In This Issue• Today's Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• Life Advocates Troubled by Sotomayor
• In CA: First-Graders Study Homosexuality
• Taking Capitol Steps to Protect Marriage
• Enough Is Enough!
• The Daily Jot
• The Good News Corner
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, May 28, 2009
"Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God." (Isaiah 58:2)
Today's Daily Brief
1. A. S. Korea and U.S. Raise Alert Level - New York Times
The South Korean and U.S. militaries were placed on heightened levels of alert and surveillance on Thursday, one day after North Korea threatened the South with a possible military attack. The allied troops, including, 25,000 U.S. soldiers based in South Korea, raised their Watch Condition, or Watchcon, to the second-highest level, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced.
The upgrading from Watchcon 3 to Watchcon 2 involves a significant increase in the use of reconnaissance planes and spy satellites, as well as a more vigorous gathering and analysis of electronic signals from the North, ministry officials said. Watchcon 2 status is taken when the militaries fear "a grave threat," the officials said, adding that the level has not been this high since October 2006, when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test.
B. North Korea warns of military strike against South Korea - Australia News
North Korea warned of a possible military response after South Korea joined an anti-proliferation exercise, and said it is no longer bound by the 1953 armistice which ended their war. A military statement quoted by official media also said the North could no longer guarantee the safety of shipping off its west coast.
It repeated Pyongyang's position that Seoul's decision to join the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is tantamount to a declaration of war. "Any tiny hostile acts against our republic, including the stopping and searching of our peaceful vessels... will face an immediate and strong military strike in response," the statement said. "Our military will no longer be bound by the armistice accord as the current US leadership... has drawn the puppets (South Korea) into the PSI," said the statement from the North's military representative at the border truce village of Panmunjom.
• Father we ask that You would make Your people attentive to the warnings of the Holy Spirit - put your prayer warriors on "Watchcon 1." Help us to pray in Your power, at a moment's notice, to move into the stream of Your will and move with strength. We cover our leadership with Your promise of wisdom for those who ask, and we are asking. We call forth the protections in Psalm 91 over the nations in their region and America, and declare that no weapons formed against us shall prosper. We stand in the Blood of Jesus against the spirits that rule North Korea, and say this far and no farther in the Name of Jesus!
• "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday." (Psalm 91:5,6)
2.Sonia Sotomayor 'La Raza member' - WorldNetDaily
Obama choice part of group supporting illegals, amnesty.
As President Obama's Supreme Court nominee comes under heavy fire for allegedly being a "racist," Judge Sonia Sotomayor is listed as a member of the National Council of La Raza, a group that's promoted driver's licenses for illegal aliens, amnesty programs, and no immigration law enforcement by local and state police.
According the American Bar Association, Sotomayor is a member of the NCLR, which bills itself as the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. Meaning "the Race," La Raza also has connections to groups that advocate the separation of several southwestern states from the rest of America.
• Father we ask that You give Ms. Sotomayor a vision of Yourself. We pray for Your choice for Supreme Court, not the choice of man, so that our gates will not be further collapsed from a lack of Constitutional leadership. We pray for her soul to be captured by the Spirit of God immediately, and that all 'reverse racism" or other prideful beliefs will be replaced and redeemed by Jesus Christ.
• "In an acceptable time I have heard you. And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
3. Army base shuts down for anti-suicide event - CNN
A major United States military base is shutting down for three days following a rash of suicides, the base announced. Fort Campbell, home of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, is holding a three-day "suicide stand-down training event" starting Wednesday -- the second one it has held this year, a base spokeswoman told CNN.
At least 11 deaths of Fort Campbell soldiers this year are confirmed or suspected suicides, spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said. That's out of 64 confirmed or suspected suicides in the entire Army, according to official statistics.
The base commander, Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend, addressed all 19,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division on Wednesday, Tyler said. "His intent was to be able to look them in the eye and make them aware that everyone cares about the issue, and make sure they know -- corporal to general -- what help is available," she said. "To make sure that people know we want them to keep living."
• We take authority over the spirit of death at Fort Campbell and bind it in the Name of Jesus. Lord, loose Your Holy Spirit to move quickly and powerfully over this area- winning souls and saving our troops and wooing them into the Kingdom. We cover this and all other military bases with the Blood of Jesus, and draw a hedge of protection about them against the plans of the enemy.
• "To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3)
4. State Department Proposes Benefits for Same-Sex Partners of US Ambassadors - UPI
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce a plan to provide benefits to same-sex partners of United States ambassadors and diplomats soon, according to media reports. Currently, a large number of benefits afforded to married spouses of US ambassadors are unavailable to same-sex partners including issuance of visas and passports, access to employment opportunities at embassies, paid travel to a partner's post, and evacuation in emergency situations, according to the Washington Post.
A leaked State Department notice of the change states: "Historically, domestic partners of Foreign Service members have not been provided the same training, benefits, allowances and protections that other family members receive. These inequities are unfair and must end. Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," reported CNN.
According to United Press International, the State Department has previously rejected expanding benefits to same-sex partners on the basis of the Defense of Marriage Act.
• Father, we repent for having enabled the sins of our nation. Like giving an alcoholic a bottle of cheap wine, we are feeding the problem in America by condoning it. We know that You love the people involved, and the You expect us to love them as well. We have not done that, Lord and we repent. But Father we ask that You move by the power of Your Spirit to help them understand Your righteousness, and wash them clean of their sin just as You have done for us.
• " . . .wash your hearts from wickedness, that you may be saved." (Jeremiah 4:4.)
5. Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate - Washington Post
President Obama is expected to announce late this week that he will create a "cyber czar," a senior White House official who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation's government-run and private computer networks, according to people who have been briefed on the plan.
• Lord we pray that this "broad mandate" will not be used to destroy freedom of speech and religion on the internet. We pray for an awakening in our leadership to understand the Constitution's promise for freedom "o,f" not freedom from.
• "And you shall know the truth; and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
6. Abbas to present peace plan to Obama - Jerusalem Post
In his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Thursday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to propose the establishment of a supervisory committee, which would work under the Middle East Quartet in order to ensure that both Israel and the Palestinians are complying with their commitments.
According to Israel Radio, in a meeting in Washington on Wednesday night, Abbas said that he will present Obama with new ideas connecting the Road Map plan and the Arab League peace initiative.
Regarding the Palestinians right of return, Abbas said that he is not asking that 5 million Palestinian refugees return to Israel and noted that he had reached an understanding on the issue with former prime minister Ehud Olmert. "We will not destroy Israel," he reportedly pledged.
• Father we again call forth Your promise that Israel will never have to be removed again. We ask that You reveal Your heart for Israel to both of these men, and remove all deceptions, lies, and false religious beliefs.
• "I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God." (Amos 9:15)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel." (Jeremiah 8:11)
1.'Hezbollah has more rockets than before Lebanon war' - Ha'aretz
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told a Knesset committee meeting Tuesday that Hezbollah has more rockets than before the Second Lebanon War and is boosting it's power in South Lebanon ahead of the country's upcoming elections.
2. Clinton: We are preparing specific proposals for ME peace - Jerusalem Post
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that the United States would present detailed plans on the peace process to the parties as part of its efforts to jumpstart negotiations.
3. Arab League chief: No Israel recognition - UPI
Islamic countries should make clear there will be no normalized relations with Israel until it stops breaking international law, an Arab League official says.
4. Israel Rebuffs Obama Demand for Settlement Freeze - NewsMax
Israel scrambled Tuesday to sidestep President Barack Obama's demand for a West Bank settlement freeze with a diluted counteroffer to Washington.
5. Raad Salah: Netanyahu will Try to Rebuild the Jewish Temple - Arutz Sheva
Sheikh Raad Salah, leader of the Northern Wing of the Islamic Movement in Israel, believes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will try to rebuild the Jewish Temple.
Life Advocates Troubled by Sotomayor
Life Advocates Troubled by Supreme Court Nominee
Many pro-life groups say they are concerned by the president's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the nation's highest court.
"She is on the record, not once, not twice, but several times, saying that she would bring her own personal political opinions to the bench when considering her decisions," said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.
Sotomayor has ruled in just two cases related to abortion, and she was obligated to follow Supreme Court precedent.
"As she is elevated to the highest court in the land, she won't have the same constraints," Yoest said. "She disqualifies herself by making statements that it is the job of a judge to make policy. We should closely examine her judicial philosophy." (CitizenLink)
In CA: First-Graders Study Homosexuality
California School District to Teach Elementary Kids about Homosexuality
The same day the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 --- the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman --- a school district in the state essentially decided to disregard the ruling.
The Alameda School Board voted 3-1 on Tuesday in favor of a curriculum that promotes same-sex relationships beginning in the first grade.
"This curriculum defines family as a group of people living together," said Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "The first-graders are introduced to a book called 'Who's In a Family?' and this book shows herds of male elephants as an example of a family.
"Is this really what we want to be teaching the next generation --- that there's nothing unique about mothers and fathers and that a family is nothing more than a group of individuals?"
Parents are not allowed to opt their kids out of the program, which school officials claim falls under "anti-discrimination" provisions.
Cushman said family advocates in other states need to take note.
"Parents should be on the alert," she said, "for so-called 'anti-discrimination' or 'safe school' measures being used as an excuse to push this sort of teaching onto kids as young as 6 or 7 years old."
Pro-family groups are considering legal action. (Source: CitizenLink)
Taking Capitol Steps to Protect Marriage
. . . a group of D.C. pastors and other citizens--led by Bishop Harry Jackson and former D.C. delegate Walter Fauntroy--filed papers today with the District of Columbia Board of Elections to propose a referendum on a pro-homosexual marriage law passed by the City Council in early May. The referendum, if certified by the election board, would block the implementation of the law the Council adopted, which was designed to recognize homosexual "marriages" performed outside of the District. This recognition is widely viewed as a prelude to a bill that would allow same-sex "marriages" to be performed and recognized within the District itself. The clock on the referendum is already ticking as sufficient signatures to bring it to the ballot must be obtained by July 6. But first the issue must be certified for the ballot. More on this in the near future. (Family Research Council)
Enough Is Enough!
There is a very disturbing report today out of Texas that will make your blood boil. Just before Memorial Day, Debbie McLucas, a hospital supervisor in Mansfield, Texas, hung an American flag in the office she shared with other hospital supervisors. Mrs. McLucas' husband and sons are veterans and her daughter is serving in Iraq.
Unbelievably, one of her co-workers, an African immigrant, complained that the flag was "offensive," and hospital officials told Mrs. McLucas that she would have to remove the flag. This episode is just one more example of how the rot of political correctness that has infected our educational institutions has spread to corporate America and is being used to squelch expressions of traditional values, such as faith and patriotism, in the public square.
This situation in Texas is a travesty. But it will continue unless good people speak up. If you would like to share your thoughts with the hospital's corporate headquarters, please call Kindred Healthcare at 800-545-0749 or click here to send an E-mail.
The Daily Jot
Government Control of Private Enterprise Part of White House War on Americans
In an interview with C-SPAN, the man who occupies the Oval Office was asked at "what point do we (the US) run out of money? Obama replied: "Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we've made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we've seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades. So we've got a short-term problem, which is we had to spend a lot of money to salvage our financial system, we had to deal with the auto companies, a huge recession which drains tax revenue at the same time it's putting more pressure on governments to provide unemployment insurance or make sure that food stamps are available for people who have been laid off."
The President continues to blame all the problems of America on "the last several decades." And his answer to fixing these problems is to "spend a lot of money." And, of course, he says in the interview that "we are trying to help an auto industry that is going through a combination of bad decision making over many years and an unprecedented crisis or at least a crisis we haven't seen since the 1930's. And you know the economy is going to bounce back and we want to get out of the business of helping auto companies as quickly as we can. I have got more enough to do without that. In the same way that I want to get out of the business of helping banks, but we have to make some strategic decisions about strategic industries . . ."
But actions speak louder than words, and the actions show that the government will not be out of the banking, mortgage and automobile businesses anytime soon. Case in point is the sad tale of George Joseph of Melbourne, Florida. Joseph owns a Dodge dealership there--at least he did until the government came and told him he had to close his doors and give his business of 35 years to another dealership. In a letter to the editor, Joseph says, "On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them." Joseph recently renovated the dealership at Chrysler's insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt with a Sun Trust Bank mortgage.
Joseph asks in his letter to the editor, "How in the United States of America can this happen? My business is being stolen from me through no fault of our own. We did nothing wrong." What distinguishes America from banana republics is the rule of law derived from the Bible. But the laws are now suspended, the Constitution laid waste and the people have fallen prey to a deceptive tongue. Proverbs 26:28 says, "A lying tongue hates those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth works ruin." In the London Telegraph Gerald Warner writes, "Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people. . .His only enemies are fellow Americans. If foreigners are beginning to see it, when will Americans open their eyes?
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
The Good News Corner
Federal Legislation Introduced to Protect Marriage in D.C.
Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House to preserve one-man, one-woman marriage in the nation's capital, after the Washington, D.C., Council voted to recognize gay "marriages" performed elsewhere. Congress has final authority over laws in D.C.
Same-sex "marriage" is legal in five states --- Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and Iowa. Thirty states protect marriage in their constitutions.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, acknowledged that his bill --- HR 2608 --- faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled Congress. "We don't think it's appropriate for the council in our nation's capital to redefine the institution that is the cornerstone of families," he said. Nevertheless, Jordan said, he is optimistic. "Every time this issue has gone to the people," he said, "the people have said marriage should be what marriage has always been." (Roger Greer; CitizenLink; May 22, 2009)
