Ecclesiastes Chapter 1: 12-18
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
The Hound: There are many of us who suffer with the burden of worry, because we search for the truth and we study the ways of the World. I heard this message spoken yesterday and this message hit home with me about what I have witnessed over the last several years.
Reality: My Doctor asked me a couple months ago, when I went in for a routine checkup, what I did for fun. I told him that I don't have fun. I really don't have time for fun. I can't afford fun.
If I were as indulgent as many others I see, I would be dead now. These have been dead serious times in my life. I have lost a lot that I did not choose or deserve to lose. It was basically stolen from me and I am not happy about it. Now you tell me how you would feel. I live with knowing that it has happened for a reason. I have seen many people around me that have had the same happen. There is no solace in such a condition.
The Posse is coming folks... the Posse is coming.
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- December 29, 2013
Art Cashin: (King World News) Director of Floor Operations for UBS Financial Services & CNBC Market Commentator - UBS has over $650 billion under management. Art has over 50 years of Wall Street experience, which gives him the ability to offer valuable insights to investors and traders. When he started in the industry, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was actually in the 700-800 range. He shares his analysis and gives the pulse of the market from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Art is one of the most respected people in the world when it comes to analyzing the action in the US stock market and provides an objective and unbiased view of the current market situation. His daily market commentary is read internationally by clients and peers.
King World News Interview - December 28, 2013 - There is no other alternative to the Stock market... will give some push, but there will be a pull back. Yellen (Fed Chief) will be tested in her first year. Mortgage applications have dropped off to levels when Lehman was deconstructed. Mortgage rates creeping up. Fed will have to reverse itself on tapering. Is the Fed in control? Have a history of poor forecasts. Markets may lose faith in the efficacy of the Fed. Europe has verbally held things together. Sovereign debt issue has not be solved. China is in trouble. They have to be careful. Their shadow banking system has created problems... trying to rein in... needs to be stabilized... every China government that has fallen fell because of food. India is concerned about currency flowing out due to Gold. Heavy duties and sanctions imposed. China has been a heavy buyer of gold. Concern for governments to control things. People should be concerned about western governments letting their Gold go. Central Bankers have let it go at low ($) levels. Geopolitics everyone thinks the world just goes up to the cliff, the World can go over the cliff. Austerity will lead to a backlash of protests. Geopolitical concers. Fed might be successful at creating velocity, which could lead to heavy inflation and then the Fed would have to taper at the "speed of sound." Hickory Hound: Taper = rising interest rates.
James Rickards: US 'Heading for Another Recession Soon' - Moneynews - Dan Weil - December 27, 2013 - While many experts were encouraged by the 4.1 percent economic growth reported for the third quarter, James Rickards, portfolio manager for the West Shore Real Asset Income Fund, wasn't one of them. "There is good reason to believe that the economy is heading for another recession soon, rather than the more robust growth economists keep predicting," he writes in The Darien (Connecticut) Times. "More than 50 million Americans are on food stamps, 26 million Americans are either unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work, 11 million Americans are claiming disability payments — effectively a new form of unemployment insurance — and labor force participation is at the lowest level since 1978."
Push of a Button: This Is How Fast They Can Lock Down the Entire Banking System - SHTFPlan.com - Mac Slavo - December 24th, 2013 - Late last week it was learned that some 40 million charge cards were obtained using physical processing systems located in Target retail locations nationwide. Though no details of the how the hack attack was executed have been released by Target, the FBI or other agencies investigating the breach, it is likely that the processing machines themselves were compromised. Target claims that the hack was sophisticated, but on the technical side, once hackers found a way into the credit card processing machines, probably via remote entry from servers somewhere in Eastern Europe or Russia, the theft of credit card data itself would have been fairly straight forward by using scripts or applications that simply capture the data and send it off to servers owned by the hackers. This was probably one of the largest credit card thefts in history, though it is not at all surprising. Two years ago we noted that cyber attacks would soon be targeting America’s e-commerce systems and just a few months ago it was noted that rogue terrorist groups were specifically working on sabotage operation to bring down the U.S. economy. While this latest attack on Target stores and their customers fell far short of crashing our economy or financial system, it proves, as did recent breaches of Pentagon military networks, that even the most highly secured systems in the world can be compromised. Furthermore, what this attack highlights is that with the right type of “event” the economy and financial system of the United States can be shut down… almost instantly...
Duke Grad Student Secretly Lived In a Van to Escape Loan Debt - Business Insider - Mandi Woodruff - December 27, 2013 - Yahoo editors have selected this article as a favorite of 2013. It first ran on Yahoo Finance on June 10 and was one of the most popular stories of the year. The article details the extreme lengths Ken Ilgunas went to in order to pay back his big student debt bill. By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into. He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible — English and History — and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships. "That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic." Back then, student loans had yet to become the front page news they are today. Ilgunas could have simply deferred his loans or declared forbearance. He also could have asked his parents (who were more than willing to help) for a leg up. He could have thrown up his hands and gone to grad school until the job market bounced back. Instead, he moved to Alaska and spent two years paying back every dime. And when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn't have to take out loans again. "I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. I didn't even know what interest was when I was 17," he said. "I just think that's awfully indicative of the incredibly poor personal finance education young people have at that time in their lives." In his book, "Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom![]()
," Ken chronicles his journey out of debt. He was kind enough to share his story with us this week. He
knew exactly where to go for work. Ken had spent a couple months
working at a remote Alaskan truck stop the summer before graduating. So
he called up his old contacts and landed a job there as a local tour
guide, cook, and basically whatever the locals needed. "The day
after I graduated, I was on a flight to Alaska and pretty much started
work right away," he said. "As ignorant as I was, I did know that if I
didn't deal with my loans, I'd have to deal with accumulated interest or
delinquency or default. I wanted to pay it off as fast as humanly
possible." It was a brilliant move for a 20-something needing to
pay down debt in a hurry. "It's 250 miles from the nearest store, room
and board were included, and there wasn't any cell service," he said.
"You can amaze yourself with how much you can save when you reduce your
cost of living. Almost every dollar I made went toward my student
loans."
King World News Interview - December 28, 2013 - There is no other alternative to the Stock market... will give some push, but there will be a pull back. Yellen (Fed Chief) will be tested in her first year. Mortgage applications have dropped off to levels when Lehman was deconstructed. Mortgage rates creeping up. Fed will have to reverse itself on tapering. Is the Fed in control? Have a history of poor forecasts. Markets may lose faith in the efficacy of the Fed. Europe has verbally held things together. Sovereign debt issue has not be solved. China is in trouble. They have to be careful. Their shadow banking system has created problems... trying to rein in... needs to be stabilized... every China government that has fallen fell because of food. India is concerned about currency flowing out due to Gold. Heavy duties and sanctions imposed. China has been a heavy buyer of gold. Concern for governments to control things. People should be concerned about western governments letting their Gold go. Central Bankers have let it go at low ($) levels. Geopolitics everyone thinks the world just goes up to the cliff, the World can go over the cliff. Austerity will lead to a backlash of protests. Geopolitical concers. Fed might be successful at creating velocity, which could lead to heavy inflation and then the Fed would have to taper at the "speed of sound." Hickory Hound: Taper = rising interest rates.
James Rickards: US 'Heading for Another Recession Soon' - Moneynews - Dan Weil - December 27, 2013 - While many experts were encouraged by the 4.1 percent economic growth reported for the third quarter, James Rickards, portfolio manager for the West Shore Real Asset Income Fund, wasn't one of them. "There is good reason to believe that the economy is heading for another recession soon, rather than the more robust growth economists keep predicting," he writes in The Darien (Connecticut) Times. "More than 50 million Americans are on food stamps, 26 million Americans are either unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work, 11 million Americans are claiming disability payments — effectively a new form of unemployment insurance — and labor force participation is at the lowest level since 1978."
Push of a Button: This Is How Fast They Can Lock Down the Entire Banking System - SHTFPlan.com - Mac Slavo - December 24th, 2013 - Late last week it was learned that some 40 million charge cards were obtained using physical processing systems located in Target retail locations nationwide. Though no details of the how the hack attack was executed have been released by Target, the FBI or other agencies investigating the breach, it is likely that the processing machines themselves were compromised. Target claims that the hack was sophisticated, but on the technical side, once hackers found a way into the credit card processing machines, probably via remote entry from servers somewhere in Eastern Europe or Russia, the theft of credit card data itself would have been fairly straight forward by using scripts or applications that simply capture the data and send it off to servers owned by the hackers. This was probably one of the largest credit card thefts in history, though it is not at all surprising. Two years ago we noted that cyber attacks would soon be targeting America’s e-commerce systems and just a few months ago it was noted that rogue terrorist groups were specifically working on sabotage operation to bring down the U.S. economy. While this latest attack on Target stores and their customers fell far short of crashing our economy or financial system, it proves, as did recent breaches of Pentagon military networks, that even the most highly secured systems in the world can be compromised. Furthermore, what this attack highlights is that with the right type of “event” the economy and financial system of the United States can be shut down… almost instantly...
Duke Grad Student Secretly Lived In a Van to Escape Loan Debt - Business Insider - Mandi Woodruff - December 27, 2013 - Yahoo editors have selected this article as a favorite of 2013. It first ran on Yahoo Finance on June 10 and was one of the most popular stories of the year. The article details the extreme lengths Ken Ilgunas went to in order to pay back his big student debt bill. By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into. He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible — English and History — and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships. "That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic." Back then, student loans had yet to become the front page news they are today. Ilgunas could have simply deferred his loans or declared forbearance. He also could have asked his parents (who were more than willing to help) for a leg up. He could have thrown up his hands and gone to grad school until the job market bounced back. Instead, he moved to Alaska and spent two years paying back every dime. And when he enrolled at Duke University for graduate school later, he lived out of his van to be sure he wouldn't have to take out loans again. "I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. I didn't even know what interest was when I was 17," he said. "I just think that's awfully indicative of the incredibly poor personal finance education young people have at that time in their lives." In his book, "Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas on this sunny day 2013
Happy Birthday Jesus on this great and glorious day. There isn't a cloud in the sky today. Already went and helped serve to families in need. And now it is time to go eat with the family after I get a few things done.
Remember 3 years ago?
Remember - Merry White Christmas 2010 - Hickory, NC - 12/25/2010
Remember 3 years ago?
Remember - Merry White Christmas 2010 - Hickory, NC - 12/25/2010
Monday, December 23, 2013
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- December 22, 2013
The Hound: This week marks the 100th Anniversary of the Federal Reserve. Passed before the Congressional Christmas Break on December 23, 2013, it created the biggest change in the monetary and economic system in this country's history. The Dollar is now worth 1% of what it was 100 years ago today. The modern Socialist State was created through this Act. Individual freedom has been destroyed. We have Overlords who were never elected ruling over us. They control us through the monetary system. That goes against this nation's founding principle.
On The 100th Anniversary Of The Federal Reserve Here Are 100 Reasons To Shut It Down Forever - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - December 22nd, 2013 - December 23rd, 1913 is a date which will live in infamy. That was the day when the Federal Reserve Act was pushed through Congress. Many members of Congress were absent that day, and the general public was distracted with holiday preparations. Now we have reached the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve, and most Americans still don't know what it actually is or how it functions. But understanding the Federal Reserve is absolutely critical, because the Fed is at the very heart of our economic problems. Since the Federal Reserve was created, there have been 18 recessions or depressions, the value of the U.S. dollar has declined by 98 percent, and the U.S. national debt has gotten more than 5000 times larger. This insidious debt-based financial system has literally made debt slaves out of all of us, and it is systematically destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have. If nothing is done, we are inevitably heading for a massive amount of economic pain as a nation. So please share this article with as many people as you can. The following are 100 reasons why the Federal Reserve should be shut down forever...
The Taper Is On – 8 Ways That This Is Going To Affect You And Your Family - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - December 18th, 2013
100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility Guest post by Ellen Brown - December 23, 2013
G. Edward Griffin Unmasks the Creature from Jekyll Island - The Corbett Report - December 19. 2013 - On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Reserve Act we talk to G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island, about America’s central bank. We discuss the origins and functions of this monstrosity, as well as its role in maintaining and expanding the wealth and power base of the banking cartel that own and operate it. We also discuss the growing public awareness of the Fed and the rising movement of those seeking to abolish it.
Link to Interview
Why John Boehner And Paul Ryan Should Immediately Resign - The End of the American Dream Blog - Michael Snyder - December 11th, 2013 - Thomas Jefferson once said that “the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” In other words, he believed that government debt was the equivalent of stealing money from future generations on a massive scale. Right now, the U.S. government is stealing roughly $100,000,000 from future generations of Americans every single hour of every single day. And it is being projected that the U.S. national debt will more than double during the 8 years of the Obama administration. In other words, the federal government will pile more debt on to the backs of our children and our grandchildren during the Obama years than had been accumulated during all of the rest of U.S. history combined. The federal government is literally destroying the future of America, and what we are doing to our children and our grandchildren is beyond criminal. If there was one thing that the Republicans in Congress were supposed to do, it was to do something about all of this debt. These days Republicans can’t seem to agree on much, but the one issue that virtually all “conservatives” were supposed to agree on was the national debt. The American people gave the Republicans control of the House in 2010 and 2012 for a reason. Unfortunately, nothing has been done. Our debt has continued to spiral out of control and now John Boehner and Paul Ryan are pushing a “budget deal” that will essentially give the free-spending Democrats virtually everything that they want for the next 10 years. That is why John Boehner and Paul Ryan should immediately resign.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts - Interview on King World News - December 22, 2013 - Link to Interview - Dr. Roberts speaks about Fed tapering saying it doesn't make any sense and it doesn't appear that they have stopped QE. They are manipulating the stock market. There will be more manipulations in the days to come. The current financial system is lawless. The Press is not investigating any of this. The Central Bank has become a Central Planning System (Socialist). The Capital Market decides nothing. There is no Free Market... GDP has been manipulated. Everything is manipulated. There is no basis for recovery of the economy.
Ten Cities Where Poverty Is Soaring - Wall St. 24/7 - Michael B. Sauter and Thomas C. Frohlich - December 5, 2013 -
5. Salisbury, N.C.
> Poverty increase: 12.4 ppt
> 2010-2012 Poverty rate: 28.4%
> Median household income: $33,083
> Population: 33,596
During the three-year period ending in 2009, Salisbury’s poverty rate of 16% was about 3% higher than the national rate. In the following three-year period between 2010 and 2012, the city’s poverty rate was approaching 30%. Salisbury has traditionally relied heavily on the manufacturing sector, particularly textiles and fabrics. In recent decades, however, manufacturing activity has declined significantly and continues to do so. Between 2010 and 2012, manufacturing jobs in Salisbury — as a percent of the workforce — shrank from 15.5% to 8.3%.
On The 100th Anniversary Of The Federal Reserve Here Are 100 Reasons To Shut It Down Forever - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - December 22nd, 2013 - December 23rd, 1913 is a date which will live in infamy. That was the day when the Federal Reserve Act was pushed through Congress. Many members of Congress were absent that day, and the general public was distracted with holiday preparations. Now we have reached the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve, and most Americans still don't know what it actually is or how it functions. But understanding the Federal Reserve is absolutely critical, because the Fed is at the very heart of our economic problems. Since the Federal Reserve was created, there have been 18 recessions or depressions, the value of the U.S. dollar has declined by 98 percent, and the U.S. national debt has gotten more than 5000 times larger. This insidious debt-based financial system has literally made debt slaves out of all of us, and it is systematically destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have. If nothing is done, we are inevitably heading for a massive amount of economic pain as a nation. So please share this article with as many people as you can. The following are 100 reasons why the Federal Reserve should be shut down forever...
The Taper Is On – 8 Ways That This Is Going To Affect You And Your Family - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - December 18th, 2013
100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility Guest post by Ellen Brown - December 23, 2013
G. Edward Griffin Unmasks the Creature from Jekyll Island - The Corbett Report - December 19. 2013 - On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Reserve Act we talk to G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island, about America’s central bank. We discuss the origins and functions of this monstrosity, as well as its role in maintaining and expanding the wealth and power base of the banking cartel that own and operate it. We also discuss the growing public awareness of the Fed and the rising movement of those seeking to abolish it.
Link to Interview
Why John Boehner And Paul Ryan Should Immediately Resign - The End of the American Dream Blog - Michael Snyder - December 11th, 2013 - Thomas Jefferson once said that “the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” In other words, he believed that government debt was the equivalent of stealing money from future generations on a massive scale. Right now, the U.S. government is stealing roughly $100,000,000 from future generations of Americans every single hour of every single day. And it is being projected that the U.S. national debt will more than double during the 8 years of the Obama administration. In other words, the federal government will pile more debt on to the backs of our children and our grandchildren during the Obama years than had been accumulated during all of the rest of U.S. history combined. The federal government is literally destroying the future of America, and what we are doing to our children and our grandchildren is beyond criminal. If there was one thing that the Republicans in Congress were supposed to do, it was to do something about all of this debt. These days Republicans can’t seem to agree on much, but the one issue that virtually all “conservatives” were supposed to agree on was the national debt. The American people gave the Republicans control of the House in 2010 and 2012 for a reason. Unfortunately, nothing has been done. Our debt has continued to spiral out of control and now John Boehner and Paul Ryan are pushing a “budget deal” that will essentially give the free-spending Democrats virtually everything that they want for the next 10 years. That is why John Boehner and Paul Ryan should immediately resign.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts - Interview on King World News - December 22, 2013 - Link to Interview - Dr. Roberts speaks about Fed tapering saying it doesn't make any sense and it doesn't appear that they have stopped QE. They are manipulating the stock market. There will be more manipulations in the days to come. The current financial system is lawless. The Press is not investigating any of this. The Central Bank has become a Central Planning System (Socialist). The Capital Market decides nothing. There is no Free Market... GDP has been manipulated. Everything is manipulated. There is no basis for recovery of the economy.
Ten Cities Where Poverty Is Soaring - Wall St. 24/7 - Michael B. Sauter and Thomas C. Frohlich - December 5, 2013 -
5. Salisbury, N.C.
> Poverty increase: 12.4 ppt
> 2010-2012 Poverty rate: 28.4%
> Median household income: $33,083
> Population: 33,596
During the three-year period ending in 2009, Salisbury’s poverty rate of 16% was about 3% higher than the national rate. In the following three-year period between 2010 and 2012, the city’s poverty rate was approaching 30%. Salisbury has traditionally relied heavily on the manufacturing sector, particularly textiles and fabrics. In recent decades, however, manufacturing activity has declined significantly and continues to do so. Between 2010 and 2012, manufacturing jobs in Salisbury — as a percent of the workforce — shrank from 15.5% to 8.3%.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
A Christmas message - The "Light"
I was asked to write a personal devotional about Advent by my Pastor David Keck and what that scripture means to me. Today I was asked to read it aloud to the congregation for the Christmas service here on the Sunday before Christmas. What I have written below is about the River of Life, Family and friends, Struggles, and reconciling your personal being with Devotion to God and the World we live in. Below is theScripture and at the bottom is my Devotional.
Revelations 22:1-12 - The River of Life
22 Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants[c] will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Jesus Is Coming
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant[d] with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
James Thomas Shell:
I dedicate this to my grandmother Martha Shell, who was a great and righteous woman; who always sacrificed and provided for my family. When I would have struggles with darkness in my life, she would encourage me back to the light. My shame is a shame that we all must deal with. Her absence makes me ponder how I took her for granted as we take God for granted in knowing that he will always be there.
Revelations literally means that God's plan is being revealed to us. This verse tells us of the purity of God's Kingdom. We have to travel through the River of Life in order to get to the Kingdom. Things happen for a reason. Those things are God's plan. The tree bears fruit, which represents the different seasons of our life. They are learning experiences.
Over the past seven years my life has changed drastically. Most of the people who surrounded me seven years ago are either gone or not near to me. I have been forced to deal with constant economic and social challenges over these years. None of us would ever choose a path of struggle for ourselves. We all deal with issues of anger and frustration when we go through such times... It happens for a reason.
God allows me to choose the path of the Darkness or the Light. Darkness equals succumbing to negativity - fear. The "Light" is constantly referred to in the Bible. God is the "Light". Be righteous, trust and follow the Path of the Light through the seasons and you will be rewarded with God's Kingdom.
Revelations 22:1-12 - The River of Life
22 Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants[c] will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Jesus Is Coming
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant[d] with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
James Thomas Shell:
I dedicate this to my grandmother Martha Shell, who was a great and righteous woman; who always sacrificed and provided for my family. When I would have struggles with darkness in my life, she would encourage me back to the light. My shame is a shame that we all must deal with. Her absence makes me ponder how I took her for granted as we take God for granted in knowing that he will always be there.
Revelations literally means that God's plan is being revealed to us. This verse tells us of the purity of God's Kingdom. We have to travel through the River of Life in order to get to the Kingdom. Things happen for a reason. Those things are God's plan. The tree bears fruit, which represents the different seasons of our life. They are learning experiences.
Over the past seven years my life has changed drastically. Most of the people who surrounded me seven years ago are either gone or not near to me. I have been forced to deal with constant economic and social challenges over these years. None of us would ever choose a path of struggle for ourselves. We all deal with issues of anger and frustration when we go through such times... It happens for a reason.
God allows me to choose the path of the Darkness or the Light. Darkness equals succumbing to negativity - fear. The "Light" is constantly referred to in the Bible. God is the "Light". Be righteous, trust and follow the Path of the Light through the seasons and you will be rewarded with God's Kingdom.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of December 17, 2013
I began recording the City Council late last year, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.
So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Agenda about the City Council meeting of December 17, 2013 - Go to this link if you would like more information about the Agenda items.
Highlighted Links below take you straight to that point in the video.
Invocation by Associate Pastor Heather Davis, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. The Viewmont Animal Hospital will be making a special presentation for the Hickory Police Department’s Canine program. The Viewmont Animal Hospital has provided veterinarian care for Hickory Police Department’s canines since the unit began in 1993 and is now collecting funds to purchase ballistic vests for Hickory Police Department’s canines. Chief Tom Adkins recognized the Police Departments K9 Unit that had been the vision of former Police Chief Lucas. Former Chief Lucas gave a brief history about the K9 Unit and recognized Viewmont Animal Clinic for their care of the dogs. Ms. Kelly Essam, a staff member of Viewmont Animal Clinic, had started a fund raising effort to purchase protective vests for the dogs. Presently three vests have been purchased, and they will continue the fund raising efforts to purchase one for the fourth dog. Master Police Officer Scott Pendleton discussed the training and care of the dogs.
B. Presentation of the Business Well Crafted Award by Dave Paist to Mr. Billy Ray Teague, Carolina Theatre Mr. Dave Paist of the Business Development Committee discussed the purpose of the committee and presented the Business Well Crafted Award to Mr. Billy Ray Teague, Co- Owner of Carolina Theater. Mr. Billy Ray Teague commented on the changes that had taken place at the theatre, and that it was a good hometown theater. He recognized several employees, including two former employees that went on to work for the Hickory Police Department. He thanked Council for the award.
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
Mrs. Allison Holtzman introduced a new group of citizens called “Friends of Hickory” and discussed the purpose of the group.
Mr. Hank Eimer continued the discussion about the group “Friends of Hickory” and discussed a meeting date of January 9, 2014, at 7:00 pm at Hollar Hosiery.
The Hound: Very Interesting to hear. I think you will also find it very interesting to see how receptive the Council was to these people compared to the way they have received others in the past.
Consent Agenda:
New Business - Public Hearings
1. Consideration of Rezoning Petition 13-15 for Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Cloninger Mill Road and North Center Street (NC 127 North). Tabled by the Council.
Bryan Frazier presents information regarding Zoning Change (Continued in Part 2)
I, James Thomas Shell, speak in favor of moving the process forward
2. Consideration of Amending Chapter 16 of the Hickory Code of Ordinances of the City of Hickory by Amending Section 16-43. Unanimous Consent.
3. Consideration of the Proposed Name Change of Carolina Park Located at 125 3rd Street NE, Hickory, to the Sally M. Fox Park. Unanimous Consent.
New Business - Departmental Reports
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant Agreement with Shuford Mills, Inc. Presented by Dave Leonetti.
2. Resolution to Create the University City Commission. Presented by Staff Attorney Arnita Dula.
3.Overview of Concept Plan: Main Av Presented by Assistant City Manager Andrea Surratt
The Hound's initial thoughts about the meeting. I may add and tweak some information in the next few days. If you would like to add any comments please feel free to do so. If you would like to send me a private comment, send it to hickoryhound@gmail.com.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Initial thoughts about last night's city council meeting - 12/17/2013
I will have the city council meeting presentation up tomorrow night or Thursday morning. It was a three hour meeting in which many issues were discussed. It will take a lot of time to thoroughly discuss what happened at this meeting and it will have a lot of implications on the future of Hickory. They were loaded for bear with discussions tonight and that is a good things. No major decisions were made on this evening.
1) Public Hearing 1. Consideration of Rezoning Petition 13-15 for Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Cloninger Mill Road and North Center Street (NC 127 North). - The City of Hickory has submitted a petition to rezone 10.1 acres of property located at the northeast corner of Cloninger Mill Road NE and North Center Street (NC 127 North) from Neighborhood Center Commercial (NC) to Neighborhood Center Commercial – Conditional Zoning (NC-CZ). The conditional zoning district will place additional standards on the district that go above and beyond the standards contained in the NC district. All standard applicable to the base zoning district will remain in effect. This public hearing was advertised on December 6, 2013 and December 13, 2013 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.
The Hound: The Council elected to take no action on this rezoning. This is directly related to the proposed Cloninger Mill park that has already been master planned over four years ago. The park is not going to get built until this associated 10.1 acres is sold. The money from the sale of this property is supposed to be used to develop this park.
This will be a passive park meaning there are no football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc. There would be a walking trail, mountain bike trail, biology classroom, a gazebo, and a conservancy. I believe this is the kind of park that young people would really enjoy and that is why it should have priority status. It was fine for the council to deliberate upon this decision, but there should have been a timeframe placed on the decision, especially if there are developers who are interested in moving forward. I would also like to see any tax monies collected from this property pumped back into the development of this park and other parks in Hickory when development does occur.
This park lies on the outskirts of the city limits and that is the reason why I believe it hasn't been given priority. As I have stated in the past, it is time to invest in areas besides Union Square. It is time to invest from the outside in. It is time to restore some balance in the development of Hickory.
The photos are no longer available, because Google changed the archiving system and I have to get the hard drive repaired that contains these photos, but all of the discussion related to this property is available below in the links.
Cloninger Mill Park - 3rd meeting - The Master Plan - 3/10/2009
You can read excerpts from the first meeting that was held September 24, 2008 here (1st Cloninger Mill Park Meeting) and the second meeting on January 15, 2009 meeting here (2nd Cloninger Mill Park Meeting).
2) Departmental Report 2. Resolution to Create the University City Commission. - City Council and Lenoir-Rhyne University officials have long desired to deepen the relationship between the two entities. Recent discussions have centered on finding ways to increase the student body’s presence in the community and the young adult population in Hickory while enhancing the collegiate atmosphere and promoting school pride. These discussions led to the mutual desire to create a joint city-university commission that would work to achieve these goals.
The Hound: This is great. I remember when the whole UNC-Hickory discussion took place back in 2007, my thoughts were that LR was getting thrown under the bus. Everyone seemed to be falling all over themselves about the possibilities, but the possibilities weren't realistic. There were some of us who could already see the local economy had become and was further becoming unhinged. There were way too many people who weren't worried about the educational dynamics of the area. They just wanted to build some infrastructure and thought they were mining for gold.
LR is a very good institution of learning. It is the Lutheran University of the region. The only reason it hasn't grown more throughout the last few decades is because the community and the Institution itself held itself back. There are many possibilities and opportunities for growth moving forward.
Hickory - Time to put the Puzzle together
3) Departmental Report 3. Overview of Concept Plan: Main Av - At the December 3rd Council meeting update on Inspiring Spaces, staff mentioned that the conceptual master plan for Main Avenue (Main Av) would be highlighted at the December 17th Council meeting. The project stems from the citizen-based Inspiring Spaces planning process. Main Av is Phase 1 of a multi year project which will eventually connect LRU to the LP Frans Baseball Stadium/Riverfront (Pier 321), Geitner Park and the improvements funded by the Lackey Family. Cost estimates for Main Av are being developed and the full plan will be presented to the Inspiring Spaces Steering Committee and City Council in
a joint meeting scheduled for January 28th.
The Hound: There were a lot of detailed pictures and conceptualized plans and they do look nice. This presentation had a lot of eye candy, but no costs were addressed. This is a very interesting plan, but it is obviously going to cost a ton of money.
1) Public Hearing 1. Consideration of Rezoning Petition 13-15 for Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Cloninger Mill Road and North Center Street (NC 127 North). - The City of Hickory has submitted a petition to rezone 10.1 acres of property located at the northeast corner of Cloninger Mill Road NE and North Center Street (NC 127 North) from Neighborhood Center Commercial (NC) to Neighborhood Center Commercial – Conditional Zoning (NC-CZ). The conditional zoning district will place additional standards on the district that go above and beyond the standards contained in the NC district. All standard applicable to the base zoning district will remain in effect. This public hearing was advertised on December 6, 2013 and December 13, 2013 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.
The Hound: The Council elected to take no action on this rezoning. This is directly related to the proposed Cloninger Mill park that has already been master planned over four years ago. The park is not going to get built until this associated 10.1 acres is sold. The money from the sale of this property is supposed to be used to develop this park.
This will be a passive park meaning there are no football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc. There would be a walking trail, mountain bike trail, biology classroom, a gazebo, and a conservancy. I believe this is the kind of park that young people would really enjoy and that is why it should have priority status. It was fine for the council to deliberate upon this decision, but there should have been a timeframe placed on the decision, especially if there are developers who are interested in moving forward. I would also like to see any tax monies collected from this property pumped back into the development of this park and other parks in Hickory when development does occur.
This park lies on the outskirts of the city limits and that is the reason why I believe it hasn't been given priority. As I have stated in the past, it is time to invest in areas besides Union Square. It is time to invest from the outside in. It is time to restore some balance in the development of Hickory.
The photos are no longer available, because Google changed the archiving system and I have to get the hard drive repaired that contains these photos, but all of the discussion related to this property is available below in the links.
Cloninger Mill Park - 3rd meeting - The Master Plan - 3/10/2009
You can read excerpts from the first meeting that was held September 24, 2008 here (1st Cloninger Mill Park Meeting) and the second meeting on January 15, 2009 meeting here (2nd Cloninger Mill Park Meeting).
2) Departmental Report 2. Resolution to Create the University City Commission. - City Council and Lenoir-Rhyne University officials have long desired to deepen the relationship between the two entities. Recent discussions have centered on finding ways to increase the student body’s presence in the community and the young adult population in Hickory while enhancing the collegiate atmosphere and promoting school pride. These discussions led to the mutual desire to create a joint city-university commission that would work to achieve these goals.
The Hound: This is great. I remember when the whole UNC-Hickory discussion took place back in 2007, my thoughts were that LR was getting thrown under the bus. Everyone seemed to be falling all over themselves about the possibilities, but the possibilities weren't realistic. There were some of us who could already see the local economy had become and was further becoming unhinged. There were way too many people who weren't worried about the educational dynamics of the area. They just wanted to build some infrastructure and thought they were mining for gold.
LR is a very good institution of learning. It is the Lutheran University of the region. The only reason it hasn't grown more throughout the last few decades is because the community and the Institution itself held itself back. There are many possibilities and opportunities for growth moving forward.
Hickory - Time to put the Puzzle together
3) Departmental Report 3. Overview of Concept Plan: Main Av - At the December 3rd Council meeting update on Inspiring Spaces, staff mentioned that the conceptual master plan for Main Avenue (Main Av) would be highlighted at the December 17th Council meeting. The project stems from the citizen-based Inspiring Spaces planning process. Main Av is Phase 1 of a multi year project which will eventually connect LRU to the LP Frans Baseball Stadium/Riverfront (Pier 321), Geitner Park and the improvements funded by the Lackey Family. Cost estimates for Main Av are being developed and the full plan will be presented to the Inspiring Spaces Steering Committee and City Council in
a joint meeting scheduled for January 28th.
The Hound: There were a lot of detailed pictures and conceptualized plans and they do look nice. This presentation had a lot of eye candy, but no costs were addressed. This is a very interesting plan, but it is obviously going to cost a ton of money.
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