9780375870132 | Schwartz & Wade Books, March 8, 2016, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: Legendary baseball manager Casey Stengel worked with such greats as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle; he led the New York Yankees to a record-breaking TEN pennants and SEVEN World Series in twelve years; he invented "platooning," a way to use players that revolutionized the game; he was a prankster who became famous for sayings like "Everybody line up alphabetically according to your height.
9781442442740 | Atheneum, January 6, 2015, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: In this eye-opening look at our Founding Fathers that is full of fun facts and lively artwork, it seems that Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and their cohorts sometimes agreed on NOTHING…except the thing that mattered most: creating the finest constitution in world history, for the brand-new United States of America.
9780375865725 | Schwartz & Wade Books, September 23, 2014, cover price $16.99 | About this edition: In this hilarious read-aloud featuring robots, fire trucks, and pirates, meet an older sister who's more than happy to fill her little brother in on all he missed while he was napping.
9780375965722 | Schwartz & Wade Books, September 23, 2014, cover price $19.99 | About this edition: In this hilarious read-aloud featuring robots, fire trucks, and pirates, meet an older sister who's more than happy to fill her little brother in on all he missed while he was napping.
9780375844997 | Schwartz & Wade Books, January 10, 2012, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: A perfect picture book biography from award-winning author Margaret McNamara and New Yorker artist Barry Blitt comes this partly true and completely funny story of George Washington's 7th birthday.
9780689830419 | Atheneum, March 8, 2011, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: Everyone knows the story of the raft on the Mississippi and that ol' whitewashed fence, but now it's time for youngins everywhere to get right acquainted with the man behind the pen.
9781416900924 | Margaret K McElderry, March 10, 2009, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: Here are more than 120 hysterical, philosophical, rhetorical, and commonsensical poems and pictures that explore the perfectly not-so-perfect world of picky kids, Miss Muffet's revenge, magic homework wands, yellow snow, and Sunday's sundaes!
9781423602118 | Wyrick & Co, May 15, 2007, cover price $7.95 | About this edition: Richard Lederer's Literary Trivia What fictional detective survived an attempted murder by his creator?
9781423602125 | Wyrick & Co, April 2, 2007, cover price $7.95 | About this edition: Richard Lederer's Classic Literary Trivia from Mythology, Shakespeare, and the Bible What biblical character said, "Am I my brother's keeper?
Ludwig van Beethoven and his five legless pianos keep having to move from one apartment to another when his neighbors complain about the noise, in a hilarious introduction to one of the world's greatest composers.
9780375836022 | Schwartz & Wade Books, September 26, 2006, cover price $15.95 | About this edition: Ludwig van Beethoven and his five legless pianos keep having to move from one apartment to another when his neighbors complain about the noise.
9780375936029 | Schwartz & Wade Books, September 26, 2006, cover price $17.99 | About this edition: Ludwig van Beethoven and his five legless pianos keep having to move from one apartment to another when his neighbors complain about the noise.
A humorous guide to the challenges and foibles of wedding preparations covers such topics as conflicts with parents, planning a budget, establishing a guest list, orchestrating a theme wedding, choosing a pre-wedding crash diet, and selecting the perfect hideous bridesmaid dress. By the author of Baby's First Tattoo. 40,000 first printing.
9780743254199 | Simon & Schuster, April 1, 2004, cover price $12.95 | About this edition: A humorous guide to the challenges and foibles of wedding preparations covers such topics as conflicts with parents, planning a budget, establishing a guest list, orchestrating a theme wedding, choosing a pre-wedding crash diet, and selecting the perfect hideous bridesmaid dress.
The author of Entertainment Weekly's 'Hot Sheet' offers parents a uniquely humorous scrapbook designed to assist them in preserving cherished memories about the key moments in a child's life, covering topics ranging from Name of HMO that Kicked You Out of the Hospital to FIrst Irreplaceable Heirloom You Broke. 75,000 first printing.
9780743224451 | Simon & Schuster, April 23, 2002, cover price $14.00 | About this edition: The author of Entertainment Weekly's 'Hot Sheet' offers parents a uniquely humorous scrapbook designed to assist them in preserving cherished memories about the key moments in a child's life, covering topics ranging from Name of HMO that Kicked You Out of the Hospital to FIrst Irreplaceable Heirloom You Broke.
9781620457078 | Turner Pub Co, March 9, 1996, cover price $16.95 | About this edition: An award-winning journalist and renowned political cartoonist present over 1,200 entries of the silly, stupid, offensive, arrogant, racist and just plain dumb things politicians have placed on public record.
9781620457917 | Turner Pub Co, March 9, 1996, cover price $29.95 | About this edition: An award-winning journalist and renowned political cartoonist present over 1,200 entries of the silly, stupid, offensive, arrogant, racist and just plain dumb things politicians have placed on public record.
From the creator of Political Babble comes a hilarious compilation of some of the silliest, most offensive, and arrogant things that men--ranging from Aristotle to Andrew Dice Clay--have ever said about women.


She dislocated her left shoulder in a recent game and is out for the remainder of the season now that it's been revealed that the injured shoulder needs surgery.
So, what do I do now? Is it football season yet, or what?
In other CP3 news, Candace is up for the Subway Sportswoman of the Year at next week's (June 27) BET Awards.
ETA: Candace tweeted her thanks for fan support after news spread that she was on the shelf for the rest of the season.
Candace Parker alerted the masses when she started practicing with the Sparks again. She said afterwards that they were going to play everything by ear in regards to when she'd suit up on gameday.
Well, that question has been answered. Candace tweeted that she's going to play this Sunday when the Sparks host the Phoenix Mercury. There's a corresponding press release on the team's website as well.
Don't expect CP3 to be on the court for he entire game. This is going to be a process. But her return will definitely be a welcome boost to the team's production. Unfortunately, the game airs at 9:30PM NBA TV (for those of us not in the greater Los Angeles area), a channel that I do not get. Otherwise I would be watching!
And despite not having even played yet this season, Candace is 5th in WNBA All-Star Game fan voting. Amazing, right?
Last month, Lisa Leslie gave us a late June return to the courts for Candace. We never really got confirmation of that time period from Candace. She usually said that she was hoping to return "soon". Even though I miss watching her play, I initially though late-June was too soon for a first time mom. Looks like Candace thought so too.
Instead, she is hoping to make her comeback within a 6 week time frame, according to the LA Times. That would be right around the end of July. Additionally, she wants to start practicing with the Sparks again in 2 weeks.
Sounds good. Can't wait to see CP3 back on the hardwood!
In other news, Candace was just nominated for an ESPY Awards in the "Female Athlete" category. Other nominees include tennis star Serena Williams, Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, and Connecticut basketball player Maya Moore.
The 17th annual ESPYs will be hosted by Samuel L. Jackson on Sunday, July 19. They will air live at 9PM (ET).
ETA: The full ESPYs nominee list is out and Candace picked up a second nod for Best WNBA Player. Also, her Q&A with Time Magazine is out. Read it here.
One Mo 'Gain: Candace Parker Tweets!
There must be some weird stuff going on with my server, because y'all saw that I wrote a post titled "Candace Parker Tweets!" a day ago and now it's gone and I haven't logged into my WordPress backend since then; until now! The post is gone! Twitter Tools even sent the post announcement to Twitter for me! WTF!
Maybe it's a conspiracy since I out-scooped the LA Times? JK,JK. I don't know, but I'm writing it again. And hopefully my post will stay up!
I was just sharing with all my fellow CP3 fans that Candace is now on Twitter. There are 3 times as many followers now as there were when I started following her. Guess word did get out very quickly and now people are connecting with her. She seems to have picked it up very quickly, too!
I think it's great, because without a MySpace or official website (she says it's coming!) there was no easy way for fans to communicate with Candace. Now there is and it's a beautiful thing!
I can't tell you how many friends I have who still give me the "I don't get it" comments when it comes to Twitter. It's basically whatever you want it to be and you get out of it what you put in. So, give it a whirl!


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Thank you for checking our website. We are looking forward to some great changes here in the coming year. We hope you will keep checking back to keep up with all the new things to come! We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!
INTO THE WEST SAGA SERIAL
- On Sale Now -
The Orphan Train
To Save Them All
Last Showdown
- Coming Soon -
The Shot Rang Out
A Dark & Stormy Night
Bourbon & A Good Cigar
Time to Myself
The Territories Saga Serials Collection
Introducing the serial book collection, The Territories Saga Serials Collection. The concept is based on the old "cliffhanger" movie serial short films they used to play before the main feature in American cinemas. Each novella in the collection is written as an installment in a saga serial.
The sagas are divided into five or more novellas to complete each serial. These books are great for anyone who wants to read a good book but doesn't have the time to sit and read a 500 page novel. Titles are currently available in paperback, ebooks, and hardcover on Amazon.com and in paperback on Barnesandnoble.com.
Stephen drew heavily from family stories for much of the Into the West Saga Serial. His father and his sisters spent time in a childrens' homes in Oklahoma in the 50's. Stephen grew up hearing stories of their years they lived there.
Later in life, he met someone whose aunt had come to Kansas on the orphan train. The stories of her experience fascinated him enough to make a trip to Concordia, Kansas to visit the National Orphan Train Complex Museum and Research Center (<--- click for website). The more he learned about this time in history, the more fascinated he became.When it came time to pick a theme for his first book series, Stephen knew it had to be based on the orphan train and the triumphs and tragedies its young riders had faced.
Follow Amazon bestselling, western author, Stephen Burckhardt,
here and on his other social media pages for information on publication dates, contests, sneak peeks, and previews of future book releases. Link buttons to all of his social media pages are on the bottom of every page of this website and on the About Stephen page.
Into the West: The Orphan Train
Part One of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Audio Coming Soon
This book was a finalist in the 2019 TopShelf Indie Book Awards and is now an award committee nominee for the 2020 TopShelf Indie Book Awards
Margret MacBride loves her children more than life itself, but as a young widow, she can't support herself and her children on a maid's salary. After losing their home they struggle for years to survive living on the streets. Distraught, Margret turns to the church for guidance.
Mary Agnus convinces Margret her children will be better off if she turns them over to the Catholic Foundling Aid Society for placement in a home. Little did she know her children would end up on the Orphan Train heading into the western territories.
Taken from the only home they have ever known, Elizabeth and Conner MacBride are frightened and homesick. Their aid worker, Mrs. Kelly, does her best to comfort the children and help them come to terms with their new situation.
When Elizabeth finds herself in trouble after a run-in with the foundlings' home's director, Sister Mary Clare, and bullied by one of the other children, Mrs. Kelly puts her job on the line to get Elizabeth and her brother on the Orphan Train and find them a new home in the Wild West.
Into the West: A New Home
Part Two of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Thanks to their caseworker, Mrs. Kelly, Elizabeth and Conner MacBride make it onto the orphan train heading into the West. Mrs. Kelly is reluctant to part with the children as she struggles with the agreement she was forced to make with Sister Mary Clare to keep the children on the train.
If Mrs. Kelly keeps her promise, she will keep her job, but she may break the hearts of Elizabeth and Conner in the process. As the train heads into the Kansas Territory to make one final stop, Mrs. Kelly must make a hard decision. Should she place the children in separate homes with strangers or return them to the Catholic Foundling Aid Society's home in New York City? Something she does not want to do.
Finding a new home in a small cowtown in the Wild West will be a new and frightening experience for Elizabeth and Conner. With the help of a few good people, they might be able to make a new life for themselves. Will Mrs. Kelly have to sacrifice her job to do what she believes is best for the children, or can she find a solution with which they can all live?
Into the West: Sharon Springs
Part Three of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Families in Sharon Springs are dealing with ghosts from their pasts as they consider welcoming the riders of the orphan train to their town. Many old wounds need to heal if they are going to make room for Elizabeth and Conner MacBride. Unfortunately, things do not work out as Mrs. Kelly had hoped and it may turn out that the only way to find suitable homes for MacBride children is to split them up.
When Elizabeth and Conner learn they are being placed with different families in Sharon Springs, both are heartbroken. After many tears and promises the siblings would get to see each other as often as they wanted, things begin to quiet down.
When Elizabeth meets her new family, she finds out Tim Ruth was much more thrilled to have a new daughter in the family than his wife, Stacy. Her new adoptive brother, Timothy, does not give her a warm welcome either. He is not interested in sharing his mother's love with anyone and lets Elizabeth know from the moment they meet. Elizabeth tries to get used to life in the Wild West, but finds that living in the territories can be hard, especially when you're alone and your new adoptive family doesn't seem to want you there.
Into the West: Most Wanted
Part Four of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Marshal "Blackjack" James has a reputation for being able to catch any criminal he puts his mind to catching. When his friend Ike "Shorty" Rowlett, sheriff of Sharon Springs, sends him a telegram asking for help catching bandits in the area, Jack saddles up his horse, Bucky, and heads North.
Meanwhile, the folks in Sharon Springs, are doing their best to help Elizabeth and Conner MacBride settle into their new homes in the Wild West. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy to have them there. Just as Elizabeth begins to bond with her new parents, her new brother decides he wants her to leave.
Conner MacBride is trying to learn to live without his sister, but getting used to so many changes in such a short time is very difficult for a young boy. Ian Somerholder is doing everything he can to help Conner bond with his new parents, but he will have to return to his own new family soon. It just might take help from the most wanted to bring everyone together.
Into the West: To Save Them All
Part Five of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Ines Rülke and her family have a secret, they are the most wanted bandits in the Kansas Territory. When the law starts to get too close for comfort, Ines decides it's time to pull one last robbery to throw the lawmen off their trail and then just fade away into history.
When Elizabeth MacBride set out on her own to go find her brother, Conner, she never expected to stumble onto Ines and her new partner in crime, Tonja Miller. When they try to take her back home to her new family, things do not work out as expected. Now Elizabeth has to go along as they try to con tax money from homesteaders near the Missouri border.
Unfortunately, Sheriff Jones from Douglas County expected the bandits to strike and set a trap. If Ines and Tonja can pull off this job without getting caught, and get Elizabeth back home to her new family safely, they just might manage to save one more homestead and get the lawmen off their trail for good. God willing, they just might be able to save them all.
Into the West: Last Showdown
Part Six of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Just when things start to calm down for the residents of Sharon Springs, more trouble comes to town. Mrs. Kelly is convinced she made a mistake letting families in Sharon Springs adopt Elizabeth and Conner MacBride. Now, she wants to take them back to New York City, but the townsfolk are not ready to say goodbye to the children.
When an old adversary of Sheriff Ike Rowlett and Marshal "Blackjack" James shows up in town looking to claim the bounty on the tax bandits for himself, tensions go from bad to worse. Sheriff Jones is known for overstepping his authority. He's had disputes with Jack and Ike before. In fact, Jack carries a scar on his face as a constant reminder of the other man's treachery.
When the three men cross paths again, things get more than a little heated as Sheriff Jones insults some of the members of the community and threatens to arrest another. When the townsfolk stand up for their own, things might end up being settled once and for all.
Into the West: Family Ties
Part Seven of Book One in The Territories Saga Serials
Set for a
Spring 2022 Release
Now that Sheriff Jones has been dealt with, life in Sharon Springs is finally getting back to normal. The town and the families have grown over the years. Family bonds were slow to grow for some of the orphan train riders, but with hard work and a little patience, the families became stronger than anyone imagined possible.
Kansas finally wins their bid for statehood. Just when the townsfolk of Sharon Springs start celebrating new beginnings, someone from the past shows up and could shatter the new found happiness.
The Ruths and the Wellensteins will have to fight for their families once again. Will they do more harm than good to their beloved children if they fight for them or will it be worse to let them go?
It will take the help of their tight knit community to find a solution with which everyone can live. With a few prayers, a little luck, and a lot of love, everyone just might be able to build some new family ties that will bind them all together for the rest of their lives.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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WTUL is a progressive/alternative FM radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, operating at 91.5 MHz with an ERP of 1,500 watts. The transmitter is located on the campus of Tulane University.

The station, which is owned by Tulane University, offers a mix of cutting-edge, progressive, alternative, electronica, classical, New Age, straight ahead jazz, folk, blues Latin, world reggae, show tunes, kids' show, and an eclectic mix of a variety of genres.

History

WTUL was established on March 14, 1959. It is the station which gave future mayor-turned TV news anchor-turned talk show host Jerry Springer his start. The yearly "Rock On Survival Marathon" fund raisers featuring live bands on the Tulane campus are a locally famous event. In spite of the low wattage, WTUL was occasionally picked up as far away as New York City in its early years due to the limited number of stations operating on the FM band.

"Mother-in-Law" singer Ernie K-Doe was a DJ at WTUL for many years.

WTUL went off the air on August 28, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approached the New Orleans area.  The Tulane campus building which housed the station (itself a temporary location due to the renovation of the University Center) was damaged by the resulting flood waters.  On December 15, 2005, the station began broadcasting again, using donated studio space on the mezzanine of the Rue de la Course coffeehouse in the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans, about 10 blocks from the Tulane campus. The station kept its Internet broadcast running via donated bandwidth from CCRMA at Stanford University.

The station continued a limited broadcast until it moved to Uptown Square at the corner of Broadway Street and Leake Avenue. It now broadcasts on a normal 24-hour schedule from a new studio in the basement of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life on the Tulane campus. WTUL is volunteer-run, accepting DJs from across the Tulane and New Orleans community.

WTUL releases an edition of its compilation CD Songs from the Basement, featuring local, national and international artists, to coincide with its annual Marathon, WTUL's main fundraiser.

External links

 The WTUL New Wave Hour - 1978

Radio stations in New Orleans
College radio stations in Louisiana
Tulane University
Radio stations established in 1959

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Siddha Way is the way to Self. It is the path of the awoken subtle breath (vaci, vasi) within the chamber of self in the head. This subtle breath cannot be practiced and is a fruit of absorption that ripens within after Siddha Kundalini Awakening. It leads a selfless seeker to bliss, self-mastery, siddhis and true knowledge of self on a multidimensional level. One who realises that, liberates oneself from conditioning of the limited self into eternal blissful being. If you have matured within, you will know regardless of who you are, where from, what you have done before.


Welcome to Episode 44 of Axe to the Root Podcast, part of the War Room Productions, I am Bo Marinov, and for the next 20 minutes I will rant. The purpose of my rant is to try to shake churchmen out of their sleep – something I shouldn't have to do, if the church in America were doing her job. My thesis is this: As a church, in the last one century in America, we have dropped into a complacent slumber, content of going through the same useless motions over and over again, repeating the same meaningless rituals over and over again, not paying attention to the obvious historical trends around us, namely, that we are slowly but surely becoming a pavement for the culture around us, being trampled under the culture's feet. Which, if we are paying attention to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, is a clear indication that we have become a salt that has lost its savor. But instead of looking for radical solutions to what appears to be a radical problem, we continue the same things over and over again, mindless of the danger we are facing as a church.
The prospect of being salt that has lost its savor would be deeply alarming to any Christian. It is certainly deeply alarming to me. In an episode of Axe to the Root last year I spoke about "Modern Presbyterianism: Under the Feet of Men," showing that Presbyterianism in the US went from being the dominant intellectual and cultural influence in the society to a marginal sect which no one really pays attention to. And this in a mere two generations!Granted, cultures change, and different cultural influences may have their ups and downs, but such a fall from the top to the bottom, within such a short period of time, after about two centuries of total dominance (including and especially during the very formative period of the US, the Revolutionary War) should be troubling to any Presbyterian Christian, and even more to the leadership in Presbyterian churches, for in the Bible, whenever God promises judgment, His judgment starts with and is especially severe against the shepherds, those who hold a position of formal authority and actual power in the churches.
Presbyterianism is not alone in this complacency in the face of obvious decline and near death. The same situation applies to all the other denominations. If you think American Baptists are any better, just think of Judge Roy Moore in Alabama. That's right, Alabama, in the Bible Belt, the very heartland of the Southern Baptists. And it is in Alabama where a panel of judges, most of them members of Baptist churches, removed from office a legitimately elected judge for his stance for the Biblical family, against sodomite perversion. Let that sink. And how deep corruption goes in the Methodist and Episcopalian and other churches and denominations, I don't even have to mention.
We have the highest percentage of church-attending population in the Western world: over 50% of Americans report to attend church regularly. And yet, we have a declining imprint of our churches in the culture – in fact, declining so quickly, that if our great-grandfathers were here today, they would hardly recognize our culture.
Such abrupt fall from dominant influence to irrelevance should trouble every Christian heart in this land. It should also grip in fear the heart of every single person in a position of leadership in the American churches, whether a pastor or elder, or a theologian and seminary professor. We have the clearest signs of our times that the church has become salt-less and light-less, and that in a radically short time after it had all the influence it needed to spread the Gospel and build Christendom. Such radical change in the times should produce a radical alarm in our hearts and lead to radical changes in our churches and practices and beliefs . . . and yet, nothing is happening. The pulpits continue business as usual, as if nothing has happened. The weekly rituals continue, as if nothing has happened. The same useless discussions and conferences on theological trivialities continue, as if nothing has happened. If someone from outside would observe the American church without knowing the historical and cultural context, he would come to the conclusion that the American church has nothing to worry about anymore, except for achieving perfect assurance on minor things, of which the Bible contains little more than a few ambiguous verses.
God has given us a clear sign that our church today is useless in His kingdom, by removing her lampstand out of its place: a clear invitation to "remember from where we have fallen" (Rev. 2:5). And yet, the sense of urgency that should follow such invitation is lacking, and it is lacking especially among the leadership of the American churches. Yes, even among those who can see and acknowledge that there has been an abrupt loss of cultural influence, even where leaders understand that the church is trampled under the feet of men. In fact, if anything, modern churchmen have mostly been busy devising theologies and eschatologies that justify the decline rather than analyze the reasons for it or the remedies for it. How to live a Christian life in a fallen world, you know. Because once we define the world as intrinsically "fallen," we don't have to worry about the fact that the Bible calls that world God's world (1 Cor. 10:26) and that it is subject to redemption (Rom. 8:21).
A few of us have tried to sound the alarm in articles, sermons, books, lectures, that the radical fall of the church from cultural authority is a clear sign that the American church has radically quit being salt and light. This cultural authority was not incidental; it was not simply some historical aberration. It has been the result of the hard work and faithfulness of generations of Christians and churches. The church hasn't always been perfectly faithful, neither has she been perfectly knowledgeable about the Gospel, but she must have dome something right to be the factor for the creation of a society where the Bible exercised so much influence over both men's lives and the operations of the civil government and all other social institutions. This accumulated cultural capital has been dissipated in just a short period of time, and we have tried to bring this to the attention of the church. From heavy theological guns and preachers like R.J. Rushdoony and Leonard Ravenhill to self-sacrificial groups and movements like Operation Rescue and Abolish Human Abortion, the writing has been on the wall for a long time.
The answer of many of those churchmen to the obvious failure of the church in the last one century has been to blame the flocks for their supposed lack of submission to the "local church." In my conversations with different elders of different churches on proposed solutions of the problem with the diminishing relevance of the churches in America, they always resort to the argument that in the past, when the church was successful in changing the culture, there has always been some institutional structure to which men submitted, and this was what made the church strong. Thus, if we just have all men submit to the modern institutional structures that pass for "churches," we will surely have the renewal and the revival which will restore the church to her relevance in the world today. To the decline of the American church in the last one century, their solution is more institutionalism.
But such faith in the power of external institutionalism is nothing more than a modern form of the Cargo Cult. The Cargo Cult was a religion which developed spontaneously on some of the islands in the Pacific during WWII. The island populations who had their indigenous religions, saw the arrival of the US Seabees to their islands. The Seabees built airstrips and piers and roadways to provide the infrastructure for the US Navy and Army and the Marine Corps to defeat the Japanese. Once the infrastructure was built, planes and ship with cargo started to arrive, and this cargo had a number of nice things which made the life of the islanders much easier: from pocket knives and flashlights and batteries to compasses and rubber tires and textiles, the Seabees performed a real miracle in the eyes of the locals. The old religions and myths lost their adherents: they couldn't deliver. But the more important part came after the war.
When the war was over, the Seabees were gone, taking their materials with them. The ships and the planes stopped arriving to bring cargo anymore. The locals figured the solution: They started building their own improvised versions of piers and airstrips and roadways, out of available materials like bamboo or palm trees. Once the infrastructure was built, they figured, it would attract the planes and ships with cargo. Just like the Americans had done during the war. In the minds of the locals, the cargo just existed out there. No one knew how and why it existed. It was just a given reality. The mechanism to bring it over to the island was the infrastructure. The infrastructure was the altar to which the cargo will be attracted. Thus, any restoration of the prosperous years during the war had to start with building the altars. That the infrastructure of delivery was only the end product of centuries of civilization growth and development, of hard work and entrepreneurship and accumulated knowledge and organization of production, could never occur to the natives.
In a similar way, it doesn't seem to occur to the modern churchmen that the authority of the institutional church is not the beginning of revival or of restoration of the cultural authority of the church in the society. Submission to the local church or to any institutional body is not, nor can it be the magic altar which will attract revival and Reformation. All that institutionalism can do is institutionalize already existing conditions. Where there is true relevance, life, and victorious expansion, institutionalism will channel and organize that relevance, life, and victorious expansion. Where there is irrelevance, death, and retreat, solidifying the institution of the church will only solidify and establish that irrelevance, death, and retreat. An institution is never an instrument for growth and victory. It is nothing more than city walls; it will protect what's inside – whether misery or prosperity – but it will never conquer anything outside. Conquest is only achieved through men outside the city walls.
But more importantly, true authority doesn't come through more institutionalism. If it could come through institutionalism, North Korea would today be the highest authority in the world, and everyone would be looking up to them for guidance. It's the other way around: a really successful and healthy institution can only be established where there already exists a reliable authority, trusted by the majority of the people in the society. The institution is the final product of authority, not the beginning of it. The attempt to build prosperity through building airstrips and waiting for the planes with cargo to land will only produce more poverty in wasted time, labor, and material. In the same way, the attempt to produce relevance through solidifying institutional power and demanding submission to it will only produce more irrelevance. The institutional church is only the final product of a long process. And that process never starts with the institution. Our attempts at solutions, therefore, will always fail when we base them on more institutionalism.
We have a radical problem on our hands. We need to look for a radical solution. Doing the same thing and expecting different results won't do. The church will continue to lose influence, and the legacy we will leave to our children will be misery.
As Protestants, the Reformation should be a good example to us. It didn't start with the establishment of a hierarchy. In fact, if anything, it started with a destruction of a hierarchy. It started with a radical departure from an institutional system. It took more than a century in most of the Protestant churches to develop any institutional system. In most places, the new institutional system was nothing like the Roman Catholic one, of before the Reformation. In fact, the majority of the great Reformed confessions of faith were written and adopted not in the context of an organized institutional system but to the contrary, in the context of institutional chaos. The very Westminster Confession of Faith, which became the foundation for many other confessions, was adopted in the midst of such chaos: it was a predominantly Anglican confession (yes, folks, it was not Presbyterian in its origin, only 6 Scottish commissioners and 9 elders of the Scottish Kirk attended, compared to 12 Anglican bishops and about 80 Anglican vicars or other clerics), so it was a predominantly Anglican confession in a time when the Anglican church was at its lowest institutional state, being controlled mainly by non-separatist Puritans. And England was not alone. The influence and the cultural impact of Protestantism not only didn't come by institutional means, it in fact came in opposition to any institutionalism.
To be a member of the visible Church, therefore, one doesn't need to submit to a local church. All he needs to do is profess the true religion. Outside of that profession, there is no Church. But also, there is no other requirement for being a member of the Church but that profession.
IV. This catholic Church has been sometimes more, sometimes less visible. And particular Churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the Gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them.
V. The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error; and some have so degenerated, as to become no Churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to His will.
Obviously, when it comes to the institutional aspect of the church, that is, the many particular churches, the authors of the confession were careful to not put too much confidence in them: they are more or less pure, and some have degenerated to the point that they are not churches of God anymore. In this here, could the confession be telling us the possible reason for our situation today? Could it be warning us against investing too much confidence in earthly institutions, even if they are "churches" with all the right accreditation and correct Sunday morning rituals? After all, if we are Protestants, spiritual heirs of the Reformation, shouldn't we be traditionally suspicious of any hierarchy, whether universal or local, which claims for itself a monopoly on salvation, and a monopoly on revival and renewal? Shouldn't we be naturally resistant to any claim to authority, testing it through the Word of God? And if any institution claims authority, but its history proves that it is salt without savor and a lampstand without light, aren't we as Protestants, the first who should challenge its claim to authority and reject it? Even if it is our own Protestant churches and seminaries?
This certain radicalism of which Bavinck speaks, is very needed today. Again, with the obvious transformation of the American church in the last 100 years from dominant influence to under the feet of men, it is time for us to realize that business as usual will only produce more of the same. This radicalism may require that we revisit and revise many of our assumptions about how we should do church, and what system of church organization we should have. We can't afford to continue doing the same things. We can't afford to let the same people whose leadership brought us to this point control what is legitimate criticism and what is not. We can't let the same pulpits whose false conservatism – to borrow Bavinck's phrase – produced the powerlessness of the modern church – continue producing more of the same. As in the Reformation, we need to have the courage of opposing the institutional system of the modern American church, and look for alternatives. I don't know all the answers. I don't know what a new system of church organization should look like, and whether we should have such a system in the first place. What I know, however, is that we should be open to radical changes, which may include – as in the Reformation – the total abandoning of the current institutional church system in the US.
Otherwise, the America we will leave to our kids will be much worse than what we have inherited.
The book I will assign for reading this week is my new book on this specific issue: One Holy Local Church? The Ghettoization of Protestantism. In it, I am dealing with this very objection against the critics of the modern institutional church in the US: "Are you a member of a local church?" I have shown that mandatory institutionalism is not a Biblical concept. And more than that, that it is not historically Protestant concept. It is a modern invention, and it needs to go.
And remember in your prayers and your giving, Bulgarian Reformation Ministries. In our mission, we have been open to different ways to bring the Gospel to all aspects of the culture, not limit the new wine to old wineskins. And God has granted us success. This is amission worth supporting. Visit Bulgarian Reformation.com, and subscribe to our newsletter to learn more.


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A Monthly Account of the Year Leading Up to the End of the World
Posted by Hamilton October 1, 2018
Paul Scott Stanfied reviews a beguiling book of poetry from the pen of Joshua Edwards.
Joshua Edwards, A Monthly Account of the Year Leading Up to the End of the World, by Agonistes, Prophet and Fulfiller; or, The Exhausted Dream (Antebooks, 2018)
Joshua Edwards's new book-length poem is small enough to balance on the flat of one's hand (roughly 15 cm x 10 cm) but ambitious in its scope, marrying two quite opposed tendencies. On the one hand, A Monthly Account is rigorously closed in form. The first of its twelve sections is dated "January 21, 2012," the second "February 21, 2012," and so on, right to "December 21, 2012." Each section has ten stanzas, each stanza ten lines, each line ten syllables. Yet even though the poem's form is strict and regular, its speaker, Agonistes, is a soul-baring, emotionally labile, sturm und drang fountain of expression, reminiscent of Goethe's Werther or Byron's Childe Harold or Senancour's Obermann. The intersection of his Romantic effusion with a nearly obsessive-compulsive mechanics of form generates thematic energy as well as being often entertaining.
Agonistes is apparently 34 years old as he writes ("I was thirteen in 1991"). He was orphaned at birth, bullied at a Catholic orphanage as a child. When his confession/manifesto opens, he has already arrived at a disillusionment as deep as that of Ecclesiastes: "I have read hundreds of religious texts / Seven thousand books of philosophy, / And a million pamphlets of poetry. / None of them contains an ounce of wisdom." One of the books he read, we can assume, was Ezra Pound's Pisan Cantos, to whose famous line "What thou lovest well remains" Agonistes replies, "What remains if thou lovest nothing well?" Despite the efforts of the nuns, "The foibles of a certain circumspect / Nazarene do not connect with me," and other master narratives have proven no more convincing:
Astrology and Marxism have failed
To explain our terrible behavior.
We are far more sinister than the night
Of Capitalism that surrounds us.
We traded freedom for a bag of chips.
As Agonistes' complaints continue, he reminds us of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, and other men whose desperate conclusions led to lethal remedies, and we may wonder about that "end of the world" to which his title points: "There can be no other choice than to raze / The foundations of all future prisons. / I myself could change the Earth's directions." But Agonistes is a true Romantic: titanic in his threats, he is also tender in his affections; of boyhood, he writes, "A girl captures his imagination / With her smile, his bicycle seems too small, / And his baseball cards turn into paper." By July, the year's midpoint, a woman has engaged his attention, and "I was a new man that very instant."
Love buds and flourishes over the following months. Love is a perceptual and epistemological revolution for Agonistes, as it was for his Romantic precursors: "I doubt my senses, I hear smells, I see / Symbols wherever images should be: / A sunbow's arc above a waterfall." Love has changed him, and love can change everything; the "heart's genius" can make "a question into a revolution." His old projects abandoned, he proposes. He is accepted. His love does have some information to at last reveal, though: "'I'm on a terrorism task force and / We've been watching you for about twelve months.'"
A setback, to be sure. Agonistes will have time to serve, but his apocalyptic ambitions have dissipated for good. The poem ends, "Tomorrow is visitation day and / I don't believe in endings anymore."
The modest appearance of A Monthly Account may delay its discovery by readers, but just as the FBI eventually caught up with Agonistes, readers will eventually get wind of it. And as the agent tailing Agonistes eventually fell in love with him, readers may fall in love with A Monthly Account for its narrative élan, its ingenuity in handling its formal constraints, and the surprising engineering of the redemption of its speaker.
Paul Scott Stanfield was educated at Grinnell College and Northwestern University, and has been a member of the English Department at Nebraska Wesleyan University since 1989. He is the author of Yeats and Politics in the 1930s and of articles on Yeats, other Irish poets, and Wyndham Lewis.
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Education Update
Kaylene Camuti
Chair, AIG Education Subcommittee
In the education report for last year's May issue of AIG News I wrote that we were going through a difficult period for geoscientists and for geoscience students. Little has changed in the last twelve months: unemployment and underemployment remain at high levels and students are graduating into a work environment that offers few job opportunities. Although this is disheartening for all involved, it did not deter bright and enthusiastic students from applying for an AIG bursary in 2014 and we hope for, and look forward to, an equally enthusiastic response from students in 2015. During times like these the contributions from sponsors and donors is critical – not only for the financial resources they provide, but also for the message of support and community they deliver to students and graduates.
This year the Bursary Program has again benefited from the support of long term sponsors. The list of current bursary sponsors is included on page 14 of this issue of AIG News and sponsors who have again committed to supporting the Bursary Program are mentioned below. A special thank you this year also to the many AIG members who have made generous donations to the AIG Education Foundation over the last few years. In the next few weeks we will be setting up a dedicated web page to acknowledge and thank these members for their support.
Many thanks to the Bursary Program Sponsors who have renewed their support in 2015:
Sydney Mineral Exploration Discussion Group (SMEDG)
SMEDG is continuing its very generous support of the Bursary Program and we can now offer several major bursaries to NSW students working on mineral exploration-related research. SMEDG is a non-profit group and supports its activities and bursary sponsorship through the proceeds of symposia organised by volunteers, including the popular Mines and Wines Conference which will be run again this year in September.
Alexander Research Pty Ltd
Alexander Research is again offering a bursary to students working on cross-disciplinary projects related to mineral economics and finance. The company is run by Jonathan Bell, a geologist who specialises in mineral asset valuations, and who also serves on the VALMIN Committee, the AIG WA Branch Committee, and is an AIG Federal Councillor. Alexander Research is Perth-based, and offers services to professional valuers in the extractive minerals industry through the provision of data, programmes, and innovative valuation techniques.
Terra Search Pty Ltd
Terra Search has been a sponsor of the student bursary program for many years, and has renewed its sponsorship in 2015. The company offers a range of services to explorers and miners, including highly experienced geoscientific and field personnel, exploration database management, geophysical surveying, and vehicle and equipment hire. The company was founded by geoscientists in Townsville almost 30 years ago; it is still run by geoscientists, although operations have since expanded to include offices in Perth and Bathurst.
Gnomic Exploration Services Pty Ltd
Gnomic Exploration Services has been a long-term supporter of the AIG Bursary Program. The company was established in Townsville around 30 years ago to provide geoscientific and geotechnical contractors and consultants to the minerals and energy industries. The company has been a long-term supporter of the AIG Bursary Program.
Cryptodome Pty Ltd
Cryptodome is a Perth-based company run by Marcus Harris, with a focus on investing in Australia's future resources. Marcus is a member of AIG Council and past-Chair of the AIGWA Branch Committee. Marcus has committed a great deal of time to geoscience education and Cryptodome has been a long term contributor to the Bursary Program.
Last year Doug Young was the inaugural Bronze Sponsor of the AIG Bursary Program and, again in 2015, Doug is continuing his support. Doug is a member of the AIG Queensland state branch committee, a former AIG Federal Councillor, serves on the AIG Education Committee, and actively liaises with the AIG National Graduate Committee.
We are grateful, also, for the contributions from ongoing bursary sponsors:
Chris Bonwick DIAMOND SPONSOR
Geoff Davis DIAMOND SPONSOR
The Macquarie Arc Conference – GSNSW DIAMOND SPONSOR
The Department of State Development, South Australia PLATINUM SPONSOR
The support from these individuals and organisations has been long term, continues this year, and has been highly valued in providing security to the AIG Bursary Program.
Thank you, also, to the AIG state branches who regularly make substantial contributions to the AIG Bursary Program. As with SMEDG, the state branches are run by committees of volunteers who raise the funds to support the Bursary Program by organising symposia and other technical events. The effectiveness of the Bursary Program is significantly enhanced by the state branch financial support and by the efforts of the state branches in organising bursary presentations and student events.
The bursary application form for this year's program has been distributed to students and universities in May, and we invite applications from third year, honours and postgraduate geoscience students at Australian universities. Click here for more details.
This article originally appeared in AIG News 120, May 2015
AIG Publications Shop
AIG publications may now be purchased on-line via the Institute's new publication shop, accessible via a link on the right hand side of the institute's web site home page.
The shop provides access to all Institute publications, in hardcopy where available, or as a digital download. AIG members have free access to all digital publications using a members' only discount code, entered on the checkout screen. The discount code may be obtained by logging in to the member's portal (follow the member login link at the top of each page of the AIG web site.
We're currently re-scanning all past publications to make their text fully searchable. Individual articles from past issues of AIG News and conference publications will also be available soon.
New Secretariat
Members will be aware that AIG uses a contract secretariat service for back-office functions needed to run the Institute. Outsourcing of AIG's back-office functions helps to maintain low membership fees for members and helps focus Council's attention on the core business of representing members' professional interests.
The Institute is moving to a new secretariat service provider after a long relationship with our previous provider, the Centre for Association Management (CAM) in Perth.
From 1 July, our secretariat services will be provided by The Association Specialists and AIG's contact details will change to:
Australian Institute of Geoscientists
T: + 61 2 9431 8662
e: aig@aig.org.au
While the mailing address and contact telephone number will change, existing AIG email addresses will be redirected to new recipients. AIG's on-line membership portal will be unaffected by the change. The move from Perth to Sydney will change the contact hours for the secretariat office accordingly.
Please direct any questions regarding the change to AIG's executive officer, Lynn Vigar.
VALMIN Committee Calling for Expressions of Interest
The VALMIN Committee is seeking to expand its number of committee members as it enters the next phase of the review of the VALMIN Code.
Over the coming months the Committee's focus will be finalising the revision of the Code, and then moving to support effective awareness/communication and implementation of the revised Code.
If you would be interested in contributing as a member of the VALMIN Committee, please express interest by sending: a brief cover letter outlining your reasons for wishing to contribute and a current resume/CV by email prior to COB Sunday 28 June.
2015 AIG Student Bursary Program
The application form for the 2015 AIG Geoscience Student Bursary Program is now available from the AIG web site. AIG Bursaries are offered to Third Year, Honours and Postgraduate students.
The closing date for applications is the 28th July.
In addition to AIG bursaries offered in all geoscience fields, the AIG also offers a number of sponsored bursaries to students working in certain fields of geoscience or geological terrains, or enrolled at specific universities.. These sponsored bursaries include:
The DSD – AIG Geoscience Student bursary: offered to geoscience students at South Australian Universities.
The Macquarie Arc Conference-GSNSW – AIG bursary: offered to geoscience students working on mapping-based honours projects in the Lachlan Orogen, in or around the Macquarie Arc.
The SMEDG-AIG Bursaries: offered to NSW geoscience students working on projects related to mineral exploration.
The Jonathan Bell-Alexander Research – AIG bursary: offered to geoscience students working on cross-disciplinary projects related to mineral economics and finance.
The Davis – AIG geoscience bursaries: offered to geoscience students enrolled at JCU or UWA to assist with costs associated with field work.
Applied Geoscience
Early Career Geoscience
Ethics and Standards
Minerals and Energy Resources
NewSouthWales
NorthernTerritory
SouthAustralia
WesternAustralia
AGC AIG AIG News ASEG AusIMM Australia Australian Geoscience Council Australian geoscientist employment survey coal continued professional development copper CPD drilling education EGRU employment employment survey ethics exploration geochemistry geology geophysics geoscience Geoscience Australia geoscientist employment gold groundwater innovation James Cook University JORC mapping membership mineral exploration mineral resources minerals mining Queensland research resources survey technology underemployment unemployment VALMIN Western Australia


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Q: snap - cannot update snap-store preview/edge: cannot create symlink when update I saw I can't open my software store and when I tried to update via terminal I saw this error:
cannot update snap namespace: cannot create symlink in "/usr/share/libdrm/amdgpu.ids": existing file in the way
I tried this https://stackoverflow.com/questions/69134662/cannot-update-snap-namespace-cannot-create-symlink-in-etc-docker-existing-f but that doesn't resolve my problem here.
Someone knows why happen this? What I have to do to fix it?
OS: Ubuntu 22.04 (Gnome desktop)
CPU + GPU = AMD (Amd Ryzer 7 4000 series  & Radeon RX 5600m)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This register contains information that enables test software to determine if the GIC-600 system is compatible. There is one register per configured chip. The offset determines the chip number.
[63:53] - Reserved, returns zero.
Width of lower part of on-chip core number field, ceiling[log2(max_pe_on_chip)], where max_pe_on_chip is the configuration option that you set, which defines the maximum number of cores on a single chip in the system.
This field is RES0 in versions before r1p2.
[31:21] - Reserved, returns zero.
[20:15] SPIS Number of SPI blocks supported.
[11:8] - Reserved, returns zero.
[3:1] - Reserved, returns zero.


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Q: Convert Ni-Mh charger's connector from cigarette lighter to USB I recently purchased a very basic airpump to inflate a mattress. As we will be taking this mattress to a camping trip on a motorbike, we wont have a car cig-ligther socket (12V), only USB 5V. This is also where my question lies.
Some technicalities:

I want to convert the connector of my charger (cig lighter) to a male USB connector. I havent cracked open my charger yet, but I assume it has some sort of a buck converter in it, that steps down the 12V (cig lighter) to 6.8V (as per datasheet the charger operates at 12V input and 6.8V at 0.25A output).
With the conversion to USB, I would have an input of 5V and as such my charger wouldn't have to step down anymore, rather step up. Without having looked at the insides of the charger, I assume its a buck-converter only, hence it wont be able to step up (boost) to 6.8V and as such charge at 5V and ~0.35A instead of 6.8V ~0.25A.
Question:

*

*Is my assumption of 5V at ~0.34A correct? (6.8V * 0.25A = 1.7W)

*Will my chargers buck-converter just pass the 5V through as it wont be able to step it up to 6.8V?

*Is it safe/recommended to charge 4x1.2V 1500mAh with 5V/0.34A?

*Alternatively, should I just get rid of the insides of the charger and use 5V from the USB socket directly? I assume the pump itself has a PCB that draws around 1.7W so 5V should be fine?

Operation manual (again...very basic as it is a cheap pump): https://www.kmart.com.au/wcsstore/Kmart/pdfs/42721291_Manual.pdf
Bonus question:

*

*in the operations manual it says charge (for 8h) and discharge 3 times fully first use to 'activate batteries' what does activating batteries mean?

*How does my charger (without conversion, in its original state) know when my batteries are full? It comes with an LED light that glows red (pump charging) or green (pump not connected). I was assuming the charger would turn green when the batts are full, but I charged it overnight (forgot to unplug) and in the morning it was still 'red'. Doing simple maths, if it charges at 0.25A it would take 1500/250 = 6h to charge them fully, I probably charged around 15h. Is this just a very cheap charger (which I assume it is) that doesnt really care about voltage/temperature of the batteries, rather just charges very slow making sure that if you overcharge/charge for too long, it wont fry the batts?


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Reading Acts
Some Thoughts on the Book of Acts and Pauline Theology
About Reading Acts
Biblical Studies Carnival Master List
First Missionary Jounrey
Phillip J. Long
Acts 14:8-18 – Paul and Pagans
When Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra, Paul heals a man who was crippled in the feet. This miracle in intentionally parallel to Peter's healing in Acts 3, although the results are much different! In both cases, the man is crippled from birth (3:2, 14:8), in both cases the man responds to his healing by "leaping" (3:6, 14:9), and in both cases the verb "look intently" is used (13:4, 14:9). While these seem like common enough vocabulary for such a healing, these words are only used in these two stories in Acts, indicating some intentionality on Luke's part. In both cases, there has been a paradigmatic speech and then a miracle, with both positive and negative reactions to the miracles and the speech. Eventually that reaction will turn violent, threatening the lives of the Peter (in Acts 4-5) and Paul (who appears to have been killed!)
However, the setting of the two miracles could not be more different. In Acts 3, the miracle takes place in the temple courts, Paul is in a Gentile town which is more likely to believe he is Hermes incarnate than a representative of the Hebrew God! When Paul was among Jews in Iconium he did many miracles and saw great success. The working of a miracle among the Gentiles of Lystra is counter-productive and results in Paul being stone and left for dead.
There is only the briefest hint at the sort of "sermon" Paul might have preached to this crowd. This is unfortunate, since this is the first time in Acts that Paul addresses a pagan audience. Often Paul's speech in Acts 17 at Mars Hill is set up as an example of Paul's method of reaching the Gentile world, rarely is this speech in Acts 14.
Paul states that there is a living God, as opposed to the worthless idols that never show their power. Like Acts 17, Paul does not allude to the many acts of God in the Hebrew Bible. Rather, he uses God's preservation of men through the giving of rain and crops as an example of his power. This might be called "general revelation," since the crowd would neither know about the God of the Hebrew Bible, nor would they care what he did for the Jews.
But Paul is not giving up on the biblical story at all in this sermon. He begins with God's creation and provision. He says that he represents the creator, something which this group can understand within their own world view, but Paul uses the language of Genesis (the heaven, the earth, and the sea, along with everything in them).
But notice that Paul more or less attacks the gods of Lystra: they are worthless things. This is even more powerful when you realize that the priests of Zeus have brought out bulls to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. Paul could very well be pointing at these prepared sacrifices when he says, "worthless idols." The noun used here (μάταιος) means that these idols and their sacrifices "lack truth" and it is pointless to worship them because they are not true at all!
This does not sound very modern or emergent to me. . .how can this brief sermon of Paul be used as a model for contemporary evangelism? Should we directly attack another world view as "worthless"? Or perhaps Paul learns something from this "failure" and changes the way he approaches the "pagans" later on in his ministry.
Book of Acts, Luke / Acts
First Missionary Jounrey, Lystra, Paul
Acts 14:8-10 – Preaching to the Pagans
[This is Adam Renberg's second contribution to the blog. Adam is an Advanced Studies in Acts student this semester.]
After Paul's preforms the miracle in Acts 14:8-10, he is met with an unanticipated response from the crowd. While miracles have been used to authenticate prophets in the Jewish context, the case was very direct in a pagan society. Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, and the priests and worshipers bring out a procession of animals to sacrifice to them. Apparently Paul and Barnabas did not speak the Lycaonian language, as they did not stop them until they saw the sacrificial animals being brought to them, where they quickly refuted the claim that they were gods.
In 14:14-15, they tear their clothing, shout that they are only men and not gods in disguise, and begin to preach a short but unique sermon. Paul starts this discourse in saying that they have good news (the gospel) and that they should turn from "worthless idols" to the living God. This is obviously a very bold move, as the priest of Zeus and his followers were apparently directly in front of them. To call this group of gods "worthless idols" is a deep stab at their worldview, on a political, economic, and philosophical level. As the polytheistic way of life was so ingrained in Graeco-Roman culture (everyone at that time believed in the gods), a challenge to follow the one true God and turn away from idols would be offensive to say the least (it also makes it seem more apparent as to why Paul was stoned).
Paul continues in declaring who the one true God is, as the maker of "heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them." Paul does not appeal to any scriptures through this sermon (as the Lycaonians would not have known them), but still uses the language of Genesis. He declares in Vs. 17 that God has left testimony to this creation through the rain and crops, giving food and ultimately joy.
This would have been directly applicable to this city, as the main occupation would have been agricultural, so most of the audience could have been able to relate to this statement. While it is a direct appeal, it could also be considered a challenge against their pagan gods as they worshiped and underwent rituals and sacrifices for rain to their Greek gods. In this sense, Paul is not only calling their gods worthless, but also telling them that the gods that they depended on for the sustaining of crops and foods don't actually do anything, that the one true God has been sustain their lives and crops from the beginning.
An interesting element of this sermon is that neither Jesus nor the cross is mentioned in any capacity. While it is possible that this is a summary or portion of a larger discourse by Paul, you would have assumed to see some trace of the Savior. This passage (as well as the similar Acts 17 sermon) has been long used in showing that in a missional sense, we need to meet people where they are. The pagans knew nothing of a monotheistic worldview, so Paul had to start from the ground up before he declared the cross of Christ. In comparison to Acts 17, where Paul used stronger vocabulary and philosophical rhetoric when talking to the Athenian council, he chose simpler language to engage with his less educated audience in Acts 14.
While there can be missiological applications from this passage, should it be used as a main passage in talking missionary strategy? What was Paul's missionary strategy when it came to Lystra in Acts 14:8-20?
First Missionary Jounrey, Lystra, Paul, Zeus
Acts 14:8-10 – A Healing in Lystra
[This post was written by Adam Renberg, one of my "Advanced Studies in Acts" students. They are helping teach my undergrad Acts class a few times this semester, so I thought I would give them "guest blogger" status.]
In Acts 14:8-10, we see the first recorded miracle of Paul's ministry as he heals a paralytic. This man, who was crippled from birth, was healed after he listened to Paul speak (presumably a sermon). Paul then calls to him to stand up, where he jumps up and starts to walk. While this is an astounding miracle, this type of miracle does not seem to be unique to Paul and his ministry. One very similar miracle account, recorded by Luke, can be found in Acts 3:1-10.
In this pericope, Peter and John are at the temple gate and heal a man who was also lame from birth. The similarities are as follow: Both start with a cripple, lame from birth (3:2, 14:8); Both Apostles stare at the cripples (3:4, 14:9); Both Cripples leapt up (3:6, 14:9). Many commentators see the parallels of these two passages as intentional comparisons by Luke to make a statement about the authority and ministry of Paul and Peter.
While the comparisons are obvious, there are also some large differences. In Peter's case, he preforms the miracle in Jerusalem on a Jewish man, preaching to a Jewish audience (they would not let Gentiles into the temple gates). In Acts 14, the cripple and audience are completely Gentile at this point. In Acts 3, the healed man praises God, while the man in Acts 14 doesn't have any recorded praise. Lastly, Paul doesn't use the name of Jesus during his miracle, although he more than likely used it when talking to the paralytic before his healing.
Comparisons are often made between Peter and Paul for this account, but this type of miracle found its roots in Jesus. In Luke 5:17-26, we find another healing of a lame man. In this case, the man's friends bring him to Jesus by lowering him into the house, where Jesus forgives his sins and tells him to "get up and walk." While there are more similarities and differences in this passage, one of the most important phrases used is "when Jesus saw their faith," where Jesus heals them because of their faith. This phrase, and its variations (such as, "your faith has made you well") is very Lukan, not unlike Matthew's use of "Kingdom of Heaven."
With this in mind, what was Luke's purpose in recording Paul's miracle in Acts 14? If Luke intentionally compared it to Peter's Miracle in Acts 3, it would seem that Luke is trying to compare Peter and Paul's ministry to present validity and purpose to both of their missions. As it is the first recorded miracle of both Peter and Paul, one could argue that Luke was demonstrating that God ordained each of these men's ministries. But as Peter's miracle and sermon were successful in this passage, Paul's seems to be a "failure" with little to no converts, and a stoning.
One the other hand, is it possible that Luke (in Luke 5) was alluding to Jesus when he uses the miracle account in Acts 14 to echo Jesus' voice? Like Paul, Jesus was met with amazement, but also opposition from the Pharisees… the same party who more than likely sent the Jews to Lystra to stone Paul. If this were Luke's intention, he would be giving Paul even more authority in comparing him directly to Jesus, making it obvious from whom Paul received his calling.
The last option is that Luke was not trying to allude to any other passages of scripture, and simply liked the phrase "your faith has made you well" when recounting miracles. He may have used a specific methodology for miracles, and all of these accounts fell under that "template."
Do you think that Luke was trying to create allusions and comparisons between the ministry of Paul and Peter? Or Jesus? If this were the case, what should we infer from this comparison today?
Acts 14:1-7 – In Iconium
After leaving Antioch, Paul and Barnabas travel 85-90 miles southeast to Iconium. Like Psidian Antioch, Iconium was a large Roman city with a Jewish population. It is possible that Iconium was a Roman colony; it was given the privilege of calling itself Claudiconium just before Paul's visit, and may have been awarded colony status at that time (Keener 2:2110 suggests the honor was not granted until the time of Hadrian). In Acts 14:1 Luke reports that among those who believed were "Hellenes," perhaps an indication that these are not Roman citizens but rather the native Greek population.
Hercules Sarcophagus (ca. 250–260 AD)
Paul and Barnabas go "as usual" to the synagogue to preach. Luke intends this episode to be parallel to Antioch. Paul did the same sorts of things in whatever town he visits; first seeking out the synagogue he teaches from the Hebrew Bible that Jesus is the Christ. At some point he separates from the synagogue and begins to develop the converts into leaders who can take over that ministry when he leaves.
Luke reports a "great number" of Jews and Gentiles believe, but they are influenced by the Jews who "refused to believe." These Jews are described as disobedient; the Greek word ἀπειθέω is always used for disobedience toward God in the New Testament (Rom 11:30; Deut 1:26). They are not sinful or evil people, but there is more going on here than "they were unpersuaded." They have rejected Paul's message and they incite the Gentiles in Iconium against Paul. This is the same word (ἐπεγείρω) Luke used in 13:50 when the Jews in Antioch stirred up trouble for Paul.
In addition, they "poisoned the minds" of the Gentiles against Paul and his message (ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν). The verb κακόω has the sense of making someone angry or embittered; here it is used idiomatically to indicate that Paul's rivals are putting ideas into the heads of the Gentiles in order to make them change their positive view of Paul. It is perhaps significant that this verb is used in LXX Is 53:7 to describe the suffering of the messianic servant.
Both Jews and Gentiles plot to kill Paul because of the controversy, and he is forced to flee the city. We are not given the details, but it appears that opposition to Paul went to the authorities of Iconium. To mistreat is a fairly rare Greek word which Luke used in 18:32 to describe the treatment of Jesus. The verb ὑβρίζω has the idea of scoffing, insulting, etc., but is often associated with other words which indicate an escalation of abuse from "scoffing" to physical torment and death. In Matt 22:6 the verb describes the treatment of the king's servants, some of whom were killed. In 1 Thess 2:2 Paul used the verb to describe his own treatment in Philippi, which included flogging and imprisonment in stocks.
Paul and Barnabas find out about the plot and leave Iconium for Lystra. This is not necessarily to be understood as an act of cowardice. Paul is willing to be beaten and die for his message (as he will in Lystra in this same chapter).
In the context of Acts, this is really the first time Paul has preached his message to Gentiles in a public forum. In Antioch the reaction was anger and he was forced to leave. In Iconium Paul's message is also soundly rejected by some, but others accepted it and a church is founded in the city. What is significant is the violent response to his message. What is it about Paul's message that evokes this level of violence from the Jews in the Synagogue? While it is possible a resurrected messiah is enough to provoke committed Jews into a strong, even violent response, perhaps there is more to Paul's preaching in the region.
First Missionary Jounrey, Iconium, Paul
Acts 13:42-52 – Reaction to Paul's Sermon
Like Jesus (Luke 4:22) and Peter (Acts 2:40-41), there is a great deal of interest in Paul's message. The apostles are invited back for a second Sabbath to continue this discussion. Luke mentions those who were most attracted to Paul's message were the "devout converts," or people who were ethically Gentile, but are at some advanced level in their conversion to Judaism as a religion. If Paul's message was understood as acceptance of the God of the Hebrew Bible, the ethical and moral standards of the Law, and an ultimate salvation through Jesus apart from the sacrifices of Judaism, then perhaps many of the Gentiles were eager to accept Paul's message.
On the next Sabbath "the whole city" gathers to hear Paul, sparking jealousy. Luke is likely using some hyperbole here, he means all the adult males who would be part of the Synagogue have turned out to hear Paul, although it is possible that many of the gentile converts brought other gentiles to hear them preach.
The Jews begin to argue against Paul (ἀντέλεγον, is an inceptive imperfect, focusing on the beginning of the action). The verb has the sense of contradicting an argument or reaching. In Titus 1:9 one of the functions of an elder is to "contradict" false teaching. In 3 Macc 2:28 the verb is used for anyone who opposes the poll tax imposed by the Selucids; if anyone "speaks against" this new law, they are to be executed! They make this argument against Paul not through rational debate, but by "speaking abusively" (βλασφημοῦντες) against Paul. The verb has the sense of slander, "to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns" (BDAG). In an honor-shame culture, this kind of an attack is intended to cast doubt on speaker by pointing out their personal flaws.
Paul "answers boldly" this slander of his Gospel. The word had to go to the Jews first, reflecting Paul's mission statement in Romans 1:16-17. This does not mean that Paul did Jewish ministry only up to this point and now he will do exclusively gentile ministry; in terms of salvation history it is true the gospel went to the Jews exclusively (Acts 2-8), and not it is going into socially and culturally Gentile people. But Paul's ministry will always be to the Jew first and then to the Gentile, in order to win his own people first before turning to the gentiles.
Paul then quotes Isaiah 49:6 for his mission statement: he is the light to the Gentiles. This looks back to his own calling and commission from the Lord, but also to the same messianic texts he cited in the synagogue a week earlier. He is the one that fulfills the messianic role of light to the Gentiles in the present time.
Many believe and join Paul, but there was enough angry rejection that the Jews persecuted Paul and Barnabas, thus they "shake the dust of their heels" in protest and continued their journey. This "shaking of the dust" is symbolic of a rejected negotiation, or a pronouncement of judgment. Paul is saying that these Jews have rejected his teaching, and he is turning from them to go where he will have an audience, the Gentiles. This is not unlike what Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 10, that they were condemn any city that rejected their teachings.
To what extent is this a "rejection of the Jews" (as it is sometimes described)? Paul continues to target Jewish audiences in the Synagogue and he will continue to argue persuasively from the Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah. But this is the first of three times Paul says he is now "turning to the Gentiles" What does this rejection mean in the overall plot of the book of Acts?
First Missionary Jounrey, Paul
Phillip J. Long has taught full time at Grace Christian University since 1998, specializing in Bible and Biblical languages. He has Masters degrees in Biblical Exposition and Old Testament from Talbot School of Theology (BIOLA) and a PhD in New Testament from Andrews University. His dissertation was published as Jesus the Bridegroom by Pickwick Books in 2012. In 2019 he published a commentary. Galatians: Freedom through God's Grace (Wipf & Stock, 2019).
His most recent book is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World (Rockridge, 2022)
Contact Information: plong42@gmail.com
Since November 2021, Reading Acts is edited by Sarah Westphal.
The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World


Blue Sky Financial Planning / Blue Sky Blogs / Is deliberation an English trait?
Is deliberation an English trait?
If you blinked, you may have missed it? St George's day was this Monday just gone. Not a date that is widely celebrated. In fact, we English seem to be deliberating over whether we should get behind the day, just not bother or celebrate something else entirely. Some just don't care as long as they get another public holiday!
Perhaps the date is better known for Shakespeare's birthday? The Royalists amongst us, from now on, may remember the date more for the arrival of a royal baby? Congratulations to all concerned.
St George's Day is also known as 'The Feast of Saint George'; the feast day of St George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries and cities of which St George is the patron saint.
St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death.
St George, according to legend, was a Roman soldier of Greek origin and an officer in the Guard of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
A traditional custom on St George's day is to fly the St George's Cross flag.
Unfortunately, the flag is better known these days for being draped around drunken English football fans who masquerade it as their badge of honour. You'll see the evidence between 14th June and 15th July this year during the World Cup… but if past performances are anything to go by, it will be seen mostly in the first couple of weeks!
I think it's fair to say there is a mixed reaction to St George's day. Some want to celebrate it more, like English Heritage. Jeremy Corbyn has promised a public holiday if he gets into power. Others have called for St George to be replaced as the patron saint of England on the grounds that he was an obscure figure who had no direct connection with the country.
Sounds like a nation struggling for identity, then deliberating about what others think far too much.
What's this got to do with money you might be thinking. What's the relevance to Blue Sky?
My simple message is don't be typically English when it comes to your financial well-being and the life you want to lead. Decide what you want, plan on how you are going to get it and don't focus on what others think. It's your life.
Get in touch if you want help flying your flag.


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Birth date 2 Sep 1981 (38 years)
Nationality England
Surrey County 2010 - 2015
England national women's 2005 - 2011
Hampshire County 2000 - 2009
Hampshire Cricket Board 2000
Chris Tremlett is a right handed batsman and right arm medium fast bowler in the England cricket team. Hampshire Cricket Board, Hampshire, England Lions and ECB National Academy are teams for which he has played.
The debut One day International of Tremlett was played between England and Bangladesh at Nottingham on 21st June 2005. He did not get an opportunity to bat in this match. He bowled 8.2 overs, out of which 1 was maiden, gave away 32 runs and took 4 wickets. England won this match by 168 runs. The first Test match of Tremlett was played from 19th July to 23rd July 2007 at Lord's against India. In the 1st innings, he batted at the No. 9 position but failed to score in 3 deliveries. He bowled 8 maidens out of a total of 20 overs, conceded 52 runs and took 1 wicket. In the 2nd innings, he was out on the very first delivery he faced. He bowled 21 overs, out of which 5 were maidens and took 3 wickets. During this spell, 52 runs were scored. This match was drawn.
Tremlett played in 3 Test matches and in these bowled 859 deliveries during which 386 runs were score. He took 13 wickets and had a bowling strike rate of 66, bowling average of 29.69 and economy rate of 2.69. In the One day Internationals, he participated in 9 matches and took 9 wickets in these. 419 runs were scored off his bowling, when he bowled 479 balls. His economy rate was 5.24, bowling average was 46.55 and bowling strike rate was 53.2.
He is a really good bowler for the England Cricket Team.
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Wodenrful explanation of facts available here.
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SO it's September and Europe is back at work. There is much to discuss and to do. Problems abound. Europe faces a host of difficult challenges, many internal, some external — and next year is set to be even more challenging. Everyone is braced for an autumn and winter of discontent. The world kept turning as the EU took a long summer break. The war in Syria continued to wreak havoc, refugees fled devastation, the earthquake in Italy killed and injured many, there were suicide bombs in Yemen, Turkey and Kabul and strongmen in Russia, Turkey and the US thundered poison and venom.
And oh yes, there were the Olympics, bringing some relief and excitement in an increasingly angry, intolerant and difficult world. There was also a landmark peace deal in Colombia between the government and the main left-wing rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), putting an end to one of the world's longest-running insurgencies.
Europe reacted to the events of course — but internal difficulties took centre stage. Europe's focus is on itself, its challenges and dilemmas. Certainly, many EU policymakers keep a close watch on global events. But in the end, for many, Europe comes first.
Even when it comes to taking a holiday. Its certainly good politics for European leaders to take their vacations in Europe. Trekking in the Alps rather than in the Himalayas shows that a European leader — like Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May — is careful with money and committed to Europe.
But staying close to home has its disadvantages. Staying inside the cosy European cocoon may be cheap, comfortable and familiar. But it leads to complacency. If EU leaders had travelled a bit further, say to Asia for instance, they would know that the EU star is rapidly losing its sparkle.
Europe has certainly been in the news over the summer. But the headlines have been less than flattering. Media across the world has focused on three key questions which unfortunately appear to define Europe in 2016: burkinis, borders and Brexit. Gone are the compliments and the glowing words, the soft focus on European cities, museums, and food, abiding admiration for European integration efforts, the noble pledge to steer clear of war and turmoil. No longer, no more.
Step outside Europe and its clear: the EU has lost its reputation and clout. It's political, diplomatic and economic influence is slipping, its standing is in tatters. Forget talk about European values. A watching world knows very clearly that Europe has lost its mojo. And nobody is celebrating.
For most of the summer, France grabbed the headlines with its bizarre decision to ban so-called 'burkinis'. Images of Muslim women being ordered to undress on French beaches caught the global imagination, triggering animated debates on what had happened to a country known for its commitment to "liberte, egalite and fraternite".
The burkini was of course only the tip of the iceberg. As the country heads for presidential elections in 2017, the French debate on Islam is expected to become even fiercer, with Marine Le Pen, the leader of the xenophobic and anti-Muslim Front National, calling the shots and other politicians including the centre-right presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, frantically struggling to keep up.
The game in France over the coming months is going to be a simple one: who can sound tougher on Islam and Muslims. Le Pen is unlikely to become French president. But she will set the political agenda for the country and dominate the political discourse for months to come.
Which brings us to refugees and Europe's ongoing struggle to deal with the large number of migrants and asylum seekers who keep knocking on its doors.
The EU once captured the headlines for its bold moves to eliminate borders to create a frontier free single market. The image now is of an EU determined to protect itself with barbed wire fences, armed policemen and more. This is especially the case in many eastern European states where restrictive new laws making life difficult for asylum seekers and refugees, anti-migrant rhetoric by decision makers and high-ranking politicians is commonplace.
Asylum seekers and refugees are called "intruders," and "potential terrorists", bent on destroying Western civilisation and Christianity. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban himself in July referred to migration as "poison". Gyorgy Schopflin, a ruling party member with a seat in the European Parliament, suggested on Twitter that pigs' heads should be placed on the border fence with Serbia to deter Muslim refugees from entering Hungary.
And then of course there is Brexit. The world can't really believe that a country would willingly leave a much-coveted rich men's club. And no one seems as confused as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May.
Her mantra of "Brexit means Brexit" is beginning to ring hollow, not least because the government has yet to decide on just when to invoke "article 50" which will kick-start negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
Many including former premier Tony Blair seem to believe that Britain could change course either through a second referendum or new elections. But others denounce this as wishful thinking.
Who knows? Europeans once stood out for their post-modern values and aspirations, their ability to make friends with former enemies. That's no longer the case. Europe in the autumn of 2016 appears fragile, fraught and afraid. And it may stay this way for most of next year.


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While Duke Energy dodges taxes, its pollution costs the public dearly
By Sue SturgisFebruary 28, 2014
dan_river_coal_ash_appvoices_1.png
At least some of the coal ash polluting the Dan River following Duke Energy's Feb. 2 spill used to be mountaintops in Central Appalachia. (Photo of the Dan River coal ash spill by Appalachian Voices.)
At the same time Duke Energy is facing scrutiny for a coal ash spill from one of its North Carolina power plants that's polluted the Dan River and Kerr Lake, the company is getting attention for avoiding federal taxes.
This week Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released "The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes," a comprehensive five-year study of 288 consistently profitable Fortunate 50 companies that found 26 of them -- including North Carolina-based Duke Energy -- paid no federal corporate income taxes during that time.
In fact, Duke -- the nation's largest electric utility -- had a negative effective tax rate of -3.3 percent during the five-year period. The investor-owned company earned over $9 billion in profits during those years but received tax rebates totaling $299 million.
"This nation faces important questions of how to fund pressing priorities, from education and health care to infrastructure and retirement security," said Rebecca Wilkins, CTJ's senior counsel for federal tax policy. "Reforming our tax code is necessary to ensure to we have a just tax system that raises the revenues we need."
Overall, the effective federal income tax rate of the 288 companies studied was just 19.4 percent -- far less than the on-the-books rate of 35 percent.
Gas and electric utilities enjoyed the lowest effective federal corporate tax rate during the study period, at 2.9 percent. And indeed, the companies with the very lowest tax rates were all electric companies: Pepco Holdings of Washington, D.C. (-33 percent), PG&E of San Francisco (-16.7 percent), NiSource of Indiana (-13.6 percent), and Wisconsin Energy (-13.5 percent).
Duke Energy came in 13th on the list of companies with the lowest tax rates, among other utilities including CenterPoint Energy of Houston (-8.5 percent), American Electric Power of Ohio (-5.8 percent), FirstEnergy of Ohio (-3 percent), NextEra Energy of Florida (-1.6 percent), Consolidated Edison of New York (-1.1 percent), CMS Energy of Michigan (-1.1 percent), and Northeast Utilities of Connecticut (-0.7 percent). The low rates were due largely to the companies claiming accelerated depreciation tax breaks on capital investments, which is a way to defer taxes.
But while Duke Energy and other utilities were successfully avoiding federal taxes, they were imposing significant costs on the public through their reliance on coal and other dirty energy sources.
Almost half of the electricity Duke Energy generates -- 45 percent in 2011 -- comes from burning coal. While the company plans to reduce its use of coal and has been converting some of its old coal-fired plants to burn natural gas, it still expects coal to account for 29 percent of its generation capacity by 2031. And coal power has steep external costs -- that is, costs imposed on third parties that they did not choose to incur -- that result from both coal mining and coal burning. Among the external costs associated with pollution from coal mining and coal burning are reduced life expectancy, increased hospital admissions for respiratory problems, congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, loss of IQ from mercury, degradation of buildings, reduction of crop yields, ecosystem loss, and global warming.
What do those external costs add up to? In 2009 the U.S. National Research Council released a report that attempted to place a dollar value on coal power's hidden costs and came up with a figure of $62 billion for 2005 alone just from the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emitted from the 406 coal-fired power plants then operating in the United States. It also found that while burning natural gas generated less damage than burning coal, it was still significant: A sample of 498 natural gas-fired plants, which accounted for 71 percent of gas-generated electricity at the time, produced $740 million in total non-climate damages in 2005.
A 2010 study that estimated the costs of the health damage caused by Duke Energy power plants in North Carolina and elsewhere came up with a figure of $6.94 billion for deaths, $817.1 million for asthma attacks, $257.2 million for chronic bronchitis, $158.1 million for heart attacks, and $16.2 million for hospital admissions.
Duke Energy is also a major water polluter -- and the problem goes far beyond the acute crisis of the Dan River coal ash spill, the third-largest in U.S. history. The coal ash pits at Duke's 14 power plants across North Carolina are all chronically leaking toxins into the groundwater. Meanwhile, a recent study found that pollution from coal ash pits at one Duke plant in eastern North Carolina is killing more than 900,000 fish and deforming thousands more each year in Lake Sutton, a popular fishing spot near Wilmington, N.C. The replacement cost for the lost fish in Lake Sutton is more than $4.5 million a year -- a total of $112 million over the last 25 years. Add to that the replacement costs of fish that the company's coal ash pollution killed and otherwise harmed in four other North Carolina lakes and the total comes to $1.76 billion.
So what can be done to ensure big polluters like Duke pay their fair share of federal taxes? The report from CTJ and ITEP offers a number of recommendations for reform that include repealing the accelerated depreciation tax loophole and reinstating a strong corporate Alternative Minimum Tax to ensure a certain level of taxation for profitable corporations.
The groups' findings come as Congress considers a Republican plan to overhaul the tax code. Put forth by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, the proposal would, among other things, lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent while closing some loopholes.
But CTJ has criticized the Camp proposal, noting that while it ends some special breaks and loopholes it gives the saved revenue back to corporations through the rate reduction.
Work and Economy
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Sue Sturgis
@sue_sturgis
Sue is the editorial director of Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies.
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N.C.'s coal ash-poisoned wells: a harbinger for problems ahead in other states?
Could Duke Energy's coal ash be headed to a mine near you?
NC's ongoing coal ash regulatory disaster shows urgency of EPA action
Is a Duke Energy power plant making nearby residents sick?


Updated in 2016 to align with BIE's new model for Gold Standard PBL!
Would you like to conduct effective Project Based Learning in your classroom, but feel unsure how to start? Or have you tried "doing a project" but it didn't turn out the way you wanted? Or have you done PBL in the past, but you're looking for new ideas or a more systematic process of planning and managing projects, to meet the demands of today's world of standards and testing? If your answer is "yes" to any of the above, this book is meant for you.
Designed for teachers of Kindergarten through 5th grade students, PBL in the Elementary Grades contains down-to-earth, classroom-tested advice, including sample projects, step-by-step guidance, tips from experienced practitioners, and planning tools. It can be used as a supplement to BIE professional development workshops or as a stand-alone guide to PBL.
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-A good reference to complement PBL workshop training.
This book builds on knowledge from the work done in "Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning" but applies specifically to elementary. The templates provided and spotlight projects really connected the knowledge to the practical for me.
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From Alexandra Sabater of Dallas, Texas on 8/10/2017 .
Great for new and seasoned PBL teacher alike!