‘Blue Dogs’ key in turning back ObamaCare
Three Republican lawmakers have warned a gathering of conservative activists in Washington, DC, there will be disastrous fallout if the House healthcare bill is signed into law.

Vote pending on ouster of Billy Graham’s grandson
The Florida megachurch founded by the late evangelical leader D. James Kennedy will vote Sunday on whether to dismiss his recently chosen successor.

Perspective: A plea to Obama to attend church
Mr. President, one excellent way to demonstrate your Christian commitment — which some Americans question — and provide spiritual nurture for yourself and for your family, is to attend church consistently.

Nurse practitioners to perform abortions?
Pro-life laws recently passed in Arizona are being challenged in state and federal courts.

Feature: The New Abolitionists – sex trafficking worldwide
It is widely accepted by all who study human trafficking that there are more slaves today than there were during the three centuries of TransAtlantic slave trade combined.

Disgruntled Values Voters Urged to Take Back America

Former Baptist World Alliance Leader Nilson Fanini Dies at 77

Over 50 Groups Call for End to Faith-Based Hiring Policy

Atheist Groups Increase on School Campuses

‘I Am Second’ Movement Puts Christ First 

‘Reckless’ Debt Could Lead U.S. Into Another Economic Crisis, Gov. Pawlenty Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Deficit spending and government debt are reaching a level that could culminate in another economic crisis as big as the one that hit the United States last year, Minnesota’s Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty told CNSNews.com. “It’s going to massively burden our children and our grandchildren,” he said.

Huckabee Wins Values Voters Straw Poll; Rivalry with Romney Re-Emerges
Washington (CNSNews.com) – It is beginning to look a lot like 2012 — or in some respects, like 2008 again — as potential Republican presidential contenders gathered in Washington this past weekend for the annual Values Voters Summit. On Saturday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished first among conservative voters in a straw poll ballot, while Mitt Romney, Huckabee’s rival for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, came in a distant second with 74 votes.

‘Abortion President’ Makes False, Misleading Statements on Health Bill, Congressman Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama’s assertion that the Democrat-backed health care overhaul would not publicly fund abortions is “demonstrably false and extraordinarily misleading,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) told the conservative Values Voters Summit on Friday. Smith predicted that abortions would increase by as much a one third if the Democrats’ health care legislation is enacted.

Former Miss California Urges Conservatives to Be Examples of Civility
Washington (CNSNews.com) – “We as conservatives need to be an example – because we know the Left won’t be — of tolerance, respect and just how to be civil,” former Miss California Carrie Prejean told an enthusiastic audience at the Values Voters Summit over the weekend. The annual event is sponsored by the political action arm of the conservative Family Research Council.

Votes to Defund ACORN Are Just Political Cover, Republican Lawmaker Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Although both the House and Senate have voted to de-fund the liberal activist group ACORN, it’s unlikely such a proposal will be enacted any time soon, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told CNSNews.com.

Salazar May Delay Decision on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Ban Until 2012
(CNSNews.com) – Monday, Sept. 21, is the deadline for public comment on the Interior Department’s five-year plan, which includes proposals to open 300 million acres off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and off the coast of Alaska to drill for oil and natural gas. But a decision on offshore drilling may not come until 2012.

GOP Congressmen Say Science ‘Czar’ Should Explain His Views
(CNSNews.com) – Republican lawmakers say White House science adviser John Holdren should return to Congress and explain his views, including his notion that a baby who has already been born “ultimately” might become a human being if given the proper resources. Holdren has not explained his statement, despite repeated requests for clarification.

Boehner Says Democrat Health Care Plan Is Dead
(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that the health-care plan that President Barack Obama is pushing in Congress is now dead and will not pass. “There’s been no bipartisan conversation on Capitol Hill about health care,” Boehner said in an interview with “Meet the Press” host David Gregory.

Obama’s Approval Rating Drops Below 50 Percent Among Middle-Income Americans, Says Gallup Poll
(CNSNews.com) - President Obama’s approval rating has dropped below 50 percent among middle-income Americans, according to tracking done by the Gallup Poll during the period from September 7-13. Among Americans in the middle-income brackets, however, the president’s approval rating has now dropped below 50%.

Harsh Realities Await as Obama Heads to United Nations
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama’s appearance in New York on Monday for a packed program of international meetings promises to be more of a test than his previous outings onto the global stage. Some important U.S. relationships have come under strain in recent weeks, at a time when building cooperation to tackle global challenges is as crucial as ever.

Arab Who Vowed to Burn Israeli Books Still Leads Race to Head U.N. Culture Agency
(CNSNews.com) – An election for the top post at the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will go into a fourth round of voting on Monday. The four remaining candidates include a controversial Egyptian who has been been part of a government which advocacy groups say violates free speech.

‘Honor killing’ could await Rifqa in Sri Lanka
A former Muslim who now heads a Southern Baptist seminary says Rifqa Bary faces certain death in her native Sri Lanka if she’s not allowed to stay in the U.S.

Perspective: Islam on the march in DC
If past media coverage is any gauge, America is about to get a giant, mushy Hallmark card on behalf of Islam on Friday.

‘Rent-a-Mob’ (ACORN) deserves investigation
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is calling on House and Senate negotiators to completely defund the liberal activist group ACORN — an organization he calls “Rent-a-Mob.”

Billy Graham’s grandson to remain pastor of megachurch
A grandson of evangelist Billy Graham will continue to lead the Florida megachurch founded by the late evangelical leader D. James Kennedy.

‘Soft preaching’ produces hard people
Popular Christian author John MacArthur says one can look to Jesus when it comes to dealing with false teachers and bad theology.

‘Creation’ Producer Called Out for ‘Too Controversial for Religious America’ Claim

Authors Document Explosion of Multi-Site Churches

Fla. Couple Defends Decision to Shelter Teen Convert

Survey: Most Americans Want Health Care Plan to Bar Abortion Funding

Anglican Head Calls on U.S., Iraqi Gov’t to Protect Iranian Exiles

Obama’s New Claim That 30 Million ‘Cannot’ Get Health Insurance Not Supported by Census Bureau
(CNSNews.com) – In his Sept. 9 speech to Congress, President Barack Obama unveiled a new claim that 30 million Americans “cannot” get health insurance, but that statistic is not supported by the latest definitive data produced by the Census Bureau.

Czech President Says His Nation Accepts Obama’s Decision to Cancel Missile Defense System
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus told CNSNews.com on Monday that his country has “accepted” last week’s move by U.S. President Barack Obama to abandon missile defense plans in Eastern Europe.

Republicans Urge Obama to Heed Gen. McChrystal’s Call for More Troops
(CNSNews.com) – Leading Republican senators are pressing President Barack Obama to heed the advice of his top general in Afghanistan by approving Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for “more forces,” including additional U.S. combat troops.

Honduras on Edge After Ousted President Slips Back Into Country
(CNSNews.com) – Honduras was on a political knife-edge overnight Monday after ousted president Manuel Zelaya slipped back into the country, took refuge at the Brazilian embassy and said he would seek talks with the interim government to “restore democracy.” Zelaya timed his clandestine homecoming just two days before he is scheduled to address world leaders gathered at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

U.S. Counsels ‘Strategic Patience’ in Caucasus, But Skeptics Question What That Means
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration wants Georgia to exercise strategic patience” in the face of Russia’s regional policies, a senior State Department official said Monday. But that official insisted the concept was not a new doctrine and should not be read as counseling acquiescence or “doing nothing.”

White House Defends Archiving Comments from Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter Sites
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration said that archiving citizen postings on White House social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, is just a matter of following the law. It dismissed any suggestion that there might be something “sinister” about collecting such information. CNSNews.com first reported on Sept. 1 that the White House is seeking a private contractor to archive comments posted on the social networking sites maintained by the White House.

Religious Leaders to Gather Ahead of G-20 Summit to Press for Action

‘Orphan Sunday’ Campaign Aims to Hold Hundreds of Events Nationwide

Hispanic Evangelicals Warn Against ‘Xenophobic’ Health Care Reform

U.N. Day of Peace Gets Religious Groups Praying

Christian Girl Kidnapped to Force Father to ‘Reconcile’

Obama Will Spend More on Welfare in the Next Year Than Bush Spent on Entire Iraq War, Study Reveals
(CNSNews.com) – As a candidate for president, Barack Obama decried the financial toll that the Iraq war was taking on the economy, but Obama’s proposed spending on welfare through 2010 will eclipse Bush’s war spending by more than $260 billion. Obama’s spending proposals call for the largest increases in welfare benefits in U.S. history, according to a report by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Bush Blamed for Strained Ties as Obama Takes Center Stage at United Nations
(CNSNews.com) – As President Obama prepares to address the United Nations for the first time on Wednesday, the tone has been set by top administration officials who are blaming a disengaged Bush administration for cool relations between the U.S. and the international community. In a recent speech previewing this week’s U.N. General Assembly sessions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not once cite the U.N.’s failings or its need for reform as factors in the strained relationship.

Biden: ‘I Want Insurance Companies to Make Money’
(CNSNews.com) – At a speech to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he was not against insurance companies making a profit. Biden’s remarks contrast with the harsher views taken by other Democrats in recent months about health insurance companies, including President Barack Obama.

New Push Wednesday to Post House Bills Online Before Lawmakers Vote on Them
(CNSNews.com) – A Democrat has joined a Republican in trying to force action on a bill that would require the House to post the final text of major bills online at least 72 hours before voting on them. The idea is to give Americans time to read legislation that may affect their lives and wallets.

Notre Dame Basketball Coach Says Obama ‘Team’ Should be Prepared to ‘Foul a Little Bit’ on Health-Care Reform
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The men’s basketball coach at Notre Dame says that it is time for the president’s “team” to play offense and “even foul a little bit” to advance health-care reform. Mike Brey used the basketball metaphor to convey the urgency he and other coaches feel about the need for health-care reform.

Ways and Means Chairman: ‘Illegal Aliens–I Mean They Do Get Health Care’
(CNSNews.com) – House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) suggested in an interview with CNSNews.com last week that the health care reform plan under consideration in Congress will save money by moving illegal aliens off the roles of “uninsured” people where the cost of the health care they do get is absorbed by people who are insured and where they benefit from federal expenditures. Rangel’s spokesman later clarified to CNSNews.com, however, that illegal aliens are not covered under the House health care bill, which was drafted in part by the Ways and Means Committee that Rep. Rangel chairs.

Hoyer Wants More Facts on ACORN Before Pulling Funding
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that Congress needs to gather more facts before it decides whether to cut off all federal funds for ACORN, the liberal nationwide network of community-based organizations. “I think we’re going to be looking at what in fact are the facts here with respect to ACORN. Once we find out what the facts are then we’ll be in a better position to make a determination [on funding].”
Obama’s First Middle East Summit Yields Little Progress
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama on Tuesday told the protagonists in one of the most intractable conflicts of the last century to “disentangle” themselves from history and “take risks for peace.” The president summoned Israeli and P.A. leaders to a summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to chide them on slow progress, but there was little sign afterward that either side was nearer agreement on the thorny issue of Israeli settlements.

House Republicans Believe National Endowment for the Arts Acted Unlawfully to Promote Obama’s Agenda, Seek Probe
(CNSNews.com) – House Republicans are seeking a congressional investigation and information from the White House to determine whether the National Endowment for the Arts — in a recent conference call with grant recipients — urged them to create works that would support the legislative agenda of President Barack Obama. “The Lobbying Act and the Hatch Act are there to make sure we do not see government personnel and assets used for political purposes,” Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee, told CNSNews.com.

Obama’s Policies Would Redistribute Nearly $1 Trillion in Wealth Every Year
(CNSNews.com) - By 2012, nearly $1 trillion from the top 30 percent of American families will be redistributed among the bottom 70 percent, if President Barack Obama’s proposals on taxes, health care, and climate change become law, according to the Tax Foundation. “Even if none of Obama’s policies becomes law, the extent of income redistribution is remarkable,” Scott Hodge, the group’s president, said.

Democrats Drum for Public Option, While Republicans Urge ‘Responsible Solutions’
(CNSNews.com) – “Hi, I’m the public option, and I need your help.” With those words, liberal activists are making a pitch “to set the record straight” on a key element of the Democrats’ health care overhaul plan.

Ahmadinejad Ignores Nuclear Dispute, Rails Against Israel and U.S. at United Nations
(CNSNews.com) – Largely upstaged by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s earlier diatribe, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s fifth annual address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday evening was a relatively low-key affair, punctuated by religious terminology and his trademark attacks against the U.S. and Israel. There were empty seats across the chamber during the hour-long speech, including those of the U.S. and Israel, while some Western delegates left as he spoke.

Christian Leaders Call for U.S. Sanctions to Prevent Iran from Completing Nuclear Program
(CNSNews.com) – Christian leaders representing over 28 million evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and other Christians are calling on Congress and other world leaders for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S., they said, should immediately initiate a boycott of arms sales to Iran.

U.S., Jewish ‘Conspiracy’ and ‘Islamophobia’ Blamed for Arab’s Defeat in U.N. Election
(CNSNews.com) – In a rare victory for Western democracies at the United Nations, a controversial Egyptian favored to win the top post at UNESCO, the U.N.’s cultural agency, lost his bid to a European candidate, despite having been endorsed by the Arab, Islamic and African blocs. The 64 year-old agency will have its first woman director-general — Bulgarian candidate Irina Bokova.

‘African King of Kings’ Makes Waves in New York, Offers to Move U.N. to Libya
(CNSNews.com) – It took 40 years in power before Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi decided to address the U.N. General Assembly, and he made up for it on Wednesday, delivering a long, disjonted address in which he tore up the U.N. Charter and laid out his vision for revolutionizing the Security Council. “We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as the president of the United States of America,” he said.

Iran Cannot Be Allowed to Obtain Nuclear Weapons, Say Christian Leaders

ELCA Head Urges Clergy to Restrain Divisive Activities

ABC to Probe ‘The Ten Commandments’ in New Series

Seattle Church Has Triplets

Chinese Officials Secretly Offer to Pay Destroyed Megachurch

Administration Will Cut Border Patrol Deployed on U.S.-Mexico Border
(CNSNews.com) – Border Patrol Director of Media Relations Lloyd Easterling confirmed this week that his agency is planning for a net decrease of 384 agents on the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2010, which begins on October 1. This comes as 1,300 miles of border fence is not under effective control; the Justice Department admits that vast stretches of the border are “easily breached”; and the Government Accountability Office revealed that three persons “linked to terrorism” and 530 aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints last year.

CDC Has Made ‘Limited’ Improvements to Security of Bio-Safety Labs
(CNSNews.com) – The federal Centers for Disease Control has taken “limited action” to improve security around labs that house deadly pathogens, but it lacks a plan to make other needed changes to protect those labs from terrorism, the Government Accountability Office said this week.

GOP Leaders to Block Health Nominees Unless HHS Lifts Medicare Gag Order
(CNSNews.com) – Senate Republican leaders are threatening to block the nominations of President Barack Obama’s health nominees until the Health and Human Services Department drops its “gag order” on private health care companies that prevents them from communicating with senior citizens about the health care reform bill.

CBO Testimony Echoes Insurers’ Claims About Cuts to Medicare Advantage Program
(CNSNews.com) – The director of the Congressional Budget Office has testified that the Obama administration’s health care proposal would cause sweeping cuts in Medicare Advantage benefits and services. Insurance giant Humana has run afoul of the Obama administration by saying the same thing.

Poll: Big Majorities Say Objective Journalism Is Dead and that Media Back Obama
(CNSNews.com) – Two-thirds (67.9 percent) of Americans surveyed think that “objective and fair journalism is dead,” while an overwhelming 89.3 percent believe the news media played a role in the election of President Barack Obama. That’s according to a poll conducted this month by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute.

Human Rights Not High on Agenda As Clinton Meets With Leader of Repressive Regime
(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met this week with the leader of one of the world’s most repressive regimes but human rights abuses were not high on the agenda. “We’ve only got a certain amount of time [in bilateral meetings], and so we touch on the most important things,” Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake Jr. told reporters after Clinton’s talks in New York with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Mideast Quartet Challenges Key Policy Position of Israel’s Prime Minister
(CNSNews.com) – Ratcheting up international pressure on Israel, the powerful entity known as the Mideast Quartet on Thursday confronted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a key policy position – the insistence on “reciprocity” in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations also urged Israel to “freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth.” a position at odds with that held by current and previous Israeli governments.

Conservative Black Pastors Endorse Obama’s Health Care Plan

Faith Leaders Seek to Move Up Poverty on G-20 Agenda

Pro-Lifers Avoid Protests, Promote Prayer in 212 Cities

Student-Led Prayer Movement Marks 20th Year

Chuck Colson Denounces Therapeutic Church Model

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

Thousands march in D.C. to protest Obama spending
Tens of thousands of protesters fed up with government spending marched to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, showing their disdain for the president’s health care plan with slogans such as “Obamacare makes me sick” and “I’m not your ATM.”

Michigan man arrested in pro-life murder
All week “the sign guy” had stood outside the local public high school, protesting abortion.

HR 3200 provides taxpayer-funded abortions
The healthcare reform bill puts taxpayers in the position of paying for abortions.

Christian attorneys defend First Amendment at schools
Alliance Defense Fund is expanding its program to declare college and university campuses free-speech zones.

Feature: Happy Grandparents Day!
Grandboomers get another chance at real peace and love.

Sebelius: Obama Seeks to Rule Out Abortion Funding from Health Care Bill 

Faith-Based Campaign to Give Final Push on Health Reform

New Baptist Leader Hopes to Move Ahead in Unity

Some Lutherans Return to ELCA After Gay Vote

20,000 Church Leaders Log On for 9-Minute Motivational Messages 

 
Fiscal Conservatives March on D.C. to Protest Big Government Spending
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Sarah Bond’s outrage over massive deficit spending and debt is not a partisan matter for her. And it was enough to motivate her to travel from San Diego to Washington to let politicians know what she thinks. She was one of many Tea Partiers marching on Washington on Saturday. House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana told CNSNews.com he was “overwhelmed by this outpouring of support for the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and I know it will make a difference.”

DeMint Calls Out Obama and Congress: ‘Americans Are Awake, They’re Informed, And They’re Outraged’
(CNSNews.com) - Speaking before a massive crowd of cheering protestors attending the “Taxpayer March on Washington” at the West front of the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) issued a challenge to President Barack Obama and Congress. “I think you all know that the president has warned us that if we disagree with him, he is going to call us out,” said DeMint. “Okay, Mr. President, we are out. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Waterloo.” DeMint said Obama and Congress need to start listening to the country and understand that “Americans are awake, they’re informed, and they’re outraged.”

Tea Party Turnout Raises Republican Hopes for 2010 Midterm Elections
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Conservatives are hoping the massive turnout for the Sept. 13 Tea Party March on Washington is a harbinger of things to come in the November 2010 midterm elections. “Our goal is to change the Congress,” said Brian Springston, who traveled from Waco, Texas, to protest government spending. “The people here represent the majority of America.” Republican lawmakers echoed that hopeful sentiment.

Tea Party Crowd Stands Behind Republican Rep. Joe Wilson
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Among the many hand-lettered signs at the Sept. 12 weekend march on Washington were some reading, “You Lie” and “Joe Wilson Was Right.” The signs referred to the comment Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted at President Obama during Obama’s prime-time speech to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday. Wilson erupted when Obama said the Democrats’ health care bill would not include coverage for illegal aliens.

Tea Party Protesters Blast Government-Run Health Care
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The Democrats’ health care overhaul was one of the targets – but not the only one — at Saturday’s rally against government spending and big government in general. The public backlash against the Democrats’ health care plan leaves some conservatives hopeful that Congress will not pass the legislation. But the death of the health care bill is not a sure thing, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) warned.

Union TV Ads Campaign ‘A Major Falsehood’ Top Economist Claims
(CNSNews.com) – A national cable television ad campaign to garner support for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), also known as the card-check bill, is drawing fire from a top labor-market economist who challenges the ads’ claims. The ads were launched last week as part of Big Labor’s renewed effort to push the bill, which would make it easier for unions to organize workplaces without a secret ballot vote.

Obama Administration Wants to Talk to Iran, Despite Its Refusal to Discuss Its Nuclear Program
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration is ready to hold unprecedented, formal talks with Iran despite the fact that the regime’s leaders are adamant that the nuclear issue will not be up for negotiation. On Saturday, however, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs insisted the U.S. would discuss the nuclear issue.

U.S. Takes Its Seat at U.N. Rights Council, With Fresh Controversy Brewing Over Israel
(CNSNews.com) – The United States on Monday took its seat on the U.N.’s three year-old Human Rights Council for the first time. The HRC has long drawn criticism for a disproportionate focus on Israel, and that was one of the main reasons given by the Bush administration for neither supporting nor joining the body after it was created in 2006.

Obama Administration, Pro-Abortion Groups Mum on Abortion Protester’s Shooting
(CNSNews.com) – Reaction to the shooting death of a 63-year-old abortion protester near a high school in Owosso, Mich., on Friday came swiftly from pro-life groups across the nation, but his death was not immediately marked by the Obama administration, Planned Parenthood or NARAL Pro-Choice America, all of whom quickly issued statements condemning the shooting death of abortion provider George Tiller in May.

Proposed healthcare reform ’suffers fundamental conflict’
Two groups based in Washington, DC, are questioning whether the Obama administration’s plans to pay for a government-run healthcare program are really workable.

Perspective: Some blacks now have doubts about Obama
A recent poll indicates about a half million blacks who voted for Barack Obama now have buyer’s remorse. This is meaningful.

Uninsured?…or just opting out?
A health economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis says the number of uninsured Americans is frequently misunderstood and poorly explained by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Bible ban case may go to Supreme Court
The Rutherford Institute is asking the Supreme Court to hear a case in which a Bible reading was banned from school.

Trashy tees – A&F at it again
The American Family Association and OneMillionMoms.com is spearheading an e-mail campaign to a popular clothing store over a new line of T-shirts.

Pro-Lifers Flock to U.S. Capitol for 27 Hours of Prayer

Church Recalls Fatal Shooting as 10th Anniversary Nears

Hybels Redirects Christians to ‘The Forgotten Way’

Experts Discuss How Christians Should Respond to Radical Islam

Study Reveals Concerns, Impact of Social Media on Evangelical College Students

Privatizing Fannie, Freddie Could ‘Mitigate’ Risks Caused by Government Intervention, Says GAO
(CNSNews.com) – A Government Accountability Office report says that privatizing the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could mitigate the systemic economic risk but adds that the benefits of privatization could be reversed by government efforts to insure private-sector mortgages.

Crowd Sizes on National Mall A Matter of Media Speculation
(CNSNews.com) - The number of people who converged on Washington, D.C. on Saturday to protest big government, high taxes and out-of-control federal spending is a matter of media speculation because no government agency makes official estimates of crowds gathered for events on the National Mall. Estimates of Saturday’s turnout by news organizations varied widely.

WashPost Ignores Own Poll Finding: 54 Percent Say the More They Learn About ObamaCare, the Less They Like It
(CNSNews.com) - A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in the three days following President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress about his health care plan discovered that 54% say the more they hear about the plan, the less they like it. This particular poll result was not mentioned anywhere in the story about the poll that was posted by the Washington Post on its Web site on Monday, although the result did appear in a data sheet that was linked to the story.

One of Africa’s Top Terrorists Killed After Several Unsuccessful Attempts
(CNSNews.com) – The reported death of a leading African al-Qaeda terrorist is another success in a long-running campaign to capture or kill top suspects in deadly attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in East Africa. Saleh Ali Saleh al-Nabhan, a Kenyan Muslim, reportedly was killed in a U.S. commando raid in southern Somalia on Monday. He was one of four men named by the State Department in January 2007 as senior al-Qaeda operatives based in Somalia.

Napolitano Says Small Business is Key in Swine Flu Preparations
(CNSNews.com) - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (DHS) Monday said small business – an important segment of the U.S. economy – should be prepare to give employees plenty of time off, if struck by a major outbreak of H1N1 or “swine flu.” The Department of Homeland security released a guidebook for small businesses advising them on how to prepare for a potential outbreak.

Obama’s denials of abortion coverage ‘laughable’
A leading pro-life activist in Washington says President Obama is not telling the whole truth when he promises taxpayers they will not be forced to fund abortions under his healthcare plan. POLL: Will abortion coverage be removed? VOTE

Perspective: Fables for adults
In a country where everything imaginable is bought and paid for on credit, why is it suddenly a national crisis if some people cannot pay cash up front for medical treatment?

Risky for Rifqa in Ohio?
The head of a Christian ministry dedicated to exposing the truth about Islam believes that a 17-year-old Christian convert from Islam should not be returned to Ohio, despite the efforts of authorities there.

Dems focus on homosexual agenda
Democrats are currently undertaking two major efforts in Congress to enact key parts of the political agenda of homosexual activists.

President asked to apologize for ‘lies to entire country’
President Barack Obama is being called on to publicly apologize to Congress, the media, and the entire nation for lying about illegal immigrants not having access to healthcare reform benefits.

Teen Rejects Vaccine on Moral Grounds; Denied Citizenship

Ky. Church Ordains Registered Sex Offender

Man Credited for Feeding a Billion People Dies

Follow-Up to ‘Purpose Driven Life’ to Hit Shelves in November

Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’ Set for Release

Rush Limbaugh’s August Ratings Soar; Media Ignore the Feat
(CNSNews.com) - Arbitron’s “Portable People Meter” ratings for August, released last week, show that Rush Limbaugh experienced record ratings in a number of major American radio markets, something the mainstream media ignored.

Never Reviewed by NYT or WashPost, Mark Levin’s ‘Liberty and Tyranny’ Has Now Sold 1 Million Copies
(CNSNews.com) - “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto” by Mark Levin has been one of the Top Ten books on the New York Times bestseller list for 24 weeks, without ever having been reviewed by either the New York Times or the Washington Post.

Hoyer Won’t Answer Directly Whether Immigration Reform Would Make Illegal Aliens Eligible for Federally Subsidized Health Insurance
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) hinted that if comprehensive immigration reform is passed, it could provide a method for immigrants currently living illegally in the U.S. to get federally subsidized health care. He said it was true that illegal aliens could return home and re-emigrate legally to become eligible for insurance subsidies.

Britain’s Government-Run Health-Care System Under Fire
(CNSNews.com) – As Britain’s government-run National Health Service continues to draw flak over the treatment of elderly and dying hospital patients, some NHS doctors are fighting back, contesting claims raised as part of the U.S. debate over health-care reform.

Government-Run Health Care Would Ration Care for Disabled Children, Parents and Lawmakers Warn
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday shared a personal story that shows why he is passionate about protecting the most vulnerable in society — and why a government-run health care program would not only fail to offer that protection, but could end up rationing care for some people, including children with disabilities. He was speaking to parents of disabled children, who came to Washington to express their opposition to a government-run health care plan.

First the Polar Bear, Now Artic Reindeer Proposed for Endangered Species Listing
(CNSNews.com) - The International Fund for Animal Welfare on Tuesday filed a petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect two North Pole caribou species under the Endangered Species Act. IFAW says the caribou’s habitat “is threatened by rapid climate change and increased frequency of severe weather patterns which prevent them from foraging for food.”

Undercover videos may be costly for ACORN
Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pleased the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to cut off federal funding to ACORN, in light of the ongoing investigations of voter registration fraud involving that organization. POLL: Would Obama sign or veto that bill? VOTE

Perspective: ACORN debacle exposes media hypocrisy
If you ask NBC, undercover journalism is only acceptable when it fits a liberal agenda.

‘Safe schools’ act – a misnomer?
The Illinois Family Institute is raising concern over a “safe schools” amendment in the U.S. Congress.

Eliminating ‘churchy jargon’ and ‘religiosity’
The author of a new book is encouraging Christians to present the gospel plainly.

Pro-life ‘martyr’ remembered today
A memorial service is being held today for slain pro-life activist Jim Pouillon in Michigan.

Will Obama greet Muslims on Capitol Hill?
Gary Bauer says he wonders whether President Barack Obama — who essentially spurned Christians on the National Day of Prayer — will give a special greeting to a Muslim gathering scheduled later this month on Capitol Hill.

Perspective: Jimmy Carter and the Elvis factor
Wing nuts will always be with us. It’s unfortunate that a former President of the United States sits among them.

Voter intimidation case still a mystery
A former member of the Federal Election Commission says the Obama Justice Department has still yet to adequately explain its decision to dump a highly publicized voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party.

ACORN fraud finally sprouts on mainstream news
A conservative media watchdog says as the controversy surrounding ACORN continues to grow, the mainstream media is reluctantly beginning to cover the story.

Perspective: Capitalism and Michael Moore
Michael Moore wants everyone in the world to be equally poor — provided he can earn millions of dollars by making movies about “evil” capitalism.

Study: Religious Beliefs ‘Strongly Predict’ Teen Birth Rates

‘ONE Sabbath’ Campaign Taps Religion to Fight Poverty

House Bill Introduced to Repeal Defense of Marriage Act

Fla. Bishop to Authorize Blessing of Same-Sex Unions

Anglican Head Dismayed by Lack of Repentance for Financial Crisis 

 
Obama Administration Won’t Push Needed U.N. Reforms, Experts Say
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama has been almost entirely focused on domestic issues, prompting former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton to say he would give the president a grade of “absent” on foreign policy.

Democracies That Side With Repressive Regimes at U.N. Human Rights Council Pose Challenge for U.S.
(CNSNews.com) – If the United States is to have an impact on the workings of the U.N. Human Rights Council — which it finally joined this week — its diplomatic efforts will have to target a small group of non-Western democracies that consistently have sided with repressive regimes.

Social Security Sent More than $40 Million in Checks to Dead People, Inspector General Finds
(CNSNews.com) – The Social Security Administration has issued benefit checks totaling $40.3 million to an estimated 6,100 beneficiaries for months – and in some cases for decades — after receiving notification of their deaths, according to a June audit report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General. Approximately 1,760 of the 6,100 listed as deceased actually were dead, the government auditor estimated. The rest were alive, but had been wrongly listed as deceased.

Mexican Immigrants to U.S. More Likely to Have Psychiatric Disorders than Mexican or U.S. Populations
(CNSNews.com) – The National Institutes of Health is paying researchers more than $450,000 in federal tax money to further investigate the relationship between emigration from Mexico and psychiatric disorders. A previous study of English-speaking Mexican immigrants found that, irrespective of legal status, immigrants with a “pre-existing disorder” were three times more likely to migrate to the U.S. than those who did not have a pre-existing disorder.

Obama Administration Using Stimulus Money to Encourage ‘Healthful Lifestyle Habits’
(CNSNews.com) - The Health and Human Services Department plans to spend $650 million tax dollars encouraging Americans to develop “healthful lifestyle habits.” Among other things, communities can “work to make high-fat snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages less available in schools…”

Dodd Says Illegal Aliens Won’t be Eligible for Health Subsidies Even if Legalized and Put on ‘Pathway to Citizenship’; Other Senators Disagree
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) told CNSNews.com that illegal immigrants would not be eligible for federal health insurance subsidies even if Congress enacts comprehensive immigration reform that puts them on a “pathway to citizenship.”

White House Calls ACORN’s Behavior ‘Completely Unacceptable’
(CNSNews.com) – White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs on Wednesday had stern criticism for ACORN, a national network of liberal community-based organizations whose political action committee endorsed President Obama’s candidacy in 2008 and which has been a leading advocate of the president’s health care reform plan. “With regards to ACORN, obviously, the conduct we’ve seen on video is completely unacceptable,” Gibbs said.

Congressman ‘Intrigued’ by Idea that Congress Could Weigh In on Homosexual Marriage in D.C.
On the Spot (CNSNews.com) – Should Congress, rather than the Washington, D.C., City Council, decide whether the nation’s capital can create same-sex marriage? When CNSNews.com asked whether members of Congress should weigh in on the homosexual marriage issue with legislation legalizing gay marriage, since it’s “Congress’s responsibility” to regulate D.C. affairs? CNSNews.com asked several lawmakers.

Sebelius: Federal Government Won’t Make Decisions on Vaccination, School Closures
(CNSNews.com) – The Health of Human Services Department will bypass states and send doses of H1N1 vaccine directly to traditional and “non-traditional” vaccination sites, perhaps including schools, but decisions on vaccinations and school closures are still up to parents and local officials.

House joins Senate in blocking ACORN funds
Iowa Congressman Steve King says the House of Representatives has sent a loud-and-clear message that no more taxpayer dollars should be given to the group ACORN, which he says is clearly a “criminal” organization. Related articles:ACORN fraud finally sprouts on mainstream news Undercover videos may be costly for ACORN

Perspective: ACORN – a nut they won’t crack
We are now in an era in which liberal media bias is so obvious and embarrassing that alternative media outlets must be getting dizzy deciding what to show next.

Educators excused in ACLU prayer case
A federal judge has ruled that a Florida high school principal and his athletic director did not violate an order against praying in school.

Pence urges conservatives to stay the course
Congressman Mike Pence says even though many have written the obituary of the conservative movement, he believes the country is “on the brink of a great American awakening.”

Evangelist will distribute Darwin’s treatise
Best-selling author and evangelist Ray Comfort hopes to give away tens of thousands of copies of a special edition of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species at colleges nationwide.

Values Voters Flock to D.C. With 2012 in Mind

Megachurch Pastor: Have An Affair … With Your Spouse

Judge Clears School Officials of Criminal Charges in Prayer Case

Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in Cuba

Chinese Megachurch Demolished; Congregants Badly Beaten

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ELCA Leader Urges Flock to Continue Conversation

Gospel Music Association Head Steps Down 

Massive Christian Festival Kicks Off Labor Day Weekend 

Web Site Invites Churches to Engage in Online Mission 

7.0 Quake Leaves 28,000 Homeless in Indonesia 

Schools Should Teach Christianity’s Role in U.S. History, Say Evangelicals 

Health Care Bill Would Reduce Abortion, Says Progressive Think Tank 

Indonesia Quake Toll Expected to Pass 100 

Poll: American Giving-Away Trend Continues 

Baptist Pastor Fatally Shot by Police in Drug Sting 

 
Global ‘Ecological Board of Directors’ Envisioned by State Department’s Climate Czar
(CNSNews.com) – Todd Stern, now the State Department’s special envoy for climate change, once pushed for the creation of an annual “E8” summit to address environmental issues. Stern represents the United States in international environmental negotiations, including the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen in December.

Chief Treasury Economist Says White House Economic Forecast is ‘Smoother’ Than Can Be Expected in Reality
(CNSNews.com) – Alan Krueger, assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the Treasury Department, told reporters that the economic projections used by the White House–which foresee a decade of uninterrupted economic growth ahead–are “smoother” than what can be expected in reality. Krueger, speaking to reporters at a Friday briefing, said numerous factors could affect and alter those estimates.

Administration’s Suggestions for Teachers: Read Books about Obama, Post Obama Quotes on Classroom Walls
(CNSNews.com) – The “corrected” lesson plans from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that schools around the country use President Obama’s speech to students on Tuesday as a “teachable moment.” The “menu of classroom activities” still calls for teachers to read books about Obama and to post quotations from Obama in large print on classroom walls.

Study Shows Sharp Increase in TV Ads Soliciting Plaintiffs for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
(CNSNews.com) – Democrats demanding health-care reform are not saying much about medical malpractice lawsuits. But a new study indicates that tort reform should be included in any meaningful health care overhaul. The study — conducted for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform – says television advertisements soliciting plaintiffs for medical malpractice lawsuits increased nearly 1,400 percent in four years.

Surgeon General Post Unfilled as Obama Pushes Health Care Reform and Swine Flu Concerns Grow
(CNSNews.com) – As President Barack Obama welcomes Congress back to Washington with a joint address on his health care reform agenda and federal officials advise the public on preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus, the U.S. Surgeon General post remains unfilled.

Controversy Surrounds Frontrunner in Race to Head Major U.N. Agency
(CNSNews.com) – A major United Nations agency will choose a new director-general in the coming days, and although promoting freedom of expression is among UNESCO’s key functions, the leading candidate is backed by some of the world’s most repressive governments. Farouk Hosni, who has been Egypt’s culture minister for more than two decades, has made provocative comments about the Israel.

Defiant Over Nuclear Issue, Iran Wins Sanctions-Busting Pledge From Chavez
(CNSNews.com) – As the first of a series of crucial meetings on nuclear issues began Monday, Iran’s government reiterated its defiance of the international community, saying that as far as it was concerned, the question was settled. “We will never negotiate Iran’s undeniable rights,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters.

 Stanford Researchers Transform Fat Cells into Stem Cells

Sudanese Archbishop Appeals for Int’l Action in Struggle for Peace 

Iraqi Political Groups Use Dwindling Christian Community as ‘Tools’ 

Church Leaders, Climate Experts to Urge World Leaders to Focus on Poor 

‘I Hate Obama’ Pastor Draws Protesters Outside Church 

Yale under fire for removal of Muslim cartoons
Yale University has removed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from an upcoming book about how they caused outrage across the Muslim world, drawing criticism from prominent alumni and a national group of university professors. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

Independents dissatisfied with Obama
A political analyst says President Obama’s support is eroding among a group of voters that was pivotal to his election in 2008 — independents.

Perspective: Listening to a liar
If people think that the words Barack Obama says are what matters, they can be led into something much worse than being swindled out of their money.

Perspective: An open letter to liberals
I’ve often thought of writing an open letter to those who assume my views are repugnant because of the conservative label. So guess what?

Studios now see value in family-friendly films
Noted entertainment critic Ted Baehr says Christians are making a difference when it comes to the availability of family-friendly movies.

Obama Pitched Health Care Reform to Students in Meeting Prior to His Speech on Education
(CNSNews.com) - Although President Barack Obama avoided controversial topics in his nationally broadcast speech to students on Tuesday, he did promote health care reform in a face-to-face discussion with ninth graders at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.

Hoyer: Media ‘Misrepresented’ Town Hall Protests
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says the national news media, particularly television networks, “misrepresented” the extent of opposition to health care reform voiced at various town hall meeting in August. By focusing on the rowdy few, the television cameras prevented the public from seeing the majority of people who are either open to reform or support health care reform, Hoyer said.

Obama Promises to Give Us ‘A Much More Detailed’ Health Care Plan Wednesday Night
(CNSNews.com) – In a nationally televised speech Wednesday night, President Barack Obama will explain to the American people “what I think is the best way to move forward” on health care reform. According to his press secretary Robert Gibbs, Obama “will discuss pretty robustly the public option tonight.”

Many of Obama’s Claims about Health-Care Reform Have Been Debunked
(CNSNews.com) - While President Obama tells a joint session of Congress what he wants and is willing to accept in a health care reform bill Wednesday night, he may also repeat some of the points he has made over the past few months that have been refuted by non-partisan sources. The president, for example, has said health-care reform will be deficit neutral and will not steer tax dollars to abortions. He also says there are 46 million uninsured Americans. But each of these claims has been disputed by non-partisan sources.

U.S. Government Paid 15-Year-Olds to Answer Graphic Questions About Their Sex Lives
(CNSNews.com) – From March 2002 to March 2003, the federal government paid more than a thousand 15- to 17-year-olds $40 each to answer questions about their sex lives, including intimate questions about specific sexual acts, whether they had ever engaged in homosexual acts, whether they had used contraception, and what sorts of discussions they had had with their parents about sex.

Lieberman: U.S. Needs to Be Prepared for Biological Attack
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, says the U.S. is in no better position today than it was in December 2008, when a government commission warned that Americans were not safe from an attack with biological weapons — and that a terrorist attack involving a WMD was likely to occur somewhere in the world by 2013.

Test-Ban Treaty Advocates See ‘Window of Opportunity’ Opened by Obama
(CNSNews.com) – Proponents of a global ban on nuclear weapons testing are optimistic that President Obama’s support for ratifying the pact will encourage other holdouts to follow suit, speeding up its entry into force. But the prospect of a U.S. shift is causing unease in India, and there is no sign that either Iran or North Korea is willing to embrace the test-ban agreement.

Dems’ healthcare ‘compromises’ mislead public
A healthcare policy expert says both the “trigger” and non-profit cooperative proposals being pushed by Democrats resemble the “camel’s nose under the tent” of government-run healthcare. POLL: What advice would YOU give Congress? VOTE

Perspective: A self-serving healthcare savior
Tom Daschle evaded IRS rules for years – yet he remains a top White House confidante and policy strategist who’s now leading the drive to save Obamacare.

Federal probe should include Planned Parenthood
Prominent pro-life leader Alveda King has some advice for the Justice Department in a probe of racism.

Taxpayers footing legal bills for former Fannie execs
Many U.S. taxpayers are unaware that they are now paying for the legal bills of three top former executives for government-run mortgage firm Fannie Mae.

Parenting: Damage control for teens of divorce
Divorce piles on emotional problems for a teen a little higher than there would normally be for an already emotional adolescent.

1.2 Million Sign Anti-Health Care Bill Petition to Congress

1,200 African Church Leaders Attend Billion Soul Summit in Uganda 

Church Leaders Abuzz About Virtual Conference 

Businesswoman to Church: Financial Crisis Golden Opportunity for Economic Justice 

Christians in Pakistan Fear Further Firestorms 

Obama heckled by GOP during speech: ‘You lie!’
The nastiness of August reached from the nation’s town halls into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as President Barack Obama tried to move his healthcare plan forward.

‘Anti-American counterculturists’ found among Obama’s czars
Iowa Congressman Steve King says he’s pleased that President Barack Obama’s so-called “green jobs” czar has resigned — but it’s just a start, he adds.

Perspective: Media bite into ‘vetting’ apple
The media basically ignored the growing controversy over Van Jones’ communist background as it built over the past couple of weeks.

Religious song banned from graduation
The Rutherford Institute is taking another school free-speech case to the Supreme Court.

Persistent prayer reaps rewards
A well-known pastor and author says desperation, prayer, and persistence will lead to true revival.

 Obama Won’t Give Federal Insurance Benefits to Illegal Aliens; He’ll Make Them Legal First
(CNSNews.com) – In his speech to a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama said that his health care reform plan will not insure “illegal immigrants.” It is true that both the House and Senate health care bills as they are now drafted would make illegal aliens ineligible for federally funded health care. But President Obama has stated as recently as last month at a press conference in Mexico that he will seek “comprehensive immigration reform” legislation that will put illegal aliens on a “pathway to citizenship.”

Democrats’ Health Care Bills Do Not Require Citizenship Verification
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Joe Wilson’s shout-out Wednesday night came in response to President Obama’s claim that illegal immigrants would not be covered by the Democrats’ health care plan. “You lie!” Wilson (R-S.C.) yelled. Republicans, in a post-speech “fact-check,” suggested that Obama is making a promise the legislation does not keep.

Health Experts Call Obesity A Threat to National Security
(CNSNews.com) - Health care experts, including two former U.S. surgeons general, said on Wednesday said that obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is a threat to security in the United States and abroad. It also affects the future of health care, said Richard Carmona, who served as surgeon general in the Bush administration.

Republicans: Why Wait? Tackle the Biggest Health Care Problems Right Now
(CNSNews.com) – In the Republican response to President Barack Obama, Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana offered what he called a faster, more affordable way to bring about the health care reform. Boustany said Congress should scrap the Democrat-authored bills currently under consideration – particularly the call for a public option — and start over with a “targeted approach that tackles the biggest problems.” He outlined four areas where “we can agree, right now.”

Obama Adviser Hopes Catholic Bishops Will Find A Way to Support Democrats’ Health Care Reform Legislation, Despite Abortion Concerns
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – A top adviser to President Barack Obama told CNSNews.com the White House hopes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will come to understand that the Democrats’ health care reform legislation does not cover abortion. “This should not be turned into a debate about abortion,” David Axelrod said.

White House Won’t Rule Out ‘Reconciliation’ Maneuver to Pass Health Care Reform Bill
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama is still hoping for a bipartisan health care reform bill, White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod said, and he will support whatever it takes to get a health care package through Congress.

Congressional Report Questions Legality of GM and Chrysler Bailouts
(CNSNews.com) – A report issued by the Congressional Oversight Panel tasked with overseeing the implementation of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) questions whether the Bush and Obama administrations had the legal authority to use TARP funds to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. The report, issued Wednesday, confirmed what CNSNews.com had previously reported: that the law which created TARP–the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act–did not grant the government specific authority to use taxpayers’ funds to rescue the auto industry.

Organizers Predict Thousands of Tea Party Activists Will Attend Saturday’s March on Washington
(CNSNews.com) - Thousands of angry taxpayers are expected to come to the nation’s capital on Saturday, Sept. 12, to march on the National Mall. These are many of the same Americans who staged “tea parties” this Spring to protest the $700 billion mortgage bailout and passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill — and the same people who turned out in droves over the August congressional break at town hall meetings around the country to express their outrage over a proposed trillion dollar health-care “reform.”

Deepening Venezuela-Iran Alliance Stokes Concern
(CNSNews.com) – The United States watches closely and follows links between Iran and Venezuela “very seriously,” the State Department said in response to fresh claims of a deepening collaboration between the two governments hostile to the U.S. Spokesman Ian Kelly said allegations made by veteran Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau this week – that Iran and Venezuela were “creating a cozy financial, political, and military partnership” — were serious and would be looked into.

U.S. Envoy Warns Iran Is Almost Capable of Building Atomic Bomb
(CNSNews.com) – With a deadline to cooperate or face tougher sanctions fast approaching, Iran has presented a new “proposal” relating to its nuclear program to a group of leading governments. Iran’s response came on the same day that a U.S. envoy told the United Nations nuclear watchdog that Iran was nearing “breakout” capability – the point at which it could, if it took the decision to do so, build an atomic bomb.

 Obama: Now is Time to Deliver on Health Care 

American Congregations Show Some Signs of Vitality 

ADF Receives $9.2M to Defend Free Speech at Universities 

Ky. Church to Ordain Registered Sex Offender 

Court Rejects Disgraced Baptist Leader’s Bid to Stop Election 

 
Eight Years After Terror Attacks, Threat Remains Real and Evolving
(CNSNews.com) – Despite counter-terrorism successes and the absence of a major and dramatic attack in the West, the security threat posed by radical Islamists remains real and dynamic, as al-Qaeda mutates into an increasingly unstructured but no less dangerous entity, according to experts monitoring the organization.

Support for Suicide Bombings and Bin Laden Still High Among Some Muslims
(CNSNews.com) – A new survey gauging Muslim attitudes indicates that backing for suicide bombings against civilians, while generally down from earlier years, remains significant in some Islamic countries – challenging the assertion that Muslims supporting terrorism constitute a “tiny minority.”

Obama’s Speech Prompts Ten Questions from Republicans
(CNSNews.com) – House Republicans on Thursday issued ten “common-sense” questions arising from President Barack Obama’s Wednesday-night speech plugging health care reform. The questions – and the words that prompted them – appear here verbatim…

Pro-Life Congressmen and Planned Parenthood Agree: Health Care Bill Funds Abortion
(CNSNews.com) - In his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama said the health care plan he is pushing will not provide federal money for abortions. But pro-life congressmen and Planned Parenthood agree that abortion would be covered under the plan under an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D.-Calif.).

Pelosi: We’ll ‘Squeeze’ Medicare to Pay for Health Care Bill
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said today that Congress will pay for half of the $1 trillion health care reform bill that President Obama wants enacted by “squeezing” Medicare and Medicaid to wring out what she called “waste, fraud, abuse, redundancy, obsolescence and whatever it is.”

Conservative Pollster Defends CNN Poll on Audience Perception of Obama’s Speech
(CNSNews.com) – Conservative pollster Kellyanne Conway Thursday defended the integrity of CNN’s Wednesday night poll of those who watched President Obama’s speech to Congress on health-care reform. On Thursday, some conservatives in Washington were buzzing about the poll’s sample – and questioning whether it might have been partisan or slanted, since only 18 percent of respondents “identified themselves as Republicans.”

Despite Recession and Rising Unemployment, Rate of Uninsured Did Not Increase, Says Census Bureau Data
(CNSNews.com) - Even though the nation was in a recession and unemployment rates were rising, the percentage of people lacking health insurance in the United States did not increase during 2008, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. There was also a slight movement of people from private insurance into government insurance — including seniors moving into Medicare.

Obama speech ‘a litany of lies’
The Media Research Center is demanding that the media reports President Obama’s “lies, distortions, and exaggerations” delivered in his speech on healthcare reform Wednesday night.

9-11 widow still finding hope, healing
Author Jennifer Sands has a special reason to remember the September 11 terrorist attack in 2001.

Perspective: How Obama cronyism threatens rail security
Why has President Obama neutered the nation’s most highly trained post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism rail security team?

Yale ripped for kowtowing to Islamic extremism
Gary Bauer and John Bolton both agree with recent criticism of Yale University for publishing a book about how cartoons of the prophet Muhammad caused outrage across the Muslim world — without including the actual cartoons themselves.

ObamaCare circumvents confession of abortion funding
Three pro-life leaders are voicing concern over President Obama’s healthcare plan. They believe President Obama may not be telling the truth about taxpayer-funded abortion as it pertains to his healthcare reform plan.

Pro-Life Leaders: Obama Still Misleading Americans on Abortion Funding 

Survey Reveals Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct 

Pakistani Bishop: Muslim-Christian Tension Unlikely to be Resolved Soon 

Relief Groups Sound Alarm as Kenya Faces Drought, Hunger Crisis 

Orissa Christians are ‘Prisoners’ in India, Says Ministry

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

More handouts in store for big banks?
A leading free-market economist says because of the bank bailouts authorized by the Bush and Obama administrations, any big bank that runs into trouble is both so large that it has to be dealt with and has the expectation that it will be bailed out by the federal government. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

London newspaper claims Lockerbie bomber not so ill
A conservative British scholar says he believes Scottish authorities might have been conned into believing that the recently released Lockerbie bomber was more ill than he actually was.

Teen Gitmo detainee sues U.S. for mistreatment
A senior Army strategist and Pentagon advisor says he is not surprised that a terrorist suspect recently released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba would try to sue the United States over his treatment there.

Healthcare reform bill a ‘feeder system’ for abortion
A Catholic pro-life leader calls H.R. 3200 the “Planned Parenthood economic stimulus package.”

Feature: Forgotten – Christians in Palestine
A combination of threats and intimidation from Muslim extremists and the fallout from the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict are driving many Palestinian Christians from their ancestral homes.

Federal Government Will Borrow 40 Percent of the Money It Spends Next Year, Says White House Report
(CNSNews.com) – According to the Obama administration’s mid-session budget update, the federal government will have to borrow nearly 40 percent of its total expenditures in 2010, a level not seen since World War II. The 2010 figures are estimates, based on current policy proposals which have not all been enacted yet. However, all new spending proposals, including spending from initiatives such as health care reform and a proposed cap-and-trade program, would be added to the 2010 deficit.

Weapons Seizure Turns Spotlight Onto Two Rogue States
(CNSNews.com) – The Australian government is investigating the seizure of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, being shipped from North Korea to Iran that were found on an Australian cargo vessel in the Persian Gulf. Iranian officials are denying the incident, calling the reports a “Zionist” plot aimed at increasing international pressure over its nuclear activities.

Japan’s Election Landslide Expected to Produce Changes in Foreign Policy
(CNSNews.com) – For the first time since World War II, Japanese voters on Sunday handed a parliamentary majority to a party other than the 54-year-old Liberal Democratic Party, paving the way for the world’s second biggest economy to be governed by a center-left coalition including socialists opposed to the military alliance with the U.S.

Salvationists to Mark September with Prayers for Peace, Trafficking Victims

American Jewish Group Blasts WCC Head for Israel Comment

Families Mourn Deaths of Campus Crusade for Christ Students

Nation Bids Final Farewell to Edward Kennedy

High Court Asked to Review Religious Graduation Speech Case

Ohio mosque a ‘danger’ to teen convert
An Orlando, Florida, attorney has filed court documents to support his contention that a Columbus, Ohio-area mosque has ties to terrorist groups and would present a clear and present danger to a 17-year-old Christian convert from Islam who fled to Florida in fear of her life.

Perspective: Jesus the socialist?
We shouldn’t let our politics inform our faith — otherwise we get arguments like “Jesus would vote for government-run healthcare.” Sorry, Barack.

Baucus under fire for bipartisan healthcare efforts
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says his longtime friend and colleague Max Baucus (D-Montana) is feeling the heat from the White House and fellow Democrats who want to go it alone on healthcare reform instead of reaching a bipartisan compromise.

Cyber security plan gives Obama control of Internet
The Internet Security Alliance disagrees with Senator Jay Rockefeller’s approach to cyber security.

NEA reveals true stance on homosexual marriage
Does the NEA support same-sex marriage?

 
Obama’s Budget Includes $622 Billion in Health Care Savings But Doesn’t Count Cost of Health Care Reform
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama’s mid-year budget update includes $622 billion in purported health care “savings” that the administration claims will partly offset the cost of its government-oriented health reform plans. However, the budget update omits any estimate of how much those reforms might cost.

Letter Reveals Kennedy’s Opposition to Abortion, Belief in Life ‘From the Very Moment of Conception’
(CNSNews.com) – A letter written in 1971 by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) reveals that he then opposed abortion and supported giving rights to the unborn. The letter, written two years before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, was given to the Catholic League by Thomas E. Dennelly, a New York resident and a member of the Catholic League, who asked the senator about his stand on abortion.

U.S. Funds U.N. Group That Supports Teaching 5-to-8-Year Olds about Masturbation
(CNSNews.com) - A United Nations group that supports teaching 5- to 8-year-olds about masturbation is partly funded by the United States, which will contribute $78.1 million in the 2010 fiscal year to the group, according to the State Department. As CNSNews.com previously reported, the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released its International Guidelines for Sexual Education in June.

Home Schoolers Top National Average on ACT
(CNSNews.com) – Compared with other students, homeschoolers scored higher than the national average on this year’s ACT, a national standardized test used to gauge educational development and college readiness. Ian Slatter, director of media relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association, said the one-on-one attention home-schooled students receive is conducive to learning.

While on Vacation, Obama’s Approval Rating Dropped to All-Time Low, Says Gallup Poll
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama’s job approval rating fell to an all-time low of 50 percent during the time he was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, says the Gallup Poll. As he returned to Washington, D.C. on Sunday, however, his approval ticked up one point to 51 percent.

Little Western Support As Libya Marks 40 Years of Gaddafi
(CNSNews.com) – Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power, but with the row still brewing over the release of the man convicted in the Lockerbie bombing, the event will not be the showpiece of Libya’s return to international standing that he had hoped.

Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains
(CNSNews.com) – A newly released government report details strategies for local governments to combat what it calls an epidemic of childhood obesity, including enacting zoning and land-use regulations that would “restrict fast food establishments near school grounds and public playgrounds.”

‘Global Warming for Dummies’ or Global Warming Propaganda?
(CNSNews.com) – “Global Warming for Dummies,” a guide that claims to “sort out fact from fiction” about so-called climate change, in reality contains numerous biased and misleading statements — in some cases advocating the censorship of opinions which differ from those of the authors.

White House Seeks to Capture and Archive Citizens’ Comments on Its Facebook, YouTube, MySpace Sites
(CNSNews.com) – Anyone who posts comments on the White House’s Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter pages will have their statements captured and permanently archived by the federal government, according to a White House plan.  The White House says that in seeking to collect and preserve comments made by common citizens on social networking sites it is acting “out of an abundance of caution” to comply with the law.

White House Sees Robust Growth over Next Decade But Critics Say Policies Will Hurt Growth
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration’s updated budget forecasts predict a robust rate of economic growth over the next decade, claiming that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product will grow at an average rate of 2.8 percent between 2009 and 2019. However, data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis suggest that this may not turn out to be the case. While the economy typically rebounds after a recession, it rarely maintains that higher level of growth.

U.S. Death Toll at Record Low in Iraq, at Record High in Afghanistan
(CNSNews.com) – Fewer American troops died in Iraq during August than in any previous month since the U.S. invaded in March 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. That is in stark contrast to the situation in Afghanistan, which saw its deadliest month. Asked Monday about the climbing death toll in Afghanistan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs blamed the Bush administration.

Parade of Despots Heading For New York
(CNSNews.com) – The usual September parade of world leaders descending on New York City for the opening of the annual United Nations General Assembly will be characterized this year by the presence of some of the world’s most controversial leaders.

Normalizing transgenderism in schools
A New England-based pro-family organization is concerned about a situation in Vermont involving bathroom arrangements at schools.

Pro-union bill contrary to pro-family movement
Gary Bauer says the proposal known as the Employee Free Choice Act — if enacted into law — would pose a substantial threat to the interests of the pro-family movement.

Perspective: No junior lobbyist left behind
America’s parents have every right to worry about their children being used by Washington as Political Guinea Pigs for Change.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream honors same-sex ‘marriage’
An ice cream company is celebrating homosexual “marriage” in Vermont.

Cash for Clunkers ‘inefficient,’ says dealer
An owner of ten car dealerships in South Dakota and Iowa says the government’s inefficient administration of the “Cash for Clunkers” program should make people think twice about backing a new government-run healthcare plan.

Religious Communities Unite for Interfaith Service Week

Vt. Gay Couples Marry, Eat ‘Hubby Hubby’ Ice Cream

Detroit-Area Church Campaigns with ‘Satan’ Signs

Runaway Teen’s Attorney Claims Parents’ Mosque Has Terrorist Ties

Egypt Muslim Council: Building of Churches is ‘Sin’ Against God

Obama’s school speech – social indoctrination?
Is the president using his bully pulpit to push social change in America’s schools?

‘Big Labor’ in the pulpit
Representatives of “Big Labor” will be filling church pulpits this weekend to preach government-run healthcare and other liberal political priorities.

Runaway convert ’safest in Florida’
A terrorism expert says the recent information provided by the attorney for 17-year-old Christian convert Rifqa Bary clearly justifies her fears that she will be killed if she is returned to her Islamic family in Ohio.

Funeral coverage unearths media’s liberal tilt
Media Research Center says the mainstream media’s recent coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy’s funeral was a celebration of big-government activism and a promotion of the liberal agenda.

Agro-terrorism threat a real one
An author and terrorism expert says as the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks approaches, Americans need to be aware of the threat of agro-terrorism and the impact it could have on the nation’s food supply.

 
Health Care Bill Gives Obama Power to Appoint Government ‘Commissioner’ With Sweeping Power to Dictate Health Coverage
(CNSNews.com) – The health care bill under consideration in the House of Representatives would give President Obama the authority to name a new federal “Health Choices Commissioner” who would have sweeping power to govern the health insurance plans offered in a so-called “exchange” where millions of Americans would get their health insurance if the bill is enacted. These powers would include deciding which treatments are covered, which companies can participate, which states can run their own exchange, and enrolling individuals into the public exchange.

‘Third-Rate’ Charter Schools Should Be Closed, Education Secretary Says
(CNSNews.com) – Education Secretary Arne Duncan told CNSNews.com that he is “not a fan” of charter schools, only “good charter schools,” adding that the non-performing ones should be closed.

Revision: Education Dept. Changes Suggested Classroom Activities for Students Who Watch Obama’s Speech
(CNSNews.com) - Amid complaints from some parents and political conservatives, the Obama White House has dropped a recommendation that students write a paper on “what they can do to help the president” following President Obama’s Sept. 8 speech to the nation’s school children.

Hamas Complains, So U.N. School Will Not Teach Gaza Students About Holocaust
(CNSNews.com) - The United Nations’ refugee agency for Palestinians does not intend to include the Holocaust in the curriculum at schools it runs in the Gaza Strip, a U.N. spokesman said following criticism by Hamas about the purported plan. But some Jewish organizations have taken issue with the U.N. for apparently backtracking in the face of the criticism from the terrorist group.

Obama Officials Laud Health Care Fraud Settlement for Probe Launched During the Bush Administration
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration on Wednesday announced the conclusion of an investigation started after whistleblowers claimed in 2003 that the pharmaceutical company Pfizer was marketing some of its products for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability concerning “fraudulent marketing” of certain pharmaceutical products. Sebelius said the settlement will shore up failing government-run health care programs.

Another Iranian Nuclear Deadline Looms in September, As U.S. ‘Urges’ Iran to Respond
(CNSNews.com) – Seven years after Iran’s clandestine nuclear program was first exposed, a meeting of leading powers on Wednesday gave Tehran three weeks to return to talks on the matter – the latest in a series of deadlines that have so far failed to resolve the standoff. Experts note that Iran is making good use of the time afforded by the drawn-out negotiations.

Timeline of Iran Nuclear Standoff
(CNSNews.com) –The dispute over Iran’s nuclear program has been dragging on for seven years, and despite three rounds of sanctions, multiple U.N. reports, and several proposals put to Iran by the international community, it shows little sign of resolution.

Reformed Body Says Lutheran Gay Vote Does Not Impair Partnership

South Africans Launch Conservative Anglican Fellowship

Assemblies of God Joins Hispanic Evangelical Group

Evangelical Leaders Welcome NIV Revision Plans with Caution, Hope

15,000 Audio Bibles Shipped to Military Chaplains

Will Rangel wrangle out of this one?
An ethics watchdog group is calling for a criminal investigation of New York Congressman Charlie Rangel, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

Rifqa can remain
Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old girl who says she ran away from her Muslim family in Ohio because she feared she could be killed for converting to Christianity, can remain in Florida for now. She’s ’safest in Florida,’ says terrorism expert

Perspective: Why parents don’t trust Obama
You can take Obama from the radicals in Chicago — but you can’t take the Chicago radicalism out of Obama.

No Harry Reid – change Nevadans can believe in
A Nevada-based political action committee is raising money to help to defeat Democratic Senator Harry Reid in his re-election bid next year.

Budget woes force layoffs at Focus
Focus on the Family says it’s laying off 8 percent of its work force.

 
Obama Regulation Czar Advocated Removing People’s Organs Without Explicit Consent
(CNSNews.com) – Cass Sunstein, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has advocated a policy under which the government would “presume” someone has consented to having his or her organs removed for transplantation when they die unless that person has explicitly indicated that his or her organs should not be taken. Under such a policy, hospitals would harvest organs from people who never gave permission for this to be done.

Majority of Americans Would Qualify for Federal ‘Affordability Credits’ Under House Health-Care Reform Bill
(CNSNews.com) – More than 60 percent of American households would likely qualify for government “affordability credits” under H.R. 3200 – the health-care reform bill currently in the House of Representatives, according to numbers obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau. A provision in the health-care package would allow the government to offer “affordability credits” to citizens with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Virginia Democrat Says He Might Support Public Option ‘Down the Road’
Fredericksburg, Va. (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told a town hall meeting on Thursday that he might consider a government run health care option “down the road.” He also said he supports tort reform and would not support a bill that adds to the $9 federal deficit.

Boston’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Says He Confronted Obama about Abortion in Health Care Plan at Ted Kennedy’s Funeral
(CNSNews.com) – Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, wrote on Thursday that he confronted President Barack Obama on the question of abortion in the health care reform plan now before Congress when he spoke to Obama at Sen. Ted Kennedy’s funeral in a Boston church. O’Malley made the revelation in a blog posting on his archdiocesan Web site, responding to Catholics who were distressed that he had taken part in a very public funeral Mass celebrating the life of Sen. Kennedy.

Thousands of Christians to Gather at Courthouses on 9/11 to Pray for New ‘Great Awakening’
(CNSNews.com) - American Christians are in need of a wake-up call, some Christian leaders say. The Awakening America Alliance is sponsoring “Cry Out America” on Friday, Sept. 11 — an event calling for thousands of Christians to “gather at noon at county courthouses across the nation in repentance, to pray for the lost, and to cry out for God to send another ‘Great Awakening.’”

Founding Fathers, Faith, and Freedom Focus of U.S. Citizenship Ceremony for Children
(CNSNews.com) – Fifty-eight children from 26 countries swore an oath to become citizens of the United States in a ceremony Thursday at Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia home. The children, ages 1 to 17, were adopted by U.S. citizens or their parents are naturalized citizens. The ceremony was marked by references to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, the freedoms guaranteed citizens by the Constitution, and acknowledgment of God’s role in the nation’s traditions.

Still Angry Over Treatment of His Son, Gaddafi Wants Switzerland Abolished
(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of his first visit ever to the United Nations, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is calling for the dismemberment of Switzerland. Although Muammar Gaddafi’s proposal to do away with the tiny nation will get no traction at the United Nations General Assembly, it adds to a pattern of unconventional behavior by the former pariah even as he seeks to enhance his global stature.

Terror Suspect Endorsed As Iran’s Defense Minister; Pledges ‘Clenched Fist’
(CNSNews.com) – Responding to international criticism over the nomination of a wanted terror suspect as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s next defense minister, Iranian lawmakers on Thursday gave Ahmad Vahidi the strongest endorsement out of the 21 cabinet nominees under consideration. Vahidi said afterwards the outcome was a “decisive slap” in Israel’s face.

Bishop: Pray for Those Without Work This Labor Day

Reformed Church Gathers to Analyze Economic Crisis

Conservative Leader: Gov’t Takeover Not Solution to Health Care Woes

Journalists Recount N. Korea Arrest; Expose Plight of Defectors

Police Report ‘Favorable’ to Muslim Parents of Convert, Says Attorney

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

Palin calls Obamacare evil
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama’s health plan “downright evil” Friday in her first online comments since leaving office, saying in a Facebook posting that he would create a “death panel” that would deny care to the neediest Americans.

Christian attorneys defend public prayer
An atheist organization is yet again opposing the practice of opening public meetings with prayer.

New ENDA bill ‘turns private sin into a public right’
Conservative Christian leader Robert Knight says a Senate bill that would ban job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity “turns private sin into a public right.”

Who’s behind the Internet Snitch Brigade?
If the White House is looking for “fishy” information in the healthcare debate, they could start by checking into President Obama’s own healthcare overlord.

Perspective: Seeking more than financial freedom
Why did we Hispanics come to the United States? For one thing, to experience freedom — something that is threatened by current Capitol Hill goings-on.

Senate Committee Apologizes to All Native Americans for Violence and Maltreatment by U.S. Citizens
(CNSNews.com) – The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passed a resolution by voice vote last week apologizing “on behalf of American people” to all Indian tribes for the mistreatment and violence by American citizens.

Obama Adviser Says More U.S. Troops May Be Needed in Afghanistan
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s National Security Adviser Jim Jones told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “more security” in Afghanistan may mean more U.S. troops on the ground. “We won’t rule anything out,” Jones said later with regard to troop strength.

Obama Adviser Considers Stimulus Spending Successful
(CNSNews.com) – Even while conceding that job losses are “horrendous” – 9.4 percent unemployment nationwide – a top Obama administration economic adviser said the $787-billion stimulus plan is working. “Millions of unemployed workers have seen an extra $25 a week in their unemployment insurance checks [and] 95 percent of American households saw a tax cut in their paychecks starting April 1,” said Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Sponsors of Anti-Obama Health Care Petition Say Opposition Is Real
(CNSNews.com) - A petition opposing President Barack Obama’s plan for a government-led overhaul of the nation’s health care system has garnered over 1 million signatures since it launched May 25, something its sponsors say is proof that public opposition to Obama’s plan is very real.

Long-Ago Collapse of Hawaiian Monarchy Described As U.S.-Assisted ‘Regime Change’
(CNSNews.com) – A bill now working its way through the Senate would allow Hawaii’s indigenous people to establish a “government-to-government relationship with the United States,” similar to the relationship that Alaskan natives and American Indian tribes have, Sen Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) says. But critics say the bill would establish a “race-based” government for native Hawaiians.

Iran Using Trials, ‘Confessions’ to Step Up Confrontation With the West
(CNSNews.com) - Iran ratcheted up its row with the West over the weekend by putting on trial a French citizen as well as Iranian employees at the French and British embassies, all of whom publicly admitted to wrongful conduct during the protests that followed the disputed June election. An indictment read out by a Revolutionary Court prosecutor accused Western governments, led by Britain, of a plot to overthrow the Islamic republic, through “public diplomacy” and “covert action.”

More Americans in the Hands of Hostile Regimes
(CNSNews.com) – A week after three Americans went missing near the Iraq-Iran border, Tehran has officially confirmed that it is holding them. U.S. national security advisor Jim Jones said Sunday Washington had “sent strong messages” calling for their release as quickly as possible. But there is concern that the regime may view the Americans as political pawns, just as North Korea viewed the two U.S. journalists it captured earlier this year.

Conservatives ‘mad,’ speaking out about Obamacare
The head of a conservative group the White House accused of “manufacturing outrage” at healthcare town hall meetings says the charge is a “delusion.” POLL: Why are people so upset? VOTE

Group challenges IRS over tax exemption, wins
A newly formed grassroots pro-life group from Iowa has won a case against the IRS following accusations the federal agency posed “prejudicial” questions of the group.

Perspective: ‘Politics of hope’ reduced to name-calling
The Democratic leadership is out of control. That’s the only way to put it. Witness recent comments from the White House and Nancy Pelosi.

Israel beefs up weapons stash
Senior military strategist Bob Maginnis believes Israel’s recent purchase of some sophisticated weapons will greatly enhance the capability of Israeli Defense Forces to deal with growing threats from their Islamic enemies.

Feature: Religion and public schools: An important civics lesson this fall
This fall, public school students, teachers, and parents will get a civics lesson on free speech.

Communities Organize Against Health Care, While Professional Protestors Organize at White House Behest

Knights Condemn Porn Industry and Reaffirm Fight to Defend Natural Marriage

Faith Groups Declare Victory as Virginia Jail Backs off Religious Material Ban in Prisoners’ Mail

New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers

Feds Accuse Catholic Belmont Abbey College of Sexual Discrimination for Not Covering Contraception

Why Delay Marriage and Invite Sexual Sin and Loneliness say Some US Evangelicals and Catholics

Little Recognition Given To Study of Sexual Reorientation Therapy at APA Convention

New Study Shows Homeschoolers Excel Academically

Pro-Family Man Chosen for Library Board, Despite Protest by Homosexual Groups

White House ‘Reality Check’ Claims Health Care Reform ‘Would Not Add One Penny to Deficit,’ Despite CBO Reports to Contrary
(CNSNews.com) – A new Web site launched Monday by the Obama administration to rebut alleged disinformation about the administration’s efforts to reform the health care system claims that reform “would not add one penny to the deficit.” But a Congressional Budget Office analysis says two health-care reform bills would increase the national debt by $239 billion and $1.042 trillion, respectively. In fact, the administration has not produced any health-care reform legislation that has been independently determined to be deficit-neutral.

Health Care Bill Pushes Employers to Promote ‘Wellness’ Among Workers
(CNSNews.com) - A provision in the Senate version of the health-care reform bill would push private employers to create a “culture of health” for employees in the workplace. While many employers already have wellness programs that include on-site clinics and weight-reduction and exercise programs, those are private-sector initiatives and the government is not involved.

White House Denies Collecting Names of Opponents of Health Legislation
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration denied it is keeping an enemies list, although it has asked citizens to report any “disinformation” about health care they come across to the White House. Last Wednesday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to the White House expressing concern about why the White House would want information on opponents of its health care plan.

Obama Says Canadian Health Care Works, But Not a Good Fit for U.S.
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama said Monday that he does not find the Canadian model for health care scary, and said it is wrong for opponents of reform to tout Canada’s single-payer system as a “boogey man” for health care. However, the president said such a system would not work in the United States.

Harvey Milk, Jack Kemp to Get Posthumous Medals of Freedom
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama this week will award the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Harvey Milk, one of the nation’s first openly homosexual politicians, and to the late Jack Kemp, a leading proponent of supply side economics. Just last week, the California Assembly approved a bill designating May 22 as “Harvey Milk Day.” Conservatives complain that the bill will require all public schools to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises.”

Fatah’s New Platform Fails to Abandon Terror, Does Not Bode Well for Peace, Critics Say
(CNSNews.com) – The “moderate,” U.S.-backed Palestinian faction Fatah on Tuesday was awaiting the results of an election of a new generation of leaders, after adopting a platform that retains the right to use violence to achieve its ends and endorses a terrorist organization as the party’s “military wing.” Critics say the platform emerging from Fatah’s first congress in two decades spells the end of any hopes that an agreement ending the long running Israeli-Arab conflict may be reached in the years ahead.

Targeting of Top Taliban Terrorist Draws Muted Criticism, This Time, From Pakistani Lawmakers
(CNSNews.com) – The reported death of Baitullah Mehsud not only has removed one of the most dangerous terrorists in the Pashtun belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but it also appears to have quieted, temporarily at least, the chorus of criticism in Pakistan about U.S. unmanned drones targeting Islamic extremists.

School officials face jail time for meal-time prayers
A principal and an athletic director are facing criminal charges for a lunch-time prayer.

Perspective: Town hall meetings = democracy at work
Americans are often impatient with complicated details of national legislation proposed for them, but they are not stupid. Witness the stir over healthcare reform.

Pence anxious to hear from constituents
August recess means town hall meetings for most Capitol Hill politicians in their districts back home. OneNewsNow caught up with Congressman Mike Pence before he headed back to Indiana. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

Forget the budget – raise the debt ceiling
A tax-policy expert says instead of trimming spending and balancing the budget, Congress is poised to agree to the Obama administration’s request to raise the federal debt limit again.

Humanities, social sciences ‘anti-Christian’
A Christian professor says a new study reaffirms that a “notorious” lack of diversity exists in the humanities and social sciences faculties at public universities.

3 Out Of 4 Quebecers Want Euthanasia Legalized

Catholic Charities Refuses to Oppose Obama Health Care Bill

USCCB Pro-Life Office: No Health Care Reform while Abortion Mandate Remains

Campaign Life Coalition Praises Quebec Government’s New Abortuary Safety Requirements

Obama Sells Health Care “Public Option” with Bankrupt Post Office Analogy

LSN Interview with Roger Conner of Catholic Charities Re: Obama Health Care Bills

Palin Firestorm Brings Fresh Scrutiny to ObamaCare “Death Panels”

Feminists for Life mourns the loss of a Eunice Kennedy Schriver

Homosexual and Financial Scandals Ignored by Bishop in Colombian Archdiocese

Socialist Sweden Moves to Ban Homeschooling for Religious or Philosophical Reasons

Quebec Government Has Begun Same-Sex Parenting Inclusiveness Training for Primary School Teachers

Popular, Anti-Christian Author Sir Terry Pratchett calls for Legal Assisted Suicide

AARP: Obama got it wrong
President Obama went too far when he said the seniors lobby had endorsed the legislation pending in Congress, the AARP’s chief officer said Tuesday.

Healthcare reform – no place for racial quotas
A former attorney with the Justice Department says the House healthcare bill pushes hospitals, medical schools, and other recipients of federal dollars to meet racial and ethnic quotas.

Bitter feud erupts at high-profile Florida church
The daughter of the late D. James Kennedy has been banned from the property of her father’s church in the wake of a bitter dispute with the new pastor.

Personhood amendment making inroads in Colorado
Personhood Colorado is preparing for a major effort to get a proposed pro-life amendment on an upcoming ballot.

A parent’s guiding influence
Training your teen in the early years and guarding his heart can help him avoid falling prey to the worst influences in today’s world.

Obama Wants Total Government Control Over Health Care, Says Conservative Leader Phyllis Schlafly
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama did not have a “real job” prior to entering politics other than as a community organizer, an experience he is now using to deceive Americans into accepting a new government-run health care system, said Phyllis Schlafly at a National Press Club luncheon on Monday. “I think we would be better off if we defeated the whole thing [health care bill] that is proposed,” she said. “Then, if there is some particular remedy that we can work on, we can try that.”

In Congo, Hillary Clinton Suggests Government Ownership of Industry Would be a Good Thing
(CNSNews.com) – In a television interview Monday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that it would be a good thing for the government to take an ownership interest in industry. Discussing the Congo’s “rich reservoir of natural resources,” Clinton pointed to a “model that has worked elsewhere” — the government of Botswana demanding 20 percent ownership of a company that mines diamonds.

U.S. Not Adequately Challenging Radical Islam in Information War, Experts Say
(CNSNews.com) – Even as radical Islamists reportedly are using more sophisticated media and communications operations, there is a growing concern that the United States is not communicating with citizens in Middle Eastern countries the way it did with people behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War — when Radio Free Europe and Voice of America were used as weapons in the battle against communism. Radical Islam is a very different enemy, but many of those same tools can be applied, said Ilan Berman, vice president for policy at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Jailed Terror Leader Elected to Fatah Leadership, Prompting New Calls for His Release
(CNSNews.com) – Palestinian militant Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five consecutive life sentences for the murders of five people in terror attacks, has been elected to serve on Fatah’s Central Committee, and that is sparking new calls by left-wing Israeli politicians for his release. Freeing Barghouti would bolster the “moderate” Fatah organization, left-wing Israelis say.

With Fewer Customers and Fixed Labor Costs, U.S. Postal Service Faces $7 Billion Net Loss in 2009
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Postal Service faces a net loss of $7 billion in fiscal year 2009, even if it succeeds in cutting its costs by $6 billion, according to testimony provided to a Senate subcommittee last week by the Government Accountability Office. Meanwhile, USPS faces continuing high overhead in the form of employee wages and benefits fixed by collective bargaining agreements, as well as declining use of the service by its customers.

Cat out of the Bag: Dem Congresswoman Admits ObamaCare Covers Elective Abortions

Kenyan Vice President Vows Cabinet will “Shoot Down” Any Bill Leglaizing Abortion

Quebec Health Minister Backing Down on Safety Measures for Abortion Mills

Grant from Canada’s Federal Conservatives to Subsidize Bill Clinton Toronto Talk

US Should NOT Imitate Canadian Health Care System – Commentary

Kansas Bishops Criticize Kansas Pregnancy Center De-Funding

NETWORK’s Sr. Campbell Backs Ryan-DeLauro “Planned Parenthood Bailout Bill”

Ben Stein, Booted from NYT Column, Blames Anger over Obama Criticism

Study Finds Injectable Contraceptive Leads To Obesity

FCC’s Chief Diversity Officer Wants Private Broadcasters to Help Fund Public Broadcasting
(CNSNews.com) – Mark Lloyd, the FCC’s newly appointed chief diversity officer, says private broadcasting companies should pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do. Lloyd presented the idea in his 2006 book, Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America. Lloyd’s hope is to dramatically upgrade and revamp the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through new funding drawn from private broadcasters.

MoveOn.org Urging Activists to Attend Town Hall Meetings to Push for ‘Public Option’ Health Care
(CNSNews.com) - While President Obama has focused attention on “special interests” that are trying to defeat his health-care plan, the liberal group Moveon.org is trying to mobilize people to attend congressional town hall meetings to push for the plan, and especially to push for a government-run “public option” insurance program.

Americans Are Working Longer Than Ever to Pay Government-Imposed Financial Burdens
Washington (CNSNews.com) – A taxpayer watchdog group marked “Cost of Government Day” Wednesday – the day when the average American has earned enough gross income to pay his or her share of the spending and regulatory burden imposed by government at the federal, state, and local level. This year, the day comes 26 days later than it did last year – as the cost of government consumes more of our income.

Hillary Clinton Invokes Bush-Gore 2000 Election Dispute in Remarks on Nigerian Corruption
(CNSNews.com) – Two days after snapping at an African student who asked a question she did not like, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday courted controversy again: In comments to Nigerians, Clinton mentioned “all kinds of problems” in past U.S. elections — including the fact that in 2000, “our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of the man running for president was the governor of the state.”

Obama Flip-Flops on Being Supporter of Single-Payer System
(CNSNews.com) – In 2003, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama received a big round of applause for telling a gathering of the AFL-CIO, “I happen to be a proponent of single-payer, universal health care plan.” This week, speaking at a town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., President Obama said, “I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter because, frankly, we historically have had a employer-based system in this country with private insurers, and for us to transition to a system like that I believe would be too disruptive.”

AARP Corrects Obama: It Has Not Endorsed Health Care Reform Package
(CNSNews.com) – The AARP, the nation’s largest advocacy group for seniors, corrected a statement by President Barack Obama yesterday that indicated the group was “endorsing” the health-care plan being developed in Congress. “We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors,” Obama said at one point.

Putin’s Provocative Caucasus Visit Signals Plans to Boost Military Presence
(CNSNews.com) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin crossed Georgia’s internationally recognized borders without permission Wednesday, drawing an angry response from the Georgian government, which called the visit a fresh attempt to escalate tensions.

Will ‘cash for clunkers’ tank the used car market?
An analyst with The Heritage Foundation predicts the “cash for clunkers” program will distort the used car market and harm small business owners. VOTE IN A RELATED POLL

Perspective: The undeclared war to ENDA our liberty
Without morality, you cannot have a sound economy — and societies that lose respect for marriage eventually lose creative energy.

Community rallies support for accused ‘pray-ers’
A Florida community is voicing its support of three individuals who are facing criminal charges for prayer at school-related events.

Census plan would illegally redistribute House seats
An immigration reform activist says she’s outraged that an advocacy group for illegal immigrants is pushing for those individuals to take part in the 2010 census.

Presidential Medal recipients roasted
Some of President Barack Obama’s choices to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom are getting less-than-enthusiastic endorsements.

UN Health Data Show Liberal Abortion Laws Lead to Greater Maternal Death

NRLC Webpage Exposes Pro-Life Movement’s Benedict Arnold in Congress

American Nuns Honor Pro-Abortion Cokie Roberts as Vatican Investigation Continues

Saving Face, Collegiality, and Charity in Truth: The D&P Fallout

Sarah Palin Strikes Back Against Obama on “Death Panels”

ND Judge Refuses Bid by Pro-Abortion Legal Group to Halt Informed Consent Law

Louisville Pro-Life Students Call for Dismissal of Coach who Killed Unborn Child to Cover Up Affair

Quebec Premier Says Abortion Access Will Not Be Compromised

Radical NGO Paints Abortionists as Human Rights Defenders

No Difference between Marriage and Cohabitation: Italian High Court

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Courts ‘Married’ Lesbian for By-election Candidate
Speaking in Mexico, Obama Calls American Opponents of Immigration Amnesty ‘Demagogues’
(CNSNews.com) - At a joint press conference with the Mexican president and the Canadian prime minister in Mexico on Monday, President Barack Obama referred to American opponents of amnesty for illegal aliens as “demagogues.” Obama, who wants a “pathway to citizenship,” admitted it would require bipartisan cooperation: “There are going to be demagogues out there who try to suggest that any form of pathway for legalization for those who are already in the United States is unacceptable,” he said.

House Health Care Legislation May Lead to ‘Unintended Consequences,’ Republican Senator Says
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, says health care legislation crafted in the House “is so poorly cobbled together that it will have all kinds of unintended consequences.” Grassley announced on Thursday that the Senate Finance Committee has dropped end-of-life provisions from its health care legislation — “entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly.” That’s apparently what many town hall attendees fear.

Tax Credits for ‘Green Energy Technology’ Include Solar Power and Electric Cars
(CNSNews.com) - Vice President Joe Biden announced Thursday that $2.3 billion in tax credits are now available for American manufacturers that produce “clean energy” equipment, but critics of the program say the credits subsidize businesses that are not competitive in the free market.

Global Warming Bill Would Cut U.S. Economic Growth, Study Says
(CNSNews.com) - The bill intended to combat global warming that passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June would decrease the Gross Domestic Product of the United States by $2 trillion to $3 trillion between 2012 and 2030, a study shows.

Burmese Opposition Groups Troubled by Visit of Democratic Sen. Jim Webb
(CNSNews.com) – Democratic Sen. Jim Webb’s potentially groundbreaking trip to Burma this weekend has some Burmese opposition groups concerned that the ruling junta will exploit the visit for propaganda purposes. Coming days after the military-led regime extended the house arrest of veteran opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Webb’s visit is the first to Burma by a U.S. member of Congress in a decade.

House Majority Leader Blames Palestinians, Not Israeli Settlements, For Stalemate
(CNSNews.com) - A top congressional Democrat blames the Palestinian Authority’s unwillingness to return to talks, rather than Israel’s stance on settlements, for the lack of movement in Mideast peace efforts. In comments appearing to contradict those of the Obama administration, U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Thursday played down the importance of the settlement issue.

Gov’t-run healthcare would ’stifle innovation’
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum says his overarching concern about President Obama’s healthcare plan is that it takes away Americans’ right to privately contract for healthcare services and gives that responsibility to the government.

TX congresswoman accused of ‘elitism’
A liberal Texas congresswoman is being accused of ignoring her constituents’ concerns at a recent healthcare town hall meeting.

Perspective: Etiquette for patriotic protest
If you want to avoid being flagged by the Democratic politeness monitors, simply follow these rules when protesting against the current healthcare reform measures.

$8 billion – just for ‘cap-and-trade’ staffing
David Kreutzer, a senior policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation, believes “cap-and-trade” legislation will increase an already bloated federal government.

Romney leads polls for 2012 presidential hopefuls
A recent poll of New Hampshire voters shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with a large lead over other potential 2012 Republican presidential primary contenders.

Planned Parenthood Continues Boasting Close Ties with White House on Obamacare Bill

Harry Potter Star Blasts Parents Who Oppose Gay Sex Ed in Schools

Cardinal Rigali, Abp. Chaput Intensify Warnings Against Obamacare’s Abortion Expansion

Belmont Abbey Head: Washington Instructed Officials to Pursue Discrimination Charges

The Psychological Profession and Homosexuality: Lunatics Running the Asylum?

Sex and Porn on Top 10 List of Kids’ Online Searches

LifeSiteNews Corrections

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

Geithner Floats Obama’s Next Big Move: A Tax Hike on the Middle Class
(CNSNews.com) - Appearing on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Sunday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made it clear that the administration believes new federal revenues are needed, and he declined to rule out raising taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000 a year to get those revenues.

Health Care Bill Says Sebelius Must Develop ‘Measurements of Gender;’ Sebelius Says She Has ‘No Idea’ What That Means
(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says she has “no idea” about a section of the Senate health-care reform bill that requires her to “develop standards for the measurement of gender” for use in a new federal database that will collect information about all beneficiaries of government-run or government-supported health care programs. The purpose of the database is to allow the government “to detect and monitor trends in health disparities” between different groups in the U.S. population.

Republicans Mock Obama’s Medical Pronouncements; Offer ‘Better Solutions’
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama isn’t a doctor, but he plays one on TV. At least he did at his most recent press conference, Republicans say. House Republicans on Monday released a YouTube video questioning Obama’s medical pronouncements from the podium.

FDA Commissioner Says FDA’s Once-Every-Twelve-Years Pace of Inspecting Foreign Drug Manufacturers Is Unacceptable
(CNSNews.com) – Touring a Capitol Hill market with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday, FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg said that her department’s performance in inspecting drug manufacturing facilities was not acceptable, and that her goal was to turn the FDA into a world class regulator, working with both foreign and domestic partners to better keep tabs on drug makers.

Conyers Says He’s a ‘Great Advocate’ of Sarah Palin
(CNSNews.com) - At a recent National Press Club luncheon, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) sarcastically said he is “a supporter of Sarah Palin” and “one of her great advocates.” Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate in 2008, recently resigned as governor of Alaska.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq Dropped to All-Time Low in July
(CNSNews.com) - The month after U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from Iraqi cities has been the least deadly for U.S. forces in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion. The death toll among Iraqi civilians also dropped significantly in July. Seven Americans – six soldiers and a Marine – were killed in Iraq during July, four of them in combat-related circumstances.

Fatah Conference to Consider Non-Recognition of Israel, Closer Ties to Iran
(CNSNews.com) – As Fatah, the “moderate” Palestinian faction, prepares this week to hold its first convention in 20 years, a series of platform proposals threatens to take relations with an already skeptical Israeli government to a new low. Some of the proposals to be voted on reportedly include continued non-recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the continued right to use violence against Israeli occupation, and calls to open a strategic dialogue with Iran.

Why Catholics Will Not Get Abortion Out of the Health Care Bill
 

Operation Rescue Launches Campaign to Keep Tiller’s Business Closed
 

Fear of Having Children Based in “Lack of Hope”: Cardinal Pell

HHS Will Limit ‘Measurements of Gender’ in Health Care Database to ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ — No LGBT Categories
(CNSNews.com) – A spokesman for Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Monday that a new federal database that will collect information on all beneficiaries of government-run or government-supported health-care programs will use only the categories “male” and “female” — not lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender — when making entries for a person’s gender. The language in the Senate health care bill directing the HHS secretary to create the database makes no mention of “male” or “female” but specifically mandates that the secretary “develop standards for the measurement of gender.”

Obama Still ‘Committed’ to No Tax Increase on Those Making Less Than $250,000, Says White House
(CNSNews.com) - The clarification became necessary after two senior administration officials were perceived over the weekend to have floated the idea that the president might raise taxes on the middle class.

Liberals Paint Health-Reform Protesters As Dangerous Nuts
(CNSNews.com) – The Democratic National Committee linked to a Politico.com blog in a mass email on Tuesday, effectively endorsing the blogger’s message that “excessive displays” of anger at Democrat lawmakers could “breed a backlash.”

Blasphemy Laws Seen As Root Cause of Violence Against Christians in Pakistan
(CNSNews.com) –National lawmakers in Islamabad on Monday condemned the mob violence, which left seven Christians dead, and called it a conspiracy aimed at defaming Islam. Government ministers said there was no evidence that a copy of the Koran was desecrated – the supposed trigger for the attack. But amid the furor, the only calls for the blasphemy laws to be thrown out are coming from the Christian minority.

Bill Clinton Lands in North Korea on A Mission to Free Two Americans
(CNSNews.com) – Almost nine years after he called off plans to visit North Korea, former President Clinton has arrived in the reclusive Stalinist nation, reportedly on a mission to secure the release of two jailed American journalists. Reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling were detained along the North Korean-Chinese border in March. Clinton’s surprise involvement follows appeals by his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for North Korea to grant Lee and Ling clemency and deport them.

Mature Adolescents Should Have a Say in Medical Treatment: Supreme Court of Canada

Famed 93 Year-old Canadian Priest Still Recovering From Grave Health Complications

As Health Care Issue Heats Up, Congressmen Turn to Tele-Town Hall Meetings Where They Control Audience
(CNSNews.com) – Members of Congress are increasingly turning to virtual town hall meetings–conducted by telephone–in an effort to reach more constituents while avoiding the potential that informational meetings might be disrupted by angry and persistent questioners or protesters. One advantage to these telephone town halls is that the Member of Congress controls the audience and the questioning.

Polls Prove Opposition to Health Plan Not ‘Manufactured,’ Conservative Group Says
(CNSNews.com) – Vocal opposition to the Democrats’ health care overhaul legislation – evident at town hall meetings across the United States — is genuine, not manufactured, a conservative activist told CNSNews.com on Wednesday.

Liberal Talk Radio Host Hopes Conservative Glenn Beck Commits Suicide on TV
(CNSNews.com) – Liberal talk radio host Mike Malloy lashed out at conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who has a program on the Fox News Channel, saying he hopes Beck commits suicide “on camera,” particularly given that suicide “is rampant in his family” and that Beck apparently is “self-destructive.” “I have good news to report,” said Malloy on his Aug. 4 radio program. “Glenn Beck appears closer to suicide. I’m hoping that he does it on camera.” Malloy noted that “Suicide is rampant in (Beck’s) family.”

It’s Not for Us to Pass Judgment on Fairness of Iran’s Election, Says White House Spokesman
(CNSNews.com) - The White House backtracked Wednesday on an earlier statement calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran’s “elected leader.” Press Secretary Robert Gibbs later said it was not up to the administration to say whether Ahmadinejad was legitimate. Despite Gibbs’ reluctance to pass judgment on whether Iran’s election was fair, the administration has not hesitated to air its opinions on elections elsewhere.

Federal Stimulus Funds Will be Used to Train ‘Domestic Violence’ Counselors for Cohabitating Homosexuals
(CNSNews.com) – Funds from the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be used in Alexandria, Va., where same-sex marriage is not legal, to train staff on how to work with sexual/domestic violence victims who who do not identify themselves as heterosexual. The “assumptions” about LGBT couples are different, said the city’s legislative director.

GOP That Rose to Power Exploiting ‘Racial Fear,’ Can Make Amends Supporting Immigration Reform, Says Liberal Activist
(CNSNews.com) - Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, believes that the Republican Party rose to power in recent decades by exploiting “racial fear” — and can now make amends now by supporting comprehensive immigration reform. “I am not arguing that Republicans have been a racist party,” Rosenberg said, citing the 1988 presidential election and the welfare reform debate as examples of what he was talking about.

Mass Transit Officials Ask Congress for Increased Subsidies So They Can ‘Encourage’ More Americans Not to Drive Cars
(CNSNews.com) – Representatives of some of the nation’s largest transit agencies testified before Congress on Tuesday, saying that they need more federal subsidies despite growing ridership. According to one official, increased federal spending on public transportation will “encourage” more people to get out of their cars.

Top Obama Adviser Urged a ‘World of Zero Net Physical Growth’ in 1995 World Bank Publication
(CNSNews.com) – A top White House adviser to President Barack Obama argued that mankind eventually must face up to the need for a “world of zero net physical growth” and “population limitation” in an essay he co-authored. The essay was included in a 1995 book on environmentally “sustainable” economic activity published by the World Bank.

U.S. Unconcerned About Russian Subs off East Coast; Moscow Says Patrol Is Routine
(CNSNews.com) – The Russian and United States militaries both played down the significance of two Russian attack submarines patrolling in international waters off the East Coast of the U.S., although the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that it had been years since Russian subs had extended their reach into the region. A Pentagon spokesman said as long as the Russian vessels remained in international waters and behaved in a responsible way, they were free to do so.

Manitoba’s NDP Government Puts Paying For Sex-Change Surgery on the Back Burner, For Now

Keep Strip Club in Development Project, Montreal City Panel Recommends 

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

 Evangelist Greg Laurie Reflects on Son’s Death, One Year Later
One year ago today, a well-known evangelist lost his oldest son. Reflecting on the anniversary of his son’s death, evangelist Greg Laurie testifies that the Lord has been there for him in the midst of a devastating time.

Pro-Life Leaders Mobilize Over 36,000 to Stand Against ‘Abortion Mandate’

 BWA to Celebrate 400th Anniversary of Baptist Movement

 Scholars to Examine Gender Roles, Bible, Culture

 Dallas Episcopal Bishop Rejects Gay Resolutions

 Rick Warren Embarks on Follow-Up to ‘Purpose Driven Life’

 Commentary on July 24 News – Foca by Stealth, Tim Ryan, China, More Good News on D&P, Sask. Marriage Commissioner

Pence Amendment Fails, House Votes to Increase Tax Dollars for Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Groups Warn: Ryan-DeLauro “Common Ground” Bill a Red Herring

Shanghai Starts Backpedaling One-Child Policy in Face of Demographic Implosion

Over 36,000 Participate in Webcast to Stop the Abortion Mandate in Obama Healthcare

House to Vote on Healthcare Next Week, While Democrat Negotiations Break Down

India’s Religious Leaders Pass Resolution against Decriminalization of Homosexuality

College Football Star Tim Tebow Seeks Larger Platform for Christ
Having decided to stay for his senior year, Tim Tebow now gives the Florida Gators an excellent chance at snagging their first undefeated season and fourth national title. Tebow also has a greater opportunity to amplify his message of faith.

House Rejects Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood

Pro-Family Leader Rebukes Gates, Sharpton for ‘Abusing Police While Black’

Evangelical Leaders Rebuke Carter for ‘Reckless’ Discrimination Claims

Obama: I Pray All the Time Now

Creation ‘09 Northwest Wraps Up 12th Year

House Democrats Censure Republican’s Use of Term ‘Government-Run’ Health Care in Constituent Communications
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) made public last week an e-mail from the Franking Commission — a bipartisan panel that oversees messages from lawmakers — asking Carter to change the phrase “government run” health care to “public option.” The term was part of an audio message recorded by Carter’s staff for a town hall event on health care. The Franking Commission, which is authorized by law to oversee mail and other communications between members of Congress and their constituents that is paid for with federal funds, sent an e-mail to Carter’s staff requesting that the wording in the message be changed.

Obama Administration Says Regulatory Failure to Blame for Financial Crisis — Proposes More Regulation
(CNSNews.com) – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Friday that the administration plans to fix the “basic regulatory flaws” it blames for the financial crisis by creating a new body to oversee all financial products. But a Republican says smarter regulation — not more regulation — is the way to go.

Obama Directs U.S. to Sign ‘First New Human Rights Treaty of the 21st Century’
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama on Friday announced that the United States will sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a treaty that elevates disability beyond a health and social welfare issue to a human rights issue. Among many other things, the treaty also discusses disabled people’s “right” to health care, health insurance and life insurance.

House Republicans Harpoon $8.7-Million Intended to Connect Whalers to Their Ancestors
Washington (CNSNews.com) – A group of conservative Republican congressmen is claiming a victory in the battle against wasteful Washington spending. The self-dubbed “Sunset Caucus” managed to pressure congressional Democrats to eliminate $8.7 million for a “cultural exchange program” to connect whalers in Massachusetts with their whaling ancestors in Alaska and Hawaii.

Carbon Tariff Provisions Stoke Debate in the U.S. and Europe
(CNSNews.com) – Several European governments fret that a carbon tariff proposal, contained in a House bill, could undermine the drive to achieve a new global climate change agreement by year’s end. The clause would impose tariffs or “border measures” by 2020 on imports of certain goods from countries not seen as doing enough to reduce their CO2 emissions.

China’s State-Run Television Beams ‘News’ Programs to Arab Countries
(CNSNews.com) – Beijing’s state television channel on Saturday became the latest network to target the Middle East, launching an Arabic service in a region of increasing economic and political importance to China. China Central Television (CCTV) Arabic is widely viewed as a mouthpiece for the ruling communist party.

Transportation Secretary Now Says He Wants to ‘Lure, ‘Not ‘Coerce, ‘People out of Their Cars
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who said in May that he wanted to use federal policy to “coerce” people out of their cars, told CNSNews.com on Friday that what he really meant to say is that he wants to use federal policy to “lure” people out of their cars.

Obama Brings Up Basic Rights as U.S., China Leaders Meet
The United States “strongly” believes that the religion and culture of all peoples must be respected and protected, President Obama said Monday as he laid out a framework of his vision for America’s relationship with China.

Anglican Leader Proposes Two Ways of Being Anglican

Christian Wrestling Coach Sues School, Muslim Principal

Gunmen Kill Iraqi Christian Outside Factory

Third Christian this Year Dies in Eritrean Military Prison

Researchers Tout Major Advance for New Stem Cell Type

MI Schools and Muslim Principal Sued Over Firing of Christian Wrestling Coach

 
Traffic to Obama’s White House Web Site Has Plummeted
(CNSNews.com) – The traffic at President Obama’s official White House Web site has fallen from a post-Inauguration peak to nearly the same level it was during the waning days of the Bush administration. The dramatic drop in traffic has happened despite the Obama Administration’s complete redesign of the site.

Fighting Obesity Is ‘At the Heart’ of Obama’s Plan to Provide Better and Lower-Cost Health Care
(CNSNews.com) – Health insurance plans will be required to cover “the kind of counseling and care that can help people lose weight or keep the weight off in the first place,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday.

Obama, Chavez are Both Nationalizing Private Companies, Venezuelan Political Analyst Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking over private companies in order to deal with an economic crisis that has affected both countries. The Obama administration is trying to do roughly the same thing in the United States, Venezuelan political analyst Dr. Luis Vicente Leon told CNSNews.com Monday.

Conyers: Obama Suffers From ‘Rahm Emanuel Factor’ — He’s Willing to ‘Make a Deal About Anything’
(CNSNews.com) – When it comes to health care reform, President Barack Obama has succumbed to the “Rahm Emanuel factor,” meaning he will make a deal about anything, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) told reporters at the National Press Club on Friday. Emanuel is the White House chief of staff.

Unresolved Issue of Hezbollah’s Weapons Back in the Spotlight
(CNSNews.com) – Amid warnings by Israel and threats from Hezbollah, tensions are building along the Lebanon-Israel border, as the long-delayed issue of the disarming of the Shi’ite militia comes returns to the political front burner. Israeli officials have warned the Lebanese government that it will be held responsible if any hostile action is launched from Lebanese soil.

U.N. Shuts Out Christian NGO After China Objects
(CNSNews.com) – The United Nations has rejected a Christian Ministry’s application for official status because it refused to produce names and addresses of its members in China, citing religious freedom concerns. A U.N. watchdog said the move set a dangerous precedent, enabling “repressive regimes” to sideline critics.

 Senate Judiciary Committee Supports Sotomayor 13-6

Pro-life Gov. Palin Resigns, Thanks Alaska in Farewell Address Sunday
 

Lawsuit Dismissed Against Company for “WWJD” Motto
 

LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes – Life Issues, Obama, Homosexuality, Religion, Miscellaneous

Senate Panel Backs Sotomayor for Supreme Court
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to support the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the nation’s highest court. The committee voted largely along party lines

Tens of Thousands Lobby Congress to Exclude Abortion from Health Care Bills

Russian Patriarch Calls for Church Unity in Ukraine

 Episcopal Church Nullifies Election of Priest with Buddhist Ties

Prop. 8 Opponents Mull 2010 Campaign

BWA Resumes 400th Anniversary Celebration at Annual Meeting

Obama’s Science Czar Said a Born Baby ‘Will Ultimately Develop Into a Human Being’
(CNSNews.com) – John Holdren, President Obama’s top science adviser, said in a book he co-authored in 1973 that a newborn child “will ultimately develop into a human being” if he or she is properly fed and socialized. “Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions” argues that the human race faces dire consequences unless human population growth is stopped.

White House Science Adviser Advocated ‘De-Development’ of the United States
(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s top science adviser, John P. Holdren, advocated the “de-development” of the United States in books he co-authored in the 1970s. In the vision expressed by Holdren and his co-authors, Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, the need for “de-devolpment” of the United States demanded a redistribtuion of wealth.

As Health Care Stalls, House Majority Leader Declares No Provision Is ‘Absolutely Essential’
(CNSNews.com) – In a sign that intra-party negotiations continue to drag on, House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) declared that no single provision in the 1,000-plus-page health care reform bill is sacred, not even President Obama’s coveted government-run “public option” plan. He also said that whenever the House does move forward with health care, it does not need to get every Democrat on board.

‘Jane Roe’ To Nancy Pelosi: ‘Don’t Put Abortion in Heath-Care Reform Bill’
(CNSNews.com) – Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand in the United States, protested the health-care reform bill on Capitol Hill Tuesday because it proposes federal funding for abortions. McCorvey, joined dozens of other protestors in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to speak out against the legislation, which currently involves using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. Pelosi was not in her office at the designated time of the protest, but her staff was prepared to meet the protestors when they arrived.

Pelosi Dodges Question of Whether Government Health-Care Plan Will Fund Abortion
(CNSNews.com) - While many pro-life Democrats in the House of Representatives say they will not vote for a health care reform bill unless it explicitly bars federal funding of abortion through insurance plans, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has declined to state whether the final legislation should address the issue.

As Casualties Mount and Public Support Wanes, Britain Eyes ‘Moderate’ Taliban
(CNSNews.com) – As the deadliest month for coalition forces in Afghanistan nears an end, and amid signs of dropping public support in Britain for the war, the British government is prodding the Afghan government to court “moderate” elements among the Taliban. Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Tuesday reinforced that notion that the mission was in Britain’s own security interests.

Christians Challenged to Be More Proactive in Strengthening Marriage
With the institution of marriage weakening in American society, Christians are left with three options.

Nigerian Bishop: Christians Not Targeted in Attacks

Ministry Reveals Disturbing Statistics on World’s Youth

Study: 1 in 3 U.S. Volunteers Serve through Religious Groups

IRS Withdraws Audit on Pastor Who Preached Politics

Gospel Dream to Crown Winner of 4th Season

Harper Communion Flap Accused of Being a Clandestine Liberal Party Strategy

Traffic to Obama’s White House Web Site Has Plummeted
(CNSNews.com) – The traffic at President Obama’s official White House Web site has fallen from a post-Inauguration peak to nearly the same level it was during the waning days of the Bush administration. The dramatic drop in traffic has happened despite the Obama Administration’s complete redesign of the site.

Fighting Obesity Is ‘At the Heart’ of Obama’s Plan to Provide Better and Lower-Cost Health Care
(CNSNews.com) – Health insurance plans will be required to cover “the kind of counseling and care that can help people lose weight or keep the weight off in the first place,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday.

Obama, Chavez are Both Nationalizing Private Companies, Venezuelan Political Analyst Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking over private companies in order to deal with an economic crisis that has affected both countries. The Obama administration is trying to do roughly the same thing in the United States, Venezuelan political analyst Dr. Luis Vicente Leon told CNSNews.com Monday.

Conyers: Obama Suffers From ‘Rahm Emanuel Factor’ — He’s Willing to ‘Make a Deal About Anything’
(CNSNews.com) – When it comes to health care reform, President Barack Obama has succumbed to the “Rahm Emanuel factor,” meaning he will make a deal about anything, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) told reporters at the National Press Club on Friday. Emanuel is the White House chief of staff.

Unresolved Issue of Hezbollah’s Weapons Back in the Spotlight
(CNSNews.com) – Amid warnings by Israel and threats from Hezbollah, tensions are building along the Lebanon-Israel border, as the long-delayed issue of the disarming of the Shi’ite militia comes returns to the political front burner. Israeli officials have warned the Lebanese government that it will be held responsible if any hostile action is launched from Lebanese soil.

U.N. Shuts Out Christian NGO After China Objects
(CNSNews.com) – The United Nations has rejected a Christian Ministry’s application for official status because it refused to produce names and addresses of its members in China, citing religious freedom concerns. A U.N. watchdog said the move set a dangerous precedent, enabling “repressive regimes” to sideline critics.

 House Health-Care Bill Provides for ‘Medical Homes’ for the Elderly and Disabled
(CNSNews.com) – The House health-care reform bill proposes to decrease hospital visits by establishing a “medical home pilot program” for elderly and disabled Americans. Such medical homes would practice “evidence-based” medicine, which advocates the use of medical treatments that are supported by effectiveness research. Physicians’ groups say the legislation could lead to restrictions on which treatments could be used for certain conditions and might also may lead to dumping Medicare/Medicaid patients in facilities that are not required to have physicians on staff.

Poll Shows Obama Losing Support Among Elderly and Middle-Income Americans
(CNSNews.com) – A new Gallup poll shows that President Barack Obama’s job approval rating is going down among among middle-income earners – those making between $60,000 and $89,000 a year. Obama’s support among the elderly also is dropping. Even those in the bottom income bracket – people making less than $24,000 a year – have less favorable ratings of the president than they did a month ago, the poll shows.

In the ’70s, Obama’s Science Adviser Endorsed Giving Trees Legal Standing to Sue in Court
(CNSNews.com) – Since the 1970s, some radical environmentalists have argued that trees have legal rights and should be allowed to protect those rights in court. It is an idea endorsed by John P. Holdren, the man who now advises President Barack Obama on science and technology issues.

Illegal Immigrants Account for $10.7 Billion of Nation’s Health Care Costs, Data Show
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on CNN’s State of the Nation Sunday that “illegal immigrants are not covered” in the health care reform legislation currently being crafted. But when asked about illegal immigrants who go to public hospitals for care, Pelosi admitted that the law requires them to be treated. That cost amounts to nearly $11 billion a year, according to calculations done by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a non-profit group that opposes illegal immigration. And that cost likely will not go away if a health insurance reform bill becomes law.

China Says ‘One Child’ Policy Will Be ‘Strictly Enforced For Decades’
(CNSNews.com) – China has rejected suggestions that it is easing its controversial “one-child” population control policy, following reports that authorities in Shanghai are encouraging eligible couples to have a second child. The city’s family planning chief, Xie Lingli, told Chinese media last week that officials would make home visits to eligible families and ensure they were aware of their right to have a second child.

 Churches Urged to Modify Rituals Amid Flu Fears
Fears about the spread of the H1N1 flu virus are affecting religious activities of Christians in a number of regions, especially in Britain, which two weeks ago announced 100,000 new cases.

Church Leaders Join Campaign to Raise Minimum Wage to $10

Penn. Senate Allows Jesus Prayer

Trial Date Set for Suspected Tiller Killer

Drive for Parental Rights Amendment Picks Up Over 110 Co-Signers

Report: Some USAID-Awarded Funds ‘Used for Religious Activities’

Obama’s Health-Care Plan Could Keep Consumers from Choosing Own Insurance Plan After Five Years
Washington (CNSNews.com) - President Obama is promoting a “big government-run” health-care plan that is going to “crowd out” private sector insurance companies, and will give the government the power to eventually design insurance policies for consumers, House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) told CNSNews.com Thursday.

Harry Reid: Don’t ‘Cry Great Big Tears About the Insurance Industry’
(CNSNews.com) – “I don’t think we should be crying great big tears about the insurance industry,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said at a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday when asked whether insurance companies should be allowed to charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.

Senior Citizens Left Off Government’s Swine-Flu Vaccination Priority List
(CNSNews.com) – Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to minimize suffering and death from influenza, the Health and Human Services Department says on its Web site. But some senior citizens complain they’ve been left off the list of people who will be first in line to get the swine flu vaccination, when it is ready. One CNSNews.com reader suggested the omission is in line with the Obama’s administration’s plan to “minimize” health care for the elderly, as the reader put it.

Cap-and-Trade Law Could Benefit Organized Crime by Creating Carbon Credit Black Market, Senator Warns
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) said the cap-and-trade legislation passed by the House of Representatives could be a boon for organized crime in the United States by creating a carbon credit industry that could spawn fraud, money laundering and other criminal activities.

Liberal and Conservative Senators Unite on Bill to Reinstate D.C. School Vouchers
(CNSNews.com) – A bipartisan group of senators announced Thursday that they plan introduce legislation to revive the District of Columbia’s recently terminated D.C. Opportunity Scholarship school-voucher program. “It’s not a liberal or conservative program, it’s a program that puts children first,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

Obama’s Science Adviser Called for ‘Zero Economic Growth’
(CNSNews.com) – At a time when it was popular among environmentalists to talk about capping pollutants, John Holdren was writing about placing “caps” on the U.S. economy itself  and working toward “zero economic growth.” Holdren, who is now President Obama’s top adviser on science and technology policy, wrote in the 1970s that it would be “entirely logical” to cap the Gross National Product, the total productivity of the American economy.

Public Opinion Sours on Health Care Reform, Polls Show
White House (CNSNews.com) – While conservative-leaning Democrats in the House of Representatives pushed for compromises in health insurance reform legislation this week, the plan hit other stumbling blocks in terms of public opinion. In the last month, at least three polls show a majority or plurality opposing the health care reform package supported by President Barack Obama.

New Poll Shows Obama Approval Dropping Among Key Supporters
(CNSNews.com) – A new Gallup survey shows that President Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to decline, even among voting blocs that make up the backbone of his supporters, including young and moderate-to-liberal voters. Approval of Obama has slipped below 50 percent for the first time among some groups, according to the Gallup survey conducted July 26-28.

Iraqis Subdue Iranian Dissidents, As U.S. ‘Monitors’ the Situation
(CNSNews.com) – After three days of clashes and at least six deaths, Iraqi forces have gained control of an encampment of exiled Iranians whose continued presence inside Iraq has long been a sore point for Tehran. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government waited to move against the camp until U.S. combat forces completed their withdrawal from Iraqi urban areas.

Vietnamese Democracy Advocates Look for Congressional Support
(CNSNews.com) – Vietnamese-American activists and members of Congress Thursday issued fresh calls for U.S. lawmakers to support legislation promoting human rights and democracy in the communist-ruled nation. Critics say significantly improved ties with the U.S. have done little to improve Hanoi’s treatment of its citizens.

Anti-Abortion Health Care Measure Approved, then Rejected
An anti-abortion amendment to a controversial health care bill was voted down late Thursday just hours after it had received approval.

Hispanic Lutherans Urge Opposition to Sexuality Proposals

Pakistani Christian Village Attacked Over Alleged Blasphemy

United Methodists Oppose Restructuring, Opening Membership to ‘All’

Couple Drops Lawsuit Against Collection Agency’s ‘WWJD’ Motto

Six Churches Destroyed in Nigeria Islamic Violence

Peaceful Marriage Demonstrators Assaulted 

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

 Sotomayor Hearings Wrap Up; Dems Press for Quick Vote
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor appeared headed for confirmation as the first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court after Senate hearings ended Thursday.

Senate OKs Hate Crimes Amendment to Must-Pass Defense Bill

 Episcopal Head Clarifies Gay Ordination Resolution

 Survey: Megachurch Leaders See Themselves as Teachers, Not Pastors

 Grieving Community to Remember, Honor Slain Couple at Fla. Megachurch

 BGEA Set to Kick Off Youth-Geared ‘Rock the River’ Tour

 Orthodox Bishops Call Episcopal Church’s Actions ‘Cynical Double-Think’
Conservative bishops believe that The Episcopal Church’s recent decisions favoring gay ordination and the blessing of same-sex unions will only lead to disaster.

 Calif. Leaders Urged to Reform Costly Prison System

 Judge Tosses Prop. 8 Challenge, OKs Removal of Calif. from DOMA Suit

 World Vision Shifts Focus as IDP Homecoming Gains Momentum in Pakistan

 Charlotte Megachurch Goes ‘Cow Tipping’

 Billy Graham Pays Tribute to Walter Cronkite

 Health Care Bill Directs HHS Secretary to Develop ‘Standards for Measuring Gender’
(CNSNews.com) – The Senate’s health care legislation will give the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to develop “standards of measuring gender” — as opposed to using the traditional “male” and “female” categories — in a database of all who apply or participate in government-run or government-supported health care plans.

Health Care Bill Would Curb Job Growth by Encouraging Small Businesses to Remain Small
(CNSNews.com) – The Senate version of President Obama’s health care overhaul contains a mandate that all businesses provide their employees with health insurance or pay a fine, unless the business employs fewer than 25 people. Critics say that mandate could prompt companies to stop growing at 24 employees.

Dodd on Why Health Care Bill Allows Federal Funding of Abortion: ‘We Like the Idea That People Have Choices’
(CNSNews.com) – The Senate version of health care reform would effectively mandate federal funding of abortion through the various insurance coverage mechanisms the bill includes. When asked about the fact that the bill will allow federal funding of abortion, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) told CNSNews.com, “We like the idea that people have choices and, indeed, the law of the land permits people to make those choices, and we respect that, and we are going to pursue that.”

Tennessee’s Troubled ‘Public Option’ – TennCare – Could Foreshadow Obama’s Health Care Plan
(CNSNews.com) – Tennessee is in the process of cutting about 150,000 people from the TennCare program after a reevaluation of enrollee eligibility to participate in the state-run insurance program. TennCare, the managed-care Medicaid program that began in 1994, was enacted on the promise of increasing competition and bringing down costs, but it has not worked out that way.

‘Jerusalem Is Not a Settlement,’ Netanyahu Reminds Obama Administration
(CNSNews.com) – An already uneasy relationship between the U.S. and Israeli governments looks set to become significantly more chilly with the Obama administration’s decision to challenge Israel’s freedom of actions in its own capital. The State Department late last week again warned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government not to permit the construction of an apartment building on a piece of privately owned land in Jerusalem.

Clinton Accepts Blame for ‘Global Warming’ Role, Ponders Link Between Climate Change and Family Planning
(CNSNews.com) – Urging India not to emulate America’s “mistakes,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the weekend accepted responsibility on behalf of the U.S. and other developed nations for contributing towards climate change. While stopping short of an apology for the U.S. role in “global warming,” Clinton’s remarks came closer than previous ones.

Top Republican Dissatisfied with Sotomayor’s Answers On Second Amendment
(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told CNSNews.com that he is not satisfied with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s answers to questions about the Second Amendment, particularly her ruling that the right to bear arms does not apply to the states. That ruling leaves unresolved the depth of her understanding of the Second Amendment, as well as a 2008 Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, which ruled that individual Americans have the right to keep and bear arms, said Sessions.

Sotomayor Would Not Concede a Right to Self-Defense
Washington (CNSNews.com) – When Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) asked Wednesday whether citizens have a right to self-defense, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee, “I don’t know.” Later in the exchange, Coburn said, “I wasn’t asking about the legal question. I’m asking your personal opinion.” “But that is an abstract question with no particular meaning to me,” Sotomayor relied.

Okay for People With HIV, AIDS to Be Barbers, Cosmetologists, Home Health Care Aides
(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Justice Department last week released a new “fact sheet” saying that individuals with HIV or AIDS who want to become barbers, massage therapists or home health care assistants, for example, must not be turned away because of their illness.

 Idahoans Lift Up Prayers for Captured Soldier
Friends and family of an Idaho soldier who was captured in Afghanistan prayed for his safe return Sunday – the day after a Taliban video posted online showed him expressing doubt as to whether he’d ever be able to see his family again.

Priest Makes Impassioned Calls for Action Following Church Shootings

 Church-Loving Christians Make Case for Organized Religion

 Kansas City to Host 3rd Nat’l Worship Leader Conference

 Apollo 11 Ad Promotes ‘Potential’ of Every Human Life

 Christian Agency Appears on MTV’s Pregnant Teen Series

 Obama Stimulus Spending Includes Rental Cars, Outhouses, and ‘Sediment Removal’
(CNSNews.com) – Among the 3,266 entries in a government database detailing to-date spending under the Democrats’ stimulus spending program are expenditures for concrete outhouses, “deli-sliced” turkey, and hotel bills. When President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law, he declared at the time, “We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time.”

White House Unsure How Closely Tennessee ‘Public Option’ Was Examined
White House (CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration is looking more closely at health care’s rising costs than it is at some of the states that have instituted health care reform programs, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told CNSNews.com Monday. Gibbs was responding to a question about a Tennessee health reform law that essentially established a “public option” to compete with private insurers – a focal point of the health care plan supported by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.

White House: Obama Made Same Abortion Pledge to Pope That He Made to Planned Parenthood
(CNSNews.com) – On Monday, CNSNews.com asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs if President Obama’s commitment to the pope to work to reduce the number of abortions means that Obama supports a Republican amendment to the health-care reform bill that would prohibit federal funds from going to abortion through federally subsidized health-insurance programs. Gibbs interrupted the question to say that Obama had said the same thing to Planned Parenthood in 2007 that he said to the pope this year.

First Lady’s Office Mum on When Obamas Will Pick a Church to Attend
(CNSNews.com) – The White House has told CNSNews.com that First Lady Michelle Obama is in charge of handling questions from the press about whether and when the Obama family will join and attend a church in Washington. But repeated requests to her press office asking for a response to that question have gone unanswered.

Republicans Say Obama Has No Plan for Dealing With Guantanamo Bay Terrorists
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday reacted to news that two task forces appointed by President Obama in January have failed to meet their six-month deadlines for making recommendations on how terror suspects should be interrogated and whether they should be transferred to other countries or held in U.S. custody.

Farm Groups Say Food Safety Bill Would Make It Tougher for Farmers to Produce Safe Food
(CNSNews.com) – Major farm groups are concerned that a bill in Congress intended to bolster food-safety guidelines could actually make it harder for some livestock and poultry producers to guarantee safe food. The current version of the Food Safety Enhancement Act, sponsored by Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, would require all ranchers and farmers to meet new FDA regulations. Currently the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state authorities oversee the raising of livestock.

Biden’s Visit to Ukraine, Georgia Comes Amid Growing ‘Nervousness’ Over Obama’s Approach to Russia
(CNSNews.com) – Vice President Joe Biden on Monday returned to a region where prominent politicians are voicing concern that the Obama administration’s efforts to improve relations with Moscow will come at their countries’ expense.

Cracks Widen Within Iran’s Islamic Establishment
(CNSNews.com) – In a provocative challenge to the theocracy that rules Iran, a former president has called for a referendum on the government’s legitimacy after the disputed June 12 election. The call came on the heels of a sermon by another ex-president who sharply criticized the leadership for its handling of the election crisis.

 Congresswoman Backs New Equal Rights Amendment; Points to Afghanistan, China as Models
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told activists rallying in support of the newly reintroduced Equal Rights Amendment that the United States should join 27 other countries that have equality guarantees for women, including Rwanda, Algeria, China and Afghanistan. Those four countries are described by the U.S. State Department as nations where women face grave injustices, including rape, domestic abuse, and trafficking for prostitution.

Lawmakers Express Outrage at the Bank Bailout’s ‘Potential’ $23.7-Trillion Liability for Taxpayers
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) called it a “brave new world.” Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) called it “one fraud after another.” Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) said the corporate bailout was being run as a “don’t ask, don’t tell program.” A bipartisan group of lawmakers were mystified Tuesday at how what began as the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) could potentially reach a liability of $23.7 trillion for U.S. taxpayers–compared to the U.S. gross domestic product of $14 trillion.

Treasury Has No Clear Rules for Bailed Out Banks Trying to Buy Their Stock Back from Government, Says GAO
(CNSNews.com) – More banks that took federal bailout money late last year are beginning to buy back their preferred stock from the federal government, but their ability to do so is hampered by the lack of clear guidelines provided by the Trouble Assets Relief Program, according to the Government Accountability Office. The Treasury Department needs to develop “clear and consistent guidelines” to help federal regulators determine when financial institutions are eligible to repurchase their stock, the government watchdog said.

Management Problems Prevent FDA From Keeping Up With Its Workload, Government Watchdog Says
(CNSNews.com) – A government watchdog says the Food and Drug Administration is unable to fully meet its congressionally mandated responsibility to oversee the safety and effectiveness of medical products because it lacks “basic data needed for managing its programs.” This – despite almost a decade of funding and staff increases for the FDA.

Hoyer Says Abortion Funding in Health-Care Bill Splits House Democrats
(CNSNews.com) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) admitted Tuesday that there is dissension among House Democrats about whether the final health-care reform bill should include federal funding for abortions — so much so, that the issue is still under discussion in the Democratic Caucus. Hoyer also assured reporters that he believes a “public option” for government-funded health care would be part of the final bill, despite the objections of moderate Blue Dog Democrats.

Hugo Chavez Maintains ‘Pact’ With Colombian Drug-Trafficking Guerillas, Say Venezuelan Government Officials
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sympathizes with FARC, a Colombian drug-trafficking guerilla faction , government officials from Venezuela who oppose Chavez’s socialist regime told CNSNews.com. “I have no doubts that Chavez’s government has a political and ideological identity with the FARC guerilla,” Cesar Perez Vivas, governor of the Venezuelan state of Tachira, told CNSNews.com in Spanish Tuesday.

Hispanic Firefighter Says Sotomayor Judged Him on Race Rather Than Content of Character
(CNSNews.com) – Firefighter Ben Vargas, who is Hispanic, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Judge Sonia Sotomayor played “racial identity” politics instead of judging him and his fellow firefighters “on their qualifications and the content of their character” in a reverse discrimination case he brought against the city of New Haven, Conn.

Obama May Delay Report on Closing Guantanamo Until Congress Is Out of Session to Avoid Publicity and Scrutiny, Hoekstra Warns
(CNSNews.com) – The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee warned that the Obama administration is postponing a meeting with the committee as well as the release of its six-month report on clsoing Guantanamo Bay prison camp until August, when people will not be paying close attention to the issue. “I hope these rumors are false, and the administration will give the American people the full transparency on this issue that they deserve,” Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said.

Clinton Declares the U.S. to be ‘Back’ in Asia; Signs Regional Non-Aggression Treaty
(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday signed a non-aggression pact with a group of Southeast Asian nations, committing the United States to “renunciation of the threat or use of force” and to non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. Those countries include Burma, whose military junta has been targeted by U.S. sanctions since 1997, and North Korea.

  13,000+ Signed Up for Tomorrow’s Emergency Pro-Life Webcast on Obama Healthcare

Obama: “Let’s Not Get Distracted” over Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Coverage in Healthcare

More Pro-Life House Democrats Stand against Healthcare Abortion Funding

Congressman Makes Bid to Strip Planned Parenthood of Title X Funds

Bishops Distance Themselves from Catholic-Funded, Homosexuality-Promoting Marriage Counseling Group

Demographic Report Reveals “Unprecedented Global Aging” – Childlessness in US Women at 20%

Mexican Government Promotes “Morning After Pill,” Condom Use, to 10-Year-Olds

Gay Activist in Hot Water for Revealing Conspiracy to Promote Homosexuality

Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and Other Ex-Presidents Slam Christian Churches for Not Ordaining Women

Vatican and U.S. Bishops Criticize US Gov’t Plan to Publicly Fund Abortion

UK Lesbian Couple Wins Fight for IVF at Taxpayers Expense

Wisconsin Court Rules Religious Schools’ Teacher Hiring Not Subject to Anti-Discrimination Laws

Conservatives Deny Funding to Montreal Gay Pride

 Homosexual Groups Petition Library Board to Refuse Pro-Family Man

 Orthodox Anglican Leader: Choice is Between Life and Death
The head of the newly established Anglican Church in North America released an open letter to the entire Anglican Communion, contrasting the recent actions of his orthodox body to that of The Episcopal Church.

Christians Decry Tax-Funded Abortion in Health Care Bill

 Over 4,000 Pro-Israel Evangelicals Gather in D.C.

 Judge Orders Joyce Meyer Ministries to Make Requested Docs Public

 2 Teens Charged in Chicago Church Shooting

 Nationwide Campaign to Raise Awareness of Students’ Religious Rights

 Episcopal Head Offers Report Amid ‘Misinterpreted, Exaggerated’ Claims
The presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church wrote a letter to members of the denomination Wednesday to summarize the results of their recently concluded triennial conference and to clarify the details behind two resolutions that have drawn notable, and mostly negative, attention from the media.

Progressive Christian Leader Backs ‘Common Ground’ Abortion Prevention Bill

 156 Conservatives Urge Senate to Reject Sotomayor

 Christian Nurse Forced to Assist in Late-Term Abortion

 Former Miss California to Release Tell-All Book

 Ex-Worship Leader: Why I Left the CCM Movement

 Healthcare Vote Pushed Back to September

Obama Committed to Women’s Health in Health Care Reform: White House Staffer to Planned Parenthood

Battle Lines Drawn As Obama Administration and Bipartisan Forces Clash over Health Care “Waterloo”

Toronto Archbishop Will Only Allow D&P Funds to go to Groups Approved by Local Bishops

Interview: Head of Vatican’s Liturgical Office says Principle of Refusing Communion is “Charity in Truth”

NY Catholic Nurse Sues Hospital after Forced to Participate in Late- Term Abortion

UK Gay Activist “Pleased” with Lords for Protecting Free Speech in Hate Crimes Bill

Feminists Plan Commemorative “Beijing +15″ Reproductive Rights Push

 Midwives Would Be Paid the Same as Doctors Under Provision in Health Care Bill
(CNSNews.com) – If the House of Representatives passes the health-care bill approved by the Ways and Means and Education committees, midwives will receive the same level of government reimbursement as obstetricians. Section 1304 of the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200) would raise government Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for certified nurse midwives to the same level as the reimbursement for doctors who perform the same services.

Iraqi Prime Minister Brings Largely Unnoticed Message to White House: Successful ‘Surge’ Has Led to ‘Stability’ in Iraq
(CNSNews.com) - In the nuanced language of diplomacy, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent an upbeat message that went practically unnoticed by U.S. media during his visit to the White House Wednesday: The surge of U.S. troops under President George W. Bush has meant success for Iraq and brought stability to that nation. “Our sons and daughters succeeded on both sides, which led to stability and the return of the strength of the Iraqi government under full sovereignty,” Maliki said.

Black Caucus Members Agree With President Obama’s Criticism of Cambridge Police, Call Harvard Professor’s Arrest ‘Racial Profiling’
(CNSNews.com) – Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said the recent arrest of a black Harvard University professor for disorderly conduct was a case of “racial profiling” and that President Barack Obama’s comment that Cambridge police had acted “stupidly” was an apt description.

House to Vote Friday on Amendment Stripping Planned Parenthood of Taxpayer Money
(CNSNews.com) - “It is morally wrong to destroy innocent human life through abortion, but it is also morally wrong to take the tax dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to promote or perform abortions at home or abroad,” says Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the amendment’s author.

Another New Study Challenges Climate Change ‘Orthodoxy’
(CNSNews.com) – Virtually all changes in global atmospheric temperatures in the late 20th century were the result of nature rather than human activity, according to a new peer-reviewed study. One of the authors predicted Friday the study was “sure to cause a stir.”

Higher Minimum Wage May Stifle Employment, Group Warns
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants “hardworking Americans” to remember that it was Democrats who made a higher minimum wage their first order of business when they took control of the House two years ago. A free-market group says now is a bad time to be burdening small business owners.

Israelis Unsure of Obama; Palestinians Prefer Osama
(CNSNews.com) – Like other U.S. presidents before him, Barack Obama aspires to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but a new global opinion poll six months into his administration suggests that he faces an uphill battle to win the trust of the protagonists.

Mental Health Advocates Blast ‘Psycho Donuts’ Shop
(CNSNews.com) - A mental health support group is blasting a Northern California donut shop that boasts of taking donuts to the next “demented level.” But the shop’s owner says “most people have a sense of humor and like our donuts” – including the “Bipolar” and the “Cereal Killer.”

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

  Paula White Returns to Lead Ailing Megachurch
Charismatic preacher Paula White is stepping in as senior pastor of the Florida megachurch that she and her now ex-husband founded nearly two decades ago.

Majority of Episcopalians Favor Scrapping Ban on Gay Ordination

 Conservatives Wary of Abortion Coverage in Health Care Reform

 G8 Climate Change Progress ‘Painfully Slow,’ Say Christian Agencies

 Church’s Anti-Islam Sign Sparks Protest

 Iran Interrupts Christian Satellite Channel

 House Democrats Will Seek Massive $540 Billion Tax Increase; Announcement Came Late Friday Afternoon
(CNSNews.com) - Despite a still-lagging U.S. economy and rising unemployment rate, House Democrats announced late Friday that they will seek a massive increase in federal income taxes to help pay for the national health-care reform proposal that President Obama is urging Congress to enact this summer. House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) revealed late Friday afternoon that House Democrats will seek to increase income taxes by $540 billion.

CIA Program at Center of Congressional Controversy ‘Never Went Fully Operational,’ Says U.S. Intelligence Official
(CNSNews.com) – A CIA program that CIA Director Leon Panetta discussed with congressional intelligence committees on June 24 was an “on-again, off-again” project that “never went fully operational,” a U.S. intelligence official told CNSNews.com. The official also said that when the secret program was brought to Panetta’s attention by a “CIA component,” he was urged to brief Congress — something Panetta did immediately.

Difficult to Track Jobs Created or Saved, Stimulus Money Spent, GAO Reports
(CNSNews.com) – Determining how many jobs federal stimulus money will create or save, and even tracking how the money is being spent, will be difficult under current conditions, according to an assessment from the Government Accountability Office.

Pelosi Will Read Full Text of Health Care Bill Before House Vote, Spokesman Says
(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will read the entirety of the final text of the health care reform bill before the House votes on it and will provide the public “ample time” to review the legislation, says Pelosi’s spokesman. However, the speaker’s office declined to specify what is meant by “ample time.”

Obama Touts Ghana’s Democracy, But His State Department Reports Human Rights Abuses There
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama’s two-day visit to Ghana was preceded by glowing remarks about its democratic government and leaders who follow “the rule of law.” However, Obama did not mention reports of ongoing human rights abuses in that sub-Saharan African country.

Freed Iranians Return Home to A Heroes’ Welcome As Iran Shakes A Fist at U.S.
(CNSNews.com) – Iran says the United Nations should look into what it called the “abduction” of its “diplomats” by U.S. troops in northern Iraq in 2007. The five men held by U.S. forces on suspicion of aiding deadly anti-coalition violence returned home to a heroes’ welcome on Sunday.

China Blames Violence in Its Muslim Western Region on Outsiders
(CNSNews.com) – Amid reported quiet in its far-west Xinjiang region, Chinese state media on Monday charged that pro-Uighur protests at Chinese diplomatic missions in the West indicated that outsiders had planned the recent violence in the Muslim-majority area.

Zogby Poll: Most Americans Want Strengths and Weaknesses of Darwinism Taught In Schools
(CNSNews.com) - A Zogby poll commissioned by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute says more than three-quarters of Americans would like teachers to have the freedom to discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution, with an even higher number reported among Democrats.

At G8 Summit, Obama Backs Broad Commitments That Are Short on Specifics
(CNSNews.com) – The Group of Eight summit closed on Friday with President Barack Obama and other leaders backing sweeping commitments to developing nations but leaving many details blank. The tradition of G8 leaders issuing broad declarations on global issues such as poverty, debt, and AIDS precedes Obama. However, this year, the president made one such declaration personal, saying that he pushed for a $20-billion commitment to fighting hunger in Africa because his Kenyan relatives lived in poor villages.

Republican Senator Predicts Union Card-Check Bill Will Fail
(CNSNews.com) – The arrival of Democrat Al Franken in the U.S. Senate will not change the fate of the Employee Free Choice Act, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) predicted.

 7 Iraqi Churches Bombed Within 48 Hours
A church in Mosul became the seventh Iraqi church bombed over the course of just 48 hours.

Christian Groups Hail $20 Billion Commitment to Fight World Hunger

 Survey: More Americans Adopting Pro-Life Perspective

 United Methodists Hit Times Square with 3-Month Ad Campaign

 Christian Retailers, Publishers Convene for 60th Convention

 Son of ‘Godfather of Gospel’ to Lead Late Father’s Church

 Clinton Says State Dept. Human Trafficking Report Will Pass Judgment on U.S. As If America Were Just Another Foreign Country
(CNSNews.com) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the State Department will pass judgment on the United States, in the same way it judges foreign countries, when the department issues its next annual report on victims of global human trafficking. She said she believes this will increase U.S. “credibility.”

Sotomayor: ‘I Have Friends Who Hunt’
(CNSNews.com) – Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, asked Tuesday about her attitude toward the Second Amendment and its application to the states, said she understands “how important the right to bear arms is to many, many Americans.” She said she has followed – and will follow – Supreme Court precedent “when it speaks directly on an issue.”

White House Dodges Question of Whether Obama Supports House Democrats’ Plan for $540-Billion Income Tax Hike
White House (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama has insisted that comprehensive health care reform legislation be passed this year, but the administration’s chief spokesman would not say on Monday whether Obama supports a House Democratic proposal to increase income taxes by $540 billion to pay for the “deficit-neutral” health reform plan the president wants. While Robert Gibbs declined to say whether the president backs the $540-billion tax plan, he did say that Obama thinks the top-earners in America “have had a pretty good run of it.”

Tax Increase on ‘Rich’ People Planned by House Dems Would Strike More Than a Million U.S. Small Businesses
(CNSNews.com) – More than a million small business owners and about two-thirds of the profits earned by American small businesses would be subject to a health care surtax that the House Weighs and Means Committee is set to unveil on Tuesday, a tax watchdog says. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said late Friday that Democrats are considering adding a surtax to supplement funding for the public option insurance plan proposed in the House version of the health care reform bill.

Climate-Change Bill Gives Advantage to Chinese Manufacturers, Says Government Report
(CNSNews.com) – The American Clean Energy and Security Act–the so-called “cap-and-trade” climate-change bill–that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month would give certain Chinese manufacturers an advantage over their U.S. competitors and put U.S. jobs at risk, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

American Red Cross Wants Public Schools to Teach Geneva Conventions
(CNSNews.com) – Because the United States plays an important role in foreign affairs, international humanitarian law should be taught in public schools to ensure that Americans “continue to understand and observe the limits of armed conflict,” the American Red Cross said. The organization has launched an online petition drive, urging schools to teach students about the Geneva Conventions – a form of “peace education.”

GOP Says Stimulus is ‘Dismal Failure,’ Only 1 Percent of Infrastructure Money Has Been Spent
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Several Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee criticized the $787-billion economic stimulus package passed earlier this year, saying it has failed to create jobs and failed, in particular, to build new transportation infrastructure. Led by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the congressmen on Friday took turns lambasting the slow disbursement of funds in front of a backdrop that included a giant road work sign covered in red tape.

Sotomayor ‘Clearly Rejected’ Impartiality, Kyl Says
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record indicates that she has rejected the idea of an objective legal standard by which all should be judged, instead substituting her own feelings and biases. Kyl said that such a judge would endanger the judicial system’s “legitimacy.”

Mikulski Refuses to Add Language to Health Care Bill to Ban Funding of Abortion
(CNSNews.com) – During the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing last week, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) refused Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) request that she add language to the health care reform bill that would ban the funding of abortion. The amendment in question requires insurers to contract with health providers that provide abortion.

India Challenges Non-Aligned Countries to Condemn Terrorism ‘Unequivocally’
(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of a summit of developing nations this week, the Indian government has issued a challenge – condemn terrorism without reservation, and stop trying to justify it. India in 1996 first presented at the U.N. a draft convention on terrorism, but 13 years later, it remains under discussion, mostly because of disagreement over how terrorism should be defined.

Gas Pipeline Designed to Break Russian Stranglehold Edges Ahead
(CNSNews.com) – A strategic battle over natural gas supplies to Europe reached a new stage Monday with the signing of an agreement for a U.S.-backed pipeline to take Caspian gas across Turkey to Western markets and so reduce reliance on Russia. But Moscow has made it clear it does not intend to give up its large share of the suppliers’ market without a fight.

 Vatican-Backed Newspaper Hails Latest ‘Harry Potter’ Film for ‘Values’
The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper offered a surprisingly positive review of the latest “Harry Potter” film, saying that the moral values presented are more likely to stick with moviegoers than any appeal that witchcraft may have.

Iraq Heightens Church Security after Bombings

 IBS-STL Changes Name to Biblica

 Christians Remain Tense Amid Honduras Coup Crisis

 ERLC Urges Conservatives to Oppose Sotomayor’s Confirmation

 Episcopal House Passes Resolution to Remove Ordination Limits

 Hoyer Says Small Businesses Don’t Make $280,000 A Year So They Won’t Be Hurt by Dems’ Planned $540-Billion Tax Hike
Washington (CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that job growth and economic recovery will not be harmed by a Democratic plan to increase income taxes by $540 billion to pay for health-care proposal because the tax hikes would not affect small businesses. Hoyer also said he could not think of any small business owners who make enough money to qualify for the higher taxes.

Democrats’ $540-Billion Tax Hike Will Force People into Government-Run Health Care, Congressman Says
(CNSNews.com) – The Democrats’ proposed $540-billion tax hike to help pay for President Obama’s health care reform plan will boost costs for small businesses and thus force more people into the president’s proposed government-run health insurance program, says Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), a physician.

Obama Health Care Plan Will Provide Taxpayer-Funded Abortion on Demand, Congressmen Say
(CNSNews.com) – The health care plan proposed by President Obama and supported by Democrats in both the House and the Senate will require that abortion be included as a health benefit in both public and private insurance plans, leading to millions more abortions, a Republican lawmaker warned.

Democrats’ Health Care Plan Would Cost at Least $1 Trillion Over Ten Years, CBO Says
(CNSNews.com) – The health care reform plan proposed by House Democrats on Tuesday will add more than $1 trillion to the national deficit over 10 years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday. The CBO report came the same day that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democratic House leaders released their plan to establish a government-run health insurance plan to compete with the private sector.

Five Months After Signing $787-Billion Stimulus, Obama Predicts Unemployment Will Continue Increasing for Months
(CNSNews.com) – Five months after he signed an emergency $787-billion “stimulus” law designed to spur the economy and create jobs through a massive burst of deficit spending, President Obama said on Tuesday that he expects unemployment to continue to rise in the United States for several more months.“With respect to the employment issue, obviously I don’t have a crystal ball,” Obama said.

Amid Islamic Anger, China Insists Violence in Xinjiang Is Not Related to Ethnicity or Religion
(CNSNews.com) – China is seeking to play down ethnicity and religion as factors in the recent unrest in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, amid growing signs that Muslims, including hardliners, are rallying to the cause of their co-religionists in China. Chinese officials, diplomats and official media are promoting the message that recent violence in Urumqi is not an ethnic issue.

Russia, Ignoring Obama, Continues Its Defiant Conduct in the Caucasus
(CNSNews.com) – Just days after President Obama said in Moscow that “Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev this week paid a provocative visit to one of two regions within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders. The Kremlin views the region as “independent,” and the visit pointedly included a trip to a Russian army base.

HHS Secretary Announces Additional $350 Million for States to Combat Swine Flu, Which Is ‘No More Lethal Than Seasonal Flu’
(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced that an additional $350 million is available to help states and territories prepare for the 2009 flu season – including swine flu, which Sebelius described as “no more lethal than the seasonal flu.” Sebelius said swine flu – also known as novel H1N1 virus – is spreading.

Health Care Bill Will Fund State Vaccine Teams to Conduct ‘Interventions’ in Private Homes
(CNSNews.com) – There is a knock at the front door. Peeking through the window, a mother sees a man and a woman, both in uniform. They are agents of health-care reform. “Excuse me, ma’am,” says the man. “Our records show that your eleven-year-old daughter has not been immunized for genital warts.” The make-believe scenario may not be so far-fetched under the health-care reform bill approved this week by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.

Tobacco Use, Not Promiscuity or Drug Abuse, Will Be Only Vice Legally Punishable by Higher Insurance Premiums Under Senate Health Care Bill
(CNSNews.com) – Under the terms of the health-care reform bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the legal use of tobacco products is the only vice for which insurance companies will be able to charge their customers higher premiums. The summary of the bill published by the committee specifically states that premiums may be varied to account for tobacco use, but any other use of a person’s record of insurance claims, health status or medical history will be forbidden.

PETA Wants Obama to Stop Killing Flies, But Won’t Take a Stand on Abortion
(CNSNews.com) – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals does not take a stand on whether abortion kills unborn children, but it gave President Barack Obama a catch-and-release bug trap after the president squashed a fly on camera during a television interview in June. PETA gave the bug trap to Obama so he would have a choice when it comes to killing insects, a PETA spokesperson told CNSNews.com.

Nurses Back Democrats’ Proposed Government-Run Health Care Plan
White House (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday added nurses to the list of lobby groups that support a national health care overhaul. While it appears that the White House and congressional Democratic leaders are having trouble selling the government-run “public option” plan to moderate Blue Dog Democrats, the nurses are a group the White House can point to as supporting the plan, in addition to pharmaceutical industry groups, the American Hospital Association and Wal-Mart.

Black Leaders Join Push for Democrats’ Health Care Reform, Saying African Americans Are Particularly in Need of It
(CNSNews.com) – Several prominent African Americans say the nation’s “broken” health care system disproportionately affects blacks, and they are stressing the importance of passing the Democrats’ health care reform plan.

Obama’s Version of Cold War ‘Simply Untrue,’ Says Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese
(CNSNews.com) – Edwin Meese III, former U.S. attorney general and adviser to President Ronald Reagan, disagrees with President Obama’s description of the way the Cold War ended. In his address at the New Economic School in Moscow earlier this month, Obama said the war had “reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years.” But Meese told CNSNews.com, “I think it was the leadership of the United States, without any question, that brought an end to the Cold War…”

Sotomayor Sat on Board of Organization That Fought ‘Any Efforts’ to Oppose Abortion
(CNSNews.com) – At her confirmation hearing this week, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor refused to give her personal views on abortion. However, Sotomayor spent more than a decade serving on the board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, a group that opposes “any efforts” to “in any way restrict” abortion.

Bill Gives GM Incentives to Make Vehicles that Run on Natural Gas, Menendez Says
(CNSNew.com) – A bill designed to promote the use of vehicles that run on natural gas contains incentives that may prod government-owned General Motors start making natural gas cars, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said. Under the NAT GAS Act, companies that begin turning out natural gas vehicles before the beginning of 2015 would be allowed to expense 100 percent of their cost.

Chavez to Join Next Blockade-Busting Trip to Gaza, Says British Activist
(CNSNews.com) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, one of Israel’s fiercest international critics, will join a future convoy of leftists on a solidarity visit to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to the left-wing British lawmaker and convoy leader George Galloway. Galloway on Wednesday arrived in Gaza from Egypt, where he joined a group of American activists, including former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney and New York City Democratic Councilman Charles Barron.

As Clinton Cites Libya As An Example, Gaddafi Attacks U.S.
(CNSNews.com) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday accused “one country” of controlling the U.N. Security Council, “therefore forming a danger to world peace.” His remarks aimed at the United States came on the same day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited Libya as an example of a regime that eventually altered its behavior in exchange for acceptance into the international community.

 Anti-Religion Group Sues to Block ‘In God We Trust’ Engraving
The nation’s largest association of atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to stop the engraving of “In God We Trust” and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.

Episcopal Body Gives Final OK to Scrap Gay Ordination Ban

 Pro-Lifers Blast Attempt to ‘Smuggle’ Abortion Mandates into Health Reform Bill

 Adoption Advocates Criticize ‘Orphan’ Horror Film

 Calls for Int’l Support Persist as Pakistan Refugees Return to Swat Valley

 ‘Religious Right’ Critics Skeptical About Ralph Reed’s New Group

 U.S. Senate Committee Passes Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
The Senate health committee approved legislation Wednesday that would expand insurance coverage to nearly all Americans but also would empower federal officials to mandate coverage of abortion on demand in virtually all health plans, according to critics.

CCC Media Ministry Records Over 1M Decisions for Christ in 1 Month

 Exodus Boosts Efforts to Help Mainline Churches Address Homosexuality

 Survey: 1 in 3 Scientists Believe in God

 Andrew Palau Brings ‘Season of Service’ to Rwanda

 Church of England Urged to Mull Ties with New Anglican Body in America

Saturday’s Newslinks brought to you by At Ease Tees

 Iranian Leaders Try to Divert Attention by Pointing at West, Israel, ‘Terrorists’
(CNSNews.com) – Amid a weekend of deadly violence in Tehran, Iran’s leaders launched a concerted drive to deflect blame for the unprecedented post-election turmoil away from the state and towards its customary enemies – the West and Israel…  

Sotomayor Overturned Prison Regulations to Allow Santeria-Practicing Convicts to Wear Beads(CNSNews.com) – Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, told the State of New York in 1994 that it must allow prison inmates who practice Santeria to wear multi-colored beads.  Santeria is a sect that combines African religious traditions with elements drawn from Roman Catholicism…  

Clerical Rumblings Reported in Iran as Opposition Figures Continue to Demand New Elections(CNSNews.com) – As Iranian opposition figures continue to demand fresh elections following the worst civil unrest in decades, reports of simmering discontent among senior religious clerics suggest that some of the pillars of the theocratic state may be facing an unprecedented challenge…

Obama’s Top Economic Adviser Says ‘Public Option’ Health Plan Will ‘Never’ Take Public Money(CNSNews.com) – Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Congress that the government-run health insurance agency that President Obama hopes to create would “never” rely on public money after it is established…

Britain–Which White House Suggests Is Model of Single-Payer Health Care System That ‘Works’–Doesn’t ‘Work’ for Everyone
(CNSNews.com) – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs raised eyebrows last week when he attempted to clarify President Obama’s startling admission that he thought there were countries where single-payer healthcare systems work “pretty well.”…

‘Government-Run’ Health Care Is a ‘Buzz Word,’ Sen. Chris Dodd Says
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama has announced that he would like to create a government-run health insurance company to compete with private health insurance companies. When asked if they support this idea, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) called it, i.e., “government-run,” a “buzz word,” and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) called it “political talk.”…  

Suspect Raised Red Flags in Law Enforcement Circles Long Before He Allegedly Killed Abortionist George Tiller
(CNSNews.com) – It was April 1996, just a few days before the one-year anniversary of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, when Sgt. Larry Crady and other officers of the Shawnee County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department were briefed on a potential threat from the Freemen, an anti-government extremist group then in a standoff with the FBI in rural Montana… 

Netanyahu: There’s ‘An American Commitment to Make Sure’ Iran Doesn’t Develop a Nuke(CNSNews.com) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that “there’s an American commitment to make sure” that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu was speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”…

Christian Groups Highlight ‘Devastating’ Violence Against Women, Girl Refugees
Christian groups and believers around the world capped a week of refugee advocacy with World Refugee Sunday in hopes of mobilizing more churches to pray for the more than 42 million refugees and internally displaced peoples

Creation of 2nd Anglican Body in North America Nears Completion

LU Dismisses College Democrats’ Sponsor; Club President Resigns

Texas High Court Rules in Favor of Ex-Prisoners Ministry

Christians Free to Pass Out Leaflets at Gay Pride Event, Not at Arab Festival

Sudan Faces Permanent Humanitarian Emergency, Warn Relief Groups

Media Cheer Obama’s Golf Outings; Criticized Republicans’ Trips to Course
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama has gone to the golf course at least 11 times since he took the oath of office a little more than six months ago–three rounds were played during the late January, 12-day holiday Obama took with his family in Hawaii; one at Andrews Air Force Base; and seven at Ft. Belvoir Golf Course, including a round on Sunday, Father’s Day, with Vice President Joe Biden… 

GOP Lawmaker Wants White House to Produce Communications Related to Firing of Inspector General(CNSNews.com) – The communications between the White House and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California regarding the firing of an inspector general–who uncovered misuse of federal funds by a charity run by an Obama political ally–should be released and reviewed, said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee…

House and Senate Health Reform Bills Prohibit Subsidies to Illegal Aliens
(CNSNews.com) – Both the House and Senate versions of President Obama’s health care reform plans contain passages explicitly excluding illegal immigrants from receiving federal money to purchase health insurance from either a private or government-run health plan…

Islamic Attire Symbolizes ‘Servitude and Humiliation,’ Says French President
(CNSNews.com) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a stinging attack against the burqa, just weeks after he fended off implied criticism by President Obama on the subject of France’s attitude towards traditional women’s attire in Islam… 

Less Than 24 Percent of Guns Seized by Mexican Authorities in 2008 Were Traced Back to U.S. (CNSNews.com) – Less than 24 percent of the guns seized last year by Mexican authorities, mostly from drug trafficking organizations, were traced back to the United States, according to data released in a report by the Government Accountability Office… 

Massachusetts Health Care Reform Not as Successful as Lawmakers Claim, Free Market Analyst Says (CNSNews.com) – Lawmakers are painting a rose-colored picture of Massachusetts’ 2006 health care reform, according to Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of the book, “Health Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It.”…

Anglicans Officially Establish Orthodox Body
The Anglican Church in North America was constituted on Monday, marking a new beginning for thousands of conservative Anglicans eager to get past the politics of church and on with promoting the Gospel.

ELCA Head Calls for ‘50 Days of Prayer’ Amid Sexuality Debate

PETA Seeks ‘Converts’ at Southern Baptist Meeting

Survey Explores Christian Faith of Homosexuals

Luis Palau: Religion Can’t Give You Eternal Life

6 Members of Traveling Youth Choir Confirmed with H1N1 Flu

Obama Says It’s ‘Not Logical’ to Fear Government-Run Health Care
White House (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama said it is “not logical” to think that a government-run health care program competing with private health insurers would eventually drive the private firms out of business…

 New York Times Poll Showing 72% Support for Obama’s Health Care Plan Was Stacked With Obama Supporters
(CNSNews.com) – A New York Times/CBS News poll released Saturday that showed broad bipartisan support for President Obama’s health care reform, over-sampled Obama voters compared to McCain voters, critics say…

 Physician Disputes Obama’s Claim of 46 Million Uninsured Americans
(CNSNews.com) – An Arizona orthopedic surgeon testified in Congress on Tuesday that President Obama’s claim that 46 million Americans don’t have health insurance is not accurate because it does not reflect exactly who those people are and why they are “uninsured.”… 

Obama ‘Appalled’ About Iran, Will Not Discuss Consequences
(CNSNews.com) – After taking flak for days from some conservative quarters for his approach to the turmoil in Iran, President Obama on Tuesday declared himself “appalled and outraged” by Tehran’s response to the post-election protests, but repeatedly declined to say whether there would be any consequences, or shifts in U.S. policy, as a result.

Obama Condemns Iranian Government’s Violent Treatment of Peaceful ProtestersWashington (CNSNews.com) – President Obama amplified his criticism Tuesday of the violent treatment by the Iranian government towards peaceful protesters in the aftermath of the nation’s recent elections, saying he “condemns” Iran’s actions… 

More Street Protests Called in Iran in Defiance of Regime Warnings
(CNSNews.com) – Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, in continued defiance against the government, has reportedly called on supporters to demonstrate yet again on Wednesday, despite warnings by senior officials that those who have been arrested in post-election protests will be taught a lesson… 

Hoyer Says Obama, Congressional Leaders United in Push for ‘Pathway to Citizenship’ for Illegal Aliens—Wants Action as Early as This Fall
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) said Tuesday that President Obama and the Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate are united in the cause of enacting immigration reform legislation that will provide illegal aliens with a pathway to citizenship and that will create a guest-worker program for foreign workers… 

Former Bush Solicitor General Ted Olson Files Suit Claiming Same-Sex Marriage is Constitutional Right(CNSNews.com) – Attorney David Boies and former Bush administration Solicitor General Theodore Olson have filed a lawsuit in California to overturn voter-approved Proposition 8, which says only male-female marriages are valid in the state, declared unconstitutional so that homosexuals can marry…

Rick Warren Supports New Conservative Anglican Body
Pastor Rick Warren expressed solidarity with hundreds of conservative Anglicans who broke from their national churches to form their own orthodox body.

Southern Baptist Head: We Have a Vision Problem

Judge: ‘Religious’ Library Policy Entangles Church, State

College Democrats Vote Off Club Sponsor; Embrace New LU Policy

Aid Group Exposes Myanmar State Violence Against Christian Minority

Relating Climate Change to Poverty ‘Vital’, Says Head of Catholic Relief Network

Two Years Later, Sustained Dramatic Decline in Casualties in Iraq Demonstrates Surge Strategy Worked
(CNSNews.com) – Two years after the U.S. military’s deployment of additional troops in Iraq went into full effect in June 2007, a dramatic and sustained fall in the number of combat fatalities among American servicemen can clearly be tracked back to the implementation of the “surge” strategy…

Obama Not Telling Truth on Gov’t Health Care, Republicans Say
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) both said that President Barack Obama’s description of how his proposed government-run health care plan would work was not true. DeMint added that Obama apparently thinks the American people are too dumb to realize that the government will never compete fairly with private insurance companies…

Obama’s Plan to Fund D.C. Abortions Shows He Is Not Seeking ‘Common Ground,’ Congresswomen Say(CNSNews.com) – Pro-life activists and members of Congress said President Barack Obama’s claim that he wants to seek “common ground” with people who morally object to abortion and find ways to reduce abortions contrasts his actions, including his recommendation to revise an amendment in the 2010 budget for the District of Columbia and thus allow federal funds to pay for the procedure…

Electric Cars Will Not Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Says Federal Study
(CNSNews.com) – The stimulus law enacted in February promoted the purchase of plug-in electric cars by the federal government and the broader market, but a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this month says that the use of plug-in electric vehicles will not by itself decrease greenhouse gas emissions…

Hoyer Slams Reagan Administration While Discussing D.C. Metro Accident
Washington (CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) took Monday’s fatal D.C. Metro accident as an opportunity to slap the Reagan administration for failure to adequately fund public transportation a quarter-century ago…

New Nixon Tapes Include Phone Call with Billy Graham
A 1973 conversation between President Nixon and evangelist Billy Graham about Israel was among the secretly recorded tapes from the Nixon presidency that were made public this week.

National Association of Evangelicals Names Cizik Replacement

Breakaway Anglican Church Takes Property Case to Supreme Court

Southern Baptists Celebrate Obama Election; Decry His Policies

Appeals Court Backs Va. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

Southern Baptists Re-Elect President Johnny Hunt to 2nd Term

Reid Did Not Have a ‘Lot of Time’ to Read Stimulus Bill; Will Not Give Public a Week to Read Health Care Bill Before Voting on It
(CNSNews.com) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) will not commit to giving senators and the public a full week to read and review the final version of a health care reform bill before he holds a final vote on it… 

Obama Suggests Health Care Reform Will Mean Rationing for Some, But Admits He Would Pay Out-of-Pocket for His Own Family
(CNSNews.com) – During ABC’s health care forum Wednesday from the White House, “Prescription for America,” President Obama cited his deceased grandmother’s hip replacement surgery as an example of rationing care…

Angry Docs Say Proposed Government-Run Health Care Plan Will Drive Physicians Out of Medicine(CNSNews.com) – You do not have to be a brain surgeon to see that government-run health care will bode ill for doctors and medicine, says Dr. David McKalip of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons…

 Obama Joins Bipartisan Group from Congress to Begin Push for Amnesty for Illegal Aliens(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama met with Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Thursday to try to work out a comprehensive immigration reform package, which would include a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens–a proposal that has failed twice before in Congress…

Islamic Bloc Chief Urges Appointment of New US Envoy, But Is This It?
(CNSNews.com) – Buoyed by the presence in the White House of a president who wants to prioritize relations with the world’s Muslims, the head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) visited both Washington and Brussels this week, and urged the U.S. to quickly appoint an envoy to the Islamic bloc…

 Muted UN Response to Iran Crackdown
(CNSNews.com) – Two weeks after Iran’s bitterly disputed election, despite days of protests, state violence and a rising death toll, the United Nations Security Council remains silent and the world body’s Human Rights Council has not called a meeting… 

Reading Miranda Rights to Captured Terrorists ‘Most Outrageous Notion I Have Ever Heard,’ Says Republican Senator
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration’s policy of having the FBI read the Miranda rights to terrorists captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan is “outrageous,” Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) told CNSNews.com…

 Film Reveals Courage, Sacrifice of U.S. Army’s Bomb Squad in Streets of Baghdad
(CNSNews.com) – The death toll in Iraq from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) would be much higher if it were not for the men who spend every day in a life-and-death struggle to dismantle those destructive devices…

‘Stoning of Soraya M.’ Sheds Light on Human Cruelty, Islam
Hitting limited theaters this weekend is the true and eye-opening story of a modern-day woman who was tragically stoned to death in Iran after she was falsely accused and deemed guilty of committing adultery.

Christians Say Hate Crimes Bill Is Not What You Think

Indian Christian: Attacks Have Increased Our Faith

DCLA 2009 Kicks Off Triennial LA Gathering

T.D. Jakes Holds 15th ManPower Event After Near-Death Experience

Churches Campaign to Restore Int’l Food Aid to North Korea