By Chuck Baldwin
NewsWithViews.com
A bedrock principle of Natural Law (the Law upon which Western Civilization rests) is the primacy of truth. Without a desire for, and appreciation of, truth, society cannot sustain itself. Lies, deceit, duplicity, etc., are more than moral evils; they are the bane of freedom and liberty. Take away truth, and one is left without honor, justice, or decency. Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.
Truth also demands courage and honesty, because sometimes it can be very painful to look at! It takes an honest man to desire truth, as truth will often reveal the character flaws in his own soul. It also takes courage to appreciate truth, as truth will often demand that one change his own opinion or conduct. Unfortunately, it does appear that the desire for truth has been replaced with a desire for deceit.
Years ago, a great, old preacher-warrior told my former church congregation, “People today love being lied to.” How right he was! For the most part, even professing Christian people today love being lied to. It would seem that many people find deceit easier to digest than truth. Maybe it’s because these people lack the aforementioned virtues of honesty and courage.
Truth demands the virtue of honesty, because honesty requires that information be objectively analyzed and studied; it requires that personal prejudices and proclivities be set aside; it requires that humility replace pride, which allows one’s opinions and conduct to change in the face of truth.
Truth also demands courage, as courage is the active response to honesty. To know what is right to do is great (many people do not even know this much), but to act upon what one knows to be right is even greater--and also harder! Courage gives men the fortitude and conviction to suffer personal loss in order to be faithful to their own honesty. Courage places more value on honesty and truth than on personal prosperity or aggrandizement. Courage propelled Daniel into the lion’s den; it drove Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the burning fiery furnace; it placed a youthful David onto the battlefield alone against a fierce and ferocious adversary; it gathered Pastor Jonas Clark’s congregants (mostly farmers and merchants) onto Lexington Green to face Britain’s highly trained, professional soldiers.
So, where are the virtues of honesty and courage in the desire for truth today? Threaten the average pastor and church leader with some obscure IRS tax code and they will quickly turn their backs upon virtually every principle of truth and honor that they once professed to believe. The mere threat of potential financial loss sends men (excuse me, males) scurrying for cover.
In this regard, when then-Senator Lyndon Johnson created the heinous 501(c)3 IRS tax-exempt status for churches, he very cleverly (with assistance from Hades, I might add) planted the seeds that would grow up to intimidate the vast majority of America’s pastors and church leaders into becoming silent slaves of the state. In fact, if one has an opportunity to ever bore deeply into the matter, he or she will discover that most pastors and church leaders today do not even regard the Church as the institution of the living God, bound only to the laws and principles of God’s Holy Word; they perceive it as a creature of the state, bound to the subjective machinations of IRS bureaucrats and their toadies in the law profession. And should a choice ever have to be made between the two, God, His Word, and His Church will be thrown under the bus in preference to the state-owned corporation. So much for truth--or honesty, or courage, for that matter.
The rejection of truth seems ubiquitous in America today. When did it start? Maybe when Abraham Lincoln turned the Constitution on its head and--at bayonet point--turned republicanism into nationalism; maybe when Woodrow Wilson rejected thousands of years of human history and turned America’s sound money system over to the corrupt and illegitimate Federal Reserve; maybe when Wilson created the monstrous Internal Revenue Service; maybe when the 17th Amendment was adopted; maybe when the American media convinced people that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; maybe when the American people (including the vast majority of pastors and Christians) turned their backs (and their hearts) to the Branch Davidians, who were murdered by federal agents outside Waco, Texas; maybe when so-called “conservative” Senate Republicans deliberately chose to cover up President Bill Clinton’s criminal conduct; maybe when the powers that be began demonizing anyone who dared to question the “official” story regarding the events on 9/11/01; maybe when a vast majority of Christians and conservatives blindly followed and actively supported the unconstitutional, un-American policies of President George W. Bush. They supported Bush when he threw off Western Civilization’s time-tested Just War doctrine (and replaced it with an unconscionable Preemptive War policy), and, again, when he officially began turning America into a police state by creating the Department of Homeland Security, implementing the Military Commissions Act, introducing the Patriot Act, and dismantling Habeus Corpus and Posse Comitatus. Whenever it started, the sad reality is, America has largely become a nation of truth-rejecters.
There is a passage of Scripture that I simply must interject here: “Because they received not the love of the truth . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (II Thess. 2:10,11 KJV)
This is one of God’s universal principles: when people deliberately reject truth, God will allow them to believe lies, which always leads to ultimate destruction. I submit that is exactly where America is today. As a nation, we have rejected truth, and God is giving us over to deceit and falsehood. And what is interesting to me is the way in which many unbelievers seem to have a thirst for truth that far surpasses that of many professing Christians. This leads to an amazing paradox.
Think of it: when God is moving within a nation with His plan of truth and justice (which He is always doing), then it stands to reason that the evil one is, likewise, resisting and countering God’s plan through deceit and falsehood. This means that those unbelievers who seek truth are allying themselves with God (maybe even unwittingly), while those professing Christians who have rejected truth are allying themselves against God (again, maybe even unwittingly). Remember, God called the heathen king, Cyrus, “my shepherd.” (Isa. 44:28) But one thing is constant: truth is like a magnet: one is always being pulled toward it or away from it, depending upon the polarity of one’s heart and mind. People who embrace truth tend to embrace it further, while people who reject truth tend to be continually hardened against it.
Think of the conflicts of world and American history where brothers fought against brothers. Many of these brethren died at the hands of brethren fighting for truth, while other brethren died fighting against truth. And though men may be unable to discern the difference, God suffers from no such malady. He knows those who enable truth and those who disable it. And many of those today that are resisting and disabling truth call themselves Christians. There is another appropriate Scripture: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:20 KJV)
Again, the desire for truth is a bedrock principle of a free and independent society. We must desire truth, first, in our own hearts. We must be willing to objectively analyze our motives and actions based upon this fundamental principle. How can so many people (including professing Christians) behave so dishonestly? How can they act so cowardly? How is it that truth is only precious when it doesn’t cost us anything? How can people be so unconcerned about truth and so spiteful toward those who seek it? How can those who claim as their Savior the One is “the way, the truth, and the life” be so calloused against truth? How can those who claim to read the word of truth (the Bible) be so ignorant of truth?
Look around you: our society is breaking apart due to a lack of appreciation for truth. Small businesses are being put out of business due to a lack of truth. Families are being torn apart due to a lack of truth. Churches are filled with bitterness, carnality, envy, deceit, duplicity, false accusation, greed, and cowardice due to a lack of truth. Our political institutions mock the principles of decency and honor due to a lack of truth. The national media loves to distort truth; the federal judiciary loves to twist truth; and there is no such thing as truth to Big Business--only bottom line profits.
As we enter a new year in search of Heaven’s blessing and protection, let us remind ourselves that God always judges people who reject truth. Always! If we truly want Heaven’s blessing and protection upon our land, we will start--each of us--by being willing to seek and embrace truth, even if doing so costs us something; because, in reality, people who reject truth lose a whole lot more than whatever they had hoped to gain. Eventually, they lose, not only their own lives, but also the life of their country.
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link.
View Original Article HERE
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
29% Of Americans Say It's Difficult To Afford Food
Decline of The Empire
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released their year-end survey on December 15, 2010. Their pollling revealed that for the public, a tough year ended on a down note.
Consistent with the mood of the nation all year, 2010 is closing on a down note. Fully 72% are dissatisfied with national conditions, 89% rate national economic conditions as only fair or poor, and majorities or pluralities think the country is losing ground on nine of 12 major issues.
Pew's survey results are not surprising, and I would cover them in depth if it weren't for some rather important information that was buried in the next to last paragraph.
The survey finds that a majority of the public (57%) says it is very difficult or difficult to afford things they really want. About the same percentage said this two years ago (55%). And for many Americans, affording basic necessities remains a struggle – 51% say it is difficult to afford health care, 48% say the same about their home heating and electric bills, and 29% say it is difficult to afford food.
I just quoted Pew, and you read the quote, but I want to make sure all of us truly absorbed what it says. So let me repeat the information as a series of bullet points.
•Affording basic necessities remains a struggle.
•51% say it is difficult to afford health care.
•48% say the same about their home heating and electric bills.
•29% say it is difficult to afford food.
Why isn't this information Front Page News? Can you see the headline? I can see it, splashed across the top of the front page of the New York Times—
29% of Americans Say It's Difficult To Afford Food
Why haven't we seen this headline? Or this one?
48% of Americans Say It's Hard to Pay Their Heating And Electric Bills
January 3rd, the first working day of the new year, is an excellent time to call out those in the media, our elected representatives, those setting policy at the Federal Reserve, others making hay Inside The Beltway, and many, many right-thinking economists—tell me again what a great country this is. Tell me again we're all going to be OK. Tell me again that this isn't an Empire in decline. Tell me again about the "business cycle" and recessions.
Tell me again that wealth inequality is nothing to worry about, or something that need not be discussed. Tell me again how monumentally important the Big Banks are, about how we had to save them to save ourselves. Tell me again that my life would be impossible without Goldman Sachs. Tell me again that the rising stock market is good for us all. Tell me again how soaring corporate profits made overseas are making life better and better for all Americans. Tell me again how making iPhones in China is part of the best of all possible worlds.
Tell me again about how Trickle-Down Economics works. Tell me again about why the 99ers can be written off, if you haven't already forgotten who they are. Tell me again that rising oil and gasoline prices don't matter. Tell me again that there's no food inflation, that the rising cost of groceries is all in our heads. Go ahead, tell me again.
The obvious problem is that anything these media-types or politicians or policy-makers say would be rendered meaningless by these headlines, which is why we don't see them. The gap between the Official Story and day-to-day Reality could hardly be larger. Isn't it shameful that nearly 3 in 10 Americans find it difficult to afford food? That nearly half of them find it hard to pay their utility bills? If it's not, then what is it? Just a minor bump in the road? If you're in the media or Inside the Beltway, and you're shoving this news under the rug—and of course, most of you are doing just that—you yourself are part of our National Shame.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
View Original Article HERE
View Pew Research Article HERE
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released their year-end survey on December 15, 2010. Their pollling revealed that for the public, a tough year ended on a down note.
Consistent with the mood of the nation all year, 2010 is closing on a down note. Fully 72% are dissatisfied with national conditions, 89% rate national economic conditions as only fair or poor, and majorities or pluralities think the country is losing ground on nine of 12 major issues.
Pew's survey results are not surprising, and I would cover them in depth if it weren't for some rather important information that was buried in the next to last paragraph.
The survey finds that a majority of the public (57%) says it is very difficult or difficult to afford things they really want. About the same percentage said this two years ago (55%). And for many Americans, affording basic necessities remains a struggle – 51% say it is difficult to afford health care, 48% say the same about their home heating and electric bills, and 29% say it is difficult to afford food.
I just quoted Pew, and you read the quote, but I want to make sure all of us truly absorbed what it says. So let me repeat the information as a series of bullet points.
•Affording basic necessities remains a struggle.
•51% say it is difficult to afford health care.
•48% say the same about their home heating and electric bills.
•29% say it is difficult to afford food.
Why isn't this information Front Page News? Can you see the headline? I can see it, splashed across the top of the front page of the New York Times—
29% of Americans Say It's Difficult To Afford Food
Why haven't we seen this headline? Or this one?
48% of Americans Say It's Hard to Pay Their Heating And Electric Bills
January 3rd, the first working day of the new year, is an excellent time to call out those in the media, our elected representatives, those setting policy at the Federal Reserve, others making hay Inside The Beltway, and many, many right-thinking economists—tell me again what a great country this is. Tell me again we're all going to be OK. Tell me again that this isn't an Empire in decline. Tell me again about the "business cycle" and recessions.
Tell me again that wealth inequality is nothing to worry about, or something that need not be discussed. Tell me again how monumentally important the Big Banks are, about how we had to save them to save ourselves. Tell me again that my life would be impossible without Goldman Sachs. Tell me again that the rising stock market is good for us all. Tell me again how soaring corporate profits made overseas are making life better and better for all Americans. Tell me again how making iPhones in China is part of the best of all possible worlds.
Tell me again about how Trickle-Down Economics works. Tell me again about why the 99ers can be written off, if you haven't already forgotten who they are. Tell me again that rising oil and gasoline prices don't matter. Tell me again that there's no food inflation, that the rising cost of groceries is all in our heads. Go ahead, tell me again.
The obvious problem is that anything these media-types or politicians or policy-makers say would be rendered meaningless by these headlines, which is why we don't see them. The gap between the Official Story and day-to-day Reality could hardly be larger. Isn't it shameful that nearly 3 in 10 Americans find it difficult to afford food? That nearly half of them find it hard to pay their utility bills? If it's not, then what is it? Just a minor bump in the road? If you're in the media or Inside the Beltway, and you're shoving this news under the rug—and of course, most of you are doing just that—you yourself are part of our National Shame.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
View Original Article HERE
View Pew Research Article HERE
Saturday, January 1, 2011
50% Of Americans One Paycheck Away From Needing Government Assistance
Infowars
MyBudget360
Many Americans live precariously close to the edge of financial insolvency flirting with economic disaster daily. If you casually browse mainstream articles and watch any amount of television you would think that the US still had a vibrant and strong middle class.
When we pull back the covers on the current financial situation we realize that many Americans are merely getting by and many would like to live in some 1984 Orwellian fantasy world where suddenly things are back to financial equilibrium. 43 million Americans are depending on government food assistance to get by.
But many more millions are merely living paycheck to paycheck hidden in the cellar of the headlines. 1 out of 3 Americans has zero in any retirement account (not one slowly eroding dollar). Half of Americans have $2,000 or less which puts them one month away from needing government assistance.
With the volatile job market and turbulent Wall Street middle class Americans are feeling the once prided stability being slowly washed away. Let us examine how retirement is now becoming more of a fantasy for many Americans.
Many Americans especially young adults realize that saving large amounts of money is a key to a sustainable retirement:
Over 84 percent of 18 to 29 year olds surveyed feel they need at least $1 million saved up in order to stop working some day. 60 percent of those 30 and older feel that they will also need $1 million saved up. Yet the actual figures are somewhat disturbing in contrast to the perceptions of many:
Source: Census
The median retirement account for US households is $2,000. This is why the vast majority of retirees depend on Social Security as their primary source of funds in old age even though Social Security was never designed to be a long term pension system. You’ll notice that the average retirement account is closer to $50,000 a year but this is heavily skewed by the top 1 percent that keep most of their funds in stock wealth.
The reason retirement is slipping through the fingers of many like sand is the disjointed income equality in the country that has grown in the last decade. If we look at income growth it has been heavily tilted at the top:
Source: Census, Chart: Wikipedia
There has been virtually no real income growth for most Americans. The real significant wage growth over the last 50 years has occurred at the very top 10 percent of income earners in the country with this inequality accelerating in the last bubble decade. What is more important is that 75 percent of Americans largely depend on a job as a primary source of income which seems rather obvious:
Source: Federal Reserve
If you examine the chart closely, it is only the top 10 percent that really benefit from a buoyant and thriving stock market. As we have mentioned earlier 1 out of 3 Americans has zero, nada, or zilch in their retirement account. The movement of the stock market is like watching the score of a football game where the outcome means nothing to the individual. Yet the problem is that Wall Street has taken the one item that was stable like a rock for Americans, housing and turned it into another commodity to be gambled and speculated against.
The share of income flowing to a smaller and smaller group of Americans is draining the life blood out of the middle class:
“From 1950 to 1989, nearly 40 years of data the top 1 percent earned roughly 7 to 8 percent of all the nationwide income. Today it is inching closer to 20 percent, a figure resembling the massive income inequality seen during the Great Depression.”
Even within the top 1 percent the difference in incomes is striking:
This kind of income inequality is coming at the cost of the middle class. Banks and the financial press would like you to believe that this isn’t the case but just look at how far your dollar is now going. If you are fortunate to have a retirement account it is likely you don’t have the gambling devices of options, hedges, and other items that are largely new casino devices for Wall Street. Most Americans are comfortable with income discrepancies but not at these levels and not when much of the gains are based on bets that hurt the overall economy.
The problem as many are now seeing is the financial sector is largely rent seeking by pilfering the future of many middle class Americans. The banking system extracts wealth by devaluing the US dollar, by charging interest or fees on retail banking, and ultimately suckering many Americans to dump money into a stock market that is operated like a casino. Washington Mutual, a once popular bank used to offer free checking for life. JP Morgan Chase took over Washington Mutual in a government shotgun wedding. Now, Chase is looking to extract $10 to $12 per month merely for having a checking account. Of course they’ll waive this if you have $5,000 saved in a handful of their accounts. Look above again. 1 out of 3 Americans have no savings so how will this be accomplished?
As we mentioned Social Security is largely becoming the retirement account default of many Americans. Yet the growing number of beneficiaries is now putting strain on the system:
The above chart will only continue to show expansion. Where will all this money come from? We have a smaller workforce with the young that are already having a tough time saving any money in this economy. Many of the good paying jobs of today require a college education and college has largely entered its own student loan bubble. Many of the future middle class are merely trying to service their own massive debt even before they begin their careers. To save that $1 million will become a daunting task moving forward. Also, if the Federal Reserve has its way $1 million 30 or 40 years from now may not be much.
With 17 percent of Americans unemployed or underemployed many are simply looking for that next paycheck let alone planning for a retirement where they can sip margaritas in some picturesque beach location. Wall Street has pilfered the pockets of the middle class through bailouts for their reckless gambling and incredible excess. Many Americans now understand this yet the current political class is merely interested in protecting the established *****cracy by pillaging the American village. Most Americans are becoming exhausted by both political parties and their pandering to Wall Street that provides a revolving door of money, jobs, and connections.
The younger generation is seeing their ability to grow their net worth diminishing:
This figure has only dropped even further in the last few years. Retirement was once thought of as a place where one would reach a comfortable existence after many years of hard work. Not an extravagant lifestyle but one in where a home was paid off and enough money came in for food and daily necessities. But now with Wall Street turning housing into a giant commodity and stripping bear the employment base of the country; many are wondering if retirement is even an option especially when the stock market is at the same level as it was one decade ago.
Ultimately what needs to happen is to get money out of politics and to split up commercial and investment banking. The answer is obvious but the *****cracy is relentless in keeping this game going as long as possible. As this continues, retirement will continue to look more and more as a fantasy to millions of Americans.
View Article With Links and Charts HERE
MyBudget360
Many Americans live precariously close to the edge of financial insolvency flirting with economic disaster daily. If you casually browse mainstream articles and watch any amount of television you would think that the US still had a vibrant and strong middle class.
When we pull back the covers on the current financial situation we realize that many Americans are merely getting by and many would like to live in some 1984 Orwellian fantasy world where suddenly things are back to financial equilibrium. 43 million Americans are depending on government food assistance to get by.
But many more millions are merely living paycheck to paycheck hidden in the cellar of the headlines. 1 out of 3 Americans has zero in any retirement account (not one slowly eroding dollar). Half of Americans have $2,000 or less which puts them one month away from needing government assistance.
With the volatile job market and turbulent Wall Street middle class Americans are feeling the once prided stability being slowly washed away. Let us examine how retirement is now becoming more of a fantasy for many Americans.
Many Americans especially young adults realize that saving large amounts of money is a key to a sustainable retirement:
Over 84 percent of 18 to 29 year olds surveyed feel they need at least $1 million saved up in order to stop working some day. 60 percent of those 30 and older feel that they will also need $1 million saved up. Yet the actual figures are somewhat disturbing in contrast to the perceptions of many:
Source: Census
The median retirement account for US households is $2,000. This is why the vast majority of retirees depend on Social Security as their primary source of funds in old age even though Social Security was never designed to be a long term pension system. You’ll notice that the average retirement account is closer to $50,000 a year but this is heavily skewed by the top 1 percent that keep most of their funds in stock wealth.
The reason retirement is slipping through the fingers of many like sand is the disjointed income equality in the country that has grown in the last decade. If we look at income growth it has been heavily tilted at the top:
Source: Census, Chart: Wikipedia
There has been virtually no real income growth for most Americans. The real significant wage growth over the last 50 years has occurred at the very top 10 percent of income earners in the country with this inequality accelerating in the last bubble decade. What is more important is that 75 percent of Americans largely depend on a job as a primary source of income which seems rather obvious:
Source: Federal Reserve
If you examine the chart closely, it is only the top 10 percent that really benefit from a buoyant and thriving stock market. As we have mentioned earlier 1 out of 3 Americans has zero, nada, or zilch in their retirement account. The movement of the stock market is like watching the score of a football game where the outcome means nothing to the individual. Yet the problem is that Wall Street has taken the one item that was stable like a rock for Americans, housing and turned it into another commodity to be gambled and speculated against.
The share of income flowing to a smaller and smaller group of Americans is draining the life blood out of the middle class:
“From 1950 to 1989, nearly 40 years of data the top 1 percent earned roughly 7 to 8 percent of all the nationwide income. Today it is inching closer to 20 percent, a figure resembling the massive income inequality seen during the Great Depression.”
Even within the top 1 percent the difference in incomes is striking:
This kind of income inequality is coming at the cost of the middle class. Banks and the financial press would like you to believe that this isn’t the case but just look at how far your dollar is now going. If you are fortunate to have a retirement account it is likely you don’t have the gambling devices of options, hedges, and other items that are largely new casino devices for Wall Street. Most Americans are comfortable with income discrepancies but not at these levels and not when much of the gains are based on bets that hurt the overall economy.
The problem as many are now seeing is the financial sector is largely rent seeking by pilfering the future of many middle class Americans. The banking system extracts wealth by devaluing the US dollar, by charging interest or fees on retail banking, and ultimately suckering many Americans to dump money into a stock market that is operated like a casino. Washington Mutual, a once popular bank used to offer free checking for life. JP Morgan Chase took over Washington Mutual in a government shotgun wedding. Now, Chase is looking to extract $10 to $12 per month merely for having a checking account. Of course they’ll waive this if you have $5,000 saved in a handful of their accounts. Look above again. 1 out of 3 Americans have no savings so how will this be accomplished?
As we mentioned Social Security is largely becoming the retirement account default of many Americans. Yet the growing number of beneficiaries is now putting strain on the system:
The above chart will only continue to show expansion. Where will all this money come from? We have a smaller workforce with the young that are already having a tough time saving any money in this economy. Many of the good paying jobs of today require a college education and college has largely entered its own student loan bubble. Many of the future middle class are merely trying to service their own massive debt even before they begin their careers. To save that $1 million will become a daunting task moving forward. Also, if the Federal Reserve has its way $1 million 30 or 40 years from now may not be much.
With 17 percent of Americans unemployed or underemployed many are simply looking for that next paycheck let alone planning for a retirement where they can sip margaritas in some picturesque beach location. Wall Street has pilfered the pockets of the middle class through bailouts for their reckless gambling and incredible excess. Many Americans now understand this yet the current political class is merely interested in protecting the established *****cracy by pillaging the American village. Most Americans are becoming exhausted by both political parties and their pandering to Wall Street that provides a revolving door of money, jobs, and connections.
The younger generation is seeing their ability to grow their net worth diminishing:
This figure has only dropped even further in the last few years. Retirement was once thought of as a place where one would reach a comfortable existence after many years of hard work. Not an extravagant lifestyle but one in where a home was paid off and enough money came in for food and daily necessities. But now with Wall Street turning housing into a giant commodity and stripping bear the employment base of the country; many are wondering if retirement is even an option especially when the stock market is at the same level as it was one decade ago.
Ultimately what needs to happen is to get money out of politics and to split up commercial and investment banking. The answer is obvious but the *****cracy is relentless in keeping this game going as long as possible. As this continues, retirement will continue to look more and more as a fantasy to millions of Americans.
View Article With Links and Charts HERE
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Feds, Police Enforce Mandatory Blood Tests At Florida Checkpoints
Steve Watson & Paul Watson
Prisonplanet.com
In a shocking, but not unprecedented, turn of events drivers in Florida will be mandated to allow police to jab a needle in their arm and extract blood at DUI checkpoints should they refuse to submit to breath tests.
At what have been described as “no refusal” checkpoints, judges will be on hand to issue a warrant allowing police to demand blood.
DUI defense attorney Kevin Hayslett told 10 News WTSP that the mandatory blood tests are a clear violation of constitutional rights:
“It’s a slippery slope and it’s got to stop somewhere,” Hayslett explained, “what other misdemeanor offense do we have in the United States where the government can forcefully put a needle into your arm?”
Watch the report:
The program is gathering pace and has already been instituted in other States. As we have previously highlighted, police in Texas and Idaho are already forcibly jabbing needles into people’s arms and taking their blood at DUI checkpoints, even if they are merely “suspected” of being drunk.
The Associated Press reported last year that officers in Texas and Idaho are training to withdraw blood from “suspects” as a replacement for the standard breathalyzer test, primarily because police can’t make anyone breathe into a tube but apparently, in the “land of the free,” they can forcibly hold someone down and jab a needle into their arm and take their blood, “a practice that’s been upheld by Idaho’s Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court,”.
Nicole Watson, the College of Western Idaho phlebotomy instructor teaching the Idaho officers, described how the process would unfold.
“Once they’re back on patrol, they will draw blood of any suspected drunk driver who refuses a breath test. They’ll use force if they need to, such as getting help from another officer to pin down a suspect and potentially strap them down, Watson said.”
The practice of cops drawing blood at the side of the road has been in place in some areas since 1995 but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has indicated that the program is ultimately intended to be introduced nationwide.
As Alex Jones exposed over a decade ago, the eventual plan, under a 1993 executive order signed by Bill Clinton, is to institute mandatory blood and urine testing at the DMV:
In October of this year, Washington DC introduced a voluntary program offering free HIV testing at the Department of Motor of Vehicles office in Penn Branch in Southeast Washington for those renewing their licenses. Participants received up to $15 to help defray their DMV costs.
The program was clearly intended to acclimatize drivers to the idea of providing blood samples when applying for a new license.
Of course, once Americans are trained to accept authority figures jabbing them with needles against their will on a whim, programs for mandatory mass vaccination will be all the more easier to implement.
As we covered earlier this year, the government is harvesting samples of DNA from every newborn child in the country, storing them in monolithic bio banks and providing them to outside researchers and other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, all without the consent or knowledge of parents.
In April 2008, President Bush signed into law a bill which formerly announced the process that the federal government has been engaged in for years, screening the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. within six months of birth.
Described as a “national contingency plan” the justification for the law S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, is that it represents preparation for any sort of “public health emergency.”
The bill states that the federal government should “continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening” and “maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening… ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the internet and is updated at least quarterly”.
Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA may be used in genetic experiments and tests, both by the government and by researchers chosen to handle the DNA samples and the information that goes with them.
Allowing the government to illegally obtain and store Americans’ blood is a total invasion of privacy and completely unconstitutional. Every effort should be made by citizens to resist this tyranny and prevent the bloodsucking state from building their national DNA database.
View Article With Links HERE
Prisonplanet.com
In a shocking, but not unprecedented, turn of events drivers in Florida will be mandated to allow police to jab a needle in their arm and extract blood at DUI checkpoints should they refuse to submit to breath tests.
At what have been described as “no refusal” checkpoints, judges will be on hand to issue a warrant allowing police to demand blood.
DUI defense attorney Kevin Hayslett told 10 News WTSP that the mandatory blood tests are a clear violation of constitutional rights:
“It’s a slippery slope and it’s got to stop somewhere,” Hayslett explained, “what other misdemeanor offense do we have in the United States where the government can forcefully put a needle into your arm?”
Watch the report:
The program is gathering pace and has already been instituted in other States. As we have previously highlighted, police in Texas and Idaho are already forcibly jabbing needles into people’s arms and taking their blood at DUI checkpoints, even if they are merely “suspected” of being drunk.
The Associated Press reported last year that officers in Texas and Idaho are training to withdraw blood from “suspects” as a replacement for the standard breathalyzer test, primarily because police can’t make anyone breathe into a tube but apparently, in the “land of the free,” they can forcibly hold someone down and jab a needle into their arm and take their blood, “a practice that’s been upheld by Idaho’s Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court,”.
Nicole Watson, the College of Western Idaho phlebotomy instructor teaching the Idaho officers, described how the process would unfold.
“Once they’re back on patrol, they will draw blood of any suspected drunk driver who refuses a breath test. They’ll use force if they need to, such as getting help from another officer to pin down a suspect and potentially strap them down, Watson said.”
The practice of cops drawing blood at the side of the road has been in place in some areas since 1995 but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has indicated that the program is ultimately intended to be introduced nationwide.
As Alex Jones exposed over a decade ago, the eventual plan, under a 1993 executive order signed by Bill Clinton, is to institute mandatory blood and urine testing at the DMV:
In October of this year, Washington DC introduced a voluntary program offering free HIV testing at the Department of Motor of Vehicles office in Penn Branch in Southeast Washington for those renewing their licenses. Participants received up to $15 to help defray their DMV costs.
The program was clearly intended to acclimatize drivers to the idea of providing blood samples when applying for a new license.
Of course, once Americans are trained to accept authority figures jabbing them with needles against their will on a whim, programs for mandatory mass vaccination will be all the more easier to implement.
As we covered earlier this year, the government is harvesting samples of DNA from every newborn child in the country, storing them in monolithic bio banks and providing them to outside researchers and other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, all without the consent or knowledge of parents.
In April 2008, President Bush signed into law a bill which formerly announced the process that the federal government has been engaged in for years, screening the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. within six months of birth.
Described as a “national contingency plan” the justification for the law S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, is that it represents preparation for any sort of “public health emergency.”
The bill states that the federal government should “continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening” and “maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening… ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the internet and is updated at least quarterly”.
Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA may be used in genetic experiments and tests, both by the government and by researchers chosen to handle the DNA samples and the information that goes with them.
Allowing the government to illegally obtain and store Americans’ blood is a total invasion of privacy and completely unconstitutional. Every effort should be made by citizens to resist this tyranny and prevent the bloodsucking state from building their national DNA database.
View Article With Links HERE
The Big Business Of Abortion
The American Dream
Abortion has become very big business in the United States. Since Roe v. Wade was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, tens of millions of babies have been killed in the wombs of their mothers. In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 50 million babies have been aborted in America since 1973. It is a national horror that will never be erased. Most proponents of abortion will tell you that it is all about giving mothers the "right to choose" whether to end the life of their babies or not, but there is actually a lot more to the big business of abortion than just that. The truth is that abortion in America is also about population control, eugenics, "protecting the environment" and making a ton of money.
Today, Planned Parenthood performs more abortions that anyone else in the United States. For the 2008/2009 fiscial year, Planned Parenthood received $363.2 million from the U.S. government.
Just think about that.
The U.S. government is pouring over 360 million dollars a year into the biggest abortion provider in the United States.
Of course by law none of that 360 million dollars is supposed to be used for abortions. It is supposed to be used for things like distributing contraceptives and "family planning" counseling.
But where in the world do you think Planned Parenthood would be without that 360 million dollars from the government?
How many abortions do you think they would be able to perform?
A whole lot less, that is for sure.
So how many abortions does Planned Parenthood perform each year?
Well, according to a fact sheet on Planned Parenthood's Web site, they performed 324,008 abortions in 2008.
It is an unimaginable slaughter. But what else should we expect from Planned Parenthood? They have had a philosophy that babies are bad ever since they were founded. In fact, Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger once actually stated the following....
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Wow, does that sound like something that the federal government should be funding?
In addition, Planned Parenthood specifically targets the poor. A whopping 72 percent of Planned Parenthood's "clients" have incomes that are either equal to or beneath 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
But Planned Parenthood is not the only one that finds abortion to be very profitable. In fact, many insurance companies are now openly pushing abortions because they are much "cheaper" than the alternatives.
In an article on the website of Forbes magazine, Baltimore Planned Parenthood CEO John Nugent disclosed that a first trimester abortion costs somewhere between "$300 to $450" and that many health insurance executives are now realizing that it will cost them a whole lot less to pay for an early abortion than to have to pay for a live birth....
"But if the gestational age is higher you're paying for a surgical suite. That's why the insurance companies think they should be offering it. It's cheaper to terminate an unwanted pregnancy rather than taking it to term."
In fact, according to the Forbes article, a live birth can cost ten to twenty times more than an abortion....
"Health Care Blue Book confirms the price difference. An abortion performed in an physician's office typically costs $397. A vaginal delivery costs $5,992, while a c-section is $8,558."
So for greedy health insurance companies looking to bolster the "bottom line", which alternative do you think looks better to them?
But abortion is not just about making money. It is also about population control and eugenics.
This is one of the big, bad secrets about the abortion industry that nobody is supposed to talk about.
But those ruling over us know what is going on. Current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually made the following statement during an interview with The New York Times....
"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of."
So just what "populations" is Ginsburg referring to here?
And why did supposedly conservative politicians not call for her resignation for such a comment?
Sadly, the truth is that abortion in America has always been about eugenics.
On page 12 of a book entitled "Woman, Morality and Birth Control" that was published in 1922, Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger penned a statement which should leave no doubt about what kind of person she was....
"Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race."
Does that sound like what America should stand for?
But instead, Margaret Sanger is lifted up as a great hero in classrooms throughout the United States.
How disgusting is that?
Sadly, virtually everyone in a top U.S. government position seems to believe in population control these days.
For example, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared that promoting abortion and other population control measures "will now be "the centerpiece of our foreign policy."
But it is not just our government that is promoting these things. Do you remember all of that money that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are giving away? Well, it turns out that a huge chunk of it is going to promote abortion and other "reproductive health services" around the globe.
So why are people like Bill Gates giving so much money to these "causes"? Well, for Gates it all goes back to his father. Gates disclosed the following during a 2003 interview with PBS....
"When I was growing up . . . my dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that."
Unfortunately, it is not just Gates that is into population control among the global elite. In fact, an obsession with population control seems to be something that nearly all the wealthiest men of the world have in common.
For example, just consider the following quote from CNN Founder Ted Turner....
"A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal."
So how in the world does Ted Turner propose to get the global population down from 6 billion to 300 million?
That is a very good question.
Many of these ultra-wealthy individuals believe that there is a clear link between the growing human population of the earth and our "environmental problems". The following quote from David Rockefeller is one good example....
"The negative impact of population growth on all of our planetary ecosystems is becoming appallingly evident."
For many of these elitists, the number one problem facing the world is "global warming", and since all humans produce carbon emissions, the fewer humans we have remaining the better off the earth will be. This very disturbing philosophy is now even being prominently featured in UN documents. For example, a recent United Nations Population Fund report entitled "Facing a Changing World: Women, Population and Climate" actually says the following....
"No human is genuinely 'carbon neutral,' especially when all greenhouse gases are figured into the equation."
So if all of us are part of the problem, then what is the solution?
Well, the solution is to get rid of as many of "us" as possible according to them.
Today, most of those that believe in "global warming" and the radical green agenda also believe in population control (at least to some degree), and most of those that believe in population control also believe in the radical green agenda.
Of course "man-made global warming" is a complete and total myth, but the elitists aren't about to let that ruin their party.
Sadly, the truth is that population control is actually bad for our economy. In the United States our population is rapidly aging and this is causing massive imbalances.
Back in 1950 each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers. Today, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers. By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.
It sure would be great if we had 40 or 50 million young workers that could support all of these retirees, wouldn't it?
Unfortunately, there is an overwhelming consensus among the global elite, among our politicians and among "the scientific community" that the answer to so many of our economic, social and environmental problems is to have less people. Billions of dollars will continue to go to promote abortion and other population control measures around the world.
But can we really keep slaughtering millions of babies around the globe every single year and never experience any consequences? The mass abortion that is going on is truly a great evil, and you have to wonder when God is finally going to decide that enough is enough.
View Article With Links HERE
Abortion has become very big business in the United States. Since Roe v. Wade was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, tens of millions of babies have been killed in the wombs of their mothers. In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 50 million babies have been aborted in America since 1973. It is a national horror that will never be erased. Most proponents of abortion will tell you that it is all about giving mothers the "right to choose" whether to end the life of their babies or not, but there is actually a lot more to the big business of abortion than just that. The truth is that abortion in America is also about population control, eugenics, "protecting the environment" and making a ton of money.
Today, Planned Parenthood performs more abortions that anyone else in the United States. For the 2008/2009 fiscial year, Planned Parenthood received $363.2 million from the U.S. government.
Just think about that.
The U.S. government is pouring over 360 million dollars a year into the biggest abortion provider in the United States.
Of course by law none of that 360 million dollars is supposed to be used for abortions. It is supposed to be used for things like distributing contraceptives and "family planning" counseling.
But where in the world do you think Planned Parenthood would be without that 360 million dollars from the government?
How many abortions do you think they would be able to perform?
A whole lot less, that is for sure.
So how many abortions does Planned Parenthood perform each year?
Well, according to a fact sheet on Planned Parenthood's Web site, they performed 324,008 abortions in 2008.
It is an unimaginable slaughter. But what else should we expect from Planned Parenthood? They have had a philosophy that babies are bad ever since they were founded. In fact, Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger once actually stated the following....
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Wow, does that sound like something that the federal government should be funding?
In addition, Planned Parenthood specifically targets the poor. A whopping 72 percent of Planned Parenthood's "clients" have incomes that are either equal to or beneath 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
But Planned Parenthood is not the only one that finds abortion to be very profitable. In fact, many insurance companies are now openly pushing abortions because they are much "cheaper" than the alternatives.
In an article on the website of Forbes magazine, Baltimore Planned Parenthood CEO John Nugent disclosed that a first trimester abortion costs somewhere between "$300 to $450" and that many health insurance executives are now realizing that it will cost them a whole lot less to pay for an early abortion than to have to pay for a live birth....
"But if the gestational age is higher you're paying for a surgical suite. That's why the insurance companies think they should be offering it. It's cheaper to terminate an unwanted pregnancy rather than taking it to term."
In fact, according to the Forbes article, a live birth can cost ten to twenty times more than an abortion....
"Health Care Blue Book confirms the price difference. An abortion performed in an physician's office typically costs $397. A vaginal delivery costs $5,992, while a c-section is $8,558."
So for greedy health insurance companies looking to bolster the "bottom line", which alternative do you think looks better to them?
But abortion is not just about making money. It is also about population control and eugenics.
This is one of the big, bad secrets about the abortion industry that nobody is supposed to talk about.
But those ruling over us know what is going on. Current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually made the following statement during an interview with The New York Times....
"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of."
So just what "populations" is Ginsburg referring to here?
And why did supposedly conservative politicians not call for her resignation for such a comment?
Sadly, the truth is that abortion in America has always been about eugenics.
On page 12 of a book entitled "Woman, Morality and Birth Control" that was published in 1922, Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger penned a statement which should leave no doubt about what kind of person she was....
"Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race."
Does that sound like what America should stand for?
But instead, Margaret Sanger is lifted up as a great hero in classrooms throughout the United States.
How disgusting is that?
Sadly, virtually everyone in a top U.S. government position seems to believe in population control these days.
For example, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared that promoting abortion and other population control measures "will now be "the centerpiece of our foreign policy."
But it is not just our government that is promoting these things. Do you remember all of that money that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are giving away? Well, it turns out that a huge chunk of it is going to promote abortion and other "reproductive health services" around the globe.
So why are people like Bill Gates giving so much money to these "causes"? Well, for Gates it all goes back to his father. Gates disclosed the following during a 2003 interview with PBS....
"When I was growing up . . . my dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that."
Unfortunately, it is not just Gates that is into population control among the global elite. In fact, an obsession with population control seems to be something that nearly all the wealthiest men of the world have in common.
For example, just consider the following quote from CNN Founder Ted Turner....
"A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal."
So how in the world does Ted Turner propose to get the global population down from 6 billion to 300 million?
That is a very good question.
Many of these ultra-wealthy individuals believe that there is a clear link between the growing human population of the earth and our "environmental problems". The following quote from David Rockefeller is one good example....
"The negative impact of population growth on all of our planetary ecosystems is becoming appallingly evident."
For many of these elitists, the number one problem facing the world is "global warming", and since all humans produce carbon emissions, the fewer humans we have remaining the better off the earth will be. This very disturbing philosophy is now even being prominently featured in UN documents. For example, a recent United Nations Population Fund report entitled "Facing a Changing World: Women, Population and Climate" actually says the following....
"No human is genuinely 'carbon neutral,' especially when all greenhouse gases are figured into the equation."
So if all of us are part of the problem, then what is the solution?
Well, the solution is to get rid of as many of "us" as possible according to them.
Today, most of those that believe in "global warming" and the radical green agenda also believe in population control (at least to some degree), and most of those that believe in population control also believe in the radical green agenda.
Of course "man-made global warming" is a complete and total myth, but the elitists aren't about to let that ruin their party.
Sadly, the truth is that population control is actually bad for our economy. In the United States our population is rapidly aging and this is causing massive imbalances.
Back in 1950 each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers. Today, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers. By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.
It sure would be great if we had 40 or 50 million young workers that could support all of these retirees, wouldn't it?
Unfortunately, there is an overwhelming consensus among the global elite, among our politicians and among "the scientific community" that the answer to so many of our economic, social and environmental problems is to have less people. Billions of dollars will continue to go to promote abortion and other population control measures around the world.
But can we really keep slaughtering millions of babies around the globe every single year and never experience any consequences? The mass abortion that is going on is truly a great evil, and you have to wonder when God is finally going to decide that enough is enough.
View Article With Links HERE
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Cop arrests preacher for saying homosexuality a sin
By Bob Unruh
WorldNetDaily
Told law bans affirmation of biblical perspective of lifestyle choice
Telling a street preacher that it is against the law to affirm the Bible's teaching on homosexuality is costing a team of British police officers some $11,000 – plus legal fees.
That was the resolution announced by The Christian Institute in a case that it fought on behalf of a street preacher, Dale Mcalpine, who was arrested and detained for nearly eight hours on the basis of the officers' decision that the Bible's teachings violated the law.
Mike Judge, spokesman for the institute, which fights on behalf of Christian and human rights in the United Kingdom, said perhaps the officers should remember the situation developed in Cumbria, not North Korea.
"Mr. Mcalpine was arrested and held in a cell for expressing his Christian views," Judge said of the case, which was resolved just days ago. "Sadly, it's not an isolated case. We have defended a number of Christians wrongfully arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. There is a problem with the law and it needs to be fixed."
The institute report said it was the second such case just this month. On Dec. 8, a court in Birmingham County concluded police in West Midlands broke the law when they arrested, handcuffed and detained street preacher Anthony Rollins.
The court awarded Rollins 4,250 British pounds and ordered police to pay his legal costs. In the case of Mcalpine, police were told to pay him 7,000 pounds, or about $11,000, plus his legal fees.
The U.K.'s Public Order Act includes language that is similar to Barack Obama's "hate crimes" law in the U.S. that he signed more than a year ago in that they ban some statements regarding homosexuality.
That bill became law over the objections of a multitude of Christian organizations who say it grants special protections to those who choose a homosexual lifestyle, creating a form of "thought police" in the United States.
In Mcalpine's case, the U.K. police backtracked over issues of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and breach of human rights when Mcalpine, 42, of Workington, took them to task for his April arrest.
He was preaching from the Bible in Workington town center and his sermon contained no mention of homosexuality. But when he finished, Sam Adams, who identified himself as an "LBGT Liaison Officer," approached him, the institute reported.
"Even though Mr. Mcalpine had never mentioned homosexuality, [Officer] Adams warned him that he could be arrested if he made homophobic remarks. Mr. Mcalpine replied that he was not homophobic, but he sometimes preaches that homosexual conduct is a sin because that is what the Bible says," the report said.
"Uniformed police officers were called to the scene and wrongly informed Mr. Mcalpine that 'it is against the law' to describe homosexual conduct as a sin," the report said.
In fact the exchange went like this:
Mcalpine said he wanted to abide by the law and the police responded: "What've you been saying, homophobic wise?"
"I spoke to your officer earlier and he was upset that I was saying homosexuality was a sin – which is what the Bible says. I affirm that's what I say because that's in the Bible. And there's no law, there's no law," he said.
The police responded: "Well there is. ... There is. Unfortunately mate, it's a breach of Section 5 of the Public Order Act. ... It is against the law. listen, mate, we're pretty sure. You're under arrest for a racially aggravated Section 5 Public Order offense."
The institute said Officer Craig Hynes arrested Mcalpine, took him to the police detention facility and held him for nearly eight hours.
He was accused of using "threatening, abusive or insulting" words "to cause harassment, alarm or distress," although the charges were later dropped.
The institute reported that the arrest was so egregious that even a "homosexual campaigner," Peter Tatchell volunteered to appear as a defense witness.
Mcalpine told the institute he was pleased with the settlement and held no hard feelings toward police.
"I will pray for them because they have a difficult and sometimes dangerous job," he said.
Such situations have been developing more and more around the world. In one U.S. situation, a street preacher's toe apparently brushed the grass of private property and he was arrested, and in Oslo, authorities have tried to shut down those who would share their Christian believes in public.
At the time the case developed, Liberty Counsel Cultural Affairs Analyst Matt Barber raised the warning that such cases will be seen more and more in America, too.
"We know that what's happening in Europe and what's happening in Canada offers us a window into the future of what will happen here in the United States," he said. "The hate crimes laws and employment sexual orientation laws such as ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act here in the United States, have been the precursor to the more oppressive hate speech laws," Barber explained.
"Make no mistake, those laws we have now for hate crimes and the more present danger with ENDA, these laws are the precursor in the U. S. for the same kind of criminalization of Christianity that's happening in the U. K.," Barber said.
Judge said as in the U.S., British law supposedly protects the freedom of religious expression.
"The law does protect free speech in the U.K. and it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is wrong. However, there have been a number of troubling cases where the police have overstepped the law," Judge said.
New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, who runs the Living Waters ministry in California, said it's tragic that a free country like Britain has taken such a dangerous turn.
"I find it hard to believe that modern England – with its rich Christian heritage (John Wesley, Whitefield, Spurgeon, etc.) would go to the extreme of arresting a man for his beliefs," Comfort said.
"I think that this is a case of two police officers being offended at the gospel, and that was the motive for the arrest," Comfort said.
Barber added that the goal of the radical homosexual lobby is to silence Christians.
"Their goal is to silence any dissent and to silence under any penalty of law the biblical recognition and expression of a traditional Judeo-Christian world view relative to sexual behavior and sexual morality," Barber said.
Read Article With Links HERE
WorldNetDaily
Told law bans affirmation of biblical perspective of lifestyle choice
Telling a street preacher that it is against the law to affirm the Bible's teaching on homosexuality is costing a team of British police officers some $11,000 – plus legal fees.
That was the resolution announced by The Christian Institute in a case that it fought on behalf of a street preacher, Dale Mcalpine, who was arrested and detained for nearly eight hours on the basis of the officers' decision that the Bible's teachings violated the law.
Mike Judge, spokesman for the institute, which fights on behalf of Christian and human rights in the United Kingdom, said perhaps the officers should remember the situation developed in Cumbria, not North Korea.
"Mr. Mcalpine was arrested and held in a cell for expressing his Christian views," Judge said of the case, which was resolved just days ago. "Sadly, it's not an isolated case. We have defended a number of Christians wrongfully arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. There is a problem with the law and it needs to be fixed."
The institute report said it was the second such case just this month. On Dec. 8, a court in Birmingham County concluded police in West Midlands broke the law when they arrested, handcuffed and detained street preacher Anthony Rollins.
The court awarded Rollins 4,250 British pounds and ordered police to pay his legal costs. In the case of Mcalpine, police were told to pay him 7,000 pounds, or about $11,000, plus his legal fees.
The U.K.'s Public Order Act includes language that is similar to Barack Obama's "hate crimes" law in the U.S. that he signed more than a year ago in that they ban some statements regarding homosexuality.
That bill became law over the objections of a multitude of Christian organizations who say it grants special protections to those who choose a homosexual lifestyle, creating a form of "thought police" in the United States.
In Mcalpine's case, the U.K. police backtracked over issues of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and breach of human rights when Mcalpine, 42, of Workington, took them to task for his April arrest.
He was preaching from the Bible in Workington town center and his sermon contained no mention of homosexuality. But when he finished, Sam Adams, who identified himself as an "LBGT Liaison Officer," approached him, the institute reported.
"Even though Mr. Mcalpine had never mentioned homosexuality, [Officer] Adams warned him that he could be arrested if he made homophobic remarks. Mr. Mcalpine replied that he was not homophobic, but he sometimes preaches that homosexual conduct is a sin because that is what the Bible says," the report said.
"Uniformed police officers were called to the scene and wrongly informed Mr. Mcalpine that 'it is against the law' to describe homosexual conduct as a sin," the report said.
In fact the exchange went like this:
Mcalpine said he wanted to abide by the law and the police responded: "What've you been saying, homophobic wise?"
"I spoke to your officer earlier and he was upset that I was saying homosexuality was a sin – which is what the Bible says. I affirm that's what I say because that's in the Bible. And there's no law, there's no law," he said.
The police responded: "Well there is. ... There is. Unfortunately mate, it's a breach of Section 5 of the Public Order Act. ... It is against the law. listen, mate, we're pretty sure. You're under arrest for a racially aggravated Section 5 Public Order offense."
The institute said Officer Craig Hynes arrested Mcalpine, took him to the police detention facility and held him for nearly eight hours.
He was accused of using "threatening, abusive or insulting" words "to cause harassment, alarm or distress," although the charges were later dropped.
The institute reported that the arrest was so egregious that even a "homosexual campaigner," Peter Tatchell volunteered to appear as a defense witness.
Mcalpine told the institute he was pleased with the settlement and held no hard feelings toward police.
"I will pray for them because they have a difficult and sometimes dangerous job," he said.
Such situations have been developing more and more around the world. In one U.S. situation, a street preacher's toe apparently brushed the grass of private property and he was arrested, and in Oslo, authorities have tried to shut down those who would share their Christian believes in public.
At the time the case developed, Liberty Counsel Cultural Affairs Analyst Matt Barber raised the warning that such cases will be seen more and more in America, too.
"We know that what's happening in Europe and what's happening in Canada offers us a window into the future of what will happen here in the United States," he said. "The hate crimes laws and employment sexual orientation laws such as ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act here in the United States, have been the precursor to the more oppressive hate speech laws," Barber explained.
"Make no mistake, those laws we have now for hate crimes and the more present danger with ENDA, these laws are the precursor in the U. S. for the same kind of criminalization of Christianity that's happening in the U. K.," Barber said.
Judge said as in the U.S., British law supposedly protects the freedom of religious expression.
"The law does protect free speech in the U.K. and it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is wrong. However, there have been a number of troubling cases where the police have overstepped the law," Judge said.
New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, who runs the Living Waters ministry in California, said it's tragic that a free country like Britain has taken such a dangerous turn.
"I find it hard to believe that modern England – with its rich Christian heritage (John Wesley, Whitefield, Spurgeon, etc.) would go to the extreme of arresting a man for his beliefs," Comfort said.
"I think that this is a case of two police officers being offended at the gospel, and that was the motive for the arrest," Comfort said.
Barber added that the goal of the radical homosexual lobby is to silence Christians.
"Their goal is to silence any dissent and to silence under any penalty of law the biblical recognition and expression of a traditional Judeo-Christian world view relative to sexual behavior and sexual morality," Barber said.
Read Article With Links HERE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)