A report in WorldNetDaily notes that Barack Obama’s criticism of congressional efforts to protect the faith-based values of military chaplains is disturbing on many levels, charges the Center for Military Readiness, a nonpartisan public policy organization that supports the U.S. military services. The organization, long concerned about the rising violence in a military forced to adopt a social agenda that includes the promotion of homosexuality, noted Obama’s response to a congressional strategy to protect the conscience-based decisions of military chaplains. The bill makes it illegal to “require a chaplain to perform any rite, ritual or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs of the chaplain” or to “discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of a promotion, school, training or assignment” because the chaplain refused to violate his or her religious beliefs. The congressional action was deemed essential because of Obama’s success in removing the longstanding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy from the U.S. military. Not only are homosexuality and other “philias” allowed, but they are openly promoted within the ranks. As a result of Obama’s campaign, same-sex marriages are now considered appropriate, and military chaplains fear they will be ordered to participate. When Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, which includes the provisions, he blasted both Congress and chaplains. “Section 533 is an unnecessary and ill-advised provision, as the military already appropriately protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members,” he wrote in a signing statement that accompanied the legislation. He said he would not pay much attention to it. “My administration remains fully committed to continuing the successful implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and to protecting the rights of gay and lesbian service members; Section 533 will not alter that,” he declared.
Other news:
- President Obama continues to shy away from addressing Islamists’ murdering of thousands of Christians over the past three years in Nigeria after spending tens of millions to help pass pro-abortion laws in Kenya, reports onenewsnow.com. When Nigerian Christians should have just been celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmastime over the past few years, they have also been mourning numerous deaths of loved ones falling victim of the militant Muslim group, Boko Haram. In a plea to stop America’s blind eye to the genocide that has escalated each of the past three Christmases, the Christian Association of Nigerian Americans is urging the White House to take a stand against militant Islam in Nigeria. “Our government in Washington, D.C., especially the White House and the State Department, are fully aware of what is going on,” CANAN declared in a public statement. “But both President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have simply tolerated this impunity by their inaction.” The most recent violence saw the Boka Haram jihadist group murder at least a dozen Christians in two church raids while Christmas Eve services were taking place. According to police in northern Nigeria, five congregants and a deacon at First Baptist Church in the city of Maiduguri of Borno state were slaughtered. Another attack included six worshipers and the pastor of Church of Christ in Nations in the Yobe province town of Postikum, where they were all fatally shot. And CANAN reports that these were no ordinary assaults on Christians this Christmas. “On Christmas day in northern Nigeria, Boko Haram was busy slashing the throats of Christians right inside their churches or at their homes,” stated the Christian organization, which is overseen by a board of trustees including pastors, professors, ministry leaders and an attorney, including executive director, Laolu Akande. “At least 15 of such barbaric killings have been reported in the past number of days. Worshippers had to watch in terror as their colleagues throats were cut off!”
- With Democrats in control of the state’s government, a California pro-family group doesn’t think people should be surprised that more anti-family laws have been put into place, reports onenewsnow.com. But Liberty Counsel says it has a “very strong case” against one of them. Several anti-family laws are among the 800-plus new measures that went into effect Jan. 1 in The Golden State. For example, California now permits registered nurses to hand out hormonal contraceptives and requires parents to receive information from a doctor before they can opt their children out of immunizations. The state also extended a pilot project that allows nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants to perform non-surgical abortions. Governor Jerry Brown (D) also signed SB 1140 into law, paving the way for gay marriage, according to some conservatives. But considering the elected leadership, Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com does not think anyone should be surprised. “What do you get with the Democrats? Tax-funded abortions done by certain nurses, . . . giving birth control to teenage girls, trampling parental rights in regards to immunizations, inviting more voter fraud by doing same-day Election Day voter registration, inviting homosexual marriages in the future by claiming that there will be no conflict between religious freedom and homosexual marriage,” Thomasson lists. “This is the agenda; these are the new laws of the Democrats.” The number of California laws going into effect this year is the highest since 2006. But concerning SB 1172, which bans minors from undergoing counseling for unwanted same-sex attractions, Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver feels his firm has a “very strong case” against the officials appealing the injunction on the law.
- Egypt’s army foiled an attack on a church in North Sinai on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a spokesman said on Monday. Egypt’s Coptic minority is celebrating their first Christmas under the rule of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, amid fear and uncertainty for their future, reports haaretz.com. Armed forces spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said that army patrols discovered a car carrying explosives between a church and a military checkpoint under construction in the early hours of Monday. The armed forces “have foiled an attempt to bomb the Rafah Church in North Sinai,” he said. Another car, which had no license plates and carried masked men, escaped before troops could stop it.
- The blueprint for how Americans would be disarmed during a “declared civil emergency” is contained in an Army manual that outlines a plan to confiscate firearms to prevent them falling into the hands of rioters or dissidents, reports infowars.com. Given the imminent introduction of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s draconian gun control legislation, which would instantly criminalize millions of gun owners in the United States if passed, concerns that the Obama administration could launch a massive gun confiscation effort have never been greater. In July, the process by which this could take place was made clear in a leaked U.S. Army Military Police training manual for “Civil Disturbance Operations” (PDF) dating from 2006. Similar plans were also outlined in an updated manual released in 2010 titled FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations. Meanwhile, the team behind the president’s 2013 inauguration bash later this month are bracing themselves for a ton of empty seats, reports The Daily Mail. Two weeks before the big day, plenty of hotel rooms still haven’t been booked. Four years ago, some hotels sold out months in advance. There will be just two official inaugural balls this year, both at the Washington Convention Center, rather than 10 official balls at multiple locations around town. The pair of celebrations are the lowest number since 1953, according to The New York Post. A political insider told the paper, “Some on the presidential inaugural committee are starting to seriously worry.”
- In an interview with Stephen Moore of The Wall Street Journal, newly re-elected House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) opened up about President Obama’s utter unwillingness to cut a single dollar from federal spending, reports breitbart.com. In “a stunning admission,” Obama reportedly told Boehner, “We don’t have a spending problem.” Boehner added that President Obama continues to maintain that America’s federal deficit is caused not by governmental overspending but by “a health-care problem.” Meanwhile, The Washington Times reports that Obama supporters are shocked, angry at new tax increases: “With President Obama back in office and his life-saving ‘fiscal cliff’ bill jammed through Congress, the new year has brought a surprising turn of events for his sycophantic supporters. ‘What happened that my Social Security withholding’s in my paycheck just went up?’ a poster wrote on the liberal site DemocraticUnderground.com. ‘My paycheck just went down by an amount that I don’t feel comfortable with. I guarantee this decrease is gonna’ hurt me more than the increase in income taxes will hurt those making over 400 grand. What happened?’ Shocker. Democrats who supported the president’s re-election just had NO idea that his steadfast pledge to raise taxes meant that he was really going to raise taxes. They thought he planned to just hit those filthy ‘1 percenters,’ you know, the ones who earned fortunes through their inventiveness and hard work.”
- Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel would face questions over his approach to Israel and Iran if President Barack Obama nominates him for defense secretary, three Republican senators said Sunday, reports Newsmax.com. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on NBC that Hagel would face “a lot of tough questions” in confirmation hearings. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz both said they were predisposed to oppose Hagel. Presidential cabinet choices are subject to Senate confirmation. “This is an in-your-face nomination by the president,” Graham said on CNN’s State of the Union. “Quite frankly Chuck Hagel is out of the mainstream of thinking on most issues regarding foreign policy.” Hagel, 66, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has been discussed as the leading candidate for the job for more than a month and his possible nomination has drawn opposition from an ad hoc coalition of Republican advocates of muscular defense policies, supporters of Israel and gay-rights activists. In a letter to supporters, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice warned, “President Obama has nominated an anti-Israel former Senator to be Secretary of Defense. Senator Chuck Hagel has blamed American support for Israel on the ‘Jewish lobby,’ refused to sign a letter supporting Israel, and opposed labeling Hezbollah a ‘terrorist organization.’ But that’s not all. Senator Hagel supported direct dialogue with Hamas—a terrorist group that launches near-daily attacks on Israeli civilians—and even refused to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorists. A former Senator with this record of appeasement cannot be second in command of our Armed Forces.”
- What is believed to be the first atheist church in England held its first service on Sunday in London, according to a report from The Christian Institute. “Stand-up comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, who are behind the ‘church,’ say they like many aspects of religion but don’t believe in God,” the Institute reports. “We thought it would be a shame not to enjoy the good stuff about religion, like the sense of community, just because of a theological disagreement,” Jones said in a report by the Institute. The result? “It’s part atheist church and part foot-stomping show. There will be a speaker on a theme each month but there will also be an awesome house band, which Pippa will lead. We’ll be helping people try and stick to their new year’s resolutions in the first service.” The Christian Institute also notes that a BBC report said children should be introduced to homosexuality from an early age on TV. The Christian Institute also cites a new league table showing that the UK has one of the highest levels of family breakdown in the developed world.
