We interrupt our regularly scheduled series for a special report

This just blew me away. Here is a report on the top 101 "pro-gay" companies with a 100% rating and another list of the top companies who sponsor abortion rights, etc. The "PC term" for is is "Reproductive Rights", but let's not be PC for once and call it what it really is - the right to kill your baby if you want to. It's a BABY not a choice! I find it a little sick and sad that the self-proclaimed "baby company", Johnson & Johnson, are at the top of both lists. Imagine that...the "baby company" being a big sponsor of abortion rights. If they're not careful they'll give themselves out of existence.
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Corporate America cuddles up to 'gays'
Pro-homosexual giants: Apple, Best Buy, Chrysler, Ford, IBM, Dell, AT&T, Sprint, Nike, Kraft, Pepsi
By Joe Kovacs

Many of America's most succesful companies continue to snuggle up to homosexuals, with a record 101 firms receiving a perfect score for "gay"-friendliness, according to a new ranking by a homosexual-rights group.

"Corporate America knows that treating employees fairly is not just the right thing to do, it's good for the bottom line," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which released its annual Corporate Equality Index.

"The enormous growth we've tracked in fair employee policies proves that corporate America is making good on the old adage: what's good for business is good for America."

The index is the nation's only rating system for corporate policies on homosexual, bisexual and transgender policies, and rates companies on a scale from 0 to 100 percent based on a variety of indicators, such as policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity training, and equal health-care benefits.

Among this year's findings:

A record 101 companies score 100 percent, attributed to a sharp increase in gender identity non-discrimination policies. In 2002, only 13 companies earned a perfect rating.

Today, 5.6 million people work at the 101 companies that score 100 percent. Three years ago, approximately 690,000 people were employed by the 13 companies with a perfect score.

Eighty-one percent of scored companies offer health benefits to the domestic partners of employees, up from 70 percent in 2002.

Some companies are proud to flaunt their perfect scores, including insurance and financial giant MetLife.

"Our corporate vision to build financial freedom for everyone is all-inclusive for a reason," said Debra Capolarello, senior vice president and chief talent officer for MetLife. "We recognize that our employees have diverse strengths, our customers have diverse financial needs, and we are committed to ensuring that respect for diversity remains ingrained in our culture."

At Prudential Financial, CEO Arthur Ryan said, "Diversity continues to be key to the ongoing success of our company, and we remain committed to ensuring an inclusive and supportive work environment for all people."

Eastman Kodak, the photography company criticized several years ago for firing a 23-year veteran who objected to a pro-homosexual memo, also received a perfect 100 score for "gay"-friendliness.

"Diversity and inclusion is a key business imperative for us," says Kodak president Antonio Perez on the company's website.

The index notes that in electronics retail, Best Buy offers full protections to homosexuals, while competitor Radio Shack scores a 29 percent and Circuit City holds a 43 percent score.

It says corporations "actively working against equality" include Emerson Electric with a 29 percent score; Entergy with 36 percent; ExxonMobil with 14 percent; and Perot Systems with a 14 percent score.

The HRC says ExxonMobil "has the dubious distinction of being the only U.S. company to roll back both benefits eligibility for its employees' domestic partners and a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy."

In the financial sector, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase each score 100 percent compared to MBNA that has given money to anti-homosexual groups, and scores only 43 percent.

Other companies which have relatively low scores on the pro-homosexual chart include Alltel, Aquila, Archer Daniels Midland, Bayer, Cracker Barrel, H.J. Heinz, Hormel Foods, May Department Stores, Maytag, Nestle Purina PetCare, Newell Rubbermaid, Nissan, Rite Aid and Rohm & Haas.

Click here to read the 2005 Corporate Quality Index. Report is in .pdf format.

Below is the list of the top 101 companies, in alphabetical order, scoring a perfect 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign's 2005 Corporate Quality Index, with policies beneficial toward homosexuals:

Aetna
Agilent Technologies
Alston & Bird
American Airlines
American Express
Apple Computer
AT&T
Avaya
Bausch & Lomb
Best Buy
Borders Group
BP America
California State Automobile Association
Capital One Financial
Cargill
Charles Schwab
Chevron
ChoicePoint
Chubb
Cisco Systems
Citigroup
CMP Media
Corning
Credit Suisse First Boston
Cummins
Daimler Chrysler
Dell
Deutsche Bank
Dominion Resources
Dow Chemical
Eastman Kodak
Ernst & Young
Estee Lauder Companies
Faegre & Benson
Ford Motor Co.
Freescale Semiconductor
Gap Inc.
General Mills
GlaxoSmithKline
Global Hyatt
Goldman Sachs Group
Hewlett-Packard
Intel
IBM
Intuit
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Jenner & Block
Johnson & Johnson
Kaiser Permanente
Keyspan
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group
KPMG
Kraft Foods
Lehman Brothers Holdings
Levi Strauss & Co.
Lexmark International
Lincoln National
Lucent Technologies
Mellon Financial
Merrill Lynch
MetLife
Microsoft
Miller Brewing
Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Molson Coors Brewing
Morrison & Foerster
Motorola
Nationwide
NCR Corp.
New York Times Co.
Nike
Nordstrom
Northern Trust
The Olivia Companies
Owens Corning
Pepsico
Pfizer
PG&E
Prudential Financial
Raytheon
Replacements
SBC Communications
SC Johnson & Son
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Southern California Edison
Sprint
Sun Microsystems
SunTrust Banks
Tech Data Corp.
Toyota
UBS
Unisys
US Airways
Viacom
Walgreens
Washington Mutual
Wells Fargo
Whirlpool
Worldspan Technologies
Wyndham International
Xerox
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Below is the list and addresses of the TOP funders of abortion rights and Planned Parenthood - you might be surprise to see some of the baby/child drawing companies on this list:
AGRICULTURE: American Home Products.

ANIMAL CARE: American Home Products, Fort Dodge, & Schering-plough.

APPAREL/SHOES: Britannia, Dallas Cowboys, Dexter Shoe, Dockers, Fechheimer Brothers, Fruit of the Loom, Great Pacific Iron Works, H. H. Brown, Hudson Trail Outliers, Justin Boot, Levis, Lowell Shoe, Nacona Boot, Patagonia Slates, Tony Lamb & Walt Disney.

BANKS: Bank of American Bank One, Coruscates, First Union, J. P. Morgan Chase, The Money Store, Northern Trust, OFFITBANK, Principal, Wachovia & Wingspan.

BROADCASTING: A&E, ABC, Disney Channel, E!, ESPN, Fox Family, KFOR-W, KFSM-W, Lifetime, Telemundo, Touchstone, WHNT-W, WHO-TV, WNEP, WQAD-W, WQXR-FM, WREG-W, & WTLR-W. (Note: May of these companies also have radio affiliates.)

BUILDING PRODUCTS & TOOLS: Acme, American Tile Featherlite, Johns Manville, & Shaw Contract Flooring.

COMMUNICATIONS: Clear Channel, Nationwide, Sony & Working Assets.

COMPUTERS & INTERNET-RELATED: Careerpath.com, Expediacom, GATX, Go.com, Hotmail, Microsoft, Sierracities.com, Small Dog Electronics, Solaris, SPARC chips, Sun Microsystems, toysmart.com, Web-iv, & Working Assets.

DEPARTMENT STORES: Great Pacific trop Works, Hudson Trail Outfitters, Levi Strauss, & Patagonia.

ELECTRONICS: Digital Audio Disk, Etak, Iawa, Psygnosis, Small Dog Electronics, Sony, Tokyo Electron Arizona, & UltimateTV.

ENTERTAINMENT: 550 Music A&E, ABC, Buena Vista, Columbia Pictures, Columbia Records, Columbia TriStar, Crave, the Culver Studios, Dimension, Disney Channel, Disney World, Disneyland, E!, Epic Records, ESPN, EuroDisney, Harmony Records. Hollywood Pictures, Hollywood Records, Hollywood Touchstone, Lifetime, Lyrics Sheet Records, Mammoth Records, Mirage, Relatively Records, Sony! Sony/A-iv Music Publishing, Telemundo Holdings, TriStE Pictures, Walt Disney, & Wonderland Music.

FINANCIAL SERVICES: Bank of America Bank One, Banque Rivaud, Berry Hal-tell Evers & Osborne, Brown & Cp. Securities, Chase, CIGNA, CNA, Corestates, CorporateLink, CORT Business Services, . Delaware Investments, Diversified Fund Management, Evergreen Asset Management, First Chicago Leasing, First Data Resources, First Options of Chicago, First Union Bank, First USA, Fortis, Freddie Mac, Gates McDonald & Co., GATX, Hazlehurst & Assoc., IDS, International Capital, J. P. Morgan Chase, Jennison Assoc. Capital, Leeds & Kellogg, Lincoln National, Mecklenburg Securities, Mentor Investment Group, Money Gram, The Money Store, Nationwide, NEA Value builder Investor Services, Neckura Group, Northeast, Northern Futures, Northern Global Financial Services, Northern Trust, NT Global Advisors, OFFITBANX, Optima, The Principal, Prudential, Prudential Securities, RCB Trust Intimations, RFC Capital, Robert Flemming Holdings, Sierracities.com, Spear, Textron, Transatlantic Trust, Volpe Brown Whelan & Co., Wachovia, Wesco Financial, Wheat First Securities, Wheat First Union, Wingspan Bank, Woodward FST, & Working Assets.

FOOD-RELATED: Bread & Circus, Bread of Life, Dairy Queen, French Broad Food Coop, Fresh Fields, Merchant of Vino, Newman's Own, Pass Eater egg decorating kit, See's Candies, Wellspring Grocery, & Whole Foods Market. '

FURNITURE: CORT, Jordan's, Nebraska Furniture Mart, RC Willey, & Star.

HEALTH (OVER THE COUNTER): A & D products, XCT Fluoride, Acute, Advanced Care Products, Advil, Afrin, Akzo Nobel, Anacin, Anbesol, Band-Aid bandages, Berlex Laboratories, Citrate, Carefree, Centrum, Chap Stick, Chlor- Trimeton, Cilag, Clean & Clear, Clear Passage, Coppertone, Coricidin, Correctol, Cushion Grip, Denorex, Di-Gel, Dimetapp, Dr. Scholl's products, Drixoral, Duffel, Duration, Feen-A-Mint, Fibercon, Flexagen, Gyne-l.aotzimin, Imodium A-D, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Janssen-cilag, Johnson & Johnson brand products, Lotrimin M, McNeil Consumer Products, Medipren, Medtronic, Mexsanw Micatin, Monistat 7, Muskol, Mylanta, Mylicon, Neutrogenw to.b.' Ocucliar, Organon, Ortho Dermatological, Ortho-McNeil, Pediacare, Pepcid AC, Piz Buin, Preparation H, Prevent & Reach toothbrushes, Primatene, Robitussin, Scheming AG, Schering-plough, Sentron, Serenity, Sesame Street vitamins, Sine-Aid, Solarcaine, St. Joseph aspirin, Stayfree, Sundown, Sure & Natural, Tinactin, Tylenol, Whitehall-Robins, Wyeth; & Wyeth- Ayerst.

HEALTH (OTHER): Akzo Nobel, Berlex Laboratories, Chem-frs, CIGNA, Cilag, Genetics Institute, Immunes, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Janssen-cilag, Kmser Permanence, McNeil Specialty Products, Medtronic, Organon, Ortho Dermatological, Ortho-McNeil, Schering AG, Schering-plough, Sentron, Whitehall-Robins, WYETH, & Wyeth-Ayerst.

HOME: carpet (Cabin Crts, Commercial Carpets, Cumberland, Queen, Redbook, Salem, Shaw, Sutton, & Trustmark), & Shaw Contract Flooring.

HOTELS: Loews, & Walt Disney.

INSURANCE: American Legacy, Central States Indemnity, CIGNA, CNA, Colonial Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Farmland Mutual, Financial Life, First Penn-pacific Life, First Union, Forbes, Fortis, GEICO, Czeneralcologne Re, WA Himarari Life, Insurance Intermediaries, Kaiser Permanente, Lincoln National, Loews, Merastar, National Casualty, National Indemnity, Nationwide, ne Principal, Prudential, Scottsdale Insurance, Sony, Troy Fain, United States Liability, Universal Surety of America, Vista Insurance, Wachovia & Western Surety.

JEWELRY: Ben Bridge, Bosheims, & Helzberg.

MAGAZINES: American Heritage, ASAP, Discover, ESPN, Family Fun, Family PC, Food (Q Wine, Forbes, HL Global, Golf Digest, Godship Operations, Golf World, Travel to Leisure, & FL

NEWSPAPERS: Boston Globe, Buffalo News, Daily Comet, Daily News, Daily World, International Herald Tribune, Lake City Reporter, Marco Island Eagle, New York Times, Santa Barbara News Press, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Star-Banner, The Courier, The Dispatch, The Gadsden Times, The Gainesville Sun, The Journal Gazette, The Ledger, The News-Leader, The News-sun, The Press Democrat, The Tuscaloosa News, Time Daily, Times-News, Wilmington Morning Star, & Worcester Telegram to Gazette.

PUBLISHING: American Express, Berkshire Hathaway, ESPN, Fairchild, Forbes. Hyperion, Justin Industries, New York Times, Northland, Scott-Fetor, Sony Music Publishing, & World Blk.

REALTY SERVICES: Prudential. J. P. Morgan Chase & Prudential

SPORTS: Anaheim Angels baseball, Dally Cowboys football, & Mighty Ducks hockey.

TIME PIECES: Bulova, & Walt Disney.

TOBACCO: Lorillard Tobacco (Kent, Maverick, Newport, & O1d Gold cigarettes).

TOYS: toysmm.com, & Walt Disney.

TRANSPORTATION: American Steamship, Bell Helicopter, Berkshire Hathaway, Cessna Executive Jet, GATX, General American Transportation, Great Lakes Shipping, Phelps Dodge, & Textron.

TRAVEL: American Express, Disney cruise lines, Expedia.com, Revere Travel, & Thomas Cook Travel U.S.

MARBLE, PLASTICS, STEEL, COVERINGS, BRICK, COPPER, MINERALS, CEMICALS, WOOD, &/OR STONE: Acme Building Brands, Akzo Nobel, American Home Products, Columbian Chemicals, Crown, Featherlite Building Products, International, interpol, Justin Industries, Phelps Dodge, Precision Steel, Shaw Contract Flooring, & Sikkens.

THE BIG LIST: CORPORATIONS WHICH SUPPORT [REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS]

Akzco Nobel -- Operations: pharmaceuticals (relating to reproduction, birth control, infertility, menopause, psychiatry, immunology, rheumatoid arthritis, & atherothrombosis), veterinary vaccines, coatings (Sikkens, International, Crown & Interpon, etc.), chemicals, & Organon. WRITE: Mr. Cees J.A. van Lede, Chairman & CEO, Akzo Nobel NV, Velperweg 76, 6824 BM Arnhem, Postbus 9300, 6800 SB Arnhem, The Netherlands. Phone (31) (26) 3664433 or 800-241-8812 (USA division) or 800-387-1326 (Canadian division). Website: akzonobel.com. Letters may be copied to Mr. Bruce Robertson, President, Organon Canada Ltd., Ste. 700, 200 Consilium Pl., Scarborough, ON M1H 3E4.

American Express -- Operations: insurance, travel services (Revere Travel, Thomas Cook Travel U.S.), financial services (Money Gram wire service, Optima & CorporateLink cards, IDS, First Data Resources, & International Capital), & publishing (Food & Wine, & Travel & Leisure). WRITE: Mr. Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express Co., 90 Hudson St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. Phone: 800-528-4800, ext 0, or (201) 209-4999. Website: americanexpress.com.

American Home Products -- Operations: chemicals, healthcare, (Advil, Anacin, Anbesol, Caltrate, Centrum, Chap Stick, Denorex, Dimetapp, FiberCon, Flexagen, Robitussin, Primatene, Preparation H), biotechnology, agricultural products (insecticides and herbicides), Genetics Institute, Immunex, veterinary (Fort Dodge Animal Health), Whitehall-Robins, Wyeth, & Wyeth-Ayerst. WRITE: Mr. Robert A. Essner, President & CEO, American Home Products Corp., 5 Giralda Farms, Madison, NJ 07940-0874. Phone: (973) 660-5000. Website: ahp.com.

Bank of America -- Operations: financial services. WRITE: Mr. Kenneth D. Lewis, CEO, Bank of America Corp., 100 N. Tyron St., Charlotte, NC 28255. Phone: 888-279-3457 or 800-333-6262. Website: bankofamerica.com.

Bank One -- Operations: financial services, First USA, Wingspan Bank, & First Chicago Leasing. WRITE: Mr. James Dimon, Chairman & CEO, Bank One Corp., 1 Bank One Plaza, Chicago, IL 60670. Phone: (312) 732-4000. Website: bankone.com.

Berkshire Hathaway -- Operations: Dairy Queen, See's Candies, insurance (GEICO, Central States Indemnity, United States Liability, & National Indemnity), Benjamin Moore paints & stain, Wesco Financial, newspaper (Buffalo News [Buffalo, New York]), home furnishing (Jordan's Furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart, RC Willey, & Star Furniture), building products (Acme, Johns Manville, Featherlite, & American Tile), carpet (Cabin Crafts, Cumberland, Queen, Redbook, Salem, Shaw Commercial Carpets, Sutton, & Trustmark), Shaw Industries (contract flooring), jewelry (Ben Bridge, Borsheims & Helzburg Diamonds), uniforms (Fechheimer Brothers), Fruit of the Loom clothing, footwear (Justin Boot, Nocona Boot, Tony Lama, Dexter Shoe, Lowell Shoe & H.H. Brown), publishing (World Book, Northland, & Scott Fetzer), MidAmerican Energy, Justin Industries, Precision Steel, Executive Jet, General Star, Genesis, Ardent Risk Services, Herbert Clough, CORT Business Services (CORT Furniture Rental), GeneralCologne RE, & FlightSafety International. WRITE: Mr. Warren E. Buffett, Chairman & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 1440 Kiewit Plaza, Omaha, NE 68131. Phone: (402) 346-1400. Website: berkshirehathaway.com.

Cigna -- Operations: insurance, financial services, mental health, substance abuse & employee assistance programs, pharmacy services, disability, medical cost & utilization management, Benefits Access, Healthsource, Intracorp, INA Himawari Life, & MCC Managed Behavioral Care. WRITE: Mr. H. Edward Hanway, Chairman & CEO, CIGNA Corp., 1 Liberty Pl., Philadelphia, PA 19192-1550. Phone: (215) 761-1000. Website: cigna.com.

Dallas Cowboys -- Operations: professional football team & related clothing, sports equipment, etc. WRITE: Mr. Jerry Jones, President & General Manager, Dallas Cowboys Football Club Ltd., 1 Cowboys Plaza, Irving, TX 75063. Phone: (972) 556-9900. Website: dallascowboys.com.

Forbes -- Operations: publishing (Forbes, ASAP, Global, American Heritage, & FYI), Digital Media, Mutual Fund Evaluator, Digital Tool, & Stock Market Course. WRITE: Mr. Timothy C. Forbes, COO, Forbes Inc., 60 - 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011. Phone: (212) 620-2200. Website: forbes.com.

Fortis -- Operations: insurance & financial services, & Assurant Group. WRITE: Mr. Hans M. Bartelds, Co-Chairman, Fortis AMEV, Archimedeslaan 6, 3584 BA Utrecht, The Netherlands. Phone: (31) (30) 257-65-76. Website: nl.fortis.com. Letters may be copied to Mr. J. Kerry Clayton, President & CEO, Fortis, Inc., 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, 41st FL., New York, NY 10005. Phone: (212) 859-7000. Website:  www.us.fortis.com.

FREDDIE MAC-operations: mortgage credit. Write: Mr. Leland C. Brandsel, Chairman & CEO, Freddie Mac, 8200 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22102-3110. Phone 800-424-5401 or (703) 903- 2000. Website: freddiemac.com.

GATX-operations: leasing mfd liquids terminals services, railcar management, Great Lakes Shipping, & pipelines, equipment financing, leasing of commercial jets, information technology equipment, General American Transportation, & American Steamship. Write: Mr. Ronald H. Zech, Chairman & CEO, GATX Corp., 500 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL, 60661-3676. Phone: 800-428-8161 or (312) 621-6200. Website: gatx.com.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON - operations: health-care & diagnostics, birth control pills, Sesame Street vitamins, Tylenol products, dental products (floss, ACT fluoride rinse, Prevent & Reach tooth- brushes) baby products (powder, oil, shampoo, Johnson's baby lotion, etc.), Acuvue contact lenses, Pediacare, Neutrogena Sine-Aid, Medipren, Pepcid AC, Micas, Iridium A-D, Band-Aid, sun-protection products (Piz Buin & Sundown), Mylantw Mylicon, feminine products (Carefree, Monistat 7, Stayfree, Sure & Natural, & ço.b.'), Serenity, Clean & Clear, Advanced Care Products (ChemTrak, etc.), Advanced Sterilization Products, Centacor, Cordis, Direct Access Diagnostics, EXcon Endo- Surgery, Greiter AG, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Cilag, Janssen-cilag, Depuy, ALZA, Independence Technology, R. W. Johnson, Janssen Research Foundation, Noramco, Lifescan, McNeil Specialty Products, McNeil Consumer Products, Ortho- Clinical Diagnostics, Personal Products, Ortho Biotech, Penaten, Roc S.A., Ortho Dermatological, Indigo Medical, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Therakos, R. W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, & Vistakon. Write: Mr. Ralph S. Larsen, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson Inc., l Johnson & Johnson Plaza New Brunswick, NJ 08933. Phone (732) 524-0400. Website: jnj.com.

J. P. MORGAN CHASE-operations: financial services, real estate, LabMorgan, Brown & Co. Securities, & Robert Flamming Holdings. Write: Mr. William B. Harrison, Jr., President, Co- Chairman & CEO, J. P. Morgan Chase & Co., 270 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017-2070. Phone: (212) 270-6000. Website: jpmorganchase.com.

KAISER PERMANENTE- Operations: health-care. Write: David M. Lawrence, M.D., Chairman & CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan loc., l Kaiser Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612. Phone: (510) 271-5910. Website: kaiserpermanente.org.

LEVI STRAUSS - operations: apparel, Brittania & Dockers (including Slates). Write: Mr. Philip A. Manneau, President & CEO, Levi Strauss & Co., 1155 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 941 1 1. Phone: (415) 501-6000. Website: levistrauss.com.

LINCOLN NATIONAL-operations: insurance & financial services, American Legacy, First Penn-Pacific Life, & Delaware Investments. Write: Mr. Jon A. Boscia Chairman & CEO, Lincoln National Corp., 1500 Market St., Ste. 3900, Philadelphia PA 19102-2112. Phone: (215) 448-1400. Website: lfg.com

LOEWS-operations: hotels, insurance, financial services, Troy Fain, CNA, Lorillard Tobacco (Kent, Newport, Maverick, & Old Gold cigarettes), RSCKO, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Hull & Cargo Surveyors, Universal Surety of America Western Surety, & Bulova (times pieces). Write: Mr. James S. Tisch, President & CEO, Loews Corp., 667 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10021-8087. Phone: (212) 521-2000. Website: loews.com.

LOST ARROW-.--operations: apparel, Great Pacific Iron Works, Patagonia & Hudson Trail Outfitters. Write: Mr. David Olsen, CEO, Lost Arrow Corp., 259 W. Santa Clara St., Ventura CA 93091. Phone: 800-523-9597 or (805) 643-8616. Website: Patagonia.com.

MEDTRONlC-Operations: biomedical technology, MiniMed, Arterial Vascular Engineering, & Sentron. Write: Mr. Arthur D. Collins, Jr., President & CEO, Medtronic Inc., 71 0 Medtronic Pkwy., Minneapolis MN 55432-5604. Phone: (612) 514-4000. Website: medtronic.com.

MICROSOFT--.Operations: Expedia.com , Grace Mac, Web-TV, Hotmail, UltimateTV, computer software, & computer-related equipment. Write: Mr. Steven A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corp., l Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399. Phone: (425) 882-8080. Website: microsoft.com.

MULTIMEDIA DESIGN GROUP - Operations: media presentations & consulting. Write: Mr. Gordon Keith, President, Multimedia Design Group Inc., Ste. 202, l6 Beechwood Ave., Ottawa, ON KIL 8L9. Phone: (613) 746-7586. Website: multimediadg.com.

NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE- Operations: health management, insurance! NEA Valuebuilder Investor Services, Rehabilitation Services, financial services, Colonial Insurance Comply of Wisconsin, Farmland Mutual, National Casualty, Insurance Intermediaries, Neckura Group, Public Employees Benefit Services, ALLIED Group, Charm, Scottsdale Insurance, Clear Channel Communications, & CzatesMlclElonid. Write: Mr. William G. Jurgensen, CEO, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., 1 Nationwide Plazas Columbus, OH 43215-2220. Phone: 800-882-2822 or (614) 249-7111. Website: nationwide.com.

NEW YORK TIMES - Operations: newspapers (Boston Globe (MA & NH), Times Daily [AL], The Gadsden Times [AL], The Gainesville Sun [FL]), Times-News [NC], The Courier (LA), Lake City Reporter (FL), The Ledger( FL), The Dispatch (NC), Daily News (KY), New York Times (NY), Star-Banner (FL), Daily World (LA), Santa Barbara News-press (CA), The Press Democrat (CA), Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL), Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC), Daily Comet (LA),  Tuscaloosa News (ALI, Worcester Telegram to Gazette (MA), Wilmington Morning Star (NC) The News-Leader (FL), Marco Island Eagle IFL), The News-sun (FL)? to International Herald Tribune), magazines (Golf Digest, Golf Shop Operations, & Golf World broadcasting (KFSM--TV (AR), WHNT-'I'V (AL), WHO-TV (IA), KFOR-TV (OK), WNEP (PA), WQAD-TV (IL), WREG-TV ('IN), WTKR-'I'V (VA), & WQXR-FM (NY), information services (Times Fax, & Times On-Line Services), C&S (City & Suburbs) Delivery Systems, forest product (Donohue Malbaie, & Madison Paper Industries), Careerpatitcom, Classified Ventures, Community Newsdealers, Retail Sales, & Headliners. Write: Mr. Russell T. Lewis, President & CEO, ne New York Times C 229 W 43rd St New York NY 10036. Phone: (212) 556-1234. Website: nytco.com.

NEWMAN'S OWN-operations: foods. Write: Mr. Paul L. Newman, President, Newman's 0% loc., 246 Post Rd. E., Westport, CT 06880. Phone: (203) 222-0136. Website: newmansown.com.

NORTHERN TRUST-operations: financial services, Northern Futures, Northeast, Northern Global Financial Services, RCB Trust Intimations, First Options of Chicago, Diversified Fund Management, Banque Rivaud, NT- Global Advisors, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. Transatlantic Trust, Hazlehurst & Assoc., & Berry Hal-tell Evers & Osborne. Write: Mr. William A. Osborn, Chairman & CEO, Northern Trust Corp., 50 S. La salle St., Chicago, IL 60675. Phone: (312) 630-6000. Website: nortllemtrust.com.

PHELPS DODGE-operations: refining, magnet wire, electrical wires, copper mining, cables, rim & wheels for trucks, industrial chemicals, aluminum & steel products, Hudson International Conductors, Nesor Alloy, Cyprus Amu Mineralsj chino Mines, Cobre Mining, & Columbian Chemicals. Write: Mr. J. Steven Whisler, President, Chairman & CEO, Phelps Doge Corp., 2600 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004-3014. Phone: (602) 234-8100. Website: phelpsdodge.com.

PRlNCIPAL - operations: insurance & financial services, Delaware Charter Guaranty & Trust, Equity FC, hasta Capital Management, Patrician Assoc., the Admar Group, Petula Assoc., Fl- Asuransi Jiwa, HealthRisk Resource Group, Magus Properties, Princor, & Trust Consultants. Write: Mr. J. Barry Griswell, President & CEO, Principal Financial Group, 71 1 High St., Des Moines, IA 50392-0100. Phone'. 800-986-3343 or (515) 247-5111. Website: principal.com.

PRUDENTIAL --..operations: financial services, real estate, & insurance, Merits, Jennison Assoc. Capital, Executive Benefit Services, & Volpe Brown Whelan. Write: Mr. Arthur F. Ryas, Chairman, President & CEO, Prudential Insurance Company of America, 751 Broad St., Newark, NJ 07102-3777. Phone: 800r346-3778 or (973) 802-6000. Website: prudential.com.

SCHERING AG-operations: pharmaceuticals, & Berlex Laboratories. Write: Mr. Giuseppe Vitw Chairman, Scheming AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany. Phone: (49) (30) 468-1 1 1. Mr. Lutz Lingnau, President & CEO, Schering Berlin Inc.. P.O. Box 1000, Montville, NJ 07045-1000. Phone (973) 276-2000. Website: schering.de/eng.

SCHERING-PLOUGH-Operations: healthcare (Dr. Scholl's products, Duoflm, I.zltrimin M, Mexsanw Tinactin, A & D products, Afrin, Chlor-Trimetona Clear Passage, Coricidin, Correctol, Cushion Grip, Di-Gel, Drixoral, Duration, Feen-A-Mint Gyne-Lotrimin, Ocuclear, & St. Joseph aspirin), sun care products (Coppertone & Sol-came), Muskol insect repellent, Pinq (Easter egg decoration kit), animal healthcare & Mallinckrodt. Write: Mr. Richard J. Kogan, Chairman & CEO, Schering-plqugh Inc., 2000 Galloping Hill Rd., Kenilworth, NJ 07033-6530. Phone (908) 298-4000. Website: schering-plouglk.com.

SMALL DOG ELECTRONICS..-.operations: computer hardware & software, peripherals, distribution services & reseller of Apple Macintosh computers. Write: Mr. Don Mayer, CEO, Small Dog Electronics Inc., 1673 Main St., Waitsseld, VT 05673. Phone: 802-496-7171. Website: smalldog.com.

SONY-operations: electronics, batteries, computer software, entertainment, insurance & financial services, Columbia Records, Epic Records, 550 Music, Relatively Records, Harmony Records, RED Distribution, Sony/A-iv Music Publishing, Crave, ne WORK Group, Columbia Pictures, Tri Star Pictures. Columbia Tri star, Telemundo Holdings, Culver Studios, Digital Audio Disk, Psychosis, Iaww Etmk, & Tokyo Electron Arizona. Write: Mr. Nobuyuki Idea, President & CEO, Sony Corporation, 7-35, Kituhinagawa 6-chome, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 141-0001, Japan. Phone: (81) (3) 5448-21 1 1. Website: world.sony.com. Mr. Howard Stringer, CEO, Sony Corporation of America 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211. Phone (212) 833-6800. Website: sony.com.

SUN MICROSYSTEMS-Operations: computer operation systems, Soles, & SPARC chips. Write: Mr. Scott G. McNealy, Chairman & CEO, Sun Microsystems loc., 901 San Antonio Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303. Phone: 800-801-7869 or (650) 960- 1300. Website: stuccos.

TEXTRON-operations: aircraft (Bell Helicopter, & Cessna)! financial services (Wœdward FST, & RFC Captall, manufacturing (CWC, Castings, Camcar, Cherry, Jacobsen, Randall & Speidel), automotive & engine components, defense systems, & O=iouip Intimations. Write: Mr. Lewis B. Campbell, Chairman & CEO, Textron Inc., 40 Westminster St., Providence, III 02903. Phone: (401) 421-2800. Website: textron.com.

WACHOVIA - operations: insurance, finance: services, Wheat First Securities, Wheat First Union, Corestates, First Union, The Money Store, Evergreen Asset Management, OFFITBANK, Davis Baldwin, Financial Life Insurance, Mentor Investment Group, Mecklenburg Securities, Interstate/lo-son Lane, & Barry, Eves, Josephs & Snidest Write: Mr. G. Kennedy Thompson, President & CEO, Wachovia Corp., 100 N. Main St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Phone: (336) 770-5000. Website: wachovia.com.

WALT DISNEY-operations: theme packs & resorts, motion pictures (Dimension, Disney, Hollowed, Miramax & Touchstone), international film distribution (Buena Vista), cruise line, hotels, broadcasting (ABC, A&E, E!, Lifetime, ESPN, Fox Family Worldwide, & Touchstone), publishing (E Family Fun, Family PC, Discover, ESPN Hyperion, & Fairchild), conventions, Canna Trading, Reedy Creek Energy, Vista Insurance, retail stores & products (toys, etc.), live theatrical entertainment, music Hollywood Records, Mammoth Records, Lyric Sheet Records, & Wonderland Musical home video production (Disney & Buena, Vista), Go.com, toysmart.com, interactive computer programs & games, online computer programs, ; professional sports (Mighty Ducks & Anaheim Angels). Write: Mr. Michael D. Eisner, Chairman & CEO, The Walt Disney Co., 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1010. Phone: (818) 560-1000. Website: disney.com.

WHOLE FOODS-operations: Whole Fads Market, Bread & Circus, Bread of Life, Fresh Fields, Merchant of Vino, & Wellspring Grocer stores. Write: Mr. John P. Mackey, Chairman, President & CEO, Whole Foods Market Inc., 601 N. Lamar, Ste. 300, Austin, TX 78703. Phone: (512) 477-4455. Website: Wholefoods.com.

WORKING ASSETS-operations: long distance telephone services, Internet access, business services, credit cards & money market fled. Write: Ms. Laura Scher, CEO, Working Assets Funding Service Inc., 101 Market St., Ste. 700, San Francisco, CA 94105. Phone: 800-788-8588 or (415) 788-0777. Website: workingassets.com.

World Wide Corporations which Support Planned Parenthood:

Contedmasters (Write: Dr. Anton Kuerti, President, Concertmasters loc., 20 Linden St., Toronto, ON M4Y 1V6. Phone: (416) 962-6288.),. The Journal Gazette (Write: Ms. Julie Walda, Publisher, Journal Gazette In., 701 S. Clinton St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Phone: (219) 461-8333.)., and French Broad Fond Cooperative (Write: Ms Renee Taylor, Interim General Manager, French Broad Food Cooperative, 90 Baltimore Ave., Asheville, NC 28801. Phone: (828) 255-7650.)

Special Series: Part Two: What's so special about the Jews and Israel anyway?

**Nic's note: this is a rather long post b/c there is so much info to cover - I originally thought of chopping it into several posts, but decided against it. You may want to consider doing a cut and paste to a word document so that you can read it on your own time.

So, what is so special about the Jewish people and Israel? Many people out there ask that question. Anti-Semitism is rampant these days, especially in Europe where things are coming together at an unprecedented speed as related in the Bible. In France, Jewish entertainers are booed and heckled with "Get off the stage, you dirty Jew" and anti-semitism s rampant in that country. A blogfriend of mine Jean-Luc Picard told me that a Muslim advisor to Tony Blair is trying to persuade him to abandon Holocaust Day, as it puts the Jews in a superior position. I did a little more digging and found out that this Muslim advisor is actually proposing that Blair ditch Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day because it is regarded as "offensive" to Muslims b/c it and in getting rid of it the advisor wants to replace it with a Genocide Day that would recognize the mass murder of Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya and Bosnia as well as people of other faiths. Thankfully it seems to not be taken seriously. Reports state that as of 9/12/05 the "Home Office has no plans to act on the 'advice'".

Zechariah 12:3 states: "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces . . ."

It seems like especially lately, there is increased talk about Jerusalem being taken by force by the Palestinians as the capital of Palestine. God will never allow that to happen. He has said so Himself. In fact, any time someone moves to take land from the Jews in Israel, God has dealt with them. Unprecedented, catastrophic events have happened to the US whenever we have announced or made plans to announce handing land in Israel over to the Palestinians.

A book that I have read several times and continues to astound me is Eye to Eye: The Consequences of Dividing Israel by White House correspondent and Christian Bill Koenig. The book was written in 2004 and considering the parallel between the exodus of Jews from Gaza and the exodus of US citizens from New Orleans and other flood/hurricane devastated areas, especially considering that on August 23, the same day the last settlers were evacuated, the government of the Bahamas issued a tropical storm warning for central and northwestern Bahamas. (Putting this storm into perspective, many of the tropical storms and hurricanes begin off the western coast of Africa and typically take ten days to two weeks before affecting the Bahamas, the Caribbean and/or the U.S. coastline. Not Katrina.)

By Wednesday, August 24 at 11 am, the newly formed tropical depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina; and by Thursday, August 25 at 5 pm, Katrina becomes a hurricane. In a period of only 72 hours, tropical depression 12 developed and hit southeast Florida (the only area untouched by the past six hurricanes) as a hurricane.

Hurricane Katrina is now expected to be the costliest weather related disaster in U.S. history. It was devastating in intensity and size. If it hadn’t been for a last minute break in the eye-wall it would have very likely destroyed the city of New Orleans and cost more hundreds of billions of dollars than it already has.

Though that might not necessarily make sense right now, consider the following information from Eye to Eye:

What do these major-record setting events have in common?

• Nine of the ten costliest insurance events in U.S. history
• Six of the seven costliest hurricanes in U.S. history
• Three of the four largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history
• Nine of the top ten natural disasters in U.S. history ranked by FEMA relief costs
• The two largest terrorism events in U.S. history

All of these major catastrophes transpired on the very same day or within 24-48 hours of U.S. presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush applying pressure on Israel to trade her land for promises of “peace and security,” sponsoring major “land for peace” meetings, making major public statements pertaining to Israel’s covenant land and /or calling for a Palestinian state.

Are each one of these major record-setting events just a coincidence or awe-inspiring signs that God is actively involved in the affairs of Israel?

In this book, Bill Koenig provides undeniable facts and conclusive evidence showing that indeed the leaders of the United States and the world are on a collision course with God over Israel’s covenant land.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9)

As mentioned in the last post, I will be posting articles from Jack Kinsella’s Omega Letter daily briefings. Some of them may be straight from the briefings as is and some may have information from more than two briefings combined since there is so much information to cover.

I will also first be posting on today’s part two of this series information from Hal Lindsey – one of today’s foremost experts and most respected scholars in the world on Bible prophecy (as well as being Jack's best friend and mentor). If you haven’t read any of his Late, Great Planet Earth books – starting with the first one from 1969, you are in for a real eye opening if you do read one. Things that Hal stated would happen in 1969 have, for the most part, come to pass – and he did it by studying Bible prophecy from 2000-2500 years ago. Doesn’t that kind of make you sit up and take a little more notice?

So let’s get started with part two of this series on Bible prophecy and how it related to current events with “What’s so special about the Jews anyway?”

*When Jesus talks about the fig tree, He is talking about Israel
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Israel: The True Wonder of the Ancient World

While grocery shopping the other day, I perused the gamut of the usual ‘gossip magazines’ that clutter the check-out stand. I was amazed to find several of them with cover stories on the “Amazing prophecies of Nostradamus.”

I thought, “How amazing that the world will focus on Nostradamus’ predictions, which at best are so nebulous that they are capable of many interpretations.”

But it did impress me how interested the average person is to discover what is going to happen in the future. The tragedy is that the world ignores Ezekiel’s prophecies that are amazing beyond compare. They pinpoint an exact time, place, and precise historic conditions of a future world catastrophe. Ezekiel names the peoples and nations involved in an intricate convergence of history. And he predicted all these things more than 2600 years ago.

Ezekiel chapters 36 through 39 contain one of the most amazing series of prophecies in the Bible. Certainly it is more amazing than anything the so-called prophets of the world have to offer.

In chapters 36 through 38, Ezekiel foresaw the following events. And remember, this must be seen from Ezekiel’s perspective of 7th Century BC.

(1) The Israelites would be driven from their land for a very long period of time
(2) The Israelites would survive as a distinct people
(3) Their land would be confiscated by the surrounding nations
(4) These nations would be descended from Esau and Ishmael
(5) These peoples would have a perpetual hatred of the Israelites
(6) The land of Israel would become an utter desolation and not respond to the agricultural efforts of the usurpers
(7) Against all odds, the Israelites would return and become a nation
(8) The land would miraculously respond to them and flourish
(9) The Arab nations would conduct an unending war against the Israelites
(10) Israel would survive all assaults and prosper
(11) This will finally provoke a confederation of the Russians and a Persian led Confederacy of all the surrounding Muslim nations to Israel

Most important to this prophesy is WHEN if would take place. Ezekiel carefully pinpoints the time:
“After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.” (Ezekiel 38:8 NAS)

Note that when Ezekiel made this prediction, Israel had not been scattered throughout all nations. Its land had not been reduced to “a continual waste”.

Its people had not been brought back to the land from a very long worldwide dispersion. It was not “the last days.” And Israel by no means was restored to the land to dwell securely.

Historically, this can only apply to the events that began to take place in the early 20th Century and culminated with the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948.

Moses first predicted that this would happen. He predicted that this would occur in the second destruction of the nation. The first was the Babylonian Holocaust. The Second was the Roman Holocaust of Titus and the Roman Tenth Legion in AD70. Moses predicted both the Babylonian and the Roman dispersion.

About the second destruction, Moses forewarned, “Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, `Would that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, `Would that it were morning!' because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.” (Deuteronomy 28:64-67 NAS)

All of this is assumed by Ezekiel’s prophesies in chapters 36-39.

One of the most amazing wonders concerning the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is that they could remain a distinct people in spite of the centuries of exile and relentless persecution.

Ezekiel clearly predicts that God would scatter them among all nations, “Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them.” Yet he predicts that in the latter days God would gather them from all nations, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24 NAS)

Ezekiel forewarns the surrounding nations of the Arab people who confiscated HIS Land;
“Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the forsaken cities which have become a prey and a derision to the rest of the nations which are round about, therefore thus says the Lord God, ’Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all EDOM, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey.” (Ezekiel 36:43-5 NAS)

Ezekiel forewarns the Arab people of the last days who would confiscate Israel’s land;
“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two lands (Israel and Judah) will be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the Lord was there, ‘therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.’” Ezekiel 35:10-11 NAS)

The whole world has been drawn into this ancient conflict. No one has been able to resolve it because of the supernatural hatred that has been enshrined in the Muslim religion toward Jews.

When Ezekiel made these predictions, Israel was not an utter desolation. But he foresaw the terrible desolation that would come upon the land during the centuries the Israelites would be scattered among the nations.

Ezekiel refers to this desolation when he predicts Israel’s restoration to the land; “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel WHICH HAD BEEN A CONTINUAL WASTE; but its people were brought out from the nation …” (Ezekiel 38:8)

Samuel Clement, or Mark Twain, said of Israel while touring there in 1867;
“ ... [It is a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds—a silent mournful expanse ... A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action ... We never saw a human being on the whole route … There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” (From his book, Innocents Abroad)

This was the condition of the land until the Jews began to return around the end of the 19th century.

When the British Christians began to argue for what became the ‘Balfour Declaration’, they argued for returning the Jews to Palestine by saying, “A people without a land for a land without a people.” That is how desolate and barren it was.

Ezekiel predicted that the Israelites would miraculously begin to return and become a nation again in the last days. God made it clear that He would do this despite the fact that the Israelites did not deserve it. God said He would do this for His great name’s sake. He swore an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would establish David’s Throne and kingdom on earth. So His Word is at stake.

This is why God said, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, ‘It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,’ declares the Lord God, ‘when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:22-28)

Something that is almost as great a miracle as the rebirth of the people scattered throughout the world for 2000 years is the agricultural rebirth of the land. Yet Ezekiel predicted this would happen:
“But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be cultivated and sown.”

None of the people who occupied the land during Israel’s exile could ever make it productive. But when the Israelites returned, it became a modern agricultural marvel. Fruits and vegetables from Israel supply most of Europe today.

The Arab-Israeli Conflict continues to upset the whole world. The world’s great powers have sought to resolve this conflict without success.

Since the world’s economy depends on a steady flow of oil, and since most of the world’s oil supply is controlled by the Arab/Muslim nations, whatever troubles the Arabs troubles the world. And Israel troubles the Arabs most. And with the Muslims, the real issue is not economically based. It is religiously based.

The Muslim’s third holiest place on earth is Jerusalem with its Temple Mount. Whatever agreements of peace with Israel can only be temporary. Ultimately, Islam will never accept a Jewish State in what they consider their sacred land.

Ezekiel predicts that this will ultimately cause a war that will envelop the whole earth.

Zechariah predicts this also:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3 NKJ)

Jerusalem will become a cup that causes all the surrounding Muslim nations to become intoxicated. That will make them do irrational things. This will cause all the nations of the world to become involved and go to war. Current events certainly are moving that way.

No matter how we seek to resolve this conflict, there is no way to satisfy the religious issues that are at the very heart of both Islam and Judaism over possession of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel predicts that Israel will miraculously survive all attempts to throw her out of the land. Not only this, he predicts that Israel will become very, very rich. According to Ezekiel 38:1-7, this will cause an all out invasion of Israel led by a power from her extreme north. There is only one nation to Israel’s extreme north – Russia. Russia will arm and lead a Muslim confederacy headed by Persia or modern Iran.

Israel has prospered and gathered much wealth, but not of the kind that would provoke this kind of reckless invasion. I believe that Israel will strike oil in a big way.

This will cause Israel to become a world economic center. Ezekiel predicts the rationale for the Russian led invasion;
“and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.” (Ezekiel 38:10-11)

Israel will apparently be living in the false security of the Antichrist’s covenant that Daniel predicted they would sign. This will cause them to tear down the security walls they are now building to protect against Palestinian terrorists.

Everything except this final invasion is already a matter of history. Iran is moving quickly into the leadership role of Islamic Fundamentalists with a full-blown nuclear program. Russia has been arming and siding with the Muslim nations for decades.

So nothing in Ezekiel’s scenario is out of line with what is happening before our eyes. There are only a few details yet to be fulfilled. I believe that Israel must have a vital chip to play in the world arena to survive. And I believe that ‘chip’ is the discovery of a large oil reserve. Watch! I believe that will happen soon.

Folks, we are really at the very threshold of the Lord Jesus’ return. It is all happening so fast. The things I have looked for some 50 years are already here.

All of this proves that we can have total confidence in God’s Word.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24 NAS)

Isn’t that wonderful? All who believe in Jesus as his Savior has already passed out of judgment and death into eternal life. And as the days get darker, Christ’s sudden return to snatch us up to meet Him grows nearer.

These are the most exciting days to be alive -- if you are a Christian. If not, they must be terrifying times indeed.
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Now I know what you may be thinking if you don’t believe that Israel is entitled to the land that they have or believe that the Palestinians have a right to that land instead. What about the Palestinians? Though that necessarily isn’t what this post is about, it is necessary to have a good understanding of who they really are before we can go further into why the Jewish people and Israel are so important to Bible prophecy.
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Who are the Palestinians?

One of the most misunderstood issues today is the question of "Who are the Palestinians"? The truth about this matter has been so deliberately obscured that even to raise the question will seem strange to most readers.

In my book, "The Everlasting Hatred, the Roots of Jihad", I trace the history of the people now being called the "Palestinians." The land of Israel became known as Palestine after the Roman destruction of Israel in A.D. 70. It was ruled by many different invaders for the following 19 centuries.

In the 7th century, the Muslims took control of Palestine for the first time. From A.D. 635 until 1917, the Muslims ruled it, with only a few interruptions by the European Crusaders. During that span of time, the land was reduced to total desolation. Many people who traveled the land in the 19th century remarked on the fact that Palestine was as desolate as the moon and very few people lived there.

In 1867, Mark Twain remarked about his visit to the Holy Land in his book, "The Innocents Abroad." He lamented, "Stirring scenes occur in the valley [of Jezreel] no more. There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent – not for 30 miles in either direction. There are two or three small clusters of Bedouin tents, but not a single permanent habitation. One may ride 10 miles hereabouts and not see 10 human beings."

By all eyewitness accounts of that era, Palestine was a total desolation. There were virtually no trees and no people. Because of lack of trees, the weather changed and it rarely ever rained. The irrigation systems of the once fertile valleys were all destroyed, rendering most areas into malaria-ridden swamps. The terraces of the mountainsides were torn down, causing terrible erosion that left only barren rocks. This was the condition of Palestine by the beginning of the 19th century.

It was at this time that Jews began to flee severe persecutions in Russia and Eastern Europe. In the mid-1800s, some Jews came to Palestine and, with the generous aid of some successful Jews like the Rothschilds, began to buy property from Muslim Ottoman Turks. The Muslims thought the land was worthless anyway, so they sold it to the "dumb Jews" for extremely inflated prices.

To everyone's amazement, the Jews were very successful at reclaiming the land. Many of them died from malaria and the rigorous life the work demanded, but they performed an agricultural miracle that made the land very productive again. As a result of their success, poor migrant workers from the surrounding Muslim countries began to flood in to work for the Jews. The Jews literally became victims of their own success – almost all of the people calling themselves "Palestinians" today are the descendants of those migrant workers.

Much more is said and documented on this subject in my book. But the main point is this: The Muslims have repeatedly shown they understand these things. Since they know that the so-called "Palestinians" are not a homogeneous people, but rather a mixed conglomerate of workers with no cohesive organizational or political skills, they have repeatedly not given them a state.

When the Hashemite Tribe, who were rulers over Mecca and Medina for centuries, were driven out by the Saudis, the British gave them control over the vastly greater numbers of "migrant workers" in Trans Jordan. The British said this would be, in effect, "The State of Palestine." Instead, the Hashemites, who make up only about 20 percent of the population, turned it into their own kingdom and called it the Kingdom of Jordan.

When the Jordanians and Egyptians controlled the so-called West Bank and the Gaza Strip for 19 years (1948 to 1967), there was never a thought of giving the disorganized mass of "migrant workers" a state. Why? Because they knew there was no cohesive, homogeneous people known as "Palestinians."

The current efforts of Jordan and Egypt (and all the rest of the Muslim Middle East nations) to give these same people a state is clearly a ploy to get a foothold inside Israel. It is a strategic accommodation to establish a base from which the final assault against Israel can be made. What they couldn't do militarily is now being facilitated through the United States and the E.U.

Muslims will never accept a permanent presence of infidels in what they claim is sacred Islamic soil. Especially Jewish infidels for which the Koran reserves its most vehement condemnations. In their minds, the Koran and Allah will not let them accept Jews in what they view as their third holiest site.

The United States had better learn these things, or we will find ourselves guilty of facilitating the destruction of God's people, to whom the Word of God says the land belongs forever. God will not let that happen, but He will certainly judge those who have any part in trying to do it.

God warned: "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom [Arabs], who took MY LAND to themselves as a possession, with whole-hearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country ... But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to MY PEOPLE ISRAEL, for they are about to come.'" (Ezekiel 36: 5, 8 NKJ)
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Hal sure does have a way with words.

The following is taken from several of Jack’s briefings on Israel and why she is so instrumental in Bible prophecy.
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Israel is the linchpin in studying Bible prophecy. Jesus' description of the signs of His Return [Matt 24:3] are given from the perspective of someone standing on the Mount of Olives.

Without Israel, Bible prophecy doesn't make sense.

That is one reason that Christians who believe Israel was replaced by the Church have no use for prophecy. (What is Preterism)

Since Bible prophecy for the last days and through the Tribulation is centered around Israel. Israel serves as a mile marker. The closer it appears to come to extinction, the closer the Return of Christ, Who, according to Scripture, prevents that from happening.

In a very real sense, what we are witnessing is not the actual fulfillment of prophecy for the last days. The next prophetic event to be fulfilled in the Church Age is the Rapture. Then the events of the Tribulation follow. Both remain future -- near future, we would argue.

So instead, we are eyewitnesses to the staging process. The Bible says that there are a number of seemingly unrelated events that take place all in a single generation, somewhere in time.

Bible Prophecy Demands A Jewish State

Bible prophecy makes numerous references to the existence of a Jewish state called Israel in the last days [Ezekiel 37]. It also demands that Israel be in disputed possession of the city of Jerusalem [Zechariah 12].

It demands a conflict between Israel and her neighbors [Daniel 9]. The conflict is so intractable it will require supernatural intervention to resolve it [Dan 9:27 Zech 12:2-3].

Israel's rebirth even took the Jews by surprise. Abba Eban, one of Israel's Founding Fathers, wrote in his book, Personal Witness, that on the day David Ben Gurion composed the telegram asking Harry Truman to recognize the Jewish state, it was still unnamed.

The name 'Israel' wasn't selected until the following day.

"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." (Isaiah 66:8).

The blessings of the Jewish people

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)

There is a legendary story concerning an agitated Frederick the Great, who, in frustration, demanded from his cabinet that somebody provide him with proof of the existence of God. There was a momentary silence, before one of his counselors spoke up; "Have you considered the Jew, your Majesty?', he asked.

The continuing existence of the Jew is proof positive of God's existence, just as the existence of a Jewish State is proof positive that we are living in the last days of human government as foretold by the Bible prophets of antiquity.

There are three distinct statements made within the Divine promise of blessing given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The first is that God will bless those who bless the Jews.

When the United States wrested its seat at the council of nations from England, it became the first nation on earth to grant full citizenship to Jews.

It was the first nation to allow the Jews an unrestricted vote. It was the first nation to recognize the incomparable blessing the Jewish people have been to humanity.

America's second president, John Adams, said of the Jews, "The Jews have done more to civilize men than any other Nation. They are the most glorious Nation that ever inhabited the earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a bauble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily than any other Nation, ancient or modern."

And no nation on the face of the planet today, or at any time in recorded history, has been more greatly blessed than the United States of America.

The second is that God promised that in the Jews 'shall all families of the earth be blessed'.

Without the Jews, there would be no Bible. Jesus came to earth as a Jew. Without the Jewish Jesus, there would be no Christianity.

Apart from the theoligical argument, a quick look at the last hundred years or so proves the promise isn't confined to religious blessings alone.

From 1901 to 2001, the world's six billion people competed for the scarce 844 Nobel Prizes that have been awarded. Among those six billion people are nearly two billion Muslims -- roughly 20 percent of the global population.

Of those two billion Muslims, 8 have been singled out to receive the Nobel Prize - (seven if you consider that one of them was a politically-motivated award mistakenly given unrepentant terrorist Yasser Arafat)

In any case, Muslims account for less than one percent of the total Nobel Prizes awarded in the last hundred years.

In the middle of the 20th century, the Nazis exterminated some six million Jews, more than half the world's Jewish population. There are today about fourteen million Jews left.

Even with half their number exterminated at the century's midpoint, 159 of the remaining 836 Nobel Prizes were awarded to Jews, or roughly 18.8% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded in Nobel's history.

(If you're keeping track, that is about twenty times as many prizes divided among fourteen million Jews than were shared by the 2 billion Muslims world-wide)

In America, the influence of American Jews is hugely disproportionate to their numbers. Conspiracists point darkly to the 'Jewish influence' in education, banking, law, medicine, government, media and entertainment as evidence of a Jewish conspiracy to control the world.

They accurately point out that American Jewry accounts for less than 2% of America's general population, but then draw their conclusions without the benefit of Scriptural discernment.

The 'Jewish influence' in American life is part of God's blessing on America -- the 'Jewish conspiracy' canard given them in reward is part of God's curse on Israel.

"Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of My land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for My Name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. " (2nd Chronicles 7:20)

The curse was partially lifted, beginning in 1948, but will not be entirely lifted until the close of the Tribulation Period.

"And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong." (Zechariah 8:13)

The Jews have returned to the Land, but they remain a 'proverb and a byword among all nations' to this day.

Finally, God promised that He would 'curse them that curse you'. The precision with which God kept this promise is nothing less than astonishing.

During the Crusades from 1095 to 1270, Jews in Southern Europe fled to Spain, England, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe as the result of severe persecution and wholesale massacres of the Jews.

England turned out to be the wrong place to go, because in 1290 King Edward I expelled the Jews. King Charles II did the same thing in 1394 in France by forcing all Jews from France. Interestingly, Spanish Jews found peace and security in Spain and Portugal while those countries were under Muslim rule.

At that point in history, Europe was fractured, ignorant and in constant turmoil, while that same period of time is known to history as the Golden Age of Islam.

The Moors were world-renowned for their knowledge of astronomy, medicine and science and the Islamic world boasted the most extensive libraries that had ever existed to that time.

In the 1400s, the Moors were kicked out of Spain by the Papal forces of Europe. In 1492, on the same day Columbus set sail for the New World, Spain expelled any uncoverted Jews who had survived the Spanish Inquisition. This time they fled back to England where the Protestant reformation now welcomed them.

Spain's global empire lasted less than a century after it expelled its Jews, to be replaced by the Jew-friendly British Empire whose reach extended to every corner of the globe. In 1917, the British captured Palestine from the Muslims. The British Crown offered the Jews a homeland via the Balfour Declaration, and a year later, England won the First World War.

After the war, the British broke most of their promises to the Jews, restricted Jewish immigration to the Holy Land, and in the years since, have increasingly turned their backs on the Jews that brought them such great blessings for more than three hundred years.

The British Empire upon which 'the sun never set' in 1900, had, by 1948, lost its last colony when Burma declared independence, and the British Empire was no more.

In 1933, Germany was among the most cultured and sophisticated nations in Europe. Old Berlin was Europe's Crown Jewel. The Nazis turned on the Jews, together with most of Eastern Europe, and twelve years later, Europe's Crown Jewel was pile of burning rubble.

The Arab world, which had been so blessed during its Golden Age, collapsed into its present state of affairs, with most of it still operating as if electricity had never been harnessed.

The Arab Muslims supported Hitler, opposed Jewish immigration, waged repeated wars against Israel, deny Israel its rightful territory, and now mount a global jihad to finish Hitler’s goal of total extermination. The backward nature of modern Islamic culture and society are the fruits of those efforts.

Historically, wherever the Jews were welcomed, that nation flourished and prospered. Where the Jew was persecuted, those nations floundered.

It is more than just coincidence, it is an identifiable historical pattern that has continued, without deviation, since the days of the Babylonian captivity.

Babylon prospered when its Jews prospered, it fell to Persia when Neboplasser turned against them. Persia prospered until it turned on the Jews, whereupon it fell to Alexander's Greece. And so on, throughout history, up to and including the impending collapse of the rabidly anti-Semitic United Nations.

God's Word is true, and Bible prophecy is always 100% accurate. Jesus said that, before He returned, ALL Bible prophecy would be fulfilled -- to the tiniest 'jot and tittle' -- (the two most insignificant characters in the Hebrew alphabet)

In tracing Israel's history from Babylon to the present, we see the incredible detail with which God keeps His Word. Although America continues to be Israel's principle protector, and continues to enjoy the comcomitant blessings that come with it, America's good fortunes began to wane about the same time the White House forced Israeli into the Oslo Agreement.

The 'land for peace' formula called for Israel to give up some of the land of Promise in exchange for peace. In other words, it was a form of blackmail whose terms were drawn up in Washington and forced upon Israel for the express purpose of undoing what God had already done, including dividing Jerusalem and taking part of it from the Jews.

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zechariah 12:3)

People can certainly deny any Biblical connection but the hard reality marches on with the growing shadow now falling across global society. Now it is America's turn to discover just how serious God was about the whole 'blessing and cursing' thing.

And by the time circumstances force America to recognize the danger it faces, it will be too late to do anything to affect the outcome.

"So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My Mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. " (Isaiah 55:11)

(Nic's note: Only, lately, those of us who do study Bible prophecy can see where God is starting to lift His hand of protection from America as she starts to turn her back on Israel. America’s influence in the world is fading at an alarming and astonishing speed. As America as a nation – not necessarily as a people – start to distance ourselves from Israel and start to kick God out of our every day lives, God starts to distance Himself from America as a nation. We have always enjoyed prosperity and influence as long as we were friends of Israel and acknowledged God as our Creator. As we take God out of the equation we can see what is happening now to us as a Nation.)

Are Today's Jews Really Ancient Israel?

Many times have I heard people say something like—“The Jews today don't have a drop of Abrahamic blood.” Or that, “The Jews have no racial or historical connection to the Bible and Palestine.” Some Christians explain who the Jews are, saying, “The Jews (or Israel) are people who missed (or rejected) the coming of the Messiah and thus were cast aside by God, and so now God deals with the Gentiles.”

Arab historian Jarid al-Kidwa told an Arab TV audience, "all the events surrounding Kings Saul, David and Rehoboam occurred in Yemen, and no Hebrew remnants were found in Israel, for a very simple reason--because they were never here."

Al-Kidwa said: "Most of the Khazars [a Turkish tribe that converted to Judaism in medieval times] are the Ashkenazic Jews who arrived in Palestine. As Allah is my witness, in my blood flows more of the Children of Israel and the ancient Hebrews than in the blood of Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu."

According to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, al- Kidwa also said: "The stories of the Torah and the Bible did not take place in the Land of Israel--they occurred in the Arabian Peninsula, primarily in Yemen. The identity of our father Ibrahim [Abraham] who is mentioned in the Koran is clear. From the Koran's description of him it arises that he lived in the southern Hejaz [Saudi Arabia], near Mecca."

Most of those who oppose Israel, and especially those Christians who think spiritual Israel is really the Church, include these and similar arguments to support their view. If true, it would bolster the Arab claim to all of Israel and renew global opposition to a ‘Jewish’ state under the old “Zionism is racism” argument.

If today’s Jews aren’t descended from Abraham, but are instead a mixed race of people whose only common connection is religion, then they are not a ‘nation’ in any identifiable sense. They are instead religious zealots who usurped a Biblical promise in order to steal land from the Arabs based on a fraudulent claim.

The Bible promised the land to the ‘seed of Abraham’ – the literal seed of Abraham, not the spiritual seed of Abraham. The spiritual seed of Abraham is the Church.

If modern-day Jews are not Abraham’s literal seed, but merely the descendents of Jewish converts and followers of Judaic tradition, then the Israeli claim to the Land of Israel is false.

Abraham’s blessing passed from Isaac to Jacob. “And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.” (Genesis 28:4)

So clearly, if modern Israel isn’t the physical and literal seed of Abraham, then Israel’s claim to the Land of Promise is a fraud.

And our support of Israel on the grounds they are God’s Chosen is built on a lie.

The Bible says that in the last days, the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would return to the ‘mountains of Israel, which have always been waste’ and the nation of Israel would be reborn, ‘in a day’ -- (Isaiah 66:8).

According to Bible prophecy, during the reign of the antichrist, the Temple will be rebuilt and full Temple worship restored. But, in order for Temple worship to resume, Jewish religious law requires it first be ritually cleansed.

The only way that the Temple area can be ritually restored is by the application of the ashes of a red heifer by an undefiled Cohanim priest. A Cohanim must meet strict bloodline requirements, including direct descendancy from Aaron, the brother of Moses.

So we have lots of problems here that must be solved before the Tribulation Period begins.

1. Only ethnic Jews, not merely religious Jews, qualify to inherit the Land of Promise. For this to be the last generation, the Jews of Israel MUST be the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.
2. To ritually cleanse the Temple, only an ethnic descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses, is qualified to perform the ceremony.
3. The Cohanim must not be ritually defiled himself.
The Bible says that the Jewish priesthood, the Cohanim, began 3000 years ago when God anointed Aaron, brother of Moses, to be Israel’s High Priest.

“And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him. . . . .And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office,” Exodus 28:43, 30:30).

The title of cohen is paternally inherited. Most Jewish men surnamed Cohen are also Cohanim, but so are many men with other surnames.

Recently, a genetic study of modern-day Cohanim has provided the first scientific evidence supporting the oral tradition of an ancient priestly lineage.

Karl Skorecki, a physician who studies the genetics of kidney disease at the Technion in Haifa, Israel, and colleagues in London and the United States realized that they could study the lineage of priests by looking at the Y chromosome, which only men carry.

Unlike all other chromosomes in our cells, the Y chromosome, which bears the male sex-determining gene, is passed essentially unchanged from father to son, barring rare mutations.

The researchers extracted DNA from cells scraped from the inner cheeks of 188 unrelated, self-identified Cohanim from Israel, North America, and Britain. They then looked for the presence or absence of a well-studied small stretch of DNA on the Y chromosome called yap, or “Y”.

If this hereditary tradition has been closely followed, the Y-chromosomes of the Cohanim today should bear some resemblance to one another because of their unbroken link back to a common ancestor, Aaron.

Genetic studies among Cohanim from all over the world say about 50 percent of Cohanim have that unusual set of genetic markers on their Y chromosome.

What is equally striking is that this genetic signature of the Cohanim is extremely rare outside of Jewish populations.

The Y chromosome also keeps track of time. Small mutations occur in the DNA being passed on, and these changes build up with each generation. Like the tick of a clock, the number of these mutations is a measure of time passed.

By looking at the differences between Y-chromosomes in the Cohanim, researchers can estimate roughly how many generations ago members of the priesthood had a common ancestor.

Remarkably, the evidence suggests the Cohanim chromosomes coalesce at a date that corresponds with the generation of Aaron.

This proves to a scientific certainty that the Jews of Israel are the physical descendants of the Promise.

And a group of rabbis is quietly seeking families of the Jewish priestly caste (Cohanim) who are willing to hand over their newborn sons for a special mission: to be raised in conditions of isolation and ritual purity in order to deal with the next red heifer, if and when she is found.

According to the organizers, sons of Cohanim raised in purity, under conditions stipulated by halacha, or Jewish law, are essential for the purification of those ritually defiled by the dead. Cohanim who are themselves ritually defiled, as already noted, cannot prepare the red heifer for burning or prepare her ashes for sprinkling on the ritually defiled among the People of Israel.

And the search for a ritually pure red heifer continues. One was believed to have been born in Israel last year, but was subsequently disqualified after it developed a blemish.

The Cohanim Gene proves that the nation ‘born in a day’ on May 14, 1948 is the hereditary nation of Israel whose rebirth Scripture says marks the birth of the generation that will see the return of Christ.

The nearness of the Tribulation is exemplified by the fact that there are qualified Cohanim being raised under ritually pure conditions to prepare them for the ritual cleansing of the Third Temple. There is an ongoing, worldwide search for a qualifying red heifer.

The Jews continue to wage war with the Palestinians over the future possession of the city of Jerusalem and ultimately, possession of the Temple Mount.

God’s Word will not return to Him void. He has spoken it, and it will come to pass.
The modern science of genetics disproves the physical element of the replacement theologian’s arguments, and the clear teaching of Scripture disproves the spiritual elements.

God is clearly not finished with the Jews. He has outlined His future plans for their national redemption in the pages of Scripture. The enemies of Israel are blind to the truth.

And the future is almost now.

And what about Israel?

In 1897, the 1st Zionist Congress petitioned the government of Great Britain for a Jewish state in what is today the African country of Uganda. The British told the Jews to petition the Ottoman Empire, who at that time controlled Palestine.

The Jews would have settled for Uganda as a Jewish homeland, but the prophets said that the Jewish homeland of the last days would be 'on the mountains of Israel'. And that is exactly what happened.

The prophet Daniel, also writing from captivity in Babylon, penned the future history of Israel, [a nation that had not existed for a century] dividing its future into 70 weeks of years. During the 70th and final week, Daniel prophesied the revival of an empire [Rome] that, in Daniel's day, would not see its FIRST incarnation for another 500 years.

Today, the nation of Israel exists, composed of a people 'brought forth from the nations' while, for the first time in 2000 years, a European superstate made up of what had once been the territory of the Roman Empire, seeks involvement in a peace process that Daniel said would be confirmed by a leader of a revived Rome.

"And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

In his book, ‘Personal Witness' Abba Eban, one of the founders of Israel, noted that when David Ben-Gurion cabled President Truman to ask the United States to recognize the Jewish state, the Jews still hadn't decided what to call it since the Zionist leaders were still, characteristically, arguing over the name.

Eban noted, 'Some wanted to call it Zion, others Judah . . .what about 'Israel'?' The name was chosen only hours before the state came into existence. ("Personal Witness" Abba Eban, p. 144)

Abba Eban was Israel's first representative to the United Nations, even before there was a state of Israel. Prior to declaring statehood, Eban was the Jewish Relief Agency's official representative.

Eban served in the twin capacity of Israeli Ambassador to the UN and Israeli Ambassador to the US, before becoming Israel's foreign minister.

Abba Eban was present for every major event in the life of the modern Jewish State from its inception until he left the Knesset in 1988.

Eban was known for his blunt honesty and no-nonsense attitude, having once told the UN General Assembly; "If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions."

He had a way of putting things into perspective unmatched by his contemporaries. Speaking of the 1967 Six-Days' War, Eban quipped; "I think that this is the first war in history that on the morrow the victors sued for peace and the vanquished called for unconditional surrender."

Eban recounts that the Soviet Union, initially, enthusiastically supported the establishment of a Jewish State, while the United States very nearly withheld recognition, which would have doomed Israel to stillbirth.

President Truman, a crusty mid-Westerner with no particular love for the Jews, fought a pitched battle with Secretary of State George C Marshall, who told Truman in blunt terms;

"They don't deserve a state, they have stolen that country. If you give this recognition, Mr. President, I may not vote for you in the next election."

In the end, Truman decided, against the expressed and united opinion of his cabinet, to send a cable to Tel Aviv, assuring David Ben-Gurion of the US intention to recognize the new Jewish state. On May 14, Joseph Cohn, Chaim Weitzman’s personal secretary, was dispatched to Washington to inform Truman that the name of the state he was about to recognize would be 'Israel'.

As it grew apparent that the new Jewish state was looking westward to America, instead of east toward Moscow for its principle political alliances, the Soviets soured on the new state and turned instead to support Israel's Arab enemies.

Among the punitive policies adopted by the Kremlin was a complete ban on emigration by Soviet-bloc Jews to the Jewish state.

From our perspective on the timeline, the restoration of Israel, and the events leading up to that restoration, are a matter of history.

There is no need to interpret or spiritualize or allegorize the events of Israel's rebirth -- there are plenty of personal witnesses besides Abba Eban's.

Israel very nearly became a Soviet client state because of institutionalized anti-Semitism at the highest levels of the US government that threatened to derail recognition of Israel's existence.

The subsequent friendship that developed between the new Jewish state and the United States resulted in a Soviet moratorium on Jewish emigration that lasted until the late 1980's.

And, until the 11th hour, nobody, including the Jews, even knew what the name of the new Jewish state would be.

There are those who would argue that all Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70 with the destruction of the Jewish Temple and the dispersal of the Jews.

What appears to be the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in this generation, the argument goes, is the consequence of misreading or misinterpreting the Scriptures.

That argument is belied by recent history, and, despite efforts to revise history, there are still too many personal witnesses who were there.

For example, the prophet Ezekiel wrote, sometime around the year 536 BC, that the Jews of the 'latter years' would be restored to their original homeland and would be known as the nation of Israel.

One hundred and sixty-six years before, Sargon II of Assyria besieged and divided Israel and Judea, capturing the Kingdom of Israel. Sargon II followed the practice of removing the nobles from a conquered land and settling them elsewhere. As a consequence, the nation of 'Israel' ceased to exist and its people became known to history as the 'ten lost tribes' of Israel.

When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judea and settled Judean nobility in Babylon during Ezekiel's lifetime, there was no reason to expect the Jews to escape the same fate as their Israelite cousins 166 years earlier.

But Ezekiel, under Divine inspiration, not only predicted the restoration of a Jewish State, he confidently predicted it would bear the name of a nation that had not existed for generations!

Even Israel's Founding Fathers, like David Ben-Gurion and Abba Eban didn't know what the new Jewish state would call itself -- but Ezekiel knew the answer 2,500 years before -- and said so, in writing.

The Soviet moratorium against Jewish emigration to the Holy Land meant that most Jewish émigrés came from the Arab states to the east of Israel and those from the Western alliance countries.

Jews from the north (Moscow is due north of Jerusalem) and the Jews from the South (Africa) languished in their host countries, essentially as political prisoners of the Soviet system.

The prophet Isaiah, who lived at about the time of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, prophesied:
"Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;" (Isaiah 43:4-5)

As noted, we are looking backward to Israel's restoration as history. The Bible's prophets were looking forward, thousands of years into the future.

Looking back, we can see that Israel's 'seed from the east' began flocking to the Holy Land following the defeat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1917.

Israel's relationship with the West prompted the mass emigration of Jews from America. The Holocaust spurred a mass emigration of Jews from Western Europe.

It took the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall to make the Soviets to the north 'give up'. Egyptian Jews weren't free to emigrate until after the 1977 Camp David Accords.

And it wasn't until the mid 1990's that places like Ethiopia, and Libya lifted their ban on Jewish emigration. Yemeni Jews were transferred enmasse, some 56,000 of them, during what Israel called "Operation Flying Carpet." ("to the south, keep not back").

In the past decade, members of what were believed to be one of the 'Lost Tribes' -- the tribe of Dan -- have turned up in Ethiopia.

Genetic testing has also determined that the men of the African Lemba tribe, a black, Bantu-speaking people, share the unique "Y" chromosome of the Cohanin, the Jewish priestly class descended from Aaron.

The Pathans of Afghanistan are believed by some to be descended from one of the Lost Tribes.

And the Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic Jews, Shlomo Amar recently determined that the Bnei Menashe community in India's north-east is descended from the Lost Tribes and has formally declared them to be Jews. Many have since emigrated to Israel, and about 8,000 more are getting ready to do the same.

"And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be NO MORE TWO NATIONS, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezekiel 37:22)

It is no Scriptural sleight-of-hand trick, or a manipulation or misinterpretation of the Bible. The restoration of Israel -- viewed from our vantage point as personal witnesses to recent history -- is an EXACT match to the Bible's description of how, when and where that restoration would take place.

The only difference is that of perspective. To the Bible prophets, it was future, whereas to we who are alive and remain in this generation, it is history past.

"And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."

"Verily I say unto you, This generation SHALL NOT PASS AWAY, till ALL be fulfilled." (Luke 21:29-32)
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Next: Part Three: What's so special about the End Times anyway and what are "these things"?

Special Series: Part One: What's so special about 1948 anyway?

For those of you who do not follow Bible prophecy or who don't believe in Bible prophecy, 1948 may not seem like a significant year. But for those of us who do believe in Bible prophecy and in the visions God gave to Daniel and John as well as other Biblical prophets, 1948 signals the beginning of the "season" that Jesus talked about in His Olivet Discourse, commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. The signs of the End of the Age, before the Tribulation, before the end of all things and the beginning of Eternity.

I have really felt a burden this past week to get this out there so that maybe this might strike someone who doesn't believe in Bible prophecy to investigate further on their own to find the answers they may be looking for but don't know they need.

I will be posting some articles from my friend Jack Kinsella from the online group the Omega Letter that I am a member of. If, after reading any of these articles over the next week or so, you are interested in a free 7 day trial to explore these things more in depth click here (after that it's only 10.00 a month). Some of the most amazing things that are written in these articles over the next several days were written as much as 3-4 years ago and as recently as this year but they were based on Bible phrophecy - some as long as 2,500 years ago.

It is my prayer that you find some insight in these articles or answers to questions that you might be having to just WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD TODAY?

Here are two articles regarding 1948:

*When Jesus talks about the "fig tree" He is talking about Israel.
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‘Learn a Parable of the Fig Tree’

The restoration of the Jews to the Promised Land is one of the most staggeringly overt fulfillments of Bible prophecy to occur in the last 2,000 years. The Hebrew prophets all foretold an eventual restoration of Israel, even addressing the future state by name, in some cases centuries after Israel had ceased to exist.

Jesus said, “Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matthew 24:32-34)

In his book, Personal Witness, Ambassador Abba Eban, one of Israel’s Founding Fathers and Israel’s first Foreign Minister wrote:
“In accordance with our plan, a letter from [Chaim] Weizmann to [President] Truman had been sent on May 13 asking him to recognize our new state. The expected infant state was still nameless, since the Zionist leaders were still characteristically, arguing over the name (should it be “Judea.” “Zion,” what about the name “Israel”?). Weizmann, for the first time in history, was asking for a nameless state to be recognized....

Although Ezekiel confidently wrote of the restored Jewish state as “Israel” 2,500 years before, those who actually served as midwives to the rebirth did not decide on the name until the very day before! (more on the rebirth of Israel in another post later)

Hosea said of Israel, “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time . . .” (Hosea 9:10)
Joel wrote of the northern invaders of Israel, “He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree. . .(Joel 1:7)

In 1948, the fig tree began to put forth leaves, so to speak, and Jesus said that generation would see ‘all these things’ fulfilled.

The Bible said that pivotal event in history would take place simultaneously with the birth of a revived Roman Empire. A unified Europe looks back to its’ foundation as January 1, 1948. The 1948 Benelux Treaty resulted in the establishment of the Western European Union (WEU). With the signing in Brussels of the Treaty of Mutual Assistance of the Western Union (United Kingdom, Benelux, France) Europe began to come together in the name of peace, not conquest. The 1948 Benelux Treaty led to the 1949 creation of the Council of Europe which in it's turn led to the expansion of the Belelux Treaty under the terms of the 1957 Treaty of Rome which led to the Western European Union.

Israel was reborn in 1948, as the embryonic European Community of nations was being born out of the 1948 Benelux Treaty.

It said an apostate world religion would develop at the same time. Revelation 13:11 describes this religious system as “having two horns like a lamb” -- symbols of Christianity. The World Council of Churches was born in 1948. (The World Council of Churches accepts just about every religion as valid and acceptable except true, Bible-based Christianity which they view as a hinderance to establishing a one world religion)

The Bible predicts that global political system will co-exist with a global economy. The World Trade Organization -- a trade organization empowered to regulate the global economy -- saw its genesis in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, enacted by the UN in 1948.

The Bible predicted that global economy will fall under the control of a single individual who will be able to regulate commerce down to the individual level -- “That no man might buy or sell” -Rev 13:17. Such individual control was impossible before the advent of computers.

Although computers had been invented during World War II, they were huge, bulky monsters that used notoriously unreliable and hugely inefficient vacuum tubes. The first computers were slower than a pocket calculator, filled huge environmentally sealed rooms and required enough electricity to power a small city.

That all changed in 1948 when Bell Labs invented the transistor chip, signaling the official birth of the Computer Age.

That final age would be marked by 'rumors of war' - Matt 24:7. The ultimate 'rumor of war' was the Cold War. It began with the Berlin Airlift of 1948. The Soviet collapse was a direct result of the cost of fighting the Cold War. The ongoing decline of US influence in the world is also related to the costs of that 'war'. The power vacuum left by the simultaneous decline of each of these great powers is being filled by Europe, just as the Bible predicted.

Earthquakes began to show a marked increase in size, scope and intensity in 1948. The modern period of ethnos against ethnos can be traced to the death of colonialism beginning in 1948. Increasing 'pestilence' or deadly disease, can be traced to 1948. Economic 'kingdoms' began with the first multinational corporations in 1948.

Legislation passed by the UN in 1948 like the UDHR and the UNCPR function today as the legal cornerstones of our developing globalist worldview and the disintegration of US Constitutional guarantees.

The decline in morality -- worldwide -- can arguably be placed at the feet of the current trend of devaluing human life to the degree that legislation permitting abortion and euthanasia are evidences of an 'advanced' society.

The Japanese Eugenics Act -- the first legal abortion on demand legislation ever passed in modern society -- was passed in 1948. American Margaret Sanger was so impressed with the idea that she founded the premier abortion rights advocacy group -- Planned Parenthood -- in 1948.

Let's not forget the other technological advances introduced in 1948 -- commercial television, holography, cybernetics, meteorology, the nuclear arms race, microelectronics and dozens of other advances that served to demystify the books of Daniel and the Revelation for this generation.

Add that to the social breakdown that followed the ouster of God from American education following McCollum vs. the board of education decision of 1948. Don't forget the contribution made to evolutionary theory by the introduction of the 'Big Bang' theory of 1948. That served to further alienate the concept of a Creator God from the American worldview.

2 Peter3:3 warns "that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."

All these things taken in context point to one logical conclusion. This is the generation of whom Jesus was speaking when He said, "This generation shall not pass until ALL these things be fulfilled."
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The Year of the Countdown
As discussed in previous letters, most of the major prophetic fulfillments of the last days can trace their genesis to the same point in history -- on or near the year 1948.

This is most significant since Jesus said that the generation who witnessed the restoration of Israel (the blossoming fig tree) 'would not pass until ALL was fulfilled' (Matthew 24:34)

Jesus spoke, for example, of 'wars and rumors of wars', while cautioning, 'the end is not yet'. (Matthew 24:6) The Cold War was the ultimate 'rumor of war'. It lasted more than forty years without either side ever directly confronting the other on the battlefield. Historians trace the beginning of the Cold War to the Berlin Airlift to break the Soviet blockade of Berlin, imposed on June 24, 1948.

The most well-known of all Bible prophecies is the Mark of the Beast. According to Revelation 13:15-17, the antichrist will assume control of a global system of government unlike any the world had ever known. Under the antichrist, any person outside that system will be declared 'socially dead' -- any who refuse to accept the Mark will be unable to buy or sell.

Consider this for a minute, but I suggest you sit down before you do.

We are so close to that system today that the SAME METHOD is ALREADY being used to rout out and destroy terrorist cells! Every economic transaction, every internet session, every email and every phone call -- world-wide -- is already being electronically monitored as part of the war on terror.

To catch the terrorists in our midst, they must be isolated from mainstream society, their sources of funding targeted and destroyed, and their ability to engage in day-to-day social intercourse electronically interrupted.

Such intimate control of society was impossible before the advent of the Computer Age. Although there were clunky working computers dating back to the 1930's, they relied on notoriously unreliable vacuum tubes, and firing one up consumed enough electricity to light a small city.

Before the digital explosion, transistors were a vital part of improvements in existing analog systems, such as radios and stereos.

When it was placed in computers, however, the transistor became an integral part of the technology boom. They are also capable of being mass-produced by the millions on a sliver of silicon—the semiconductor chip. It is this almost boundless ability to integrate transistors onto chips that has fueled the information age.

Today these chips are not just a part of computers. They are also important in devices as diverse as video cameras, cellular phones, copy machines, jumbo jets, modern automobiles, manufacturing equipment, electronic scoreboards, and video games. Without the transistor there would be no Internet and no space travel.

Bell Labs patented the transistor chip in 1948, launching the modern computer Age.

Revelation 13 also highlights the career of the False Prophet, who will lead a global religious system that John describes as 'having two horns like a lamb' but 'spake as a dragon'.

The World Council of Churches, the UN-backed ecumenical movement, whose stated goal is to bring about a global religious system, was created in Amsterdam in August, 1948.

Ostensibly a 'Christian' council, the WCC doctrinal statement says, it passes "no judgment upon the sincerity with which member churches accept" the WCC's basic 'confession' of Jesus Christ. In other words, NOT believing in Jesus is no barrier to membership in the WCC, something Paul called, "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." (2nd Timothy 3)

The modern European superstate traces its roots to the 1948 Benelux Treaty that inspired the modern revival of the old Roman Empire.

And finally, we return to Israel. In Leviticus 26:3, 7-8, the Bible says that the army of Israel would have a supernatural power to prevail during times of conflict. Leviticus says that 5 people would be able to chase away 100 people, and that 100 would be able to chase away 10,000.

On May 15, 1948, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Israel. The combined populations of these countries was at least 20 million at the time, versus less than a million Israelis.

When the war was over, not only had Israel driven off the invaders, but she expanded her territory by over fifty percent. The 1967 war lasted only six days and left Israel in control of Jerusalem for the first time in 2000 years. The 1973 Yom Kippur War was over in a couple of weeks.

The Year 1948 marked the end of one Divine Countdown and the beginning of another. The first Divine Countdown dealt with the duration of Israel's Diaspora.

In Ezekiel 4:5-6, the prophet records the period determined by God as punishment for Israel's disobedience:
"For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."

Babylon was later conquered by Cyrus in 539 BC. Cyrus allowed the Jews to leave Babylon and to return to their homeland. But, only a small number returned. The return had taken place sometime around 536 BC, 70 years after Judah lost independence to Babylon as Jeremiah predicted.

Because most of the exiles chose to stay in pagan Babylon rather than return to the Holy Land, the remaining 360 years of their punishment was multiplied by 7. The reason is explained in Bible's book of Leviticus. (Leviticus 26:18, 26:21, 26:24 and 26:28). In Leviticus, it says that if the people did not repent while being punished, the punishment would be multiplied by 7. And, by staying in pagan Babylon, most exiles were refusing to repent.

So, if you take the remaining 360 years of punishment and multiply by 7, you get 2,520 years. That is 2,520 Jewish lunar years. 2,520 years x the 360-day lunar calendar works out to 907,200 days. Divide that by 365 and you come up with 2485.479 years.

2,485.479 years from 536 BC brings us to the end of the first quarter of the year 1949 -- exactly one year AFTER Israel's restoration in 1948. But 1 BC and 1 AD were the SAME year, so the ACTUAL date on our calendar that Ezekiel predicted the restoration of Israel corresponds to late spring, 1948!

1948 -- the Year of the Countdown, counts down in BOTH directions. It counts down with staggering precision to the exact point in history when the fig tree would once again blossom.

That event triggered the Second Countdown -- the one that signals the end of the Church Age. It is somewhat less precise, for obvious reasons.

Jesus said no man would ever be able to calculate the exact day and time, but He did tell us we would know when 'it was near, even at the door', saying, "THIS generation shall not pass, until ALL be fulfilled."

The current Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, fought in the 1948 War of Independence. He is still around. And so are we. So the 'fig tree' generation has not yet passed from the scene.

And it won't before the Return of Christ. Which could be any time now.

Keep looking up!

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Tomorrow: What's so special about Israel?

Always remember and never forget...As a nation and people, we can't afford to

This is cross-posted from my blogfriend Ken over at Oblogatory Anecdotes. Ken is a great family man and has a gift for getting to the heart of the matter with current events. He has some really interesting articles over there and is not afraid to speak his mind. His writings are powerful and thought provoking without any BS to cloud the facts. If you like your stories straight up, honest and on the "right" side of the issue without the liberal bias that the media tends to spout, go check him out. This week you'll find out some things that will blow your mind and shock you to the core, maybe even anger you a little, about the new Flight 93 memorial that is planned.

Thanks Ken for allowing me to use your commentary today!
And thanks to AubreyJ for the DOD tribute as well!
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Click on image for special tribute to September 11th


Click on above photo- "We Will Never Forget September 11, 2001" for flash Slideshow from DoD. You'll be glad you took the time.

4 years ago today on September 11, 2001, Muslim extremists hijacked four Boeing 767s from American and United Airlines. There purpose was to fly the airliners into major US buildings and kill as many Americans as possible. There targets were both Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington DC, The United States Capitol Building and possibly the Whitehouse.

They succeeded in destroying both Towers in New York, Severely Damaging the Pentagon, and Killing over 3000 innocent people in the buildings and on the airplanes.

One group of passengers fought back however. On United Airlines flight 93, the hijackers had commandeered the plane, but their evil designs on the Capitol Building or the Whitehouse were foiled by a group of brave passengers who attacked the terrorists and took the plane down rather than allow it to kill even more Americans.

Since that dreadful day we have been at war with the terrorists who were responsible for that cowardly and murderous act. Many of those responsible have been killed or captured. Some that have not yet been apprehended are in hiding and dare not show themselves, the lead coward being Osama Bin Laden himself, the bankroller and planner of the dreadful event.

Because of September 11th and the fact that Saddam Hussein was a threat to a critical part of the world, The United States found it necessary for it’s own, along with the worlds safety to remove Saddam from power.

There is still a long road to victory against the terrorists. Militant Islam has been a growing threat for decades. They have only one agenda and that is a world subjugated by their twisted and vile view of Islam. Like the Borg on Star Trek they are hell bent on forcing everyone to bow down and submit to their blood cult. Anyone who does not must die or become a slave.

This view of Islam is held by at least 10% of all Muslims, which accounts for around 100 million people. That is what we are up against. Never before has our way of life been so threatened. Militant Islam has made great leaps in the last 30 years. They have not grown by peaceful conversion, but by war. They use western countries liberal immigration policies to in, not to assimilate into the new countries culture, but to destroy the it and replace it with extreme Islam. Europe is especially at risk of this and if current trends continue most of Europe will be enslaved to militant Islam. The only thing standing in the way to a world dominated by militant Islam is the United States of America. That is why they particularly hate us and seek for our destruction.

Right now Al Quada is in hot pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. They may have already acquired some. Their plans are to acquire enough to kill as many Americans as possible. Osama Bin Laden has said to even the score in his mind 4 million Americans must die and 2 million must be children. If Al Quada ever acquires nuclear weapons they will surely use them. They must be stopped. Osama bin Laden has declared war on us. Read his declaration of war. His designs are no secret. Osama and militant Islam must be stopped at all costs.

This is the war of the ages. It has been fought for over a thousand years. Ours is but a chapter in the great struggle to keep militant Islam at bay. It is the same war the crusaders fought, and it is the same war we must fight now. Our freedom, everything we hold dear, and our very lives our at stake. It is a war we must win or generations will be enslaved. The next Dark Age may come if we do not stand up and resist it.

Always remember September 11th 2001.

How I spent my Labor Day Weekend:

The weekend report:

What can I say about this weekend? My heart is just heavy and sad for the loss that the people I have been taking care of have suffered. Here is my recap of my weekend. I had brought my camera the first day, but never used it. It just didn’t seem right to take pictures of these evacuees (it is NOT refugees, they prefer evacuees) and the tragedy that they had suffered, so all I have to offer you are my words.

My dear friend Amy called me on Friday night and said that she wanted to help. Amy is a home health nurse with the disabled and elderly in Marble Falls and also one of my critique partners. She wanted to do something to help so we made plans for her to come in to town Saturday to volunteer with me. I normally would have volunteered through my CERT team, but they were not working the areas that I wanted to work on so I decided to volunteer myself separate from them and I am glad that I did. I’ve put in about 30-32 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I took yesterday off b/c Emily needed me in a bad way. She understands far too much of what is going on with this disaster. She saw a picture of a little black boy on the TV crying and every day since then she has said that she wants to “tell God that I will share my home with that little brown boy” - what a kind heart she has! She has been telling me that she doesn’t want to ever “losted” me. She is taking this hard and needed snuggly, cuddly Mommy time yesterday.

Early Saturday morning, Amy and I went shopping for supplies and then went to my church to help put together hundreds of personal care packages including washcloths and towels, toothbrush, shampoo, toothpaste, etc for about 300 people. My church has a wonderful mission’s pastor who I have been keeping in contact with as far as needs, etc. I also set up for the Sunday school classes to write letters to the children at the shelters that I would pick up after church on Sunday. There is a huge need for those kids to hear from other kids and know that other children care what has happened to them. After a brief lunch we went to the Burger Center to volunteer, only to find that they had closed it for general evacuees. Everyone had been moved to the Convention Center. Austin was getting too many evacuees for the Burger Center to hold. Amy was told to go to the Convention Center b/c she was a nurse and they needed nurses down there to triage. I stayed behind at the Burger Center to do cleanup with the Red Cross. A couple of hours later, right as the clean up was ending, I got a call to go to the Palmer Events Center which is where they were taking medical needs patients that were beyond basic triage but not critical enough to go to the hospital. Amy was sent there too so we paired up. Some times it was slow; some times it was fairly busy. I did stuff like talking to the patients, working on getting them to talk about what happened b/c so many were holding it in. I also did stuff like run prescriptions to the onsite pharmacy and pick up the meds once they were ready, ran and got food from the other side of the center for those in the medical area, etc. I originally brought my camera to capture some things on film, but decided against it. There was too much to do, and these people deserved privacy. I left my camera at home on Sunday.

Most of what people were looking for was a shower and clean clothes. They wanted more than anything to get clean b/c they hadn’t showered in about a week or longer. And surprisingly (or not), after shower, clean clothes, food and sleep, the next most requested item was a Bible. Most people hadn’t been able to take theirs with them or had lost them or the Bibles had gotten wet. Many found comfort in reading the scriptures. We actually ran out of Bibles on Saturday night, but thankfully, on Sunday, one of my former junior high teachers, Fireman Fred Dougherty, who had become a pastor, had literally an armful of Bibles with him and was passing them out to those who wanted one and not one person that he asked turned them down. Most of the medical symptoms that were coming in were diabetics, elderly people who hadn’t had their meds for a few days, people with ugly red rashes on their legs from the toxins in the water, cuts, scrapes, puncture wounds and breathing treatments. One of the ladies I worked with, her name was Esther, had been pushed down and stepped on when people surged forward to try and get on the buses and planes that were evacuating people. She said that the people that stepped on her also stepped on a baby b/c they didn’t care about anything but saving themselves. She had some pretty good bruises. She actually had to be evac’d via stretcher b/c she had been so trampled by the people. She didn’t know what had happened to the baby. Her husband, “T”, had gone without sleep for 48 hours straight b/c he was protecting her from the thugs that were roaming the Superdome. While I talked to her, got her situated, got her food and a drink, he was out like a light, having the first safe sleep in over a week.

Next up was the Friday night poker club. They were nicknamed that b/c they were a group of 4 elderly black gentlemen who just seemed like they would be ones to sit around a smoke some stogies and play poker or dominoes or something like that. They were in their late 60’s-late 70’s. I just adored them. There was Mr. Marigny, Mr. Howard, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Charles. They were so sweet and so funny and in spite of it all, they kept their faith, which was so strong. They kept on saying, “God is so good!” and they meant it. They were funny and kind and flirty and just so wonderful. They won everyone over who talked to them. They had one in a wheelchair and one walked with a crutch and we got them clothes, showers and hot food. Two of them wanted Bibles, b/c they hadn’t been able to take them. The other two had theirs and had been able to keep them dry. I was sad to see them go back to the general shelter b/c they were so delightful and brought a smile to everyone who spoke with them.

Most of the people that we treated and that were at the shelters were so thankful and kind and appreciative of what we were doing. There are those that are extremely bitter and are trying to make life unpleasant for everyone, including their fellow evacuees, but those are only about 5% out of the 5,000 or so that we already have here in Austin.

Probably the worst story that I heard that day was of a mother who handed her 2 year old baby up to people on a bus so that she could get on next. As soon as she handed the baby up, she was pushed out of the way by other people and pushed down. The bus left without her and she hasn’t seen her baby since. She has no idea where her baby is. I can only hope and pray and pray some more that they are reunited and are both safe. My heart is broken for that woman. I can’t even begin imagine the full extent of the horror she is feeling.

Amy and I left Saturday night, or Sunday morning, I should say, after 1:00. I got to sleep around 2:00. I was so exhausted and ready to hit the hay. When we woke up Sunday morning, Amy said that she had dreamed about Katrina and the floods and the stories that we had heard. I didn’t that night, but Sunday night I sure did. Last night too.

Sunday morning found Amy heading to the Palmer Center early, around 9:30. I went to church to pick up the letters from the Sunday school children. All ages from 3 through 5th grade wrote letters. I had close to 200 letters by the time they had collected them all. I went and dropped them off to the Convention Center as that was where the kids were sheltered at. I headed back to Palmer to work with Amy again and we were assigned to the geriatric patients. There weren’t too many, but they had varying needs such as a double amputation and his wife (Fred and Carolyn), progressive lung disease that needed breathing treatments (Louis – pron. Lewey), a wheelchair bound diabetic (Henry, a retired minister), a severely depressed elderly woman who, at first, refused to take her meds and preferred to just die (Myrtly – pron. Myrtle), Miss Cleo – no not the “psychic” – who was severely confused and had a serious incontinence problem (she was later sent to a hospital b/c her condition was diagnosed as too serious to be in a shelter situation, then we had our trio of the week. Eldon, Chester and Emelda. Eldon and Chester are friends and Chester and Emelda are married. Eldon and Chester wanted to ditch Emelda and Eldon wanted to go out drinking. Emelda and Chester both thought they were in New Orleans. They wanted to go home and Chester wanted to go to church. Just wanted to get away from Emelda. We’re not really sure why b/c Emelda was very nice, if extremely confused. Both Chester and Emelda showed signs of Alzheimer’s on top of dementia. Emelda was getting her hair done by two African-American volunteers and she was just sweet as pie. Preening and acting all coy. She wanted to pay them for doing her hair b/c she thought she was in NOLA at a beauty parlor. Chester decided that he was going to go come hell or high water (bad reference, I apologize). We had to physically stop him from leaving the shelter at the events center.

Shortly after that we were told that they were going to move all the med patients to the large shelter. The doctors that were there were furious and tried desperately to stop it. The last thing these elderly people needed was to be moved again. All their efforts were in vain. I packed up medical supplies in the back of my mini-van and followed the bus over there. Once we got there and got everyone off the bus, we were sent to the 2nd floor of the center. Our patients needed to be isolated without easy access to exits b/c of the issue with Chester earlier in the day.

We got them fed and set up sleeping cots. By this time it was about 7 in the evening. Most of them went down without any troubles. Mr. Henry, the pastor was taken to the worship service by one of the other volunteers, while most of the rest of them sat or lay in their cots to read or sleep. Emelda and Chester were another story though. More on that in a minute.

There was some really good news out of all of this! Carolyn and Fred’s daughter and niece found them. They had driven from Virginia and went to all the shelters in Houston and San Antonio and spent a day in Austin being sent between shelters more than once b/c the computers still showed them to be at Palmer instead of the new place. I was outside of the door, trying to keep an eye on the volunteer who was walking with Chester and keeping him sort of distracted when this short white woman came up with two African-American women who were looking for one of their dads. I asked them what his name was. “Fred” was all that they said. “Carolyn and Fred?” I asked. “YES!!!” The look on their faces was nothing short of a Kodak moment. I told them that they were sleeping but that I would bring them in so that they could get them. I mean come on, family is just a little more important than sleep. They went in quietly and woke Carolyn and Fred up. It was a wonderful reunion, with the exception that Carolyn and Fred didn’t want to go that night. The niece brought her husband up and the five of them talked for about 45 minutes and it was agreed that Carolyn and Fred would stay the night and would get picked up in the morning. The daughter and niece weren’t about to leave Austin without them. Plus, they had to drive to Corpus Christi to see if their other family members were down there. They were looking for about 6 more people. They knew that as of Friday they were alive and being moved to Texas, but they also know that two were separated from the group of six.

Carolyn and Fred’s daughter was mistaken by Emelda for her niece Evelyn. We found out that Evelyn was in NOLA and we don’t know if she survived. Emelda finally accepted that the daughter was not her niece. She was, however, convinced that Evelyn was downstairs with the rest of the evacuees. By around 10:00 we finally convinced Emelda that we would look for Evelyn and to get in bed so the doctor assigned to them could check her out since she was complaining of pain in her knees, etc. She had been following Chester around all evening and all Chester wanted to do was get away from her. After the doctor checked her out and she had some meds, she agreed to go to bed, but only after she had said her prayers. She said them 3 times before we finally convinced her that she had already said them and that her front and back door had been locked and the windows were shut and locked and the porch lights and rest of the house lights were off. This went on for about 30 minutes. I finally got her to get under the covers and lay her head down all the way when I told her that I was not going to check any more items until she was laying down and sleeping. I started singing Amazing Grace and she hummed the first two verses with me and then was out by the middle of verse 3. Just to make sure, I sang through the end and she was asleep. I got a silent round of cheers for that one and was nicknamed the songstress of the second floor. LOL.

Chester wasn’t so easy. The doctor gave him the limit that he could have in meds to calm him down b/c he was very agitated and only grew more so as time went by. The night doctor was this great little Asian lady who, instead of trying to coax him to take his meds, which wasn’t working anyway, she shoved it in his mouth to let it dissolve – it was a wafer pill. Chester refused and refused to go to sleep, even though he was so tired he was hallucinating and picking up imaginary coins and stuff on the floor and weaving while he stood. We had to change him while he stood. With the help of two men we were able to get him into bed. After that, he was fighting the guys to get his legs up so he could get out of bed. I finally ended up singing to him too as they were trying to get his legs down. He struggled through Amazing Grace, started calming down during It Is Well With My Soul and finally fell asleep during The Lord’s Prayer. I was starting to sweat it b/c I knew they were Catholic and I didn’t know that many slow hymns that were coming to mind in the moment and I wasn’t about to sing stuff like Up From The Grave He Arose – that kind of tempo would have defeated the purpose. The only song I had left in my memory at that point was Ave Maria. If he didn’t fall asleep during that one, he was going to get Mary Poppins, Dumbo and Cinderella, etc. – the Disney songs I sing to my daughter at night. Of course, after it was over, a ton of slow hymns came to my mind.

Amy and I left after 1 in the morning again. It was really hard on Amy. She’s so used to knowing how it ends with her elderly homebound patients. And for now she doesn’t know with these evacuees and it’s really bothering her. I told her that I knew it was hard on her but that she had to content herself with the knowledge that she was the right person for this job at this time and that her experience helped to make things a lot easier during the shelter transition with the elderly patients we were taking care of. She had to believe and know that she did a good job and that she was needed at this point, at this time and that she got her job done and now it was up to someone else with the same experience to take over and continue. It really was breaking her heart. She’s a good person.

I’m still trying to get some issues straightened out b/c we’re trying to get volunteers in and while we have 3 social service workers with elderly care and adult protective services experiences, nobody is clearing them to go up there b/c nobody is really “in charge” up there. I may have to step in tonight for a little while to make sure that something happens. These workers are African-American, which is what we need for these elderly patients, especially Chester and Emelda, and they are available to work for the long term in rotating shifts. The red-tape, egocentric, bureaucratic BS on this is just frustrating the HECK outta me. If I can’t get connected with the person in charge that was there Sunday, which I’ve left a voice mail for her today, I may just end up having to take the lead on this, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take on that much responsibility. I could surprise myself though.

A Texan mom who speaks her mind

This comes from my blogfriend Heather. All I can say is SING IT, Sister!

Something different to today's FFT (lots of links to help the victims of Katrina) UPDATED 10:52PM

I will be updating the links as I find them. Also stories of heroism and interesting stories of how corporations are helping are located at the bottom of this post.
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With the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida going on in our back and front yard, we are going to have a field trip to some places where you can donate money, etc. to help out these victims of a hurricane's wrath and the desperate aftermath including violence from the roving street thugs who are out there raping and murdering with impunity, not to mention the latest with the chemical plant explosion this morning.

If you can't give money, give your time at the local charitable organizations in your area. They need help to pack supplies, etc. Austin is designated as an overflow city and here in Austin there is an overflow shelter at an activity center where there are some 200 families already housed there with more expected to come in this weekend as the Astrodome is now at capacity and turning people away. I am going to look into volunteering there for a few hours a week.

Aside from the heartbreaking story of the man whose wife was literally ripped from his arms, this one truly broke my heart the other day...there was, on the news, a little 3 year old black child who was very sick, dehydrated, lethargic, his mother was holding him as he listlessly flopped in her arms, trying to shelter him from the sun's harsh rays with her body as much as she could b/c there was no shelter to be found. She was pleading to the news crew for water, for food, anything to help her child out. He had not had any clean water to drink in days. What a horribly desperate situation! I thought of that little boy and of my own Emily who is also 3 and I think of what I would do in that situation. I can only thank God that that is not my family and pray for those who are caught in that horrible situation that relief, food and water be brought to those hurting and hungry families, especially those with children, right away.

When it comes to the thugs who are roaming the streets with their guns ( many of which are stolen), terrorizing those unable to defend themselves against the brutality of rape and murder and beatings, whatever needs to be done, should be done to stop them. I think it is the right thing to do, to defend the weak against those who would prey on them in order to satisfy their lust for flesh and blood. New Orleans and the surrounding parishes have turned into a true third world country in the span of a few days. It reminds me of some of the scenes in Black Hawk Down with the roving street gangs under the rule of the warlords in the area. It must be stopped and stopped now, by whatever means necessary. I truly hope that once the National Guard, military, etc. gets in place that the terrible violence will stop.

Anyway, here are the places that you can contact to donate your money and/or time:
Although government and private agencies are en route to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, federal officials said people wanting to help should not head to the affected area unless directed by an agency. Instead, people are urged to make cash contributions to these groups:
* American Red Cross, or (800) 435-7669; (800) 257-7575 in Spanish.
* Samaritan’s Purse; Phone (828) 262-1980
* Salvation Army, (800) 725-2769.
* Feed the Children - Hurricane Katrina
* America's Second Harvest, or (800) 771-2303.
* Catholic Charities, (703) 549-1390.
* Operation Blessing, (800) 436-6348.
* Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief, (800) 462-8657, ext. 6440.
* Adventist Community Services, (800) 381-7171.
* Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, (800) 848-5818.
* Church World Service, (800) 297-1516.
* Convoy of Hope, (417) 823-8998.
* Episcopal Relief and Development, (800) 334-7626, ext. 5129
* Lutheran Disaster Response, (800) 638-3522.
* Mennonite Disaster Service, (717) 859-2210.
* Nazarene Disaster Response, (888) 256-5886.
* Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, (800) 872-3283.
* United Methodist Committee on Relief, (800) 554-8583.

Here are some more links that I've gathered from online if you want to look into these as well, some are very interesting like Whole Foods and Great Harvest Breads as well as Brett Favre's organization among countless others...

*Network For Good -- A nonprofit organization that has a page on its site devoted to listing different types of groups to whom you can donate besides the Red Cross -- including the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (rescuing pets), Charity Hospital of New Orleans, Salvation Army, and Operation Blessing.
*Storm Aid - run by Clear Channel in conjunction with the Red Cross.
*Mercy Corps -- Formerly refugee-focused organization that now focuses on helping find long-term solutions for families living in poverty.
*Hurricane Housing -- This is a housing clearinghouse trying to match people made homeless by the storm with available beds and rooms and couches located within 300-500 miles of the Gulf Coast.
*The Chicago Tribune's McCormick Foundation -- This group is matching 50 percent of each dollar of donations made through their site (up to two million dollars). All donations go directly to hurricane relief organizations.
*Give Life -- A blood donation site that helps get quick appointments at clinics near where you live.
*The Humane Society of America -- The link takes you to its disaster-relief fund.
*Noah's Wish -- An animal-rescue facility, critical because so many people are being forced to leave their pets behind or make Sophie's Choices between several.
*Southern Mutual Help -- Appears to be a for-profit organization that aims to help rebuild disaster-stricken rural areas.
*Ronald McDonald House -- There was a Ronald McDonald House on Canal Street in New Orleans that probably will need some major help. The families staying there have children being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses at nearby hospitals. I haven't heard anything specific on the news, but it seems like both the families staying there and the building itself will need help. I don't know the URL for the Ronald McDonald House in New Orleans, but donations can be made to the national office. You can also find contact information for your local Ronald McDonald House there.
*St. Vincent De Paul -- A reader shares, "My alma mater of LSU has recently been turned into a makeshift shelter for evacuees. Our local chapter of the Red Cross is up to capacity with donations and has asked that funds be sent to the St. Vincent De Paul Dining Room. These folks are working overtime to feed the thousands of people taking refuge in the capital, and I'm sure donations would be much appreciated. Unfortunately everything must be snail-mailed, but the contact information is located online."
*Some local branches of the Great Harvest Bread Co. in Southern Minnesota are donating all of Saturday's proceeds to hurricane relief; I suggest you contact your local branch to see if they, too, are participating.
*Whole Foods Market -- Apparently you can buy donation coupons at the chain's stores, and Whole Foods will apparently match these donations up to $1 million. Proceeds go to the American Red Cross. Click the link for more information. The supermarket is also implementing a job relocation plan for people who worked in its damaged locations.
*Brett Favre: New Orleans has been the focus of most of the stories, but other regions have been blown away and left in ruins. Favre, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, is a Mississippi native whose Fourward Foundation is taking donations for the victims. Click the link to find out how to contribute.
*DonorsChoose.org - A reader says, "Right now they're participating in the Amazon Challenge, in which a group of charities is competing to receive the most donations until Sept. 30, because Amazon will then match those donations. DonorsChoice just sent out an e-mail this yesterday saying that all donations to the Amazon Challenge for the next week will go to Hurricane Katrina-related projects, such as a 4th-grade class that wants to replace lost school supplies for another class in the region."
*Food for the Astrodome - A reader from Houston writes, "I am a volunteer in the Houston area for the displaced New Orleans evacuees being housed in the Astrodome. If you would like to donate money to provide meals to these evacuees locally, you can do so by clicking that link. If any of your readers are in the Houston area, they can also find information on how to volunteer their time serving food and providing other services at the Astrodome."
*Second Red Cross link -- Yahoo! has up a site that gives straight to the Red Cross, but can handle overflow traffic the regular Red Cross site can’t.
*Office Max is apparently allowing its customers to add donation money to their total bill when they check out.
*Northwest Medical Teams -- The site says, "We are... helping local church-based groups provide lodging and food for refugees; shipping emergency health supplies; dispatching mobile health vans to address public health needs; sending staff and volunteers to help medical relief efforts." NWT has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
*A friend mentioned that Stater Bros. Markets were accepting cash donations both outside of the stores and inside at the cashier.
*PETsMART - The retailer is funneling funds from its usual charities to Hurricane Katrina victims. Click to investigate and donate.
*The Barry Manilow Fund - The Schnozzed One's personal foundation will match donations and send all of it to the Red Cross.
*Best Buy - Through the end of September, if you donate at the register or through the Web site, the company will match it dollar-for-dollar and send the contributions to the Red Cross.
*Costco - The retailing giant is matching contributions dollar-for-dollar.
*Lisa Kline - From an employee, "Starting yesterday (and we haven’t put a cap on it, just going on as long as necessary) Lisa Kline has pledged 5% of all sales -- not just profits -- from www.lisakline.com to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts."
*Crafters' United - An online shop created exclusively to sell donated items. All the proceeds are going to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.
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Positive Stories of Help from all over:

*Anheuser-Busch, the King of Beers, is going to become the King of Water.
ST. LOUIS (Sept. 2, 2005) –Anheuser-Busch Companies said today it will be increasing its donation of fresh drinking water to nearly 2.5 million cans per week to Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Recognizing the unique position the company is in to provide safe drinking water, the company will also be converting operations at its Houston brewery, in addition to its Cartersville, Ga., brewery, to producing canned water.

The company’s Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Anheuser-Busch Companies, is also increasing its donation to the Red Cross to $1 million to help ongoing relief efforts along the Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Anheuser-Busch will also match contributions made by its employees to the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

In addition, the company announced it will match up to an additional $1 million from its independent wholesalers nationwide.

“As the extent of the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina becomes clearer, our resolve to help becomes stronger. We have the ability to bring something life-saving to the victims: fresh drinking water. Together with our network of wholesalers across the country, we are mobilizing all of our resources to get water to these victims and to relief workers,” said Patrick Stokes, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch Companies. “Anheuser-Busch and our wholesalers nationwide are proud to continue providing support to those who need it most.”

Separately, Anheuser-Busch announced that it is making its truck fleet available to the Red Cross to ship emergency supplies such as generators, food and clothing. The trucks are located at the company’s 12 domestic breweries in St. Louis, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, Jacksonville, Fla., Williamsburg, Va., Baldwinsville, N.Y., Cartersville, Ga., Columbus, Ohio, Fort Collins, Colo., Merrimack, N.H. and Fairfield, Calif.

Anheuser-Busch’s logistics network, its freight carriers and wholesalers are working with officials to find passible routes into the stricken areas to deliver the water.
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WAL-MART - September 2, 2005. Items such as clothing, diapers, baby wipes, food, formula, toothbrushes, bedding and water will be given out free of charge to those with a demonstrated need at "Mini- Wal-Mart" locations.
Wal-Mart also will offer free check cashing in about 126 stores in the hurricane disaster area for an initial two-week period beginning today. This includes government, payroll and insurance checks and computer-generated checks. Proper identification will be required.
As a part of the emergency relief convoy to New Orleans today, Wal-Mart is sending nine trucks containing water.
Following President Bush’s announcement yesterday that former Presidents Bush and Clinton will lead a nationwide fundraising effort to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott contacted President Clinton and the White House and committed a $15 million cash donation from Wal-Mart to jump-start the effort.
The Emergency Contact Service has been created in our stores and on the internet to allow Wal-Mart associates and customers to post messages regarding their well-being on our websites.
We have management on the ground, working with moving supplies, helping stores to re-open, and helping displaced Wal-Mart associates. We are taking calls from associates needing emergency assistance and sending cash through our Associate Disaster Relief Fund.
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Dow Chemical Company, announced August 31 that it will contribute $3 million to the hurricane relief efforts. The donation will consist of:

$1 million in an immediate cash donation to the American Red Cross,
$1 million match to employee and retiree donations to the American Red Cross, and
$1 million in products and technology donations for the longer term reconstruction effort.
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These Minnesota based corporations and companies are donating to the relief efforts as well:
*3M Co. and Medtronic Inc. have joined other Minnesota companies in making large donations to the relief effort in Louisiana and Mississippi.
*3M Co. and the 3M Foundation have announced plans for an initial contribution of $1.5 million to help with relief efforts. The donation includes a $500,000 grant to match employee contributions to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
*Medtronic has pledged $1 million through its foundation to support Red Cross relief efforts.
*Supervalu said it has made a donation of $50,000 to the Red Cross and is delivering water, food and other critical supplies to the Gulf Coast region.
*Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group's foundation said Monday it will donate $10 million.
*Target Corp. also is contributing $1.5 million.
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GlaxoSmithKline - As an immediate demonstration of support, GlaxoSmithKline is donating one million dollars to the relief effort. Of those funds, $500,000 will go to the American Red Cross, $250,000 to the Mississippi Hurricane Fund and $250,000 to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. The company will also provide medicines and health care products in support of the disaster recovery.

As a health care company with a broad range of medicines, vaccines and consumer health care products, GSK is also working closely with relief organizations and government officials to donate products to the Gulf Coast region. These organizations are expert in determining how best to distribute supplies efficiently, where and when they are most needed.

Given the extensive damage to basic utility services, a number of prescription medicines such as antibiotics and vaccines are likely to be in high demand. GSK's medicines for diabetes, respiratory diseases and other chronic conditions may also be needed by patients. GSK also stands ready to donate substantial quantities of personal hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, and nonprescription medicines.
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UPS - In response to the destruction from Hurricane Katrina, The UPS Foundation is donating $1,250,000 toward relief efforts and UPS is taking separate steps to assist its employees and their families in the affected areas.

The $1.25 million donation will include $500,000 in cash and up to $750,000 of in-kind services for the shipment of medical and health-related items. The funds will be divided between The American Red Cross, America's Second Harvest and other relief organizations that assist with long-term rebuilding activities.
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Chevron - Chevron Corporation today announced it is making a commitment of $5 million to support recovery efforts in the communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. This includes a $3 million contribution to the American Red Cross in support of disaster relief efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi and other affected areas following further analysis of the devastation. The remaining $2 million will go to local charities and relief efforts near Chevron businesses in affected states, as determined by the Company.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our employees and the communities affected by this disaster," said Dave O’Reilly, chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation. "We are pleased to partner with the American Red Cross to provide aid and we will be evaluating opportunities to expand relief efforts near our businesses as we learn more about local needs."
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Abbot Laboratories - ABBOTT PLEDGES DONATION OF $4 MILLION IN FUNDS AND NUTRITIONAL, MEDICAL PRODUCTS — In response to widespread damage throughout the Gulf Coast caused by the catastrophic hurricane Katrina, Abbott has pledged $2 million in cash donations and an initial $2 million in nutritional and medical products to help victims of this disaster. The nutritional products, which are already being distributed to those in need, were rapidly shipped to affected areas in response to initial requests from aid organizations yesterday soon after the disaster struck.

"The effects of this disaster are absolutely devastating. Abbott is answering the call to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "Our thoughts are with all of those who live in the affected areas. We encourage all of corporate America to help."

Working with disaster relief organizations including the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, America's Second Harvest and MAP International, Abbott's initial contributions include cases of pediatric and adult nutritional products such as Similac® infant formula, PediaSure® and Pedialyte® nutritional drinks and Ensure® and ZonePerfect® bars.
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More stories to come as I find them...

The myth of no expression of faith in the public school system

There are many of you out there who, for whatever reason, can not home school your children or afford to put them into a private school or maybe don't even want to have your child in a private school. There is the myth that in a public school, your child can have nothing to do in regards to showing or sharing his or her faith. That is simply NOT true. So that you can figure out just what your child is able to do in regards to his or her faith in a public school and what is allowed, here is some information put together for you by Koinonia House with links included from such places as the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) and the First Amendment Center.

If there are any questions you have regarding something that may have happened to your child in terms of disciplinary action or warnings given in regards to their faith (or you in the workplace for that matter), please contact the American Center for Law and Justice. They are a FREE legal representation and legal counsel for any and all religious matters pertaining to faith in the workplace or public school system.

Also, below the information for public schooling, there is information regarding home schooling for those who are interested in that as well. Home schooling doesn’t have to be faith based, though most of those who home school do have a faith based curriculum. Personally, if I could afford to be a SAHM, I would look into home schooling Emily. Since that is not an option, I want to put her into a private school. Of course that is a discussion that Matt and I will have to have. We’ve already discussed it and have agreed that private school is a good thing for Emily, now it’s just choosing the school.

I was in the private school system from K-9 and transferred into the public school system in 10th grade. I wish now that I never would have made that transition. My worldview got very skewed for a while, especially regarding peer pressure because everything was so different, I could do so many things in public school that I couldn’t do in private school. Now I know that there is a reason for that. Character gets compromised; maybe the ethics stay the same, but the morals get changed to “fit in” with the crowd.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I’m just happy that I can take advantage of my hindsight when it comes to Emily and how I want her to be raised and what I want her to avoid and the character traits I want to be instilled in her. The public school system doesn’t offer that – especially around here. In Austin, pretty much the whole district fails every year when they go in to check the schools and give them grades based on how well they are performing in the basics, etc. I would much rather scrimp and save and have it be tight in order for Emily to get a good faith-based education in a private school rather than the crap that the NEA shovels out en mass.

BACK TO SCHOOL: FAITH IN THE CLASSROOM

The role of religion in public schools continues to be a hotly debated issue. Some public school teachers avoid the mere mention of religion in their classrooms because they are afraid of offending students, becoming the target of a lawsuit, or even losing their job. Other teachers would like to talk about religion, but don't know what they are allowed to say and what would be considered "crossing the line." If you are among the many teachers, students, and parents who may have questions concerning religion in public schools, you may wish to take a moment to explore some of the resources available to you.

A publication by the First Amendment Center called Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools can be downloaded for free online (see link below). Finding Common Ground is a guidebook that explains teachers' and students' religious rights. It gives information concerning a wide variety of subjects such as equal access, judicial court rulings, and religious holidays. Below you will also find a link to the United States Department of Education Guidelines on Religious Expression in Public Schools.

Freedom of Speech

The Supreme Court has ruled that students retain their freedom of speech and expression when at school. According to the 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, a school may only silence students if they are actually disrupting school discipline. That is, a student's freedom of expression does not give him or her the right to interrupt class. However, during free time, students are free to:

• Read their Bibles
• Talk to peers about religion and pray with their peers
• Wear clothing with Christian symbols and messages
• Pass out religious tracts

Equal Access

If a secondary public school receives any federal funding and if it allows any other non-curriculum clubs (like the chess club or the glee club) to form, then it must allow students to form Bible clubs or other religiously oriented organizations on campus, with the same rights to the facilities as other clubs. Religious clubs are guaranteed the right to official recognition, which means the school must offer them access to the school newspaper, bulletin boards, and the public announcement system et al. Religious clubs, however, must be student-initiated and student-led. The students may invite outside speakers, but the club must be organized and led by the students themselves.

Educational Opportunities

Because religion is such an integral part of history and politics and the human experience in general, it is a relevant topic in the classroom setting. Teachers and students are free to discuss different religions and the impact religion has had on society. While teachers must maintain a neutral position with the students, students are free to offer their own personal opinions on religious matters. [Teachers are free to discuss religious issues with their own peers outside of the classroom.]

Students may write papers on religious subjects, including the Bible. The Bible has had an enormous impact on history and literature and is an important book to know, even from a secular viewpoint. Literature from Shakespeare to Faulkner is full of allusions to the Bible, which can only be fully appreciated with a working knowledge of God's Word.

Teachers

Teachers also retain their First Amendment rights at school, but at the same time represent the school while in the classroom and at school events. Therefore, public school teachers are not permitted to "force their religion" on the kids. However, teachers do have a lot of freedom to teach about religion for educational purposes. They may teach on comparative religions, including Christianity. They may discuss the impact religion has had on history and science and literature. They may even discuss religion with students one-on-one, if the student initiates and maintains the conversation and is not compelled to agree with the teacher's position.

As school starts up again, continue to pray for those faithful teachers who are striving to teach students according to righteousness in the face of an increasingly liberal education establishment, and for those students who are willing to stand up for their faith and be a light to their peers rather than just going along with the crowd.

Related Links:
United States Department of Education Guidelines on Religious Expression in Public Schools – ACLJ
Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools - First Amendment Center

TRAIN UP A CHILD: THOUGHTS ON HOME SCHOOLING

An estimated 2 million children were home schooled last year and that number is growing fast. The effectiveness of home schooling has been the subject of much research and debate. Critics decry home schooling as being ineffectual for scholastic achievement. The facts speak otherwise.

On almost every standardized test, home schooled children seem to excel. Statistical data continues to conclude that home schooling not only works, but it works effectively. And it works without the myriad of state controls and accreditation standards imposed on public schools. According to the National Home Education Research Institute the home educated score better, on average, than students in conventional state-run schools.

But these are only academic measures. The Spiritual value of home schooling is difficult to measure on a standardized test. Spiritual integrity and close family relationships are the real prizes of home schooling.

God's creation design is for married couples to bear children and train them to be righteous before Him. God gives us the great commandment in Deuteronomy 6:4 and then instructs us further:

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:6,7)."

God has placed children in families that they might learn from their parents' character and skills what will be needed in order for them to fulfill their life's purposes. The instruction of parents is vital. Parents who home school are discovering the blessed opportunity to direct more closely the spiritual growth of their children.

If you want to consider home schooling, you don't have to re-invent the wheel or do it alone. There are many resources available to help. The Home School Legal Defense Association website has answers to many commonly asked questions as well as lots of good resources to get you started.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)."

Home School Legal Defense Association -
National Home Education Research Institute -
The Myth of Socialization by John Loeffler - Koinonia House
The Un-Neighborly Neighbor by Vicki Brady - Koinonia House

The Rally Report

The Crawford rally and candlelight vigil through my eyes.


We left Austin around 11:00 on our way to Crawford. This was an impromptu trip as my mom had heard about it on Friday morning and called me up at work and asked me if I wanted to go. My response was, "YEAH! Let's do it!" It was a way for us to be able to show our support for our troops and the duty that they are doing in order to provide the same kind of freedom that we have here in America. Though, admittedly, there are so many factions here in America who are working to undermine the basic freedoms that we are afforded under the Constitution, the Amendments and the Bill of Rights. The basic right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Take abortion for instance. Abortion cuts that first basic right to life. Abortion is NOT a guaranteed right. There is NOWHERE in the Constitution that says that anyone can kill the baby that is growing inside of them just because they don't want it, or that child isn't "convenient" for them "at this time in their life". Abortion is NOT a Constitutional right, people. The people who believe in socialistic, humanistic and communistic values that seriously undermine the American way of life that our founding fathers fought to give us are trying to change all of the foundations and priciples that America was founded on. If they get their way of the minority trying to silence the majority, they just might succeed, to the detriment of us all.

So, we were on our way to Crawford for about a 2½ hour drive and when we get to the rally there were cars everywhere!

(I personally liked the sign that this truck was sporting)

Thankfully we got a space that wasn't too far from the event and I had the forethought to bring Em's big stroller. She still fits in it, thank God.

Even though she is the size of a 5/6 year old, she still is only 3 and it would have been impossible to carry her everywhere for any length of time with her size. We also were able to put several bottles of cold water, Gatorade and a gallon of tang/protein mix drink in the bottom of the stroller. When we got there, there was an area where you could make a poster to hold up or sign a huge roll of paper for the troops and another for the President, showing your support for both. My mom and I both signed the yellow roll for the troops.


The crowd there was amazing, very patriotic and very supportive of our troops.


Some member of the press from SanFran came by wondering how many people were there and someone said about 1,000. I had to laugh b/c it was more like 2,000. I guess my mom had heard it wrong on the radio...two thousand...ten thousand...when the radio connection is kind of choppy, it happens. The really sad thing was that there were very few members of the media from the US who were actually there. Most of them were at Cindy's camp. Of course that's what the liberal media does, they only show one side of the story – the one they are predisposed to be biased toward (Anyone remember the recent "Rathergate").


Shortly after we got there they threw out 3 Sheehan supporters that had managed to get in with their signs. Unfortunately I didn't get to see what the signs said as a member of the Blue Angel's dragged the signs out in front of the few members of the media that were there surrounding the Sheehan supporters as the police escorted them out.




The man in the black shirt was at the Crawford Peace House later in the day after the rally was over. The lady in the pink hat was also part of it. Funny how the media that was there crowded around them like hungry sharks looking for blood. Most of the media, it sounded like, were from foreign countries. Most of them were speaking foreign languages to each other. That's a downright shame when the media from other countries have more interest in the pro-troops rally than those from our own country.

The crowd chanted "Cindy go home!" several times throughout the rally as family member with loved ones in Iraq, former Vietnam Vets and current military soldiers spoke throughout the 2 ½ hour rally. They had free ice cold bottled water in ice-filled tubs throughout the site area and people with misters to spray a mist on people. They also had a huge tent set up, which, thank GOD they did b/c it was hot, hot, HOT! In the SHADE the temp reading on my car's gauge was 105, so you can just imagine what it felt like in the full sun!


Thankfully we brought our camping chairs and found a spot for my mom and Emily to sit under the tent in the shade while I went around taking pictures and talking to people and getting some great BBQ for us to eat!


A woman taking a break from the heat by sitting under a tree holds a poster that says "The land of the Free BECAUSE of the brave".


AustinTownhallConservatives.com members Brian McAuliffe (right), who also is a member of the Hays County Republican Party and Brad Ward (left), who is a self-described Pro-Constitution, Pro-Gun, Anti-United Nations American, were on hand to show their support of our troops and had a few choice words for Cindy via their signs.


A huge flag is displayed that was sewn together with each square that makes up the red and white stripes decorated by a different person who supports the American men and women in uniform and supports their decision to go and bring freedom to those who had none over in Iraq. This flag was HUGE.


Two of the guys cutting the brisket and sausage were from the Austin Fire department. One of them worked in east Austin and one of them worked the campus area.

Speaking as part of the lineup were Gold Star family members, former and current military personnel, Vietnam Vets, and even the wife of one of the men on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania on 9-11. She said that the reason she is supporting our troops in Iraq is because she knows that they are over there fighting to bring freedom to others and to also prevent another 9-11 from happening again. Another speaker who is a current military member who had just returned from a tour in Iraq said that Cindy Sheehan is lowering the morale of the soldiers over there b/c all they are hearing is how "the people" back home aren't supporting them and how "the people" back home are against the war so even though they know that they are fighting for a noble cause, they don't believe that they have the support of the American people back home. He said that it was time for the rest of America to stand up and speak out against people like Cindy so that the soldiers in Iraq know that they are not forgotten, abandoned or disrespected by those whom they are also over there fighting to protect. (I mean really, what do Cindy and the rest of her ilk believe? That if we pull out and go home the terrorists – yes TERRORISTS NOT FREEDOM FIGHTERS – are going to be content to sit there and twiddle their thumbs? No, they will be over here making war on our home soil. Why don't the people like Cindy understand that?)

The Gold Star family members, who had lost family members in the War were going to go over to Camp Casey and take the crosses from the site b/c there were SEVERAL family members at the rally who were furious that Sheehan were exploiting their deceased family members in that way. They were ready to make a statement that CINDY DID NOT SPEAK FOR THEM!! Unfortunately, members of the Democratic Underground got wind of their plans and knocked over the crosses that were out there. Eventually most of the crosses were recovered by the families and put up at the Candlelight vigil held at Fort Qualls, which was set up behind The Yellow Rose, Crawford's big gift shop. However, about 40 that were originally there were missing, which really incensed those family members who's loved ones crosses were among those that were missing.


On the way into town to get a bite to eat after the rally, we drove by the Crawford Peace House where several anti-Bush, anti-war signs were up all around the house and the grounds.


Two women from the "Lesbians Against Bush" part of Sheehan's fans were on the corner of the parking lot to one of Crawford's most frequented restaurants and the owner came out and told them to get off of his property so they stood in the street right across from Fort Qualls.

There was a display set up in front of The Yellow Rose, the Crawford gift shop and site of Fort Qualls, that had a replica of the Liberty Bell that people could ring as well as a display of the Ten Commandments. Emily at first was scared of the bell b/c it was LOUD, but later in the evening she tried it out on her own and almost was able to ring it. She did eventually ring it with mommy's help!



Only in a small (Texas) town would a restaurant be able to get away with having this up without getting slapped by a lawsuit from the ACLU or some other ridiculous organization.


My mom and Emily sitting on the sidewalk in front of Fort Qualls.


This was the very small group of anti-war protesters across the street from Fort Qualls that were protesting the candlelight vigil.


A local Crawford resident who supports Bush and the troops painted his classic car to reflect his patriotism.


A young girl wears a shirt that reflects the family's feelings about their loved one who is currently on tour in Iraq.


Fort Qualls was established on August 18, 2005 1. To refute and to ANSWER the untruths that Camp Casey, Cindy Sheehan & The Crawford Peace House have falsely made about our soldiers, our country, and our President! 2. To continue to let the truth of FREEDOM ring & keep America free. 3. To aggressively challenge untruths, wherever they are.

Fort Qualls was named in memory of a Central Texas soldier Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, who died in Iraq last fall.

"If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said the soldier's father, Gary Qualls, a friend of the local business owner who started the pro-Bush camp. He said his 16-year-old son now wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.

Qualls' frustration with the anti-war demonstrators erupted last week when he removed a cross bearing his son's name that was among hundreds the group had put up along the road to Bush's ranch.

Qualls called the protesters' views disrespectful to soldiers, and said he had to yank out two more crosses after protesters kept replacing them.

Fort Qualls' motto is "DO NOT LET GOOD BE OVERCOME BY EVIL! LET EVIL BE OVERCOME WITH GOOD!"


Retired Military Chaplain stopped at the rally and vigil on his way to Laredo to work with the boarder patrol. He has been petitioning Bush to release some of the surplus supplies and allow homeless vets to work with the border patrol and give them a home on the border and let them help take care of the border problem with illegal crossings. He already has gotten some favorable response from the White House over this plan.



An unknown man, presumably the father of one of the fallen soldiers, stood in reverent silence in front of a garden of crosses with the names of the soldiers who had given their lives in battle. Sometimes silently shedding tears, sometimes praying silently with head bowed. He finally kneeled before the cross of Robert Thornton and touched the dog tags that had been placed there. Finally after about 10 minutes he went and sat in a chair next to the crosses and was just silent and the look on his face was haunted.


A tribute set up by the parents of their son in the garden of crosses at Fort Qualls.


The angel at Fort Qualls is a sculpture that was created in support of our troops.


Wade Fortin, a Vietnam Vet, who has been in and out of hospitals since he came home from complications due to Agent Orange has had both legs amputated, most of his fingers amputated, almost all of his teeth gone, and is very depressed – his friend was afraid that he is seriously considering suicide, was finally given his homecoming tonight at the candlelight vigil. It was a very touching ceremony complete with the 100 or so people who were at the candlelight vigil cheering for him and thanking him. I could tell that it touched him very deeply and his toothless smile was just beautiful. I can only hope that it is enough to get rid of those suicidal thoughts in his head. The sad thing about this story is that b/c he is missing so many appendages, his friend said that few people get to know him b/c of his appearance. He has been really hurting for some friends and the friend that was there with him said that Wade often asks why he is his friend b/c nobody else seems to want to be. The friend was able to get the former military men there, including the chaplain to go over and talk to him and salute him. It really meant a lot to this Vietnam Vet who had been shunned for the most part by society ever since he had gotten home.

Wade's friend


"We did not lose the war in Viet Nam, we lost the cause in America because the media told the country that we were losing and stopped supporting us and through their bias urged others to do the same but if we keep supporting the troops here, we will win in Iraq and it will not become another Vietnam. This is the best thing you can do for the troops right now – show your support at rally's like this. Be vocal about your support of the troops. Don't let the media or the other side try to keep you silent. You know we are not the minority, but the majority and the majority are no longer silent. The minority can not silence us anymore."


The candlelight vigil was very emotional, spiritual and patriotic with many of the military veterans and loved ones offering prayers, tears flowing freely among those whose loved ones were over in Iraq or who had lost someone there. Everyone said the Pledge of Allegiance, which was led by a former Vietnam Veteran and sang our National Anthem.


Some of the vets that were at the candlelight service. Very quiet, very staid, very reverent and respectful with big rumbly voices that were surprisingly gentle.


Some of the names of soldiers that their family members wanted their crosses removed from the Camp Casey site.


Some of the crosses that were rescued from Camp Casey by irate patents and family members who were angry at Sheehan for using their children/loved ones names to further her anti-war, anti-troop rhetoric.


Some of the family members re-erecting the same crosses at Fort Qualls in support of the duty that their loved ones died performing.


The parent of one of the soldiers who was KIA in Iraq holding her son's cross that they took back from Camp Casey. She said it was a disgrace what Cindy was doing to the memory of her son and to the memory of every other soldier who had died or were still fighting over there.


A military father proudly holding up pictures of his son, who, he said, had been proud to be in Iraq, working toward giving the Iraqis the same freedoms that we were privileged to have here in America. He said that his son and everyone that his son served with in his squad/platoon/where they were stationed in Iraq believed in what they were doing and that what Cindy was doing was spitting on their memory and spitting on their efforts and that it was a disgusting display to have someone like her trashing the soldiers who were over there doing their duty.


Em prayed right along with the Chaplain as he said a prayer for the protection of our brave men and women in Iraq. This is probably one of my favorite pictures of her this weekend along with this one:



During the candlelight vigil a storm started to kick up. Lots of lightening in the distance, wind gusting pretty hard, huge, infrequent drops of rain. The storm, they say, was going to produce gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, possible large hail, huge showers, etc, so we decided that safety had become the order of the day, plus Em was READY to go.
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And now Sheehan is calling the mothers of other slain soldiers "brainwashed" for supporting "murder and mayhem". After calling the terrorists in Iraq who killed her son "freedom fighters," anti-Bush activist Cindy Sheehan now says other mothers of those slain in the conflict whose views oppose her own are "brainwashed." She said, "I am starting to lose a little compassion for them. I know they have been as brainwashed as the rest of America, but they know the pain and heartache and they should not wish it on another. However, I still feel their pain so acutely and pray for these 'continue the murder and mayhem' moms to see the light."

Before calling someone who has lost their son brainwashed for disagreeing with her spitting on their child's memory, she might want to look in the mirror and see how much of what is coming out of her mouth is left-wing regurgitated rhetoric. Who's the one who's been "brainwashed". She has become the parroted mouthpiece for the left, in fact so much so that Martin Sheen visited her on Sunday – he the KING of the ultra liberal Hollywood leftists. The more she belittles other who don't think like her, the less people are going to listen to her and the less credibility she will have with the general American populous at large. She's already starting to lose credibility as she starts speaking about channeling her deceased son and the other fallen soldiers. She herself has said that had she "been in her right mind" after Casey died she would have denied him a military burial and refused to let him be buried in his uniform, and what was she doing while she was not "in her right mind"? In her own words - she sat on the couch and cried and drank for a week, then went to meet with Bush and had nothing but the most complimentary things to say.

And now a word from Chuck Colson

We will get back to our regularly scheduled program after this message. I am in the process of putting together the recap/photos from our trip to the Crawford rally yesterday but I felt compelled to share this right now. This was a Breakpoint Commentary earlier in the week by Chuck Colson. It is very telling as to how much influence and our dependance on Saudi oil has allowed us to turn a blind eye to the demands they are putting on us.

Who Is Becoming Like Whom?
The Saudis Get a Pass . . . Again

A key goal in the war on terrorism is the promotion of democracy and pluralism in the Islamic world. It’s expected that these Western ideals will cripple radical Islam by reducing the number of potential terrorist recruits, and by making the Middle East more like the West.

Apparently, someone in Blacksburg, Virginia, didn’t get the word.

Blacksburg is home to Virginia Tech, Virginia’s largest public university. This past summer, Virginia Tech was paid $246,000 to host a program in “faculty development” for King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia.

Such arrangements aren’t unusual, but what was unusual was the Saudis’ request that the classes be gender-segregated. University officials said that the Saudis wanted the courses to “mirror classroom settings at their home institution.”

As one Virginia Tech spokesman put it, the university “chose to respect the Saudi culture ‘rather than impress our culture on them.’” Well, that explanation did not go down well with Tech faculty members. One professor even filed a grievance. Virginia Tech’s provost issued an apology-of-sorts and called the flap a “learning moment” that will guide Tech’s future actions.

This particular issue is moot because the Saudis will be long gone by the time the grievance process is over. What isn’t moot is the way that Saudi Arabian oil wealth buys an exemption from our professed values and ideals.

A decade ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) single-sex policy violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. As a public institution, VMI couldn’t do, as a matter of conviction, what its sister institution, Virginia Tech, now gladly does for money. Please.

Our bending over backwards to accommodate Saudi sensibilities isn’t limited to American college campuses. As scholar Daniel Pipes puts it, “In Saudi Arabia, the U.S. government submits to restrictions on Christian practices that it would find totally unacceptable anywhere else in the world”—including foregoing saying grace before Thanksgiving dinner during a 1990 visit by then-president George H. W. Bush. As recently as 2002, American servicewomen, when they went off-base, were expected to wear “abayas,” the black head-to-foot garments worn by Saudi women. Meanwhile, we allow Saudis to finance schools that teach hatred of the West and send Korans into prisons.

These and numerous other examples prompt an obvious question: Who is becoming like whom? There can be no doubt which one needs to change. After all, Americans didn’t hijack their planes and fly them into the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh.

Yet, Americans are expected, by both their government and ours, to become more like Saudis. And as the price of oil rises, this leverage and influence can be expected to rise with it.

Let’s be clear: This is not “respect” for another culture; it is cravenness. It is letting oil wealth blind us, not only to our values, but also to our best interests. In any war, it helps to know who your adversaries are. The poor, misguided folks in Blacksburg may have done us a favor if this wakes us up to the double-standard we practice with the Saudis.