Memorial Day

On the last Monday of each May, our nation observes a holiday that many now call Memorial Day. Originally given the name “Decoration Day" for the tradition of beautifying the graves of our fallen soldiers, this day commemorates the lives and sacrifices of those who fought and gave the greatest sacrifice they could so that we could live today in freedom. The Bible reminds us that Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. This love of country—this sense of honor and duty—should be reverenced and admired for the calling that these men and women have so admirably given of themselves to fulfill.

Our military servicemen and women are daily placed in harm’s way both at home and abroad, carrying the torch of freedom for America, These freedoms, endowed by out Creator, are kept alive by the bravery and courage of our military forces. What an opportunity we have to celebrate this heritage of freedom!

God allowed our founding fathers to institute a government in which each citizen is given opportunity to celebrate the freedom to speak out, peaceably assemble, and publicly share his faith with others. Only by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ could a nation be founded with this broad range of freedom. May we never take for granted the privileges afforded to us by the men and women who have given their lives to preserve it for us.

On this Memorial Day, please remember our military. Pray for their safety. Whenever you see them In uniform, tell them “Thank you.” Let each one know that you appreciate the sacrifice that he or she makes for our nation.

As we consider those who have given their all, for the cause of freedom, let us pause and remember that our Savior laid down His life to free us all from the bondage of sin. Currently, over 7 billion people reside on this earth, and God sent His Son to take away the sin of each one who accepts Him and also gives us abundant life and freedom in Him.


From the May 1, 2012 edition of Legal Alerts published by the Christian Law Association.
© 2012
Used by Permission

Why Obama's Birth Certificate Matters, Especially Now

by Selwyn Duke

There was a time when someone could perhaps justify sitting on the fence on the matter of Barack Obama's birth certificate. There were those on the left who could chalk doubts about its authenticity up to conspiratorial internet paranoia. As for the right, there was every reason to worry about being the victims of an Alinsky-style setup designed to marginalize opponents. In other words, let the other side double down on an incredible claim and then, at the most opportune time (October surprise?), provide irrefutable evidence to the contrary, and make them look like deluded wackos. So, for a long time, there might have been reason to watch, wait, and let the wheels of investigation render their judgment.

That judgment is in, and the time for waiting is over.

With the results of Maricopa County, AZ sheriff Joe Arpaio's "Cold Case Posse," an incredible claim has become an incredible situation: a team of professional investigators, commissioned by a major law-enforcement agency, has determined that the alleged birth certificate produced by the president of the United States is a probable forgery.

Process that for a moment. The regime of the world's most powerful nation -- a republic that prides itself on adherence to the rule of law -- is likely peddling a forged document. What say you, citizen?

Note that I didn't claim that the president isn't natural-born. Rather, I claim nothing but am only stating a fact: there is now no denying that the birth-certificate matter warrants further investigation, and it is time for other law-enforcement agencies and the media to show due diligence. And I will spell out the possibilities here:

1. The Arizona investigators are correct.
2. They are mistaken.
3. They are lying.

For the record, I don't believe the last for a moment, but I do want to cover all the bases. And home plate is this: the answer may be number one or two, and it's incumbent upon us to find out through further investigation. And, for those who dislike Sheriff Arpaio, what if the answer is three? Well, if a major law-enforcement agency is producing fraudulent evidence for the purposes of damaging a sitting president, wouldn't that warrant investigation, too? The undeniable, irrefutable fact here is that there is smoke. And we need to find out who started the fire.

In response to these facts, the left will sometimes mount an argument for why Obama is, in fact, natural-born. But this issue is at the moment secondary. And about it I will merely state that there are only two possibilities. First, if the allegedly forged birth certificate relates to the president's natural-born status, then it's clear that the Obama administration is concerned about that status. And what if it doesn't relate to whether the president is natural-born?

Then it relates to something else.

You don't present a forged a document for no reason. Again, the undeniable, irrefutable fact here is that there is smoke. And we need to find out what is feeding the fire.

Remember, too, that document forgery is a crime. If you were found benefiting yourself through it, you'd be prosecuted. Should the president be held to a lower standard?

In point of fact, on the part of the media and citizenry, he must be held to a higher one. We're not talking here about some kid who forged an ID so he could drink at 18 in a bar. This is the most powerful man in the world, who, it appears, is passing off a forgery for some mysterious -- or not so mysterious -- reason. This mystery needs to be solved.

Also, consider the consequences of allowing this alleged high crime to go unanswered. If Obama is willing to fob off a forgery on the American people, what else is he capable of? If he gets away with it, what else will he do? Remember that in every case in history in which a leader amassed more power for himself by gradually undermining his nation's democratic system, he had millions of enablers. These were the crowds Cicero spoke of that cheered "ambitious scoundrel" Julius Caesar as he paved his way to dictator. These are the "good men" Edmund Burke referred to who do nothing in the face of evil. Sometimes, of course, they're simply scared. Other times they may not want to seem like a nutty Chicken Little saying the sky is falling. Or they may not want to accept that the sky actually is falling, so they rationalize and dress the naked emperor with their eyes. After all, when a problem is daunting or scary, the self-delusion that allows one to ignore it can be appealing.

Most people also don't want conflict; they may fear a constitutional crisis. But know that if Obama is peddling a forged document, it may simply be another example of how we already are in a constitutional crisis. The only question now is whether we're going to fight the fire or continue to fiddle while the Constitution burns.


Selwyn Duke is a regular blogger for the American Thinker. This article is republished from the online article published March 14, 2012.

©2012
Used by Permission

Free our Kids from Governmental Immorality

by Star Parker

We have created a world where it's illegal to teach youth traditional values in school but not illegal to teach them competing values of nihilism, materialism and relativism.

President Barack Obama now commands center stage following his formal announcement that, yes, he supports same sex marriage.

But for perspective on how we got to this point, we should shift our sights to three days before the president's announcement. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared on MSNBC where he responded "yes, I do" when asked if he supports same sex marriage.

Duncan at best raised a few eyebrows by stating his support for same sex marriage.

If he had said that homosexuality is immoral there would have been demands for his ouster.

How have we gone from a nation where our first president, George Washington, admonished that religion and morality are "indispensable" to "political prosperity" to one, today, in which our president says "same-sex couples should be able to get married?"

On the marriage issue, the national transformation has been breathtaking. A new Gallup poll shows the nation evenly divided -- 50 percent saying same-sex marriage should be valid and 48 percent saying it should not be. When Gallup asked the same question in 1996, 68 percent opposed legalization of same sex marriage against 27 percent in favor.

In just 16 years the gap between those opposed and in support of same sex marriage has gone from a 41 point difference to practically zero.

Our public schools are controlled locally. But the influence of the federal government is substantial. The Department of Education, per its website, "administers a budget of $68.1 billion in discretionary appropriations" serving "nearly 16,000 school districts and approximately 49 million students."

It's not trivial that Duncan, the man who oversees this massive enterprise molding the minds of our nation's youth, publicly rejects the traditional definition of marriage in favor of one saying it just takes two (so far) warm bodies of any gender combination.

The president brandishes one of his favorite words in explaining his support for same sex marriage. "Fairness."

Actually, this is about unfairness.

We have bought into a grand illusion that we can make our public spaces value neutral. But this is impossible.

The struggle in our public spaces is about competing worldviews. Not neutrality.

As one court ruling after another has purged religious expression from our public spaces, we have unfairly suppressed traditional values in favor of promoting alternative secular views.

As we have sanitized our public schools from prayer, from displays of the Ten Commandments, from any teaching that can be associated with Biblical sources, we've put government monopoly power behind moral relativism.

California, for instance, has a new law mandating teaching gay history in public schools. A similar mandate to teach Christian history would be challenged constitutionally.

2011-2012 Resolutions of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, include support of same sex marriage and sex education programs that appreciate "diversity of ...sexual orientation and gender identification."

Randi Weingarten, president of the nation's second largest teacher's union, American Federation of Teachers, lives in an open lesbian relationship.

It should come as no surprise when Obama says he sees much of the growth in support for same sex marriage as "generational," with strong support coming from our youth.

Attitudes reflect education. We have created a world in which it is illegal to teach youth in our public schools traditional religious values but it is not illegal to teach them competing values of nihilism, materialism and relativism. And these competing values are actively promoted.

As elsewhere, the main victims are poor, minority kids, often from broken families, held hostage in these public schools and prohibited from being taught the very values that could save their lives.

Is there a way out? I only see one: Universal school choice. Liberate parents and kids from government and union controlled schools. In a free America, parents who don't share Arne Duncan's values shouldn't have them forced on them.

Originally published May 14, 2012, by Star Parker, at CURE, under the title “Free our kids from Arne Duncan.’”

©2012. Used by Permission.