Charles Saunders

The challenge of chaotic living and actually living with ADD

2016-02-27T08:53:00.001-08:00

I got up this morning with the intention of doing billing. I hate doing billing. I would rather go to the dentist and have work done without a local anesthetic. I lose forty percent of my pay if I do not turn my billing logs into the court within a month of delivery of service and I frequently lose that money due to my procrastination. Upon getting my tankard of coffee, I sat down at the computer with the intention of opening up the program and starting. I ended up customizing my homepage, linking my twitter to it, reading about various add-on apps to Firefox and updating it, reading another blog and commenting, and even reading an old email account to see the two thousand advertisements, there.

So now, I stare at the screen disgusted that I have wasted almost three hours essentially doing little more than playing.

Sometimes, it is hard to admit how much ADD and chaotic living can overwhelm one's life and make it more difficult. One's entire life can be distilled into the present moment and the decisions they make at that time. I am going to go say good morning to the rest of the family, see what the plans are for Saturday if we want to make any, and I will have to wait to actually do my billing until tonight when everyone else is either reading, playing themselves on devices, or getting ready to go to bed.

If you wish in your left hand and fill the right with manure, the right hand weighs the most and at least the manure makes good fertilizer. Time today to stop daydreaming and creating castles in my mind's eye and do the monotonous and tedious tasks to actually build them. I honestly do not know what is motivating me to share this, but hopefully it will cause me to take more responsibility and now attack what is honestly to me the travails of my vocation. Seizing each moment and focalizing it through the incredibly narrow and rigid projected identity of self-discipline and concentration is the greatest challenge to initiating the first small step to accomplishing the work to achieve the benefits of those daydreams that are so distracting. In a prison, putting or housing an inmate in segregated isolation is the greatest punishment. Sometimes, I think for me, I could just close my eyes and stay in that situation for time infinitum just contemplating my own thoughts. Wow, I just wasted another 53 minutes while typing this blog and looking up some references to explain my thoughts like projected identity. It is time to channel my inner Albert Ellis and take charge. Carpe Diem!!

A little loathing and perplexment.

2013-04-25T08:42:00.002-07:00

This administration commits impeachable compromises of our security every single day. They ship weapons to drug dealers in Mexico. They Mirandize Enemy Combatants before we have a chance to interrogate them. We allow our sovereign territory to be over run in foreign lands. All of this is directly traceable back to the current occupiers of the White House. Why our supposed elected representatives in Washington stand by and do absolutely NOTHING is beyond me. Are our elected officials all just so concerned with their own little fiefdoms that they could care less about America? We have a 17 trillion dollar debt, a military crippled by fiscal neglect, an explosive entitlement class, rotting moral fiber and redundant public works projects. We are slowly, but surely, marching into choice between a dictatorial remedy, or extinction.As Margaret Thatcher said so well, "Eventually, you run out of other people's money." At that point, we will have the revolution, just like Greece, and since there will be no country to bail us out of our debt, we will implode and the rabble will elect the first populist that promises them everything or who promises them the most. I am starting to think that the only thing that will save us at this point, besides direct divine intervention, is a virus to thin out the herd.

Balancing Islam, predjudice, and acceptance.

2013-04-20T07:15:00.002-07:00

A real and admitted Jihadist from Twitter.

       I have seriously wrestled with the issue of Islam and the Muslim religion for a VERY long time. I have prayed over it. I worked closely with the Mosque in Cincinnati when a mortician as we had the contract to serve as the de facto funeral home for the mosque. I personally coordinated the international shipment of the remains of the person for whom the Mosque is named.   I know many peace-loving Muslims, including fellow students with whom I went to law school, and some of these young ladies I would trust to babysit my kids.   I am not some closed minded racist parochial hick that has not been regularly exposed to this culture.

    I left the religion that I was baptized into and followed most of my life. For example, I used to be a very active Methodist. The church started actively advocating pro-choice stances, and the church started advocating the Homosexual agenda. The membership campaign, "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" was specifically geared at bringing in the "diversity" elements of society, e.g. read LGBT crowds. At the same time, the Church was taking stances on everything from nuclear power to the ways I could work with the developmentally disabled population I served for 15 plus years.   Almost every position taken by the church was not only in opposition to what I believed, but what I was raised to believe in opposition to the scripture. So, I decided I did not want my money, prayers or presence to support that church and decided to go church shopping. This was not an easy decision. My sister-in-law is a Methodist Minister and baptized two of my children and all three of my children were baptized in the Methodist Church. I attended the membership classes with Julia and was standing beside her when she was baptized in the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church in Cincinnati. My late uncle was a Methodist Minister. My mother was more than once selected as a delegate representing our church to the conference where policy decisions were made.   I personally served as the Chairman of the Hyde Park's Social Justice Committee and we had a larger budget than many charitable foundations. All that said, I simply could not abide where I saw the church going in terms of its stances on very important moral issues. These issues PALE in comparison to the actions taken by radicalized elements of Islam. No Methodist is murdering, bombing, raping or maiming others. No Methodist is persecuting another religion or exacting a tax for not believing in the Church. No Methodist is blowing up Churches or killing little girls on the way to school. I also know from my own personal experience that if my religion was taking such evil steps as the one taken by the Muslims, I would turn tail and leave it as fast as my feet would take me.    So, why aren’t all my smart, intelligent, and peace-loving friends?

    Why aren’t all the Muslims who say they are peace loving screaming for reform of their religion? I do not understand why they are not forming reformed mosques. I do not understand why my peace-loving Muslim friends are not distancing themselves from the violent and misogynistic passages in the Koran and writing new interpretations which discount the violence contained therein as not pertinent in today's society.

       You know, on Monday I was accusing radical Jihadists of the attack in Boston. I went on to quote SCOTUS cases that are still good law that justified deporting entire groups who had alienated themselves from US culture and presented a threat. I got unfriended by at least one person, called numerous names, and told to go where it is very warm. (Not Florida).

      Well, guess what? We find out the terrorists are indeed radicalized Jihadists and had already enjoyed the benefits of living in the US for 10 plus years and one was reportedly a second year medical student.

      What does this say? Well, I think it says we are dealing with an ideology like no other that we have encountered in human history and its direct indoctrination of its adherents is an anathema to those principles that we hold dear.

      I fear that the time is coming when we must approach that ideology on the whole and unfortunately separate apart from us all those who choose it over the blessings granted to us as a nation. I personally believe that due to all the violent and misogynistic passages and history of the religion that the spread of Islam can only come from the traditions of Jihad and Taqiyya, i.e. violent intimidation and duplicitous lying. If this last week's actions do not convince you of this, and if that poor little boy's broken body does not tell you what this group is capable of doing, then nothing I say or write will open your eyes. You or your children will die in ignorance and regret.

Devaluing Marriage and the Rise of Homosexual Legitimacy

2013-03-26T15:45:00.002-07:00

The socially conservative folks of this country have no one to blame but themselves for the fact that the Supreme Court has heard two cases in the last two days that could redefine the meaning of marriage. We are the ones who allowed ourselves to be drug along down that slippery slope in the late sixties and early seventies when the morally relevant said , "If a man and woman want to get a divorce, whose business is it but theirs?" We are the ones who allowed themselves to be drug along during the "sexual revolution" when the morally relevant said if a man and woman want to have sex outside of marriage, whose business is it but theirs?" (Regardless of the consequences) When the inevitable happened and these couplings outside of marriage produced issue, we allowed ourselves to be drug along when the morally relevant said, "If a woman wants to raise a baby alone or have it sucked out of her womb, whose business is it but theirs" Each step devalued the meaning of marriage, the meaning of what it is to be a parent, and what it means to be part of an intact family.

What happened at the end of moral relativity luge ride? We have kids killing each other in the streets. We have at least two generations of children born into poverty, dependency, homelessness, addiction, violence and hunger. We have a lower rate of education than almost any industrialized nation by comparison and our inner city schools are failing so badly that the federal, state and local governments cannot throw money fast enough at any promised cure. Actually, for every societal ill we have faced in the last 60 years, concomittant with the luge ride, there has been an outcry for a governmental solution or program, The unintended consequences of these programs ultimately fulfills and ensures a cycle of dependency, entitlement and proliferation of the family disintegration.

Should we ask a child born to give up a mother or ask them to give up a father? By allowing sex out of wedlock, by default we are tacitly approving of this. I do not blame homosexuals for saying they should be entitled to get married. If it is no one's business of the relationships that lead to societal problems, why shouldn't the homosexuals be able to join in the cabal? Just like the US dollar has become devalued, so has marriage. We create both without regard to foundational collateral. The dollar has no proportional capital supporting it and couples enter into marriage without proportional commitment supporting the institution. If we devalue sex as a physical act only without any constraints of responsibility for potential outcomes i.e. pregnancy, then we have also devalued parenting and procreation. If we say men or women per se are superfluous to the parenting equation, and tacitly agree that a child can be raised equally well by any combination of adults or lack thereof, we have devalued the meaning of parenting. Why then, if one man or one woman can raise a child as well as a couple, why shouldn't two men or two women be given the same opportunity?

Study after study has shown that poverty rates are decreased between married couples. Education is increased for children from two parent families. Overall society is benefited by marriage. For thousands of years, marriage has been a recognition of society's need for an institution that provides for a stable family unit. I frankly do not care if I sound like a homophobe or not at this point. I get called names all the time about my conservative positions, so adding homophobe to the list of ad hominem attacks is just par for the course. As a child of a traditional family and as a parent of one, and having seen both the problems caused by single parent families, and the instability that is a known statistic amongst homosexual couples, I cannot imagine them for the most part being able to adequately raise a child and provide the guidance they need into adulthood. Children need both sexed parents so they can properly observe and imitate their own sex and roles as well as relate to the other sex We devalued the institution of marriage as much as the US Dollar.

The only acceptable reasons for divorce are Abuse, un-repentent Addiction, and Adultery. If people viewed the seriousness and necessity of raising a child in a stable environment; and actually took marriage for the institution with all the gravity and responsibility attached that comes with it, we would not even be in this mess. I frankly could not give a flying fig what people do behind closed doors or what they stick in each other's orifices. If two people are engaging in Heterosexual sex, they darn well better make sure if they are doing it outside the confines marriage that they are prepared and willing to take responsibility for the consequences. If two people are engaging in homosexual sex, don't expect any of the benefits that come along with creating and caring for a life within the purview of a what should be a stable married couple.

Fixing Society Through Good Parenting

2012-11-13T06:51:00.001-08:00

I am not bragging, but we eat two meals together during the week and three on the weekends. We pray together and almost never miss church unless sick. Chas read the complete bible this last summer and he is only 10. The boys help me out with chores and Maya and Julia frequently do things together as well. We try to do at least a couple of family activities a week like going on hikes, etc. as the weather permits. The reason I am telling you all this is because I think the LEADING cause of problems in this nation is not politics in D.C., the recession, or the state of our education system.

The major problem facing our country is the disconnect in families. Dr. Laura Schelessinger wrote at length about "Parenting by Proxy." That is just the tip of the iceberg when you consider the number of parents who are in prison, drug dependent, or just out of the picture altogether. The Johnson Administration decimated the traditional family when he gave preference to single mothers over intact families regarding entitlements.

Lax drug enforcement laws and a poor education system in many inner city schools lead the way to further poverty and a growing underclass. Chronic unemployment and government programs that encourage dependence destroy initiative and ego. Targeted advertising and promotion of high powered alcohol and high nicotine cigarettes along with urban carryout stores with a paucity of fresh vegetables and fruits leads to chronic obesity, poor mental health and long term disease such as diabetes and heart problems and COPD. People feel like they have no self worth. Simple Work confers dignity. But all these problems at the core go hand in glove with poor parenting and it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.

The solution is for parents to spend quality child centered time with their kids and do it every day. Julia does homework with the kids every day. She plays with the kids. I do lots of fun things with them on the weekends and we do chores together around the house. Chores develop both good work habits and interaction. Finally, parents need to pray with their children and conduct their own lives as a model for how they want their children to behave. If you want your children to be just, be fair with them. If you want them to be honest, don't lie yourself. If you objectify the opposite sex, do not expect your child to grow up treasuring their spouse. Live by example. Pray to G-d every day for guidance and thank G-d every day for the opportunity to be a parent because it is the single most rewarding and important job in the world.

Miracles are where you see them. Here is one I thought I would share with you.

2012-11-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

To my fellow believing friends:

You know, every time I am at my depths of it, G-d seems to come through. Friday, Maya was sick. She had to skip school due to a sore throat. Saturday, she still had a sore throat and was running a fever. I knew we had to go to the Doctor and that they had Saturday morning hours. We were flat broke. I mean FLAT broke. I did not even know how we were going to come up with the $15 dollar deductible for the office visit. I get into the car that Julia usually drives back and forth to work, and see she is down to a quarter tank of gas. I am thinking, "Julia does not get paid until Friday, how the heck is she going to make it back and forth this week and now we have to somehow come up with money for gas and doctor visit and whatever medication the doctor would prescribe?."   I am literally driving to the bank with one hand on the wheel and one hand holding up my head and holding back tears of stress and angst in front of the kids.

I am praying and asking G-d for help all the way to the bank. I am telling him I am desperate and do not know what to do. I am beside myself with angst and worry.

I had a check from a legal job and a couple of checks that my sister signed to the kids for the magazine drive. She did not want the magazines, but wanted to make a donation to the school and she told me that she wrote the checks to the kids and that I should just deposit them and when they cleared donate the money to the school The total amount was enough to cover the visit, the meds, and the gas and get a few needed groceries. I had called my sister and asked her if I could use the checks as "float" until next Friday. She of course said yes. These checks were two party checks. Now, the other check was from a job I had from a lawyer in the Philippines and the check did not look at all like the typical American Check. We had less than two bucks in our checking account as reserve to cover the checks until they cleared.

The bank NEVER would cash these checks under typical circumstances. The teller asked me what I would like to do with them, and I said, "Well, I would like to cash them, but I know you won't do that, so I guess I will have to deposit them and wait until they clear." She said, "Well I will cash them, otherwise you would be waiting until at least Tuesday before you had access to the money." I said, "I thought you never did that." She said, "Well we consider a lot of factors." (They have never considered these, "factors" before and I do not know what they are but I hope she does not get in any trouble.)

So. I take Maya to the Doctor. Of course she has Strep Throat and we need to get antibiotics. So we go to the pharmacy and we get them. I had two prescriptions that I absolutely had to fill for myself. So, I get all three filled. The pharmacist assistant says, "The antibiotic is free. You also get a $25 dollar coupon for transferring a prescription here that you had filled a a previous pharmacy. You can use that discount for groceries." So all the needed groceries we really had to buy while we were waiting for the prescriptions to get filled cost us all of three dollars. I was even able to buy a small treat for Julia, and the kids. I still had enough money to get gas in Julia's car. I go to the gas station there at Kroger and got a forty cent per gallon discount since I fill prescriptions at Kroger and was able to fill the tank.

At the end of the day, I still had enough money to pay for my own doctor appointment on Monday. So I will be able to go to that.

Now,I know all this can be explained rationally, but I also am firmly convinced miracles are where we see them and find them through faith. I started off the morning with a sick kid, no money and barely enough gas to get to the bank. I ended the day with enough gas to get Julia back and forth to work for the week, groceries, and enough money to pay the doctors and meds. G-d is good, all the time. I relayed this story to Julia and the kids. Julia was just as shocked that the bank would cash the checks and was even more shocked that we got the $25 dollar coupon unexpectedly from Kroger. The kids did not realize how stressed out I was, but they certainly got a lesson in the power of prayer.

Just thought I would share this with you. You know, I told G-d if I made it through Law School and got a job before we went bankrupt that I would put a large Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue in our front yard out of witness to our faith and thanksgiving. (This was not a bribe, I know you cannot ever bribe G-d, but I wanted him to know how grateful I would be when this happened.)    Thanks to the shifting political winds we have lost our entire stock portfolio, and despite my not having been able to find a job yet, and despite being on the verge of bankruptcy due to massive student loan debt, we have never missed a house payment, and the kids have been able to stay at Holy Trinity School and they have never wanted for clothing or food. We have never been unable to get enough gas to get Julia to work and while our transportation has a combined age of most college graduates, and even with a car getting totaled a year ago, we have always had transportation for our family. I fully expect and believe that I will be putting up that Statute by this Summer and I am inviting you now to come to the house for its blessing.

Take care. As a fellow Christian I hope you enjoyed this anecdote.

The People Spoke, and it was Blather.

2012-11-07T07:40:00.001-08:00

Well, I got up yesterday and stood out on my feet for 13 hours in 20-28 degree weather and wind handing out Election Slate Cards and talking to voters. I was so tired last night when I got home that I could not even stay up to watch the rest of the election results and went to bed not knowing who won.

For those who read Ayn Rand, it is time to shrug. Save up, invest over seas, and leave. The have nots stole the election last night just like they steal everything else The minions of Satan will continue down the road of death. Evil whisperers spoke into uninformed ears and the willfully ignorant listened. You simply cannot remove the scales of the blind if they insist on covering their eyes with their hands.

The entitlement class won last night. The producers and the tax payers lost. We need a leader to stand up and call for secession and the Conservative States of America. We need a leader to stand up and say, "If you want hand outs move to locations who voted for them and leave the producers alone to enjoy the fruits of their labor." The entitlement class is prepared at gunpoint under the guise of the IRS to steal directly from your pocket.

Everyone is dissecting the race and hoping to find out what the tea leaves all mean. It is simple- 1) You cannot run a campaign based on jobs when people don't want to work. 2) You cannot run a campaign of substance in a country that would rather watch the View and Letterman for their news source than pick up a newspaper, book or actually investigate a record. 3) You cannot run a campaign based on values when you have a country that cares more about being non-judgmental and morally relative than it does about having conviction of heart. 4) You cannot run a campaign based upon self-reliance in a country where Americans believe the government is responsible for your welfare. These are the lessons of the campaign and they are that simple and that pathetic.

As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.

Without a doubt, collectively America is on the path to Greece, default, and bankruptcy at the hands of spendthrifts and Chinese Creditors. The only way for individual Americans to avoid the path to Greece now is to start investing in accounts untouchable by the feds and start looking at property which is unreachable by the socialists in charge of the Checkbook in Washington.

This country is finished. In a democratic process where the right to vote is extended equally to felons, the dependent and the slothful as it is to those producing for the economy and common good, the process itself is doomed to fail. Stock Futures are down, and rightfully so. We are on a fiscal cliff and every Obama Voter just helped pushed the country over the edge. I hope you are happy.

Don't complain to me when you are living in the streets. Don't complain to me when you cannot afford to get to work or fill your tank. Don't complain to me when you are denied medical care. Don't complain because you cannot pray in the public square or your church is forced to stop services because of its convictions of conscience. Don't complain to me when the government tries to tax your guns and bullets out of existence. Don't complain to me when your boss lays you off because of increased government regulations. Don't complain to me when your agency gets cut because the chickens come home to roost and there simply is no more tax dollars to steal to fund it.

I hope the President FAILS. I hopes his Policies FAIL. I hope we have gridlock in Congress the next four years in Washington. I hope that we have Benghazi-gate, that we appoint special counsel to investigate the green company investments and operation fast and furious. I hope that Obama is so bogged down with every battle over the decisions he made the last four years that he prays to his god for deliverance from his office. I do not unite with Romney in hoping the best for our President. His values, his policies and his morals and his positions are a total anathema.

I pray for G-d to forgive us for our failings. He cannot, however, spare us from the decisions we make of our own free will. That is on us, and now it is on the heads of our children. Collectively, last night this country took one more step down the path of good intentions that ultimately leads to the gates of hell.

Democrats vs. Republicans, Obama vs. Romney

2012-10-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

What are the Differences

Oakland's Occupy Movement

Republicans might throw mud in campaigns, just like the liberals, but they do not react the same way as Democrats when they lose or when they get the short end of the stick. All you have to do is compare the Washington Mall after the Tea Party Rally, which had over a Million people and either any Occupy Movement Site, (professed environmentalists by the way) who defecated or masturbated publically.

The Teachers trashing the Wisconsin Capital.

Notice the cleanliness of a miilion tea partiers?

All the TEA Party members before the rally.

Furthermore, Republicans, in deference to law enforcement despite violation of their Second Amendment rights, turned over their guns in New Orleans after Katrina hit. This was at the same time when Armed National Guard had to go into the Ninth Ward to stop the random gunfire. Those are just two examples hat come to mind, Hopefully, you understand. Precincts controlled by Democrats have a MUCH higher crime rate. That is a statistical fact.

Thomas Sowell speaks out about expected Race Riots if Obama Loses the Election.

Please, if you care at all about this Country I am begging you to vote for Romney this election.

Doubled Debt, Triple Gas Prices, Printing Money to buy our own bonds with interest.

A rally of unemployed workers.

We have a doubled National Debt in the last four years, and if you include those no longer able to report their unemployment due to them exhausting their benefits, the Unemployment Rate is actually around 17%.

Nuclear Bomb Schematic

Furthermore, our foreign relations and status in the World Political stage has so weakened during the last four years that Al-Qaeda has rebuilt five training camps in Western Iraq. Iran has the bomb. North Korea has Missiles capable of hitting the US. Obama has done NOTHING to stop China's sales of weapons to North Korea.

This is a Chinese Missile Launcher in North Korea.

Finally, we are looking at three SCOTUS appointments in the next four years. Obama, as a state legislator opposed a bill that would protect babies born alive after failed abortions. HE WANTED DOCTORS TO JUST LET THE BABIES DIE. If he puts three more justices on the Supreme Court, you can bet that Obamacare with its death panel and its forced taxpayer funded abortions and abortifacients will stay on the books. Obama's SCOTUS will severely cut or constrict our Second Amendment rights and Obama will have nothing holding him back since he is ineligible for a third term.

A Baby. Not a Clump of Cells.

I am only devoting this much time explaining my positions on these matters because I know there are reasonable and smart people who may, for whatever reason, still be considering voting for Obama. There are folks out there who are entirely capable of making a decision based on the facts.

If you agree, and want to share this, please do because we need to reach as many people as possible before this watershed election. If you have any questions or wish to disagree with any of the points I have raised here, I encourage you to contact me at charlesmsaunders@hotmail.com and I will be more than happy to provide citations for every fact I asserted.

If you have gotten this far and read to the end of my rant, I thank you for your time. If you did not get this far because you refused to look at the truth, then you will never know that you are willfully ignorant to your very core.

CITATIONS and SOURCES

"But already, there have been questions about the National Guard being heavily deployed in Iraq when there's looting and gunfire in New Orleans, " Page 2 of 3, Page 2: Katrina's Aftermath Could Bring Political Storms - ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/HurricaneKatrina/katrinas-aftermath-bring-political-storms/story?id=1087910&page=2#.UHuBWlHYwkU (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).

"The historic jazz city became a playground for armed looters, and sporadic gunfire hampered chaotic and widely criticized rescue efforts." Bodies, gunfire and chaos in New Orleans' streets - General News - redOrbit, http://www.redorbit.com/news/general/227788/bodies_gunfire_and_chaos_in_new_orleans_streets/ (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).

"'New Orleans is the bluest area of the red state,' Maginnis said. 'If you had an election tomorrow, you wouldn't have many people even able to vote in New Orleans.' " Page 3 of 3, Page 3: Katrina's Aftermath Could Bring Political Storms - ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/HurricaneKatrina/katrinas-aftermath-bring-political-storms/story?id=1087910&page=3#.UHuCFVHYwkU (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).

"The Chosunilbo of South Korea is also reporting that a Chinese company that specializes in this type of mobile launcher exported eight of them between 2010 and 2011. South Korean government sources speculated that the vehicle spotted on Sunday “was probably imported from China.”" Shanghaiist in News on April 17, 2012 2:30 PM, China-exported missile launcher spotted in Pyongyang: Shanghaiist, http://shanghaiist.com/2012/04/17/china-exported_missile_launcher_spo.php (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).

"'If Romney wins I'm Starting a Riot (sic),' wrote 'Facey,' who asked, 'Who's WIT ME? (sic)' 'I Hope The USA Is Well Aware That If In The Event This Character Romney Wins The Election, The People Will Start A Country Wide Riot (sic),' tweeted 'John Kramer.' 'I Heard Mitt Romney , Tryna Take Away Food Stamps , If He Do .IMA START A RIOT , IMA START A RIOT (sic),' added 'Tommy Pickles.' 'If Romney wins ima start a riot ima start a riot (sic),' said 'Scorpio King.'" Obama supporters on Twitter threaten to riot if Romney wins election - Spokane Conservative | Examiner.com, http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-supporters-on-twitter-threaten-to-riot-if-romney-wins-election (last visited Oct. 14, 2012).

"At a two-hour meeting Thursday night, some neighbors said protesters urinated in the streets and beat drums in the middle of the night. 'They're defecating on our doorsteps,' said Catherine Hughes, a member of the area's community board, a representative panel that helps funnel local concerns to city officials." Protesters urinating in the streets and defecating on our doorsteps, http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2837357-Protesters-urinating-in-the-streets-and-defecating-on-our-doorsteps (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

"At a two-hour meeting Thursday night, some neighbors said protesters urinated in the streets and beat drums in the middle of the night. 'They're defecating on our doorsteps,' said Catherine Hughes, a member of the area's community board, a representative panel that helps funnel local concerns to city officials." Protesters urinating in the streets and defecating on our doorsteps, http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2837357-Protesters-urinating-in-the-streets-and-defecating-on-our-doorsteps (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

" Is there no bottom to the moral pit at #occupy events? An LA Occupier sets a new low bar." Left-Wing Institute For Civil Discourse, http://moonbattracker.com/wordpress/?p=3611 (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

"A Chinese firm that intelligence agencies believe provided North Korea with the body of an off-road transport vehicle used to carry missiles appears to have a press release on its website that boasts about the sale, U.N. diplomats told Reuters" Louis Charbonneau, Exclusive: China firm boasts about missile-linked North Korea sale: envoys | Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-korea-north-china-idUSBRE83N05S20120424 (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

"Iranian military writings describe making a catastrophic nuclear EMP attack to eliminate the United States as an actor on the world stage. Iran has practiced launching missiles to simulate an EMP attack, including from a vessel at sea." Peter Vincent Pry-The Washington Times, PRY: If Iran already has the bomb, what then? - Washington Times, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/15/if-iran-already-has-the-bomb-what-then/?page=all (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

"During his time in the Illinois Senate, Obama voted against the Born Alive Act, a bill that requires doctors to give care to babies who survive abortions. " Listen: Barack Obama Calls Newborn Baby a "Fetus Outside of the Womb" - Katie Pavlich, http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/08/24/listen_barack_obama_calls_newborn_baby_a_fetus_outside_of_the_womb (last visited Oct. 15, 2012).

Fixing Our Education System Using Common Sense and the Market

2012-09-13T10:20:00.001-07:00

Fixing Education in the United States: A Five Step Approach.

Step one: Evaluate all children using an unbiased third party and assign them a combined score based upon teach-ability, behavior, and intelligence. This score will enable parents with more difficult students due to disability to receive a larger voucher, and if a student shows promise in a given area such as mathematics or science, the parent can receive a larger voucher for this as well. Of course, some kind of due process will have to be included in this assessment so parents can either ask for retesting or appeal their child's score based upon other equally accurate criteria.

Step two: Give every child a waiver that approximates as closely as possible the total expenditures of the state per pupil. The amount paid will reflect the total amount that the taxpayers shell out for their yearly education currently.

Step three: We independently license teachers to be service providers similar to engineers, lawyers, and doctors. States set up the education requirements for a teaching license so that anyone who can pass the licensing exam and has a degree in the appropriate area can teach. That way, chemists can teach chemistry part time, engineers can teach math, etc. and many professionals can give back to the community.

Step four: Establish a tier based quota on the total number of students a teacher can accept based on the criteria reached in # 1 and require teaching assistants if that number is exceeded. That way an excellent teacher who works with very difficult students with autism will earn as much as a teacher of 25 students who have typical learning capacity. If students are behaviorally challenging due to disability, then their vouchers conceivably can be large enough to pay for an aide for the teacher so long as the student's teach-ability sub-score is equally high. Teachers who specialize in difficult subject areas will get more money as well because the students doing well in more challenging fields will receive a larger voucher.

Step five: Award an annual grade to each teacher based upon objective test criteria or measurable metrics met, as well as parent satisfaction and publish this number. This will be analogous to scores given to restaurants for following health regulations. Teachers will have the opportunity to use a due process step at their own expense to either appeal their score or introduce independent objective criteria justifying a higher grade.

Teachers will be true independent professionals. In this scenario, teachers can rent church basements, use old storefronts or anything else for space. They can buy all their own equipment or share it as doctor's associations do. If Teachers directly received the $9,000.00 plus dollars, the average state expends educating a student then they will easily be able to earn $100-200K per year. The only real restraint on this will be their individual performance. The market will rule.

Parents can also contain costs or earn money. If parents wanted their kids in extracurricular activities, they can ether join leagues similar to Pop Warner or other clubs and pay for it out of their own pocket. If a parent becomes licensed, and teaches their own kids, then they can get the reimbursement /waiver directly. Parents can still home school, but they will have to be licensed educators to receive reimbursement.

This is a win-win plan. Imagine a world without capital expenditures for huge schools, teacher's unions, and administration heavy budgets. Teachers will earn wages similar to other professionals and if they are good, they will earn both parent and student respect. (Many have that now, but it will inherently increase due to the close relationship the teachers will form with their students.) The best part is that Students will be the real winners, because teachers will share equal interest in their success. Students will have the status of clients and teachers will treat them as such. Teachers will have the status of real professionals. Parents and students will fight to get the best ones.

Teacher's Unions, Baby Murder, and The Left .

2011-08-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

I engaged a friend of mine in a recent discussion concerning vandalism of an inner city school when Governor Scott Walker was coming to visit. This thread eventually turned into a discussion of teacher's unions, and the left in general. I decided to post my final reply here. My friend was pretty much arguing for abortion allowances for cases of rape and not using the correct evidentiary standard when establishing that the Radicalized Teacher's Unions may have been involved in the vandalism. Here is the post with the names deleted:

Regarding rape and abortion, or rather rape and pregnancy, if a person becomes a person at the time of conception, and if a person is a person the day before he or she is born, two days before he or she is born. a month before he or she is born, and a person back to the time he or she is born, that person, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, is no less a person than a person born full term. Period. Therefore, their rights to life are preeminent to the wishes of the mother, the father, or anyone else for that matter unless the mother's life is in danger.

As far as teacher pay and our failing education system is concerned, I have posted my solution to the education problem too numerous times to mention. We privatize education, give every kid a voucher, let the market rule. Teachers would get rich, schooling would improve, and education overall would reach unknown levels.

Teachers unionize because they work for a school system. If the system was privatized, they would work for themselves like doctors or lawyers. As it is, they are in radicalized unions, following socialist and secular humanist agendas and our children's curriculum has become a testimony to the morally relative. I have not seen one single positive contribution made by teacher's unions to the cause of education.

Finally, and more importantly, what started this thread was the vandalism at a Catholic Inner City School the day Scott Walker was visiting. Look at the facts- Scott Walker opposes collective bargaining. Teacher's unions HATE private schools. Scott Walker was visiting a private inner city school as a show case demonstrating how kids failing in public schools are flourishing in a private school. This is a very compelling motive to prevent or impede his entry. Motive is not cause and effect, and it is not beyond a reasonable doubt. Then again, signs point in ONE direction. For anyone else to choose to do this is illogical. Nobody else had the motive and it seems odd that teenage vandals or anyone else for that matter would have chosen to block or impede the Governor's entrance at that time.

Finally, as another person posting correctly indicates, Unions and the left are in the same boat when it comes to creating the nanny state and decimating the family unit and placing us all at the altar of the almighty government. If the Union can collectivize the source of capital, skim off the top, and then redistribute the crumbs, they are happy. If the left can collectivize all money, skim off the top in terms of government regulations, bureaucracy, control, and non-productive employment at agencies whose failing missions supposedly promote the common good, then they are happy, regardless whether or not people are miserable. It is all about who is in control, whose rights are preeminent, and whose life and liberty is threatened.

In short, I win, you lose and I wave my big fat fanny at you in disgusted self-satisfaction.

The Government Response.

2011-08-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Tragically, today an Earthquake struck our Nation's capital. High level officials are already evaluating whether or not the cause of the quake was Barney Frank's gas attack, Al Sharpton's incoherent ramblings or the jet exhaust from the cheaper jet that Nancy Pelosi must use now that she is no longer House Speaker. No one could reach NOAA, The US Geological Survey, Parks Service, and a cadre of other agencies could not be reached as they were deemed non-essential and sent home once the quake began.

From his underground shelter in Martha's Vineyard, the President was fast to blame the lack of infrastructure and investment in the economy as the root cause of the quake and said that if every coffee cup in the Nation's capital had shock absorbers like he insisted on at the beginning of his term that nothing would have gone wrong and paper all over the government would have remained stain free.

Vice-President Biden slept through the quake and upon waking and told about it shouted, Gorganzola! and then he fell back to sleep.

The White House press office has been abuzz since the incident. The White House is conferring with Harry Reid and House Democrats to see if the country should consider mandatory quake insurance for every man, woman, child, and pet. Further, a Cabinet level position will be created in addition to a Congressional Oversight Committee and a permanent agency to prevent quakes in the future.

Had Enough?

2011-05-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax (Fed)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal
Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage ChargeTax
Use Tax, (for out of state purchases)
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

A day in the Twilight Deliverance Zone

2011-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day, to say the least. If nothing else, by the end of the day, I was convinced, once again, that I would rather work with my mind instead of my back, given the alternative. Today I worked from 9-4 as a duct cleaner.

I found this job because the owner of the business posted his number on a highway. I called him yesterday and told him I could start today. I left a message initially, and he returned my call. He first asked my age, (illegal, by the way), and then if I had any back problems. (I had a triple lumbar fusion six years ago, but I was not about to tell any future employer that.) He called me again last night at 9:30 and wanted to know if I could work today and we agreed to meet at 9:00 a.m.

The day started with me arriving at the pre-designated area. The owner arrived 15 minutes late, and said he ran out of gas. Apparently, he carries five gallons, but he needed to stop for a fill up at the station. His truck’s gas gauge did not work. Neither did the driver’s side door, but he is very resourceful: he secures it with rubber utility straps. With a lurch and a downshift, the truck was off and we headed down the highway to the first cleaning.

The owner’s politics is something that would make Timothy McVeigh envious. He talked incessantly regarding the 13 Jewish Members of the Cabal controlling the Federal Reserve Bank, how they and the illuminati dated back to Patrick Henry and how the Jews did everything from arranging the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, to Huey Long and JFK. We have never been to the moon, 9/11 was all staged by the government, and the Pope has 666 on his Mitre, (he did not know the word). Jesus was not a Jew, and the Jew’s were primarily responsible for communism in Russia and the pogroms visited upon them. He knew all about the Clinton’s 148 assassinations to gain power and how many FBI agents died as soon as they left the service. He felt that our current administration is part of G-d’s wrath and that we are reaping what we deserve.

We finally arrived at the client's home. The homeowner is a professional and an author. I had much more in common with the homeowner than I did with my “boss.” The boss was prattling on about the New World Order and the homeowner brought out three of his books. I scanned two of the chapters, and then asked a couple of pertinent questions regarding his theories. The boss decided he then needed the air hose, so I schlepped it inside.

We cleaned the ducts, and then I sat in the truck and ate my lunch while the boss got a check from the homeowner. The homeowner and I had exchanged emails already. The boss asked me if I knew anything about computers. I told him I had been putting them together since the 80-88s came out for the general market. He asked me that was and I explained that it was the first IBM based computer I started to explain that I got out of computer assembly once you had to start changing jumper settings on the mother boards. His eyes glazed over so I just shut my mouth.

We went to the next house and the boss said he was going to try and "sell" this job. He came out 15 minutes later and told me it was a “no sale,” and that the bible says that “all men are liars.” We drove around the city trying to get his shoes from the cobbler, (closed), and to his daughter to get something else, (could not find her new home), and finally to the post office, where he had mail from David Duke’s group, (seriously), waiting for him. All through our drive, he told me about his one son, who is a preacher and sells supplements at a 50% profit, a daughter, who has mental and substance abuse problems, his first marriage to an alcoholic and his second marriage which ended in divorce 9 months later. All the while, we would pass various geographic locations and he would tell me how he had bid on this location or that one for a business and they all fell through. Based upon the condition of his truck, and his ancient equipment, my guess was that his business acumen did not match his hyperbole.

Based on his misogynistic comments, I do not think he was much of a success with the ladies, either. The boss did tell me about one extra-marital conquest: apparently his brother in-law had “incested” sic his wife and so as payback after his wife had died from alcoholism he slept with his brother-in-law’s wife. We saw two girls who looked at the most to be 19 walking down the street. The Boss made a comment, and I said that I thought they looked a little young to me. He grumbled something half under his breath.

I felt like soon I would be asked to squeal like a pig or that Jerry Springer would jump out from the back of the truck’s cab and ask my opinion on the day. By this point, it was 4:00 p.m. and we had arrived back where we started. He said I should call him in a couple of days because he would have more work. He talked about his various plans for the summer and I could tell his plans had me in mind. I could tell he seemed pleased at the thought of having a full time lackey at his disposal. He opened up his wallet and handed me a twenty and a five. I saw another twenty in his wallet, but he said he needed to wait until he got some change and that he would have to “owe” me.

So, for all that, I got twenty-five smackers. I am sure I spent a gallon of gas getting there and back and I bought two energy drinks at the carry out when the boss stopped to buy himself some pizza. So, I probably netted 21 dollars for seven hour’s work.

Now, this guy is a small businessman who takes risks every day and tries to make a buck. I doubt if he reports any of his income. His dream presidential ticket is Ron Paul and Jesse Ventura. I listened to him field several more calls during the day and each time he asked the person’s age. I politely told him that this was illegal, and he said, “That is man’s law, not G-d’s law.” All in all, he is an old man, with no close relationships, and he struggles out an existence all while loathing society. I am pretty sure if I had bothered to scratch the surface, he would certainly blame his own personal woes on either the papacy, the 13 Jewish families of the Illuminati and the influences of the “Clintoneastas” or the “Bush Crime Family.” He proved two things to me today: 1) time wounds all heels; 2) I had better buckle down like never before and study for that bar, because I do not want to repeat a day like this anytime soon.

Think I should call him again?

Adversity and Walking the Talk

2011-04-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him, our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33 21-22

I am pretty angry and sad right now. I just found out this morning that I flunked the Bar for a second time. I thought I had studied hard enough, I thought I knew the material well enough, but apparently, I do not. I remember one Professor from law school telling me that I really did not need to worry about the bar because it is a test of minimum competency. (Boy, do those words ring in my head now.)

When I was clerking up at court, there was another person I knew who had failed the bar twice. Three different people, whose opinions I respect, each said, independent of each other, “Not everyone is cut out for the law.” They were not being mean, and they each said it with a hint of sadness in their voice, because they knew this person as well.

Jesus said that even the heathen love their friends. As devastating as this blow is, as a Christian, am I not like those who have no faith if I allow myself to fall into despair? Even at the depth of his own human suffering, Christ was asking his father in heaven to forgive his persecutors, rather than wallowing in his pain and become the real victim of his tormentors.

If we are following G-d’s plan, then he can take any setbacks we encounter and use them for good. Whether we know the reason or not, if we keep the faith, then G-d, through the Holy Spirit, can bring good out of it through either the situation or us. It is only our job to keep the faith. A worker ant never sees the outside of the mound, and during this lifetime, we will never fully know the mosaic that is a seemingly chaotic existence. If we are still and know that G-d is in charge, then what more can we ask for in our lives? Fair is the place where you go get cotton candy and no one promised us an easy ride. G-d puts on us no more than we can bear. His yoke is light and if I pull the cart in the right direction, it will always lead to an eternal destination.

Therefore, I will take a deep breath, and bear witness to my faith. As a Christian, in the face of adversity, we walk the talk. I have a beautiful family, a wonderful and supportive wife, and we all have our health. I hope that I will find a job to tide us over until the next exam and we will keep our great home in the country. One thing is for sure: my kids will at least know that when a Saunders gets a kick in the teeth, he or she sets her jaw, gets back up, and gets back into the fight. Like my father always said, “Anything worth having is worth the work and if it was easy, everyone would do it.”

Balancing Agendas and Keeping the Faith.

2011-04-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

From Rasmussen, on the top 10 key issues, Americans think Democrats do a better job of handling those issues rather than Republicans. Sixty percent of Americans know someone who has had an abortion. Of those identified as swing voters, sixty percent of those voters are pro-choice. What does this mean? Those individuals that actually elect the President are Pro-choice.

Despite these dismal numbers, the socially conservative pro-life wing of the Republican Party has made inroads, particularly regarding the primary process. Any candidate that wants to win the Iowa Caucus and South Carolina Primary, two of the earliest primary races had better be pro-life if they want to win.

How does this impact the choices of the average social conservative who wants to elect a pro-life president? It means that if we want to win the general election, and achieve anything more than a Pyrrhic primary victory, we have to swallow our bile and elect candidates who will attract swing voters and have a chance at winning the general election. Even if we are successful, and select the candidate that we think is the ideal social conservative in the primary, in the general election we will get beat like Nixon beat McGovern.

Examining recent legislative activity points indicates how weak Congress is when it confronts social issues. Every time, the GOP members in Congress willingly sell out pro-life positions in exchange for short term gains. One only has to look as far as Obamacare or the recent budget battle to see this in action. Our GOP members kept Washington open, funded Planned Parenthood and capitulated anent forcing a balanced budget for what amounts to one month of current government spending. Apparently, the House and Senate GOP members are more interested in getting along with their compatriots on the other side of the aisle than in protecting the rights of the unborn or balancing the budget and paying off the debt.

Where will our most important issues get solved? Well, we must turn to the Supreme Court since our Congress and its Milquetoast Membership so willingly reneges on the promises that sent them initially to the Capital. It is pretty much heresy to vote against a your party President's Supreme Court Nominations. That said, one must examine what kind of Supreme Court nominees a given President will select once in office.

Actions speak louder than rhetoric. If a particular candidate running for the primary nomination has traditionally been pro-life in his home state, and supported pro-life legislation, there is little reason to doubt that his or her nominations would not be pro-life, even if their election rhetoric appears for all intensive purposes to put any given social issue on the back burner.

If the social conservatives of the GOP want to remain relevant, then we must push for candidates that are electable in the general election, and ensure we remind them who was really behind the election when it comes time to make a Supreme Court nomination. That is the most effective way to return this Country back to its roots.

There is a growing and continual demographic shift ensuring a Democratic majority will into this century. Why would any reasonable and self-centered welfare recipient forgo entitlements or agree to have monthly payments reduced? They will always vote for those who ensure greater allotments. Further the election burden rests on the GOP persuading swing voters because they are naturally inclined to vote Democrat. If that means electing a candidate in the primary that at least appears to favor economic over social issues, so be it. I for one would rather take my chances on a GOP President that has traditionally been pro-life and talks centrist rather than any Democrat that traditionally has been a socialist, baby killing, coward in practice and talks as the most conservative centrist to get swing votes and blue dog Democrats. Anyone examining the current occupant of the White House can easily see the logic.

Washington's Latest Capitulation

2011-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

I had a picture of a drunken sailor here, but a retired senior naval officer found it offensive so I took it off of here. If any of you found it offensive or insensitive, I apologize. I mean that. Then again, I better never ever ever hear any jokes coming out of your mouths about morticians or lawyers. LOL Later- CMS

Amidst all the back slapping occurring in Washington D.C. and all the champagne bottles that are probably uncorked as we speak,a bloated elephant remains in the middle of the room; that being the 14.3 TRILLION DOLLAR DEBT.

All the chattering class, all the media, and all the politicians focus their attention on deficit reduction as though it is the ultimate goal. This is analogous to giving chemotherapy to a terminally afflicted patient to reduce an otherwise treatable tumor without actually removing it.

In 2009 our Gross Domestic Product was 14.12 dollars.

The Gross Domestic Product is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. (Source- World Bank) Simply put, it is all the clothing, food, shelter, transportation, and anything else of value, plus taxes placed on it by the government minus and money the government might contribute toward producing these things or services of value.

Now, what does all this mean? It means that all of the sudden we actually decided to do something about the National Debt, if we wanted to pay it off in only one year, every single Man, Woman, and Child would have to go without ANYTHING of value during that time. I do not know about you, but frankly, I like my heat, clothing and some oatmeal at breakfast. Further, I would prefer some clothing to wear, and if you ever saw me naked, you would prefer that as well. Since I do not own a rickshaw, Ben's bicycle cart that attaches on the back of my ten-speed would be the only way for the kids and I to get anywhere, not that I could spend any money or use anything of value once we arrived.

Even harder to contemplate is the fact those chugging water from the Potomac, and apparently fiscally drunk on its heady fumes, have created a 50 thousand dollar debt on behalf of every Man, Woman and Child in this country. Since Maya, Ben and Chas, my children, think their life is as rough as sandpaper whenever they have to do chores, (Ben's words, not mine), it is highly unlikely they would be able to help much when it comes to paying down their share of the debt. Further, there are a few people I know who are either in a nursing home or living at care facilities for the developmentally disabled. Unless Dickensian work houses come back in vogue, they will not be much help on repaying the debt, either. So what does this all mean? That if you take away all those who are living either off other taxpayers, or the government, that every taxpayer owes $129 THOUSAND DOLLARS to either the Chinese, Arabs or whoever else holds our treasury notes. (This is without accrued interest thrown in, either.) Source- U.S. Debt Clock.

How did we get in this position? Well, for one, many people feel they are entitled to government services that they did not get in the past. When I was a small child, I can remember when Food Stamps first came out that their use generated hushed whispers in the lines at the grocery store. Today we live in morally relative world where I am okay and you are okay. Judging anyone's spendthrift ways or sloth is tantamount to cultural blasphemy and sacrilege of the worst stripe. People no longer save for the things they need or postpone buying them. They use credit cards instead of savings accounts.

I would really love to have a new Chevy Aveo. I could go out and get it tomorrow on credit and the dealer would gladly let me sign a contract to buy it because he wants his commission. With interest, that car, which is one of the most quickly depreciating assets you can purchase, will cost me somewhere between $250-300 a month. Frankly, I do not have that much extra cash and a simple purchase like this could put us into bankruptcy.

Some people have an eighty dollar a month cable package. They spend eighty to ninety dollar a month cellular telephone contract on top of their land line. They also have a forty to sixty dollar a month internet connection. Perhaps they eat out two or three times a week. They most likely keep their homes at seventy-two degrees in the winter and sixty-eighty in the summer, which I have never understood. Finally many people buy brand name groceries at the store and pay retail prices for clothing. They are the consumer generation and the target of every Madison Avenue advertiser and easy credit rip-off ever designed. Then they wonder why they are going broke or bankrupt.

What does our own personal consumerism have to do with the national debt? Well, it is simply the banality of evil and the desensitization of spending money like drunken sailors.

(This, President Reagan said, is an insult to drunken sailors.) When someone goes belly up, we all pay. When you see someone at the grocery store using an EBT card, you are buying their groceries. When you know someone is working under the table and not paying taxes, they are making you work longer into the year so you can pay their share, too. When you see a new government housing complex going up or a new school being built, that is a brick or a board that you cannot use on your own house. Say it with me, there is no such thing as a free lunch. We spend money we do not have and we do not care if our government does the same thing. We are bleeding ourselves dry by a thousand tiny cuts and both our individual households and the federal government is at the brink of an abyss, and if we fall, there will be no climbing out of it.

I for one, am too old to learn Mandarin or Arabic. Do you think after 9/11 if we were not so in debt to the Saudis or so dependent upon them that we would have let every member of the Saud family leave this country without any investigation immediately, despite all our airports being closed and all our planes grounded? Our intelligence agencies had a bead on Usama Bin Laden less than a few hours after the collapse of the towers. We had him on his telephone implicating himself and his role in their collapse. He is still on the loose. In China, they slaughter their own dissenters in the public square, practice censorship and persecution of the religious, and force abortions daily upon mothers. Despite these practices, we still allow them to buy our T-Notes and we buy their value added products, frequently created with our own raw capital. Our fiscal addiction is killing us and the monkey on our back is pressuring us into accepting the unacceptable.

Now, what do we do about it? Well, for one, keep your own finances in check and do not live on a champagne budget if all you can afford is Wiedemann Beer. Do not make the rest of us bail you out for bad credit risks you take that lead to higher prices for us all. Second, write your U.S. Representative and your Senator. Tell them that the only acceptable budget is a balanced one. Ending deficit spending is only a small first step toward righting the our ship's fiscal course. Unless we start eliminating the debt, and turn our ship into the storm, a tsunami comprised of debt will drowned us in the history pages like so many other civilizations before us. It is time we throw the Chinese Speaking Arab monkey off our backs, once and for all.

In Honor of Constitution Day. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky v. Mercer County, Ky.

2010-09-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

United States Court of Appeals,
Sixth Circuit.
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF KENTUCKY; Bart McQueary, Plaintiffs-
Appellants,
v.
MERCER COUNTY, KENTUCKY; Charles H. McGinnis, in his official capacity as
Mercer County Judge Executive, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 03-5142.
Argued: April 27, 2004.
Decided and Filed: Dec. 20, 2005.

Background: County resident and civil liberties organization filed § 1983 action challenging constitutionality of display of Ten Commandments in county courthouse. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Karl S. Forester, J., granted summary judgment for defendants, 240 F.Supp.2d 623. Plaintiffs appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Suhrheinrich, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) predominant purpose of county's display was secular, and
(2) display did not have principal or primary effect of endorsing religion.

Affirmed.

Before: SUHRHEINRICH and BATCHELDER, Circuit Judges; RICE, District Judge. [FN*]

FN* The Honorable Walter H. Rice, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, sitting by designation.

SUHRHEINRICH, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which BATCHELDER, J., joined.

RICE, D.J., concurred in the result only.
*626 OPINION

SUHRHEINRICH, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiffs-Appellants American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and Bart McQueary (collectively, "the ACLU") appeal from the order of the district court granting Defendants-Appellees Mercer County, Kentucky and Charles H. McGinnis' (collectively, "Mercer County's" or "the County's") motion for summary judgment and dismissing the ACLU's claims. The ACLU seeks to enjoin the County from displaying an exhibit in its courthouse that includes a copy of the Ten Commandments. While this appeal was pending, the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in the case of ACLU v. McCreary County, 354 F.3d 438 (6th Cir.2003), cert. granted, 543 U.S. 924, 125 S.Ct. 310, 160 L.Ed.2d 221 (U.S. Oct. 12, 2004) (No. 03-1693), aff'd 545 U.S. 844, 125 S.Ct. 2722, 162 L.Ed.2d 729 (2005). Because the challenged display here is identical in all material respects to the third and final display in McCreary County, we held this appeal in abeyance pending Supreme Court review. Unlike McCreary County, we conclude that the Mercer County display lacks a religious purpose and further conclude that it does not endorse religion. Accordingly, we now AFFIRM.
I.
On October 9, 2001, Carroll Rousey, a Mercer County resident, requested permission to hang a display entitled "Foundations of American Law and Government" in the County Courthouse. The display was to include the Mayflower Compact; the Declaration of Independence; the Ten Commandments [FN1]; the Magna Carta (in two frames); the Star-Spangled Banner; the National Motto "In God We Trust" and the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution (one frame); the Bill of Rights; and Lady Justice.

FN1. The version at issue reads:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Exodus 20: 3--17

KING JAMES VERSION

After learning that the Kentucky General Assembly had recently passed a resolution authorizing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in displays of formative, historical documents on government property, the Mercer County Fiscal Court voted to allow Mr. Rousey to hang the display as described. Mr. Rousey paid for, framed, and hung the display on the courthouse walls himself.
Included in the display is a commentary page that contains an explanation for each of the nine items. The following is the explanation for the Ten Commandments:
The Ten Commandments have profoundly influenced the formation of Western legal thought and the formation of our country. That influence is *627 clearly seen in the Declaration of Independence, which declared that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Ten Commandments provide the moral background of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our legal tradition.
As the district court noted, "each frame in the display is the same size and no one item is displayed more prominently than the other." ACLU v. Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d 777, 779-80 (E.D.Ky.2002).
Shortly after Mr. Rousey erected the display, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, along with Bart McQueary, a member of the organization and a resident of Mercer County, brought suit on November 27, 2001 against Mercer County and Charles H. McGinnis, in his official capacity as Mercer County Judge Executive, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. In the suit, the ACLU alleged that, because the display included a version of the Ten Commandments, it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In support, the ACLU referenced a preliminary injunction issued against several other Kentucky counties for posting an identical display. See ACLU v. McCreary County, 145 F.Supp.2d 845 (E.D.Ky.2001). In its answer, Mercer County acknowledged its awareness of the injunctions.
Simultaneous with its suit, the ACLU sought preliminary injunction on the basis of the lower court's decision in McCreary County. Mercer County defended on the ground that McCreary County was distinguishable on the facts. The County also moved for summary judgment, in support of which it filed an affidavit of Judge-Executive McGinnis. In the affidavit, Judge McGinnis explained the County's decision, including Mr. Rousey's involvement and the Mercer County Fiscal Court's awareness of the Kentucky legislature's resolution authorizing such displays. He stated that the purpose for erecting the "Foundations" display was that "all of the documents, including the Ten Commandments, have played a role in the formation of our system of law and government.... [The] display is not intended [to], nor does it, endorse or promote religion. It simply acknowledges our history."
After a hearing, the district court denied the ACLU's motion for preliminary injunction, finding the ACLU had not proved a likelihood of success on the merits. Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 797. The district court applied the familiar three-prong test found in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971). [FN2] Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 781-82. As to the first prong, the court found Mercer County's stated secular purpose-recognition of the historical significance of the documents included in the display-was not a sham. Id. at 785. It also found that there was nothing in the legislative history indicating a religious purpose. Id. at 787. Thus, according to the district court, Mercer County had a secular purpose in erecting this display. Id. at 788.

FN2. The ACLU did not argue excessive governmental entanglement with

religion. The district court thus confined its analysis to the purpose and effect prongs. Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 782.

As for the endorsement test, the district court found that "[t]he context and affidavit of Judge McGinnis convey that the Commandments are part of the city's [sic] celebration of its cultural and historical roots and not a promotion of religious faith." Id. at 794. According to the district court, the reasonable person would not *628 view the display as an endorsement of religion. Id. Having concluded that the display survived the Lemon test, the court denied the ACLU's motion for preliminary injunction. At the same time, the district court denied Mercer County's motion for summary judgment without prejudice and granted the ACLU 120 days to conduct discovery on the issue of religious purpose. Id. at 798.
The discovery period lapsed without the ACLU's conducting or requesting any discovery. Mercer County subsequently refiled its motion for summary judgment. In its ruling on Mercer County's motion for summary judgment, the district court reincorporated the findings of fact and conclusions of law from its earlier opinion. ACLU v. Mercer County, 240 F.Supp.2d 623, 624 (E.D.Ky.2003). Because the ACLU failed to raise any genuine issue of material fact, the court granted the County's motion and dismissed the ACLU's claims with prejudice. Id. at 625-26.
The ACLU timely appealed to this Court. Following oral argument in this case, the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in McCreary County. 543 U.S. 924, 125 S.Ct. 310, 160 L.Ed.2d 221 (2004) (No. 03-1693). After McCreary County was decided, we invited both parties to submit supplemental briefs addressing that case and another case involving the constitutionality of the public display of the Ten Commandments, Van Orden v. Perry, 545U.S. 677, 125 S.Ct. 2854, 162 L.Ed.2d 607 (2005).
II.
A district court's grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Watkins v. City of Battle Creek, 273 F.3d 682, 685 (6th Cir.2001). Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). This Court must consider the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Siggers-El v. Barlow, 412 F.3d 693, 699 (6th Cir.2005).
III.
The First Amendment says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." U.S. Const. amend. I. Its dictates have been incorporated to the states and their subdivisions through the Fourteenth Amendment. Santa Fe Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290, 301, 120 S.Ct. 2266, 147 L.Ed.2d 295 (2000). The Establishment Clause represents one of our most cherished safeguards. It is also one of the most heavily litigated. See Karen T. White, The Court-Created Conflict of the First Amendment: Marginalizing Religion and Undermining the Law, 6 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 181, 182 (1994).
IV.
A.
In McCreary County, two Kentucky counties, McCreary and Pulaski Counties (collectively, "the Counties"), [FN3] originally posted standalone copies of the Ten Commandments in their respective courthouses. 125 S.Ct. at 2728. The McCreary County legislative body required that the display be placed in " 'a very high traffic *629 area.' " Id. (quoting ACLU v. McCreary County, 96 F.Supp.2d 679, 684 (E.D.Ky.2000)). Both of the displays were " 'readily visible' " and confronted " 'citizens who use the courthouse to conduct their civic business, to obtain or renew driver's licenses ..., to register cars, to pay local taxes, and to register to vote.' " Id. (quoting McCreary County, 96 F.Supp.2d at 684). The Pulaski County Judge-Executive presided over the ceremony to hang the display. Id. Accompanying him was the pastor of the Judge-Executive's church. Id. The Judge-Executive told "the story of an astronaut who became convinced 'there must be a divine God' after viewing the Earth from the moon." Id. The pastor "testified to the certainty of the existence of God," id. at 2738, and said that the display was "one of the greatest things the judge could have done to close out the millennium," id. at 2728 (internal quotation omitted).

FN3. A third defendant, the Harlan County (Kentucky) School Board, was involved in the litigation up to and including the appeal to this Court. See McCreary County, 354 F.3d at 440. After this Court affirmed the preliminary injunction, the Harlan County School Board decided to separately petition for writ of certiorari. McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2728 n. 1. That petition was denied. Harlan County v. ACLU, 545U.S. 1152, 125 S.Ct. 2988, 162 L.Ed.2d 910 (2005).

The ACLU of Kentucky brought suit against both counties for alleged violations of the Establishment Clause. Id. at 2729. After suit but before a ruling on the motion for injunction, both counties authorized second displays to replace the standalone displays. Id. In support of their measures, the counties stated the following in nearly identical resolutions:
"[T]he Ten Commandments are codified in Kentucky's civil and criminal laws"; ... the Kentucky House of Representatives ... in 1993 "voted unanimously ... to adjourn ... 'in remembrance and honor of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Ethics' "; ... the "County Judge and ... magistrates agree with the arguments set out by Judge [Roy] Moore" in defense of his "display [of] the Ten Commandments in his courtroom"; and ... the "Founding Father[s] [had an] explicit understanding of the duty of elected officials to publicly acknowledge God as the source of America's strength and direction." Def. Exh. 1, at 1-3, 6.
Id. (all alterations in original).
The counties then hung expanded displays that included not only copies of the Ten Commandments but also eight other documents in smaller frames, "each either having a religious theme or excerpted to highlight a religious element." Id. These documents were
the "endowed by their Creator" passage from the Declaration of Independence; the Preamble to the Constitution of Kentucky; the national motto, "In God We Trust"; a page from the Congressional Record of February 2, 1983, proclaiming the Year of the Bible and including a statement of the Ten Commandments; a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln designating April 30, 1863, a National Day of Prayer and Humiliation; an excerpt from President Lincoln's "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible," reading that "[t]he Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man"; a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan marking 1983 the Year of the Bible; and the Mayflower Compact.
Id. at 2729-30 (alteration in original).
The district court granted the motion for preliminary injunction and ordered the displays removed immediately. Id. at 2730. After changing counsel, both counties then erected a third exhibit entitled " 'The Foundations of American Law and Government Display.' " Id. at 2730-31. The resolution authorizing the second display was not repealed (at least not until after oral argument before the Supreme Court, id. at 2740 n. 19), and no new resolution was passed authorizing a third display, id. at 2739. Only after the ACLU sought to enjoin this third display did the counties articulate any secular purposes for the displays. See id. at 2731.
*630 The district court expanded the injunction to enjoin the posting of all three displays, finding "the assertion that the Counties' broader educational goals are secular 'crumble[s] ... upon examination of the history of this litigation.' " Id. (quoting ACLU v. McCreary County, 145 F.Supp.2d 845, 849 (E.D.Ky.2001)) (alteration in original). This Court affirmed. McCreary County, 354 F.3d at 462.
A divided Supreme Court affirmed the grant of preliminary injunction. [FN4] The majority noted initially that, among its cases, Lemon 's "secular purpose" inquiry has been "seldom dispositive" and, standing alone, it " 'may rarely be determinative.' " Id. at 2732 (quoting Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 75, 105 S.Ct. 2479, 86 L.Ed.2d 29 (1985) (O'Connor, J., concurring)). The majority stated that government violates the Establishment Clause when it "acts with the ostensible and predominant purpose of advancing religion," [FN5] id. at 2733, which is to be judged under an " 'objective observer' " standard, id. at 2734 (quoting Santa Fe, 530 U.S. at 308, 120 S.Ct. 2266 (O'Connor, J., concurring)). The objective observer is presumed to be aware of the " 'text, legislative history, and implementation' " of the state action. Id. (quoting Santa Fe, 530 U.S. at 308, 120 S.Ct. 2266 (O'Connor, J., concurring)). At the same time, the Court cautioned that a finding of impermissible purpose should be rare. See id. at 2735. Only "where an understanding of official objective emerges from readily discoverable fact" is judicial scrutiny warranted. Id. at 2734.

FN4. Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined. Justice O'Connor filed a concurring opinion. Justice Scalia filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Thomas joined, and in which Justice Kennedy joined in part.

FN5. The language of "predominant purpose" signaled a departure from the Court's earlier "secular purpose" inquiries. Id. at 2757 (Scalia, J., dissenting) ("[T]he [McCreary County majority] replaces Lemon 's requirement that the government have 'a secular ... purpose' with the

heightened requirement that the secular purpose 'predominate' over any purpose to advance religion." (quoting Lemon, 403 U.S. at 612, 91 S.Ct. 2105)).

Turning to the Counties' displays, the McCreary County majority first found the original standalone displays similar to the display held unconstitutional in Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39, 101 S.Ct. 192, 66 L.Ed.2d 199 (1980) (per curiam). McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2738. Like the display in Stone, there was nothing to indicate an objectively secular purpose. Id. The McCreary County majority emphasized that the displays "set out a text of the Commandments as distinct from any traditionally symbolic representation, and each stood alone, not part of an arguably secular display." Id. Moreover, Pulaski County had a pastor speak to the certainty of the existence of God at the dedication ceremony. Id. According to the majority, the reasonable person would thus conclude that the displays were religiously motivated. Id.
The Court found the second, expanded displays similarly problematic. The additional documents "highlighted references to God as their sole common element." Id. at 2739. The Court found "the display[s'] unstinting focus was on religious passages, showing that the Counties were posting the Commandments precisely because of their sectarian content." Id. The "extraordinary resolutions" authorizing these displays, id. at 2740, declared Jesus Christ the embodiment of ethics, id. at 2739. The Court concluded that these displays and resolutions "presented an indisputable, and undisputed, showing of an impermissible purpose." Id.
*631 The majority found the third displays, "Foundations of American Law and Government," also evidenced a religious purpose. The McCreary County Court emphasized that, when the new displays were posted, the prior resolutions were not repealed, and no new resolutions authorizing the displays were enacted. Id. at 2739. Rather, the Counties simply retained new attorneys. The majority found it worth noting that "[t]he Counties' claims did not ... persuade the [district] court, intimately familiar with the details of this litigation, or the Court of Appeals, neither of which found a legitimizing secular purpose in this third version of the display." Id. at 2740. The Court continued:
[The Counties'] new statements of purpose were presented only as a litigating position, there being no further authorizing action by the Counties' governing boards. And although repeal of the earlier county authorizations would not have erased them from the record of evidence bearing on current purpose, the extraordinary resolutions for the second display passed just months earlier were not repealed or otherwise repudiated. Indeed, the sectarian spirit of the common resolution found enhanced expression in the third display, which quoted more of the purely religious language of the Commandments than the first two displays had done. No reasonable observer could swallow the claim that the Counties had cast off the objective so unmistakable in the earlier display.
Id. at 2740 (footnotes and citations omitted). Finally, the Supreme Court questioned the Counties' selection of posted material. Id. In the context of this case, the reasonable observer could not separate the "Foundations" display from its sectarian history. The Court therefore held the preliminary injunction was "adequately supported by evidence that the Counties' purpose had not changed at the third stage." Id. at 2741.
B.
[1] Headnote Citing References Mercer County concedes that the display itself is identical in all material respects to the third and final displays found unconstitutional in McCreary County. The County nevertheless argues that its display is constitutional because, in contrast with McCreary County, the predominant purpose of the display in this case is secular. We agree.
Critical to the finding of sectarian purpose in McCreary County was the extended history: the original standalone copy of the Ten Commandments; a pastor's speaking to the existence of God at the hanging ceremony; a second, more distinctly religious display; and the "extraordinary" resolutions authorizing the displays that were not repealed even after the "Foundations" display was posted. The objective observer in McCreary and Pulaski Counties was deemed aware of this background, and thus saw an impermissible purpose.
The Mercer County display, on the other hand, lacks a similar sectarian pedigree. Here, there was only one display, one authorizing measure, and one implementation, all of which demonstrate a secular purpose. The "Foundations" display is the lone exhibit the County has posted in its courthouse. There being but one display, the County has needed but one resolution. Mr. Rousey hung the display himself; there is no evidence of a ceremony solemnized by a clergyman. In fact, the only history the objective observer would incorporate into this display is the statement of Judge McGinnis that the purpose of the display is to recognize American legal traditions.
We defer to the government's stated purpose, id. at 2735, except "in those unusual *632 cases where the claim was an apparent sham" and the primary objective is religious, id. at 2736 (emphasis added). Although we presume the sincerity of the legislature's express purpose, see id. at 2735; ACLU v. Capitol Square Review & Advisory Bd., 243 F.3d 289, 307 (6th Cir.2001) (en banc), objective evidence may be helpful in " 'distinguis[h][ing] a sham secular purpose from a sincere one,' " Santa Fe, 530 U.S. at 308, 120 S.Ct. 2266 (quoting Wallace, 472 U.S. at 75, 105 S.Ct. 2479 (O'Connor, J., concurring)) (first alteration in original). Here, unlike McCreary County, Mercer County's stated purpose was more than a mere "litigating position." Instead, it is supported by context, including the explanatory document and the eight other objectively historical and secular documents. A reasonable observer would not view this display as an attempt by Mercer County to establish religion. Instead, he would view it for what it is: an acknowledgment of history.
We agree with the district court that there is no evidence in this case that the County's stated purpose is a sham. Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 785. The ACLU was given ample opportunity to produce evidence to the contrary and failed to do so. The Mercer County display was neither immediately preceded by nor invariably connected to previous unconstitutional displays. As the district court said, "the Commandments were displayed in a proper historical context ab initio," id. at 787, untainted by previous impermissible attempts to exhibit the Decalogue like those that proved fatal in McCreary County, see McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2737 n. 14. The objective observer in Mercer County has no recent history of religiously motivated governmental acts or resolutions to incorporate into the display. [FN6] We conclude, therefore, that the predominant purpose of the "Foundations" display is secular.

FN6. It is not an argument that the "objective observer" in Kentucky now has the tainted legislative history of the McCreary and Pulaski Counties display to incorporate into the Mercer County display.

McCreary County gained significant local as well as national notoriety, and we would be naive to assume that the objective observer in Mercer County is unaware of those attempts to advance religion. The Supreme Court, however, "[did] not decide that the Counties' past actions forever taint any effort on their part to deal with the subject matter." McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2741. In fact, the majority emphasized that the district court should be willing to modify its judgment should the counties later demonstrate a predominantly secular purpose. See id. If the counties involved in McCreary County may purge themselves of the impermissible purpose, it follows a fortiori that Mercer County may act free of the McCreary County-taint. Furthermore, the sins of one government should not be revisited on other governments. There is quite simply no basis in law or fact for such imputation.

As McCreary County itself recognizes, identical displays may nonetheless be constitutionally unique:
One consequence of taking account of the purpose underlying past actions is that the same government action may be constitutional if taken in the first instance and unconstitutional if it has a sectarian heritage.... [I]t will matter to objective observers whether posting the Commandments follows on the heels of displays motivated by sectarianism, or whether it lacks a history demonstrating that purpose.... [W]here one [of two identical] display[s] has a history of manifesting sectarian purpose that the other lacks, it is appropriate that they be treated differently ....
McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2737 n. 14 (emphasis added). Were it otherwise, the Supreme Court, reviewing the law de novo, id. at 2737, would have simply ruled that the displays violated the Establishment Clause on their face. The opinion instead *633 focuses on the evolution of the displays, and the Court was careful not to extend its holding any further:
[W]e do not decide that the Counties' past actions forever taint any effort on their part to deal with the subject matter. We hold only that purpose needs to be taken seriously under the Establishment Clause and needs to be understood in light of context .... It is enough to say here that district courts are fully capable of adjusting preliminary relief to take account of genuine changes in constitutionally significant conditions.
Id. at 2741. Nothing in the Court's opinion can be read to stand for the proposition that governmental displays such as the ones involved, without more, are unconstitutional.
Lastly, it should be noted that McCreary County involved an appeal from preliminary injunction. Id. at 2737. The Supreme Court thus reviewed the district court's decision for abuse of discretion. Id. Under this deferential standard, the Court will affirm and remand for a trial on the merits "[i]f the underlying constitutional question is close." Ashcroft v. ACLU, 542 U.S. 656, 664, 124 S.Ct. 2783, 159 L.Ed.2d 690 (2004); see also McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2737 (citing Ashcroft as authority for the proper standard of review). The majority narrowly tailored its opinion to the facts as they existed at the time of appeal, even to the point of leaving open the possibility on remand of the district court's lifting the preliminary injunction and denying permanent relief. See McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2741. Placed it in its proper procedural setting, McCreary County requires only that purpose be taken seriously and understood in light of context. Id.
Mercer County authorized the posting of nine documents in its courthouse in an attempt to recognize American legal history. It is of course not unusual for a government to educate the public in this manner; in fact, it is commonplace. As a general matter, then, an historical display in a courthouse would not set off alarms in the objective observer. Thus, to be problematic, there must be something more to signal a predominantly religious purpose. But the Mercer County display, in this context, does not contain any overtly sectarian messages. While several of the documents refer to the Deity, it would be unreasonable, ipso facto, to interpret those as evidencing a religious purpose. By including the Ten Commandments in a display of American legal documents, the County is merely acknowledging the Commandments' historical influence. We generally defer to the government's rational judgment of what is historically relevant. [FN7] *634 See Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. FCC, 520 U.S. 180, 195, 117 S.Ct. 1174, 137 L.Ed.2d 369 (1997); Jacobs v. Barr, 959 F.2d 313, 319 (D.C.Cir.1992) ("[A]lthough courts should not defer to Congress on constitutional questions, we should defer-or give 'great weight'-to Congress on empirical questions."). The Supreme Court has said repeatedly that the Ten Commandments have historical importance. See, e.g., Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2863 (plurality opinion) (citing McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 442, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393 (1961); id. at 462, 81 S.Ct. 1101 (separate opinion of Frankfurter, J.)); Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578, 593-94, 107 S.Ct. 2573, 96 L.Ed.2d 510 (1987). The majority in McCreary County and the plurality in Van Orden agreed. See McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2738; Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2863 (plurality opinion). [FN8]

FN7. The McCreary County majority criticized the "Foundations" display for its puzzling "choices and omissions." Id. at 2740. "In a collection of documents said to be 'foundational' to American government, it is at least odd to include a patriotic anthem, but to omit the Fourteenth Amendment ... [and] to leave out the ... Constitution ... while quoting the ... Magna Carta ...." Id. This discussion is entirely unhelpful. As an initial matter, it is hardly surprising to learn that

Mercer County and the U.S. Supreme Court have differing opinions as to the relative importance of certain historical documents. But however quizzical it may seem to include a poem written in 1814 in a display purported to be "foundational," it would be arguably more absurd to include a copy of an amendment ratified in 1868. Conversely, the Court does not question the inclusion of the words "In God We Trust," even though that phrase was not officially made the national motto until 1956. See 36 U.S.C. § 302 (original version at ch. 795, § 186, 70 Stat. 732 (1956)). In any event, what five justices of the Supreme Court would include in a display commemorating Kentucky and American legal history has no bearing on the constitutionality of the display as erected. Cf. Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 681 n. 7, 104 S.Ct. 1355, 79 L.Ed.2d 604 (1984) ("[T]hat the [state]'s objectives could have been achieved without including the [challenged item] in the display ... is irrelevant. The question is whether the display [as is] violates the Establishment Clause." (citation omitted)). Thus, we are not persuaded by comments indicating that the Supreme Court would have posted a different display. We are called upon to analyze the documents actually displayed. Having done so, we conclude that they do not have a religious purpose.

FN8. By citing to case law for support on this matter, we do not

intend to endorse the idea that the judiciary is better qualified than our coordinate branches to determine what is, and what is not, historically relevant. We do so merely to show that the Supreme Court does not view the presence of the Ten Commandments in a public building as a presumptive establishment of religion.

The ACLU relies heavily on Stone v. Graham. In Stone, the Supreme Court held a Kentucky law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms unconstitutional as lacking a secular purpose. 449 U.S. at 42-43, 101 S.Ct. 192. The Stone Court reasoned that "[t]he pre-eminent purpose for posting the Ten Commandments on schoolroom walls is plainly religious in nature.... The Commandments do not confine themselves to arguably secular matters ...." Id. at 41, 101 S.Ct. 192.
Stone, however, is inapposite here. First, Stone itself recognized that the Ten Commandments, like the Bible, could be constitutionally integrated into public school curriculum. Id. at 42, 101 S.Ct. 192 (stating that "the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like"). Second, the Supreme Court has since declared that "Stone ... [does] not mean that no use could ever be made of the Ten Commandments, or that the Ten Commandments played an exclusively religious role in the history of Western Civilization." Aguillard, 482 U.S. at 593-94, 107 S.Ct. 2573. The McCreary County majority rejected the notion that Stone controls simply because the Ten Commandments are involved. 125 S.Ct. at 2737-38 ("Stone did not purport to decide the constitutionality of every possible way the Commandments might be set out by the government ...."). In fact, McCreary County cites Stone for support only in its discussion of the Counties' original standalone display. See id. at 2738, n. 17. It did not endorse Stone 's reasoning in its analysis of the Counties' second or third displays. The Van Orden plurality simply dismissed Stone as inapplicable. See Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2864, n. 11 (plurality opinion). Whatever is left of Stone is limited to circumstances involving public displays of the Ten Commandments in isolation.
V.
A.
Having found that the Mercer County display survives McCreary County, we must now determine what, if any, additional *635 scrutiny the Establishment Clause requires. The district court applied the Lemon test. We begin with an inquiry into the current status of Lemon.
Under Lemon, government action does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause if it (1) has a secular purpose; (2) does not have the primary or principal effect or either advancing or inhibiting religion; and (3) does not foster an excessive governmental entanglement with religion. [FN9] Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612-13, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971). The first and second prongs have since been reformulated. After McCreary County, the first is now the predominant purpose test. McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2733; id. at 2757 (Scalia, J., dissenting) ("[T]he [McCreary County majority] replaces Lemon 's requirement that the government have 'a secular ... purpose' with the heightened requirement that the secular purpose 'predominate' over any purpose to advance religion." (quoting Lemon, 403 U.S. at 612, 91 S.Ct. 2105)). The second, the so-called "endorsement" test, asks whether the government action has the purpose or effect of endorsing religion. [FN10] Adland v. Russ, 307 F.3d 471, 479 (6th Cir.2002); Granzeier v. Middleton, 173 F.3d 568, 573 (6th Cir.1999).

FN9. The ACLU does not contend on appeal that the display fosters an excessive governmental entanglement with religion.

FN10. Justice O'Connor first articulated the endorsement inquiry in her concurring opinion in Lynch v. Donnelly. See 465 U.S. 668, 690-94, 104 S.Ct. 1355, 79 L.Ed.2d 604 (1984) (O'Connor, J., concurring). A plurality of the Supreme Court adopted it soon thereafter. See County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 594-97, 109 S.Ct. 3086, 106 L.Ed.2d

472 (1989) (plurality opinion).

Even with these reformulations, Lemon has been criticized by a number of Supreme Court justices. See, e.g., Lamb's Chapel v. Ctr. Moriches Union Free Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384, 398-400, 113 S.Ct. 2141, 124 L.Ed.2d 352 (1993) (Scalia, J., concurring, joined by Thomas, J.) (citing other Supreme Court criticisms of Lemon ); Allegheny, 492 U.S. at 655-57, 109 S.Ct. 3086 (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); Corp. of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. Amos, 483 U.S. 327, 346-48, 107 S.Ct. 2862, 97 L.Ed.2d 273 (1987) (O'Connor, J., concurring). In fact, "just two years after Lemon was decided, [the Supreme Court] noted that the factors identified in Lemon serve as 'no more than helpful signposts.' " Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2861 (plurality opinion) (quoting Hunt v. McNair, 413 U.S. 734, 741, 93 S.Ct. 2868, 37 L.Ed.2d 923 (1973)). No fewer than seven times since 1983 has the Supreme Court decided an Establishment Clause case without applying Lemon. See Van Orden, 545U.S. 677, 125 S.Ct. 2854, 162 L.Ed.2d 607 (plurality opinion); Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639, 122 S.Ct. 2460, 153 L.Ed.2d 604 (2002); Good News Club v. Milford Cent. Sch., 533 U.S. 98, 121 S.Ct. 2093, 150 L.Ed.2d 151 (2001); Capitol Square Review & Advisory Bd. v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753, 115 S.Ct. 2440, 132 L.Ed.2d 650 (1995); Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700 (1995); Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 112 S.Ct. 2649, 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992); Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 103 S.Ct. 3330, 77 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1983).
McCreary County and Van Orden did not settle the issue. On the one hand, the Supreme Court declined an invitation to abandon Lemon in McCreary County. See McCreary County, 125 S.Ct. at 2734-35. The majority in that case certainly implies Lemon 's continued vitality by conducting purpose analysis. See id., 125 S.Ct. at 2735-41; see also id. at 2757-58 (Scalia, J., dissenting) (criticizing the majority's*636 application of the Lemon test). The majority never explicitly reaffirms Lemon, though, because the inquiry ended when the Court held the displays unconstitutional as having an impermissible purpose.
On the other hand, a plurality of the Court in Van Orden disregarded the Lemon test, noting that Lemon is "not useful in dealing with the sort of passive monument that Texas has erected on its Capitol grounds." 125 S.Ct. at 2861 (plurality opinion). The plurality instead employed an analysis "driven both by the nature of the monument and by our Nation's history." Id. Justice Breyer's concurrence arguably provided a fifth vote as to Lemon 's inapplicability. [FN11] See id. at 2868-72 (Breyer J., concurring) (exercising "legal judgment" as a substitute for any of the Supreme Court's Establishment Clause tests in the Ten Commandments setting). However, "[t]he views of five Justices that the case should be reconsidered or overruled cannot be said to have effected a change in Establishment Clause law." See Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203, 217, 117 S.Ct. 1997, 138 L.Ed.2d 391 (1997). Thus, we remain in Establishment Clause purgatory.

FN11. Justice Breyer joined the majority opinion in McCreary County that implicitly intends for Lemon to govern these types of cases. Curiously, he concurred in Van Orden, arguing that "the exercise of legal judgment" in these cases "must reflect and remain faithful to the underlying purposes of the [Religion] Clauses, and it must take account of context and consequences measured in light of those purposes," and that "no exact formula can dictate a resolution to such fact-intensive cases." Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2869 (Breyer, J., concurring).

The recent decisions of this Court have routinely applied Lemon, including the endorsement test. See, e.g., ACLU v. Ashbrook, 375 F.3d 484, 490 (6th Cir.2004); Adland v. Russ, 307 F.3d 471, 479 (6th Cir.2002); ACLU v. Capitol Square Review & Advisory Bd., 243 F.3d 289, 306 (6th Cir.2001) (en banc). Because McCreary County and Van Orden do not instruct otherwise, we must continue to do so. But see ACLU v. City of Plattsmouth, 419 F.3d 772, 778 n. 8 (8th Cir.2005) (en banc) (declining to apply Lemon post- McCreary County and Van Orden in a case factually similar to Van Orden ).
B.
[2] Headnote Citing References[3] Headnote Citing References Under the endorsement test, the government violates the Establishment Clause when it acts in a manner that a reasonable person would view as an endorsement of religion. Granzeier v. Middleton, 173 F.3d 568, 573 (6th Cir.1999). This is an objective standard, similar to the judicially-created "reasonable person" standard of tort law. Ams. United for Separation of Church & State v. City of Grand Rapids, 980 F.2d 1538, 1543-44 (6th Cir.1992) (en banc). "Accordingly, we do not ask whether there is any person who could find an endorsement of religion, whether some people may be offended by the display, or whether some reasonable person might think [the government] endorses religion." Id. at 1544. Rather, the inquiry here is whether the reasonable person would conclude that Mercer County's display has the effect of endorsing religion. See id.
[4] Headnote Citing References Context is crucial to this analysis. See Allegheny, 492 U.S. at 597, 109 S.Ct. 3086 (plurality opinion); cf. Lynch, 465 U.S. at 686, 104 S.Ct. 1355 ("[T]he inclusion of a single symbol of a particular historic religious event ... [does not] so 'taint' the ... exhibit as to render it violative of the Establishment Clause."). The reasonable person is deemed aware of the circumstances under which governmental actions arise, including the legislative history and implementation. *637 Pinette, 515 U.S. at 780, 115 S.Ct. 2440 (O'Connor J., concurring). If context, history, and the act itself send the "unmistakable message" of endorsing religion, then the act is unconstitutional. Allegheny, 492 U.S. at 600, 109 S.Ct. 3086 (plurality opinion).
As applied to this case, we are guided by the recent decision of the Seventh Circuit addressing the constitutionality of the public display of the Ten Commandments. See Books v. Elkhart County (Books II), 401 F.3d 857 (7th Cir.2005). [FN12] Books II involved a challenge to the presence of the Ten Commandments in the Elkhart County Administration Building. Id. at 858. The Commandments were part of a larger "Foundations" display nearly identical to the Mercer County display. [FN13] In authorizing the display, Elkhart County, like Mercer County, noted that all of the documents " 'have had particular historical significance to the development of this country.' " Id.

FN12. Books II was decided several months before the Supreme Court decided McCreary County. Like McCreary and Pulaski Counties, Elkhart County had a previously erected display of the Ten Commandments struck down by the courts. See Books v. Elkhart County (Books I), 235 F.3d 292 (7th Cir.2000). Thus, given the similar histories of implementation in Books

II and McCreary County, it is at least arguable that the outcome in Books II would have been different based on purpose had it been decided after McCreary County. Notwithstanding, McCreary County does not undermine Books II 's endorsement analysis.

FN13. The only differences are constitutionally immaterial. Elkhart County naturally substituted the Preamble to the Indiana Constitution for that of the Kentucky Constitution, and also flanked the display with the flags of the State of Indiana and the United States. Books II, 401 F.3d at 858-59.

Even after noting that the Elkhart County display required "special scrutiny" because it was located at the seat of government, id. at 867, a divided panel of the Seventh Circuit concluded that the reasonable person would not view the "Foundations" display as an endorsement of religion: [FN14]

FN14. Judge Easterbrook dissented, arguing that the plaintiff lacked standing. Id. at 871 (Easterbrook, J., dissenting). Had he proceeded to the merits, however, it is clear that he would have upheld the display as constitutional. See id. at 869-70 (disavowing the endorsement test in favor of the less-stringent "coercion test" as a more faithful reading

of the First Amendment's "establishment" language).

[T]he documents are displayed in a way that does not direct an observer to focus on any one document. Furthermore, ... the display includes a framed explanation of the historic significance of each of the documents. The content and context of the "Foundations" display, considered as a whole, suggest that the Ten Commandments are included not for their singular religious import (that is, as a statement of religious imperatives) but, rather, for their historical contribution to the development of American legal and political traditions.
Id. at 868. Mindful that mere acknowledgment of religion's role in American history does not offend the Constitution, the court held that Elkhart County's display of the Ten Commandments did not constitute an endorsement of religion. Id. at 868-69.
We agree. In the Mercer County "Foundations" display, the Ten Commandments are part of an otherwise secular exhibit. "The Commandments are not displayed in larger text or otherwise more prominently than the other items in the display ...." Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 794. The other items include the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, documents fundamental to American history. When placed on a level with other documents having such unquestioned *638 civil, legal, and political influence, the Commandments' own historical significance becomes more pronounced. These nine documents, along with the explanatory text, send the "unmistakable message" of the County's acknowledgment of legal history. See Books II, 401 F.3d at 868 ("By virtue of the texts that are included and the content of the accompanying explanation, this display tells viewers that the American founders were inspired by a religious tradition that includes the Ten Commandments and that those values influenced the development of our law and government."). That they appear in a courthouse only strengthens the message. See Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2869-70 (Breyer, J., concurring) (stating that the Commandments' legal message helps explain their presence in courthouses across the country). Furthermore, as discussed supra, nothing in the legislative history tends to show otherwise. [FN15] To the contrary, the reasonable observer is affirmatively aware that Mercer County did not attempt to erect the monument in isolation or as part of a purely religious exhibit before posting the "Foundations" display. We therefore agree with the conclusion of the district court that the display of the Ten Commandments in the Mercer County Courthouse is not an endorsement of religion.

FN15. Our decision in Adland v. Russ, 307 F.3d 471 (6th Cir.2002) is distinguishable on this ground. Unlike the display here, the monument erected on the Kentucky state capitol grounds involved overwhelming evidence of religious intendment and legal posturing. See id. at 481-

84. Adland also involved a display where the Decalogue dominated over all others, and where the government included uniquely religious symbols that tended to emphasize the sectarian nature of the Commandments. Id. at 486. Those factors are simply not present here.

Were we to focus on the perceptions of individuals, every religious display would be "necessarily precluded so long as some passersby would perceive a governmental endorsement thereof." Pinette, 515 U.S. at 779, 115 S.Ct. 2440 (O'Connor J., concurring). Thus, we find unavailing the ACLU's own assertions that it finds the display offensive and that the display "diminishes [its] enjoyment of the courthouse." (Compl.¶ 18.) Religion does not become relevant to standing in the political community simply because a particular viewer of a governmental display feels uncomfortable. Id. at 780, 115 S.Ct. 2440 (O'Connor J., concurring); see Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 597-98, 112 S.Ct. 2649, 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992) ("People may take offense to all manner of religious as well as nonreligious messages, but offense alone does not in every case show a violation. We know too that sometimes to endure social isolation or even anger may be the price of conscience or noncomformity."). Our concern is that of the reasonable person. And the ACLU, an organization whose mission is "to ensure that ... the government [is kept] out of the religion business," [FN16] does not embody the reasonable person.

FN16. American Civil Liberties Union, http:// www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLibertyMain.cfm(last visited Oct. 25, 2005).

[5] Headnote Citing References The ACLU's argument contains three fundamental flaws. First, the ACLU makes repeated reference to "the separation of church and state." This extra-constitutional construct has grown tiresome. The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state. See Lynch, 465 U.S. at 673, 104 S.Ct. 1355; Lemon, 403 U.S. at 614, 91 S.Ct. 2125; Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 312, 72 S.Ct. 679, 96 L.Ed. 954 (1952); Brown v. Gilmore, 258 F.3d 265, 274 (4th Cir.2001); *639 Stark v. Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 640., 123 F.3d 1068, 1076 (8th Cir.1997); see also Capitol Square, 243 F.3d at 300 (dismissing strict separatism as "a notion that simply perverts our history"). Our Nation's history is replete with governmental acknowledgment and in some cases, accommodation of religion. See, e.g., Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, 103 S.Ct. 3330, 77 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1983) (upholding legislative prayer); McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393 (1961) (upholding Sunday closing laws); see also Lynch, 465 U.S. at 674, 104 S.Ct. 1355 ("There is an unbroken history of official acknowledgment by all three branches of government of the role of religion in American life from at least 1789."); Capitol Square, 243 F.3d at 293-99 (describing historical examples of governmental involvement with religion). After all, "[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." Zorach, 343 U.S. at 313, 72 S.Ct. 679. Thus, state recognition of religion that falls short of endorsement is constitutionally permissible.
[6] Headnote Citing References Second, the ACLU focuses on the religiousness of the Ten Commandments. No reasonable person would dispute their sectarian nature, but they also have a secular nature that the ACLU does not address. That they are religious merely begs the question whether this display is religious; it does not answer it. "[T]he Establishment Clause inquiry cannot be distilled into a fixed, per se rule." Pinette, 515 U.S. at 778, 115 S.Ct. 2440 (O'Connor J., concurring); see Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 597-98, 112 S.Ct. 2649, 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992). Although treating the subject matter categorically would make our review eminently simpler, we are called upon to examine Mercer County's actions in light of context. "Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause." Van Orden, 125 S.Ct. at 2863 (plurality opinion). Moreover, "[f]ocus exclusively on the religious component of any activity would inevitably lead to its invalidation under the Establishment Clause." Lynch, 465 U.S. at 680, 104 S.Ct. 1355. The Constitution requires an analysis beyond the four-corners of the Ten Commandments. In short, "proving" that the Ten Commandments themselves are religious does not prove an Establishment Clause violation.
Third, the ACLU erroneously-though perhaps intentionally-equates recognition with endorsement. To endorse is necessarily to recognize, but the converse does not follow. Cf. Mercer County, 219 F.Supp.2d at 789 ("Endorsement of religion is a normative concept; whereas acknowledgment of religion is not necessarily a value-laden concept."). Because nothing in the display, its history, or its implementation supports the notion that Mercer County has selectively endorsed the sectarian elements of the first four Commandments, we fail to see why the reasonable person would interpret the presence of the Ten Commandments as part of the larger "Foundations" display as a governmental endorsement of religion.
[7] Headnote Citing References We will not presume endorsement from the mere display of the Ten Commandments. If the reasonable observer perceived all government references to the Deity as endorsements, then many of our Nation's cherished traditions would be unconstitutional, including the Declaration of Independence and the national motto. Fortunately, the reasonable person is not a hyper-sensitive plaintiff. See Washegesic ex rel. Pensinger v. Bloomingdale Pub. Sch., 33 F.3d 679, 684 (6th Cir.1994) (Guy, J., concurring) (describing the "eggshell" plaintiff as unknown to the Establishment Clause). Instead, he appreciates the role religion has played in our governmental institutions, and finds it historically appropriate and traditionally acceptable for a *640 state to include religious influences, even in the form of sacred texts, in honoring American legal traditions.
VI.
The Mercer County display has a secular purpose. Unlike McCreary County, there is nothing in the legislative history or implementation that tends to prove a religious purpose. Nor does the display have the effect of endorsing religion. The display is therefore constitutional as a matter of law. There being no genuine issue of material fact, the district court properly granted Mercer County's motion for summary judgment.
VII.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
C.A.6 (Ky.),2005.
American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky v. Mercer County, Ky.
432 F.3d 624, 2005 Fed.App. 0477P

Update on a mid-life lawyer.

2010-09-07T23:25:00.001-07:00

For those of you who do not know, I recently completed my law degree and just finished taking the bar exam. I spent most of the last three years sleeping in my car while at law school and I can tell you every gas station in Lansing that has a clean restroom with a changing table and hot water. I closed down the library many weekends and only missed one of my childrens' school related events during law school. I was awarded Outstanding Adult Learner by the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Currently, while waiting for bar results, I clerk for a local court and do research for two retired judges who serve as visiting judges in various jurisdictions. I was fortunate enough to be asked to draft a memo for the Ohio Supreme Court last April. I will be working with a former professor developing a Christian rights law and policy center.

My best accomplishment is my family and hopefully the law degree will keep the kids in clothes and food, the bank and student loan officers at bay and put a little money in the bank for an annual vacation. My children are my pride and joy and my bride is the love of my life. I could not have succeeded the last three years without their support and understanding.

People constantly ask what kind of law I want to practice. If any of you watched Forrest Gump, I am that feather that drifts about at the beginning and end of the movie. G-d is the wind, and he carries me and sustains me. I walk by faith and I can tell you from personal experience that their are miracles all around us, if we have eyes to see them, and G-d never closes a door without opening a window.

What is the secret to happiness?

2010-09-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

A basic question, what is the secret to happiness?

While philosophers have pondered this question for centuries the answer is pretty basic and one probably conveyed, hopefully by your parents or grandparents. If not, I will disclose the "secret" right here.

1) Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and your cry alone. No one likes a cry baby.

2) Idle hands are the devil's tools. Stay busy.

3) Money does not grow on trees. Be thrifty.

4) G-d gave you one mouth and two ears, use them proportionally.

5) If all the other kids jumped off the roof, would you do it, too? Don't follow the crowd.

Here is a thought, track how many statements you make about yourself every day for a week. The next week, see how many questions you can ask others about themselves. Now, which week was more satisfying and rewarding? We have all engaged in persons who bring every single conversation back full circle to them. Within ten minutes you want to leave the room, run, or you have secret desires involving a stapler and his or her mouth.

Money does not buy happiness but living within one's budget does keep worry and stress at bay. Many personal problems revolve around economic distress. My father had one credit card and he kept it paid off every month. A car depreciates faster than anything you buy. I constantly incur the jibbing of my friends because I drive junkers. I rarely spend more than a grand on a car, I drive it until the wheels fall off, and then get another. Character is not based upon things or status symbols. Character is the good you do for others when no one else is watching.

Many Americans aimlessly glom onto the latest quick fix that guarantees happiness. Society and Madison Avenue gladly encourage materialistic pursuits. After 9/11, our own President told us to “Go Shopping”, as if that would make everything normal and make us all feel better. Sadly, since World War II, our country has spent more, saved less and utilized credit more than anytime in our history. As individuals, we all own more cars, appliances, and have bought more things on credit than ever any time previous. All this purchasing and all these things supposedly guarantee happiness and make life easier.

Sadly, we have felons, open adulterers, and perverts of every stripe making millions as celebrities. Our society, using its newly embraced secular and morally relativistic standard, accepts their egregious behavior. Emulation of drunkards, the promiscuous and the hedonists are encouraged and their tabloid existence celebrated. Seemingly, the more infamous a celebrity becomes, the greater is their attraction. By all appearances, the bible verse, “Judge not, lest ye be judged” has replaced that the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and all of Deuteronomy. It would not surprise me if we soon saw a reality show that solely consists of Tiger Wood’s mistresses as the cast. Monica Lewinski will surely host the show as Jezebel-in-Chief. If anyone dares and publicly criticizes these behaviors, society automatically deems that them prudish, a Pollyannas or the worst of all, gasp, judgmental. Winston Churchill once famously asked Lady Astor if she would sleep with him for a million dollars to which she said, “Yes”. When he later asked her if she would sleep with him for five dollars, she said, “What do you think I am?” He said, “We have already established that, and now we are dickering about the price.” Today, society forms its opinions regarding personal worth predicated upon the dollars in a person’s bank account, morals and personal conduct regardless.

When it is all said and done, someone or something can take away your money, home, or possessions. They cannot take away your character, love of others, or education.

What is the secret to happiness? Find your joy, do what you love, serve others rather than yourself, keep the faith, and live within your means. If you are not happy, make yourself that way. By the time a person turns 18 a backbone and wishbone cannot simultaneously exist in the same spot. We all have failings and foibles. A mature person recognizes them, accepts honest feedback, and compensates. All we can do is sweep in our corner of the world and do our best. If you are, then you have no other worries.

Blather and Meandering Hyperbole

2010-04-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Many people assume that because I am a Conservative that I follow the Party Line unquestioningly and loved the Republican Presidencies.

One cannot rehabilitate any Republican or Democrat's Presidency and call themselves honest.

Bush is no hero. Entering Iraq under false pretenses was an atrocity. The only question in my mind is whether or not Bush shared the same knowledge that Cheney, Rumsfeld and Colin Powell had and who was pulling the strings. During Reagan, we had Iran Contra; during Bush I we had Desert Storm; and during Bush II, we have our current mess. The Gulf involvement concerns Oil and KBR profits more than freedom promotion. During Clinton, we had Monica Gate, Whitewater, Paula Jones, and we lost troops in the Balkans and Africa. We have Republicans who want to make money for Corporate America and Democrats who are in the pocket of special interests.

You know what scares me the most? If one accepts the proposition that politicians were and are willing to sacrifice American youth overseas in the name of profits, and justify that loss later by saying it promotes freedom, then that means our leaders are nothing more than sociopaths. If Clinton ordered troop movements during Monica Gate just to keep his poll numbers up, he is no better.

We fought Gulf one for the oil companies, and Gulf II for Dick Cheney, KBR and the oil companies. We spent billions on SDI during the Reagan years and have nothing to show for it. Our defenses get so weak during Democrat Presidencies, that people are afraid to re-elect them. The left clamors for people's rights while previously under identified or unidentified terrorists crash planes into buildings. The right claims that if we trade freedom for security, we will have neither.

We need a strong national defense that is based in defense of our borders and American, not Corporate America's interests abroad. We need a secure Southern Border and an extremely strong deterrent capability. Stationing Troops all over the world strikes me as creating a global police force. Nation building, without any hope of return, is pointless. Until we get our own house in order, the world must wait. We need strong, honest, and reliable human intelligence and that is central to any defense.

We cannot allow Americans to starve. On the other hand, we also cannot afford doling out trillions in aid to persons who are under-employed by choice or not doing contributing his or her part. We need to differentiate reproduction from parenting. Any person with Sperm or an Ova can reproduce. It takes a responsible, self-less, dedicated and devoted person to be a parent. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the current credit crises, we all bought homes with no down and ran up credit card debt just like the feds and the budget. Now Corporate America wants a bail out, Americans want a bail out and we are watching our money drain right down a funnel into China's greedy gullet.

Think about it, this Country has not had a successful presidency in our lifetimes. We are doomed unless things suddenly and drastically change.

Dear President Reagan

2010-02-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

First Happy Birthday, you were a good man and I am sure you are having a good time in heaven. You inspired many conservatives and your popularity only has grown since you shuffled off this mortal coil. Almost everyone hopes to inherit your legacy and the wide base you commanded. You were labeled the Great Communicator by some, and the Teflon President by your detractors and it seems that history has been kind to your presidency thus far.

On the other hand, I was not all that thrilled with your presidency. You spent mega bucks on SDI and we never got any return on that boondoggle. You did nothing to protect American jobs, and subsequently took a 7 million dollar speaking fee from the Japanese shortly after leaving office. You cut medicaid benefits to kids in college whose parents had died and gave a tax cut to the rich at the same time. Your infamous secretary of agriculture made ketchup a vegetable in school lunches and the block grants you were so proud of never made a bit of difference in the size of the Federal Government. You kept us in Lebanon too long and as the result, 200 fine young men were killed. You and your administration take all the credit for the fall of the Soviet Union when history tells you knew the rough shape and the imminent collapse of the USSR almost four months before when you told Gorbechev to "Tear down that wall."

For all of Gary Hart's philandering, and his neo-socialist agenda he did have one thing right. Instead of SDI, we could have accomplished the same thing with many smaller nuclear armed subs and small ships moving around the ocean and had them also armed with Anti Ballistic Missiles. That, at least, would have been also a boon to our infrastructure instead of all that money being wasted on R & D at General Dynamics on no bid contracts. ... See More

Give me Robert Taft Senior for president.

The only way this country will survive is if a real American Conservative is willing to throw themselves on their sword in almost Christ like fashion and make draconian cuts in social programs, foreign military spending, and impose a national sales tax along with a flat tax. We need to remove all taxes from retirement investments, allow everyone who wants to go into medical school into it, pass real litigation reform, give massive tax benefits to non-profit insurance companies and slowly shift all risk from for profit insurance.

Regarding foreign policy, the new president should announce on day one of his inaugural speech that we are calling home every foreign based soldier and impounding every foreign military and foreign aid expenditure. He simultaneously announces that every ex-patriot has exactly 60 days to get home. After that, if a foreign enemy takes them or any other American traveling overseas hostage, they will be declared casualties of war and we launch drones on their location.

If we have a strategic interest in a region of the world, we announce that is a strategic location zone. If anyone attacks it, we turn it and the country attacking it to glass from above. Make shock and awe look like the grand opening of the corner coffee shop.

If some nut job overseas starts killing his own civilians and Americans want to help, we will allow them to apply for a permit and if it does not go against our national interests, they can organize their own battalions and we can offer them our facilities for training purposes. They can fight the nut jobs directly.

On the home front, every person living here at our sufferance swears allegiance to the United States and its Constitution. If they are unwilling to do that, they are deported. Every person living in the US will also be given six months to learn English and pass a basic writing and speaking exam.

While we are at it, let us also make two years of post high school public service mandatory and higher education free for all those who academically qualify after they are done with their two years of service.

All welfare recipients would have to be drug tested to get welfare.

We set up a bounty system for the capture of illegal aliens. Just like getting a conceal carry permit, one could go to their local law enforcement agency, get a permit as a illegal alien bounty hunter and the feds pay them a reward for every one that they return to a check point / processing center at the US Mexican Border. We will use some of that high tech gadgetry we have and mount laser cannons and Gatling guns on our southern border, shoot everything that moves in a two mile no man's zone at our border and x-ray every cargo box coming into this country.

Of course that will free up a lot of manual labor jobs. If one has a job like that available, they will simply notify the welfare office and it will be given to a recipient or lose their benefits.

Finally, we start giving real tax benefits to the educated middle class to have more children. Give them low cost housing that has been built by those on welfare or doing their public service. Welfare recipients will be learning the construction trade and at the same time, those who are benefiting society the most will also reap its benefits.

None of the above solutions are rocket science and they all make common sense.

Warmest Regards;
Chuck

Taliban cut off fingers of 2 Afghan voters

2009-08-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Taliban cut off fingers of 2 Afghan voters
By HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writer Heidi Vogt, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 6 mins ago

KABUL – Taliban militants cut off the ink-stained fingers of two Afghan voters in the militant south during the presidential election, the country's top election monitoring group said Saturday.

Two voters who had dipped their index fingers in purple ink — a fraud prevention measure — were attacked in Kandahar province shortly after voting Thursday, said Nader Nadery, the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan. Kandahar is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban.

Rumors that militants would cut off voters' ink-stained fingers spread before the vote. A Taliban spokesman had said militants would not carry out such attacks, but the Taliban is a loose organization of individual commanders who could carry out the threat on their own.

Millions of Afghans voted in the country's second-ever direct presidential election, although Taliban threats and attacks appeared to hold down the turnout, especially in the south where President Hamid Karzai was expected to run strongly among his fellow Pashtuns. At least 26 Afghan civilians and security forces died in dozens of militant attacks.

If results show that vastly more people voted in the north than the south, "then we will have an issue," Nadery said.

Fewer votes in the south would harm the chances of Karzai to win a second five-year term, and increase the chances that his top challenger, former Foreign Minster Abdullah Abdullah, could pull off an upset.

If neither candidate gets 50 percent in the first round, they will go to a second round runoff. Initial preliminary results won't be announced until Tuesday, and final results won't be certified until mid-September.

Nadery said his group saw widespread problems of election officials who were not impartial and were pressuring people to vote for certain candidates. Election monitors also saw voters carrying boxes of voter cards — so many votes could be cast — to polling sites and saw many underage voters, he said.

On Saturday, one of the longshot presidential candidates displayed torn and mangled ballot papers that he said had been cast for him and tossed away by election workers who support Karzai.

Mirwais Yasini, a parliamentarian, stood behind a table piled with ballot papers that he said his supporters had found ditched outside Spin Boldak city in southern Kandahar province. The ballots bore the stamp of the Independent Election Commission, which is applied only after they are used for voting.

"Thousands of them were burned," he said.

Both Karzai and Abdullah claimed to be ahead in early vote counting. Karzai's campaign insisted Friday he would have enough votes to avoid a runoff. Abdullah countered that he was leading but suspected there would be a runoff.

Election officials called on the candidates to refrain from such claims, which could delay the formation of a new government.

Officials of Afghan and international monitoring teams agreed it was too early to say who won or to know whether fraud was extensive enough to affect the outcome. Fraud complaints are being filed with a commission that will rule on all allegations.

Though monitors with the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan were present in all 34 provinces, international monitoring groups were restricted by security concerns. The Washington, D.C.-based National Democratic Institute only had observers in 19 provinces, passing over many violent areas of the south and east.

European Union observers had difficulty getting to polling stations in southern Kandahar province because of rocket attacks, said Sandra Khadhouri, a spokeswoman for the delegation. The EU had observers in 17 provinces.

"That elections took place at all is a notable achievement," the EU said in a statement. The delegation said threats and violence meant that voting could not be considered free "in some parts of the territory" but that the process so far appeared "good and fair."

The National Democratic Institute also said it saw orderly voting, but said the vote also "involved serious flaws that must be addressed in order to build greater confidence in the integrity of future elections."

The group pointed to the lack of a voters' list and the fact that members of the Independent Election Commission are appointed by the incumbent, suggesting a likelihood of bias.

It said violence disrupted voting in the south and southeast, which appeared to repress turnout, especially among women.

___

Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed to this report.

2-month-old killed to stifle 'religious' dissent Reports cite victim being used for 'target practice'

2009-08-21T07:13:00.001-07:00

FAITH UNDER FIRE
2-month-old killed to stifle 'religious' dissent
Reports cite victim being used for 'target practice'
Posted: August 20, 2009
9:30 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Editor's note: The following contains disturbing and graphic descriptions of attacks on Christians.

An international Christian group has reported a horrifying episode of Christian children being abducted and killed in an apparent effort to stifle "religious and political" dissidents in Laos during the runup to a visit by U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, recently visited several nations, including some that often have earned high rankings among nations that persecute Christians. His trip included visits to Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Now comes a report from International Christian Concern about the newest atrocities.

"International Christian Concern has just learned that Lao soldiers captured, mutilated and decapitated a two-month-old girl during recent military attacks against Hmong and Laotian civilians," the group said. "Survivors of the attack said the infant was used for target practice."

(Story continues below)

ICC cited reports from the Center for Public Policy Analysis that claimed eight children were captured and 26 Hmong and Laotian civilians were murdered during a series of four major attacks over the past month – apparently designed to stifle "religious and political dissidents" ahead of the visit from Webb.

"Christian Hmong were most certainly among those attacked as they are often targeted specifically by the regime," the report said.

The report included a statement from Vaughn Vang, the director of thet Lao Hmong Human Rights Council.

"We are told, by some of the Lao Hmong survivors of the recent military attacks in Laos, that the LPDR (Lao Peoples Democratic Republic) soldiers of the LPA (Lao Peoples Army) used the … Lao Hmong girl, while she was still alive, for target practice … once she was captured and tied up; they mutilated her little body and continued to fire their weapons, over and over … until her head just eventually came off after so many bullets severed her head."

The rest of the children, ranging up to 8 years old, remain missing and Vang's concern is that they likely would be tortured and killed by soldiers.

The ICC report said the decapitated child's body was found next to her mother, also a torture victim of the soldiers.

"Unfortunately," the ICC said, "this level of brutality against women and children is not uncommon for Lao soldiers. It is standard procedure for soldiers to surround and isolate pockets of Hmong people and starve them out to be killed when they venture out to forage.

"Philip Smith, the Executive Director of CPPA, told ICC of video footage smuggled out of Laos in 2004 that documents the aftermath of the killing and brutalization of five Hmong children, four of them girls, on May 19th of that year. That footage was used in an extremely graphic documentary, "Hunted Like Animals," by Rebecca Sommer," the report said.

The videos are available at RebeccaSommer.org, but ICC warns the clips are "highly graphic." The website warns that no children should view the clips.

"Rights groups have rightly called the acts the Lao military commits against children and civilians war crimes," said Natalia Rain, ICC"s regional manager for East Asia. "Let the international community not be guilty of the same by its silence in the face of a regime who has already been allowed so much room that it has reached the heights of sadism in the torture and decapitation of a two-month-old little girl."

Webb said in a website statement the U.S. needs to "re-engage with Southeast Asia at all levels."

"Our relations with Laos," he said, "have never been fully repaired since the end of the Vietnam War more than 30 years ago."

During his time in Laos, his schedule included meetings with the nation's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense.

According to the RebeccaSommers.org website, the Hmong people of southeast Asia, many of whom cooperated with American forces during the Vietnam War, still are hunted and killed for actions of four decades ago.

Open Doors USA ranks Laos No. 8 on its 2009 World Watch List of nations that persecute Christians.

The World Watch List is compiled from a specially designed questionnaire of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom. A point value is assigned depending on how each question is answered. The total number of points per country determines its position on the World Watch List.

"It is certainly not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the list of countries where Christians face the worst persecution," said Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA. "There is no other country in the world where Christians are persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner."

The organization estimates 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation.

People never cease to amaze me.

2009-08-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just thought you would find this interesting. It is from the order barring discovery of the names of all the defendants in the September 11 attacks. Here you have seasoned attorneys, some of the best in the business, and they did not make a 120 deadline that essentially cost them the one thing they were hoping to obtain for their clients. Their clients were foregoing literally millions of dollars in settlement money from the compensation fund because they are more interested in the truth of who is behind the 911 attacks. This litigation has drug on now for almost eight years and the plaintiff's own attorney shoots them in the foot. Go figure.

This is excerpted from-

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------- x

IN RE SEPTEMBER 11 LITIGATION :
::
------------------------------------------------------- x
ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN, U.S.D.J.:

OPINION AND ORDER
DENYING MOTION TO SET ASIDE CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

21 MC 101 (AKH)

I hold that the Martindell standard applies to Plaintiffs’ motion because the Aviation Defendants have reasonably relied on the CPO. Their reliance has been reasonable because Plaintiffs have never objected to the Aviation Defendants’ confidentiality designations within 120 days, as required by Paragraph 5.1 of the CPO. Had Plaintiffs done so, the CPO would have shifted the burden to the Aviation Defendants to justify those designations. However, as the periods have lapsed with no objections, the Aviation Defendants have become entitled to rely on the CPO in settling cases, producing documents and witnesses for depositions, and reconciling discovery disputes. See Allen v. City of New York, 420 F. Supp. 2d 295, 300-01 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (“The classic situation in which a party ‘relies’ on a protective order is where the party creates material during the course of litigation on the understanding that it will be kept confidential.”). Plaintiffs do not address their failures to object within 120 days of particular confidentiality designations. In fact, they have not challenged any designations through the procedure established by the CPO, which they proposed with the Aviation Defendants in 2004. They note that they filed their initial motion to set aside designations promptly in October 2007, after the Aviation Defendants had produced only 50,000 pages of discovery. However, they cannot explain why they have ignored the CPO procedure, and why they seek to set aside the Aviation Defendants’ designations now, after about one million pages have been produced.

HEALTH CARE REFORM

2009-08-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

The current national debate about health care reform should concern all of us. There is much at stake in this political struggle, and also much confusion and inaccurate information being thrown around. My brother bishops have described some clear “goal-posts” to mark out what is acceptable reform, and what must be rejected. First and most important, the Church will not accept any legislation that mandates coverage, public or private, for abortion, euthanasia, or embryonic stem-cell research. We refuse to be made complicit in these evils, which frankly contradict what “health care” should mean. We refuse to allow our own parish, school, and diocesan health insurance plans to be forced to include these evils. As a corollary of this, we insist equally on adequate protection of individual rights of conscience for patients and health care providers not to be made complicit in these evils. A so-called reform that imposes these evils on us would be far worse than keeping the health care system we now have.

Second, the Catholic Church does not teach that “health care” as such, without distinction, is a natural right. The “natural right” of health care is the divine bounty of food, water, and air without which all of us quickly die. This bounty comes from God directly. None of us own it, and none of us can morally withhold it from others. The remainder of health care is a political, not a natural, right, because it comes from our human efforts, creativity, and compassion. As a political right, health care should be apportioned according to need, not ability to pay or to benefit from the care. We reject the rationing of care. Those who are sickest should get the most care, regardless of age, status, or wealth. But how to do this is not self-evident. The decisions that we must collectively make about how to administer health care therefore fall under “prudential judgment.”

Third, in that category of prudential judgment, the Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care. Unlike a prudential concern like national defense, for which government monopolization is objectively good – it both limits violence overall and prevents the obvious abuses to which private armies are susceptible – health care should not be subject to federal monopolization. Preserving patient choice (through a flourishing private sector) is the only way to prevent a health care monopoly from denying care arbitrarily, as we learned from HMOs in the recent past. While a government monopoly would not be motivated by profit, it would be motivated by such bureaucratic standards as quotas and defined “best procedures,” which are equally beyond the influence of most citizens. The proper role of the government is to regulate the private sector, in order to foster healthy competition and to curtail abuses. Therefore any legislation that undermines the viability of the private sector is suspect. Private, religious hospitals and nursing homes, in particular, should be protected, because these are the ones most vigorously offering actual health care to the poorest of the poor.

The best way in practice to approach this balance of public and private roles is to spread the risks and costs of health care over the largest number of people. This is the principle underlying Medicaid and Medicare taxes, for example. But this principle assumes that the pool of taxable workers is sufficiently large, compared to those who draw the benefits, to be reasonably inexpensive and just. This assumption is at root a pro-life assumption! Indeed, we were a culture of life when such programs began. Only if we again foster a culture of life can we perpetuate the economic justice of taxing workers to pay health care for the poor. Without a growing population of youth, our growing population of retirees is outstripping our distribution systems. In a culture of death such as we have now, taxation to redistribute costs of medical care becomes both unjust and unsustainable.

Fourth, preventative care is a moral obligation of the individual to God and to his or her family and loved ones, not a right to be demanded from society. The gift of life comes only from God; to spurn that gift by seriously mistreating our own health is morally wrong. The most effective preventative care for most people is essentially free – good diet, moderate exercise, and sufficient sleep. But pre-natal and neo-natal care are examples of preventative care requiring medical expertise, and therefore cost; and this sort of care should be made available to all as far as possible.

Within these limits, the Church has been advocating for decades that health care be made more accessible to all, especially to the poor. Will the current health care reform proposals achieve these goals?

The current House reform bill, HR 3200, does not meet the first or the fourth standard. As Cardinal Justin Rigali has written for the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-life Activities, this bill circumvents the Hyde amendment (which prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions) by drawing funding from new sources not covered by the Hyde amendment, and by creatively manipulating how federal funds covered by the Hyde amendment are accounted. It also provides a “public insurance option” without adequate limits, so that smaller employers especially will have a financial incentive to push all their employees into this public insurance. This will effectively prevent those employees from choosing any private insurance plans. This will saddle the working classes with additional taxes for inefficient and immoral entitlements. The Senate bill, HELP, is better than the House bill, as I understand it. It subsidizes care for the poor, rather than tending to monopolize care. But, it designates the limit of four times federal poverty level for the public insurance option, which still includes more than half of all workers. This would impinge on the vitality of the private sector. It also does not meet the first standard of explicitly excluding mandatory abortion coverage.

I encourage all of you to make you voice heard to our representatives in Congress. Tell them what they need to hear from us: no health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform. Insist that they not permit themselves to be railroaded into the current too-costly and pro-abortion health care proposals. Insist on their support for proposals that respect the life and dignity of every human person, especially the unborn. And above all, pray for them, and for our country.

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City