ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20100201

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

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



"My Comments" - Ronald Reagan Week

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/large/c30228.jpg


http://www.foundersofamerica.com/Reagan_p03.htm



"Daily Motivations"

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." -- Elbert Hubbard

The power of kindness is immense. It is nothing less, really, than the power to change the world. -- Daphne Rose Kingma

"We must be ever thankful for small miracles, and ever hopeful for receiving greater ones. " -- Elmer A. Shultz



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. (Galatians 5:25)

The late Charles Spurgeon told of a warrior of towering reputation whose enemies feared him greatly. More than anything else, they feared his sword, whose power had inspired wild rumors and legends. After hearing enough of these wild tales, his king finally demanded an examination of the notorious battle weapon. The warrior had his celebrated sword delivered to the palace by special messenger.

The king examined the weapon closely before finally sending back this message: "I see nothing wonderful in the sword; I cannot understand why any man should be afraid of it."

The warrior replied, "Your Majesty has been pleased to examine the sword, but I did not send the arm that wielded it. If you had examined that, you would have understood the mystery."

None of us, in our own strength, is any more impressive than that sword. But as we submit to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to wield us, we become amazing instruments for God's glory. The Spirit is God's powerful presence within us.

Next to our Lord's crucifixion and resurrection, I believe the arrival of the Spirit at Pentecost was the most earth-shaking event in human history. As the Spirit arrived to transform the followers of Jesus, the cowardly became courageous, and the defeated became victorious. The Roman Empire itself was unable to withstand the Spirit's mighty momentum.

Best of all, I can tell you that the Holy Spirit is still alive and well today. It remains only for us to follow His lead.

Your View of God Really Matters …

Have you been trying your very best to live the Christian life? How's it going? Today, take your focus off yourself and your best efforts and focus on who God is, allowing His Spirit to live through you by His mighty power.



"The Patriot Post"

Facts are stubborn things.
Ronald Reagan

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
Ronald Reagan

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
Ronald Reagan



Historical Importance of President Ronald Reagan:

http://history1900s.about.com/od/ronaldreagan/p/reagan.htm

Republican Ronald Reagan became the oldest President elected when he took office as the 40th President of the United States. He served two terms as President, from 1981 to 1989.

Dates: February 6, 1911 -- June 5, 2004

Also Known As: Ronald Wilson Reagan, "the Gipper," "the Great Communicator"

Overview of Ronald Reagan:

Ronald Reagan grew up in Illinois. He was born in Tampico then when he was nine, his family moved to Dixon. After graduating from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan worked as a radio sports announcer for WOC radio in Davenport.
While visiting California in 1937 to cover a sports event, Reagan was asked to play a radio announcer in the film Love Is on the Air, which jump started his film career. For a number of years, Reagan worked on as many as four to seven movies a year. By the time he acted in his last film, The Killers in 1964, Reagan had appeared in over 50 films and had become a very famous movie star.

Though Reagan stayed busy during those years with acting, he still had a personal life. On January 26, 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman. They had two children: Maureen (1941) and Michael (1945, adopted).

In December 1941, right after the U.S. entered into World War II, Reagan was drafted into the army. His near-sightedness kept him from the front so he spent three years in the army working for the Motion Picture Army Unit making training and propaganda films.

By 1948, Reagan's marriage to Wyman was having major problems. Some believe it was because Reagan was becoming very active in politics. Others thought perhaps he was too busy with his work as president of the Screen Actors Guild which he was elected to in 1947. Or it could have been the trauma in June 1947 when Wyman gave birth four months prematurely to a baby girl who did not live. Though no one knows the exact reason the marriage went sour, Reagan and Wyman divorced in June 1948.

Nearly four years later, on March 4, 1952, Reagan married the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, actress Nancy Davis. Their love for one another was obvious. Even during Reagan's years as president, he would frequently write her love notes. In October 1952 their daughter Patricia was born and in May 1958 Nancy gave birth to their son Ronald.

By 1954, Reagan's film career had slowed down and he was hired by General Electric to host a television program and to make celebrity appearances at GE plants. He spent eight years doing this job, making speeches and learning about people around the country.

After actively supporting Nixon's campaign for president in 1960, Reagan switched political parties and officially became a Republican in 1962. In 1966, Reagan successfully ran for governor of California and served two consecutive terms.

Though already governor of one of the largest states in the union, Reagan continued to look at the bigger picture. At both the 1968 and 1974 Republican National Conventions, Reagan was considered a potential presidential candidate.

For the 1980 election, Reagan won the Republican nomination and successfully ran against incumbent President Jimmy Carter for president. Reagan also won the 1984 presidential election against Democrat Walter Mondale.

Only two months after taking office as President of the United States, Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981 by John W. Hinckley, Jr. outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. Hinckley was copying a scene from the movie Taxi Driver, strangely believing that this was going to win him actress Jodie Foster's love. The bullet barely missed Reagan's heart. Reagan remains well remembered for his good humor both before and after the surgery to remove the bullet.

Reagan spent his years as President attempting to cut taxes, lessen people's reliance on government, and increase national defense. He did all these things. Plus, Reagan met several times with Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev and made the first major move forward in the Cold War when the two agreed to jointly eliminate some of their nuclear weapons.

In Reagan's second term in office, the Iran-Contra Affair brought scandal to the presidency when it was discovered that the government had traded weapons for hostages. Though Reagan initially denied knowing about it, he later announced that it was "a mistake." It is possible that memory losses from Alzheimer's had already begun.

After serving two terms as President, Reagan retired. However, he was soon officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's and instead of keeping his diagnosis secret, he decided to tell the American people in an open letter to the public on November 5, 1994.

Over the next decade, Reagan's health continued to deteriorate, as did his memory. On June 5, 2004, Reagan passed away at the age of 93.



"The Web"

Mall to Christians: God talk banned!

Rules challenged as violating 'principles of free expression'

By Bob Unruh

WorldNetDaily

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=123535

Roseville, Calif., shopping mall

Arguments have moved to the appellate court level in a California case in which a man talking to two willing strangers in a shopping mall was arrested because the subject of the conversation was God.

The case developed several years ago when a youth pastor was arrested at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif., for having a conversation about religion with two other people.

Matthew Snatchko, who works with youth at his church, was interrupted in the middle of a conversation by a security guard. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen's arrest for "trespassing."

The pastor said he agreed to leave but instead, the guards grabbed him, roughly shoved him against a storefront window and handcuffed him tightly enough to draw blood. Snatchko later was taken to the police station where he was booked on charges of battery and trespassing.

A short time later the charges were dropped, but officials with the Pacific Justice Institute decided to pursue a case against the mall over the impact of the policy on free speech.

After a Placer County Superior Court judge in 2008 affirmed the mall's regulations, an appeal was launched to the 3rd Appellate District in Sacramento, and the briefs have just now been completed for that court's review.

Get "Back Fired," by William J. Federer, which shows how the faith that gave birth to tolerance is no longer tolerated!

"It's surprising that mall owners think they can arrest patrons for engaging in casual conservations," said PJI Staff Attorney Matthew McReynolds. "While a 'don't talk to strangers' rule may be good for kids, enforcing it against adults is absurd, and we think it violates California's free speech guarantees."

The case is being pursued under the state's constitutional provision for free speech, which extends protections to private locations, because the 1st Amendment to the Constitution deals directly with government restrictions.

McReynolds said had the case been argued in federal court, it would have had to focus on the discriminatory nature of the mall's restrictions.

"Singling out religious speech for punishment violates our most basic principles of free expression," said PJI President Brad Dacus. "If anyone can be arrested for wearing a Christian T-shirt or mentioning God in a shopping mall, we have lost not only our freedom, but our sanity as a society."

PJI affiliate attorney Timothy Smith, of the Sacramento firm McKinley & Smith, served pro bono as Snatchko's lead counsel in the trial court and continues to serve as part of the appellate team.

McReynolds told WND the case focuses on the "draconian" limits set by the mall that were used to arrest the youth pastor. While those charges were dropped, the result of that case wasn't a court-adjudicated precedent that could be used to protect others.

He said while reasonable regulations certainly are allowed, such as volume limits, targeting speech for banishment because of its subject is not.

"What they cannot do and did in this case [is target] political and religious speech," he said. "They originally chose to arrest the youth pastor for striking up a casual conversation. Since then, they've dug in their heels and are standing firm in their belief they can do whatever they want."

Oral arguments haven't been scheduled by the court in the case, and there's no time frame available yet for when a decision might be reached, McReynolds said.

But PJI's brief to the court explained the issue.

"The underlying interest of defendants clearly relates to content. While the act of speaking is not generally prohibited, the act of speaking a particular message without a permit is," the brief said. "Defendants argue that if they do not disagree with the message of the speech, and if the applications are accepted on a first come, first selected basis, the regulation is content neutral."

"Even if the defendants determined that the recipients of the speech might be uncomfortable due to the speech, such a basis for restricting plaintiffs speech is not content neutral."

The mall's regulations, besides disallowing commercial speech and speech about religion or politics, also include an exception for those subjects if a speaker knew the other person previously.

"Under the exemption, the plaintiff would have been allowed to have the same conversation in the same exact place if only he had previously met the people with whom he was speaking," the brief challenged.

"The notion that an individual is not allowed to speak with a stranger about a non-commercial topic without first having their speech examined is preposterous, and is truly silencing in every sense of the word," the brief said.

The mall's rules require "a submission of the subject matter of the spoken or written speech," the brief continued. "Defendants' licensing process as a whole has a great deal to do with speakers' message. Not only does the application process require an examination of the subject matter, but plaintiff was actually referred to the licensing application process only after the security guard listened to the content of plaintiff's speech."

Officials with Westfield Group, the corporation that owns the mall, did not respond to a WND message requesting comment.

The company's website says it entered the U.S. market in 1977 by purchasing a single shopping center, and today has 55 centers across the U.S. in key markets such as northern California, Chicago, southern Florida, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, San Diego and Washington.

"The Westfield Group is the world's largest listed retail property group by equity market capitalization. The Group has interests in and operates a global portfolio of 119 high-quality regional shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, valued at more than $62 billion. Westfield works with over 23,600 retailers across more than 10 million square meters of retail space," it boasts.

Pacific Justice said Snatchko originally was confronted during a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith when a store employee listened to the conversation and alerted mall security guards.

Besides the ban on conversations with strangers about religion or politics, the mall also bans any clothing with religious or political messages.



A GOP bow to the Tea Party movement?

For your reading, yesterday I posted “RNC Commended For Supporting Platform Issue Candidates” on

http://conservativechristianvoice.blogspot.com/

Herbert A. Sample - Associated Press Writer

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=877152

HONOLULU – The Republican National Committee has adopted a rule that will prod GOP leaders to provide financial support to only those candidates who support the party's platform.
The resolution, enacted by voice vote with no opposition at the party's winter meeting here on Friday, is an alternative to a more stringent proposal that would have required GOP candidates to support 10 policy positions if they wanted party help.

That proposal, sponsored by Indiana RNC member James Bopp and backed by the RNC's more conservative members, was strongly opposed by party Chairman Michael Steele and a group of state party chairs.

The alternative, offered by RNC member Bill Crocker of Texas, does not contain a specific litmus test and thus grants party officials more flexibility in how to vet GOP candidates seeking party support.

It urges leaders of local, state and national Republican parties to "carefully screen" the voting record and positions of Republican candidates that want party backing, and determine whether they "wholeheartedly support the core principles and positions" of the party as laid out in its platform.

The platform is adopted every four years at the party's presidential nomination convention.

The new rule will not prevent support for moderate Republican candidates but will bar funding for those judged to be too far to the left, Crocker said.

"No more Scozzafavas, please. No more Specters, please. No more Chafees, please," Crocker said, referring to Dede Scozzafava, a GOP candidate for a U.S. House seat in New York whom conservatives opposed; U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who switched his party registration from Republican to Democrat last year, and former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, a liberal Republican.

Crocker urged the party to "present candidates who will be attractive" to the people who, like those in the Tea Party movement, "are really dissatisfied with our political conduct over the past several years."

Bopp withdrew his proposal and supported the alternative, contending it will be more effective because party leaders will have to consider a broader range of issues than just those cited in his resolution.

His proposal would have barred financial help for GOP candidates who disagreed with three or more of 10 policy positions, including support for "market-based" health care reform and climate change policies, and opposition to gun control, government abortion funding and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

There appeared to be some disagreement over the practical effect of Crocker's resolution. Bopp said it requires party leaders to compare GOP candidate positions to the party platform. But Bob Tiernan, the GOP state chairman in Oregon, insisted it is not binding.

"There's nothing mandatory in it," Tiernan said.



Atheists' 'hate' sign blasted in lawsuit

Illinois candidate claims state 'hostile' to beliefs

By Bob Unruh

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123565

'Solstice' sign

A political candidate in this week's primary election for the office of comptroller in Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the state charging it officially expressed "hate" and "hostility" toward Christianity and other religions that include a belief in God by allowing atheists to post a sign in a state building at Christmas.

That sign, posted by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said,:

At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is just a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.
It was placed in the Illinois Capitol Building, through which GOP comptroller candidate William J. Kelly, a cable television executive, was required to travel for his responsibilities as a candidate.

"The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, in conjunction with the 14th Amendment, forbids state action that has the effect of disapproving, inhibiting or evincing hostility toward religion," the lawsuit, filed in the Northern District in Illinois, said, "The United States Supreme Court has specifically held, for instance, that the Constitution affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance, of all religions, and forbids hostility toward any …"

Kelly named Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who is responsible for enforcing state property regulations, as defendant.

"The language in the sign at issue stating 'Religion is just a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds' is speech that evidences disapproval and hostility toward religion," the case continues. "Further, that speech is attributable to the defendant by virtue of the defendant approving the sign, despite the Illinois Administrative Code expressly prohibiting the sign, and by its placement of the sign next to the described displays in the Capitol Building."

"We need to stop the hate speech against Christians and all religious people," Kelly said in a statement released along with the announcement about the lawsuit. "It is this attitude of hate that has enabled the stripping of religion, tradition, and history from our holidays, our history books, and our culture in general. Perhaps the atheists need some sensitivity training."

The case seeks declaratory relief and permanent injunction.

"I wouldn't be allowed to go around and make hateful statements about other religions," Kelly told WND.

"The totality of the language of the sign is hostile and inflammatory to all religions, including but not limited to Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and others that worship God and/or believe in the concepts heaven and hell," the case claims.

According to a CBS report, it was Kelly who at Christmas was escorted from the Capitol Building for turning the sign around so that it could not be read. He was escorted away by Capitol police and was the subject of an incident report.

Kelly said then the sign was "hate speech," and the lawsuit documents that allegation.

"Kelly turned the sign, so that the sign was face down. Kelly did so, in part, on the basis that the sign constituted hate speech, and because the defendant's approval and placement of the sign in violation of the Constitution and its own governing law violated the Establishment Clause's prohibition against government disapproval of religion," the lawsuit explains.

State officials could not be reached by WND for comment.

But the sign is part of a routine campaign run by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which puts them near nativity displays across the country at Christmas.

Foundation spokesman Dan Barker told CBS at the time that Kelly was escorted away from the Illinois Capitol that he, in fact, was right.

"He's kind of right, because the last couple of sentences do criticize religion, and of course, the beginning is a celebration of the winter solstice. But that kind of speech is protected as well – speech that is critical and speech that is supportive," he said.



Russia flexes military power with 'futuristic' fighter jet

Russia returned to the global stage Friday as a first-rank military and technological power by launching a 'fifth generation' fighter plane, with futuristic characteristics of stealth, sustained supersonic cruise, and integrated weapons.

A new Russian T-50 fighter lands at an airfield of the Sukhoi aircraft manufacturing plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur January 23. The new fighter aircraft is by some seen as Russia's response to U.S. advances in military aviation.

Sukhoi Press Service/Reuters

By Fred Weir Correspondent

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0129/Russia-flexes-military-power-with-futuristic-fighter-jet

Moscow
Vladimir Putin is jubilant, the Russian aviation industry is filled with pride, and even normally skeptical military experts say they're truly impressed by reports Friday that Russia has successfully test-flown the first prototype of a "fifth generation" fighter plane.

They all may have good reasons to cheer. Building such a plane is so expensive, complex, and technologically sophisticated that, until now, only the United States has been able to field an operational version of one: the F-22 Raptor.

According to news reports, Russia's venerable Sukhoi company – maker of many famous Soviet warplanes – sent the V-tailed, swept-wing Sukhoi T-50 on its maiden flight for 47 minutes Friday near Komsomolsk-na-Amur in Russia's far east (see video here) and it exceeded all expectations.

"We started flight tests of the fifth-generation aircraft today," Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan told Russian news agencies. "I am strongly convinced that this project will excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and these planes will constitute the backbone of the Russian Air Force for the next few decades."

A fighter of the "fifth generation" should have futuristic characteristics of stealth, sustained supersonic cruise, multi-role capabilities, integrated weapons and navigation systems that are controlled by artificial intelligence, over-the-horizon radar visibility and other cutting-edge wizardry.

Experts say that the mere fact that Russia can put one into the air announces its return to the global stage as a first-rank military and technological power.

"This is an epic event, because it's the first time in post-Soviet history that [the Russian military industry] has been able to create something brand new," Alexander Khramchikhin, an expert with the independent Institute of Political and Military Analysis in Moscow, says in a telephone interview.

"Everything we produced after the USSR's collapse was based on Soviet designs; nobody thought we could make anything so technologically complicated as this. But now, strange as it may seem, this shows Russia's level is very high."

Kremlin leaders have been promising to build this new aircraft for years as part of a broader effort to re-arm and modernize Russia's crumbling Soviet-era armed forces. Though Russia handily won its brief 2008 war with neighboring Georgia, the conflict revealed massive shortcomings in its military machine, including disastrously poor air support for ground forces and almost nonexistent aerial reconnaissance capability.

Prime Minister Putin praised the T-50's first flight as a "big step" in restoring Russia's traditional place as a global military power, and pledged that the air force will start receiving production models of the plane in about three years.

As Russia's president, Putin launched a sweeping, $200-billion rearmament program that aims to introduce new generations of nuclear submarines, intercontinental missiles, tanks, and aircraft carriers for the armed forces within the next five years.

Experts say the T-50 fighter, which has been developed in partnership with Russia's leading arms client India, will also go far toward restoring the tattered reputation of Russia's military-industrial complex as a leading supplier of weaponry in global markets.

"This is really good advertising; it shows buyers of Russian-made hardware that we can produce the most modern weapons and also improve them," says Vitaly Shlykov, a former Soviet war planner who now works as a civilian adviser to the Russian Defense Ministry.

"We invested a lot in this plane, and the fact that we can fly it has a big psychological impact," he says. "It has a huge symbolic meaning for Russia itself."

But skeptics say we'd best wait for more details about the top-secret plane of which we have seen, so far, only a few superficial images.

"We see the plane has some external characteristics that are new, but we have no way of knowing whether it actually possesses the technological features that would make it a fighter of the fifth generation," says Alexander Golts, military expert for the independent Yezhednevny Zhurnal, an online news magazine.

"It's great that it took off. Hurray. But I want to know a lot more about it."



The Islamic Republic of Torture, Rape, and Murder

By Amil Imani

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/01/the_islamic_republic_of_tortur.html

Rape in prison is a cruel invasion of a helpless victim. In addition to the physical torment and possible transmission of sexual diseases, rape reduces the victim to subhuman status -- an object for the use of others to be discarded when no longer desired. Most civilized countries sternly guard against rapes and sexual assaults in prison, although with less than complete success. Under the barbaric rule of the mullahcracy in Iran, sexual assaults have become instruments of policy for extracting false confessions, satisfying the boundless sadism and sexual perversions of the jailers, punishing the helpless victim, and leaving him with a sense of dehumanization.

This shockingly repugnant form of violating the human person has regrettably become widespread in the Islamic Republic of Iran's prisons, particularly in dealing with the young men and women arrested for the "crime" of peacefully demonstrating in the streets to demand accountability from the government for a raft of violations it has committed and continues to commit.

For the past 32 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been denying and violating a long-suffering people all of its human rights. They are guilty of beating, torturing, raping, and killing prisoners of conscience -- political, religious, intellectuals, artists, and others.

Women, chronically oppressed and disenfranchised from their basic human and family rights, have been most viciously treated by the Islamic system, its hired plainclothes, and the Basij members. To maintain its suffocating rule, the regime metes out punishments reminiscent of the worst in the annals of human history. Amputation of hands and feet, blinding, hanging, and stoning the victim after the quick formality of a trial in kangaroo courts without legal representation is commonplace under the terror rule of the Islamists.

The Islamic Republic has been violating all norms of international human rights, including very harsh penalties such as beatings for even "victimless crimes" like fornication, public expression, homosexuality, apostasy, and poor hijab (covering of the women).

The Islamic Republic's infamous record is replete with instances of child execution, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, imprisonment of journalists, discrimination against women in general, and persecution of religious minorities (with a particular systematic program of genocide against the Baha'is and their religion). The regime has ruled over a peaceful people with an iron fist while committing the most heinous crimes against humanity.

After enduring more than three decades of the Islamic regime, the great majority of the Iranian people decided to cast their ballots in the hope of effecting change in the system. The Islamic government, completely accustomed to doing whatever it wishes and ignoring the people, stole the election and declared incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner. The blatant violation of this basic right to vote and choose the official infuriated the long-suffering masses, who poured into the streets by the millions, demanding that their votes be honored. The response of the regime was to beat the demonstrators, arresting many and subjecting a great number to a raft of harsh treatments in prisons.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Rafsanjani in his capacity as head of the Assembly of Experts, Mr. Karroubi, a former speaker of the Majlis (Parliament), demanded an immediate investigation into the reports that a number of detainees had been raped during the illegal incarceration.

Mr. Karroubi wrote, "Some of those arrested [as a result] of the unrest claim that detained girls have been sexually assaulted with ... brutality."

"The young men in detention were also sexually assaulted in such a way that some are now suffering from depression and other physical and psychological problems, and are incapable of even leaving their homes," Karroubi added. "A number of detainees have stated that some female detainees were so severely raped that their genitals were damaged. Others savagely raped young boys so that they suffer from all sorts of depression and serious physical and mental damage."

Human Rights Watch also has documented cases of sexual assault in the Islamic republic prisons on individuals arrested since the fraudulent June 12, 2009 presidential election. In the most recent case, the medical examiner's office confirmed that the injuries suffered in prison by Ebrahim Mehtari, a young activist, resulted from torture and mistreatment consistent with his allegations of sexual abuse. But the Islamic Republic's judiciary authorities refused to conduct further inquiries and instead threatened Mehtari and his family with severe repercussions if they ever open their mouths regarding the sexual abuse.

Mr. Mehtari is living outside of Iran now. After his departure from Iran, the regime's security forces raided his family's house several times and threatened his family members with punishments if their son ever talked about the abuses he has received.

Another young activist, 24-year old Ebrahim Sharifi is a very brave young man who was arrested on June 23, after the fraudulent presidential elections in Iran. He told the Human Rights Watch group that he had been raped in detention while he was handcuffed, blindfolded and his feet were tied, and that he had attempted suicide several times after his release. He said that judiciary officials had refused to accept his complaint and told him that if he spoke out about his case, his family would be in danger.

The third case involves Maryam Sabri, a beautiful 21-year-old girl who was arrested on July 30 during the commemoration of the 40th day after the killing of Neda Agha Sultan -- whose shooting death during a demonstration shocked the entire world. Sabri was arrested after her photo appeared on a website connected to the IRGC, which posted photos of protesters and asked people to identify the people in the pictures so that they could be arrested. Before she was released on August 12, Sabri says, she was raped four times by the jailers.

"On August 9, in a letter published in the Etemad Melli paper, the reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi wrote that some detained individuals stated that some authorities have raped detained women with such force, they have sustained injuries and tears in to their reproductive system."

In another high-profile case, the very pretty 19-year old Taraneh was not shot with a single bullet to her chest, as was the case with Neda Agha Sultan There were no bystanders in the dungeon with a cell phone to capture the prolonged torture, rape, and sodomy of this teenager.

According to reports, as well as testimony on the House floor from the honorable U.S. Congressman McCotter, on June 28, 2009, Taraneh Mousavi, a young Iranian woman, was literally scooped off the streets without any provocation on her part and with no arrest warrant. This young woman was taken to one of the regime's torture chambers, where she was repeatedly brutalized, raped, and sodomized by Ahmadinejad's agents, and with the consent of the "supreme leader," Ali Khamenei.

Near death from repeated beating, raping and sodomizing, the fragile young woman, bleeding profusely from her rectum and womb, was transferred to a hospital in Karaj near Tehran. Eventually, an anonymous person notified Taraneh's family that she had had an "accident" and had been to be taken to the hospital.

The devastated family rushed to the hospital only to find no trace of their beloved daughter. The foot-soldiers of Allah's "divine representative" Ali Khamenei decided to eliminate all traces of their savagery. These vile people decided to remove the dying woman from the hospital before the family's arrival, whereupon they burned her beyond recognition and dumped her charred remains on the side of the road.

Like Neda, another young woman whose chest was ripped by the bullet of a murdering Basij member as she peacefully walked along with a throng of peaceful demonstrators, Taraneh's tragedy gives a glimpse of the true face of Islamic fascism and its brutality. The Taranehs and Nedas of Iran shall remain as eternal testaments to the depravity of the 7th-century primitive system and the horrors it has visited on innocent people. And these young victims of the IRI tyranny are by no means isolated cases. Women are systematically exploited, maltreated, and disenfranchised from their God-given rights.

A regime that subjects its own people to boundless viciousness is showing the world its willingness to commit any crime to intimidate others and to undertake any action that would keep it in power. The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its reign of devastation and death if not immediately disempowered by all people and nations that value universal human rights. It is timely to bring to mind the warning of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The Islamic Republic of Iran is indeed a miscarriage of justice, a cruel repressive rule, and an imminent threat -- not only to Iranians, but to the world at large.



Obama Using Public Schools To Recruit Agenda Advancing Interns

By Noel Sheppard

http://newsbusters..org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/01/31/obamas-recruiting-students-further-agenda-and-reelection

A rather disturbing document surfaced on the Internet Saturday with grave implications concerning how the Obama administration is recruiting interns from public schools to assist in advancing the President's agenda along with his desire to get Democrats including himself elected.

Even scarier, the internship application recommends participants read Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals."

According to Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs, this document was passed out in an eleventh grade class in Massillon, Ohio:

An Atlas reader, Chuck, has a student in the eleventh grade in an Ohio High School. Her government class passed out this propaganda recruiting paper so students could sign up as interns for Obama's Organizing for America.

Here's the scary overview:

In week one, this is the recommended reading list:



Nice. Let's get America's youth to read Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals!"

For those thinking this might be a ruse, the OFA website does indeed address this program. This was posted on January 13 in the site's Community Blogs:

Don't Miss Out: OFA's Spring 2010 National Organizing Internship

Earn credit for school and help change the world!

From his earliest years as an elected official, President Obama has encouraged young Americans to believe that their efforts can change their world for the better. If you are passionate about reviving the economy, making the United States a global leader in clean energy, and want to be on the frontlines of political change, apply for an OFA internship today. No prior experience is necessary. Spring Semester Internships are currently available with Organizing for America - Nevada.

Apply for a Spring 2010 internship before the January 31st deadline by filling out this application.

Learn how grassroots organizing can win an election, impact policy, or change a neighborhood. Take an active role in advancing key legislation including reform in health insurance, energy, education and more.

The online application reads:

Organizing for America-Nevada is currently accepting applicants for our Spring Internship. Interns will work jointly with our Regional Field Directors to build a strong grassroots network across Nevada, and help us to pass President Obama's legislative agenda. Activities will include recruiting and managing volunteers, organizing service and press events, voter contact activities, voter registration, and administrative support work. You need not be a student to apply. Credit is available at most schools, but it is the sole responsibility of the student to make the arrangements. Applications will be accepted through January 31st, 2010 for Spring term. The internship will last until the end of Spring term, and Interns commit to at least 12 hours per week.

The following was posted at Environment Link on January 8:

Organizing for America (OFA) has two priorities: (1) organize support for President Obama’s policy agenda, and (2) build and strengthen the grassroots organization we built during the 2008 campaign by training and empowering people to have an impact in their own communities. The most important thing OFA does is build support for and educate citizens about President Obama’s policies for change.

Our national internship program will connect students all over the country with our organization already on the ground — working to make the change we fought so hard for a reality.

The internship will last from January 11-May 7, but the start and end dates are obviously flexible based on a school’s schedule.

The internship requires a minimum of 12 hours per week, and would be based out of our Seattle office.

Clearly this is a real program recruiting students from coast to coast. Readers are highly encouraged to review all the pages of this application at Atlas Shrugs.

Exit question: Is this something that should be happening at public schools funded with tax dollars, and isn't this a question media members should be asking?

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.



"The e-mail Bag"

Official Pace Car

The Day Obamacare Died

Health Care Plans - state of the nation

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