CABO SAN LUCAS
Lover's beach, (Playa del Amante), or Love Beach, (Playa del Amor), is at the tip of the Cape at San Lucas. Behind the rocks is a little beach, however swimming near the arch or the Pacific side of the beach is very dangerous. As you flow around the point you can take in a beautiful view where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. The picture above was taken from the restaurant at the luxurious Pueblo Bonito Rose Hotel.
WORLD WATER DAY IS MARCH 22
To truly care about our homeland is to put aside the tendencies of siding democrat or republican, forgetting about the political parties and voting for what is best for the United States. On Saturday August 16th the presidential candidates, Barrack Obama and John McCain, were questioned by Pastor Rick Warren in Saddlebacks civil forum. It was televised on major media networks such as the Fox network and CNN for all Americans to see. The questions that were posed to the presidential candidates would certainly reveal their leadership abilities by exposing their character qualities, values, belief systems, and their wisdom. These prime factors should be the most significant factors among the United States citizens for determining the most capable president to lead the nation.
The categories of questions included leadership, stewardship, personal life, worldviews, domestic issues, education, taxes, international issues, religious persecution, human trafficking, and presidential viewpoints. These questions where well thought out, there was input from thousands of people, and they were asked in an intelligent specific order that would reveal truths. Careful examination of the questions would show how a candidate could perpetually expose flaws in themselves by virtue of their own answers. The questions were designed not only to reveal their positions on significant issues, but also their underlying character. Contained within their own answers was their level of character, and thus their capability to lead the nation as president. Contradictive answers would reveal honesty issues and indecisive responses would show a lack of leadership qualities.
Pastor Warren began by stating that they would be using the interview format, asking the same questions in order to compare apples to apples. Prior to asking the first question Pastor Warren set the stage by quoting a bible verse that says; Fools think they need no advice, but the wise listen to other people. He then followed that statement with a question on leadership, asking the candidates to name 3 people whom they would seek guidance from. No man is an island, wisdom and wise counsel are necessary in making significant decisions. Consider the significance of Tiger Wood’s successes, and then consider his surrounding personal coaches and trainers.
Again Pastor Warren referenced the bible before beginning the questions on personal life, by stating that the bible says that integrity and love are the basis of leadership. That is not only sound wisdom, but sound advice as well. The next question is not only a personal one, but one that would disclose honesty and could show humility as well. He asked the candidates to name their greatest moral failures in their lives and the greatest moral failures of America. Pastor Rick followed that up by asking the candidates to give an example of where they went against there own best interests, or political parities interests, for the good of America. Before reaching a level of integrity one must first be able to be honest and be able to sacrifice themselves, out of love, for the goodness of others.
Pastor Warren’s remaining questions;
At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?
Would you support a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman?
If no, why not?
Do we still need funding for stem cell research?
Does evil exist? And if it does, do we ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it, or do we defeat it?
What is the most significant position you held 10 years ago that you no longer hold today?
What is the most gut wrenching decision you have ever had to make and how did you process it to come to the decision?
What does it mean to you to trust in Christ? What does that mean on a daily basis? What does that look like?
Do you think better teachers should be paid better? Should they be paid better than poor teachers?
On taxes, Define rich? Give a number on how we are going to define that?
What’s worth dying for? What’s worth sacrificing American lives for?
Which existing supreme court justice would you not have nominated?
Recent poles say that 80% of faith based organizations do a better job than government relief systems. Would you insist that faith based organizations forfeit the right to have like minded believers in order to access federal funds for relief efforts?
What would be the criteria that you would commit troops to end a genocide? For instance like what’s going on in Darth 4 or could happen in Georgia or anywhere else?
Most people don’t know that there are 148 million orphans in the world. Would you be willing to consider and even commit to doing some kind of emergency plan for orphans like President Bush did for Aids? Almost a presidential emergency plan for orphans to deal with this issue?
What do you think the United States should do to end religious persecution, for instance in China, in Iraq and in many of our supposed allies? I’m not just talking about the persecution of Christianity, but there’s religious persecution around the world that persecutes millions of people?
How do you speak out and do something about human trafficking?
Tell me in a minute why you want to be President?
What do you say to people who oppose me asking these questions?
What would you tell the American public if you knew there wouldn’t be and repercussions?
It’s not so important what the republicans will think, or what the democrats will think, or what your friends might think. What matters most is voting for the president who can best lead the United States Of America. The media is going to be out to influence your choices, be aware of that. Lot’s of people are going to be saying lots of stuff in order to support their political party. This is not a party, this is the United States Of America we are talking about!
Topics: Republicans Democrats | 1 Comment »
John McCain and Barack Obama have agreed to make their first ever appearance together as presidential candidates at the next Saddleback Church Civil Forum. Pastor Rick Warren has been working with them and their staffs behind the scenes for a few weeks, and last Wednesday they both committed to participate on Saturday evening, August 16th.
On July 2nd, Pastor Warren got involved directly and discovered what the candidates wanted to change: 1) They wanted a different format. 2) They wanted a broader agenda than just compassion issues. 3) They wanted him to be the only questioner, and 4) They wanted all the networks and national media to be allowed to use a live video feed from Saddleback. Pastor Warren agreed to these requests so both candidates will be at Saddleback’s Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion, Saturday, August 16, from 5 pm to 7 pm. He’ll interview each candidate for one hour. A flip of a coin has determined that Barack Obama will be interviewed first.
Both men have been friends of Pastor Warren’s since before either decided to run for president. (You don’t have to agree on everything to be friends with someone.) Both have taped video messages to our Global AIDS Summit last November. Both have supported the PEACE plan, both have written endorsements for the PEACE Coalition, and both have supported Saddleback’s effort to restore civility to civil discourse in America. During the primaries, several candidates (actually 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats) occasionally contacted Saddleback through calls, emails, and private meetings. Pastor Warren has stated that he will never endorse, nor campaign for, political candidates. Neither is it his role to give political advice. But as a pastor and a cultural observer and he does understand the unique stresses and responsibilities of public leadership, so he will try to help leaders when asked.
Most debate, town hall, and media questions tend to be about hot political issues, or attempts to play "gotcha" for partisan points. In contrast, Pastor Warren intends to ask questions about factors that have historically determined presidential effectiveness. He’ll ask about their understanding of the constitution, personal leadership convictions and style, philosophy of the role of government, America’s role in the world, competence and character issues. They certainly won’t be softball questions.
Topics: Praise It On High | No Comments »
Save Money On Prescriptions Wholesale Drugs
By lighthouse
The following comes from a circulated email and is confirmed to be accurate.
On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit , did a story on generic drug prices gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. So often we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacists might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are saving $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!
At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.
I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience I had to use the drug Compazine which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.
I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.
I would like to mention, that although Costco is a ‘membership’ type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use
the pharmacy, and they will let you in.
You are invited to view Steve Wilson’s drug pricing comparison prescriptions chart findings analysis here
The following was added to the original email and has not been confirmed:
Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active
ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America .
Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%
Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%
Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%
Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%
Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%
Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%
Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%
Prilosec: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%
Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%
Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%
Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%
Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%
Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809
Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%
Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%
Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%
Topics: Drugs Pharmacies | No Comments »
Pictured above, a sentry safe that failed to open after the combination numbers were pushed and the little plastic piece that disabled it.
So I called the sentry safe company, (800-828-1438), and waited for about 10 minutes to speak to a representive, (that was alright since I have a speaker phone). The first thing they asked me was about the condition of the batteries. I told them that they were brand new. The person then asked about the brand name and expiration date of the batteries. They were generic batteries, but the expiration date was fine. They suggested a new set of batteries, and mentioned that I could bypass the battery pack, (which sometimes fails), by unplugging the pack and using a regular 9 volt battery.. So just to cover the base, I went down to the store and obtained a brand new 9 volt duracell battery. I unplugged the battery pack and plugged in my new battery. I then pushed the combination numbers and my safe again failed to open.
I called the sentry company back using my speakerphone feature again while waiting to speak with a technician. The tech asked me about the batteries and I told him it had a new 9 volt at the last technician’s recommendation. The person began to talk about the actuator cylinder inside the safe, stating that it did not sound like it was actuating. Then they told me something that really made me wonder about the quality of this safe. They told me I would need to hit the safe with a rubber mallet in an attempt to get the actuator to engage so I could open the sentry safe. OK, so the safe is supposively built to keep my belongings safe from thieves and fire, but now I am going to fix it with a rubber mallet? Good thing my sentry safe was inside, somebody might have wondered about my mental state if they had seen me beating this fireproof safe with a rubber mallet!
Well it just so happens that I had a rubber mallet and did not need to once again go to the store to get something to personally fix my great sentry fireproof safe. So I begin beating the sentry safe with this mallet and then tried the combination again. Woolah, It opened! I stopped for a moment and began to ponder how many other things I could fix with this magical rubber mallet. I mean, what about the TV, the computer, my fridgerator and that cell phone that always drops calls? Could it be that I have discovered the fix all to all mechanical issues? As I began to look at my belongings in my fireproof safe that I have just opened with a rubber mallet, I thought "so if I close the safes door will I need a sledge hammer next time"?
Time for another phone call, back to the speakerphone. The technician this time listened to my issue and asked me if I had some lubricant like WD-40 with a small tube that attaches to nozzle. I thought, "well of course I do, I was just using that to fix the broken water pipe in the garage." The phone tech tells me where to spray the lubricant on the inside of the sentry safe door. He has me do this in the open and closed combination positions, and it’s now opening when I press the combination numbers with the door open, hurray! The only problem is that after working in the lubricant a few times the handle on the door does not lock into the locked position. I no longer need the combination to unlock my safe, I only need a can of lubricant! OK, this is one really tough safe, what thief would ever think that they would need a rubber mallet and a can of silicon lubricant to open up a safe?
Back to the speakerphone, this time a lady technician. She wants me to get a screwdriver and pry off the plastic piece on the back side of the door. At this point I said to her, you have built a product that I need to have a rubber mallet, a can of 3 in 1 spray lubricant, and a screwdriver to open? She stated that she was doing all she could to help me fix my safe and asked me how long I had owned the safe. I told her about 2 years and she stated that it was out of warranty. I thought, well who needs a warranty when they have a magical mallet, a can of black led, and a screwdriver? Anyway she directs me to pry the plastic backing off of the door and when I do this little piece of plastic falls out onto the floor. I look at this little plastic piece pondering in my mind, what’s it’s part in all of this. Well the technician is directing me to look at the arms and gears and some arrows that line up between the metal arms and plastic gears. What’s wrong with that picture? Metal and plastic don’t really work together long before the plastic breaks. I had to wonder for a moment, is this some really expensive fireproof plastic? The arrows line up and with that information she directs me to the area of the actuator again, she says "you see the circuit board" and a little white button that sticks out from it?" I said well yes, I see the circuit board and the little white button you are talking about seems to be laying on the floor broken off. So I picked it up and said, "this little broken piece of plastic that connects to the metal arm on the safe is why the safe does not work right?" She tells me yes that’s the problem, that i have broken it and since it’s out of warranty that there is nothing she can do to help me. But she then asks me to hold on for a moment…..
She comes back to the phone sounding sincere, like she has just solved all my problems, and tells me that she has spoke to her supervisor and that they can offer me 10% off on any safe that I would like to purchase. I thought what great customer service, now they want to sell me another safe with metal and plastic pieces that break and give me a huge discount of 10%, and I bet it comes with a free maintenance kit which includes a polo stick, some lard oil, and a screwdriver on the rocks! Needless to say I declined their gracious offer.
I will say that all the organizations personnel, (that I spoke with), were courteous and trying to be helpful, (that was within the realm of authority they were given). With a product such as this, and the great customer service I experienced, I thought it was probably best to find a safe that was free of little plastic pieces that break off, cause those plastic pieces won’t save you 10% !
Topics: Kick It To The Curb | 8 Comments »
How many times have you had to change your internet provider and then go through the hassle of letting all your contacts know your new email address?
Wouldn’t it be simpler to have an email account that you would not have to bother with making changes because of internet provider changes? What
about also having one that you can always access from any internet connected computer no matter where in the world you are?
Something else you might want to consider, do you receive the emails you
want to get in your inbox? Some of those wonderful spam filters are blocking
or moving your emails to junk email folders. Ever have friends tell you that
they did not get your email? There are a couple places you can get free email
accounts, that are accessible from any computer, (with your username and password), that do a good job of blocking real spam, but also let the legitimate email get to you at a high percentage rate.
You might also consider that some email services are using the "spam" excuses to block out some email in order to keep you at their site, (where they can show you their advertising). There is more to this than meets the eye. Was it oops we blocked it cause we thought it was spam, or was it oops we blocked it, so we could keep you at our site, so we could make more money?
You will experience unwanted email no matter where you have an email account, but you might like the assurance of getting the email you prefer to receive. Our top picks for free online email are, (hands down), Yahoo and Gmail.
Topics: Where's The Email | No Comments »
Ways To Save Your Shopping Bucks Victoria’s Secrets
By lighthouse
Use this great printable coupon at Victoria’s Secret for $10 off any bra AND a free cotton panty. Print out the entire page and take it to your nearest Victoria’s Secret. This is a great value for any coupon, especially great for Victoria’s Secret!
There didn’t appear to be an expiration date on this coupon. However, limit one offer per customer per day while quantities last. $10 off discount applies only to full-priced bras. Cannot be used with any other coupon, discount or introductory offer.
Make sure you get the best prices on Hotels, Get The Best Rate Price Guarantee!
Topics: Shopping | No Comments »
The honeymoon is over and now your faced with what is seemingly never ending turmoil. That is with the person you said you loved, right? You are both pointing fingers at the other person like you are perfect and like neither of you have any flaws right?
Chances are that neither of you are being honest with yourselves or with your spouse. Pride and selfishness are now at the root of your problems and you don’t want to face the truths, or at least not about your own contributions to the issues that have overcome your marital bliss.
If two people really love each other, then why would there be so much discord between them?
Because they are not loving each other!
They are far more focused on themselves than they are each other. They are not willing to take ownership of their own responsibilities that have caused the difficulties. The bottom line is, they might say they love the other, but that is not really accurate.
"I Love You" is an outward expression. You won’t find two people who are focused on outwardly expressing love to each other having marriage issues that they can not easily overcome together. Because their love for each other is more than their love for themselves. Real love sacrifices, this is called Otherness.
The solution begins within you, start taking inventory of your hearts motivation. Stop pointing your finger outwardly, humble yourself and point it inwardly. Chances are, that if you are being honest, that you will find you have made mistakes and that it’s not just your spouses fault.
It takes two people to "tangle". It also takes two people to love each other.
A Dr. Phil Stat:
For the couples that pray together, Only 1 in 10,000 marriages end in divorce.
But it’s 1 in 2 for those who don’t pray.
The Best Love Relationships Tips
Funny Video On Mens And Womens Thinking Processes
The Top 3 Reasons For Problems In Marriages
A Little Heart Can Go A Long Way
Dating Singles In Relationships
Topics: Marriage Problems | No Comments »
Mission Rwanda
By Gloria
From bottom right - counterclockwise - Scott (team leader), Gloria (g1) and Norm, Matt, and Gloria (g2) 
Topics: Missions | No Comments »
Please share your medical alternatives here for healing, wellness, and overall health. There are so many herbs, extracts, and natural healing remedies to be shared. When the typical medical prescriptions fail it’s nice to know that there are some alternatives.
Please note we do not take responsibility for any suggestions given here. The choice is yours if you follow any ideas here, the risk is totally yours.
Topics: Health Alternatives | 3 Comments »
The sea and the rocks love embrace
By lighthouse
The sea and the rocks having a endless love affair, sometimes gentle, sometimes wild in their embrace.
So why can’t we be like that, when we are alone feeling dispair?
Why can’t we not look at the clouds and feel the hugging love they can give us?
Why at night can’t we look at the endless universe and see how small we are.
Why can’t we look at Gods creation, at it’s largeness and realize how big His love is?
Hans
Topics: Christian Poems | 8 Comments »