Thoughts and Excerpts from The Last Laugh Blog:
Prayer in municipal government meetings
Recently at a Bloomfield City (MO) meeting the suggestion that a "moment of silence" be rendered prior to the opening of future sessions. An alderman made the suggestion, adding "I know we can't say the 'p-word'" In reality you can. Let's take a look at the issue. In our very own House of Representatives in Washington each DAY is opened in prayer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives Apparently prayer is held in the Supreme Court as well. http://www.mindspring.com/~careyb/rf_invc.html Each one of our 50 states has a constitution. Every state constitution refers to God, and many refer to Jesus Christ. If one takes a short ride to Washington, D.C., you would not have to look far to see Judeo Christian references. You will observe our spiritual heritage when you visit the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. The cap of the Washington Monument gives praise to God. The entrance to the Supreme Court has a reference to Moses. When the President gives the State of the Union address, the reason the camera stays stationary, is that right over the President's head is Scripture etched in stone, which I have concluded the mainstream media does not want to acknowledge or broadcast. Every session of Congress is started with a prayer. That sure does not sound un-American to me. If it is legal for Congress to start with a prayer, then why would it be illegal for our city board to have a prayer? The U.S. Supreme Court has already established that government sessions can indeed be opened with prayer,Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983). http://supreme.justia.com/us/463/783/case.html Pictured above: Prayer in Congress, 1774   The pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of happiness.
Happiness is the result of actions that create positive and memorable moments of communication and joyous emotions that are shared between two or more people. The truest form of everlasting happiness is the same thing but shared between an individual and the heavenly Father. This is multiplied repeatedly by the actions of obedience and the sincere pursuit of holiness. |
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Who are your friends?
Yesterday morning I got in the shower and noticed the water pressure
wasn't really what it should be. I didn't think too much about it
because I had other things on my mind; like getting my wife to the
emergency room. She was coughing up some blood and not feeling to
well. I took her up to the E.R. in Cape and spent all day with her.
They ended up admitting her into the hospital. I got home about 7:30
PM.
When I got home I noticed the water pressure was even worse. Brent and I went outside and he was able to crawl up under the house and see that the line going to the outside spicket had a gaping hole in it.
We then went to try to turn the main water valve off. No luck. A friend of mine who has done some plumbing work for me in the past was nearby. I called him and he came over and was able to shut the water off (after I was able to store some containers of water for morning sponge bathes and such).
My friend is coming over tonight to repair the line. No charge. He's a great friend. He use to be an acquaintance but I have come to consider him a friend over the years. I have learned a lot about true friendship over the past year and he is definitely a true friend.
Some time ago a lady here in town paid a young man to do some plumbing work that he said she needed. This young man was a well known thief and a bit of a little con-man. He told this woman that she needed her entire plumbing replaced under her house because it was all completely rotten.
I asked my friend, mentioned above, to go and look at it. He did and reported to me that her lines were just fine. I told her and she got her money back from the little con artist. She refused to press charges and that was her decision.
The point is this...in a small town there are people who will step on you to get what they want and then there are people who make up the life blood of small town living. They step up to the plate when they are needed and do not care about a title, a position, or payback. They only care about their fellow man. I am proud to say that my friend is one of those.
So for those of you who don't care about feeling the hatred of small town politics but do care about your neighbor or the guy down the street when he's down and out. Here's to you! Thanks for being a part of it all!
When I got home I noticed the water pressure was even worse. Brent and I went outside and he was able to crawl up under the house and see that the line going to the outside spicket had a gaping hole in it.
We then went to try to turn the main water valve off. No luck. A friend of mine who has done some plumbing work for me in the past was nearby. I called him and he came over and was able to shut the water off (after I was able to store some containers of water for morning sponge bathes and such).
My friend is coming over tonight to repair the line. No charge. He's a great friend. He use to be an acquaintance but I have come to consider him a friend over the years. I have learned a lot about true friendship over the past year and he is definitely a true friend.
Some time ago a lady here in town paid a young man to do some plumbing work that he said she needed. This young man was a well known thief and a bit of a little con-man. He told this woman that she needed her entire plumbing replaced under her house because it was all completely rotten.
I asked my friend, mentioned above, to go and look at it. He did and reported to me that her lines were just fine. I told her and she got her money back from the little con artist. She refused to press charges and that was her decision.
The point is this...in a small town there are people who will step on you to get what they want and then there are people who make up the life blood of small town living. They step up to the plate when they are needed and do not care about a title, a position, or payback. They only care about their fellow man. I am proud to say that my friend is one of those.
So for those of you who don't care about feeling the hatred of small town politics but do care about your neighbor or the guy down the street when he's down and out. Here's to you! Thanks for being a part of it all!
When "handshake" contracts are inappropriate:
Government officials should never make deals that are sealed with a handshake. We have a system of checks and balances in this country and our form of government is designed to prevent this sort of thing.
I honor any man who makes an agreement with a handshake and follows through. I have never ever stated that doing so is a character flaw. I will say that any man who does this had better be sure he has the power, authority, means, and ability to follow through.
To other officials who agree and follow through with the handshake agreement solely because the handshake agreement was made and knowing that the agreement may not be in the best interest of the citizens...this disappointment presently clouds my ability to respond.
In general, the handshake agreement should only be executed between two individuals involving any agreement that involves only the two said individuals. These types of agreements are often between friends and acquaintances and should not involve or effect vast numbers of citizenry. This is not a matter of practicality, it is a matter of good business sense.
A handshake agreement, as I said, should never be enacted between government officials and private parties. Never. These contracts should always be in writing. If a person (government official) makes a handshake deal before it is enacted upon by legislation or vote than he is acting recklessly, without authority and at without good judgment.
Would it ever be right to break such a deal? That depends on how you look at it. If the deal is broken it should be made with an apology and an explanation.
The disappointment and loss of trust and confidence of one man is better than the disappointment and loss of trust by many constituents.