A Massachusetts landlord has
discovered a unique way
to get his tenants to pay their rent on time. He
is awarding prizes to
tenants who pay on time. Douglas Rau has about
100 tenants and says he
has tried just about everything to get people to
pay their rent on time.
In the first ever give-away,
tenant Pablo Gallero
won a four day trip to the Bahamas. Rau says,
“It’s pretty bad that you’ve
got to do this to get people to do what they’re
already supposed to do
on their own accord.” He adds, “But it seems
like everybody thinks somebody
owes them something.”
The vacation package cost the
landlord almost $1,000.
The total is still one-fifth of the court and
repair costs to evict a non-paying
tenant. Rau says this month’s giveaway will not
be the last, four tenants
who were chronically late with their payments
paid their rent promptly
to be part of the drawing.
—World Magazine, April 26,
2003, Cheaper Than Eviction,
Pg 12,. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
Romans
13:1 NIV “Everyone
must submit himself to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority
except that which God has established. The
authorities that have been established
by God.”
AUTHORITY
The National Football League
fined Jon Kitna, the
Quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals $5,000
dollars for wearing a baseball-style
cap marked with a cross during a post-game news
conference. NFL rules prohibit
players from wearing non-NFL apparel at news
conferences following a game.
Kitna, an avid reader of the Bible will pay the
fine without protest. He
says, "That's what happens when you don't follow
the rules. I won't wear
it anymore. The Bible says submit to the
authorities placed above you.
The authorities say that's the rule."
—Indianapolis Star, December
19, 2003, Bengals
QB Kitna fined for wearing cap with cross, Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson
and Jim Sandell.
Romans
13:1 "Everyone
must submit himself to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority
except that which God has established. The
authorities that exist have
been established by God."
AUTHORITY
Football player and Army
Ranger Pat Tillman always
stood up for what he believed. His friend and
Denver Broncos quarterback
Jake Plummer wanted to do the same, but NFL
officials were not keen on
letting him. Plummer finally agreed to adhere to
the league's dress code
and remove a sticker from his helmet honoring
Tillman.Tillman was killed
in Afghanistan after leaving football to serve
his country in the Army.
To honor the former safety,
all NFL players had worn
a number 40 decal the second week of the
season.The Arizona Cardinals will
wear the decal all season.Plummer who played
with Tillman at Arizona wanted
to keep the tribute going past the second week.
Warned of possible fines,
Plummer left the decal off
for the next two weeks, but it reappeared in
week five when the Broncos
played the Carolina Panthers.After the game,
Plummer said giving up the
fight did not seem right. He added, "When it
comes to honoring Pat, he
is bigger than a sticker on my helmet.I don't
like the fact I can't, but
I understand what the league wants to accomplish
with its rules."
Despite letters of support
from Senator John McCain
and Colorado Senator Wayne Allard, the League
said they wanted to keep
Tillman's legacy alive, but they have rules
regarding personal messages
on uniforms that need to be applied to everyone.
By the middle of the next
week, an agreement had been
reached between all the parties that honors
Tillman and meets the NFL's
rules.Though Plummer must remove the decal, the
NFL will not fine him and
will allow Plummer to tape announcements
honoring Tillman, which will be
played in all NFL stadiums the weekend after
Veteran's Day. The League
also donated $250,000 to build the first USO
facility Afghanistan which
be named after Tillman.
The Denver Broncos will also
help by putting up a
big number 40 logo on the scoreboard and will
run ads promoting the Tillman
Foundation.Plummer had signed a 40 million
dollar contract and could afford
any fine the league levied, but admitted he was
walking a fine line between
doing what he believed was right and causing a
distraction.Plummer thinks
what he's doing now will be a more effective
tribute to Tillman than putting
a decal on his helmet. Plummer said, "It's a
terrible feeling that we are
having to do this. It's bittersweet. The fact we
are talking about this
and he has a foundation—it's a constant reminder
that he's not here with
us any more. Now let's go do some positive stuff
in his name."
—http://news.yahoo.com,
Plummer Agrees to Remove Tillman
Sticker, October 13, 2004. Illustration by Jim
L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.
1
Peter 2:13 (NIV) "Submit
yourselves for the Lord's sake to every
authority instituted among men:
whether to the king, as the supreme authority,"
AUTHORITY
President George Bush stepped
into a confrontation
and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away
from security officers in
Chile. Chilean and American agents got into a
pushing and shoving match
outside the cultural center where the President
and 21 other world leaders
were attending an elegant dinner. As Bush
stepped inside, Chilean security
officials closed ranks at the door and kept the
president's agents from
following him.
The President and his wife
had just posed for pictures
on a red carpet with host of the summit, Chilean
President Ricardo Lagos
and his wife. When the President noticed the
scuffle, he left the other
three people and walked over to the agents. He
reached through the dispute
and pulled his agent from the battle. Looking
irritated, the President
straightened his shirt cuffs and went into the
dinner. Deputy press secretary
Claire Buchan said, "Chilean security tried to
stop the president's Secret
Service from accompanying him. He told them they
were with him and the
issue was resolved."
—Associated Press, Bush
Pulls Top Security Agent
from Fracas, November 20, 2004.
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
What struck me about this
story was that the President
of the United States has authority to make sure
his security was allowed
inside the dinner. It was not authority but
being "with" the President
that granted the agent access.
Luke
10:18-20 (NASB)
"And He said to them, 'I was watching Satan fall
from heaven like lightning.
[19] Behold, I have given you authority to tread
upon serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall injure you. [20]
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the
spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice that your names are recorded in
heaven.'"
AUTHORITY
Police in the Phoenix area say someone has been
putting on a monkey
mask and then speeding past photo radar
enforcement devices. Authorities
say they know the “someone” is Dave Von Tesmar,
but there is nothing they
can do about it. Von Tesmar is the owner of a
white Subaru photographed
during the violations, but the driver wears a
mask to conceal their identity.
If police have no way of proving the identity of
the driver, the person
cannot be charged. Authorities say they can only
hope people will pay the
fine. If drivers don’t cooperate, the system
falls apart.
Photo enforcement devices are popping up across
the country. Authorities
say they often see a decrease in the number of
speeders when such enforcement
begins. They also point to a reduction in the
number of traffic deaths
nationwide. Despite what authorities say, Von
Tesmar will neither admit
nor deny he was the driver captured by the
cameras. He told reporters,
“I would never operate my vehicle in an unsafe
manner.” He added, “I would
never admit guilt in that type of situation, but
do I own the mask? Yes.”
--Masked Man Avoids Speeding Ticket Fines,
http://autos.aol.com/article/monkey-man-speeding-camera#
; September 22, 2009, Illustration by Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandal
Isn’t it better to obey the law rather
than devise ways to beat
the system?
Romans 13:1-2 (GW) “Every person should obey
the government in power.
No government would exist if it hadn't been
established by God. The governments
which exist have been put in place by God. (2)
Therefore, whoever resists
the government opposes what God has established.
Those who resist will
bring punishment on themselves.”
AUTHORITIES
When Amina
Mohammed gave her eight-year-old son
his birthday money, she was surprised when he
said he wanted to give it to the
local police department. Mohamed said her son
wanted to donate the money,
because he liked how the officers took care of
everybody and how he felt safe
when they were around. Mohamed reached out to
the local department, and they
sent officers to the house to take the boy on
a tour of the station, where many
officers were waiting for him.Afterwards,
Mohamed
said she was proud that her son thought of
important people like the
officers. Chief of the Columbia Police
Department Geoff Jones said the $100
donation officially went to the Columbia
Police Foundation because the
department could not technically accept
donations. He added, “The extra hours
that the officers worked this week and all the
work that they put in, to have a
young man come in here and show support just
means the world.”—Jim L. Wilson
and Jim Sandell
