Pray that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the conservative position of protecting our broadcast airwaves from pornography and crude language. Pray that the indecency statute already in place will not be ignored or marginalized at the expense of American children and families.

 "I will set no unclean thing before my eyes." (Psalm 101:3)

"Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus... Whatsover things are pure... if there be any virtue... think on these things." (Philippians 4:7, 8) 

 

In an hour-long episode, Supreme Court justices on Tuesday considered the government's power to regulate expletives and nudity on the airwaves.

"All we are asking for, what the government is asking for," Chief Justice John Roberts said, "is a few channels where you can say, 'I'm not going to ... hear the "S" word, the "F" word.' "

With their free speech rights at issue, the major television networks are contesting the Federal Communications Commission's indecency policy that was upheld in a 1978 dispute over Carlin's act. The networks' challenge involved more recent events.

One was a 2002 awards show during which singer Cher blurted out an expletive. Another was a 2003 show when actress Nicole Ritchie used two expletives. A third was a seven-second shot of a woman's nude buttocks on a 2003 "NYPD Blue" episode on Walt Disney Co's ABC that led to $1.21 million in fines.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the FCC's indecency policy should be struck down as unconstitutionally vague and for violating free-speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment.

Central to the case is the FCC's right to regulate broadcast speech differently and more restrictively than other media in an effort to protect children from indecent content, even brief nudity or a single expletive blurted out on a live show.

In the Cher and Nicole Ritchie outbursts, the FCC ruled in 2006 that News Corp's Fox violated the indecency policy. Government lawyers said the policy covered so-called "fleeting expletives" such as the "F-word" and the "S-word" that denote "sexual or excretory activities," respectively.

The FCC ruled against the network in the "NYPD Blue" case, but a U.S. appeals court threw out the fines in striking down the policy.

The Obama administration has defended the FCC's policy as constitutional, arguing regulation of broadcast indecency does not violate the First Amendment, is needed and should be upheld.

'Second-class citizen'

The FCC launched an indecency crackdown after pop star Janet Jackson briefly exposed her bare breast during the 2004 broadcast of the halftime show for the Super Bowl football game, drawing half a million complaints.

The networks want the Supreme Court to overturn the 1978 ruling that helped form the legal basis for the FCC policy.

Carter Phillips, an attorney for the Fox television network, said in a written brief that the media landscape has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, with broadcasting no longer uniquely pervasive nor uniquely accessible to children.

"For more than 30 years, broadcasting alone among all mass media has been a second-class citizen. Only broadcasting is subject to content-based censorship by the federal government," he said.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, the administration's top courtroom lawyer, disagreed and said broadcast television retains a dominant position on the media landscape.

"The founding era for broadcast communication was the 1920s. Since that time, Congress and the commission have made indecency regulation one of broadcasting's defining features. That longstanding judgment is entitled to this court's respect," he said.

The FCC can slap fines of $325,000 on each station that airs indecent material, including images and words, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Seth Waxman, the attorney who will argue for ABC, said the FCC has inconsistently enforced its policy.

He said many ABC stations refused to air the World War Two movie "Saving Private Ryan" because it contained expletives and out of fear the FCC might deem it indecent. The FCC later decided the movie was not covered by its indecency policy.

'Unpredictable' speech regulations

Mark Rienzi, a constitutional law professor at Catholic University of America, said the FCC's policy of indecency regulation has been inconsistent over the years.

"They will have a difficult time explaining to the court why they should be allowed to subject one group of speakers - broadcasters - to an unpredictable set of speech regulations that are not imposed on speakers who convey their messages over cable, satellite, the Internet or print media," he said.

The FCC policy applies only to broadcast television and radio. Neither cable nor satellite channels are subject to FCC content regulation.

Waxman said the V-chip and similar technologies now provide parents with powerful tools to block broadcasts they consider inappropriate for their children.

The Supreme Court arguments mark the second time in recent years that the justices will consider the FCC's policy.

The court ruled 5-4 in 2009 on narrower grounds that the policy was a rational and legally permissible use of the FCC's administrative powers.

But several justices, including at least one in the majority and one in dissent, expressed concerns that the policy might violate constitutional free-speech protections.

The Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based group that has strongly supported the FCC's stepped-up indecency enforcement efforts, urged the court to uphold the policy.

"This case will determine whether the indecency statute will be reduced to a polite fiction that can be safely ignored at the expense of American children and families," said Tim Winter, the group's president.

The case is a continuation of the 2009 case involving the same parties, which had addressed the nature of the fine itself, but did not actually address the ban.

A ruling in the case of FCC v. Fox Television Stations is expected by the end of June, when the justices usually recess for the summer. (Contributors: USA Today By James Vicini - MSNBC, Wikipedia FCC)

 

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Pray that all state legislatures continue the battle to save the unborn. Pray that further disclosures of tax funding of abortions by groups like Planned Parenthood are exposed and that these funds will be stopped. 

 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)  

State lawmakers added a record 92 restrictions on abortion in 2011, ranging from bans on most abortions after 20 weeks of gestation to changes in rules governing abortion clinics, the Guttmacher Institute said Friday.

"In 2011, nearly three times as many abortion restrictions were enacted, compared with any other previous year," said Elizabeth Nash, manager of Guttmacher Institute's team that tracks state issues.

"The piling on of restriction after restriction is particularly concerning, as it may signal reduced access to abortion for many women, and could impair women's ability to successful plan their future pregnancies," said Ms. Nash. Women most likely to be affected, she added, "are those that have the least ability to navigate these obstacles - poor women, women of color and young women."

When the 50 state legislatures are taken together, lawmakers introduced more than 1,100 provisions in 2011 - a sharp increase over the 950 introduced in 2010, Guttmacher said in its new report. The institute counts each discrete element of a law as a provision, since laws typically have multiple sections.

Several of the 92 new restrictions are not in effect, pending court rulings, said the institute, formerly an arm of Planned Parenthood.

However, most are in force, including laws in Arizona, Florida and Kansas requiring an abortion provider to offer a pregnant woman the opportunity to view an ultrasound image of her fetus or listen to a verbal description of the image.

Five states - Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas and Oklahoma - joined Nebraska in passing laws outlawing abortion after 20 weeks based on the premise that fetuses can feel pain at that stage of development. Nebraska passed its first-in-the-nation "fetal pain" law in 2010.

However, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, vetoed similar legislation, said the institute, which called the idea that a fetus can feel pain by 20 weeks a "spurious assertion."

Virginia and three other states also set new rules for abortion clinics; in Virginia, an outpatient clinic that does at least five abortions a month must upgrade to meet state hospital regulations and permit inspections.

In addition, seven states rejected the use of "telemedicine" in medication-induced abortion. In the telemedicine approach, abortion providers use remote communication, like Skype, to guide a patient on how to use a drug like mifepristone to give herself an abortion. Now in Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee, the physician prescribing such a drug must be in the same room as the patient.

The "most high-profile state-level abortion of debate" was in Mississippi, where voters were asked in November to consider a constitutional amendment on the "personhood" of people from the moment of fertilization, Guttmacher Institute said. Voters rejected the amendment, 58 percent to 42 percent. Had it passed, the institute said, the amendment would have set the stage "to ban all abortions and, potentially, most hormonal contraceptive methods in the state."

This battle will continue in 2012: Other personhood amendments - which supporters say will establish a right to life to all humans from conception until natural death - are being promoted in several states, including Colorado, Nevada and Ohio.

Planned Parenthood has released its latest annual report, which reflects some negative news about the abortion giant for the 2009-2010 period.

The report, released on December 27, indicates the taxpayer-supported nonprofit has a budget that exceeds a billion dollars and garnered a net profit of $18.5 million for 2009-2010. But according to Jim Sedlak of STOPP International, Planned Parenthood is an organization "in trouble." 

 

"They still bring in $223 million in contributions," he observes, "but in 2009/2010 that was down 27 percent from the year before. Their overall income is down about five percent to just over $1 billion." 

 

According to its own report, 46 percent of the abortion giant's revenue now comes from U.S. taxpayers. (Contributors: By Cheryl Wetzstein. Washington Times, One News Now, Planned Parenthood Report)

 

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Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her." (Isaiah 66:10)

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure." (Psalm 122:6) 

 

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) says an Iranian attack on Israel would be tantamount to attacking the United States.

An Iranian attack on Israel would be tantamount to attacking the United States, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) told an auditorium full of high school students in Jerusalem on Monday.

Inouye, introduced to the students by former AIPAC president Robert Asher as the best friend Israel has in Congress, said he discussed the Iranian threat in a meeting earlier in the day with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

"We in the U.S. are deeply concerned with the activities in Iran," said Inouye, who is America's senior senator, having served continuously since 1963. "If the Iranians should ever develop a nuclear device or bomb, that could mean the end of the world as we know it in the Middle East. It would have an impact on all countries, not just Israel. As a result, our position is that if you attack Israel, you are attacking the United States."

Inouye is the president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, making him third in line to succeed the U.S. president, following the vice president and speaker of the house. He is also chairman of the powerful senate appropriations committee, and is here leading a delegation from that committee that also includes Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).

Asked to explain the close US-Israel relationship, Inouye said that "if one looks at most of this world, especially the Middle East, one country stands out as a foundation of stability and as a pillar of democracy. And at a time like this, when you have revolution in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan, thank God we have Israel."

Inouye, who lost an arm while fighting in Europe during World War II, and was later decorated with a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service, traced his interest in Jews and Judaism to his rehabilitation in a military hospital in New Jersey in 1945.

Inouye said that in the next bed over was another soldier recuperating from his wounds. When Inouye asked the man about his wounds, the "blonde, blue-eyed officer" said it happened after he liberated a prison camp "where there were ovens, and people cooked in the ovens, and bodies stacked up" like kindling wood.

"I asked him what kind of prison it was, was it for murderers?" Inouye retold the tale in his deep, bass voice.

"'No,' he said, 'they were Jews.' I asked what crime they committed, and his answer changed my life. He said, 'Well you know, Dan, people don't like Jews.'" Inouye said this left a lasting impression on him, and that a few years later, when the honor society at his law school, George Washington University, refused to accept two students because they were Jewish, he said he told the group that if the Jews were blackballed, "then kick me out, too."

Inouye dated his concrete connection to Israel back to 1951, when he was a salesman in Hawaii for Israel bonds. He quipped that he was the first person in his state to buy an Israeli bond, and still has it framed in his office, along with a mezuzah on the door and "menorahs all over the place."

"There was a time I considered conversion," he said.

"But I decided not to because my mother was such a devout Christian, she might not get over it."

Asked where he thought Israel-U.S. relations would be a century from now, Inouye said it was difficult to predict relations 100 years down the line. As proof, he said, just look at America's close alliance with Great Britain, once its colonial masters, and with Japan, once the U.S.'s worst enemy.

But, he said, "In the case of Israel, because of the unusual situation in this area, the relationship will be strengthened, because of our mutual interests. As long as the mutual interest remains, I'd say we will remain good friends."

Iran is not our enemy. The regime that enriches itself while murdering, oppressing, and impoverishing ordinary Iranians; the regime that incites genocide against Israel, threatens its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and vows to bring about a "world without America" - that is our enemy. This was one of the key points driven home by a trio of extraordinary individuals gathered for a dinner in Tel Aviv last week.

* A trio of veteran Iran analysts recently discussed the threat posed by the Iranian regime: Bernard Lewis, the greatest living historian of the Middle East; Uri Lubrani, Israel's envoy to Iran prior to the fall of the Shah; and Meir Dagan, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency from 2002 to 2010.

* None of the three minimizes how dire will be the consequences should Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's finger come to rest on a nuclear trigger. The Iranian president subscribes to an extremist school of Shia theology that, General Dagan explained, looks forward to an apocalyptic war that would "hasten the arrival of the Mahdi," mankind's ultimate savior.

* It is the regime that rules Iran, more than its weapons, that constitutes the real problem. Changing the regime - not destroying its hardware - is the higher goal. Based on the analyses of these experts, a coherent strategy should include the following specific policies:

 

* In what has been misperceived as an "Arab Spring," the downtrodden masses in Egypt and elsewhere now may be coming to the conclusion that "Islam is the answer." Iranians, having tested that proposition over decades, know it is the wrong answer. Rule by mullahs has made them less free and poorer than they ever were under the Shah.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that Iran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon or close the Strait of Hormuz in a CBS Face the Nation interview this past Sunday. He said that if Iran started developing a weapon, the U.S. would act. "I think they need to know that - that if they take that step - they're going to get stopped." (Contributor: The Jerusalem Post By Herb Keinon; National Review writer Clifford D. May, Haaretz)




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Pray that our state leaders will have wisdom to know how to help those who are in need of assistance (Proverbs 19:17) while not fostering a system that encourages dependence upon society while having the means and resources to help oneself (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Ask the Lord to give our legislatures godly wisdom and righteous resolve on these delicate matters of caring for the poor among us.

"When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord--and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!" (Proverbs 19:17)

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10) 

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Give thanks to the Lord for His unquenchable thirst to bless those who look to Him for their needs. Praise the Lord for His love that was demonstrated for the whole world to witness in offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that we might be called the children of God.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1)

 

With a million-dollar smile and pageant-worthy poise, news anchor and senior reporter for The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Wendy Griffith looks like she was born for television-and she was.

Griffith spoke at Regent University's weekly chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 4, telling the story of how she got into the news business, and she also discussed her new book, Praying the News.

Griffith started her career as a behind-the-scenes intern at a television station in Yuma, Ariz., after graduating with a journalism degree from West Virginia University. She had wanted to be a local news anchor since she was 10 years old and did everything she could to realize that dream. Several years, media jobs, waitressing gigs, rejections and cross-country moves later, Griffith landed at CBN to establish her career as a news anchor-this time with international reach.

Thirteen years later, she's still in awe of the direction her life has taken. "Never give up on your dream," she said. "People will throw statistics at you and even fire you, but we know that with God, all things are possible."

 

Griffith admonished the audience, especially students, to search out their callings and passions. "God created you to do something the world needs," she said.

Part of Griffith's calling includes making prayer and faith part of her job description.

As Griffith spoke about the power of prayer, she referenced 2 Chronicles 7:14. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land," she read.

She also referenced several prominent theologians on the subject. "Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God," she said, quoting E.M. Bounds.

Griffith left the audience with one of several stories about Manchester, Kentucky, a town overrun with violent crime and drug use that reclaimed their streets and changed their nickname from "City of Dope" to "City of Hope" through prayer.

Intercessors for America distributes a DVD entitled "Get America Praying!" that shares the story of the incredible turnaround of the Manchester, Kentucky community that prayed and asked the Lord to help them. Powerfully, God answered!

"God loves to partner with us," she said. "Take heart. God loves to do the impossible." (Contributor: CBN by Amanda Morad)

 

Watch Wendy Griffith Video Interview on CBN 

 

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Last month the Supreme Court let stand a decision by the New York City School District to kick out all of the churches who were renting space in schools for their meetings on the weekends.  This effects over 60 churches.  Emboldened by this decision the New York Housing authority kicked out churches who were renting space in its buildings.  This month many pastors and a prominent city council member stood outside a government building to stage a public protest and were arrested!

I believe God moved my family to New York City, says Jeremy Story, a member of the Intercessors for America board and President of Campus Renewal Ministries. We are called to be a part of the front lines of this culture battle.  Shifting the college population is critical to shifting this city that shapes our nation's culture.  In addition to the work among students, this Fall a friend of mine and I started to call NYC pastors to gather weekly to pray.  The group grew quickly in the fall to over 50 pastors and leaders involved.  My friend encouraged this group of praying pastors to respond to the city's actions.  This group responded to this unprecedented action of the city by convening other pastors for special day long sessions of prayer and fasting this past week.  They also hosted a citywide gathering of the members of their congregations for a citywide prayer service this week.  Please be in prayer for this very real unprecedented move by the NYC Church and the city. (Contributor: Campus Renewal Ministries - by Jeremy Story)



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 Please Consider the Following National Conference Call Opportunities

for Pastors, Ministry Leaders & Intercessors Across America: 

 

Jan. 11 Conf. Calls for Global Human Trafficking Awareness
The "7-11" Prayer Initiative

 www.NationalHighwayOfPrayer.net
For Face Book Event Links, CLICK HERE & HERE

  

Saturday Morning, 1.14.2012  

712-432-0075 & 6149782#
Visit: www.prayersurgenow.net 
Contact: prayersurgenow@gmail.com 

 

National Highway of Prayer Conference Call

www.NationalHighwayOfPrayer.net 

Please Visit Face Book Event Pages

Jan 11 www.facebook.com/events/322505121100930 8-9pm Eastern 

 

   

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Conference Location

The Dan Jerusalem Hotel

Dramatically situated on the slopes of Mount Scopus, The Dan Jerusalem Hotel offers majestic views of Old and New Jerusalem and the Judean Hills.


Conference Speakers

• Eliyahu Ben-Haim (chairman)
• Chuck Cohen
• Lance Lambert
• Peter Tsukahira
• Claude Ezagouri
• Jeremy Smith
• Marc Chopinsky
• Devin Mitchell

For conference details <click here>.

 

Download the conference PDF brochure + registration form  

 

 Deltona, Florida

January 27-28, 2012

   

Clearly our nation is in trouble. And many believers feel powerless to help. But Jesus Christ is not powerless!

History teaches us that while there have been sweeping revivals without great speakers or leaders, there has never been a revival without earnest prayer.

We believe that God is the Reviver, and only His mighty hand can reach into our families, churches, and nations to bring renewal. Prayer needs to be the foundation. Become one of the building blocks of this prayer foundation.

This conference will encourage, equip, and challenge you to pray more effectively ... for yourself, your church, and our nation. Come to Deltona Florida and learn how you can join an army of like-minded believers who are lifting up One Cry for revival and spiritual awakening.

 

Registration <click here> 

 

 

Deltona, FL, Event Details

Location:
Deltona Alliance Church
921 Deltona Blvd
Deltona, FL 32725

Housing:
Best Western Deltona Inn (1.5 miles from church)
481 Deltona Blvd
Deltona, FL 32725
386-860-3000

Hampton Inn (2 miles from church)
308 Sunrise Blvd
De Bary, FL 32713
386-668-5758

Holiday Inn Express (3.5 miles from church)
1330 Saxon Blvd

Orange City, FL 32763
386-917-0004

Airports:  

 

 

 

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