Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

An interesting article from www.ucg.org  analyzing Halloween from a Christian perspective. This follows this post about an attempt to spiritually restore a people. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

A commentary by Larry Walker




Halloween is a major holiday in the Western world for people of various backgrounds. Can Halloween celebrations be reconciled with a Christian worldview and lifestyle? The Bible holds the answer.





Jack-O'-Lantern

Source: Wikimedia CommonsMonday night millions of children around the nation will be donning costumes, ringing doorbells and uttering the traditional "trick or treat" Halloween greeting. Most people consider this a harmless, fun activity for children. Others condemn the entire occasion because of the pagan origin of the day and connect it with demonism and the occult.



An article from a prominent Christian magazine suggested that "Christians should embrace the 'devilish' holiday with gusto—and laughter." The author suggests that Halloween presents us with an opportunity to "mock" and "laugh at" Satan and "the forces of evil."



A local pastor, writing wistfully of his past childhood Halloween celebration, said, "I enjoyed being a devil." He asserted that "a child doesn’t think of a red devil as an enemy of God or the apostle of hate and destruction." He went on to defend wearing costumes as merely superficial, and suggested that opposition to celebrating Halloween stems from lack of confidence in Christian beliefs.



Really only harmless fun?

Wait a minute! Is it unchristian for parents not to want their children to dress up as the Devil? Or does Satan theDevil even exist? According to a recent Barna survey, nearly 50 percent of professing Christians do not believe that Satan is a living being. For these folks, the whole question must be a moot point. But perhaps the rest of us ought to reconsider our perspective regarding Halloween.



Would anyone dare to suggest applying this reasoning to Hitler? Would wearing Hitler masks and swastikas and dressing like the skeletal remains of his victims be an appropriate way to "laugh at" Hitler and "mock" the diabolical evils of Nazism?



Is Satan a laughing matter? Does God want our children to associate fun and treats with the forces of evil?



I am not implying that a child who puts on a Halloween mask is dabbling in the occult or is in danger of demon possession. I am simply questioning the suggestion that Halloween serves a positive Christian purpose.



According to Deuteronomy:12:31-32[31]Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.[32]What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. God does not approve of recycling, reconstituting and relabeling pagan customs to celebrate Christian events.



Carnal holidays trumped by God's Holy Days

My wife and I just finished celebrating eight fun-filled days of the Feast of Tabernacles with more than 700 men, women and children here in Central Oregon. I so much wish all of Christianity could share the joy of this meaningful occasion. Here is a God-ordained festival that was observed by Jesus, Paul and the apostolic Church and is still celebrated today by many Christians. It is one of seven annual Holy Days that foreshadow future events in God's plan (Colossians:2:16-17[16]Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:[17]Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.) rather than focusing on the powers of darkness that form the legacy of Halloween.



Anyone who dares express objections to Halloween has two strikes against him: 1. It is fun for the kids, and 2. It is a long-standing, firmly entrenched custom in our culture.



But the Feast of Tabernacles has Halloween beat in both categories: 1. It is fun for kids and the whole family and is eight days long, and 2. It was established thousands of years ago by God Himself. And most importantly, it and all of Holy Days of the Bible teach valuable lessons about the plan of God.



For more information, I invite you to read our free booklets, Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? and Is There Really a Devil?

3 ways to make the pro-life argument to people who don’t care about the child

An interesting story from http://www.lifesitenews.com/ about the rationale against abortion. This follows this post about the Protecting Life Act in the House.  For more that you can do to get involved click  HERE and you can also get a very interesting book HERE!

3 ways to make the pro-life argument to people who don’t care about the child


by Marc John Paul

(LiveAction.org) - We’ve all been there, in conversation with an abortion supporter, showing them as best we can the obvious reality that life begins at the beginning, when it becomes shockingly clear that the facts make no difference. While pro-choice rhetoric has happily softened from ‘abortion-on-demand-no-regrets!’ to ‘abortion as a morally significant event‘, it doesn’t seem to be morally significant in any particular direction. Simply put, many are able to ignore the striking fact of the unborn child. Ultrasound images bounce off their eyes. Embryology textbooks – it seems – evade their grasps. They grow faint and distant at any confrontation over where life begins. Are we to give up on these individuals?



No. The beautiful thing about Truth is that it is a thing overflowing; it applies to more than just the immediate issue. Thus, if we cannot meet these individuals in their avoidance of the child, we can meet them in their stance of care for the woman. Similarly, the terrible thing about Evil is that it is a thing that truly sucks. Abortion is a black hole that pulls in and tears apart not just a human person, but our society, our culture and most importantly, women.



Here then, are three arguments to make in defense of women, and thus against abortion.



1. Abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. This truth, evidenced in prestigious, peer-reviewed cancer-research journals is a very important truth to disseminate. Why? Because the anti-breast-cancer movement – in its walks, marches, fun-runs, pink ribbons, shirts – is one of the most pro-woman movements in existence. Breast cancer is a modern plague on the women of our society, and abortion is augmenting its power. To support women – one assumes – is to be against that one disease that so effects women, to stand strongly against the cancer that has caused such tragedy in the lives of our sisters. To be pro-abortion and simultaneously set against breast cancer is to say that the lack of a child is worth the risk of terminal illness. I don’t claim that this position cannot be maintained – perhaps one could weigh the various costs of feeding a baby versus having chemotherapy treatment. No, I simply claim that this position chips away at the pro-choice foundation, that their’s is a movement in defense of the woman.



2. Abortion makes women sad. I do not mean that in some vague way. A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, synthesizing data from 1995 to 2009, shows that “women who had undergone an abortion had an 81% increased risk of mental health problems.”



From the European Journal of Public Health 2005: Researchers examining deaths among the entire population of women in Finland found that those who had abortions had a 3.5 times higher death rate from suicide, accidents, or homicides in the following year. Suicide rates among aborting women were six times higher compared to women who gave birth and two times higher compared to women who miscarried.



Have you ever brought up the issue of abortion, not knowing some one has experienced it? Now there’s a heartbreaking situation, akin to speaking flippantly about the death of a family member to someone who has experienced such a loss. I can only speak from experience: Away flies the tolerant “we all have our beliefs, you your own, and me mine” position. Instead, post-abortion women react violently, shakily, and tearfully, full of anger, or guilt, or both. If abortion makes women sad, which seems to be readily apparent, then once again, the pro-choice movement is placed in the awkward position of claiming to have the health of women as their highest priority, while attempting to increase the availability of that-which-makes-women-sad.



A study that has never been carried out: Suicide rates in mothers who were strongly considering abortion, but chose life. Why not? Probably because it would be a very boring study, with lots of not-depressed mothers being not-depressed.



3. There are other women in existence! And no, I’m not talking about the fact that most children aborted are girls, though it is an interesting question to ask: When, exactly, do women’s rights begin? I’m talking about mothers who want to adopt! A 2008 study by National Center for Health Statistics found that 33.1% of women have at some point considered adoption. Of that number 4.9% were currently seeking adoptions. That’s 901,000 women looking for babies. By most recent statistics, there are approximately 129,000 children seeking adoption. Now I’m no mathematician, but that’s 772,000 women who want to adopt a child, but will not. It seems that if we killed less of our children, this would not be a problem. Shoot, even if we take the women who were currently seeking adoptions AND had already begun taking steps – 560,000 – there aren’t enough children to go around.



Why, oh why, do we put women at risk of cancer, depression, and in the terrifying position of violence against their own children, when there are so many women looking for children to adopt? It seems obvious that between hurting one woman and helping two, the most pro-woman action one could take would be to counsel a woman to consider adoption. The most pro-woman action one might take would be to rapidly reduce abortions in America, and thereby increase adoptions.



Though I understand why there exists the rather insane idea that the better choice for all women would be an abortion: Abortion brings in cash. Who is going to pay for all those Planned Parenthood ‘don’t-defund-us’ campaigns if everyone’s putting their children up for adoption?



So there you have it. Three effective ways to make the pro-life argument to people seemingly unconcerned with the moral question surrounding the unborn child. I plan on bringing up a few more, so if there any you would like discuss, just let me know!



Reprinted with permission from http://www.liveaction.org/

Does your Member of Congress support Official English?

An urgent post from http://www.usenglish.org/ about linguistic unity. This follows this post about immigration battles in CA, MD, UT, and other states. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants such as the 30,000 openly illegal immigrants in the border town of El Paso, where President Barack Obama recently bashed immigration enforcement! For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book HERE!

And Remember when contacting public officials to please be firm but respectful. Any over the top messages could result in law enforcement action against you. Just let these politicians know that you are aware of what they have done and that you intend to remove them from office in the 2012 elections.

Does your Member of Congress support Official English?‏




America is a land of opportunity, and we are proud to be a melting pot representing people of various backgrounds and cultures. Yet the one common tie that binds us all together is a common language--English.



Last March, Iowa Congressman Steve King introduced a bill to make English the official language of the United States government. Since then, H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, has been gaining momentum--it now boasts the support of 105 cosponsors and is currently awaiting a committee hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.



To keep the momentum going to increase the chances of getting a committee hearing and getting this bill passed, we need your help. If your Member of Congress has not signed on, please take a moment to send a pre-written letter declaring your support of this important bill.



Thank you for doing your part to help make English the official language of the United States!

Wknd Box Office: In Time, Anonymous, Rum Diary, Love Crime, Paranormal Activity 3

Here is an interesting article from http://www.debbieschlussel.com/  reviewing some of the movies that came out over the past weekend. This follows this post some of the movies from last week and  THIS POST about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed!  This all  follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch yourself!

Wknd Box Office: In Time, Anonymous, Rum Diary, Love Crime, Paranormal Activity 3


By Debbie Schlussel



The best new movie, out this weekend, is a foreign language arthouse film. Plus I really liked “Paranormal Activity 3,” which I couldn’t review for you, last week, due to Jewish holidays. And speaking of Jewish, it’s no shocker that one of the biggest releases this weekend is not-so-veiled anti-Semitic cinematic rantings of the Occupy Wall Street smellies.


* “In Time“: This is “high-styled Occupy Wall Street cinema.” So obvious, so absurd. And, yes, so anti-Semitic. What a coincidence that the bad people in this movie are the wealthy. And that the biggest villain of them all is a stingy moneylender, er . . . “timelender,” named Philippe Weis (pronounced, “Weiss”). Historically, Jews have been the money changers and money lender villains of Europe. No surprise that Hollywood Jew-haters repeated the Jew scapegoating and stingy canards here. They don’t say he’s Jewish–they don’t have to. Oh, and then there’s that “numbers on your arm” thing. Looks just like the tattoo my cousin Avraham had after his time in the camps.



The plot of this silly OWS flick: it’s the future. The aging gene shuts off at age 25, and that’s how you look for the rest of your life, except that you need to earn or inherit time to live longer. Everyone has a clock on their arm that begins running at age 25. The poor have only a few hours to live at a time. They get paid in time and pay for goods and services in time. The social hierarchy is such that the rate of cost in time constantly goes up in order that the poor will die more quickly. The rich live outside the ghetto and “unfairly” have a lot of time. Yup, in this movie, time–not money–is the currency. The rich ask their fellow rich, “Do you come from time?” (instead of the old, “Do you come from money?”).



Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is out to fight the “injustice” of it all. He is from the ghetto and is poor. But, one night, he saves the life of a man rich in time. The man gives him more than a century in time. Just as Will runs to give some of it to his mother, she dies–she runs out of time. And Will sets to buy himself into the wealthy neighborhood of New Greenwich, so he can get revenge on the wealthy for his mother’s death. There he meets a rich girl, Amanda Seyfried a/k/a Sylvia Weis (hmmm . . . sounds like a Jewish grandmother’s name–why didn’t they just name her, “Rachel Horowitz,” and be even more obvious about their animus toward Jews?). She’s the daughter of the evil rich guy money-lender. Soon, there is a whole Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood story going on, too.



Sound like OWS fantasy? That’s exactly what it is. One movie critic chastised me for saying so, claiming that the movie was made two years ago so that means it has nothing to do with Occupy Wall Street. Really? Anyone listening to Hollywood’s hypocritical, limousine liberal views on entrepreneurs and businessmen over the last several decades knows where OWS was born and where it finds kindred spirits by the gazillion actor/waiters.



The thing is, just like Justin Timberlake’s character in the movie says and thinks it’s not fair that he works so hard and has little, while the wealthy work little and have so much, I think I work far harder than Timberlake. While he lolls around Hollywood and New York drinking and supping and barely working, I toil daily. And yet, I have far less than he. So, maybe, as he claims in this movie, I have a right to his multi-millions and should rob him of them, as he does the wealthy in this flick.



But I’d never get away with it because just like the rest of Hollywood, Timberlake is a do as I say, not as I do kind o’ guy.



And that’s the real moral of this movie. I loved the style of the movie and the cool cars. Hated the message and the not-so-subtle agitprop about the JOOOOS. Skip it. If ever there was a Marx-worthy movie, this is it.



FOUR MARXES PLUS



* “Anonymous“: Even putting aside that this movie co-stars the butt-ugliest woman on earth, Vanessa “Zionist Hoodlums” Redgrave (and I cannot put that aside–sorry!), it’s long, slow, boring, confusing, and frankly, silly.



While it’s long been rumored and theorized by some that William Shakespeare did not write his plays, this movie isn’t the story of Sir Francis Bacon, who is believed to be the real author of the plays. Instead, it’s some stupid contrived soap opera about an effeminate, philandering girlieman noble, Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford, who allegedly wrote the plays. It’s absurd and there are so many constant flashbacks and flash forwards, it’s hard to understand exactly what is going on until the movie is more than half over. And, by then, you’re bored to tears, if still awake. (I suppose I should be happy that Hollywood isn’t claiming the Muslims wrote the plays and were victimized by Shakespeare.)



I’d love to know what motivated whoever it was that wrote this stuff to write Macbeth or the steretypical Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. But this was none of that. Instead, it’s just a froofy, flowery set of men in ancient English royal costumes pretending to play “Desperate Housewives.” And even the real thing is being canceled by ABC. If you’re a gay man and like to dress like a woman, you’ll probably like this. For everyone else, stay away. You were warned.



After watching this, I couldn’t care less who really wrote Shakespeare’s stuff and why. It’s miserable. Forget this. . . unless you have trouble falling asleep and warm milk won’t do.



TWO MARXES




* “The Rum Diary“: This was boring, silly, and mostly not funny. No surprise, as it was written by the vastly overrated late druggie nutcase, Hunter S. Thompson. I never understood the fascination with that wack job, and this renews my global thought on everything Thompson: “Huh????” If this movie is what it means to be a “gonzo journalist,” it’s no wonder Gonzo is the name of a muppet.



I’m not sure what the point of this movie without an interesting plot or resolution was. Clearly, the point wasn’t to entertain, as this is slow and boring, and nothing gets accomplished. It takes place in the 1960s Puerto Rico with your typical anti-business plot. Evil, mostly-White businessmen want to colonize an unnamed island that is just off the coast of Puerto Rico and part of the territory. Although its name is never mentioned, I presume it’s Vieques, since the U.S. military is conducting test bombing exercises nearby. It’s irrelevant, though, because nothing ever happens. The stale Johnny Depp comes to a dying newspaper in Puerto Rico, where he meets a publicist (Aaron Eckhart) looking for a writer to pimp and promote his island hotel idea. Depp falls in love with Eckhart’s beautiful young fiancee. And, again, nothing much happens. And the movie ends.



Congrats, you just wasted ten bucks and two hours for nothing. The dead pothead, Hunter S. Thompson, is having the last laugh from hell, after all. Sucker. Like “Anonymous,” this is great for the sleep-deprived. Will put you out in a quick minute. One more thing: the Johnny-Depp-I’m-Cool-In-a-Weird-Offbeat-Way act is old, tired, and hackneyed. Time for it to retire.



FOUR MARXES




* “Love Crime [Crime D'Amour]“: I enjoyed this tight and suspenseful thriller, which is in French with English subtitles. It’s a “get revenge on the boss” flick, but far superior to the dumb and mean-spirited “Horrible Bosses” (read my review). Isabelle (a de-glammed Ludivine Sagnier) stars as the hard-working, bright assistant to Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas), a heartless, cold boss. Christine steals Isabelle’s ideas, takes credit for them, and does what she can to keep Isabelle down. But when she publicly humiliates her, Isabelle can take no more. And that’s when the thrills begin. To say more would give away too much.



This is well edited and fast-paced, interesting and entertaining. It’s playing mostly at arthouse theaters, so if you can’t find it playing nearby, it’s a great rental to watch at home.



THREE REAGANS





* “Paranormal Activity 3“: I liked this the best, by far, of the three Paranormal Activity movies. It’s a great “scary movie,” and it frightens without graphic violence or otherwise base manipulation. Instead, this movie goes back to the oldtime great horror flicks, which relied on mind games and psychology to scare you. That’s what makes a great horror thriller, and that’s what this is. You needn’t have seen any of the other Paranormal Activity movies to get this. It was well done.



A couple of pregnant women who are somehow related find a box of VCR videotapes of family from the ’80s. When they look again, the box of tapes is missing. Suddenly, we are shown what’s on the tapes. It’s the late ’80s. A 20- or 3o-something guy marries a woman with two daughters and has moved in with them to their very cool house. The guy has a wedding videotape business. Soon, weird things are happening in the house–noises at night, things being moved, etc. The guy sets up video cameras to record what’s happening as they are sleeping. It’s creepy.



I can’t say more, except that it builds slowly to a lot of frightful chills and shivers. I hated the first “Paranormal Activity” (read my review). I liked the second one slightly better (read my review). But this one was really good. If you like a good horror flick without the blood, guts, and gore, this is it. Spooky and creepy the way it’s supposed to be done.



THREE REAGANS

RS Interview: David Williams (R CAND, KY-GOV)

A very interesting post from http://www.redstate.com/  about the November 8 election in Kentucky. This follows this post Kasich’s reform legislation and the Ohio elections! This follows this previous article about encouraging American energy independence. This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran  and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book  HERE!

RS Interview: David Williams (R CAND, KY-GOV)

Kentucky Senate President Dave Williams is running for Governor of Kentucky; we had the opportunity to talk about the election today. This race has become more of interest lately with reports that individuals associated with incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear have been allegedly shaking down state employees for campaign contributions; it also came out today that political appointees have been very generous to Gov. Beshear so far this cycle.  We discussed this, and several other items:

http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2011/08/08/rs-interview-david-williams-r-cand-ky-gov/




Dave’s site is here.



Moe Lane (crosspost)



PS: This article on Gov. Beshear’s somewhat… cautious… performance at the traditionally-partisan Fancy Farm Picnic may also be of interest.  Although if I was a Southern Democrat I’d be kind of cautious right now, too: the current head of their party is doing a number on their brand.

Profiles of Faith: Ezra - Spiritually Restoring a People

An interesting article from www.ucg.org  about an attempt to spiritually restore a people. This follows this post about the Islamic Caliphate.   For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Profiles of Faith: Ezra - Spiritually Restoring a People






article by Jerold Aust





Ezra the priest was a faithful servant of God who helped fulfill God's promises to the remnant of Judah in Babylon in the 400s B.C. His calling was not self-appointed, nor could anyone on his own fulfill the kind of responsibilities to which he was called.



God recognized Ezra as a man of judgment (Ezra:7:25And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.). He was conscientious (Ezra:9:3And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.). His principles led him to resolutely oppose sin. He had a profound love of God's Word and devoted himself to studying it and faithfully teaching God's truth (Ezra:7:10For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.).



Ezra found the spiritual strength he needed through prayer and fasting. He was willing to sacrifice his own needs—and encourage others to do the same—to extol and honor God.



Understanding Ezra's background can help us see how God could use him to bring His people back to wholehearted obedience.



Judah restored

God forgets neither His people nor His promises to them. In love, He warned the people of Judah that, if they didn't repent of their sinful, rebellious ways, He would remove them from their homeland. When they refused to heed His repeated warnings through His prophets, He allowed the Babylonians to conquer and remove them through three major deportations (ca. 606, 597 and 587 B.C.). Their punishment was 70 years of captivity in a foreign land (Jeremiah:25:1-13[1]The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;[2]The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,[3]From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.[4]And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.[5]They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:[6]And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.[7]Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.[8]Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,[9]Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.[10]Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.[11]And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.[12]And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.[13]And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.).



True to His word, God fulfilled His promise to restore the descendants of Judah after the 70 years.



Zerubbabel headed the first return, which was to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-6; ca. 536-516). Ezra led a later group in 457. Nehemiah, Ezra's contemporary, returned to rebuild the shattered walls of Jerusalem in 444.



The Bible tells us that Zerubbabel was a prince of Judah in Babylon. He led nearly 50,000 of his countrymen to rebuild the temple. They faced considerable opposition to this monumental project. Zerubbabel and others got sidetracked. Their focus shifted to building houses for themselves. But the correctional exhortations from prophets Haggai and Zechariah corrected the problem. Zerubbabel and his workmen got back on track and completed the temple around 516.



Although the people rebuilt the physical temple, they were still in poor spiritual condition. Then Ezra entered the picture.



When God needed a man of sterling character and strong conviction, He chose Ezra. Ezra means "help," as in helping to restore and reform Judah. His example can be encouraging to any who desire to be faithful to God.



Ezra was a direct descendant of the priestly family that included Eleazar, Phineas, Zadok and Aaron (Ezra:7:1-5[1]Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,[2]The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,[3]The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,[4]The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,[5]The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:). He was "a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses" (verse 6) and an "expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel" (verse 11). In a testimony to his convictions, we read that "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel" (verse 10).



While in Babylon, Ezra gained the favor of King Artaxerxes, who granted him a commission to return to Jerusalem (this was the second return, ca. 457 B.C.). The king invited all who wanted to go—Jews, Israelites, priests and Levites—to accompany Ezra to Jerusalem. However, only 1,754 chose to make the journey, compared with 49,897 who had returned with Zerubbabel 79 years earlier.



Restoration of the people

Although the second return numbered fewer than 2,000 people, we must consider that five decades had passed since the completion of the temple in Jerusalem (in 516). Much can happen in two generations. The temple was complete and in use, but something was missing: a right attitude toward Almighty God. The people still lacked understanding. They were not wholeheartedly obedient to God.



God works in a systematic and orderly way. Through the great Persian king, Cyrus, He fulfilled His promise that the Jews could return to their homeland after 70 years in captivity. Next God provided Zerubbabel to rebuild the literal temple. Finally God set His hand to begin to restore the spiritual temple, a remnant of Judah. He used Ezra to accomplish this.



Ezra took a census of those who volunteered to return to Judah and Jerusalem with him. An important and practical reason for the census was to determine the needs for the temple services.



Ezra was surprised—as he considered who could serve in what capacity—that no Levites were present. "And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there" (Ezra:8:15And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.). So he directed leaders of his countrymen to "bring us servants for the house of our God" (verse 17). The leaders then made sure some Levites would return with Ezra for the service of the temple.



Next Ezra needed protection for "us and our little ones and all our possessions" on the long journey back to Jerusalem (verse 21). He was ashamed to ask the king to supply an escort of soldiers for defense against any enemies they might encounter. So he proclaimed a fast, and he and the people humbled themselves before God, asking Him to safeguard them on this dangerous trek. "So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer" (verse 23).



The journey was safe and uneventful. "So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days" (verse 32). Then they gave offerings to God.



Removing sin

After their offerings, the leaders came to Ezra worried about a significant problem: Men of the remnant of Judah and a few from Israel had taken wives from neighboring gentile nations. This God had expressly forbidden them to do, since such marriages would weaken their resolve to honor God, who had specifically chosen and selected Judah and Israel to represent Him.



Note Ezra's words in this regard: "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites" (Ezra:9:1Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.).



These heathen nations worshiped false gods. Were the Israelite men to remain married to their foreign wives, the prospect of false religion again enticing and seducing God's people was a real and dangerous problem. This, God had earlier warned, was precisely one of the reasons His people would be taken into national captivity unless they repented.



Israel reformed. God had sent Ezra to teach His people His way of life, to reveal to them their sins and exhort them to heartfelt repentance. "Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, 'We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this' " (Ezra:10:1-2[1]Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.[2]And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.).



Shechaniah encouraged Ezra to take the responsibility and make a decree that Jewish men separate themselves from their gentile wives. "Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath" (verse 5).



Ezra issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to the descendants of the captivity, directing them to gather in Jerusalem (verse 7). The men of Judah and Benjamin came as directed and sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of importance of the business at hand and because of heavy rain. (This took place in the time of year we would call December.)



Ezra led a confession to God, admonishing the gathered Benjaminites and Judahites and some Israelites to put away their pagan wives. The majority of them agreed to do so and obeyed God's command through Ezra. After several months "they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives" (Ezra:10:17And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.). God, through His faithful priest Ezra, had removed a major source of sin from the people. God recognized that His people need to be united spiritually in their worship of Him (2 Corinthians:6:14-15[14]Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?[15]And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?).



Although faithful Ezra had helped the remnant of Judah to return to God, they did not remain faithful. Neither had Israel repented and turned to God after Assyria removed its people from their northern kingdom almost three centuries earlier (721-718).



Another priest to gather Israel

Many of the descendants of the kingdom of Judah are still identifiable as we near the year 2000. The so-called lost 10 tribes of Israel, which disappeared from history after their captivity in Assyria, are also still extant, although not as easily identified, as we near the beginning of the third millennium.



Ezra the priest is a forerunner of Jesus Christ, the High Priest of God the Father (Hebrews 7). Near the end of the present age of man—promised Christ, our High Priest—a remnant of believers, spiritual Jews (Romans:2:28-29[28]For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:[29]But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.), would not only escape great tribulation (Revelation:12:12-17) but carry on the work God began through Jesus Christ (Matthew:24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.; 28:19; 2 Corinthians:5:17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.).



God promised the people of Judah He would return them to Jerusalem, after their 70-year Babylonian captivity, to rebuild the temple and restore proper worship. God similarly promises to return Judah and Israel to their ancestral homeland. Many prophecies show that at Jesus Christ's second coming He will gather the descendants of Israel and Judah from the ends of the earth (Isaiah:11:10-12[10]And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.[11]And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.[12]And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.; Jeremiah:23:3-8[3]And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.[4]And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.[5]Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.[6]In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.[7]Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;[8]But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.; Ezekiel 36; 39:25-29).



" 'Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord GOD" (Ezekiel:39:28-29[28]Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.[29]Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.).



These astounding events are part of the good news of the Kingdom of God Jesus Christ proclaimed (Mark:1:14-15[14]Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,[15]And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.).

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Ohio Democratic Party Targets Pro-SB5 Businesses

A very interesting post from http://www.redstate.com/ about Kasich’s reform legislation. This follows this previous post about it. This follows this previous article about it to encourage American energy independence. This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran  and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book  HERE!

Ohio Democratic Party Targets Pro-SB5 Businesses

http://www.redstate.com/laborunionreport/2011/10/27/ohio-democratic-party-targets-pro-sb5-businesses/

Democrats explore more ways to chase jobs away...

Posted by LaborUnionReport
 
As Ohio’s SB5 (collective bargaining reform) goes to a vote on November 8th, pressure is being ramped up in the final week and a half. According to the Columbus Dispatch, unions and their fellow reform opponents have bankrolled the We Are Ohio anti-SB5 campaign to the tune of $19,048,680, dwarfing the pro-reform Building A Better Ohio’s $7.6 million.




Democrats and their union cronies have dominated Ohio for decades and the collective bargaining reforms signed into law earlier this year pose a very real threat to their continued base of power. As a result, the Democrats did something incredibly arrogant on Thursday afternoon when the official Twitter account for the Ohio Democratic Party released the names of several businesses that have contributed to SB5, then told their 4,000 followers to “contact them.”







Although the Ohio Democrats promised to tweet the names of the businesses and outside organizations “bankrolling unfair attacks on Ohio’s middle class,” they only listed three businesses before removing all four tweets.



Apparently, someone must have realized that it might be a bad idea for the official account of the Ohio Democratic Party to target individual businesses—especially in a state like Ohio that can ill afford to have any more businesses leave.



In the tweets that were posted, however, the links the Ohio Democrats provided took their followers to the companies’ contact page. One of the other links, though, took the followers to the targeted company’s contact page that listed the direct lines and e-mails of the company’s management.



As there are conflicting reports about the tightness of the polls heading into November, including a leaked memo indicating that Issue 2 [which is the SB5 measure on the ballot] may be a dead heat, unions and their Democrat counterparts are likely going to increase the pressure even more.



At the end of the day, though, with the exception of the beaches and the weather, it appears there is very little difference between California and Ohio—the unions in both states appear to want to bury taxpayers in debt, while their respective Democratic Parties want to chase the employers that employ the taxpayers away.



________________



“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776



Cross-posted on http://www.laborunionreport.com/ and http://www.biggovernment.com/

ABSURD: Israel Frees More Terrorists for Leftist Israeli Helping Egypt’s Muslims

A very interesting post from the very interesting website http://www.debbieschlussel.com/ about Israel freeing more terrorists for an anti-Israeli. This follows this post about the geopolitical consequences of recent events in Iraq and Libya. This follows this article about the recent news about the former ban on offshore drilling which would encourage American energy independence and prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran  and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and read this very interesting book HERE!

ABSURD: Israel Frees More Terrorists for Leftist Israeli Helping Egypt’s Muslims


By Debbie Schlussel



Remember the three far-left “American” Iranian hikers who attacked America and Israel and continue to do so?  America wasted over two years of time and resources (and a lot of money) to get them freed to continue their attacks on our country.  Imagine, though, if we had also freed 75 hardened Islamic terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, too, to get them freed from Iran?  That’s essentially what Israel just did to free far-left activist Ilan Grapel from Egypt.  It was bad enough that Israel freed 1,027 mass-murdering Islamic terrorists for the freedom of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.  But he was serving Israel and was kidnapped.











Ilan Grapel @ Tahrir Square w/ His Muslim Anti-Israel Buddies



Grapel, who holds dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, went to Egypt on his own to help Muslim extremists in their phony “democracy” BS. Israel should have let him rot there. But, instead, Israel freed 25 hardened Islamic terrorists to Egypt to get Grapel freed. It’s insane. And it should make no difference that Grapel was accused of being an Israeli spy, just as the three anti-Israel Americans were by Iran. The trade only lends credence to that BS. The guy, Grapel, is an anti-Israel activist who betrayed Israel and the West to help Muslims. Now, he’s being rewarded for it by Israel. Beyond nauseating. What is Nothingyahu’s excuse for this one?



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved on Tuesday a prisoner exchange deal with Egypt to release suspected Israeli spy Ilan Grapel in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners.





Under the terms of the newly approved deal, Grapel is due to be released this coming Thursday.



The cabinet’s unanimous decision came after an Israeli negotiation team met Monday with Grapel in Cairo to update him on his upcoming release from Egyptian prison where he has been held since June 12.



Attorney Yitzhak Molcho and MK Yisrael Hasson (Kadima), who met with Grapel at the Egyptian intelligence headquarters, reported that Grapel was in good health, and that negotiations between Egypt and Israel would continue in order to secure the release of Ouda Tarabin, an Israeli Bedouin who has been held by Egypt for 11 years on charges of espionage.



According to Hasson, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be credited for “handling the sensitive situation” of round-the-clock negotiations.



Yup, he should be “credited” for this outrage. Idiot.



The U.S. has been especially active in trying to secure Grapel’s release during the last two months.



Hmmm … what is the U.S. offering to trade for his freedom?



In a statement published by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Israel and Egypt reached a deal to release the suspected spy, saying that Grapel is to be released in exchange for 25 Egyptian prisoners, including three minors.



However, despite claims by Israeli officials, according to which the deal would set free only Egyptian prisoners jailed over criminal offences, a report in the Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm said that the Grapel deal would include two security offenders, charged with planning to target sites within Israel in cooperation with Palestinian militants.



Translation: they’re Islamic terrorists. And, now, some sense from the man who should be running Israel instead of Netanyahu:



Responding to the cabinet’s approval of the Grapel swap deal, National Union MK Aryeh Eldad criticized the decision to release the suspected Israeli spy for 25 prisoners, saying that the deal indicated that “Israel has declared moral bankruptcy.”



“After freeing murderous terrorists for a drug dealer [DS: Elchanan Tannenbeaum, who was also a double agent for Hezbollah] it is freeing drug dealers for a professional anarchist who worked against Israel in Bil’in,” Eldad said, referring to the 2004 exchange deal between Israel and Hezbollah in which 430 prisoners were released for retired IDF officer Elhanan Tannenbaum, who was reportedly involved in a drug deal before being kidnapped by the Lebanese militant group.



“The State is emptying all concepts of law and justice from meaning. Tomorrow, they could offer the wholesale release of foreign workers indicted in Israel for robbery or rape in exchange of Israelis who sold drugs in Japan or Thailand,” Eldad said.



So, if America wasn’t willing to release terrorists for this far-leftists scumbag’s freedom, why should Israel? And why did Israel? Again, what is Nothingyahu’s excuse for this one? Crickets chirping. . . .

Stop Washington Bureaucrats From Increasing Your Electricity Prices

A very interesting post from http://consumerenergyalliance.org/ about nuclear energy being used to lower electric rates. This follows this post about al-Jazeera and Green Peace opposing domestic energy independence. This follows this previous article about  encouraging American energy independence. This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran  and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book HERE!

You can also write your two Senators about this HERE!

Stop Washington Bureaucrats From Increasing Your Electricity Prices

We Can't Afford Higher Energy Prices




The Department of Energy is seeking to implement a burdensome regulation that could limit the ability of American nuclear power plants to continue to supply reliable, affordable electricity. If the power goes out, rates for tens of thousands of families could go up. Learn more and tell Washington enough is enough.



As our fragile economy struggles to recover, new layers of onerous regulations from Washington bureaucrats such as these will force additional costs onto struggling families and limit the ability of the U.S. nuclear industry to serve their customers, create jobs and help grow the economy.



Speak Out - Tell Washington Our Families Can't Afford Higher Energy Prices.

Important State Defense Battles in CA and Other States

An urgent post from http://www.alipac.us/ about immigration battles in CA, MD, UT, and other states. This follows this post about Steve King's immigration reduction proposal. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants such as the 30,000 openly illegal immigrants in the border town of El Paso, where President Barack Obama recently bashed immigration enforcement! For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book HERE!

And Remember when contacting public officials to please be firm but respectful. Any over the top messages could result in law enforcement action against you. Just let these politicians know that you are aware of what they have done and that you intend to remove them from office in the 2012 elections.

Important State Defense Battles in CA and Other States


Friends of ALIPAC,




While our illegal immigration fighting legislation in the states continues to advance in places like Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Arizona, we have also suffered some defeats.



What we are learning is that these defeats appear to finally awaken many Americans. While it is sad that many Americans will not rise to action until the illegal alien invaders have won major concessions, these public backlashes are very important to us.



Right now we are aiding and monitoring incredible reactions to illegal alien legislation that has passed in California, Maryland, and Utah.



Next week, we plan to send you detailed information on what you can do if you live in these states or in other states...



The outcome of these battles in certain states will be of great importance to our national strategy of fighting to stop and reverse illegal immigration.



Overturning these bad laws that the globalists have passed will set a major precedent and put the illegals on deep defense. We have a chance, with enough people, work, and dedication, to completely rout our opposition in the next 12 months leading into the 2012 election cycle.



Please help us by funding our operations and reading each e-mail alert very carefully. Don't panic, and while you will hear many voices saying different things, remember that ALIPAC's strategies and guidance have proven essential in many important victories in our fight against the invaders.



We are about to play hard defense in 3-4 states combined with hard offense in many other states, combined with the launch of our federal candidate operations.



We all know that many of you are caught up in your own personal, health, and economic battles dealing with the madness and mayhem being caused by this attempt to conduct a controlled demolition of the United States of America.



When we are facing the worst, we become capable of our very best.



Let us move as a team as much as possible and provide a large group of loyal Americans moving together to face our nation's enemies here at home.



Please be ready to follow our instructions on state defense coming next week, and please try to organize as many Americans around you that can and will stand with us.



Sincerely,





William Gheen and The ALIPAC Team

http://www.alipac.us/



DISCUSS THIS NATIONAL EMAIL ALERT WITH OUR ONLINE ACTIVISTS AT...

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-253758.html

The Quiet Islamic Movement to Restore the Caliphate

An interesting article from www.ucg.org  about the Islamic Caliphate. This follows this post describing a way to overcome homosexuality, which is a BEHAVIOR and therefore can be overcome.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

The Quiet Islamic Movement to Restore the Caliphate


A commentary by Jerold Aust


Bible prophecy reveals that a significantly influential ruler over the peoples who occupy territories surrounding the Holy Land, possibly a modern day Muslim confederation, will in some manner attack a "king of the North"—a modern version of the ancient Roman emperor.



In the past the greatest Muslim confederations were led by a caliph, a leader of all Muslims. The word "caliph" is the English form of the Arabic term kalifa, which means successor. The ruling institution of the caliphs is called the caliphate.



The original caliphate was created in AD 632 after the death of Islam's founder, Muhammad; hence the office of "successor" to Muhammad. If a revived caliphate surfaced today, it could boast of 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide—providing all Muslims unite under one leader to circumvent Islamic nationalism and ethnicity.



The present Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Party of Liberation, is working to restore the caliphate. Started in Jerusalem by an Arab judge in 1953, this movement teaches Muslims to stop being slaves to men and become slaves of Allah—peacefully.



"Its activists aim to persuade Muslim political and military leaders that reestablishing the Caliphate is their Islamic duty" (James Brandon, The Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2006). The movement is a quiet one because many Islamic governments view a caliphate as a threat to their own power.



Stephen Ulph, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation says, "The Caliphate is a rallying point between the radicals and the more moderate Islamists. The idea of a government based on the Caliphate has a historical pedigree and Islamic legitimacy that Western systems of government by their very nature do not have" (ibid.).



Understandably, modern Islam shows no outward desire for restoring the caliphate. It is too involved with the more sectarian-religious form of Islam as practiced in the individual Islamic nations. Modern media, in addressing sectarian Muslims today, tend to report on the current Islamic models as if they have always existed.



However, the modern Islamic models are quite different from the caliphate system. The caliphate was a more decentralized system which accounted for its longevity, while variations of modern Islam are, over the past century, more centrally controlled. History indicates that a decentralized caliphate would wield greater power over more people than any present Islamic state.



One of the latest and greatest examples is the Ottoman Caliphate (Empire). It lasted some 634 years (1290-1924). Another decentralized Caliphate was the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258), centered in Baghdad, Iraq. It was generally peaceful and stable for over 500 years.



During that time, Islamic art flourished, the main elements of Sharia law were developed and important schools of philosophy and religious thought were established. It was then that exclusive Arab hold on Islam was finally broken and all Moslems came to be seen as equals.



Although some modern Muslims strongly desire a revival of a caliphate not limited by national borders, no one can guarantee it would remain decentralized. It is possible that a caliph could come into power as a peaceful leader and then become more regionally militant, which would fit the description of the aggressive end-time "king of the South" prophesied in Daniel:11:40And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over..



Of course, there is no ironclad way to determine how the king of the South will surface. Yet it is clear that over the past 50 years many Arabic leaders, claiming to act under the banner of Islam, have attempted to galvanize Muslims under their leadership. Saddam Hussein considered himself a successor of the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Others have viewed themselves as great Middle Eastern leaders, including Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and Libya's Muammar Gadhafi.



It is also a historical fact that the caliphate has fared far better in keeping Islam united than any other type of Muslim leadership over the past 1,000 years. It is hard to argue against a caliphate that lasted 500 years. The key to the far-reaching influence of the caliphate lay in decentralized power, allowing all professing Muslims, irrespective of race or nationality, to enter the fold.



The modern movement for restoring the caliphate over Islam is presently growing quietly throughout the Middle East. If it should succeed it could possibly decentralize control over Muslims from Morocco to Indonesia—at least 1.5 billion Islamic followers. That would change dramatically the scope of Islamic power and influence in the world today.





Of course, not all possibilities become realities. Yet the roots of major shifts in power in the past were often visible long before they become realities. To understand how the prophesied conflict between the king of the South and the king of the North could affect your life, request, read online or download our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy.

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Still time to call committee about amendments to cut legal immigration‏

An urgent post from http://www.numbersusa.com/ about Steve King's immigration reduction proposal. This follows this previous post about it.  This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants such as the 30,000 openly illegal immigrants in the border town of El Paso, where President Barack Obama recently bashed immigration enforcement! For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book HERE!

And Remember when contacting public officials to please be firm but respectful. Any over the top messages could result in law enforcement action against you. Just let these politicians know that you are aware of what they have done and that you intend to remove them from office in the 2012 elections.still time to call committee about amendments to cut legal immigration‏







GOOD MORNING AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO MADE PHONE CALLS YESTERDAY BASED ON THE ALERT THAT I HAVE COPIED BELOW.




The amendments to cut unnecessary legal immigration are expected to come up before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee later today. (See them at the bottom of this email.)



I have provided below all the committee Members who would benefit by a call from you. Just pick Members from the list based on your connection to their state or to them and give them a call. Even one call from you would help the cause.



Most of the Members of the Judiciary Committee still haven't wrapped their minds around the fact that there is a major movement to cut LEGAL immigration.



NumbersUSA has been running national ads during the Presidential debates to break through to the public and political junkies that LEGAL immigration is an issue that has to be addressed during a Jobs Depression.



Rep. Steve King's amendments and your phone calls will be a major leap this week in creating a breaktrhough with the committee.



-- ROY


PHONE ANYBODY ON THE LIST BELOW YOU HAVE TIME TO CALL










Rep. King (R-Iowa) needs your help all day today to help him tomorrow when he plans to use a Judiciary Committee markup session to draw attention to the insanity of our immigration policies that are importing more than a million foreign workers (LEGALLY) each year.







Even Reps who are with us on stopping ILLEGAL immigration tend to be surprised when the subject of CUTS IN LEGAL numbers comes up.







Frankly, we are not expecting to prevail this week, but this is one of those times when we need to leverage the opportunity into a teaching situation to show Members of the Committee just how much support there is for deep cuts in legal immigration. The harvest of these efforts will be down the line.







PHONE ACTION:



202-224-3121







For each phone call, just follow these steps:



Call the phone number which goes to the Capitol Switchboard.











Ask for the Representative











When the staffer answers the phone, say that you are calling to ask support for the Steve King amendments to H.R. 3012 which will come up in the Judiciary Committee Thursday.











Then briefly note that King's amendments would reduce tens of thousands of greencards each year to foreign workers who compete with unemployed Americans for payroll jobs in construction, manufacturing, hospitality and other service industries.



Feel free to say something about the insanity of bringing in hundreds of thousands of foreign workers each year while 22 million Americans can't find a full-time job.







WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH







All the names below are Members of the Judiciary Committee which has primary power over immigration issues. Most of them still haven't wrapped their minds around the fact that there is a major movement to cut LEGAL immigration.







NumbersUSA has been running national ads during the Presidential debates to break through to the public and political junkies that LEGAL immigration is an issue that has to be addressed during a Jobs Depression.







Your phone calls today will leverage and amplify that message.







All part of a sustained, systematic effort to force LEGAL immigration cuts onto the political agenda.







JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS YOU CAN CALL







Most of you will just call two or three people, so look through the list and pick based on a special connection you have to a state or a Member.







And have fun waking up these offices to the fact that next year's LEGAL immigration numbers have to be cut if we care about all the unemployed Americans struggling to save their homes and provide for their families.







*************************



Rep. Adams, Sandy (GOP)



FL



*************************



Rep. Amodei, Mark (GOP)



*************************



Rep. Berman, Howard (DEM)



CA



*************************



Rep. Chabot, Steve (GOP)



OHIO



*************************



Rep. Chu, Judy (DEM)



CA



*************************



Rep. Cohen, Steve (DEM)



TENN



*************************



Rep. Conyers, John (DEM)



MI



*************************



Rep. Forbes, Randy (GOP)



VA



*************************



Rep. Franks, Trent (GOP)



AZ



*************************



Rep. Gowdy, Trey (GOP)



SC



*************************



Rep. Issa, Darrell (GOP)



CA



*************************



Rep. Jackson-Lee, Sheila (DEM)



TX



*************************



Rep. Johnson, Hank (DEM)



GA



*************************



Rep. Jordan, Jim (GOP)



OH



************************



Rep. Lofgren, Zoe (DEM)



CA



*************************



Rep. Lungren, Dan (GOP)



CA



*************************



Rep. Marino, Tom (GOP)



PA



*************************



Rep. Nadler, Jerrold (DEM)



NY



*************************



Rep. Pence, Mike (GOP)



IN



*************************



Rep. Quayle, Ben (GOP)



Arizona



*************************



Rep. Quigley, Mike (DEM)



IL



*************************



Rep. Ross, Dennis (GOP)



FL



*************************



Rep. Sanchez, Linda (DEM)



CA



*************************



Rep. Scott, Robert (DEM)



VA



*************************



Rep. Waters, Maxine (DEM)



CA



*************************



Rep. Watt, Melvin (DEM)



NC



**************************







MORE BACKGROUND







On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Rep. Jason Chaffetz's legislation to eliminate country-specific caps on employment-based green cards. Because this legislation would neither increase nor reduce overall immigration numbers, NumbersUSA is not taking a position on this legislation.







However, Rep. Steve King will be proposing three amendments to this bill that would reduce the number of visas available to lower-skilled immigrants. These amendments are:



An amendment to eliminate the 10,000 visas for unskilled employment-based immigrants, and reduce the employment cap by 10,000 to 130,000.











An amendment to eliminate the 3rd Preference for employment-based immigrants and reduce the employment cap by 40,000 to 100,000. The 3rd Preference includes workers with at least two years of job experience, and workers with a bachelor's degree in a "profession" -- in other words, not a whole lot of skill.











An amendment to eliminate the sibling category and reduce the family preference cap by 65,000 visas to 415,000.

Public-Sector Unions To Ohio Taxpayers: We Will Bury You

A very interesting post from http://www.redstate.com/ about Kasich’s reform legislation. This follows this previous post about it. This follows this previous article about it to encourage American energy independence. This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran  and Venezuela. For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read a very interesting book  HERE

Public-Sector Unions To Ohio Taxpayers: We Will Bury You

http://www.redstate.com/laborunionreport/2011/10/26/public-sector-unions-to-ohio-taxpayers-we-will-bury-you/ 

...Or, Unions Win, Right-to-Work States Win, You Lose

With less than two weeks before the November 8th elections and with the polls leaning toward repealing SB5, it appears that Ohioans are ready to vote to increase their taxes and unemployment. Ultimately, that is a choice Ohio taxpayers will be making and fiscal self-immolation is certainly within their rights and, frankly, there are states who would be all-too happy to see Ohio’s unions put the nail in the coffin there.




Curiously, though, after months of being pounded by a multi-million dollar union campaign of fear-mongering and deceptive propaganda, there seems to be very few Ohioans who know the true economic consequences of what happens when they repeal SB 5—and the unions, in their attack ads, certainly aren’t telling them either.









Even before John Kasich attempted to wrest control of Ohio’s budget from union bosses’ death grip, the state has had one foot in the dirt (so to speak). Thanks to Ohio being a forced union state and its years of union-cronyism (a state where non-union business owners are shot), the state’s private-sector has been shrinking while its public sector payroll has remained obese.



This public-sector bloat has led to liabilities that, with the repeal of SB 5, are only going to get worse. Below is a graph (view here) that shows the projections of Ohio’s school district deficits, using data from 2010.











The numbers above are not even accounting for Ohio’s State Teachers Retirement System’s most recent budget-busting numbers:



As preliminary data on the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) for fiscal year 2011 is released, STRS is finally starting to see the light: Their pension system is failing. And its going to take more than just tinkering around the edges to fix it.



Despite earning its “strongest investment return in nearly three decades” in 2011, STRS’ pension fund still managed to sink to a 58.8 percent funding level, down from 59.1 percent a year earlier. The amortization window for its unfunded liabilities, unsurprisingly, remains at infinity, meaning STRS will never be able to pay off what it owes. A dying pension fund just put another foot in the grave.



To address just these deficits, without SB5 and the ability get control over the runaway costs, Ohio’s state and local governments will have to either lay off workers or increase taxes, or both. If taxes are to be increased, one way or another, it will come from Ohio’s residents and, very likely, through property tax hikes.



Unions fighting SB5, of course, have not addressed this in their campaign get voters to vote ‘no’ on Issue 2 (the ballot initiative to put SB5 into effect). Apparently, the unions are waiting until they are victorious in the SB 5 fight before Ohio’s taxpayers see the real economic costs.



We can, however, see some preliminary estimates for one Ohio County (with more to come):



Estimating population from Census figures, every resident of these Montgomery County school districts would have to pay much higher taxes in 2015 to cover the deficits projected by their own school district in 2010 – just how much? Take a look…



•Huber Heights City School District: $1,273

•Northmont City School District: $1,272

•Valley View Local School District: $1,266

•Oakwood City School District: $1,249

•Northridge Local School District: $881

•Vandalia-Butler City School District: $880

•Mad River Local School District: $869

•Kettering City School District: $862

•Dayton City School District: $387

•Trotwood-Madison City School District: $383

•Centerville City School District: $311

There is a bright side to all of this, however: Just as one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, one state’s economic stupidity is another state’s gain.



The higher the taxes go in Ohio and the more the unions kill Ohio’s businesses, states like South Carolina, Texas, Arizona and other union-free states will be all too happy to receive those who wish to flee. [Obviously, the Right-to-Work states' only request is that you leave your unions in Ohio.]



Good luck on November 8th, Ohio.



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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776



Cross-posted on http://www.laborunionreport.com/ and http://www.redstate.com/