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<p align="center"> <img border="0" src="../graphics/hronthejob.jpg" width="504" height="54"></p>
<h2 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">BOSS BASHING</font></h2>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Our National
Pastime</font></h4>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> </p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Many
of us have been taught to distrust all forms of authority, to question anything
that feels like control. These are natural human impulses, to resist restrictions
and to crave more freedom. But a total lack of oversight, guidance and
control will, in most companies quickly lead to failure for everyone.
I think it�s safe to say that most of us don�t want that. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">How
do we deal with these opposing interests? Most of us deal with them by
bashing the boss. It relieves tension, lowers frustration and puts the
responsibility for our problems on someone else, and that feels good.
Besides the boss is our most immediate and available target. </font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Marshall
Goldsmith, PhD, a global authority on leadership development and the co-author
of 18 books including �Human Resources In The 21<sup>st</sup> Century�, has
produced some interesting insights on this subject. His research includes
a recent survey by Badbossology.Com and Development Dimensions International
showing that most employees spend 10 or more hours each month bashing the boss
or listening to someone else do it. Over 30 percent spend 20 or more hours
doing so.</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">While
bosses often deserve, need and even wish for constructive criticism, employees
should learn that there are several reasons why you don�t want to engage in
counter-productive boss bashing even if you do have a bad boss.</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
You Boss Bash:</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Waste Time.</b> There are certainly a lot of productive things you could
be doing during that 10 to 20 hours each month. Even if you don�t respect
your boss, you could be doing much to improve your performance. Refocusing
on developing new skills could lead to you getting a better job and a new boss
or becoming a boss yourself.</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Demean Yourself.</b> Ultimately, when we discredit our boss, we discredit
ourselves. If you see yourself as so brilliant and your boss as so stupid
that he merits endless hours of critique, why do you report to this idiot?
The people around you will not say so on the outside, but inside they may be
thinking you may be an even bigger loser than your boss.</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Hurt Your Company.</b> You stories may be repeated to others. If
the managers are so bad, why should anyone believe that the services or products
are so good? Why should people spend their money on a company they hear
bad things about?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Come Across As A Hypocrite.</b> When you bash your boss behind her back, the
person you are talking to may well think, �What is this person saying about
me when I�m not around?� It is usually obvious that your cynical or sarcastic
comments are not delivered directly to the boss. Why should this person
believe that you would treat them with any more respect than you treat your
boss?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Communicate A Lack Of Courage.</b> If the boss is behaving in a way that
is bad for the company, why don�t you let him know? The answer must be
that you are afraid. Maybe your boss is intimidating, but the bigger problem
may be that you lack the courage to do what is right. </font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Depress Yourself And Others.</b> There are a million things wrong with
this world. People starve. Murders are committed. Millions live in poverty.
If you want to talk about depressing topics, why stop at your boss? You
could spend the day talking about how bad life is. A better plan for all
might be to improve what you can and make the best of what you�ve got.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>You
Don�t Enhance Your Career.</b> It is quite possible that some of your
time spent bashing the boss will be overheard by him or shared by someone else
with the boss. Would you promote someone who was spending so much time
stabbing you in the back? </font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">We
have all made useless, destructive comments about our bosses and co-workers.
And it will come as no surprise that bosses have been guilty of the same offense.
You might try this when you are next tempted to bash the boss. Ask yourself
these four simple questions:</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Will this comment help my company?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Will this comment help our customers?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Will this comment help the person I am talking to?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Will this comment help the person I am talking about?</font></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle" align="left" style="text-align:left"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">If
you cannot find a yes in there, don�t say it.</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: September 2006</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="4525">
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<td width="100%" height="4031">
<blockquote> <span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<div align="left">
<h2 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">VIRGINIA, TEXAS
AND NORTH CAROLINA-</font></h2>
<h2 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">THE
BEST STATES FOR BUSINESS ?</font></h2>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Growing
companies tend to go where their businesses will do best.
They expand and migrate into states where the regulations are less
restrictive, their costs will be lower and where there�s a qualified
workforce. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
top six qualities companies normally look for when selecting a location
to build are:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Business Costs (cost of labor, energy and taxes)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Labor Pool (size and educational level of the workforce
and projected population growth)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Regulatory Environment</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Economic Climate (growth in jobs, income and gross
state product)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Overall Growth Prospects</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Quality Of Life (schools, crime rate, cost of living
and poverty rates)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Forbes
Magazine, using these criteria, ranked the 50 U.S. states in the
order of their desirability to business. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Forbes
ranked Virginia in the top ten in all six categories. That
made <b> Virginia</b> number one in the nation. Next came
<b>Texas</b> and then<b> North Carolina. </b>Although <b>Wyoming
</b>held the top rank in the category of Business Costs, they ranked
23 overall. <b> New Hampshire</b> ranked on top in the Labor
Pool category, but their Regulatory Environment and their Business
Costs helped bring it down to number 18. <b>Iowa </b>was number
one in the category of Quality Of Life.</font></p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Here�s
the top ten states for business:</font></span></u></b></h3>
<table border="0" width="40%" id="table21" cellspacing="1" align="left">
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Virginia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Texas</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>3.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>North Carolina</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></b> </font></span> </font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Utah</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>5.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Colorado</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>6.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Idaho</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>7.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Nebraska</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>8.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Delaware</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>9.</b></font></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Florida</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>10.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></b> </font></span> </font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Georgia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Here�s
the bottom ten states for business:</font></span></u></b></h3>
<table border="0" width="40%" id="table22">
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>41. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Pennsylvania</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>42. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Hawaii</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>43. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Rhode Island</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>44. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Illinois</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>45.</b></span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Michigan</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>46. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Maine</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>47. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Alaska</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>48. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Mississippi</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>49. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>West Virginia</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="49" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>50. </b> </span></font></td>
<td valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<b>Louisiana</b></span></font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="78">
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Thank
goodness we don�t get all the government we pay for�</font></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Will
Rogers</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">EMPLOYEES
DON�T WANT TO BE MANAGERS?</font></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Studies
by two organizations, The Center For Creative Leadership (CCL) and
Executive Development Associates (EDA), both produced basically the
same report, that organizations are not prepared for the developing
labor shortages already causing growth problems in many countries
and even in some American states. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The major focus of the reports was on the lack of succession planning.
Employers nationwide reported that their leadership bench strength
is already a problem in that they do not have the skilled people coming
along to take over for their key employees who may leave. To
exacerbate the problem, many of those top people will be retiring
in a few years. The Baby-Boomer retirement scare is about to
become a reality. 70 percent of the companies in the study said
that this issue would have a major impact on the quality of their
management and com-any success over the next three years.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Is
it the quality of the successors or the quantity? Jim Best,
Chairman of the Board of EDA says it�s both. He added, �More
and more companies are saying that leadership is no longer an exiting
path for people. There is so much stress associated with being
a leader that they are having a backlash of people who don�t want
to be in leadership positions�. Schools and the media seem to
project an unfavorable image of business and bosses and more people
are focusing on free time, family and early retirements than on career
advancement. How will this affect America�s competitive position
in the world market?</font></p>
<p> </div>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table19">
<tr>
<td height="323" valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�I
always give 100% at work.</font></b></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>12%
on Monday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>23%
on Tuesday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>40%
on Wednesday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>20%
on Thursday</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>and</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>5%
on Friday�</b></font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"> </h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Mickey
Gorman</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div align="center">
<h2><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">SMOKERS CAN�T
GET A BREAK</font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">For
more than ten years the laws against smoking at work have spread to
become almost universal. Smoking in public buildings is banned.
Many municipalities such as Montgomery County, Maryland have passed
laws banning smoking anywhere in the city, including streets, parks,
alleys, restaurants and all bars. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
town official in Fairfax, Virginia attempted to pass a law forbidding
smoking in your own home if a window or door were open, or if a child
lived there. (It didn�t pass).</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Weyko, Inc in Michigan last year refused employment to smokers and
fired all employees who didn�t quit smoking even in their private
lives. Alaska Airlines now requires a urine test for tobacco
as a pre-employment screening. The Union Pacific railroad no
longer offers employment to smokers in several states where they operate.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Now the state governments are joining the fray. Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania is changing it�s laws (effective January 1, 2007) to
prevent employment of smokers. The state of Georgia now charges
a $480 a year fee to employees who smoke. It is considered an
extra cost for insurance. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText3" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">I�m
not a smoker, but this all happened so easily that I have to wonder
if alcoholic drinkers or overweight people are next. What other
health problems can you be predicted to have? </font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table20">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If
a government were put in charge of the Sahara Dessert, within
five years there�d be a shortage of sand�</font></b></h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b> </b></font></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>-Milton
Friedman</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>
August
2005</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$16.16</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2006</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$16.79</font></td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2005</b></u><br>
</font></span>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$545.59</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2006</b></u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$567.50</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,160</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$19,806</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><font size="-1"><b>44.5</b> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">cents per mile<br>
</font></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.39</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr> </tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">298.9 Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2005</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
August</font></u></span></b><u><span style="font-weight:700"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span>
</u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b>
2006 </b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">149,792,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">151,698,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">142,425,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
144,579,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7,367,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
7,119,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.9</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="43%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="38">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="-1">2005
Absentee Rates </font></b></font></td>
<center>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="38"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="31">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Men
</font></span> </font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="31">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="27">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Women</font></span></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="27">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.4%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="23">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Total</b></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="23">
<h4 align="center"><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.3%</font></b></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1st
Quarter 2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">+3.7%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<font size="-1"><b>2nd</b></font><span style="text-decoration: none"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
Quarter 2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<font size="-1">+1.6%</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="30"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>