Democrats: Free speech for me, not for thee
Washington Examiner:
The bill is full of draconian restrictions on individual political speech expressed via corporations, but gives privileged status to the Democrats’ union masters. A provision pushed by Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Bob Brady, for example, allows unions to transfer unlimited funds among affiliated groups to pay for political ads with no disclosure whatever. That makes campaign funding more transparent?
Then there’s the ban on advocacy for or against a candidate by any company that received Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. That silences General Motors’ white-collar workers, but not the United Auto Workers union, which, oh by the way, got, among other things, $6.5 billion in preferred GM stock, paying a government-guaranteed 9 percent cash dividend. Could the fact the UAW gave more than $2 million to Democrats in 2008 explain why Democratic leaders pushed a proposal that so blatantly favors the union?
Similarly, DISCLOSE curbs political speech for employees of companies receiving more than $7 million in government contracts. Public sector unions that spend millions of recycled tax dollars electing Democrats have no such restriction
[...]
Hatewashing children
Luke 17:2 “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
Israeli Intel Officer Comes Out of Shadows
By: Ken Timmerman
An Israeli intelligence officer who spent more than 10 years as the secret handler of a top agent inside the Hamas terrorist organization has come out of the shadows for the first time, revealing his identity at a Washington, D.C., event on Wednesday where his former agent was honored.
It wasn’t for ego or applause. Indeed, the man identified as “Captain Ghonim” could face jail time back in Israel for having broken his cover.
So why did he do it?
To speak to the character of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a top Hamas leader, whom the pro-Israel Endowment for Middle East Truth honored in the Senate Caucus Room.
“Mosab is not a terrorist,” Ghonim told the audience. “I have known him for more than 10 years.”
[...]
The FDA Is Killing Private Enterprise
John Derbyshire:
The boss of the firm was a no-nonsense former Marine. He ran a clean, efficient operation. He put up with Ernie as best he could, but sometimes the forbearance required was too great. The U.S. Marine Corps inculcates many fine virtues, but suffering fools gladly is not necessarily prominent among them.
On one occasion the boss lost it and yelled at Ernie. Ernie then had his minions go round the firm “tagging” all the preparation tables with what looked like old-fashioned white luggage tags. Peered at up close, the tags revealed printed messages saying that no food product could go anywhere near the tagged table until the tag was removed, with ferocious federal penalties threatened against transgressors. The tags could, of course, only be removed by Ernie. The tables were out of commission. We had to scrub those suckers three or four times over with green scouring pads and Comet before Ernie would deign to remove his tags and let the firm get on with their business.
Another time, after some other go-round with the boss, Ernie determined that the firm’s ZIP code was printed on the dinner boxes in too small a font. The boss had to get rolls of stick-over labels printed up, and we menials spent a couple of days working our way through the freezer rooms relabeling the dinners so the ZIP code was in the FDA-approved font size. I guess this was real important to the nation’s health.
[...]
Climate Change: The IPCC In The Age of Speculation
By Dr. Tim Ball:
Judge Lance Ito lost control of the O. J. Simpson trial when he allowed speculation without a shred of evidence. Defense counsel Johnny Cochrane was able to sow seeds of doubt by his speculations and it found fertile ground in the jury’s mind. The entire Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) structure and work was designed to convince the public either with no facts or falsely created ones. Once these were established the speculation of impending doom could begin.
Structure of the IPCC begins with Working Group I outlining an unproven speculation that academics call a hypothesis, which is defined as, “a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.” In this case they proposed that CO2 is a gas that causes global temperature to rise and it will continue to increase in volume in the atmosphere because human activity, particularly energy production, will continue to expand.
As evidence accumulated it showed the hypothesis was not proven. Indeed, nobody has produced a record that shows a CO2 increase preceding a temperature increase.
[...]
BOLTON: Ban mischief at the U.N..
By John R. Bolton:
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is close to making an enormously significant misjudgment about his role and authority. Mr. Ban has repeatedly called for an “international” inquiry into the May 31 clash with Israeli commandos, provoked by supporters of Hamas on a Turkish-flagged ship off the Gaza Strip, resulting in nine killed and dozens wounded. According to the media, he is seriously considering launching such an inquiry by his own personal decision.
For Mr. Ban to act without express U.N. Security Council authorization, however, would far exceed his legitimate authority. It would create a troubling precedent, with implications not just for Israel but for the United States, extending well beyond Israel’s blockade of Gaza or the May 31 events. Nonetheless, President Obama has not moved decisively to quash the idea, and his inaction is understood in U.N. circles as implicitly consenting to Mr. Ban’s illegitimate initiative.
[...]
Card-check lives: ‘A lot of things can happen in a lame-duck session’
By: David Freddoso:
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is so determined to reward Democrats’ labor union donors that he is now openly discussing the possibility of passing pro-union legislation after voters have already rendered a verdict on the union-friendly 111th Congress.
“A lot of things can happen in a lame-duck session,” he told The Hill today.
Even if voters remove Democrats from power in the November elections, their new choices for Congress will not be seated until January. This leaves nearly two months for the exiting Congress — commonly referred to as a “lame duck” Congress — to enact unpopular laws that might have otherwise cost them more seats in the preceding election.
[...]
Boy Scouts Win Battle in Court
by: Rick Leventhal:
A Philadelphia jury has ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts, meaning they will not be evicted from their home or forced to pay rent, at least for now.
Outside the courthouse, a lawyer for the Boy Scouts, Jason Gosselin, told Fox News the Scouts won on the most important issue, that of First Amendment rights. The jury found the city posed an unconstitutional condition on the organization by asking it to pay $200,000 annual rent on property it was leasing for a dollar a year, in a building the Scouts built and paid for themselves, all because the city felt the Scouts were in violation of Philadelphia’s anti-discrimination laws.
[...]
Philly the city has brought shame on itself with this uncharitable, intolerant, cowardly act. Thank goodness for thinking, fair minded jurors.
Maurice Strong advises folk to ignore Glenn Beck
By Judi McLeod:
The self-professed “planet’s leading environmentalist” is a master at Public Relations. In his latest PR stunt, Strong denies he wants to rule the world, insisting: “What I do believe is that we need a system of global governance through which nations can cooperate and deal with issues they cannot deal with alone.” (guardian.co.uk, June 23, 2010). “Maybe that statement is too sophisticated for some, but it shouldn’t be.”
Maybe some expert in doublespeak could explain to us what Strong is now saying.
In any case, Strong could have fooled many more than GB.
In his own words, Strong told hundreds of thousands at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, “The concept of national sovereignty has been immutable, indeed sacred, principle of international relations. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and reluctantly to the new imperatives of global environmental cooperation. It is simply not feasible for sovereignty to be exercised unilaterally by individual nation states, however powerful.” (Link)
[...]
CAIR’s Pro-Terror Red Flags
by Joe Kaufman, FrontPage:
Since the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR was founded in June 1994, while a handful of representatives from the group have been forthright in vocalizing their support for global terrorist organizations, the majority of the group’s hierarchy has worked hard to mask this support. One such CAIR operative, Affad Shaikh, has made and continues to make this duplicitous façade a large part of his life, blurring the lines of terror support by spouting anti-Western rhetoric and propagating terror-related fanatics.
Affad Shaikh is the Civil Rights Manager of CAIR-Los Angeles, the main chapter of CAIR-California. He has held this position since April 2006. Prior to that, he worked out of CAIR’s San Diego office.
During his time with CAIR, Shaikh has had his share of extremist activity.
[...]
Castro’s Third Reich
by Humberto Fontova, FrontPage:
“The hatred felt by the state of Israel against the Palestinians is such that they would not hesitate to send the one-and-a-half million men, women and children of that country to the crematoria where millions of Jews of all ages were exterminated by the Nazis,” wrote Fidel Castro recently in the Cuban press. “It would seem that the Fuhrer’s swastika is today, Israel’s banner.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor was quick to respond: “With these outrageous comments, Fidel Castro shames his old-time companions and the ideals he always pretended to serve. Che Guevara must be spinning in his grave.”
Mr. Palmor was kind enough to communicate with me and explain that his comment regarding Che Guevara was meant to be ironic — a jab at Fidel Castro. The world needs many more such foreign ministry officials. But for anyone who got the impression that Che Guevara would have quibbled with Castro’s sentiments, here’s some history:
[...]
Obama’s Greek Tragedy
By Victor Davis Hanson:
Do you remember candidate Barack Obama offering his hope-and-change platitudes in front of the fake Greek columns during the Democratic convention? Or earlier pontificating at the Victory Monument in Berlin?
Why didn’t an old cigar-chomping Democratic pro take him aside and warn him about offending Nemesis? She is the dreaded goddess who brings divine retribution in ironic fashion to overweening arrogance.
Or maybe a friend could have whispered to Senator Obama to tone it down when he was merciless in damning the Bush administration for its supposedly slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
[...]
Chicago thuggery [lawfare]
Arizona Dem: Federal Agencies Nixing Conventions Over State’s Immigration Law
Why Democrat/Socialist Party Animosity Toward Private Enterprise
The View From 1776:
Marxian economic doctrine explains why liberal-progressives, the Obama administration in particular, push for restructuring our constitutional government to concentrate more power in the hands of labor unions and the Federal government.
Marxian economic dogma has been emphasized to an increasing degree in our colleges and universities, even in our high schools, since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal imposed state planning upon the United States in the 1930s. That emphasis became dominant in the late 1960s and 1970s. Today so many generations of teachers and students have been so thoroughly and subtly imbued with Marxian concepts that they are unaware of their ideological environment, assuming that such concepts represent exclusive truth.
Marxian doctrine leads to the assertion that private property is power and that such power is used by employers to exploit the workers.
[...]
Court sets aside Conrad Black conviction; sent to lower court
George Jonas, National Post:
The summer of 2007 was Conrad’s fourth year of being besmirched and calumniated. He had been attacked in countless ill-researched, vituperative flights of fancy by scandal-mongering purveyors of low gossip, most of whom didn’t know the first thing about Conrad, his family life, hobbies, habits, books, ideas, or business affairs.
Spurred by competitors and ideological opponents, bottom-feeding opportunists paraded their malicious ignorance in newspapers, periodicals and later in books and TV movies.
In 2006, when I described the indictments against Conrad as “a witch’s brew,” a well-meaning friend advised caution.
“Okay, so you’re Crossharbour’s friend,” he said. “You admire him as a public intellectual, a newspaper proprietor, a columnist, a historian — fine. But why go out on a limb and say he’s innocent? You don’t know.”
But I did know.
I wasn’t just Conrad’s friend. Ages ago, in another life, I was married to his wife, Barbara Amiel. I didn’t have to be familiar with Conrad’s business affairs to know that the slanderous stories assorted persecutors had been dishing out about Conrad and Barbara’s supposed greed, social ambition, snobbery, and venality were hogwash.
I could see through the vicious innuendos, the attempts to railroad Conrad by piggybacking the case against him on fiascos such as World.com or Enron. In what The Wall Street Journal would five years later call the “Enron political inferno of 2003,” allegations of corporate misdeeds were pursued in the spirit of Salem. The fact that Conrad’s company, Hollinger, didn’t lose investors a dime — on the contrary, it made them billions — didn’t matter. When caught in a witch hunt, not being a witch is no defence.
Witch hunts result in witch trials.
[...]
As anyone who reads my blog knows Conrad Black is the real victim and I look forward to his vindication.
The Mussolini of the Middle East Stabs America in the Back
By Joel J. Sprayregen:
The Middle East has its Hitler wannabe in Iranian President Ahmadinejad. His nuclear weaponization program has accelerated over eighteen months while Obama’s “engagement” is being rebuffed with contemptuous defiance from Tehran. Like Hitler in Mein Kampf, Ahmadinejad has made clear his belief that the Jews of Israel should be annihilated.
Every Hitler needs his Mussolini. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan — a man I know well — is enthusiastically volunteering for that role.
[...]
The Persecution & Prayer Alert
The Persecution & Prayer Alert
The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada
http://www.persecution.net
Thursday, June 24, 2010
A weekly news and prayer digest on the Persecuted Church.
Check out http://www.vomcblog.com
for news stories, commentary, and ways to help support the persecuted
Church.
***********************************
In this week’s edition: reports from Pakistan
***********************************
1. Christian boy forced into bonded labour in Pakistan
An 11-year-old Pakistani Christian boy who was abducted by a wealthy
Muslim in Dhonikay village, Wazirabad 18 months ago has been growing
increasingly weak and ill from being forced to work to pay off his
family’s debt. The family of Danish Masih owed Ashraf Cheema 142,000
rupees (approximately $1730 CAD) but fled to Islamabad when Ashraf
refused to pay their monthly wages or deduct their earnings from the
debt. Ashraf also extorted land from the family and stole Danish’s
mother’s dowry, yet refused to reduce their debt. Ashraf was
eventually able to locate the family and kidnapped Danish, who has
since been forced to work, often in iron chains, from 4 a.m. to 11
p.m. without any breaks. He is only given half a loaf of bread to eat
each day. Ashraf has frequently pressured Danish to convert to Islam,
promising to free him from his chains, provide him with better meals,
and possibly cancel his family’s debt if he converts.
On June 10, a bailiff was sent to Ashraf’s farm to secure the return
of Danish. However, since Ashraf is wealthy and influential, he was
informed of the raid in advance and hid the child. Ashraf has since
threatened the family, saying, “After this raid by the bailiff, you
will neither be able to get back your son, nor will you be granted a
cancellation for your debt.” (Source: Compass Direct)
Pray that Danish will be returned to his family very soon. Ask God to
shield and strengthen him at this time. Pray that the Christian
community in Pakistan will support and uplift this family. Pray that
Ashraf will come to know the Lord. You can post a prayer for Danish
and his family by visiting our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall at
http://www.persecution.net/prayerwall
.
For more information on the plight of Pakistani Christians, please
visit http://www.persecution.net/pakistan.htm
.
***********************************
2. Elderly Pakistani Christian imprisoned
Rehmat Masih (73) was jailed and imprisoned on accusations of
blasphemy for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad in Jhandewali
village, Punjab province, Pakistan on June 20. “It is a false
allegation based on events months before. The case has its background
in land disputes,” a local Christian leader, Father Asi, has said.
Rehmat and his accuser had supported opposite sides in the local
elections three months ago, which may have contributed to the
tensions. Muslims have also threatened to accuse other Christian
villagers of blasphemy. Pakistani Church leaders have long called for
the repeal of blasphemy laws which authorize the death penalty for
insults to the Prophet Muhammad and life imprisonment for acts against
the Qur’an. (Source: Union of Catholic Asian News)
Pray that Rehmat will be released. Ask that he will be sustained and
emboldened by the grace of Christ as he suffers. Pray that the
blasphemy law will be abolished in Pakistan. Ask the Lord to enable
these believers to stand firm in their faith amid severe pressure.
For more on the persecution of Pakistani Christians, go to
http://www.persecution.net/pakistan.htm
.
***********************************
3. Christian girl kidnapped, raped in Pakistan
A 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl from Mohalla Raja Sultan,
Rawalpindi has been returned home after she was kidnapped and raped by
five Muslim men. The girl, whose name has been withheld, had
previously been threatened with death unless her father allowed Guddu,
a Muslim man, to marry her. The Muslims told her father, Lazarus, that
they had “attended an Islamic religious convention, and the speaker
said if you marry a non-Muslim or rape a non-Muslim girl, you will get
70 virgins in heaven.” When Lazarus and his wife returned home from
work on May 29, their daughter was nowhere to be found. They later
learned that five Muslim men, including Guddu, were seen following
their daughter earlier that morning. The Muslims took the girl to a
house near Islamabad where they drugged and raped her. On June 6, the
police raided the home where she was being held; however, all the
suspects were able to escape. At last report, the girl remained very
frightened and was not speaking to anyone. (Source: Compass Direct)
Pray for God’s comfort, peace and healing for this Christian girl.
Pray for her parents and two sisters as they stand with her at this
time. Pray that during these difficult days they will remain steadfast
in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-10). Pray that the perpetrators will turn to
Christ and seek forgiveness.
Go to http://www.persecution.net/pakistan.htm
to learn more about suffering believers in Pakistan.
***********************************
The Persecution & Prayer Alert is a ministry of The Voice of the
Martyrs, Canada. (Mailing address: P.O. Box 608, Streetsville,
Ontario, L5M 2C1)
Tel. (905) 670.9721. Website: http://www.persecution.net
Contacts: Adele Konyndyk & Erin Vandenberg
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