Friday, February 26, 2016

BREAKING: Senate Just Defied Obama In HUGE Way With Massive Decision That'll Have Him Furious

BREAKING: Senate Just Defied Obama In HUGE Way With Massive Decision That’ll Have Him Furious

"Presidents have a right to nominate as the Senate..."

Randy DeSoto February 23, 2016 at 1:55pm

The Senate’s GOP leadership said Tuesday there will be no hearings or votes for a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia this year.

The announcement came following a closed-door meeting in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell’s office with key leaders, including those on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Presidents have a right to nominate just as the Senate has its constitutional right to provide or withhold consent,” McConnell said. “In this case, the Senate will withhold it.”

“We believe the American people need to decide who is going to make this appointment rather than a lame duck president,” Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid charged McConnell was taking his orders from GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, who called on Republican leadership to “delay” moving on any Scalia replacements.

“That’s exactly what the Republican leader is doing: Delay, delay, delay,” Reid said. He angrily added that “333 days isn’t enough to do the work that we do ordinarily do in 67 days.”

So far, most of the Republican senators appear to be toeing the line, with the exceptions of moderate Sens. Mark Kirk from Illinois and Susan Collins from Maine, who have both stated there should be a vote on President Obama’s nominee.

As reported by Western Journalism, Reid made clear in May 2005 that it is fully within the Senate’s prerogative not to schedule a vote on presidential nominees. “The duties of the United States Senate are set forth in the Constitution of the United States. Nowhere in that document does it say the Senate has the duty to give a presidential nominee a vote,” he contended from the Senate floor.

In 1992, when George H.W. Bush was president, then-Sen. Joe Biden argued that the Senate should not move forward on Supreme Court nominees during a presidential election year. “That is what is fair to the nominee and essential to the process,” Biden said.

Both Sens. Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer voted to filibuster Justice Samuel Alito’s nomination in 2005, and Schumer called on the Senate not to approve any of President George W. Bush’s possible nominees to the high court during his last 18 months in office, except under “extraordinary circumstances.”

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Federal Court Case Halts Obama Administration’s Policy of Allowing Illegals to Vote, For Now

Federal Court Case Halts Obama Administration’s Policy of Allowing Illegals to Vote, For Now-

Federal Court Case Halts Obama Administration’s Policy of Allowing Illegals to Vote, For Now

FEBRUARY 24, 2016 BY MARC FERRIS 12 COMMENTS

2000px-US-ElectionAssistanceCommission-Seal.svg - creative commons, I want something that I can... use for commercial purposes

In an attempt to create a robust voting bloc and suppress the will of several states, the Obama administration is pushing to enfranchise non-citizens, including illegal immigrants. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), FAIR’s public interest legal affiliate, is representing Kris Kobach, secretary of state of Kansas, who is trying to work with the ostensibly non-partisan Election Assistance Commission to help ensure that only citizens register to vote.

At the core of the case, the commission is required to amend the federal voter registration form to reflect each state’s strictures against registering non-citizens. States must register voters who use the federal form under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, better known as the Motor Voter law.

The League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and People for the American Way, among other plaintiffs, seek a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop the EAC from helping Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and Kansas enforce its voting laws.

At a hearing held Monday, the Department of Justice shocked Judge Richard J. Leon by refusing to advise the EAC to reflect each state’s statute and conform to the law, upheld by a 2013 Supreme Court ruling. The department indicated that it agrees with the plaintiffs and supports the policy of not requiring documentation when someone registers to vote, an act that Judge Richard J. Leon called “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.” On Tuesday, the judge denied the request for a restraining order. A hearing on the preliminary injunction will be held in early March.

“In light of the nation’s unprecedented non-citizen and illegal alien populations, the people of Kansas decided in 2011 that they needed more effective measures in order to protect their voting rights from the cancellation effects of fraudulent voting,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director at IRLI. “The coordinated effort of Soros-financed activists to overturn those protective measures is anti-citizen in general and only serves to undermine public confidence in the integrity of our electoral process.”

In its zeal to dilute the franchise, the Obama administration is politicizing what is supposed to be an independent agency and using the full weight of the Justice Department do its dirty work. Almost every democratic country in the world, including Canada and Mexico, requires proof of citizenship to vote. If Americans need proper identification to open a bank account, get a driver’s license and accept a job, instituting a similar system for voting would represent an act of common sense.

FILED UNDER: AMNESTY, AMNESTY 2016, IMMIGRATION REFORM LAW INSTITUTE, LAW & JUSTICE, RSS HEADLINESTAGGED WITH: ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION, IRLI

Return of VA Execs Accused in Job Scam Isn't Accountability: Legion | Military.com

Return of VA Execs Accused in Job Scam Isn't Accountability: Legion

Philadelphia VA Director Diana Rubens. Cliff Owen/AP

Feb 24, 2016 | by Bryant Jordan

Hundreds of members of The American Legion gathered before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees on Wednesday to hear their leaders slam the Veterans Affairs Department for failing to hold VA employees accountable for conduct they say should have had them fired.

"VA has described accountability as a top priority in the aftermath of scandals blamed for costing some veterans their lives, the payout of questionable performance bonuses, and ill-fated efforts to discipline executives who were found to have abused their positions," Legion Commander Dale Barnett said.

But that's not what veterans have seen, he added, most recently when the VA's move to discipline senior executives was overturned on appeal and the employees sent back to work, the previous jobs and salaries in restored.

"Veterans do not see this as accountability," Barnett told the lawmakers.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, told the Legionnaires that legislation was coming that will strengthen the department's leadership's hand when it comes to disciplining employees.

"I have committed myself to see to it that before this term is over this year, hopefully by the 31st of March, we'd begin the process of passing comprehensive omnibus bill that incorporates the bills we all know need to become law," Isakson said.

The Legion earlier on Wednesday announced it had awarded Isakson its National Commander's Distinguished Public Service Award, which is given annually to an elected official who has established an outstanding record in support of those principles advanced by The American Legion.

At the hearing, Isakson said the coming legislation will include a number of proposals by VA Secretary Bob McDonald, including one that would convert Senior Executive Service-level employees, including administrators and directors who manage the agency's medical centers, to Title 38 employees, including professional medical staff such as doctors and nurses.

Title 38 employees do not have the same Civil Service appeals process as SES employees. The latter may appeal disciplinary actions to the Merit System Protection Board, which is where the actions against several recent workers were overturned.

The final arbiter in a disciplinary appeal involving Title38 workers would be the VA secretary or his designee.

Isakson said comprehensive legislation will also include language to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, which has been a frequent complaint against the VA.

Isakson said "99.9 percent of the employees in the VA do a great job," he said. "They are brought down and torn down from incidents like what happened in Pennsylvania, when people who are disciplined can lose their jobs, have those jobs restored for no apparent reason."

Isakson was referencing the case of Diana Rubens, director of the Philadelphia regional office until VA demoted and transferred her for using her position to obtain the job while picking up more than $400,000 from the department in relocation costs.

She appealed her demotion to the MSPB, which found in her favor and sent her back to Philadelphia.

VA also took disciplinary action against Kimberly Graves, who was reassigned from her job as regional director of the St. Paul, Minnesota, office for similar reasons. But that decision, too, was overturned by the board.

The Legion also said the VA must do a better job of bringing down its backlog of appealed claims. Since the department made first-time claims a priority in 2010 and diverted more money and manpower to processing the paperwork, the appeals backlog has mushroomed to more than 400,000.

But beyond the simple growth in new appeals is another problem, according to the VA -- the law that allows veterans to continue an appeal year after year. In one often-mentioned case, a veteran has been appealing his VA-rejected claim for 25 years.

Rep. Corinne Brown, a Democrat from Florida and ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, asked the Legion panel what they recommend.

"Tell me, 'What do we do when the appeals process [goes on]?'" she said. "At some point 'No' might be the answer – not for my constituents, 'No' is never the answer! But for someone else, 'No' might be the answer," she said to laughter.

Louis Celli, veterans affairs and rehabilitation division director for the Legion, said it comes down to making a system that veterans believe in.

"We have to instill faith in the system," he said. "Our veterans do not have enough faith in the Department of Veterans Affairs adjudication system to know their claim was processed accurately the first time.

"If we could get that adjudication system improved and processed the first time we wouldn't have the 440,000 appeals that we're dealing with today," he added.

The joint hearing was the first of several that the lawmakers will be holding with veterans' organizations.

On March 2 the panels will hear from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and on March 3 from Paralyzed Veterans of America, Vietnam Veterans of America, Blinded Veterans of America, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Guard Association of the United States, AMVETS, Wounded Warrior Project and Gold Star Wives.

On March 16 the lawmakers are scheduled to hear from the Fleet Reserve Association, The Retired Enlisted Association, the National Association of Directors of Veterans Affairs, the Military Officers Association of America, Air Force Sergeants Association, the American Ex-Prisoners of War organization, the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, Jewish War Veterans, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

-- Bryant Jordan can be reached at bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at@bryantjordan.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Viral Alternative News: Doctors Who Discovered Cancer Enzymes In Vaccines All Found Murdered

Monday, February 22, 2016

Doctors Who Discovered Cancer Enzymes In Vaccines All Found Murdered

Nagalese prevents vitamin D from being produced in the body.

Not long ago, Neon Nettle reported on the epidemic of doctors being murdered, most of which were in Florida, U.S. The scientists all shared a common trait, they had all discovered that nagalase enzyme protein was being added to vaccines which were then administrated to humans.

Nagalese is what prevents vitamin D from being produced in the body, which is the body’s main defence to naturally kill cancer cells.

According to Thebigriddle.com: Nagalase is a protein that’s also created by all cancer cells. This protein is also found in very high concentrations in autistic children. And they’re PUTTING it in our vaccines!!

This prevents the body from utilizing the Vitamin D necessary to fight cancer and prevent autism. Nagalese disables the immune system. It’s also known to cause Type 2 Diabetes. So basically…they weren’t killing these doctors because they had found the cure to cancer or were successfully treating autism…they’re killing them because these Doctors had been researching and had the evidence that the vaccines they’re injecting our precious children with are CAUSING our current cancer and autism crisis!!

And that it’s obviously being done knowingly and on purpose! The Doctors they killed in FL had been collaborating and were getting ready to go public with the information.

Depopulation 101..add poison to vaccines…make it law that all children must be injected to attend school. Slow kill methods. They think they’re being fair with their “survival of the fittest” type mentality. Only the best genes survive? These people have no souls.

Dr Ted Broer broke it on The Hagmann & Hagmann Report and it took them a whole hour just to get him on air because their 3 hour show was brought down and every line they tried to use kept disconnecting…and then their servers were brought down.

They asked a bunch of people to pray against the attack and then finally got him on a secured line..and so a full hour into the show they were finally back on the air and connected to Dr. Broer and the first thing he said was “I am in no way suicidal.” He was super nervous holding onto this info…afraid he’d be taken out Hastings style before he got a chance to say it publicly. So listen to this short clip of him breaking the story.

It’s a 19 min clip but the most important info is heard within the first 10 min. It is definitely some of the most important news I’ve ever heard. And it needs to go viral.

Watch his video here

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. If you found this information helpful, please share it with your friends and family. Your support in our endeavor of sharing free information would be much appreciated.

Follow us on Facebook to stay updated with what's going Viral in the Alternative News scene. https://www.facebook.com/ViralAlternativeNews

Obama tells immigrants with sexually transmitted diseases to come on in TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles

Obama tells immigrants with STDs to come on in

image: http://www.trunews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/obama-3.jpg

President Obama is now allowing people with sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, to come into the U.S.

In 2009, he opened the doors for those infected with HIV, according to Breitbart. Now Obama said immigrants with chancroid, granuloma inguinale and lymphogranuloma venereum can enter, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Now the only diseases that would ban someone from entry would be tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis and gonorrhea.

CIS legal policy analyst Jon Feere said there will be public health consequences.

“This change in policy illustrates, once again, that increased immigration is the main goal of the Obama administration, no matter the costs,” he said in a statement. “The administration itself estimates that more people will become infected and that there will be increased health care costs as a result of these changes. But obviously, these are considerations that have little relevance for those with an open-border perspective.”

Health and Human Services has estimated that the health cost over five years will be $4 million to $22 million.

This is happening as reports of sexual harassment and rape increase among migrant populations. Last month TRUNEWS reported of massive sexual attacks committed at several rail stations in Europe, including the incidents in Cologne, Germany.

This year tens of thousands of refugees are expected to arrive in the U.S.

image: http://www.trunews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/john-kerry-300x225.jpg

Secretary of State John Kerry hinted Tuesday that more may be arriving. According to Sputnik, Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the U.S. must help Europe deal with the migrant problem, and that European countries would suffer politically from the flow of another million.

Read more at http://www.trunews.com/obama-tells-immigrants-with-stds-to-come-on-in/#md3d6X37FlODJRMQ.99

Palestinians: Kerry and the Game of Obfuscation

by Khaled Abu Toameh
February 22, 2016 at 5:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7480/palestinians-john-kerry

Comment

This "intifada" is simply a further phase in a larger plan to destroy Israel. When the plan began officially, with the establishment of the PLO in 1964, there were no "settlements" -- not until after the June 1967 War -- so what exactly were the Palestinians planning to "liberate"?
The current conflict is not about "defending" any mosque from being contaminated by the "filthy feet" of Jews: it is about seeing Israel forced to its knees. Abbas and others seek to reap delicious political fruits from this "intifada."
Here is a novel idea: Kerry could put pressure on the Palestinian and Jordanian leadership to cease anti-Israeli incitement and indoctrination. Now that would be pressure well applied.
Abbas is expected to become a partner in the fight against ISIS and radical Islamist groups. All well and good. Why then is he not expected to stop cheering on and glorifying young Palestinians who attack Jewish Israelis?

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is back in town. This time he is meeting with Jordanian and Palestinian leaders about "ongoing security issues in the region and continued tensions between Israel and the Palestinians."

For those not involved in political newspeak, here is a translation:

"Ongoing security issues" = the Islamic State terror group (ISIS).

"Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians" = the ongoing wave of Palestinian stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks that began in October 2015.

Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) fighting ISIS? Now that's an idea! Jordanian King Abdullah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas ending "tensions" between Israel and the Palestinians? Let's think about that.

Kerry comes back, but never calls a spade a spade. The "tensions" to which he deceptively alludes are knifings and car-rammings. And what is the biggest spade that Kerry avoids calling by its name? The new generation of Palestinians brainwashed to believe that Israel can be defeated with knives and car-attacks.

This "intifada" is simply a further phase in a larger plan to humiliate and destroy Israel. This plan began officially, with the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in May 1964. At that time there were no "settlements" -- not until after the June 1967 War -- so what exactly were the Palestinians planning to "liberate"?

The plan continued in 1974, at the twelfth session of the Palestinian National Council in Cairo, with the 10-point "Phased Plan" (see Appendix below for full text of the Phased Plan). Article 2 called for "armed struggle" (terrorism) to establish "an independent combatant national authority" that is "liberated" from Israeli rule.

Contrary to Palestinian leaders' pap, the current conflict is not about "defending" any mosque from being contaminated by the "filthy feet" of Jews: it is about seeing Israel forced to its knees. Abbas and others seek to reap delicious political fruits from this "intifada."

That is why, in his meeting with Kerry, Abbas made it clear that he intends to pursue unilateral moves to impose a solution on Israel, with the help of the international community.

Abbas also told Kerry that he intends to continue with his efforts to seek a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel over "settlement construction."

Never mind that on Palestinian maps, all of Israel is regarded as one big "settlement."

Palestinian Authority leaders, official television, schools and media outlets often display maps showing Palestine stretching from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. The maps do not show the existence of Israel.

But back to Kerry. His "tensions" imply two sides engaged in some kind of a dispute that has aggravated a situation and strained relations between them, instead of what it really is: Palestinians openly trying to supplant Israelis -- the entire state.

So the game of obfuscation continues. No doubt, we will witness more pressure on Israel to make concessions that will supposedly ease the "tensions."

Kerry and his friends either do not "get it" or do not want to "get it." Palestinians are waging an out-and-out war against Israel with the goal of making Israelis suffer to a point at which they will beg their leaders to capitulate. In the Palestinian view, such behavior pays off royally.

It is a Palestinian commonplace that the two previous uprisings -- in 1987 and 2000 -- brought major achievements to the Palestinians.

The first "intifada" led to Israel's recognition of the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians" -- a move that was followed by the signing of the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority.

The second "intifada," the Palestinians argue, led to Israel's full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005.

And so we arrive at the newest wave of attacks. As the saying goes: Step-by-step.

Kerry would like to see an end to the Palestinian attacks on Israeli Jews. The only problem is that his vacuous rhetoric prevents him from having a snowball's chance in a Middle Eastern summer from attaining that goal.

Let us also not underestimate Palestinian Authority rejectionism. On the eve of the Kerry-Abbas meeting, Palestinian Authority officials were quoted as saying that they did not expect anything positive to come out of the talks "because the U.S. remains biased in favor of Israel."

As always, the Palestinian stance is, "My way or the highway."

Moreover, Kerry is dreaming if he thinks that President Mahmoud Abbas or King Abdullah are able to stop the attacks on Israelis. Neither has the mandate or the credibility to do so. In any case, they and their media outlets are too busy with their anti-Israeli ranting to do much on that score.

Thus far, not a word has been uttered by either of the two Arab leaders that could be even vaguely interpreted by their people as "stop killing Israelis." In the Palestinian Looking Glass, it is Israel that is responsible for the deadly attacks. After all, claims that are untrue about Israelis "storming and desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic holy sites" are provocative, to say the least.

Here is a novel idea: Kerry could put pressure on the Palestinian and Jordanian leadership to cease anti-Israeli incitement and indoctrination. Now that would be pressure well applied. And it does not even require funding.

President Abbas is expected to become a partner in the fight against ISIS and radical Islamist groups. All well and good. Why then is he not expected to stop cheering on and glorifying young Palestinians who attack Jewish Israelis?

When Kerry and his crew finally wake up to the fact that it is precisely this incitement that is driving Palestinians into the open arms of ISIS, Hamas and other terror groups, perhaps, finally, we will be able to hope for "easing tensions in the region."

Meanwhile, Kerry is back blathering about peace in the Middle East. Unfortunately, he seems incapable of calling a spade a spade -- especially when that spade's name is Palestinian prevarication.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Appendix

THE PLO'S PHASED PLAN

Political Programme
Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestinian National Council Cairo, June 9, 1974
Text of the Phased Plan resolution:

The Palestinian National Council:

On the basis of the Palestinian National Charter and the Political Programme drawn up at the eleventh session, held from January 6-12, 1973; and from its belief that it is impossible for a permanent and just peace to be established in the area unless our Palestinian people recover all their national rights and, first and foremost, their rights to return and to self-determination on the whole of the soil of their homeland; and in the light of a study of the new political circumstances that have come into existence in the period between the Council's last and present sessions, resolves the following:

To reaffirm the Palestine Liberation Organization's previous attitude to Resolution 242, which obliterates the national right of our people and deals with the cause of our people as a problem of refugees. The Council therefore refuses to have anything to do with this resolution at any level, Arab or international, including the Geneva Conference.
The Liberation Organization will employ all means, and first and foremost armed struggle, to liberate Palestinian territory and to establish the independent combatant national authority for the people over every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated. This will require further changes being effected in the balance of power in favour of our people and their struggle.
The Liberation Organization will struggle against any proposal for a Palestinian entity the price of which is recognition, peace, secure frontiers, renunciation of national rights and the deprival of our people of their right to return and their right to self-determination on the soil of their homeland.
Any step taken towards liberation is a step towards the realization of the Liberation Organization's strategy of establishing the democratic Palestinian state specified in the resolutions of previous Palestinian National Councils.
Struggle along with the Jordanian national forces to establish a Jordanian-Palestinian national front whose aim will be to set up in Jordan a democratic national authority in close contact with the Palestinian entity that is established through the struggle.
The Liberation Organization will struggle to establish unity in struggle between the two peoples and between all the forces of the Arab liberation movement that are in agreement on this programme.
In the light of this programme, the Liberation Organization will struggle to strengthen national unity and to raise it to the level where it will be able to perform its national duties and tasks.
Once it is established, the Palestinian national authority will strive to achieve a union of the confrontation countries, with the aim of completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory, and as a step along the road to comprehensive Arab unity.
The Liberation Organization will strive to strengthen its solidarity with the socialist countries, and with forces of liberation and progress throughout the world, with the aim of frustration all the schemes of Zionism, reaction and imperialism.
In light of this programme, the leadership of the revolution will determine the tactics which will serve and make possible the realization of these objectives.

The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization will make every effort to implement this programme, and should a situation arise affecting the destiny and the future of the Palestinian people, the National Assembly will be convened in extraordinary session.

Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on Twitter

Saturday, February 20, 2016

You Don't Know What Obama Said at the Mosque - Dennis Prager - Page full

You Don't Know What Obama Said at the Mosque

Dennis Prager | Feb 09, 2016

If you seek to understand Barack Obama and his views, the best place to go is his speeches. But you have to read them in their entirety, not rely on hearing them or on the media's summary of them. When you do, you realize how often what Obama says is morally and intellectually confused and even untrue.

The most recent example was his speech last week at a mosque in Baltimore. In addition to reassuring Muslim Americans that they are as American as Americans of every other faith -- – a point that any president, Republican or Democrat, would and should make – President Obama spoke a lot of nonsense, some of it dangerous.

President Obama: "So let's start with this fact: For more than a thousand years, people have been drawn to Islam's message of peace. And the very word itself, Islam, comes from salam -- peace."

Why did Obama say this? Even Muslim websites acknowledge that "Islam" means "submission" [to Allah], that it comes from the Arabic root "aslama" meaning submission, and that "Islam" is in the command form of that verb.

That's why "Muslim" means "One who submits," not "One who is peaceful."

Obama: "Jefferson and John Adams had their own copies of the Quran."

The reason Jefferson had a copy of the Quran was to try to understand it in light of what the Muslim ambassador from Tripoli had told him and John Adams. When asked why Tripoli pirates were attacking American ships and enslaving Americans, the Muslim ambassador explained that Muslims are commanded to do so by the Quran: "It was written in their Quran that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman [Muslim] who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to Paradise."

That's why Jefferson and Adams had Qurans.

Obama: "And how do we move forward together? ... It can't be just a burden on the Muslim community -- although the Muslim community has to play a role."

Most Americans would say that the American Muslim community has to play "the" role, not "a" role in preventing violent Islam from capturing the minds of American Muslims, and in helping authorities identify extremist Muslims.

Obama: "Second, as Americans, we have to stay true to our core values, and that includes freedom of religion for all faiths."

This is so obviously true that one wonders why the president felt it necessary to mention it.

Obama: "There are Christians who are targeted now in the Middle East, despite having been there for centuries, and there are Jews who've lived in places like France for centuries who now feel obliged to leave because they feel themselves under assault - sometimes by Muslims."

One would have expected that after mentioning "Christians targeted now in the Middle East," he would have mentioned "Jews targeted now in the Middle East." That, however, would presumably have been too controversial to say. So, the president mentioned the many Jews in France "who now feel obliged to leave" their country because "they feel themselves under assault" -- and then came the corker: "sometimes by Muslims."

Sometimes? French Jews have recently been murdered, tortured and harassed more than at any time since the Holocaust. And virtually every one of those attacks has been perpetrated by Muslims.

Obama: "We have to be consistent in condemning hateful rhetoric and violence against everyone. And that includes against Muslims here in the United States of America."

Two facts are relevant here. One is that religious hate crimes are exceedingly rare in America. The other is that in 2014, the last year for which we have data, Jews were targets of hate crimes four times more frequently than Muslims.

Obama: "I often hear it said that we need moral clarity in this fight. And the suggestion is somehow that if I would simply say, these are all Islamic terrorists, then we would actually have solved the problem by now, apparently."

The president has made extensive use of the straw man -- a false target that he then attacks. This is one such example. No one has ever said that if the president were to identify Islamic terrorists by name instead of nameless "violent extremists," "we would actually have solved the problem by now."

What drives most Americans crazy is that the president of the United States refuses to name the enemy. And this rewriting of reality filters down. Increasingly, for example, when (and if) 9/11 is taught in American schools, the attackers are never identified as Muslims.

Obama: "And, by the way, the notion that America is at war with Islam ignores the fact that the world's religions are a part of who we are."

Another straw man. No American of any stature has said that "America is at war with Islam."

Obama: "In the discussion I had before I came out, some people said, why is there always a burden on us? When a young man in Charleston shoots African-Americans in a church, there's not an expectation that every white person in America suddenly is explaining that they're not racist."

This point alone should have been publicized by the media -- that the president of the United States tells Muslims that they have no moral obligation to condemn violence committed in the name of Islam.

Obama: "American Muslims are better positioned than anybody to show that it is possible to be faithful to Islam ... and to believe in democracy."

That is actually true. Given that theocracy, not democracy, is a central tenet of Islam, if an Islam compatible with democracy ever develops, it will probably develop in America.

Obama: "These are the voices of Muslim scholars, some of whom join us today, who know Islam has a tradition of respect for other faiths."

Another falsehood. Islam has no such tradition. Islam has always demanded that Jews and Christians be treated as humiliated second-class citizens -- when not forced to choose between conversion or death.

Now you know what President Obama said at the Islamic Society of Baltimore. But if you just read or listened to the mainstream media, you would have missed it because none of this was reported. It was all about, as the headline in USA Today put it, "At Baltimore mosque, Obama condemns anti-Muslim bigotry."

What Is This World Coming To? Exactly What JESUS Said!

What Is This World Coming To? Exactly What Jesus Said It Would!

Remember What Jesus Said

Credit: ThinkStock

Every so often I hear someone say in despair, “What is this world coming to?” This kind of comment usually comes in response to a doomsday report of some kind. You know the kind I’m talking about…

- Statistics show that kids are more sexualized now than ever, and that 70% of kids will have sex before graduating high school!

- A new report says that 45% of Americans think that God wants them to be happy more than anything else!

- A pew poll report shows that church attendance is at the lowest mark in twenty years!

- Studies now indicate that the current presidential administration is the most anti-Christian administration of the modern era!

When we hear these kinds of reports and stats, our gut instinct can be to throw our hands up in despair, panic, or disgust. We are shocked at the behavior of young people these days. Shocked at the levels of immorality at universities. Shocked at the apathy of people toward spiritual things. Shocked at the spike in gay marriages. Shocked at the smut being produced by Hollywood. Shocked at the increase in sexual promiscuity in our culture. What is this world coming to?!?

Whatever happened to the good old days, when a fella could leave his car unlocked without fear of having his stereo stolen? Whatever happened to the days when kids would actually respect authority? Whatever happened to the good old days when young men and women actually treated each other with courtesy, instead of trying to sleep around with each other?

Credit: ThinkStock

I would venture to say that many conservative television shows, and radio shows, and blogs, and podcasts, perpetuate the “what is this world coming to?” attitude. It’s not uncommon for talk radio hosts to spend three hours lamenting the decay of morals in the world.

But we shouldn’t be shocked or dismayed. The world is coming to exactly what Jesus said it would come to, and this actually gives us a lot of hope.

A GODLESS WORLD

The simple reality is that we live in a godless world. Of course, I don’t mean that there isn’t a God, or that the true and living God is not active in our world. I mean that the natural state of every person is wickedness, godlessness, and evil. It has always been this way, and it always will be this way.

In Genesis 6:5, God looked down on the earth and was grieved by what he saw:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

God brought the great flood upon the earth because the wickedness of man was great. Every intent, every desire, every thought, bent toward evil. Doesn’t sound that different from today, does it?

Acts 17:16 says, “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” As Paul walked through the city of Athens, he became acutely aware that the city was absolutely jam packed with false gods. Athens was not a moral, upright, virtuous city. It was a city full of idolatry.

When we see evil and wickedness in the world, we shouldn’t throw our hands up in despair. We shouldn’t be shocked or surprised. Evil and wickedness is not an anomaly; it’s the norm. The evil we see in the world isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s not like things have suddenly gotten out of control in the last fifty years. Wickedness has been standard practice since Cain killed Abel.

So why does this give us hope? Hold on. I’m getting there.

Credit: ThinkStock

IT GET’S WORSE

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but things are going to get worse. Before Jesus returns, evil and wickedness is going to increase in the world. Speaking of the last days, Jesus said:

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12)

Lawlessness and wickedness and godlessness aren’t going to decrease; they’re going to increase. In fact, they’re going to increase to such a degree that many Christians will find their love for Christ going cold. Dang, son. That’s some serious, intense, lawlessness. Contrary to what the Beatles proclaimed, it’s not getting better all the time. It’s not going to get better; it’s going to get worse.

RELATED: 17 Things the Bible Tells Us About Angels

In 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11, Paul spoke of the “man of lawlessness”:

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

At some point, the “lawless one” will come, and he will come in power, with false signs and wonders. He will be so impressive, so powerful, that many unbelievers will be deceived by him. The wickedness promoted and perpetuated by the lawless one will be on a colossal, sickening scale.

It’s already bad, and it’s going to get worse. But don’t throw up your hands in despair. There’s good news.

Credit: ThinkStock

DON’T DESPAIR

The good news is that, in spite of the wickedness which fills the world, the gospel of Jesus Christ will continue saving sinners! Yes, evil is powerful, but Jesus is more powerful! Yes, Satan prowls about like a roaring lion, but Jesus is the great lion slayer. Jesus encouraged Peter that the church would not be overcome, and would even stand against hell itself:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus isn’t particularly concerned with the most recent Barna report, or church growth study, or the state of Hollywood. He will build his church, and there is absolutely nothing that can stop him.

Even as Jesus talked about the spike in lawlessness, he also promised that the gospel would be proclaimed in ALL nations:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

And when the big, bad, man of lawlessness appears, Jesus will take care of him too:

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

When Jesus returns, he will utterly decimate the man of lawlessness. Farewell, lawless one! King Jesus has arrived!

Credit: ThinkStock

DON’T LOSE HOPE

Should we be concerned about increasing immorality in the schools, and on television, and in politics? Sure. Where appropriate, we should stand for righteousness. And, of course, we should instruct our kids how to think biblically about the sin they will most certainly encounter.

But if we’re constantly outraged, disgusted, discouraged, or panicked, then we haven’t come to grips with the Bible’s grim description of the world, and we aren’t fully trusting in our coming, conquering, reigning king.

Yeah, it’s bad. Yeah, it’s gonna get worse. But the gospel will continue to triumph, Jesus will remain on the throne, and Jesus will finally rid the world of wickedness.

Stephen Altrogge is a writer who lives in Tallahassee, Florida. He’s married to Jen and has three little girls. You can find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Find out more when you visit his blog, The Blazing Center.

Bill's Blogabout

BILL'S TWITTER PAGE

Friday, February 26, 2016