Category Better Life

Mar 30 2016

The Helpless The Agony

 

As with so many others, I felt the helpless agony of watching, during the most sacred and holy week of Christendom, the martyrdom of so many of my brothers and sisters and little brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. While we of Christian faith understand through the warnings in the teachings of Christ that we will be hated of all nations, our humanity recoils when we see the depravity of that hatred so unleashed and so unchecked.

It has certainly has not been a good week to be a Christian anywhere in the world. Over and over again, the world has watched these debaucheries be vomited out before our eyes. We wonder and exclaim how mankind can be capable of all things heinous? Where is the strength of righteousness nations to stand against it all? In the depths of the hollow silence to the question, all we hear are the deepest agonies and travails of mothers weeping for their children who are no more.

For the righteous nations are no more

They recoil and shudder on their own shore

They excuse and they ponder

While filth rape and plunder

And children accept their death with grace

What leaders here cannot with courage face

Are the righteous nations righteous no more?

Who will stand if our courage is poor?

Mothers and Fathers whose arms ache to hold

Their children whose lifeless still bodies so cold

Their blood is now calling From the ground of their falling

While we stand debating Our leaders are waiting

To find who has courage in deed

Committees addressing the need

Death marches on Screeching its song

We wonder whats wrong? What’s taking so long?

To say what is right.

Stand up against the night

Rabid dogs howl they know that its true

There is no one standing and fighting for you

For the righteous nations are no more

They recoil and shudder on their own shore

It hasn’t really helping the courage of Christianity in our own land that we constantly face the betrayal of our leaders here, such as the Governor of Georgia, in the face of mounting persecution here in the United States. We must call for courage in our leaders and then remove them when they do not exude the leadership we demand.

Mar 25 2016

Wrong Answer or Wrong Question?

 

The great warrior chieftain of the Hebrews was preparing for a crucial and pivotal battle in the Jewish people’s nomadic quest to reclaim the land of Abraham. The night before the battle, Joshua left the encampment for a contemplative walk. As he surveyed the walls of the city they would attack in the morning, he noticed in the pale moonlight a soldier before him with his sword drawn. Joshua quickly put his hand to the hilt of his sword and called out to him asking, “Are you for us or are you against us?” Imagine Joshua’s surprise when the warrior answered, “No!”

 

Joshua had set the parameters for their relationship with the two options in his challenge to the perceived opponent. The nameless moonlit warrior completely ignored the premise of the question. The second half of his response gives inkling to why this warrior so disdained Joshua’s challenge.

 

The full answer was this, “No! I am the Captain of the Host of the Lord!” While Joshua might have been thinking, “Wrong answer”, this Captain was emphatically announcing “Wrong Question!” Joshua was informed in no uncertain terms that Host of the Lord is on nobody’s side and that Joshua better get on their side. It would seem that even in the modern enlightened age we live in today, we still struggle with asking the “Wrong Questions”.

 

As a result of some of the activism work I do, there are a certain news feeds that I follow pretty regularly. I was very disappointed one evening to read a startling question on a story through what I thought was a conservative outlet. The question was in reference to the presidential primary and it read, “Which candidate has the answer to save America?”

 

Whether you believe the Captain in the pale darkness was an angel, a Christophany, or just a character in morality fable, I for one found a sudden empathy for his frustration that necessitated a demand for a third option. Yes, that rumbling you hear is our Founding Fathers spinning like tops in their graves. Will someone please stand up and say “No” to a one-man solution?

 

This is a Republic! It is not meant to fixed by one man, no matter how big his hair or… whatever… that… is. We are not supposed to be deciding if the Constitution is on our side or not. We can’t change it so we can “get those people because they deserve it and they’re mean to me.” We can’t force businesses to stay in this country even when it makes us mad when they leave. Why? Because the Constitution says you can’t, that’s why! We need to stop asking and trying to make the Constitution be on our side, when we are supposed to be on the Constitution’s side.

 

No, the Constitution is not Theocracy, but for the love of the Republic will somebody please stand up against this push to anoint a savior? Can we please stop looking in the ballot box for the messiah? When will Americans who love freedom stand up amidst this desperate din and shout? No!

Mar 11 2016

DHHS Intensifying Efforts To Prevent Opioid Abuse And Reduce Tobacco Use

03/11/2016 02:56 PM EST
*New Fund for Healthy Maine Request for Proposals establishes Statewide measurable goals and seeks the expertise to achieve them.*

**AUGUSTA** – The Maine Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that it is seeking to hire experts through the competitive procurement process to make significant progress in preventing heroin and opioid use and to reduce Maine’s smoking rates to the lowest in the nation.

Through the Maine Centers for Disease Control and the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, the DHHS has developed Prevention Services for Maine’s Public Health Districts, which will be released later today. The work outlined in this Request for Proposals (RFP) has been broken into four categories: opioid and other substance use and exposure prevention; tobacco use and exposure; youth engagement and empowerment; and mass-reach health communications. Bidders may submit proposals for any or all areas of work.

“While we recognize the need to address these critical areas of prevention, we know from national research that we need to approach the work differently in order to adapt to the ever-changing public health landscape,” said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew. “We must move Maine’s public health system to one that leads the development of strategies that focus on prevention and wellness, builds diverse partnerships, and effectively integrates with clinical health. Public health must be more flexible and able to address emerging needs by taking swift and appropriate action.”

This new request for proposals aggressively targets Maine’s most pressing public health concerns:

– Last year, 272 Mainers died due to a drug-related overdose – Eight out of every 100 babies are born drug affected in Maine – Approximately 2,400 tobacco-related deaths occur in our state annually – An estimated 1,300 youth begin smoking each year

“We must do all that we can to stem the rising tide of opioid use and abuse. Heroin has taken far too many lives in Maine,” said Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Chief Officer Kenneth Albert. “At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the effect tobacco use has on the progression of chronic disease,” said Albert. “We simply must do a better job of further reducing and preventing the use of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke.”

The costs of tobacco are enormous, with more than $811 million in health-care related costs and $534 million in smoking-caused productivity losses. Despite the costs, tobacco continues to be the leading cause of preventable death and disability in Maine and across the nation. It is estimated that substance abuse costs Maine more than $1.4 billion annually.

Unlike previous Fund for Healthy Maine RFPs, this new proposal establishes consistent, measurable statewide goals, includes the requirement to routinely use data to drive decision-making, and requires maximized returns of investment across all areas of work. Linking the work to the State Health Plan at the District level, the use of strategies that have been proven effective and increased collaboration between public health and healthcare are also requirements of the proposal. With vendors who are experts in their respective fields, the Department will be able to evaluate progress and spending reports, and better articulate the value of the work as it pertains to consistent statewide goals.

Another key aspect of this effort is the strengthening and clarifying of the Public Health system and its structure. The Department is investing $1.45 million annually to support the nine District Coordinating Councils that comprise the statewide public health infrastructure.

“It has been improperly stated by legislators, advocates and the current Healthy Maine Partnerships that the HMPs are the public health infrastructure,” said Albert. “The District level infrastructure was very clearly established in 2007 by statewide partners and stakeholders, and the leadership responsibility falls squarely upon the District Coordinating Councils. That’s why we are investing in staffing support to assist the DCCs and strengthen their roles as the leaders of public health and their respective districts.”

The Department is expecting bids to represent participation and input from all active and vibrant public health partners.

“Maine faces significant chronic disease and addiction-related public health challenges. We need to effectively address the use and abuse of addictive substances to avoid increased healthcare and societal costs associated with this behavior,” said Commissioner Mayhew. “By focusing on early prevention of substance use and abuse by our youth we can increase the likelihood of them leading safe, healthy and productive lives.”

Once released, the RFP can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/rfp/ or http://www.maine.gov/purchases/venbid/rfp.shtml
Feb 18 2016

Fighting for Rural Families in Maine

Fighting for Rural Families in Maine

Congressman Poliquin introduces bipartisan bill to improve rural families’ access to electricity

 

WASHINGTON – Maine’s Second District Congressman, Bruce Poliquin, has introduced the Improving Rural Access to Power Act, a bipartisan bill to support electricity infrastructure development in Maine’s rural areas and communities.  Congressman Poliquin released the following statement:

 

“Maine’s rural families and businesses deserve the most reliable access to electricity and other needed resources possible,” said Congressman Poliquin.  “Our communities from the County to Downeast Maine should have ready and dependable electricity available to them when they need it.  This is especially important for our seniors and those that require assured access to power.

 

“The Improving Rural Access to Power Act will make it easier for rural electric cooperatives, the major electricity suppliers for underserved areas, to access the capital they need to properly service communities and local business in more isolated regions, like the hundreds of towns on our State’s Atlantic coastline, making up more than 25,000 users.  Specifically, this bill will help ensure that thousands of households in four different counties in Maine—Aroostook, Hancock, Washington and Penobscot—can fully depend on their electricity provider, which is absolutely vital given the severe and often unpredictable weather conditions we experience.”

 

This legislation will allow the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB’s) to invest in the electricity supplier market to help ensure that rural electric cooperatives can access the capital needed to properly service rural areas.  Current law restricts the FHLB’s authority to invest.  The Improving Rural Access to Power Act ensures that rural electric cooperatives can properly serve their communities by expanding access to capital and allowing for an increased ability to improve service reliability and transmission.

 

Congressman Poliquin introduced the bill with bipartisan support from Democratic Congressman David Scott (GA-13), the lead cosponsor, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee with Poliquin.