Religious, Financial, Scientific, Social, Political, and Technological events hurtling us toward the TRIBULATION (Matthew 24, Revelation). Time is short. JUDGEMENT is coming. The MARK of the BEAST is imminent. You MUST be saved! ABCs of Salvation: A-ADMIT OR ACKNOWLEDGE your need for a Savior (Romans 3:10) B-BELIEVE that Jesus Christ came and died for your sins (Acts 16:31) C-CALL ON the name of Jesus and you WILL be Saved (Romans 10:13)
Abortions linked to breast cancer
Following is a partial list of various medical studies linking induced abortion with breast cancer as of 1996. Several other studies since then have drawn similar conclusions:
1. There was a higher rate of both spontaneous and induced abortions among breast cancer patients; increased risk ranged from 100 percent to 400 percent among the different subgroups. � M. Segi, I. Fukushima; M. Kurihara; �An Epidemiological Study of Cancer in Japan,� GANN, Vol. 48 (1957)
2. �There was a significant excess of [cancer] cases reporting one or more abortions.� � S. Yuasa and B. McMahon, �Lactation and Reproductive Histories of Breast-Cancer Patients in Tokyo, Japan,� Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol. 42 (1970)
3. Women with one or more abortions had a cancer risk 50 percent higher than that of women who have not had an abortion; with two or more abortions, the risk rose to 100 percent. � T.M. Lin; K.P. Chen; B. McMahon, �Epidemiologica Characteristics of Cancer in the Breast in Taiwan,� Cancer, Vol. 27 (1970)
4. Thirty-seven percent of patients who developed breast cancer after menopause have had at least one abortion, while only 27 percent of women with other cancers reported having had an abortion. � K. Stavarky and S. Emmons, Breast Cancer in Pre-Menopausal and Post-Menopausal Women,� Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 53 (1974)
5. The rate of breast cancer among women in Finland increased with the number of abortions. � I. Soini, �Risk Factors of Breast Cancer in Finland,� International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 6 (1977)
6. Women whose pregnancies lasted four months or less showed a statistically significant increase in breast cancer.– N.W. Choi; G.R. Howe; A.B. Miller; V. Matthews; R.W. Morgan; L. Munan; J.D. Burch; J. Feather; M. Jain; A. Kelly, “An Epidemiologic Study of Breast Cancer,” American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 107 (1978)
7. A case-controlled study in the North Caucasus, Soviet Union, found an increased risk of 240 percent in women with three or more induced abortions. With one or two induced abortions, the increase in risk was 100 percent. –V.V. Dvoirin and A.B. Medvedev, “The Role of Reproductive History in Breast Cancer Causation,” Methods and Results of Studies of Breast Cancer Epidemiology, Tallinn, Estonia (in Russian) (1978)
8. “Pregnancies of less than four to five months duration may be associated with an increased risk.” – J.L.Kelsey, “A Review of the Epidemiology of Human Breast Cancer,” Epidemiology Review, Vol 1 (1979)
9. First-trimester abortion of first pregnancies led to increased risk of 140 percent among women under 32 years of age. – M.C. Pike; B.E. Henderson; J.T. Casagrande; I Rosario; G.E.Gray; “Oral Contraceptive Use and Early Abortion as Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in Young Women,” British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 43 (1981)
10. Women with one abortion had twice as many recurrences of cancer as those with none; women with two or more abortions had three times as many recurrences of cancer. – H.E. Ownby; S. Martino; L.D. Roi; L. Howard; J. Russo; S. Brooks; M.J. Brennan, “Interrupted Pregnancy as One Indicator of Poor Prognosis in t1, T2, No, Mo Primary Breast Cancer,” Breast Cancer Resources and Treatment, Vol. 3 (1983)
11. The risk of developing breast cancer was 52 percent higher among women with an induced abortion than for women who had no abortions. – T. Hirohata, T. Shigematsu, A.M.Y. Nomura, “Occurrence of Breast Cancer in Relation to Diet and Reproductive History: A Case-Control Study in Fukuoka, Japan,” National Cancer Institutute, Vol. 69 (1985)
12. Abortion before a first live birth, after adjusting for other known risk factors, increased the risk of developing breast cancer by 250 percent. – O.C. Hadjimichael, C.A. Boyle, J.W. Meigs, “Abortion Before First Live Birth and Risk of Breast Cancer,” British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 53 (1986)
13. The termination of a first pregnancy before 28 weeks increased the risk of cancer by 43 percent; two or more abortions before the first full pregnancy increased the risk by 73 percent; one induced abortion with no live births increased the risk by 285 percent. – M. Ewertz; S.W. Duffy, “Risk of Breast Cancer in Relation to Reproductive Factors in Denmark,” British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 58 (1988)
14. Among women who developed breast cancer while pregnant: those who carried pregnancy to term had a 20 % survival rate; women who miscarried received more aggressive treatment and had a 42 % survival rate; but every woman who chose abortion died. – R.M. Clark and T. Chua, “Breast Cancer and Pregnancy: The Ultimate Challenge,” Clinical Oncology of the Royal College of Radiology, Vol. 1 (1989)
15. The abortion of a first pregnancy led to an increased risk of 90 %, and repeated abortions heightened the risk by 300 %. – H.L. Howe; R.T. Senie; H. Bzduch; P. Herzfeld, “Early Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk Among Women Under 40,” International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 18 (1989)
16. Women who had an abortion before a live birth had an 88 % greater risk of breast cancer than did women who had a live birth before an abortion. – B.M. Lindefors-Harris; G. Eglund; O. Meirik; L.E. Rutqvist; K. Wiklund, “Risk of Cancer of the Breast After Legal Abortion During First Trimester: A Swedish Register Study,” British Medical Journal, Vol. 299 (1989)
17. Aborting a first pregnancy led to more aggressive cancer tumors. – H. Olsson; J. Ranstam; B. Baldetorp; S.B. Ewers; M. Ferno; D. Killander; H. Sigurdsson, “Proliferation and DNA Ploidy in Malignant Breast Tumors in Relation to Early Oral Contraceptive Use and Early Abortions,” Cancer, Vol. 67 (1991)
18. Breast cancers of women who aborted their first pregnancy showed many times the normal rate of INT2—a specific gene associated with breast cancer. – H. Olsson; A. Borg; M. Ferno; J. Ranstam; H. Sigurdsson, “Her-2/neu and INT2 Proto-Oncogene Amplification in Malignant Breast Tumors in Relation to Reproductive Factors and Exposure to Exogenous Hormones,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 83 (1991)
Source: LIME 5 (the book), available from Life Dynamics (see klanparenthood.com)
More in-depth/ updated info is available at abortionbreastcancer.com, cbrinfo.com, all.org, and afterabortion.org.
The 'androgynifying' of Canada
Man and Woman, Wife, Husband, Widow, Widower Banished From all Ontario Law:
A perusal of the bill shows substitutions for previously used spousal terms in numerous places throughout 73 Ontario Statutes as follows:
“Widows”, widowers” replaced by “surviving spouses”
“A person of the opposite sex” replaced by “a person”
“Wives, husbands” replaced by “spouses”
“Two persons of the opposite sex” replaced by “two persons”
“The wife or husband” replaced by “spouse”
“A husband or wife” replaced by “spouse”
“The husband and wife” replaced by “the spouses”
“A man and a woman” replaced by “two persons”
“Husband and wife” replaced by “spouses”
“Cohabited as man and wife” replaced by “cohabited as a married couple”
“Same-sex partner” replaced by “spouse”
Soon we'll all just be smooth, genderless plastic dolls.
Accepted? I think NOT
"'It's a lot easier for women to have these kinds of experiences and be open about it because it's more accepted.'"
I don't think the word "accepted" is acceptable.
Iran: Jews, Christians Must Wear Badges
Iran: Jews, Christians Must Wear Badges
3 Egyptian students taken into custody
3 Egyptian students taken into custody
There go our 2nd Amendment rights
Aug 1, 2006
By Matthew Dailey
The United Nations concluded it Small Arms Review Conference in New York City on July 7th. The stated purpose of the meeting was to curb the illicit global trade in small arms.
While the stated goal sounded non-controversial and benign, the ultimate purpose of the conference backers is to have a binding international treaty that will severely restrict civilian gun ownership in the United States.
U.N. bureaucrats, who are not elected or accountable to the American people, are aiming to impose severe restrictions on the legal gun trade in an attempt to stop the illegal arms trade. A host of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), working in concert with the United Nations, are working towards gutting our Second Amendment rights.
One organization that is a major backer in restricting civilian gun ownership is the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), headed by Rebecca Peters. She heads a coalition that pursues a strategy to confiscate, ban, and destroy guns.
The U.N. Small Arms Review Conference that took place in New York City is another attempt by gun control advocates to push for an international gun ban treaty. It is an assault on our core freedoms protected by the Constitution.
The Libertarian Party passed a resolution condemning the 2006 U.N. Small Arms Review Conference at its national convention in Portland, Oregon.
The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS all individuals are endowed by God or Nature certain unalienable rights as specified by the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, particularly the first ten Amendments (the Bill of Rights), which is the supreme law of the land,
WHEREAS the Second Amendment to the Constitution unconditionally guarantees to the individual the right to keep and bear arms, which is one of these natural rights,
WHEREAS the Libertarian Party Platform calls for that unconditional guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms,
and WHEREAS, right now, as the Libertarian Party National Convention meets here and as our nation celebrates its founding and its Constitution, the United Nations is right here in America insulting the American people, the United States Constitution and our country's national sovereignty by holding its 2006 Small Arms Review Conference, which is devising ways and means to confiscate our lawful property and means of self-defense,
THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Libertarian Party, in the strongest possible terms, condemns the United Nations 2006 Small Arms Review Conference.
If more gun control advocates are elected to Congress and the White House, the U.N.'s global ban on guns will become a reality.
Only by electing Libertarian Party candidates to Congress can we defend our Second Amendment rights and protect our nation's sovereignty.
yeah, it's ALWAYS Israel's fault
Nevermind that Hezbollah and Hamas hide behind the skirts of women and the innocence of children, and then cry foul when someone actually calls their bluff. Talk about cowardly....bravery is certainly not something the devil has in his arsenal!
Justice needs to be served
While part of me says, just let the man die, starvation is not a pleasant way to go, the other part of me says, no, keep him alive, because justice definitely needs to be served!
New Teen Craze: "Pharm Parties"
New Teen Craze: "Pharm Parties" Where Kids Use Prescription Drugs
California roasts in record-breaking heat - Jul 23, 2006
CNN.com - California roasts in record-breaking heat - Jul 23, 2006
The perfect size for INJECTING
look at this - it's about 10x smaller than a grain of salt!
http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/060206.jpg
from the front
Hezbollah Said Holding Back on Rocket Fire for World Sympathy
They said it THEMSELVES!!! It's all part of the plan:
"Hezbollah in Lebanon was said to be holding back on its incessant bombing of Israeli cities, in order to gain the world's sympathy for Lebanon's citizens. "
check some of these
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Tremors spark fear as Java tsunami toll hits 550
- one hour ago -
Israeli suspicion of UN clouds Lebanon force plan
- 2 hours ago -
Suicide bomber in Iraq kills 59
- 45 minutes ago -
Israeli troops kill 9 Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank
- 2 hours ago -
Britain braced for record July temperatures
- 14 minutes ago
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Woe to those who harm the little ones
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L10606563
Dangers facing children around the world
Mon 10 Jul 2006 7:01 PM ET
July 11 (Reuters) - Kidnappings, rape and forced labour are some of the horrors inflicted on children highlighted in a Reuters AlertNet poll released on Tuesday to identify the world's most dangerous places to be a child.
Here are some statistics for dangers faced by children around the globe.
- Nearly 11 million children a year -- about 30,000 a day -- die before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes.
- Out of 100 children born in 2000, 30 will likely suffer malnutrition, 26 will not be immunised and 17 will never go to school.
- n estimated 218 million children are used for labour. Millions work in especially horrific circumstances, including the virtual slavery of bonded labour.
- An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year for labour or sex.
- About 1 million children are thought to be exploited in the multi-billion dollar sex industry.
- There are over 300,000 child soldiers, some as young as eight, in more than 30 countries.
- More than 2 million children are thought to have died as a direct result of armed conflict in the past decade.
- Up to 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines each year.
- An estimated 100 million women and girls have undergone genital mutilation.
(Source: Unicef, International Labour Organization.)
Paralyzed man moves computer cursor by thought
Paralyzed man moves computer cursor through thought��Reuters.com
Things of major prophetic importance
- Many wars and rumors of wars around the world
- Israel at center stage and in a peace process, threatened with annihilation by its Islamic neighbors, and viewed as a “cup of trembling” by the international community of nations
- Rome reviving in the form of the EC and the international community
- Movement toward one-world order, and the existence of a global economic structure
- Development of technology that can make it possible to control the masses, as well as a liberally biased global media
- The coming together of all religions (interfaithism), while Christians and Christianity continue to be persecuted, and Christ is blasphemed
- Occurrences of strange weather patterns and weird sightings, such as UFOs, apparitions, and stigmata of various sorts
- People having the last days characteristics outlined by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy, chapter 3 ("For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy...")
Daniel the prophet said many end-time issues and events will come upon the world like a flood until all things prophesied are fulfilled. Jesus indicated that all of these things will be happening at the same time in the days just before His return to earth.
People have for centuries been witness to a few, scattered, similar issues or events during their time on earth. But ours is the only generation to see all of these major prophetic signals happening at the same time.
And the chief signal is: Israel, God’s timepiece, is again a nation. War is on the way – an unprecedented war, during which Israel will be at its center.
Oil and water
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ccnn/message/15206
However, the "fruits" of Allah pretty much prove that, while he may be real, he isn't the God of the Bible....destruction, war, terrorism, violence and hatred are not fruits that Christ would have us emulate.
Part 2 of that One World Government
Here is the official text:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Crawford, Texas)
March 23, 2005
Joint Statement by President Bush, President Fox, and Prime Minister Martin Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
We, the elected leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, gather in Texas to announce the establishment of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.
Over the past decade, our three nations have taken important steps to expand economic opportunity for our people and to create the most vibrant and dynamic trade relationship in the world. Since September 11, 2001, we have also taken significant new steps to address the threat of terrorism and to enhance the security of our people.
But more needs to be done. In a rapidly changing world, we must develop new avenues of cooperation that will make our open societies safer and more secure, our businesses more competitive, and our economies more resilient.
Our Partnership will accomplish these objectives through a trilateral effort to increase the security, prosperity, and quality of life of our citizens. This work will be based on the principle that our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary, and will reflect our shared belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic values and institutions. Also, it will help consolidate our action into a North American framework to confront security and economic challenges, and promote the full potential of our people, addressing disparities and increasing opportunities for all.
Mexican President Viicente Fox, left, President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin greet each other after a news conference in Waco, Texas, on March 23. (AP/WWP)
Our Partnership is committed to reach the highest results to advance the security and well-being of our people. The Partnership is trilateral in concept; while allowing any two countries to move forward on an issue, it will create a path for the third to join later.
Advancing our Common Security
We will establish a common approach to security to protect North America from external threats, prevent and respond to threats within North America, and further streamline the secure and efficient movement of legitimate, low-risk traffic across our shared borders. As part of our efforts, we will:
-- Implement common border-security and bio-protection strategies;
-- Enhance critical infrastructure protection, and implement a common approach to emergency response;
-- Implement improvements in aviation and maritime security, combat transnational threats, and enhance intelligence partnerships; and
-- Implement a border-facilitation strategy to build capacity and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders.
Advancing our Common Prosperity
We will work to enhance North American competitiveness and improve the quality of life of our people. Among other things, we will:
-- Improve productivity through regulatory cooperation to generate growth, while maintaining high standards for health and safety;
-- Promote sectoral collaboration in energy, transportation, financial services, technology, and other areas to facilitate business; and invest in our people;
-- Reduce the costs of trade through the efficient movement of goods and people; and
-- Enhance the stewardship of our environment, create a safer and more reliable food supply while facilitating agricultural trade, and protect our people from disease.
Next Steps
We will establish Ministerial-led working groups that will consult with stakeholders in our respective countries. These working groups will respond to the priorities of our people and our businesses, and will set specific, measurable, and achievable goals. They will identify concrete steps that our governments can take to meet these goals, and set implementation dates that will permit a rolling harvest of accomplishments.
Within 90 days, Ministers will report back to us with their initial report. Following this, the groups will report on a semi-annual basis. Because the Partnership will be an ongoing process of cooperation, new items will be added to the work agenda by mutual agreement as circumstances warrant.
Through this Partnership, we will ensure that North America remains the most economically dynamic region of the world and a secure home for our people in this and future generations.
RFID Conference tagline
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is rapidly starting to show its true
potential in the automatic data capture industry. New techniques to enable
reduced tag costs, standards development, security issues, etc. are all
combining to generate increased RFID usage. Industries such as retail,
automotive, transportation, medical, document management, etc. have recently implemented extensive trials and operating systems. IMI's 1st RFID Conference is designed to explore the current state-of-the-art and future trends for the utilization of radio frequency technologies in the tag, ticket and label printing industry and RFID's expanding role in the auto ID industry and supply chain management. Leading technologists, experts and users will address RFID technology and production advancements as well as the adoption of RFID developments and innovations.
Gosh, they're just SO proud of themselves, aren't they?
Kids on drugs
Google Image Result for http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol33I1/img/pg03_1.jpg
Yet another symptom of moms in the workplace and no one to watch the kids!
1948 - the Prophetic clock starts ticking
The day in 1948 was a multi-miracle milestone:
* It marked the precise, 100 percent accurate fulfillment of what Jewish prophets had foretold thousands of years before.
* It verified that the Jews had indeed survived as a nation through two millennia of worldwide dispersion and persecution that culminated in the Holocaust.
* It marked the return of the remnant of that nation to the same land, cities and towns from which Rome had driven it 1,818 years before."
Supermarket to the world...not so 'super'
He has NO idea just how much.
Wal-Mart's CIO: 'RFID best thing since sliced bread' - LANs - Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com:
the Middle Eastern freak show continues
Iran's goals:
1) Wipe Israel off the planet.
2) Wipe Americans and Christians off the planet.
Any questions?
Illegals Rioting in California
NICE.
Illegal Immigrant Rioting in California
Flaunting Sin in the Face of God's Holy City
They know not what they do....woe to those who call good evil, and evil good!
Iran again threatens to destroy Israel
"I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you."
Woe be to Iran if and when they truly decide to follow through with this threat.
I certainly don't want one
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132056,00.html
And still they force 2nd child abortions
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-04e.html
http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/10/stories/2006011004311300.htm
Stem cell research
http://www.lifeissues.org/cloningstemcell/bradsarticle.html
Scientists will ALWAYS find a way to corrupt the good
"Chimeras [human-animal crossbreads] or parahumans might legitimately be fashioned to do dangerous or demeaning jobs. As it is now, low-grade work is shoved off on moronic and retarded individuals, the victims of uncontrolled reproduction. Should we not program such workers 'thoughtfully' instead of accidentally, by means of hybridization?" — Dr. Joseph Fletcher, Harvard University professor widely recognized as the "patriarch of bioethics"
"The horizons of the new eugenics are, in principle, boundless. For the first time in all time, a living creature understands its origin and can undertake to design its future..." — Dr. Robert Sinsheimer, molecular biologist, Chancellor of the University of California at Santa Cruz, initiator of the Human Genome Project.
"No newborn infant should be declared human until it has passed certain tests regarding its genetic endowment, and that if it fails these tests it forfeits the right to live.” — Dr. Francis Crick, Nobel Prize Laureate 1962, co-discovery of DNA. Crick also favored a scheme for licensing parenthood or a tax on children to encourage "those people who are more socially desirable to have more children.”
"If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease...so I'd like to get rid of that....People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great." [typical man] — Dr. James Watson, president of the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, New York, Nobel Prize Laureate, co-discovery of DNA, advocating for manipulation of the human genome.
"Science is moving at such a fast pace that scientists have proven that they can create headless mice through removal of genes in the embryo that control development of the head. But the body would have the capacity to keep the organs functional for use as transplants.... Embryonic stem cells, which holds promise of cure of any organ, is but a slow move towards immortality." — Dr. P.B. Desai, world renowned oncologist in India
"If biological manipulation is indeed a slippery slope, then we are already sliding down that slope now and may as well enjoy the ride.'' [oh, that's SUCH a good reason] — Gregory Stock, Director of the Program on Medicine, Technology, and Society at UCLA’s School of Public Health and author of Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future
"There is a close analogy between a human body invaded by a cancer and a nation afflicted with subpopulations whose inborn defects cause them to become social liabilities. Just as in cancer the best treatment is to eradicate the parasitic growth as quickly as possible, the eugenic defense against the dysgenic social effects of afflicted subpopulations is of necessity limited to equally drastic measures . . . . When these inferior elements [hey, not only the sick or deformed, but the unborn and elderly too!] are not effectively eliminated from a population, then—just as when the cells of a malignant tumor are allowed to proliferate throughout a human body—they destroy the host body as well as themselves." — Dr. Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1973. (Taking Eugenics Seriously)
Advocates of Human Engineering...aka those COMPLETELY living in a dream world:
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Journal of Evolution and TechnologyWorld Transhumanist Association
Incipient Posthuman
Creative Conscious Evolution - TranshumanChildren of the Millennium
Future of Humanity Institute
Transtopia -- Transhumanism Evolved
PrometheismReason
Peter Singer
The Judas We Never Knew - Christianity Today Magazine
The Judas We Never Knew - Christianity Today Magazine
It's just another sign, already predicted ... 2,000 years ago.
Matthew 24 - Signs of the End of the Age
"Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Are YOU ready?
Conservative Christians losing faith in GOP
Dallas Morning News News for Dallas, Texas Latest News:
Conservative Christians losing faith in GOP
Saturday, April 1, 2006
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – There was no clearer sense of the despair among conservative Christians who gathered recently than the row upon row of books with urgent, alarmist titles.
Pagan America. Judicial Tyranny. Liberalism Kills Kids. The Criminalization of Christianity.
In the political culture wars, religious conservatives say they've been electing candidates but not getting the results they want. And leaders worry that they might be about to lose Christian conservatives as a potent political force because of unmet expectations on a host of issues and stumbles by a Republican administration they helped elect.
Conservative "values voters" have been crucial to Republican success, with religious leaders driving huge voter turnout in recent elections. If they lack enthusiasm this fall, experts say, the GOP could lose control of Congress.
"The nation isn't focused today in a way it was on such issues as abortion, marriage, the nature of the family," said the Rev. Laurence White of Houston. "For us, it's not the economy, stupid. It's the morality, stupid."
The Rev. Rick Scarborough, an East Texas evangelist whose group Vision America sponsored a two-day conference aimed at getting Christian activists involved in the 2006 elections, says he hopes to mobilize groups representing 20 million people. To motivate them, he offers a list of 10 grievances and a program to register voters and press candidates to pass specific legislation.
"We're tired of talk. We want action," he said. "It occurs to us that no matter who is in the White House or who says what we want to hear, nothing ever changes."
High on the list are a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and a judiciary more sympathetic to religious expression, like permitting the Ten Commandments in government buildings and allowing pastors to endorse candidates from the pulpit.
"If these issues are not addressed, you'll see values voters stay home by the millions. And then the Republicans and others who have been the beneficiary of the values vote are going to lose," Mr. Scarborough said.
Those who work to counter the influence of religious conservatives scoff at the notion that their opponents should feel aggrieved. The White House is occupied by the most openly religious president in memory, two new Supreme Court justices hold an expansive view of religious rights, and social conservatives control Congress.
"This language of persecution would be more credible if the very people using it weren't sitting at the seat of power in government today," said Kathy Miller of the Texas Freedom Network, a nonprofit group that monitors church-state issues.
Still, the dissatisfaction in the social conservative base threatens to divide a GOP already struggling to balance the interests of social conservatives with those of economic and traditional conservatives, who care primarily about Iraq, immigration, and taxes and government spending.
Turnout
Professor John Green of the University of Akron, an expert on religion and politics, said evangelicals accounted for 35 percent to 40 percent of President Bush's re-election vote in 2004 and are instrumental to GOP success.
"These voters are quite important to Republican control of the House and Senate," Mr. Green said. "In Ohio, probably Florida, Pennsylvania and maybe Missouri in 2006, these voters could be absolutely crucial to Republicans."
A group called Reformation Ohio has enlisted more than 1,000 "patriot pastors" to help register voters who could benefit the GOP, particularly gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell. The group's leader, evangelist Rod Parsley, has lent his support to a similar group, the Texas Restoration Project, whose voter-registration efforts are being used by Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign.
The "War on Christians and Values Voters in 2006" conference last week offered a clear view of how social conservatives are approaching this election year. They aren't dwelling on their recent successes; instead, a siege mentality seems prevalent.
On the dais and in the hallways of a hotel at the gathering of about 400 conservative Christians, the talk was about moral values under attack and what one participant called "this alien idea of an absolute wall of separation between church and state."
A succession of panels featured vivid stories about religious liberty in jeopardy.
A Navy chaplain said he was disciplined for delivering an evangelical Christian prayer during a memorial service. A Florida artist recounted how his paintings were banned from a city hall exhibit because they depicted religious themes. And a Massachusetts radio talk show host said he was physically threatened for hosting a "Mr. Heterosexual Contest" after hearing about a gay beauty pageant in California.
Panelists warned that whatever the electoral gains of recent years, American culture is still besieged by Hollywood, the news media, gays, liberals, "secular humanists" and the ACLU.
There were some acknowledgments of victory. One panelist declared that cable TV and bloggers have "broken the media monopoly," and another sparked applause by announcing he was appearing that night on Bill O'Reilly's show on the Fox News Channel.
When a conference delegate asked whether Christians should buy control of newspapers that are for sale, longtime conservative activist Paul Weyrich said there was no need.
"Newspapers are a dying industry," he said. "There won't be any newspapers 20 years from now. Buy television."
As for Hollywood, panelists were uniformly critical of what they see as its denigration of Christian values but reluctance to critique Islam and risk what conservative activist Janet Folger called "folks in turbans dancing around the ashes of the building."
A declaration by Don Feder of Vision America – "Hollywood likes Islam almost as much as it loathes Christianity" – prompted a delegate to ask why Jewish movie executives would support a religion whose extremists wanted to destroy Israel.
Mr. Feder explained that Hollywood executives are political liberals who do not reflect Judeo-Christian ethics.
"The people in this audience," he said of the largely white, Protestant crowd, "are more Jewish than people like Barbra Streisand, because you embrace Jewish values. She doesn't."
One delegate came as George Washington, dressed in three-pointed hat and full revolutionary regalia. During a question-and-answer session, he offered brisk assurance that the Founding Fathers favored a close church-state alliance, even quoting "my friend Thomas Jefferson."
ON THEIR LIST
Conservative Christian voters say that Republican leaders they helped put in office haven't moved quickly enough on their policy agenda. Here are some of the issues they feel haven't been addressed:
Gay-marriage ban. Although 19 states, including Texas, have amended their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage, Congress has not authorized a federal constitutional amendment. Conservatives say such a step is necessary to protect traditional marriage against court decisions requiring recognition of gay unions.
Religious expression. Conservative evangelicals want churches to be able to support political candidates without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, teacher-led prayer to be allowed in schools, and religious symbols such as the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public places.
The judiciary. President Bush gets high marks for the two Supreme Court justices confirmed this year. But courts should be prohibited from taking "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance or otherwise ruling against acknowledgements of God in public declarations, conservative evangelical leaders say.
Abortion. Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion, has not been overturned.
Property rights. Conservatives want restrictions on eminent domain, the government power to take private property for public use.
Add: Border Security! Stop illegal immigration!
School vouchers. Parents should be permitted to send children to private schools, including those run by religious institutions, with public money, these voters argue.
SHE STOPPED AT 40, BUT COULD HAVE KEPT GOING
This below is from a recent Facebook post in my feed. She lists 40 "conspiracy theories" that have come to pass...but says she co...
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America is cracking up. Literally. 😲 (finally I can say literally and actually mean it!) We are about to experience two very signif...
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An oh-so-pithy OpEd piece by Hanna Shtein (not making that up), who is a Philosophy major at UW-Wisconsin Madison, writing for the Badger H...
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WAKE UP !!! Like the loving parent who gently shakes a child to wake him up, God is shaking the world today in an attempt to wake us from ...