The future of peace.

Artwork by Chris Bauer

Good evening all. Yes, today is President's Day. To most of us, it's just a day to shop and catch some savings... or maybe it's just a day off to relax and take it easy. That's good, as well it should be. Today is a day for rest and relaxation, as well as some casual activities. Or, maybe you had the opportunity to work today- praise the LORD that you are blessed to have a job.

Today is also the day to reflect on the hightest office in the land: The Oval Office. Today we remember and honor all the Presidents past and present that have lived to serve the United States of America. Thanks to God for this great country, and thanks to God for the Presidents who have served the United States with dignity, integrity, and honor. Today is historical because it reflects the past, celebrates the present, and declares the future. We celebrate today to remember and present the sacred liberty of freedom entrusted to the People of the United States, and the power of the President as the personification of that individual liberty.

Let us pray that the President and all the President's men remember to keep the American People first. Let us pray that the President has smart ideas to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for the American People, present and future. We pray as George Washington once prayed:

"I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in His holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Fields, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. Amen." ~George Washington

A small country has fewer people.
Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster
than man, they are not needed.
The people take death seriously and do not travel far.
Though they have boats and carriages, no on uses them.
Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them.
Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing.
Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure;
They are happy in their ways.
Though they live within sight of their neighbors,
And crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard across the way,
Yet they leave each other in peace while they grow old and die.

Tao Te Ching, verse 80

Happy Birthday Abe!  Today is the day to be thankful that a man like Abraham Lincoln once lived. Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest Presidents to serve the United States of America. Many people remember that he was the founder of the GOP... the Grand Old "Republican" Party.

Abraham Lincoln once wrote:

"Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln"

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America

"Whatever else history may say about me when I am gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts... and may all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural, GOD given, optimism." ~Ronald Reagan

As part of the month of February, it's good to remember that this is also President's month. Let's recall and remember Ronald Reagan and his ideals. Maybe it's important to think positively and to just keep trying to do your best even if things seem difficult at times. Life is an upward journey... just don't ever give up... try to live your life to the best.... "If you do your best, God will help you to do the rest."

It is said that a nation that forgets it's past has no future. 

Think love. Think earth. Think peace. The Presidential election is ramping up. There has been a lot of headway made. Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney have been running strong through Iowa and now into New Hampshire. President Obama has also been looking good making a stop in Shaker Heights, OH. These men are all intelligent, articulate, experienced, and gracious. They all have a unique skill set capable of implementing their vision for the American People.

Good luck to the President and to the Republican challengers. We hope that the winning side will do the best they can for the American People. We humbly ask that you serve the American People with smart policies, honor, grace, and justice. Kindly really show that you care by fixing the U.S. economic problems, and putting U.S. tax dollars back into the pockets of the American People.

What is the best way to fix the economic problems for every American? We are all shareholders in the American Dream- We are ALL shareholders in the American Dream. The American People have worked long and hard, yet life seems to be getting tougher, not easier. If life is getting better, then why is the retirement age going up to 67? Why are some members of Congress advocating the abrogation of Social Security? Why does the U.S. borrow 42 cents of every dollar the U.S. spends? And who will have to pay it off? The future generations of Americans will pay- just pass the problem down the line to the future of America. We need leadership that will save the youth, protect the old, honor the American People and honor the American Dream. It is time to take inventory, it is time to take stock in our American Dream, and declare dividends for the American People.

Thanks to President Obama for giving the American People tax relief and rewarding tax filers with the $400 cash back. It seems that perhaps demand-side economics (rather than supply-side economics) is a better model for financial justice. Giving taxpayers a leg up with a cash back return is a good model to encourage demand and create a better quality of life for all Americans. With any luck we can improve this benefit from $400 up to maybe $5,000 in the future. $5000 x 270 million Americans = $1.35 trillion. That'd be every year, for all Americans aged 18 and up.

$1.35 trillion is a relatively modest amount for the U.S. budget when considered against the real picture, that supply side economic policies have helped put the U.S.A. at debt levels exceeding $15 trillion. One thing is unequivocally clear from this mounting debt, and that is that supply side economics downside is too much debt. Supply side economics does work sometimes, but it doesn't work all the time. To be realistic, how does giving money to the supply side stimulate demand? (It's a rhetorically loaded question- it doesn't stimulate demand at all. It equips supply to go to market. A few dollars trickle down from the top. That's why it is called 'trickle down' economics.)

With demand side economics, kids can be going to college without going into debt. Parents can get a cushion to build a better financial future for their family. People will have some extra cash every year to help buy food, to help pay bills, to help buy a car, to help invest and save for retirement, to help start a business, to help go to college, to help pay rent, to help pay a mortgage, to help pay for insurance. Is it a panacea, no, but it will help many Americans in the struggle for economic success. It will demonstrate that the President and the Congress care about the American People. Man if that happened, who wouldn't vote for their Congressman, Congresswoman, or President, or Governor. Imagine a candidate if they said, "I'll pay you $5000 a year so long as I'm in office." Man that be the greatest way to garner votes nowadays, I tell ya. Moreover, it improves aggregate demand and stimulates more robust economic activity, which creates more jobs, and creates more wealth for everyone. Thus everyone's quality of life improves. It's a win, win, win situation: A win for the government, A win for business, and a win for the American People.

Take a look at how much money has been spent/allocated at the expense of the American Taxpayers. It is enough money to give over $10,000 to every American citizen- every man, woman, and child age 18 and up. PBS news has the story: pbs.org/economy/the-true-cost-of-the-bank-bailout

Was it necessary to bailout the banks? Probably. However, it needed to be addressed. And thanks to the President and the Congress they made it work. That was a big success.

Now, moving forward, perhaps it would be a good idea to bailout the American People with a trillion dollar bailout. At least it would help to improve the economy, while at the same time improving everyone's quality of life. Together, united, we can achieve the American Dream for every American who wants to live the dream.

May the best win the Presidential Office this year! Good luck, high regards, and high honor.

What's observed is movement, microcosmic movement and macrocosmic movement. Microcosmic because you have movement within yourself, like a heart beat, brainwaves, blood flow, involuntary and voluntary muscles. Macrocosmic because there is movement in the oceans and rivers, the air, the weather, trees, mountains, galaxies, the universe, the milky way. More specifically what is observed are changes in movement. The change in movement. Humans measure change with the mathematics of time. And what do we use to measure time, yep, a watch. We watch time. We watch time go by, and as time goes by we see invariable movement.

Time is pragmatic and calculating. Time is also sure and certain. Time by it's own virtue is patient. The plane of life- From infant to child, to adolescent to adult, to senior to passing- The season's of life are also worth deep and patient thought. Thinking is one of the best things you can do. Just keep thinking and you will find answers. Maybe it's time to think. Maybe it's time to think about peace, kindness, good health and prosperity.

The ideas of patience, peace, and prosperity are similiarly like the laws of physics. Through time there is a change in movement to observe peace, to have patience, and to gain prosperity. This is reflected in the truth of the universe and the galaxies. As people grow from young to old, the slow change takes place to become more patient, more peaceful, and prosperity occurs. In the short and long-run the invariable path of non-judgment, patience, peace, and calmness have with them the gifts of longevity and prosperity. This is a great day. Blessings are coming your way. It is time for peace. It is time for comfort and Joy. It is time to renew and restore. It is time to take stock of inventory. It it time for truth. It is time for justice. Happy New Year 2012. 

Say good-bye to 2011, and hello to 2012. Have a wonderful safe New Year's Eve. Ring in the new year with family and friends, a new hope and renewed faith. Look for that spirit of greatness that is within yourself.  Think positive thoughts for the New Year- love, peace, kindness, strength, wisdom, and the belief that a miracle can happen. Remember that cool song by Jefferson Starship, Miracles. It was quite awhile ago that this song was released, but it is still such a great one. Stay positive, and keep doing your thing. You have the gift. Another group of artists, RUN DMC says in their song It's Like That:

Here's another point in life you should not miss
Do not be a fool who's prejudiced
Because we're all written down on the same list
It's like that (what?) and that's the way it is
Huh!      

You are the gift of greatness. Just as it says (1 Corinthians 3:16) Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you?