"Winds of Change" 
will be the theme of the 19th annual NCOM Convention, being held May 6-8, 2004 at the Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City, located at 401 S. Meridian, and hosted by ABATE of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs. For room reservations call (800) 522-6620, and mention NCOM for a special room rate of $64.00 single/double. 

Money may not buy happiness but it will make employees happy, says a survey by OfficeTeam, a staffing service of administrative professionals. Nearly half -- 48 percent -- of the 571 workers polled say what they want most at work is a bonus or raise. Twenty-four percent wanted more time off, while 
17 percent wanted additional support at the office. "Employers should ensure that salary levels are competitive or risk losing top performers," says Diane Domeyer, OfficeTeam executive director. "For those who have assumed additional responsibilities to make up for personnel shortages, a raise or bonus is a tangible, meaningful reward. 

One of the best things employees can do to improve their work environment is to add a live plant to their desk. The U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency finds formaldehyde is the most predominant of the common indoor toxins. Plants at Work, a group promoting plants in offices, says a dwarf date palm removes 1385 micrograms of formaldehyde from the air per hour, a Bamboo palm 1350 micrograms and a Peace lily 937 micrograms. 
Former NASA Scientist Bill Wolverton suggests employees place a plant on their desk within what he calls the "personal breathing zone." 

2004 Democratic National Committee Convention  - Official Program

6:00pm - Opening flag burning ceremony.
6:00pm - Opening secular prayers by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton
6:30pm - Anti-war concert by Barbra Streisand.
6:55pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
7:00pm - Tribute theme to France.
7:10pm - Collect offerings for al-Zawahri defense fund.
7:25pm - Tribute theme to Germany.
7:45pm - Anti-war rally (Moderated by Michael Moore)
8:25pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
8:30pm - Terrorist appeasement workshop.
9:00pm - Gay marriage ceremony (both male and female couples)
9:30pm - * Intermission *
10:00pm - Posting the Iraqi colors by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins
10:10pm - Re-enactment of Kerry's fake medal toss.
10:20pm - Cameo by Dean 'Yeeearrrrrrrg!'
10:30pm - Abortion demonstration by N.A.R.A.L.
10:40pm - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
10:50pm - Pledge of allegiance to the United Nations
11:00pm - Multiple gay marriage cermony (threesomes, mixed and same sex).
11:15PM - Maximizing Welfare workshop.
11:30pm - 'Free Saddam' pep rally.
11:59PM - Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
12:00pm - Nomination of democratic candidate.

Detailing the years before Aquash’s death, Banks said he prosecuted a white man in Rosebud, S.D., for the rape of an Indian girl. The white man, an attorney, was disbarred in Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court.
Then, the white people of South Dakota turned out in droves to elect that man, first as South Dakota Attorney General, then as South Dakota governor for 16 years and finally as U.S. Congressman. That same man later prosecuted Banks on riot charges. That man was William Janklow.
Click here for entire article http://www.indiancountry.com/?1082731800

Former Hells Angels leader and defendant Charles Anthony Diaz will not testify in the trial of the 17-year-old murder of a Fort Bragg family.

Diaz, 56, is on trial for the killing of 5-year-old Dallas Grondalski, who was murdered with her family in October 1986 after moving to Mendocino County from Vallejo, where her father had been a member of the renegade motorcycle club.

Three co-defendants Mary Anne Hodgson, Robert Huffman and Sammie Lester are accused of covering up the murder.

Diaz' attorney decided Tuesday not to put Diaz on the witness stand after Judge Stanley Young ruled to allow most of the criminal events and pieces of the defendant's personal past that the prosecution wanted to include in its line of questioning. Following the judge's decision, Lakeport attorney Ed Alvord, who is representing Diaz, announced he would rest his case.

If Diaz' attorney had put him on the stand, select offenses from Diaz' past would have been fair game for questioning before a jury. The material would have been used by Deputy Attorney General Michael O'Reilley to show Diaz' moral turpitude, or capacity to act dishonestly and against good morals. Diaz' criminal and personal history also would have been used to impeach him, or attack his credibility as a witness.

MANCHESTER, Conn -- One of three state prison guards who was fired last week for his association with a biker's club is a former Ku Klux Klan leader, the Journal Inquirer of Manchester reported in its Saturday-Sunday edition.

Gary W. Piscottano, 50, an officer at maximum security Northern Correctional Institute in Somers, and the others were fired for lying about their association with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

State Correction Department officials now want to determine if Piscottano's activity as a "grand dragon" in the Connecticut Klan was known when he was hired in 1986.

Piscottano, who was last known to live in New Britain, according to the newspaper, does not have a telephone listing and could not be reached for comment Sunday by The Associated Press.

The Journal Inquirer cited a 2001 report, "Extremism in Connecticut: A State Study," by the Anti-Defamation League. It identified Piscottano as a New Britain leader of the Klan in 1980 and 1981. He quit the leadership post in 1981.

Correction Department spokeswoman Stacy Smith told the newspaper she did not know if agency officials were aware of Piscottano's KKK involvement when he was hired. She said she will investigate how the process of background checks for Correction Department applicants has changed since the early 1980s.

Correction Department officials said an "extensive investigation" determined that the guards were less than truthful when questioned about their association with the motorcycle club.

Attorney Kathy Eldergill, who represents the three men, said she plans to sue the department to reverse the terminations. She said the department violated the men's constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection by firing them for their former membership in the club.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

Word of the Day

impuissant /im-PWIH-sunt/ adjective
: weak, powerless
Example sentence:
Jonah was a relentless bully who sought to intimidate any impuissant student that he could find in the schoolyard.
Did you know?
Both the adjective "impuissant" and the noun "impuissance" came to English from Anglo-French. They are derived from the prefix "in-" (meaning "not") and the noun "puissance," which means "power" and is a word in English in its own right. "Puissance" derives from the verb "poer," meaning "to be able" or "to be powerful," and is ultimately related to the same Latin roots that gave us words such as "power" and "potent." While both "puissant" and "impuissance" first appeared in English during the 15th century, "impuissant" did not make its first appearance in our language until 1629.

http://www.merriam-webster.com