YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK

[Rhys]

Can I get the contract for the ovens?

Bill creates detention camps in U.S. for 'emergencies'
Sweeping, undefined purpose raises worries about military police state

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced to the House of Representatives a new bill, H.R. 645, calling for the secretary of homeland security to establish no fewer than six national emergency centers for corralling civilians on military installations.

[Soldier4Christ]

Most likely it will be chopping blocks.

"and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands"

[Shammu]

"and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands"

and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

AMEN!!

[Rhys]

Being more realistic, after reading the text of the bill, it looks like a pork barrel project to spend 360 million or more of taxpayer money reopening closed military bases on the slim chance that people will choose to move there after a disaster such as Katrina.

Still a bad idea - much cheaper to let them arrange their own lodgings with relatives or friends, or let churches and private organizations help them with temporary resettlement. Although the intended purpose of these centers might be benign, once established they can easily be used for other purposes such as interring Americans of the wrong political or religious persuasion.

[Soldier4Christ]

Although the intended purpose of these centers might be benign, once established they can easily be used for other purposes such as interring Americans of the wrong political or religious persuasion.

The intended purpose is not always given up front and frequently must be seen in other documents or oral statements.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

In a LEAST case scenario, Christians are a real pain for Socialist and Communist countries, so Christians are easily expendable objects. In a worst case scenario, Christians are exterminated like rats. We do know what GOD has told us about the Tribulation Period. I think that time grows near.

As Christians in this short life, we must always remember that THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME, and we should give THANKS for that FACT! Our HOPES for tomorrow are in CHRIST - not the evil of this world!

Ephesians 1:13-23 ASV  in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, - in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  14  which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.  15  For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints,  16  cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;  17  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;  18  having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,  19  and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might  20  which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,  21  far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:  22  and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,  23  which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

[Soldier4Christ]

Anti-faith language remains in stimulus package

The U.S. Senate has taken action that could mean a legal battle royal over the stimulus bill.

The Senate rejected an amendment offered by Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) that would have stripped language from the stimulus bill that would force colleges and universities to throw religious clubs off campus if the schools receive federal funds.
 
Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice had this reaction.
 
"Well, not only is it disappointing, it's almost a throwback to litigation that we conducted in the 1980s that we won unanimously at the Supreme Court," he says. "And I feel like this particular legislation pokes the finger in the eye of people who take religious faith seriously.

"It's discriminatory in its application, unconstitutional as it's written, [and] unfortunately it's going to take four or five years for it to be litigated all the way through," Sekulow adds.
 
With passage of the bill with the restrictions in place, how might colleges and universities be affected? "We're going to look at filing an application for a stay of this provision, trying to get it declared unconstitutional through a restraining order," he shares.
 
Sekulow plans to file suit the day after President Obama signs the bill.

___________

People of faith may be target of 'stimulus' package

Charlie Butts and Jody Brown - OneNewsNow

The administration's economic stimulus bill needs a fix to avoid a courtroom confrontation.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice, tells OneNewsNow there is a provision of the act that actually allows for funds to be given by the federal government in the form of grants for renovation of existing colleges and universities.
 
"But when you read a little bit further into this legislation, there's a specific prohibition on two things," the attorney explains. "One, if the university itself is a religiously based or faith-based institution, it does not qualify. And if the facility that is being renovated allows religious worship to take place, it also does not qualify."
 
Specifically, the provision reads that stimulus funds may not be used for "modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities -- (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission."

Under that provision, according to Sekulow, many schools would bar on-campus worship or even Bible study because it will put federal funding in jeopardy. That, he says, should raise a warning flag in a federal courthouse.

"It is unconstitutional -- and while I'm prepared to challenge it in court, and we're already working on a possibility, it really needs to be handled in the legislation," the ACLJ leader suggests. "That needs to be job one...remove this provision and get it out of the legislation."
 
Sekulow states that a "troubling pattern" is developing regarding the use of taxpayer money -- and that this provision is the latest example. He contrasts it with the new administration's swift move to make federal funds available for abortion-providers overseas.
 
"There is a priority problem in Washington," he says in a press release. "This is not what 'economic stimulus' is about. We know that the American people don't want their tax dollars used for discriminatory measures. That's why this provision must be removed now."
 
The attorney says if the discriminatory provision is not removed from the stimulus package and is approved and signed into law, the ACLJ will challenge it in federal court.

Stimulation of discrimination?
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, agrees that the "anti-faith" language of the provision will censor and force people of faith from the public square.
 
"In order to receive stimulus money our public schools will have to expel after-school Bible clubs and weekend religious meetings," says the Christian attorney. "People who want to speak about their faith will be unwelcome in public places."
 
He adds that President Obama's idea of faith-based initiatives apparently is to "remove faith from all initiatives."

[Soldier4Christ]

Congressional pay raise 'ludicrous' during recession

The head of a conservative civil liberties organization says while President Obama has called on Americans to make some sacrifices in the way they live, members of Congress should also be making personal sacrifices and remember that they exist to serve the people.

John Whitehead is president of The Rutherford Institute in Virginia. On his video blog he recently posted an op-ed entitled "The Culture of Corruption in Congress." In the video he suggests that America's leaders on Capitol Hill are "living like kings" and committing "abuses of office."
 
The constitutional attorney says it is absolutely ludicrous that Congress has given itself a pay raise during a time when nearly a million people have lost their homes in foreclosure and almost 40 million Americans are living under the poverty line.

"These fellows have six-figure salaries. They get millions of dollars in benefits from their home offices," says Whitehead. "They get 32 trips home a year. We're paying for him to fly back and forth when we have fax machines and the Internet and e-mail these days. All kinds of things -- free haircuts, free parking, free limousine service."
 
In addition, says Whitehead, members of Congress get to participate in a generous taxpayer-funded retirement program that is not available to average Americans.
 
"Think about it -- a guy serves four years in Congress [and] he gets a free retirement plan for life," the attorney explains. "These are all things they built into the system for themselves. It's corrupt. [And] most of us are trying to make ends meet. It's absurd. I don't think they should get paid at all."
 
Whitehead says it is time for the American people to say enough is enough, and demand real reform in Washington.

[nChrist]

All I can say is WOW! - this is sickening! They are the root cause of the economic meltdown with their GREED AND CORRUPTION - yet they give themselves a pay raise!

[Soldier4Christ]

Lawmakers in 20 states move to reclaim sovereignty
Obama's $1 trillion deficit-spending 'stimulus plan' seen as last straw

As the Obama administration attempts to push through Congress a nearly $1 trillion deficit spending plan that is weighted heavily toward advancing typically Democratic-supported social welfare programs, a rebellion against the growing dominance of federal control is beginning to spread at the state level.

So far, eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, including Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.

Analysts expect that in addition, another 20 states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania.

"What we are trying to do is to get the U.S. Congress out of the state's business," Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Randy Brogdon told WND.

"Congress is completely out of line spending trillions of dollars over the last 10 years putting the nation into a debt crisis like we've never seen before," Brogdon said, arguing that the Obama stimulus plan is the last straw taxing state patience in the brewing sovereignty dispute.

"This particular 111th Congress is the biggest bunch of over-reachers and underachievers we've ever had in Congress," he said.

"A sixth-grader should realize you can't borrow money to pay off your debt, and that is the Obama administration's answer for a stimulus package," he added.

The Ninth Amendment reads, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

The Tenth Amendment specifically provides, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Brogdon, the lead sponsor of the Oklahoma state senate version of the sovereignty bill, has been a strong opponent of extending the plan to build a four-football-fields-wide Trans-Texas Corridor parallel to Interstate-35 to Oklahoma, as WND reported.

Rollback federal authority

The various sovereignty measures moving through state legislatures are designed to reassert state authority through a rollback of federal authority under the powers enumerated in the Constitution, with the states assuming the governance of the non-enumerated powers, as required by the Tenth Amendment.

The state sovereignty measures, aimed largely at the perceived fiscal irresponsibility of Congress in the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, have gained momentum with the $1 trillion deficit-spending economic stimulus package the Obama administration is currently pushing through Congress.

Particularly disturbing to many state legislators are the increasing number of "unfunded mandates" that have proliferated in social welfare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, in which bills passed by Congress dictate policy to the states without providing funding.

In addition, the various state resolutions include discussion of a wide range of policy areas, including the regulation of firearms sales (Montana) and the demand to issue drivers licenses with technology to embed personal information under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and the Real ID Act (Michigan).

Hawaii's measure calls for a new state constitutional convention to return self-governance, a complaint that traces back to the days it was a U.S. territory, prior to achieving statehood in 1959.

"We are trying to send a message to the federal government that the states are trying to reclaim their sovereignty," Republican Rep. Matt Shea, the lead sponsor of Washington's sovereignty resolution told WND.

"State sovereignty has been eroded in so many areas, it's hard to know where to start," he said. "There are a ton of federal mandates imposed on states, for instance, on education spending and welfare spending."

Shea said the Obama administration's economic stimulus package moving through Congress is a "perfect example."

"In the state of Washington, we have increased state spending 33 percent in the last three years and hired 6,000 new state employees, often using federal mandates as an excuse to grow state government," he said. "We need to return government back down to the people, to keep government as close to the local people as possible."

Shea is a private attorney who serves with the Alliance Defense Fund, a nationwide network of about 1,000 attorneys who work pro-bono. As a counter to the ACLU, the alliance seeks to protect and defend religious liberty, the sanctity of life and traditional family values.

Republican state Rep. Judy Burges, the primary sponsor of the sovereignty resolution in the Arizona House, told WND the federal government "has been trouncing on our constitutional rights."

"The real turning point for me was the Real ID act, which involved both a violation of the Fourth Amendments rights against the illegal searches and seizures and the Tenth Amendment," she said.

Burges told WND she is concerned that the overreaching of federal powers could lead to new legislation aimed at confiscating weapons from citizens or encoding ammunition.

"The Real ID Act was so broadly written that we are afraid that it involves the potential for "mission-creep," that could easily involve confiscation of firearms and violations of the Second Amendment," she said.

Burges said she has been surprised at the number of e-mails she has received in support of the sovereignty measure.

"We are a sovereign state in Arizona, not a branch of the federal government, and we need to be treated as such, she insisted.

[Shammu]

Congressional pay raise 'ludicrous' during recession

With man, power equals corruption, Absolute power, equals destruction. How can they take a pay raise when I think they are part of the cause of the melt down.

[nChrist]

With man, power equals corruption, Absolute power, equals destruction. How can they take a pay raise when I think they are part of the cause of the melt down.

It is far past time to go back to the CONSTITUTION and re-establish the BALANCE OF POWERS. By the way, the Federal Government is supposed to be the servant of the STATES - not the other way around. The NOSE of the Federal Government is into everything, the vast majority being ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL. If we went back to the CONSTITUTION, the Federal Government could cut off 99% of its NOSE. D.C. has turned into a HUGE AND CORRUPT HOG FARM - good for taking tax dollars and wasting it on MORE PORK. We do have some good and honest representatives, but they are becoming the minority. They are outnumbered and must rely on informing the public to have a chance against all the CORRUPTION.

All of this "DO IT NOW - QUICK - QUICK!" is an effort to prevent the public from finding out what they're attempting to do. Where is the promised TRANSPARENCY - and where is the MOST QUALIFIED AND HONEST PRESIDENTIAL STAFF AND CABINET IN HISTORY? GUESS! - All of the promises have already been broken, and it's business much more CORRUPT than usual. They did deliver CHANGE - just not the good type. "NO EARMARKS?? - UM?? - Washington has turned into a pig-pen AND THE PORK STINKS!

[Soldier4Christ]

There are a lot of hog farms in this area and none of them stink as bad as the stench coming out of DC.

The actions that these 20 states are taking hasn't come soon enough.

[nChrist]

There are a lot of hog farms in this area and none of them stink as bad as the stench coming out of DC.

The actions that these 20 states are taking hasn't come soon enough.

Brother, I must say that I'm pretty happy with the actions of my representatives. They aren't perfect, but they have long-term records of common sense and serving the public well. It appears that quite a few states see the handwriting on the wall and HAVE NO PLAN TO TOLERATE IT! They refuse to sit down and shut-up, and I say BRAVO!

The clear message must be sent that this is still a FREE COUNTRY - not a dictatorship - and NOT A SOCIALIST OR COMMUNIST COUNTRY - YET!! I would prefer to live in poverty than give up FREEDOM, and I know great numbers who won't give up FREEDOM - PERIOD - END OF STORY! Regardless of age, health, ability, or disability - I THINK THE VAST MAJORITY WILL JUST SAY NO!! - AND MEAN IT!!

[Soldier4Christ]

Yep, I do hear a rumbling start and it does sound like "NO!" to me.