CHPP Daily Brief - December 5, 2008

In This Issue
· The Daily Brief
· The Middle East in Focus
· The White House in Transition
· The Center of Obama's Attention

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erndon, VA 20172-1970
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The Daily Brief Friday, December 5, 2008

"Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."(Revelation 7:10)


The Daily Brief

1. Missile-shield shootdown test is success, Pentagon says - Fox News

The Pentagon conducted a successful test Friday of a missile shield system designed to protect the United States against attack, spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The test involved the interception of a long-range ballistic missile launched from Kodiak, Alaska, with a ground-based interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

· Lord, we thank You that there are scientific advances that will help to stop attacks from evil rulers. Help us to remember that our safety ultimately rests with You.

· "You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon." (Psalm 91:5-6)

2. Planned Parenthood Tells 'Teen': Lie To Get an Abortion - Fox News

A college student posing as a pregnant 13-year-old was told at a Planned Parenthood clinic to lie about the age of her baby's father to skirt Indiana laws on parental consent for abortion and on reporting child sex abuse.

· We are pleased that the awful practices of this organization are coming to light. Lord, help these abuses become public so that children will be saved and that young women will be protected from abuses by both men and Planned Parenthood.

· By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You. (Psalm 71:6)

3. Unemployment Numbers Add Urgency to Automakers' Pleas - CNN

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says Friday's dismal jobs report is pushing lawmakers to find a legislative solution for the ailing auto industry. The figures released Friday showed employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, pushing the unemployment rate up to 6.7 percent. That alarming report has provided an impetus to finding a legislative solution to the automakers' woes, said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

· Lord, we pray for Your intervention into the financial affairs of this nation, but if you choose not to do so and in the interim, Lord help Your people rise to the occasion and help those in need.

· But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

4. Huckabee and Palin top early 2012 list - CNN

Barack Obama is still more than six weeks from White House, and the next Iowa caucuses are more than three years away - so naturally, it's time to start talking 2012, as a new national poll suggests that Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee top the list of potential 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out Friday that serves as an early measure of potential support for the next GOP presidential nomination, Huckabee tops the list. Thirty-four percent of Republicans and independent voters who lean towards the GOP say they are very likely to support the former Arkansas governor if he were to become their party's nominee in 2012.Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in this year's election, draws nearly as much support: 32 percent of those polled said they would get behind a Palin nomination. And with the survey's sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 points, Palin and Huckabee are statistically tied.

· It feels as if there is a constant state of election in this country and Lord, we pray that there will be servants who rise to work to solve issues both out of office and in. May they be a force for real change even if they are doing so without the federal government's money and power.

· Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. (1 Corinthians 9:24)

5. Car Bomb Rips Through Pakistan Street, Killing Dozens; 'External Forces' Blamed - Fox News

A car bomb devastated a busy street in this northwestern Pakistani city on Friday, killing 20 people, injuring scores more and unnerving a region already dangerously on edge following the attacks on India's commercial capital. Neither the motive nor the culprits behind the Friday evening blast in Peshawar were clear. But provincial government chief Haider Khan Hoti said "external forces" could be to blame - a comment understood in Pakistan to mean India.

· Lord, we pray for restraint between India and Pakistan and for those who are called to mediate between these nations as tensions rise.

· "You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess." (Deuteronomy 19:14)

6. Zimbabwe Declares National Health Emergency - ABC News

Zimbabwe declared a national emergency over a cholera epidemic and the collapse of its health care system, and state media reported Thursday the government is seeking more international help to pay for food and drugs to combat the crisis.

· The people of Zimbabwe have suffered so much in the last few years. Lord, bring relief to them and bring provisions for those who are working so hard to make a difference in this country.

· If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: (1 Kings 8:38)

7. Sources: 5 Blackwater guards charged in Iraq deaths - CNN

Five security guards from Blackwater Worldwide have been indicted on charges related to a 2007 shooting in which 17 Iraqis were killed in a Baghdad square, two sources said Friday.

· Lord, let there be true justice and may those who are innocent be spared while those who are guilty pay for their crimes. May the courts in both Iraq and the US be led by justice, not by politics.

· And flight will be impossible for the quick-footed, and the force of the strong will become feeble, and the man of war will not get away safely. (Amos 2:14)

8. Georgian PM fires defense, foreign ministers - CNN

Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili has dismissed the country's defense minister and foreign affairs minister. Nato Chikovani, a spokeswoman for the Georgian Foreign Ministry, said Friday the dismissals were part of a reshuffling of the Cabinet. "We are facing new challenges, and there should be new people to meet them," she quoted Mgaloblishvili as saying. Meanwhile, the European Union announced this week that it had launched an inquiry into the August war between Georgia and Russia.

· As Russia continues to be a threat to the rest of the world, we pray that the Georgian government will be stabilized so they will not again be overrun by Russian leaders intent on seizing power.

· "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him." (Ezekiel 38:2)

The Middle East in Focus

The Middle East in Focus This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:

"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you." (Isaiah 60:1-2)

1. High alert in West Bank following Beit Hashalom evacuation - Jerusalem Post

Israeli security forces went on high alert across the West Bank Thursday night as Jewish extremists embarked on an unprecedented rampage through Hebron in response to the afternoon's unexpected and speedy evacuation of the city's disputed Beit Hashalom.

2. Israel 'prepared to attack' Iran nuclear plants - London Times

Israel is drawing up plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and is prepared to launch a strike without backing from the US, it has been reported.

3. Police evict Jews from Jewish-owned Hebron home - Jerusalem Newswire (JNW)

Israeli police forced their way into a Jewish-owned home in the ancient Jewish city of Hebron Thursday and forcefully evicted the Jews living there, as applauding Palestinian Arabs looked on.

4. Arabs shell Israel with impunity - JNW

As Israeli security forces moved in to evict tens of Jews from a Jewish-owned home in Hebron Thursday, Arabs in the Gaza Strip fired a mortar into the Negev, and were allowed to get away with it.

5. Aliyah fairs planned as record number of Israelis abroad returning - ICEJ News

After reporting a substantial rise in the number Israeli citizens wanting to return home due to the global financial crises and the number of Jews wishing to make aliyah by moving to Israel for the first time, two Jewish agencies plan to hold special aliyah fairs in hopes of encouraging tens of thousands of Jews to move to Israel.

The White House in Transition

1. Supreme Court may hear Obama citizenship suit - Washington Times

The Supreme Court planned to decide today (Friday) whether to hear a case that could determine whether President-elect Barack Obama ever becomes the nation's full-fledged president.

· Lord, whatever the truth may be, we pray that it will come out in a way that will still the concerns of those on both sides of the issue. If there has been corruption, we pray that it will come to light.

· Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; (2 Peter 1:10)

2. Obama's 3 Million Donors Asked to Pay Clinton Debt - Fox News

President-elect Barack Obama's vast list of donors is being asked to donate to Hillary Rodham Clinton as she scrambles to reduce her massive campaign debt before she becomes Secretary of State and federal ethics rules limit her fundraising, an Obama adviser said Thursday night.

· May this be a warning to those who have gone overboard with spending in election cycles. May the elections be dominated by ideas, not money.

· "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8)

3. President-elect's team weighing auto industry options - Fox News

President-elect Barack Obama has kept a relatively low profile as automakers plead for billions from Congress, but behind the scenes, the incoming administration is working hard on finding ways to ease the crisis.

· Lord, may the Bush administration be respected as long as it is in power and allow both the incoming and outgoing administrations wisdom for dealing with companies seeking government money for private enterprise.

· "The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives." (Psalm 37:21)

4. Mrs. Bush Previews White House Holiday Preparations - Associated Press

First lady Laura Bush talked to reporters Wednesday about the holiday choices for a 'A Red, White and Blue Christmas' during a sneak peek of a decked-out White House, including the official White House Christmas tree - an 18 1/2-foot Fraser fir from Crumpler, N.C., that brushed the Blue Room ceiling. While the official tree holds 369 decorations from artists around the country, the various fir trees scattered throughout the White House have red and blue ornaments from years past.

"This year, we're going to be very, very careful at Christmas. I suspect that a lot of other American families will be the same," Laura Bush said. 'We're going to try to be with each other, to have what really, really matters at the holidays, which is your family and friends around you, to be thankful for our blessings.'"

· Offer a prayer for the President and First Lady Bush, that this final Christmas at the White House will, indeed, be a very special one for their family. Amen.

· "May the Lord continually bless you with heaven's blessings." (Psalm 128:5 TLB)

5. Mrs. Bush Thanks the Nation for "Your Prayers" - White House Communications Office

Mrs. Laura Bush was joined by White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and Bill Yosses, White House Pastry Chef, during the 2008 White House Holiday Press Preview Wednesday, Dec. 3., 2008, in the East Room. Said Mrs. Bush, "This is a special holiday for us. Our final in the White House. Thank you to the American people for their friendship, prayers, and support. The President and I wish you and your families a very happy holiday."

· AMEN!· "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

The Center of Obama's Attention

The Center for American Progress (CAP), part of the ever-expanding empire of liberal billionaire George Soros, is just three blocks from the White House, but it may be impossible to find an organization closer in ideology to the new administration. Working in unison with the Obama camp, CAP was the driving force behind key policies of Barack's campaign, including his plans for universal health care, energy, troop withdrawal, global warming, and the economy. Now, as Obama prepares to take over the executive reins, the Center's influence appears to be taking shape in the next President's inner circle.

In a city where "personnel is policy," CAP staffers are already starting to populate key posts in the Democrat's administration. John Podesta, who presides as founder of CAP's $27 million operating budget, is one of three people leading the President's transition team. Along with Podesta, Tom Daschle, Obama's choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), served as CAP's Distinguished Senior Fellow. Several others named to HHS are also CAP alums.

Their advice to Obama is largely contained in CAP's book, Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President, released just a week after the election. Though the organization has been counted on for its recommendations on domestic issues, the group's social agenda is devastatingly pro-abortion. On CAP's website, visitors will find two extra, online chapters from the Change book, which advocate, among other things, the radical Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), taxpayer-funded abortion, "comprehensive" sex education, a repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and a repeal of the abortion ban on military bases. CAP's political arm also spoke against the state marriage amendments and actively worked for the defeat of the state life initiatives on November 4. (Family Research Council)