Is Sunday School obsolete? This is a hard time for Sunday School. Because, it seems that churches are giving up on a traditional concept. My Sunday School at the Delano Nazarene Church was positive and I will always remember the kind Sunday School teacher.
The decline in Sunday schools appears to be gradual but steady. A study by the Barna Group indicated that in 2004 churches were 6% less likely to provide Sunday school for children ages 2 to 5 as in 1997.
For middle-school kids, the decline was to 86% providing Sunday school in 2004 from 93% in 1997. Similarly, there was a six-percentage-point drop in Sunday schools offered for high school kids -- to 80% from 86%.
All in all, about 20,000 fewer churches were maintaining Sunday-school classes. And the future does not look bright: Only 15% of ministers regarded Sunday school as a leading concern. The younger the pastor, the study showed, the less emphasis he placed on Sunday school.
Dennys has been on the slide for years. This year alone, Dennys stock has dropped like a rock. And, customers are leaving in droves. Because, Dennys stays open too long.
Late night eating at Dennys is a money losing endeavor. Dennys should close at 11 pm and open at 5 am. This would save Dennys money.
Regardless, about 80% of Dennys are Franchisees now. And, the goal is to move to 90% Franchisees.
Denny's Corp. is trying to restake its claim as a nocturnal hot spot for young adults.
The restaurant chain -- which conjures images of seniors and families digging into morning pancake platters -- has been trying to set a different scene for night owls.
Between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. it pipes in rock and country music and it is scheduling after-concert parties for up-and-coming bands. It has added late-night menu items fashioned by well-known musicians including Rascal Flatts and Good Charlotte. On Tuesday, singer Jewel is slated to concoct a new Denny's menu item at a New York test kitchen.
Time Magazine's O'Leary is way off base with his assessment of California. Of course, most reporters do have a clue about California's financial mess.
I live in California and our taxes are just too high. Business is leaving California in droves. Because, taxes are excessive. And, state government is still trying to raise taxes on everyone. Shame on Sacramento.
Yep, O'Leary thinks California is in a mess because it doesn't have high enough taxes. And it's all Reagan's fault. With some of the highest taxes in America, California is a hard place to make a living.
According to the Tax Foundation, on average it takes a citizen 110 working days to earn enough money to pay his yearly tax bill. That is the fourth worst in the country.
California consistently ranks in or near the top 10 worst states for its tax burdens from property taxes, to corporate taxes, to individual taxes and fees of all sorts.
I wonder if our Washington nabobs in training has any idea what torture really is. My blogging buddy ken, has posted on this subject. His postings are always right on target.
George Everett "Bud" Day
I got shot down over N Vietnam in 1967...a sq commander.
After I returned in 1973... I published 2 books that dealt a lot with "real torture" in Hanoi. Our make believe president is branding our country as a bunch of torturers when he has no idea what torture is.
As for me. Put thru a mock execution because I would not respond...pistol whipped on the head...same event... Couple of days later...hung by my feet all day. I escaped and got recaptured a couple of weeks later... I got shot and recaptured. Shot was OK...what happened after was not.
They marched me to Vinh... put me in the rope trick, trick. Almost pulled my arms out of the sockets. Beat me on the head with a little wooden rod until my eyes were swelled shut, and my unshot, unbroken hand a pulp.
Will a sexual scandal derail Gov. Sanford's career? This is a good question. My guess is that he is doomed. Because, in the South, infidelity is rejected as normal. On the other hand, outside the South, infidelity seems to be ok.
The evidence of recent years in fact appears seems to be that straight (in every sense of the term) adultery is no longer a political disqualification for office, not even in Bible Belt states, and not even for Bible-wielding Republican politicians.
Instead the role that sex plays in politics is more nuanced.
The common view is that hypocrisy is a bigger career-killer than actual sexual misconduct; that if you’re a finger-wagging, family-preserving conservative, you’re going to have a harder time sustaining a career after revelations that you strayed than if you’re a permissive liberal.
There’s clearly something to this. Certainly part of the secret of Bill Clinton’s survival, one assumes, was that no one ever imagined that the former president was trying to tell people how to be a good married man.
A storm is brewing. Without jobs, many people will move from unemployment rolls to welfare rolls. This will drain state and county resources. This is another sign that Washington needs to move quickly to create a jobs program. It is obvious now that our economic meltdown is going to be a long term problem. And, Washington has no solutions. "Clueless in Washington" would make a good reelection theme for most politicians.
Michigan's generous jobless benefits and strict eligibility rules have kept the welfare rolls down despite the state's 14.1% unemployment rate, the highest in the country. But a surge in jobless workers reaching the time limit for unemployment benefits in coming months could change that.
Thomas Kellogg -
Engineer who was on the four man team that designed and assembled the
futuristic Avanti sports car for Studebaker in 1961, a car that became
so popular with enthusiasts that it spurred a network of owners clubs
that still exists, and which has been exhibited in art galleries as
sculpture, died August 14 after a car accident in Newport Beach, CA at
age 71.
