Tag: First Amendment

Christian Florist About to Lose Everything For Standing Up to Gay Mafia

On By kingsjesterIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

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Do you remember how intolerant Liberals and the Homosexual Community were, when Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson spoke about his opposition to gay marriage?

Their horrendous behavior toward Phil Robertson was not an abnormality.

The Christian Post has the story.

Putting florist, grandmother and devout Southern Baptist Barronelle Stutzman out of business was not enough for some Washington state officials. She could lose her home and life savings as well after a Washington superior court judge ruled that she violated the state’s anti-discrimination law because she declined to provide flowers for a same-sex couple’s wedding due to her religious convictions.

After Benton County Superior Court Judge ruled on Wednesday that Stutzman violated the law when she refused to provide floral arrangements for the wedding of Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed in 2013, the possibility became real that Stutzman can lose her business, home, savings and other personal assets once a summary judgement is reached, according to Stutzman’s lawyer Kristen Waggoner.

“The lesson from the court’s decisions is that you put your home, your family business, and your life at risk by daring to defy a government mandate that forces you to promote views you believe are wrong,” Waggoner, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. “A government that tells you what you can’t say is bad enough but a government that tells you what you must say is terrifying.”

Although Stutzman, who is the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, has received thousands of hate letters, insults and threats from LGBT activists who decry her as prejudiced for not providing flowers to Ingersoll and Freed’s wedding, Stutzman willfully served all of Ingersoll’s floral requests for the nine years that Ingersoll came to her shop to buy flowers for Freed.

“She had established a really warm relationship with Rob Ingersoll, who had been in for nine years and come in and spent a good amount of money throughout the years and they had gotten to know each other pretty well,” Waggoner said in avideo posted to ADF website.

“He has a very creative mind and we just kind of hit it off,” Stutzman admitted.

In the video, Stutzman discusses how she prepared many floral arrangements for Ingersoll over the years. She explained that she had no problem making flowers for Ingersoll and Freed to send to one another.

But a few months after gay marriage was passed in Washington in 2012, Ingersoll came to the shop and told Stutzman that he was getting married and he wanted her to provide the flowers for the wedding. Stutzman was caught in a tough spot as she did not want to hurt her friend’s feelings and did not want defy her religious convictions that tell her that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

“It was a real struggle to decide what to do with that. My husband and I talked it over and as much as I loved Rob, I just couldn’t be a part of that,” Stutzman asserted. “If I did Rob’s wedding, it would be from my heart because I think he is a really special person and I would want to make it really special for him. It wasn’t something that I said, ‘Oh, I’m not going to do Rob’s wedding because he is gay.'”

“I think most artistic people, especially painters, they put their heart into their arrangements as part of them and part of who they are. I think that is the same thing with a florist,” Stutzman added.

When Stutzman told Ingersoll that she would not be able to service his wedding, she did not expect to receive backlash. The news of Stutzman’s denial of service for a gay wedding hit social media and stirred outrage and even caught the attention of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Ferguson’s office later filed a lawsuit on behalf of Washington state against Stutzman, after sending Stutzman a letter demanding that she service gay weddings. Even though no official complaint was filed against Stutzman, Ferguson’s office pursued the lawsuit and accused Stutzman and her business of violating the state’s non-discrimination laws.

“The attorney general’s action in this case is unprecedented in Washington state,” Waggoner explained. “We have never had an attorney general take the position that this attorney general has taken.”

After news of the state’s lawsuit against Stutzman broke, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of the gay couple, even though Waggoner says the couple admitted getting offers from over 20 different florists to provide flowers for their wedding for free.

In January, Judge Eckstrom ruled that Stutzman could also be sued on a personal level in addition to being sued on a business capacity. Stutzman is not only at risk of paying the $2,000 fine for violating the state’s discrimination law, but is also at risk of having to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees, which could result in her losing her home and business, Waggoner claims.

“She is at great risk as a result of serving someone lovingly and in a kind way for nine years,” Waggoner said. “Because you won’t do one same sex wedding, you are going to lose your house or your business and she’s been working in this business for 40 years.”

Waggoner said penalizing someone for acting on their own religious beliefs violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Waggoner said ADF plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.

“This is about marriage. It’s not about bigotry. She knew of their [homosexual] relationship. She provided flowers that she sent to each other. But when it came to marriage, that was the line. Because, as she will tell you, ‘Marriage represents the relationship of Christ and His church.’ It’s a sacred covenant,” Waggoner contends. “This case is coercing someone to engage in expression and that is against America’s tradition and it’s unconstitutional.”

Even though Stutzman is being portrayed by critics and some media outlets as an intolerable anti-homosexual, Stutzman has employed many homosexuals in her shop in the past.

“I have hired all walks of people in different circumstances, and had the privilege of working with some very talented people that happen to be gay,” Stutzman wrote in a Facebook post. “Since that day, we have received many comments on same-sex marriages. I believe, biblically, that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is my conviction, yours may be different.”

Despite the countless hate letters she received, Stutzman said that she also receives letters of support from Christians all around the world encouraging her to stand strong in her Christian convictions.

“I have to have faith that He is going to protect me and give me the courage, the knowledge and the wisdom to stand firm on this,” Stutzman asserted. “This has also helped me understand what obedience is and… what following Christ is. You can’t sit on the fence and like He says, ‘You can’t be lukewarm.’ That’s what I was. I was lukewarm.”

Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows exactly what my feelings are on the subject of gay marriage.

I agree with the Reverend Mitchell, former pastor of the old landmark church in Chicago Illinois who said, and I quote,

The Good Lord made Adam and Eve he did not make Adam and Steve. Can I get a witness?

And may I add, if he did make Adam and Steve, none of us would be here because, try as they might, homosexuals cannot procreate.

The Homosexual Lobby and their supporters, affectionately known as the “Gay Mafia”, are stepping it up a notch, suing Americans and getting them fired over their Christian faith.

Even the real Mafia does not attack people’s faith. In fact, the legendary Mafioso, Al Capone, gave tons of money to Chicago’s Catholic Charities. And, when the Mafia has to terminate the employment of one of their soldiers, emphasis on the word terminate, they make sure that their family is taken care of.

Not so with the Gay Mafia. If you do not support their agenda, they will sue you, see that you are fired, make you lise everythong that you have in this world, and will not care one bit, if you and your family are put out on the street.

…As Ms. Stutzman found out.

How…tolerant.

Just as the decadent leaders of ancient Rome fed the early Christians to the Lions, so is the unconscionable Gay Mafia tossing aside Christians in their quest for their deviant sexual behavior to be classified as normal.

In fact, I’ll go you one better: these idiots’ fanatical insensitivity to the welfare of believers who have the moral courage to oppose their hedonistic lifestyle, is reminiscent of those Radical Muslims we know as the Taliban.

Which is the height of irony if you think about it, because Radical Muslims not only behead Christians, they remove the heads of homosexual Muslims as well.

You see me say time and time again, that it is funny how those among us who claim to be the most tolerant, are actually the least of all.

The Gay Mafia or, more appropriately, The Gay Taliban, are prime examples.

As with any liberal, as long as you believe what they believe, you’re one of the smartest people in the room. However,as soon as you cross them, and stand up for your own Christian Heritage of Faith, you are labeled a stupid “Christianist” and/or an inbred hillbilly.

Additionally, when the voters of a state get together to express their opposition to homosexual marriage through their right to vote, the Gay Mafia finds a sympathetic judge to rule that marriage is a “Civil Right”, instead of a Holy Sacrament…a bond between a man and a woman, ordained by God.

The problem that Christians and Conservatives alike face is the fact that being Pro-homosexual marriage is the “cool” thing to be now.

Even if it is at the expense of the First Amendment.

So, what’s the answer?

Simple. Average Americans, like you and me, either stand up on their hind legs, ignore the push polls, open the window and shout “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” or we just sit back like lambs led to the slaughter and watch as our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion fade away like the ancient Roman Empire.

And, I aint lion…err…lyin’.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Why Are Liberal Democrats So Gung Ho About “Controlling” the Internet?

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

obamabillofrightsCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

The Washington Examiner reports that

Claiming that thousands of public comments condemning “dark money” in politics can’t be ignored, the Democrat-chaired Federal Election Commission on Wednesday appeared ready to open the door to new regulations on donors, bloggers and others who use the Internet to influence policy and campaigns.

During a broad FEC hearing to discuss a recent Supreme Court decision that eliminated some donor limits, proponents encouraged the agency to draw up new funding disclosure rules and require even third-party internet-based groups to reveal donors, a move that would extinguish a 2006 decision to keep the agency’s hands off the Internet.

Noting the 32,000 public comments that came into the FEC in advance of the hearing, Democratic Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, “75 percent thought that we need to do more about money in politics, particularly in the area of disclosure. And I think that’s something that we can’t ignore.”

But a former Republican FEC chairman said in his testimony that if the agency moves to regulate the Internet, including news voices like the Drudge Report as GOP commissioners have warned, many thousands more comments will flood in in opposition of regulation.

“If you produce a rule that says we are going to start regulating this stuff, including the internet and so on, I think you will see a lot more than 32,000 comments come in and I don’t think staff will analyze them and find that 75 percent are favorable to more regulation,” said Bradley Smith, now with the Center for Competitive Politics.

Democratic Chairwoman Ann Ravel, who called the hearing, has said she wants to regulate politicking on the Internet, though she has pulled back amid a public outcry, especially among conservatives who see her move as a bid to silence center-right websites and Internet based conservative groups and news sites.

However, two groups, including the League of Women Voters, said they support more disclosure by those who use the Internet to influence campaigns and policy.

It has always amazed me, during the time I spend on the internet, on Political Facebook Pages and Websites, how those who claim to be the most tolerant among us are actually the least tolerant of all.

This congressperson and her dear leader, President Barack Hussein Obama, epitomize Liberals’ intolerance toward those of us who do not share their political ideology.

Both seek to restrict the Internet, as a means of shutting down Americans’ Freedom of Speech.

The reason for that, is simple. Citizen bloggers, such as myself, daily expose the shenanigans and chicanery of an Administration and a political party seemingly bereft of Traditional American Values and Ethics.

For a president and political party, who claimed to be the most transparent public servants whom we have ever seen in national office, they seem overly concerned at the free flow of information about them, that the public not only needs, but deserves to know.

Of course, this reluctancy to allow information to get to the public, is nothing new in the annuls of American politics… or in the political history of President Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama learned to ply his trade in the smoke-filled backrooms of Chicago, Illinois, where shady political deals were made and potential candidates were created.

Obama became president as a result of these backroom dealings and as a result of a restricted flow of information concerning his background, which hampered anyone who wished to vet him as a candidate.

Of course, the fact that both the Chicago and the national news media covered for him by creating fairy tales about how wonderful he was and how the oceans would recede at the wave of his mighty hand and we would all get unicorns in our backyards, had something to do with his election, as well.

But, I digress..

Obama and the Democrats have been trying to regulate the Internet for years now. And, there’s a reason for that.

The cold hard fact of the matter is that Liberalism, like Socialism, is a failed ideology, which took a divergent path from reality, a long time ago.

The only way that Liberals, who actually are still only 23% of America’s population, can maintain any sort of political leverage and power, is by concealing their true intentions through manipulation of the Main Stream Media and by controlling the flow of information, so that the public remains in the dark as to the Machiavellian nature of their true feelings about their relationship with the average American voter.

Obama and the Democratic Party prefer to employ a Mushroom Policy, when it comes to informing the Public as to what they are doing.

They want to keep us in the dark and feed us…well…you know.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Houston Mayor Withdraws Subpoenas of Pastors’ Sermons

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

American Christianity 2A rebuke of Biblical proportions happened in Houston, Texas, yesterday.

The Christian Post reports that

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has announced that she will withdraw the subpoenas against five pastors who have spoken out against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, an LGBT city ordinance that some opponents claim would allow men to use women’s public restrooms.

“After much contemplation and discussion, I am directing the city legal department to withdraw the subpoenas issued to the five Houston pastors who delivered the petitions, the anti-HERO petitions, to the city of Houston and who indicated that they were responsible for the overall petition effort,” Parker said during Wednesday’s press conference.

“It is extremely important to me to protect our equal rights ordinance from repeal, and it is extremely important to me to make sure that every Houstonian knows that their lives are valid and protected and acknowledged,” added Parker, who’s the city’s first openly-gay mayor.

Earlier this month it was revealed that the city of Houston had subpoenaed five pastors regarding a rejected referendum about a recently passed LGBT city ordinance, known by the acronym, HERO.

HERO amended Houston’s Code of Ordinances, prohibiting discrimination in public facilities and private employment on the basis of “protected characteristics.”

This list of protected characteristics included race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, familial and marital status, military status, disability, religion, genetic information, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Opponents of HERO claim it will have several unintended consequences, such as allowing transgender men to use women’s restrooms.

Critics turned in a petition to get the ordinance repealed or put on the ballot, which Houston’s city attorney rejected. In response, conservatives filed suit.

Five Houston pastors whom city officials believed opposed the ordinance were told they had to turn over all sermons they had preached regarding homosexuality, HERO, and about the mayor, who is a practicing lesbian.

The subpoenas garnered nationwide criticism from liberal and conservative organizations alike, with Parker initially narrowing the scope of the subpoenas to include “speeches” rather than “sermons.”

Parker’s decision to drop the subpoenas came days in advance of the “I Stand Sunday,” event in which multiple conservative groups, along with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Benham brothers, and members of the “Duck Dynasty” cast united for a 90-minute simulcast in solidarity with the five pastors.

Hours before the Mayor’s change of heart was announced, Fox News Insider reported that

In a fiery commentary on Mayor Annise Parker’s actions, Mike Huckabee called for American pastors to show their opposition by sending her their sermons and a Bible.

“So, I’ve got an idea – if she wants some sermons, here’s my suggestion. I’d like to ask every pastor in America, not just the ones in Houston, send her your sermons. Obviously, she could use a few. So, if you’re a pastor, send them to her. And here’s another thought, everybody watching the show ought to send her a Bible. That’s right, everybody. I hope she gets thousands and thousands of sermons and Bibles,” said the former governor on Oct. 20. 

Well, now the mayor’s office has said that it has gotten between 500-1,000 Bibles and that they will be distributed to churches.

I wonder if this tremendous backlash had anything to do with the Mayor’s stopping the subpoenas.

Could be.

This attempt by the Houston Mayor to control what the pastors in her city said from the pulpit is a direct attack on the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Let’s review the First Amendment, shall we?

The First Amendment (1791)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

The following are quotes by famous Americans about this American Right:

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. – George Washington

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. – Mark Twain

I live in America. I have the right to write whatever I want. And it’s equaled by another right just as powerful: the right not to read it. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to offend people. – Brad Thor

I begin to feel like most Americans don’t understand the First Amendment, don’t understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don’t understand that it’s the responsibility of the citizen to speak out. – Roger Ebert

We don’t have an Official Secrets Act in the United States, as other countries do. Under the First Amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of association are more important than protecting secrets. – Alan Dershowitz

Freedom of speech is always under attack by Fascist mentality, which exists in all parts of the world, unfortunately. – Lawrence Ferlinghetti

If Her Honor…err…His Honor…err…umm…whatever…thought that Houston’s Men of God were just going to meekly hand over their Sermon Notes, foregoing their Ordination as Preachers of God’s Word and simultaneously giving up their First Amendment Rights, she overestimated her position of authority greatly.

The Houston Pastors answer to Someone with a higher pay grade.

She was outranked all along.

…and, outnumbered.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Houston City Government Subpoenas Sermons to Check for “Hate Speech”

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, EntertainmentLeave a comment

American ChristianityCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

After Lenin and the Bolsheviks took over Mother Russia, Russian Orthodoxy, the predominant faith in Russia, was persecuted almost to extinction within 20 years. The Communists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of priests, sisters, and brothers.

Between 1917 and 1937, more than 50 million people were murdered by KGB extermination squads or in death camps, and 8 million people died of starvation in man-made famines designed to consolidate Communist power. All land was confiscated by the state.

Those who were left alive were allowed to live under Communist totalitarian control to help rally the people to fight the Nazi German invasion in 1939.

The Commies let some churches stay open if they were licensed by the Communist government. Of course,they were very limited in what they could do: they could celebrate liturgies and the sacraments, but they could not teach Russian Orthodoxy to children or to adults.

The Orthodox Church became just another a highly regulated arm of the Soviet government, and all newly ordained priests and bishops became agents or co-operates of the Secret Police (KGB). The sacraments of baptism and marriage, as well as funerals, were usually performed only after substantial fees were paid.

In all levels of the Soviet School System, Students were forced to learn and believe atheism as scientific truth. This belief system was reinforced in all youth organizations, as well.

There were no private Christian schools or clubs.

The fear of persecution and government reprisal during the period in which Joe Stalin ruled Russia (1927-52) made parents afraid to tell their children about the Triune God.

It only took two generations for Russia to become an atheistic society.

Is America headed in that direction?

Yesterday, the Alliance Defending Freedom announced that

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have filed a motion in a Texas court to stop an attempt by the city of Houston to subpoena sermons and other communications belonging to several area pastors in a lawsuit in which the pastors are not even involved.

City officials are upset over a voter lawsuit filed after the city council rejected valid petitions to repeal a law that allows members of the opposite sex into each other’s restrooms. ADF attorneys say the city is illegitimately demanding that the pastors, who are not party to the lawsuit, turn over their constitutionally protected sermons and other communications simply so the city can see if the pastors have ever opposed or criticized the city.

“City council members are supposed to be public servants, not ‘Big Brother’ overlords who will tolerate no dissent or challenge,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “In this case, they have embarked upon a witch-hunt, and we are asking the court to put a stop to it.”

“The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Christiana Holcomb. “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions. Political and social commentary is not a crime; it is protected by the First Amendment.”

In June, the Houston City Council passed its “bathroom bill,” which sparked a citizen initiative to have the council either repeal the bill or place it on the ballot for voters to decide. The public submitted more than three times the legally required number of valid signatures, which the city secretary, who is entrusted by law to examine and certify petitions, certified as sufficient. The mayor and city attorney defied the law and rejected the certification.

After the initiative supporters filed a lawsuit, Woodfill v. Parker, over the matter, the city’s attorneys subpoenaed a number of area pastors, demanding to see what they preach from the pulpit and to examine their communications with their church members and others concerning the city council’s actions.

The ADF brief accompanying the motion filed in the District Court of Harris County to quash the subpoena “discovery requests” explains that they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious,” irrelevant to the lawsuit, and will have a profoundly negative effect on free speech and the electoral process should they be allowed to move forward.

“The message is clear: oppose the decisions of city government, and drown in unwarranted, burdensome discovery requests,” the brief states. “These requests, if allowed, will have a chilling effect on future citizens who might consider circulating referendum petitions because they are dissatisfied with ordinances passed by the City Council. Not only will the Nonparty Pastors be harmed if these discovery requests are allowed, but the People will suffer as well. The referendum process will become toxic and the People will be deprived of an important check on city government provided them by the Charter.”

According to Fox News’ Todd Starnes,

…Mayor Parker will not explain why she wants to inspect the sermons. I contacted City Hall for a comment and received a terse reply from the mayor’s director of communications.

“We don’t comment on litigation,” said Janice Evans.

However, ADF attorney Stanley suspects the mayor wants to publicly shame the ministers. He said he anticipates they will hold up their sermons for public scrutiny. In other words – the city is rummaging for evidence to “out” the pastors as anti-gay bigots.

Among those slapped with a subpoena is Steve Riggle, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. He was ordered to produce all speeches and sermons related to Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality and gender identity.

The mega-church pastor was also ordered to hand over “all communications with members of your congregation” regarding the non-discrimination law.

“This is an attempt to chill pastors from speaking to the cultural issues of the day,” Riggle told me. “The mayor would like to silence our voice. She’s a bully.”

Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council, also received a subpoena. He said he will not be intimidated by the mayor.

“We’re not afraid of this bully,” he said. “We’re not intimidated at all.”

What right does the Houston City Government have, to subpoena sermons, spoken in private places of worship, constitutionally protected by the First Amendment?

With activist judges presently overturning the will of the American Voting Public, concerning allowing “Adam and Steve” to “marry”, why stops them from eventually deciding that preaching from the pulpit against homosexuality is a hate crime?

The following is Article 17 of the Baptist Faith and Message, found at sbc.net.

God alone is the Lord of the conscience and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of god, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things no contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

While God’s word does tell us to honor and obey our leaders, we are also warned of the consequences of being given over to “a reprobate mind”.

Do the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ring a bell?

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: Obama’s IRS to Investigate Churches For the “Wrong Kind” of Political Speech

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

americanchristianflagsThis week, the bitter members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and the Internal Revenue Service reached an pact with the Devil, errr…”settlement” regarding “limiting” the First Amendment Rights of American Churches.

Christianpost.com reports that

The Internal Revenue Service has reached a lawsuit settlement agreement with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, agreeing to investigate churches that violate a federal law that activist groups often cite in an attempt to silence them by threatening their tax-exempt status.

“This is a victory, and we’re pleased with this development in which the IRS has proved to our satisfaction that it now has in place a protocol to enforce its own anti-electioneering provisions,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement last week, following which the Alliance Defending Freedom asked the IRS to release all documents related to it.

The lawsuit, Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Koskinen, accused the IRS of failing to investigate churches the way the atheist group would like. Despite the agreement, only a court has the jurisdiction to close down the case.

Gaylor added: “Of course, we have the complication of a moratorium currently in place on any IRS investigations of any tax-exempt entities, church or otherwise, due to the congressional probe of the IRS. FFRF could refile the suit if anti-electioneering provisions are not enforced in the future against rogue political churches.”

The FFRF release says the ADF annual “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” event promotes violation of the Johnson Amendment, which authorizes the IRS to regulate sermons and requires churches to give up their constitutionally protected freedom of speech in order to retain their tax-exempt status.

The ADF called the IRS-FFRF agreement yet another act of secrecy by the tax agency.

“Secrecy breeds mistrust, and the IRS should know this in light of its recent scandals involving the investigation of conservative groups,” ADF Litigation Counsel Christiana Holcomb said in a statement. “We are asking the IRS to disclose the new protocols and procedures it apparently adopted for determining whether to investigate churches. What it intends to do to churches must be brought into the light of day.”

Last year, the IRS admitted to targeting Tea Party and other conservative organizations for tax-exempt status violations. Lois G. Lerner, former director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS, told reporters that several organizations carrying the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their exemption applications were singled out by IRS agents for additional reviews between 2010 and 2012.

The IRS claims it is temporarily withholding investigations of all tax-exempt entities because of congressional scrutiny of its scandals, but the ADF says no one knows when it will decide to restart investigations based on any new or modified rules that it develops.

“The IRS cannot force churches to give up their precious constitutionally protected freedoms to receive a tax exemption,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley, who heads the Pulpit Freedom Sunday event. “No one would suggest a pastor give up his church’s tax-exempt status if he wants to keep his constitutional protection against illegal search and seizure or cruel and unusual punishment. Likewise, no one should be asking him to do the same to be able to keep his constitutionally protected freedom of speech.”

So, just what is the Freedom From Religion Foundation?

According to David Horowitz’s discoverthenetworks.org:

 

Founded in 1978, the nonprofit, tax-exempt Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) consists of more than 13,000 members and calls itself “the largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics) in the United States.” Its mission is “to promote free thought and to keep state and church separate.”

According to FFRF, religion invariably has been a negative force in human societies. “The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion,” the organization says. “… In modern times, the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women’s right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers [i.e., atheists and agnostics], just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery.”

FFRF promotes its message through a variety of vehicles, including a weekly national radio program; a newspaper titled Freethought Today; a “freethought billboard campaign”; scholarships “for freethinking students”; high-school and college “freethought essay competitions” with cash awards; annual national conventions honoring a “Freethinker of the Year” for state/church activism; and the sale of educational products, bumper-stickers, music CDs, winter solstice greeting cards, and books promoting “freethought.” The Foundation also provides speakers for events and debates on subjects related to religion, and has established a “freethought book collection” at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Library.

Most significantly, FFRF initiates lawsuits that center around issues involving religion in the public square. As of mid-2009, the Foundation had filed nearly 30 First Amendment lawsuits over the course of its history. It also “keeps several Establishment law challenges in the courts at all times.”

FFRF’s very first lawsuit, filed in the late 1970s, successfully challenged the use of a religious cancellation by the Post Office of Madison, Wisconsin. That decision set national precedent.

The Foundation is led by its co-presidents, Dan Barker and his wife, Annie Laurie Gaylor. Barker was a Christian preacher for 19 years before renouncing his faith in 1984. Gaylor, who earned a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980, co-founded FFRC with her mother and the late John Sontarck in 1978. She is author of the books Woe to the Women: The Bible Tells Me So (1981), and Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children (1988). She also edited the 1997 anthology Women Without Superstition: No Gods, No Masters. Today she edits FFRF’s newspaper, Freethought Today, which is published ten times annually.

Per gallup.com, 92% of Americans believe in God and 76 % of Americans proclaim their Christianity. Therefore, it stands to reason that only 8% of Americans are Atheists.

This little organization out of Wisconsin, the FFRF, has made money from suing 57 American high schools and other entities for daring to exercise their Christian Faith in public.  I would like to know, because I’ve researched, and the actual amount is nowhere to be seen, how much these bitter snobs have made off of their endeavors.  They are not as noble as they claim.

“Rogue” churches? What in the name of all that’s Holy does that mean?

I’ll tell you what it means, brothers and sisters. It means that we are living under, as I have written before, a “New Fascism.”.

As long as your place of worship “knows its role and shuts their mouth” (as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson used to say), concerning immoral, unethical, anti-Christian policies of the Obama Administration,  you will be allowed to keep your tax exempt status.

No politics, except “the right kind”, will be allowed.

In other words, to use my hometown as an example, Democratic Representative Steve “I inhaled” Cohen, can go speak on Sunday in any Black Congregation in Memphis, but if  Republican Senator Ted Cruz  of Texas comes in town and speaks at Bellevue Baptist Church, they will be investigated by Obama’s Scandal-Ridden Storm Troopers from the Internal Revenue Service.

Are we still in America?

After Lenin and the Bolsheviks took over Mother Russia, Russian Orthodoxy, the predominant faith in Russia, was persecuted almost to extinction within 20 years. The Communists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of priests, sisters, and brothers.

Between 1917 and 1937, more than 50 million people were murdered by KGB extermination squads or in death camps, and 8 million people died of starvation in man-made famines designed to consolidate Communist power. All land was confiscated by the state.

Those who were left alive were allowed to live under Communist totalitarian control to help rally the people to fight the Nazi German invasion in 1939.

The Commies let some churches stay open if they were licensed by the Communist government. Of course,they were very limited in what they could do: they could celebrate liturgies and the sacraments, but they could not teach Russian Orthodoxy to children or to adults.

The Orthodox Church became just another a highly regulated arm of the Soviet government, and all newly ordained priests and bishops became agents or cooperators of the Secret Police (KGB). The sacraments of baptism and marriage, as well as funerals, were usually performed only after substantial fees were paid.

In all levels of the Soviet School System, Students were forced to learn and believe atheism as scientific truth. This belief system was reinforced in all youth organizations, as well.

There were no private Christian schools or clubs.

The fear of persecution and government reprisal during the period in which Joe Stalin ruled Russia (1927-52) made parents afraid to tell their children about the Triune God.

It only took two generations for Russia to become an atheistic society.

Freedom of religion finally came back to Russia in 1991. However, by then, less than 25% of the population were Christians.

As it stands today in the former Soviet Union, less than 0.50% (one-half of one percent) practice any faith at all.

Are we headed in that direction?

I mean, look at the brazenness of  The Obama Administration. Never in my wildest dreams, could I imagine an agency of OUR government, telling the Pastor of a Church what they can speak about!

My Lord.

Did any of us ever think that this would happen in a land founded by Christian men and women?

The U. S. House Judiciary Committee wrote the following in 1854,

Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle… In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity… That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.

When you tell a Liberal that the Founders of our country were Christians, they always bring up Thomas Jefferson, claiming he was a Deist…or something.

Here is what Jefferson had to say about it:

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.65

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.

Jefferson, while President, allowed church services to be held on Sunday mornings in the Capitol Building, which he attended. The practice continued until 1848.

So, what can we do about this encroaching darkness, brokered by an administration who is seeking to turn us into a Marxist nation, with limited personal freedoms, dictated by the State?

President Ronald Reagan said,

I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God’s help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can’t expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living.

One of those whom Obama’s IRS has attacked in the past, Rev. Billy Graham, once remarked,

Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.

My fellow Americans, it is high time we started a National Conversation with Our Creator.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

The Hobby Lobby Decision: The First Amendment Holds. Religious Freedom Stands.

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

American ChristianityYesterday was quite a day.

The Supreme Court, in a in a 5-4 ruling, found that “closely held” businesses do not have to provide contraception to their employees, if the ownership of said company opposes birth control on the grounds that it conflicts with the Religious Beliefs.

In other words, if you want to behave like Sandra Fluke, and if I am a business owner of a “closely held” business, I cannot be forced by the Obama Administration to provide your “protection”, either before or after that “special moment”.

Rush Limbaugh, per usual made an excellent point on his nationally-syndicated radio program, yesterday:

…the thinking everywhere on the left, is either Obama’s gonna pay for it from his stash like they think exists in Detroit, or the insurance company will be forced to pay for it. But they won’t pay for it, they’ll just bill it back to Hobby Lobby. (interruption) No, the principle stands, that’s the point. When all this is said and done, the Supreme Court still ruled that the federal government cannot make a “closely held” corporation violate its own personal religious beliefs. I’m gonna have to double-check this, but I really do think that in that sense we’ve not had a ruling this direct in that regard before, whatever the issue was. I think I saw that somewhere this morning in the mounds of show prep that I was going through.

Look, it means here that Obama cannot unilaterally dictate how religion is to be practiced via laws or regulations or executive orders. It means that the First Amendment is not a casual plaything for cavalier statists whether in the executive branch or whether in Congress. There also was another ruling on the union’s and whether or not parents and nannies taking care of their own loved ones at home can be forced to pay union dues, and that was rejected, too. The headline says: “Sweeping Loss for Unions.” Oh, horrible, the Supreme Court just dealt a devastating blow to public unions. But this one really is kind of narrow. But the principle still stands.

What is really important, yet really small in this case, is that even after the Hobby Lobby decision, women can still go to Target or Walmart and buy a month’s worth of conception for nine dollars. What’s kind of being overlooked here in all this — and we did look at it in great detail on the previous occasion on this program — is that somehow we’ve gotten to the point where women should not have to pay for their own birth control. Somebody else is gonna pay for it, no matter how much they want, no matter how often they want it, no matter for what reason, somebody else is going to pay for it. That’s the root of all this. The employer should pay it, the insurance company will pay it, but in no way in 2014 America are women going to being pay for it, even though you can go to Target or Walmart and get a month’s supply for nine bucks.

So the ruling does not apply to, say, an Exxon or a General Motors. That’s not a “closely held” corporation. But the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby cannot be forced to fund the contraception mandate. Their liberty was defended here, no matter how narrow the left wants to say the ruling was, no matter what the practical application is, when it’s all over the First Amendment was enforced, or maybe reinforced today.

On March 8, 1983, President Ronald Wilson Reagan gave a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, which came to be know as the “Evil Empire Speech”. Here is an excerpt:

Well, I’m pleased to be here today with you who are keeping America great by keeping her good. Only through your work and prayers and those of millions of others can we hope to survive this perilous century and keep alive this experiment in liberty, this last, best hope of man.

I want you to know that this administration is motivated by a political philosophy that sees the greatness of America in you, her people, and in your families, churches, neighborhoods, communities–the institutions that foster and nourish values like concern for others and respect for the rule of law under God.

 Now, I don’t have to tell you that this puts us in opposition to, or at least out of step with, a–a prevailing attitude of many who have turned to a modern-day secularism, discarding the tried and time-tested values upon which our very civilization is based. No matter how well intentioned, their value system is radically different from that of most Americans. And while they proclaim that they’re freeing us from superstitions of the past, they’ve taken upon themselves the job of superintending us by government rule and regulation. Sometimes their voices are louder than ours, but they are not yet a majority. [Applause]

An example of that vocal superiority is evident in a controversy now going on in Washington. And since I’m involved, I’ve been waiting to hear from the parents of young America. How far are they willing to go in giving to government their prerogatives as parents?

Let me state the case as briefly and simply as I can. An organization of citizens, sincerely motivated, deeply concerned about the increase in illegitimate births and abortions involving girls well below the age of consent, some time ago established a nationwide network of clinics to offer help to these girls and, hopefully, alleviate this situation. Now, again, let me say, I do not fault their intent. However, in their well-intentioned effort, these clinics decided to provide advice and birth control drugs and devices to underage girls without the knowledge of their parents.

For some years now, the federal government has helped with funds to subsidize these clinics. In providing for this, the Congress decreed that every effort would be made to maximize parental participation. Nevertheless, the drugs and devices are prescribed without getting parental consent or giving notification after they’ve done so. Girls termed “sexually active”–and that has replaced the word “promiscuous”–are given this help in order to prevent illegitimate worth/birth (quickly corrects himself) eh or abortion.

Well, we have ordered clinics receiving federal funds to notify the parents such help has been given. [Applause] One of the nation’s leading newspapers has created the term “squeal rule” in editorializing against us for doing this, and we’re being criticized for violating the privacy of young people. A judge has recently granted an injunction against an enforcement of our rule. I’ve watched TV panel shows discuss this issue, seen columnists pontificating on our error, but no one seems to mention morality as playing a part in the subject of sex. [Applause]

Is all of Judeo-Christian tradition wrong? Are we to believe that something so sacred can be looked upon as a purely physical thing with no potential for emotional and psychological harm? And isn’t it the parents’ right to give counsel and advice to keep their children from making mistakes that may affect their entire lives? [Slight crescendo of voice and emphasis–Long Applause]

Many of us in government would like to know what parents think about this intrusion in their family by government. We’re going to fight in the courts. The right of parents and the rights of family take precedence over those of Washington-based bureaucrats and social engineers. [Applause]

But the fight against parental notification is really only one example of many attempts to water down traditional values and even abrogate the original terms of American democracy. Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. [Applause] When our founding fathers passed the First Amendment, they sought to protect churches from government interference. They never intended to construct a wall of hostility between government and the concept of religious belief itself.

Yesterday afternoon, the current POTUS, Barack Hussein Obama, did not address the Supreme Court’s ruling. Instead, he gave a petulant speech blaming the Republicans in Congress  for failing to deal with the Mexican Munchkin Migration, a horrible, sovereignty-threatening situation on our Southern Border, which he himself encouraged. The Petulant President threatened to issue Executive Orders to “deal with the problem”, a solution which is actually outside the reach of his Presidential Powers.

Now, I’m not naive. As Rush alluded to, I fully expect Obama to administratively arrange for our tax dollars to pay for birth control pills and abortiafacients for employees of these companies who choose not to provide them, due to their religious principles.

Which brings me to the following observation:

The President of the United States of America in 1983 was against the United States Government promoting immorality.

The President of the United States of America in 2014 is promoting immoral behavior and individual irresponsibility…and is expecting taxpayers to pay for it.

HOW IS THIS “PROGRESS”?

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

The Obama Administration Vs. Hobby Lobby…Waiting on a Decision (UPDATE: The Constitution Wins!)

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

babyreachingforhandfromwomb2Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16 ESV

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to announce their ruling on the issue of whether Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned Business, should be able to refuse to provide abortifacients to his employees, defying the Administration’s State-Run Healthcare System, Obamacare, because killing babies is against their faith.

Hobby Lobby already provides insurance coverage for 16 other forms of birth control, including pills that prevent ovulation. But they contend their religious freedom rights would be violated if they are required to cover four specific forms of birth control — implanted devices such as intrauterine devices (known as IUDs), a contraceptive rod implanted in a woman’s arm, and two forms of emergency contraception commonly called “morning after pills”, also known as “abortiafacients”.

Yes, I said killing babies earlier…because life begins at the moment of conception, and an abortion stops a beating heart.

There is no way around that.

However, I realize that referring to the act of abortion as “killing a baby” makes pro-abortion advocates lose their feeble minds.

Frankly, Scarlett…well. you know.

They have spent years and years trying to convince the gullible among us, that it is not really a human being growing inside the mothers womb. And, even if it is, it is a punishment or, at least, that’s what the President of the United States referred to an unwanted baby as.

So, it is not surprising that this case has gone all the way to the Supreme Court. President Obama and his Department of Justice are fighting for the right to allow women to kill their babies in the womb… it is as simple as that.

You see, boys and girls, there are options for unwed mothers. For instance, there’s this wonderful thing called adoption, through which a woman who does not want to be a single mother, can give her unwanted baby to a couple who will love and cherish that human life, and raise it in the way in which it should go.

Have you ever thought about why the Obama administration does not focus on that option, but instead advocates for the disposal of human life?

There is a simple and chilling explanation: Couples who want to adopt are responsible, loving people, who are less likely to run to Uncle Sugar for help in raising their child.

While women who seek abortions, tend to be of a lower economic strata, and a more government- dependent lifestyle.

Like the purpose for passing the  national nightmare known as Obamacare, it all boils down to State Control of the populace.

In a State-Controlled Nation, there will be, by necessity, no room for Religious Freedom. For in a state-controlled nation, the Central Government itself is god.

Read this excerpt from a paper by the Marxist Leader, Vladimir Lenin, titled “Socialism and Religion”…and shiver:

So far as the party of the socialist proletariat is concerned, religion is not a private affair. Our Party is an association of class-conscious, advanced fighters for the emancipation of the working class. Such an association cannot and must not be indifferent to lack of class-consciousness, ignorance or obscurantism in the shape of religious beliefs. We demand complete disestablishment of the Church so as to be able to combat the religious fog with purely ideological and solely ideological weapons, by means of our press and by word of mouth. But we founded our association, the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party, precisely for such a struggle against every religious bamboozling of the workers. And to us the ideological struggle is not a private affair, but the affair of the whole Party, of the whole proletariat.

By attempting to force Christian businesses, hospitals, and schools to observe the Contraception Mandate in Obamacare, the Obama Administration and Congress, by virtue of their passing the bill that fateful night on Capitol Hill, are in violation of the First Amendment.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – Amendment I, The Constitution of the United States

Regarding a statement made by the Liberal Obama sycophants (but, I repeat myself) at the George Soros-funded website,  Think Progress,  back in December of 2012, that the owners of Hobby Lobby were trying to “force their religion” on their employees:

Seems to me, that it’s the Obama Administration attempting to force their secular socialist belief system on Hobby Lobby.

As an American Business Owner, they have the right to do business as they see fit, and , if they are in a “Right to Work” state, they can hire and fire whom they want to as well. It is way beyond the purpose and scope of government to tell Americans how they can practice their faith.

In the Message from John Adams to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, written on October 11, 1798, the Second President of these United States laid it out very plainly:

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Perhaps their own lack of these virtues is the reason that Obama and his minions do not seem to care that they are ignoring Our Constitution.

It is a bit of ironic hypocrisy that, the same people who claim to the “the smartest ones in the room”, and are now seeking to curtail OUR Constitutional Rights, “for our own good”, i.e., “the good of the collective”,  are those very same hippies, who, in the 60s and 70s, were whining and screaming to anyone who would listen, that their Constitutional Rights were being violated, when, like Obama himself, they were dragged, kicking and screaming, from their “sit-in” in the Dean’s Office.

KJ UPDATE: The Supreme Court has ruled, 5-4, that “Closely Held” Organizations are not mandated by law to provide contraceptives to their employees. The CONSTITUTION WINS. GOD IS IN CONTROL.

 Until He Comes,

KJ

 

The Tale of the Tennessee Imam: Of Hate Speech and Holy Wars

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics3 Comments

QadhiA news story hit over the weekend that an Islamic Preacher (Imam) in my hometown of Memphis, TN preaches that

Jews and Christians are filthy. Their lives and property can be taken in Jihad by the Muslims.

…I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify la illaha illa Allah [there is no god but Allah].

So…who is this Muslim Hatemonger?

Yasir Qadhi is not only a Memphis Imam, but is is also the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute. He is a hafiz (has memorized the Qur’an) and he has an M.A. in the Islamic Creed and a B.A. in Islamic Sciences from Islamic University of Medina, as well as a master’s and a doctorate in Islamic Studies from Yale. During a lecture on Shirk, or polytheism, Yasir Qadhi said that Jews and Christians are mushrikoon, or polytheists, because they have made partners with Allah. From Yasir Qadhi’s perspective, only Muslims are monotheists.

Let’s look a little deeper at the Al-Maghrib Institute, shall we?

Per David Horowitz’s discoverthenetworks.org:

The Michigan-based Al-Maghrib Institute is a college-level religious education program whose mission is to help its students “gain a deeper understanding of Islam”; to “build sincere, dedicated and brilliant students … who will go on to become leaders, bringing their communities to new heights”; and to “make people better Muslims and bring people closer to Allah.” The Institute seeks to achieve these objectives by offering “trademark double-weekend [six-day] university-style seminars carrying students toward a bachelor’s degree in the Islamic Studies.”

Al-Maghrib’s classes are given at mosques in at least thirteen North American cities: College Park, Maryland; Fairfax, Virginia; Houston, Texas; New Brunswick, New Jersey; San Francisco Bay area, California; Seattle, Washington; Memphis, Tennessee; Sacramento, California; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Ottawa, Canada; Montreal, Canada; and Toronto, Canada. Al-Maghrib also ran onsite seminars in Columbus, Ohio during 2006.

Characterized by Wahhabi-influenced extremism, rabid anti-Semitism, Holocaust denials, and the preaching of militaristic jihad, Al-Maghrib’s courses are accredited by American Open University (AOU), which in turn is accredited by Al-Azhar University in Cairo — the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest and largest radical Islamic organization in the world.

A review of the course summary for Al-Maghrib’s Islamic Studies degree program shows that the required reading list is dominated by the works of Muslim Brotherhood and Wahhabi theologians and theorists. In particular, the program requires students to read Sayyid Qutb’s In the Shade of the Quran. Qutb, the Muslim Brotherhood thinker who was executed by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s, was influential in justifying terrorism and jihad, and in laying down the theoretical principles upon which al Qaeda was built.

Another Muslim Brotherhood theorist prominent in the Al-Maghrib curriculum is Sayyid Sabiq, who wrote his book Fiqh-us-Sunnah at the request of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna. The two volumes of Sabiq’s work are the only texts for Al-Maghrib’s “Fiqh of Worship” course.

The Al-Maghrib reading list also features the works of Bilal Phillips, who in January 2007 gained notoriety as one of the radical preachers secretly videotaped for the Undercover Mosque investigative program aired on Britain’s Channel Four. In that program, Phillips was shown lecturing in favor of forced Islamic marriages for prepubescent girls.

The justification of jihad and a call for Islamic dominance are promoted in the Al-Maghrib course titled “Islam Invulnerable: The Making of the Modern Muslim World.” Tracing the rise of Islam as a global force from the initial Islamic invasions and occupations of the Near East, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, this class glories in the triumphs of the Ottoman, Safavid, Qajar and Mughal Empires. The Crusades are denounced, as are European “imperialist” and “colonialist” efforts in recent centuries, while Islamic conquests undergo “narrative reinterpretation” to explain how they differ from Western exploits. Moreover, the present-day Arab-Israeli conflict is blamed entirely on the “Zionists.”

And, what about the Tennessee Imam?

…Yasir Qadhi, who graduated from the Islamic University of Medina, draws from the anti-Semitic fogery, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, to explain that Jews are not racially Semitic and therefore have no right to make a claim on the Holy Land. A Holocaust denier, Qadhi has stated: “Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews.” In August 2006 Qadhi revealed that he was on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s terrorist watch list.

To quote the late , great Claude Rains from “Casablanca”:

I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

Almost one year ago, Tennessee Attorney General warned Americans against “hate speech” against Muslims. I wrote about it in a Blog titled, “US Attorney Warns Against Talking Mean About Muslims on the Internet”

Here’s the story from tullahomanews.com:

A special meeting has been scheduled for the stated purpose of increasing awareness and understanding that American Muslims are not the terrorists some have made them out to be in social media and other circles.

“Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society” will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center, 147 Hospitality Blvd.

Special speakers for the event will be Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Kenneth Moore, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Knoxville Division.

Sponsor of the event is the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee — a 15-member board formed two years ago when the General Assembly was considering passing legislation that would restrict those who worship Sharia Law, which is followed by Muslims.

Killian and Moore will provide input on how civil rights can be violated by those who post inflammatory documents targeted at Muslims on social media.

“This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian told The News Monday. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

Killian said the presentation will also focus on Muslim culture and how, that although terrorist acts have been committed by some in the faith, they are no different from those in other religions.

He referred to the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing in which Timothy McVeigh, an American terrorist, detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Commonly referred to as the Oklahoma City Bombing, the attack killed 168 people and injured more than 800.

…Killian [also] referred to a Facebook posting made by Coffee County Commissioner Barry West that showed a picture of a man pointing a double-barreled shotgun at a camera lens with the caption saying, “How to Wink at a Muslim.”

Killian said he and Moore had discussed the issue.

“If a Muslim had posted ‘How to Wink at a Christian,’ could you imagine what would have happened?” he said. “We need to educate people about Muslims and their civil rights, and as long as we’re here, they’re going to be protected.”

Killian said Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal jurisdiction.

“That’s what everybody needs to understand,” he said.

Killian said slide show presentations will be made.

Zak Mohyuddin, a Muslim Advisory Council member, said a shortened version of a documentary called “Welcome to Shelbyville” will also be featured.

The documentary, produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, spotlights recent demographic changes in nearby Shelbyville, with a focus on the growing number of immigrants from Latin America and Somalia with many Somalis from the Bantu minority ethnic group which practices Islam.

Mohyuddin said Muslims across the nation consistently issue press releases condemning terrorist acts, but the media usually does not pick up the information. He added that the apparent silence leaves the impression that Muslims do not condemn such acts.

Like Killian, Mohyuddin said word needs to be spread so more people understand the Muslim culture.

“It is in the self-interest of Muslims in the United States to counter violent extremism, because we and our children do not want to be viewed with suspicion,” Mohyuddin said. “The Muslim community is a vital resource in the fight against terrorism.”

Killian said he has made other presentations in the state about Muslim culture and civil rights laws, and the Muslims he’s become acquainted with are outstanding citizens.

“Some of the finest people I’ve met are Muslims,” he said, adding later: “We want to inform everybody about what the law is, but more importantly, we want to provide what the law means to Muslims, Hindus and every other religion in the country.

“It’s why we came here in the first place. In England, they were using Christianity to further their power in government. That’s why the First Amendment is there.”

Evidently, the First Amendment protects the Tennessee Imam’s hateful, treat-filled diatribes.

Okay…well…

I have a couple of objections for Attorney Killian and his friends…

First off…while I have met some very nice American Muslims, I have also delivered audio/visual equipment to a mosque where I was looked at as if they wanted to take a scimitar to my neck.

If Moderate Muslims are not behind their radical brethren’s eternal jihad against us infidels, they need to get their mugs in front of the cable news networks’ TV cameras and say so…because all I see representing them when I turn on the news, are the abrasive members of CAIR, blaming America for all the world’s troubles .

Secondly, about the First Amendment to the Constitution to the United States…

It protects my rights, also!!!

The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows American citizens to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government.

If Mr. Killian were to bring a case before the Supreme Court concerning a blogger being mean to Muslims, the court would require him to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech in his attempt to regulate the content of the speech.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America reads as follows…

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

You know what’s so great about our country? Our American Freedom. Earlier this week, we remembered those who fought and died, so that we could remain free.

It is that same American Spirit which fuels a lot of Conservative Bloggers, Mr. Killian. Including me.

If I write that it was a bunch of cowardly Saudi Arabian Radical Muslim Terrorists, who killed over 3,000 Americans, in the biggest Terrorist Attack ever on American soil, on September 11th, in the Year of  Our Lord Jesus Christ, 2001, my freedom of speech would protect me for making that statement, because it has been proven to be the truth.

And, if I then write that, I hope that, when they arrived at their ultimate destination, they became extra crispy and were immediately surrounded by their 72 virgins, who all looked like Nancy Pelosi and sang like Roseanne Barr, then that would be my opinion, and would still be covered by my Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech. 

The Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech, as specified in the First Amendment, is unalterable and not subject to Political Correctness or Expediency.

It is that same First Amendment which allowed Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama to call Americans “Bitter Clingers”.

Our First President, George Washington, said,

If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

So, this American, born of the Greatest Generation, intends to keep speaking his mind concerning those Radical Followers of Islam who want to kill us.

You see…I’m rather fond of my head. And, I intend to keep it.

What’s good for the Imam is good for the “Infidel”.

Until He Comes,

KJ

CEO/Co-Founder of Mozilla Forced Out By the Gay Taliban…err…Mafia

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

Brendan EichThe big story yesterday was the fact that the CEO of Mozilla, Brendan Eich resigned Thursday due to unprecedented pressure put on him by supporters of homosexual marriage.

This gentleman was not only the CEO but he was a co-founder of the company, as well.

His only crime was the fact that he believes that marriage was one man and one woman, a position which Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States, held in 2008 during his first election.

Of course, when 2012 rolled around and it was time to get reelected,  he saw which way the Liberal Winds were blowing. so he changed his mind and decided it was just hunky dory for two hairy guys to take their clothes off and do whatever it is they do under the sheets and call it a “marriage”.

Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows exactly what my feelings are on the subject.

I agree with the Reverend Mitchell, former pastor of the old landmark church in Chicago Illinois who said, and I quote,

The Good Lord made Adam and Eve he did not make Adam and Steve. Can I get a witness?

And may I add, if he did make Adam and Steve, none of us would be here because, try as they might, homosexuals cannot procreate.

The Homosexual Lobby and their supporters, affectionately known as the “Gay Mafia”, are stepping it up a notch and getting people fired over their faith.

Even the real Mafia does not attack people’s faith.  In fact, the legendary Mafioso, Al Capone, gave tons of money to Chicago’s Catholic Charities. And, when the Mafia has to terminate the employment of one of their soldiers, emphasis on the word terminate, they make sure that their family is taken care of.

Not so with the Gay Mafia. If you do not support their agenda, they will see that you are fired and do not care one bit if you and your family are put out on the street.

Just as Barack Obama and Eric Holder are presently waging war against Catholic institutions over the mandatory handing our of birth control which Obamacare calls for, the homosexual lobby and their supporters have no respect for the Christian Faith of the majority of the American Public.

Just as the decadent leaders of ancient Rome fed the early Christians to the Lions, so is the unconscionable Gay Mafia tossing aside Christians in their quest for their deviant sexual behavior to be classified as normal.

In fact, I’ll go you one better: these idiots’ fanatical insensitivity to the welfare of believers who have the moral courage to oppose their hedonistic lifestyle, is reminiscent of those Radical Muslims we know as the Taliban.

Which is the height of irony if you think about it, because Radical Muslims not only behead Christians, they remove the heads of homosexual Muslims as well.

You see me say time and time again, that it is funny how those among us who claim to be the most tolerant, are actually the least of all.

The Gay Mafia or, more appropriately, The Gay Taliban,  are prime examples.

As with any liberal, as long as you believe what they believe, you’re one of the smartest people in the room. However,as soon as you cross them, and stand up for your own Christian Heritage of Faith, you are labeled a stupid “Christianist” and/or an inbred hillbilly.

Additionally, when the voters of a state get together to express their opposition to homosexual marriage through their right to vote, the Gay Mafia finds a sympathetic judge to rule that marriage is a “Civil Right”, instead of a Holy Sacrament…a bond between a man and a woman, ordained by God.

The problem that Christian and Conservatives alike face is the fact that being Pro-homosexual marriage is the “cool” thing to be now.

Even if it is at the expense of the First Amendment.

In response to the beat-down of Brendan Eich, the Executive Chairwoman of Mozilla, Mitchell Baker, wrote the following in a post on the Mozilla Blog:

Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard. Our organizational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for all.

We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their beliefs and opinions in public. This is meant to distinguish Mozilla from most organizations and hold us to a higher standard. But this time we failed to listen, to engage, and to be guided by our community.

TRANSLATION: Diversity is more important than Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech, especially if you are Conservative, Christian, and/or Pro-Traditional Marriage.

So, what’s the answer?

Simple. Average Americans, like you and me, either stand up on their hind legs, ignore the push polls,open the window and shout “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” or we just sit back like lambs led to the slaughter and watch as our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion fade away like the ancient Roman Empire.

And, I aint lion…err…lyin’.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: The “Gay Mafia” Vs. Elaine Photography

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics6 Comments

gay marriageSuppose that you are a small business owner, who just happens to be a Christian, and you own a doughnut shop. Through your door walks a young man, positively reeking of marijuana usage, cursing at the top of his voice to someone on the other end of his cell phone, with his pants “saggin'” half-way down his rear,showing his boxers to everyone who sees him..

Do you have the right to to refuse service and ask him to leave?

Most Americans would say that you do.

In fact, according to RasmussenReports.com, the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that free exercise of religion extends to how you run your business.

For example, if a Christian wedding photographer who has deeply held religious beliefs opposing same-sex marriage is asked to work a same-sex wedding ceremony, 85% of American Adults believe he has the right to say no. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only eight percent (8%) disagree even as the courts are hearing such challenges.

That being said, have you heard about what happened in New Mexico?

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of New Mexico decided that a small business, Elaine Photography,  violated the New Mexico Human Rights Act (NMHRA).

The judge ruled that their refusal to phtograph the “gay wedding” of  Vanessa Willockand her “partner”, violated the act, which “prohibits a public accommodation from refusing to offer its services to a person based on that person’s sexual orientation”.

According to Justice Richard C. Bosson, the case “provokes reflection on what this nation is all about, its promise of fairness, liberty, equality of opportunity, and justice.” He also said that the case “teaches that at some point in our lives all of us must compromise, if only a little, to accommodate the contrasting values of others. A multicultural, pluralistic society, one of our nation’s strengths, demands no less.”

Bosson wrote in his ruling that the owners of Elane Photography, Jonathan and Elaine Huguenin, “are free to think, to say, to believe, as they wish” Nevertheless, in the “world of the marketplace, of commerce, of public accommodation, the Huguenins have to channel their conduct, not their beliefs, so as to leave space for other Americans who believe something different.”

Doing so, Bosson wrote, is “the price of citizenship.”

The ruling upholds a grant of summary judgment for Willock against Elane Photography by New Mexico’s Second Judicial District Court and holds that Elane Photography’s free speech rights were not violated. The case was first decided by the New Mexico Human Rights Council, which ordered Elane Photography to pay Willock $6,637.94 in attorneys fees and costs. Elane Photography appealed to the Second Judicial District Court based on the court’s original and appellate jurisdiction.

The Hugueins were made an example of because they stood strong in their Christian Faith. They believe that a marriage consists of one man and one woman.

Guess what? New Mexico law agrees: it has no legal same-sex civil unions or same-sex marriages.

And, you know the kicker? There were other photographers in the Albuquerque area who could have photographed the ceremony.

The Free Exercise Clause,found in the First Amendment to the Constitution, protects our absolute freedom of belief. According to our Founding Fathers, religious liberty is a natural right.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment ensures that all people have an equality of rights to practice their faith. Although it was originally written to apply to actions of the federal government, it was incorporated into state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment by the Supreme Court in the case Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940).

The Free Exercise Clause was a direct descendant of the English Bill of Rights, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The English Bill of Rights expanded religious freedom for Protestants who did not attend the Church of England, but not for Catholics or non-Christians. The Virginia Declaration of Rights held that “all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion.” The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom asserts that “all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion.

The First Amendment also guarantees all Americans the right to Freedom of Association.

All Americans, including us Christians, may peacefully assemble with whomever we choose, whether it’s in a church building on a Sunday morning, or a church-sponsored small group in someone’s home on a Tuesday night.

As Americans, we have the right to practice our faith 7 days a week, at home, in our community, and in our business.

This activist judge, as in the case of the homosexual activist judge in California overruling the vote of the people, who had voted against allowing gay marriage in that state, overstepped his bounds, trumping the Free Exercise Clause for the sake of Popular Culture and his own Political Ideology.

Remember when the whole gay marriage brouhaha started being the cause celebre for Gay Activists and their Liberal supporters? They went around assuring us that they would not force anyone, whether small businesses or churches, to be involved in the organization or performance of their phony “marriage” rituals.

They lied.

As I, and others have insisted all along, this is a political movement, spearheaded by a political ideology, whose express purpose is the remake the fabric of our society. They wish to make what was once considered deviant behavior by both popular culture and academia, by the use of the word “marriage”, “normal”.

Ask the Roman Empire how that worked out for them.

Heck, ask Modern European Nations, who have put God in a box in their “enlightened” societies, how things are working out for them, as a Modern version of the Barbarian Hordes who destroyed Rome, radical Muslims, install Sharia Law in their countries,

American churches and their leadership will be sued, next, and forced to perform gay marriage rituals or pay an exorbitant fine. 

Don’t be surprised if a ruling comes down from the Halls of Power that preaching against Homosexuality as a sin, becomes a “Hate Crime”.

America’s free-fall down the oft-referenced “Slippery Slope” of Relative Morality and Situation Ethics has kicked into high gear.

Caligula’s Horse approves.

Until He Comes,

KJ