Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 -SBS/person ■ UI ■ ■■■■ aw ■ - < 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- p* mw m kJm 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 Famous Homemade Cinnamon Rolls aiegnJgrter 1-75 EaH 136 • 987-6877 40009 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. ADVERTISEMENT ; Hearing Tests Set ; ; for Senior Citizens; Free hearing tests will be| l given at the Beltone Hearing | l Care Center at 212-A Hos-i Ipital Dr. in Warner Robinsl ■ Monday through Friday thisi 1 week from 9:(X) to 5:00. Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists, Jack • Corry, II and Betty Schwartz. I have almost 40 years combined j l experience in the hearing i I healthcare field. I I Everyone who has trouble I ■hearing or who has loved 1 ■ones with hearing difficulty 1 is welcome to take advantage .of this service. Some of the l causes of hearing loss will| lbe explained and recom-| imendations will be made.i I Test results will reveal I ■if medical treatment or l 1 hearing aids will help. Yearly testing is recom-j mended, especially for those I with hearing difficulty. I Current hearing aid users and| I those who have been told i ■ previously nothing couldl ■ be done for them should bel ■tested to determine if new 1 ■technology would benefit 1 them. | Call for your appointment) i so you won’t have to wait, i : 929-4567 I [ i| 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 grewiderty re carry Jayco, Cougar & Bighorn x *>:■» V (tmu, vuU th* kuU M. ttm,’ JBf Exit 185 off 1-75 911 Bca*ss Ham Hd-. Fowtfc. GA \\ **n -Sat. from 9AM to 4PM vj?V (478) 992-6704 *-■•*«*, \ csr@»or*ythcaiHpingcfnwfcom emm mb**—*. ■- . r ftJflSi YTH camping center t , • "" Vtirs •v.m,, •!' nil i Hi- I’.tHs jt MmsMnb < o. T ■ ■ ■ ft - //d arm'al. •Pfe- s*** fcSYs ' ii Blm ■ri» .. Wi Jliy y • • & •• -Jjlfec. See Santa and His Live Reindeer Friday, November 17, 6pm • First 500 kids get free goodie bags • Donate to Toys for Tots for a chance to win a 10th Anniversary TMX Elmo from KB Toys • Free cocoa, popcorn and carousel rides • Holiday stories by Today's MGT and WDEN • Holiday Stage at Parisian Court Your wish. Your list. Your place. 3661 Eisenhower Parkway ■ (478) 477-7328 ■ www.shopmaconmall.com 200 Stores Including Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney, Parisian, Macy's, Sears THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2006 ♦ 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 even desperation of custom li nii have m metfilng ofp «es t( sell find lt*s under law9 s « -V If. sc, rail cur filter p m . xjHt classified dept + He’ll i mm! nin tn 1 lines ISffacon ■■■MALL a Prime Retail experience ers who feel they are being denied adequate care. As an independent community pharmacist myself, I Bee more and more of this on a daily basis. But there are some sim ple things patients can do to 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. 5A