In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot - Part 1
• The Daily Jot - Part Two
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The Daily Brief - Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work." (John 9:4)
The Daily Brief
1. Wisconsin Supreme Court Race May Help Decide Union Law's Fate - Bloomberg
Since Walker introduced his "budget-repair" bill on Feb. 11 and the Legislature approved it March 11, more than a dozen groups have been spending money for television and radio ads and other campaigning and have made the race a "dogfight," said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Groups inside and outside the state are pouring money into the contest tomorrow between Justice David T. Prosser Jr. and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.
The outcome may shift the court's ideological balance and determine how a legal challenge to the Wisconsin law is decided. "This is not merely a symbolic referendum on public opinion about the collective-bargaining bill; it is substantively about the collective-bargaining bill," Lee, a state lawmaker from 1976 to 1990, said in a telephone interview. "This is the swing seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that will probably eventually decide the issue."
• Lord, this election is so important. The rest of the nation is watching the outcome with the unions waiting to pounce on officials in other states that want to rein in spending. Let these elections in Wisconsin be won by the conservatives. Give them favor with all the voters. Let the unions be soundly defeated.
• He said to the judges, "Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes." (2 Chronicles 19:6, 7)
2. 'Filthy, Dirty' Tricks Alleged in Pivotal Wisconsin Election - Newsmax
"I would say the campaign being run against Prosser is absolutely, filthy dirty," Levi Russell, a spokesman for Tea Party Express. Russell adds that several of the third-party ads targeting Prosser are "abject lies, just completely false." The Tea Party Express.org website, meanwhile, accuses Big Labor of trying to "hijack the election" by pouring millions into the race.
Asked if grass-roots conservatives could swing the race, Russell said: "I don't know. The anger and the vitriol on the left is very thick. They're very serious and they have been galvanized in this effort for a lot longer than the right has been pushing back on it. So it makes me nervous." Sources report that about $2.5 million already has been spent on the race, and projections are that expenditures on both sides could tally over $5 million when the smoke finally clears.
• Lord, we pray against these lies and personal attacks that happen at every election. Lord, we pray that those who would do such things from either party will be bound from these tactics. Let honor and respect be brought back to our nation and government. Give us upright and godly people in office. Remove those who are base in nature.
• Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him. A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin. (Proverbs 26:27-28)
3. Bloody Pig's Foot Sent to Rep. Peter King - CBS
Authorities intercepted a parcel this morning addressed to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) containing a bloody pig's foot and a derogatory message. Last month, King held hearings on radicalization in the Muslim-American community that critics suggested unfairly targeted Muslims, though it's not known whether this incident is related to those hearings. Muslims are forbidden from eating pork products.
Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations - a target of King's hearings - said he found the situation confusing. He said his organization regularly receives pig-themed hate messages, including letters smeared with bacon. "My guess is it was an anti-Muslim bigot, and bigots not being brain surgeons they probably got their signals crossed," he said. King is Roman Catholic.
• Heavenly Father, we come against this violent spirit of murder and assault on people who are trying to do what is right, and especially our elected officials. Lord, refrain these people so they will not harm or threaten anyone. We pray especially for salvation upon these violent, hateful people.
• For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces. (Psalms 21:11, 12)
4. McDonald's Wants to fill 50K Jobs on Hiring Day - Yahoo News
McDonald's Corp. will hold its first national hiring day April 19 to fill 50,000 openings at its restaurants nationwide. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., says it is making a concerted effort to add staff as its business improves and as more of its restaurants stay open 24 hours a day. McDonald's is hiring restaurant crew and management for full-time and part-time positions. The company's hiring goal translates to between three and four new hires per restaurant. McDonald's held a similar event in its Western region last year. More than 60,000 people applied for the 13,000 positions.
• Thank you, Father God, for opening this avenue for jobs that this company has created. Lord, it is just a beginning, but we know that there are desperate people and families that are praying for a job - any job. Help our elected officials rescind the healthcare bill so companies will not be afraid to hire more people.
• But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!" (2 Chronicles 15:7)
5. Southwest Pulls 81 Lanes After Emergency Landing - CBS
Southwest Airlines has decided to ground 81 planes after a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing Friday night, after a large hole developed in the plane's ceiling, it lost cabin pressure, and had to make a terrifying but controlled descent. The latest incident "certainly makes me think there is something wrong with the maintenance system at Southwest and it makes me think there is something wrong with the (FAA) principal maintenance inspector down there that after that big event they weren't watching this more closely," Goglia said in an interview. In 1988, cracks caused part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 to peel open while the jet flew from Hilo to Honolulu. A flight attendant was sucked out of the plane and plunged to her death, and dozens of passengers were injured.
• We thank you Lord, that no one was hurt in this latest incident of the airplane rupture. We pray that the rules will be followed in the inspections - especially in the older planes. We pray for the safety of the crew and passengers on all the planes. Give them sharp vigilance to catch any aircraft fatigue before something catastrophic happens.
• "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. (Psalms 91:14, 15)
6. Obama Opens Bid for New Term, No Longer Outsider - MSNBC
He offered a kickoff video in which official Washington is ignored and even Obama himself only makes a fleeting appearance. What the campaign wanted voters to see instead were people like them speaking of real-life concerns and their faith in him, against wholesome backdrops: a church, a farm, a family in a kitchen, an American flag. Obama ran once on hope. This time he will run on his record as well. That means voters will evaluate him on what he has gotten done, including laws to reshape health insurance and Wall Street behavior, and the promises he has not delivered upon, including immigration reform and closing the prison at Guantanamo.
The nation's unemployment rate just dropped to 8.8 percent, its lowest level in two years. The private sector is starting to add sizable numbers of jobs again, and such trend lines always tend to attach themselves to how a president is viewed. The more the economic situation improves, the better Obama can argue he is the right steward of the recovery.
• Lord, we pray that people will not forget the reasons they voted the new conservatives into office the last election. Let recognition for the better employment numbers go to the new conservative congressmen. We pray business people will get involved in this election to turn back poor legislation. Let voters not be deceived by slick ads but give everyone abundant and sharp discernment.
• And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' (Matthew 4:9-10)
7. March Madness: U.S. Gov't Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue - CNS News
"This debt and these deficits that we are incurring on an annual basis are like a cancer and they are truly going to destroy this country from within unless we have the common sense to do something about it," said Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and is now the co-chair of Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. "What happens to interest rates?" asked Bowles. "And what happens to the U.S. economy? The markets will absolutely devastate us if we don't step up to this problem. The problem is real, the solutions are painful, and we have to act."
• Lord, it grieves us to have this out-of-control spending and debt. Help us to rein in frivolous expenditures and give us wisdom to know what to cut. As the medical field's motto says - first do no harm. Let those areas of defense and caring for those truly in need not be cut. Sharpen the eyes and minds to what is truly wasteful.
• He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die. He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given. (Proverbs 19:16, 17)
8. 60% of U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan Have Occurred Since Obama Was Inaugurated in 2009 - CNS
For the 858 U.S. deaths since Obama's inauguration, 791 have been combat-related. This means that for the 1,241 combat-related deaths that occurred since the Afghanistan war began in October 2001, about 64 percent happened in the two years since Obama took office. Last year was the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, with 497 combat and non-combat fatalities. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), or homemade bombs, continue to be the number one killer of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, which border Pakistan and have been the central focus of U.S. military operations in recent years, continue to be the deadliest regions for American soldiers.
• Lord, this news is so upsetting because we know that the Military Rules of Engagement were changed when the Obama Administration took over. It is now harder for troops to fight in a battle with those rules. We pray that will quickly be changed back to a better way of engagement so that our soldiers have better protection. Protect them Lord!
• He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, (Psalms 91:4, 5)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
For, behold, in those days - when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land. (Joel 3:1-2)
1. PA still intends to pursue Israeli 'war crimes' at UN, ICC - Jerusalem Post
The Palestinian Authority on Sunday said it still intends to use the Goldstone Report to push for condemnation of Israeli "war crimes" in Gaza -- both at the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.
2. Jerusalem committee to debate building nearly 1,000 homes beyond Green Line - Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee will discuss Monday construction of 942 housing units in the Gilo neighborhood in the south of the city, beyond the Green Line. The plan has been already been approved at the district level. If it is confirmed by the local committee, the public will be invited to voice objections to it.
3. Israel pressing UN to halt new Gaza aid flotilla - Ha'aretz
Security officials and the Foreign Ministry have started preparing feverishly for the expected arrival of another Gaza flotilla in late May. More than 1,000 leftists and pro-Palestinian activists are expected to take part in the flotilla, which sources say will include more than 20 vessels of various sizes.
The Daily Jot - Part 1
The Islamic massacre in Ivory Coast--Type and shadow of America?
Most people have heard that there was a massacre of some 1,000 people in the small West African country of Ivory Coast. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States is "deeply concerned" about the protection of human rights there and has called for President Laurent Gbagbo to step down immediately to prevent further slaughtering of innocents. But the United States, the United Nations and Europe seem to be on the wrong end of this political quagmire that is rift with parallels to the 2008 elections in the United States and perhaps a glimpse of what can go wrong when people do not honor the laws of God and keep the Constitutional laws of a sovereign nation.
It is the forces of Alassane Ouattara who are slaughtering people by the hundreds in villages across the Ivory Coast. He is the man that the White House and the United Nations is supporting. Ouattara was a candidate in the 2010 Ivory Coast presidential election. And he claimed victory. The president, Gbagbo, however, has not conceded the election, bringing death and destruction throughout the country. The problem is very similar to America. To be president of the Ivory Coast, one's parents must both be born there. Ouattara, a Muslim, claims that he and his parents are of native birth. But he was accused of forging his nationality certificate issued in September 1999. In fact, it was annulled by the court a month later.
Ouattara was disqualified from the country's 2000 presidential election because he did not meet the Constitutional requirement of his birth. He ran again in 2010 anyway, claiming to win. Amid voter fraud claims, however, the nation's Constitutional Council, which officially validates the elections, said 500,000 of Ouattara's votes were disqualified. Gbagbo has remained president despite tremendous pressure from the UN and the US to step down. He says its a matter of national sovereignty. Since then, Gbagbo has been accused of instituting death squads that kill Ouattara supporters but in reality, Ouattara's forces have been killing people--killing Christians as Gbagbo is a Catholic.
The dispute in the Ivory Coast began with a Muslim who was ineligible to run for president because he could not prove his birth records, continued with voter fraud to the point that the nation's Constitutional Council invalidated the election, and now has turned into a Muslim slaughter of Christians. This lawlessness and usurping of power by Muslims is widespread and takes many forms. In reality, it comes from people denying God as Islam is a direct denial of God. Joshua 24:20 says, "If you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after that he hath done you good." Its time for us to wake up, the man occupying the Oval Office announced his bid for reelection today.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
The Daily Jot - Part Two
Reflection of delusion--president's reelection announcement
The man who occupies the Oval Office officially launched his reelection campaign on Monday. It was done so with a video using various ethnic people talking about trust and change and wanting their man to finish what he has started. In announcing the video, the president sent an email to supporters. In it he wrote, "We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made-and make more-we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest."
Let's take a look at how that change is working out. The government has expanded at unprecedented levels--taking over the home mortgage and auto industries with taxpayer funding. In that, the national debt has ballooned to record levels--some $14.27 trillion--or $128,446 per taxpayer, over $44,000 for every man, woman and child in America. Interest on the debt is $675,882 per family. In January 2009, gasoline prices stood at $1.84 per gallon. Today, prices have ascended over 100%, and continue to rise. Food prices have risen at the fastest pace since 1974. Home ownership is at its lowest level since 1998. Unemployment continues around 9%. For the first time in history, the president defends homosexuality over marriage.
Under the current White House, America's traditional allies have been sidelined as relationships with Islamic nations, terrorists and supporters of terrorists have been curried. The United States has supported, and reportedly actively participated in destabilizing the Middle East to the favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda. The US has entered a war in Libya that supports takeover by terrorists. Israel has been pressured relentlessly to give up land to the terrorists, and has been threatened with a lack of military support for not doing so. Muslims with questionable backgrounds have been appointed to high places in the Pentagon and at Homeland Security.
The very basis of his reelection campaign is to "fight to protect the progress we've made--and make more." One would have to be totally delusional to accept this as accomplishment. But there is one thing more than any other that disqualifies this man as fit for office. It is his statement on March 27, 2004 to Chicago Sun Times columnist Cathleen Falsani about his faith: "I am a Christian...I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people." In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." The president has denied the deity of Christ. His presidency is a reflection of it.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
