The Spirit of Thanksgiving

Think for a moment, if you will, of someone you know who is truly happy. We’ve all met those who seem to radiate happiness. They seem to smile more than others; they laugh more than others—just being around them makes us happier as well.

Let me suggest it is because they have an attitude of gratitude.

Now think of the person you first thought of again and grade on this principle: Does he or she live in thanksgiving daily? Those who live in thanksgiving daily are usually among the world’s happiest people. And they make others happy as well. Living in thanksgiving daily is a habit that will enrich our lives and the lives of those we love.

Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.

Gratitude turns a meal into a feast and drudgery into delight. It softens our grief and heightens our pleasure. It turns the simple and common into the memorable and transcendent. It forges bonds of love and fosters loyalty and admiration.

Consider what you are grateful for. Count your blessings, if you will, and see if it doesn’t warm your heart and bring a smile to your face.

May we all strive to have an attitude of gratitude every day and let this Thanksgiving Day start us down that path.

Have a wonderful, safe, and happy Thanksgiving!

Related articles

• Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks (dailymuse.spiritlightinsight.com)
• You Should Be Grateful? (thoughtsinorder.wordpress.com)
• Thanksgiving is the time to follow up on those feelings of gratitude for all we have ~ Reed (2rqod.wordpress.com)

 

Voter Fraud? What’s the GOP going to do about it?

The answer to the question in the title is quite simply, nothing.

But the reason the GOP will sit quietly as reports come out of battleground states of voter fraud is not for lack of desire to right a wrong, but because they are legally prevented from doing so.

You read correctly. The GOP cannot legally file suit or petition the courts to look into voter fraud in any of the 50 states.

In 1981, during the gubernatorial election in New Jersey (NJ), a lawsuit was brought against the RNC, the NJ Republican State Committee (RSC), and three individuals (John A. Kelly, Ronald Kaufman, and Alex Hurtado), accusing them of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 1971, 1973, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

To settle the lawsuit, in 1982, the RNC and RSC entered into an agreement or Consent Decree, which is national in scope, limiting the RNC’s ability to engage or assist in voter fraud prevention unless the RNC obtains the court’s approval in advance.

The RNC has tried to get court approval to help prevent voter fraud but has been denied by the courts.

The RNC also agreed that the RNC, its agents, servants, and employees would be bound by the Decree, “whether acting directly or indirectly through other party committees.”

The Consent Decree was modified in 1987 and redefined “ballot security activities” to mean “ballot integrity, ballot security or other efforts to prevent or remedy vote fraud.”

Here’s a fun twist. Since 1982, this Consent Decree has been renewed every year by the original judge, Carter appointee District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise, now 88 years old.

Debevoise has been retired for years but comes back for the sole purpose of renewing his 1982 order for another year.

In 2010, the RNC unsuccessfully appealed “to vacate or modify” the Consent Decree in “Democratic National Committee v Republican National Committee,” Case No. 09-4615 (C.A. 3, Mar. 8, 2012).

The judge who denied the RNC’s appeal to “vacate” the 1982 Consent Decree is an Obama appointee, Judge Joseph Greenaway, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. What? You were expecting a Reagan appointee?

The RNC and DNC made their Consent Decree 30 years ago, in 1982. The agreement in effect gives a carte blanche to the Democrat Party to commit vote fraud in every voting district across America that has, in the language of the Consent Decree, “a substantial proportion of racial or ethnic populations.” The term “substantial proportion” is not defined.

The Republican Party is either full of incompetents or part of a big plan where they are the Tom to the Democrats Jerry.

This is just another layer to be peeled back from the mess our election process has become, with each layer revealing an even bigger, deeper, and more disturbing problem.

Thanks to the following blogs for their thorough reporting of this story.

Fellowship of the Minds

gulagbound.com

Also check out this article at TheBlaze.  A good read about why, regardless of the number of cases of alleged voter fraud come forward, the election will stay the same.

The Mormon Moment(s)

It’s been called the Mormon moment.

Mitt Romney’s run at the Presidency brought renewed attention to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from around the country and around the globe.  The “moment” brought positive and uplifting dialogue along with negative, demeaning, and stereotypical discussion along all forms of media.

But for Mormons it’s never been about a moment, but a series of moments seen and unseen for 182 years now.   Moments where the desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ are put into motion through action.

The Savior said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  He also taught that the first and great commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Latter-Day Saints, Mormons, take those simple instructions to heart and if they are living their faith their actions will show it.

This short film shot in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy exemplifies what Mormons believe.

That faith without works is dead.

Related articles

• Mormon Helping Hands (ireport.cnn.com)
• The 10 Best Stories About the ‘Mormon Moment’ – Articles (religionnews.com)
• ‘Mormon moment’ ends with a loss – but Romney’s religion still won – Articles (religionnews.com)