AlertTop  On Watch in Washington                                                                         April 4, 2012
FIRST FRIDAY PRAYER CONFERENCE  CALL APRIL 6
Elena Kagan

The Executive Board of Intercessors for America (IFA) invites you to join them in First Friday Prayer this Friday (Good Friday), April 6 at 12:15 pm.

John Bornschein, the Vice Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force and member of the National Prayer Committee will be one of IFA's guests for our First Friday Prayer Conference Call.

John's 17 years in ministry spans a range of vast responsibilities including time as a missionary, youth pastor and service with Mission of Mercy, Heritage Builders, Focus on the Family, and the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

John and his team have been charged by Mrs. Shirley Dobson to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.

Please join us in prayer this Friday! Please see our contact information above!   

 

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Elena Kagan
FEDERAL CYBER NETWORKS ARE COMPROMISED

 

Elena KaganPray to our Father in Heaven and ask for His divine intervention on matters of national cyber security. Pray for righteous leadership, wisdom, and governance in our intelligence services nationwide.

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!  For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been His counselor?  For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen."
  Romans 11:33-36

Network security experts from across the U.S. government told a U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee Tuesday that federal networks have been thoroughly penetrated by foreign spies, and that current perimeter-based defenses that attempt to curb intrusions are outdated and futile.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities the experts told the assembled Senators that the U.S. government needed to abandon the notion that it could keep outsiders off its computer networks.

"We've got the wrong mental model here," Dr. James S. Peery, director of the Information Systems Analysis Center at Sandia National Laboratories, testified. "I don't think that we would think that we could keep spies out of our country. And I think we've got this model for cyber that says, 'We're going to develop a system where we're not attacked.' I think we have to go to a model where we assume that the adversary is in our networks. It's on our machines, and we've got to operate anyway. We have to protect the data anyway."

Zachary J. Lemnios, the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering at the Department of Defense described the situation as "an environment of measures and countermeasures."

"We can do things to make it more costly for them to hack into our systems...," Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), ranking member of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee said as a point of clarification, "but you didn't say we can stop them."

Dr. Kaigham J. Gabriel acting director of DARPA likened the situation to treading water in the middle of the ocean as a metaphor to describe the state of security on federal networks. Treading water is a great way to stay alive, to buy breathing room, he said, but treading water in the middle of the ocean inevitably leads to drowning.

"It's not that we're doing wrong things, it's just the nature of playing defense in cyber," Gabriel said.

All the experts calledfor better offensive capacities, but opted to wait for a closed-door session to go into specifics.

Dr. Michael A. Wertheimer, director of research and development at the NSA, told the Senators that the federal government also faces a dire shortage of talent that is exacerbated by a sclerotic hiring and promotion system within the government.

The average annual salary increase for computer scientists in the private sector is 4 percent. The government norm is pay-freezes and DoD enforced pay-caps, Wertheimer argued. He noted that individuals with a PhD in computer science can enter the DoD at pay-grade 12, making, at most, $90,000 a year, and then stays at that pay grade an average of 12 years before winning any sort of promotion. Even with those obstacles, agencies are limited in the amount 13, 14, and 15-grade employees they may have on payroll. Finally, staffing is complicated by the fast-revolving door between the government and its private contractors, which lure away top talent, then hire it back to the government at inflated rates. Historically, the government has lost about one percent of their IT talent annually; this year the government is set to lose 10 percent of that workforce, the experts claimed. Wertheimer said that 44 percent of the NSA resigns from their position as opposed to retiring. Within the NSA's IT staff, that figure is 77 percent resigning as opposed to retiring.

Finally, the U.S. education system is failing to produce the number people with the advanced skills and degrees that are needed.

"The production of computer scientists is on the decline," NSA Director Wertheimer, the gloomiest of the group explained. "We are not recruiting and retaining them. ... It's to build tools. It's to be a rapid deployment of capability. I rarely get the opportunity to think 3 years down the line even, in research. The money that comes to us has a very directed purpose.... I feel the nation is frightened to think much beyond one or two years."

Not everyone shared that gloomy perspective. Peery pointed out that Sandia National Laboratories, which operates under the DOE, pays out starting salaries of $115,000 and $95,000 to persons with PhDs and Master's in computer science respectively. Gabriel argued that a focus on candidates with advanced degrees may be misguided, and that a model with the expectancy of high turnover rates may not be such a bad thing. He explained that he has a group of "cyber-punk" program managers that developed their skills in the hacking community. He says their skill sets have a 4-5 year shelf-life before DARPA needs to go out and hire newer white hats.

The open subcommittee hearing was followed by what promised to be a much more interesting closed door session with only the experts and the panel.

You can view the hearing
here

In a recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine, Richard Clarke had this to say about our current vulnerabilities in the military cyber arena. "My greatest fear is that, rather than having a cyber-Pearl Harbor event, we will instead have this death of a thousand cuts. Where we lose our competitiveness by having all of our research and development stolen by the Chinese. And we never really see the single event that makes us do something about it. That it's always just below our pain threshold. That company after company in the United States spends millions, hundreds of millions, in some cases billions of dollars on R&D and that information goes free to China....After a while you can't compete."


 

But Clarke's concerns reach beyond the cost of lost intellectual property. He

foresees the loss of military power. Say there was another confrontation, such as the one in 1996 when President Clinton rushed two carrier battle fleets to the Taiwan Strait to warn China against an invasion of Taiwan. Clarke, who says there have been war games on precisely such a revived confrontation, now believes that we might be forced to give up playing such a role for fear that our carrier group defenses could be blinded and paralyzed by Chinese cyber intervention. (He cites a recent war game published in an influential military strategy journal called Orbis titled "How the U.S. Lost the Naval War of 2015.")

Talking to Clarke provides a glimpse into the brand-new game of geopolitics, a dangerous and frightening new paradigm. With the advent of "weaponized malware" like Stuxnet, all previous military and much diplomatic strategy has to be comprehensively reconceived-and time is running out.

I left Clarke's office feeling that we are at a moment very much like the summer of 2001, when Clarke made his last dire warning. "A couple people have labeled me a Cassandra," Clarke says. "And I've gone back and read my mythology about Cassandra. And the way I read the mythology, it's pretty clear that Cassandra was right."
(Contributors: Capitol Hill Prayer Partners, Threat Post, Senate.gov, Smithsonian Magazine)  


 

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IRAN OIL SANCTIONS

Elena KaganPray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that this current Iranian regime will be overthrown by the Iranian people who love peace and do not follow this destructive belief. The nuclear threat by the current regime in Iran is very serious due to their false prophetic belief that the 12th Imam will not return until the world is in total chaos. This regime deems itself the chaos creator to usher in this antichrist figure.

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."
(2 Corinthians 4: 8-11)

 

The U.S. on Friday signed off on tough new sanctions aimed at hitting Iran's oil exports, after determining there is enough crude supplies in the world market that taking the step won't harm U.S. allies or drive gas prices even higher.

This move gives us the ability to impose sanctions on foreign banks that continue to conduct business from Iran's central bank, cutting them off from the financial systems of the U.S. and its allies. The U.S. and European Union have issued a string of sanctions against Iran to isolate it from the world economy and pressure Tehran to stop developing its disputed nuclear program.

Countries involved in purchasing oil from Iran can still prevent the sanctions if they significantly curtail their imports before the June 28 deadline.

Speculation about an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has helped push up oil and gas prices, which have become one of the biggest political problems for Obama's re-election.

In clearing the way for the congressional mandated sanctions, Obama said he made his decision after "carefully considering" a Feb. 29 Energy Information Agency report to Congress that analyzed the world's oil supply and the impact the sanctions would have. The penalties are timed to take effect at the end of June, around the same time Europe's embargo on Iranian oil also begins.

In a memo, Obama said he determined "that there is a sufficient supply of petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through foreign financial institutions." He also promised to monitor the situation closely to assure that the market can continue to accommodate a reduction in purchases of oil and oil products from Iran.

 

A White House spokesman said Obama gave the oil sanctions a green light despite a worldwide oil market that has become increasingly tight over the first two months of 2012 because of a series of production disruptions in South Sudan, Syria, Yemen Nigeria and the North Sea, as well as international concern over Iran's nuclear activities and recent steps taken to reduce the amount of Iranian crude oil products worldwide.

"Nonetheless, there currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their import of Iranian oil, taking into account current estimates of demand, increased production by some countries, private inventories of crude oil and petroleum products, and available strategic petroleum reserves and, in fact, many purchasers of Iranian crude oil have already reduced their purchases or announced they are in productive discussions with alternative suppliers," the spokesman said in a release.

In coming to a decision on the sanctions, Obama navigated some tricky political and foreign policy concerns. Many of the countries that purchase Iranian oil are U.S. allies, including several European countries, India, Japan and South Korea. The sanctions bill, passed as part of a sweeping defense authorization bill in December, allows the U.S. some flexibility to grant waivers to countries who agree to significantly cut down their Iranian oil imports.

The State Department has already announced 10 waivers to European Union countries and Japan because of their agreements to reduce their purchases of Iranian oil.


Iran declared on Monday it will not be swayed from its nuclear "path" by sanctions, a week before talks with world powers that are increasingly seen as a last chance for diplomacy in its showdown with the West.

"The sanctions may have caused us small problems, but we will continue our path," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi vowed in an interview with the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

"We do not underestimate any enemy, no matter how tiny and lowly they are. The regime's officials -- the supreme leader, the president, the army, the (Revolutionary) Guards and Basij (militia) -- are completely vigilant. And the nation is prepared to defend the achievements of Islamic Iran," he said.

The defiant words came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday that the talks between Iran and the world powers would take place April 13 and 14 in Istanbul. (Contributors:
Washington Times, France 24)

 

      

 

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FBI HAS A RIGHT TO MONITOR RADICAL ISLAM

 

Elena KaganPray that the Moslems in the U.S. will have their hearts opened to the truth that Jesus loves them, and will forgive their sins if they put their faith in Him who saves. Pray that they will know the "Truth" and that they will be set free to worship the Creator who gives life abundantly.

"
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

 

A constitutional law attorney says the FBI does not violate the First Amendment when it watches and tracks Moslems for the purpose of national security. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released reports revealing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has secretly tracked Moslems and collected intelligence information during their religious gatherings. The reports, obtained from a San Francisco division, cover 2004-2008 and detail information gathered from within Moslem mosques.

Karen Lugo is a constitutional law attorney and assistant director at The Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. She asserts that the bureau is doing nothing wrong.

"The FBI does not violate the right to freely exercise religion when it watches Moslem organizations [that] may use the cover of religion to radicalize and plot violence," she explains.


The FBI says the reports are permissible because agents met with the Moslem community for law enforcement and safety purposes. The bureau further asserts that the meetings were overt, and agents identified themselves and handed out business cards to members of Moslem communities.

"Also, recent studies suggest that a majority of American mosques are radicalizing influences, as judged by Saudi funding, clerical teachings and materials that are distributed," Lugo notes. "So, in these cases, Americans do want law enforcement to know if their neighborhood mosque is a house of worship, or ... a hotbed of radicalism."

The ACLU, however, maintains that it is "wrong and counterproductive" for the FBI to target American Moslem groups. The organization filed the lawsuit in 2010, claiming it wanted the information in order to assess whether the surveillance activities had a "chilling effect on the right to worship freely or to exercise other forms of expression."

In New York,
a recent poll shows that 82 percent of respondents think the NYPD has been effective in combating terrorism, which includes monitoring Moslems. (Contributors: One News Now, ACLU, Syracuse, FBI)

   
 

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HOMELAND SECURITY ORDERS AMMO

Elena KaganPray that our Homeland Security leaders understand the Constitutional bounds of protecting our nation from any foreign threat. Ask the Lord to give wisdom and insight to all those who are in a position to protect our national sovereignty.

"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
(Psalm 121:2)

"He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber."
(Psalm 121:3)

"The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life;"
(Psalm 121:7)

 

The Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement office is getting an "indefinite delivery" of an "indefinite quantity" of .40 caliber bullets from defense contractor ATK. 

 

U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over five years, according to a press release on the deal.

The high performance HST bullets are designed for law enforcement and ATK says they offer "optimum penetration for terminal performance."

This refers to the bullet's hollow-point tip that passes through barriers and expands for a bigger impact without the rest of the bullet getting warped out of shape: "this bullet holds its jacket in the toughest conditions."

We've also learned that the Department has an
open bid for a stockpile of rifle ammo. Listed on the federal business opportunities network, they're looking for up to 175 million rounds of .223 caliber ammo to be exact. The .223 is almost exactly the same round used by NATO forces, the 5.56 x 45mm.

The deadline for earlier this month was extended because the right contractor just had not been secured. (Contributors:
The Washington Times, FedBizOpps.gov, Business Insider, Wikipedia, Wikipedia 2)

 

 
 
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A MESSAGE TO ALL AGES REGARDING OBAMACARE

     

Elena KaganPray that the U.S. Constitution is honored and that  ObamaCare would be ruled unconstitutional. Pray that our national leaders understand the ramifications of socialization of our healthcare system. Pray that the Lord will establish in our leaders an honorable solution to serving the nation's health care needs.

"And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee."
(Exodus 23:25)

"Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: 'He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.'"
(Matthew 8:14-17)

 

The American Center for Law and Justice says, "ObamaCare fails the American people on numerous levels. It represents an unprecedented level of funding for abortion. It also penalizes Americans who choose not to participate. The tax dollars that ObamaCare directs to abortion will bring about the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade." We do not want our tax dollars to fund abortions. This law contradicts the will of the American people.

After three days of oral arguments over Obama's healthcare law before the Supreme Court last week, an advocacy group for seniors says ObamaCare isn't only bad for the general population, but for aging adults as well.

Much to the dismay and anger of Americans like Daniel Weber, founder of
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), the passage of ObamaCare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010) is problematic on many fronts -- including religious liberty issues.

Daniel Weber (AMAC) "Separation of church and state works both ways," he argues, "and AMAC feels the government can't dictate to a church and force them to go against their own religious beliefs. And unless the whole thing in ObamaCare is thrown out, that part looks like it will stay."

AMAC calls it "a serious mistake" to allow the federal government to dictate how medical care is provided in the United States, pointing out that the current system of state regulations and free enterprise has proven satisfactory to more than 85 percent of Americans.

The AMAC president says his organization is working to sign up a million additional members between now and Election Day and will work to insure Congress begins efforts in legislation to remove the erroneous elements of ObamaCare, regardless what part of the law is approved by the high court.

"If the whole thing is thrown out, then we have to replace it -- and we've got many ideas to do that and save people money and provide individual choice and freedom," he offers. "But in case part of it -- the mandate -- is thrown out, but the rest of the law is kept, we've got a lot of work to do."

A proud defender of free enterprise, Weber feels the U.S. has the greatest economic system ever devised by any government. Through AMAC, he is working to keep private healthcare options viable -- and to prevent the government from turning the nation's healthcare system into socialized medicine.

While AMAC opposes ObamaCare,
AARP -- a group for individuals over 50 and one of the largest membership organizations in the nation -- supports it. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, AARP stands to make over $1 billion from royalties selling its supplement plan.

The Supreme Court is
expected to issue its decision by the end of June. By then the Republicans will probably have chosen a presidential nominee. However the court rules, the political consequences will be huge. Even more important, for the long term, will be the court's articulation of congressional power. (Contributor: ACLJ, One News Now, AMAC, The Economist, CBS News)

 

 

 

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PERSECUTION: REPORTS FOR PRAYER
Front Page Magazine

"To you, LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy 'What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help.'"

 

(Psalm 30:8-10)

 

 

 

 

 


Pastor sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in VIETNAM - A pastor of a banned Mennonite church was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for undermining national unity.

State media reported that on 27 March Nguyen Cong Chinh was found guilty of writing and spreading material that slandered government authorities and "distorted Vietnam's domestic situation." It also accused him of having affiliations with anti-government groups.

Chinh is reported to have repeatedly complained to outside organizations about Vietnam's alleged mistreatment of religious minorities and lack of religious freedom.

  • Please pray that the sentence handed to Pastor Chinh would be revoked and that he will be released from prison.

 

Church attacked; Christian conference disrupted by military in MYANMAR - Myanmar's military have ransacked a Baptist Church and disrupted a Christian conference of the predominantly Christian Chin community in the latest confrontation between government forces and ethnic minorities.

The Church pastor Jangmaw Gam Maw said that on 10 March soldiers "from the 33rd battalion of the Myanmar's Army's 88th Infantry Division burned bibles, destroyed church property and stole other church equipment." 3 days earlier the military disrupted a conference of 1,000 delegates from 80 local branches of the Mara (Chin) Evangelical Church. Reports state that several soldiers raided the meeting and "rebuked the village headman for not reporting the event" to the army camp.

  • Please pray for the safety of Chin Christians in Myanmar and also pray that the Lord will strengthen them to stand firm in their faith in this difficult time.

Government authorities move to close down church in AZERBAIJAN - March 13, It is reported that the Azerbaijan's State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations is presently working to close down the Greater Grace Church in the Capital Baku for failing to regain compulsory re-registration. This is the first attempt made by government authorities to compulsorily close down a church since the imposition of harsh Religion Laws in 2009. The unregistered exercise of freedom of religion or belief is illegal under Religion Law in Azerbaijan which is entirely contradictory to international human rights standards.

A Christian leader from Azerbaijan has commented on the case stating "The move to liquidate the Church through the courts is against the Law and the Constitution, and discredits Azerbaijan internationally and punishes people who want to live an honest life. The State Committee - which has a duty to help religious believers - is instead engaging in repression of them."

Prayer points:

  • Pray that the Greater Grace Church will not be closed down by the government.
  • Pray for God's guidance and wisdom to be upon the leaders and congregation of the Greater Grace Church so as to respond to the situation in a Christ like manner.
  • Pray for all churches in Azerbaijan that they will be able to spread the Good News of the Gospel amidst restriction.   

Call to destroy all churches in region by Grand Mufti of SAUDI ARABIA - On March 15, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

It is reported that the Grand Mufti made this statement in response to a question posed on what Shariah law says about building churches, during a meeting with a delegation of a Kuwait-based NGO.

Abdullah's ruling sanctioned the previous statement made by a Kuwaiti parliamentarian who called for the removal of all churches, although the Kuwaiti later said he merely meant that no new churches should be built in his Emirate. However, the Grand Mufti explained to the Kuwaiti delegation that since Kuwait was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, "it is necessary to destroy all churches in it."

Abdullah based his decision on the hadith declared by Mohammed on his deathbed: "There are not to be two religions in the Arabian Peninsula," which has always been understood to mean that only Islam will be practiced on the Peninsula.

Prayer points:

  • Pray for protection over all Christians in the Arabian Peninsula.
  • Pray that the Church in the region will continue to grow in spite of persecution.
  • Pray that the statement made by the Grand Mufti will not be interpreted by Islamic extremists as an endorsement to persecute Christians in the region.

(Contributor: World Evangelical Alliance - Religious Liberty Commission)

 

 
 

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NBC CREATIVE EDITING?
NBC is under fire for its selective editing of a 9-1-1 call between George Zimmerman and a police dispatcher.

Zimmerman says he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. A portion of the raw audio as Zimmerman talked to a dispatcher before the shooting was as follows:

    Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about.
    Dispatcher: OK, and this guy -- is he black, white, or Hispanic?
    Zimmerman: He looks black.

But on the Today Show last Tuesday, NBC aired this version that left out the dispatcher's question of whether the person was black, white, or Hispanic:

    Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he's up to no good ... He looks black."

Media Research Center president Brent Bozell, appearing two days later on the Fox News show Hannity, described NBC's presentation as "an all-out falsehood." MRC's Dan Gainor had this to say in an interview with OneNewsNow:

Dan Gainor (Culture and Media Institute) "Certainly someone in their staff was clearly trying to make this even more of a race-baiting story than they were already doing," he said. "It's inexcusable to go out and create propaganda.

"That's what we used to see in the old Soviet Union," Gainor continued. "When you take a news report and chop it down to say something else, they can take anything any human being says using the same strategy and make them say something entirely different."

NBC says it is launching an internal investigation. But Gainor says "when networks say they are going to investigate, it's a stall tactic so they don't really have to punish somebody who did something awful."

Update: NBC offered an apology on Tuesday after its exposure. <Click here to read the apology.> (Contributors: One News Now, Washington Post)

Pray for our news media. Ask the Lord to help our news reporting to be clear, unbiased, and accurate. Integrity of our news and its sources are critically important to a free republic.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (Luke 16:10) 

   

 

 

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CONGRESSIONAL PRAYER CAUCUS - ISSUES FOR PRAYER

 

Pray as the Supreme Court Considers and Makes a MONUMENTAL Religious Liberty Decision related to the Healthcare Plan - What does this decision mean in relation to our religious freedom? This decision will create a precedent which allows the government to mandate that people of faith and religious organizations to violate their religious convictions. This single ruling could erode the foundation and essential freedom on which all of our freedoms stand, the freedom to live out our faith guided by our own individual conscience. Though the government of late has been involved in limiting our religious practices, which is in itself problematic. This ruling will open the door for government to not just limit your activity, but to force you under threat of penalty, to an activity that violates your religious convictions. If this stands, where is the end to how the government can force Christians to violate their conscience?

Urgent Prayer Needed for Colorado Senators who are Taking a Stand to Protect Religious Liberties -
In Colorado SM12-003 was put on the calendar over the weekend and scheduled for this morning. This Bill is urging Congress to enact the "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011", and urging the President of the United States to Provide an effective and comprehensive Religious Conscience Exemption from a requirement to cover services that are contrary to the religious beliefs and practices of certain faiths, Read more here.


Supporting legislative prayer at the Supreme Court of the United States -
Members of the Prayer Caucus signed an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States by the Family Research Council, asking the Court to reverse a decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Joyner v. Forsyth County, which heldthat the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners' prayer policy was unconstitutional because the prayers too often mentioned "Jesus."  The county's prayer policy was based on a model policy used by other city and county councils throughout the country that has been upheld by four other federal courts since 2009.  However, the Fourth Circuit held that in order to be constitutional, such prayers must not be "too sectarian."  The amicus curiae brief asks the Supreme Court to take up the case and overturn the Fourth Circuit's decision, in hopes that the Court will bring the ruling into alignment with decisions of other federal courts and our nation's historic legacy of permitting such prayer.

Urging Vanderbilt University to protect religious student groups -
Congressman Randy Forbes, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, led 22 Members of Congress in sending a
letter to Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos of Vanderbilt University, urging him to ensure that the school's nondiscrimination policy is not being interpreted in a manner that discriminates against religious student groups.  Several religious student organizations at Vanderbilt University, including the Christian Legal Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, were placed on "provisional status" for requiring their student leaders to share the groups' religious beliefs. 


Advocating for the inclusion of prayer in the tenth anniversary commemoration of the September 11th attacks - Congressman Forbes, Founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, sent a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urging him to include prayer in the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Congressman Mike McIntyre, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, lead 31 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Mayor Bloomberg echoing the call for the inclusion of prayer.

Fighting attempts to remove "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance - Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus lead in sending a letter to NBC, expressing concern over the network's omissions of "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance twice in a video montage aired during coverage of the U.S. Open.  In response to the letter sent by 108 Members of Congress, the network reprimanded the employees responsible for the omissions and implemented safeguards to prevent similar instances in the future.

Opposing efforts to remove a memorial cross honoring military veterans - In January 2011, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cross displayed at the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California was unconstitutional.  Members of the Prayer Caucus signed on to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Ninth Circuit in Jewish War Veterans of the United States v. City of San Diego, asking the full court to reconsider the case, and asserting that the cross's presence at the veterans memorial is constitutional.
 

 

Urging religious freedom protections for service members - The repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military raised concerns that service members whose consciences or religious beliefs conflicted with homosexual behavior would face discrimination and disapproval.  Members of the Prayer Caucus sent a letter to President Obama, urging that specific religious freedom and conscience protections be adopted during implementation of the repeal to formally assure all Americans that our citizens need not leave their faith at home when they volunteer to serve. 

 

Affirming America's rich spiritual heritage - Co-chairmen of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, Congressman Forbes and Congressman McIntyre, reintroduced legislation to recognize our nation's religious history.  H.Res.253, America's Spiritual Heritage Resolution, affirms the rich spiritual and diverse religious history of our nation's founding and subsequent history, and designates the first week in May as America's Spiritual Heritage Week. 

 

Working to decrease frivolous lawsuits challenging public expressions of religion - Members of the Prayer Caucus are supporting H.R.2023, introduced by Congressman Dan Burton, which would ensure that the legal system is not used to extort money from state and local governments through frivolous lawsuits against public expressions of religion.  H.R. 2023 would not prevent parties from filing lawsuits alleging Establishment Clause violations, but it would require each side to pay its own attorneys' fees.  The bill would limit the remedies available to the suing party, so the only relief available would be that the state or local government would be required to stop its public expression of religion, if the court deems it unconstitutional.  The result would be a decrease in frivolous lawsuits and the assurance that state and local governments are not intimidated into halting constitutional public expressions of religion. 

 

Supporting the addition of the D-day Prayer to the World War Two Memorial - Members of the Prayer Caucus are supporting H.R.2070, the World War II Memorial Prayer Act, introduced by Congressman Bill Johnson.  H.R. 2070 directs the Secretary of the Interior to add President Franklin D. Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.  President Roosevelt delivered the prayer to the nation on June 6, 1944, the day that American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. 

 

Recognizing the significant impact of the Ten Commandments on America's development - Members of the Prayer Caucus are supporting H.Res.211, introduced by Congressman Louie Gohmert, which recognizes the significant contribution that the Ten Commandments have made in shaping America's principles, institutions, and national character.  The bill supports designating the first weekend in May as "Ten Commandments Weekend." (Source: Congressional Prayer Caucus FoundationCongressional Prayer Caucus Current Issues)

 

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"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE"

John 11:25 - used with permission � www.timbotts.com

 

Two irreligious young men were discussing the Resurrection, telling each other why it was impossible to accept the doctrine.  An old man whom they knew to be a Christian went by, so they asked him: "Tell us why you believe that Jesus rose again."  "Well," said the old man, "one reason is that I was talking with Him this morning."

 

Those who expose themselves to Christ by surrender and obedience know Him to be alive - He lives within them.  The historical has become the experimental.  This fact of the living Christ is the best corroborated fact in history; for in every clime, in every age, among all peoples the experience is the same:  Christ -- alive, redeeming, joy-producing, love-creating -- moves straight into the hearts f people everywhere as a present Fact.  We not merely remember Jesus; we realize Him.

 

(E. Stanley Jones, The Way, 1946, out of print)  

Elena Kagan

Prayer Surge NOW! Saturday 4/7

  

Joint National Conference Calling  
Prayer Meeting Across America 
"Partnering with CHRIST for REVIVAL  
In the Middle East AND America"

<Click here> to see this week's prayer agenda. 

     

 

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INTERCESSORS FOR AMERICA APRIL PRAYER LETTER
In preparation for our First Friday prayer we would like to offer you an opportunity to download our April 2012 Prayer Letter.

The file is 4.07MB in size and may take a while to download.

You can download our
April Prayer Letter "The Connecter" and Presidential Report PDF version







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WHAT DOES F3 MEAN?



F3 (First Friday Fast)

You may have missed this month's First Friday opportunity to fast and pray for America with other believers across the nation, but that does not mean that you cannot unite with believers to fast and pray for America on our next First Friday!

 

For more information about how to join an established F3 group

or to start your own F3 group, go to Get America Praying!

Printable Version


IFA APRIL
SPECIAL REPORT

Elena Kagan
Religious Freedom
Anti-Religious-Liberties Agenda

Contents
FIRST FRIDAY PRAYER CONFERENCE CAL
FEDERAL CYBER NETWORKS ARE COMPROMISED
IRAN OIL SANCTIONS
FBI HAS A RIGHT TO MONITOR RADICAL ISLAM
HOMELAND SECURITY ORDERS AMMO
A MESSAGE TO ALL AGES REGARDING OBAMACARE
PERSECUTION: REPORTS FOR PRAYER
NBC CREATIVE EDITING?
CONGRESSIONAL PRAYER CAUCUS - ISSUES FOR PRAYER
"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE"
PRAYER SURGE NOW!
INTERCESSORS FOR AMERICA MARCH PRAYER LETTER
DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE?
Featured Publications
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You are invited
to join us! 

First Friday
Prayer
Conference Call

12:15 - 12:45 p.m. (ET)

Call: 712-432-0075  Access Code: 1412452

On the first Friday of each month until the 2012 Elections! 


Saving America
CAN AMERICA
BE SAVED KIT

 
Encourage your family and friends to pray for America as we approach the 2012 elections. Receive a free Can America Be Saved Kit, which includes: 10 sign-up cards, 10 prayer cards, and 10 declarations.

You only pay a shipping and handling fee of $5.00.

Credit Card orders toll-free 800-USA-PRAY
www.IFAResources.com.

 

 

 

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PUBLICATIONS!

 

Intercessors
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TOP 130 U.S. OFFICIALS 

Prayer Guide
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Now Available!  

 

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$2.00 + shipping 

for packet of 25!      

 

Order from IFA!
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 Download free printable PDF version Rev 2/2012 4.5 MB

 

 

  

Certain Peace
in Uncertain Times

Shirley Dobson   

 

$9.99 + shipping!

Paperback

 Is the world spinning out of control-and taking you with it? Do you long to replace constant worry with a sense of lasting tranquility? Join award-winning author Shirley Dobson to see how the remarkable gift of prayer has brought peace to her life, and how it can do the same for you.


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