Fear is "False Evidence Appearing Real." All that depresses us, all that we fear is really powerless to harm us. If we stay in wonder, humility and gratitude, fear loses its grip. There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Sooner or later, you have to find our soul, inner peace, God — whatever you want to call it. When materialism ceases to fill you up, and you've had enough sex, drugs, violence, war, gossip, food and TV — you have only one place left to go.
I wonder if Diablo Cody knew she was writing one of the most heroic pro-life movies ever. I loved JUNO the Oscar-nominated film starring the adorable Ellen Page and directed by Jason Reitman. Check out these opening credits:
JUNO
WINNER OF THE SAG AWARDS: The Cohen Brothers' "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" is chilling depiction of a sociopath and "THERE WILL BE BLOOD" based on Upton Sinclair's book OIL, is an excruciating character study of greed, played by Daniel Day Lewis — who was mesmerizing. I was disturbed by this movie, but can't stop thinking about it. It was torture to watch, but you can't take your eyes off of Daniel Day Lewis and wonder what created a wretch like this.
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RETIREMENT PLANNING FOR 2008
Had you purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.
With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.
With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.
Had you purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.
But, had you purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to consume beer and recycle. Just kidding.
It's called the 401-Keg.
(Joke of the Day courtesy of my husband's email)
GOOD NEWS NETWORK.ORG
Iraqi Boy Sends Messages of Peace in a Bottle
Written by Graciela Sholander
Iraqi teen and his friends work towards peace by sending peace messages in bottles down the Euphrates River. The 14 year-old says he loves all the people of Iraq and hopes to encourage brotherhood among the sects with messages of peace. (CNN Video)
11-Year-Old's Idea May Become Law: Boy's Initiative May Be Passed as Law to Help Feed Homeless
Jack Davis, 11, says, "If you think there's a problem in the world, you don't wait for other people to fix it. You have to try to fix it yourself." (ABCNEWS.com)
Jack Davis is only 11, but he had a pretty grown-up idea: He was disturbed to learn that Florida restaurants throw out food that could be given to the hungry and the homeless -- because the restaurant owners could be sued if anyone who ate the food became ill or developed food poisoning.
"I thought it pretty disturbing to see pounds, pretty much, of food being thrown away every single day," the 11-year-old said. Jack had visited a homeless shelter on school field trips and he worried about people going hungry.
"I realized that I could make a difference by trying to change the law," Davis said.
Jack's idea was to pass a law that would give restaurant owners' some protection from lawsuits. He got his dad to float the idea to some Florida legislators.
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REPUBLICANS REFUSE HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN... AGAIN
The House [debated] the override of the President’s veto of the revised bipartisan SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) bill. The President’s veto on December 12 denied health care to children of hardworking families across America just as the country began experiencing an economic downturn, with families increasingly struggling with the costs of heat, food, gas and health care.
From CBS News: The vote was 260-152, at least 15 votes short of the two-thirds threshold needed to override a veto. The Democratic bill _ backed by 45 Republicans in the House _ would expand eligibility for SCHIP benefits to 10 million uninsured children. Republicans have rejected the measure because they believe it would allow illegal immigrants and middle income people to get government health coverage, even though there is explicit language in the bill to prevent such problems.
Unfortunately, the House Republicans sustained Bush’s veto, by narrowly denying the two-thirds necessary to override the veto: 260 in favor of passage versus 152 against, despite the veto-proof margin in the Senate, meaning 42 Republicans voted with the Democrats. Rep. Charlie Rangel:
“I stand in support of overriding the President’s veto, not for the reasons given by Chairman Dingell — that it’s the right and moral position — because that has existed all of the time and yet we’ve been unsuccessful. But I would say to the gentleman from Texas that since the last time this has come up, the President has admitted we are going toward a recession and that economy may be jeopardized unless the Congress supported a stimulus package. It would just seem to me that if it’s recognized that our states are going to go into deficit, our governors are going to have serious problems, and that it is very possible if not likely that services for our kids will be further cut under Medicaid, it would seem to me that a legitimate argument could be made that by providing care for these 11 million children it allows the parents to know that they’ll be able to be more productive knowing that their kids are covered by health insurance. It’s sad that the poor now have to be used merely as a vehicle to stimulate our economy but had we taken care of these people… perhaps we’d be not going through this struggle. So it occurs to me that this is another opportunity that the minority would have, not just to do the moral thing but to do the economic thing, and to be of some assistance to the governors who are screaming out for the continuation of this program, indeed the expansion of it.”
photo credit: Peyton Quinn "Freedom From Fear" How to Take Back Your Life and Dissolve Depression"
