"Daily Motivations"
Only you can make you happy. -- Marty Martinson
"The Patriot Post"
"Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations." -- George Washington
"We shall return to proven ways -- not because they are old, but because they are true." -- Barry Goldwater
"Never assume the obvious is true." -- William Safire
"Whether you're running for office, holding a public trust or simply voting -- politics are all about conscience. Being guided by it, protecting it and understanding it." -- columnist Kathryn Jean Lopez
"The automakers' contention that they pay workers $73 an hour takes into account the cost of pensions and health insurance for retirees. Still, no one disputes that Detroit's unionized active workers cost a good $10 an hour more than the nonunionized work forces that build Toyotas, Hondas and BMW's in the largely nonunionized South." -- columnist William Murchison
"The Web"
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.” -- President George Washington, First President of the United States
“I believe that the existence of the Bible is the greatest benefit to the human race. Any attempt to belittle it, I believe, is a crime against humanity.” -- Immanuel Kant, German idealist philosopher, 1724-1804
"Michelle Malkin"
God's Gifts
by Michelle Malkin
http://townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/12/24/gods_gifts?page=full&comments=true
The Wal-Mart stampede in Long Island, N.Y., last month exposed the ugliest side of the Christmas season. But not all Americans live by "The Blitz Line Starts Here" credo. Not all of us rush to store shelves in search of the greatest gifts. Sometimes, they can be discovered in the hearts and souls of total strangers. If only you look.
What an extraordinary treasure America was given in Dong Yun Yoon. The naturalized American from Korea lost his entire family in a San Diego military jet crash three weeks ago. The tragedy claimed the lives of his infant daughter, toddler daughter, wife and mother-in-law. It wrecked his house and upended his world.
But Mr. Yoon refused to blame the pilot or bash the military. At a press conference near the site of the crash, the grieving father and husband urged his fellow citizens to pray for the pilot: "He is one of our treasures for the country ... I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could."
In an age of shoe-tossing temper tantrums, anti-troop bigotry and litigation gone wild, Mr. Yoon demonstrated both amazing grace and unbending patriotism in the face of unfathomable pain. His heart-wrenching plea for forgiveness resounded across the country -- and around the world. Five hundred people from both the civilian and military communities came to lift Mr. Yoon up at his family's memorial service. The assistant pastor of his church reported that they had received more than 1,000 phone calls and e-mail messages offering condolences and financial support.
Mr. Yoon's suffering and sacrifice are powerful reminders of the preciousness of life -- reminders that money can't buy.
Haleigh Poutre is another of those priceless gifts. She's the miracle child who was nearly beaten to death by her barbaric stepfather three years ago. Hooked to a ventilator in a comatose state, she was then nearly condemned to death by Massachusetts medical experts and the state's criminally negligent child welfare bureaucracy, which hastily declared her to be in a hopeless vegetative state and wanted to pull the plug on her life.
God had a different plan. The government's campaign to kill her was stopped after the then 11-year-old girl started breathing on her own and responding to commands. This little girl with an iron will to live has been nursed back to health by an amazing team of caring therapists. Her plight brought end-of-life issues again to the fore -- issues that so many on both the left and right would prefer to ignore.
Haleigh the "vegetable" can now write her name, brush her own hair and feed herself. Haleigh's suffering and sacrifice carry powerful reminders against blind trust in the deadly duo of Big Nanny and Big Medicine -- reminders that money can't buy.
The life of Master Sgt. Anthony Davis gives us one more invaluable gift this year.
On Thanksgiving weekend, his family learned that he had been killed while delivering humanitarian supplies in Biaj, Iraq. He had served in the army for 26 years. He loved his job and believed in his mission. The Baltimore native was married, and had five children and one grandchild. His wife and daughter also served in the military.
Sergeant Davis was killed while distributing water and food in Biaj, about 250 miles north of Baghdad. He died, his family said, doing what he loved. "He was Army in every sense of the word," Jorge Tardi, Sergeant Davis' brother-in-law, told the Baltimore Sun. "He believed in our effort over there in Iraq. It wasn't just a job. It wasn't just a benefit. It wasn't just hardship pay. He was a patriot."
Sergeant Davis was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, but what his family will remember most is commitment to them. He was a peacemaker, they said, and a mentor to all. "'A positive impact on somebody's life can change their life for the better,' That's a quote from him," his son Jerel said at his funeral. He "instilled in his children the importance of getting to know God."
Sergeant Davis's service sacrifice serves as a powerful reminder never to take for granted the cherished gifts of family, faith and freedom -- reminders that money can't buy.
"LA Times" - SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts has asked Legislators on Capitol Hill for pay raises for our Federal Judges, since he became a member of the US Supreme Court. Capitol Hill legislators have denied pay increases in our US Judiciary, while providing pay increases for themselves and others. Is this another example of legislators ruling their own "self greed" over "law and order"? While the Legislators protect their own personal increases in pay, they deny the same to our Judges. - oyh
Federal judges lose bid for pay raises
Evan Vucci / Associated Press
"I suspect many are tired of hearing it, and I know I am tired of saying it, but I must make this plea again: Congress must provide judicial compensation that keeps pace with inflation," wrote Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
A quirk in federal law prevents them from getting automatic cost-of-living increases. A bill before Congress to boost their salaries showed promise -- but that was before the Wall Street meltdown.
By David G. Savage
January 1, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Joining the many who felt shortchanged by 2008 are the nation's federal judges.
They were the only federal employees who did not receive a cost-of-living pay increase. And in December, they lost out when a bill before Congress to significantly raise their salaries was dropped during the debate over the proposed auto-industry bailout.
In his fourth year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said he has been repeating himself.
"I suspect many are tired of hearing it, and I know I am tired of saying it, but I must make this plea again: Congress must provide judicial compensation that keeps pace with inflation," he wrote. "Judges knew what the pay was when they answered the call of public service. But they did not know that Congress would steadily erode that pay in real terms by repeatedly failing over the years to provide even cost-of-living increases."
A quirk in federal law prevents judges from receiving automatic pay increases, unlike other federal employees. Six times in the last 15 years, judges did not receive the routine cost-of-living increase for federal employees, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
As the chief justice of the United States, Roberts is the leader of the federal judiciary as well as the Supreme Court. Midway through 2008, he was optimistic that Congress would restore the lost cost-of-living increases for judges; both the House and Senate had approved bills that would have increased judicial salaries by about 28%.
But when the stock market plunged in September, lawmakers hesitated to pass the pay increase for the judiciary. The bills died in the final days of the congressional session.
In 2008, U.S. district judges earned $169,300, and U.S. appeals court judges earned $179,500. At the Supreme Court, the eight associate justices were paid $208,100, and the chief justice was paid $217,400.
Roberts said the federal judiciary -- the third branch of the U.S. government -- is a relative bargain. The total appropriation for the federal courts system was $6.2 billion in 2008, he said.
"That represents a mere two-tenths of 1% of the United States' total $3-trillion budget. Two-tenths of 1%," Roberts wrote.
He said the judiciary "is committed to spending its tiny share of the federal budget responsibly. But courts cannot preserve their vitality simply by following a nonfat regimen. The judiciary must also continue to attract judges who are the best of the best."
"The email Bag"
By: Chuck Sproull, Springville IN
I have done a lot of research into Jefferson's intended meaning of the "wall of separation of church and state" that he wrote to the Danbury Baptists, and it's relation to our 1st Amendment rights. It agrees with what Thomas Paine wrote to the Quakers in "Common Sense." Both said that religious organizations in America should not be political organizations like the Catholics were in Europe. That "wall of separation" was supposed to:
(1) Separate the administration of government and religion;
(2) Protect American citizens from tyrannical government-controlled religion and from religion-controlled government;
(3) Allow all American citizens freedom to express their Bible-based religious convictions (whether public employees, in uniform, or private citizens, regardless of Protestant sect) while on government property as well as their own private property.
There are no exception clauses in the 1st Amendment that state or imply freedom of expression, except if it: (a) offends non-believers, or (b) disagrees with beliefs of personnel in higher positions.
Also, that wall has a door that:
(4) Allows God's righteous influence (honesty, unselfishness, morality) into our Government legislation-writing, decision-making and money-spending process; and
(5) Allows outward expressions of their faith in God, not just as their religion, but as principles of the highest quality of life.
In fact, this “Wall” actually protects us from the very things subversive groups like ACLU are trying to do - separate our Government leaders and Public School students from God’s good influences. As long as we have a 1st Amendment to protect our freedoms, who needs the ACLU? (They haven’t a-clue).
No one in America has a Constitutional Right to be offended by respectful expression of our faith, nor to get Government involved (turning their feelings into political and legal issues) to restrict our freedom of expression, nor to justify their lying. Any legal “wall of separation,” should divide expressions that are respectful, true, important and beneficial from those that are selfish, dishonest, profane or immoral.
When taken correctly, in its original context, that “Wall of Separation” actually prevents anyone, whether Government official, Corporate Leader, or private citizen or group, from limiting our freedom to respectfully express religious beliefs. In America, this is how people can learn from each other about the good concepts in each other’s religions, and overcome the false concepts.
Freedom for religious and non-religious Americans is enhanced by Government staying uninvolved, without positive or negative regulations; and allowing God’s influence into our schools through the voluntary efforts of students groups, parents, teachers and “qualified” preachers.
As long as Congress does not make laws to support a particular religion (in violation of the 1st Amendment Establishment clause), and does not prohibit prayer, singing hymns of praise and devotion, and Bible study in public schools (in violation of the Free Exercise clause), these should not be considered as Government (or Corporate) endorsement of a particular religion. HRC, ACLU and atheists welcome to our Bible studies, if you are willing to learn more about God’s love, joy, peace and holiness.
Message to so-called "atheists" regarding belief in God: No one is born atheist. Everyone believes in God, but some aren't honest enough to admit it. Can light exist for those who choose to open their eyes and who see, and at the same time not exist for those choose to close their eyes? The greatest darkness in this world is behind closed eyelids. Can God exist for believers (who have received objective evidence of His spiritual reality by trusting His word and actually receiving miraculous healings and deliverances) and at the same time not exist for nonbelievers? What advantages do non-believers have? What long-term advantage is there in not believing God's promises?
When non-believers refer to the "Ten Commandments" as "Ten Suggestions" (as Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, did), or oppose their display on Courthouse lawns, they are really missing the point. These Commandments were given by God for everyone's benefit, including non-believers. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) were originally given by God to Israel to set them apart from the pagan nations all around them. Later they were summarized as two Commandments (Matt 22:37, 39) by Jesus for His followers, and are still good standards for all mankind.
Commandments 1-4 protect our relationship with God from pagan influences. Commandments 5-10 protect relationships between normal marriage partners, family members, and neighbors in communities; and they protect our possessions, private property and lives from destruction by selfish, dishonest people. They are precious golden nuggets of wisdom, practical guidelines and standards that can be used by leaders all over the world to regulate their societies.
About 300 years before God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, Hammurabi developed a complex set of hundreds of laws to regulate the Babylonian society. They can be summarized by Commandments 5-10. Then over 900 years later, Buddha prayed and fasted and he received a revelation called "The 8-Fold Path to Perfection." Step 4 "Right Behavior" includes Commandments 5-10. Even though Hammurabi and Buddha worshipped many pagan gods and goddesses, they were still created by God and had a conscience. In other words, there really is nothing religious about the Ten Commandments; they (especially 5-10) are part of the moral code God has placed in the conscience of all mankind (part of "the light" mentioned in John 1:4,9).
Our Founders separated themselves from England and Europe by 3,000 miles of water, to make America the second and final "Promised Land." And they included these Commandments in the foundation of our Executive, Legislative and Judicial system to effectively regulate American society. It worked for them, and it can work for us. Let's not change anything nor allow lower European Standards to weaken us.
God bless you, and have a wonderful, free, American day.
"Uncle Jay" - A review of year 2008! - oyh
http://www.unclejayexplains.com/media/UJ%2012-22-08.wmv
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