November 24, 2004
Happy Thanksgiving!
May everyone in the neighborhood have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving.
Here's something on the history of Thanksgiving:
“It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gracious gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States ... to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
-Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day, October 3, 1863
Posted by webmaster at 11:14 PM
November 01, 2004
Ellis Island - 50 Years Ago - America's Front Door Closes
I was browsing through the November 2004 Issue of Smithsonian magazine and came upon an interesting tidbit regarding Ellis Island. It's in the "This Month In History" page which lists anniversaries that are "Momentous or Merely Memorable." Ellis Island, "America's front door," was closed in November 1954, sixty-two years after the first immigrant passed through it. The article makes mention that more than 12 million immigrants faced legal and medical exams at Ellis Island to gain entry into the country with 98 percent passing. In 2004 their descendants make up nearly half of the U.S. population.
The internet is a great place to search up information on something that you may find of interest, and this short article interested me enough to search for more information on Ellis Island. A Google search turned up many many many links. One of these links took me to an interesting website, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. The site has an extended timeline and history of the island as well as the ability to search Passenger Arrival records. I searched on my last name, Holt, and was amazed at how many immigrants with the name were processed through Immigration at Ellis Island. Maybe it's time to start working again on the ol' Family Tree.
America truly is a "melting pot" of different cultures, nationalities, religions, beliefs, and political affiliations. It's a wonder that our great country works at all sometimes. I believe the common denominator that binds us all together is our love of freedom. Freedom to express ourselves, freedom of religion, freedom to choose our political affiliations. You don't have to look hard or far to see what the United States has going for it. We as Americans often times get "immune" to all the freedoms and rights we enjoy as a country, because they're always there. It's sort of like having running water in your house.... it's taken for granted until there's a water line break. When the water is shut off for a few hours while the repairs take place, those hours can seem like an eternity.
Tomorrow, November 2nd, take time out of your busy day and exercise one of your many rights..... VOTE! Don't take this right for granted! When you cast your vote, please think about the people that have fought for your rights. To add some more wear to a saying... "Freedom isn't free," just ask a Veteran.
Posted by webmaster at 09:36 PM
October 29, 2004
Election Day Trivia
Make sure you vote on November 2nd!
With Election Day just around the corner, people and parties, programs and promises are being discussed by everyone.Here are some interesting facts about elections:
Federal elections have been held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November since 1845.
Since America was originally a society where most people farmed or worked on the land, November was chosen for elections because it is the most convenient month for farmers and rural workers to travel to the polls.
The first Tuesday after the first Monday was chosen for Election Day in order to avoid the election ever being on on November 1st. Lawmakers didn't want Election Day to fall on November 1st because it is a religious holiday for for Roman Catholics. Also, in 1845 merchants usually balanced their books from the previous month on the first day of the new month.
Want to learn more about voting and elections? Check out FirstGov.gov's "Voting and Elections" page at
http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting.shtml.
Posted by webmaster at 08:35 AM
June 20, 2004
Oklahoma - Sorry I couldn't resist.
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God. "Where have you been?"
God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?" Inquired Michael, still confused.
God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth but cold and harsh while southern Europe is going to be poor but sunny and pleasant." I have made some lands abundant in water and other lands parched deserts. This one will be extremely hot and while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."
The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land mass and said "What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's OKLAHOMA -- the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful lakes, streams, hills, and forests. The people from OKLAHOMA are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace."
Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there would be balance!"
God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I put in OKLAHOMA CITY at the Capitol."
Posted by webmaster at 11:10 AM
June 19, 2004
The Story of Father's Day
Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.
The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all be honored on Father's Day.
Posted by webmaster at 11:37 PM
June 05, 2004
Litmus Test for Local Government?
One of the many newsletters that I'm subscribed to comes from the OCPA (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs). Although I don't agree with all their policy positions, a lot of the points that are brought up by this organization are thought provoking. I was reading through the veritable sea of information when I ran across this question and resulting answer.
Should Local Government Subsidize Business?
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very sophisticated in the finer intricacies or inner workings of politics and quite honestly I don't really want to be. I've been described on more than one occasion as being a "calls them like he sees them" and "needs to be more diplomatic" type of person. Some people that know me probably have many other unprintable names for me as well.
In a free society and market economy, government should be limited to protecting people and their property while undertaking for people beneficial functions they cannot perform themselves. Government should provide for citizens what markets cannot readily supply. Thus government often provides public goods which markets would under-supply. Taxing some citizens to simply to give the money to another citizen, or equivalently to give someone a product or service at less than the market price, is not a legitimate function of the government in a free society.
To steal a phrase from my wife.... "I like what I like" and I happen to like the above answer to the question regarding local govenments subsidizing businesses. I guess thats why my comfort factor dwindles when I read news regarding giving businesses subsidies or breaks for locating here. When you throw in all the politics that are involved, my comfort factor dwindles even further.
A recent post at Batesline.com regarding the Bass Pro Shop that will be in Broken Arrow will maybe illustrate how local government and business subsidies might not be in the interest for *ALL* citizens. Unfortunately I have a lot of questions but no solutions. One thing I do know is that going to the "tax the citizen" well again and again can only go on for so long before the well runs dry.
I would like to encourage you to visit OCPA's website as well as Michael Bate's website for various points about policies that affect all of us.
Posted by webmaster at 11:18 AM
June 01, 2004
Gas Pricing 101
Recently I submitted the LCNA News to a web ring site called Blog Oklahoma. The Blog Oklahoma web ring is a community of websites that have some connection to, write about, or live in the State of Oklahoma. There's also a link to the Blog Oklahoma webring in the lower right side of the LCNA News page.
An interesting article that was linked to at the Blog Oklahoma site dealt with gas pricing. It's definately worth the read if you've fealt the higher costs of gas on your cash flow. The article can be found here.
If your interested in the various prices of gas in and around Tulsa you might want to check out this website as well called TulsaGasPrices.com.
On our homepage there's also a new poll for you to vote in regarding gas prices. Take a moment and vote! It's fun, painless, and bet of all it's FREE.
Posted by webmaster at 08:02 PM
May 29, 2004
The Origins of Memorial Day
Memorial Day signals the start of summer to many people. It's the first three day weekend for some and a excuse to fire up the charcoal, visit the nearest lake, open the swimming pool, and generally rest, relax and play for three days.
Whatever you do this Memorial Day, take a moment and remember our Nation's fallen soldiers who have made it all possible! Here is some information I found on the internet regarding the history of Memorial Day. I hope everyone has a safe holiday!
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans - the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.The ceremonies centered on the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant and other Washington officials presided. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.
Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of General Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo's claim say earlier observances in other places were informal, not community-wide or one-time events.
By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day. The Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all America's wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.
Many Southern states have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.
Gen. Logan's order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 "with the choicest flowers of springtime" urged: "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."
The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today's observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave -- a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.
The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War more than 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation's wars: "Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men."
In December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law "The National Moment of Remembrance Act," P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission's charter is to "encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity" by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: "It's a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day."
Posted by webmaster at 12:37 AM
April 03, 2004
Time to Change the Clocks!
Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase "Spring forward, fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving time affects their clocks.
At 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time ("spring forward"). We "fall back" at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time. The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the six-and-a-half-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. changes as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Tome (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.
Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time. Arizona, Hawaii, parts of Indiana, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time.
Other parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide "summertime period." The EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October. During the summer, Russia's clocks are two hours ahead of standard time. During the winter, all 11 of the Russian time zones are an hour ahead of standard time. During the summer months, Russian clocks are advanced another hour ahead. With their high latitude, the two hours of Daylight Saving Time really helps to save daylight. In the southern hemisphere where summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don't observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season, so there's no advantage to moving clocks forward during the summer.
The next time you're changing your clocks for Daylight Saving Time, remember that it's not just trying to mess up your schedule but its purpose is to save energy.
Posted by webmaster at 06:20 PM
March 17, 2004
Happy St. Patrick's Day
by the U.S. Census Bereau
Irish-American Heritage Month (March) &
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)
Although not an “official” holiday in the United States, St. Patrick’s Day has a long history of being celebrated with parades and general goodwill for all things Irish. The day commemorates St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. Because many Americans celebrate their Irish lineage on St. Patrick’s Day, March was picked as Irish-American Heritage Month. The month was first proclaimed in 1995 by Congress. The U.S. president also issues an Irish-American Heritage Month proclamation.
Population Distribution
34.3 million
Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (3.9 million).
24%
Percentage of Massachusetts residents of Irish ancestry — about double the national percentage. The other New England states also have relatively high concentrations of people of Irish descent, with New Hampshire (23 percent) and Rhode Island (21 percent) the highest.
Coming to America
156,000
Number of foreign-born U.S. residents born in Ireland.
4.8 million
Total number of immigrants from Ireland admitted for lawful permanent residence since fiscal year 1820, the earliest year for which official immigration records exist; about half of these immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence by fiscal year 1870. Only Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Mexico have had more immigrants admitted for permanent residence to the United States than Ireland.
1,419
Total number of immigrants from Ireland admitted for lawful permanent residence to the United States in the 2002 fiscal year.
Trade With the “Old Sod”
$23.2 billion
The value of U.S. imports from the Republic of Ireland during a recent 11-month period (January-November 2003). Nearly half the imports were organic chemicals, worth about $11.0 billion. Meanwhile, the United States exported $7.1 billion worth of goods to Ireland, with the leading exports being nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and parts worth
$1.5 billion in all.
Places to Spend the Day
4
Number of places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,914 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 163 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 127.
9
Number of places in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin, Ohio, as the most populous of these places (34,345 compared with 32,806 as of July 1, 2002).
• If you’re still not into the spirit of St. Paddy’s Day after stopping by one of the places named “Shamrock” or “Dublin,” then you might consider paying a visit to Emerald Isle, N.C., with 3,500 residents, of whom a ratio of 1-in-6 are of Irish descent.
The Celebration
22
The number of gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually. On St. Patrick’s Day, some drinking establishments offer green-dyed beer to their thirsty patrons.
Demographics
Irish-Americans are both better-educated and more financially well-off than the population as a whole. Thirty percent of those age 25 years old and over have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and their annual median household income is $48,900; for the population as a whole, the respective figures are 24 percent and $42,000.
Posted by webmaster at 12:31 PM
St. Patrick: Fact and Fantasy
St. Patrick: fact and fantasy
- St. Patrick is supposed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland. Certainly, there are no snakes in Ireland — but there are none in New Zealand either and St. Patrick never visited there. The story that St. Patrick banished the snakes is more likely to have been invented in the 12th century by a Northumbrian monk named Jocelyn.
- A blind man once visited St. Patrick seeking a cure. As he approached he stumbled several times and fell over, and was duly laughed at by one of St. Patrick’s companions. The blind man was cured. The companion, however, was blinded.
- The first St. Patrick’s Day parade on record was held in New York in 1762 and seems to have been primarily designed as a recruiting rally by the English army in North America. Nowadays, St. Patrick’s Day parades are held on almost every continent of the world.
- The earliest recorded evidence of St. Patrick’s Day being celebrated outside of Ireland, other than by Irish soldiers, is provided by Dublin-born Gulliver’s Travels author Jonathan Swift. In his Journal to Stella he notes that in 1713 the Westminster Parliament was closed for St. Patrick’s Day and the Mall in London was so full of decorations he thought “all the world was Irish”.
- One legend has it that St. Patrick went straight to France after escaping youthful slavery in Ireland. On a visit to his uncle in Tours he had to cross the River Loire and used his cape as a raft. When he reached the other side he hung the cape out to dry on a hawthorn bush - which immediately burst into bloom. To this day the hawthorn blooms in the winter in the Loire Valley, and St. Patrick is celebrated there on March 17 and on Christmas Day.
- Despite his saintliness, St. Patrick was not averse to bouts of temper. He was once denied use of a field to graze his oxen and he cursed the field, prophesying that nothing would ever grow on it. Sure enough, that day the field was overrun by the sea and remained sandy and barren evermore.
- St. Patrick’s Day is also a public holiday on the Caribbean island of Monsterrat. The origins of the island’s celebrations date back to the 17th century when Oliver Cromwell was instrumental in forcing quite a number of Irish immigrants to move there. Names like Murphy, Kirwan and O’Malley are still commonplace on the island.
- Legend has it that St. Patrick used a three-leafed shamrock as a teaching aid to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan King Laoghaire.
- The Shamrock predates the red poppy of Flanders fields as a sign of remembrance. In 1900 Britain’s Queen Victoria ordered that soldiers in Irish regiments should wear shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day in memory of fellow Irishmen who had been killed in the Boer War.
- Before he died an angel told St. Patrick he should have two untamed oxen yoked to his funeral cart and that they should be left to decide where he should be buried. The oxen chose Downpatrick.
Posted by webmaster at 12:13 PM
October 05, 2003
10 Secrets to Success
Here's something I have read before and found it again recently on The Council of Neighborhoods website. It's a pretty good guideline to success. --
1. HOW TO THINK IS EVERYTHING: Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.2. DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to each them.
3. TAKE ACTION: Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started now. Just do it!
4. NEVER STOP LEARNING: Go back to school or read books. Get training.
5. BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up!
6. LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.
7. FOCUS ON YOUR TIME AND MONEY: Don't let other people or things distract you.
8. DON'T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE: BE DIFFERENT: Following the heard is a sure way to mediocrity.
9. DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.
10. BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: Otherwise, Numbers, 1-9 won't matter.
Posted by webmaster at 05:56 PM