In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Repeal Loses Appeal Among Troops
• Senate Committee To Meet on Don't Ask Don't Tell
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
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The Daily Brief - Tuesday, November 30, 2010
"Then said LORD unto me, "You have seen well: for I will hasten [watch over] My word to perform it." (Jer. 1:12)
This Wednesday at sundown, we enter The Festival of Lights . . . Hanukkah. Capitol Hill Prayer Partners wishes all of our friends of the Jewish faith a very Happy Hanukkah . . . for the OIL of the LORD will NEVER give out!!
The Daily Brief
1. Senate Passes Overhaul of Food Safety Regulations - New York Times
The Senate passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's food safety system on Tuesday, after tainted eggs, peanut butter and spinach sickened thousands of people in the last few years and led major food makers to join consumer advocates in demanding stronger government oversight.
Despite unusual bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and a strong push from the Obama administration, the bill could still die because there might not be enough time for the usual haggling between the Senate and the House, which passed its own version last year. Top House Democrats said Tuesday that they were considering simply passing the Senate version to speed approval but that no decision had been made.
- Last night Sen Coburn said the bill will raise food prices; add 1.5 billion to deficit; and add unfunded state mandates. It will not increase food safety one bite. There is much controversy surrounding S. 510, and uncertainty whether the House will pick this up, or send it directly to the President for his signature.
- Pray for clarity about the true agenda of S. 510 -- that our citizens will know about this bill and understand its agenda. Place a hedge around S. 510, and pray that it dies on the Hill instead of going to the White House. Pray!
- For additional information on S. 510, please go here. See also the website for Glenn Beck by going here.
- "This far and no further and here shall your proud waves stop." (Job 38:11)
2. Pentagon report: Repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' law poses little risk for military - Washington Post
The Pentagon's long-awaited report on gays in the military concludes that repealing the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law would present only a low risk to the armed forces' ability to carry out their mission and that 70 percent of service members believe it would have little or no effect on their units, according to sources briefed on the report's findings.
- Ask our Lord God Most High to rule and overrule this finding. The Obama administration is pressing (manipulating truth) for passage of this repeal in Congress NOW, while it still has the votes to do so. The new Congress will certainly oppose the administration and will uphold Don't Ask Don't Tell, thereby keeping our military strong. Stand in agreement that passage of the current legislation will STALL in this Congress; and that man's plans will come to naught.
- "Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up . . ." (Psalm 129:6)
3. Clinton Says Wikileaks Release of Documents is Attack on American Foreign Policy Interest - AP
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday termed the release of 250,000 secret documents by Wikileaks on the Internet as an attack on America and its allies. The U.S., she said, "strongly condemns the illegal disclosure of classified information," as the act puts lives in danger, threatens national security and undermines diplomacy."Let's be clear, this disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interest, it is an attack on the international community, the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity," Clinton said.
The White House, describing the release a serious matter, has been scrambling to contain the potential diplomatic disaster spurred by the release of the classified U.S. State Department documents.
• Lord, this administration has demonstrated repeatedly that it is not capable of responding to attacks against our nation whether in cyber space, air, or land. We pray that you establish leaders who have wisdom, and a strong determination to defend our nation. Help us to stop these attacks quickly. Let our enemies be caught and punished severely.
• Let them be ashamed who persecute me, but do not let me be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom, and destroy them with double destruction. (Jeremiah 17:18)
4. Tax Cut Battle Looms Over Bipartisan Summit as Obama Looks for Reset With GOP - Fox News
The meeting will be the first post-election test of whether the White House and the incoming Republican House majority are able to find common ground on virtually anything. Republicans and Democrats agree that taxes should not rise on the middle class -- the sticking point is whether the wealthy should be included in that extension. Republicans want the tax cuts extended for everybody. Democrats originally called for taxes to rise on those households making over $250,000 a year -- some Democrats have since started talking about increasing that salary threshold to $1 million a year. Obama, who proposed a two-year federal pay freeze Monday, said that he hopes the sit-down Tuesday will mark "a first step toward a new and productive working relationship."
Despite the drama over the tax cuts, the agenda for the lame-duck session of Congress is much broader. Gibbs said the ratification of the arms reduction treaty with Russia known as START is the other top item on the table for Tuesday's meeting.
• Lord, we pray the two parties will be able to work together. Let them remember the mandate of the people: to cut spending, work to create jobs, and repeal the Obamacare bill. Let them decide quickly - especially the extending of the tax cuts for everyone permanently.
• The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened. The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. (Proverbs 10:27, 28)
5. Next Debt Crisis May Start in Washington: Bair - CNBC
Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposits Insurance Corp. (FDIC) wrote in an editorial in the Washington Post,
"The federal debt has doubled over the past seven years, to almost $14 trillion, and the growth is a result of both the financial crisis and the government's "unwillingness over many years to make the hard choices necessary to rein in our long-term structural deficit.".
"Defense spending is similarly unsustainable, and our tax code is riddled with special-interest provisions that have little to do with our broader economic prosperity," Bair wrote. "Overly generous tax subsidies for housing and health care have contributed to rising costs and misallocation of resources. If no action is taken, US federal debt held by the public could rise from 62 percent of gross domestic product this year to 185 percent in 2035," she warned.
• Lord, we pray for righteous, strong leaders, who will begin to make big cutbacks immediately on programs that are not necessary in our government budget. We pray for a solid committee that has wisdom to make these hard decisions.
• Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, but he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall. He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! (Proverbs 28:18,19)
6. Juarez Gang Leader Admits Killings - CNN
An alleged gang member who police say was behind 80 percent of the killings in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the past 16 months was arrested over the weekend, officials said. Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, known as "El Farmero," was the leader of the Aztecas gang. There have been more than 2,500 drug-related killings in Juarez this year alone, signifying that if Gallegos' claim is accurate, he would be responsible for more than 2,000 murders. Those numbers would be comparable to those of some of the most ruthless war criminals. He was captured as part of an operation to dismantle the Aztecas gang, police said.
The arrest is a victory for President Felipe Calderon's offensive against the drug cartels, and taken together with other recent killings or arrests of high-level leaders, shows the police strategy, Payan said: to go after the big fish in the drug trafficking organizations.
• Lord, we thank you that there are more victories over these ruthless gang leaders and members. We pray that more leaders and gangs will be dismantled, and these gangsters will come to salvation, so they can work for the Lord.
• He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. (Proverbs 28: 13, 14)
7. Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus - CNS News
The federally funded National Portrait Gallery, one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently showing an exhibition that features images of an ant-covered Jesus, male genitals, naked brothers kissing, men in chains, Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts, and a painting the Smithsonian itself describes in the show's catalog as "homoerotic."
The Smithsonian Institution has an annual budget of $761 million, 65 percent of which comes from the federal government, according to Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian's chief spokesperson. The National Portrait Gallery itself received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2010, according to St. Thomas. It also received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal 2009, according to the museum's annual report. The gallery's overall funding in that year was $8 million. St. Thomas told CNSNews.com that federal funds are not used to pay for Smithsonian exhibits themselves, including the "Hide/Seek" exhibit. The exhibits presented at Smithsonian museums, including "Hide/Seek," are funded by donations from individuals or institutions
• Lord, the time has come to stop these organizations that directly attack our values, our religion, and beliefs. We pray for strong elected officials to make the necessary cuts of these types of organizations. We pray for righteousness and holiness to be the desire and actions of this nation!
• For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be Holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you. (Deuteronomy 23:14)
UPDATE: Smithsonian to Remove Ant-Covered Jesus on Cross Video From Exhibit - Fox News
The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery will remove a four-minute video feature that contains an image of Jesus on a crucifix covered in ants, its director said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, the museum was under fire for hosting the exhibit that also includes depictions of homoerotic art and an image of Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts. The exhibit outraged conservative leaders and prompted some Republican lawmakers to call for a congressional investigation.
"Absolutely, we should look at their funds," Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, told Fox News. Read more. - Continue in prayer until this entire exhibit is shut down -- not only this four-minute video.
- "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end . . ." (Psalm 7:9)
8. Israeli Offshore Drilling Strikes First Hint of Major Gas Reservoir - Ha'aretz
Six weeks after drilling began at the Leviathan 1 deep-sea site off the Haifa coast, the exploration group published its preliminary findings on Tuesday. There is gas, but how much remains to be seen. The exploration partners - Delek Group and Noble Energy of Texas, and Ratio Oil & Gas Exploration - announced that more information will be available in two weeks if all goes according to plans.
The Leviathan partners cautioned that the results are preliminary and that the size and quality, not to mention monetary value, of the field remain unknown. Still, National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau welcomed the news. "This is another important step toward bringing Israel energy security," he said.
• Lord, we thank you that these American companies are working with Israel to help her find gas reserves. We pray this will be a huge find, so that Israel can maintain her energy independence that she needs. We bless Israel and pray for protection for Israel.
• "God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows - "Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you." (Numbers 24:8, 9)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
• "You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." (Micah 7:20)
1. Leak: State Dept. sought info on Palestinian leaders - Jerusalem Post
The US State Department under Condoleezza Rice instructed its employees stationed at embassies in the Middle East to collect personal information about Palestinian leaders and closely monitor Israeli military and telecommunications capabilities, according to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
2. Netanyahu: WikiLeaks cables prove Israel is right on Iran - Ha'aretz
A raft of controversial diplomatic secrets published by the WikiLeaks group has not damaged Israel and in fact strengthened its position, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
3. Iranian military official: US plan to attack is 'joke' - Jerusalem Post
An Iranian military commander has said that plans by the US to attack Iran were a "joke," Press TV reported Monday.
4. Iran: Scientist killed by 'Zionist agents' - Ynet News
While the world is shaken by the publication of documents revealing the extent of world leaders' concern over the Iranian nuclear program, The Islamic Republic reported Monday that "Zionist" agents attempted to assassinate two senior scientists in Tehran. One was killed, and the other injured, it was reported.
The Daily Jot
The Chrislam Movement in the apostate church
During the weekend of November 13, many Christian churches across the United States began a series of sermons aimed at bringing about reconciliation between Muslims and Christians. These misguided Presbyterian ministers are trying to focus on a relationship between the Holy Bible and the Koran they call "Chrislam." They are saying that because the Koran mentions Jesus that there is common ground with Christianity. To prove their point, they are placing Korans along side the Holy Bible in their pews. And they are teaching that you can be a follower of Christ without necessarily believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who died for our sins offering the gift of eternal salvation.
Writes commentator Paul Williams: "The Chrislam movement has gained impetus by statements from President George W. Bush and that Christians, Jews, and [Moslems] all worship the same God and by Rick Warren's reference to Isa (the Muslim name for Jesus) in his prayer at the inauguration of Obama." Williams points out that Jesus in the Koran is not the only-begotten Son of God nor the Messiah. Williams says, "He is rather viewed as a prophet who was appointed by Allah to prepare mankind for the coming of Mohammad." In the Koran, Williams reminds readers, "The victim at Calvary, Islam teaches, was either Simon of Cyrene or Judas Iscariot."
The Koran states in Sura 5:17, "In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against God, if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every-one that is on the earth? For to God belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For God hath power over all things." The Koran has many verses that command the followers of allah to kill Christians and Jews if they do not convert to Islam. There is absolutely no common ground between the Holy Scriptures and the Koran when these are the mandates of the prophet Mohammed, who wrote the Koran.
Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This is the central doctrine of Christianity. There is instruction by the Holy Scriptures to not fellowship with those who do not recognize the truth in this doctrine. 2nd John verses 9-11 say, "Whoseover transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the droctine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." Thus are those deceivers who believe in common ground with Islam.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
Repeal Loses Appeal Among Troops
Don't Ask. That's more than the name of the policy on homosexuals in the military, it's the unofficial motto of the report surrounding it. When the Defense Department trots out its questionable analysis of the 1993 compromise, it will include a lot of statistics. But our soldiers' opinions of repeal will not be one of them. That's because the Pentagon, despite media spin to the contrary, never asked. "How . . . are you going to assess the effect on morale and battle effectiveness and retention unless you consult and find out what the view of the troops is?" said a frustrated Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Good question. One that FRC and Center for Security Policy (CSP) determined to answer. Last week, our organizations decided to ask the question the Pentagon didn't: do our troops support overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?" In a national poll, jointly commissioned by FRC and CSP, a solid majority of 10,028 active and retired military members answered no. When asked point-blank, "Do you believe Congress should overturn the current 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy . . . " almost 63% of servicemen and their families said no. Their opposition was consistent across every demographic-including age (younger respondents were actually more opposed to repeal than their middle-aged counterparts), gender, and service branch (Marines were the strongest in terms of opposition to overturning the policy at 68%).
This poll is significant, because unlike almost all other surveys, it doesn't focus on the general population--but the people forced to live and work under the policy. While the American public continues to be divided on the issue, no one has taken the time or energy to survey the brave men and women in uniform.
How would you like it if your boss went outside and started polling people on the street about changing the office rules instead of talking it over with you, the employees? It's just as absurd to assume that civilians know better than the military how to accomplish the mission at hand. Secretary Robert Gates was clear at the outset (it was the first line of his memo in March!) that the Defense Department's job was to "consider how best to implement a repeal of this law"--not whether it should be repealed. As Sen. McCain pointed out, "[With] all due respect, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is not directly in charge of the troops. The Secretary of Defense is a political appointee who's never been in the military. And the President, obviously, has had no background in the military whatsoever."
FRC has been skeptical of the Pentagon's survey from the very beginning, which, at a one-in-four return rate, is hardly reflective of the general military population. To read more about how the Defense Department cooked up its numbers, check out Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis's summary of the obvious bias in the review process. For more on FRC and CSP's groundbreaking data, click here for the final report. When you're finished, send a note to your Senators and urge them to hold their fire on a repeal until they've held comprehensive hearings on the survey and its shortcomings. Our troops deserve it. (Family Research Council)
Senate Committee To Meet on Don't Ask Don't Tell
Hearing to be Held at 9:00 a.m. Thursday
Prayer Point:
After reading the article, above, by Family Research Council, please pray that all the facts about the Pentagon report would come to light during this committee hearing.
The alert that follows was released today by Mary Murphy.
November 30, 2010
Intercessors,
Another crucial vote may be attempted this week by the Senate in order to push through the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) issue. There is a hearing scheduled for 9:00 am Thursday morning in the Senate. DADT is included in a Defense Department Report.
I am asking once again that you contact your Senators to allow DADT to stand the way it was written in 1993 by Executive order by Pres. Bill Clinton. THIS IS CRITICAL THAT IT NOT BE CHANGED!
You contact your Senators the same manner in which you contact House members www.senate.gov. Then go to the upper left hand corner and click on Senators. This will bring up an alphabetized list of the Senators. This gives an address and phone number. If you choose to email your Senators, please do so.
PLEASE PRAY THAT THIS IS STOPPED IN COMMITTEE AND NEVER GETS TO THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE. PRAY THAT THE LORD BRING SUCH CONFUSION INTO THE ENEMY CAMP THAT IT BECOMES CHAOS WITHIN THE COMMITTEE.
Blessings,
Mary
For more information about Don't Ask Don't Tell and how you can take action, go here
The Good News Corner
Nov 29, 1947: The Story of a Vote
Dear Friends! Do you know the significance of Nov. 29? The following terrific video gives an eye-witness account of the day Israel was voted a Nation! A great video! Aish.com is an awesome Jewish site with tons of good reference material, videos and articles. Very valuable. Enjoy this historical view. Shalom, Kathleen
Worship with Us Today!
The "Hallelujah Chorus" - Again!
This time at a Food Court at the Seaway Mall in Welland, Ontario . . . Praise the Lord -- it's spreading!!
At noon on November 13, 2010 unsuspecting shoppers got a surprise while enjoying their lunch. A flash mob singing the Hallelujah Chorus!
Rejoice in Him today!
