"We're Gonna Be Grandparents!"

In case you haven't gotten the word, Dion and I are going to be first-time grandparents! Our oldest son, Josh, and his girlfriend, Chrissy, are expecting a baby boy sometime in April 2009! They have said that they plan to get married, but there is no word as to when that might be.

When I think of all the so-called "pro-choice" advocates that push for the right to murder babies like my grandbaby, it makes me shudder. I thank God that Josh and Chrissy are not going to destroy that baby. I am so grateful to them for that I can hardly breathe. Just thinking of other grandmothers, you know who you are, who have had to lose their grandbabies because of this senseless, selfish murder called "abortion," it makes me feel sick.

Obama has promised that the first thing that he is going to do as president is to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act" (also known as FOCA). I bet most of you don't even realize the far-reaching implications of that act. In essence, it will sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws and policies including these, which are among the most important: parental consent and notification laws for minors; state and federal funding restrictions on abortion; conscience protections for pro-life citizens working in the health-care industry and protections against being forced to participate in the practice of abortion or else lose their jobs. Do you understand what I am saying here? I am saying that this proposed legislation will create a federally guaranteed "fundamental right" to abortions for undefined 'health' reasons, and to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks, through all nine months of pregnancy, in other words...infanticide!

To you, who claim to be Christians and yet you voted for a man that is clearly evil, I ask you, "How could you turn your back on the Lord like that?" You closed your ears and eyes completely when messengers of God tried to tell you the Truth; you spewed your wicked, hurtful messages of division, subversion and racism throughout the internet and media; and you tried to destroy not only the candidates of the opposing side, but their CHILDREN as well! And you claim WE are haters? What a joke!

For those of you that truly don't know what Obama's stand is on the issue of abortion, an article entitled "Obama's Abortion Extremism" is the perfect article to explain it. The author of the post, Robert P. George, is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics and previously served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Here is the link:

http://thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert%20P._Obama's%20Abortion%20Extremism_.xml

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

"Obama's Dirty Little Secret"

The information was finally released on Saturday, 01 November 2008, that Barack Obama’s beloved Aunti Zeituni Onyango, the sister of his late father whom he has immortalized in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father," has been living in the United States as an illegal immigrant! She was refused asylum four years ago, evaded deportation and has been in defiance of a judicial ruling even since, but not without help. Obama’s aunt has been living in Boston public housing and receiving stipends for “volunteering” as a resident health advocate. While she’s not exactly an axe-murderer or living at the Ritz, she is still living in the United States illegally and we taxpayers are footing the bill. Hmmm…I wonder from whence her legal advice came? It’s not exactly an effortless task to weave your way in and out of the bureaucratic mine-field affectionately known as “social services.” Someone must have helped her, an elderly foreigner, to navigate her way through the system so that she could “fleece” our government, right along with the millions of other illegal immigrants that are currently in this country.

The best part is, she illegally donated to Obama’s presidential campaign, which proves that he has been receiving illegal donations, just as many of us suspected. There is no way to tell what the total amounts of the illegal donations that he has received are, since Obama will not release the list of his donations that are less than the legal guidelines. Neither candidate is required to do so, but in the interest of keeping with his policy of being open, transparent and truthful—something that Obama has been sadly lacking in since the beginning of his campaign—John McCain has gladly made his entire list available. In addition, it came as no surprise when Obama went back on his word to mutually agree to the limitations of public financing. Obama is the first major presidential candidate to refuse to adhere to these limitations since the new system was first started in 1976. It isn’t the first time Obama has gone back on his word to the American people, nor will it be his last, I’m afraid, but in a television interview between CNN’s Tony Harris and Candy Crowley, the matter is downplayed as they both giggle and present it as somehow “comical” saying, “obviously he couldn’t pass up that advantage, so he opts out.” It wouldn’t be important or even expected for Obama to keep
his “word,” of course.

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/06/19/the-problem-with-obama-s-public-financing-acrobatics.aspx

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/19/obama.public.financing/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Wow…that sure doesn’t speak well for the character of Barack Obama, does it? Give the man a better deal and “POOF!” Out the window goes his “word!” Yeah, right…as if his “word” meant anything to begin with. Plus, what better way to cover up receiving illegal campaign donations than to opt out of public financing—not that anyone will check on him anyway—but all he has to do is say, “I wasn’t aware of that,” like he did in the case of receiving illegal donations from his aunt and if he knew of his aunt’s illegal status. I wonder how many “millions” of illegal donations just like hers he’s “not aware of.”

Also, the concern in our nation about the number of illegal immigrants that are allowed to enter our country to receive free health, education and housing benefits at taxpayer’s expense, is growing rapidly. In addition, many of the illegal immigrants enter our country commit crimes stir up unrest, many start up gangs, and countless others ignore orders of deportation. When Obama was asked if he favored allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, something that met with strong opposition here in New York State and several other states, he said, “Yes.” He makes reckless, untrue statements about how Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and people like them have called for the roundup and immediate deportation of illegal immigrants, just to incite dissention between the illegal immigrants and the whites. He tried to elevate his status in the eyes of the Germans in Berlin when he made his “grand” world speech there. He was disloyal to our nation and he portrayed all of the American people as selfish, spoiled and racist. How long are we going to stand by and let him disrespect our people and our nation so that he can further his own personal and Muslim/African/anti-American agenda?

As far as I am concerned, the only areas that Obama is really experienced in are: lying and pandering. That makes him supremely qualified to head the Democratic National Committee, perhaps, but certainly not the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world! When are you “Pied Piper Obama” followers going to wake up from your "daze" and realize the truth? I pray that it will be before it’s too late for our nation. If it’s not, then you each will get what you deserve and I will remain on my knees, asking God to help us all.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

"Obama's 'Pinocchio' Ears"

*****************I thought I would take a little bit of time to write just some of the discrepancies that I have noticed in what Sen. Obama has said and done. I don’t have the time or energy to cover every one of them, so I’ve picked out the ones that I feel are the most important. As you all know, when you are dealing with someone who lies, their lies grow and grow, until they have Pinocchio-type proportions. I think we should definitely keep an eye on Obama’s ears!

The first glaring discrepancy that I noticed has to do with Obama’s continued opposition to the “Born-Alive Protection Act,” a bill to protect the survivors of abortion from being shelved and left to die in the hospital instead of being provided basic humanitarian and medical care. Obama’s “story” was that the reason he didn’t approve the subsequent versions of the bill after initially voting “no” was because the wording was not the same as the bill that was finally passed almost unanimously in the House. He said if the wording had been like that, he would gladly have signed off on it, but…in fact…the wording was exactly like that and even though he has been made aware of that on several occasions, (like he didn’t already know that) he still chose to announce that the NRLC (National Right to Life Committee) was lying, right on national television, just to save his own hide. Since then, surprisingly, FactCheck.Org exonerated the NRLC and the NRLC is still waiting for a public apology from Sen. Obama. Does anyone want to take bets on how long they’ll have to wait?

#1.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apLjGQnTVg8&NR=1

#2.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kIfFTP595Q

#3.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMwDq73gbm4

#4.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80mSgsQ6CU&feature=related

#5.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9UXszZyivM&feature=related

#6.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwNpgIUQc&feature=related

#7.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDX52pEC7_w

Next, as you know, Sen. Obama has stated that the $700 billion bailout was necessary because of failed economic policies that Sen. McCain supported, specifically the deregulation issue. It is a matter of record that Sen. McCain tried to warn the Democrats of the impending problem by presenting a bill in 2005 which he co-sponsored called the “Housing Enterprise Regulatory Act of 2005” (Bill S-190, www.govtrack.us) that the Democrats totally fought.
Even before that, President Bush tried to create a new agency that would regulate the supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because he could see that there was a potential problem and he tried to inform the House Democrats then, but people like Barney Frank (D-MA) and Melvin Watt (D-NC) fought vehemently against it, saying that these controls were not necessary, just as they said Bill S-190 was not necessary in 2005 and also when it came back before the House again in 2007.

Friends of Fannie Mae in the Senate were: Sen. Christopher Dodd and none other than Sen. Barack Obama! To make a long story short, in a period of 3 years, Obama received more in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae than Sen. John Kerry did in 20 years! In fact, Obama received 4 times more than any other senator per year over the last 20 years. And, a fact that should interest you very much is that Obama received 49 times more in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae than Sen. John McCain did. What does that tell you? Just think about it.

Be sure to watch the first video very closely because it goes pretty fast. Use the “pause” button if you need to and check out the website they refer to or “Google” when you question something. Everything is well-documented and this video is packed with information. The second one is quite the eye-opener as well. You are not going to believe how the Democrats fought against having any kind of oversight of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and please pay particular attention to the reading of the bonuses that were handed out. Also listen carefully to the language between the two sides and then listen to President Clinton’s statement in which he acknowledges the responsibility of the Democrats for resisting the efforts of the Republicans in the Congress and himself to tighten up on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

#8.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wed5co_c-pg

#9.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

Next I’ll address the much-advertised “Reverend Wright Scandal.” You may recall that on several different occasions, Sen. Obama was questioned as to whether he had any idea that Rev. Wright was preaching such incendiary messages at his church and if so, why did he remain at that church. Just for the sake of proof, I am going to provide videos for you that show him clearly giving two different answers to that question. The second one is kind of long, but please watch the whole thing because it does get to the point and apply to this subject.

#10.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdAKM5bPX2M&feature=related

#11.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE

In addition, he also mentions, in detail in his book, “Dreams From My Father,” and in his own words, the fact that he did know the doctrine of the church before he went there and he did in fact hear him say a lot of the exact speeches that he was questioned about by reporters. These speeches were referenced in the book as well.

The next subject that I’d like to address is one that I think is very important. What is Obama hiding? As you must realize, when someone runs for public office, their life becomes an open book. The same holds true for the office of the President of the United States of America; in fact, it is even truer for that person because he or she needs to be thoroughly checked and rechecked for reasons of national security. For that reason I am concerned as to why Sen. Obama is so secretive and is not forthcoming when he has been asked to release normal documents for review. The following is the current list to date of items that he has still not released:

1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "not available"
4. Harvard College records -- Not released
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Illinois State Senate schedule -- "not available"
7. Law practice client list -- Not released
8. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate -- Not released
9. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not rel.
10. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
11. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
12. His Record of baptism-- Not released or "not available"
13. His Illinois State Senate records--"not available"

Please watch this extremely urgent video:

#12.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Glyla5R7B8

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is currently a lawsuit that is before the highest court in the land, the U.S. Supreme Court, where they will have to make the final determination as to whether Barack H. Obama is even qualified to run for the presidency of the United States. The fact that this lawsuit has gone this far proves its merit and the American people should be asking themselves just one question right now: What is Obama trying to hide? They will have to determine if the evidence that they have will prove without a shadow of a doubt whether Obama is a natural-born citizen of the United States. If the birth certificate that he posted on his website, that investigators hired by Philip J. Berg have determined is clearly a fraud, is a fake like we are quite sure that it is…then what will Obama think up next? The dog ate my birth certificate? (I have a feeling that quite a few of his “groupies” will believe him, too, because they don’t care what he says or does, just as long as he gets to be the president.)

We all know how the Obama Campaign works—it’s a well-oiled machine. When they hear an “annoying” allegation, comment, or commercial that was made by the McCain Campaign, within 12 hours at the latest they have made a commercial or similar response to counteract the “damage.” They don’t let one little tidbit go unanswered! But what have any of us heard from the Obama Campaign about this particular subject? Not one word!

This is a real live lawsuit, ladies and gentlemen! It’s one that I believe that Obama rushed off to Hawaii under the guise of “concern for his sick grandmother,” (who had already been released from the hospital because the crisis had passed) to double-check that there wasn’t any incriminating evidence (such as his Kenyan birth certificate, perhaps) left at “Granny’s” house. Even though she was supposedly ill enough for Obama to suddenly suspend his campaign, cancel rallies and whisk off to be by her side with only 14 day left in the campaign, he didn’t think it was necessary to take Michelle and the two girls. Very curious behavior indeed, don’t you think?

While the media has dismissed Obama’s relationship with William Ayers as unimportant and ancient history, I think it bears taking a second look at the matter. In addition, I think we need to take a look at the big picture and see just who it is that our possible “future President” spends his time with, relies on and calls his friends. We need to assess his powers of judgment, as well. And just an interesting little tidbit, while we’re still on the subject of terrorists and judgment: I thought it might interest all of you to know that Obama would not even qualify to be one of his own secret service men, if he were to apply for the position—not with the questionable background that he has and all the undesirables that he chooses (and then denies) to call his friends. Now, please take a look at these videos:

#13.)http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/10/07/griffin.obama.ayers.cnn?iref=videosearch

#14.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE6_zdeJ79E

#15.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh10-w351MI

#16.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJyLX7X3PzU

#17.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxzgn4fj4vw&feature=related

#18.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSemkPChvHo

I have only scratched the surface of the secretive and dishonest life of Barack Hussein Obama and I’m just an amateur writer. Imagine what someone with a background in journalism with ties and friends in the right places could uncover if they were so inclined. But we all know that the left-wing, main-stream media is not so inclined, because they have done everything they could to stack the deck in Obama’s favor, including trying to all but destroy Gov. Sarah Palin and her family.

It’s a disgrace when they label Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of the Governor, as a “slut” and call her “disgusting” and “irresponsible” because she wants to keep the baby and tag her fiancé, Levi as that “redneck who knocked her up.” What makes it even worse is that when Britney Spears’ 16-year-old, celebrity sister found herself in the exact same position as Bristol, they followed “adorable” Jamie Lynn around and showed pictures of her with her fiancé, that “stand-up guy,” Casey, and finally did a complete story of the “happy family.” (the quotation marks show how they were reported in the news)

Finally, I have another video here that was just too good to leave out of my report. It’s the first in a series of twelve and if you have the time, it would really be worth your while to watch all twelve.

#19.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqTjUWf4t3E

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

"Obama: Devoted or Devious?"

Is there anyone else out there that thinks that the poignant story we were spoon-fed about Sen. Obama suddenly rushing to his beloved grandmother’s side, all because he was so concerned for her health, was just a little too “touching?” According to the reports, she had recently fallen and broken her hip and needed to be hospitalized.

This, you may recall, is the very same grandmother that Obama disrespected and nationally labeled as “a typical white person,” even after her years of willing sacrifice, love and a singular devotion toward seeing that Obama received an excellent education and was well cared for throughout his life; something that both his father and his mother did not or could not seem to do for him.

With only 14 days left in the campaign, Obama whisked off to Hawaii, but not to his grandmother’s hospital bedside as you would have naturally thought for someone at death’s door, but to her home. Another curious circumstance was the fact that if it was serious enough for Obama to disrupt his entire campaign schedule, having to cancel speaking engagements and rallies because his grandmother was so desperately ill, why did he chose not to take Michelle and the two girls along? It just doesn’t ring true to me; how about you?

Coincidentally, the very same day that Obama made his sudden plans to go to Hawaii, a press release was made by Philip J. Berg, the attorney who filed suit against Barack H. Obama challenging his “lack of qualifications” to serve as the President of the United States because he did not have a valid, certified copy of his original birth certificate and/or an embossed, signed, paper certficate of live birth as verification that he was a natural-born citizen. The fact that Obama has continually ignored the issue and filed for dismissals in court should speak volumes to the American people. Why do you suppose Obama wouldn't just turn these documents in to the courts and make this whole thing disappear? Could it be that it's because these charges are true or is it because he has something to hide?

Currently, there is an appeal that has been filed and is now before the U. S. Supreme Court. The case is Berg v. Obama 08-cv-04083 and is referenced at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Glyla5R7B8. I know that there are those that are skeptical about whether this claim could possibly have any validity to it, but let me remind you of one thing: if all the stories that the Obama Campaign and FactCheck.Org have printed about how these charges against Obama are false and ridiculous are true, then why has this suit had enough merit to reach the highest court in the land? If this had all been resolved as Obama wanted you to think it had been, then why do you think he rushed to his grandmother's side? I personally think that he went there to double check that "Granny" didn't leave any incriminating evidence that would prove that he was actually born in Kenya or maybe on board a ship on the way to Kenya, like photos or even the missing birth certificate and certificate of live birth. Obama's grandmother from Kenya is only too happy to tell anyone that she sees that she was there the night he was born in the Kenyan hospital. She's a proud Kenyan grandmother whose grandson is running for President of the United States and she is understandably proud. This grandmother hasn't been asked to lie about that night yet, but time will tell.

FactCheck.Org, you may or may not know, is actually "The Annenberg Political Fact Check Organization" and is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, established in 1994 by Walter Annenberg. They have concluded by examining whatever document they had before them (it's been reported to have been a copy of his half-sister Auma's birth certificate, doctored with PhotoShop imaging to look like an "Obama-original") that it is, in fact, a certified copy of his original birth certificate. See their report here: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html. One more important note I think I should make is that FactCheck.Org is primarily funded by the Annenberg Foundation. Are you getting clued in to just how "cozy" this all is yet? No? Well, read on.

The name "Annenberg" may seem familiar to you because that "coincidentally" is also the name of the project that Obama was chairman of under guidance from none other than unrepentant terrorist, William "Bill" Ayers. Ayers personally hand-picked Obama to Chair the $100 million "Annenberg Challenge Projects" in Chicago, whose purpose was to reportedly improve schools in the area. Instead of giving money to the needy schools where it would have done the most good, Obama and Ayers chose to distribute the money to pet projects of theirs referred to as "external partners of the schools." Some of the recipients of these funds are as follows: "Peace School," which had a United Nations theme; a project centered around African-American studies; Trinity United Church of Christ whose pastor was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, known to teach Black Liberation Theology and other divisive, subversive doctrine; and Family Justice Center, where Ayers' wife worked.

During a period of five years, Obama distributed the $60 million per year that was supposed to go to needy schools, to extremist organizations such as ACORN (Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now) whose primary function was to infuse students with their radical idealogy. ACORN is the same organization currently being investigated for voter fraud; the same organization that Obama previously worked for as a "leadership trainer" for their new recruits and also as one of their attornies in the 1995 suit that forced the state of Illinois to implement the federal "motor-voter" bill. In addition, while in his capacity as Chair of the Annenberg Challenge and after, monies were exchanged in contributions to his campaign and he also made sure that they continued to receive funding that they needed.

The same type of conflict-of-interest with regard to campaign contributions and funding being allocated to Annenberg affiliates brings the validity of the FactCheck.Org report into question. Here is the link to another study on the birth certificate that concludes without a doubt that it is a forgery: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/07/atlas-exclusive.html. The U.S. Supreme Court will have to make the final determination on this one. I'm just wondering: What is Obama hiding?

This is just one more incident to be added to the growing number of misrepresentations, half-truths, secrets, and omissions that have become what seem to be what we can expect from Sen. Obama. Is that what you want from your next President? If not, then vote for honesty, integrity, and for the veteran who laid his life down for our country and our freedom instead. Vote for John McCain for President of the United States, 2008.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless America!

"Second Opinions"

I had an appointment today with a doctor that I had never been to and had never heard of before, for the purpose of a "Worker's Compensation Second Opinion Evaluation." The translation for that in English is: I don't believe we want to pay for this treatment that you need and are entitled to, so if we jerk you around and stall long enough, maybe you'll give up, right? Wrong!

For those of you who don't know my background, I'll try to give you as condensed a version as I can. My first injury at work was during our annual inventory in the year of 1992. I hurt my left shoulder moving heavy price catalogs on to a shelf high above my head. Then during our next inventory in 1993, I reinjured my left shoulder lifting car brake rotors and I missed approximately 6 weeks of work, plus I had to work half days, wear a sling, go to physical therapy and really nurse it for months after I went back to work. I went to a hearing, they gave me a settlement, said I had some permanent loss of use of the shoulder and that if I ever hurt that shoulder again, no matter where I was or what I was doing, worker's compensation would cover the expenses as part of the settlement. I can't remember what term they used for that, though.

In March of 1995, I discovered that I had bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. I had carpal tunnel release surgery on my right wrist in September of that same year and I have never been back to work since. The night of the surgery I had to sleep with my arm almost straight up in the air. It was absolutely purple! I told the nurses at the hospital that it was wrapped too tight and they wouldn't loosen the bandages; it throbbed and I was in agony because of it. I asked them to call my doctor and they said they couldn't get ahold of him and that they were sure the problem would resolve itself once I went home. Uh-huh...they wanted me out of their face!

When I got home, my roommate, Penny (she was later a bridesmaid in my wedding!) tried to locate my doctor, and then she called the hospital emergency room for advice. The ER told her that we would have to wait until morning and make an appointment with my doctor, which we did, but in the meantime, I was to sleep with my arm as highly elevated as possible.

Penny actually went out and constructed a platform with 2 slats on the sides for my arm to slide in between so I could fall asleep and not worry about my arm sliding down. I didn't get much sleep because of the throbbing and the pain, but I was able to use that device that she made later, when I got home from the doctor. The physician's assistant, who was actually there to assist in the surgery, was not happy with the nurses at the hospital at all! He took my bandages off and massaged my surgery area and then reapplied the bandages. It was so weird to look at the incision so soon after surgery. The way the skin opened up and looked like you could look right through to my bones without any blood showing--it was so cool!

Anyway, I have always had my suspicions that that was the reason or at least a major contributing factor to my getting RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy) or CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome), which are both basically just chronic pain syndromes that resulted from trauma to the body, such as surgery, injury or illness, and are characterized by severe pain, swelling and changes in the skin with additional evidence of obvious nerve damage.

At any rate, because I have been suffering from the RSD/CRPS since 1995 and have not been able to go back to work, the Worker's Compensation Insurance Company has not been very happy with me. They have sent me for several "second opinion evaluations" about my RSD/CRPS and the most recent one was last year (2007). Can you imagine that? At that point it had been twelve years and at least that many doctors had all confirmed that diagnosis.

My most recent injury was a reinjury to my left shoulder that happened in December of 2007 while I was lifting the corner of our mattress, trying to slip the fitted sheet over the edge. I don't normally attempt anything near that heavy in the line of housework because I'm not really able to do those things anymore, but I wanted to surprise my husband and get that done for him. What a mistake! It cost him plenty; because of my stupidity, (which he calls sweetness) he has had to do even more work than usual. This is the injury that necessitated the second opinion evaluation, which was accomplished today.

Finally...what I didn't tell you was that I have had the audacity to tell my Worker's Compensation Insurance Company "No Thankyou" when they had asked me just a few weeks prior to their scheduling this "second opinion evaluation" appointment, to please consider taking an early settlement on my case. When that happens, they give you a lump sum of the monthly cash payments that you receive from them, for a total period of five years. In other words, they give you a check for 60 months worth of your payments, all at one time. If they had been paying for your medications and office visits as well, you would no longer receive those benefits. They have been trying to get me to settle for about 10 years and at one point, one of the adjusters actually discussed it with me on the phone.

"Are you sure you don't want to settle now? That's quite a chunk of change all at once. I'm sure you and your husband could think of something to use it for," he said. I know he must have thought I would jump at the chance and that maybe I was one of those dumb bimbos that would fall for it, but he didn't know me...at all.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked him sarcastically. I didn't like his condescending tone and I decided I would let him know I wasn't as stupid as he thought I was.

"Excuse me?" was his haughty reply.

"Well, I was sure you must be joking. You were, weren't you?" I asked. No reply. "I mean, after all, you're offering a settlement for five years and I've probably got thirty or even forty years left. I'd be crazy to accept that, right?" Still no answer. I was enjoying this. "Not to mention the cost of my monthly office visits...and those medication! The cost of my medications is astronomical! Well, you already know that, right?" Still no answer. I smiled. "Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here," he answered curtly.

"Oh, I was worried for a second there. Did you hear what I said?" I asked him, knowing full well he heard every word, but I was enjoying rubbing it in.

"I heard you!" he snapped.

"Oh dear. Have I said something that has offended you?" I asked in my sweetest, most innocent voice.

"No. I'll let the office know that you don't want to settle."

"Ever," I said, firmly.

"What?" he asked.

"I said, ever. Tell them that I don't want to settle, ever. That way they won't have to waste your time or mine again."

"Got it. Bye." And that was that. Until next time, that is.

"Should Church and State Always Be Separate?"

My answer to this question is a resounding yes, but probably not for the reason you think.

When our ancestors wrote the United Stated States Constitution, they tried to think of every conceivable thing that may happen in the future, based on what they knew to be true at that moment. In good faith, they drafted what is known to us as The Bill of Rights or the Amendments, of which there are now a total of twenty-seven (27).

In the First Amendment, it states the following:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

There have been many disagreements as to the meaning of this particular amendment, but to me, the meaning is crystal clear. Our Country was founded on biblical principles, by Christian men who crossed the ocean in order to preserve that religious freedom, not remove it from their lives! It is well-documented that they prayed together before each meeting and asked the Lord for guidance when deciding what the wording would be for the Constitution. James Madison, who was the chief framer of the United States Constitution said:

"We have staked the whole future of American Civilization...upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Does it sound like it was the intention of our Founding Fathers to separate our Creator from our lives while governing the people, which is one of the most important responsibilities that one may be called to do in his/her service to others? I think not.

My interpretation of this situation is that anti-Christian liberals are trying to push their agenda for our nation, which is that it be Godless, so that our children can have freedom "from" religion, not freedom "of" religion." They would like nothing better than to destroy the roots and foundation of our great nation and replace them with Marxism, unequal justice, deceitfulness and anything that is the opposite of truth, justice, honesty and the Christian values set forth in the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution was not written to give religious content to our nation, but rather, the Constitution was intended to be and is an instrument that protects and perpetuates the already existing religious values of our nation. It would probably even come as a huge surprise to many people to discover that nowhere in the Constitution does the phrase "separation of church and state" appear. In fact, there has never been a document of state that has even proposed such a concept, but the phrase has been passed around so much, that it is as much believed as one of the gospels.

In 1947, Justice Hugo Black made a ruling with the United States Supreme Court in the case of Everson vs. Board of Education. In that ruling, Judge Black took the First Amendment clause that read: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" and ruled that the absolute meaning of that clause was that any aid or benefit to religion from governmental actions is unconstitutional. As Justice Black stated, "The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach."

When the First Amendment was passed, it had only had two main purposes. First, was to prohibit the government from mandatorily establishing a "Church of the United States" and declaring that one particular religion be the religion of the region, such as Britain had done. This was in response to concerns expressed by some Baptist clergymen of Danbury, Connecticut in a letter that Thomas Jefferson received from them in January 1802. Jefferson answered that letter, assuring them about the "wall," which had a one-directional purpose and that was to protect the church from the state. The church should always be free to teach biblical values to the people, while at the same time keeping the government out of the church. Our ancestors crossed the ocean, founded this great Country, and fought to preserve and protect those freedoms!

Secondly, the part of the First Amendment in which many people have of late decided to disagree, is the part that had been interpreted as follows: “the government should not impede or interfere with the practice of free religion.” The voice of religion is not supposed to be removed from public debate, but protected so that each religion can have its say. The First Amendment was intended to be a safeguard so that the state has no jurisdiction over the Church, thus protecting it, but if non-believers and other First Amendment dissenters have their way, they will remove the Church from every forum and totally disestablish it.