Imagine a sleek yellow Lotus Sport Exige sports car (video relay); imagine yourself cruising along the highway at a comfortable sixty-five miles per hour. Where are you in this lean mean video relay machine? You are the supercharged and intercooled high revving engine producing over 15 million horsepower (minutes). The driver is an empowered deaf citizen; his passenger is an equally empowered hearing citizen. The metallic painted body is the federal regulation administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) holding it all together. The five spoke forged alloy wheels are the power house telecommunications companies (providers). The high octane premium $7.596 a gallon (minute) gasoline is the public money paid from the Interstate Relay Fund administered by the National Exchange Carriers Association.

The analogy gives insight into the changing dynamics of the profession of sign language interpreting. The profession changed overnight when VRS became an enhanced form of telecommunications relay service (TRS) and became a reimbursable service. There are distinct economic impacts affecting the labor force (interpreters) the consumer (deaf, hard of hearing and hearing citizens) and the businesses which represent the industry (telecommunications companies and interpreting agencies). This is the first article in a series of articles to analyze the economic impact of "lean production" first proposed by Karl Marx. Each article will offer a conceptual economic analysis of the impact and offer suggestions meant to improve the overall outcome on the profession.

The labor force is the key to any industry; interpreters are the engine in the lean mean VRS machine. Harry Braverman defined a skilled workforce (Braverman, 1974, Labor and Monopoly Capital) as "workers who become skilled (at a task(s)) through years of experience, giving them a tacit knowledge of the production process (interpreting) lacking in both managers and beginning workers. Such embodied knowledge grants them a form of power, a power manifested in the ability to control the sequence of operations they perform and the pace at which they work." Given this definition of skill, a case can be made that increasing federal regulation and widespread technologies intended to maintain high levels of productivity, enhanced monitoring of worker productivity and decision making removed from the worker are "deskilling" the interpreter workforce. It is a common capitalistic desire to deskill the labor force. Braverman further described this desire motivated by a reduction in labor costs allowing more profits to be retained by companies and managements increase in control over the labor process when workers are deskilled and know they can be easily replaced. This goes against the interests of the workforce.

There is a positive side to capitalism, the "lean production" model. Marxian theory describes the lean production model as a counterexample to the antagonistic situation described by Braverman. "The special skill of each individual machine operator (interpreter), who has now been deprived of all significance, vanishes as an infinitesimal quantity" (Marx 1976). The lean production model of the new economy says that skill levels do not in fact tend to decline, the workforce is empowered and multiskilled. The lean production model tends to increase the overall skill level of the labor force. Companies which enhance the skill levels of the workforce increase chances of surviving and flourishing in an increasingly competitive and changing economic environment. The advent of federal regulation, introduction of a new sector of companies (telecommunications companies) and increased barriers to entry (a provider must be a common carrier, contracted to a common carrier, or part of a state relay program) make a strong case for the use of the lean production model.

Adopting the lean production model requires use of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" philosophy. The market's (consumers/companies/labor) self-interests (profit) further common interests among social agents (labor) favoring lean production companies that enhance the skill level of labor (interpreters). The leads the owners of companies to employ lean production methods and since this is the interest of labor a win-win situation will occur. In order to increase the overall skill of a labor force companies must mobilize the intelligence of the workforce, develop a variety of skills, sustain worker curiosity, and not treat labor as isolated individuals (Tony Smith, 2000 Technology and Capital in the Age of Lean Production).

VRS providers can adopt the lean production model through guarantees of "employability". This differs from a guarantee of employment by building the inherent skills of an interpreter both in linguistics and ethical analysis. The whole point of lean production is to produce more with less. When a company employs the problem solving and critical thinking skills of the workforce an interpreter's natural curiosity is peaked. The pervasive use of temporary or independent contractors in the interpreting profession provides a source of cheap submissive labor. When a company uses temporary contract workers beside long term employees the net effect is an easy replacement mentality driving down the motivation of the permanent workforce. This constant reminder that there is no shortage of people if they are unsatisfied with their working conditions is a demotivator.

The changing economics of sign language interpreting require new models of workforce development. A sole profit oriented deskilling of the labor force will decrease motivation and drive up long term costs. The more reasonable invisible hand approach to lean production economics create a workforce of intelligent, skilled, cohesive interpreters with long term employability.

Imagine yourself driving the yellow supercharged Lotus, this time the engine has a fuel injection smart-chip. Imagine yourself as the lean mean VRS machine!

Many people have suggested that we should set aside one day in the calendar to celebrate as World Community Day. How can we expect world peace, if we can't have harmony in the home and concord and friendship within our local communities? So why don't we agree to make the 7th of February as a permanent day when people of all nations and religions join together in a spirit of togetherness, love and peace. This idea is not without precedence, for it was on 7th February 1964 that the Beatles made their first visit to the USA, on their flower power campaign to tell the world that 'All it needs is love' That was one of the songs they sang on the Ed Sullivan show which was viewed by an incredible forty percent of the American public. It was on this same day - 7th February 1946 - that the three Allied Leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, met at a secret Black Sea resort to prepare for peace and bring about an end to global strife. And last year, 7th February marked the start of the Chinese New Year, which always begins with the arrival a new moon. One of the main features of this celebration is the holding of 'Reunion Dinner', when young and old join together to celebrate the unity of their families past and present.

For far too long we've suffered the selfishness of the 'me' generation. Now we must work together to establish the pleasure and power of the 'us' generation. Whatever troubles we face, we're more likely to prevail if we face them together rather than in militant disarray. Karl Marx rallied the masses with his cry 'United we stand, divided we fall,' words which had been used before by George Washington, at the time when the American constitution was being created. This morning the world's newspapers carried front page accounts of Sarah Palin's astute high jacking of the American Tea Party movement to launch an attack on President Obama. The rhetoric she used spoke directly to the hearts and minds of the American public, calling on them to rally together for the national good. Politicians were not to be trusted. What was needed was a grass roots revival: a bottom-up approach to the restoration of community life and moral standards. We look for leaders like George Washington and Abe Lincoln to give us inspiration. Instead we're faced with politicians who are exemplars of deviousness, fraud and sleaze. As a result the 'trickle down' effect has a corrupting influence. If we follow the behaviour of our political leaders we become purveyors of dishonesty, duplicity and deceit. What we desperately need today is a grass-roots moral revival: an up-rising rather than a defiling, downward trickle.

Every morning my wife and I have tea in bed. During this time we share an inspirational reading, which might be from Confucius or Norman Vincent Peale. At present we're revisiting the messages that Sai Baba, the Hindu guru, delivered to the young Western sannyasins who trekked to his ashram in India during the flower power years. Today's passage included these words, which I pass on since they're highly appropriate for World Community Day: 'There is an urgent need to revitalise the world, to cleanse it of evil, and to sow the seeds of love, compassion and understanding....How can a man teach others the importance of human values unless he himself appears as a beacon of light?' That simple statement should be required reading for every aspiring Western politician.

Sponsor: nhliberty.org - Here's a link to the controversial letter which led me to conduct these "ambush" interviews with anti-liberty reps near the NH state house forum.nhliberty.org Also a program note....usually I will only do an ambush interview like this if the interviewee has done something drastically wrong or I have reason to believe they will refuse an interview. Rous has previously reniged on promises to grant me an interview, and Day's name is on the "letter that will live in infamy." How you can buy an advertisement on the Ridley Report... ridleyreport.com homeschoolers ron paul homeschooling ridleyreport camera new hampshire state house staters geraldo rivera regulations free state project hunter s. thompson law bill nh educrats dave ridley report bureaucrats bureaucracy liberty public schools live free or die government education libertarian private gonzo journalism homeschoolers ambush interviews concord high school

Professor J. Jeffrey Hawley of Franklin Pierce Law Center describes the issues presented by the Bilski case which is on the Supreme Court docket this term. Hawley talks about the brief the school submitted in the case.

Vocational Nurses need to undergo Clinical Training before they start practicing at any healthcare center. Caring for the sick or the convalescent requires that Vocational Nurses, also known as Licensed Vocational Nurses, be trained in all aspects of healthcare. Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) take care of providing bedside care under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Why is Clinical training necessary for Vocational Nurses?

• LVNs are responsible for temperature readings and recording patient blood pressure levels and pulse rates. All of these require that nurses are able to operate medical instruments. Clinical training is necessary to teach these nurses the correct process of recording data.

• An LVN is responsible for treating bedsores and also giving injections to the patient. They should also be able to apply dressings to the patient. These activities can place the LVN at high risk if performed incorrectly. Clinical training given to the LVN coaches them on how to perform these procedures on the patients.

• Bathing, dressing and maintaining the patient's personal hygiene is a major health challenge for an LVN. Clinical training provides them guidance on different health metrics to be noted before the LVN does any of these activities.

• Intravenous injections can also be delivered by an LVN to the patient, but only in some states where it is permitted by law. An LVN has to be extremely careful with the dosage of the medicines in the intravenous injections provided to the patient. A small increase in the dosage could prove fatal to the patient.

• Apart from dealing with heavy workloads, clinical training guides LVNs on how to save themselves from caustic chemicals, radiatios and infectious diseases. A small sneeze from a patient could cause severe health infections for the LVN.

Many healthcare schools provide this training to LVNs. Normally, the duration of these programs is 12-18 months. The LVN must be able to pass these training programs to be able to work as an LVN with a healthcare organization. In addition to passing the examination, the LVN should also be able to grasp all what has been taught in the training. Knowledge, only if implemented, can help the Vocational Nurses in their job.

One thing that most Clinical Training programs ignore is dealing with the patient behavior. The LVNs often have to face the confused or angry reactions from patients. This especially happens when patients do not see treatment as per their will. Some training programs have started integrating this aspect into their course curriculum. This, however, will have to be learned by the nurse on-the-job.

A nurse may be called a Licensed Vocational Nurse only if she attends the Clinical Training program and passes the examination. Remember, dealing with patient care is a risky business and Clinical Training guides these nurses on how to alleviate health hazards associated these risks.

The President holds a town hall in Nashua, New Hampshire. Having just come from visiting a local business, he discusses his new program to aid small business and community banks. February 2, 2010.

Obama plans to raise a 1000000 (one million) strong civilian force, comprised of young men and women between the ages of 18-25. Every time you get involved with the Federal Government it is a contract..you trade off your constitutional rights. The beginning of the United States military lies in civilian frontiersmen, armed for hunting and basic survival in the wilderness. These were organized into local militias for small military operations, mostly against tribes but also to resist possible raids by the small military forces of neighboring European colonies. Beginning in 1689, the colonies also frequently became involved in a series of wars between Great Britain and France for control of North America, the most important of which were Queen Anne's War, in which the British annexed French Acadia, and the final French and Indian War (17541763). This final war was to give thousands of colonists, including George Washington, military experience which they put to use during the American Revolution.Ongoing political tensions between Great Britain and thirteen colonies became a crisis in 1774 when the British placed the province of Massachusetts under martial law. While shooting began at Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly created Continental Army, which was augmented throughout the war by colonial militia. General Washington was not the greatest battlefield tactician, but his overall strategy proved to be sound: keep the army intact, wear down British resolve, and avoid decisive battles except to exploit enemy mistakes. www.georgegordon.org

With the increasing number of crimes that are committed in this world a lot of lawyers are needed.

But these days it is not just about getting a lawyer who can represent you in a normal case. They have to be outstanding and not like any other lawyer known in town.

The first thing is to know how to choose a law school that will ensure that you get the best knowledge when it comes to law. And what is normally believed and said is that there is no better law school other than the one that comes to you. This is what is known as online law degree programs.

Before one gets to choose an institution where they want to study law it is wise a good research is made. It should be one that will meet all their needs. But why would one need to do online law degree programs?

There could be various reasons among them is may be they lives are full of busy schedules and there fore can not make it to class everyday. Others could be that they find it easier to do online reading which is a more personal work schedule other than attending lectures.

For some they would want to learn in a certain institution but they do not want to leave their on country and go to read in other countries. And to some it is just a preference they have while to others they find it cheaper.

Whatever the reason could be it is certain that online law degree programs are offered widely and it is up to one to choose what they would want. Some of the institutions that offer are Concord online law degree programs.

There have two forms in which one can acquire there law degree programs.

There is the Juris Doctor and the Executive Juris Doctor. Both of them come as part time programs and they take four years and three years respectively. This is one of the most preferred institutions due to its quality learning and the prosperous students who have graduated from there.

The one thing that this online institutions offer is that once you have graduated from the there you instantly become a practicing lawyer.

You do not have to run up and down and look for employment, it comes hand in hand with your graduating scroll.

And with the new technology you never have to think about large books to carry all you need is your personal computer or your laptop.

I turned 21 in 1999, decades after the Roaring Twenties. Because of this, I can honestly say that I don’t know what Prohibition feels like. I can only compare it to an empty keg at a raging party or that feeling I got one night of high school when I watched a disgruntled bouncer cut up my beloved fake ID. I, like most of us, became of age in an era when wine was freely flowing, beer was always on tap, and every teenager counted the days until their 21st birthday.

Those who were born at the beginning of the 19th Century, however, weren’t so lucky. In an era marked by pandemic flu and a world war, an era where drinking was not only used for pleasure but also used as a much needed escape from reality, Prohibition entered the picture.

Like an unwelcome patron who pulls up a stool at the local bar, saloon owners and alcohol lovers in America took one look at Prohibition and said, “We don’t want any.” But, it wasn’t the common man’s decision and, as beer fell to tears, whiskey winced, and cases of Merlot wined, Prohibition began on January 16th, 1920 when the 18th Amendment took effect, illegalizing the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol.

There were red flags against Prohibition from the start – anything the KKK fervently advocates is probably not the best idea – and Prohibition, in the end, did little more than increase alcohol consumption and pave the way for organized crime. Fourteen years later, in December of 1933, Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment, leaving many Americans to raise their glasses to lawmakers for the first time in over a decade.

The Volstead Act

During Prohibition, wine was treated a little differently than other types of alcohol, it was as if a bottle of Cabernet slipped the government a twenty and winked in a way that meant, “shh…keep a cork on it.” This was due to the Volstead Act. Passed in the year before Prohibition began, it gave federal agents the ability to investigate and prosecute anyone caught in violation of Prohibition’s liquor laws. However, wines used for sacramental purposes were exempt under this act, allowing wine to slip through the cracks where beer was too thick to seep.

Because of this act, limited amounts of wine were able to be made both at home and in wineries. Yet, those made in wineries were only available for purchase through warehouses owned and monitored by the government. Wine was also only allowed to be purchased for use in religious ceremonies, particularly mass. However, these rules didn’t keep wine drinkers from only using wine for legal purposes: a conceptual “wine opener”, the Volstead Act provided a window of opportunity; one drinkers were quick to go through.

A study performed in 1925, during the heart of Prohibition, found that demand for sacramental wine increased by 800,000 gallons in a two year period. Perhaps this demand was being legitimately made by church goers – Prohibition brought out a religious revival of its own – but it’s far more likely that people were purchasing sacramental wine for other uses. Just like the old saying there are no Atheists in a foxhole, there are no Atheists in Prohibition when religious wines are legal.

The Wineries

Even though Prohibition increased the consumption of wine by nearly 100 percent – as illegalizing anything will often do - many wineries were forced to close their doors. For those who didn’t make sacramental wines, it was hard to get around the law and the grapes of wrath set in like no other time in history. Because of this, prohibition drastically changed the grape industry, placing grapes everywhere out of a job. The wineries that survived this era did so in part by transforming their grapes from wine-making grapes to grapes that served non-alcoholic purposes, such as Concord grapes used to make raisins, grape juice, and jam.

The grape industry of California, in particular, was saved by the Volstead Act, which allowed fermented fruit juices to be produced at home, giving wineries a reason to stay open. While this was intended to save the vinegar industry for American farmers, it also gave California wineries a way to break Prohibition rules. Those manning the wineries began producing a grape jelly called “Vine-go,” a jelly that, with the addition of water, would ferment into strong wine in roughly two months.

The Wine Itself

As Prohibition swept the nation, and people everywhere began making beer, whiskey, and wine in their houses, the quality of liquor greatly suffered. Novices of brewing and mixing suddenly were forced into expert status. While some people made liquor that was so strong it left people permanently blind or paralyzed, wine wasn’t quite as dangerous.

While wine didn’t take away a person’s ability to walk or ability to see, it did take away some people’s ability to truly appreciate fine wine. This was because, during this era, fine wine wasn’t so fine after all.

Having built an elegant reputation that went back to Biblical times, Prohibition made wine a little less sophisticated and a little more spontaneous. While previously produced by people renown for viniculture knowledge, wine during Prohibition was often made by people who knew nothing about wine, other than that they wanted to drink it. This, naturally, resulted in wines of inferior taste: it wasn’t the taste, after all, that many homemade wine makers were pursuing.

As Prohibition drew to a close, wineries that had stockpiled wine over the previous fourteen years were able to quench the thirst of some of the parched nation. However, since so many wineries had closed down and others had converted from wine-making grapes to other types of grapes, the wine industry took years to rebound. During this time of recovery, wines were continually made with less quality, hindering people from planting more vineyards.

For a while after Prohibition, it looked like the wine industry was on its way down the drain. But, as wineries began transforming back to growers of wine-making grapes, the quality of wine was eventually restored. Within a few years, the wine industry was on the upslope, and Americans were savoring each and every glass, probably now more than ever.

The controversial Salisbury Police are caught in action assaulting club patrons.Notice how they instruct the camerapersons not to film them misbehaving.

In the desperation to repair their credits as soon as possible, often people avail credit repair services from different companies around the world. By this, they get the advantage of saving time and also utilizing the experience of the professionals of the service providing company.

However, availing such services is almost equivalent to outsourcing the tedious task of legal application for removal of inaccurate entries from your credit account and paying them for the same. Thus, these services are kind of expensive compared to the costs incurred if one undertakes all the procedures on his own.

Lexington law is the most famous and trusted credit Repair Company of all time till date. It has all sorts of schemes that let you increase your credit score 50, 100 or 200 points. Moreover, all the proceedings of this company are completely legal. It is operated by a group of attorneys. It also helps you forward applications for reporting dispute in your credit accounts.

The cost of credit repair by through Lexington law varies depending upon the kind of task that they are doing for you. To open an operating relationship with the Lexington law, the initial sign up charges are $99. Besides that, in order to avail very basic services and consultancy, the Lexington law charges you $39 as a monthly fee. So the total amount of money you pay depends upon the amount of time your credit repair takes. The Lexington law has the concept of monthly charges. Thus, there is no additional fee for any number of disputes and there are no other hidden costs.

For availing some of the premium services offered at Lexington law, the charges are obviously different. There are “Concord programs” that promise you improved results and a faster credit repair. It requires an additional $20 per month to avail the “Concord Standard” service. The concord standard program has features like handling various targeted legal and goodwill interventions, catering to escalated information requests, debt validation in accordance to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act etc.

Another program called the “Concord Premium” provides you with a monthly report on your credit score improvement analysis, in addition to the normal and “Concord Standard” services. It also has features like “Reports Watch ™” which is a service that alerts you as soon as it detects any changes in your credit account. This facilitates a close watch on your credit score. “Inquiry Assist ™” caters to addressing complex enquiries regarding credit repair. This facility is requires an initial registering fee of $99 with monthly charges of $79.

These are the prices of the most renowned companies in the field of credit repair. It is known for its reliability and legality. Paying this amount takes a huge burden off your shoulders, and your credit score future definitely lies in safe hands. You can however also find other much cheaper or more expensive companies in the market and avail there services. But it is always advised to do thorough research in the background of a company before hiring them.

Visit www.dreamweaverradioandtv.com - subscribe for free and view a new controversial, but effective weight loss and wellness video each week. James E. Carlson, degrees in biochemistry and cellular physiology from Cornell University. Medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Chief resident at Delaware Valley Medical Center in Pennsylvania. MA in business, emphasis on healthcare economics and physician practice management from Regis University in Colorado. Juris doctorate in healthcare law from Concord University School of Law in California. Currently a family medical practitioner in New York, and weight loss expert.

Since 1960s, career cluster resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the nation. Career Clusters is a system that matches educational and career planning.

Step 1: Identifying Career Cluster Interest Areas

Career clusters are groups of similar occupations and industries. When teachers, counselors, and parents work with teens, college students, and adults, the first step is to complete career cluster assessment. The assessment identifies the highest career cluster areas. Career assessments show teens, college students, and adults rankings from one of the following 16 Interests Areas or Clusters:

1. Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources

2. Architecture & Construction

3. Arts, A/V Technology & Communication

4. Business, Management & Administration

5. Education & Training

6. Finance

7. Government & Public Administration

8. Health Science

9. Hospitality & Tourism

10. Human Services

11. Information Technology

12. Law, Public Safety & Security

13. Manufacturing

14. Marketing, Sales & Service

15. Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

16. Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Step 2: Exploring Career Clusters and Related Careers

After pinpointing the highest career clusters, teens, college students, and adults explore the different careers and create education plans. Career cluster tools used in career and educational planning include:

LISA: A comprehensive career cluster database
Models
Brochures
Pathways
High school plan of study
Interest and Skills Areas
Crosswalks

After completing a career cluster assessment, teens, college students, and adults look at web sites, career models, brochures, pathways, and high school plans. One of the most unique comprehensive career cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. LISA lets you explore career clusters, careers, abilities, training requirements, and more. There are 3 steps in the LISA program:

STEP 1: Click here to select a Career Cluster

STEP 2: Click here to select a Career Group

STEP 3: Explore Occupations within this Career Group

In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will see a description of the cluster. When you select a career group in Step 2, you see different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see a wealth of information:

Job descriptions
Educational and training requirements
Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes
Abilities
Knowledge
Skills
Tasks
Work Values
Labor Market Information

Even though LISA is an awesome program, in classroom or workshop settings, you need printed materials. When using printed materials, the career model is the best place to start. Models provide excellent overviews listing the cluster definitions, sample careers, pathways, knowledge, and skills. Visual models show career clusters, the cluster subgroups, and related careers. Models are an excellent way to introduce career clusters.

For presentations, workshops, and group discussions, the career cluster brochures provide additional information. Adults and teens read about the different careers that are available in each career cluster. Teachers, counselors, and parents use the brochures to solidify adults’ and teens’ potential career or educational decisions. The brochures cover topics such as:

Definition of career clusters
Careers
Career pathways
Employment outlooks
Skills
Credentials

Teachers, counselors, and parents use career pathways for more detailed information. The career pathways are subgroups or areas of concentration within career clusters. Each pathway contains career groups. The career groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career pathways are plans of study that outline required secondary courses, post secondary courses, and related careers. The career pathways are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents, and other adults use to give educational planning advice.

Several web sites feature High School Plans of Study. These study plans show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. The school plans also match the career clusters to related careers, career pathways, and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find that these school plans are guides for selecting the right high school courses to match potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has created a College Major Guide. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors to Certificate and Degree Programs.

Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers

For planning curriculum and educational programs, there are detailed Knowledge and Skills Charts and Cluster Crosswalks. The knowledge and Skills expand upon the information listed on the career cluster models. For each knowledge and skill area, there are performance elements and measurement criteria. Crosswalks show the relationships between career clusters and other career models:

Career clusters build a bridge between education and career planning. Different types of career cluster resources are available: videos, web sites, booklets, brochures, activity sheets, and workbooks. Teachers, counselors, and parents use career cluster resources to successfully complete career and educational planning.

Resources:

American Careers Career Paths, Career Communications, 6701 W. 64th St., Overland, KS 66202, 800-669-7795

Career Click, Illinois Department of Employment Security,33 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 793-5700

CIP Code Index by Career Cluster, Adult & Postsecondary CTE Division, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814

Cluster and Career Videos, Career One Stop, U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, 866-4-USA-DOL

College Major Guide Utah System for Higher Education, Board of Regents Building, The Gateway, 60 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284, (801) 321-7100

Find Careers (Videos), iSeek Solutions, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Wells Fargo Place, 30 7th St. E., Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-7804

High School Plans of Study, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494
Introduction to Career Clusters, Career Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, P.O. Box 543
Blacklick, OH 43004-0544,

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), customized Internet version of OSCAR, a product of the Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources, TWC/CDR, Austin, TX 78753

Maryland Career Clusters, Maryland State Department of Education 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201,

Rhodes Island’s Career Clusters, Rhode Island’s Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790

School to Career Clusters, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Job Bank, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000

States’ Career Clusters Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074
Career Pathway Plans, Career Cluster, Knowledge and Skills Charts

VTECS Cluster Frameworks, VTECS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033,404-679-4501 ext 543

What are Career Clusters? Career Prospects System, New Mexico Career Resource Network, CAREER TECHNICAL AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION BUREAU (CTWEB), Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 827-6512

Milford High School once again represents New Hampshire at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Competition in Washington, DC on April 24-28. To learn more about this and other programs sponsored by the New Hampshire Bar Association, visit www.nhbar.org.

It would take many, many moons to explore every aspect of the Chesapeake Bay. What a wonderful way, however, to spend a lifetime I believe this would be. What is the Chesapeake Bay? It is actually an estuary stretching from southernmost Virginia to northernmost Maryland having a distance of 180 miles. If you were studying about the Chesapeake Bay in school days textbook it might be described as a tidal area where ocean water and fresh water mingle.

For sightseers and tourists, one could describe the bay as an astonishingly beautiful, productive and diverse natural environment. The Chesapeake Bay has some very special places to visit that include parks, refuges, museums, historic communities and water trails. Along Maryland’s Western Shore you will find:

• The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Visitor Information Center at 26 West Street, Annapolis, Maryland. Annapolis is the capital city of Maryland and is a history lover’s paradise in my opinion. As you walk through the city of Annapolis along the waterfront you can feel centuries of Bay traditions. The visitor center is a starting point to help you find your around the city and to other nearby Chesapeake Bay areas. There are two facilities. The primary center is near the State Capitol building on West Street. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. The other visitor information center is an information booth at City Dock and operates only April 1 to October 1. There are no fees involved with getting information from the Visitor Centers.

• Annapolis Maritime Museum: This museum can help you get a real sense of what makes the Chesapeake Bay area unique.

• The Calvert Marine Museum: Exhibits, programs, lighthouses and boats. Located in Solomons where the Patuxent River joins the Chesapeake. Fossils from millions of years ago show the shallow ocean once covered and now the Chesapeake Bay. There is a twenty-eight-foot three-log canoe, a tobacco press and boats from Solomons shipyards, 15 aquariums from 50 to 3,500 gallons, to explore the aquatic life of the Chesapeake estuary, which display plants and animals from the Bay, and the upper Patuxent River. The museum is open daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except New Years, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adult fee is $7.00, Senior (55 and older) $6.00, children ages 5 to 12 is $2.00, children under 5 is Free. More information: 410-326-2042.

A visit to the Chesapeake Bay area is not complete without exploring some of their lighthouses. Keep in mind that the Bay is more than a beautiful body of water as you add this region to your list of vacation ideas. It is a complex, highly changeable and sometimes dangerous natural wonder. Although there are coves of calmness and tranquility, there are also miles of open water where ocean tides surge and in a moment’s time the blue skies can darken to a solid black with looming storms. For the mariners, this meant life-threatening conditions. How did the mariners find their way safely through the Chesapeake Bay? The lighthouses were their guiding eyes.

Devastating shipwrecks were common in the Bay regions. As ship traffic increased, water-borne commerce through the Chesapeake Bay became the life line of our nation. Safe passage through the Chesapeake Bay area demanded dependable solutions. Congress passed the ninth law giving jurisdiction over navigational aids to the federal government. In 1792, the first lights illuminated the Bay’s entrance at Cape Henry.

The 1800s began a flurry of lighthouse construction to keep pace with fast growing Bay commerce and technological innovations like the steam-powered vessels. The steamers loaded with passengers and cargo sailed up and down the Chesapeake Bay areas. Dozens of lighthouses and lightships were in service along the Bay’s western shore by 1860. Lighthouses or lightships were markers at the majority of the Bay’s most harrowing obstacles to navigation by the year 1900.

The Chesapeake Bay lighthouse employees were often there alone with great demand, dedication and perseverance as keepers of the lighthouse. The lanterns were lit with oil. The lighthouse keepers had to lug heavy cans of oil, usually up steep, narrow steps to fill the lamp that had to be kept burning day and night in all kinds of weather. The lamp and lantern needed constant maintenance and a demanding schedule of daily record keeping documenting the facility’s operation. Being the keeper of the lighthouse also meant saving lives and risking one’s own life. The keepers of the Sharps Island screw pile light once spent 16 hours drifting down the Bay after ice destroyed the lighthouse from its foundations.

For the most part only men were lighthouse keepers. The job was just too strenuous for most females; however, there were a few women who proved themselves able to meet the demands of the lighthouse keeper. The Bay’s most famous female lighthouse keeper was Fanny Salter. She operated the Turkey Point Lighthouse at the head of the Chesapeake Bay for more than 20 years. She retired as being the last woman lighthouse keeper in the nation.

Some of the lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay include:

• The Concord Point Lighthouse: Was constructed in 1827 and sits adjacent to the Susquehanna River. This lighthouse protected the large volume of commercial river traffic from the shoals and currents of the Susquehanna Flats. It is the oldest continuously operated lighthouse in the State of Maryland. No entrance fee charged. The lighthouse is open April through October on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. 410-939-3213

• Cave Point Lighthouse: Built in 1828 and located four miles north of the entrance to the Patuxent River. Transferred to Calvert Marine Museum. The light is still active. The optic and radio building are owned by US Coast Guard. The lighthouse site is open to the public through tours originating at the Calvert Marine Museum.

Source: The Chesapeake Bay Region Tour Guides, Chesapeake Bay Tour Guide

Important Disclaimer: The URL address in the resource box of this article is not associated with any of the attractions mentioned in this article. This article and the web site are offered as a resource for formulating vacation ideas.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

Last week many newspapers and telecasts reported on the use of cadmium in children's jewelry. Cadmium is a bluish-white metal that is found naturally in the earth's crust. Manufacturers started using cadmium in jewelry as a replacement for lead. Lead became known as dangerous because people who had repeated contact with it became seriously ill because of its toxic nature. Cadmium rates high in toxicity according to Bruce Fowler of US Center of Disease Control and Prevention. He said, "Cadmium is a poison and hazardous substance."

Cadmium is a pliable metal and does not easily corrode. It is cheap and easy to make jewelry with. The jewelry items in suspicion were coming from China. Cadmium was found in jewelry sold at Walmart, Claire's, and dollar stores. It is not illegal to sell jewelry with cadmium so no law was broken. Walmart said it would pull any children's jewelry that was questionable. The health concern is that cadmium is a carcinogen (can cause cancer) and can interfere with brain development. Children especially at young ages can suck on jewelry and there is uncertainty about skin contact and what may possibly happen over a period of time.

Hearing all this once again had my ten year old daughter and me going through her fashion jewelry. She did not have many pieces as I happen to make jewelry. She did have about four items including the best friend's bracelet where the girls each have a bracelet with half a heart on it. She was very good about just throwing it all away once I explained it could be dangerous to her. This was a good reminder for me to stay with my earlier conviction that sticking with gold and sterling silver (.925) is the best way to go when purchasing jewelry as it eliminates any uncertain feelings about the purchase and those precious metals have never had a health concern related to it. I have been in a store and have said no even when it was hard to those pleading faces and the price was right and they even had their own money. I am strengthened and resolved once again in this matter.

As parents we are concerned for our child's health and well being. We continually learn and look to be informed as we help navigate the best possible course for our children. Another fact worthy of mentioning is Canada Health was inspecting jewelry trinkets from China and discovered a plastic bracelet with dangle charms that said lead free on the package but were actually loaded with lead when tested. This is another indication that we need to be careful and alert our children when age appropriate to these real concerns. Hopefully, my girls have learned from our fashion jewelry discussion and will make wise jewelry purchases in the future. A great guideline to follow for many reasons is to only purchase jewelry that is made with gold or sterling silver.

Visit www.dreamweaverradioandtv.com - subscribe for free and view a new controversial, but effective weight loss and wellness video each week. James E. Carlson, degrees in biochemistry and cellular physiology from Cornell University. Medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Chief resident at Delaware Valley Medical Center in Pennsylvania. MA in business, emphasis on healthcare economics and physician practice management from Regis University in Colorado. Juris doctorate in healthcare law from Concord University School of Law in California. Currently a family medical practitioner in New York, and weight loss expert.