Daily Motivations - 092608

"Daily Motivations"

I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that, then I realized I was somebody. -- Lily Tomlin

Today's Topic: Commitment

Think of someone you know (or know of) who is “a person of good character.” Lock his or her image in your mind. Now take a moment to reflect on the things this person says and does…the personal characteristics that make him or her a role model for you. What comes to mind? What do you see?

Chances are that high on the list of your role model’s qualities is COMMITMENT – the unwavering dedication to being a good family member and friend…to doing his or her best at work and away from the job…to doing what’s right, noble, and decent.

Committed people like your role model just seem to have their heads and hearts in the right place. They keep their priorities straight. They stay focused on what’s important. They know, inherently, that what they believe must drive how they behave – and how they behave ultimately determines the character they possess, the reputation they enjoy, and the legacy they leave.

Do they face occasional temptations to compromise their values…to do what’s easy, convenient, and self-serving? Of course they do! But they fight those temptations the same way they approach every aspect of their lives: With everything they have.

Questions to Ponder:
What am I committed to?
What values are important to me?
How committed am I?
What personal behaviors can I cite as evidence of those commitments?
How close are my behaviors to those of my commitment role model?
What can I do to be a commitment role model for others?




"The Patriot Post"

"I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but becauseI wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical form." --- Calvin Coolidge

"Ultimately, the choice before the American people is the choice between two visions: on the one hand, the policies of limited government, economic growth, a strong defense, and a firm foreign policy; and on the other hand, policies of tax and spend, economic stagnation, international weakness and accommodation, and always, always, from them, 'Blame America first.' It's the choice between the policies of liberalism or the policies of America's political mainstream." --- Ronald Reagan



"The Alliance Defense Fund"

Settlement: Illinois church finally able to worship on own property

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4688

ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASESeptember 24, 2008 –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom

Settlement: Illinois church finally able to worshipon own property
ADF-allied attorney settles lawsuit with city and mayor who sought to block church from use of building

CARLINVILLE, Ill. — The city of Carlinville has agreed to a settlement proposed by an Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney on behalf of the Carlinville Southern Baptist Church. The settlement means that the church can now use a former Wal-Mart building it purchased and renovated after the city and its mayor approved the church’s use of the building and then backed out of the agreement.

“Churches should not be discriminated against in city zoning decisions,” said ADF-allied attorney Daniel P. Dalton. “We are pleased that the city has finally realized that it has no legal recourse to keep Carlinville Southern Baptist Church from using the property it has legitimately acquired for religious purposes.”

Since entering into a contract to acquire the building from Wal-Mart in August 2005, the Carlinville church has met resistance from city officials over its use of the building. Dalton filed the lawsuit Carlinville Southern Baptist Church v. City of Carlinville on the church’s behalf in March, alleging that the city’s attempt to block the church’s purchase, renovation, and use of the structure violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. RLUIPA is a federal law protecting churches from discrimination in land use disputes with local governments (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4551).

At least three times this summer, the city proposed terms of agreement to the church, only to refuse to vote on them and add more restrictive terms in an apparent attempt to drive the church and its pastor into insolvency and out of town. After the church publicly rebuked the mayor for the impasse, the city proposed a better settlement, and the church accepted.

“It’s simply wrong for a city to keep a church from using property because officials would rather see it used to generate commercial tax revenue. And forcing a church to endure bureaucratic nightmares over the matter is even worse,” said ADF Senior Counsel Joe Infranco. “We’re pleased that this settlement clears the way for the church to begin preparing the property for worship services.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.



"Liberty Counsel"

Press ReleaseSeptember 23, 2008Kentucky Court Upholds Constitution, Rejects Illegal "Gay" Adoption

www.LC.org

Louisville, KY - The Kentucky Court of Appeals has strongly rebuked an activist lower family court for allowing a lesbian woman to illegally adopt her female companion's child, in clear violation of both Kentucky law and the Kentucky state constitution. The higher court reaffirmed that in Kentucky, stepparent adoptions are only legal when the stepparent is married to a biological parent. The court also reaffirmed that marriage can only exist between one man and one woman.

"It's not this or any court's role to judge whether the legislature's prohibition of same-sex marriage … is morally defensible or socially enlightened," wrote Judge Glenn Acree in the opinion. "Nor is it this or any court's role … to craft any means by which the legal consequences of such a prohibition may be negated or avoided."

Similar to the activist judge in Kentucky, on September 11, an activist Florida county circuit court issued a controversial opinion, suggesting that Florida's 31-year-old law that bans adoptions by homosexuals was somehow unconstitutional, despite the fact that the same law has been ruled constitutional by both state and federal courts of appeal. In fact, Liberty Counsel successfully defended the same law at the federal court of appeals that upheld the law. Despite the fact that these decisions by the appeals courts are binding on the Florida trial judge, he lawlessly disregarded these binding precedents.

Reporting on the Florida decision, the Associated Press erroneously indicated that the Florida law was "one of only two such statewide bans in the country." However, as the Kentucky decision establishes, this is patently untrue. In fact, most states ban homosexual adoption through legislation, regulation, or court precedent. Only a handful of states allow homosexual adoption. These state laws ban adoption by homosexuals because the best interest of children is served by placing them in homes with a mom and a dad or where there is a likelihood of a mom and a dad. A homosexual home automatically excludes one gender, either the mom or the dad.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "Judicial activism is a cancer that eats away at the rule of law and undermines the confidence of the people in the legal system. There is a clear distinction between the role of a judge and the role of a legislator. One interprets law and one makes law. The psychological dysfunction known as 'Judicioactivism' is easily cured by a good dose of the Constitution, bed rest and removal from the bench to prevent relapse."



"Accuracy In Media"

Senator Bunning Blasts “Financial Socialism”

AIM Column By Cliff Kincaid September 24, 2008
Read the entire article: http://www.aim.org/aim-column/senator-bunning-blasts-financial-socialism/

Bunning’s views are consistent with the 2008 Republican platform, which declares, “We do not support government bailouts of private institutions.

John McCain claims to be a straight talker, but it is Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, who on Tuesday, in front of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke, labeled the Paulson/Bernanke $700 billion Wall Street takeover plan “financial socialism.” He also called it “un-American.”



"The e-mail Bag"

"WE CAN NEVER FORGET"

Obama's 143 Days of Senate Experience
Posted by Cheri JacobusMay 5, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Just how much Senate experience does Barack Obama have in terms of actual work days? Not much.

From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That's how many days the Senate was actually in session and working.

After 143 days of work experience, Obama believed he was ready to be Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World, and fill the shoes of Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan.
143 days -- I keep leftovers in my refrigerator longer than that.

In contrast, John McCain's 26 years in Congress, 22 years of military service including 1,966 days in captivity as a POW in Hanoi now seem more impressive than ever. At 71, John McCain may just be hitting his stride.

Think about IT!!!

Think you know who this man is?
This possible President of the United States!!
Read Below andask yourselves, is this REALLY someone we can see as thePresident of our great nation?

Below are a few lines from Obama's books; In his own words!

From Dreams of My Father: 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 1 2 or 1 3, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'

From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race.'

From Dreams of My Father: 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'

From Dreams of My Father: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'

From Dreams of My Father: 'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself , the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.'

And FINALLY the Most Damming one of ALL of them!!!

From Audacity of Hope: 'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'

*If you have never forwarded an e-mail, now is the time to Do so!!!! We CANNOT have someone with this type of mentality running our GREAT nation