our flag

The United States Flag Code'
Flag Etiquette'
STANDARDS of RESPECT
The Flag Code, which formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how
the flag is not to be used.

They are: The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing.
It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.
The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a
speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration
in general.
Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes.
The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.
The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose.
It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such
articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes,
or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use.

Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.

The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform,
except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel,
fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.
The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark,
insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.

The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding,
carrying, or delivering anything.When the flag is lowered, no part
of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received
by waiting hands and arms.

To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.
The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.

When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of
our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

Note: Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified
flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th.
Contact your local American Legion Hall and inquire about the
availability of this service.

Displaying the Flag Outdoors:
When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting from a window,
balcony, or a building, the union should be at the peak of
the staff unless the flag is at half staff.

When it is displayed:
from the same flagpole with another flag - of a state,
community, society or Scout unit - the flag of the United States
must always be at the top except that the church pennant may
be flown above the flag during church services for Navy personnel
when conducted by a Naval chaplain on a ship at sea.

When the flag is displayed over a street, it should be hung
vertically, with the union to the north or east. If the flag
is suspended over a sidewalk,
the flag's union should be farthest from the building.

When flown with flags of states, communities, or societies on
separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight
line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the
position of honor - to its own right...The other flags
may be smaller but none may be larger...No other flag
ever should be placed above it...The flag of the United States
is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered.

When flown with the national banner of other countries,
each flag must be displayed from a separate pole of the
same height. Each flag should be the same size. They
should be raised and lowered simultaneously. The flag of
one nation may not be displayed above that of another nation.

Raising and Lowering the Flag:
The flag should be raised briskly and lowered slowly and
ceremoniously. Ordinarily it should be displayed only between
sunrise and sunset. It should be illuminated if displayed
at night.The flag of the United States of America is saluted
as it is hoisted and lowered. The salute is held until the
flag is unsnapped from the halyard or through the last note
of music, whichever is the longest.

Displaying the Flag Indoors:
When on display, the flag is accorded the place
of honor, always positioned to its own right.
Place it to the right of the speaker or staging area or
sanctuary. Other flags should be to the left.

The flag of the United States of America should be at the center
and at the highest point of the group when a number of
flags of states, localities, or societies are grouped
for display.

When one flag is used with the flag of the United States of America
and the staffs are crossed, the flag of the United States
is placed on its own right with its staff in front of the other
flag.When displaying the flag against a wall, vertically
or horizontally, the flag's union (stars) should be at the top,
to the flag's own right, and to the observer's left.

Parading and Saluting the Flag:
When carried in a procession, the flag should be to the
right of the marchers. When other flags are carried,
the flag of the United States may be centered in front
of the others or carried to their right.
When the flag passes in a procession, or when it is
hoisted or lowered, all should face the flag and salute.

The Salute
To salute; all persons come to attention. Those in
uniform give the appropriate formal salute. Citizens not in
uniform salute by placing their right hand over the heart
and men with head cover should remove it and hold it to left
shoulder, hand over the heart. Members of organizations in
formation salute upon command of the person in charge.

The Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem:The pledge of
allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention,
facing the flag, and saluting. When the national anthem is
played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and
salute at the first note and hold the salute through the
last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed,
otherwise to the music.

The Flag in Mourning:To place the
flag at half staff, hoist it to the peak for an instant
and lower it to a position half way between the top and bottom
of the staff. The flag is to be raised again to the peak
for a moment before it is lowered.

On Memorial Day the flag is displayed at half staff until
noon and at full staff from noon to sunset. The flag is to
be flown at half staff in mourning for designated, principal
government leaders and upon presidential or gubernatorial order.
When used to cover a casket, the flag should be placed with
the union at the head and over the left shoulder. It should
not be lowered into the grave.

THE AMERICANS CREED

The American Creed
I believe in the United States of America
As a government of the people, by the people, for the people:
Whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed:
A democracy in a republic;A sovereign Nation of many sovereign States;
A perfect Union, one and inseparable;
Established upon the principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity
For which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country
To love it
To support its Constitution
To obey its laws;
To protect its flag and defend it against all enemies.
William Tyler Page

politically incorrect before his time

A Humbling Lesson:

Congressman Davy Crockett Learns About Limited Government

In the following, excerpted from the book The Life of Colonel David Crockett (1884) compiled by Edward S. Ellis, the famous American frontiersman, war hero, and congressman from Tennessee relates how he learned -- from one of his own backwoods constituents -- the vital importance of heeding the Constitution and the dangers of disregarding its restraints.

Crockett was then the lion of Washington. I was a great admirer of his character, and, having several friends who were intimate with him, I found no difficulty in making his acquaintance. I was fascinated with him, and he seemed to take a fancy to me.

I was one day in the lobby of the House of Representatives when a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support, rather, as I thought, because it afforded the speakers a fine opportunity for display than from the necessity of convincing anybody, for it seemed to me that everybody favored it. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose. Everybody expected, of course, that he was going to make one of his characteristic speeches in support of the bill. He commenced:

"Mr. Speaker -- I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him. This government can owe no debts but for services rendered, and at a stipulated price. If it is a debt, how much is it? Has it been audited, and the amount due ascertained? If it is a debt, this is not the place to present it for payment, or to have its merits examined. If it is a debt, we owe more than we can ever hope to pay, for we owe the widow of every soldier who fought in the War of 1812 precisely the same amount. There is a woman in my neighborhood, the widow of as gallant a man as ever shouldered a musket. He fell in battle. She is as good in every respect as this lady, and is as poor. She is earning her daily bread by her daily labor; but if I were to introduce a bill to appropriate five or ten thousand dollars for her benefit, I should be laughed at, and my bill would not get five votes in this House. There are thousands of widows in the country just such as the one I have spoken of, but we never hear of any of these large debts to them. Sir, this is no debt. The government did not owe it to the deceased when he was alive; it could not contract it after he died. I do not wish to be rude, but I must be plain. Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much of our own money as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."

He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.

Like many other young men, and old ones too, for that matter, who had not thought upon the subject, I desired the passage of the bill, and felt outraged at its defeat. I determined that I would persuade my friend Crockett to move a reconsideration the next day.

Previous engagements preventing me from seeing Crockett that night, I went early to his room the next morning and found him engaged in addressing and franking letters, a large pile of which lay upon his table.

I broke in upon him rather abruptly, by asking him what devil had possessed him to make that speech and defeat that bill yesterday. Without turning his head or looking up from his work, he replied:

"You see that I am very busy now; take a seat and cool yourself. I will be through in a few minutes, and then I will tell you all about it."

He continued his employment for about ten minutes, and when he had finished he turned to me and said:

"Now, sir, I will answer your question. But thereby hangs a tale, and one of considerable length, to which you will have to listen."

I listened, and this is the tale which I heard:

"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. When we got there, I went to work, and I never worked as hard in my life as I did there for several hours. But, in spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them, and everybody else seemed to feel the same way.

"The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done. I said everybody felt as I did. That was not quite so; for, though they perhaps sympathized as deeply with the sufferers as I did, there were a few of the members who did not think we had the right to indulge our sympathy or excite our charity at the expense of anybody but ourselves. They opposed the bill, and upon its passage demanded the yeas and nays. There were not enough of them to sustain the call, but many of us wanted our names to appear in favor of what we considered a praiseworthy measure, and we voted with them to sustain it. So the yeas and nays were recorded, and my name appeared on the journals in favor of the bill.

"The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up, and I thought it was best to let the boys know that I had not forgot them, and that going to Congress had not made me too proud to go to see them.

"So I put a couple of shirts and a few twists of tobacco into my saddlebags, and put out. I had been out about a week and had found things going very smoothly, when, riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly, and was about turning his horse for another furrow when I said to him: 'Don't be in such a hurry, my friend; I want to have a little talk with you, and get better acquainted.' He replied:

"'I am very busy, and have but little time to talk, but if it does not take too long, I will listen to what you have to say.'

"I began: 'Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called candidates, and --'

"'Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.'

"This was a sockdolager .... I begged him to tell me what was the matter.

"'Well, Colonel, it is hardly worthwhile to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest .... But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is.'

"'I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question.'

"'No, Colonel, there's no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown. Is that true?'

"'Certainly it is, and I thought that was the last vote which anybody in the world would have found fault with.'

"'Well, Colonel, where do you find in the Constitution any authority to give away the public money in charity?'

"Here was another sockdolager; for, when I began to think about it, I could not remember a thing in the Constitution that authorized it. I found I must take another tack, so I said:

"'Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.'

"'It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing to do with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be intrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life. The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution.'"

"I have given you," continued Crockett, "an imperfect account of what he said. Long before he was through, I was convinced that I had done wrong. He wound up by saying:

"'So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you.'

"I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go to talking, he would set others to talking, and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I was so fully convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:

"'Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.'

"He laughingly replied: 'Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and, perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.'

"'If I don't,' said I, 'I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them, Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it.'

"'No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you.'

"'Well, I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-by. I must know your name.'

"'My name is Bunce.'

"'Not Horatio Bunce?'

"'Yes.'

"'Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend. You must let me shake your hand before I go.'

"We shook hands and parted.

"It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity, and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.

"At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.

"Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight, talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before.

"I have told you Mr. Bunce converted me politically. He came nearer converting me religiously than I had ever been before. He did not make a very good Christian of me, as you know; but he has wrought upon my mind a conviction of the truth of Christianity, and upon my feelings a reverence for its purifying and elevating power such as I had never felt before.

"I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him -- no, that is not the word -- I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the word by storm.

"But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue, and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted -- at least, they all knew me.

"In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:

"'Fellow-citizens -- I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice, or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only.'

"I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation as I have told it to you, and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

"'And now, fellow-citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.

"'It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the credit of it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so.'

"He came upon the stand and said:

"'Fellow-citizens -- It affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today.'

"He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before.

"I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress.

"Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday. I have had several thousand copies of it printed, and was directing them to my constituents when you came in.

"There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. You remember that I proposed to give a week's pay. There are in that House many' very wealthy men -- men who think nothing of spending a week's pay, or a dozen of them, for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased -- a debt which could not be paid by money -- and the insignificance and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $10,000, when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it."

Source: September 20, 1993 issue of The New American

The Sea Treaty--not in my America!!!

McCain Lines Up Against Sea Treaty

Friday, October 26, 2007 12:01 AM Article Font Size

Sen. John McCain has become the latest presidential candidate publicly to express opposition to ratification of the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). During a call with bloggers, McCain noted in response to a question about LOST: "I do worry a lot about American sovereignty aspects of it, so I would probably vote against it in its present form.� Other presidential candidates who have recently come out against ratification of LOST include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. LOST defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. The United States has signed the treaty, but the Senate has not ratified it. © 2007 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT LINKS

www.pcusa.org/washington - Presbyterian Washington Office www.whitehouse.gov - White House www.senate.gov - Senate www.house.gov - House of Representatives www.un.org - United Nations. thomas.loc.gov - Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet. www.access.gpo.gov - U.S. Government Printing Office. www.fedworld.gov - Fedworld Information Network. nch.ari.net/otheradvocacy.html - Advocacy Resources on the Internet.
www.politicalindex.com - National Political Index. www.commoncause.org - Common Cause. www.cq.com - Congressional Quarterly. epn.org/prospect.html - American Prospect. www.cbpp.org - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS - CNN/Time AllPolitics. www.bread.org - Bread for the World with hunger news and advocacy tools. www.newslink.org - A link to thousands of national and local newspapers. www.interaction.org - News from relief, development and refugee agencies.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

07687 October 24, 2007 All in the family Special update on Malibu Presbyterian Church Editor’s note: As of early Oct. 24, the southern California wildfires had burned 600 square miles from San Diego to Santa Barbara. At least five fatalities have been reported and more than 500,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. — Jerry L. Van Marter by Steve Yamaguchi Executive Presbyter Los Ranchos Presbytery LOS ANGELES — The Rev. Greg Hughes, pastor of Malibu Presbyterian Church in Pacific Presbytery, which burned to the ground Sunday — has been in the news, testifying to our faith. He can be seen and heard in a video interview on the Fox News Web site. In the interview he responds: “Well, you know, we’re an Easter Faith people, so you know on Friday, it looked like things were bleak for Jesus, but we saw that Jesus rose again. And our church is a resurrection church. We’ll gather again. We’re going to regroup again.” He has also been interviewed and then quoted several times in the Los Angeles Times. Many in our presbytery remember Greg and Kay Hughes, especially the folks at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Los Alamitos, where Greg was associate pastor from 1991 to 2000 before moving to Malibu. Many in our presbytery are very sensitive to the needs of fire victims.For example, the people at Laguna Presbyterian Church remember vividly the fires in Laguna Canyon and we can all remember the witness they had in the area as they played a central role in the relief efforts after the fire. They have been kind and thoughtful to call quickly to ask, “Is there anything we can we do?” And the answer is: “Yes! This is a time when it is good to belong to family.” Respond through the Presbytery of the Pacific, our next-door neighbor, which is coordinating response efforts with the Malibu congregation’s leaders. You can get information updates from the Pacific Presbytery office: (310) 670-3687. Do not try to call the church or church leaders, who have much to do these days. For more information and a memo from Pacific Presbytery including this info and more. If you wish to make a cash donation for the Malibu Presbyterian Church, you can do that directly by making a check to “Presbytery of the Pacific” with the designation “Malibu Fire Response” and sending it to: Presbytery of the Pacific, 6323 W. 80th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance arrived on the scene Monday and is working with the congregation already. This is another example of our family connectedness. PDA is always so prompt and responsive — truly a ministry of which we can all be proud. This is once again your “One Great Hour of Sharing” offering at work. Another family connection: Covenant Presbyterian Insurance Program was involved immediately and is working with presbytery and church leaders to make sure that the church’s needs are taken care of. The church’s damages and losses will be fully covered and the people will be treated with great care because of the excellent service that CPIP provides. Last year every church in the Pacific Presbytery insured by CPIP had their property revalued and their coverage adjusted, so Malibu Presbyterian Church will be fully covered. It is good to belong to a family. May we become family for many who are displaced and without family at this time. We are asked to remember that the fire is still not under control and significant areas of Malibu are still evacuated. The two pastors live in the area; much is still unknown. As information becomes available we will learn it from Pacific Presbytery.

JINDAL FOR PRESIDENT

The new governor has an interest political background and I will be posting more on him.
Duane

Indian Immigrants' Son New La. Governor

Sunday, October 21, 2007

By MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. — U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal easily defeated 11 opponents and became the state's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction, decades after his parents moved to the state from India to pursue the American dream.

Jindal, a 36-year-old Republican, will be the nation's youngest governor. He had 53 percent with 625,036 votes with about 92 percent of the vote tallied. It was more than enough to win Saturday's election outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff.

"My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana," he said to cheers and applause at his victory party.

His nearest competitors: Democrat Walter Boasso with 208,690 votes or 18 percent; Independent John Georges had 167,477 votes or 14 percent; Democrat Foster Campbell had 151,101 or 13 percent. Eight candidates divided the rest.

"I'm asking all of our supporters to get behind our new governor," Georges said in a concession speech.

The Oxford-educated Jindal had lost the governor's race four years ago to Gov. Kathleen Blanco. He won a congressional seat in conservative suburban New Orleans a year later but was widely believed to have his eye on the governor's mansion.

Blanco opted not to run for re-election after she was widely blamed for the state's slow response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

"My administration has begun readying for this change and we look forward to helping with a smooth transition," she said in a prepared statement. "I want to thank the people of Louisiana for the past four years, though there is still much work to do in my last few months as your governor."

Jindal, who takes office in January, pledged to fight corruption and rid the state of those "feeding at the public trough," revisiting a campaign theme.

"They can either go quietly or they can go loudly, but either way, they will go," he said, adding that he would call the Legislature into special session to address ethics reform.

Political analysts said Jindal built up support as a sort of "buyer's remorse" from people who voted for Blanco last time and had second thoughts about that decision. Blanco was widely criticized for the state's response to Hurricane Katrina and she announced months ago that she would not seek re-election.

"I think the Jindal camp, almost explicitly, (wanted) to cast it this way: If you were able to revote, who would you vote for?" said Pearson Cross, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette political scientist.

Jindal has held a strong lead in the polls since the field of candidates became settled nearly two months ago.

But the two multimillionaires in the race _ Boasso, a state senator from St. Bernard Parish, and Georges, a New Orleans-area businessman _ poured millions of their own dollars into their campaigns to try to prevent Jindal's victory.

Campbell, a public service commissioner from Bossier Parish, had less money but ran on a singular plan: scrapping the state income tax on businesses and individuals and levying a new tax on oil and gas processed in Louisiana.

The race was one of the highest-spending in Louisiana history. Jindal alone raised $11 million, and Georges poured about $10 million of his personal wealth into his campaign war chest while Boasso plugged in nearly $5 million of his own cash.

In India, Jindal's family members were proud, and were going to celebrate with the traditional Punjabi folk dance called bhangra.

"We're very proud that he has reached such a high position in the United States," said Subhash Jindal, a cousin who runs a pharmacy in the Jindal family's hometown in Maler Kotla in northern Punjab state.

Subject: Ask the President

A mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

A mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die in Saudi Arabia?"

A mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die in Kuwait?"

Another mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die in Vietnam?"

Another mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die in Korea?"

Another mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die on Iwo Jima?"

Another mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die on a battlefield on a field in France?"

Yet another mother asked President .

"Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?"

And yet another mother asked President ...

"Why did my son have to die on a frozen field near Valley Forge?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked...

"Heavenly Father ...

Why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem ?"

The answer is the same .

"So that others may have life and dwell

In peace, happiness, and freedom."

This was emailed to me with no author.

I thought the magnitude and the simplicity were awesome.

IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO STAND BEHIND

OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, PLEASE, FEEL FREE...

TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!