Self-Talk...

Your glass is half-empty or half-full? 

How you answer may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic and it may even affect your health.

The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair  you can learn positive thinking skills.

Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking. Just a thought.

To Catch...

To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was arrested and charged after being accused of issuing bad checks, the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut confirms to Us Weekly.

According to police, the 59-year-old asked Promotional Sales Limited owner Peter Psichopaidas for 355 ceramic mugs, 288 T-shirts and 650 vinyl decals to use at marketing events. Psichopaidas said the merchandise was delivered in 2017, but Hansen failed to pay the bill of $12,998.05.

An arrest affidavit obtained by The Advocate claimed that the store received a check for the entire amount, but it bounced.  

Psichopaidas received a personal check from Hansen for $13,200 later that April, but it bounced three days after, according to The Advocate.

The journalist hosted To Catch a Predator on MSNBC from 2004 to 2007. He now hosts Investigation Discovery’s Killer Instinct and the syndicated show Crime Watch Daily.

Shocking, something else is going on.  Just a thought. [US Weekly, Nicholas Hautman ]

Skip ...

A federal judge denied requests from unions representing employees required to work through the government shutdown that they either be paid or have the option to skip work while missing paychecks. 

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled to keep the status quo, saying that an order to skip work would be "chaotic" in a best-case scenario and "catastrophic" at worst.

Lawyers of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association had sued the Trump administration to get their controllers be paid while working during the shutdown. Lawyers also argued withholding pay violated U.S. labor laws.

Leon said only Congress can appropriate the funds to pay federal workers and would not force the Treasury Department to allocate funds to the furloughed employees. 

Flames...

When you pass through the waters,

    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

³ 

For I am the Lord your God.

No Meat......

As part of a healthy diet, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, fish (preferably oily fish-at least twice per week), nuts, legumes and seeds and try eating some meals without meat. Select lower fat dairy products and poultry (skinless). Limit salt, sugar and  sugar-sweetened beverages and red meat. 

  
You can slowly work up to at least 2½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) every week or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., jogging, running) or a combination of both every week. Learn the American Heart Association's Guidelines for Physical Activity in Adults and in Children.

Additionally, on 2 or more days a week you need muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest shoulders, and arms). Children should get at least 60 minutes of activity every day.

Fresh...

In 1996  fresh off the heels of signing welfare reform, and two years after signing the "crime bill"  President Bill Clinton signed a bill that overhauled immigration enforcement in the US and laid the groundwork for the massive deportation machine that exists today.

Both welfare reform and the crime bills Clinton signed have been relitigated during a contentious Democratic primary but the 1996 immigration bill  the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act hasn't.

That's mostly because Democrats have come a long way on the issue since 1996, and advocates have been happy to let them do it without asking too many questions about the past. Only now are some progressive Democrats trying to raise the issue (32 members of the House of Representatives have signed onto a congressional resolution condemning the 1996 law, introduced Thursday by Rep. Raul Grijalva).

If Democrats ever find themselves in a position to pass the comprehensive immigration reform, they might find the past law's immigration legacy has been too consequential to ignore.

No Fault...

I don't want my tax dollars wasted on military intervention to support some against others and in the process, Christian minorities and others are killed, lost everything, or became refugees where are unwanted by other countries. They also became poor in a strange land for no fault of their own..

Survived...

On Jan. 15, 2009, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger piloted U.S. Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport and struck a flock of Canada geese, demolishing both engines and forcing the plane to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River.

All 150 passengers and 5 crew members on the plane survived the descent, which was later dubbed “The Miracle on the Hudson.”

At Heart...

Second Lady Karen Pence is returning to her passion: the classroom.

Pence, who has illustrated children's books about the vice president and advocated for art therapy programs in her current role, is going back to the elementary school in suburban Virginia where she taught art for 12 years when Vice President Mike Pence served in Congress. She's also taught at public and private schools in Indiana.

Pence got her undergraduate and graduate degrees in elementary education from Butler University in Indianapolis. 

 Older daughter Charlotte describes her mother as "a second-grade teacher at heart."

Barrier...

"I voted numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in," Clinton told an audience.  

Clinton voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which President George W. Bush signed. It authorized about 700 miles of fencing along certain stretches of land between the border of the United States and Mexico.

The act also authorized the use of more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and lighting to curb illegal immigration, and the use of advanced technology such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicle. 

The act called on the Department of Homeland Security to install at least two layers of reinforced fencing along some stretches of the border.  

It is not a wall, it is a fence.