In This Issue• Today's Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• The VAT Man Cometh
• Obama's Plan: Force Israeli Concessions
• Nukes of Hazard?
• Special Prayer for West Virginia Families
• The Good News Corner
• Worship With Us!
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, April 8, 2010
"There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside Thee, neither is there any rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2)
Today's Daily Brief
1. Amid Riots, Protesters Claim to Control Kyrgyzstan - AP
Opposition leaders declared they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan, taking control of security headquarters, a state TV channel and other government buildings after clashes between police and protesters killed dozens in this Central Asian nation that houses a key U.S. air base. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power in a similar popular uprising five years ago, was said to have fled to the southern city of Osh, and it was difficult to gauge how much of the impoverished, mountainous country the opposition controlled Wednesday.
The opposition has called for the closure of the U.S. air base in Manas outside the capital of Bishkek that is a key transit point for supplies essential to the war in nearby Afghanistan. A senior U.S. military official said Kyrgyzstan officials halted flights for 12 hours on Wednesday at Manas air base. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the base closed around 8 p.m. local time and was expected to reopen around 8 a.m. Thursday.
- Lord, we pray Your mighty protection over this air base and the troops who run it. We ask that You guard US interests in Kyrgyzstan amidst this uprising.
- "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; bit it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked." (Psalm 91:7-8)
2. Smoking Diplomat Causes Midair Bomb Scare - AP
An envoy from Qatar who authorities said grabbed a surreptitious smoke in a jetliner's bathroom and then joked about lighting his shoe on fire, sparking a bomb scare and the scrambling of military jets, has been released from custody.
- Father, with signs in every airport around the world that tell people not to make jokes about bombs and not to smoke in the jet bathrooms, this man has flaunted his diplomatic immunity to do both. It speaks of the attitude of Qatar officials. We pray that our leaders be alerted to possible future problems.
- "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34b)
3. U.S. looks to nonnuclear weapons to use as deterrent - Washington Post
As the White House pushes for cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, the Pentagon is developing a weapon to help fill the gap: missiles armed with conventional warheads that could strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.
- Lord, we are completely frustrated with this President who seems unwilling to protect America with strength. We ask first-- to help us trust in Your power and angelic host to secure Your people here in America, and second-- we pray that You will reveal Your ways to Mr. Obama. We ask that You shake his background and behavior out of him, to bring about a true conversion and revelation of the truth about the Kingdom of God.
- "righteousness delivers from death." (Proverbs 11:5a)
4. Bill Clinton in Private Meeting With Saudi King - AFP
Former US president Bill Clinton was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for private meetings with King Abdullah and other Saudi officials, the information ministry said. "He arrived late yesterday and is expected to meet the king this afternoon," Hazzaa told AFP.
The nature of Clinton's visit was not clear.
The former president runs the New York-based William J. Clinton Foundation, which promotes and funds action on a number of current problems with global reach such as poverty, health, AIDS and climate change. The Saudi government has been a major supporter of Clinton's post-White House activities, donating 10 million dollars to the construction of his presidential library and between 10-25 million dollars to his foundation. Clinton, president from 1993 to 2001, is also the husband of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Saudi Arabia in February for talks on Iran and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
- Father, though we do not know the nature of this visit, it still seems very much like a conflict of interest because of Hillary Clinton's position in the government. We ask that whatever agreements may have been reached will not be detrimental to the United States. Lord, let both our elected officials and our former officials have the best interests of America in their hearts, and let them be wary of deceptions.
- "Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue." (Psalm 120: 2)
5. Economy not "out of woods": Bernanke - Reuters
The U.S. economy still faces significant headwinds, including a housing sector that has yet to recover convincingly and an ailing employment market, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
- Lord, we continue to beseech You to have mercy over America. In spite of our sins and our apostasy, we pray for You to remember mercy over our economy.
- "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions." (Psalm 51: 1)
6. Swarm of Small Quakes Occurring at Alaska Volcano - Fox News
A swarm of small earthquakes began Monday at a volcano near Anchorage in what scientists said was a warning that Mount Redoubt could be waking from its slumber.
- Lord, as more and more signs arise in the earth to remind us of Your coming, we ask that You will help us hear You clearly and that the loss of life from all of these events will be greatly reduced.
- "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:9)
7. Boston Man Gets 8 Years' Hard Labor in North Korea - AP
North Korea sentenced a Boston man to eight years of hard labor and ordered him to pay a $700,000 fine for crossing into the communist country illegally earlier this year, state media reported. However, Gomes - described by friends as a devout Christian - attended rallies in Seoul in support of Park, a fellow Christian from the U.S. who deliberately went into the North in December to call attention to the nation's rights record.
- Lord, we ask that You will set this man free, as You have done for so many other recent arrests in North Korea.
- "He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." (Isaiah 61:1b,1c)
8. BREAKING - News Alert: U.S., Russia sign sweeping arms reduction treaty - Washington Post
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a sweeping new arms reduction pact on Thursday that pledges to reduce the stockpile of deployed, strategic nuclear weapons in both countries and commits the old Cold War adversaries to new procedures to verify which weapons each country possesses.
In a ceremony in Prague, Obama and President Medvedev each signed their names to the document, which U.S. officials said would be posted in full on the Internet later Thursday.
The treaty, called New START, imposes new limits on the ready-to-use, long-range nuclear weapons and pledges to reduce the two biggest nuclear arsenals on the globe.
- In these last days, news that affects all of us at the global level is surfacing at an ever-increasing pace. Pray, first, that the leaders of the U.S. and Russia will use GREAT WISDOM in implementing this new treaty. Pray, too, that any deception will become readily apparent to all.
Then . . . pray for each other, that we each be so rooted and grounded in the love of Christ that no news, no matter how "unnerving," will cause us to stumble in our walk in Him. Amen.
- "Save with Your right hand, and hear me." (Psalm 108:6)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"For ever, O LORD, Your Word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89)
1. Netanyahu: Israel will not be pushed to peace - Ha'aretz
Israel will not accept a Middle East peace agreement that is forced on it by external forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said in private meetings in recent days, sources said Wednesday.
2. Iran: If Israel attacks, nothing will remain of it - Ynet News
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Wednesday toured the northwestern provinces of the Islamic Republic with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and said that "if the Zionist regime attacks Iran, there may not be much left of it."
3. US says won't impose ideas on Israel, PA - Ynet News
US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley refused Wednesday to directly address a Washington Post report that President Barack Obama was seriously considering to present a Middle East peace plan in the fall.
4. Report: Obama mulls new Mideast peace plan - Ha'aretz
Hussein Obama is weighing the possibility of submitting a new American Middle East peace plan by this fall, senior Washington officials told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
The Daily Jot
Whether Socialism or Islamic Appeasement,
White House Actions Are A Lose-Lose For American Christians
In his Passover and Easter message, Obama mentioned Jesus once, lumped the Jewish Passover and Christian resurrection together, and gave Muslims equal billing as part of a "shared spirit", he says inhabits us all. He said, "And while we worship in different ways, we also remember the shared spirit of humanity that inhabits us all - Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, believers and nonbelievers alike." Later in the message, he edited out every mention of Christ and His resurrection in quoting a chaplain who delivered a powerful 1945 Easter message after the battle of Iwo Jima. Actions speak louder than words, and sometimes the words not said are far more telling.
In the seven days surrounding the most holy of Christian observances--the resurrection of Jesus Christ-- Obama has told those who have sworn by their religion that Christians and Jews are their eternal enemies that he will not defend the United States with nuclear weapons if attacked by a non-nuclear nation. He also announced that words like "Islamic extremism" and other references that relate Islam to terrorism will be removed from the National Security Strategy. Government counterterrorism officials told Fox News that the rewriting of the nation's security strategy will "emphasize that the United States does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terror."
All this is part of an effort to reach out to the Muslim world by this Administration. The concept is that if they show that we all worship the same god; that we no longer will retaliate with the full complement of our military advantage if attacked; that if Islam is no longer viewed by the American government as an enemy, that the enemy will no longer seek to destroy the United States. The problem with this approach is that Islamists see the United States through the lens of the Koran, which tells Muslims in 2:191, "Kill the infidels wherever you find them," in 8:12, "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore behead them and cut off every fingertip of them," in 9:29, "Fight those who do not believe in Allah."
These are just a few of the many verses in the Koran that instruct Muslims as part of their religious tradition to kill Christians and Jews. Now the question must be asked: Is this US leader doing these unconstitutional things because he truly believes that by disarming and appeasing that America's enemies will become friends, or is he purposely weakening America that the faith tradition of his youth be empowered over this nation of Christians? Either way it is bad for every American citizen. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, 16, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits."
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
The VAT Man Cometh
This week, White House economic advisor Paul Volker said that the United States ought to consider imposing a European-style value added tax (VAT) to get the deficit under control. He said, "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes." A VAT tax is essentially a national sales tax, which would be added to existing state sales taxes. France's VAT is nearly 20%. So just imagine all of your recent purchases costing 20% more.
That may seem outrageous to you, but Obama's economic advisor doesn't think so. Volker said that a VAT "was not as toxic an idea" today as it has been in the past. And just to be clear, Volker was not suggesting that we replace the income tax with a VAT tax, but that the VAT be added to the income tax. Evidently, Volker wouldn't mind paying $7.00 a gallon for gas either, because he also recommended that we consider taxing carbon too.
Just like their love of socialized medicine, liberal Democrats are drawn to the VAT like a moth to a flame. The reason is simple: If you're going to fundamentally transform America into a Big Government, European-style welfare state, you're going to need big, European-style taxes. Last year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told PBS's Charlie Rose, "Somewhere along the way, a value-added tax plays into this . . .I think it's fair to look at a value-added tax as well."
Is a VAT tax imminent? That depends. Obama's spending is clearly out of control. Yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress that the deficit is the biggest threat to long-term economic growth and stability. I guarantee you that in the weeks ahead, we'll hear from Obama about the need to get the deficit he created under control.
But there are only two ways to get the deficit under control - cut spending or increase taxes. Volker and Pelosi are clearly on the side of raising taxes, and Obama, who has already added $2 trillion to the national debt (that doesn't even include ObamaCare), is clearly unable to restrain himself when it comes to spending. So I predict that all the rhetoric we're going to hear about "fiscal discipline" in the days ahead will be laying the ground work for massive tax hikes down the road.
Democrats won't propose a VAT tax now - just 208 days before the mid-term elections. But, unless conservatives make major gains in November, we could well see a VAT tax, a carbon tax or both - as Volker suggests - sometime next year. What will you do to make sure we elect more conservatives to Congress next year? (Gary Bauer; End-of-Day; April 8, 2010)
Hussein Obama's Plan: Force Israeli Concessions
Is Obama preparing literally to force Israel to sign an agreement with Palestinians that would jeopardize Israeli security? Well-connected Washington Post columnist David Ignatius and the New York Times both reported this week that six former national security advisors have been regularly meeting at the White House and are advising Obama to impose a peace agreement. Obama reportedly likes the idea. (Among the former national security advisors are Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, both of whom have long histories of pro-Arab sympathies.)
According to the "leaks," top administration officials believe that everyone knows the basic outlines of a peace deal. But of course if that were true, there would already be a peace deal. Deep divisions remain between the two sides on the status of Jerusalem, the future of Israeli communities in Judea-Samaria, where 300,000 Israelis live, control of the Jordan Valley, the status of Palestinian refugees - the list goes on and on.
Thus everyone does NOT know what a future peace agreement would look like. But everyone should know what an imposed Obama "peace" would look like. This is a president who is "flat-line" when told that Iran is building more nuclear facilities, but goes "ballistic" when an Israeli bureaucrat makes a routine announcement about building housing units in a 20-year-old Jerusalem neighborhood. He bows to the Saudi King, while he goes out of his way to insult Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Obama has already reneged on agreements and guarantees made to Israel in past negotiations. Why would any Israeli leader trust him to keep promises made in a peace pact that he would impose?
Nukes of Hazard?
With the announcement of a new nuclear doctrine by the Obama administration, some on the Evangelical Left are hailing this move as a step toward peace and a nuclear-free world. If only that were true. I don't want reflexively to endorse any excessive response to threats against the U.S., but I do want to raise some pointed objections to the flawed theology and failed policy of pacifism embraced by the Left. Paul's letter to the Romans tells us that government does not bear the sword for nothing, and that it is God's instrument to deal with wrongdoers. We have vast experience with making peace in this country. Thomas Jefferson refused to pay tribute to Muslim hostage takers, instead sending the Marines "to the shores of Tripoli " to fight for our rights. Theodore Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet around the world to demonstrate to potentially hostile powers that America was not to be trifled with. Ronald Reagan deterred aggre ssion by building up U.S. defenses so that he could safely sign the greatest arms reduction treaty in world history. Reagan said "none of the wars of my lifetime occurred because the United States was too strong."
Peace through strength is a tried and true maxim. No one can countenance a nuclear exchange lightly. Yet the sad irony is that if we disarm too much, we invite the potential of a nuclear attack. To defend our security and liberty, we must retain sufficient nuclear weapons to deter any nation from ever thinking it could successfully attack us. Christians should pray for the day when all swords will be beaten into plowshares, and the lion will lie down with the lamb. Until that day arrives, while evil remains in the world, we must be vigilant and not allow our hopes for the future to place us in present danger. (Family Research Council)
Special Prayer for West Virginia Families
"If I Make My Bed in the Depths, You Are There"
Both American and Chinese officials are racing against the clock in two catastrophic mining accidents, working desperately to find survivors. In West Virginia, 25 have already been presumed dead as rescuers frantically tried to drill ventilation holes. Please join us in praying for these families, as these small communities cling to their faith in these dark hours. "Every time you turn your lights on at home," said miner Kevin Lambert, "you should think about them guys." And pray for them too. Each day, men we don't know brave one of the deadliest jobs on earth so that you and I can have power. They deserve our support and appreciation for risking their lives in an often thankless--and fatal--line of work. " Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up." (Psalm 71:20)
(Family Research Council; April 7, 2010)
The Good News Corner
Teen Birth Rates Down, Abstinence Credited
Teen birth rates in the U.S. declined after increasing in 2006 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The 2008 numbers show the rate declined by two percent among girls 15-19. The largest decline occurred among 18- and 19-year-olds at four percent.
Valerie Huber, executive director with The National Abstinence Education Association, said a "positive trend begun a decade ago can continue." "We should redouble our efforts to help teens avoid all the consequences of sexual activity, including teen childbearing," she said.
President Obama eliminated all funding for abstinence-centered education in his 2011 budget. However, due largely to Sen. Orrin Hatch's efforts, Congress reinstated a third of the original funding for five years in the health care reform law.
"(The) announcement provides Congress an opportunity to make a course correction by again placing a priority on the risk-avoidance abstinence-centered message," she said. (CitizenLink)
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