In This Issue• On Capitol Hill This Week: Vol. XVI, No. 38
• This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .
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On Capitol Hill This Week - Volume XVI, Number 38
December 14 - 18, 2009
"Your people shall volunteer freely in the day of Your power . . ." (Psalm 110:3 NAS)
1. DEMOCRATS FURIOUS AT LIEBERMAN OVER HEALTH CARE
2. SENATE CONSIDERS CLEAN WATER RESTORATION ACT (S. 787)
3. REP. CONYERS: "PRESIDENT OBAMA TOLD ME TO STOP DEMEANING HIM"
4. CONGRESS FORMS NEW AFGHAN/PAKISTAN CAUCUS
5. SENATE OKs $1.1 TRILLION SPENDING BILL
6. SUPREME COURT: RELEASING DETAINEE PHOTOS ENDANGERS TROOPS
7. OBAMA MAY ALLOW U.S. SOLDIERS TO BE TRIED IN THE HAGUE
8. OBAMA RECEIVES PEACE PRIZE; SPEAKS ON "JUSTIFIED WAR"
9. EU LEADERS URGE INTERNATIONAL ACTION AGAINST IRAN
10. AHMADINEJAD: "U.S. IS BLOCKING RETURN OF MANKIND'S SAVIOR"
11. SWINE-FLU BRIBE FEVER!
12. OFFICIAL: CLOCK TICKING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
13. EU INITIATIVE AGAINST ISRAEL IS MODIFIED
14. U.S. TO BACK UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE?
15. ISRAEL WON'T SURRENDER CHRISTIAN SITES TO VATICAN
16. OBAMA WANTED "NON-RELIGIOUS CHRISTMAS"?
1. DEMOCRATS FURIOUS AT LIEBERMAN AS THEY HUDDLE ON HEALTH CARE
The entire Democratic Senate caucus is headed to the White House on Tuesday afternoon to talk health care with President Obama, just as the administration urges Majority Leader Harry Reid to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is emerging as the skunk at the party for supporters of the massive package to create a new entitlement.
Lieberman opposes a proposal that would expand Medicare for people between the age of 55-64. Lieberman has also said he would oppose a government- run insurance option and on Sunday said that Senate leaders need to scale back the bill, removing both provisions from the final product, in order to get his vote.
Congressional staff familiar with negotiations said the White House is strongly urging Reid to work with Lieberman to eliminate the Medicare provision. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, has conceded that the public option, once a top priority for him in healthcare reform, and Medicare buy-in are gone from Senate legislative efforts. "It's not fair but it's reality," Harkin said, of the move precipitated by an announcement by Lieberman, that he would oppose the healthcare bill if those two items remain in it. (FOXNews.com ) Read more
- Father, as this bill is rammed through without protection against the shedding of innocent blood, and seems to target middle class working Americans, we ask for Your mercy over our nation. We have departed from your ways and become hardened to life itself. We ask that You would confuse the ranks of the enemy; and cause this bill to perish, lest more harm fall upon our people. We ask this prayer in Jesus' Mighty Name, amen.
- "For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future!" (Deuteronomy 32:28-29)
2. SENATE CONSIDERS CLEAN WATER RESTORATION ACT (S. 787)
Upwards of 40 percent of all land in the United States is already under some form of government control or ownership -- 800 million to 900 million acres out of America's total 2.2 billion acres. The government now appears poised to wield greater control over private property on a number of fronts. The battle over private property rights has intensified since 2005, when the Supreme Court ruled in the Kelo v. City of New London case that the government could take property from one group of private landowners and give it to another.
Outraged over that ruling and a series of recent efforts by government to wield greater control over private property, citizens are fighting back. In Congress, eleven senators and 17 representatives in the U.S. House have sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasting the measure as one of the boldest property grab attempts of all time.
"Right now, the law says that the Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of all navigable water," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Western Caucus and an opponent of the bill. . . "The government wants control of all water -- that also means that they want control over all of our land including the private property rights of people from the Rocky Mountain west, the western caucus and the entire United States," he said.
The legislation, introduced by Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, has the support of 24 senators. It passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in June but has not been scheduled for a floor vote, though it could be tacked onto other legislation as an amendment. (Fox News) Read more.
- Stand watch over this massive land-grab bill. Pray it is not attached to any other bill on the Senate floor, as an amendment. Ask our Lord to loose His angels to cause the demise of S. 787. Pray!
- "This far you shall come but no further, and here shall your proud waves be stopped!" (Job 38:10)
3. REP. CONYERS: "PRESIDENT OBAMA TOLD ME TO STOP DEMEANING HIM"
President Barack Obama recently called Rep. John Conyers Jr. to express his frustrations with the Judiciary Committee chairman's criticism. In an interview with The Hill, Conyers said his opinions of Obama's policies on healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan have not sat well with the president.
According to the lawmaker, the president picked up the phone several weeks ago to find out why Conyers was "demeaning" him. Obama's decision to challenge Conyers highlights a sensitivity to criticism the president has taken on the left. Conyers's critical remarks, many of which have been reported on the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, appear to have irritated the president, known for his calm demeanor.
Conyers, the second-longest-serving member of the House, said, "[Obama] called me and told me that he heard that I was demeaning him and I had to explain to him that it wasn't anything personal, it was an honest difference on the issues. And he said, 'Well, let's talk about it.'" Sitting in the Judiciary Committee's conference room two days after Obama delivered his speech on Afghanistan, the 23-term lawmaker said he wasn't in the mood to "chat." Obama's move to send in 30,000 troops to Afghanistan by the summer of 2010 has clearly disappointed Conyers. (The Hill) Read more.
- It seems that, nowadays, more and more of our people are feeling "demeaned," or -- more commonly -- "disrespected." Believers are not immune to these feelings (which come from the flesh), but we are commanded to take our hurts to the Cross for healing. If a word must be spoken to a brother to bring peace, then let it be done in love. Satan's goal is to divide the Body of Christ asunder; let's not give him that opportunity. Amen.
- "By His stripes, we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
4. CONGRESS FORMS NEW AFGHAN/PAKISTAN CAUCUS
On the morning following Obama's landmark speech on the war in Afghanistan, Conyers sent around a "Dear Colleague" letter to Democratic and GOP lawmakers interested in joining his newly formed "Peace and Progress in Afghanistan Caucus." In the letter, Conyers explained that the caucus "will serve as an informal bipartisan group of members dedicated to reorienting the United States' commitment to the Afghan government and people by emphasizing indigenous reconciliation and reconstruction strategies, rigorous regional diplomacy, and swift redeployment of the U.S. military." (The Hill)
- Offer praise for the formation of this new caucus now being formed in Congress. Pray that the sitting president would take heed to their wise counsel, as he makes decisions regarding U.S. policy in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Praise God!
- "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety." (Prov. 11:14)
5. SENATE OKs $1.1 TRILLION SPENDING BILL
The Senate passed on Sunday a massive spending bill that wraps up $1.1 trillion of the $3.6 trillion annual budget for fiscal year 2010, which started Oct. 1. The House has already passed identical legislation, and President Obama has indicated he'd sign it. The 1,000- plus-page bill covers spending for the Departments of Education, State, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, among others. In all, six of the 12 spending bills Congress is required to pass each year is folded into one measure that raises spending for its designated programs by an average of about 10 percent, or well above the inflation rate.
The Senate voted Sunday 57-35 on the legislation. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) voted against the bill. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) voted for it.
John McCain (R-Arizona) issued a list of pork projects included in the bill and urged Obama to veto it. Spending for the programs that didn't go through the regular channels includes millions for music and arts, fisheries and botanical gardens and transportation and medical research studies. McCain noted $2.7 million goes to supporting surgical operations in Outer Space, a program studied at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), said the spending vote marked "a black day for our nation."
The legislation also Includes an improved binding arbitration process to challenge the decision by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to close more than 2,000 dealerships,renews a federal loan guarantee program for steel companies, permits detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be transferred to the U.S. for trial but not to be released, and calls for federal worker pay increases averaging 2 percent. (FOXNews.com)
• Pray that all waste in this omnibus will disappear. Pray that our senators cannot be bought with promises of special favors by Harry Reid nor the White House. Pray that the American public wakes up to see the huge debt that we are incurring and will stop seeking unnecessary entitlements. Lift up each senator listed here to the Lord as well as each aspect of the bill.
• "Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" (Deuteronomy 4:6)
6. SUPREME COURT SAYS RELEASING DETAINEE PHOTOS ENDANGERS TROOPS
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the ruling of a lower court that allowed the disclosure of photographs of detainees allegedly being abused by their U.S. investigators. The decision was criticized by civil rights groups but praised by lawmakers in Washington. Representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which brought the lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, have said the organization will continue to fight for releasing the photos which it says show the U.S. engaged in acts of torture and other illegal activities to obtain information. Steven R. Shapiro, the ACLU's legal director, commented that "no democracy has ever been made stronger by suppressing evidence of its own misconduct."
However, in announcing its decision, the highest court referred to the recent enactment of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010. The Act contains a provision allowing the Secretary of Defense to issue a certification preventing the release of any photograph whose disclosure may endanger U.S. citizens, members of the United States Armed Forces or employees of the U.S. government deployed abroad. The decision was applauded by Senators Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, who called it an "important step to protect the safety of Americans who place themselves in harm's way to defend our security and liberty." (Personal Liberty News Desk)
• Pray for a flood of wise decisions from the Supreme Court as it does its job of supporting the Constitution, not interpreting it or adding to it any concepts not written in the Constitution. Pray for our military guarding the detainees at "Gitmo" prison site. Ask the Lord to suppress the cries of the ACLU for their brand of justice, one that does not support Christianity,
• "You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous." (Deuteronomy 16:19)
7. OBAMA MAY ALLOW U.S. SOLDIERS TO BE TRIED IN THE HAGUE
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "great regret" in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague. The ICC's chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court's authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction-at least with respect to Afghanistan.
Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute-the ICC's founding treaty-all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC's oversight. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a "preliminary examination" into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock.
"We have to check if crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide have been committed in Afghanistan," Mr. Ocampo stated. "There are serious allegations against the Taliban and al Qaeda and serious allegations about warlords, even against some who are connected with members of the government." Taking up his inquiry of Allied soldiers, he added, "there are different reports about problems with bombings and there are also allegations about torture."
It was clear who the targets of these particular inquiries are, but the chief prosecutor shied away from spelling it out. Asked repeatedly whether the examination of bombings and torture allegations refers to NATO and U.S. soldiers, Mr. Ocampo finally stated that "we are investigating whoever commits war crimes, including the group you mentioned." (Jihad Watch; Wall Street Journal)
• The United States is a sovereign nation, and we are not subject to the ICC, no matter what Mr. Ocampo may say. Since Europe is very afraid because of its very large Moslem populations, they refuse to recognize that Islamists can lie without fear of Allah. Pray against any move by Mr. Obama to place America under the ICC, for such behavior is treasonous. Ask the Lord to enclose all this talk and planning in such confusion that nothing detrimental occurs to our military and citizens.
- "For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate." (Isaiah 28:6)
8. OBAMA RECEIVES PEACE PRIZE; SPEAKS ON "JUSTIFIED WAR"
During his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace prize, President Obama made the following remarks: The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain preconditions: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.
Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale. Make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history, the imperfections of man and the limits of reason. [REVIVE-ISRAEL] (Update from Asher Intrater)
- Offer praise that the Commander-in-Chief is clearly seeing the evil that lies in front of us, and our need to confront that evil with force. Continue to pray for Obama while he is in office, that the Blood of the Lamb will protect his mind, day and night, as he works to serve our people and to keep us safe and secure.
- "This is what the LORD says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." (Isaiah 48:17)
9. EU LEADERS URGE INTERNATIONAL ACTION AGAINST IRAN
EU leaders on Friday urged international action against Iran because of its refusal to cooperate over its nuclear program, as the threat of new sanctions looms. "Iran's persistent failure to meet its international obligations and Iran's apparent lack of interest in pursuing negotiations require a clear response," said a statement approved by the 27 EU leaders at a summit in Brussels. (AP)
• Praise the Lord that the EU is finally agreeing that something must be done with Iran! Will the EU involve Israel in its decisions about Iran? Ask the Lord to send a spirit of courage into the EU leadership so that they will cooperate in bringing Iran to its knees, and decree a spirit of intimidation on Iran, for it has become a nation led by the foolish.
• "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." (1 Peter 2:15)
10. AHMADINEJAD: "U.S. IS BLOCKING RETURN OF MANKIND'S SAVIOR"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai. Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior.
"We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world," Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya. "They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. He also alleged that foreign nations seek to control Iran's oil and natural resources. (Reuters) Read more.
- Scripture is clear: there is only one Savior for mankind: Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In this season when the world celebrates the birth of our Emmanuel, pray for a miracle of God's grace to invade the llfe and soul of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, leading him to salvation. God's arm is not too short that it cannot save.
- "Indeed their rock is not like our Rock . . ." (Dt. 32:31)
11. SWINE-FLU BRIBE FEVER!
U.N.'s H1N1 scientists linked to companies making vaccine
World Health Organization scientists are suspected of accepting secret bribes from vaccine manufacturers to influence the U.N. organization's H1N1 pandemic declaration, according to Danish and Swedish newspapers. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical profits from swine-flu related drugs have soared - with earnings between $10 billion and $15 billion in 2009, investment bank JP Morgan estimates.
As WND reported, the WHO Director General Margaret Chan initially raised the influenza pandemic alert to its second highest level in May - but evidence reveals the agency may have made it easier to classify the flu outbreak as a pandemic by changing its definition to omit "enormous numbers of deaths and illness" just prior to making its declaration. The world was gripped with fears of swine flu as the alert increased from Phase 5 to Phase 6, the highest level. Immediately, pharmaceutical companies began working to develop vaccines, and countries tailored their responses to address the situation.
Danish newspaper Information reported that when Chan raised the level of pandemic alert on June 11, the declaration meant substantial economic benefits for the pharmaceutical industry - especially since many countries have contracts with major drug companies and are required to purchase vaccines in the event of a pandemic. Swedish newspaper SvD echoed Information's report, stating "Many of the apparently impartial researchers the WHO uses, however, are paid by the companies that produce vaccines."
According to Voice of America, Keiji Fakuda, WHO director general on pandemic influenza, refuted claims that WHO is in collusion with the pharmaceutical industry. He also noted that 150 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have been distributed in 40 countries. . . According to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2,500 and 6,100 Americans died from swine flu between April and Oct. 17 this year. However, the CDC also reports that during a typical U.S. winter, normal seasonal flu strains result in an average of 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 American deaths - roughly 10 times the current swine- flu death rate. (WorldNetDaily) Read more.
- WHAT a travesty this is! Pray that justice will be served. Please go to the link above, and pray over this report. Pray!
- "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right." (Amos 5:12)
12. OFFICIAL: CLOCK TICKING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The chief negotiator for the U.S. at the climate summit in Copenhagen says leaders have made some progress, but that it is not enough and time is running out to come up with deal that all countries can agree on. "We don't have very much time," said Todd Stern. "The clock is ticking it like a big hourglass. We've made some progress, but we still have a long way to go."
The rift between rich and poor nations remains a major sticking point. The U.S. is considered the bogeyman at the climate convention of about 120 leaders, because like China, the U.S. will not agree to binding commitments. Although Obama has agreed to cut CO2 emissions by four percent over 1990 level, China has only agreed to cut its rate of increase.
Obama will arrive there on Friday. (Fox News)
- Continue to cover this summit in prayer until it disbands. Thank the LORD that He is King of the Nations; and all is in His Hand. Praise Him!!
- "Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered!" (Psalm 68:1)
13. EU INITIATIVE AGAINST ISRAEL IS MODIFIED; MORE PRAYER NEEDED
[Report received from Intercessors for Israel: www.ifij.org]
Thank God that the EU declaration that was prayed about last week, was modified and was not nearly as bad as the original Swedish version. Still, the EU is becoming more and more dangerous to Israel and her destiny.
• Awaken the Body of Messiah in the EU to realize that EU leaders are placing their nations into extreme danger - the valley of God's judgment (Joel 3:1- 2).
• Lord, break the deception and intimidation that the spirit of Islam has over the EU.
• Thanks for the support Israel gets from France, Italy and many Eastern European nations.
• Save multitudes in Europe - especially Moslems.
• "Then lifted I up my eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. I said to the angel that talked with me, "What are these? He answered, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And LORD showed me four carpenters. Then said I, "What do these come to do? He spoke, saying, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray [terrify] them, to cast out the horns of the gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it." (Zechariah 1:18-21)
14. U.S. TO BACK UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE?
The Palestinian Authority has been negotiating an understanding with the Obama administration regarding a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel, WND has learned. According to a senior PA official, the PA's chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, headed a team that held a series of meetings the past few weeks with members of the Obama administration in Washington to discuss the U.S. response should the Palestinians bring to the U.N. Security Council a resolution to unilaterally create a Palestinian state.
The PA official told WND the Obama administration did not threaten to veto the conceptual unilateral resolution, which had been threatened by the Palestinians last month. The official also said the U.S. supports the creation of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, meaning in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem. A top PA negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, named the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice and National Security Council member Samantha Power as among the Obama administration officials who were involved with the Palestinians' U.N. threat.
Dmitri Ziliani, a spokesman for the Jerusalem section of Fatah, confirmed to WND the Palestinians have set up local command in some neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Ziliani said the PA holds regular official meetings in Jerusalem in anticipation of a future Palestinian state encompassing all of eastern Jerusalem. But, according to Israeli law, the PA cannot officially meet in Jerusalem. (WorldNetDaily) Read more.
• Fervently pray that the US, led by the Obama administration, does not join the move to divide Israel nor Jerusalem! The Arab nations have thousands of acres of land available to them, and the claim that Palestine belongs to the Arabs is a lie. What judgment will the Lord bring upon the USA if we do not stop the move that the Moslems want?
• Thus says the Lord God: "These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions." (Ezekiel 47:13)
15. ISRAEL WON'T SURRENDER CHRISTIAN SITES TO VATICAN
A delegation headed by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon departed for the Vatican on Wednesday to let the Catholic Church know it will not receive ownership of dozens of Christian holy sites throughout Israel and the Palestinian-ruled territories.
The Vatican has been demanding for decades that Israel surrender ownership of the holy sites, exempt the church of taxes on those properties, and waive its right to ever expropriate the land on which they sit. During that time, the Vatican has refused to pay taxes on the properties it does own in Israel. One of the main sites being demanded by the Vatican is the traditional location of Jesus' Last Supper on Mount Zion just outside the present-day walls of the Old City.
Ayalon told reporters that Israel will not relinquish ownership of the room of the Last Supper or any of the other 28 holy sites under its direct sovereignty, but is willing to make some concessions on taxes and to waive its right to nationalize church property. (Israel Today)
• Praise the Lord for His watchful eyes over all the sites that are related to the life of His Son while on this earth! These sites belong to all who confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior! We know that the Israelis will take good care of these sites, but what harm would occur if we helped Israel in its caretaking. We owe a debt of gratitude to Israel. Please continue to pray for peace in its streets.
• "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." (1Corinthians 16:13)
16. OBAMA WANTED "NON-RELIGIOUS CHRISTMAS"?
President Obama and the First Family were planning a "non-religious Christmas," according to Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. Ms. Rogers reportedly told a gathering of former social secretaries that the Obamas did not intend to put the Nativity scene on display - a longtime East Room tradition.
The account was reported in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. The White House confirmed to the Times that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive - but in the end - tradition won out - and the Nativity scene is once again in its traditional East Room spot.
An email response from the White House offers the First Lady's comments: "It has been a part of White House Christmas decorations in the past, it is on display in the East Room for all to enjoy and it will continue to be a part of White House Christmas decorations moving forward. The President spoke movingly about the scene the crèche depicts in his remarks at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.: While this story may be a Christian one, its lesson is universal. It speaks to the hope we share as a people. And it represents a tradition that we celebrate as a country - a tradition that has come to represent more than any one holiday or religion, but a season of brotherhood and generosity to our fellow citizens." About whether there had been discussions about "inclusiveness," the White House replied, "Discussions about inclusiveness did not include whether or not to display it but rather how to display it during the Hannukah party."
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, accused the president of trying to "neuter" Christmas. "Unlike almost all Americans-including atheists-the Obamas do not give their children Christmas gifts. We know this because Barack bragged about this last year to People magazine. So it should come as no big surprise that he and his wife would like to neuter Christmas in the White House. That's their natural step-to ban the public display of Christian symbols.
If the Obamas want to deprive their children of celebrating Christmas, that is their business. It is the business of the public to hold them accountable for the way they celebrate Christmas in the White House. We know one thing for sure: no other administration ever entertained internal discussions on whether to display a nativity scene in the White House." (www.foxnewsradio.com)
• Praise the Lord that the joy of the birth of His Son will be celebrated in the White House, no matter who lives there. Pray that the joy of the Holy spirit will emanate from that crèche scene, touching the hearts of the Obamas, especially the children. Let the two daughters be drawn again and again to the East Room, questioning its purpose and message.
• "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12)
This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .
IMMANUEL
"May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you." (Psalm 20:1)
Immanuel - God with us.
God, You never forsake us.
God, You never are not with us.
Thank You for Your marvelous plan, and that I can always know Immanuel - God with us. Amen.
"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You." (Psalm 5:11)
(Taken from: Intimate Moments with the Hebrew Names of God, by Barri Cae Malin and Shmuel Wolkenfeld; Bridge-Logos Publishers; Gainesville, FL, 32614. ISBN: 0-88270-801-5)
