‘Big Brother’s’ Brainwashing (a.k.a. sensitivity training) of American Christians … Coming to a Town Near You!

I wrote about the case in my December 23, 2013 blog entitled – “Going to Jail for Not ‘Frosting the Cake’” [consider going back and reading the posting]

 

Now Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission has ordered this local Christian baker (Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, CO) to undergo sensitivity training.  The Commission ruled that he could not refuse to bake cakes for gay weddings … citing his Christian faith.

 

In an interview with The Christian Post, Jack’s pro bono lawyer, Nicolle Martin (of Alliance Defending Freedom), said the sensitivity training was pointless, because her client does not discriminate against gays, and the order for sensitivity training, which became effective on June 2, cannot be seriously implemented because it is “vague” and “lousy.”  “The [sensitivity] training is really for the entire staff and it’s for him to conduct training for his staff.  It’s kind of vague.  He just has to report that he’s done it.  It’s very vague,” said Martin, who lamented that the haphazard order was as a result of unqualified people sitting on the commission.  “This is the problem where a bunch of lay people are making decisions about someone’s livelihood and other people’s jobs where the state has decided, has told Mr. Phillips, you don’t have any 1st Amendment rights,” explained Martin.  “You must express our message, we are the investigator; we are the prosecutor; we are the judge; we are the jury.  And this is what you end up with.  A lousy order that is vague and lacking specificity,” she added.

 

When asked why she did not seek clarification from the Commission, Martin said she and her client were not allowed to speak.

 

According to Martin, Phillips is also required to keep a log of every person he refuses service and document the reason why, and present that log to the Commission on a quarterly basis.  “The order says he must report on any orders — whether it be a cake or a brownie or cookies — turned away and the reason for doing so,” said Martin, who explained that the commissioners had, at one point, suggested that Phillips provide a log of every single transaction highlighting the sexual orientation of the customer.

 

“Even though the Commission [had] suggested that he report on every single transaction and whether the customer was gay, the Attorney General reminded the Commission that that would be illegal for Jack to ascertain a customer’s sexual orientation,” said Martin. “Thankfully, the order was clarified to say report quarterly on any celebrations or orders turned away and the basis for doing so.”

 

The Christian Post reached out to the Commission for comment, but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.

 

According to the Commission’s website, the bipartisan 7-member group of commissioners are citizens of Colorado appointed by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and confirmed by the state’s Senate to serve voluntary four-year terms.  “They are selected from across the state to represent both political parties.  Two represent business (one of whom represents small business); two represent government; and three represent the community-at-large.  At least four of the members are members of groups of people who have been or who might be discriminated against because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, religion or age,” the website noted.

 

As defense attorney Martin said last December – “American citizens should not have to live in fear of a prison sentence [or sensitivity training] merely for disagreeing with the government’s opinion.  All Americans should remain free to honor God in our lives and in our work.  The government has no business threatening Americans with jail time [or ‘brainwashing’] for simply exercising their constitutionally-protected freedoms of religion and speech.  Every American, whatever you think about this issue, should fear a government that ignores the 1st Amendment in order to exercise this kind of power over its citizens.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Couple of Liberals Call-Out Their Own for Muzzling Conservative Voices

Silencing and marginalization of conservative voices have become commonplace in the United States, as amazingly highlighted by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

 

Just the other week, Bloomberg spoke about universities becoming bastions of intolerance.  “This spring, it has been disturbing to see a number of college commencement speakers withdraw - or have their invitations rescinded - after protests from students and - to me, shockingly - from senior faculty and administrators who should know better,” Bloomberg said at a commencement speech at Harvard University, according to CNN.

 

Bloomberg referred to an October speech by former police commissioner, Ray Kelly, at Brown University, which canceled the speech after a protest by those who were opposed to the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy.  The former mayor had several other incidents to cite, including at Rutgers.  “In each case, liberals silenced a voice - and denied an honorary degree - to individuals they deemed politically objectionable.  This is an outrage,” added Bloomberg.  “We cannot deny others the rights and privileges that we demand for ourselves.  And that is true in cities and it is no less true in universities where the forces of repression appear to be stronger now, I think, than at any time since the 1950s,” he told graduates.  “There is an idea floating around college campuses, including here at Harvard, I think, that scholar should be funded only if they’re work conforms to a particular view of justice.  There’s a word for that idea - censorship - and it is just a modern form of McCarthyism.”  Bloomberg called conservative academicians “endangered species.”  “Today, on many college campuses, it is liberals trying to repress conservative ideas, even as conservative faculty members are at risk of becoming an endangered species,” he said.

 

Bloomberg also criticized Republicans and Democrats in Washington, where, he said, decisions are reached “not by engaging with one another, but by trying to shout each other down.”

 

In an op-ed for USA Today, Kristen Powers, an American political pundit, analyst and media personality on Fox News, blasted what she called the “virtual manhunt” of Mozilla chief Brendan Eich.  “His heresy was a private donation in support of an anti-gay marriage initiative six years ago.  Mob rule enforcing groupthink is as illiberal as it gets, and yet it was liberals demanding uniformity of thought - or else,” she wrote in April.

 

It’s refreshing to hear a couple of liberals speak the truth about the intolerance of those who cry the loudest for tolerance.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Where is the Righteous Indignation for Christian Persecution?

If a million deaths are a statistic (i.e., abortion in America), while a suicidal death is a tragedy (i.e. drug overdosing actors), then what is the genocide of Christians by militant Muslims all over the world?  Not even news worthy among mainstream news outlets.  And where is the U.S. government in protecting the religious liberty of U.S. citizens as provided by our U.S. Constitution?  The Obama Administration … who has the responsibility of enforcing our laws … is AWOL!  Let me sight a few examples.

 

Just last week (6 Jun), I posted an extensive blog on the plight of Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian woman, who was sentenced by a Sudanese court (under Shariah Law) to 100-lashes prior to her being hanged. Her crimes? – “apostasy” (for being a Christian) and “adultery” (for marrying a Christian man). [read the 6 Jun blog posting for more information]

 

Stop!  Listen!  Can you hear the outrage from American feminists. No!  But poor Sandra Fluke can be heard defending ObamaCare for her birth control pills? Meriam Ibrahim’s situation is a “war on women” that feminists and politicians should get behind!

 

Since President Obama famously told us that America is no more exceptional than any other country, thus placing all nations on the same moral plain, U.S. diplomats might be reluctant to make a big push here for fear of appearing culturally judgmental. Yet, Obama’s bombing Libya without congressional approval … resulting in Muslim rebels that brought down Egypt’s Mubarak regime or aiding rebels trying to overthrow Syria’s government are okay.

 

What’s this administration doing in response to Muslims in the Central African Republic who stormed a Catholic church in the capital city of Bangui last week and massacred at least 30-people?  A Washington Times article notes that “members of the Seleka rebel coalition looted, raped and killed Christians upon seizing control of Bangui last year.”

 

Or how about in Nigeria, where the Muslim group Boko Haram has kidnapped 275-schoolgirls targeted for their Christian faith and threatening to sell them as slaves?  [read the details in my 12 May blog posting]  At least a Tweet from First Lady Michelle Obama asked – “#Bring Back Our Girls.” Over the last 2-years, Boko Haram, which means, “western education is evil,” has burned churches and schools and raped, tortured and killed thousands of Christians; yet, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would not declare Boko Haram as a terrorist group.

 

Or how about in Iran, pastor Saeed Abedini, a 33-year old Idaho resident, serving 8-years in prison for the crime of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. [read my blog posting of 24 Feb]  His wife Naghmeh and their two children still reside in Idaho. She has been to Washington and to the United Nations, lobbying for his release.  Hospitalized (recently) for “treatment of life-threatening injuries, including internal bleeding sustained from frequent beatings by prison guards,” according to Fox News, Mr. Abedini managed on April 20 to get out an Easter message, which read in part: “Jesus said to His Disciples: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’. (Matthew 16:24)” The courageous Mr. Abedini is bearing a cross that few would carry.

 

Over the last decade, about 1-million of that war-scarred nation’s 1.5 million Christians have fled Iraq to other countries. Some of them settled in Syria, where they have become targets of al-Qaeda-allied rebel factions. Open Doors, which documents religious persecution, reports that 14 of the 15 most oppressive countries persecuting Christians are Muslim majority nations. The 15th is communist North Korea.  [read my 18 Nov blog about 80-people being executed for possessing a Bible]

 

As Christians are massacred daily across the world by Muslim terrorists, we have heard very little from a White House that badgers us almost daily about “tolerance.”

 

Clearly, it’s up to us as fellow Christians to make sure that people like Meriam Ibrahim, Saaed Abedini, and the growing list of victims are not forgotten and that many prayers are lifted on their behalf.  Why?  Because Christians … like the American soldier … leaves no one behind.  It’s a shame this administration will rescue a deserter and do nothing for persecuted U.S. citizens whose civil right to freely exercise their religion is denied them.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Obama Exchanges Top Taliban Leaders for a Deserter, and Does Nothing for Imprisoned Family of U.S. Citizen … Persecuted for Being Christian

As of the posting of this blog, all the media is talking about is the Obama Administration’s deal to free an U.S. armed forces service member in exchange with five Taliban prisoners.  Putting aside the assortment of controversy surround it, I’d like to know what this administration is doing to free the family of an American citizen imprisoned because they are Christians.

 

As of this writing, Meriam Ibrahim, who is 27 – raised as a Christian in Sudan by her Ethiopian Orthodox mother and reportedly abandoned at age 6 by her Muslim father – sits shackled in a cell of the Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison in Sudan … along with her two children (Martin and Maya).  This is the family of an American citizen … being persecuted for their Christian faith by a foreign government.

 

Meriam’s husband is Daniel Wani, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who, according to the Manchester Union Leader, moved from Sudan to New Hampshire in 1998.  He was naturalized in 2005.  In December 2011, according to the Daily Mail, he and Meriam were married in a Christian church in Sudan.  Their son, Martin, was born 20-months ago in Sudan.  Their daughter, Maya, was just born in the Omdurman prison.

 

So how did they end up in a Sudanese prison?  What’s the crime?  In Sudan, the children of Muslim fathers are not allowed to be Christians … no matter what their hearts, minds and souls tell them.  Freedom of conscience does not exist.

 

On May 15, a Sudanese court convicted Meriam of “apostasy” because she refused to renounce her Christianity and become a Muslim.  For this ‘crime’ the Sudanese court sentenced her to death.  The court also convicted Meriam of “adultery” – for her relationship with her own husband – because Sudan refuses to recognize the marriage of a Christian man to a Muslim woman.  For this ‘crime,’ the court sentenced her to be flogged before she is hanged.

 

Martin is in jail with his mother because Sudan considers him to be a Muslim, too, and will not release him to his Christian father.  Sudan will allow Meriam to nurse the infant Maya in prison for 2-years … then they will hang Meriam.

 

Meriam has demonstrated a saintly courage.  Husband, Daniel, recounted for the Daily Mail a conversation she had with him when he was allowed to visit her in prison.  “If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I’m not going to change my faith,” she told her husband.  “I refuse to change.  I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live.  I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself.”

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron has personally spoken out in defense of this wife of a U.S. citizen.  “The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in today’s world,” Cameroon told the Times of London.  “Religious freedom is an absolute, fundamental human right.  I urge the government of Sudan to overturn the sentence and immediately provide appropriate support and medical care for her and her children. The U.K. will continue to press the government of Sudan to act.”

 

So what has President Barack Obama personally said about the plight of this U.S. citizen’s family?  So far, nothing.  What has Secretary of State John Kerry personally said?  So far, nothing.  Spokespersons at the White House and the State Department have made statements, but not the president or the secretary of state.

 

Daniel Wani told the Daily Mail that the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum has not been helpful to him.  “They said, ‘Well your wife isn’t American, so we can’t help,’”  Wani said. “I felt disgusted.  My home is in America, and still they won’t help.  It’s getting uglier, and it’s not going in the right direction.”  “I have provided wedding documents and the baby’s birth certificate, but this is clearly not enough,” he said.  “It’s very upsetting that they don’t believe me.”  Wani said the embassy wanted DNA evidence to prove his son was his son.  “They want me to take a DNA sample in Khartoum, then send it to the U.S. for testing,” Wani told the Mail.  “It’s as if they don’t believe a word I say.”  Citing the Privacy Act, State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki initially declined to concede that Daniel Wani was a U.S. citizen.  Then Wani signed a Privacy Act waiver and Psaki stated that he was a citizen, but would not concede that his children Martin and Maya are also citizens.  “We don’t have all the information we would need in this case,” she said.

 

The administration appears to be playing hardball with Daniel Wani when it comes to establishing the citizenship of his children; but softball with the Sudanese government when it comes to protecting those children and their mother.

 

Perhaps the administration has been working intensely behind the scenes to free this family and is wary of saying something publicly that would hurt rather than help the cause.  That would be understandable.  Or perhaps working out the deal to free five Taliban prisoners was more important to this administration than working to free the family of an American citizen imprisoned because they are Christians.  You be the judge!

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Ethics is Trumped by Politics in Obama Administration

It seems to be endless –

 

• The former Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki of the past 5+ years oversees the scandalous treatment of veterans in VA hospitals where veterans where left to die without proper follow-up treatment.

 

• The former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius of the false promises and ill-started Affordable Care Act was cited by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for violating the Hatch Act, as she improperly campaigned for Obama’s re-election while serving as a Cabinet secretary.

 

• Former IRS official Lois Lerner used the federal tax-collection agency to go after groups deemed too conservative.  She invoked the 5th Amendment to avoid telling Congress the whole truth.

 

• Susan Rice, the former U.N. Ambassador (now National Security Advisor) flat out deceived the public on 5-television appearances about the Benghazi catastrophe.  She insisted that the deaths of 4-Americans were due to a spontaneous riot induced by a video even though she had access to intelligence fingering al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists as the culprits.

 

• Former Secretary of the State Department Hillary Clinton left office with American foreign policy in shambles.  She has been unable to make the argument for a single initiative that was made with success.  Clinton infamously dismissed the lingering mysteries surrounding the Benghazi deaths with, “What difference at this point does it make?”  She also refused to place the now-infamous Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram on a State Department terrorist watch list.

 

• Eric Holder (who should be former) Attorney General is the first attorney general to have been held in contempt of Congress.  Aside from his divisive language (calling America “a nation of cowards” and referring to African-Americans as “my people”), Holder always seems to find himself at the center of scandals.  He permitted the federal monitoring of the Associated Press journalists.  He green-lighted the Fast and Furious gun-running scam.  He has failed to bring to account rogue IRS officials.

 

• Do we remember former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson?  She fabricated for herself an alternate identity as a mid-level EPA employee.  In communications, she used a fake e-mail address and name, and then honored her own alter ego as a “scholar of ethical behavior.”

 

• Former Secretary of the Department of Energy Steven Chu left under a cloud of controversy involving crony capitalists getting millions of dollars in green loans that produced nothing but failed companies.

 

• Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis slipped out of office, battling accusations of Hatch Act violations and freebie rides on private jets from insider union friends.

 

• Former top officials such as Timothy Geithner, Peter Orszag and Larry Summers have given new meaning to the revolving door between Wall Street and the White House.

 

So what’s the common denominator?  In all of these cases, politics trumped ethics.

 

The question is not whether some Obama Administration officials were incompetent or unethical (or both), but whether there are any left who are not.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A School District Learns a Lesson After Showing a Promo for Same-Sex Marriage

Last month, students at Craig High School in the Janesville School District (WI) were shown a video that promotes same-sex marriage and condemns supporters of traditional marriage between one man and one woman, according to religious freedom advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).  This one-sided video shows students saying it is “insane” and “outrageous” that “only” 14-states (at the time the video was created) allow same-sex marriage.  According to ADF, the video also shows students responding to Christian objections to same-sex marriage.  Responses included, “Cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it;” “You guys are basic and nobody likes you;” and “No one cares what you think.”  Clearly the video promoted same-sex marriage and attacked religious views to the contrary.

 

Well the school district came to realize the error of their ways, and ceased to show the video.

 

“Schoolchildren should receive an education that is free from ideological or political bias, and that does not disparage any of their beliefs,” said ADF senior legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco.  “Student indoctrination is inappropriate, especially on an issue as important as marriage.  Students and parents deserve better.  The district recognized its mistake and deserves to be commended.”

 

In a letter, ADF explains that Janesville School District “rightly determined that showing the video contravened its Academic Freedom and Controversial Issues in the Classroom policies,” and that the video’s “disparagement of religious beliefs opposing same-sex marriage likely violated the Establishment Clause.”  The letter also notes that the “Board of Education recognizes students’ ‘right to receive competent instruction in an atmosphere free from bias and prejudice.’”  Moreover, the school’s policy “affirms that '[a]lthough teachers have the right to express their own viewpoints and opinions, they do not have the right to indoctrinate students.’”

 

ADF litigation counsel Jonathan Scruggs added, “Schools are wise to take an unbiased and objective approach when teaching about controversial social issues.  We commend the district for recognizing that the one-sided, anti-religious same-sex marriage video shown in class violated its policies and undermined parental authority.  We hope more school districts follow their lead.”

 

Are you aware of what’s being presented at your local school?  Take a lesson from this Wisconsin school district.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Can the Revelations of VA Scandal be a “Gift from God”?

The personal story of Dr. Ben Carson is remarkable; and his common-sense, unapologetic brand of conservatism is a breath of fresh air.  Given his initial success in the political realm, it’s no surprise that some conservative admirers have undertaken a ‘draft Carson’ in 2016 movement.  Carson is a measured, accomplished gentleman.

 

Did you hear these remarks from this former neurosurgeon last week on Fox News? – “I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the health care provider.  And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you going to do it with the entire population?”  Radio host Rush Limbaugh built a similar case last week, saying the problems with Veterans Affairs (VA), which include reports of misconduct and crushing wait times that have been linked to dozens of deaths, provide only a glimpse of the broader havoc ObamaCare will wreak.  Carson and Limbaugh understand the situation.

 

It is in no way offensive or out of bounds for conservatives to seize on the systemic failures and abuses of the VA health system … which the ‘Left’ has extolled as an emblem of the promise of government-run health care … as a means to warn the nation against governmental healthcare meddling.  ObamaCare’s “cost control” measures … to the extent that they exist … rely on rationing.

 

Fully socialized medicine would make matters worse.  If we can’t execute single-payer coverage for a relatively small band of people whom we all agree have earned our help, applying that model to the entire country is an impractical fool’s errand … which is to say that Carson’s point is crucial and correct.

 

When Carson uses the phrase – “gift from God” – he is saying that the current situation presents a relevant and pressing opportunity for opponents of government healthcare.  The present VA circumstances illustrate the perils of such a system.  The system is being abused. Veterans are suffering and dying.  The White House has done practically nothing in response, beyond the usual expressions of shock and outrage, followed by obligatory investigations.  VA Secretary Shinseki still has his job.  Though the calls for his resignation or removal are growing, it seems as though the president’s party remains unwilling to loudly call out Obama’s weak response, even though improving the care of our veterans was supposedly a major passion of the President.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Take It From VA; Repeal Obamacare

Now if you want a sneak preview of America’s healthcare future, look at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  This is socialized medicine at its finest – government-run, single-payer style healthcare.  If President Obama and his fellow socialists are correct, VA ought to be a medical paradise on earth.  But of course it’s not.  Every day more news arrives of patient deaths due to delayed access to treatment, mounting waiting lists, fraudulent jiggering of the numbers to conceal failure to treat, and the list goes on.

 

Here’s the latest, from the Washington Examiner :

 

When (Eric) Shinseki took office (as Secretary of Veterans Affairs), he vowed that every disability claim would be processed within 125-days with 98% accuracy.  But the backlogs only got worse.  [It took about 4-months for VA to process a disability compensation claim when Shinseki was sworn in 2009.  By 2012, the average wait time was about 9-months.]

 

In February 2013, the Examiner published a five-part series, “Making America’s Heroes Wait,” showing more than 1.1 million veterans with disability claims and appeals were trapped in bureaucratic limbo in VA.

 

About 70% of the 900,000 claims for initial benefits were considered backlogged, meaning they were older than 125-days.

 

The Examiner series also showed how agency statistics were manipulated to hide mistakes that doomed veterans into appeals that could drag on for years.

 

Pressure from Congress, veterans groups and the media prompted VA to launch an initiative to reduce the claims backlog.  Claims processors were required to work overtime and the oldest claims — some of which were more than 2-years old — were given top priority.  The backlog slowly declined.  Today, about half of the nearly 600,000 benefits claims are backlogged.  [There are about 275,000 appeals, an increase of 25,000 from a year ago.]

 

VA is the poster child for ‘death panels,’ an inevitable outcome when government … which decomposes everything it touches … is placed in charge of healthcare:

 

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease was reported in Pittsburgh, PA in November 2012.  Subsequent investigations by the inspector general and area media eventually linked a half-dozen patient deaths from the disease to faulty maintenance and poor management.  Reports of other deaths followed.

 

Four patients under VA’s care in Atlanta, GA died of a drug overdose or suicides.

 

In Columbia, S.C., at least six patient deaths from colorectal cancers were linked to delays in receiving colonoscopies at veterans’ medical facilities.

 

VA eventually acknowledged that delays in providing care was linked to the deaths of 23-patients who died of gastrointestinal cancers at veterans’ health facilities.  Deaths from other conditions were not disclosed.

 

As with disability claims there are indications that VA has been hiding long backlogs in delivering health care by manipulating its statistics.

 

The Examiner reported in February 2014 that back-logged orders for medical care were being massively purged at hospitals in Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX.  Citing congressional testimony and VA’s own internal documents, the Examiner found as many as 40,000 medical tests and other procedures were cancelled in Los Angeles and another 13,000 in Dallas.

 

Earlier this month, the Examiner disclosed a nation-wide purge in the past year that cleared 1.5- million backlogged medical orders with no guarantee the patients got the care they needed.

 

ObamaCare is simply VA on steroids.  Whatever the problems are with VA, they will be multiplied under ObamaCare.  We have all read stories of restricted access, doctors and hospitals that are out of the network, and seriously ill patients with no place to go.  And we’re just getting started.  This is all before the system has to incorporate the estimated 144-million who will get dumped onto ‘HumptyDumptyCare’ by businesses that can’t afford the premiums and don’t want the hassle of trying to conform to ObamaCare’s regulations.  In other words, we’ve not seen anything yet.

 

ObamaCare must be totally repealed, not partially.  There is nothing redeemable here; nothing to save.  If the government can’t provide healthcare to the 1% (our veterans), then how will it service the other 99% of Americans?  The bottom line: We should get the government out healthcare, period!

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Memorial Day: We Honor Them by Remaining Vigilant

Today we honor the memory of the more than 1.2 million Americans in uniform who have given their lives for our country.  No words can adequately describe the valor of the men and women we honor today.  They defended the future of freedom at places like Bunker Hill and Yorktown, Gettysburg and Antietam, the trenches of France, Guadalcanal and Normandy, the Korean peninsula, Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.  Thanks to America's service members, freedom endures.

 

For more than 200-years, Americans have distinguished themselves on the battlefields for freedom.  In places far from American soil, men and women, representing every race, religion and creed of this diverse American melting pot, have willingly donned an American military uniform and defended this country.  And they all knew the risk.

 

The Americans we honor today loved the ideals and values upon which this nation was founded – values like loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

 

As we pay homage to our nation’s fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, let us reaffirm our national commitment of keeping the freedom torch burning for tomorrow.  Let us support the American armed forces that are defending freedom even at this moment.  For today’s armed forces personnel, the mission of defending freedom lives on … strengthened by our eternal memory of American patriots who have given their lives to preserve peace and democracy for future generations.  Your support of our armed forces is one of the most powerful weapons in the war against terrorism.

 

In addition to honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for this country, I urge you to remember in your prayers their families; and to our living veterans and to the service men and women who continue to defend our freedom.

 

The words that adorn the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, where some of our heroes are interred, also speak volumes about the bravery and valor of the men and women who risked their lives for our nation:

 

“Not for fame or reward, not for place or rank, not lured by ambition  or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it, these men suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all and died.”

 

May the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country live forever in our memories.  And may we honor them by doing everything we can to protect freedom for future generations, whenever, and wherever, it is threatened.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Hollywood Horror – ‘Islamaphobia’ … Coming to a Theatre Near You!

Better late than never!  The folks in Hollywood have finally realized the horrors of Shariah Law.  

 

According to the Wall Street Journal:

 

The pink stucco palace known as the Beverly Hills Hotel has long been a symbol of Hollywood glamour and affluence, the place where Elizabeth Taylor decamped for six of her eight honeymoons.  Now it's become the unlikely epicenter of protest against a new set of harsh laws enacted by the Islamic country of Brunei.

 

The opulent hotel is part of the Dorchester Collection, a luxury chain owned by the Sultan of Brunei.  This week, the tiny, oil-rich southeast Asian country set off a storm of celebrity protests and boycotts by introducing Islamic laws that include death by stoning for homosexuals and adulterers.

 

Over the past several days, 20-events have been canceled at the Beverly Hills property – a loss of about $2 million in revenue for the hotel, according to Dorchester.  Local politicians and celebrities are also boycotting the nearby Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles, the hotel’s more subdued sister property.

 

Big names like Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres are urging boycotts, and the Beverly Hills mayor and council are calling for Dorchester to sell the famed hotel.

 

At long last, Hollywood is understandings that radical Islam calls for the stoning women and the murder of gays.  Where have they been for the past 50-years?  

 

Katie Pavlich of Townhall.com said, “I won’t hold my breathe waiting for the left to call their Hollywood friends ‘Islamaphobic’ – that term is typically reserved for conservatives who warn about radical Islam. Further, I won’t bother hoping Hollywood liberals will reject the Obama Administration’s tolerance of the Iranian regime or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.”  [Both believe homosexuality should be punished by death and gays are being publicly hanged regularly in Iran.]

 

I wonder if those who live in the ‘bubble’ of Hollywood … who are outraged over their sacred hotel’s Islamic foreign ownership … have a clue of Shariah Law’s gains across America.  [Read my previous blog postings – Nov. 1, Sep. 27, Sep. 13, Aug. 26, Jul. 22.]  

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel