Debra Medina Firing Up the Race for Texas Governor

The following is written from The Guardian's, socialist and statist perspective, but nevertheless offers an interesting look at Debra Medina who could upset the Texas gubernatorial race and is a promising new figure in the movement to restore the United States Constitution.

Debra Medina of the Tea Party movement is making a Sarah Palin-like impact with policies stressing property rights and gun ownership

Texas Republican candidate Debra Medina at a press conference in Houston this month.
Photograph: Pat Sullivan/AP

Lytle is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of town, one of hundreds that dot the vast flat ranchlands of southern Texas. A smear of houses by the main highway between San Antonio and Laredo. Population: 2,383. The first streets only got paved here in the years after the second world war. A sewage system took a little longer, not being built until the 1960s. In short, Lytle, Texas, has never been big enough to have much impact on the politics of the Lone Star state. And few Texas politicians have ever paid much attention to it.

Until Debra Medina, that is. When Medina breezed into Lytle's community hall the locals found themselves confronted with a Texan version of Sarah Palin. She wore a sharp scarlet skirt suit, librarian-style glasses and a puffed-up hairdo. More than 60 Lytle residents had gathered to meet her, a hefty turnout on a weekday at 11am for a Republican primary election in the race to be Texas governor. Medina has become a political phenomenon in Texas. Emerging as a genuine star of the rightwing populist Tea Party movement, she delivers a fiery message of slashing taxes and the abolition of almost all forms of federal government, and issues dire warnings that President Obama is taking America down a slippery slope to Soviet-style communism.

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Christianity Lite

From First Things
By Mary Eberstadt

Once in a while comes an historical event so momentous, so packed with unexpected force, that it acts like a large wave under still water, propelling us momentarily up from the surface of our times onto a crest, where the wider movements of history may be glimpsed better than before.

Such an event was Benedict XVI’s landmark announcement in October 2009 offering members of the Anglican Communion a fast track into the Catholic Church. Although commentators quickly dubbed this unexpected overture a “gambit,” what it truly exhibits are the characteristics of a move known in chess as a “brilliancy,” an unforeseen bold stroke that stunningly transforms the game. In the short run, knowledgeable people agree, this brilliancy of Benedict’s may not seem to amount to much. Some 1000 Church of England priests may convert and some 300 parishes turn over to Rome—figures that, while significant when measured against the dwindling numbers of practicing Anglicans there, are nonetheless mere drops in the Vatican’s bucket.

But in the longer run—say, over the coming decades—Rome’s move looks consequential in another way. It is the latest and most dramatic example of how orthodoxy, rather than dissent, seems once again to have taken the driver’s seat of Christianity. Every traditionalist who joins the long and already illustrious history of reconversion to the Catholic Church just tips the religious balance more toward Rome. This further weakens a religious communion battered from within by decades of intra-Anglican culture wars. Meanwhile, the progressives left behind may well find the exodus of their adversaries a Pyrrhic victory. How will they possibly make peace with the real majority of Anglicans today—the churches in Africa, whose leaders have repeatedly denounced the Communion’s abandonment of traditional teachings? Questions like these are why a few commentators now speak seriously about something that only recently seemed unthinkable: whether the end of the Anglican Communion itself might now be in sight.

Even so, it is the still longer run of Christian history whose outlines may now be most interesting and unexpected of all. Looking even further out to the horizon from our present moment—at a vista of centuries, rather than mere decades, ahead of us—we may well begin to wonder something else. That is, whether what we are witnessing now is not only the beginning of the end of the Anglican Communion but indeed the end of something even larger: the phenomenon of Christianity Lite itself.

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A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "He Who is Poor Inherits a Kingdom"

The Mystical Marriage of Saint Francis to Poverty

Ottaviano Nelli (1375-1444)

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

March 8, 2009

Psalm 130 - "Out of the Depths" - Francis Rouse

Huge Quake Hits Chile; Tsunami Threatens Pacific

A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shattering buildings and bridges, killing at least 78 people and setting off a tsunami that threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

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"The Story of English: The Loaded Weapon" with Robert MacNeil

In episode 8 of his history of the English language, Robert MacNeil explores the influence of Irish Gaelic on the language and Ireland's political and cultural differences with England.

Obama Administration Strategizes with Atheist Anti-Religion Hate Groups

The advocacy group In God We Trust today ripped the Obama administration for meeting to plot political strategy with 60 atheist activists representing organizations comprising the Secular Coalition of America.

"It is one thing for Administration to meet with groups of varying viewpoints, but it is quite another for a senior official to sit down with activists representing some of the most hate-filled, anti-religious groups in the nation," says In God We Trust's Chairman Bishop Council Nedd.

Tina Tchen, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, will meet with representatives from groups that comprise the Coalition. The Coalition's sponsoring organization's include American Atheists, founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hare and the Freedom from Religion Foundation which is campaigning to stop the post office from issuing a stamp honoring Mother Theresa.

"President Obama seems to believe that it is a good idea to have a key senior aide plan political strategy with people who believe faith in God is a disease," Nedd says. "Some of the people in this coalition believe the world would be better off with no Christians and no Jews and they aren't shy about it. The fact that this meeting is happening at all is an affront to the vast majority of people of all faiths who believe in God."

According to the Freedom from Religion Foundation's President Dan Barker, "Christianity is an enemy to humanity, and the antithesis of freedom." (Dan Barker, Freedom from Religion Foundation Co-President in Losing Faith in Faith Page 255) and "Religion also poses a danger to mental health, damaging self-respect, personal responsibility, and clarity of thought." (Losing Faith in Faith Page 217.)

Madalyn Murray OHare declared, "Ours is a time when successful struggle against this reactionary philosophy requires more than a petulant argument over the authorship of the Gospels, more than a negative attack on the totalitarian and monolithic authoritarianism of conventional religion, but rather an aggressive action program to spread the positive philosophy of materialism." (Source: American Atheists website.)

"The President should tell the American people whether he believes these groups' hate-filled views to be 'mainstream' and worthy of his supposedly inclusive administration," Nedd says.

In God We Trust is a national political advocacy organization with over 70,000 supporters of various faiths. Council Nedd is a traditional Episcopal priest and serves as the Bishop of the Chesapeake and Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church. On the Internet: www.InGodWeTrustUSA.org.

"Heart of Oak" and "A Life on the Ocean Wave"

This sums up our thoughts on the saber rattling from Argentina and Venezuela over the Falklands, and Obama's "neutrality." And if we knew the Gurkhas' official march, we'd add it.

America Betrays Britain in Her Hour of Need

American and British Soldiers Parade Together During World War I

Of all the classless, ignoble and anti-American things this most reprehensible of Presidents has done, his betrayal of America's closest ally in an hour when she may yet again have to defend the self-determination of the Falkland Islanders from Argentina's Marxist cleptocrats, is a new low.

Obama made it clear when he returned the gift of the Churchill bust, that in addition to having no class whatsoever, he rejects all that for which America has stood, shoulder to shoulder, with our closest ally. He rejects America's leadership in the world, our historic defense of freedom and self-determination not only for us, but for all those who seek the torch of freedom. He rejects the principles that forged and supported an unparalleled, special relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill and Thatcher and Reagan.

As we have noted before, there is a natural, organic unity of the English-speaking peoples throughout the world based on their history, language and culture. They share a belief in "fair play," a dedication to individualism, have a strong sense of justice, and a willingness to stand up for the "little guy" and those who have been unfairly treated. These cultural qualities are the foundation for the great hallmarks of the English-speaking world -- Magna Carta, habeas corpus, trial by jury, freedom of speech, common law and America's own Bill of Rights.

We should expect that an American President at war with all that America's founders created, would be at war with those who share our values. But try as he might, no alien, two-bit, community agitator from the corrupt Chicago political machine will ever undo that organic unity.

We have a President who is known throughout the world for apologizing for America. In this small corner, we profoundly apologize to our British readers for the mistake America made in electing this despicable and illegitimate President. We are sure it is a mistake America will correct at the first opportunity.

Et tu, Barack? America betrays Britain in her hour of need

Barack Obama has taken a neutral stance on the Falklands (Photo: Getty)

From The Telegraph
By Toby Young

It was a headline I never expected to read: “US refuses to endorse British sovereignty in Falklands oil dispute.” Washington has declined to back Britain in its dispute with Argentina over drilling rights in the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands. President Obama’s position is one of strict neutrality, refusing to take sides. According to the State Department:

We are aware not only of the current situation but also of the history, but our position remains one of neutrality. The US recognises de facto UK administration of the islands but takes no position on the sovereignty claims of either party.

Has it come to this? Tony Blair sacrificed his political career and jeopardised Britain’s international standing by making common cause with America in the War on Terror. No matter how often he claims it was because he believed it was “the right thing to do”, we all know what was really going on in his head. He simply didn’t want to break ranks with the United States. The Atlantic alliance has been the cornerstone of British foreign policy since 1941, when Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt joined forces against the Axis powers. Dean Acheson may have declared that Britain had lost an empire and yet to find a role, but successive British Prime Ministers have know what their role is and, by and large, it has been to stand shoulder to shoulder with America, presenting a united front in a series of global conflicts, from the Cold War to the Gulf.

It is not just cynical realpolitik. Our two nations have more in common with each other than they do with anyone else. We share a belief in liberal democracy, in freedom, and it is largely thanks to our willingness to commit ourselves to the defence of those ideals that the world has not been engulfed by fascism, communism or Islamofascism.

For this alliance to survive, both countries must recognise their obligations and, from time to time, that involves one of us setting aside more localised concerns for the sake of the cause. Tony Blair would have preferred it if President Bush had been prepared to wait for a second UN resolution before launching the invasion of Iraq, but he decided that Britain should follow America into battle nevertheless. He recognised that the preservation of the Atlantic alliance had to be prioritised above all else, both for our sake and the sake of the world.

In return, we naturally expect America to side with us when it comes to our own territorial disputes — and this element of quid pro quo was recognised by Ronald Reagan when he backed Margaret Thatcher in the Falklands War. It wasn’t in America’s regional interests to side with us, but Reagan knew the terms of the deal: It was your country, right or wrong. You don’t abandon your closest ally in her hour of need.

So it is truly shocking that Barack Obama has decided to disregard our shared history and insist that we have to fight this battle on our own. Does Britain’s friendship really mean so little to him? Do the sacrifices Britain has made in defence of the Atlantic alliance count for nought? Who does he think will replace us as America’s steadfast ally when she finds herself embroiled in a territorial dispute of her own — possibly with the very same motley crew of Latin American rabble rousers? Spain? Italy? France? Good luck with that, Mr President.

You’d think that having made his bones in Chicago, Obama would know the Chicago Code of Honour: When someone picks a fight with a friend of yours, they pick a fight with you.

It is at times like this that I remember the words of Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt’s unofficial emissary to Britain during the Second World War. In our darkest hour, when we stood virtually alone against Hitler, Hopkins was dispatched to Britain to assess our situation. Did we have the will to remain in the fight? Was this a country that America should risk its national interest to defend?

Before Hopkins returned to deliver his verdict to Roosevelt, Lord Beaverbrook gave a small dinner party for him and it was there that he rose to give a toast. “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return,” he said. “Well I am going to quote to you one verse from the Book of Books: ‘Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’”

Amen.

Fall of the Republic: The Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama

Fall Of The Republic documents how an offshore corporate cartel is bankrupting the US economy by design. Leaders are now declaring that world government has arrived and that the dollar will be replaced by a new global currency.

This film reveals the architecture of the New World Order and what the power elite have in store for humanity. More importantly, it communicates how We The People can retake control of our government, turn the criminal tide and bring the tyrants to justice.

Would Open Homosexuality in the Military Expose Religious Liberties to Greater Attack?

Perkins Expresses Disappointment and Concern over Rescinded Invitation

In October, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins received an invitation to speak at a National Prayer Luncheon on February 25 at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, D.C. on the theme "Getting Back to the Basics." Perkins, who is also an ordained minister and a veteran of the Marine Corps, accepted this invitation to assist members of the armed forces "refocus on these Divine and 'basic' principles."

However, in his State of the Union address on January 27, President Obama called on Congress to lift all restrictions on service in the military by open homosexuals. Perkins and FRC spoke out against this policy proposal and urged Congress to retain the current law which excludes homosexuals from openly serving in the military.

On January 29, Perkins received a letter from the chaplain's office at Andrews AFB rescinding the invitation to speak at the prayer luncheon, citing FRC statements "which are incompatible in our role as military members who serve our elected officials and our Commander in Chief."

In response, Perkins today issued the following statement:

"As one who took the oath to defend and protect our freedoms, I am disappointed that I've been denied the opportunity to speak to members of the military, in a non-political way, solely because I exercised my free speech rights in a different forum. It's ironic that this blacklisting should occur because I called for the retention and enforcement of a valid federal statute.

"I am very concerned, however, that this merely foreshadows the serious threat to religious liberty that would result from repeal of the current military eligibility law. Such legislation would not merely open the military to homosexuals. It would result in a zero-tolerance policy toward those who disapprove of homosexual conduct.

"Military chaplains would bear the heaviest burden. Would their sermons be censored to prevent them from preaching on biblical passages which describe homosexual conduct as a sin? Would they remain free to counsel soldiers troubled by same-sex attractions about the spiritual and psychological resources available to overcome those attractions? Any chaplain who holds to the millennia-old tradition of Judeo-Christian sexual morality could be denied promotion, or even be forced out of the military altogether.

"I understand the untenable situation that this creates for chaplains and the men and women in uniform. I urge Congress, the President, and the top leadership of our military to place the constitutional guarantee of religious liberty ahead of the fashionable political correctness of a special interest group."

Government Recruiting Clergy Agents; Christ's Declaration of Civil Disobedience

Romans 13 and II Kings chapter 11 -- Christ Commands Civil Disobedience

By Steve Klein

Many Evangelical Pastors preach us to obey the civil magistrate no matter what - even Nero, Hitler or Stalin. FACT: U.S. Federal Government has recruited a number of pastors called the Clergy Response Team. The following presents such a clergy leader:

YET ... our 4 organic charters, The Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, the North West Ordinance of 1787 and the Constitution MINUS slavery command us to Alter or Abolish and Reinstitute. It was understood at the time of these 4 Organic Charters that they were all based on the Anglo-American Common Law which flowed from The New Covenant, the Law Written on the Heart as summed up in Romans 13:10. Agape is the fulfillment of all law. Love requires us to ALTER OR ABOLISH.

After Viet Nam I became a staff battle planner for the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. In Viet Nam I had engaged in front line war as a team leader, rifleman and translator of the USMC's Combined Action Program. Reporting to Viet Nam January, 1969 we marines were not allowed into combat until taught by the Battalion Chaplain the Rules of Engagement based on the 10 Commandments.

At that time (I have an official Department of Defense document proving this - a copy of the page is available) every Officer in the 4 main branches of the U.S. military were required to read that the Constitution of the U.S. was based on The Law Written on the Heart and the 10 Commandments.

We front line marines were taught to obey ONLY lawful orders with proper AUTHORITY and JURISDICTION: Orders in accordance with the Law Written on the Heart and the 10 Commandments. The Chaplain taught us when commanded unlawful orders, e.g., murder -- we were to work together to properly DISOBEY ANY commander, including a general. AND … if the commander persisted we were to organize enough men to relieve that commander of duty and deliver him to the PROPER authorities and prepare to stand trial.

This is no longer taught in the U.S. Military. Sadly, many evangelical pastors, The Clergy Response team, do not teach Alter or Abolish and Reinstitute based on Christ's command of Civil Disobedience.

Karl Rove: 'What the GOP Should Say at the Health Summit '

It is risky to correct a president to his face, but it must be done.

From The Wall Street Journal
By Karl Rove

The congressional Republicans at today's televised health-care "summit" at the White House naturally want to prevent the president from turning it into a PR stunt. This is no easy task. They'll not only have to point out problems with his plan and offer their own ideas, but correct the president when he makes statements that are not true.

The GOP participants appear ready for the first two tasks. In an unusual approach, House and Senate members prepped together the way a candidate preps for a presidential debates—by pulling together debate books and conducting mock sessions. But the third task is the most critical and the most difficult.

President Obama has a habit of making false statements, and getting away with them. At a Republican conference in Baltimore last month, for example, he denied that his budget nearly triples the national debt over 10 years. He got away with it because he didn't face follow-up questions or objections.

It's not easy to criticize a president face to face. During my White House years, congressmen and senators would sit in my office, pound the table, and vow to tell the president he mishandled an issue. Then we'd walk the 15 steps to the Oval Office, and they would instantly turn soft. The presidency commands respect. Americans expect the president to be treated with dignity and deference, making criticizing him to his face politically risky.

But it's necessary, because Mr. Obama is basing his health-care pitch on the false premise that he can drive down health-care prices by creating a pricey new entitlement. He also maintains that he can do this without creating a mountain of federal debt or a bureaucracy that will determine when Americans can receive care.

Americans intuitively know these things cannot be true, and they have therefore responded to the promise of ObamaCare with tea parties and by voting for Republican candidates in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts. Now voters are likely to support congressional Republicans if they can take Mr. Obama head on in a calm, respectful and factual way.

If the president says his health-care plan "would reduce costs and premiums for millions of families and businesses," as he did in his State of the Union, Republicans must point out that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says premiums under ObamaCare would be higher than if nothing were done.

If Mr. Obama repeats his frequent claim that his proposal "won't add a penny to the deficit," Republicans can point out that to do so means 10 years of Medicare cuts and tax increases to pay for just four full years of the expensive insurance subsidies at the heart of his plan. This gimmick foreshadows a huge flood of red ink in the coming decades.

Mr. Obama will probably say that his proposal would give 30 million additional Americans health coverage. Republicans can counter that claim by noting his plan dumps about half of those people into Medicaid, a program even Mr. Obama admits is driving state budgets into the red.

Mr. Obama might say that only wealthy individuals, or insurance, drug and medical-device companies will pay higher taxes under his plan. Republicans can point out that tens of billions in new taxes will be passed on to families paying insurance premiums and patients in need of those drugs and medical devices.

Today's event should be treated as a debate. Facts, humor, and using the president's own words to refute his assertions could carry the day. Republicans need to be mindful of winning over those who are watching.

Mr. Obama last met with Republicans specifically on health care nearly a year ago—March 5, 2009—so it's easy to understand GOP concerns about attending today's event. After all, the White House seems intent on painting the GOP as obstructionist or stiffening Democratic spines by showcasing a tough-minded president.

But that doesn't change the fact that the president is somewhat on the defensive. His health reform is stuck because he can't get a bill that's already passed the Democratic Senate through the House, notwithstanding a 255 to 178 Democratic majority there. By respectfully refuting the president, Republicans can help establish themselves as reasonable advocates of common-sense politics and even restore a healthier give-and-take between the executive and legislative branches.

A year ago, Mr. Obama stood astride the political world. Today, he is a weaker and smaller leader because his signature domestic issue is unpopular, he misread his own election victory, and he overreached.

Having won the battle for public opinion on this issue, Republicans are on the rise. They should act like it. Mr. Obama may have a home court advantage, but Republicans have facts, ideas, and most of the American people on their side.

Mr. Rove, the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, is the author of the forthcoming book "Courage and Consequence" (Threshold Editions).

Ronald Reagan's Timeless Message on Socialized Medicine

Mark Sanford on "How to Waste $10 Billion"

Obama leaves no place to dispose of spent nuclear fuel

From The Washington Times
By Mark Sanford

So often in politics, what makes the headlines is only half the story. For the other half, you've got to do a little digging.

Last week, President Obama announced that the federal government would guarantee $8 billion in loans for the construction of two nuclear power reactors. On the face of it, this represented good news: The nation faces serious energy challenges, and no new nuclear plants have been built in 30 years.

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Pastor Expects Arrest for Calling Obama Evil

End of an Era: James Dobson Departs Focus on the Family

From LifeSiteNews
By Peter J. Smith

After 33 years at Focus on the Family, psychologist Dr. James Dobson bids farewell on Friday to the Christian ministry he founded, and brings his radio presence at the organization to an end. But the famous Christian commentator is not finished with the airwaves, as he has announced plans for a new, independent radio ministry following his departure.

Focus on the Family CEO and President Jim Daly told listeners of Focus on the Family’s radio program Wednesday that "this week marks the completion of a transition period that probably started more than 10 years ago."

Dobson stated that his intention in stepping down was to give responsibility to the younger generation, and ensure FOTF's future success by not inadvertently leaving it leaderless. Focus on the Family’s Citizenlink reports that Dobson, 73, will join Daly on the radio program later in the week “to discuss memories, his future and Focus on the Family's future.”

For decades, friends and foes have known Dobson - a signer of the recent Manhattan Declaration - as an outspoken champion of the right to life for the unborn, and tireless defender of the family and the institution of marriage.

Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program brought in an estimated 1.5 million listeners in the United States and over 220 million followers across the globe. There, Dobson made his voice a clarion call to pro-life and pro-family action through political involvement no less than prayer and ministry.

“If people of faith - the so-called values voters - don’t come out and let their voices be heard, there are going to be some major implications for this country,” Dobson warned his listeners in October 2006.

Dobson had no qualms about calling the recent federal “hate crimes” legislation “utter evil” coming out of Congress, and warned that normalizing same-sex unions was a necessary component of homosexualists’ strategy to make homosexuality acceptable among the youth.

On Terri Schiavo, the Christian psychologist denounced her court-ordered starvation and dehydration as "one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history."

Dobson took particular aim at the "heady abuse of power that is all too common among independent fiefdoms known as judges," when a federal court struck down obscenity laws as unconstitutional. He quoted as prescient Thomas Jefferson’s warning that entrusting the arbitration of “all constitutional questions” to judges was an idea that “would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy."

Dobson was also keenly aware of the need for a new generation of pro-life Christian leaders, and challenged the youth to rise up and courageously accept the mantle of his own generation of leadership.

“Who will defend the unborn child in the years to come? Who will plead for the Terri Schiavos of the world? Who's going to fight for the institution of marriage, which is on the ropes today?" Dobson questioned to the National Religious Broadcasters conference in March 2008.

Amid Dobson's transition from Focus, speculation remains on the fate of the organization he founded, and what new direction it may take without his influence.

A Wall Street Journal interview with Focus CEO Jim Daly in early February indicated that the Christian ministry may take a softer approach to controversial life and family issues than Dobson.

“I don’t see evil behind everything,” said Daly. The Journal reported the CEO did not care for Dobson’s strident attacks on political leaders such as President Obama. While Dobson called Obama’s ideas “fruitcake,” the Journal said Daly preferred to praise the President for having a White House event on fatherhood.

Additionally, Daly told the Journal that while he and Focus remains dedicated to ending abortion once and for all, they will likely not spend much energy working for a ban, but instead devote more resources to promoting abortion alternatives such as adoption.

However, Tom Minnery, a senior vice president at Focus on the Family, assured on CitizenLink that Focus on the Family will remain true to the guiding lights that Dobson imbued in their ministry.

"The pillars will remain the same," he said. "Our devotion to our cause of the family, our devotion to the notion that life is sacred, to the notion that marriage is one man and one woman, those will never change."

For Dobson, the end brings a new beginning: in December, he announced his plan to host a new 30-minute daily radio program with his son Ryan, called "James Dobson on the Family." The show is expected to tackle issues including “marriage, child-rearing, family finances, medical and psychological concerns, national issues, the sanctity of human life, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Dobson wrote that he did not feel he could simply live a quiet retired life with his wife Shirley while “our nation is facing a crisis that threatens its very existence.”

“We are in a moral decline of shocking dimensions. I have asked myself how I can I sit and watch the world go by without trying to help if I can,” Dobson stated. “That is what motivates me at this time.”

The program is set to debut May 3.

Federal judge Orders School District to Stop Spying on Students

From The Hill
By Tony Romm

A Pennsylvania school district has been ordered to disable equipment allowing officials to watch students using cameras on their laptops.

The order, issued Wednesday by a federal judge, will prevent school administrators from turning on cameras installed on students' school-issued laptops remotely.

The move arrives at the request of a Lower Merion family, which claimed school officials were wrong to activate the camera, snap a photo of their son and confront him about its contents.

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Another Bloody Day for Christians in Mosul

"Iraq could be one of the great achievements of this administration."

~Joe Biden


Five Family Members Gunned Down; Hundreds Fleeing Violence in City

"It was a bloody day yesterday in Mosul," an Iraqi worker of Open Doors reported today.

"In one house all the family members were killed -- five people. First the attackers drove by and shot from their car. Then they forced themselves into the house and gunned down the entire family. They even threw two bodies outside the house as a cruel warning for others."

The Open Doors worker, who needs to stay anonymous for security reasons, added: "Two brothers and the father of an Assyrian Catholic priest were murdered in their house yesterday."

The priest, Mazin Ishoo, lived with his parents. The family had chosen to stay in Mosul. "They did this practically because they had nowhere else to go, but they also were determined to stay and serve the community," the worker said.

The Open Doors team also received word that more Christians were murdered.

"For years Christians have been targeted in Mosul and the surrounding area," said Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller. "It is one of the most violent areas in Iraq. The massacre of an entire family and the other murders is horrible. It is getting more violent there every day. Please pray today for our fellow believers there. Pray for comfort for those who have lost loved ones. And safety for those who can't leave Mosul and for those who are fleeing."

In the past week, 40 to 50 families, consisting of an average of five members per family, have left Mosul. Another team member of Open Doors said: "This morning two taxis arrived with families from Mosul. I think that since this weekend one or two families leave Mosul every day. However, we receive about 10 phone calls every day of people who say that they want to leave the city."

Although the Open Doors team has direct contact with Christians in Mosul, it is difficult to get reliable figures on how many Christians are living in Mosul today. It is estimated that less than 10 years ago well over 100,000 Christians lived in Mosul. Today estimations vary from 150-300 families living in the city.

The authorities do not have the power to put a stop to the deteriorating situation. An Iraqi team member said: "I had contact with a sister in Mosul and she said that last Sunday the governor of Mosul and the top leader of the police came to her family. Both of them told her that she should leave Mosul because they could not guarantee their safety and could not protect them from the killers."

The team member added: "Just 10 minutes ago I had phone contact with a Christian woman who I know from a youth group in Mosul some years ago. She told me that she is trying to find a way to leave Mosul and expects that all Christians will try to leave. And that Mosul will be empty of Christians soon."

Iraqi Christians do not know specific reasons why the violence against believers is so extreme in the last 10 days, except for political and religious motives. Elections are scheduled March 7 and the attackers hope to derive benefit from causing political instability.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Obama & Dems in 2005: 51 Vote ‘Nuclear Option’ Is ‘Arrogant’ Power Grab Against the Founder’s Intent

School Prayer Order 'Blatantly Unconstitutional'

From OneNewsNow
By Bill Bumpas

A school prayer case in Florida has elevated into "nuclear war," declares one Christian attorney.

Liberty Counsel is representing Christian Educators Association International (CEAI) in a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County School District after a federal judge denied CEAI's request to overturn a consent decree requiring faculty and staff to stop expressing their faith in public schools.

Mat Staver with Liberty Counsel tells OneNewsNow that the superintendent caved to pressure applied by the American Civil Liberties Union, and now this consent decree is putting the clamps on religious expression.

"A teacher, if she or he gets an email from a parent and the parent has 'God bless you' or scripture anywhere in the email, the teacher is prohibited from responding to that email without first taking out those words," Staver explains.

He adds that in another instance "one of the administrative assistants said that they are afraid to even pray with each other in their own cubicles for fear that they will be targets of contempt under this order."

The Liberty Counsel attorney calls the order "blatantly unconstitutional” and is confident that it will be overturned by an appellate court.

Terry Jeffrey: Obama Begins His Assault on Your Life Savings

The welfare state and your life savings are two cars heading down a one-lane road in opposite directions. One must yield, or there will be a crash.

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Cardinal George: Mormons, Catholics Must Defend Religious Liberty

From Catholic World News

Speaking before a crowd of 12,000 at Brigham Young University, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago delivered an address on “Catholics and Latter-day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom.”

“I'm personally grateful that after 180 years of living mostly apart from one another, Catholics and Latter-day Saints have come to see one another as trustworthy partners in the defense of shared moral principles,” said the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, citing the defense of marriage and family life, conscience protection of health-care professionals, and anti-pornography and anti-poverty.

Lamenting the “quasi-fascist tactics” and “thuggery” against supporters of traditional marriage, Cardinal George emphasized that religious freedom includes “the right to exercise influence in the public square.”

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Cardinal tells BYU: We must work together for religious liberty (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Cardinal: Catholics, Mormons must defend religious freedom together (CNS)

US to Build $1 Billion London Embassy with Moat

A model of the US Embassy in Battersea, complete with moat 30m wide and rolling parkland

From The Times (UK)
By Catherine Philp

The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London — the most expensive it has ever built.

The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy’s Mayfair neighbours and the residents and developers of the Battersea wasteland where the vast crystalline cube, surrounded by a moat, will be built.

The decision to abandon the former site in Grosvenor Square by 2016 came after a prolonged battle with residents angered by the security measures demanded after the September 11 attacks. More than a hundred residents took out a full-page advertisement in The Times to oppose tighter measure.

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Wisconsin Planned Parenthood Caught in Sex Abuse Cover-Up

From LifeSiteNews

New undercover footage shows staff at a Milwaukee, Wisc. Planned Parenthood abortion clinic apparently breaking the law by counseling a purportedly 14-year-old statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31-year-old boyfriend, and coaching her how to obtain an abortion without her parents' consent.

The new video, the seventh in a series from Live Action documenting similar behavior in 5 other states, comes amid recent controversy about Planned Parenthood's compliance with state laws regarding minors and abortion.

After hearing that the girl is 14 and her boyfriend is "much older," the counselor in the video says that whether or not the situation will be reported by clinic workers "depends on the person you're disclosing that information to." When the girl says that her boyfriend is 31, the counselor tells her, "You don't have to say anything" about the statutory rape and instructs her, "Just give them the information that's needed." The counselor also confirms that the 31-year-old "boyfriend" will be paying for the abortion.

In Wisconsin, sex between an adult and a minor under age 16 is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report such cases to law enforcement immediately. The law specifically includes abortion providers in this requirement.

Live Action, the youth-led pro-life nonprofit that produced the video, has previously released undercover footage in its "Mona Lisa Project" showing sexual abuse cover-up at Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Indiana, Arizona, Tennessee, and Alabama.

The Alabama Department of Health put a Birmingham Planned Parenthood on probation two weeks ago after finding 9 legal violations during an investigation prompted by a Live Action video.

Twenty-one-year-old UCLA student Lila Rose, Live Action's president, says her organization's videos reveal a common trend of unethical counseling practices and disregard for the law at Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S.

"In case after case, Planned Parenthood exempts itself from its legal and professional obligations," said Rose. "At a time when the Obama administration, through its new health care plan, is offering potentially billions of dollars to the abortion industry, state and federal lawmakers need to take notice of Planned Parenthood's lawlessness and make certain they receive no more taxpayer subsidies."

Live Action is also responsible for a recent video exposè of biased counseling and medical misinformation at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Wisconsin law requires that women be provided accurate medical information before undergoing an abortion.

"The evidence is now available for all to see that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin ignores state laws that have been in place for years," said the Live Action president.

"Wisconsin law enforcement needs to follow the lead of other jurisdictions, investigate this corrupt organization, and enforce the laws that protect vulnerable women and their pre-born children."

Canadian Premier Passes Up National Health Service for a Miami Hospital

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams speaks to members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in Calgary, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Daniel E. "Danny" Williams is the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and while his party is regarded as "centrist" by Canadian standards, during the 2008 Canadian federal election he led what he termed the "ABC Campaign"(Anything But Conservative) in his province, in opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Last year the 60-year-old Williams was diagnosed with a heart murmur, and in December his doctors told him the problem had become severe and cautioned that unless his heart valve was repaired immediately, he risked heart failure.

And where do you think a Canadian provincial leader goes to get urgent heart surgery?

To the world-class national health service that Obamunists point to as a model for the United States? Not in your life!

Saying "this was my heart, my choice and my health," the premier headed straight to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, where cardiac surgeon Dr. Joseph Lamelas has successfully performed the needed procedure.

The liberals are all alike, aren't they? Socialized medicine for you, but not for their hearts. No D.C. Scholarship program to help someone else's kids escape the hell that is District of Columbia Public School System, but Sidwell Friends Academy for their children.

Prime Minister Say Australia Faces Major Terror Threat

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that his country is now under a permanent and increased threat of militant attack.

He also announced plans to fingerprint and face-scan visitors from 10 high-risk countries.

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Gentle Tebow Ad Has Big Impact

From LifeSiteNews
By James Tillman

Approximately 4% of those who support abortion were lead to "personally reconsider [their] opinion about abortion" after watching the pro-life Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother Pam, according to a new Barna study.

Approximately 92.6 million Americans watched the ad when it aired February 7, during what is normally the most-viewed broadcast in America each year. Because slightly less than half of repondents in the poll self-identified as pro-abortion, the data suggests that about 1.7 million pro-abortion viewers reconsidered their position after watching the spot.

In addition, a majority of respondents saw the ad as both positive and suitable for the Super Bowl slot. Only 8% of respondents found it offensive.

Yet this was not the ad's only effect.

The ad, featuring a short message in which Pam speaks of how Tim almost failed to make it into the world, directs viewers to a longer video on the Focus on the Family website.

"Our [website] traffic jumped to 40 times its normal volume [during the game]," Focus on the Family spokeswoman Monica Schleicher said, according to the Denver Post. "In the hour during the pre-game [broadcast], when the other ad aired twice, our Web traffic was 20 times our normal volume."

In the powerful, ten-minute interview with Tim Tebow's parents on the Focus on the Family website, Pam and Bob Tebow describe how they had prayed for Tim to be born.

"We were very excited that I became pregnant with Timmy," Pam recounts, "and we went to see the doctor there in the town that we lived in; she said it wasn't a baby at all, he was a mass of fetal tissue, and that I needed to abort him immediately if I was going to save my life."

During the following very difficult pregnancy, Pam said that she thought she would lose Tim nearly daily; nevertheless, she continued to experience peace in resignation to God's will.

When Jim Daly asked what advice the Tebows would give to a young lady with an unplanned pregnancy, they were ready with an answer.

"I would say that baby's not a mistake, though it might seem that way to her," said Pam, "and that God will enable her to do the right thing and to give her the encouragement that she needs, but that there's also help for her."

"And girls have those options. They have a choice. And God really has his hand on the situation. There's so many people out there willing to help if they give them the chance."

Bob Tebow had a similarly simple message.

"The first thing I would say to you if you have a surprise pregnancy is: God loves you. God loves you, and he loves your baby," he said. "There are lots of people; they'll help you. Don't kill your baby."

The effect of the ad was multiplied by the piles of publicity pro-abortion groups generated by demanding that CBS refuse to show the ad, and complaining that the Super Bowl should not be a political event.

In a recent editorial, Focus on the Family President Jim Daly mentioned that "The criticism we've received from this ad has been curious."

"Many who consider themselves 'pro-choice' have found fault with us for celebrating Pam Tebow's choice," he continued. "Those who hold to such a radical position clearly appear to be more pro-abortion than pro-choice."

He continued by suggesting a few "modest changes" that might save lives: instituting a consent or waiting period at abortion facilities, requiring doctors to give women the option to view an ultrasound prior to an abortion, requiring parental involvement before abortion, and encouraging adoption.

Jews Leave Swedish City After Sharp Rise in Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes

Sweden's reputation as a tolerant, liberal nation is being threatened by a steep rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city of Malmo.

From The Telegraph
By Nick Meo in Malmo, Sweden

Judith Popinski: Judith Popinski pictured next to the White Bus at the Red Cross museum in Malmo, Sweden Photo: SCANPIX

When she first arrived in Sweden after her rescue from a Nazi concentration camp, Judith Popinski was treated with great kindness.

She raised a family in the city of Malmo, and for the next six decades lived happily in her adopted homeland - until last year.

In 2009, a chapel serving the city's 700-strong Jewish community was set ablaze. Jewish cemeteries were repeatedly desecrated, worshippers were abused on their way home from prayer, and "Hitler" was mockingly chanted in the streets by masked men.

"I never thought I would see this hatred again in my lifetime, not in Sweden anyway," Mrs Popinski told The Sunday Telegraph.

"This new hatred comes from Muslim immigrants. The Jewish people are afraid now."

Malmo's Jews, however, do not just point the finger at bigoted Muslims and their fellow racists in the country's Neo-Nazi fringe. They also accuse Ilmar Reepalu, the Left-wing mayor who has been in power for 15 years, of failing to protect them.

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The Mystery of Barack Obama Continues

From Western Journalism
By Steve Baldwin

Most Americans don’t realize we have elected a president whom we know very little about.

Researchers have discovered that Obama’s autobiographical books are little more than PR stunts, as they have little to do with the actual events of his life. The fact is we know less about President Obama than perhaps any other president in American history and much of this is due to actual efforts to hide his record. This should concern all Americans.

A nation-wide network of researchers has sprung up to attempt to fill in the blanks, but at every opportunity Obama’s high-priced lawyers have built walls around various records or simply made them disappear. It is estimated that Obama’s legal team has now spent well over $1.4 million dollars blocking access to documents every American should have access to. The question is why would he spend so much money to do this?

The president who campaigned for a more “open government” and “full disclosure” will not unseal his medical records, his school records, his birth records or his passport records. He will not release his Harvard records, his Columbia College records, or his Occidental College records—he will not even release his Columbia College thesis. All his legislative records from the Illinois State Senate are missing and he claims his scheduling records during those State Senate years are lost as well. In addition, no one can find his school records for the elite K-12 college prep school, Punahou School, he attended in Hawaii.

What is he hiding? Well, for starters, some of these records will shed light on his citizenship and birth.

For example, Obama’s application to Punahou School – now mysteriously missing – would likely contain a birth certificate. And, according to attorney Gary Kreep, “his Occidental College records are important as they may show he attended there as a foreign exchange student.” Indeed, Obama used his Indonesian name “Barry Soetoro” while attending Occidental. Kreep has filed lawsuits challenging Obama’s eligibility to be president and as part of his lawsuit he requested Obama’s records from Occidental. However, Obama’s lawyers quickly moved to stop Occidental from honoring this request.

Furthermore, now that at least three document authentication experts have declared the scanned “Certificate of Live Birth” Obama’s campaign team gave to a pro-Obama website to be an obvious phony; we know that he is hiding something here as well.

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NY High School Cancels Burgeoning Christian Club, Lets 60 Others Remain

Another outrageous example of a government school stifling individual freedom, religious liberty, and the rights of parents to an education for their children that reflects their own goals and values. It's the kind of problem that would not occur in a just system that allowed all parents to direct their share of education funding to the school of their choice.

From LifeSiteNews

ADF attorneys file suit against Board of Education of Half Hollow Hills after officials shut Christian student club down

A student has teamed up with the Alliance Defense Fund to file a lawsuit against a New York school district after school officials cancelled her once-flourishing Christian club.

At the beginning of her freshman year at Half Hollow Hills High School East, the student was told that the Ichthus Club, a student-led group where she was one of the leaders, had been cancelled without any advanced notification. Four years earlier, her older brother had met strong resistance before the club was finally allowed to form.

School officials claim that unspecified budget cuts and a lack of student popularity spurred their decision. However, leaders in the club point out that it had more than 55 student attendees last year, and complain that approximately 60 other student clubs, including the Gay-Straight Alliance and Amnesty International, were allowed to continue.

The student leader sought to work with the administration to keep the club, even offering to cut expenses by meeting every other week and finding a club advisor who would volunteer, but officials and the school board declined the offer.

“Christian student groups in public schools shouldn’t be discriminated against simply because they are religious,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.

“Singling out a religious student club while letting the vast majority of the others remain constitutes viewpoint discrimination and is unconstitutional. In addition, it’s simply false that this club is not popular with students. More than 90 students signed a petition in favor of allowing the club to continue meeting.”

Extraordinary Measures Needed to Stop the Intransigent Marxist

As we predicted on Saturday, Obama has dusted off a new abortion expanding, tax raising, deficit hemorrhaging, economy destroying, trillion dollar assault on America's health-care system. He has shown himself once again to be more ideologue than leader, a Marxist determined to impose his will regardless of the overwhelming opinion of the American people, expressed in poll after poll. And he is willing to use any legislative loophole available in defiance of "we the people."

Voters in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts have rejected the radical Obama policies. A tidal wave of aroused Americans will soon sweep away the disciples of Obamunism.

In light of the President's intransigence, we urge that Republicans in Congress refuse to attend any Obama-orchestrated health-care summit. Republicans should not allow themselves to be used as props in anti-American schemes. Since the President has reneged on his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," they should instead stand with the American people and plan for the day when Obamunism and its disciples like Pelosi, Reid, Frank and others are swept away, and lay the foundation for a complete restoration of the old republic and its Constitution.

America is at a crossroads as dangerous as any in its history. This maniacal tyrant must be stopped, and we hope that the American people and their representatives in Congress -- Republicans and moderate Democrats will explore extraordinary measures, including impeachment, to stop his demonic assault on our country and its Constitution. Does the next march on Washington need to prepare for civil disobedience and an extended stay until Congress sees the light?

Beck Wants GOP to Confess Like Tiger Woods

Glenn Beck explains the progressivism cancer that has infected both major parties and has undermined the U. S. Constitution. A profound must see for all those fed up with "less of the same" RINO Republicans and those in Congress and the White House who have contempt for America's patrimony.