URGENT CALL FOR CONTINUED PRAYER (from the American Center for Law and Justice, - 2/6 ; "American Pastor Saeed (who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) continues to undergo mental torment – fed lies by Iranian prison guards. He's been cut off from speaking to his wife and children, and when his Iranian family visited him, he questioned if anyone was still working for his freedom. His wife, Naghmeh, shared, "When I heard this from my husband, I cried. It broke my heart. Behind those walls he feels helpless and relies on us to be his voice. . . . Please help me make sure he is never forgotten." With your CONTINUED PRAYERS, if you have not already, please join over 130,000 who have SIGNed THE PETITION for Pastor Saeed's release at http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence
DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare your support for the traditional definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers the redefinition of marriage on March 26th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Definition of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as piviotal to marriage in America as Roe v. Wade was to the definition of the sancity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep the upcoming Supreme Court review of this case and their final decision in your PRAYERS.
https://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/the-affirmation-of-marriage/?utm_source=Truth+In+Action+News+List&utm_campaign=9d8fb2dcc6-DOMA+%231+AB+TEST+Length&utm_medium=email
"Obama’s Hijacking the American Dream," - Kim Holmes, February 13, 2013 http://blog.heritage.org/2013/02/13/obamas-hijacking-the-american-dream/
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Obama’s “North Star,” a phrase he used in last night’s State of the Union speech, is to redefine what Americans expect of their government, and in turn, to transform what the government has a right to do to Americans. He claims he wants to restore the “basic bargain that built this country.” If that were true, he would be reducing the dependence of people on government. After all, for most of its history, Americans looked to themselves, not government, to get ahead in life.
But that is not what he means. It is clear from all the new programs he proposed last night, and before, that Obama’s American Dream is mainly about what the government can do for people. It’s about government benefits and services. It’s not what people should be given a right and freedom to do for themselves.When the President says he wants to restore an American where “you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love,” you can rest assured he doesn’t mean what most Americans are hearing. It sounds as if he’s raising a flag in defense of self-reliance and responsibility. But that’s not what he’s doing. From all the new government programs he has proposed it’s clear he means the exact opposite: doubling down on the welfare state and adding a crippling debt that mortgages our children’s future.
When he talks about building “new ladders of opportunity into the middle class,” you can bet he doesn’t mean empowering individuals with the equality of opportunity. He doesn’t think of liberalizing the economy to get it growing again, which would help bring lower-income people into the middle class. Rather, he means using government programs for lower-income people, which traps them in poor and dangerous neighborhoods.
When he calls for stronger families, you would think that he means reducing that welfare dependency that has accompanied the breakup of families in low-income neighborhoods. But in reality, he has only doubled down on the welfare state that has decimated these families.
When he suggests encouraging “free enterprise,” you would think he means cutting regulations so businesses can start hiring again. But his support for the Dodd-Frank financial bill and other regulations imposed on the economy is moving the country in the opposite direction.
Here’s an idea: How about we start a truth in advertising campaign concerning the American Dream? No spin. No twisting of meanings of words. Just a straightforward understanding of what it has meant to Americans down the ages.Maybe then, at least the American people would understand where Obama is taking the country.
[bold and italics emphais mine]
Kim R. Holmes is a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation and author of a forthcoming book on how to get America back on track.
PRAYER: May the American people be discerning as to what the real agenda is what their leaders propose for public policy; may they see through words of obfuscation and outright deceit and demand that their leaders tell the truth and exhibit courage to do what is right and not what will merely appease some special interest group; may their leaders in turn have the integrity to always do only what is necessary and will do no the least harm, and not be guided by a desire for more power and influence or personal ambition.
But that is not what he means. It is clear from all the new programs he proposed last night, and before, that Obama’s American Dream is mainly about what the government can do for people. It’s about government benefits and services. It’s not what people should be given a right and freedom to do for themselves.When the President says he wants to restore an American where “you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love,” you can rest assured he doesn’t mean what most Americans are hearing. It sounds as if he’s raising a flag in defense of self-reliance and responsibility. But that’s not what he’s doing. From all the new government programs he has proposed it’s clear he means the exact opposite: doubling down on the welfare state and adding a crippling debt that mortgages our children’s future.
When he talks about building “new ladders of opportunity into the middle class,” you can bet he doesn’t mean empowering individuals with the equality of opportunity. He doesn’t think of liberalizing the economy to get it growing again, which would help bring lower-income people into the middle class. Rather, he means using government programs for lower-income people, which traps them in poor and dangerous neighborhoods.
When he calls for stronger families, you would think that he means reducing that welfare dependency that has accompanied the breakup of families in low-income neighborhoods. But in reality, he has only doubled down on the welfare state that has decimated these families.
When he suggests encouraging “free enterprise,” you would think he means cutting regulations so businesses can start hiring again. But his support for the Dodd-Frank financial bill and other regulations imposed on the economy is moving the country in the opposite direction.
Here’s an idea: How about we start a truth in advertising campaign concerning the American Dream? No spin. No twisting of meanings of words. Just a straightforward understanding of what it has meant to Americans down the ages.Maybe then, at least the American people would understand where Obama is taking the country.
[bold and italics emphais mine]
Kim R. Holmes is a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation and author of a forthcoming book on how to get America back on track.
PRAYER: May the American people be discerning as to what the real agenda is what their leaders propose for public policy; may they see through words of obfuscation and outright deceit and demand that their leaders tell the truth and exhibit courage to do what is right and not what will merely appease some special interest group; may their leaders in turn have the integrity to always do only what is necessary and will do no the least harm, and not be guided by a desire for more power and influence or personal ambition.
President Obama last night continued his hijacking of the American Dream. Using language long accepted as part of the American tradition, he struck a pose as a defender of hard work, responsibility, and other traditional values. We should not be fooled. His vision of the American Dream is not the real deal. Rather, it is an imaginary vision long dreamed of by America’s progressives, but also long rejected by the American people.