9. The Earth will spin out of orbit, exacerbating global warming and turning the planet into a giant George Foreman Grill, slow-roasting its populace until dead, albeit delicious and heart-friendly.
8. People will start sincerely responding to Dennis Kucinich’s proposals with, “You know what, that’s a great idea!”
7. Baseball will extend its schedule to 300 games, and increases the games to nineteen innings. But on the positive side, the price of a beer at the ballpark will drop precipitously to $13.
6. Britney Spears stays sober, celibate, and leads a responsible life with her children, bankrupting all existing gossip magazines.
5. The discrepancy between the number of hot dog rolls and hot dogs per package will widen, with manufacturers opting to deliver their products in fractions, further befuddling consumers.
4. Cell phone companies will only offer two ring tones: Susan Estrich birthing a cape buffalo, and Barney Frank learning he has been forbidden from watching gladiator movies.
3. Every Friday and Saturday night will be declared “National Mother-In-Law Day” with government-mandated celebrations.
2. A remake of Waterworld as a musical starring Rosie O’Donnell and Harvey Fierstein.
1. Chuck Norris will wax his chest, tattoo it with a picture of Bea Arthur circa The Golden Girls, and for the rest of his life, only make topless infomercials where he sings the theme from Cats.
from tnoyf.com
Knoll died at
“Today we mourn the passing of one of the strongest, most dedicated public servants in
Knoll was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in July 2008 and began radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She returned for the start of the fall Senate schedule in September, but showed signs of fatigue and on Sept. 22 announced she would heed the advice of doctors, family members and colleagues and take time off.
“Even as she fought cancer in recent months, she remained upbeat and dedicated to serving the commonwealth,” Rendell said. “Catherine was a very passionate and exuberant advocate for many worthy causes. Her passing is a tremendous loss for the many people whose lives she touched.”
A former schoolteacher and Democratic veteran, Knoll served two terms as state treasurer beginning in 1988. When she won re-election in 1992, she received one of the largest vote totals ever for a statewide Democratic candidate.
“I happen to think that
As lieutenant governor, she presided over the state Senate and chaired the state Board of Pardons and a local government advisory committee. Rendell also asked her to serve as chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council.
Knoll was born in Sept. 3, 1930. Her father, Nicholas Baker, was the mayor of McKees Rocks, a
She met her husband, Charles Knoll, while she was a student and married him just before graduating.
She worked for local Democratic candidates, became a member of the party’s state committee and started working for PennDOT in the early 1970s.
In 1976, the party asked her to run for state treasurer. She lost to Robert E. Casey, a
She ran for treasurer again in 1984, losing in the primary by fewer than 15,000 votes.
She pledged to never run for office again, but changed her mind when her husband, a postmaster, died in 1987. All four of their children encouraged her to do so.
Knoll, affectionately known as CBK, won handily and pledged to clean up a treasurer’s office that she said was a mess. She said she was proud the agency provided $25 million in loans to small businesses through development centers at colleges and universities, as well as $100 million in low-rate first-home mortgages to single parents, first-time buyers and veterans. She also oversaw the startup of a college savings program for parents.
| Richaleen Ray Atterbeary | | |
| Richaleen Ray Atterbeary was born in Denmark, S.C., on March 12, 1903, the third daughter of Richmond and Hattie Ray. Sadly, her father died before she was born. Richaleen was delivered three months prematurely, and the midwife said the baby was too tiny to survive. She advised Richaleen’s mother to keep the baby close and warm. Consequently, Richaleen was a sickly child, so Hattie moved her daughters to the country to nurse her ill child back to health with fresh air and homegrown vegetables. During Richaleen’s teen years, Hattie moved her and her sisters, Portia and Ernell, back to the city. Richaleen met and later married the late Whaley John Atterbeary in 1919. They had one child, a son, the late Knowlton Richefield Atterbeary Sr., born March 7, 1921. When her son was 4, the family moved to Philadelphia. They were employed by a prominent family, the Weavers of West Mount Airy. Richaleen was a pioneer in desegregating the C. W. Henry School, near where she and her family lived and worked. When their son was of school age, Richaleen attempted to register him, but received negative responses from the school. At that time there were no blacks in the C. W. Henry School. Yet, she persisted until she was successful. Knowlton became the first black child to be admitted to the C. W. Henry School. For many years, the family summered in Ocean County, N.J., where they remained employed by the Weavers and enjoyed the country lifestyle. They eventually homesteaded in Toms River, Manitou Park, along with Hattie. Under Richaleen’s guidance, her son went on to become the first recognized African-American orthodontist in the state of Pennsylvania. Her family’s successes are a source of continuing pride for Richaleen, and she has been known to sometimes rise in church and proclaim their accomplishments. Later, her family lived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when her husband, a Baptist minister, was called to a church there. Although Richaleen and her husband were in their 70s, shortly after arriving there, they adopted an infant boy, John. After the demise of her husband, her sister urged her to return to Philadelphia with John. She reinstated membership with Canaan Baptist Church, and a few years ago, her vision of Canaan’s Children’s Church came to fruition. Richaleen was always a very active person. She loved swimming, bicycling, fishing, traveling, and driving a “fast” car. In fact, she had to be urged by the family to give up driving at the age of 85! This lovely, great lady refused to live in the assisted-living building at Germantown Home and retained her apartment until after her 100th birthday. Until that time, she continued to help others, from preschoolers to the elderly, most of whom were younger than her. It was difficult to catch her because she was constantly on the go, by car, train, or airplane. On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, at 105 years of age, Richaleen proudly cast her vote for the first black president of the United States of America. On Sunday, November 9, 2008, she departed this life. Richaleen was very proud of her descendants, who all strive to emulate her. They include her grandchildren, Knowlton Richefield Atterbeary Jr. (wife Rosalynne), and Marlyn Atterbeary Oatts; her great grandchildren, Knowlton Richefield Atterbeary III, Vanessa Elaine Atterbeary Esq. (husband Paul), Cian Atterbeary Oatts, Curan Xavier Oatts and Courtnay Richaleen Oatts (husband Raynell); her great-great granddaughter, Ciana Renee Oatts; her nieces, Ernell Jones, Hattie Rice and Richaleen Draine; her nephew, James Hall; her son, John Whaley Atterbeary; and her many grand, great-grand and great-great-grand nieces, nephews; and friends. | ||
Imagine that you are a shareholder of a very wealthy and powerful multi-national organization, and you, like all other stockholders, have the opportunity to vote in a new CEO. The company is in a cut-throat industry. You are also an employee of this organization. You also consume the company’s products.
Two people have been nominated.
One is a very experienced businessman with a clear record of 30+ years in management. He is a company man and believes in making decisions that he believes are best for the company as a whole, even if those decisions don’t necessarily sit well with the Board of Directors, executive management, and/or a good percentage of employees. His idea is to break down the beaurocracy that governs the company, so that the company can be run more effectively and so that processes can be more efficient, thereby saving the company money. He ensures that the savings can be passed on to shareholder value, a theory that has been well published and validated by many business scholars.
The other CEO candidate has only been in management for two years. He is a Wharton graduate. Like many leaders, he has charisma, is a great public speaker, and can effectively share and communicate a vision. His management style is custodial, which means that the company’s job is to take care of the employees needs by offering an appropriate level of benefits – no matter what the cost to the company. The only way to offer the benefits that he believes that employees want is to raise prices or to increase the company’s already heavy debt burden. His marketing plan proposes that the marketing executives work with competitors to see how they can collaborate. He also wants to cut executive salaries and raise wages on lower-level workers. Business scholars believe that his policies are detrimental to the long-term health and viability of the company.
Who would you want to lead the company and why?
Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 5:43:01 PM by Former Farmer
Pressures to be politically correct prohibit considering Barack Obama's Muslim side, or even mentioning his middle name. How Muslim is he? Consider these issues.
1. Born a Muslim. The man who sired the candidate was an African Muslim named Barack Hussein Obama, who named his son his own African Muslim name. The name "hussein" is Arabic for "good," and is normally given only to Muslims.
2. A Muslim by Law. Muslim law assigns the faith according to the religion of the father. Since his father was Muslim, by Muslim law and in the eyes of the Muslim world Barack Hussein Obama was and is a Muslim.
3. Raised a Muslim. After his biological father abandoned the family, his mother married another Muslim, Lolo Soetoro, who moved the family to Indonesia. Little Hussein was was first enrolled in a Catholic school as a Muslim student, then enrolled as a Muslim in a government school. This was not a fanatical madrassa as has been falsely reported. However, Muslim students were required to study Islam, read the Koran and learn Muslim prayers. Hussein Obama himself confirms his Muslim roots, stating in one of his autobiographies, Dreams of My Father, that he got in trouble for cutting up in Koran class. Only Muslims were allowed in Koran class.
4. A Muslim by Profession. Hussein Obama, in an interview with George Stephanopolous, referred to "my Muslim faith." While this may be an unconscious revelation, it might have been a mere gaffe. A man's tongue may slip, but will not slip into fluent Arabic unless he knows Arabic. Hussein Obama recited Muslim the Muslim shahada in perfect Arabic to New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristoff. The shahada is the First Pillar of Islam, the most basic Muslim confession of faith, stating "there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." This is comparable to the Christian confession of faith, "Jesus is Lord." Very few Christians can, and even fewer would, pray the shahada in perfect Arabic. Obama then called the shahada “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth.”
5. A Mystery Month in Muslim Culture. As a young man, Hussein Obama traveled to Pakistan. How long he stayed is uncertain: his campaign says three weeks; other sources, several months. What he did or learned or decided during this immersion remains unknown.
6. Mystery Money for Elite Education. After returning from his immersion in that Muslim country, Hussein Obama proceeded to an elite Ivy League education: an undergraduate degree from Columbia, and a law degree from Harvard. The Obama campaign admits that he received no scholarship money from Harvard, but claims he self-funded his education through loans. Hussein Obama himself barred Harvard from releasing any financial records. Why would he ban access to records if they would verify his claim?
7. Endorsed by Foreign America Haters. Hussein Obama has been endorsed by Fidel Castro, Kim Jong Il, and Muammar Qaddafi. Muslim terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah endorse Hussein Obama. Hamas and Hexbollah both are funded by Iran. Hussein Obama has offered to meet without preconditions with Iran's Achmedinajab, who denies the Holocaust and pledges to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Hussein Obama has described Iran as a small nation that is no threat to Israel.
8. Surrounded by Domestic America Haters. The inner circle around Hussein Obama includes the man he said he consulted before making any major decisions, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The worldview of Jeremiah Wright sounds like an ominous echo of Osama bin Laden. Osama said the massive terrorist attack on 9/11 was just American getting back what it had done to others; Jeremiah called it America's chickens coming home to roost. Osama calls America the Great Satan which must be destroyed; Jeremiah calls for God to damn America. How can Hussein Obama repudiate the worldview of one of these soulmates, while he has sat for twenty years under the teaching of one of the other soulmate? Who else do we find close to Hussein Obama? Domestic terrorist Bill Ayers hates America so much he bombed our Capitol. (In fairness to Ayers, we must note that he praised America on one occasion. After being acquited on a technicality, Ayers gushed: "Guilty as Hell, free as a bird. Is this a great country, or what?" ) The only regret Ayers has expressed about his terrorism is that they didn't plant more bombs. Black Muslim potentate Louis Farrakhan has condemned America so often and so severely he needs no citations. Probably the closest to Hussein Obama is his wife Michele, who has called America a mean place and stated she has never been proud of America before her husband's run for the Presidency. Her scowling face shows a hate that one cannot even imagine on the face of a Cindy McCain or a Sarah Palin.
9. Serving 57 states. In another slip of the tongue that could reveal hidden beliefs, or could just be a really stupid statement, Hussein Obama stated that he had campaigned in 57 states. In the fatigue of a long campaign, mistakes are expected and overlooked. A Harvard graduate is probably smarter than a fifth grader, and a fifth grader knows we have 50 states. The intrigue comes from the number 57. Why not 51 or 54 or 72? The number 57 makes sense in one context: all the Muslim nations belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference - all 57 of them.
10. Campaigning in Kenya. While a U.S. Senator, Hussein Obama traveled to Kenya and campaigned for a presidential candidate named Railo Odingo. It was widely reported that Odinga had committed in writing to impose of Muslim law, sharia, and re-write the constitution within six months to conform to the Koran. Whether or not this is true, why was Hussein Obama interfering in the internal politics of a foreign nation? If John McCain campaigned for a partisan candidate in Scotland on the grounds that his ancestors came from there, everyone would see it as almost insane. Some of Hussein Obama's mistakes may be simple goofs (I'll bomb Pakistan) or at worst meaningful slips (my Muslim faith). It requires a conscious, deliberate decision to travel to another continent and interfere in the internal politics of another nation. Either Hussein Obama was supporting a hidden Muslim agenda, or he was showing appallingly bad judgment. Neither belongs in the Oval Office.
All these facts are in the public record. Why can they not be considered?The Annenberg Challenge and the Woods Fund of Chicago funded numerous controversial groups while Barack Obama served on their boards between 1995 and 2002, an analysis of their tax returns shows.
In 2001, when Obama was a part-time director of The Woods Fund of Chicago, it gave $75,000 to ACORN, the voter registration group now under investigation for voter fraud in 12 states.
The Woods Fund also gave $6,000 to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ, which Obama attended. The reason for the donation to the church is unclear — it is simply listed as “for special purposes” in the group’s IRS tax form.
It gave a further $60,000 to the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University, which was founded and run by Bernardine Dohrn, the wife of domestic terrorist William Ayers and, with her husband, a former member of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground.
Other controversial donations that year included $50,000 to the Small Schools Network — which was founded by Ayers and run by Michael Klonsky, a friend of Ayers’ and the former chairman of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), an offshoot of the 1960s radical group Students for a Democratic Society — and $40,000 to the Arab American Action Network, which critics have accused of being anti-Semitic.
The Woods Fund did not respond to questions about the funding.
When Obama co-chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which calls itself “a public-private partnership improving education for 1.5 million urban and rural public school students,” it gave to some of the same groups — partnering with ACORN to manage funding for schools and giving over $1 million to the Small Schools Network.
It also gave nearly $1 million to a group called the South Shore African Village Collaborative, whose goals, according to Annenberg’s archived Web site, are “to develop more collegial relationships between teachers and principals. Professional development topics include school leadership, team building, parent and community involvement, developing thematic units, instructional strategies, strategic planning, and distance learning and teleconferencing.”
But the group mentions other goals in its grant application to the Annenberg Challenge:
“Our children need to understand the historical context of our struggles for liberation from those forces that seek to destroy us,” one page of the application reads.
Click here to see the application.
Stanley Kurtz, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, found the collaborative’s original application when going through Annenberg’s archives.
Asked to comment, Yvonne Williams-Kinnison, executive director of the collaborative’s parent group, the Coalition for Improved Education in South Shore said, “I don’t want to put more fuel on the fire. You can call us back after the election…. I don’t want to compromise the position.”
Late Afrocentrist scholars Jacob Carruthers and Asa Hilliard were both invited to give SSAVC teachers a training session, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge noted in a report, adding that the “consciousness raising session … received rave reviews, and has prepared the way for the curriculum readiness survey session.”
But Carruthers has been a controversial figure because of inflammatory statements he made in writing.
“The submission to Western civilization and its most outstanding offspring, American civilization, is, in reality, surrender to white supremacy,” Carruthers wrote in his 1999 book, “Intellectual Warfare.” “Some of us have chosen to reject the culture of our oppressors and recover our disrupted ancestral culture.”
In the book, he compared the process of blacks assimilating into American culture with rape.
“We may not be able to get our virginity back after the rape, but we do not have to marry the rapist,” Carruthers said.
Hilliard has come under fire for advocating what many consider an extreme Afrocentric curriculum.
He selected the articles for the “African-American Baseline Essays” published in 1987 and first used in the Portland, Ore., school district. The essays have been criticized for claiming, among other things, that ancient Egyptians were the first to discover manned flight and the theory of evolution.
An Obama spokesman called investigation of these ties “pathetic.”
“This is another pathetic attempt by FOX News to distract voters from the economic challenges facing this nation by patching together tenuous links to smear Barack Obama,” Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt told FOXNews.com.
“The Annenberg Challenge was a bipartisan organization dedicated to improving the performance of students and teachers in Chicago Public Schools that was funded by a Republican philanthropist who was friends with President Reagan and launched by Republican Gov. Jim Edgar.”
But Kurtz says those founders of the Annenberg Challenge would not have known the details about to whom their Chicago office — one of 18 around the country — was giving money.
“If you read Ayers’ proposal to Annenberg, it doesn’t sound radical. But if you actually read Ayers’ education writings, they are very radical indeed,” Kurtz said. “Ayers, like so many other savvy professors, knows enough not to state his actual views frankly when applying for money. But you can find the truth in his writings.”
The controversial donations make up only a small portion of the overall amount doled out by the Annenberg and Woods funds. The Woods Fund gave over $3.5 million to 115 different groups in 2001, and the Annenberg Chellenge dispensed nearly $11 million to 63 groups at its height in 1999.
Most of the groups are mainstream and well respected, ranging from the Jazz Institute of Chicago to the Successful Schools Project.
But Kurtz says that this should not obscure what he describes as controversial donations.
“If John McCain had given to white supremacist groups and people said, ‘Hey, the majority of funding didn’t go to supremacist groups’ — that wouldn’t even cut the ice,” Kurtz said.
“I feel certain [Obama] knew about these radical groups,” Kurtz said. “We know that he read the applications because he made statements about the quality of proposals.”
Source: FOX News
