The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
Please pray for Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol from Samaritan’s Purse:
Two Americans working for Samaritan’s Purse to battle the deadly Ebola virus plaguing Liberia, unfortunately have both tested positive for the this terrible virus and are fighting for their lives.
Dr. Kent Brantly, medical director for the Samaritan’s Purse care center serving the Liberian capital of Monrovia, and Nancy Writebol, part of the joint Serving In Mission/ Samaritan’s Purse team, are currently undergoing intensive treatment at an isolation center in ELWA Hospital.
Please join us by praying for both of these heroic individuals and their families at this time. For more information please visit their website at www.samaritanspurse.org. [from Crosswalk.com]
FRIDAY, AUG 1 - "Heroic: American Doc Sick with Ebola Gives Away Serum" - CBNNews.com, August 01, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Christians-Praying-for-US-Missionaries-Battling-Ebola/
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Rabbi David Saperstein to the post of Ambassador for International Religious Freedom is drawing mixed reactions. Saperstein has spent his career in Washington focusing on social justice and religious freedom issues as an activist in the liberal reform branch of Judaism .... An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
7/18 - PRAY FOR THE PRESENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO END SOON BEFORE MORE INNOCENT LIVES ARE LOST ON BOTH SIDES.
6/13 - PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907)
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
PRAYER ALERT!"Kim Jong-un Calls for Execution of 33 Christians" - 3/7/2014; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=3651 "North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered that 33 Christians believed to be working alongside South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook be put to death. The South Korean missionary - who was arrested last year - and his accomplices have reportedly started 500 or so underground churches..."[PRAY that the plans for execution would be rescinded, and these believers released.] [Che\ck out: They'll Be Dead By Morning (What Difference Will It Make) http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2014/03/theyll-be-dead-by-morning-what.html
NEWS ALERT/PRAISE! "Iran Allows Surgery on Ailing, Imprisoned Pastor" - CBNNews.com,March 07, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/March/Iran-Allows-Dire-Surgery-on-Ailing-Imprisoned-Pastor-/ The Iranian government has finally allowed doctors to perform surgery on imprisoned Pastor Benham Irani.Irani suffered from a herniated disc and bleeding intestines and urgently needed medical care. PRAY for the final release of Pastor Irani and others imprisoned for their faith.
"Meet the Press" featured a segment this week that illustrates the planted liberal axioms that dominate our political culture. The topic was Congress's failure to "get anything done" this term. Political director Chuck Todd set the stage: "New polling from NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and Marist ... shows that three out of four voters agree that Congress hasn't done much this year ... And guess what? The public's right. Congress hasn't been productive. In fact, this Congress ... is on track to be the least productive in history." Todd then cued the hoary Harry Truman clip about the "Do Nothing" Congress of 1948 before inviting the panel to discuss the "problem" of congressional inaction.
It's fitting "Meet the Press" chose the Truman quote, because the liberal approach to government has not changed since then. More legislation is viewed as an obvious good, whereas failure to pass laws is something that requires explanation. President Barack Obama expressed the same idea (a shock, I know) when he disdained Congress for failing to "do its job."
That isn't true -- even accepting the government-centric assumptions of the Democrats and the press. Some 195 pieces of legislation have passed the Republican House of Representatives only to be buried in the Democratic Senate. Among those are at least 31 authored by Democrats.
The Senate passed an immigration overhaul in 2013 that has not passed the House. Though the president characterizes this as gross negligence on the part of Republicans, it's just possible that there's a difference of opinion. Other presidents would have sought compromise, or attempted to bite off smaller pieces of their agenda and pass them sequentially. But Obama is impatient with the rule of law and has been threatening to "do things on my own." Thus do we slide, every day of this administration, a little closer to banana republic status?
On the subject of legislation generally, we badly need to rid ourselves of the notion that the nation is in need of more laws. We are straightjacketed with laws as it is. In fact, the best use of Congress's time would be to review laws that are ineffective, wasteful, duplicative or outmoded and repeal them. (We'd need to distribute smelling salts to the press first, of course.)
Actually, the Republican House did attempt as much last week with the immigration bill. The reform that passed would have overturned the 2008 law that had the unintended consequence of encouraging unaccompanied minors from Central America to attempt entry across the southern border. (Those fleeing persecution would still be eligible for asylum.)
Humans are fallible, and it should be taken as read that laws will require revision and often outright repeal.
Our laws, and particularly our criminal statutes, have metastasized to the point that civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate estimates the average American could be unwittingly committing "three felonies a day." His book of that title cites examples such as the parent charged with "obstruction of justice" for destroying drugs he found in his son's bedroom and a snowmobiler lost in a blizzard who was charged with violating the Federal Wilderness Act.
Congress can contribute to public welfare just by keeping tabs on federal officials who themselves violate the law -- like IRS officials who revealed confidential taxpayer information to outsiders and harassed citizens based on their political or religious views, and Veterans Affairs officials who falsify records to cover up poor care. Or it can investigate the scandalous expansion of SWAT teams by government agencies, including NASA and the Department of the Interior. (See Radley Balko's book.)
The truth is that government at all levels has been promiscuously legislating at a furious pace for decades. Laws are almost never repealed but simply layered over one another like sedimentary rock -- with about as much flexibility. Steven Teles, in an essay for National Affairs, calls this process "kludgeocracy," and while the word is funny, the results are not. Just complying with the dizzying complexity of the IRS code costs Americans an estimated $163 billion every year, along with 6.1 billion man-hours. Even more damaging is the opportunity all this kludge offers for corruption. The more complicated, and therefore opaque, a legal regime is, the easier it is for special interests to manipulate, and our system is putrid with rent seeking.
With rare exceptions, we need fewer, not more, laws. Lift your glass to gridlock -- while it remains legal.
[bold, italics, and colored emphases mine]
Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist, political analyst and author of Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help .
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
Please pray for Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol from Samaritan’s Purse:
Two Americans working for Samaritan’s Purse to battle the deadly Ebola virus plaguing Liberia, unfortunately have both tested positive for the this terrible virus and are fighting for their lives.
Dr. Kent Brantly, medical director for the Samaritan’s Purse care center serving the Liberian capital of Monrovia, and Nancy Writebol, part of the joint Serving In Mission/ Samaritan’s Purse team, are currently undergoing intensive treatment at an isolation center in ELWA Hospital.
Please join us by praying for both of these heroic individuals and their families at this time. For more information please visit their website at www.samaritanspurse.org. [from Crosswalk.com]
FRIDAY, AUG 1 - "Heroic: American Doc Sick with Ebola Gives Away Serum" - CBNNews.com, August 01, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Christians-Praying-for-US-Missionaries-Battling-Ebola/
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Rabbi David Saperstein to the post of Ambassador for International Religious Freedom is drawing mixed reactions. Saperstein has spent his career in Washington focusing on social justice and religious freedom issues as an activist in the liberal reform branch of Judaism .... An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
7/18 - PRAY FOR THE PRESENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS TO END SOON BEFORE MORE INNOCENT LIVES ARE LOST ON BOTH SIDES.
6/13 - PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907)
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
PRAYER ALERT!"Kim Jong-un Calls for Execution of 33 Christians" - 3/7/2014; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=3651 "North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered that 33 Christians believed to be working alongside South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook be put to death. The South Korean missionary - who was arrested last year - and his accomplices have reportedly started 500 or so underground churches..."[PRAY that the plans for execution would be rescinded, and these believers released.] [Che\ck out: They'll Be Dead By Morning (What Difference Will It Make) http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2014/03/theyll-be-dead-by-morning-what.html
NEWS ALERT/PRAISE! "Iran Allows Surgery on Ailing, Imprisoned Pastor" - CBNNews.com,March 07, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/March/Iran-Allows-Dire-Surgery-on-Ailing-Imprisoned-Pastor-/ The Iranian government has finally allowed doctors to perform surgery on imprisoned Pastor Benham Irani.Irani suffered from a herniated disc and bleeding intestines and urgently needed medical care. PRAY for the final release of Pastor Irani and others imprisoned for their faith.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
" 'Do Nothing' Congress" - Mona Charen | Aug 05, 2014; http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2014/08/05/do-nothing-congress-n1874591/page/full
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
" 'Do Nothing' Congress" - Mona Charen | Aug 05, 2014; http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2014/08/05/do-nothing-congress-n1874591/page/full
" 'Do Nothing' Congress" - Mona Charen | Aug 05, 2014; http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2014/08/05/do-nothing-congress-n1874591/page/full
"Meet the Press" featured a segment this week that illustrates the planted liberal axioms that dominate our political culture. The topic was Congress's failure to "get anything done" this term. Political director Chuck Todd set the stage: "New polling from NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and Marist ... shows that three out of four voters agree that Congress hasn't done much this year ... And guess what? The public's right. Congress hasn't been productive. In fact, this Congress ... is on track to be the least productive in history." Todd then cued the hoary Harry Truman clip about the "Do Nothing" Congress of 1948 before inviting the panel to discuss the "problem" of congressional inaction.
It's fitting "Meet the Press" chose the Truman quote, because the liberal approach to government has not changed since then. More legislation is viewed as an obvious good, whereas failure to pass laws is something that requires explanation. President Barack Obama expressed the same idea (a shock, I know) when he disdained Congress for failing to "do its job."
That isn't true -- even accepting the government-centric assumptions of the Democrats and the press. Some 195 pieces of legislation have passed the Republican House of Representatives only to be buried in the Democratic Senate. Among those are at least 31 authored by Democrats.
The Senate passed an immigration overhaul in 2013 that has not passed the House. Though the president characterizes this as gross negligence on the part of Republicans, it's just possible that there's a difference of opinion. Other presidents would have sought compromise, or attempted to bite off smaller pieces of their agenda and pass them sequentially. But Obama is impatient with the rule of law and has been threatening to "do things on my own." Thus do we slide, every day of this administration, a little closer to banana republic status?
On the subject of legislation generally, we badly need to rid ourselves of the notion that the nation is in need of more laws. We are straightjacketed with laws as it is. In fact, the best use of Congress's time would be to review laws that are ineffective, wasteful, duplicative or outmoded and repeal them. (We'd need to distribute smelling salts to the press first, of course.)
Actually, the Republican House did attempt as much last week with the immigration bill. The reform that passed would have overturned the 2008 law that had the unintended consequence of encouraging unaccompanied minors from Central America to attempt entry across the southern border. (Those fleeing persecution would still be eligible for asylum.)
Humans are fallible, and it should be taken as read that laws will require revision and often outright repeal.
Our laws, and particularly our criminal statutes, have metastasized to the point that civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate estimates the average American could be unwittingly committing "three felonies a day." His book of that title cites examples such as the parent charged with "obstruction of justice" for destroying drugs he found in his son's bedroom and a snowmobiler lost in a blizzard who was charged with violating the Federal Wilderness Act.
Congress can contribute to public welfare just by keeping tabs on federal officials who themselves violate the law -- like IRS officials who revealed confidential taxpayer information to outsiders and harassed citizens based on their political or religious views, and Veterans Affairs officials who falsify records to cover up poor care. Or it can investigate the scandalous expansion of SWAT teams by government agencies, including NASA and the Department of the Interior. (See Radley Balko's book.)
The truth is that government at all levels has been promiscuously legislating at a furious pace for decades. Laws are almost never repealed but simply layered over one another like sedimentary rock -- with about as much flexibility. Steven Teles, in an essay for National Affairs, calls this process "kludgeocracy," and while the word is funny, the results are not. Just complying with the dizzying complexity of the IRS code costs Americans an estimated $163 billion every year, along with 6.1 billion man-hours. Even more damaging is the opportunity all this kludge offers for corruption. The more complicated, and therefore opaque, a legal regime is, the easier it is for special interests to manipulate, and our system is putrid with rent seeking.
With rare exceptions, we need fewer, not more, laws. Lift your glass to gridlock -- while it remains legal.
[bold, italics, and colored emphases mine]
Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist, political analyst and author of Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help .
No comments:
Post a Comment