sen. daniel christmas newsletter
DESCRIPTION
NC District 44 NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
Burke DISTRICT 44 Caldwell
Wow! It’s Christmas again, and I am once again wondering how
does the time pass so quickly? As my pastor says, when you get older, the
time flies by so fast that you might as well leave your Christmas lights up
year-round. One year ago, I was still your “Senator-elect”, having not been
officially sworn in for the duties which you chose me to undertake. Now I
have almost completed my first year as a member of the Senate “freshman
class”, and I am honored and humbled to have had the privilege to
represent you in Raleigh. It has been a challenging experience in which I
have learned a great deal, and I have met some very fine people along the
way. I look forward to 2012, and the opportunity to continue to represent
the great people of Burke and Caldwell counties.
As you know, in 2010 I was elected to succeed Senator Jim
Jacumin in the 44th District. Senator Jacumin was and is a man of great
resolve and determination, and I knew as I began my duties in the Senate
that I would have big shoes to fill. Thus, I determined at the beginning of
my term not to be a “wall flower”, but to endeavor to get our state back on
a sound financial footing, and to enact pro-life policies that are consistent
with our constitutional guarantees to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. On both of these fronts, 2011 has been a year of remarkable
achievement in the General Assembly. Facing a deficit in excess of two
billion dollars, we balanced the state budget without raising taxes, while
letting “temporary” taxes expire, and lowering taxes on our struggling
businesses. For the first quarter of the 2011 budget year, our state is
running a surplus of $145 million dollars, which is a testament to what
happens when your government exercises spending discipline. In regard to
pro-life issues, I was the primary sponsor of the Choose-Life License Plate
bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and the Woman’s Right to Know
Act. The latter two of these three bills I was able to present and defend on
the Senate floor, and I am pleased to say that all three of them have passed
in both the House and Senate and are now the law of our state.
Continued on Page 2
CONTACT INFORMATION: Senator Warren T. Daniel Legislative Office Bldg., Room 411 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Email: [email protected] Phone: 919-715-7823 Fax: 919-754-3265 District Office of Sen. Warren Daniel 348 Harper Avenue NW Lenoir, NC 28645 Email: [email protected] Phone: 828-754-9335 Fax 828-754-9335 (Please call before faxing)
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DECEMBER ISSUE #2
HOW TO SAY “MERRY CHRISTMAS” IN…
- French: Joyeux Noel - Greek: Kala Christouyenna - Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha - Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie - Portuguese: Feliz Natal - Welsh: Nadolig Llaw - Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum -Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags - Arabic: Milad Majid - Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Polish: Boze Narodzenie - Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh - Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
DECEMBER 21, 2011
Daniel Family at the
Church of the Nativity
1NCGA Tree
Burke DISTRICT 44 Caldwell
Page 2
My staff has been asking me to reveal to them my “legislative
Christmas list” for 2011, so here goes. Dear Santa,
Once upon a time, and not so long ago, there were many leaders
of character who were able to rise above the mantra and divisiveness of
party politics and work together to defend our Constitution, our nation,
and for the common good of the place we love called America. They were
called “statesmen,” and had names like Reagan, Helms, Dole, Nunn, and
Ervin. I believe that men and women of this character once constituted a
large majority of those serving in the White House and the Congress, but
today they seem to be few and far between. As a nation, we are traveling
through dark times without competent leadership and patriots at the
helm. So for Christmas this year, I ask for leaders of character who will
rise up in every town and parish across this land and seek elected office
from the courthouse to the White House. We need men and women who
love our flag and will fight to defend it, who will keep our military strong,
and will secure our borders as well as our liberties. More importantly,
they should be men and women who seek constant wisdom and guidance
from the One who is Omniscient and holds our future in His hands. I
believe that a present like this one would change America, and would
fulfill the final words of Ronald Reagan, when he said, “As I now begin the
journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life, I know that for America
there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”
In closing I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my wife,
Lydia, and to our three children for helping and supporting me through this
past year as we have been apart on many occasions. I would also like to
thank my legislative assistants, Andy Perrigo and Rob Williams in
Raleigh, and Jo Murray in Lenoir. They have been a great help to me, and
to many of you, in addressing the myriad of concerns that our citizens have
raised with regard to state government.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.
You would think the Puritans, who were known for their religious fervor, must have loved
Christmas – but they didn’t. In fact, a law was passed in 1659 outlawing the celebration of
Christmas. A five shilling fine was levied against anyone “found observing, by abstinence from
labor, feasting or any other way, any such days as Christmas day.” The Puritans considered
Christmas “an extreme forgetfulness of Christ, by giving liberty to carnal and sensual delights.”
PURITANS AGAINST CHRISTMAS?
“Sinterklaas? Jeff Davis Lynched?”
Prior to the American Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression, Carleton), Christmas was not celebrated in a universal fashion because of the various immigrant traditions. For example, Calvinists banned the celebration of Christmas while the Moravians honored the day with religious services. By the mid 1800’s, Christian groups gave up their differences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day with gift-giving, lights, toys and evergreens. Louisiana was the first state to make Christmas a state holiday (1837). By 1860, there were 15 states with a state holiday for Christmas. Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870. The Dutch gave us Sinterklaas and Thomas Nast gave us the fat, jolly Santa Claus. Nast’s Santa first appeared in a Jan. 1863 print. It shows Santa in a sleigh showing off a string puppet of what appeared to be Jefferson Davis hanging by a noose. In fact, several of Nast’s Christmas prints included Santa and celebrations of Union victories. This may be why Santa wasn’t particularly popular in the South. Following the War Between the States, America became more unified in many areas, including Christmas.
DECEMBER 21, 2011