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EarsToHear.net September 30, 2008 - What if the Left takes over?

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EarsToHear.net continues to provide comprehensive selective coverage which is primarily focused on engaging Kingdom citizens to be responsible in their American citizenship as well. Please keep in mind, with the amount of coverage all past newsletters will remain available and the new EarsToHear.net site search engine can be used to assist in locating issue related coverage.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness... Matthew 6 (We are to personally and individually seek FIRST the Kingdom of God AND His Righteousness ahead of all else including self and politics. This does not mean however we are to hide our Light or refrain from "reproving the world of sin." Imagine if the Christians who created our Republic did so.)

What if the Left takes over?  Tom Minnery - We’ve been examining that question around here for the past year, and with Election Day now just weeks away, the answer is as troubling as ever. If Barack Obama wins the White House and liberals fortify their ranks in Congress, here are some headlines that you and I can expect to read:

• Obama signs Freedom of Choice Act, invalidating all state and federal pro-life laws

• Defense of Marriage Act repealed; gay lobby celebrates federal benefits and marriage rights

• Largest tax increase in history to pay for new entitlements, foreign aid

• ‘Out’ in the barracks: Homosexuality hits the armed forces

• It’s Hillary! Obama’s Supreme Court pick should sail through Senate

If reading that list gives you heartburn now, just imagine how you’ll feel if those headlines become reality. As an organization that champions virtue in public policy, we’ve pondered that eventuality. And that’s why we’re doing everything we can to alert values voters about where their candidates stand and what’s at stake this fall. Let me share with you what your support is allowing us to do in two ways—publicly and privately.

(Note: The link is to NewsBull.com as the original email received did not provide a link.)

Take Action - (Alerts, Action, Petitions)

The deadline for voter registration in some states, is next week. Register to Vote.

Values Voter Summit Speeches At the very least see Star Parker, Jonathan Falwell, and Don Feder...

Fr. Pavone: Pulpit Under God's Authority, Not Government's /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, commented today on the "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" that a group of pastors observed this past weekend, in which they spoke about the moral qualifications of candidates for public office, with a freedom that they maintain the IRS is wrongly taking from pastors. "This effort is not about bringing politics into the pulpit; it's about getting government out of the pulpit," Fr. Pavone explained. "It should be Church authority, not government authority that determines the criteria for how pastors should address politics." "When a preacher goes into a pulpit, he does so under the command and authority of God, to preach God's word. Now God's word cannot really be God's if the government can limit or censor it. Moreover, if preachers didn't historically have the freedom to challenge government authority, we would have neither Christianity nor the United States of America," Fr. Pavone pointed out. "My advice to my fellow priests and pastors is simply this: Don't have a knee-jerk reaction to the actions some pastors took this weekend, simply dismissing such actions as inappropriate. Rather, think about whether you are fully exercising the freedom you already do have under the law, and think about how much you are not doing simply because you fear legal entanglements." Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage Will Increase Prevalence of Homosexuality: Voters Unaware of Research /Christian Newswire/ -- Voters in several U.S. states soon will decide whether same-sex marriage will be permitted in their state. However, most voters are unaware of scientific research which reveals that social endorsement of homosexuality, as would be the case with the legalization of same-sex marriage, will lead more individuals into a homosexual lifestyle. Trayce L. Hansen, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, recently reviewed extensive worldwide research on the origins of homosexuality and the impact social endorsement has on the rate of homosexual behavior. Dr. Hansen's findings are reported in a newly released article entitled, "Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Will Increase Prevalence of Homosexuality: Research Provides Significant Evidence." This latest piece is the author's third in a series of articles concerning same-sex marriage, homosexuality, and children. The previous articles in the series are entitled, "Love Isn't Enough: Five Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Will Harm Children" and "Pro-Homosexual Researchers Conceal Findings: Children Raised by Openly Homosexual Parents More Likely To Engage in Homosexuality." All three articles, as well as other background information and research references, are available on her website at http://www.drtraycehansen.com.

News and commentary (News & Commentary)

Branch Banking & Trust, Co. Bashes Bailout Not all financial institutions are begging for a handout. - We think it is important that Congress hear from the well run institutions as most of the concerns have been focused on the problem companies. It is inappropriate that the debate is largely being shaped by the financial institutions who made very poor decisions. Attached are the issues that we believe are relevant from the perspective of healthy banks. Letter from Branch Banking & Trust, Co.

08-40 Brief - Patriot Post Vol. 08 No. 40 | 29 September 2008 - Culture - “Under [Bill] Clinton, the entire federal government put massive pressure on banks to grant more mortgages to the poor and minorities. Clinton’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo, investigated Fannie Mae for racial discrimination and proposed that 50 percent of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s portfolio be made up of loans to low- to moderate-income borrowers by the year 2001. Instead of looking at ‘outdated criteria,’ such as the mortgage applicant’s credit history and ability to make a down payment, banks were encouraged to consider nontraditional measures of credit-worthiness, such as having a good jump shot or having a missing child named ‘Caylee.’ Threatening lawsuits, Clinton’s Federal Reserve demanded that banks treat welfare payments and unemployment benefits as valid income sources to qualify for a mortgage. That isn’t a joke—it’s a fact. ... In 1999, liberals were bragging about extending affirmative action to the financial sector. Los Angeles Times reporter Ron Brownstein hailed the Clinton administration’s affirmative action lending policies as one of the ‘hidden success stories’ of the Clinton administration, saying that ‘black and Latino homeownership has surged to the highest level ever recorded.’ Meanwhile, economists were screaming from the rooftops that the Democrats were forcing mortgage lenders to issue loans that would fail the moment the housing market slowed and deadbeat borrowers couldn’t get out of their loans by selling their houses. A decade later, the housing bubble burst and, as predicted, food-stamp-backed mortgages collapsed. Democrats set an affirmative action time-bomb and now it’s gone off.” - Ann Coulter

...For the Record - “[T]he World Economic Forum has ranked the United States as the world’s most competitive economy for the last two years... Its statistics show that per-capita gross domestic product in the U.S. consistently has grown faster than in other developed economies since 1980. Looking deeper at the causes of American competitiveness shows that we score especially strongly not only in domestic market size (No. 1 in the world) but also in such areas as time required to start a business (No. 3), venture capital availability (No. 1), the cost of firing an employee (No. 1), ownership of personal computers (No. 2), university/industry research collaboration (No. 1) and quality of scientific research institutions (No. 2). The availability of venture capital might be affected temporarily by the market turmoil, and we should worry if Democrats gain control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in November because they might exacerbate what the survey found to be the two most ‘problematic’ issues for doing business in the U.S. —high tax rates and cumbersome tax regulations. But whatever happens in the next few months, most of the other advantages that have been powering the U.S. economy forward for decades will remain unchanged.” - Max Boot

...Select Reader Comments - “Why doesn’t the media expose the facts on the bailout to the general population, all in one place like Alexander’s article (’Bailout Basics.’)? You would think the talking heads would be clamoring to divulge this information for no other reason than the possibility of a Pulitzer. All of this bolsters my confidence in my decision to vote for Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin. I am a registered Democrat who is about to change that. I am so embarrassed by the party of my personal history that I cannot remain affiliated. I wish to apologize to the entire country for ever voting for Bill Clinton, though at least I learned, and did not vote for Gore or Kerry.” - Spokane, Washington

...The Last Word - “Meanwhile, the press continues to treat the inexperienced and gaffe-prone Sen. Barack Obama as though he is the next JFK. Among the howlers is the presumption that he is an orator of great gifts as JFK was an orator of great gifts. In truth, the Prophet Obama suffers one of the strangest oratorical disabilities I ever have seen in a presidential candidate: a dependence on the teleprompter. We know of politicians who depend on the teleprompter for fluency. Sen. Obama, however, relies on a teleprompter so that he will not be heard talking down to the electorate. If he is not lecturing with his nose in the air, he is all uhhs and ahhs. Perhaps if he had served as mayor in a small town, he would have gotten over this revealing disorder.” - Emmett Tyrrell

What do Small Businesses Think About our Presidential Candidates - Results of the Register.com Customer Opinion Poll - Summary: In early September, Register.com conducted an informal Customer Opinion Poll. We asked for your thoughts on the US Presidential candidates and the issues that impact your business and the use of technology (such as email and internet). Over 700 customers responded to our poll—and some of the answers might surprise you. Keywords: Small business advice, small business best practices - Respondents to the Register.com Customer Opinion Poll about the US Presidential Candidates has revealed that more than half (54%) of small businesses believe that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is better prepared to manage the overall economy vs. only 36% of respondents that believe the same about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Additionally, while the majority of respondents believe Senator Obama has demonstrated a better understanding of how to successfully use the Internet, the majority also believes Senator McCain will do more to help small businesses and protect them online.

Obama voter fraud reaches fever pitch By Sher Zieve It appears that Barack Obama has trained his minions well — very very well, in fact. Obama's group ACORN is under scrutiny or indictment in at least 14 states for voter fraud, embezzlement and misuses of taxpayer funds. One of the states — Missouri — is the state in which the Obama campaign now has Missouri police, St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce using their offices to intimidate and threaten those who speak ill about Kandidate Obama.

Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement - “This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

America's Largest and Most Radical Hunting-Ban Group Endorses Barack Obama--It's Just One More Association With Radicals That He Can't Run From: While Barack Obama lies to America's gun owners and hunters about his longstanding public record in support of legislation stripping Americans of essential liberties, his so-called friends are thwarting his campaign of deception. The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the political arm of the radical Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), is the most recent to foil Obama's best laid plans after giving him the organization's unequivocal endorsement. This should be a resounding wake-up call to America's millions of hunters.

HOUSE-PASSED BILL WOULD RESTORE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS . . . An attempt by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) and nearly 50 other senators to restore the Second Amendment rights of Washington, D.C., residents was blocked Thursday by anti-gun senators. Majority Whip Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who said he was acting on behalf of 11 other senators including Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), objected to the bill. Passed easily by the House, the bill would, among other things, prevent the District from banning pistols and rifles and would allow D.C. residents to buy a gun in Maryland and Virginia. Sen. Hutchinson had sent a letter that was also signed by 46 senators to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asking that he allow a vote on the bill before the end of the 110th Congress.

Republican Platform Declares There Should NOT be a North American Union or a North American Currency (NAU War Room) - John McCain has thus far said nothing about the NAU. A mere mention of the NAU and a North American currency will not make this a major issue in the 2008 presidential debates or in the next Congress. And nothing in the Platform calls for a halt on construction of the “North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway.”

Bill would boot U.N. from U.S. Tancredo cites anti-American, anti-Jewish grandstanding - With the clock ticking on his final days in Congress, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a former presidential candidate, is introducing a flurry of controversial legislation – the latest, a bid to kick the United Nations out of the U.S.

"The U.N. has coddled brutal dictators, anti-Semites, state sponsors of terrorism, and nuclear proliferators – while excluding democratic countries from membership and turning a blind eye to humanitarian tragedies and gross violations of human rights around the globe," Tancredo said. "The U.N.'s continued presence in the United States is an embarrassment to our nation, and the time has come for this ineffective organization to pack its bags and hit the road."

This week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is back in New York to address the U.N. His speech has drawn thousands of protesters in New York City. Tancredo's bill, dubbed the U.N. Eviction Act, would direct Attorney General Michael Mukasey to initiate condemnation proceedings against all United Nations properties within the United States, and sell the property to the highest bidder on the open market. The proceeds will be given to the Treasury Department to pay down the national debt. The bill would also bar the future purchase of property in the United States or U.S. territories by the U.N. or any of its agencies, and revokes the diplomatic privileges and immunities that U.N. officials and representatives currently enjoy.

"I refuse to sit idly by while Americans are forced to host Islamofascist dictators, like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, so they can spew anti-American rhetoric just blocks from Ground Zero," Tancredo continued.

Tancredo said the U.N. is an organization known for its bureaucracy and has become a showcase for anti-American dictators like Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and, of course, Ahmadinejad. He said it has also become little more than a rubber stamp for Chinese and Russian foreign policy initiatives – blocking membership by the democratic nation of Taiwan in the world body, and failing to take any meaningful steps to halt the ongoing genocide in Sudan or the illicit nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran.

"If the U.N. is so keen to accommodate the foreign policy demands of rogue nations and dictatorships, perhaps the world body might be more comfortable relocating to one," concluded Tancredo. "I'm sure Ban Ki-Moon will have no trouble securing a new location in downtown Pyongyang or Tehran."

Last week, Tancredo made news by introducing legislation to prevent Islamic law from gaining a foothold in the U.S. legal system, as it has in other countries.

HR 6975, the Jihad Prevention Act, would allow American authorities to prevent advocates of Islamic law, or Shariah, from entering the country, revoke the visa of any foreigners that champion it and revoke naturalization for citizens that seek to implement it in the U.S.

Please answer the following questions to see where you agree or disagree with Barack Obama: Brad O'Leary, author of The Audacity of Deceit , joined Glenn Beck to talk about some of the issues he came up with while investigating Barack Obama. He goes issue by issue to see how the most liberal Senator in the United States stacks up against the average American. One interesting survey question O'Leary thought to ask was 'how much in taxes should someone pay if they win a million dollars in the lottery?'

American Family Association Presidential Voter Guide

The Catholic Vote Life, Faith & Family

CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Presidential Report Card

EWTN.com Presents: A Guide to Catholic Teaching and Voting  EWTN Global Catholic Network's website - the most viewed Catholic website in the world next to the Holy See - today unveiled "A Guide to Catholic Teaching and Voting." The guide, which will be updated daily, can be found at www.ewtn.com/vote.

WallBuilders Voter Guide

Free download: FRC Action's 2008 Presidential Voter Guide

Liberty Counsel Non-Partisan Voter Guides for 2008 General Election

National Host of 'Financial Issues Live' on What Bailout Means for America - /Christian Newswire/ -- Dan Celia, national radio host of Financial Issues Live, author and Executive Director of The Regency Foundation has some rational, common sense answers that are not being voiced when it comes to the financial system bailout bill that leading lawmakers fashioned over the weekend and which President Bush urged Congress to pass this morning. Celia commented, "The Democrats can say what they want, but the best thing that Senator McCain could have done is to take some time to think through the decisions concerning the bailout. Not including ACORN, not directing funds for executive compensation, addressing the 'golden parachute' - these were all issues that had to be dealt with and McCain made excellent decisions in these areas and others....During Friday night's debate, when Obama mentioned that his plan would be growing the economy from the bottom up, Celia stated that he was not aware of any time in history when the economy has been stimulated by this method. Celia stated, "You and I might buy a new car and some new clothes, but that the fact of the matter is that the 5% of the taxpayers that Obama wants to penalize with heavy tax burdens are actually the only group that can really stimulate the economy."

Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama Campaign By: Kenneth R. Timmerman - More than half of the whopping $426.9 million Barack Obama has raised has come from small donors whose names the Obama campaign won't disclose. And questions have arisen about millions more in foreign donations the Obama campaign has received that apparently have not been vetted as legitimate.

...Unlike the McCain campaign, which has made its complete donor database available online, the Obama campaign has not identified donors for nearly half the amount he has raised, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). Federal law does not require the campaigns to identify donors who give less than $200 during the election cycle. However, it does require that campaigns calculate running totals for each donor and report them once they go beyond the $200 mark.

...The FEC breakdown of the Obama campaign has identified a staggering $222.7 million as coming from contributions of $200 or less. Only $39.6 million of that amount comes from donors the Obama campaign has identified. ...

And then there are the overseas donations — at least, the ones that we know about.

The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $33.8 million. More than 520 listed their “state” as “IR,” often an abbreviation for Iran. Another 63 listed it as “UK,” the United Kingdom.

More than 1,400 of the overseas entries clearly were U.S. diplomats or military personnel, who gave an APO address overseas. Their total contributions came to just $201,680.

But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah, Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France.

Until recently, the Obama Web site allowed a contributor to select the country where he resided from the entire membership of the United Nations, including such friendly places as North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Unlike McCain’s or Sen. Hillary Clinton’s online donation pages, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently. Clinton’s presidential campaign required U.S. citizens living abroad to actually fax a copy of their passport before a donation would be accepted. (Much more in this column.)

Barack Obama's team believes he can win by a landslide Barack Obama's senior aides believe he is on course for a landslide election victory over John McCain and will comfortably exceed most current predictions in the race for the White House.

Obama’s Real-Estate Bust He did for Illinois taxpayers what shady mortgage lenders have done for the economy. By David Freddoso - Last week, Sen. Barack Obama compared the Savings and Loan bailout of the late 1980s to the situation of the mortgage-securities markets today:

Too many S&Ls took advantage of the lax rules set by Washington to gamble that they could make big money in speculative real estate. . . . [T]hey made hundreds of billions in bad loans, knowing that if they lost money, the government would bail them out. And they were right. The gambles did not pay off, our economy went into recession, and the taxpayers ended up footing the bill. Sound familiar?

Indeed, it does sound familiar — it sounds a lot like what Barack Obama did to Illinois taxpayers as a state senator in Springfield. Using his elected office and his clout, Obama helped Tony Rezko and other unscrupulous low-income housing developers obtain millions of dollars in state grants, tax credits, low-interest loans, and regulatory advantages.

Richard Viguerie: Unleash Sarah Palin! - /Christian Newswire/ -- John McCain may have one chance left to win this election, the Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, Richard A. Viguerie, said. "He must free Sarah Palin to go after Barack Obama and the liberal Democrats, or he will almost certainly lose." "The McCain campaign has put this 'pit bull with lipstick' on a leash. The campaign has surrounded her with people from the Bush administration. And as we can see from the wreckage of the Bush presidencies, these folks don't have the slightest clue how to make a case to the American people." "McCain has to get rid of these Bush people around Palin, along with the lobbyists and the folks from the Washington PR firms, and replace them with principled conservatives who have experience making the case for conservatism."

California - Protect Marriage/Yes on Prop 8 Campaign Releases First Television Commercial: 'Whether You Like It or Not' - In the ad, Professor Peterson says that legalizing gay marriage, "...changes a lot of things." He goes on to detail some of the most important consequences, including: • People being sued for their personal beliefs • Churches opposed to gay marriage being threatened with loss of their tax exempt status • And most importantly, gay marriage being taught in public schools

Indoctrination: "Mainstream" Media, Hollywood,& Education? - (Media, Hollywood, Secular Education) The good, the bad, and the ugly...Without a Heritage every generation starts over  Will our descendants know moral virtue? The primary responsibility of education DOES NOT belong to schools.  (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

"A trained intelligence can do much, but there is no substitute for morality, character and religious conviction."  President Calvin Coolidge

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