The State of America

by Rev. Dallas E. Henry

“When in the course of Human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men   are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Signed on July 2 and adopted in the Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence set free the 13 colonies of America from its rule by Great Britain. Richard Stockton, a Quaker from New Jersey, was one of the 56 signers of that declaration. Stockton, in 1758, helped to construct the Quaker Meeting house near his home. Stockton was a prominent lawyer and landowner until the day that he signed that declaration. The English army routed him and his family from their home, and he was imprisoned as a traitor to the crown. As a result of his harsh treatment, his health was broken. After his imprisonment he returned to the burned and sacked remnants of his home and died there four years later at the age of 51. His is only one of the stories of these 56 men- many others tell the same story of men who gave their life for freedom.

Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence:
 5 were captured by the British and tortured before they died.
12 had their homes ransacked and burned.
 2 lost their sons in the war.
 9 either died from war wounds or from hardships suffered in the war.

We conclude from this that freedom is never free.

Rev. Henry goes on to compare the ancient occupation of Israel led by Joshua to our founders and the price they paid for gaining freedom.

The Lord, through Joshua, makes clear that the price of our continued freedom is two-fold:

1) The price is Devotion to God [Joshua 23:6]. Joshua reminded Israel that their continued freedom rested on their willingness to follow God. If they were to turn from God their downfall would surely come. It is true for us today. James Madison, 4th president of the US and one of the framers of the constitution said, “We have staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all our heart.¨ He knew as Joshua spoke so many years before him that freedom and democracy can only be maintained if men walk with God. You cannot write enough laws to govern a godless society. You cannot make enough rules to make moral an immoral nation. Often we look at our nation and become discouraged as we see the continual practice of abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage, pornography, violence, crime, and hatred. We see it and we become discouraged. We see it; and we hear that the downfall of America is inevitable as God’s judgment comes upon us for our sin. We feel helpless to change our society and our world. But the truth is far different. We are far from impotent to affect the world around us.

Rev. Henry says we can make a difference. It does not begin with them but with ourselves. That is, changing our world begins with reforming the Church. He quotes the familiar scripture: “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Many who use this verse imply that if the Christians repent then God will heal and restore America to its former goodness. The implied magic is not part of Rev. Henry’s view.

Like Israel, America was founded as a nation upon a national covenant with God. Read the entire Declaration of Independence for what it actually states and not as your particular political bias dictates. The Church is not synonymous to the whole of America. Nevertheless, the biblical law and morality is synonymous with freedom and the natural law basis of the Constitution. That is why Rev. Henry goes on to say:

Revival will not come to a nation until reformation comes to the church. We must be willing to pay the price. The saddest commentary on our society today is that in all its decay and decadence no one seems to care. The people revel in their debauchery and the church remains silent. It’s as if people shut their windows and doors and refuse to become a part of the national debate. For far too long we have shut ourselves out of the arena of ideas and our Nation and our churches have suffered for it. The fact is that if we don’t fight for what is right no one will.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “All it takes for evil to prevail is that good men do nothing.”

2) The second price of continued freedom is vigilance. We must be vigilant. We must protect the right. We must demand better than we have. James Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States, wrote this in 1877: “Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. If the next centennial does not find us a great nation it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Rev. Henry seems to assume everyone realizes that out religious liberty is eroding away. Gay rights, abortion rights, the spread of public corruption makes it obvious. However, I think many people’s view of religious liberty has become fuzzy. It is not just the erosion of actual liberty but the erosion of our view of what religious liberty is. The so-called Separation of Church and State defined and defended by the secular Left is not the same as it was defined and defended by our mostly Christian founders. The divorce of Christian religion from public and political life was never intended by those who established wrote the final draft of the Declaration or the First Amendment. There was a very good reason Congress intentionally left out the wall of separation clause and why in the 1870s Congress rejected it again. Secular neutrality represented by the Lemon test did not exist until the 20th Century secularists gained political power. The Ten Commandments in U.S. the Supreme Court chambers is proof.

Rev. Henry concluded his commentary saying,

If our nation’s leadership has become dominated by liars, adulterers, cheats, and nare-do-wells, then it’s time we use the power of the voting booth and vote them out. It’s time Christians begin to run for office and take back what has been taken from us. Our nation’s pride, morality, and freedom are at stake; and we must not be shut out of the arena of ideas. We must stand up and be counted as those willing to pay the price for freedom.

Source: Christian Civic League of Maine.

See also Declaration of Independence Banned from Calif School classroom. [From banning the Declaration and Nature's God]; The Real Issue [to embracing fascism and gay sexual politics.].

How could any one criticize Obama’s sincere sup- port of religion. After all, he worked with churches   to help inner-city needy. Sarcasm aside, it is com- mendable that he was willing to get a little dirty by helping the needy. The same can be said of his supporters like the Nation of Islam. They have help quit a few people achieve moral and social reform. The appearance of supporting the many religious organization who live among the people they serve is commendable.

However, the Nation of Islam and all other faith-based social services have a something to be concerned about.

In an e-commentary written by someone at the Catholic League, the author points out that Obama intends to secularize the hiring practices of faith-based services.

“Any church or religious agency that agrees to take federal money on the condition that it must operate in a secular fashion—in hiring and in disseminating its values—is selling out. If Orthodox Jews running a day care center are not allowed to exclusively hire Orthodox Jews, there is nothing kosher about it. If a Catholic foster care program cannot place Catholic children with Catholic parents, it is doing a disservice to the children. If an evangelical drug rehab program can’t deliver a Christian message to its clients, it may as well close up shop. But that’s what Obama wants—he wants to secularize the religious workplace.

In secularizing the workforce at religion community service organizations, Obama would also make it possible for gays and like-minded people to further their sexual politics against the morality and faith of the religion; that is non- liberal religion. Remember, it is the Christian faith to which Obama says he is genuinely committed.

The Catholic author continued by mentioning Obama’s belief that religious social service are no better than government or secular non-profits at helping people in poverty, addiction, and many related problems. As for the secular non-profits, a majority of their employees are Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and Protestants. Washington, DC gave a Christian non-profit, who lived and worked in the inner-city neighborhood serving mostly single-mothers and their child- ren, some large properties for a few dollars because they were much more effective at helping those people than government social services.

It proves that the government slogan “what works” is very apropos concerning faith-based social services.

In Obama’s winning multi-million dollar sermons, he has repeatedly identified his religion as progressive. Historically, progressives have been democrats, socialists, fascists, and non-classical liberals. Many of the founders in Congress are identified as classical liberals. FDR and his New Deal ideas and programs resembled those of fascists like Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin. Liberal churches and their theology are the born-again children of Germany’s pseudo-scientific ideas of its evolution-based higher criticism. Like George W. Bush’s accusers, they are more like wolves in sheep clothing, which may also apply to Obama. He talks the religious talk. His stories and preaching are wonderful. I image God is even impressed, but not deceived. When the billion dollar prize is Pres- idential power, the religion men and their financiers must be regarded with a salt shaker or two of skepticism. Looking closely at Obama religious rhetoric, I see the flip-side of Hitler who used Christian talk to woo and awe the masses into his lair. Talking religion and big-daddy provider of people’s welfare is a sure ticket to the heart, stomach, and iPod of many a voter. So is supporting faith-based socials services while overtly planning to destroy their basis of faith.

The Catholic author said, “Obama wants to gut the religious values and bar religious agencies from hiring people who share their religion.” This is partly correct. I think Obama would argue that religious agencies could hire people of their religion but not exclusively. It is his progressive inclusiveness that would destroy their exclusive religious values.

For all of these reasons more, “his initiative [and politics] is a fraud.”

On June 27, the FDA reported that it has completed the traceback for some tomatoes associated with the salmonella outbreak. The agency has been able to trace the pathway of some tomatoes from the point of purchase (e.g. supermarket) or consumption (e.g. restaurant) to each point on the distribution chain down to certain farms in Mexico and Florida.

The FDA is now working to narrow the investigation. As part of this, the agency is sending teams of multi-disciplinary experts to both Mexico and Florida this weekend to conduct joint inspections of the farms and other critical points on the supply chain where the tomatoes may have become contaminated.

The FDA investigators will conduct joint inspections with regulators in Mexico and Florida at the farms and other distribution points. Meanwhile, the FDA will continue to collect samples of tomatoes and conduct traceback activities.

Raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw red round tomatoes may be consumed only if grown and harvested from the following areas that HAVE NOT BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTBREAK:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida (counties of: Jackson, Gadsden,
  Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Hamilton,
  Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee,
  DeSoto, Sarasota, Highlands, Pasco, Sumter,
  Citrus, Hernando, Charlotte)*
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada New!
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Belgium
• Canada
• Dominican Republic
• Guatemala
• Israel
• Mexican States (Aguascalientes,
  Baja California Norte, Baja California
  Sur, Campeche, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua,
  Distrito Federal, Durango, Guanajuato,
  Guerrero, Hidalgo, México, Michoacán,
  Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León,
  Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana
  Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora,
  Tobasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz,
  Yucatán, Zacatecas)
• Netherlands
• Puerto Rico

Source: US Food and Drug Administration.

The proof that industrial farming is hazardous to our health may not be in the puddling but it is in the beef and tomatoes. There are two epidemics occurring in America. One is a national epidemic caused by eating tomatoes infected with salmonella. The second is an outbreak of illness in Ohio and Michigan caused by infected hamburger with E. coli O157:H7. In this post, only the national outbreak will be considered.

According to the CDC, 552 people in 32 states have been infected with salmonella by eating tomatoes. At least 53 persons have been hospitalized. The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation; however, the data suggest that illnesses are linked to consumption of raw red plum, red Roma, or round red tomatoes, or any combination of these types of tomatoes, and to products containing these raw tomatoes. At least 53 persons were hospitalized.

The map above marks out the states where outbreaks have occurred. The 10 states with the highest number of reported illnesses are Texas (265), New Mexico (73), Illinois (34), Arizona (29), Virginia (20), Maryland (18), Georgia (11), Missouri (10), New York (10), and Kansas (9). There have been 3 related illnesses reported in Ohio.

New Scientist columnist Ewen Callaway interviewed Keith Warriner, a food microbiologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Warriner said that the source of the salmonella bacteria probably comes from groundwater contaminated with animal feces. Once the bacteria get on or into a tomato, the fruit acts like an incubator. Bacteria divide even in the cool temperatures of packing houses.

It takes a lot of manure to contaminate ground water. The only sources producing large amounts of infected manure are either meat processing plants or industrial animal farms. Regulations regulating meat processing plants are usually not adequately enforced and industrial animal farms should never been allow to exist. Large corporate meat processing plants rely on the mass production animals at industrial farms. There is nothing good about those types of farms except the profits of their owners and corporate meat production plants.

There has been an average of three salmonella outbreaks involving fruit or vegetables each year since 1996. Five of the 33 have involved tomatoes, according to Callaway.

People in the Midwest including Ohio and Michigan have been infected with E.Coli by contaminated hamburger in 2006, 2007, and now 2008. The first outbreak was tied to contaminated meat at Taco Bell. In 2007, Topps frozen hamburger patties was the culprit. The source of the current outbreak is not yet known.

Democrat leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have scheduled a hearing this Thursday on discrimination against “transgendered” individuals in the workplace.

“Homosexuals and their transgender activist allies hope to use this hearing as a way of forcing the imposition of gender confusion upon all Americans,” said Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) Executive Director Regina Griggs today. “Instead of treating transsexualism and cross-dressing behaviors as Gender Identity Disorders (GID) as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Democrats seem determined to make these behaviors into federally-protected minorities.”

“Why should Congress force Americans to provide workplace accommodations for people who are confused about whether they’re male or female? How can Congress force us to make believe that a man is really a woman or a woman is really a man?”

“If Democrats were truly concerned about these gender confused individuals, they’d push for expanded mental health services for GID. A person can’t change his or her sex – and many of these individuals think they’re a woman one day and a man the next day. Why is Congress catering to such insanity?”

Griggs notes that citizens in Montgomery County, Maryland are requiring the government there to permit them to vote on a recently-passed transgender housing and employment policy enacted by the county board of supervisors. “This policy – if left intact – will force restrooms and shower facilities to be open to gender confused individuals. Imagine a young girl being exposed to a cross-dressing male in a restroom! This policy endangers all of us.”

Griggs urges every American to contact Congress to oppose any bill that recognizes cross-dressing behavior as a federally-protected minority group. This includes such legislation as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Congress should not legislate changeable behaviors nor undermine mental health classifications set forth by the APA. Tell Congress it’s time to provide equal access for ex-gays and former transgenders — they are the living proof that change is possible.

See PFOX’s article about how and who to contact in Congress about stopping this bill.

PFOX leads the nation in providing outreach, education, and public awareness in support of families, former transgenders, and the ex-gay community.

June 30, 2008 may be remembered in history as the day Americans began, in earnest, the moral and solemn process of holding their (servant) Government accountable to the Constitution — under threat of withdrawal of allegiance, support and tax money.

To secure this end, the People have begun to claim and exercise a little-known, but unalienable, “Right of Redress,” rather than depending upon the will of the majority as defined by precinct voters, those who cast votes on Capitol Hill, and those that vote from the inner sanctums of our Courthouses.

Most do not know that this profound natural Right, first articulated 800 years ago in Magna Carta, is embodied and protected by the Petition clause of the First Amendment — the same Amendment which protects your voice in the defense of Freedom. Very importantly, academic research since 1986 makes clear the Right to Petition for Redress is NOT a redundant statement of the Right of Speech. It is in fact, the individual exercise of Popular Sovereignty.

To be sure, the widespread exercise of this Right holds significant implications for our nation and are most worthy of your interest. Here’s what the Founders sitting as the first Congress had to say:

“If money is wanted by Rulers
who have in any manner oppressed the People,
they may retain it until their grievances are redressed,
and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised
petitions or disturbing the public tranquility.”

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1:105-113

On June 30, 2008, approximately 1200 American citizens will begin the process of exercising the Right by formally serving a Legal Notice and Demand for Redress upon the President, the Attorney General and every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at their local district offices.

Demanding an official response within forty (40) days, the Notice includes seven (7) Petitions for Redress of Grievances regarding substantial violations of the Constitution:

We the People cannot elect our way out of tyranny. Any assertion that by electing either McCain or Obama we can cure the ills that now plague America is simply naive or based on a lack of information regarding the corrupting forces that truly influence and control our government and political process.

If Liberty and Constitutional Order are to survive in peace, it is imperative that the People learn about and exercise the unalienable Right of Redress. For details about the Plan to Restore Constitutional Order, visit: www.GiveMeLiberty.org/revolution.

The following is a letter written by a Russian-born immigrant to and citizen of America. He not only supports Israel but he also hold citizenship in Israel. As you will see, the author is very concerned about Obama’s contradictory positions on Jews, Israel, and those who threaten them with violence. More importantly, the author raises the right questions about America’s (as well as Israel’s) future if Obama’ were elected in November. The questions reveal a character lurking behind the smiling stardom that may not be beneficial to our nation and others. His chosen associations represent a presidential rule most Americans may not want to be a part of. At the very least, the following letter presents to a more complete picture of who Obama is and his possible goals.

——————–

Dear Senator,

My name is Leon Weinstein. I am an American. I am also Jewish. I was born in the Soviet Union, was fortunate to get out in 1974 and lived in Israel until my second immigration to the US in 1986. I have family in Israel, including my brother, parents, and my beloved nephews. As you see I have a stock in Israel, and wouldn’t want this country to be bombed by nukes (or conventional rockets), annihilated or buldozered to the Mediterranean, all of the above being proposed by the esteemed leaders of practically all neighboring Israel nations. I am not a partial and neutral bystander. I am one very angry and concerned citizen and below I will try to explain to you why I am angry and concerned.

You might become our next President, Leader and Commander-in- Chief, but we the people know precious little about who you are, your ability to withstand pressure, your philosophy, sympathies and preferences, your experience and your judgment. During your recent campaigning we hear from you many wonderful words like ‘unification of America’, ‘no more blue or red states’, ‘help to humanity’, ‘care for those that need care’, and I applaud those words. If your words are supported by your past actions, then you might be the man for the job. If your words contradict or are unsupported by what you did before the Presidential race, then you are not what you say you are, right? In order to find that out I attempted to examine whom you hang out with, what words you and your friends were saying in private and in public and how all that can affect our lives.

First, I decided to look who is endorsing you (according to the information that can be found on Internet), who likes where you stand on issues. I found among others a scaring host of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli people and organizations:

- Louis Farrakhan (Nation of Islam Leader, racist, anti-Semite)

‘But may be’ I was arguing with myself, ‘I can’t blame you for that, since you didn’t ask for their endorsements or their help? You may be even do not know about it, or do you? On the other hand if our enemies (Hamas, Sandinistas, Cuban Marxists) love you so much, may be it says something about your agenda?’

Enough about those that like you. Let’s look at whom you like, whom you planning to bring to the White House to govern America. You invited Zbigniew Brzezinski to become your chief political advisor.

Your financial backer billionaire George Soros repeatedly says in his speeches: ‘The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.’ How many times in one letter I can repeat WOW! Another obstacle he considers Israel. If you have an obstacle on your way, you remove it, right? Do you share the same ideology that Soros professes? As a matter of fact, looks like your wife does. Soros is the power behind us that insulted them by including them in the ‘axis of evil’ and making sure they understood we didn’t like them very much. That drove us apart,’ says McPeak and continues: ‘Obama’s idea is, why not talk to them. Why not see if there isn’t some common ground. Certainly, the fight against al Qaeda would be one of them.’

Dear Senator, hate of Israel would also be a good common ground with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. I remember the overwhelming joy on the Iranian and Palestinian streets when they heard about 9/11. Same joy I recall when Hezbollah dragged on the streets of Gaza killed Israeli soldiers in front of TV cameras. The same joy they experienced when masked terrorists beheaded Americans and many other infidels they kidnap, torture and videotape their murders.

Simon Malley, another of your foreign policy advisors loathes Israel. The anti-Israel activism became a crusade for him. He spent countless hours with Yasser Arafat and became a close friend of Arafat.. He was,according to Daniel Pipes, a sympathizer of the Palestinian Liberation Organization — and this was when it was at the height of its terrorism wave against the West. His efforts were so damaging to France that President Valerie d’Estaing expelled him from the country. Now you want him to give you advice regarding Middle East and relations with Israel.

I can go on and on. My big question to you is – usually we surround ourselves with like-minded people. Didn’t you notice that all those people quite contradict your public speeches? Or may be they express your hidden thoughts and agenda?

During an ABC interview Stephanopoulos asked you: ‘So you would extend our deterrent to Israel?’ your answer was: ‘As I said before, I think it is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel, is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we — one whose security, we consider paramount. And that would be an act of aggression that we would — that I would consider an attack that is unacceptable. And the United States would take appropriate action.’

It is important to notice that you didn’t say, ‘We will come after them and will respond in full force’. Dear Senator – what is this ‘appropriate action’ of yours? We already know that your mentors Reverend Wright and socialist billionaire Soros think that the US and Israel stand in a way to the ‘progress’. May be the appropriate action, as you and your team understand it will be to tell Iranians ‘Good job, guys’?

Israel is an American alley that brings to the relations its fair share. I want you to read exerts from two articles written by Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, who is an expert on U.S. Middle East policy:

Former secretary of state and NATO supreme commander Gen. (ret.) Alexander Haig refers to Israel as the largest, most cost-effective combat-experienced U.S. aircraft carrier – one that does not require American personnel, cannot be sunk and is located in a region critical to U.S. national security interests. In 1967, Israel defeated a pro-Soviet Egypt/Syria axis. In 1970, Israel forced the rollback of an invasion by pro-Soviet Syria of pro-U.S. Jordan, preventing a pro-Soviet Domino Effect in the Persian Gulf. In 1981, Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, enabling the U.S. to proceed with conventional military options in its wars againstSaddam Hussein. In 1982, Israel destroyed Syrian-operated Soviet surface-to-air missile batteries, which were considered impregnable. Israeli-developed unmanned aerial vehicles have been employed by U.S. Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing otherwise unattainable intelligence and preempting terrorist strikes. The Israeli-developed Lightning Pod navigation guidance system eliminated Al-Zarqawi, the arch Al-Qaeda terrorist. Absent Israel and its contribution to U.S. national security, Washington would have to deploy, to the eastern flank of the Mediterranean, aircraft carriers and tens of thousands of servicemen, costing scores of billions of dollars annually.

Dear Senator, we all would want to hear you saying words that in uncertain terms will tell our enemies that you are not their friend, that you stand and will stand for our country and for the principals of the founding fathers of our country. How about repeating the pledge that Professor Wichman of Mechanical Engineering at MSU wrote to a group of ‘outraged by Jewish behavior’ Muslim students in his University:

I (Barack Hussein Obama) will stand firmly against beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women (called ‘whores’ in extreme Muslim culture), the murder of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris, France. This is what offends me, and many, many of my fellow Americans. This shall be stopped and stopped immediately. I will not tolerate it on my watch. As a US President I will stand firm to stop this aggressive, brutal, and uncivilized behavior. I will defend our allies including Israel, and will destroy any one who will try to destroy them. Amen!

Looks like you are not going to do it. This will make your Far Left friends angry with you. You will hide behind words and smiles and half-truths. Exactly as you were hiding your controversial pastor in the basement of the building before you announced your bid for the US presidency.

Leon A.Weinstein
Los Angeles, CA
leonweinstein@hotmail.com

——————–

Another article written by Weinstein that be of interest is Lenin vs. Obama.

Thanks goes to the Foundation for Constitutional Democracy for making this letter known.