Park past and present.
Brad Tammen, general manager of the Nashville Sounds and Skip Nipper, local baseball historian will be the special guests offering their insight into our nation's pastime in the Music City.
The event will be held at Allen Arena on the Lipscomb Campus. Cost is $10 including lunch. To RSVP email firstname.lastname@example.com
Lipscomb gets the 2014 season underway on Feb. 14 hosting Evansville at 4 p.m.


text:
Edmund, our very special little friend has passed away a couple weeks ago. We miss him, and we can tell that his 2 cage mates are missing him as well. Rats are very friendly, social little critters. Edmund was a WONDERFUL pet! He was always happy to dress up for our photo shoots.
I've been promising Ringo's we'd create a memorial about Edmund's life. So, here it is. There's an interview with Ringo at the very end....
I interviewed Ringo about his favorite things about Edmund, and his time with us:
How he would let us dress him up in clothes and silly outfits. He was so cute and he was the best rat. I liked him because he was a very, very good rat.
2) Lots of people don't like rats. If you had to convince someone to change their minds, what would you tell them about pet rats?
Rats are very clean. They clean themselves all day long. You can lift them upside down and their tail will turn round and round, it looks like a helicopter. They never ever bite. They are just like a dog because they like to play and chase you, and they know their names. They are super smart! Sometimes they chase their tales. They like to snuggle, but you have to be careful not to squish them. They like to ride in your pockets.
3) What do you miss the most about Edmund?
I miss dressing him up and taking silly pictures and feeding him yogurt snacks. I loved to watch him pretend like he was fighting with the other rats. I loved to watch him snuggle and clean the other rats. He was always friendly. He liked to play peekaboo with the blankets. I loved Christmas day when we let him run around in all the boxes and wrapping paper. He was so tired at the end of the day and fell asleep in daddy's shoe. I will miss all that stuff. I can't wait to see him in heaven.
4) What was your favorite dress up/photo shoot experience with Edmund? Click below if you'd like to see what he's referring to:
When GI Joe wrestled with Edmund:
And the Star Wars one:


text: Use this special detergent on your dairy equipment from time to time in place of your regular alkaline detergent. It will remove milkstone deposits, the dull-looking film that harbors bacteria. Acid detergents are "milkstone removers." Use it to scrub equipment about once a week, depending on how fast milkstone builds up (which will depend on how hard your water is). Use more frequently if deposits persist. One gallon.