the dam good times december 2012 vol 100
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The Dam Good TimesColdspring, Texas 77331 Established 2010
December 2012 Volume 100 32 pages Monthly
PRST STD
POSTAGE PD
#16
COLDSPRING, TX
FreeWe don’t repeat gossip so read carefully! Or go to www.thedamgoodtimes.com
Artwork by Madison
Merry Christmas
Sheriff’s Roundup
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 2
Sheriff’s Round Up...2
Alabama-Coushatta
Reservation News...4
Insperity’s Community
Events...6
Pentagon Peacocks...8
Military Minutes...10
Blake on the Lake...12
Good News Gazette...14
Home Country...14
Penny Uselton...15
Bob Bowman’s East Texas...16
Texas Takes...17
Area Chambers Calendar of Events...20
Timbercreek Choir...21
Crossword Puzzle...22
Rumor Has It...23
World & Local...26-31
Happy Birthdays...4
(SAMPLE OF CALLS
DISPATCHED)
November 24th thru
November 30th
• Deputy Warren
was dispatched to Cape
Royale for two suspi-
cious males running on
the boats at the marina.
• Deputy Gonzales
was dispatched to
Colquitt Rd for a verbal
disturbance between a
male and female.
• Deputy Cumbie
responded to a burglary
of a building call behind
Norman’s grocery in
Point Blank. Someone
had broke into the build-
ing by taking door off the
hinges.
• Deputy Gonzales
responded to AUM gro-
cery in Coldspring for a
report that an em-
ployee’s passport had
been stolen from their
vehicle.
• Deputy Gonzales
responded to a resi-
dence in Point Blank for
a verbal disturbance re-
garding a child custody
issue.
• Deputy Cruz was
dispatched to Burrell Ave
in Shepherd for a physi-
cal disturbance with
weapons. The reportee
stated that (2) brothers
were fighting and there
were guns.
• Deputy Cosme
was dispatched to Cook
Jones Rd in Point Blank
for a burglary of a habi-
tation. The reportee
stated that someone had
broken in and several
items were missing.
• Deputy Gonzales
was dis-
patched to
FM 3128
for a report
of aggra-
vated as-
sault. The
reportee
stated that
he picked
up a male
walking
down the
road, and
that male
pulled a
gun on
him.
•
Deputies
responded
to Page
Ave in
Shepherd
for an as-
sault family
violence
call. The
reportee
stated that she had been
assaulted more than
once.
• Deputy Cumbie
responded to Point
Blank for a deadly con-
duct report. The repor-
tee stated that a white
male with two guns
threatened to shoot the
owner of the business.
• Deputies re-
sponded to Prescott
Lane in New Waverly for
a burglary that had just
occurred. The reportee
stated that a young male
had entered the resi-
dence through the back
door and confronted the
homeowner asking for
drugs and money. The
reportee fired a shot at
the suspect.
SAN JACINTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S
DEPT. POLICE BLOTTER
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 3
Boundsautoplex.net
November 29th at ap-
proximately 11:00 am, San
Jacinto County Sheriff’s
Deputies responded to a
suspicious person selling
guns call near the Brook-
shire Brothers store in Cold-
spring. Upon arrival Cpl.
Saintes approached a white
male suspect, later identified
as Eric Smith, age 26 of
Point Blank, who began to
walk away and fled on foot
as he was commanded to
stop. Smith ran into a heav-
ily wooded area, but was
seen attempting to exit and
when he failed to obey com-
mands to stop a tazer was
deployed. Smith was taken
into custody without further
incident and transported to
the San Jacinto County De-
tention Center. Weapons
were also found in Smith
possession.
Smith was charged with
evading arrest/detention
and deadly conduct stem-
ming from an incident earlier
this week where Smith al-
legedly entered a business
in Point Blank, pointed a
gun at a female and threat-
ened to kill the owner of the
business.
Eric Smith Tazed by Brookshire
Brothers-Coldspring, TX SCAM
ALERT!November 30th, San Jac-
into County Sheriff’s officialsreceived a report of a scaminvolving Lima, Peru. Thereportee was an older citizenof the county and stated hereceived a broken call from ayoung man claiming to behis oldest grandson. Thecaller stated that he had
taken a trip to Peru, but raninto trouble and was in a jail.The caller needed him tosend $900. by western unionto get out. A second callstated an additional $950.was needed for an attorney.
The victim later found outthat his grandson was neverin Peru.
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 4
Polk County, in thebeautiful piney woods ofEast Texas is home of theAlabama-Coushatta In-dian Reservation. Thereservation is located offof 190 East. The above artwork be-
longs to Juan Martinez.Juan is part American-In-dian and Mexican. Juansemail address ishtx120@yahoo.com andhis cell number is832.596.5204. Juan re-sides in Baytown, TX.
Gladys Celestine Shuttweaves baskets that aremade of long leaf pineneedles, raffia and smallpine cones. This ancientart of basket weaving isfrom the Coushatta tribalpeople. As It has nearlybecome a lost art form,
the baskets are highlytreasured. It is well worthcoming to one of the Ala-bama-Coushatta PowWows; their Fall ArtShow, as we see here; orcontact the reservationwhen you are planning avisit.
If you are looking forunique, memorable giftsfor Christmas, a birthdayor are looking to hold apiece of history, look nofurther than the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reser-vation. From hand-madequilts, exquisite bead-work to traditional andmodern arts and crafts,there is something foreveryone! For more infor-mation contact the PublicRelations Department936.563.1131
Alabama-Coushatta Art Festival
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 5
SJC Women’s
League
2012 Christmas
Tour
The 2012 SJC
Women’s League Christ-
mas Tour, the first ever
held in Shepherd, was an
outstanding success.
Tour participants visited
seven sites – five homes,
one church, and the
Shepherd Community
Center. Each site was
decorated in a way that
reflected the unique
lifestyle and interests of
the owners and each was
very warm and welcom-
ing to the visitors.
Arnette Daugherty,
President of the League,
said, “ I thought the host-
esses had decorated
their homes beautifully.
They were gracious and
did a great job of wel-
coming the participants.
And, the variety of re-
freshments they offered
was delicious and greatly
appreciated by every-
one.”
Early ticket sale
totals indicated that the
event earned approxi-
mately $2000 for the
League and its efforts to
support community or-
ganizations and civic en-
deavors. In the next
couple of weeks, the
overall figure should rise
as members turn in addi-
tional ticket sales rev-
enue.
The raffle of the
Fitz and Floyd porcelain
Santa raised approxi-
mately $300. Mary
Gilbert of Livingston took
Santa home with her.
Money earned by
the SJC Women’s
League supports scholar-
ships for high school
graduates, the Cold-
spring Library, and other
civic organizations in the
community. For more in-
formation, call Arnette
Daugherty at 936-377-
3906.
The
Women’s League of
San Jacinto County
will meet on De-
cember 13, 2012, at
the Coldspring
Community Center.
Members and their
guests should arrive
at the Center be-
tween 11:30 a.m.
and 12:00 p.m.
Lunch ($15.00 per
person) will be
served at noon.
This year the
Leaguers will be
treated to a very
special holiday
music program by
Mary Kay Perez
and her Irish harp.
Members of
the community are
invited to attend this
meeting and/or join
the Women’s
League of San Jac-
into County. Mem-
bership dues are
$15.00 per year.
For questions about
this month’s meet-
ing or other informa-
tion call Arnette
Daugherty at 936-
377-3906.
San Jacinto County Women’s
League, December 13
Community EventsSponsored by:
Community Events
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 6
Area
ChurchesColdspring United
Methodist Church SundayService is 8:30 am & 11 amSunday School is at 9:45 amYouth Group Wednesday at5:30 pm
Family Faith Church Pas-tors Jeff & Eileen HacklemanSundays in Coldspring @11:00 am www.familyfaith.ws
Christian Faith ChurchSunday Worship 10:30 am &Bible Study 7 pm Wednesday1040 Hwy 190 Oakhurst77359 936.377.4795
First Apostolic ChurchSunday Worship 10:00 amand 6:30 pm Bible Study7:30 Tuesday
Goodrich, TX936.365.3838
First United PentecostalSunday Worship 10:00 am &6:00 pm Bible StudyWednesday 7 pm Youth Gath-ering Fridays @ 7 pm On-Alaska, TX 936.646.4514
Methodist Church ofGoodrich Sunday School9:00 am, Worship 10:25amGoodrich, TX 936.365.2435
Lake Livingston LutheranChurch Sunday School &Bible Study 9:30 am, Wor-ship 11:00 Hwy 190 & FM3152, On Alaska, TX936.646.5681
Lake Station BaptistChurch Sunday School 9:45am, Worship 11:00 am,Wednesday Bible Study 6:00pm Goodrich, TX936.365.2755
New Hope Missionary Bap-tist Church Sunday School9:45 am, Worship 11:00 am
The Universal EthicianChurch Beyond the end of FM135 in San Jacinto County Serv-ices are held on the Sabbath(Saturday) 1 hour before Sunsethttp://www.sunsetservices.org
St. Stephens CatholicChurch Point Blank, TX Mass-4:30 pm every Satur-day!
Laurel Hill MissionaryBaptist Church, Pastor PaulDawkins, Evergreen, TX 105 FM 945 N; 936.767.8497Sunday School @ 9:45,Church Service 10:50 am,Wednesday Night BibleStudy 6:00 pm
Polk CountyChamber ofCommerce
Awards Banquet
The event will be heldJanuary 31st, 2013 at theLivingston Jr. HighSchool (cafeteria). Ban-quet tickets are $20 andavailable at the Polk Co.Chamber office at PedigoPark.
The Polk Countian(word not found in Web-ster’s Dictionary:) of theyear will be recognized.This person is someonewho has made a county-wide community impact.
There will also be 5
Community Awards. The
nominations begin in May
and end in July. A select
committee of top-secret
individuals compile, tally
and select the
person/persons receiving
each award. The deci-
sions are based upon a
multitude of factors in-
cluding nominations, let-
ters of accommodation,
etc.
NO tickets available at
the door. Call Polk Co.
Chamber for more info:
936.327.4929.
DECEMBER
Jessica Beth LaramoreDavid LaramoreMark LaramoreRichard GonzalesHeath SalazarHelen BrownCarol PricePaul LopezJessica GrayZach JonesClark OgletreeLauren Ogletree-HarrisonTara HoltChristopher LaramoreBuck McClainMillie EvansLisa AndersonDavin JamesJames RedouSteve AdamsJimmy RayCynthia ThibodeauxClint DavisNena Gillaspe-FowlerSue Lynn BrooksClint DavisBrandy VickeryRodney WattsVernon Whithead
Judy GastonJoAnn GuilloryAshley Wells VickeryCody ChongCaleb ChongMarie DamourHolly Hendrix KingLori HartDr. LaTonya GoffneyJane HolcombMary Geracy SimpsonBrent HenryBill BurnsJessica Marie GrayMartin StavishDenise LanierSheila HamiltonAshley Currie WirzbergKaren JacksonCindy SmellyPam BrumleyRay ShannonJeff NorradJennifer Grube BeckLeon WaldropScott EddlemanPhillip KayTaylor SurrattLeia FishelThad WhisenantLauren BrameMorgan MizeurJeremy Bishop
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 7
Caption for photo: Shown above from left to right are COCISDSchool Board members and COEF Board members Dr. Judi Benes-tante, Pat Clark, Peggy Sewell, Minnie Walker, Judy Joseph, BarbaraMoore, Dale Richards, Tony Sewell, Pam Chandler, and Superinten-dent Dr. LaTonya Goffney.
The 2012 San
Jacinto County
Toyz for KidzToy drive and fund raising
season is in full swing. We are
asking for everyone to help us
make sure that all if the chil-
dren of this county get to have
a great Christmas morning.
Starting November 13th, new
unwrapped toy donations will
be taken at all Precinct Offices,
Courthouse, and Sheriff's Of-
fice.
Financial donations can
also be dropped off or mail to:
San Jacinto County Toyz for
Kidz,P.O. Box 703
Point Blank, Texas 77364
For more information, please
call 936-653-4367 ext 126
Toy recipient forms will be
available after December 1st
for the families needing assis-
tance this year.
Thank you, Haley Boaen
Vice President
On December 4, with bal-loons, horns, sirens and a drum-line, the COCISD EducationFoundation was pleased toaward grant money to somewell-deserving teachers whohad gone well beyond their dailyduties to apply to the foundation.The Grant Review Committeewas fortunate to have 10 teach-ers apply, and the funds to assistall in their creative endeavorsbeyond the curriculum. TheEducation Foundation Prize Pa-trol stopped at both the HighSchool and Lincoln Jr. High to
present thewinners witha total of$10,000.00in grant fund-ing. Picturedis Mr. BillStratton whowasawarded fortwo grantproposals forhis program
at Lincoln Jr. High. The entirestudent body and staff attendedthe pep rally for the honorees.The COCISD Education Foun-dation is a non-profit dedicatedto the enhancement of ourlocal school programs -- thefocus culminates in thePrize Patrol awarding thesegrants to outstanding teach-ers.
The Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD EducationFoundation (COEF) pre-sented the COCISDSchool Board with acheck for $10,000 duringa board meeting on No-vember 26, 2012. Thismoney was raised by theCOEF during the pastyear and will support thesoon-to-be-announcedteacher grants.
The Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD EducationFoundation was estab-lished in September 2011,to enhance and enricheducational opportunitiesfor students. The COEFalso supports the staff inits innovative efforts andrecognizes them for ex-emplary teaching.
The Foundation, anon-profit entity, providesfunding for campus-basedprojects and learning ex-periences that are not apart of the normal budgetprocess. In the fall of
2012 teachers were giventhe opportunity to write agrant for financial supportof their “special project”.The grant applicationswere reviewed, scored,and commented on by areview committee. Usinga blind ranking system,the winners were chosen.The $10,000 presented tothe school board will fundthe chosen grants.
The COCISD Educa-tional Foundation is proudof the quality of grants tobe funded as well as itsability to raise this moneyin its first year of exis-tence. Of course, this isonly the beginning. In thefuture, the Coldspringcommunity will be hearingmore from the foundationand the teachers and stu-dents involved.
For more information about
the Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD
Education Foundation, call 936-
653-1138 or send an email in-
quiry
coedufoundation@cocisd.org.
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 8
By G. Murphy Donovan
The David Petraeus
saga is another urban
legend -- a myth about a
great man felled by a sin-
gle flaw or indiscretion.
The truth is that Petraeus
is a bit player in a larger,
uglier drama: the political
corruption of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and
of that exclusive four-star
glut that sits atop the mili-
tary. And the rot didn't
start with Petraeus.
Recall Army Chief-of-Staff
George Casey taking to
the airways to rationalize
the Fort Hood Islamist
massacre in 2009.
Somehow "diversity" and
Muslim sensitivities were
more important than the
danger of domestic sedi-
tion and the threat to
troop safety on American
bases. Casey was
launched at the Sunday
chat shows, like the more
recent Susan Rice men-
dacity tour, to spin a polit-
ically correct message.
And then there was
Admiral Mike Mullen
leading the charge for
sex with any sex a year
later on the E-Ring at the
Pentagon. Say what you
will about booty call as a
"civil right," but gender
choice is not a significant
national security issue in
the middle of a shooting
war. The legality of rela-
tionships is a social issue
that should be addressed
by an elected yet too
often cowardly Congress,
not by the appointed mili-
tary brass. And while the
JCS was riding point for
preferences, nobody
seemed to notice, or care
about, failure in all those
Muslim Wars.
Indeed, a four-star
public relations campaign
reinvented the English
language to avoid words
like "victory." The new
word for retreat is "draw-
down." And real goals
like winning or victory
have been corrupted with
terms like "nation-build-
ing" or, worse still, military
gibberish like "transition."
Euphemism is the first
refuge of analytical cow-
ards. The CIA, if not the
entire Intelligence com-
munity, takes a bow here
too. Only a loser needs
to create another word for
failure.
In the interests of such
political correctness, rele-
vant terms like "Islam,"
"Islamist," "Muslim," and
even "terrorist" have been
stricken from the public
vocabulary with JCS
help. Witness the recent
Benghazi fiasco! The de-
bate is not over mayhem
or atrocity. National politi-
cians and the military
brass are arguing
whether or not to use the
word "terrorist" in their re-
ports dealing with Muslim
barbarities.
And consider the "in-
side baseball" spat over
doctrine to be used
against the nameless
enemy -- the counter-ter-
ror versus counter-insur-
gency (COIN) debate
within the military. Pe-
traeus apologists would
have us believe that the
former ISAF commander
reinvented the U.S. Arm
with new doctrine...and
then
rode the
COIN
horse to
promo-
tions
and
promi-
nence.
In
truth,
COIN
played
little or
no role
in Iraq
or Afghanistan for two
reasons. The force ratios
required by Army doc-
trine, impractical theory,
were never achieved.
And both conflicts, like
most Muslim wars, are
civil, not insurgent.
These internecine Is-
lamic fights are between
Sunni and Shia or be-
tween autocrats and
theocrats. Neither NATO
nor the U.S. Army has the
charter or doctrine to re-
solve these or any other
religious or tribal civil
wars. Social evolution
might be the only solution
to Muslim pathologies.
COIN had nothing to
do with tactical "success"
in Iraq or Afghanistan ei-
ther, but such distractions
may contribute to strate-
gic defeat. Theoretical il-
lusions, even those
nursed in the halls of ivy,
are blinders. Theory and
politicized Army manuals
do not win wars.
Combat Petraeus-
style doesn't presume to
alter military doctrine; it
presumes to alter the na-
ture of war. Unfortu-
nately, war is not about
hearts and minds or so-
cial services; it's about
winning and losing. Kick
enough azimuth, and
hearts always follow.
Even terrorists under-
stand this. And that un-
derstanding explains why
Islamists are winning now
-- on a global scale.
War is a time-tested pri-
mal exercise, not a venue
for intellectuals, polite
politics, or poseurs.
Combat is the definitive
zero-sum enterprise; the
competent live, and the
inept die. With skill and
luck, the righteous might
prevail. But there are no
guarantees.
There are no draws,
and you can't spin a loss.
The enemy needs to be
beaten first, and then the
diplomatic social workers
and nation-builders can
be deployed.
As with COIN, Pe-
traeus has been taking
bows for the "surge" in
two countries, but he's
especially enjoyed acco-
lades for the so-called
"turnaround" in Iraq.
Alas, tactical success
there has only two par-
ents: bribery and the U.S.
Marine Corps.
Sunni allies were
bribed for the short haul
as they are bought in so
many Muslim tribal cul-
tures. This perennial CIA
tactic is myopic, too.
When the money runs
out, all you have left is
another well-equipped
foe. Consider the blow-
back in Afghanistan. All
those mujahedeen who
used to be romanticized,
when they were fighting
the Soviets, are now
killing Americans with
better gear.
And the U.S. Marine
victory in Fallujah had
nothing to do with COIN
doctrine, either. The
Marines took that city
with the same tactics that
Marshal Georgy Zhukov
used to take Berlin:
house-to-house fighting.
What the Marines didn't
destroy in Fallujah, they
killed.
All of this seems to be
lost on self-absorbed
politicians and a shallow
national press pool -- two
groups that usually trip
Continued on Pg. 11
Pentagon Peacocks
Have you been won-
dering, as we have, how
construction is going on
the Commerce/College
Center along Highway 59
N and bordering Pedigo
Park?
According to Sydney
Murphy, Polk Co. Cham-
ber President, " The Polk
Co. Commerce/College
Center is coming along
beautifully. Now that they
have the roof on the ma-
jority of the building you
get a better feel for the
size of the entire struc-
ture. The building will be
finished in the Fall of
2013 and classes through
Angelina College are
scheduled to begin in
January 2014. Very excit-
ing for Polk County and
the City of Livingston.
The Chamber will be
working very closely with
the Commerce Center
Facility Director to assist
in marketing/advertising and
the start-up of the facility it-
self. The Commerce Center
side of the building will have
the capability of hosting large
conferences, weddings,
graduations, etc. This will be
a cooperative effort between
Angelina College and Polk
County."Recently, I was invited
on a special tour withJack and Penny Uselton,who really got thingsrolling for the establish-ment of the school by do-nating money for the land.After that more and moremonies came in from indi-viduals, clubs and compa-nies such asTemple-Inland and, alas,even the government."This project has been awonderful community ef-
fort" according to Mr. &Mrs. Uselton.
The general contrac-
tor, Mr. Bob Kingham, and
his superintendent for this
project, Mr. Erick Koenig,
gave us the royal tour.
They explained the lay-
out, construction and
overall feel of the school.
Bob and Erik helped us
visualize the finished
product. The school has
large windows; unlike
schools built over the past
30 to 40 years built with a
lot of fluorescent lighting,
but very few windows.
The building includes
classrooms, labs, and
meeting rooms for all oc-
casions.Fit for a king, the audi-
torium is the school’s“crowning glory”! Eacharea of the auditorium isbreathtaking in size.There is even to be stateof the art equipment forthe sound system! It willbe the perfect place forspecial events on cam-pus!
You can easily seefrom the photographshow Livingston will haveplenty of room for yearsto come . You can alsosee there is an endlesslist of options for the audi-torium’s use from enter-tainment to banquets and,even as an emergencyshelter.
Polk County and Liv-
ingston, in particular,
should be very proud of
the community’s effort
and vision in making this
facility a reality.
There is even "talk"
about the ability to ex-
pand in the future.
Very exciting indeed!
Polk Co. Commerce/College Center
Photos from Top: Commerce/College Center is still a construction site of KinghamConstruction; Scott & Strong Architects drew the plans; wide hallways but more impor-tantly you can see the structure is sturdy and we were told could withstand 130 mphwinds; Rooms with views-every room has a window!; Sturdy, solid construction; L to R:Jack Uselton, Bob Kingham, Penny Uselton, Erik Koenig; Alexander Electric is respon-sible for the electricity; the plumbing is state of the art as well using the rubber tubingthroughout the building.
Military Minutes
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 10
We at American
Legion Post 629
have been very
busy the last few
months as I am sure
everyone else has
been.
We always sup-
port our community
of San Jacinto
County and our
Troops and Patriot’s
on Veterans Day
which was
Sunday, November
11th. Due to the
threat of rain instead
of holding the cere-
mony at the tradi-
tional site of the
courthouse, we had
a ceremony at our
post. We wanted to
make sure we kept
our Veteran’s,Pa-
triot’s and friend’s of
our community in
good health!
We furnished
free meals for all
who attended. I
Thanked the Auxil-
iary of our post for
doing a wonderful
job, as always. We
had a full house {as
they say} in our hall
area and several,
heart-
felt
speeches, of what
Veteran’s Day
meant to us as Vet-
eran’s, were made.
Christmas Day
we will be open from
3:00 pm till Midnight
and I am sure appe-
tizers will be served
that evening. On
New Years Eve we
will close at our nor-
mal hours and have
Karaoke
presented by one of
our Legionnaires
that night.
On December
the 1st the rider’s of
our post did a Toy
Run for the kids of
San Jacinto County
and we had a Great
turnout and the pro-
ceeds from all enmi-
ties will go to the
San Jacinto Sheriffs
Department and Fire
Department and
they will be distribut-
ing gifts for Christ-
mas to the children
who need it the
most.
CALLING ALL
CONTRACTORS:
We are now looking
into contractors from
our community to
put smoke eaters in
our post after the
first of the year. After
this is finished we
are installing new
ceiling tiles in our
adult beverage area!
We also would
like to let everyone
know all are wel-
come at our post as
long as you sign the
guest book and we
will have a member
of our post there to
sign you in.
Lydia and I wish
everyone a very
merry Christmas,
and a Happy,
healthy and prosper-
ous New Year !!
Thank You
Crystal and The
Dam Good Times
for all you have
done and continue
to do for the Vet-
eran’s.
Sincerely,
Dan Shelton, Post Commander629
Since we cover 17 states,and counting, no matterwhere your post is lo-cated, you too can haveyour American LegionPost’s news printed in TheDam Good Times. Justsend any information to news@thedamgood-times.co m
f o l l o w u s o n f a c e b o o k & t w i t t e r
w w w . t h e d a m g o o d -t i m e s . c o m
American Legion Post 629, Camilla, TX
Need a New Truck?
BOUNDSAUTOPLEX.NET
over their lips because they re-
fuse to do their homework.
Central Command (CENT-
COM)
history and culture make for an
example. Until recently, CENT-
COM, formerly sited in
Panama, was a military back-
water. This was a command
where stars went to die; an as-
signment there was a retirement
billet. When CENTCOM im-
migrated to Tampa, the mañana
or fiesta culture followed.
David Petraeus and John
Allen seem to have been a per-
fect fit: sun, fun, and bimbos --
military camp followers. How
do senior flag officers use cyber
drop boxes and send thousands
of e-mails to married groupies
and not think such behavior is
compromising? Do they not
know that NSA can read their
mail? And those who defend all
of this as "private" are correct --
as long as character doesn't
matter. Character is how you
behave when no one is watch-
ing.
Yet someone is always
watching. The night before the
Petraeus "sierra" hit the public
fan, he and Broadwell were a
couple at the annual Office of
Strategic Services
(OSS) awards dinner. "Wild"
Bill Donovan and "Vinegar" Joe
Stillwell must be spinning in
their graves.
Jim Clapper didn't fire the CIA
chief for private behavior; Pe-
traeus was fired for public, pro-
fessional stupidity.
Nonetheless, both political
parties are tripping over each
other with accolades for Pe-
traeus. They argue that drop-
box sex is a private, not a
professional failing -- which is
simply another way of saying
that personal integrity doesn't
matter. If character doesn't mat-
ter, then America has the top
brass that it deserves.
Or maybe we expect the
Joint Chiefs to entertain, not
lead; but then again, even the
Village People might be embar-
rassed by today's four-star pea-
cocks. The Joint Chiefs live in a
bubble. They learned nothing
from the Boorda incident. Re-
call that Admiral Jeremy Bo-
orda, then chief of Naval
Operations, ate his gun over a
bit of ribbon. Boorda awarded
himself a few valor devices that
he had not earned. He had
never seen combat...but the ad-
miral embellished his chest hair
at the expense of JCS reputation
anyway.
The fruit salad debate may
seem trivial to those who have
never seen combat, but for real
warriors, such pretense is an in-
sult. The logic of awards and
decorations is simple. It's eas-
ier to pass out buttons and bows
than it is to give a promotion or
a pay raise. Therefore, most
awards are for attendance, not
achievement. Senior officers
like Petraeus get awards or dec-
orations for changing their
skivvies -- or their addresses.
Indeed, if you audit the sen-
timents of troops or their de-
pendents, the cynicism about
flags like Petraeus is universal.
One veteran seemed to think
that American senior officers
resembled Moammar Gaddafi.
Another underlined the Petraeus
political career track with ques-
tions:
How does an officer with no
personal experience of direct
fire combat in Panama or
Desert Storm become a division
CDR (101st Airborne) in 2003
... [and how does] a man who
served repeatedly as a syco-
phantic aide-de-camp, military
assistant and executive officer
to four stars get so far?
Nonetheless, the men who
presume to lead continue to pa-
rade on the E-Ring in drag. Pe-
traeus alone had nearly 50
badges, awards, and decorations
on his Class A blouse -- yet no
Combat Infantry Badge (CIB).
After West Point, between cadet
and general, Petraeus attended
seven (sic) schools before get-
ting his first star.
This is a chap who probably
never saw a firefight, and then
at a distance, until very late in
his career. Yet he and the Joint
Chiefs still need forklifts to get
dressed in the morning. Such
are the hazards of softening
"soldiers" at Princeton instead
of hardening them in combat.
With no signs of prudence or
modesty at the Pentagon,
maybe Congress should man-
date a limit on gold braid and
other uniform claptrap: no more
than two rows of fruit salad,
and then only ribbons for hero-
ism or combat tours. Appear-
ances -- and restraint -- matter.
America has the best grunts,
sergeants, and junior officers in
the world. They deserve good
models; they deserve better
generals. They deserve modest
flags promoted for valor and
achievement -- warriors with
personal and professional in-
tegrity. No officer who fails to
serve in combat as a junior or
field grade officer should com-
mand any storied fighting divi-
sion, no less an entire theater.
G. Murphy Donovan is a vet-
eran and former Intelligence
officer who writes frequently
about military affairs, national
security, and Intelligence.
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 11
Pentagon Peacocks Continued from Pg 8
Photo: Susan Vaughan, owner of Terry Vaughan & Associates, Inc., celebrating 30 years of Christmas on the Square in downtown Coldspring, TX. Photo by Lonestar Photography
Thirty years ago three families, The Trapps, The Shannons and the
Bruscatos wanted to create something fun for their community. The ladies came
up with three strands of lights and Ted strung them along the sidewalk in front of
their stores. Billie Trapp, with the Sweet Adelines singing group, went from store
to store caroling. Allie Shannon arranged for Santa to meet children in the
Gazebo in front of the courthouse. It was a late afternoon affair. About midway
a heavy rain began to fall so Santa was moved to a chair in front of the feed
store. Billie Trapp remembers looking out and seeing a line of children and
parents all the way down the block and thinking to herself, “I believe we have a
winner!” Anyone who has lived in or near Coldspring will have a memory to
share about Christmas On the Square.
In 1982 the Shannons owned Shannon’s Feed Store, Billie Trapp owned
Coldspring Arts & Crafts and the Bruscatos owned a building, which they leased
out. Today, Allie and Ted Shannon are retired. Billie continues to own
Coldspring Arts & Crafts on the Courthouse Square and teaches a weekly art
class. The Bruscatos are semi-retired, still dabbling in business ventures and all
still live in Coldspring, TX.
By Blake Kellum, SJRA
With Southeast Texas
being declared to be back
into either moderate or
severe drought, Weather
Forecasters across Texas
are sending out confusing
messages these days…
I’ve heard everything
from “expect drought con-
ditions to continue
through spring”, to “a re-
turn to normal winter rain-
fall amounts are
expected”. It seems to
be a “coin toss” and nev-
ertheless not much has
changed for conditions on
area reservoirs of late.
Lake Conroe’s level
continues a slight down-
ward trend and is cur-
rently reporting by the
San Jacinto River Author-
ity at 197.93 above mean
sea level (msl), or just a
bit over 3 feet below nor-
mal pool elevation of
201.00 msl. SJRA has
received almost ½ of an
inch of rainfall at the dam
since the start of the
month, but it has had little
effect on the lake level
because of extremely dry
soil conditions that act
like a sponge to soak up
any potential runoff. With
both air and water tem-
peratures cooling and
many more cloudy days
lately, at least the evapo-
ration levels are not af-
fecting lake level as
severely as during the
warm months.
Lake Livingston, with its
massive 17,000 square
mile drainage, continues
to hold fairly steady at
near normal level, down
only ¾ of a foot. Re-
ported stage, or eleva-
tion, at the dam is
130.26msl (normal is
131.00msl). Rainfall in
the immediate water shed
since the first of the
month has averaged less
than ½ of inch, but as al-
ways, any heavy rainfall
events in the upper wa-
tershed around the Dallas
/Fort Worth Metroplex
can impact flows and lake
levels. The Trinity River
Authority is reporting a
discharge rate of 1,000
cubic feet per second
(cfs) at the dam. These
low flows are continued
to satisfy the needs of
TRA’s downstream cus-
tomers and stakeholders.
For more information
on reservoir conditions
and much more, go to:
www.sjra.net for Lake
Conroe and San Jacinto
River Authority informa-
tion,
or www.trinityra.org for
Lake Livingston and Trin-
ity River Authority infor-
mation.
For information on Lake
Levels in all 50 States go
to www.lakelevels.info
and select the State of
your choice from the
menu. Data on this site
is collected from United
States Geological Society
(USGS) monitoring sta-
tions and may vary some-
what from those reported
by the local managing
agency.
Safe Travels and Merry
Christmas to all!
Sports & Outdoors
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 12
Blake on the Lake
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 13
By Vicki Warner
It was amazing! Exhil-
arating! And a family-
friendly event. This was
my first marathon so, I
was very, very nervous.
We started at the bottom
of that HUGE hill right be-
side Bower stadium at
Sam Houston State Uni-
versity and ran all the
way up it! I’m sure I was
not the only person who
thought “I don’t know if I
can make it”, but we did
AND we kept going.
For me, the absolute
best part about the whole
run was when we started
getting close to the finish
line, total strangers were
clapping & yelling, cheer-
ing us all on to Cross.
The. Finish. Line.
Oh the joy! They were
our best friends and we
made them proud!
The feeling I got was
beyond amazing. I un-
derstand now why so
many people run
marathons. I never un-
derstood it before but I
am definitely and
completely hooked on
it now! I will be run-
ning my second
marathon on the 23rd
of December in Galve-
ston, TX; the “Santa
Hustle 5k Run” and I
cannot wait…seri-
ously,the way I felt
after crossing that fin-
ish line was a feeling I
have never had be-
fore!
Contact the Huntsville-
Walker County Chamber
of Commerce for more
events 936.295.8113
Photos Top Clockwise:The marathon runners infront of Sam HoustonState University; CathyDeYoung; Jessica DeY-oung; Vicki Warner &Tom DeYoung; JoshuaDeYoung (clearly it was a“Family Affair”)
Huntsville’s Christmas in the Pines 5K
By Deborah Martin
With the re-election of
Barack Obama I’ve been
pretty depressed and I
keep wondering – where
have all the heroes
gone? Never mind that
we hold up people like
the Kardashian family as
some kind of twisted role
models. That’s so absurd
that I can’t help but be-
lieve that, except for the
lowest of intellects, we all
know they should be held
up as models of what
NOT to do.
When I was a kid we
had lots of great folks in
the public eye who, for
the most part, were good
moral people. We spent
time learning about his-
torical figures who mod-
eled courage and
morality and civility and
humor. We looked up to
people in our own lives
who taught us by exam-
ple to be loving and pa-
tient. As an adult I now
understand that all these
people I looked up to
were much more than
they seemed to me as a
child. Doubtless they had
faults and shortcomings.
My heroes became
human as I grew up.
I looked up to people
like Jackie Kennedy who
seemed soft and kind and
a bit mysterious. She
was so beautiful and
graceful. I watched her
with her children and at
her husband’s funeral on
television. What amazing
grace under pressure.
When I learned about
Helen Keller I was fasci-
nated and moved to know
that
someone
who could
not see
nor hear became an edu-
cated woman. I thought if
she could do that, think
what I could do with two
hearing ears and seeing
eyes! What persever-
ance!
A woman named Cor-
rie ten Boom caught my
attention as well. She
lived in Amsterdam and
during WWII she and her
family sheltered many
Jewish people from the
Nazi’s. She later wrote a
book called The Hiding
Place which told their
story. I marveled at her
courage in the face of
certain death and won-
dered if I would ever
need that kind of courage
and could I summon it
when needed? I followed
Corrie’s story until her
death in the 1980’s.
Courage was a trait I dis-
covered through Corrie
ten Boom.
I discovered the
beauty and escape of
music through a piano
teacher whose name I
don’t even remember. I
was 7 when I started les-
sons and music has cap-
tivated me ever since.
Playing and singing is
such beautiful, sweet re-
lease and praise for all
that is good. I do not
Continued on Page 18
By Slim Randles
Mrs. Richardson
doesn’t often go to the
city, but Ardis saw the ad
in the big daily paper for
the singles group and
which church they used
for meetings. Mrs.
Richardson got all dolled
up, and she didn’t forget
to take the “magic” fish-
ing fly Marvin Pincus tied
for her.
It was a bass plug on
a clothespin, and he’d
suggested, only slightly
in jest, that when she met
a nice man she was to
clip it to her ear as a re-
minder to stop talking
and just smile.
She had it clipped to her
collar. It made for a good
conversation starter at
the coffee pot.
So far, Mrs. Richardson
hadn’t said a word except
to thank the woman at
the door for the blank
name tag. She wrote
“Mrs. Richardson” on it
and pinned it beneath the
bass plug/clothespin/love
fly from the Fly Fishing
Love Center right here in
our town.
hen she poured herself
a cup of coffee, while
smiling
quietly,
and
waited
for the magic to work.
He came over and she
smiled and nodded.
“Mrs. Richardson? So
you’re divorced? No? Oh,
you must be widowed
like me then. Oh I see.
I’m sorry. Isn’t it terrible to
lose them? I used to tell
Doris, I said Doris, I don’t
know what I’d do without
you so I have to die first.
Yes, I can see you know
what I mean. But I lost
her first.
“Know what, Mrs.
Richardson? That pin
you’re wearing looks a lot
like a type of bass bug I
use around here. It is?
Well what …! So you’re a
fisherman too, I take it?
No? Well, you’re never
too old to learn, are you?
Of course not. Say,
you’re not very talkative
are you? No. You don’t
have to say a thing. I
rather like quiet women,
actually. Especially when
they sip coffee so quietly
and ladylike.
“You know how to fish
that particular fly, Mrs.
Richardson? You cast it
to a quiet part of the lake
and let it sit there until all
the rings in the water
around it disappear. Then
you just twitch the end of
the fly rod just a little …
here, let me show you. I
hope you don’t mind my
holding your casting
hand like this. So when
those rings disappear,
we’re going to give that
rod just a slight twitch.
“Drives the bass crazy.
Uh, Mrs. Richardson,
would you be interested
in learning more about fly
fishing? Yes? Oh, that’s
great. Could I … I mean,
maybe we could have
dinner and talk about it
one of these days? Re-
ally? Oh that would be
good.
“Listen Mrs. R., you do
talk, don’t you?”
“Yes I do.”
“This is the best meet-
ing I’ve ever attended!”
On the way home, Mrs.
Richardson smiled qui-
etly and drove. She might
never speak again … ex-
cept to tell Marvin Pincus
he’s a genius.--------Brought to you by “A Cowboy’sGuide to Growing Up Right.”Read a sample at www.slimran-dles.com.
Commentary
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 14
Good News GazetteWhere Have all the Heroes Gone?
Home Country
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 15
By Penny Uselton
The Republicans,
Conservatives, Tea
Partiers, and Americans
have had a setback …
.not in state and local
elections, but we’ve had
a “national” setback!
Obama, along with his
like –minded buddies,
coupled with the continu-
ous help, and support, of
most of our left leaning
news media, managed to
convince 51% of the pop-
ulation , that bothered to
vote, to vote for him.
The loss to us right
now is inestimable! I kid
you not, it doesn’t look
great; but it is NOT the
end of the United States.
Don’t hesitate to work at
turning the thinking
around. ALL of us, and
our representatives, need
to get a very strong grip
on things and a strong
backbone with no hedg-
ing around or putting off
the work to be done.
Don’t be intimidated the
consequences are too
great!
Insist on teaching our
children and grandchil-
dren, how they can make
better choices. This art of
discerning choices has
become almost lost art.
Bring back the family din-
ner table conversations
and discussions at least a
few times a week. Make
a point of it. When talk-
ing, emphasize not just
the “don’t do” edicts, but
the “why not” and back it
up with information that
results in understanding
“the good, the bad and
ugly” choices that we
face. As the saying goes,
You can’t fix stupid”
BUT you sure can
fix ignorance! That
is what we have to do re-
peatedly, and often.
Carry this to the next step
and include “others” who
may never have heard
anything but the progres-
sive lingo trap and ex-
treme character
assassination of Republi-
cans and conservatives.
Unfortunately, a lot of
stupid, and ignorant peo-
ple, voted for the democ-
rats because they have
always done so; mom
and dad did so, uncle
Harry did and so on.
They have no idea what
they are losing. They will
find out that they paid a
cheap price for the con-
tinuing loss of their free-
doms.
• Single women
(70%) wanted, at tax-
payer’s expense, health-
care to cover birth control
pills and the day after pill.
• Many would rather
sit around, than work.
They wanted continued
extension of unemploy-
ment checks followed by
disability money for being
stressed out as they were
unemployed. They knew
who would keep this up
and feel no shame for
“others” to have to pay for
them to not work.
• About 50% of the
older folks were per-
suaded that healthcare
would be improved even
though we will be short
thousands of doctors and
Medicare has been
robbed to pay for oba-
macare. Presumably,
they think that Medicare
is still in tack; haven’t
heard of the “Value Years
of Life” dreamed up by
Dr. Ezekial Emmanuel
and scoff at death panels
or know nothing about
the materials being
passed to veterans in
care of the V.A. system
that encourages suicide.
With federal mandates
for healthcare; mounting
rules hamstringing busi-
nesses of ALL types;
Obama’s executive or-
ders with no check by
Congress; numerous new
and/or increased taxes
and a mounting debt, we
are losing our freedom!
We should not have to
give up our hard earned
money to pay for MORE
GOVERNMENT EX-
CESS! Government
gorging must be stopped
and stopped now! Work
to get them off our backs!
Get motivated! Speak
out! Never give in!
You Can’t Fix Stupid
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 16
By Bob Bowman
In early 1861, W.W.
Heartsill of Marshall,
Texas, marched off to war
with W.P. Lane’s Rangers
of the Confederate Army.
During the four years,
one month and one day
that he spent at war,
Heartsill managed to
keep a diary of each day.
Throughout his service,
he carried with him a
small memorandum book
with this notation on the
flyleaf: “If I am killed, or if
by any mishap this book
is lost, please send it to
my father, A. Heartsill,
Louisville, East Ten-
nessee.”
When Heartsill filled up
one of the books, he sent
it home to Marshall for
safekeeping. “Scores of
times, I was as wet as
water could make me, as
these books bear evi-
dence. Sometimes my
book would come all to
pieces after a soaking,
and as it was being writ-
ten with a pencil, I had to
retrace with a pen when
the opportunity was of-
fered.”
Heartsill’s journals are
mirrors of camp life and
the trials and pleasures
he endured as a private
in the Confederate ranks.
When he came home, he
began printing the pages
of his diaries, completing
the work in 1876.
Heartsill’s recollections
show war in its horror and
occasional moments
when the soldiers in
Lane’s Rangers laughed
at the antics of their fel-
low soldiers.
In November of 1861,
Heartsill wrote: “Today,
we attended the funeral
of a soldier, a solemn,
sad duty.”
On Sunday, July 11,
Heartsill wrote that Con-
federate and Union
troops clashed near the
Arkansas River with only
4,000 Confederate sol-
diers facing “70,000 of
the Yanks.” During the
battle, the Confederates’
hospital was set afire,
“killing two of our sur-
geons and a wounded
man who was being oper-
ated upon by the sur-
geons.”
“Such agony, such, such
horror and so many
deaths; how many of our
brave comrades perished
in this frightful tragedy,
heaven alone will reveal.”
During the battle, Heart-
sill wrote than Lane’s
Rangers “are not recog-
nized as Confederate sol-
diers, but will be teated
as guerrillas from the fact
that we are an independ-
ent company.”
On July 12th, Heartsill
wrote that,”oh, how hun-
gry we are.” He said “we
all are supplied with a lib-
eral breakfast composed
entirely of river water.” At
noon, he said, “we re-
ceive the same for dinner
that we got for breakfast”
and in the evening, the
Rangers finally got “a
good supply of fat bacon
and hard tack, which is
the only food that we
have had for 84 hours.”
The Rangers were cap-
tured by the Union troops
and loaded aboard a ship
with Arkansas soldiers.
“Every man is looking for
news about an exchange
(for Yankee soldiers held
by the South).”
Heartsill made it through
the war and he and his
fellow soldiers were mus-
tered out of service on
May 20, 1865, in Harrison
County, Texas.
(Bob Bowman of Lufkin is
the author of more than
50 books about East
Texas. He can be
reached at bob-bow-
man.com)
A Civil War Journal
Fender Bender?
BOUNDSAUTOPLEX.NET
POW WOW
Coming in January! Check our website for more details!
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 17
By Matt Bruner
(Matt is running crazy in thedesert, but he did take a mo-ment to submit a couple of old,short columns for your enjoy-ment.)
MISS SOur high school had
two social classes, freaks
and jocks. A small group
of us were lost in the mid-
dle – not substance
abusers, but not athletic
either. I don’t remember
what we were called, if
we were referred to at all.
In the eighth grade of
high school, there was a
girl that showed an inter-
est in me. We will call
her Miss S. and she was
definitely from the freak-
side of the social scale.
Though I had an interest
in girls, I was not quite
ready to actually date or
share anything more than
light conversation.
She sat in front of me,
in the front seat of the
row, in English class, and
would give me a big smile
when she turned to ac-
cept the homework
passed forward, or
graded papers passed
back. One day, we were
instructed by the teacher
to repeat a phrase to the
person behind us, in
order to reinforce our
learning. The phrase was
something like, “A verb
given an –ing ending is
no longer a verb, it is
then considered a gerund
which is a noun.” Miss S.
gave me her charming
smile, began the recita-
tion, turned bright red, but
could not finish the
phrase, apparently due to
her shyness.
The next day in class,
the shyness was appar-
ently dissipated. Miss S.
walks in, pulls a box cut-
ter from between her flat,
tan belly and her low-cut
jeans and says, “Have I
showed you my knife?
It’s nice and warm.” She
then holds the handle of
the knife against my
cheek so I might observe
the temperature. The
scent of musk, tobacco
and young woman was
quite intoxicating. It let
me forget for just a mo-
ment that a girl was hold-
ing a knife to my face in
English class. I felt
threatened, but it had lit-
tle to do with the knife.
We talked, we proba-
bly had lunch together
once or twice, but never
dated. We quickly went
on to social interests
more appropriate. But
Miss S. left a memory.
It is easy to forget, but
Tonya Harding was, for a
brief time, one of the best
figure skaters in the
world. I find her story in-
teresting and uniquely
American. She was not a
slim Asian that was in-
dulged from age five.
She was not an eastern
European that had been
threatened with the gulag
if she didn’t perform. She
was just a troubled Amer-
ican girl.
Tonya was a high
school dropout with a
GED. She has claimed
at times to have been
abused as a child, and
lost a half-brother. She
never had the skating
support system of other
skaters, and frequently
performed with sub-stan-
dard equipment. Imagine
almost missing a compe-
tition because you cannot
find a replacement for a
broken shoelace. She
once had to hitch a ride
to make a competition.
I’ll bet Yamaguchi, Hard-
ing, or Bonali never had
to hitch-hike to the arena.
Nor did they have felony-
bent spouses, and a
truckload of personal
baggage.
In 1991, Harding was
second in the world, and
was the first American
woman to do a triple axel
in competition. It is more
amazing when you com-
pare Tonya to the 99-
pound skaters who had
professional guidance al-
most since infancy.
Tonya was a chunky,
asthmatic smoker with a
string of personal prob-
lems. It is easy to picture
Harding running into the
arena at the last minute,
hopping on one foot while
she tries to put on her
skates, and throwing a
cigarette butt against the
wall when she enters the
rink. There is something
very American about that.
I cannot excuse her
legal problems or her
other antics. But I submit
to you that sometimes the
measure of greatness is
not being the best – It is
accomplishing the most.
For a brief moment, in
that respect, Tonya Hard-
ing was the best in the
world.
IN DEFENSE OF THE AMERICAN
By Crystal Laramore Lutz
If your children are
anything like my daugh-
ter, the older they get the
more clever the tooth
fairy has be.
Last year the tooth
fair left a dainty little, ce-
ramic, pink pill box,
wrapped in tooling ON
the Christmas tree for my
daughter! How sweet. It
even had a hand-painted
butterfly glued to the top.
It was just big enough for
a tooth. Go figure. What
a clever gift from the
tooth fairy. She even
wrote a little note.
Well, imagine my sur-
prise when I saw the
tooth fairy riding away
that morning...with her
butterfly wings no less!
I’m very grateful
to have captured her on
film. Not many people
are lucky enough to have
ever actually SEEN the
tooth fairy, much less
capture her on film!
She’s as slippery as
Santa Claus himself!
So, we at The Dam
Good Times just wanted
to remind everyone dur-
ing this season of make
believe, fairy tales and
wishes that really do
come true, not only is
Santa Claus alive and
well, but so is the Tooth
Fairy! Toodles! Her pic-
ture is on page 19 if your
children would like to use
it as a poster in their
room, you know, as a re-
minder...hint, hint.
And, since we will all
be writing Santa Claus
letters soon, if we haven’t
already, please send us a
copy of your little one’s
letter to Santa. We’d love
to post them on our web-
site...Merry Christmas!
The Tooth Fairy Lives
Texas Takes Times Two
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 18
Good News GazetteContinued from Page 14
know how I would cope if
I could not hear the long-
ing strings of Pachelbel’s
“Canon in D” or Patsy
Cline sing “Crazy”. The
biggest compliment I ever
received concerning
music was at a competi-
tion as an 11 year old.
The judge wrote on my
critique sheet, “I can tell
by the way you play that
you love music very
much.” Indeed.
You, dear readers,
know my love of writing
which was born as soon
as I could read “Tip and
Mitten”. I have a distinct
memory from when I was
about 4 years old. I went
to the movie theater with
my family. As we walked
past the movie posters
we stopped to look at
one. I remember dis-
tinctly how it felt not to be
able to read the words on
the poster and how excit-
ing and magical I knew it
would be to one day be
able to read for myself.
Today I am a voracious
reader; crazy in love with
the written word. All the
world is in books and I
love the weight of them in
my hand and turning the
pages one by one to find
what exciting thing comes
next. What a joy!
Reading brought
the world of the past to
life for me. I read about
historical figures like
George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln. I don’t
care if George never
chopped down that
cherry tree. The story
teaches a principle – hon-
esty – and personally, I
believe the father of our
country was far and away
an honest man. And a
courageous one as well.
Abraham Lincoln DID
split rails and he DID lose
a lot of elections before
he won the presidency.
That’s a lesson in humil-
ity.
The point of all this
is that when I was a child
I had lots of people to
look up to who displayed
traits I wanted to emulate.
I wanted to be beautiful,
have courage, practice
humility and honesty. I
wanted beauty and har-
mony in my life and saw
ways to get it. The main
lesson was always that if
I wanted something I
could go out and work for
it. I had the power.
Who are the he-
roes of today? Our kids
look up to Kardashians
and Lindsay Lohan and
Chris Brown. Sex, drugs
and violence. Now that’s
something to aspire to,
isn’t it?! Who can we
show them? I dare you.
Name 6 people in the
public eye who you would
hold up as role models
for your children?
Where are they
going to learn courage?
From Kim Kardashian?
Where are they to see
humility modeled before
them? Lindsay Lohan?
How about kindness and
concern for others?
Chris Brown? We live in
a pop culture where any
objective morality has
been pretty much thrown
out the window. “If it
feels good do it”, may
have started with my gen-
eration but this one’s got
it perfected, I think.
I sound like a real
pessimist, don’t I? Hon-
estly, I think there’s still
hope for our country in
spite of re-electing a man
who is now bent on tak-
ing us down the road of
socialism where depend-
ence is the rule, not the
exception. When I see
kids raising money so
that people far away can
have water; when I hear
of a formerly homeless
child getting an education
by sheer will and determi-
nation; when a young
man opens a door for me
to pass through because
he’s been taught common
courtesy – it gives me a
little hope.
Obviously there
are still parents out there
who are raising up their
children right and maybe
those are the most impor-
tant role models; the
ones we see every day.
Maybe it’s important for
me to model whatever it
is I want to pass along.
Wasn’t it Mahatma
Gandhi who said, “You
must be the change you
wish to see in the
world.”? So maybe it’s
not up to the Kardashians
or the Obamas. Maybe
it’s up to you and me to
be the heroes. You never
know who’s watching.
The Tooth Fairy LIVES!
Mark your calendars:
Polk Co. Chamber:
Dec 1 - Dec 21 Drop
off your letter to Santa &
receive a response from
him in the mail!!
Dec 11 Board Meeting-
Chamber of Commerce
Dec 12 Mercyfull Home
Health's Ribbon Cutting
Dec 13 Integrity Perfor-
mance's Ribbon Cutting
Dec 14 - Dec 16 Liv-
ingston Trade Days
Dec 14 The Bradford's
Pictures with Santa and
Mrs. Claus
Dec 16 Season of Ad-
vent, Lessons and Carols
Dec 17 Ambassador
Meeting-Chamber of
Commerce
Dec 18 CCC Blacktop-
ping, LLC's Ribbon Cut-
ting
Dec 18 Dead or Alive
Professional Tree Serv-
ice, Inc. Ribbon Cutting
Dec 19 Children's Christ-
mas Party with a visit
from Santa
Dec 23 Christmas in the
Courtyard and Live Nativity
Dec 24 - Jan 2
Christmas Holidays
Dec 24 - Dec 25
Christmas Eve Worship
Services
Contact us: Livingston-
Polk County Chamber of
Commerce
PO Box 600
1001 US Hwy. 59 Loop N.
Livingston, TX 77351
(936) 327-4929 or (800)
918-1305 Fax: (936) 327-
2660
chamberadmin@liv-
ingston.net
Galveston Chamber
of Commerce is hosting
the 2013 Celebrating
Women: Mind, Body,
Spirit Women's Confer-
ence with Keynote
Speaker Candace Bush-
nell, author of "Sex and
the City" April 5, 2013.
Contact the Galveston
Chamber of Commerce
at 409.763.5326
Local Offices:
The Honorable Rick
Perry, Governor
Office of the Governor,
State Capitol, Austin TX
78711-2428 (800) 252-
9600
Fax: (512) 463-1849
The Honorable John
Cornyn, Senator
517 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington DC
20510 (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
The Honorable Kay Bai-
ley Hutchison, Senator
1919 Smith Street, Suite
800, Houston TX 77002
(713) 653-3456
Fax: (202) 224-0776
Representative Ron Paul
203 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington DC
20515 and
122 West Way STE 301,
Lake Jackson, TX 77556
1501 Mockingbird Lane
STE 229, Victoria, TX
77904 (202) 225-2831
(979) 285-0231
(361) 576-1231
Clear Lake Chamber
Friday December 14th
8:00 am Toastmasters at
My Flooring America
Boardroom
Chamber, 1201 NASA
Parkway
Monday December 17th
Ribbon Cutting - Bay
Area Alliance for Youth
and Families 11:00 am -
12:00 pm
2145 W. NASA Blvd,
Webster, TX
Friday December 21st
8:00 am Toastmasters at
My Flooring of America
Boardroom Chamber,
1201 NASA Parkway
Thursday, February 07,
2013 Epicurean Evening
from 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
at Space Center Houston
Huntsville Chamber:
Dec 13 Small Business
Breakfast - sponsored by
Easco A/C & Heating
Dec 13 Thursday Leads
Exchange
Dec 13 Business After
Hours-December 2012;
sponsored by McCaffety
Electric
Dec 15 Holiday Revue
Dec 18 Preferred Part-
ners
Dec 20 Thursday Leads
Exchange
Dec 27 Thursday Leads
Exchange
Jan 1 Preferred Partners
Chamber Office:
11th Street Huntsville,
TX 77340
(936) 295-8113
Coldspring Chamber
December 11 - 6:30 p.m.
- San Jacinto County Re-
publican Party Meeting at
Coldspring Community
Center
20 - 6:00 p.m. - Demo-
cratic Party, San Jacinto
County Meeting at Cold-
spring Community Center
2013
January 3 - 2:00 p.m.
Coldspring Garden Club
meets at Coldspring
Community Center
Jan 12 - Chili Cook-off -
American Legion Post
212 - Click here for more
information
Jan 17 - 6:00 p.m. Demo-
cratic Party, San Jacinto
County Meeting at Cold-
spring Community Center
Jan 26 - Bike Through
The Forest and the Hills -
www.kingwoodfillies.net
Coldspring / San Jacinto
County Chamber of
Commerce
P O Box 980,
Coldspring, Texas 77331
936-653-2184
ccc@coldspringtexas.org
Santa Claus was spotted in Clear Lake, TX onhis way to Colorado Springs, CO! He said hehad a lot of stops to make on the way. When
asked why he was on his Harley he replied“It’s far too hot in Texas for the Reindeer justyet.” Santa told The Dam Good Times Reporter
that he’s picking up all of the “Letter’s toSanta” and also the “Naughty or Nice” lists...He
assured us the elves were VERY busy at theNorth Pole making all the toys for all the boysand girls. Santa also said that despite whatsome might think, he likes “...WHOLE milk and
EVERY kind of cookie! Ho! Ho! Ho!”
“We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
By Penny Uselton
Little did we know
what a treat we were in
for at the Livingston Ro-
tary Club meeting on No-
vember 29! The 90
member Livingston
School’s Honor Choir of
3rd,4th and 5th graders
entertained the member-
ship with a number of
Christmas songs running
the gamut from: “We
Wish You a Merry Christ-
mas,” to the “Hallelujah
Chorus,” and including
the recent “Polar Ex-
press” song.
The arrangements
were jazzy and many
times, very intricate; but
the choir didn’t miss a
beat! Their teachers at
the various Livingston el-
ementary schools recom-
mended them based on
deportment and grades.
None of the children have
to audition. Their direc-
tor, Kathy Stark, from
Timbercreek Elementary
says, “I teach them how
to sing!” Their ability to
sing is not in the calcula-
tions, but boy, can they
sing! Solos by Skylar
Plunk, Dooley Calcote
and Tanner Cates added
to the choir’s perform-
ance.
Mrs. Stark gave credit
to her Assistant Director,
and former band instruc-
tor, Candice Cozart, for
the great help she has
been with the choir and
all of the volunteer par-
ents who make every-
thing possible.
If you have the oppor-
tunity, don’t miss hearing
this choir perform! They
are really talented; well
trained; and entertaining!
In other words, find out
where they will be per-
forming and go to see
and hear them.
Livingston Rotary Club and
Livingston School’s Honor Choir
Present Crowd with An Early
Christmas Gift
Choir Director Kathy Stark from Timbercreek
Last Week’s Answers
Crossword PuzzleAcross
1. Cattle farm
6. Wooden pin
9. Cutlass
14. Ablaze
15. Mature
16. Spooky
17. Overwhelming fear
and anxiety
18. An opposing argu-
ment
19. Rapidly
20. Kind of table
22. Pit viper
24. Pastry item
25. Chicken
26. Beer
29. Ness
31. Olympic field event
36. Pile
38. Breakers
40. Flat-bottomed boat
41. In a relaxed manner
42. Mythical cave-
dwelling
creature
44. Song
45. Affirm
46. Stead
47. Violence by an unruly
mob
48. Erase
50. Rational
52. Single
53. Edible tuber
55. In the past
57. Plug
62. Bother
66. Pontifical
67. Frozen
69. A relative by marriage
70. Sports venue
71. Deplete
72. Baked in an oven or
on
a griddle
73. Cash
74. Female sheep
75. Measuring instrument
Down
1. Ecstatic
2. A great distance
3. Three squared
4. Thin potato chip
5. Feverish
6. Step
7. Self
8. Writing style
9. Furniture item
10. Sobbed
11. Using speech rather
than writing
12. Food grain
13. Cervid
21. To the lowest degree
23. Conjunction
25. Valiance
26. In front
27. Depart
28. Tripod
30. Knitting stitch
32. Box lightly
33. Oddity
34. Employee organiza-
tion
35. Condition
37. Heaped wood used
as a funeral rite
39. Jumping insect
43. Relating to the moon
49. Oculus
51. Self-interest
54. Come into existence
56. Unit of weight
57. Junk e-mail
58. Starchy tuberous root
59. Overt
60. Part of a window
61. Frolic
62. Sort
63. Smudge
64. Bowling alley
65. Pitcher
68. Sound made by
corvine
birds
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 22
The Dam GossipSNICKER Rumor Has It
...COVER: Madison won the children’s art contest at the2012 Gensler’s Children’s Holiday Party. Her artwork willbe featured on the t-shirts for the 2013 Holiday Party! Hergrandparents, Jim & Laurie McMurrey reside in Coldpring,TX.
...Shabby Sheek moved. They are now “almoston the square” caddy corner from ColdspringCafe...
...Crystal’s Bistro is closed and is for sale...
...Taylor Swift is never, ever, never, never, evergetting back together with her ex...ever. Never.
...The Tooth Fairy was spotted in Livingston, TX! Seepage 17 for story and page 19 for the once in a life-time photograph of the Tooth Fairy!
...Santa Claus will be visiting your area soon! Tellyour parents to check with your local chamber ofcommerce for details and dates!
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 23
A Tourist walked into a
Chinese curio shop in
San Francisco. While
looking around at the ex-
otic merchandise, he no-
ticed a very lifelike,
life-sized, bronze statue
of a rat. It had no price
tag, but was so incredibly
striking the tourist de-
cided he must have it. He
took it to the old shop
owner and asked, "How
much for the bronze rat?"
"Ahhh, you have cho-
sen wisely! It is $12 for
the rat and $100 for the
story," said the wise old
Chinese man.
The tourist quickly
pulled out twelve dollars.
"I'll just take the rat, you
can keep the story".
As he walked down
the street carrying his
bronze rat, the tourist no-
ticed that a few real rats
had crawled out of the al-
leys and sewers and had
begun following him down
the street. This was a bit
disconcerting so he
began walking faster.
A couple blocks later
he looked behind him and
saw to his horror the herd
of rats behind him had
grown to hundreds, and
they began squealing.
Sweating now, the
tourist began to trot to-
ward San Francisco Bay.
Again, after a couple
blocks, he looked around
only to discover that the
rats now numbered in the
MILLIONS, and were
squealing and coming to-
ward him faster and
faster.
Terrified, he ran to the
edge of the Bay and
threw the bronze rat as
far as he could into the
Bay.
Amazingly, the mil-
lions of rats all jumped
into the Bay after the
bronze rat and were all
drowned. The man
walked back to the curio
shop in Chinatown .
"Ahhh," said the
owner, "You come back
for story?"
"No sir," said the man,
"I came back to see if you
have a bronze Democrat.
A Tale of Two Legends...
On the left is a picture of how (non) busy the Mi-
crosoft Box store was on a particular day. On the right
is an Apple box store...I’m just sayin...
Photos by TDGT
The Dam Good Times
936.653.8788
news@thedamgoodtimes.com
www.thedamgoodtimes.com
Publisher: Crystal Laramore Lutz
Editors: Deborah K. Martin, Cheryl Laramore
Web Editor: Jennifer Adair
Sr. Account Executives: Jacqueline Morrison, Vicki Warner, Liz
Wilson, Sandra Thomas,
Photography: Crystal Laramore Lutz, Mandy Nettles, Jeff Jordan
Contributors: Deborah Martin, Blake Kellum, Bob Bowman,
Slim Randles, Matt Bruner, Penny Uselton, Paula Garcia, Ernest
Murray, Students and Staff of COCISD, LISD, and HISD and
friends of The Dam Good Times
©Copyrights, The Dam Good Times, Coldspring, Texas 2010
____________________________________________________
The Dam Good Times is a monthly newspaper and is pub-
lished by The Dam Good Times @ 50 State Hwy 150, POB 911,
Coldspring, TX 77331. Telephone number 936.653.8788. (OLD
TRUTH)
TDGT welcomes any comments or suggestions submitted in
writing to the paper. Any editorials or opinions used in this publi-
cation are those of the writers and in no way reflect the views and
opinions of The Dam Good Times.
TDGT is currently circulating 6000 copies throughout the
Lake Livingston, Clear Lake, Huntsville, Conroe & Greater
Houston area and we have subscribers in 17 states.
We are distributed by retail, subscriptions and occasional ran-
dom distribution. Subscription rates are $35/year in county and
$40 outside San Jacinto County. The Dam Good Times is an offi-
cial publication of the County of San Jacinto, Texas.
TDGT expects honest advertising standards from its patrons
and does not in amy way take responsibility for false or mislead-
ing advertisements.
All contents of The Dam Good Times are reserved and we pro-
hibit reproduction of the items without permission.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Dam Good
Times, POB 911, Coldspring, TX 77331
Want to subscribe or advertise?
Contact us at 936.653.8788 Just in case you’ve had your head in the sand-the time for CHANGE is here! We own
several blogs and we are almost so semi-famous that we decided it’s high time for a new
newspaper in our area. Soooo, mail us a check for 35 bucks if you live in San Jacinto
County and 40 if you’re an outsider, aka weekender, (HEY! It takes one to know one...) and
we’ll send you our amazingly clever newspaper. We’ll even lick the stamp. You just can’t
find deals like this anymore. Wanna advertise? Don’t be wishy washy. Our paper is a
sharp contrast to those yellow-belllied newspapers you’re used to reading & pretty soon
people will be begging for ad space and we’ll be too busy to answer the phones! And just
like that-YOU’RE out of the loop! (If UR not laughing-UR not living)
Send checks to: The Dam Good Times, POB 911, Coldspring, TX 77331 www.thedam-goodtimes.com news@thedamgoodtimes.com
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 24
Give a Gift that
will last all year
Long!
HO! HO! HO!
Merry Christmas
from TDGT!
Just fill out the form, mail it to us along with
a check and we will take care of the rest!Merry Christmas from:________________________________________
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 25
Naomi Holley, daughter of Dan & Glynis
Holley, graduated from Air Force boot camp on
October 12, 2012. Naomi graduated from Cold-
spring High School in May as one of the first
recipients of the Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD Educa-
tion Foundation (COEF) awards (going to the top ten
academic students) and went straight into the Air
Force! Naomi also graduated from Tech
School on December 6th. Thank you Naomi for
serving our country and for being a big fan of
The Dam Good Times! Let’s wish her well as
she flies off to Guam!
TDGT Travels...
Lackland Airforce Base
San Antonio, TX
Naomi Holley
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 26
Associated Press
A team of formerNASA executives islaunching a private ven-ture to send people to themoon for a price that isdefinitely out of thisworld.
For $1.5 billion, thenewly formed business isoffering countries a two-person trip to the moon,either for research or na-tional prestige. The ven-ture was announcedWednesday.NASA's last trip to themoon was 40 years ago.The United States wasthe only country thatlanded people there,
beating the Soviet Unionin a space race to themoon that transfixed theworld. But once the raceended, there has beenonly sporadic interest inthe moon. PresidentBarack Obama cancelledNASA's planned return tothe moon, saying Amer-ica had already beenthere.
But the firm has talkedto other countries, whichare showing interest ingoing, said former NASAassociate administratorAlan Stern, who is presi-dent of the new GoldenSpike Company. Sternsaid he's looking at coun-tries like South Africa,South Korea, and Japan.
"It's not about being first.It's about joining theclub," Stern said. "We'rekind of cleaning up whatNASA did in the 1960s.We're going to make acommodity of it in the2020s."
Stern said he's aimingfor a first launch beforethe end of the decadeand then up 15 or 20launches total.
Dozens of privatespace companies havestarted up recently, butfew if any will make it --just like in other fields --said Harvard astronomerJonathan McDowell, whotracks launches world-wide.
Many of those compa-
nies hope to follow thesuccess of Space X,which has ferried cargo tothe International SpaceStation for NASA. Butmore than 90 percent ofnew ventures will fail be-fore anything is built, hesaid.
"This is unlikely to bethe one that will pan out,"McDowell said.
Even though manycountries ponied up mil-lions of dollars to fly theirastronauts about theRussian space station Mirand the American spaceshuttles in the 1990s, abillion dollar price tagseems a bit steep, hesaid.
The latest company is
full of space veterans;American Universityspace policy professorHoward McCurdy calledthem "heavy hitters" inthe field. The board chair-man is Apollo era flight di-rector Gerry Griffin, whoonce headed the John-son Space Center. Advi-sors include spaceshuttle veterans, Holly-wood directors, formerHouse Speaker NewtGingrich, former U.N.Ambassador Bill Richard-son and engineer-authorHomer Hickam.
Stern says the com-pany will buy existingrockets and capsules,only needing to developnew spacesuits and alunar lander.
To the moon? Firm hopes to sell $1.5 billion trips
The Houston SPCA needs your help! What a better gift for your children, an eld-erly parent or grandparent than an abandoned puppy, dog, kitten or cat? If youdon’t adopt a pet and you have children, we may tell Santa Claus on you! If youare in the Lake Livingston area you can always adopt a dog or puppy from S.T.A.R.S. Contact Jacqueline Cloud at 936.203.7004
How Much is that Puppy in the Window?
Winter Rates Now ApplyCall for Details and Availability
Dr. Deanna Foster at 818.522.2520
World & Local
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 28
Washington, DC –
Today, the U.S. House of
Representatives ap-
proved a measure to help
American innovators hire
top graduates of U.S. uni-
versities with advanced
degrees in science, tech-
nology, engineering and
mathematics who were
born abroad.
“America trained these
scientists, engineers and
mathematicians. Why
shouldn’t Americans get
the benefit of their knowl-
edge?” asked Texas Con-
gressman Kevin Brady,
who co-sponsored HR
6429, the STEM Jobs
Act. “The global technol-
ogy race will determine if
our nation remains the
largest economy in world,
but it all depends on at-
tracting the best and
brightest minds in the
world to help America win
that race.”
The measure is net
immigration neutral, pro-
viding up to 55,000 visas
annually to high-tech
workers while ending a
controversial ‘visa lottery’
program that awards
green cards based on an
annual drawing.
“This is important for
the Texas economy. Our
companies turn down too
much work because we
don’t have the qualified
workers to get the job
done, which means we
lose critical economic
growth,” said Brady, who
regularly holds roundtable
discussions with technol-
ogy companies in the
Houston region and
across the state. “Texas
innovators have the jobs.
Until we can generate
more home-grown gradu-
ates in these high-tech
degrees, let’s take advan-
tage of the qualified can-
didates already studying
here.”
Washington, D.C.— U.S.
Representative Kevin
Brady (R-TX), Vice Chair-
man of the Joint Eco-
nomic Committee,
released the attached
Republican Staff Analysis
examining a recent report
from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS)
that claimed there was no
statistical relationship be-
tween the top statutory
tax rate and economic
growth.
“The Congressional Re-
search Service report that
top tax rates don’t matter
to the economy has two
glaring flaws that lead to
the wrong conclusion,”
says Brady. “ The report
ignores the total tax bur-
den imposed by federal,
state, and local govern-
ments on job creators
and high income earners,
and fails to recognize that
top rates today capture a
dramatically larger share
of income than in the
past, including roughly
half of all net business in-
come taxed at the individ-
ual level.”
“The top rate is only one
feature of our tax system
and by itself tells us noth-
ing about the overall tax
burden. And since more
and more businesses
now file as individual tax
payers, the impact on the
economy is significantly
larger.”
Brady says Congress and
the White House should
focus instead on the ef-
fective marginal tax rates
on labor and capital be-
cause “they have the
greatest effect on after-
tax income which, in turn,
affects the incentive to
work, save, and invest.”
According to this JEC Re-
publican Staff Analysis,
from 1945 to 1963 when
the top statutory tax rate
was 90 percent, only 1
percent of total Adjusted
Gross Income (AGI) was
affected. Over time the
top statutory tax rate has
decreased, but the share
of total AGI reported by
taxpayers subject to the
top rate has increased. In
2007, taxpayers subject
to the top rate reported
18 percent of total AGI.
“The economic effects of
the exorbitant top rates in
the past are not compara-
ble with the effects of an
increase in today’s top
rate.” Brady concluded,
“Before Congress de-
cides it can raise the top
statutory tax rate without
adverse effects, Con-
gress needs to get the
relevant facts about how
taxes really affect the
economy.”
NEW ANALYSIS: CRS Report on Tax Rates FlawedCRS Report based on incomplete and misleading measure of tax burden
Washington, DC – U.S.
Congressman Kevin
Brady has the following
statement on today’s
controversial United Na-
tion’s vote to recognize
Palestine.
“I wish I could say an-
other irresponsible,
short-sighted and politi-
cally motivated vote by
the United Nations is a
surprise, but when it
come to Israel and the
Middle East this body
continues to hit new
lows. Recognizing
Palestine as a non-
member state is another
step backward in peace,
another roadblock, an-
other counter-productive
act that makes it more
difficult to reach a long-
lasting resolution. It’s
telling also, that Presi-
dent Obama’s last-mo-
ment promise of
personal engagement
was rejected flatly by the
Palestinians. I wish we
had real leadership on
this issue from the White
House rather than lec-
tures to our long-time
ally Israel.”
House Votes to Keep America Competitive in Re-
search, High-TechSTEM Jobs Act allows top science, math graduates to stay in America
to help win global technology race
Congressman Kevin Brady
Statement on UN Palestinian
Vote
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 29
Forget the stock market's dismal decade of much-ado-about-nothing and ignore the USD Dol-
lar's declination; when it comes to reflection on what this once great nation has 'created' since
2001, the following chart from Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare sums it up better
than most.
Washington DC—
The Joint Eco-
nomic Committee
will hold a hearing
on, “Fiscal Cliff:
How to Protect the
Middle Class, Sus-
tain Long-Term
Economic Growth,
and Reduce the
Federal Deficit,” on
Thursday, Decem-
ber 6, 2012, at
9:30 a.m., in room
216 of the Hart
Senate Office
Building. Dr. Mark
Zandi, Chief Econ-
omist of Moody’s
Analytics in
Philadelphia, PA,
and Dr. Kevin Has-
sett, Senior Fellow
and Director of Eco-
nomic Policy Studies
for the American En-
terprise Institute in
Washington D.C.,
are scheduled to tes-
tify. Chairman Bob
Casey will be pre-
siding.
Congressman Kevin Brady held his final Polk County Town Hall meeting on Mon-
day, November 19 where he gave the crowd at the Watson Building an update on
the fiscal cliff before taking questions. While redistricting is moving the boundaries
of District 8, Brady told Polk County that it has been his honor to represent them in
Washington and "while district lines change, friendships do not."
Thank You!
Fiscal Cliff: How to Protectthe Middle Class, SustainLong-Term EconomicGrowth, and Reduce theFederal DeficitA Hearing Before the Joint Eco-nomic Committee
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 30
Washington, DC – Con-
gressman Kevin Brady
(R-TX) released the fol-
lowing statement regard-
ing the escalation of
violence between Israel
and Hamas:
“The nation of Israel
is our strongest ally in
the Middle East, and I
have long supported the
right of the Israeli gov-
ernment to defend its
borders. It is unthinkable
that Hamas is now tar-
geting Jerusalem with
their missile attacks, and
there is no question as
to whether or not Israel
should respond with the
resources they deem
necessary in order to
protect their citizens and
their homeland. I am
confident that the United
States government will
continue to stand behind
our friends in Israel as
they defend their sover-
eignty.”
Fiscal Cliff: How to
Protect the Middle
Class, Sustain Long-
Term Economic
Growth, and Reduce
the Federal Deficit
A Hearing Before the
Joint Economic Commit-
tee
Washington DC—The
Joint Economic Commit-
tee will hold a hearing
on, “Fiscal Cliff: How to
Protect the Middle Class,
Sustain Long-Term Eco-
nomic Growth, and Re-
duce the Federal
Deficit,” tomorrow at
9:30 a.m., in room 216 of
the Hart Senate Office
Building. Dr. Mark Zandi,
Chief Economist of
Moody’s Analytics in
Philadelphia, PA, and Dr.
Kevin Hassett, Senior
Fellow and Director of
Economic Policy Studies
for the American Enter-
prise Institute in Wash-
ington D.C., are
scheduled to testify.
Chairman Bob Casey
will be presiding.
MONROE, Ga. (AP) —
The woman who was
listed as the world's old-
est person died Tuesday
in a Georgia nursing
home at age 116.
Besse Cooper died
peacefully Tuesday after-
noon in Monroe, accord-
ing to her son Sidney
Cooper. Monroe is about
45 miles east of Atlanta.
Cooper said his
mother had been ill re-
cently with a stomach
virus, then felt better on
Monday. On Tuesday he
said she had her hair set
and watched a Christmas
video, but later had trou-
ble breathing. She was
put on oxygen in her
room and died there
about 2 p.m., Cooper
said.
"With her hair fixed it
looked like she was ready
to go," he said.
Besse Cooper was de-
clared the world's oldest
person in January 2011.
In May 2011, Guinness
World Records learned
that Maria Gomes
Valentin of Brazil was 48
days older. Valentin died
the next month.
"It's a sad day for me,"
said Robert Young, Guin-
ness senior consultant for
gerontology. He recalls
meeting Cooper when
she was 111 and took
note of her mental agility.
"At that age she was
doing really well, she was
able to read books," he
said.
Last year on Cooper's
115th birthday, she cele-
brated with friends and
relatives, enjoyed two
small slivers of birthday
cake and was serenaded
by a musician from
Nashville who sang "Ten-
nessee Waltz."
Sidney Cooper said
his family will likely hold a
funeral for his mother
later this week.
Besse Cooper was the
first Georgian to hold the
world record. She was
born in Tennessee and
moved to Georgia during
World War I to look for
work as a teacher.
The title of world's old-
est person now belongs
to 115-year-old Dina
Manfredini, of Johnston,
Iowa, Young said. The
oldest known person of
all time was Jeanne Cal-
ment, a French woman
who lived to be 122 years
old and died in 1997.
World’s Oldest Person Dies
For most people, run-
ning one marathon is
enough. Not for Scottish
fitness enthusiast Dr. An-
drew Murray though. He
decided to take on a truly
epic challenge as he set
himself the task of com-
pleting seven ultra
marathons on seven con-
tinents in just seven days.
The challenge began
in the Antarctic, where Dr
Murray ran 50 kilometres,
before thawing out and
boarding a plane bound
for Chile – where he com-
pleted the South Ameri-
can leg of his challenge
by running 50km on the
streets of Santiago.
Then it was off to At-
lanta, Georgia, for the
third leg, before a stop in
London, where Dr Murray
and his running mates
braved the rain as they
ran along the banks of
the River Thames. He
then travelled to Cairo,
Dubai and finally to Syd-
ney, where he completed
the challenge five days,
13 hours and 28 minutes
after he started.
Although elated, he ad-
mitted to feeling more
than a little sore: "My
body feels absolutely
wrecked. We know that
regular exercise is one of
the best things you can
do for your health, but
perhaps running 50km
each day for a week will
leave you a bit tender."
Source: Reuters
Vicki Warner ran a 5k
in Huntsville and it only
took her 45 minutes! She
will be training and
preparing for the “Santa
Hustle” marathon in
Galveston next month.
But, I doubt she will ever
want to run seven
marathons on seven con-
tinents...EVER! NEVER!
EVER! EVER! NEVER!
as Taylor Swift would say.
Got Facebook?
BOUNDSAUTOPLEX.NET
Man runs seven Marathons on Seven Continents in Under Seven DaysFrom Antarctica to Sydney, Dr Andrew Murray overcomes exhaustion and aching feet to run
seven ultra-marathons on seven continents in less than a week.
December 2012 The Dam Good Times Page 31
Rand Fans Rejoice: 'Shrugged' Sequel on Blu-ray
in Spring, 'Part III' in Theaters July 4, 2014
Randians who still can't
wait for the three-part "Atlas
Shrugged" film franchise to
wrap now have some very
good news.
"Atlas Shrugged: Part II," now
playing in select theaters, will be re-
leased via 20th Century Fox Home
Entertainment in Spring 2013 on
Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Download and
Video on Demand.
We also now know the third film
in the franchise is a go - and the
planned release date couldn't be
more appropriate.
Tina Turner
Used to
Shoo Birds
A CENTRAL England
airport has started play-
ing Tina Turner songs at
high volume after dis-
covering the distinctive
sound of the powerful
diva effectively deters
birds from the runway.
The songs, including
Simply The Best and
What's Love Got To Do
With It, blare from a
loudspeaker mounted on
a van which is driven up
and down the airstrip at
Gloucestershire Airport.
"Normally we use the
speakers to play bird-
distress calls. But when
they stopped working
properly we found we
could use Tina Turner
just as effectively," head
of airport operations
Darren Lewington told
British newspaper The
Daily Telegraph.
Without deterrents, it
is feared aircraft could
be hit by crows or gulls.
• News.com.au
Maybe Lisa Anderson
of Coldspring, TX should
have tried this at Bayer
when she had a dove
problem...it would have
probably been cheaper
and less labor intensive
than the fix a group of
highly educated engi-
neers came up with. I’m
just sayin’.
Croc Found in Brazos River
Washington, D.C.—Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX),Vice Chairman and in-coming Chairman of theJoint Economic Commit-tee, called today’s newsthat the U.S. economyadded 146,000 nonfarmpayroll jobs, including147,000 private payrolljobs, during November“unimpressive.” He notedthat after all the adminis-tration’s proclamationsthat the economy wassteadily improving, “theunemployment rate re-mains too high. Andtoday’s small decline inthe unemployment ratewas driven by peopledropping out of the work-force.”
“While HurricaneSandy certainly hadsome effect on today’s re-port, the fact remains that
job creation during thecurrent recovery hasbeen anemic,” the Con-gressman stated. “At thepresent rate of privatepayroll job growth, it willtake another 23 monthsto return to the number ofprivate payroll jobs thatwe had in January 2008,the pre-recession peak.”Brady concluded, “ThePresident’s insistence onhiking taxes on job cre-ators even more and thegrowing uncertainty overObamaCare and the res-olution of the fiscal cliffwill likely result in continu-ing lackluster job growthand eventual job losses inthe private sector. ThePresident needs to drophis ideological crusadeagainst success and helpget the economy movingmore quickly.”
Job Creation Still Too Slow“Uncertainty takes toll on job growth,” JEC in-
coming Chairman maintains
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