In The News:

"Hot War" Erupting With Iran

There have been acts of sabotage, assassinations, explosions, and cyberattack. But the increasingly violent shadow war between the U.S., Israel, Iran, and its allies haven’t hit targets on American soil — yet. That could change before too long, the administration’s current and former top analysts of terror threats warned.

“We’re seeing a general uptick in the level of activity around the world. Both Hezbollah and the [Iranian] Quods Force have demonstrated an ability to operate essentially globally,” Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told an audience of more than a hundred security professionals gathered here on Thursday.

The signs of escalating tension with Iran are everywhere: the sizable American armada building off of Iran’s shores; the American accusation that Iran tried to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.; thedeaths of Iranian nuclear scientists, widely blamed on the Israelis; and, of course, last week’s bombing in Bulgaria, which U.S. and Israeli officials have pinned on Hezbollah, the Shi’ite militant group backed by Iran.

When Stuxnet — the Washington-directed worm that took out more than a thousand centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment facility — was discovered in June of 2010, there was widespread speculation that elements of the cyberweapon would be pointed back at U.S. infrastructure. That speculation only increased last month when American officials admitted that Stuxnet had been part of a White House-led cyberespionage campaign.

Israel Reinforces Syrian Frontier

Israel reinforced its Syrian frontier on Thursday as fighting between rebels and the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad intensfied on Thursday.

Israeli troops were put on "very high" alert, the source said, speaking oncondition of anonymity.

"The state of alert is very high. A lot of soldiers have been moved to the area, officially for training, but they will be there if anything big happens," he said.

"There are also more planes and more snipers."

A second security official confirmed the move to reinforce the ceasefire line, but said it was motivated by concern that terrorists could use the chaos to cross into Israel.

Israeli officials have expressed concern that Syria's chemical and advanced weapons systems could fall into the wrong hands should the Assad regime collapse.

Jerusalem has vowed to move to secure those weapons should officials conclude they are at risk of falling into the hands of Assad-ally Hizbullah.

Official: Israel Will Act If Militants Raid Syrian Chemical Or Biological Weapons Stocks

Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles could be used against them as the crisis there deepens.

Until a few days ago, the possibility of getting dragged into Syria's civil war was not a major issue in Israel, whose leaders have had a laser-like focus on the potential threat posed by Iran's suspect nuclear program. That changed when Syrian President Bashar Assad's grip on his country turned more doubtful last week, following startling military gains by rebels and a bomb attack that killed four top officials.

Syria on Monday threatened to unleash chemical and biological weapons if the country faces a foreign attack.

Besides biological agents such as anthrax, Syria is believed to have hundreds of tons worth of chemical weapons ranging from paralyzing nerve agents like Sarin and VX to old-fashioned blister agents like mustard gas, CBS News correspondent David Martin reports. They can be launched by missiles, fired by artillery, or dropped from airplanes. It would take more than gas masks to protect against them

The Golan holds tremendous strategic importance for Israel, both as a territorial buffer that protects northern Israel, including the Sea of Galilee, and as a key water source.

Some Israeli officials fear that a power vacuum in Damascus could turn the Golan into a haven for militant groups, much as Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula has attracted a variety of anti-Israel radicals since the fall of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

"Could you imagine Hezbollah, the people who are conducting with Iran all these terror attacks around the world - could you imagine them having chemical weapons?" Netanyahu said this week. "It would be like al Qaeda having chemical weapons."

The Attack On Chick-Fil-A Is An Attack On The Freedom Of Every American

When politicians threaten to ban a business from their cities just because the CEO does not hold the "politically correct" position on a social issue that is an attack on the freedom of speech of every American.

You see, the truth is that the enforcers of political correctness in America are very "tolerant" except when somebody disagrees with them.

The politically correct control freaks that are trying to ban Chick-fil-A from their cities would try to ban Chick-fil-A from opening any more restaurants in the entire country if they had the power to do so. The goal of these politically correct control freaks is to intimidate. They want to end debate on these social issues by shutting down the free speech of the opposition. In the end, if America continues to go down this path it will end up looking just like many of the other totalitarian regimes throughout history where free speech has been banned.

Once again, in America everyone has the right to say whatever they want to about Chick-fil-A.

However, when politicians try to ban a company from doing business in their areas because one of the company executives does not hold the "correct" political view about an issue that is a major problem.

Because the CEO of Chick-fil-A will not conform to Joe Moreno's social values, Chick-fil-A is now essentially banned from that entire section of Chicago.

Not that Chick-fil-A will be able to open up new stores in other areas of Chicago either.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is promising to do what he can to keep Chick-fil-A from expanding any further in Chicago....

The gay rights group Equality Illinois is launching a campaign against Chick-Fil-A – petitioning universities and lawmakers to evict the fast food restaurant from their campuses and planning a “kiss-in” campaign by gay and lesbian couples outside Chick-Fil-A restaurants.

The message is clearly one of intimidation.

Either conform or suffer the consequences.

Sadly, politicians all over America are reacting just like politicians in Chicago have done.

The Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, has pledged to do all that he can to keep Chick-Fil-A out of the entire city of Boston. The following is what he told the Boston Herald on Thursday....

"Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion"

The town of Mountain View, California has also blocked a new Chick-fil-A restaurant from opening up.

In February, Northeastern University refused to allow a Chick-fil-A store to open on their campus, and student groups around the country are already mobilizing to oppose Chick-fil-A on more campuses.

The following is what Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy recent saidduring an interview with the Baptist Press....

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that"

If we don't stand up for free speech now, soon it will be totally gone.

Already, the name of Jesus is becoming a forbidden word all over America. Just consider the following examples....

-All over the United States chaplains are being banned from praying in the name of Jesus.

-You can say just about anything you want in U.S. public schools these days except for anything having to do with Jesus. In fact, if you are a public school student and you try to talk about Jesus with your fellow classmates there is a good chance that you will be suspended from school.

-In many areas of America today, if you want to go out on a public sidewalk and discuss your faith with others there is a good chance that you will be arrested.

-If you are anti-abortion, if you have "radical theology" or if you are against "the New World Order", there is a chance that you will be labeled as a "potential terrorist" by the Department of Homeland Security.

When you attack the freedom of speech of one group of Americans, you attack the freedom of speech of every American.

Once our freedom of speech is gone, it will be incredibly difficult to ever get back.

Stand up for freedom of speech while you still can.