Steve Klein addresses current issues impacting Yelm and vicinity and provides a meeting place for anyone with an interest in this area to provide their ideas and opinions
“SE Thurston Fire Authority is collecting new Teddy bears and other stuffed animals for use as comfort tools in emergency situations. The stuffed animals will be kept on fire trucks to give to children involved in car accidents, fires, and other traumatic situations. These stuffed animals are often a useful tool to help calm children during difficult, and often dangerous, situations.
“You can drop off new Teddy bears and other stuffed animals at the SE Thurston Fire Authority Station 21 main office, located at 709 Mill Road, from now until December 19, 2019. Office hours are 9:00am – 4:30pm, with a lunch closure from 11:30am – 12:30pm.
“For more information, email sshindell@sethurstonfire.org or call 360-458-2799.
“Thank you so much for wanting to help. You really are making a difference to child in a very stressful situation. Read more
“Black Friday frenzy goes global – and not everyone’s happy”
“The U.S sales phenomenon has spread across the world with such force that it’s prompting backlash from activists, politicians and even consumers.”
“The U.S. sales phenomenon [Black Friday] has spread to retailers across the world in recent years with such force that it’s prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers.”
“Globalized commerce has brought U.S. consumer tastes to shoppers around the world, from Halloween candy to breakfast cereal and peanut butter, sometimes even supplanting local traditions.
“To French activists, Black Friday is the epitome of this shift, a purely commercial event designed to boost U.S. retailers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the symbol of capitalism run amok.
“‘The planet burns, oceans die, and we still want to consume, consume, and therefore produce, produce – until we eradicate all living things? … We will not betray our children for a 30% discount!’ reads a manifesto by groups holding “Block Friday” protests around Paris.”
“The respected [UK] weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper decried in a scathing editorial how Black Friday is used to enrich big retailers.
“‘Like no other day, this Friday shows how broken the world we have built is,’ it said.
“Among other concerns is that Black Friday could hurt small businesses that do not have the vast marketing budgets and online sales presence of big retail chains or multinationals,” by Angela Charlton and Claire Parker, Associated Press. Read more
“Friday night sky to feature brilliant rendezvous of the moon and Saturn”
“Shortly after sunset on Friday, stargazers of all ages will be able to turn their gaze to the southwestern sky to see Saturn meet up with the thin crescent moon.
“After a busy day of Black Friday shopping, people will be able to step outside and look to the heavens to see a serene scene of the moon next to the ringed jewel of the solar system.”
“No telescope is required to see the astronomical meet-up as both Saturn and the moon will be bright enough to view with the naked eye. However, people that pick up a telescope while out shopping on Black Friday will be able to test them out by pointing them at these easy-to-spot celestial objects,” by Brian Lada, KING-5 TV News, Seattle.
Story highlights * American Express ‘Shop Small’ program supports Yelm local businesses and elsewhere, * Support small businesses in a big way – Let’s Shop Small®, * Shopping local gives to our community in huge ways, * Click here for the map of the American Express Small Business participants in Yelm. “Small Business Saturday® is coming Nov. 30.” “Founded in 2010 by American Express, this holiday shopping tradition celebrates the small businesses that help communities thrive. Save the date to Shop Small® and see our recommendations for you below.”
“For every $1 spent at a small business, an average of $0.67 stays in the community.”
“Officially recognized by Congress in 2011, Small Business Saturday joins Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Support from public officials in all 50 states has added to the effort,” quoting American Express. Read more
– “Local Spots to Shop on Small Business Saturday” “The products, services, and locales of these mom-and-pop shops differ, but all take pride in providing outstanding customer service, maintaining relationships, and being part of their communities.
“According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), small businesses provide jobs for 58 million Americans. Local firms give back to their communities, create healthy neighborhoods, and offer residents more choices. Shoppers and retailers are building relationships within their communities, and Small Business Saturday is becoming a holiday tradition,” By Patricia Doherty, Departures Dispatch. Read more
“The Yelm Chamber is celebrating Small Business Saturday with a raffle”
“To enter, shop at a local business on Saturday, Nov. 30 and bring your receipt into the Chamber office Dec. 2 through Dec. 5. You will be given one raffle ticket for every local small business you shop at,” by the City of Yelm.Read more
Blogger Klein became an American Express member first in 1977-1992, then again in 2002-today.
“Comcast Brings ‘E.T.’ Back to Earth. He’s Doing an Ad, Not a Sequel”
“Comcast, the owner of the Universal movie studio that distributed the creature’s blockbuster 1982 film, has placed him in a new longform commercial for the company and its broadband, cable and satellite products. In the ad, which debuted during the Thursday broadcast of the annual “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” on Comcast’s NBC, E.T. returns to see his friend Elliott. The character is once again played by Henry Thomas, the same actor who portrayed him decades ago. “
“The ad – more than four minutes long in some versions – marks a bold bet by the Philadelphia entertainment giant that it can use its revered intellectual property for commercial purposes without upsetting some fans who might blanch at the notion.
“To be sure, a new generation of consumers does not have the same connection to the Steven Spielberg movie as some people who saw it in the early 1980s. Hearing the famous phrase “E.T. phone home” may prompt a current audience to ask why the alien won’t text,” by Brian Steinberg, Variety. Read more
“After 37 years, E.T. comes back to visit his friend, Elliott, for the holidays. During his stay, E.T. learns that Elliott now has a family of his own and that technology has completely changed on Earth since his last visit,” by Xfinity.
This Thanksgiving Day message was first published here in 2009:
THANKSGIVING
DAY has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863 &
became a federal holiday in 1941. President Lincoln issued this
proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of
Thanksgiving on October 3rd, 1863, which is as pertinent today as during
the Civil War to heal our nation’s wounds:
By the President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln A Proclamation.
The
year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the
blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties,
which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source
from which they come, others have been added, which are of so
extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften
even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful
providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled
magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to
invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with
all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and
obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of
military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the
advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth
and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national
defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe
has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of
iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more
abundantly than heretofore.
Population has steadily
increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the
siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the
consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect
continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel
hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.
They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It
has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently
and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the
whole American People.
I do therefore invite my fellow
citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at
sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and
observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and
Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I
recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to
Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with
humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend
to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners
or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably
engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to
heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be
consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace,
harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done
at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the
Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
– America the Beautiful sung by Hillsdale College’s Choir (Michigan) “Written by Katharine Lee Bates and composed by Samuel A. Ward, “America the Beautiful” is one of the most well-known and beloved American patriotic songs. The song celebrates the natural beauty and the “patriot dream” of the United States.
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” Click here for the video.
– America the Beautiful sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Click here
Councilor-elect James Blair, EJ Curry Credit: James Blair for Council, EJ Curry, City of Yelm
Yelm will now have a new Position 1 council member!
Editor’s note: The Yelm City Council will undergo fundamental change with Blair’s platform of fiscal responsibility and integrity!
With all ballots now counted, James Blair led EJ Curry by a comfortable 30 votes with 693 (50.84%) compared to Curry’s 663 (48.64%), according to the 11:30am results that were certified the election by the Thurston County Auditor. Click here for the results.
Scientific American warns “We have no reason to believe 5G is safe,” and that “contrary to what some people say, there could be health risks”
Unlike the 4G technology currently in use, which relies on 90-foot cell towers with about a dozen antenna ports on each, the 5G system uses “small cell” facilities or bases, each with about 100 antenna ports. These cell bases will be mounted to already existing infrastructure such as utility poles
No 5G safety studies have been conducted or funded by the Federal Communications Commission or the telecom industry, and none is planned
While it may take years to fully ascertain the full effects of 5G, there are early warning signs. Residents in Gateshead in the U.K. started reporting insomnia, chronic nosebleeds and stillbirths after the installation of streetlamps that emit 5G radiation in 2016
Considering how many are already struggling with electromagnetic hypersensitivity, saturating cities and suburban areas with 5G will undoubtedly add many more to this once-rare affliction, and could easily make life unbearable for a growing number of the population
“U.S. Government Has Known About the Serious Adverse Health Effects Associated with 5G for Decades, Hid the Scientific Research Reports from the Public”
“Will You Buy Nothing and Do Something This Holiday Season?”
“What do the holidays mean to you? Take a second to close your eyes and picture the holiday season. What do you see? Maybe hearty dinners, holiday parties, or quality time with family and friends. Our most cherished holiday memories come from enjoying what we have with those we love.
“Unfortunately, large corporations are telling their own holiday stories, ones in which we express our love not by doing stuff with our families, but by buying Stuff for them. The holidays aren’t about friends dropping in, but shopping ‘til you drop.
“Of course we can buy gifts for those we love! But we can’t allow consumerism to take over the holidays. That’s why we are inviting you to join us in celebrating Buy Nothing Day, an international holiday [Nov. 29] dedicated to resisting consumerism. What’s more, we’re challenging you to dedicate your day to making change in your community!
“We want to get back to the original stories of the holidays: spending time with loved ones and counting the blessings you have, not the Stuff that you want. Prioritize doing something instead of buying something,” quoting The Story of Stuff Project. Read more for excellent ideas.
