YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK

[Soldier4Christ]

Dems Pave the Way for Massive Looting by Lawyers

A pork-laden, unaffordable “stimulus” package isn’t the only technique Dems will employ to finish off the American economy so that socialism can be imposed. They are also working closely with their financiers in the lawsuit industry to loot the capitalist system into insolvency:

Democrats are planning to kick off the legislative portion of the 111th Congress as early as today with two big donations to one of their most loyal retainers: the plaintiffs bar. Higher labor costs will result from a pair of bills designed to create new lawsuit possibilities in cases of alleged wage discrimination.

One is the insane Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would remove the statute of limitations from pay discrimination claims.

    For the tort bar, this is pure gold. It would create a new legal business in digging up ancient workplace grievances. This would also be made easier by the bill’s new definition of discrimination. Companies could be sued not merely for outright discrimination but for unintentional acts that result in pay disparities.

    Since these supposed wrongs could be compounded over decades, the potential awards would be huge. Most companies would feel compelled to settle such claims rather than endure the expense and difficulty of defending allegations about long-ago behavior. The recipe here is file a suit, get a payday. And the losers would be current and future employees, whose raises would be smaller as companies allocate more earnings to settle claims that might pop up years after litigating employees had departed.

That’s fine with Democrats, who define “economic justice” as stealing wealth from those who create or earn it, to buy votes from those who don’t. There’s more:

    The Democratic majority is also resurrecting the concept of “comparable worth” with the Paycheck Fairness Act. This idea holds that only discrimination can explain why female-dominated professions (teachers, secretaries) tend to command lower wages than male-dominated professions (plumbers, truck drivers). Yet most of these pay disparities are explained by relative experience, schooling or job characteristics. Teachers do tend to earn less than truck drivers, despite more education. Then again, truck drivers work long, hard, often unpredictable hours. The market — not some secret patriarchy — places different values on different jobs. And in the case of teachers, the main salary setter is the government.

    The paycheck fairness legislation would nonetheless require labor officials to use comparable worth in creating “voluntary” wage guidelines for industries. Voluntary or not, these guidelines would become the basis for more litigation against companies that didn’t follow them. Meanwhile, the bill strips companies of certain defenses against claims of sex-based pay discrimination. It also makes it easier to bring class actions, and it allows plaintiffs to claim unlimited punitive damages even in cases of unintentional discrimination.

Naturally Obama supports both bills, and Dems may now have the numbers they need to ram them past Republicans. Raising workforce costs during a recession will have obvious effects on unemployment — an added benefit for those who want as many of us as possible dependent on the State for sustenance.

Doing business in a country run by left-wing thugs is virtually impossible, which is why people who subsist in such countries are lucky to own two pairs of shoes. But at least when Dems have finished deliberately destroying the economy, we can all be equal together, like the dirt-poor government slaves in Cuba.

Our forefathers went to war with the mighty British Empire over far less than what the cancer known as the Democrat Party plans to do to America.

[nChrist]

JUST REMEMBER!

There must be CHAOS AND INSANITY for the days that are sure to come. The Tribulation Period will be ushered in - sooner or later. We don't know when, but we know that GOD has promised it WILL HAPPEN! Personally, I think that the time is soon. Christians who want GOD to be in control over their lives every day are going to be in the WAY and extremely unpopular. In fact, the world is going to hate Christians, just as JESUS CHRIST was hated. Regardless, JESUS CHRIST is still going to be the most precious and powerful name in the universe. You can be sure that the devil and the powers of darkness don't want to even hear that Holy Name of JESUS CHRIST! The devil and the powers of darkness are going to great lengths to prohibit that Holy Name being spoken. WHY? HE is the only way to be rescued from the Great Wrath to come. ONLY JESUS CHRIST can rescue a lost sinner from the curse of sin and death.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 NASB  Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,  2  but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.  3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,  4  in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  5  For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.  6  For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  8  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;  9  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  10  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  11  For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  12  So death works in us, but life in you.  13  But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore we also speak,  14  knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.  15  For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.  16  Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  17  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  18  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

[Soldier4Christ]

Big Brother's new target:
Tracking of all firearms
'Nothing less than a declaration
of war on American gun owners'

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner's address in America.

The bill claims its purpose is "to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of firearms to criminals and youth."

Columnist David Codrea of Guns Magazine, however, calls it a "ridiculous affront to liberty."

"This is nothing less than a declaration of war on American gun owners," Codrea writes on Gun Rights Examiner.

Rush's proposed bill, H.R. 45, is alternatively known as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009," named after an Illinois teenager killed by a gunshot.

According the bill's text, "On the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus and started shooting."

The bill then argues that interstate firearm trafficking and children dying from gun violence create legitimate cause for the federal government to monitor gun ownership and transfers in new ways.

If passed, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a "qualifying firearm" – defined as any handgun or any semiautomatic firearm that takes an ammunition clip – without a "Blair Holt" license.

To obtain a "Blair Holt" license, an application must be made that includes a photo, address, all previous aliases, thumb print, completion of a written firearm safety test, release of mental health records to the attorney general and a fee not to exceed $25.

Further, the bill makes it illegal to transfer ownership of a qualifying firearm to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or collector. Exceptions to this rule include transfer to family members by gift or bequest and loans, not to exceed 30 days, of a firearm for lawful purposes "between persons who are personally known to each other."

The bill also requires qualifying firearm owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours or fail to report a change of address within 60 days.

And if a minor obtains a weapon and injures someone with it, the owner of the gun – if deemed to have failed to meet certain safety requirements – faces a multiple-year jail sentence.

H.R. 45 is a resurfacing of 2007's H.R. 2666, which contained much of the same language and was co-sponsored by 15 other representatives and Barack Obama's current chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel. H.R. 2666 was assigned to the House Judiciary committee, where no action was taken.

H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors and is likewise assigned to the House Judiciary committee.

[Soldier4Christ]

Inauguration state of emergency: Bush sends cash 
President allows Barack Obama to use federal funds

President Bush declared a state of emergency in the District of Columbia today and ordered the use of federal funds for Barack Obama's inauguration.

"An emergency exists in the District of Columbia," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

In the next week, as many as 2 million people are expected to travel to the area from all over the world to see Obama become the 44th president of the United States.

 Perino said federal aid is available "for emergency protective measures that are undertaken to save lives and protect public health and safety" and will be used for security and transportation needs.

Streets are expected to close; only taxis will have access to bridges, and security will be tightened.

According to the Washington Times, Mayor Adrian Fenty has estimated he will need $75 million – $60 million more than the $15 million Congress appropriated for security and associated costs.

On Jan. 7, Fenty wrote a letter to Bush asking for the declaration and the funds. The city will have access to federal aid from Jan. 17-21.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told the Wall Street Journal, "We are responding to Mayor Fenty's assessment that the magnitude of the crowds … could stress the city's capabilities and that federal assistance is necessary."

[nChrist]

Big Brother's new target:
Tracking of all firearms
'Nothing less than a declaration
of war on American gun owners'

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner's address in America.

The bill claims its purpose is "to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of firearms to criminals and youth."

Columnist David Codrea of Guns Magazine, however, calls it a "ridiculous affront to liberty."

"This is nothing less than a declaration of war on American gun owners," Codrea writes on Gun Rights Examiner.

Rush's proposed bill, H.R. 45, is alternatively known as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009," named after an Illinois teenager killed by a gunshot.

According the bill's text, "On the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus and started shooting."

The bill then argues that interstate firearm trafficking and children dying from gun violence create legitimate cause for the federal government to monitor gun ownership and transfers in new ways.

If passed, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a "qualifying firearm" – defined as any handgun or any semiautomatic firearm that takes an ammunition clip – without a "Blair Holt" license.

To obtain a "Blair Holt" license, an application must be made that includes a photo, address, all previous aliases, thumb print, completion of a written firearm safety test, release of mental health records to the attorney general and a fee not to exceed $25.

Further, the bill makes it illegal to transfer ownership of a qualifying firearm to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or collector. Exceptions to this rule include transfer to family members by gift or bequest and loans, not to exceed 30 days, of a firearm for lawful purposes "between persons who are personally known to each other."

The bill also requires qualifying firearm owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours or fail to report a change of address within 60 days.

And if a minor obtains a weapon and injures someone with it, the owner of the gun – if deemed to have failed to meet certain safety requirements – faces a multiple-year jail sentence.

H.R. 45 is a resurfacing of 2007's H.R. 2666, which contained much of the same language and was co-sponsored by 15 other representatives and Barack Obama's current chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel. H.R. 2666 was assigned to the House Judiciary committee, where no action was taken.

H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors and is likewise assigned to the House Judiciary committee.

Measures like the above ACCOMPLISH NOTHING except irritation of law-abiding people with BIG-BROTHER TACTICS. Anyone with common sense should know that criminals, terrorists, and any other element with unlawful intent PAYS NO ATTENTION at all to ridiculous laws like this.

This law would change NOTHING and accomplish NOTHING. Guns would still be easily available to anyone who wanted to violate the law. The ONLY possible value I see in a law like this would be to give the government a way to come after LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS in a quick and organized manner. In other words, it could be used in a MASS DISARMING program, but it would serve NO FUNCTION in dealing with CRIMINALS.

[Soldier4Christ]

Precisely and it is just exactly what Bobby Rush wants set up. This is not the least bit unexpected by Rush who has a strong history in supporting a socialist government agenda.

[nChrist]

Precisely and it is just exactly what Bobby Rush wants set up. This is not the least bit unexpected by Rush who has a strong history in supporting a socialist government agenda.

Brother,

Good, decent, law-abiding citizens who are informed and armed are a grave danger to socialism and communism. For those who haven't guessed, FREEDOM is on the opposite end of the spectrum from socialism and communism. FREEDOM is always worth whatever it takes to PRESERVE it. As Christians, I fear that many have taken for granted what FREEDOM means and what FREEDOM is. FREEDOM definitely impacts what Christians can do FOR THE LORD and IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. A reasonable analogy would be comparing a Christian in this part of the world with a Christian in Communist China. Many Christians can make this analogy with accurate details, but many Christians can't.

I think it's far past time for Christians to learn a Biblical view of the world from the pages of GOD'S WORD. We must put things in a Biblical perspective - not a world perspective. There isn't much in this world that's right, decent, or moral - and we should know that things are going to get much worse. This is not a gloom and doom perspective - JUST THE FACTS! It's always a good time to think about the old Sunday School Song ,"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." JESUS CHRIST is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, and we belong to HIM.  THE LIGHT lives within us, and sharing THIS LIFE-GIVING LIGHT with others is a reasonable service. In fact, it's a service that should give us JOY, regardless of the danger involved. This is something that missionaries around the world experience and why there will always be missionaries. Brothers and Sisters, the mission fields are now in our own backyards.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 14:25-27  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.  26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

[Soldier4Christ]

Egyptian troops
training in Texas
Secretive U.S. technology to assist
in finding Hamas weapons tunnels

Egyptian troops are undergoing training in Texas on the use of American military technology to uncover Hamas weapons smuggling tunnels, WND has learned.

A top Egyptian intelligence official told WND the Egyptian troops arrived in Texas in recent days, where they have been undergoing private courses on the use of proprietary, secretive U.S. technology that makes use of sonar and certain frequencies to locate underground tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border.

Also, the intelligence official said a team from the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers recently arrived in the Egyptian Sinai desert, bringing the advanced machinery with them.

The Army has been aiding Egyptian troops in locating the tunnels.

One of Israel's main goals for its offensive was to halt Hamas' ability to smuggle weapons across the Egypt-Gaza border.

Israel is negotiating an international monitoring mechanism it hopes will stop Hamas from smuggling weapons from neighboring Egypt into Gaza. But previous international monitors stationed along the Egypt-Gaza border fled their duty and repeatedly failed to stem Hamas' weapons smuggling.

The monitors were stationed at the border following Israel's 2005 evacuation of the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces reportedly destroyed 60 to 70 percent of an estimated 600 smuggling tunnels between Gaza and neighboring Egypt.

Hamas sources speaking to WND claim the actual number of tunnels is closer to 1,300. The sources claimed Hamas was working to change the method of its weapons smuggling to rely more on sea shipments and less on smuggling tunnels.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported from the Egypt-Gaza border that just hours after Israeli troops withdrew from the border area, the smuggling tunnels were back in business, used by locals to bring in supplies.

The AP also reported hundreds of workers in southern Gaza labored to repair dozens of tunnels dug under tents or fake greenhouses.

[Soldier4Christ]

Planned Parenthood: Force doctors to do abortions
Law firms gear up to defend right of conscience

Experts for the Alliance Defense Fund and Christian Legal Society are gearing up to defend three laws that allow medical professionals to follow their conscience and not participate in abortions.

"Medical professionals should not be forced to perform abortions against their conscience," said Casey Mattox, who is litigation counsel with the CLS's Center for Law & Religious Freedom.

"Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and their pro-abortion allies are seeking to punish pro-life medical professionals for their beliefs," Mattox said. "Far from arguing for 'choice,' these lawsuits seek to compel health care workers to perform abortions or face dire consequences."

The law firms have filed motions to intervene in three separate lawsuits that seek to invalidate a federal law protecting medical professionals from discrimination because they refuse to participate in abortions.

Three pro-life medical associations are seeking to defend the law against challenges by some state officials, Planned Parenthood, and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The actions come just as the 2009 March for Life was taking place in Washington, when several hundred thousand people gathered to seek protections for the unborn, including the overturning of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Roe vs. Wade that struck down abortion limits in states.

"For over three decades, federal law has prohibited recipients of federal grants from forcing medical professionals to participate in abortions," said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. "The arguments in the lawsuits themselves demonstrate lack of compliance with these laws and the necessity of the regulation they are challenging."

Attorney Andrew Knott is assisting as local counsel in the latest dispute in Connecticut.

The Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, and American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, represented by CLS and ADF attorneys, are asking to be allowed to defend the law, 45 CFR Part 88, enacted in December 2008 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Noting a pattern of grant recipients unaware of or flouting existing laws protecting medical professionals' rights of conscience, HHS enacted the new law to require grantees to certify compliance with them in order to receive funds. The three long-standing statutes are the Church Amendment, the Coats-Snowe Amendment, and the Weldon Amendment.

The three pro-life medical groups point out that denying rights of conscience could harm access to healthcare for all by forcing medical professionals who refuse to perform abortions to either relocate from jurisdictions that force them to do so or leave the profession altogether.

Today President Barack Obama, who as a state lawmaker in Illinois objected to requiring doctors to provide medical care for infants who survive abortions, affirmed his support for virtually unlimited abortion on demand.

And he was issued a challenge by March for Life officials, who had invited him to address their annual march and rally.

The organization challenged Obama to "watch the evil deed of a surgical abortion to know what it looks like to pull off the head, arms and legs of a preborn human."

The organization noted, "There is a commercial killing site within a few blocks of the White House."

[nChrist]

YES - abortion is evil, and the places where abortions are done are slaughterhouses. It is inhuman and does amount to worse than Hitler's HOLOCAUST. There are many more victims in this slaughter, and all of the victims are helpless infants. YES - they are human infants - BABIES - ALIVE - and they suffer PAIN. The procedures used would be like a butcher working on a cow while the cow still lived. Torture and pain are NOT the primary issues, rather MURDER OF A HUMAN BEING IS THE PRIMARY ISSUE! If they were able to eliminate pain of the human infant, this would still be just as WRONG!

Planned Parenthood, as evil as they are, CAN'T WIN this one. We already have a shortage of doctors, and healthcare costs are skyrocketing. Most doctors would refuse to do abortions - regardless of what ridiculous measures are passed. Abortion is a violation of their oath and the opposite of what they went to school to learn - how to ease human suffering and save lives. This bold move appears to be directly associated with the election of Obama, but Obama can't win this one either. There will come a point where most people will simply say "NO!", and that will be the end of the story. It really won't matter what Obama and the killing camps want. JUST SAY NO!

[Soldier4Christ]

Dems Plan to Hand Over $Billions to Vote Fraud Outfit ACORN

The staggering arrogance Democrats have displayed by spending hundreds of $billions we can’t afford on counterproductive pork during a recession goes beyond showering cash on abortion mills. They are also using the loot to ensure they stay in power by injecting massive amounts of cash into ACORN, the radical left activist group best known for conducting systematic voter fraud on behalf of Dems across the country.

From the office of House Minority Leader John Boehner:

The House Democrats’ trillion dollar spending bill, approved on January 21 by the Appropriations Committee and headed to the House floor next week for a vote, could open billions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). ACORN has been accused of perpetrating voter registration fraud numerous times in the last several elections; is reportedly under federal investigation; and played a key role in the irresponsible schemes that caused a financial meltdown that has cost American taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars since last fall.

[Soldier4Christ]

Pelosi: Birth control
will boost economy
Argues fewer people stimulates economy
by cutting cost to state, federal government

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., defended huge sums of money for "family planning services" tucked into President Obama's proposed economic stimulus package, claiming contraception will reduce government costs.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services," Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi, "how is that stimulus?"

"Well, the family planning services reduce cost," Pelosi answered. "They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those – one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

Stephanopoulos immediately gave Pelosi, herself the mother of five children and grandmother to seven, the opportunity to retract a suggestion that it would help the economy if the government spent millions to help people stop having babies.

"So no apologies for that?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"No apologies," Pelosi answered. "No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy."

As WND reported, President Obama is attempting to pass through Congress an $825 billion economic stimulus package, composed of both spending increases and tax cuts.

The effort comes less than six months after Congress approved a $700 billion bailout package, leaving many critics wondering if Americans will accept more government spending.

"I think a lot of Republicans will vote no," Boehner said on NBC's "Meet the Press," "because they see this as a lot of wasteful Washington spending, padding the bureaucracy and doing nothing to help create jobs and preserve jobs."

Rep. Mice Pence, R-Ind., said, "The American people know we cannot borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has already announced he will vote against the plan.

Pelosi expressed caution and the need for accountability under the watch of wary voters.

"Whatever we have to do will have to be clearly explained to Congress and to the American people as to what the purpose of the money is, why it is urgent, and then accountability for it as it is distributed," she said. "So hopefully this next second installment will help turn our financial crisis around, but it's not – if they come back – there's going to have to be a justification, because people will be very, very disappointed in how his money was dealt with at first."

[Soldier4Christ]

Our governments warped logic. Spending money on "family planning" in other countries is going to help our economy.

[nChrist]

Maybe they could start by telling us where the first hundreds of billions of dollars are and what they were used for - OTHER THAN CORRUPTION - PAY-OFFS - MORE CON-GAMES - AND STRENGTHENING ANTI-AMERICAN INTERESTS.

I think that Democrats should also VOTE NO ON THESE SPENDING CRIMES. There just might be an EVENTUAL PROSECUTION, and our representatives DO NOT HAVE THE PERMISSION OF THE PEOPLE TO COMMIT THESE CRIMES. Our entire so-called government is NOT too big and important to avoid PROSECUTION! There is more than enough room for all of them in PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE OCCUPYING THE WHITE HOUSE!

[Soldier4Christ]

Economic stimulus? Feds
want your medical records
Electronic database to include lawsuit,
mental health, abortion, sexual details

A little-discussed provision in President Obama's economic stimulus plan would demand that every American submit to a government program for electronic medical records without a choice to opt out, and it has privacy advocates more than a little alarmed.

Patients might be alarmed, too, privacy advocates said, if they realized information such as documentation on abortions, mental health problems, impotence, being labeled as a non-compliant patient, lawsuits against doctors and sexual problems could be shared electronically with, perhaps, millions of people.

Sue A. Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom, said unless people have the right to decide "if and when" their health information is shared, there is no real privacy.

"President Obama has pledged to advance freedom," she said. "Therefore the freedom to choose not to participate in a national electronic health-records system must be upheld."

Blevins' organization, one of the few raising the alarm at this point, said the stimulus plan would impose an electronic health records system on every person in the U.S. without any provision for seeking patient consent or allowing them not to participate.

"Without those protections, Americans' electronic health records could be shared – without their consent – with over 600,000 covered entities through the forthcoming nationally linked electronic health-records network," Blevins said.

The organization said Americans who care about health privacy should contact members of Congress and the president to let them know about the need for opt-out and consent provisions.

According to the institute, the measure currently includes plans for:

    * An electronic health record "for each person in the United States by 2014."

    * A national coordinator to develop a "nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information."

The institute said the medical privacy rule established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 already allows personal health information to be passed along without patient consent for treatment, payment and "oversight." The recipients of such information could be any of the people in the 600,000 organizations in the industry.

"Nobody wants to stop the proper use of good technology," Blevins said, "and for some people privacy is not an issue."

But she said the bottom line is that patients "would end up losing control of his or her personal health information."

"There's a lot at stake with electronically transferring health data and paying claims within the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry," warned the organization, which works on issues of health freedom in the U.S.

Another group, Consumer Watchdog, even suggested today Google is trying to lobby for the "sale of electronic medical records."

The group said, "Reportedly Google is pushing for the provisions so it may sell patient medical information to its advertising clients on the new 'Google Health' database."

Consumer Watchdog said, "Americans will benefit from an integrated system capable of making our medical records available wherever we may need them, but only if the system is properly used.

"The medical technology portion of the economic stimulus bill does not sufficiently protect patient privacy, and recent amendments have made this situation worse. Medical privacy must be strengthened before the measure's final passage," the group said.

WND previously has reported on attempts in Minnesota by state lawmakers to authorize the collection and warehousing of newborns' DNA without parental consent.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been successful in stopping the action there so far.

The Citizens' Council on Health Care has worked to publicize the issue in Minnesota. The group raised opposition when the state Department of Health continued to warehouse DNA without parental consent in violation of the genetic privacy and DNA property rights of parents and children.

Twila Brase, president of CCHC, said at the time the problem is that "researchers already are looking for genes related to violence, crime and different behaviors."

In an extensive interview with WND at the time, she said, "In England they decided they should have doctors looking for problem children, and have those children reported, and their DNA taken in case they would become criminals."

In fact, published reports in Britain note that senior police forensics experts believe genetic samples should be studied, because it may be possible to identify potential criminals as young as age 5.

Brase said efforts to study traits and gene factors and classify people would be just the beginning. What could happen through subsequent programs to address such conditions, she wondered.

"Not all research is great," she said.

Classifying of people could lead to "discrimination and prejudice. … People can look at data about you and make assessments ultimately of who you are."

The Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening is one of the organizations that advocates more screening and research.

The group proclaims in its vision statement a desire to see newborns screened for 200 conditions. It also forecasts "every student … with an individual program for education based on confidential interpretation of their family medical history, their brain imaging, their genetic predictors of best learning methods. …"

Further, every individual should share information about "personal and family health histories" as well as "gene tests for recessive conditions and drug metabolism" with the "other parent of their future children."

Still further, it seeks "ecogenetic research that could improve health, lessen disability, and lower costs for sickness."

"They want to test every child for 200 conditions, take the child's history and a brain image, and genetics, and come up with a plan for that child," Brase said at the time. "They want to learn their weaknesses and defects.

"Nobody including and especially the government should be allowed to create such extensive profiles," she said.

The next step, said Brase, is obvious: The government, with information about potential health weaknesses, could say to couples, "We don't want your expensive children."

"I think people have forgotten about eugenics. The fact of the matter is that the eugenicists have not gone away. Newborn genetic testing is the entry into the 21st Century version of eugenics," she said.