ETERNAL FLAME NEWS

Monday, May 2, 2011

Students Take Oscar Mayer Weinermobile To Prom

WFAA

Posted on April 30, 2011 at 10:19 PM

DALLAS — L.D. Bell High School student Ben Ross recently survived a serious accident.

On Saturday night, he still made it to his prom in the vehicle of his dreams — a giant hot dog.

Ross was seriously injured while riding his motorcycle last month. While at his hospital bedside, his mom remembered Ben joking about going to the prom in the "Weinermobile."

So she launched an online campaign and convinced Oscar Mayer to send the distinctive hot dog-shaped vehicle to take Ben and girlfriend Molly Muchow to Saturday's prom at the Dallas Trade Center.

New National Poll Shows U.S Taxpayers Not Happy Investing In Public School

A new national poll shows an overwhelming number of American voters don't believe taxpayers are getting their money's worth from public schools.

The U.S. spends about $9,000 a year per student on education -- and according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, 72 percent of voters say it is a bad return on investment for taxpayers. Scott Rasmussen, founder and president of Rasmussen Reports, admits he was taken back by the numbers.

"I was surprised at just how strong the reaction was that people don't think taxpayers are getting a good return on their investment," he tells OneNewsNow. "There's two sides to the investing discipline in our lives: one is having the discipline to set the money aside, and the other is investing it wisely.

"If you set your retirement money aside and gave it to Bernie Madoff, you're not doing very well these days," he continues, "and that's kind of the way people are looking at some of the money going into education at this point."

Rasmussen summarizes another aspect of the poll's findings. "We also asked if more money was spent on education, would that improve student performance -- [and] only about 1 out of 3 said 'yes,'" he shares.

"So [there's] a lot of concern about the results of all this education spending. People don't mind putting the money aside, but they're not happy with what's coming back."

Read More from One News Now

Nicky Cruz Rmembers Reverend David Wilkerson Who Died In Car Accident

Interview by Trevor Persaud | posted 4/29/2011 10:28AM
Christianity Today

Nicky Cruz remembers the David Wilkerson he met on the streets of New York in the 1950s—the "skinny preacher" who walked a message of Jesus' love into gang-owned neighborhoods that police were afraid to enter and faced, without flinching, people most gangs didn't dare mess with; people like Cruz, who back then led the feared Mau Maus of Brooklyn.

He remembers the forceful pastor who led ministries with worldwide influence like Teen Challenge and Times Square Church, a "straight shooter" who "never danced around anything. He was very straight, and always you said, 'Wow, Dave, he's hard.'"

But over the last 15 years, the man who counted Wilkerson as a close friend and spiritual father for half a century says what he gradually came to understand: "All these years … Dave Wilkerson was a teddy bear."

"Always when I see him and I hug him … I say, 'I love you.' Even on the telephone, 'I love you.' And Dave is not expressive, [but] whenever we were alone, always he told me 'I love you, son,'" Cruz told Christianity Today in an interview Thursday.

The last time Cruz saw Wilkerson, some weeks ago, they spoke for three hours. Cruz told him about Thousand Pieces, a film in the works about Cruz's life, including the encounter with Wilkerson that led to his transformation. Wilkerson related his side of that story in the classic book The Cross and the Switchblade (which later became a film starring Pat Boone as Wilkerson and Erik Estrada as Cruz). The new film's name comes from something that Wilkerson said to Cruz after the gang leader threatened to kill him: "You could cut me in a thousand pieces and lay them out in the street and every piece would love you."

"New York in that time was bombarded by gangs, and we were the prime leaders of the gangs," Cruz said. "Even Frankenstein and Dracula were afraid to walk in that neighborhood. And he's a skinny preacher! Came from nowhere. There's no way that a type of guy like this can be so strong to stand [on] his own and to really really really take it."

"He can take a bullet, he can be killed, but he stood because [he was] obedient to Jesus. Jesus sent him there to bring the message to the gangs. … I almost killed him then because I really was totally full of hate. That was when he told me that Jesus loved me."

Wilkerson "never lost his heart" for the world's needy people, Cruz said. The two of them worked together to run Teen Challenge, a network of rehabilitation centers dedicated to healing drug and alcohol addiction and other "life-controlling problems." Later, Wilkerson moved back to New York to start Times Square Church, and Cruz set out on his own evangelistic ministry.

"I don't think Dave thought I would [become] the evangelist that I became," Cruz said. "I have reached over 45 million people just with the sound of my voice, in this journey. And he was so proud. One time he told me, 'You know, Nicky, being in the ministry's not that easy, being a pastor, sometimes I get discouraged. And sometimes, when I get discouraged, I think about you, about that first confrontation I had with you, and that lifted up my spirit, and I began to forget about all the hardship.'"

"David reminded me of Jesus," Cruz said. "Two precious things that fascinate me about Christ: That he had active eyes, and always was there, looking at the needs of the people. Dave had this heart of compassion just like Jesus."

Also like Jesus, Wilkerson "took a lot of detours," Cruz said. From a small rural church in Pennsylvania, Wilkerson came to New York in the 1950s. In the '70s, he moved to Texas and founded the evangelistic organization World Challenge. In 1986, he returned to New York to start Times Square Church. In the '90s, he started a ministry of preaching to pastors. "That's the only way he could be happy. He moved from one place to the other place to preach the gospel. And I'll tell you honestly, I learned that from him. Because if not, I would be boring with my life. But David Wilkerson never was boring."

Parents Fight Back Against Indoctrination Of Children In U.S Schools

Missouri Asks Court To Stop Levee Blasting To Save Farmland From Flooding

By JIM SUHR, Associated Press – Sun May 1, 3:02 pm ET

CAIRO, Ill. – Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday to block federal officials from destroying a Mississippi River levee as they try to prevent flooding in a small Illinois city.

The Army Corps of Engineers is considering blowing a two-mile hole into the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri, which would flood 130,000 acres of farmland in Missouri's Mississippi County but protect nearby Cairo. The city of 2,800 residents is being threatened by the dangerously swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Koster's bid Saturday to stop the corps' plan, though corps officials are monitoring water levels and haven't decided whether to go through with the blast.

"In light of the devastation faced by the citizens of Mississippi County — devastation that will persist in the area for years to come — it is the responsibility of this office to pursue every possible avenue of legal review," Koster said in a statement.

Cairo's mayor issued a mandatory evacuation Saturday, then passing thunderstorms dumped rain overnight on the already waterlogged region. By Sunday morning, water levels broke a record along the Ohio River, adding to the worries of emergency officials.

Police went door to door Sunday to make sure people were leaving, though about 20 to 30 families refused to evacuate, according to the Illinois National Guard. Those residents signed waivers indicating they understood the risk.

Mayor Judson Childs ordered the evacuation because of a "sand boil," an area of river water seepage, that had become dangerously large. He made the decision after meeting with Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, the Army Corps of Engineers officer tasked with deciding whether to breech the Birds Point levee to relieve pressure on other levees along the two rivers.

Sand boils occur when high-pressure water pushes under flood walls and levees and wells up through the soil behind them. They're a potential sign of trouble.

City clerk Lorrie Hesselrode described the boil as "kind of like Old Faithful," the famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. "There's so much water pressure it forces the water under ground."

"It's kind of scary. It's pretty big. We've had sand boils before but nothing like this. It is under control but other boils have popped up," she said.

Early Sunday, the Ohio River topped a 1937 record of 59.50 feet by reaching 59.59 feet in Cairo, the National Weather Service reported.

The river is expected to crest in Cairo at 60.5 feet by Tuesday and stay there through at least Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. A flood wall protects Cairo up to 64 feet, but the corps fears that water pressure could compromise the wall and earthen levees that protect other parts of the city.

The corps moved a pair of barges loaded with the makings of an explosive sludge into position near the levee Saturday, though the agency hasn't decided that it needs to breach the 60-foot-high earthen wall.

The 230 people who live in the southeast Missouri flood plain behind the levee had already been evacuated from their homes, and as many as 800 were asked to leave surrounding areas, said Scott Holste, spokesman for Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said.

"The entire area has been evacuated now," Holste said, adding that more than 600 Missouri National Guard troops are helping local law enforcement at checkpoints around the area.

Muslim Brotherhood Wants U.S Troops To Leave Afghanistan and Iraq

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday that U.S. soldiers should be withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks that led to two U.S.-led wars.

Al Qaeda leader was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama said.

"With Bin Laden's death, one of the reasons for which violence has been practiced in the world has been removed," Essam al-Erian, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's governing body, told Reuters.

"It is time for Obama to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq and end the occupation of U.S. and Western forces around the world that have for so long harmed Muslim countries," he said.

The Doc Is Not In: Coming Shortage of Doctors In U.S

Posted: 11:01 PM, April 30, 2011
NY Post
The United States already faces a growing physician shortage. As our population ages, we require more and more intensive health care. At the same time, enrollment in medical schools has been essentially flat, meaning we are not producing new physicians at anywhere near the rate we need to. In fact, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, we face a shortfall of more than 150,000 doctors over the next 15 years.

And it could get a whole lot worse.

The health reform bill signed into law last year is expected to significantly increase the number of Americans with health insurance or participating in the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, an aging population will increase participation in Medicare. This means a greater demand for physician services.

But at the same, the bill may drive physicians out of practice.

Existing government programs already reimburse physicians at rates that are often less than the actual cost of treating a patient. Estimates suggest that on average physicians are reimbursed at roughly 78% of costs under Medicare, and just 70% of costs under Medicaid. Physicians must either make up for this shortfall by shifting costs to those patients with insurance — meaning those of us with insurance pay more — or treat patients at a loss.

As a result, more and more physicians are choosing to opt-out of the system altogether. Roughly 13% of physicians will not accept Medicare patients today. Another 17% limit the number of Medicare patients they will see, a figure that rises to 31% among primary care physicians. The story is even worse in Medicaid, where as many as a third of doctors will not participate in the program.

Traditionally, most doctors have been willing to take some Medicare patients either out of altruism or as a “loss leader,” to reach other family members outside the Medicare program. Others try to get around Medicare’s low reimbursement rates by unbundling services or providing care not covered through the program. (Nearly 85% of seniors carry supplemental policies to cover these additional services). With many office and equipment costs fixed, even a low reimbursement patient may be better than no patient at all for some doctors. This is even more true for hospitals where Medicare patients may account for the majority of people they serve. And doctors can take some comfort in the fact that Medicare is pretty much guaranteed to pay and pay promptly. The same is not always true of private insurance.

But if reimbursements fall much more, the balance could be tipped.

The government’s own chief actuary says that reimbursement cuts could mean “reductions in access to care and/or the quality of care.” Once the cuts hit hospitals, they too will be in trouble. Medicare’s actuaries estimate that 15% of hospitals could close. Inner-city and rural hospitals would be hardest hit.

U.S Forces Kill Osama Bin Laden Then Bury Him At Sea

(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, is dead -- almost 10 years after the attacks that killed about 3,000 people.

The founder and leader of al Qaeda was killed by U.S. forces Monday in a mansion in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, U.S. officials said.

Four others in the compound were also killed. One of them was bin Laden's adult son, and another was a woman being used as a shield by a male combatant, the officials said.

Bin Laden's body was later buried at sea, an official said. Many Muslims adhere to the belief that bodies should be buried within one day.

The official did not release additional details about the burial, but said it was handled in keeping with Muslim customs.

In an address to the nation Sunday night, U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda." Washington is nine hours behind Pakistan.

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

A congressional source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head.

The killing of bin Laden was the culmination of years of intelligence work and months of following a specific lead, senior U.S. administration officials said.

The key break involved one of the few couriers trusted by bin Laden, according to the officials. About two years ago, intelligence work identified where the courier and his brother lived and operated in Pakistan, and it took until August to find the compound in Abbottabad that was raided, they said.

According to the senior administration officials, intelligence work determined at the beginning of 2011 that bin Laden might be located at the compound in Pakistan.

Obama chaired five National Security Council meetings from mid-March until late April, with the last two on April 19 and April 28 -- last Thursday.

On Friday morning-- even as he visited Alabama's tornado-ravaged areas -- Obama gave the order for the mission, the officials said.

Senior Obama administration officials believe the compound was built five years ago for the specific purpose of hiding bin Laden. U.S. forces carried out several so-called "practice runs" in order to minimize casualties.