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Got your permit to study the Bible?
Posted: June 01, 2009
1:00 am Eastern
© 2009
Recently, a California pastor and his wife were required by San Diego County officials to obtain a permit to hold a Bible study in their home.
"What?! Is this a joke?" I wondered as I heard the news for the first time. It was no joke. Rather it's a First Amendment nightmare and possibly a precedent of what's to come.
On April 10 (Good Friday), a county code enforcement officer visited the home of David and Mary Jones after receiving a complaint about their Christian gatherings. The Jones' attorney Dean Broyles, president of The Western Center for Law & Policy, conveyed in disbelief, "The county asked [Mrs. Jones], 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say amen?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'"
The officer then warned the family to "cease and desist" the "religious assemblies" or they would face fines up to $1,000 weekly (or more). Two days later, the county delivered a citation claiming that the Joneses were guilty of "unlawful use of land," mandating them to "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit."
At first I thought, "They must have a large congregation meeting in their home to warrant this type of citation and prompt this type of commotion," right? Actually, according to their lawyer, the Joneses have been hosting weekly Bible studies in their home for about five years ago with an average attendance of only about 15 people.
Attorney Broyles appropriately responded, "If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?"
Well, over this past weekend, barraged by hundreds of complaints after WorldNetDaily broke the news to the international community, San Diego county officials informed the world that they've backed down from requiring the Joneses to obtain a permit. Despite their retraction (based solely upon public pressure, I might add), however, I am appalled how far the county's enforcement and encroachment crossed the constitutional line and became a flagrant disregard for Americans' right to exercise their religious freedom. And I'm concerned that we will see far more of these overreaching governmental actions in years to come.
As Mary Jones shared with FOX News, "The implications are great because it's not only us that's involved. There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that are held all across the country. What we're interested in is setting a precedent here – before it goes any further – and that we have it settled for the future."
I'm not expecting county officials to be constitutional lawyers, but they should be aware of these basic precepts of America's makeup. For example, prior to the San Diego officials recanting their position regarding the Joneses' Bible study, Chandra Wallar, the county's general manager of land use and environment, declared that "The Bible studies are one that's probably in a very gray area."
"Very gray area"? Is there anything "very gray" about the First Amendment??
I agree again with Dean Broyles, who explained further to FOX News, "The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion. I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their own home."
One of the geniuses of America's Founding Fathers was to provide and secure a foundation for our freedom of religious belief. The First Amendment simply reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Could it be any clearer that government will not "prohibit the free exercise thereof"?
We've butchered and bastardized the First Amendment until it doesn't resemble what our founders intended. Even when Thomas Jefferson penned that legendary commentary on "a wall of separation between Church and State," in his letter to the Danbury Baptists (1802), he was only concerned with prohibiting the domination and legislation of religious sectarianism in government, as it was back in England and even in some early colonies like Virginia. However, he was not trying to rid government or civic settings of religious influence and practice. (That's a timely reminder, especially when so many graduation ceremonies across the land are even now being banned from religious discussion and invocations by student participants.)
In 1789, during the same time when the First Amendment was written, then-President George Washington signed into law the Northwest Ordinance, which states, "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
From Miss California Carrie Prejean (who also lives in San Diego) and her fight for freedom of speech, to this pastor and his wife and their fight for free exercise of religion, America's First Amendment rights are progressively being trampled and even flushed down the cultural toilet. Will California really lead the way in obliterating such basic human rights?
Are you prepared for a future in which you might someday hear the question, "Got your permit to study the Bible?"
Now more than ever, we need to be like the Joneses! Fight for the First Amendment and your freedom to exercise your religion. the party rolling!
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February 27, 2009
If you don't normally watch his show (which is one of the most popular commentary programs on TV today), you might want to know that Glenn humorously eats M&M's when he gets stressed about the trillions of dollars of more debt government is compiling for us and future generations, etc.--the M&M's are a form of pseudo anti-depressant for Beck! :) The interview will be via satellite here from the Norris ranch.
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February 24, 2009
An 87-Year-Old's Economic Survival Guide
Got the picture? With that in mind, I turn to a recent conversat
An old Spanish proverb says, "An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy." I believe that value holds, in or out of a recession. And seeing as my 87-year-old mother lived through the Great Depression, I think her value (and that of those like her) will increase through these tough economic times because her insider wisdom can help us all.
Mother was about 10 years old when her eight-member family endured the thick of those recessive days in rural Wilson, Okla., which only has a population of 1,600 today. The recurring droughts across the heartland during that period dried up the job market, making it worse in the Midwest than it even was in the rest of the country. Over the years, my grandpa worked multiple jobs, from the oil fields to the cotton fields, and he was even a night watchman. The family members did what they could to contribute, but most of them were simply too young to play a major part.
In 1933, when President Franklin Roosevelt took office, his administration, through the Works Project Administration, brought about the employment of millions in civil construction projects, from bridges to dams to airports to roads. My grandfather traveled about 90 miles for a day's work to help build the Lake Murray dam. But with a far smaller ratio of jobs to potential laborers, if Grandpa worked five days a month (at $1.80 a day), it was a good month.
Like most families, my mother's family didn't have running water or electricity. And Granny did her best to keep the outhouse clean, with Grandpa helping by regularly depositing lye to control the odors. (You can imagine how the hot, humid Oklahoma summers turned that outside commode into one smelly closet-sized sauna.) A "scavenger wagon" came by once a week and cleaned out the hole, which had a small chairlike contraption over it with the center punched out. (They once had a two-seater in there, which allowed for two people to enjoy each other's company and conversation. Mom told me that she always felt a little upper-class when she sat with someone else!) By the way, and I'm not trying to be crude, toilet tissue wasn't around, so they used pages from Montgomery Ward catalogs (and you wondered why the catalogs were so thick). No joke -- they preferred the non-glossy pages. I'll let you figure out why.
ion I had with my mother. I asked her, "How would you encourage the average American to weather the economic storms of today?"
Here's her advice, in her words:
-- "Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn't have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.
-- "Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where's that work ethic today? If someone's not being paid $10 an hour today, they're whining and unwilling to work, even if they don't have a job. The message from yesteryear is don't be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.
-- "Be rich in love. We didn't have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We've lost the value of family and friends today, and we've got to gain it back if we're ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?
-- "Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They've forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, 'Love thy neighbor.'
-- "Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. 'What's in it for me?' is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, 'What can I do to help my neighbor, too?' I love Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, and especially his thought, 'We were created for community, designed to be a blessing to others.' Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.
-- "Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn't just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It's been that way ever since Herbert Hoover's alleged promise of a 'chicken in every pot' and President Roosevelt's New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that's a reason why we're in this economic pickle."
Now that's conventional wisdom that should be shouted and posted in every corridor of government, every community across America, and every blog on the Internet.
Call me overly pragmatic, but I think a little practical wisdom and encouragement is what we all need about now. Mom always was good for that. She still is.
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February 9, 2009
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Chuck's new book
September 28, 2008 New York Times
Best Sellers List
Black Belt Patriotism:
How to Reawaken America
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9/8/08
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9/9/08
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9/26/08
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10/2/08
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Actor and martial-arts expert Chuck Norris is greeted with cheers at his speech about political involvement at Kent State. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal) |
KentNewsNet.Com
He's no joke
FACT: Chuck Norris didn't come to Kent State this weekend. Chuck Norris used gravity to bring the 'We The People Fest' to him.
Melissa Dilley
Issue date: 9/29/08
Chuck Norris fact: Chuck used to be shy, ridiculed and unhappy. The idolized celebrity revealed this little-known fact to about 500 students and community members yesterday afternoon in Cartwright Hall.
Norris spoke at the "We The People Fest," a three-day event put together by the Center for Pan-African Culture. Despite coming to Kent State to educate about the government through promoting his best-selling book "Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America," he began his speech by telling the story of his rise from timidness to the superstar he is today.
"I have overcome trials and tribulations by sheer determination," Norris said. "I found a way to make it work."
Norris said he thinks millennials, people born after the 1980s who use technology in everyday life, need to overcome obstacles and come together to improve our country.
"You're going to make a difference in this country," Norris said about college students. "We need leaders with integrity and honesty, and from what I have seen from traveling colleges with Mike Huckabee, I am impressed with your generation and its ability to be motivated by more than money."
Norris, who endorsed former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, spoke mostly about his conservative political beliefs, but the diverse audience didn't seem to mind.
Josie Steeb, senior applied communications major, said she doesn't agree with Norris' political beliefs, but still loves "Walker Texas Ranger."
"Everyone will just listen to him and laugh because of who he is," Steeb said. "I think people will enjoy seeing him even if they don't enjoy his views."
Although the speech had its controversial moments, Norris kept it light with his humor while answering questions from the audience.
The most popular questions were about the infamous Chuck Norris facts. Norris said he reads them all the time, and he thinks they are hilarious.
"My all-time favorite is that they wanted to put my face on Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn't strong enough to hold my beard," Norris said.
Community members, students and even Barack Obama supporters stood to cheer when Norris finished and chanted his name as he left the stage.
Those who attended and bought his book went in the auditorium after the speech for autographs and photos. Most fans took advantage of the opportunity, including Eileen Hagenbaugh of Kent, who said she is a lifelong fan of Norris.
"I came to see him because I love him, but I learned a lot about him today that I didn't know," Hagenbaugh said. "He has an absolutely positive outlook, and he gave students a lot of encouragement."
Norris, who started studying government after he ended his ninth season on "Walker Texas Ranger," spoke extensively about students making a great impact on the country's future. He said he dedicated his new book to millennials because they have the power to change the world for the better.
"I think all students, including those at Kent State, should unite with other colleges to overcome our government's downfalls," Norris said. "It is going to take a lot of effort and determination to succeed and there will be a lot of bumps in the road, but you never know which bump is going to be the last so you have to keep going."
Contact on-campus entertainment reporter Melissa Dilley atlcrist1@kent.edu. |
Chuck Norris
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Chuck Norris Statement
April 10, 2008
When I learned yesterday (Wednesday) of the story about a high school student in New Jersey faced with expulsion from school and possible other problems after being charged with compiling a "hit list" that contained my name, my first instinct was to say nothing. Not to risk making something out to be bigger than it is.
But I realize that this is not the best course, for such behaviors are exactly the warning signs we have ignored for far too long, emanating from a growing at-risk population of young people in this country.
In today’s world, we must always be vigilant, not just in stepping up protection and emergency preparedness in schools, but in reaching out to those lost souls who feel marginalized and disenfranchised by the world around them.
It is what I have been doing for more than a decade with my “KickStart” program, which began in Houston, Texas, teaching 150 at-risk children martial arts as part of the PE curriculum. Since that time, our program, which instills discipline and respect and raises self-esteem, has grown to serve more than 6,000 youngsters year round at 37 schools in Dallas and Houston, Texas. To date, KickStart has graduated more than 50,000 students with many going on to college and becoming successful in their own right.
My hope is that, should there be substance to these charges, we will not distance ourselves from this young man, but embrace him and give him the help he needs to get on the right path.
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http://www.worldcombatleague.com/
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Chuck Norris visits "The Sports Guys!"
http://www.fan950.com/videos/chuck_norris_lan.wmv
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