We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
DID YOU KNOW?
Gov. CHARLIE CRIST (I)
On Friday, June 11th, Governor Charlie Crist vetoed a pro-life bill that would both opt the state out of some of the abortion funding in the health care law Obama signed as well as allow women a chance to see an ultrasound before an abortion. Though the bill did not require women to see the ultrasound-it gave them the option-Crist claimed it did in a Tampa Tribune interview. Section 390.0111 of the bill, line 512 states: “The woman has a right to decline to view the ultrasound images after she is informed of her right and offered an opportunity to view them.”
PESIDENT B. H. OBAMA DEFINES, THE FAMILY?
President Obama’s speeches for both Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day stated that “nurturing families can involve two mothers” and “nurturing families come in many forms- and children may be raised by a father and mother, single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian. This is the first time a President has promoted same-sex parents for these days.
PRESIDENT B.H. OBAMA ORGANIZING STUDENTS
President Obama through his Organizing for America website is recruiting high school students to become interns in a 9 week training course. They will read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, and sections of Dreams From My Father, by Obama. It will empower “students across the country to help us bring about our agenda of change.” Students will then be eligible for jobs in the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Serve America. Phyllis Schlafly Report March 2010
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE PROTECTS STUDENTS FREE SPEECH
The Florida Legislature passed a law that requires school district to obtain the consent of staff and students before entering into any agreement that infringes upon or waives their First Amendment rights. The new law takes effect July 1st. This law was passed in response to a gross violation of free speech rights brought about by the ACLU in the Santa Rosa County School District. School officials signed a Consent Decree which prohibits religious expression, off-campus baccalaureate services, student-initiated prayers and much more. Liberty Counsel will pursue the Santa Rosa case until the Consent Decree is set aside in light of the new law.
Liberty Counsel press release, June 7, 2010
PRESIDENT B.H. OBAMA’S CIVILAN ARMY
The Obama health care bill includes an “emergency health army”. In Section 5210 of HR 3590, titled “Establishing a Ready Reserve Corps”, the force must be ready for “involuntary calls to active duty during national emergencies and public health crises.” During his campaign for president, Obama called for a “civilian national security force”, July 2, 2008, in Colorado Springs, Colo. “We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” WorldNetDaily, March 25, 2010
CONSTITUTIONAL CONTROVERSIES
(Excerpts from The Coming Constitutional Debate by Stephen J. Markman)
In the April 2010 issue of Imprimis, Stephen J. Markman, Justice, Michigan Supreme Court, states that emerging controversies concerning the Constitution will determine whether the constitution of 2030 bears any resemblance to the Constitution of 1787—the Framers’ Constitution that has guided this nation for most of its first two centuries and has rendered it the freest, most prosperous and most creative nation in the history of the world. “Proponents of a “21st century constitution” or “living constitution” aim to transform our nation’s supreme law beyond recognition…” As President Obama stated in a radio interview criticizing the Warren Court of the 1950’s and 1960’s:
“It never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and …more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society…The Warren Court…wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution…that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you, but is doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.”
The Framers’ Constitution does not guarantee rights to material goods such as housing, education, food, clothing, jobs, or health care—rights that place a related obligation upon the state to obtain the resources from other citizens to pay for them.”
Blackwell and Klukowski write in “The BLUEPRINT Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency”, that Obama’s blueprint calls for casting off the limits that the Constitution puts on him. “President Obama’s blueprint for using executive orders, administrative regulations, and international law will give him a way to exercise lawmaking power in violation of Article I of the Constitution, and to avoid judicial review of his actions in violation of Article III. And to help carry out his plans, he’s building his own private civilian army of dedicated followers, in violation of Article II.”
HOW MUCH IS OK?
On May 21st, Scripps TC newspapers printed an article by Thomas Sowell called “Who Decides How Much is Enough?” It quoted a statement by President Barack Hussein Obama that “at some point you have made enough money.” Sowell says that when politicians with the power to determine each citizen’s income they are no longer public servants. They are public masters. Politicians who take on that role “stifle economic progress and drain away other people’s money in order to hand out goodies that will help get themselves re-elected. Some people call that “social justice” even when it is anti-social politics.” In the book “The BLUEPRINT, Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency”, Blackwell and Klukowski write that the Obama administration’s attempt for the poor to get their fair share is “pure socialism, possibly to the point of sounding Marxist. It presupposes that it’s the role of government to redistribute wealth, taking it from some, and giving it to others. According to this mind-set, the government is entitled to decide how much of your hard-earned money you should keep, versus how much you’ll be forced to give up so government can give it to others. It’s a denial of the basic American concept of private property ownership.” How much is OK?
SUPREME COURT NOMINEE HAS NEVER TRIED A CASE
Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court hearings begin as this newsletter goes to press.
Kagan has no experience as a judge and has never tried a single case. The May 14th Eagle Forum.org outlines several of the facts known about Kagan: 1) She joined a brief submitted to the Supreme Court that attempted to obtain a constitutional right for schools to exclude military recruiters. That failed 8-0, but Harvard University, where she served as Dean of the Law School, continues to ban recruiters to this day. 2) In a hearing before the Judiciary Committee, she declared her support for using foreign law to interpret the U.S. Constitution, and 3) Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life says that “Elena Kagan has strong ties to abortion-advocacy organizations and expressed admiration for activist judges who have worked to advance social policy rather than to impartially interpret the law.”
The June 25th news@lifeissues.org from Life Issues Institute says, “There’s no doubt that Elena Kagan is a liberal activist intent on pushing aside the U.S. Constitution in favor of a radical social agenda. She was, after all, nominated by the most pro-abortion president in the history of our nation.”
The mutual admiration between Kagan and the President is observed by noting that at a 2005 Harvard Law School Luncheon she lavished praise on then-Senator Obama. She described his speech at the 2004 Democratic national Convention. “He opened his mouth, said a few words and the place was mesmerized. You could of (her quote) heard a pin drop. In part that is because of all the rock star qualities he has: the eloquence, the magnetism, the great looks, the brilliance.” Kagan called Obama a “hero”.
In a June 4th email from Focus on the Family, Tom Minnery states that “We are convinced that her appointment poses a serious threat to our faith, family and freedoms.”
Quotes about the duty of Christians to be involved in politics:
“If Christians should vote their duty to God at the polls, they would carry every election, and do it with ease…Mark Twain, Collier’s Sept. 2, 1905.
“Churches must not act in a partisan way, but they should equip and send people into the political process at all levels who will represent the interests of the Kingdom of God.”
Harry S. Stout, Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Christianity at Yale University.
“It is not the presence of evil people doing evil things that provokes God’s wrath. It is when good people fail to do good things. If God’s people will join the cause of righteousness, bringing salt and light to society, God will surely bless their efforts, even though they may be vastly outnumbered.” Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family, 12/98.
“American Christians have been handed the priceless gifts of freedom, purchased by the sacrifice of our forefathers. Let’s pay attention to what’s going on in our government today. Let’s get involved and work for just laws. Let’s be salt and light in every area of life—including politics.”
Tim Wildmon, AFA president, March 2010 AFA Journal
“The Christians of Germany learned only too late that God’s people in Christ cannot disengage from the culture in which they live…..The time has come for us to pay heed to the Word of the Lord God Almighty, and be what He has placed us here to be—the stinging salt that stops the decay of death, the shining light that dispels the darkness of doubt and despair, the gleaming city set high upon a hill that shines as a beacon light of hope and life to this nation and every nation.”
Dr. Laurence White, Reclaiming America for Christ conference, 1999
“Christians have a duty to introduce biblical morality into the culture in which they live—to bring the influence of Christ into every area of society by sprinkling salt and shining light into a world darkened by sin.” Dr. D. James Kennedy, June 2010,( reprint from a previous sermon)
“We must recognize that this country is close to being lost because Bible-believing Christians who have said they know that the final reality is this infinite personal God who is the Creator, have done nothing about it as the consensus has changed. There has been a vast silence.”
Francis Schaeffer, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, 1982
How Christians Can Be Involved In Politics: Ethic and Religious Liberty Commission 1/6/10
*Register and vote: It is common for elections to be decided by 10 to 20% of eligible voters
*Do your homework: Candidate’s voting record, the issues, how are decisions made?
*Establish Priorities: Pick an issue where your involvement can make a difference
*Communicate with Decision Makers: Letters, emails, faxes, visits to home offices
*Get involved in a Political Party: Those active in a party shape the options for issues
*Work in an Election: Volunteer, contribute, make calls, pass our literature, put up signs
*Influence Public Policy: Join with others concerned with issues you care about.
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END OF JULY 2010 NEWSLETTER
I R F A A L E R T
5/26/10
FLORIDA PASSES BILL TO OPT OUT OF ABORTION MANDATE
Florida became the fourth state to pass a health care bill that guarantees that insurance plans that cover abortions and participate in the state’s new health care exchange cannot receive tax dollars.
The bill HR 1143
requires abortionists to give their patients an ultrasound before performing an abortion. This legislation had input from Americans United for Life, a pro-life public-interest law and policy organization.
Arizona, Tennessee and Mississippi have also passed legislation and AUL is working with 28 other states to do the same.
“Victims of rape, incest, domestic violence, human trafficking, or those who are facing immediate bodily impairment of a major organ can forgo the ultrasound, so long as they present a court order, medical records, police records, or other legal or medical documentation verifying their condition.” Other women can also opt out of viewing the ultrasound, but must sign a form saying they were first informed of their right to view the ultrasound and were doing so without coercion from any third party.
John Stemberger, FL Family Action, said “Short of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, if this bill passes, it will be the greatest legal or policy measure we could enact as a state to reduce the number of women choosing to abort their babies.”The bill now goes to Governor Crist for signature. He has not indicated what his intentions for the bill are. (LifeSiteNews.com April 30, 2010)
Florida citizens when you receive this newsletter,
please call the Governor’s office at 1-850-488-7146
and ask for him to sign this bill.
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
In April, Wisconsin U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation that said that the government setting aside a day of prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Crabb wrote, “It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context.”
Joel Oster, Senior Legal Counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund said, “It does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and this decision should be appealed.”
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice said, “It is unfortunate that this court failed to understand that a day set aside for prayer for the country represents a time-honored tradition that embraces the First Amendment, not violates it.”
The tradition of prayer began in 1775 with the Continental Congress designating a time for prayer in forming a new nation, and has continued throughout our history. Congress created the tradition of the National Day or Prayer in 1952, and in 1988 President Reagan designated the time as the first Thursday in May. The Department of Justice has appealed for the Seventh Circuit Court to overturn the judge’s ruling. We will keep you aware of this situation.
PORNOGRAPHY PICKET
FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2010
Your local AFA will hold its Spring picket against pornography on Friday, June 11th, from 5:00-6:00 P.M. at Inner Secrets, 1394 U.S. Highway 1 in Vero Beach. (beside Sandy’s Patio Furniture.)
Please stand with us.
Do not park at this location. Find parking at other locations near the business.
In 2003 under the name Video Palace, the owner and clerk were arrested and fined for selling obscenity. Obscenity is illegal, pornography is not, but Pornography is detrimental to our families and children. Dr. Victor Cline, Professor of Psychology describes the patterns of pornography: Addiction, Escalation, Desensitization, Acting Out.
