America needs to prepare for a major governmental assault on religious liberty in the wake of the Supreme Court’s marriage ruling, but those standing against the tide can find plenty of inspiration from those who pioneered the concept of religious freedom at the American founding.
Michael Farris is co-founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association and author of “The History of Religious Liberty.” The book details the fierce fight for the religious freedom provisions that eventually emerged in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Farris said history is critical to understand in the wake of the marriage decision and the brand new threats to liberty being advocated on the political left.
In response to the court decision, Govs. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, and Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, have announced their states will vigorously protect the religious liberty of the people. Farris applauds the efforts but warns those policies won’t stop all government intrusion into Americans’ lives or the practices of religious institutions.
“That’s a good thing. It limits the areas where a church or a school can expect an attack. But a Christian college residing in one of those states can still expect an attack from the IRS or from the accrediting association or from the U.S. Department of Education if they don’t go along with the federal edicts on this,” said Farris, who warned schools and churches would be wise to protect themselves legally now given the dire warnings offered in the dissents to the Obergefell decision.
“We have four justices on the Supreme Court effectively warning all the religious institutions, ‘You better do something about this because trouble’s coming.’ I don’t think that’s an idle speculation,” he said. “That’s about as strong of a warning from about as high a source as you can possibly get.”
According to Farris, the greatest parallel between the colonial struggle for religious freedom and today’s cultural battles is where the battle lines are drawn. Religious freedom was not championed by the ruling class.
“It was a monumental battle,” he said. “It was the common people, who believed in Jesus, who believed the Bible was the authority for their faith and their life, who really fought the war and won. Many of them paid with their lives.”
Farris said the founding generation should serve as inspiration for the religious freedom fights of this century.
“Common people armed with bravery and faith in God can turn anything around,” he said. “I’ve seen it in my own life through the homeschooling movement. We were outnumbered and outgunned by the teachers’ unions day after day after day. We won battle after battle after battle because (we were) common people armed with the Constitution of the United States and belief in the Word of God.”
Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks on Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.
The diplomats said two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a UN arms embargo and its insistence that any UN Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.
With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end.
But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.
Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks.
“No one is thinking of another extension,” Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian delegation, said on Twitter. “Everyone working hard to get to yes today, but political will (is) still required.”
One of the diplomats said the delay posed by the disputes was unexpected, with negotiators expecting that they would be resolved by late Sunday.
Beyond placing long-term limits on Iran’s present nuclear program, the United States wants to ensure that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has wide-ranging authority to investigate the nuclear arms allegations after nearly a decade of being essentially stalemated.
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano came back from Tehran and talks with Iranian leaders early this month saying that a new plan had been drawn up to aid his probe. Diplomats had earlier said that there was also progress within the Vienna negotiations on the issue. But the debate about how much access his experts should be given has publicly continued, with top Iranian officials saying military sites and Iranian nuclear scientists would be off limits to IAEA experts.
Iran insists it never worked on such weapons and may also be resisting any mention of concessions on the probe in any public documents describing the deal.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, told reporters in Vienna that the talks are at their “final breathtaking moments (but) certain issues still remain.” He said he could not guarantee an agreement would be reached either Monday or Tuesday.
In Brussels, French President Francois Hollande said the sides are near agreement but “a gap” remains.
The foreign ministers of Russia and China, who had left the talks last week, both returned to the Austrian capital late Sunday, and most other foreign ministers of the seven nations at the table also were in Vienna by Monday, in place for any announcement.
“The foreign ministers are gathered to bring negotiations to a conclusion,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. “We believe there could not be further delay.”
After more than two weeks of see-saw developments, including threats from both the United States and Iran to walk away, senior officials at the talks had begun to express optimism on Sunday that a deal was within reach.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said twice that he was “hopeful” and met again with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday evening. After that meeting, foreign ministers and senior officials from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany held a group dinner.
Movement toward a deal has been marked by nearly a decade of wearying negotiations. The pact is meant to impose long-term, verifiable limits on nuclear programs that Tehran could modify to produce weapons. Iran, in return, would get tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that the nuclear deal would force the Jewish state to “defend itself, by itself.”
House Speaker John Boehner is preparing an "inauguration-like setting" on the west front of the U.S. Capitol so members of the public can view Pope Francis's visit to Washington in September.
The setup will include Jumbotrons so onlookers can watch the pope's address to a joint meeting of Congress, Boehner's office said in a press release Wednesday morning. His Holiness will also make a brief appearance on the west front after his speech inside the House chamber.
"The visit of Pope Francis to the U.S. Capitol is a historic moment for the country," Boehner said in a statement. "Given the unprecedented nature of his visit, Pope Francis' address to a joint meeting of Congress will be broadcast live to members of the public on the West Front of the Capitol."
"We look forward to welcoming Pope Francis and Americans from all walks of life to our Capitol on September 24," Boehner added.
The speaker, who is Catholic, last year extended a formal invitation to the pope to address Congress and the pope officially accepted this February. The pope's visit will mark the first time the head of the Catholic Church addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
During Francis's visit to the U.S., his first since becoming pope, he is also scheduled to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and will also visit New York.
House Speaker John Boehner is preparing an “inauguration-like setting” on the west front of the U.S. Capitol so members of the public can view Pope Francis’s visit to Washington in September. The setup will include Jumbotrons so onlookers can watch the pope’s address to a joint meeting of Congress, Boehner’s office said in a press release Wednesday morning. His Holiness will also make a brief appearance on the west front after his speech inside the House chamber. “The visit of Pope Francis to the U.S. Capitol is a historic moment for the country,” Boehner said in a statement. “Given the unprecedented nature of his visit, Pope Francis’ address to a joint meeting of Congress will be broadcast live to members of the public on the West Front of the Capitol.” “We look forward to welcoming Pope Francis and Americans from all walks of life to our Capitol on September 24,” Boehner added. The speaker, who is Catholic, last year extended a formal invitation to the pope to address Congress and the pope officially accepted this February. The pope’s visit will mark the first time the head of the Catholic Church addresses a joint meeting of Congress.
As pointed out in Tom Horn’s magnum opus and masterpiece “Zenith 2016″, for a few adepts of history and secret orders, the unprecedented upcoming “inaugurantion” of Petrus Romanus on the White House lawn as detailed in the CNN story above is deliciously staged. The term “inaugurate” is from the Latin “inauguratio,” and refers to the archaic ceremony by which the Roman augurs (soothsayers) approved a king or ruler (or other action) through omens as being “sanctioned by the gods.”
As for Petrus Romanus, his 
“inauguration” was originally sealed by the same omen the ancient augurs used in determining the will of the gods for a king—thunder and lightning as the most important auspice and sign that Jupiter—the father of Apollo—was watching.
“inauguration” was originally sealed by the same omen the ancient augurs used in determining the will of the gods for a king—thunder and lightning as the most important auspice and sign that Jupiter—the father of Apollo—was watching.
Recall when Pope Benedict officially and secretly resigned right when when Tom Horn and Cris Putnam said he would (officially to the Curia in April, 2012, then publicly February 11, 2013) mystical affirmation was quickly punctuated by two dramatic lightning bolts striking St. Peter’s basilica.
“This follows the disturbing pattern that we have seen from the State Department of ignoring the particular targeting of Christians by ISIS, while giving preferential treatment for asylum to other groups with expedited processing — like Somalis, Iraqis, and Syrians, some of whom could very well be members of jihadist movements.”
“After Four Months, Why Are 20 Chaldean Iraqi Christians Who Fled ISIS Still Detained by Immigration Officials?,” by Ray Nothstine, Christian Post, July 10, 2015 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
Despite having family members to sponsor them, a group of 20 Chaldean Christians who fled ISIS have been detained for over four months at the Otay Detention Facility in San Diego. The large Chaldean community in Southern California are unhappy with the unexplained delays and are demanding their release.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claim they are undermanned and face a backlog of cases but have offered little to the media about the prolonged detention of the Chaldean 20.Mark Arabo, an activist and spokesmen for the local Chaldean community says, “What we do know is that they are being held without a real reason.”Arabo has pleaded with the highest levels of government demanding action for the group being held.
“We are protesting, we are talking to the State Department, and the White House and Congress, and we are putting pressure to make sure they release these twenty people,” he declared to Al Jazeera. Arabo believes the excuses from immigration officials about indefinitely detaining them for bureaucratic reasons is “hard to believe.”
Arabo pointed out that the men and women in detention have been held too long even by the government’s own standards. The vast majority of foreign nationals detained or arrested by ICE are released under some form of supervision, according to their own statement.
Faith, McDonnell, director of religious liberty at the Institute on Religion & Democracy told The Christian Post the detainment is “a disturbing pattern” by the State Department.
“This follows the disturbing pattern that we have seen from the State Department of ignoring the particular targeting of Christians by ISIS,” said McDonnell, “while giving preferential treatment for asylum to other groups with expedited processing — like Somalis, Iraqis, and Syrians, some of whom could very well be members of jihadist movements.”
Russian Parliament member Yevgeny Fedorov claims that Russian oligarchs are in negotiations with top American corporations and the White House to foment an astroturf revolution that will lead to the ouster of President Vladimir Putin and the collapse of the Russian Federation within two years.
During a 34 minute interview with a Russian media outlet, Fedorov made a number of bombshell claims in asserting that a Ukraine-style coup was being organized.
“They are conducting a negotiation process with the Russian elites for the extradition of Putin,” said Fedorov, noting that the same process was undertaken before the coup in Kiev which ousted Viktor Yanukovyc. He identified John F. Tefft, the United States Ambassador to Russia, as being the figurehead behind this conspiracy.
Fedorov said that Russian oligarchs were supportive of the coup, negotiations for which took place at the 2014 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and that the plot also involved members of Russia’s interior ministry and military generals.
“We know the objective is the destruction of the Russian federation,” said Fedorov, explaining how the sanctions were designed to gradually collapse the Russian economy and lower standards of living.
The sanctions won’t be lifted until Putin resigns and the Russian Federation collapses, according to Fedorov, dismissing as “propaganda nonsense,” claims by the White House that the sanctions will end when Russia withdraws from Crimea.
“We see a conspiracy forming in Russia against Putin on the basis of the sanctions and the corporations which are dependent on the Americans – we don’t have any others,” added Fedorov, noting that the flash point is likely to come in August, after which there will be a push for “early elections” to oust Putin.
Russian state officials with close ties to businesses will be the “weak link” the Americans use to foment the conspiracy, claims Fedorov, adding that such individuals will become emboldened to defy Putin to a much greater degree. American companies and the IMF already hold significant power over Russia’s laws and economy, argues Fedorov, meaning that a coup is far easier to achieve given the country’s lack of sovereignty.
“After August, through the winter, I think, by the drop of living standards, they will be able to bring out several hundred thousand people onto the streets….simply because, with the help of the government, they will severely crash people’s living standards, this will be especially felt after winter,” said Fedorov, adding that Spring 2016 could be the time period in which the coup is initiated.
Up to 200,000 “hungry people” will suffice to start a “rebellion” against Putin, says Fedorov, adding that militant groups from Ukraine will also be sent in to generate chaos.
Individuals within the government will “mindlessly surrender Russia by the set deadlines,” asserts Fedorov, adding that Russian media outlets like RBC TV, which is controlled by CNN and CNBC, are also complicit in the coup because of their failure to report that the country is under “attack.”
“The noose is being tightened around Russia,” said Fedorov, who predicted that a coup will also be launched in Armenia to starve Moscow of allies.
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1 comment:
Just waiting for Daniel 8 : 6 To begin
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