This Issue... ■■ Why America is Buying More Gold after November’s Election ■■ How to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your Employer ■■ “Game Changer” in Prostate Cancer ■■ Free Enterprise is America’s Life Blood ■■ What Goes Around Comes Around
From Johnny Football to Johnny Heisman
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eisman Trophy history was made December 8, 2012, as Texas A&M University’s sensational quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the coveted award. The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best collegiate football player each year. Slated as a back-up quarterback last spring, Manziel emerged as the Aggies’ starter two weeks prior to the season opener. Manziel, from Kerrville, Texas, has put up extraordinary num-
Photo: Robert J. La Verghetta
bers this year: 3,419 yards passing good for 24 touchdowns; 1,181 yards rushing and 19 more touchdowns scored on the ground. Manziel’s numbers easily broke the Southeastern Conference’s record for total offense. The 20 year-old known as “Johnny Football” earned 474 first place votes while the University of Notre Dame’s fine linebacker Mante Te’o finished second with 279 first place votes. Kansas State University quarterback Collin continued on pg. 2
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Good Sense
News vol. 1 • issue 1
We The People
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arry “The Flagman” Eckhardt, as he is appropriately called, got the name because Larry believes that every American killed in war is a fallen hero and deserves the Nation’s thanks and a hero’s welcome. 98 times in the last seven years Larry has attended and displayed our Flag at funerals all over the Midwest. Larry does this using donations and much of his own money, displaying some 2000 flags at every homecoming he can attend. Some weeks he travels to several states to honor these young men and women; “it can’t bring them back, but it helps the families when they know they have support.” He
We owe them a debt of gratitude, to honor our soldiers who have paid the ultimate price for us and for our country. began this effort when a young man from his area was brought home. “In the Midwest, when the body of a fallen soldier comes home, people line the streets, but there were only 100 flags. I thought there should be more flags; our soldiers should be honored by
the flag they died to protect.” Larry has met many veterans along the way, has heard their stories and wonders how some survived. Many of these men and women don’t feel they themselves are important. But as Larry tells them, “what could be more important than to put our children to sleep in their own bed, to live in freedom, freedom protected and defended by our service men and women? We owe them a debt of gratitude, to honor our soldiers who have paid the ultimate price for us and for our country.” Larry recently was invited to display our flag along Constitution Avenue as part of the Pearl Harbor remembrance - a great honor bestowed upon a great man and citizen. You can follow Larry on his facebook page, www.facebook.com/larry.t.eckhardt.
money
Why America is Buying More Gold after November’s Election
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he re-election of Barack Obama as President has led to some surprisingly strong sales in both guns and gold. Gun sales soared last month, as orders overwhelmed inventories, and there was a similar trend in gold – a surge in demand for numismatic and gold bullion coins to mostlyconservative investors. Nationally, sales of U.S. American Eagle gold coins soared in November. During the first 10 months of 2012, Eagle sales averaged
Americans are afraid of another four years of trillion-dollar-peryear budget deficits
and the increasingly affluent Chinese are buying gold, while individual and institutional investors around the world are buying shares of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are required to hold physical gold equivalent to the shares of “paper gold” they sell. Meanwhile, the world’s gold mines (mostly located in unfriendly nations in out of the way places) are producing less gold per year as the mines play out. It’s easy to print the next billion dollars, but it takes about a decade to find and mine a billion ounces of gold. As the President likes to say, “Do the math.” When skeptics predict a gold price collapse, ask them, “Did you make that same prediction in 2000?” If so, they are “zero for the 21st Century.” Gold will likely keep rising, as it has done for the last 12 years.
just 54,000 ounces of gold per month, but in November, Americans bought 131,000 ounces of Gold Eagles, more than double the previous monthly average. Why the surge? Americans are afraid of another four years of trillion-dollar-per-year budget deficits, the advent of Obamacare, no meaningful cuts in spending, political gridlock and a continuing decline of the dollar. The Federal Reserve has promised easy money at near-zero interest rates through at least 2015, with QE-3 turning into QE4-ever. In addition, central banks
From Johnny Football to Johnny Heisman continued from pg. 1
Klein rounded out the Heisman contenders with 60 first place votes. A quick, extremely agile athlete with a very accurate arm, Manziel led the Aggies to a 10-2 record, including an upset of defending national champion and top ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This is the first season for Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference. They had previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Wearing a crisp blue pinstriped suit complete with a pocket square, Manziel said he was very nervous while waiting for the winner to be announced. When the announcement came, he calmly accepted the award by bowing and giving the trophy a kiss. Manziel continued his record setting season with an outstanding performance on January 4, 2013 in the Cotton Bowl. He personally led the Aggies to a Cotton Bowl-record 516 yards on offense. Those numbers translate to 229 yards rushing on 17 carries plus 287 passing yards in the Aggies’ 41-13 rout of Oklahoma. His 229 yards rushing also broke the FBS bowl record. A hugely successful year is over, and now the history-making Heisman Trophy winner can look forward to next season as he becomes familiar with his new name, “Johnny Heisman.”
heard at the water cooler
How to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your Employer
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n a tough job market, competition to hang on to the one you’ve got is fierce. Here are a few tips on how you can raise your value in the eyes of the company — and the boss. Deliver on demand. To be valued, you have to be ready to deliver whatever is being asked of you, when it’s asked of you. That goes even when no one is watching. A lot of people will work hard when the spotlight is on them. But
taking action and pushing yourself when you are on your own is what will set you apart. More skills equal greater value. Advance your career by getting more education. Even if you have a degree, it doesn’t hurt to take continuing education courses. Brushing up on skills valued by your employer automatically increases your worth. Standing out means taking risks… and doing things differently. Start small by ex-
perimenting with new ideas in just one area of your responsibilities. Gamble with something you can afford to lose. Most experiments fail, but every so often one of them will be great. If you never take a risk, you will never distinguish yourself from the crowd.
Health
“Game Changer” in Prostate Cancer Do you know someone with prostate cancer?
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he statistics are ominous. Nearly a quarter of a million men were expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, nearly a thousand more than the previous year. In fact, the American Cancer Society projects that roughly 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime, making it the second most prevalent cause of cancer deaths in men. With an annual mortality rate of about 28,000, prostate cancer trails only lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in men. Despite these gloomy facts, the American
The innovation that has caught the medical world’s attention combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with computeraided detection (CAD) software to produce highly targeted biopsies. It’s called VividLook, developed by iCAD Cancer Society is reporting a five-year survival rate of nearly 100%, largely as a result of breakthroughs in the area of early detection. One of these advancements has been termed a “game changer,” and is radically shifting the landscape for diagnosing and pinpointing prostate cancer. The innovation that has caught the medical world’s attention combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with computer-aided detection (CAD) software to produce highly targeted biopsies. It’s called VividLook, developed by iCAD, Inc., and it’s an extension of MRI technologies that have been around for some time. Through the use of CAD, much of the guesswork previously encountered in the location of cancer cells has been eliminated, as has the need for multiple biopsies - sometimes as many as 12. Further, the likelihood of false positives or, worse, the failure to spot existing prostate cancer has been dra-
matically reduced. With VividLook, the diagnosis of prostate cancer is no longer the life-shattering experience it once was. In fact, these technologies also contribute information vital to the planning of treatment approaches, often translating to a head start for medical professionals in aggressively attacking the cancer. But make no mistake about it, prostate cancer is a serious disease that requires constant awareness. For men age 50 or older, the importance of discussing the symptoms of prostate cancer with your family doctor cannot be overstated. In fact, it’s a good idea to discuss the subject in general with your doctor, even if you haven’t detected any symptoms, since the disease in its early stages is often silent. So, a word to the wise: be vigilant, and be proactive in dealing with this (and all other!) potential threats to you health and well-being. The MRI machine at Lake Imaging at the Sharon Morse building in The Villages uses new VividLook software which can accurately pinpoint cancer locations. All photos courtesy of: Bill Mitchell/Daily Sun
Dr. Cathrine Keller, of Lake Imaging, looks at images from the MRI VividLook software used to pinpoint prostate cancer.
An image of scan results shows prostate cancer found using VividLook software.
Free Enterprise is America’s What Goes Life Blood Around Creator and not by our government. Governur Founding Fathers created a sociComes ments exist primarily to protect those rights ety based upon the principles of free against violations by others. Only in a counenterprise and limited government. Around try where the government protects the perEconomists generally agree that it was Amer-
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ica’s free enterprise system that enabled our country to become the most powerful nation in the world. Free enterprise is simply an economic system based upon the voluntary exchange of goods and services because both parties benefit from the exchange. Only a free enterprise economy provides people with the opportunity to achieve financial success in meeting the needs of others. However, free enterprise works best when these transactions have greater freedom from government control. The role of the government is to create an environment where individuals and organizations can create prosperity through meeting the needs of others. The Founding Fathers asserted that the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are given to us by our
sonal and property rights of its citizens can free enterprise succeed and flourish. Our own history has proven that government intervention in the economy, such as wage and price controls, simply does not work. In fact, government-controlled entities such as the US Postal Service and Amtrak have either gone bankrupt or teeter on the verge of financial failure. At the same time, enlightened business owners have realized that their businesses have a much greater chance of succeeding if their employees are treated and compensated fairly. As Judson Branch, the man who led Allstate Insurance Co. through years of extraordinary growth, once said, “If profit is the heart of a business, then social responsibility should be its soul.”
Free Enterprise “Do not interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” - Abraham Lincoln for more information on how to order the Good Sense Newsletter for your employees, visit: www.goodsensenews.com
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illiam McKinley, the 25th U.S. President, once had to choose between two equally qualified men for a key job. He puzzled over the choice until he remembered a long-ago incident. On a rainy night, McKinley had boarded a crowded streetcar. One of the men he was now considering had also been aboard, though he didn’t see McKinley. Then an old woman carrying a basket of laundry struggled into the car, looking in vain for a seat. The job candidate pretended not to see her and kept his seat. McKinley gave up his seat to help her. Remembering the episode, which he called “this little omission of kindness,” McKinley decided against the man on the streetcar. Our decisions - even the small, fleeting ones - tell a lot about us.