FOUND ALIVE... Missing Florida Girl, 11, Found After 5 Days in Florida Swamp

Miracles do happen from time to time. This is one. Missing 5 days and now found accidentally in brush so thick the adults rescuing her at this moment can only do so forming a "daisy chain" handing her from one adult rescuer to the next.

God bless... now if the other half million children missing could appear so magically unharmed..

FOXNews.com "Nadia Bloom, missing since Friday, may have been inspired by a book about an adventurous girl who decides to go camping in her backyard.

A searcher may have found a missing 11-year-old girl alive after she disappeared from her home near Orlando on Friday.

Nadia Bloom may have been inspired by a book about an adventurous girl who decides to go camping in her backyard.

The Winter Springs Police Department has been looking for her.

Authorities say she disappeared the same day her sister and father left for a trip to the Everglades with a Brownie troop, and that she carrying a book called 'Lanie' about a young girl who loves the outdoors.

Police believe she disappeared into woods near her house and say K-9 dogs have tracked the child's scent into the woods near Lake Jesup.

Nadia has an autism-related disorder called Asperger syndrome.

The Associated Press contributed to this report."

---

War Vet Training to Be 911 Operator Saves Own Son's Life When Wife Calls for Help - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

News stories don't usually end up this good!

FOXNews.com: "OLYMPIA, Wash. — An Iraq war veteran training to be an emergency operator in Thurston County saved his own son's life when his wife called 911 in a panic as the boy choked on a small piece of plastic.

Janna Scott says she was 'freaking out' on Feb. 4 when she called 911 from her Lacey home last week to ask for help because her baby Jacob was choking and not breathing. A familiar voice answered the phone. Coolly and calmly, Chris Scott talked his wife through the proper procedure.

Chris, 23, left Iraq in September after a one-year deployment as a tank crew member with the Marine Reserves. He told The Olympian newspaper it's in his nature to remain calm under stress.

But the Yelm High School graduate who grew up in the Olympia area said he was scared inside as he realized the person in danger was their son.

'My heart was pounding,' he said. 'My hands were a little bit shaky.'

Chris said he referred to instructions on what to do in cases involving a choking baby and them to Janna. He also sent emergency responders to their address.  continued

---

Baby Meets Family Dog/ Boxer (video)

I'm not a custesy video blogger but this one is to counter the bad dog stories that pop up from time to time...This is too cute to pass up, especially to end a somewhat ugly week around the world.

Baby Boxer Handshake @ Yahoo! Video

---

Tis Not The Season For All.....Woman Who Jumps off Brooklyn Bridge Saved

Fortunately for her a woman gets a second chance similar to George Bailey in 'It's a Wonderful Life" with her own Guardian Angel "Clarence" looking out as she jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge and survived although unidentified as of the time of the posting of this story.

Thanks to some holiday heroes in the NYFD and PD, 22 years young and again fortunately not a statistic today in NYC.

A 22-year-old woman was rescued from the frigid East River this morning after she jumped from the
Brooklyn Bridge. One of her rescuers, Detective Michael Cocchi, said of the save: "It feels good."

NYPOST.com: "A woman wearing just pajamas hurled herself off the Brooklyn Bridge this morning, and miraculously survived a 100-foot plunge into the frigid East River, cops said.

The 22-year-old, who has not been named but is from Manhattan, was dragged from the water by police divers and is being treated for severe hypothermia.

She leapt after walking to the midspan of the bridge shortly after 7 a.m., police said.

'It was extremely cold,' said Detective Michael Cocchi, 42, one of two police divers who hauled the woman from the water.

'I think she was in shock. She was floating, she didn’t move, she didn’t talk.'" read more

---

Nubs The Iraqi Dog Now All Over The Place

You may have heard this I didn't until tonight as "Nubs" was on Conan's show last night with Kelsey Grammer who was why I initially watched, has his own children's book and is like a big hero back home in Ft Lauderdale via San Diego all the way from whack Iraq, along with his Army master Major Brian Dennis who saved his life over there and then tracked him down afterwards (the dog tracked him down) with an incredible story I just re heard and forgot about when it happened

ST. PETE BEACH, FL -- Nubs is a far different dog that he was two years ago. Then he was hungry, lonely and battered.

Major Brian Dennis, his savior and caretaker named him Nubs. It was a fitting name he thought for a poor dog who had his ears cut off.

The two met in the war torn country of Iraq. Major Dennis was on duty and it was a common sight to see wild dogs running in packs.

But, Nubs was different. Their story is so special and so inspirational, Major Dennis decided to write a children's book about their extraordinary journey.

The book, is called "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle," was just published by Little, Brown Young Readers. Major Dennis, who lives with Nubs in the San Diego area, has already appeared on national shows talking about the new book. But, he has not forgotten his roots in the bay area.

---

Lost Dog Saves Man With Down Syndrome From Nearly Fatal Seizure

How about some good news for a change instead of the usual Hope and Change gone awry bullspit?

FOXNews.com: PORT TAMPA, Fla. — Yolanda Segovia heard a knock on her door one morning, just before 8 a.m.

Her neighbor was on the porch, with a dog and a story.

Stacey Savige had found the little dog in front of an elementary school. He wasn't very big, looked like some sort of terrier. Burrs clung to his belly. His honey fur was caked in mud.

He didn't have a collar. Stacey had taken him to the vet and he didn't have a chip, either.

Now Stacey had to go to work. Could Yolanda keep him?

Yolanda is 47. She's a divorced mom with two boys. In recent years she has survived breast cancer and cervical cancer, lost her dark hair and eyelashes to chemo. A hairdresser, she hasn't worked since 2006.

"You can leave the dog here," Yolanda told Stacey. "But just for today."

They took photos of the dog and made a FOUND flier. Stacey ran off 4,000 color copies. She and Yolanda stuffed mailboxes, put ads on Craigslist.

Yolanda took her boys to the dollar store and bought a collar, leash, ball and brown bed. Her 10-year-old, Azaiah, decided to call the dog RaeLee, pronounced "Riley." He said he had heard it on TV. All afternoon, he walked the dog, threw the ball, laughed while the dog licked his face.

"Don't fall in love with him," Yolanda kept warning. continued

---

Hawks Advance With A 7-5 Football Score, Goal Fest Of A Win

Here come the Hawks, the Mighty Blackhawks theme song is now being sung tonight at the United Center as they do after a home win as the fans exit the stadium, celebrating this win on the Hawks journey to hopefully meet the Champion Detroit Red Wings for a knock down, drag out, All American Stanley Cup series with massive ratings written all over it.

There's still one roadblock series in their way as it's on to the western conference finals for the first time since 1995 after an awesome game I just witnessed with millions of others for three hours filled with goals like none other I can recollect in the recent past, with one Chicago player Patrick Kane coming up big with 3 big goals on his own, a feat known as the all coveted "hat trick" in NHL vernacular for those new to hockey just passing through here ..

Here's Kane, number 88 being congratulated at the final buzzer by his jubilant teammates along with the dedicated fans like no others in this town.

It was an action packed 60 minutes on ice, which produced a pace of 4 goals per period as again the resurgent team of young talent outlasted and outscored the Vancouver Canucks, owning the Canadian team tonight along with 3 other games in this series locking up the eliminator as we said with a final score of 7-5 wrapping up just minutes ago.

A real barnburner as they used to say back in the day, so check back in a couple hours f you wish for some video highlights and observations from the pros Go Hawks

---

Nothing Is More Pleasing Than Seeing The Pinch Sulzenberger Ideological Rag And Family Fortune Dead and Gone>>>>

If the out and out failure of the Bible of the liberal movement isn't proof to liberals that America isn't buying the shit they're selling than nothing will get it through their thick heads, and conservatives throughout the country should pull the financial rug from under every other media bastion of these loons and in two years or less we'll be rid of them all for good.

The truth of the matter is that everything liberal in our society is financially failing. Look at all the liberal papers, the liberal news and TV channels, all union infected industry FAILING FAILING AND FAILING.

So this is how we can beat the liberals to death, by insisting as conservatives nationwide on bankrupting any corporation and large business that isn't family oriented and detrimental to old American values and the disease known as liberalism will choke off and die as all the liberals become unemployed as their favorite companies and propaganda arms die before our eyes.

We're already three quarters there once the Times folds and that's coming in the next month or two. Pich Zulzberger's old man is twisting and shouting in his tomb today you can bet.

See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya "Pinch", have fun in the soup lines you treasonous liberal.

RUN OUT OF TIMES

- New York Post: "The family that controls The New York Times empire has lost more than 86 percent of its fortune and may have sell their controlling stake to get out of debt.

The Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has run the venerable paper since 1896, may also face unusual pressure from about two dozen descendants to cash out and restore their comfortable lifestyles snatched away suddenly by hard times.

Until this year, the family had been living on wealth valued as high as $425 million. But today the family is down in their Times' annual income to a paltry $4.5 million, which could shrink even more in the recession.

Soaring losses amid a devastating media slump have drained much of the corporate cash, pushed the company deeper into debt of $1.3 billion and beckoned a stock vulture to its door -- Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who this year bailed out the Times with a high-interest $250 million loan that also threatens family control.

Slim, already the second-largest owner of Times common stock, is poised to become the biggest Times shareholder of common stock because he's allowing his loan to be repaid in six years with stock -- either from the family's main trust or a weakened corporate treasury.

If the first year's payment of $47.5 million, due in nine months, is made in stock in lieu of scarce cash, it would soak up a whopping 7.9 million shares -- based on a current price of around $6. At that depressed stock price, it would take about 48 million shares to repay Slim's IOUs.

However, the family trust holds just 8.9 million common and super-voting shares. At that pace of using stock to eliminate debt, most of the shares of both classes available to the family and the Times could be depleted soon, especially since the Times halted its stock buyback program more than a year ago.

Since 2003, it has bought back 12 million shares for its treasury, some of which were used to pay employee bonuses and options.

Just four months ago, the family lost its biggest single source of steady cash from the company -- a 92-cent annual dividend paying nearly $8 million on shares the family trust holds. The family's stock fortune also crashed this year from a high of $411.5 million four years earlier to a low in February of just $30.8 million, rendering it virtually useless to borrow against or pledge in other money-making ventures.

Eight family members continue to work at the company or serve on its board, bringing in total annual paychecks of $4.5 million -- currently the family's only reported source of company income -- which itself is down by nearly half in the last two years.

The biggest breadwinner, Chairman Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger, 57, saw his $100,500 dividend checks disappear when dividends got canceled earlier this year. His other compensation for running the company got slashed to $2.4 million in 2008, down from $4.4 million in 2006.

---

NYT Going ....Going....ggggooo....

Gone.......So it's "See 'ya and I wouldn't wanna be ya' " at the NYT..

The sooner this once proud now sad left wing rag hits the bottom, a better place the world will be. These people have been a sore on the United States for a long time now since divulging national security secrets during the Bush administration it's been all downhill and should have been the end then...

so how fitting will it be to see them fold up their tent under a democratic turned Socialist Regime... Too rich, and we'll see Ya on the way down Pinch and friends....

NYT Co. 1Q losses worsen as ad sales plunge 27 pct

- Yahoo! Finance:"The New York Times Co. fell into a deeper financial hole during the first quarter as the newspaper publisher's advertising revenue plunged 27 percent in an industrywide slump that is reshaping the print media. Its shares dived after the results were released Tuesday."

The owner of The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune and 15 other daily newspapers lost $74.5 million, or 52 cents per share, in the opening three months of the year. That compared with a loss of $335,000 at the same time last year, which was break-even on a per-share basis.

The results in the most recent quarter included charges totaling 18 cents per share to cover the costs of jettisoning employees and other one-time accounting measures.

Even with those charges stripped out, the loss was much worse than analysts expected. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted the New York-based company would lose 4 cents per share.

Revenue for the period dropped 19 percent to $609 million -- about $22 million below the average analyst estimate.

Chief Executive Janet Robinson painted a bleak picture for the spring too, predicting ad revenue will fall in the 20 percent to 30 percent range in the current quarter. The company is being hurt most by lower spending on real estate, automotive, help-wanted and movie ads.

The pain isn't likely to ease until July at the earliest, Robinson said

---

Golfer Strokes Hole In One Two Fer Same Hole Different Days

Talk about a golfer's wet dream, this is like a tsunami acing the same hole twice on back to back days in a first and thankfully a record not held by golfing god Tiger Woods. (at least not yet)

Brendon Todd Beats Million to One Odds with Two Aces In Nationwide Tour Event

Bleacher Report: "PGA Tour Player Brendon Todd never had a hole-in-one in competitive competition until Thursday. In the first round, he aced the par three 17th hole at the Nationwide Tour's Athens Regional Foundation Classic and was understandably very happy.

He was even happier today when he returned to the same hole and aced it again.

As far as anyone can recollect, this has never happened on the PGA or Nationwide Tours during full competition. Luckily, University of Georgia student Mark Edmonston was on the hole taping for the the University-owned WNEG-TV.

Here is the video, and you can say you saw it here first before it makes the nightly highlight shows."

---

British Woman Susan Boyle Proves Age Old Adage "Never Judge A Book By It's Cover"..

Link:

Here's the full version of it with her showing up for the interview and such, they show her chowing down on a cheeseburger, not too flattering,

The Buzz Log - Boyle's Got Talent

Yahoo! Buzz: "'American Idol' isn't the only launching pad for aspiring singers. Across the pond, 'Britain's Got Talent' scored a huge boost in the Buzz after an unassuming contestant gave an amazing performance.

Susan Boyle (remember that name) became a Web phenomenon after singing 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables. The performance brought the audience to its feet and left the judges (including Simon Cowell) either speechless or in tears.

Before going on stage, Ms. Boyle admitted some self-deprecating facts about herself (she's never been kissed and lives alone with her cat, Pebbles). For those reasons and more, audiences were expecting the female William Hung. They were wrong."

---

Prayers Answered US sea captain freedAmerican Christians 1, Allah's Muslim's, A Big Fat ZERO-

Thank goodness America's prayers were answered as this brave man who triumphed all on his own against these evil and Miserable Muslims after chis first courageous act giving himself up for his people at the onset of this crisis just as Jesus Christ did 2009 years ago shows that miracles can and do indeed happen today and not one dime payed to the the Filthy Agents of evil to set him free.

So today while we celebrate the miracle of Jesus' resurrection, Hero Captain Richard Phillips with some help from the US Navy and the Lord above Humiliated these Muslims in a tub and now it's time to celebrate this victory and start kicking the snot out of evil wherever we find it since we know darn well Barry won't be there to lead us just as he was totally absent in this crisis too busy hiding Easter Koran's and playing with dogs to be bothered.

Didn't make a single statement on this situation until he was rescued as Obama tries to take credit in this bullspit statement just released minutes ago....oh he did make this statement earlier... I stand corrected...

Ok, so Obama was busy with all that important stuff, but Hillary did make this statement early on in the crisis as she thought the Mad Muslim Waterjacking was a funny thing, remember this from earlier in the week? I sure the hell do....

If any Bush administration member did this they, would have been executed by the left in the streets of San Fran Freako and it's a damn good thing no lives were lost or this bitch would be toast after that ridiculous display of unprofessionalism we've come to expect from this dem led circus.

US sea captain freed in swift firefight:

"MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said.

One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said.

Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A government official and others in Somali with knowledge of the situation had reported hours earlier that negotiations for Phillips' release had broken down."

---

How Awesome Is This? "Two 98-year-olds survived quake"

Pretty awesome as a smidgen of good news comes from the earthquake in Italy, which so happens to be the homeland of my paternal grandparents where the tiny town of Felitto is named after my great great grandfather and still contains some of the brood 200 years later... Two almost centenarians have been found amongst the rubble being carefully sifted through days after the tragic quake over the weekend.

Two 98-year-olds survived quake:
BBC NEWS | Europe | "Two 98-year-old women are among survivors pulled from the rubble by rescuers in the aftermath of a major earthquake in central Italy.

One of the women, Ines D'Alessandro, told the Ansa news agency how she had survived another earthquake in 1915.

The second woman was found in the village of Tempera, near L'Aquila, some 30 hours after the earthquake struck.

Buried under the rubble in her bed, Maria D'Antuomo said she had passed the time crocheting as she waited for help.

Carried to safety by firemen early on Tuesday she reportedly ate some crackers and asked to comb her hair.

Ms D'Alessandro said that during Monday's earthquake her wardrobe had been knocked over at the foot of her bed as fragments of plaster began to rain down.

She was uninjured, though she said the quake reminded her of the one she survived aged almost four.

After the 1915 earthquake her family moved back into their house when it was pronounced safe, but it collapsed in 1918, killing her two younger sisters.

On Tuesday, she was quoted as saying that her heart bled for the victims of this week's earthquake.

'I've fought all my life,' she said. 'Now we need to have cour"

---

The Patriot Girls USA / Some Real Life Conservative Babes

Starting right from the Alabama girls all the way through Wisconsin (No Wyoming Women Yet) you will see the most beautiful conservative women you'll ever see in your life all in one place, believe you me guys and the girls too....

Here's the very first one on the web presentation that the men out there can spend a good portion of an entire day perusing through and I know, because I did it....

Go there yourself look for the women from your state perhaps picking up a calendar to help them help the troops off in these pitiful and miserable sand filled hellholes protecting us all, even the sad liberals who despise what they do and how they do it.

The Patriot Girls USA /

: "The Patriot Girls USA is a national organization created to show support for our troops by creating patriotic and military themed images and products. We were founded in May of 2007 and our National Headquarters is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since 2007, we have grown to include Patriot Girls in over 40 states."

---

Ridiculous Media Rips Brittany Spears for Not Looking Like a Heroine Addict

I hate Hollywood people as this not TMZ's blog here, and I really bemoan this recent Brat Pack group of American tramps; Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, now Miley Cyrus and the likes, but with Brittany Spears, this pop tart turned woman had obviously hit a death wall trnsitioning from teen idol to woman, and in my opinion is seemingly giving her recovery from the abyss she flirted with the old college try and is finding her cash cow existence coming back to her.

And as a human being that I am most of the time I say good for her..

But I come across this Daily Mail story which is basically calling her a fat pig like she's 400 lbs overweight, and I'm aghast that a media publication would consider a woman who looks like this would be inferred to be unattractive and unseemly overweight:

With all the troubles young women go through in their battles with trying to emulate these twiggy, malnourished, heroine chic looking skeletons, turning anorexia and bulimia into as common as the cold you think they would not be so asinine as this to ridicule her looks which are more than fine and healthy to me...

so that Spears or any other woman or girl watching or reading don't aspire to be these sick and weight obsessed women like child star Tracy Gold, or pictured here is Nicole Ritchie way too skinny when afflicted with eating disorder herself..or the one of coarse now dead on the right because of the constant media ridicule of her weight back in the 70's wore on her fragile psyche, one dead Karen Carpenter.

Is that why they call it belly dancing, Britney? Star gives a gutsy display in her latest show

| Mail Online:"She's six shows into her world tour, and Britney Spears is clearly enjoying being back in the spotlight – and in some seriously skimpy costumes.

But perhaps she's already feeling a little too relaxed about life on stage.

As she made an entrance on a swing at the weekend, the pop princess seemed unconcerned about the danger of being seen from an unflattering angle."

It was a stark contrast to the opening night of the tour when she showed off an enviably toned stomach.

But a girl can only hold it in for so long, and Miss Spears, who has surprised critics with her performances, was happy to adopt the slouched pose at the show in Newark, New Jersey.

It is not as though Miss Spears, 27, will be unable to keep herself in shape on the road. Despite some fans being unimpressed at her miming, there is no doubting the energy she puts into her dance routines.

The singer has attracted a celebrity crowd to her comeback shows, with guests including Madonna and Natalie Portman making an appearance in recent days.

In the five years since she last toured, Miss Spears has been married and divorced and suffered a high-profile breakdown which at one stage resulted in her briefly being sectioned.

But the release of the album Circus has been seen as a return to form. MANY more pictures here..

---

Around Since 1893 And Still Kickin' It!

Amazing is all that can explain this magnificent human being who has seen one half of America's history in her long illustrious life, a woman who can I'm sure tell many great stories of what wonderful country this is to all those out there who think otherwise.

One Hundred and Fifteen years old, the oldest woman in Shelbyville at least, another of the topr three just had her birthday a few weeks ago, and the oldest woman on earth is only 3 years older and lives in Brazil according to this website.

The big 115:

The Shelby News "Edna Parker was alert and eager to party on Friday morning as family, friends, dignitaries and their representatives gathered at Heritage House Convalescent Center to honor Shelbyville's own certified oldest person in the world as she turns 115 years old on Sunday.

Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson announced at the party that the city has ordered signs that will promote Shelbyville as the 'Home of Edna Parker, the world's oldest person.'

'It is a great honor to have Edna and her great family in Shelbyville,' Furgeson said."
Dressed in a new blue and white polka dot dress with a crisp, white collar and sporting her trademark white pearls, Edna seemed proud of her freshly washed and curled snow-white hair and brightly painted red fingernails. As numerous people complimented Edna on her vivid appearance, she simply smiled and said "thank you."

Many in the crowd were amazed by the alertness of the soon-to-be 115 year-old supercentenarian as she seemed to understand everything that was said to her and responded appropriately to questions and comments by her well-wishers.

When viewing her large turquoise blue birthday cake, which congratulated her on reaching 115 years, Edna shook her head and said clearly, "Well, I don't think that I am quite that old." continued

---

At Least Some Are Grateful For U.S. Assistance and Bush Leadership

This president has provided more of our money to Africa than any other president by far and yet all we hear in the US in liberals and Hollywood shills moaning and groaning there isn't enough for AIDS, this that and every other problem facing this perpetually troubled continent that the rest of the world completely ignores.

The citizens and leaders of Africa rolled out the red carpet for Bush this weekend to thank He and the US while also hoping to keep that aid cash flowing as it will, thanks again to President Bush's leadership and our generosity that his enemies wouldn't acknowledge if their own pathetic lives depended on it.

Now it's time for the world's selfish and violent Muslims to start thanking this president and the US as Africans gratefully have for all the blood and treasure we've laid out for that thankless group of people, also more than any other president or country in the world in history by the way.

Unpopular at home, Bush basks in African praise

| Politics | Reuters: "DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Unpopular at home and in much of the world during the last year of his presidency, George W. Bush is basking in rare adulation on his African tour.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete poured praise on Bush in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, the second day of his five-nation African tour, each compliment applauded warmly by members of the east African country's cabinet.


Although around 2,000 Muslim demonstrators protested against Bush on the eve of his visit, many thousands more cheering, waving people lined his road from the airport on Saturday.

Banners across the route, decorated with Bush's image against a backdrop of Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro, read: 'We cherish democracy. Karibu (welcome) to President and Mrs Bush.'

Others read: 'Thank you for helping fight malaria and HIV.' Dancers at the airport and at Kikwete's state house to greet Bush on Sunday, wore skirts and shirts decorated with his face."

---

"See Ya, I Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya"........

OJ it appears is headed back to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200 for violating his bail in some way or another. I have just seen this on Drudge and just saw this verified on Fox News live on the "Shemp" Smith show at 2:50 pm here Friday.

click here for the video

---

A Welcomed Happy Ending To A Tragedy In The Works for Three Days

The man and his children that went missing while hunting down a Christmas tree as they do annually at this time were all found healthy yesterday bringing his wife, family and friends a well deserved holiday gift. How nice it was to see a story like this one began come to a close with good news for a change instead of the more frequent tragic outcomes the news usually produces and promotes.

I had just watched the wife make an appearance on Fox news when minutes later it was announced that they were found in good health. What great news that was to hear.

Dad, 3 Kids Alive After 3 Days in Snow:

My Way News - "PARADISE, Calif. (AP) - A father and three children who vanished on a Christmas tree-cutting trip in the Northern California mountains were found alive Wednesday after huddling in a culvert for warmth during three days of heavy snow.

'I'm just amazed how well they did,' Lisa Sams said after seeing her children and ex-husband for the first time since they were rescued. 'It was like butterflies in my stomach, like if you were going to go on a very first date.'

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew spotted Frederick Dominguez atop a small bridge and landed nearby, sinking into 2 feet of snow, flight officer David White said. The family had taken shelter in a culvert beneath the bridge and stomped 'help' in the snow, White said." continued

Here's his side of the story given at a news conference after their dramatic rescue yesterday.

Man Lost in Snow Stayed Strong for Kids

PARADISE, Calif. (AP) - A man who was lost in the mountains along with his three children for three days during a snowstorm said he was terrified they wouldn't make it out alive, but he remained strong for his children and relied on his faith.

Frederick Dominguez and the children, who vanished while looking for a Christmas tree, were rescued Wednesday by a helicopter from a snowy ravine, just as another storm was bearing down in the foothill region about 100 miles north of Sacramento.

"You just want your kids to be safe and you're just praying, 'God, keep my kids alive,'" Dominguez told reporters at Feather River Hospital in Paradise.

The rescue came as relatives and friends were starting to lose hope. One snowstorm had covered the family's tracks, and an even bigger storm was hours away from burying the four even deeper. continued

---

Good News For Venezualans & The Civilized World

Looks as if Hugo's push for a dictatorship has come to a halt if he respects the will of his people as he claims he will, this after losing the referendum vote on the sweeping constitutional changes set in place in 1999 were barely rejected Sunday.

Chavez Loses Constitutional Vote:

"CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez suffered a stunning defeat Monday in a referendum that would have let him run for re-election indefinitely and impose a socialist system in this major U.S. oil provider. Voters defeated the sweeping measures Sunday by a vote of 51 percent to 49 percent, said Tibisay Lucena, chief of the National Electoral Council, with voter turnout at just 56 percent.

She said that with 88 percent of the votes counted, the trend was irreversible. Opposition supporters shouted with joy as Lucena announced the results on national television early Monday, their first victory against Chavez after nine years of electoral defeats." continued

---