First Principles: The Less Government Interferes With Private Pursuits, the Better For General Prosperity

“The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for general prosperity.” – Martin Van Buren

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An Illustration of Faithfulness

An Illustration of Faithfulness
by Michael Romani

In this space of human reality
We live an eternity of our morality
While We approach this with humility
It can easily seem that life is brutality

Grace plus anything is grace deficient
No plus or minus can be sufficient
We cannot do anything that God hasn't done
It's only through the cross that our salvation is won

Consider Abraham in the Bible's illustration
He and David owe faithfulness for God's nation
Circumcision and law are signs of belief
But are not the justification that brings our relief

Law reveals, but it doesn't remove the stain
That's why the Book of Romans quietly explains
Forgiveness is extended to heal the eternal rift
And it is give to us sinners as a heavenly gift

Our debt is paid and our place set right
Though the outward signs might seem slight
Still, our walk is blessed by His grace
It's the truth that we believe and embrace

Certainly, it's God's and not our own grace
That provides salvation that finds us in Heaven's place
Jew or Gentile it truly matters not
It is through God, not man, lest that ever be forgot

We are justified by faith, grace, and God's power
Securing humanity as God's family in our eternal hour
This is nothing to do or that needs to be done
But to place our faith in the saving grace of God's son

In knowing this, we live and die without sorrow
Trusting the Lord for our place in His tomorrow
We have looked into God's loving face
And live each day through His godly trace

(c) February 23, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
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Thought For the Day: Faith Is To Believe What You Do Not See; the Reward of This Faith Is To See What You Believe

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” – Saint Augustine

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First Principles: It Was Not Through the Law That Abraham and His Offspring Received the Promise That He Would Be Heir of the World, But Through the Righteousness That Comes By Faith

It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.– Book of Romans 4: 13 (NIV)

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Hard To Fix

Hard To Fix
by Michael Doyle

Hitchhiking without a direction known
It's not on the map and is seldom shown
Looking for God and if He's in charge
It's as close as I come to living large

Some things are like bags of tricks
Impossible to handle and harder to fix
Traveling fast without much specificity
We hold on for dear life and its possibilities

There is not much to like when you're dead
The same things go bouncing in your head
It's damn near impossible to smile without stars
We're all here by mistake; just ask the scars

The best of life is lived in our memory
Sometimes, it's dressed up like our family
But mostly, what we have is what we got
And most of that is better off forgot

The world's a little crowded with pride
As we try to forget what we cannot hide
Everybody is busy looking for that something
That mostly, sure enough, adds up to nothing

There is not much to like when you're dead
The same things go bouncing in your head
It's damn near impossible to smile without stars
We're all here by mistake; just ask the scars

There will be no smoking when you burn
It's just one of those things we're born to learn
If you listen very carefully, you learn to fear
Especially when your world is wrapped up in a tear

Painted flowers are a disguise for haste
As our yesterdays fade into post-urban waste
We try to hold our memories close
But they run away when we need them the most

There is not much to like when you're dead
The same things go bouncing in your head
It's damn near impossible to smile without stars
We're all here by mistake; just ask the scars

(c) February 22, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
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First Principles: The Storm of Frenzy and Faction Must Inevitably Dash Itself Against the Unshaken Rock of the Constitution

“The storm of frenzy and faction must inevitably dash itself in vain against the unshaken rock of the Constitution.” – James Buchanan

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Thought For the Day: The Ultimate Measure of A Man Is Not Where He Stands In Moments of Convenience and Comfort, But Where He Stands AT Times of Challenge and Controversy

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

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Wrist Cutter Blues

Wrist Cutter Blues
by Michael Doyle

She was born hard to impress
He was maybe overly dressed
For a boy deep in his thoughts
But she could never be bought

They were standing in the deep end
Somehow waiting for a friend
Neither of them was from anywhere
That anyone would ever care

A slice of the wrist
Neither would be missed
When your life has been Hell
The afterlife is hard to tell

Sylvia's head was in the oven
John wandered off the path and Steven?
Some suspect that he only fell
He was the only one happy here in Hell...

It seems we all have small regrets
Some sort of jokes that we forget
With false punchlines that are invisible
We would laugh, as if we were capable

There are a lot of empty people
Who are wondering about the meaning of life
Hoping a prayer at the marble steeple
That it's more than a cold brew with a warm slice

It's there in the patterns and the mistakes
That we're doomed to repeat our heartbreaks
Everyone is just kind of muddling through
Stuck here with everyone else in the wrist cutter blues

(c) February 21, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
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Thought For the Day: Never, No, Never, Did Nature Say One Thing, and Wisdom Say Another Thing

“Never, no, never, did Nature say one thing, and Wisdom say another.” – Edmund Burke, in his Third Letter on Regicide Peace, 1797

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First Principles: A Nation That Destroys Its Soils Destroys Itself. Forests Are the Lungs of Our Land, Purifying the Air and Giving Fresh Strength To Our People

“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

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