the dam good times december 2012 vol 100

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

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

http://www.terryvaughan.com


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.

http://www.boundsautoplex.net

http://www.pedigofurniture.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pedigofurniture

http://twitter.com/PedigoFurniture

http://www.youtube.com/user/pedigofurniture


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 [email protected] 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


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


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


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

[email protected].


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

http://www.cochranfh.com

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


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 [email protected] 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.


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.

http://www.LoneStarPhotoStudios.com

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


Blake on the Lake


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


Good News GazetteWhere Have all the Heroes Gone?

Home Country


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

http://www.thedamgoodtimes.com


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!



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


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


Exchange


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

[email protected]

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


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!


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

[email protected]

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 [email protected]


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:________________________________________


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

http://www.923theeagle.com

http://www.1440thebreeze.com


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

http://www.suenotropica.com

World & Local


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


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


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.



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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