Pastors spoke up - will IRS respond?

Pastors spoke up - will IRS respond?

A conservative law firm is waiting for a response from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the latest "Pulpit Freedom Sunday."

According to the Alliance Defense Fund, the event was a success. Attorney Erik Stanley reports that about 100 pastors from 30 states participated in the firm's third annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday, a legal effort designed to secure pastors' First Amendment rights. (See earlier story)

"All of this with the goal of protecting a pastor's right to speak freely from the pulpit without fearing any government censorship or control," Stanley explains. "So it was a great success, and we're looking forward to what may come after this."

He goes on to tell OneNewsNow that most people probably fail to realize that pastors do not have the same freedom of speech as non-pastors. "What pastors can and cannot say from the pulpit about the issue of candidates in elections is governed by the IRS and the Internal Revenue Code," he notes.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1187674

Critics of what the ADF calls "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" say pastors already can say what they please, but should not expect their churches to remain tax-exempt if they endorse candidates.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1182652

In the pulpit or out of the pulpit, and man of God is still a man of God, and his advice and convictions are still valid. The majority of the Founding Fathers revered God, and, tax law not withstanding, we would do well to follow their lead.

This is from http://toulonbaptist.com/foundingfathers.htm

 Consider Benjamin Franklin's appeal for prayer at the Constitutional Convention: 

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.--Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth--that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments be Human Wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move--that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of the City be requested to officiate in that service--

In his book Original Intent David Barton gives an impressive list of these founders that without doubt claimed to be Christian in their faith. I simply include their names and their positions. The chapter that this information comes from comprises about 15 pages of typed material. Below you will find a list of 79 of our founding fathers who embraced Christian principles. I would challenge someone to find a list 79 deist or atheists from among the founding fathers.

ABRAHAM BALDWIN (SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION): Chaplain in the American Revolution for two years.

ALBION PARRIS (GOVERNOR OF MAINE): Manager of the American Sunday School Union.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON (SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION): Proposed formation of the Christian Constitutional Society to spread Christian government to other nations.

ANDREW KIRKPATRICK (CHIEF-JUSTICE OF NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT): Vice-President of the New jersey Bible Society; Vice-President of the American Bible Society.

BENJAMIN LINCOLN (REVOLUTIONARY GENERAL; LT. GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS): Member of the Society for the Propagating of the Gospel among the Indians and Others.

BENJAMIN RUSH (SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION): Founder and manager of the Philadelphia Bible Society.

BUSHROD WASHINGTON (U. S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE): Vice-President of the American Bible Society; Vice-President of the American Sunday School Union.

CALEB STRONG (CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; U. S. SENATOR; GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS): Vice-President of the American Bible Society.

CHARLES CARROLL, SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION

CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY (SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION): President of the Charleston Bible Society; Vice-President of the American Bible Society.

CHARLES GOLDSBOROUGH (GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND; U. S. REPRESENTATIVE): Vice-President of the American Bible Society.

Enough Said...

top 10 reasons

Top 10 Failures of ObamaCare After Six Months

The facts speak for themselves

Premiums Have Gone Up

You Can’t Keep Your Current Plan And Doctor

National Budget Deficit Is Worse

More Children Are Uninsured

Small Business Taxes Increased

Small Businesses Health Care Burden Increased

More Government Spending

Senior Citizens Suffer from Medicare Cuts

Minorities Get Worse Health Care

Democrats Losing Elections

Read about it here:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39109

Musical chairs anyone?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and George Mitchell were in the Mid East Wednesday, playing the game of musical chairs we all find so amusing.

The American-mediated talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt got off to a rocky start Tuesday morning but concluded in the early afternoon without any disruptions. More talks are scheduled in Jerusalem and Ramallah Wednesday.

Read about it here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139613

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday morning laid the groundwork for arguing that Israel needs a new Arab state in order to remain “democratic and Jewish.”

Speaking with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem at the opening of the second straight day of talks between Israel and PA leaders, Clinton stated, “The status quo is unsustainable” even if it can last for another 30 years. “The only path to ensure Israel’s future as a secure democratic and Jewish state“ is an Arab state, headed by the Palestinian Authority, “alongside” Israel.

And here:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139635

But at least one person “gets it”, and writes:

Peace? Get Real!

While Israel marches blindly into the snare of "negotiations," the Arab terrorists continue to attack us. Get real! What's the point? You can't "make peace" with people who want to annihilate you, so why hasn't the Israeli Government told Obama, Clinton, Blair etc to get packing and leave us alone?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/6

Meanwhile Israel is under attack on a daily basis:

Israeli Air Force bombed targets in Gaza Wednesday, killing at least one terrorist after a massive missile and mortar barrage on southern Israel Wednesday morning. At least 10 explosions rocked the area from the western Negev to an area between the port cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. A major electricity generating station and oil and gas pipelines are located in Ashkelon. Ashdod is home to dozens of oil refineries.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139637

Citing 'credible information', the U.S. Embassy in Jordan today issued a warning to avoid the Jordanian port city on the Red Sea because of a 'possible imminent threat in the Gulf of Aqaba region'. Dale Gavlak reports from Amman that Jordanian officials have no information about a pending attack, but adds that last month, a rocket struck the city, killing one person.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954630,00.html

Hamas continued to gain strength this past summer as about 100,000 youngsters underwent radical anti-Israel indoctrination at dozens of summer camps run by the terrorist group – which also attacked United Nations camps, its main competition – according to a report released on Tuesday by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center According to the report, more than 100,000 children and teenagers participated in the Hamas camps, which included paramilitary training and military parades. The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization also opened 51 different summer camps for over 10,000 children.

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=188082

And now this: 

MOORHEAD, Minn. — A woman wearing whipped cream and not much else has been cited for indecent exposure at a Walgreens.

The Forum newspaper of Fargo, N.D., reports that police say the 37-year-old Moorhead woman walked into the store about 5:45 p.m. Sunday wearing on a thong, pasties, a "partial" towel and whipped cream.

Police Lt. Tory Jacobson tells the newspaper the woman told police she was a "free thinker" who was trying to attract attention and encourage people to defy society's norms.

A bystander called police and gave the woman a blanket to cover herself.

Jacobson says the woman later conceded her actions might have been "a little over the top." Police gave her a ticket and took her home.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/walgreens-104656-minn-moorhead.html#ixzz0zdBXLC7g

Cordoba House:

Cordoba House:

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative also known as the “9-11 Imam”, addressed a packed room at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York today.

“The events of the past weeks have really saddened me to my very core. I regret that some have misunderstood our intentions.”

Feisal added that harmful stereotypes and the heated political climate ahead of the elections have compounded the stresses surrounding the construction of PARK 51, the Muslim community center near the World Trade Center site. He offered his heartfelt sympathy and prayers to the victims of 9-11 and their families.

He also thanked President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for speaking out against religious intolerance.

“My goal here today is to reach out to my brothers and sisters of different faiths in America… And second, to reach out to my Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world to explain and share my love of America.”

He described his arrival to the states in 1968 and identified himself as an “American” and a “New Yorker.”

“Every religion in the world has extremists…Sadly, Islam is one of them. But let me clear ladies and gentlemen, Islam categorically rejects the killing of innocent people.”

http://www.talkradionews.com/news/2010/9/13/imam-feisal-calls-on-moderates-from-all-faiths-to-combat-ext.html

Are Americans completely ignorant of history?

“Cordoba,” in Islamic symbolic terms, means Islamic rule in the West. It does not mean “coexistence,” unless coexistence is interpreted as referring to Islamic rule.

Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs cites the article (original in Arabic) published by Iraqi-American Khudhayr Taher on 18 May, in which Taher explains the following:

We must note that a hostile and provocative name [Cordoba] has been chosen for this mosque… Choosing the name ‘Cordoba House’ for the mosque to be constructed in New York was not coincidental or random and innocent. It bears within it significance and dreams of expansion and invasion [into the territory] of the other, [while] striving to change his religion and to subjugate him…

It used to not even be a stretch for reasonably well educated Westerners to recognize the place of Spain and Cordoba in the history of the West and Islam. Many of today’s younger adults, however, have learned nothing about the Mediterranean before 1492 except that the Muslim period in Spain was a flowering of science, art, and culture.

There was a great deal to admire in the accomplishments of the Muslim Cordobans, but they did, in fact, invade and conquer Spain, sell its inhabitants into slavery, provide a base for slaver raids into other parts of Europe, and rule by the sword in much of the caliphate.

Shelomo Alfassa: Beware the Cordoba Initiative...

[Shelomo Alfassa is the former US director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries and a scholar of Judaic life in Islamic Spain. He lives in New York.]

The world should know that the ‘Cordoba Initiative,’ the New York City based organization desiring to construct a massive Islamic house of prayer at ‘Ground Zero,’ has posted on its website, a peculiar and disingenuous statement indicating the desire to bring back the atmosphere of, “interfaith tolerance and respect that we have longed for since Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in harmony and prosperity eight hundred years ago.” the seat of the caliphate established in what is now modern Spain after the Islamic invasion from North Africa in the 8th century A.D.

The medieval occupation of Spain – “al-Andalus” – is considered by Islamic theorists to have been an inevitable step in the manifest destiny of Islam, and its eventual reversal through the lengthy European “Reconquista” a tragic but temporary triumph of the infidels. The great mosque at Cordoba was built on the foundation of a Christian cathedral, and when Europeans retook Cordoba in the 13th century they turned the magnificent mosque back into a cathedral.

Read more here:

http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/127499.html

The question is, who do you believe? a man making "a peculiar and disingenuous statement" or 500 years of human history?

U.S. shifts approach to deporting illegal immigrants

U.S. shifts approach to deporting illegal immigrants

The Obama administration is changing the federal immigration enforcement strategy in ways that reduce the threat of deportation for millions of illegal immigrants, even as states such as Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, Ohio and Texas are pushing to accelerate deportations. The changes focus enforcement on immigrants who have committed serious crimes, an effort to unclog immigration courts and detention centers.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-09-10-immigration10_ST_N.htm

The problem here is the disregard of Rule of Law for political gain, and the gaining of potential power of future voting block. And it is doing all the people involved, both citizen and Alien, alike, a disservice, for political gain.

Deporting illegal immigrants is possible. It has been done three times in resent history:

President Herbert Hoover, during the great depression, ordered the deportation of all illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work.

President Harry Truman deported over two million illegal aliens after World War II to create jobs for returning veterans. I suppose they were allowed in because of a workforce shortage during WWII.

Most recently, beginning in 1954, the very popular and practical President Dwight Eisenhower successfully deported millions of illegal alien Mexican nationals in a program called “Operation Wetback”, which lasted two years. This was reportedly done to make more jobs available for World War II and Korean War veterans.

We now have a huge number of citizens out of work, including returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems we ought to be able to do the same thing today.

All that is required is that we actually enforce the law. There is nothing “ambiguous” or “complicated” about illegal immigration. It’s illegal, the people doing it know it, and they are therefore criminals who should be arrested and deported. The people that deliberately hire illegals should be arrested and jailed or fined heavily.