In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• Obama Disbands Bush Bioethics Panel
• Obama: Finding His Voice
• The Good News Corner
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The Daily Brief - Tuesday, June 23. 2009
"O, Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart . . ." (Psalm 10:17)
The Daily Brief
1. Fannie, Freddie Were at Center of Financial Crisis But Are Not Included in Obama's New Financial Reg - CNS News
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-run mortgage giants, are absent from the Obama administration;s sweeping new financial regulations, despite the fundamental role played by both organizations in the financial system's collapse.
. Father, we praise You that You will reveal the real truth underlying how these two organizations were responsible for the role they played in the financial collapse. Is it possible that You will appoint new managers to lead them in the right direction and recovery with stability and honesty to bring godly restoration to the housing situation in the United States? Were they taken down as a massive plan to bring upheaval to the foundation of our homes? "Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens." Lamentations 5:2
. "And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and behold the plague has not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed." (Leviticus 14:48) "Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens." (Lamentations 5:2)
2. Key Senator, White House Strike Deal With Drug Industry for Health Coverage - Fox News
The deal, expected to be announced later in the day, marked a major triumph for the Obama administration and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who has been negotiating with numerous industry groups for weeks.
. Father, we ask for Your protection over the entire spectrum of the health coverage issue and bring down any and all negotiations that would bring ruin to solid health care insurance. Steer the final agreements to agree with Your Word and Your will, which will ultimately save countless lives worldwide.
. "In what place therefore you hear the sound of the trumpet, resort you thither unto us: our God shall fight for us."(Nehemiah 4:20)
3. Rocket Attack on U.S. Base in Afghanistan Kills 2 Troops, Wounds 6 Americans - Fox News
A rare rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.
. Lord, we grieve the loss of these two American soldiers who served protecting our country. We ask for Your hand to be upon their families and walk with them through this difficult time. We pray You heal and raise up the other six Americans who were wounded. Lord, set a wall of fire around all our military in the Middle East and protect them from harm's way. Bring the fear of God upon the enemy and restrain their power until they repent and are saved by the blood of Jesus.
. "My flesh and my heart fails: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)
4. News from Iran
A. Peres: Iran's freedom precedes nuke issue - Jerusalem Post
President Shimon Peres on Sunday expressed hope that the Iranian leadership would "disappear" before the Islamic republic makes use of its enriched Uranium, saying it was more important to fight the Iranian regime than the country's nuclear program.
B. Iran protests: at least 70 more deaths - London Telegraph
Iran's leading presidential challenger prepared to back a new round of protests as state media reported at least 70 more people have died in clashes between opposition supporters and the security forces.
C. Iran Rebukes U.S., Britain for Meddling in Election Affairs - Fox News
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the United States and Britain Sunday to stop meddling in Iran's internal affairs, the ISNA news agency reported.
• May all the Saints of God be encouraged to stay on top of this situation as news unfolds and "pray without ceasing." Amen!
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, O seed of Abraham His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance." (Psalm 105:4-11)
1. Netanyahu makes 1st Europe trip as PM - Jerusalem Post
Following trips to Egypt, Jordan and the US, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday will make his first visit to Europe since assuming office in March, for talks in two countries whose leaders are among the friendliest on the continent: Italy and France.
2. PA to free hundreds of Hamas detainees - Jerusalem Post
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to free hundreds of Hamas members being held without trial in PA prisons in the West Bank, officials here said on Monday.
3. US insists settlement freeze demand includes east Jerusalem - Jerusalem Post
Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem are included in the US demand that Israel halt "settlement" construction, including for natural growth, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told The Jerusalem Post during a press briefing on Monday.
Obama Disbands Bush Bioethics Panel
The remnants of President George W. Bush's pro-life policies are fading quickly now that the Obama administration is in office. The latest casualty? The President's Council on Bioethics. The irony in Obama's dismantling of the group is that it was actually filled with experts from both sides of the life issue. Topics covered included embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning and organ donation.
David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, said the council may not be dead for long. "I'm afraid what we're going to see from President Obama is a much-stacked ideological bioethics council," he explained. Such a council could likely support destructive embryonic-stem research, human cloning and experiments that might include animal-human hybrids. (CitizenLink)
Obama: Finding His Voice
President Obama struggled this weekend to catch up with Congress and the American people in voicing his support for freedom in Iran and expressing moral outrage for the oppressive tactics of the tyrants in Tehran. Friday, the House voted 405-to-1 to condemn the regime and support the Iranian people seeking liberty. Hours later, the Senate unanimously approved a similar resolution. Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Lieberman (ID-CT) issued a joint statement Friday, which read, "By acting now, Congress sent an unmistakable message of support to the courageous Iranian people at a critical moment in their history." By staying silent, the Obama White House had been sending a message of support to the mullahs.
Saturday, the White House released a statement from the president. Here is an excerpt:
"The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights. . . If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."
While Obama's rhetoric is getting better, his policy toward outlaw states like Iran is way behind reality. He still thinks he can negotiate with Ahmadinejad to end his nuclear weapons program. By the way, that would be a form of "meddling" that would only serve to offer legitimacy to the Holocaust-denying dictator. Meanwhile, a North Korean ship continues on its way, while suspected of carrying contraband materials in violation of U.N. sanctions. What will Obama do?
There's another area where Obama is hopelessly behind and Big Media won't tell you about this. For years, the Bush Administration spent money to promote pro-democracy movements in Iran. And now, just as those efforts are beginning to bear fruit, what does the Obama Administration do? The president cut the funding for those programs in his first budget to Congress.
And if you don't think that it matters one iota if Iran becomes a free nation or if the Islamic fanatics currently running Iran are allowed to develop nuclear weapons, consider the latest statement from Al Qaeda: "God willing, the nuclear weapons [in Pakistan] will not fall into the hands of the Americans, and the Mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans." If we ignore reality and pretend the rest of the world doesn't matter, our next 9/11 won't be 3,000 dead, but hundreds of thousands. (Gary Bauer)
If you are interested in receiving Mr. Bauer's daily report by e-mail, please visit SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT" by going here.
The Good News Corner
Texas Supreme Court Supports Home Ministry for Ex-Prisoners
The Texas Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in favor of a church ministry that serves ex-prisoners. The case, Pastor Rick Barr & Philemon Homes, Inc. v. City of Sinton, was the first to come before the high court asking for interpretation of the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA).
In 1999, Pastor Barr, a city resident, offered men recently released from prison free housing and free religious instruction in two homes he owned. As a result, the city passed a zoning ordinance precluding the use of homes for that purpose and effectively banned his ministry from the city. Courts have repeatedly ruled against Barr -- until the Supreme Court got the case.
"The Texas RFRA is a reflection of the strong belief in religious freedom shared by almost all Texans," said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute. "The Texas Supreme Court has upheld and respected the will of the people of Texas and rejected the City's attempt to circumvent the law.
"This case drew national and international attention because TRFRA was signed into law by then-Gov. George Bush and because interpretations of the Texas law will have implications on a national level." (CitizenLink)
