Week Ending May 22, 2009 - Washington, DC

Congress to investigate Napolitano's "Rightwing Extremist" Report / Obama puts modern art in the Oval Office / Did Bush wiretaps save New York synagogue this week? / Nancy Pelosi, the gift that keeps on giving to the GOP / More on Thought Crimes - How Brazil will ban Christian TV / Eqypt killed Christian farmers' pigs - because they were Jews? / New Chairman's Report available

PETITION TO HILLARY CLINTON ON IRAQI CHRISTIANS - Read and sign the Internet petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The petition urges Clinton to direct our embassies to assist Christians who have fled Islamic terror in Iraq. The petition is located at www.iraqichristianrefugees.org.

THE PRESIDENCY

NEW OVAL OFFICE ART - The Obamas are moving away from traditional art and have instead put up "modern" canvases into the White House that have "meaning" to them. Ed Ruscha's 'I'll Think I'll..." will adorn the walls of the Oval Office. The orange canvas contains phrases in various sizes that say, "Maybe Yes," Maybe No,""Wait A Minute," and Maybe No." The new art gives some insight into the new president's thinking patterns and logic. Click on image for larger view. Click here for WSJ story.

NAPOLITANO ORDERED TO EXPLAIN! - Democrats joined Republicans in ordering Janet Napolitano to hand over all documents used to draft the now infamous "Rightwing Extremism" report that the Department of Homeland Security has been forced to withdraw. The House Homeland Security Committee voted unanimously to order the material to be handed over to them. Just last week Napolitano, who had stood by the report, told the committee that it was not vetted or approved by her. Read more

BUSH WIRETAPS SAVE SYNAGOGUE? - This week four men who had been converted to Islam in prison were arrested by the FBI in front of a New York synagogue with a car full of explosives. They were there to kill Jews. Sources say the group had been infiltrated because of wiretaps which were permissible under the Bush Administration to stop terror attacks. The group of Islamic fanatics had been under observation for a full year. These are the wiretaps the liberals were so upset about and which President Obama has stopped.

Most prison Imams are radicals who use extremist Saudi Arabian educational materials. Although all four caught in the attempted bombing were born in America, they had learned in prison a hatred for Jews and were prepared to kill women and children on this the Sabbat. Some insights

THE CONGRESS

NANCY PELOSI'S GIFT TO THE GOP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a screaming, word bomb tossing, radical leftist. Her anti-American rhetoric worked well for her as long as a Republican ran the government. Now there is a liberal Democrat in the White House and she is still screaming anti-American, anti-military slogans. Her latest accusation is that the CIA lied to her in a briefing. This comes after she said the CIA never did brief her. Then she said they informed her but didn't brief her. She has a problem. To keep the leftist nuts in San Francisco voting for her, she has to be a screaming radical. To act on behalf of President Obama as Speaker of the House, she has to act rational. She can't do both. View film clip here of Nancy Pelosi accusing the CIA of lying to her.

CULTURE AND RELIGION

MORE ON THOUGHT CRIMES - Here is the reality: homosexuals in the United States want the same censorship of Christians that is currently being pushed by the leftwing president of Brazil. The Brazilian government plans to add warning labels to Christian TV and radio programming it regards as "homophobic," according to reports from one of Brazil's largest newspapers, Folha de Sao Paulo. According to Folha, any media program critical of homosexuality in any way will be forced to display a warning label that reads, "not recommended for people under the age of 18." The newspaper said the policy stems from a plan for the "promotion of the citizenship of LGBT" (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals). Brazil's Secretary of Justice reportedly told Folha that "homophobic" programming would be restricted to after 11 pm so as not to be viewed by children but, "the ideal is that they not be shown at any time."

PLEASE HELP OUR CAUSE - The summer months are coming, a time that donations to non-profit organizations drop. Please help the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition on Capitol Hill and in the Middle East with a donation today. Donate online or send your gift to Religious Freedom Coalition, PO Box 77511, Washington, EC 20013

ALL NEW MAY 14th CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new May 14th, 2009 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains more information about our work on Capitol Hill with the new 111th Congress, and also about our work on international issues. THIS IS A NEW CR SINCE LAST WEEK! Help your Sunday School class understand these issues better. Print out and distribute to your class or fellowship this Sunday! Click here to view!

INTERNATIONAL

EGYPT KILLED PIGS BECAUSE THEY WERE JEWISH? - Believe it or not an Egyptian Imam issued a statement explaining why all the pigs owned by Christian farmers in Egypt were killed this month. Sheik Ahmed Ali Othman explained that Mohammad turned his Jewish enemies into pigs and that the pigs living today are the descendants of Jews and must be slaughtered. Read news clip. Our government gives tens of millions of dollars to Egypt in "aid" each year, money that we borrow from China and that our grandchildren must pay back. Think about it!

IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP - The Religious Freedom Coalition is receiving virtually no funds for our Iraqi Christian Refugee Project from Internet sources. Just a few hundred dollars have been generated at our Facebook page. Virtually no funds are being received from the publication of this email update, even though thousands of people subscribe. Your help is genuinely needed. Please help. Donation link

CHRISTIAN INTERNET SUPER STORE

GIFTS FROM A CHRISTIAN STORE How about birthday or anniversary gifts with a Christian theme? Our Internet Christian Super Store has tens of thousands of books, CD's DVD's, jewelry, food and more. AND ... Our store does not sell the atheist and satanist books that you will find on Amazon.com. When you buy from our store, you help our work. Please take a look at our store today at www.rfcstore.com

Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.

May 15, 2009 - Washington, DC

We won: Napolitano withdraws the "rightwing report" / Obama's Notre Dame / Saving Chrysler to give it to Fiat? / The Pelosi Clown Costume / More on America's Religious Heritage Resolution / Gallup says most Americans now pro-life / Media finally reports on Iraqi Christian persecution / New Chairman's Report available

PETITION TO HILLARY CLINTON ON IRAQI CHRISTIANS - Read and sign the new Internet petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The petition urges Clinton to direct our embassies to assist Christians who have fled Islamic terror in Iraq. The petition is located at www.iraqichristianrefugees.org.

THE PRESIDENCY

BEATING NAPOLITANO'S RIGHTWING REPORT - When the Department of Homeland Security released it's now infamous "Rightwing Extremist Report" to law enforcement officials around the country, Janet Napolitano said she stood 100% behind it. Then she apologized to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for a portion of the report that identified veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. At that time she said she stood behind the rest of the report. At Congressional hearings this week, she said the report was not authorized by her, not properly "vetted" and had been "withdrawn," and is "no longer available." She told Congress, ''Some things in my initial days have gone very well at the department, some things have not. And that was probably the worst thing. It was not authorized to be distributed. It had not even completed its vetting process within the department. It has been taken off of the intel websites and the lexicon that went along with it was similarly withdrawn. Neither were authorized products, and we have now put in place processes. And it turned out there were really no procedures to govern what went out and what didn't before, and now there are.'' Either Napolitano (1) does not have control of the Department of Homeland Security or (2) she lied when the report came out or (3) she is lying now. Regardless of whichever is the truth, she should be forced to resign. Read more

This is the first victory against the radical left Obama Administration since they took office in January. The victory was won my social conservatives who would not give and went as far as to run color ads in newspapers to make the point that the Department of Homeland Security should not be calling those of us who are pro-life and for traditional marriage terrorists.

OBAMA'S NOTRE DAME - A lot of people are being arrested for "trespassing" on the Notre Dame campus to protest an honorary degree that will be given by the Catholic University to Barack Obama. One pro-life group has hired an airplane to fly over the campus during the day with a pro-life banner. The protesters, almost all of them Catholic, have gotten even louder since the wording on the honorary law degree was leaked in advance to one pro-life group. The degree is being awarded to Obama in part because, "...he is inspiring this nation to heal its divisions of religion, culture, race and politics in the audacious hope for a brighter tomorrow." What is "audacious" is the inscription on the degree. Far from bringing people together, he has excluded whole classes of people and has chosen staff based on his biases toward people of faith. Obama is more of a bigot than any redneck who ever drove a pickup truck. The degree is a sham. Shame on you Notre Dame.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO ITALY? - Italy is one of the wealthiest capitalist nations in the world. The nation has a strong manufacturing base that includes famous auto makers such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. Why then, are the tax dollars of Americans being used to take Chrysler, an American car company, and give control of it to the Italian company Fiat for not a single dollar in return? Most Americans were willing to "save" American jobs with tax dollars, but to give the assets of Chrysler to a European company goes one step too far. Meanwhile the Obama Administration has asked for nothing from the wealthy hedge fund that owned Chrysler when it went into bankruptcy, but has given approval to moving the plant that makes Chrysler motors to Mexico! What circus was hired to run this show for the Obama Administration?

THE CONGRESS

THE PELOSI CLOWN COSTUME? - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is making such a fool of herself that I actually believe that this fall manufacturers will offer a Pelosi clown costume for Halloween. Pelosi, who claims to be a Catholic, wants abortion to be legal even if a woman is in labor and changes her mind about giving birth. She also wants homosexual marriage. Aside from that she wants a "truth commission" to try members of the Bush Administration for "torture." There is just one problem: As a member of the Intelligence Committee, Nancy Pelosi actually knew about and approved of the intelligence gathering techniques of the the CIA. Her "truth commission" would be investigating her role in the "torture." After a press conference on the issue this week, even CNN made fun of her vacillating answers about what she knew, when she knew it and why she said nothing at the time but wants retribution now. What is torturous is watching Pelosi talking fast from both sides of her mouth at the same time.

MORE ON AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS HERITAGE - Congressman Randy Forbes' HR 397, a resolution reaffirming America's Religious heritage has picked up new momentum. Congressman Tom Price, the chairman of the very powerful Republican Study Committee, has signed on as a co-sponsor and he is urging the entire congressional membership of the committee to co-sponsor as well. I urge you to read and distribute the resolution which clearly outlines the true religious heritage of our nation. The Religious Freedom Coalition is an integral part of the movement to pass HR 307. Read more

You must watch Congressman Forbes' impassioned plea for the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. The video of Congressman Forbes is just four minutes long. but it is power packed. Watch here

CULTURE AND RELIGION

GALLUP: MOST AMERICANS PRO-LIFE - A new Gallup Poll conducted in May finds that 51% of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion, with just 42% being "pro-choice." Gallup began asking the question in 1995, and this is the first time that the majority has responded as pro-life. The results validate a PEW poll that shows a big swing in the last year. One year ago, in May 2008, the majority of people declared themselves "pro-choice." Now, a majority of Americans believe that abortion should either be outlawed completely or limited in some way. See poll

ALL NEW MAY 14th CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new May 14th, 2009 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains more information about our work on Capitol Hill with the new 111th Congress, and also about our work on international issues. THIS IS A NEW CR SINCE LAST WEEK! Help your Sunday School class understand these issues better. Print out and distribute to your class or fellowship this Sunday! Click here to view!

INTERNATIONAL

FINALLY THE MEDIA TELLS THE TRUTH - For the last eight years the mass media, particularly in the United States, has refused to face the reality of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. The media's failure to report the Christian exodus from Iraq has allowed American administrations to do nothing in the face of the persecution. Finally that is changing. Last week the Associated Press (AP) issued a long story to its member newspapers on the exodus of Christians from Iraq. See story. Network TV news is also beginning to report the persecution. However, the situation is even worse than what is now being reported. A five year old Christian boy was kidnapped and murdered just last week and Christians are fearful to talk to media about their persecution for fear of reprisals. Read more

IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP - The Religious Freedom Coalition is receiving virtually no funds for our Iraqi Christian Refugee Project from Internet sources. Just a few hundred dollars have been generated at our Facebook page. Virtually no funds are being received from the publication of this email update, even though thousands of people subscribe. Your help is genuinely needed. Please help. Donation link

CLINTON PETITION DRIVE - The Religious Freedom Coalition is conducting a petition drive asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to formulate a policy to stop the persecution of Christians in Iraq and to aid those Iraqi Christians who have been forced to flee. More than 100,000 paper copies of the petition have been distributed, and an online version is now available. Click here to see petition! NOTE: This is part of a large petition drive and you may receive a copy in the mail.

FACEBOOK FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS - The Religious Freedom Coalition has a new Facebook page to expose the crisis faced by Iraqi Christians. If you have a Facebook account, please become our friend at this link. You can help Iraqi Christians directly by making a donation at the Facebook cause page!

CHRISTIAN INTERNET SUPER STORE

GIFTS FROM A CHRISTIAN STORE How about birthday or anniversary gifts with a Christian theme? Our Internet Christian Super Store has tens of thousands of books, CD's DVD's, jewelry, food and more. AND ... Our store does not sell the atheist and satanist books that you will find on Amazon.com. When you buy from our store, you help our work. Please take a look at our store today at www.rfcstore.com

Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.

May 8, 2009 - Washington, DC

Obama distances himself from National Day of Prayer / Can Janet Napolitano tell the truth about "rightwing extremist" report? / Congressman Forbes on America's religious heritage / Congress and the National Day of Prayer / Thought crimes legislation moves forward / Abortion less popular and guns more popular / Archbishop of Baghdad visits Washington

PETITION TO HILLARY CLINTON ON IRAQI CHRISTIANS - Read and sign the new Internet petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The petition urges Clinton to direct our embassies to assist Christians who have fled Islamic terror in Iraq. The petition is located at www.iraqichristianrefugees.org.

THE PRESIDENCY

OBAMA DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM PRAYER - There was no National Day of Prayer event at the White House this year, and no one representing the White House participated in the events of the National Day of Prayer. President Obama did sign a proclamation for the National Day of Prayer. Oddly, the proclamation managed to mention God only once, a far cry from the first proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Read moreTwo African American ministers protesting Obama's lack of participation in the National Day of Prayer were arrested in front of the White House. Read more

WHAT IS THE TRUTH, NAPOLITANO? - After weeks of intense efforts by social conservatives, veterans, and gun rights groups, Republicans in Congress made a formal demand this week to investigate how and why Homeland Security sent a "rightwing extremist" report to all law enforcement agencies in the country. The report targeted virtually every one of the constituency groups of the Republican Party, except Wall Street. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner said, "She has not explained how this report came about, why she signed off on it, or why she defended it." Read more. The Leadership of the Republican Party acted after several organizations including the Religious Freedom Coalition, placed ads in the Washington Times demanding that Napolitano be forced to apologize or resign.

THE CONGRESS

AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS HERITAGE - Congressman Randy Forbes formed the Congressional Prayer Caucus from a small group of congressmen who met each day to pray in room 219 of the Capitol. The group grew until it turned into a major national "Room 219" movement that gave birth to the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation. As part of the National Day of Prayer, Congressman Forbes has introduced HR 397, a resolution reaffirming America's Religious heritage. I urge you to read and distribute the resolution which clearly outlines the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. The Religious Freedom Coalition is an integral part of the movement to pass HR 307. Read more

You must watch Congressman Forbes' impassioned plea for the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. The video of Congressman Forbes is just four minutes long. but it is power packed. Watch here

CONGRESS AND NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not much to say about the National Day of Prayer, but Minority Caucus chairman Mike Pence did. See his one minute National Day of Prayer speech on the floor. Congressman Forbes (R-VA) made a direct reference to President Obama when he stated, "Hopefully we'll have millions of people around the country that will make up for the void we see at the White House on the National Day of Prayer."

THOUGHT CRIMES BILL - On April 30th the homosexual enforcement act (otherwise known as "Hate Crimes") passed the House by a wide margin and headed to the Senate. What can happen if this becomes law? Congressman Randy Forbes gave a striking example: "Had [Hilton] done what he said he would do and stormed that stage and pulled that tiara off [Prejean's] head and [inflicted] bodily harm when he did it, there would not have been one ounce of protection under this piece of legislation for that young girl. But after he did it, if she had in response made a statement back about the very sexual orientation that had led him to his hatred and dislike for her, and if she had responded by slapping him or any physical injury, she would have had the potential of a ten-year federal piece of legislation coming against her." In other words this law creates a special class of people who receive extra protection under the law because of the way they commit perverted sexual acts.Read more

CULTURE AND RELIGION

HELLO SARAH PALIN - At the same time that ultra-liberal pro-abortionist Barack Obama was elected president, the American people were actually becoming more conservative on the issue of abortion. Fewer than 50% of women now think abortion should be legal and for the first time the majority of men believe it should be illegal. A Pew Survey revealed that between April, 2008 and April, 2009 more people became anti-abortion. The survey showed that the number of Americans believing in the right to own a gun also increased. Can you believe that many pundits are now saying the Republican Party must become pro-abortion and anti-gun to win more voters? How nuts are they? See poll

ALL NEW APRIL 23RD CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new April 23rd, 2009 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains more information about our work on Capitol Hill with the new 111th Congress, and also about our work on international issues. THIS IS A NEW CR SINCE LAST WEEK! Help your Sunday School class understand these issues better. Print out and distribute to your class or fellowship this Sunday! Click here to view

INTERNATIONAL

ARCHBISHOP OF BAGHDAD SPEAKS OUT - This week I attended a small group roundtable discussion at the Hudson Institute with the Archbishop of Baghdad, Father Jean Benjamin Sleiman. The archbishop discussed the grim situation that exists for Christians in Iraq and made it clear that there was no true security to entice Christian families who had fled, to now return. He reaffirmed what we all already knew, that "...the laws of Sharia are not the same as the laws of democracy." He said that the government, not the church, must provide security for Christians. He explained that, "You can't eliminate the fear after your neighbors are killed". The United States provides no funds for religious minorities (that means Christians) in Iraq. Photo at left is of Archbishop Sleiman and myself.

IRAQI CHRISTIANS NEED HELP - The Religious Freedom Coalition is receiving virtually no funds for our Iraqi Christian Refugee Project from Internet sources. Just a few hundred dollars have been generated at our Facebook page. Virtually no funds are being received from the publication of this email update, even though thousands of people subscribe. Your help is genuinely needed. Please help. Donation link

CLINTON PETITION DRIVE - The Religious Freedom Coalition is conducting a petition drive asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to formulate a policy to stop the persecution of Christians in Iraq and to aid those Iraqi Christians who have been forced to flee. More than 100,000 paper copies of the petition have been distributed, and an online version is now available. Click here to see petition! NOTE: This is part of a large petition drive and you may receive a copy in the mail.

FACEBOOK FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS - The Religious Freedom Coalition has a new Facebook page to expose the crisis faced by Iraqi Christians. If you have a Facebook account, please become our friend at this link. You can help Iraqi Christians directly by making a donation at the Facebook cause page!

CHRISTIAN INTERNET SUPER STORE

MOTHERS' DAY GIFTS FROM A CHRISTIAN STORE How about Mothers' Day gifts with a Christian theme? Our Internet Christian Super Store has tens of thousands of books, CD's DVD's, jewelry, food and more. AND ... Our store does not sell the atheist and satanist books that you will find on Amazon.com. When you buy from our store, you help our work. Please take a look at our store today at www.rfcstore.com

Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.

Affirming America's Religious Heritage

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Congressman Mike McIntyre D-NC), Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL), along with Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus and faith leaders will hold a bi-partisan press conference affirming America’s religious heritage and announcing the introduction of America’s Spiritual Heritage Resolution (formerly H.Res.888 in the 110^th Congress).

America’s religious heritage has been a heightened point of debate and discussion over the past several weeks. Recently, President Barack Obama claimed while in Turkey that “we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation...,” Newsweek stated that this is “The End of Christian America,” and a PEW study reported that the percentage of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith has doubled in recent years. Members of Congress, along with leaders of faith organizations, will join together in discussing these claims and affirming America’s rich religious heritage.

WHO:	Rep. J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Prayer Caucus Co-Chairman Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-07), Prayer Caucus Co-Chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04), National Day of Prayer Sponsor Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04) Rep. John Kline (MN-02) Rep. Walter Jones (NC-03) Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-02) Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) Rep. Mike Pence (IN-06) Rep. Michael Turner (OH-03) Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN-06) Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family Ms. Shirley Dobson, Focus on the Family Gary Bauer, American Values Maureen Wiebe, American Association of Christian Schools Wendy Wright, Concerned Women for America Bill Murray, Religious Freedom Coalition
WHAT:	A press conference where Members of Congress, along with prominent faith leaders, affirm America’s rich religious history and announce the introduction of America’s Spiritual Heritage Resolution (formerly H.Res.888 in the 110th Congress).
WHEN:	Thursday, May 7, 2009 Immediately following the National Day of Prayer Service, approximately 12:15 p.m.
WHERE:	Cannon House Office Building Cannon Terrace

For more information on the Congressional Prayer Caucus, visit http://www.house.gov/forbes/prayercaucus.htm.

May 1, 2009 - Washington, DC

Obama's Supreme Moment / Kill the Christians' pigs / Who will stop Janet Napolitano's profiling of conservatives? / Thought crimes bill passes the House / Meet the San Francisco cops - is this a joke? / Obama, Catholics and abortion / Harvard chaplain's "death to converts" / More persecution of Egyptian Christians

PETITION TO HILLARY CLINTON ON IRAQI CHRISTIANS - Read and sign the new Internet petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The petition urges Clinton to direct our embassies to assist Christians who have fled Islamic terror in Iraq. The petition is located at www.iraqichristianrefugees.org.

THE PRESIDENCY

OBAMA'S SUPREME MOMENT- With the retirement of Justice Souter, President Barack Obama will have his first opportunity to nominate a leftist radical to the Supreme Court. He will not pick anyone as "moderate" as former president Bill Clinton. Obama will want someone willing to change the Constitution so it will be more acceptable to the dictators who run the United Nations.

Justice Souter was a liberal, but not nearly as liberal as a likely Obama nominee. He is also younger than either Justice Ginsburg, 76, or Justice John Paul Stevens, 89. Fortunately the older members of the bench are the most liberal.

KILL THE CHRISTIAN PIGS - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton doesn't seem to care if Islamic dictators persecute Christians. She has turned a blind eye toward the Iraqi Christians just as her predecessor Condoleezza Rice did. When the Egyptian government killed more than 300,000 pigs belonging to Christian farmers, she said nothing. This is a genuine humanitarian concern, because these are desperately poor people who are denied most avenues of earning a living in Egypt. If the Russians had killed 300,000 goats belonging to Muslim farmers, I am very sure she would be outraged. The Egyptians claim they killed every pig belonging to Christian farmers because of swine flu; however, there is not a case of the flu in all of Eqypt. Also, it is not passed by pigs to humans, but by human to human contact. This story is not in the US press, but you can read more in the UK press.

WHO WILL STOP NAPOLITANO? - The Religious Freedom Coalition with the help of other organizations ran a color ad for two days in the Washington Times, exposing Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano's bias against social conservatives. She is pulling resources away from investigating threats from violent Islamic Jihadists, in order to investigate pro-life, pro-family groups and veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. She considers those who believe in traditional marriage as a greater threat to America than members of Jihadist organizations. Read our ad here. Journalist Don Feder has written a great article on Janet Napolitano's political crusade against social conservatives. Read it here

THE CONGRESS

THOUGHT CRIMES ON THE WAY - The so called Hate Crimes Bill passed the House and headed to the Senate this week. H.R. 1913 elevated "actual or perceived" sexual orientation" or "gender identity" to federal legal status. The vote was 249 to 175, with 10 not voting. See how your congressman voted here.

Senator Ted Kennedy has introduced S. 909 in the Senate which has 34 co-sponsors and is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it is passed by the Senate, your pastor could go to jail for reading certain Scriptures in the Bible. If you don't want this law, contact your Senators and request them to vote NO. Call both your Senators now. Call the Capitol Switchboard number, (202) 224-3121, and ask to be connected to your Senators.

CULTURE AND RELIGION

MEET THE SAN FRANCISCO COPS - Chief Heather Fong (left), the first SFPD female chief of police. Theresa Sparks (center, a former male) who is president of the San Francisco Police Commission and the CEO of a multi million-dollar sex toy retailer and a trans gender woman. Sgt. Stephan Thorne (right, former female) and the first transgender SFPD police officer. And who did they elect as their representative to Congress? Speaker Nancy Pelosi represents San Francisco, which sort of tells us the direction America is headed.

OBAMA, THE CATHOLICS AND ABORTION - Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, has been a pro-life champion for decades. She is a faithful Catholic who has defended her Church without compromise and was about to receive the most prestigious award bestowed by the University of Notre Dame, the Laetere Medal. This past week she said she was refusing the award because the university was granting an honorary degree in law to pro-abortionist Barack Obama. The text of her letter refusing the award can be read here.

HARVARD CHAPLAIN: "DEATH TO CONVERTS" - Last week I reported that the Muslim Chaplain at Harvard University said that the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity was "appropriate." The story first appeared in the Harvard Crimson and was ignored by the media. I have sent copies of the story to virtually every news outlet. If you search on the internet for the story practically all Google hits come back to the Religious Freedom Coalition. I have one thing to say to the mainstream media including FOXNEWS: COWARDS

ALL NEW APRIL 23RD CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new April 23rd, 2009 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains more information about our work on Capitol Hill with the new 111th Congress, and also about our work on international issues. THIS IS A NEW CR SINCE LAST WEEK! Help your Sunday School class understand these issues better. Print out and distribute to your class or fellowship this Sunday! Click here to view

INTERNATIONAL

EGYPT JAILS COPTIC PRIEST - Father Mattaos Wahba, is the priest of Archangel Michael Church at Kerdasa, Geza, Egypt. He is a pious priest and good Egyptian citizen who had never been in a prison other than to minister to inmates. His life abruptly changed when he was arrested, charged and convicted of aiding a Muslim woman in getting an ID card as a Christian to enable her to marry a Christian man. He has been sentenced to 5 years at hard labor. Read more

CLINTON PETITION DRIVE - The Religious Freedom Coalition is conducting a petition drive asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to formulate a policy to stop the persecution of Christians in Iraq and to aid those Iraqi Christians who have been forced to flee. More than 100,000 paper copies of the petition have been distributed, and an online version is now available. Click here to see petition! NOTE: This is part of a large petition drive and you may receive a copy in the mail.

FACEBOOK FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS - The Religious Freedom Coalition has a new Facebook page to expose the crisis faced by Iraqi Christians. If you have a Facebook account, please become our friend at this link. You can help Iraqi Christians directly by making a donation at the Facebook cause page!

CHRISTIAN INTERNET SUPER STORE

MOTHERS' DAY GIFTS FROM A CHRISTIAN STORE How about Mothers' Day gifts with a Christian theme? Our Internet Christian Super Store has tens of thousands of books, CD's DVD's, jewelry, food and more. AND ... Our store does not sell the atheist and satanist books that you will find on Amazon.com. When you buy from our store, you help our work. Please take a look at our store today at www.rfcstore.com

Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.