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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
The 'gratitude journal' challenge
Thanksgiving is just
a week away. May I
suggest you start con
sidering very explicitly just
exactly what causes you to
be grateful?
A little over a month ago,
I started a “gratitude jour
nal.” I wish I could recall
where I first learned of the
idea, because I usually try
to identify my sources. But
I can tell you what stimu
lated me to actually begin
the journal entries.
You may recall the 1997
book by Richard Carlson
entitled Don 7 Sweat the
Small Stuff...and It’s All
Small Stuff. Someone rec
ommended his newest book.
Easier Than You Think... The
Small Changes That Add
Up to a World of Difference,
and I purchased it.
In the introduction,
Carlson writes that “my goals
and priorities have shifted
as my life has unfolded; my
sights are higher now. These
past few years. I have spent
much of my time exploring
ways to lead a more mean
ingful life.”
All of us are getting older.
Some of the leaders I sup
port are nearing retirement.
Some are just beginning
their careers. I contend that
no matter what our ages, we
should set our sights higher
as our lives unfold.
Carlson points out, “Our
thoughts are the most pow
erful tools we have been
given during this lifetime.
School prayers and the law
Dear Readers, Recently,
I had noticed some
news reports about
prayer at Crawford County
School Board meetings and
at some school functions
(like teacher orientation).
Some of you might see noth
ing wrong with this; oth
ers might wonder how this
could be legal. This toudies
on a legal issue that has con
founded this country since
its founding and it is not
likely to go away soon; and,
there is some merit to both
points of view.
Legally, school prayer has
been a constitutionally tan
gled issue which still con
founds easy interpretation.
Judges have had to inter
pret the modern meaning of
the Ist Amendment’s twin
clauses, “Congress shall
make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise
thereof...” Together, these
clauses have been common
ly described as the “wall”
(or “separation”) between
church and state; separately,
they have been called “estab
lishment” and “free exer
cise” clauses. Plainly, the
“establishment clause” says
that Congress cannot estab
lish a national religion, but
the “free exercise clause”
says it can also not prohibit
religious expression. In prac
tice, courts have struggled to
apply these clauses; especial
ly, after they were applied to
the states through the 14th
Amendment.
Georgia’s Constitution
physically divides these
two rules governing state
and religious expression
into two amendments. The
3rd Amendment describes
“Freedom of Conscience”
as securing an individual’s
right to worship God free
ly according to their own
conscience free from the
interference or control of
any “human authority.” The
4th Amendment protects
a citizen’s right to be free
from “molestation in person
or property or be prohib
ited from holding any public
office or trust on account of
religious opinions.”
Early decisions in Georgia
tended to be less protective
of individual rights; in 1922,
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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We can use them to create
joy, anticipation, excitement,
fun, happiness, and peace.
Of course, we can just as eas
ily allow our thoughts to be
self-destructive weapons.”
At about this point, I chose
to start my gratitude jour
nal. I figured it couldn’t hurt
to identify five sources of
gratitude a day. I wondered
if it would increase my level
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
It should be easy to identi
fy five sources of gratitude in
a day, right? But five differ
ent situations, every day for
a month - without repeating
any topics - could be a chal
lenge.
When I started the jour
nal, I knew I might write an
article on this experience.
I figured then that I might
share what I had learned.
Now, however, I have a dif
ferent idea. I challenge oth
ers to duplicate this experi
ence. Obtain a blank book.
For each day, write five sen
tences that begin with “I am
grateful for ...”
You may discover that
the Georgia Supreme Court
held that a reading verses
from the King James Bible
in school was not unconsti-
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Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
their children vaccinated.
Interestingly, in the first
case, religious expression
was being promoted and in
the latter two cases, religious
freedom was being limited.
However, most of the liti
gation on this issue has been
on the meaning of the U.S.
Constitution (as opposed to
Georgia’s), once the United
States Supreme Court held
that the Ist Amendment
applied to the individual
states. Many of these first
cases, starting in the mid
-19405, involved “Jehovah’s
Witnesses,” who were being
restricted in both their
rights to solicit converts and
in being required to engage
in practices contrary to their
religion. Thus, in 1943, in
the first of the “Flag” cases,
compulsory acknowledgment
of the flag in public schools
was prohibited (effectively
overruling Georgia’s case
reaching the opposite result
in 1937). And, in 1946, cities
were prohibited from regu
lating Jehovah’s Witnesses
from going door-to-door,
preaching their faith.
Issues involving Jehovah’s
Witnesses (and also the
Mormon faith) continue to
confound courts, illustrating
that the first religion cases
involved freedom of practice
issues, as opposed to “estab
lishment” ones.
Indeed, the first estab
lishment case was not until
1948, when the United States
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F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 088-0237
of love,
joy, peace,
patience,
kindness,
etc. Would
it enhance
my com
mitment
to serve
others
with the
blessings
I’ve been
given?
tutional;
in 1937,
pupils
could be
required
to salute
the flag;
and, in
19 5 1,
parents
could be
required
to have
37722
dhooper2@juno.com
as you progress, a single
sentence is not enough. I
found I wanted to expand
my awareness of why I was
grateful. In some cases, I
wanted to describe the situ
ation in more detail.
I also wanted to consider
“So what? What will I do
with that blessing that could
provide some lasting benefit
for someone else? Can I capi
talize on that positive feel
ing to increase my service to
others?”
Will you commit to pre
paring a “gratitude journal”
over the next month? Will
you commit to meet with a
few others and me early in
the new year, sharing obser
vations and learnings from
your experience? I envision
that we will multiply our
insights as we learn from
each other. We’ll jointly cre
ate another column that is
upbeat and encouraging to
those who have yet to expand
their awareness. We’ll offer
perspectives we gained from
our journaling and advice on
how to make the most of it.
That’s my challenge. If
you are willing to engage
in this learning opportunity,
please contact me!
Dennis Hooper is a
Certified Leadership
Development Coach, help
ing leaders build organiza
tions of excellence. You may
respond to his challenge at
(4781-988-0237 or send an
e-mail to dhooper2@juno.
com.
Supreme Court addressed
“entanglement” issues con
cerning school and religion.
Here, religious instruction
was being conducted, as a
part of a school’s curricu
lum, having the effect of pro
moting a specific religion.
The Court held that public
schools could not “use of
tax-supported property for
religious instruction and
[prohibited! the close coop
eration between the school
authorities and the reli
gious council in promoting
religious education.” Next
week, I will explore what
this might mean today for
Crawford County’s BOE.
Warner Robins attorney
Jim Rockefeller is the for
mer Chief Assistant District
Attorney for Houston County,
and a former Assistant State
Attorney in Miami. Owner
of Rockefeller Law Center,
Jim has been in private prac
tice since 2000. His website,
www.rockefellerlawcenter.
com. offers more answers
to your legal questions and
archives of past articles. E
mail your comments or con
fidential legal questions toaj
r@rockefellerlawcenter.com.
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LOCAL
Changes create drug delays
BY JAMES B.
BARTLETT, R.Ph.,
Perry Drug Co., Inc.
Special to the Journal
Over the past few years,
there have been numerous
changes to the way people
have had their prescriptions
filled. Today, many consum
ers expect the process to
be, at best, a hassle and,
at worst, a hattle to obtain
their prescribed medication.
Pharmacy Benefit manage
ment companies, or PbMs,
manage the cost of drugs
under most health insur
ance plans. These unseen
companies have created a
bureaucratic nightmare
that hinders many pharma
cists and doctors in deliver
ing the right medications to
their patients and provid
ing timely, quality health
care - all the while ensuring
their own profits soar.
PBMs are causing phar
macists and doctors to spend
valuable time on the phone
with insurance companies
that do not want to play
for the drugs prescribed
because the medications
are considered “non-formu
lary,” or not on the plan’s
approved list of drugs.
In the past, these non-for
mulary drugs have typical
ly been expensive, brand
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name medications that had
cheaper generic alterna
tives. Not so anymore.
Now many PBMs will not
pay for generic versions of
some drugs without “prior
authorization’ because they
have struck lucrative deals
with pharmaceutical com
panies to sell more name
brand drugs. This means
the insurance company
requires documentation as
to why the doctor wrote the
prescription for a particular
drug and, in many cases,
the prior authorization is
still denied.
As a result, the patient
often has to wait days, even
weeks, to find an alterna
tive medication to treat
their condition.
Unfortunately, pharma
cists are often the health
care providers who feel the
wrath, helplessness and
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ers who feel they are being
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But there are some sim
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avoid this situation. First,
provide your doctor a copy
of your health insurance
plan’s formulary to avoid
lengthy negotiations about
your prescriptions. Second,
talk to your independent
community pharmacist
about the ways PBMs are
increasing the costs of your
prescriptions, while reduc
ing the quality of care and
your personal control.
Lastly, get involved by visit
ing www.whofillrx.com
It’s time to take back con
trol of our healthcare and
ensure consumers receive
the quality care they
deserve.
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