ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20100114

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!



"Daily Motivations"

True friendship is at the core of any happy life. If our family is our root system, our friends are our fellow branches. We're all striving together, supporting one another, providing shade and comfort. -- Addie Johnson

"First they ignore you,then they laugh at you,then they fight you,then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi

Success doesn't come to you — you go to it. -- Marva Collins



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8)

God does not wait until judgment day to settle sin accounts. He also built natural consequences into sin as a deterrent.

I am reminded of a friend who was one of the most remarkable preachers I have known. He was a pastor of a thriving church. Then one day, a prostitute came to his office seeking his counsel. He felt sorry for her and asked his wife if this prostitute could live in their home so they could rehabilitate her.

After living with them for three weeks, the prostitute told his wife that she wanted her husband. The wife just laughed in disbelief. They had a happy home and several children. He was one of the pillars in the Christian community. Yet to everyone's shock, he eventually left his family to live with this prostitute.

Many people from the Christian community pleaded with him to repent from his sin, but he persisted. He had several illegitimate children. In time, the prostitute deserted him for another man.

Finally, this former pastor did come back to the Lord, but he had been brought so low that despite his giftedness he could not hold a job. Finally, he went to his grave prematurely - a broken man.

We cannot thumb our noses at God's righteous principles and not expect to experience the just consequences of our actions. I live daily in reverential fear of God because when we disobey Him, we open the door to greater temptations. Sin grows until it totally engulfs us in destruction.

Your View of God Really Matters …

Is there a "secret sin" in your life taking you down the wrong road? Do not deceive yourself into thinking that there will not be consequences. Turn around today while you still can! Change your behavior by shifting your focus from your sin to God Himself.



"The Patriot Post"

"There is something so far-fetched and so extravagant in the idea of danger to liberty from the militia that one is at a loss whether to treat it with gravity or with raillery; whether to consider it as a mere trial of skill, like the paradoxes of rhetoricians; as a disingenuous artifice to instil prejudices at any price; or as the serious." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 29

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval, 1816

"As on the one hand, the necessity for borrowing in particular emergencies cannot be doubted, so on the other, it is equally evident that to be able to borrow upon good terms, it is essential that the credit of a nation should be well established." -- Alexander Hamilton, Report on Public Credit, 1790



The Founding Fathers on Jesus, Christianity and the Bible

Gabriel Duvall

SOLDIER; JUDGE; SELECTED AS DELEGATE TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION; COMPTROLLER OF THE U. S. TREASURY; U. S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE

I resign my soul into the hands of the Almighty Who gave it, in humble hopes of His mercy through our Savior Jesus Christ.29

Endnotes

29. From his last will and testament, attested on September 21, 1840.



"The Web"

YouTube- America Rising An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians.mp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_mEzQVWDIc



Martha Coakley: The Voice for Fat Cats and Corruptocrats

by Michelle Malkin

http://townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2010/01/13/martha_coakley_the_voice_for_fat_cats_and_corruptocrats?page=full&comments=true

Democrat Martha Coakley is the voice of the “little people” the way Ted Kennedy was the voice of sobriety. If Massachusetts voters want another privileged liberal who talks a good “social justice” game while ignoring public corruption, pocketing gobs of money from Beltway fat cats and pandering to corporate special interests, Coakley’s the one.

Coakley, the Bay State’s attorney general, has campaigned to replace the late Sen. Kennedy on a law-and-order platform. But she has consistently turned a blind eye to both. When a top aide to Boston Mayor Tom Menino was caught deleting thousands of e-mails in violation of public records law last fall, Coakley punted. Democrat Menino was in the middle of a re-election bid; Coakley was wrapped up in her own senatorial bid.

Instead of expressing any concern about the City Hall information black hole, Coakley refused to investigate. She accused her critics of playing politics: “(W)e get lots of complaints from folks who are adversaries who have a particular agenda.”

But who’s got the agenda? After undertaking Herculean technical efforts to recover the trashed e-mails, Boston city officials discovered e-mail fragments related to an ongoing federal probe of former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson. Wilkerson attained national infamy as the lawmaker caught on film stuffing thousands of dollars of bribes from an FBI informant down her bra in exchange for her help securing a liquor license for a nightclub. She is currently awaiting federal trial.

Coakley cut an immunity deal with Wilkerson last year, protecting her from prosecution for campaign finance violations. But according to the Boston Herald, the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance reported last month that Wilkerson had failed to comply or only partially complied with 11 of 51 conditions. Coakley allowed Wilkerson to pay a measly $10,000 fine to avoid any legal action. She has failed to make those payments, failed to file ordered paperwork and failed to answer information requests from state campaign finance officials.

Coakley’s response? Meh. Instead, she used the power of her office to herald her new, taxpayer-funded $750,000 cybercrime lab initiative -- a picture-perfect, campaign-ready moment -- without an ironic pause, and has launched a crackdown on ladies’ gardening clubs for failing to file financial disclosure forms related to their dues and plant sales.

Perhaps if they were in the lingerie business, they might have gotten a pass. Or if they had volunteered for Coakley’s campaign.

While she’s a stickler with the gardeners, Coakley has been mighty sloppy practicing what she selectively enforces. She has siphoned $25,000 out of her state campaign fund for a poll on her federal Senate bid; used another $24,000 from her state account to pay Beltway political consultants advising her on the Senate campaign; and reportedly used a secret asset sale pact between her state and federal campaign committees to use state campaign funds to purchase a fundraising database, redesign her website and obtain $6,000 worth of campaign paraphernalia with her Senate logo.

Then there’s Coakley’s relationship with Massachusetts’ corrupt former House Speaker Sal DiMasi. Bay State records show that Coakley sent annual donations to the beleaguered Democrat over the past three years worth just under $1,000. But the obeisance Coakley has paid to the Democratic machine has been priceless. Last June, DiMasi was indicted on seven counts of mail and wire fraud related to pay-for-play schemes worth tens of thousands of dollars in monthly payments. “Where’s Martha?” asked Republican lawmakers.

Coakley let the feds take on the powerful DiMasi. Only after months of foot-dragging did Coakley’s AG office initiate an investigation into the indictments of one of DiMasi’s top cronies, Richard Vitale, on lobbying and campaign finance crimes.

More recently, Coakley’s GOP opponent Scott Brown blew the whistle on campaign finance shenanigans involving her deep-pocketed supporters at the SEIU. The radical labor organization, saddled with nationwide embezzlement scandals and political thuggery, is “pulling out all the stops” for Coakley, and has dumped more than $200,000 into her campaign for radio ads. In mid-December, SEIU Local 509, which represents public employees, sent two e-mails to 7,500 state government employees at their government e-mail addresses over public computers endorsing Coakley and urging union members to vote for her. The use of state resources for politicking is forbidden under state ethics laws and subject to both civil and criminal penalties.

Coakley’s office has not responded to the complaint. She’s probably too busy writing thank-you notes to all of the fat-cat lobbyists and donors who threw her a high-priced fundraiser in Washington, D.C., this week. Host committee members each raised $10,000 or more for her coffers. They included representatives from drug companies, health insurers and hospitals who joined the Demcare protection racket. (And Coakley has the nerve to attack “shadowy out-of-state organizations” for running ads supporting Brown.)

Washington is already teeming with Democratic foxes guarding the Cash for Corruptocrats henhouse. Isn't there a nice gardening club in Massachusetts that can take Coakley in?



Ah, sorry to bother you Mr. Obama, Sir. . ..

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=429001

Excuse me Mr. Obama, I mean President Obama, Sir. Um . . I know you're busy, and important and stuff. I mean, running the country is very important and -- ah -- I hate to bother you, Sir. I will only take a minute. Ok, Sir?

See, I have these missing pieces that are holding me up, and I was wondering, Sir, if you could take time out of your busy schedule and help me out. You know, no big deal, just some loose ends and things.

Hey, you have a nice place here! The wife sees houses like this on TV all the time and says, boy, she wishes she had digs like this, you know? Is that painting real? Really? Wow!
I saw something like that in a museum once.
Oh, sorry Sir. I didn't mean to get off the track.

So if you could just help me out a minute and give me some details, I will get right out of your way. I want to close this case and maybe take the wife to Coney Island or something. Ever been to Coney Island Sir? No? I didn't think so...

Well, listen, anyway, I can't seem to get some information I need to wrap this up. These things seem to either be "Not released" or "Not available." I'm sure it's just an oversight or glitch or something, so if you could you tell me where these things are I have them written down here somewhere -- oh wait. I'll just read it to you.

Could you please help me find these things, Sir?

1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "Not available"
4. Harvard College records -- Not released
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Medical records -- Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- Not available
8. Your Illinois State Senate records -- Not available
9. Law practice client list -- Not released
10. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate -- Not released
11. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released
12. Record of your baptism -- Not available
13. Why your wife, Michelle, can no longer practice law as an attorney? (Insurance Fraud?_
14. Why your wife has 22 assistants, when other First Ladies had one?
15. Why were you getting "foreign student aid" as a college student?
16. Which countries "passport" did you have when you visited Pakistan in 1981?

Oh and one more thing Mr. President, I can't seem to find any articles you published as editor of the Harvard Law Review, or as a Professor at the University of Chicago. Can you explain that to me, Sir?

Oh, but hey -- listen! I know you're busy! If this is too much for you right now -- I mean -- tell you what. I'll come back tomorrow. Give you some time to get these things together, you know? I mean, I know you're busy. I'll just let myself out. I'll be back tomorrow. And the day after. . ..
What's that Mr. President? Who wants to know these things?

We the People of the United States of America! You know, the ones that vote.



Ken Klukowski: Politics as Usual Shouldn't Violate Constitution

This column originally appeared in The Washington Examiner on January 6, 2010.

http://www.theacru.org/acru/ken_klukowski_politics_as_usual_shouldnt_violate_constitution/

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, D-Nev., buyoffs to Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., for their votes for Obamacare are up against an important legal fact: They're unconstitutional.

Reid was desperate to get 60 votes to move the Obamacare legislation to a final vote. He had to figure out a way to get two of his own Democratic senators who were holding out against it on matters of principle, like the taxpayer funding of abortion (Nelson) and the staggering cost (Nelson and Landrieu).

So Reid bought their votes with money for their states. Many adjectives were thrown at these deals, such as "sleazy," "disgusting," and "appalling." But the most common epithet was "politics as usual."

There's a better one: "unconstitutional."

All congressional spending must comport with the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution; that is, it must serve the "general" -- meaning "national" -- welfare, as opposed to the welfare of just one state at the expense of the federal taxpayer.

Most federal spending is truly national in nature. Other items, such as earmarks, still officially serve a national purpose and address a national need.

When Rep. John Murtha -- one of the most brazen and unashamed pork-barrel spenders of your money -- gets money for an airport terminal in his district, it's officially serving the national interest of the air travel system, which is under federal jurisdiction. Local highway projects are part of the interstate travel and commercial system, which the Constitution authorizes Congress to develop.

The reality is that "politics as usual" directs all sorts of spending to particular states or districts. Even when the spending is completely legitimate, "politics as usual" determines where that money will be spent.

It's always the case that the money could theoretically have gone elsewhere. Disaster relief to Florida after a hurricane would instead go to South Carolina if South Carolina is where the hurricane hits. The Navy money going to the port in Mississippi would instead go to the Norfolk, Va., if that's where the ships or personnel are redirected.

That's what makes all these spending items square with the General Welfare Clause. And it's what's lacking with these buyoffs.

Obamacare increases the size and cost of Medicaid. Reid bought Nelson's vote by inserting a provision stating that the increased Medicaid costs for Nebraska would be covered by money from the federal government (provided from taxpayers in the other 49 states). There's no national purpose. It's just one state being financially carried -- perpetually -- by the other states through federal spending. This violates the General Welfare Clause.

Landrieu's vote was bought for $300 million, officially intended for any state declared a national disaster area in the past seven years. (The media initially reported it was $100 million, but Landrieu huffily went on the air, indignant at the thought that she could be bought for $100 million. As a matter of principle, it takes $300 million.)

This buyoff was for one state, but phrased in general language that could in theory have included other states. It's unclear whether the Supreme Court would take these words at face value, or instead look to the obvious purpose instead.

The court has never struck down spending for violating the General Welfare Clause. The only reason is that it's a line that Congress has never crossed, so there's never been occasion to smack it down.

These buyoffs have become enough of a political punch line that they may not survive conference. But if they do, these disgraceful and unconstitutional buyoffs should not survive a court challenge.



Education Intelligence Agency

Public Education Research, Analysis and Investigations

Communiqué for the Week of January 11, 2010:

1) EIA Exclusive: NEA Gave Almost $26 Million to Advocacy Groups. An Education Intelligence Agency analysis of NEA's financial disclosure report for the 2008-09 fiscal year reveals the national union contributed almost $26 million to a wide variety of advocacy groups and charities. The total more than doubles the amount disbursed in the previous year.

The expenditures fall into broad categories of community outreach grants, charitable contributions, and payments for services rendered. In this list, EIA has deliberately omitted spending such as media buys, or payments to pollsters or consultants that have no obvious ideological component. The grants range from $3.6 million to Protect Colorado's Future, a coalition created to defeat three ballot initiatives in 2008, down to smaller grants to organizations such as the Children's Defense Fund, FairTest, MediaMatters, and People for the American Way.

Here is an alphabetic list of the 164 recipients of NEA's contributions, with relevant web links. All of these were paid for with members' dues money (the union's federal PAC is a separate entity funded through voluntary means):

A Smarter Colorado - $87,000

ActionAid UK - $5,000

All Stars Helping Kids - $5,000

Alliance for Justice - $7,000

Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution - $200,000

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity - $25,000

America Votes - $150,000

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education - $252,262

American Council on Education - $10,000

American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center - $5,000

American Rights at Work - $360,000

Americans United for Change - $250,000

Amnesty International - $7,500

APIAVote - $10,000

Arabella Legacy Fund (New Venture Fund) - $25,000

Arizona State University Office for Research & Sponsored Projects Administration - $250,000

Asian American Justice Center - $5,000

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund - $16,000

Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies - $5,000

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance - $5,000

ASPIRA Association - $5,000

Bell Policy Center - $40,000

Black Entertainment Television - $50,000

Boys & Girls Club of the Gulf Coast - $11,000

Campaign for America's Future - $25,000

Center for American Progress - $110,000

Center for Community Change - $10,000

Center for Economic Organizing - $44,000

Center for Law and Education - $50,000

Center for Teaching Quality - $205,814

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association - $50,000

Children's Defense Fund - $5,000

Citizen Action of Wisconsin - $200,000

Citizens Who Support Maine's Public Schools - $350,000

Coalition for Our Communities - $750,000

Coloradans for Middle Class Relief - $1.6 million

Committee for the Advancement of Education in Nevada - $175,000

Committee for Education Funding - $31,325

Communities for Quality Education - $1 million

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. - $65,800

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute - $100,000

Council of Chief State School Officers - $50,000

Council of State Governments - $12,000

Defend Oregon - $3 million

Democracia USA - $150,000

Democratic GAIN - $10,000

Democratic Leadership Council - $25,000

Demos - $5,000

Economic Policy Institute - $250,000

Educational Policy Institute - $5,000

Educator Compensation Institute - $25,000

Employee Benefit Research Institute - $7,500

Everybody Wins DC - $7,100

FairDistrictsFlorida.org - $100,000

FairTest - $150,000

Ford's Theatre - $15,000

Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network - $157,500

George Washington Institute of Public Policy - $60,000

Georgia STAND-UP - $25,000

Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice - $250,000

Harvard Labor and Worklife Program - $5,000

Health Care for America Now! - $450,000

Heifer International - $8,400

HEROS, Inc. - $143,175

Hip Hop Caucus - $5,000

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities - $10,000

HOPE - $340,000

Human Rights Campaign - $15,000

Institute for Collaborative Leadership - $35,000

Japanese American Citizens League - $20,000

Jobs for America's Graduates - $5,000

Jobs with Justice - $18,000

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies - $10,000

Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy - $5,500

Junior League of Raleigh - $15,000

KnowledgeWorks Foundation - $200,000

Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State - $5,000

Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law - $60,000

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights - $10,000

Learning First Alliance - $56,475

League of United Latin American Citizens - $5,000

Library of Congress - $29,883

Mana - $5,000

MediaMatters - $100,000

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund - $30,000

Midwest Academy - $5,000

NAACP - $55,000

NAACP National Voter Fund - $200,000

National Action Network - $10,000

National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education - $5,000

National Association for Bilingual Education - $7,500

National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans - $5,000

National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education - $10,000

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund - $5,000

National Black Caucus of State Legislators - $35,500

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards - $18,835

National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training - $25,000

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation - $10,000

National Coalition on Health Care - $275,000

National Conference of State Legislatures - $9,009

National Congress of American Indians - $10,000

National Consumers League - $5,000

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education - $491,922

National Council of La Raza - $11,200

National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators - $25,000

National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts - $10,000

National Immigration Law Center - $15,000

National Indian Education Association - $16,950

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium - $15,000

National Latino Children's Institute - $10,000

National Parent Teachers Association - $5,000

National Partnership for Women and Families - $5,000

National Puerto Rican Coalition - $10,000

National Staff Development Council - $25,000

National Women's Law Center - $10,000

New Democratic Network - $25,000

No on 10 - $750,000

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - $6,067

Organization of Chinese Americans - $5,000

Organizations Concerned About Rural Education - $5,000

Our Oregon - $25,000

Pacific Science Center Foundation - $5,085

Parent Teacher Home Visit Project - $84,000

Partnership for 21st Century Skills - $71,000

People for the American Way - $165,000

Progress Action Center - $100,000

Progressive Americans - $50,000

Project New West - $261,800

Protect Colorado's Future - $3.6 million

Public Agenda Foundation - $17,500

Public Campaign Action Fund - $50,000

Public Education Defense Fund - $2 million

Rebuild America's Schools - $20,000

Republican Main Street Partnership - $51,404

Ripon Society - $15,000

Ruby Bridges Foundation - $10,000

Sacramento Street Partners - $63,275

SAFE - $450,000

Schott Foundation for Public Education - $30,000

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center - $10,000

Sierra Club - $150,000

Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian - $5,000

Task Force Foundation - $15,000

Teaching for Change - $8,000

Texas Southern University - $12,500

Todos: Mathematics for All - $15,000

Tribal Education Departments National Assembly - $5,000

United South & Eastern Tribes - $5,000

U.S. Action - $203,000

U.S. Conference of Mayors - $15,000

U.S. Fund for UNICEF - $5,000

U.S. Global Leadership Campaign - $10,000

U.S. Green Building Council - $5,000

U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute - $65,000

Vermont Workers Center - $15,000

Vote No: Protect Our Constitution - $300,000

Vote No on Question B - $10,000

Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation - $159,367

Wellesley Centers for Women - $15,392

Will Steger Foundation - $10,050

Working America - $200,000

World Outgames - $5,062

Yes on 1A and 1B - $3 million

Zimbabwe Teachers Association - $10,000

Many of the largest donations from NEA headquarters went to state ballot initiative groups, but these do not constitute the sum total of the national union's spending on state political measures. In fiscal year 2008-09, NEA sent an additional $4.5 million to several state affiliates for the specific purpose of passing or defeating ballot initiatives or legislative measures. These grants went to:

Alabama Education Association - $304,969

Arizona Education Association - $813,326

Delaware State Education Association - $40,000

Georgia Association of Educators - $48,000

Hawaii State Teachers Association - $538,144

Idaho Education Association - $72,000

Illinois Education Association - $153,045

Kentucky Education Association - $201,500

NEA New Hampshire - $69,087

NEA Rhode Island - $50,000

Nevada State Education Association - $106,671

North Carolina Association of Educators - $30,000

North Dakota Education Association - $307,164

Ohio Education Association - $275,000

Oklahoma Education Association - $42,529

Oregon Education Association - $1 million

Pennsylvania State Education Association - $300,000

South Carolina Education Association - $69,250

Texas State Teachers Association - $100,000

In some cases, this spending was augmented by funds raised within the state affiliates.

All of these figures were culled from NEA's disclosure report for the U.S. Department of Labor. NEA and other major unions have lobbied the Obama administration to eliminate these detailed disclosures and return to the previous report, which required only a total amount spent on "contributions, gifts, and grants" without any itemization.

2) Last Week's Intercepts. EIA's blog, Intercepts, covered these topics from January 4-11:

* Union President Calls Parents "Lynch Mobs." A clever guy would have claimed a typo: "I meant to write 'lunch mobs!'"

* A Cure for Marty Hittelman's Cognitive Dissonance. All better now.

* Failing to Make Adequate Yearly Progress on the Laugh Test. Who's driving the turnip truck?

* Court Rules Charter Operators Not "State Actors." Not the end of this.

* Charters and Unions. Alexander Russo with an update.

* Help Out Ballotpedia with Info. Know of databases of local school bond and levy votes?

* Art Clokey, R.I.P. If you've got a heart, then Gumby's a part of you.

3) Scheduling Note. The next EIA Communiqué will appear on Tuesday, January 19.



Michael Steele Has Lost the Support of His Party

By: Ronald Kessler

http://newsmax.com/Headline/steele-gop-support-republican/2010/01/12/id/346168?s=al&promo_code=9536-1

Michael Steele was supposed to drive the Republican Party out of the wilderness. Instead, he is driving the party to distraction.

The latest flap involves the release of the Republican National Committee chairman’s book, “Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda.” Steele failed to inform Republican congressional leaders that the book was coming out, and many of them learned about it only through Steele’s television appearances.

But many see criticism over the book as a pretext for what really is disturbing a range of Republican leaders: Steele’s public comments, which can be described only as bizarre.

Case in point: Steele told Sean Hannity of Fox News that the GOP cannot win back a majority in the House in 2010. Besides the fact that everything points to big Republican wins in the next election, the job of head of a political party is to be a cheerleader, not a detractor.

This came during a week that otherwise was rosy for Republicans. Two veteran Senate Democrats announced their retirements. New polls showed major GOP projected gains in congressional elections in November. Polls also showed President Obama’s popularity at a low point.

But Steele chose this moment of triumph to diss his own party.

After that comment, key Republican congressional leaders such as Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the minority whip, called Steele to bawl him out.

In response to such criticism and fears that he is undercutting Republican recruitment efforts, Steele lashed out in a radio interview with ABC News.

“Get a life,” Steele snapped. “If you don’t want me in the job, fire me. But until then, shut up. Get with the program.”

“It was all of his own making,” says a key GOP insider. “There was no controversy until he went on a TV show and opened his yapper and made a controversy. Then he gets knocked into line, smacked into line, and he tries to fix what he’s broken.”

The episode followed others in which Steele seemed to go out of his way to thumb his nose at fellow Republicans. In remarks that CNN aired on March 1, Steele said that he, rather than Rush Limbaugh, is “the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh’s whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly.”

Responding to a comment by TV One’s Roland Martin that “white Republicans have been scared of black folks,” Steele replied, “You’re absolutely right.”

The first African-American RNC chairman, Steele continued, “I’ve been in the room, and they’ve been scared of me. I’m like, I’m on your side.”

Republican leaders also winced when Steele accused Democrats of “flipping the bird” to the American public on healthcare reform in December. Although that remark was off color, other Steele comments are combative, self-centered, and derogatory about his own party.

Small wonder that Brad Woodhouse, the Democratic National Committee's communications director, has said that Steele is “the gift that keeps on giving” for Democrats.

Steele is a smart man, so the problem is not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Rather, he seems confused about his role. Does he think he’s a talking head or a politician running for office against someone in his own party? Does he think he can woo independents by knocking Republicans? Whatever the answer, Steele does not get that the leader of a political party should be a unifier who stays on message.

Few Republican leaders want to be quoted as criticizing the charismatic party leader, who probably will continue to hold his post at least for now. But with a few exceptions, support for him among Republicans and conservatives has virtually vanished.

One exception is Newt Gingrich, who has said Steele “makes a number of old-time Republicans very nervous. He comes out of a different background. . . But I think he’s pretty close to what we need. He’s different, he’s gutsy, and he’s going to make a number of Republicans mad.”

In the face of criticism, Steele routinely tries to retract his controversial statements. He now says Republicans will win in 2010, but the damage has been done. He has defended his leadership by saying, “I have $8 million [cash on hand in the RNC's coffers] and no debt and, oh, by the way, I won two governorships and a host of special elections throughout [last] year and — gee, guess what — we’re building the brand. We’re engaging our grass-roots activists.”

Given that the RNC had $23 million when Steele took over in January 2009, $8 million now on the books is not exactly impressive. Meanwhile, some key Republican donors say they are avoiding the RNC.

Steele did not respond to Newsmax requests for comment on the points in this article.

A conservative strategist says, “We are auditioning now to be given back some power that was taken from us. The American people fired Republicans from the majority in 2006 in both bodies, and the White House in 2008, for not being responsible with their money and with their affairs in Washington. We’re auditioning to get our old job back and be given more responsibility. And Steele is not conducting himself in a way that makes even us comfortable that he’s responsible.”

On Fox, when Hannity expressed surprise at Steele's comment that Republicans wouldn't be able to take back the House, Steele allowed that “I don’t know yet” whether Republicans could win a majority because candidates still are being lined up.

“But then,” Steele said, “the question we need to ask ourselves is, if we do that, are we ready?”

Hannity asked Steele what his answer is.

“I don’t know,” Steele said.

If Steele isn’t sure Republicans are ready to govern, one thing is for sure: Steele is not ready to lead the Republican Party.



Malaysian Christians stand firm on use of 'Allah'

By EILEEN NG

Associated Press Writer

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_MALAYSIA_ALLAH_BAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-01-12-03-42-02

AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Christian leaders in Malaysia refused Tuesday to stop using the word "Allah" for God despite attacks on churches in a religious crisis that has raised concerns about the erosion of minority rights in the Muslim-majority country.

Daniel Raut, a senior leader of the Borneo Evangelical Church - the largest Malay-speaking congregation in the country - said it will not drop the use of the word "Allah," even though Christians fear for their safety.

"Since our forefathers become Christians in the 1920s, we have been using Allah even in our mother tongue," said Raut, who is from the Lumbawang tribe in eastern Sarawak state. "We are quite fearful (for our safety) but we will pray for protection and believe God will intervene in this matter."

Nine churches have been attacked since Friday, with the assailants using firebombs and in one case, paint. The unprecedented attacks have strained ties between Christians and the majority Malay Muslims, denting Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim-majority nation.

The attacks were triggered by a Dec. 31 High Court decision that overturned a government ban on the use of "Allah" by Roman Catholics in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald. The ban and the ruling also apply to Malay-language Bibles, 10,000 copies of which were recently seized by authorities because they translated God as Allah.

The government has condemned the attacks as the work of extremists, but also has appealed the ruling. Jamil Khir Baharom, the Cabinet minister responsible for Islamic affairs, called on Christian leaders to drop the use of "Allah" to help ease tensions.

About 9 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Christian, most of whom are indigenous tribespeople in the remote Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneo island. Muslims make up 60 percent of the population and most are ethnic Malays.

Raut was in court early Tuesday to support church member Jill Ireland, who sued the government in 2008 after airport authorities seized eight of her Christian compact discs with the word "Allah" printed on them. The trial is set for March 15. The Borneo church also sued the government in 2007 after custom officials seized six cartons of Christian literature containing the word "Allah."

The Borneo church was formed in Sarawak state in 1928, nearly 30 years before Malaysia's independence, but has since expanded nationwide and has some 250,000 members, a majority of them who use Allah in their worship and literature.

Alfred Tais, who heads the Malay language section of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, said there are at least 300 churches in peninsular Malaysia and hundreds more on Borneo that worship in the Malay language using "Allah."

"We won't hold any protests. Our response is to pray for peace. We have mobilized all our members to pray that God will give our leaders wisdom to find a solution to this problem," he said.

The Allah ban is unusual in the Muslim world. The Arabic word is commonly used by Christians to describe God in such countries as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.



WHY PEOPLE VOTE DEMOCRAT

I voted Democrat, because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.

I voted Democrat, because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

I voted Democrat, because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I voted Democrat, because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

I voted Democrat, because When we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they are doing, because they now think we are good people.

I voted Democrat, because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

I voted Democrat, because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

I voted Democrat, because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

I voted Democrat, because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

I voted Democrat, because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

I voted Democrat, because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite The Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

I voted Democrat, because My head is so firmly planted up my _ _ _ that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.



"The e-mail Bag"

Country Preacher

An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn’t seem too concerned about it. One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy’s room and placed on his study table four objects:

A Bible
A silver dollar
A bottle of whiskey
A Playboy magazine

“I’ll just hide behind the door,” the old preacher said to himself. “When he come home from school today, I’ll see which object he picks up.

If it’s the Bible, he’s going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be!

If he picks up the dollar, he’s going to be a businessman, and that would be okay too.

But if he picks up the bottle, he’s going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be.

AND worst of all if he picks up that magazine he’s going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer.”

The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son’s footsteps as he entered the house whistling and heading for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while he admired the magazine’s centerfold.

“LORD have mercy,” the old preacher disgustedly whispered. “He’s gonna run for Congress!”