In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
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The Daily Brief - Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. . . to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1: 67,74,75)
SPECIAL NOTE:
Due to a number of technical difficulties, an abbreviated edition the Daily Brief will be published this week. We should return to our full format next week. Thank you!
The Daily Brief
1. With the US Trapped in Depression, This Really is Starting to Feel Like 1932 - London Telegraph
The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever. The rate of hourly earnings fell 0.1pc. Wages are flirting with deflation. The average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks. Nothing like this has been seen before in the post-war era. Jeff Weninger, of Harris Private Bank, said this compares with a peak of 21.2 weeks in the Volcker recession of the early 1980s.
• Heavenly Father, we pray provision for all individuals who cannot find jobs. We pray you surround them with encouragement. Give them creative ideas to earn income for their families.
• Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. (Psalms 42:11)
2. Tar Balls From Gulf Oil Spill Turn up in Texas - NewsMax
A Texas official said Monday that tar balls from the Gulf oil spill were found on a pair of state beaches, becoming the first known evidence that gushing crude from the Deepwater Horizon well has reached all the Gulf states. The distance between the western reach of the tar balls in Texas and the most eastern reports of oil in Florida is about 550 miles. Oil was first spotted on land near the mouth of the Mississippi River on April 29.
Skimming operations across the Gulf have scooped up about 23.5 million gallons of oil-fouled water so far, but officials say it's impossible to know how much crude could have been skimmed in good weather because of the fluctuating number of vessels, weather, storms, and other variables.
• Lord, we pray for an end to this leak. We pray that it will not take as long as predicted, and that our government will take responsibility for its lack of action so lessons may be learned from this crisis.
• And so it was . . . I said: "O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!" So the Lord relented concerning this. "It shall not be," said the Lord. (Amos 7:2, 3)
3. From War Woes to Gulf Disasters, Obama's Presidency Mirrors Bush's - Washington Times
A difficult war, runaway federal spending, a dilemma over illegal immigration and even the aftermath of an environmental disaster - President Obama's 2010 is looking a lot like President George W. Bush's 2006. By definition, they are the unfinished business of the Bush administration, and in some cases had been languishing for decades longer.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also expressed confidence that Mr. Obama would succeed where Mr. Bush failed.
• Lord, these are just excuses to shirk responsibility for the inaction of the president and this administration. We pray that people will see through the lies and the spin on this situation. Let people remember that former president Bush acted favorably on many issues.
• "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble, and the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the Lord of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. (Malachi 4:1)
4. Obama Decried, Then Used, Some Bush Drilling Policies - Wall Street Journal
Less than four months after President Barack Obama took office, his new administration received a forceful warning about the dangers of offshore oil drilling. Mr. Obama said his administration should have been more vigilant in handling the oil industry. "More needed to be done, and more needs to be done" to tighten oversight, he told reporters recently.
It pins blame on the Bush administration for pursuing a policy for deep-offshore drilling "that was driven by one principle: open everything," said White House spokesman Ben LaBolt.
• Lord, as this oil leak continues longer than expected, people are denying their lack of responsibility. Let the blame game stop, and let them give plans for fixing this dilemma instead. We need action not accusations!
• For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)
5. Obama and Supreme Court May be on Collision Course - LA Times
The Supreme Court wrapped up its term last week after landmark decisions protecting the right to have a gun and the right of corporations to spend freely on elections. But the year's most important moment may have come on the January evening when the justices gathered at the Capitol for President Obama's State of the Union address.
The president and congressional Democrats have embarked on an ambitious drive to regulate corporations, banks, health insurers and the energy industry. But the high court, with Roberts increasingly in control, will have the final word on those regulatory laws.
• Lord, we thank you for giving us a branch of government that can still stand against this runaway administration. We pray you will appoint God-fearing men and women on the Supreme Court. Block these measures.
• A proud and haughty man - "Scoffer" is his name; he acts with arrogant pride . . . the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with wicked intent! (Proverbs 21:24, 27)
6. Mexico's Drug War Heats Up Near Arizona Border - MSNBC
Very few residents dare to drive on one of the roads out of this watering-hole for migrants, fearing they will be stopped at gunpoint. They worry they will be told to turn around after their gas tanks are drained or, worse, be kidnapped or killed. The carnage still pales compared to other Mexican border cities, most notably Ciudad Juarez, which lies across from El Paso, Texas, which had 2,600 murders last year.
"This began like a cancer in the finger and now it is spreading to other parts of the body," he said. "There comes a time when the government has absolutely no control."
• Lord, we pray this administration will make serious plans for protecting our citizens, and our borders from this violence and intrusion of illegals coming into our nation. Set people up who are wise and knowledgeable on how to secure our borders.
• A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; 6) For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 24:5, 6)
7. Once a Withdrawn Teen, Man Now Takes on Senator - AP
Nearly four weeks ago, Alvin Greene, the 32-year-old unemployed military veteran turned South Carolina's political scene upside down when he won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat. He says he campaigned across the state but doesn't remember where. He has no staff. He touts his service in the Army and Air Force, but won't specify what he did or why he was "involuntarily" discharged.
He says he decided two years ago to run for Senate against Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, but appears to have done little except pay the $10,440 filing fee with a hand-written, hand-delivered check to party headquarters.
• Lord, this story sounds very suspicious, and we pray this year's elections will not be filled with people who get in office by guile and deception. Reveal the truth about these candidates and let people soundly reject them!
• And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it." (Neh. 2:20)
1. US welcomes new Gaza items list - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left for the US late Monday night for a meeting the next day with President Barack Obama, perhaps not carrying any dramatic new diplomatic initiative, but at least bringing a message of significant changes in what goods Israel will allow into the Gaza Strip.
2. Barack Obama to put Benjamin Netanyahu under pressure over West Bank - London Telegraph
The Most Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, will come under fierce pressure from Obama to extend a 10-month freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
3. Syria: The prospect of war grows - Jerusalem Post
Syrian President Bashar Assad warned that the current rift in Israel-Turkey relations threatens the stability of the Middle East, and said "the chances of peace grow slim, and the prospect of war grows."
4. Turkey closes airspace to Israel, threatens to cut diplomatic ties over Gaza raid - Fox News
Turkey will sever diplomatic ties with Israel unless Jerusalem apologizes over the commando raid on an aid convoy to Gaza in which nine Turks -- one of them a joint Turkish-U.S. citizen -- died, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying Monday.
5. Assad: US administration is weak - Jerusalem Post
The Obama administration's failure to facilitate change in the Middle East shows that it is weak, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday during a visit to Latin America amid rising regional tensions over last month's Gaza flotilla incident and increasing efforts to defuse the Iranian threat.
The Daily Jot
Islamic Appeasement Deceptively Spreads to NASA
It wasn't that long ago that Americans were prohibited by law from interacting with terrorists, terrorist sponsors, and those who aid and abed terrorists and terrorism. Now, however, it seems that Americans are to understand that there is no war on terror; that terror is the result of isolated, random incidents that police are supposed to be able to handle; and that the nation is no longer fighting a war on terror but rather trying to assist the nations of Iraq and Afghanistan to establish and maintain some brand of democracy that is based on parliamentary approval of Sharia Law and "constitutions" whose only freedom of religion is Islam.
This has gotten so widespread that now even NASA--the National Aeronautic and Space Administration--is cowtailing to Islam. In a recent interview with worldwide terrorist propaganda network, al Jazeera, NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden said that his "foremost" mission with NASA is to reach out to the Muslim world and to make them feel better about their contribution to math and science. Bolden was in the Middle East last month affirming the one-year anniversary since the man who occupies the Oval Office delivered his landmark Islamic appeasement speech to Muslim nations in Cairo. Bolden described space travel as an international collaboration of which Muslim nations must be a part.
As reported by Fox News, Bolden told al Jazeera that the man who occupies the Oval Office had different plans for NASA. Bolden said, "When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering."
NASA's website reveals its mission is "to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." Keep in mind, however, that the White House slashed the NASA budget by over $600 million and for all practical purposes shut down any manned space exploration. NASA has been critical to America's defense development since its inception in 1958. Yet, according to the NASA Administrator, the organization's "foremost" mission is to reach out to Islam. How many other government agencies are charged with the same? Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you." This is just one example of the deceptive misuse of your tax money.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
