Week Ending March 28, 2008 - Washington, DC

Bush: Burkas for Christian women OK / Iraqi church bombings are "criminal acts " not persecution by Muslims / Israel Pastor's apartment bombed, son critical / No Mitt for VP? / Obama's new racial problem? / Indian Health and abortion goes to House

NEW END OF MARCH CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS AVAILABLE - The March 29, 2008 Chairman's Report from William J. Murray is now available online in PDF version. The Chairman's Report contains some material not seen in these updates. Click to view!

THE PRESIDENT

BUSH: BURKAS OK FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN- The official policy of President George W. Bush's administration is that forcing a Christian woman to wear a burka or hijab in public is not religious persecution because nothing in Christian doctrine forbids wearing them. It is also the official policy of the Administration that there is no religious persecution of Christians in Iraq and that the 41 churches destroyed since the war began and the church bombings this past Christmas were done by "criminal elements." The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is considering designating Iraq as a "CPC" or Country of Particular Concern. The Bush Administration is in a state of panic over this possibility and is exerting extreme political pressure to avert this action. As a result, I doubt that CPC status will be issued for Iraq.

NO MITT FOR VP - Senator McCain's recent comments favorable to Mitt Romney and the current "M&M" fund raising tour featuring McCain and Mitt has social conservatives in an uproar. A group of "values voters" have prepared a full page ad addressed to McCain telling him "NO MITT" and a petition is now online at www.NoMittVP.com where social conservatives can leave a message for John McCain on the issue.

OBAMA'S NEW RACIST PROBLEM - Portions of a thesis reportedly written by Senator Obama's wife, Michelle, while at Princeton is circulating on the Internet. The document is racist and radical, calling for blacks to become "separatists" and saying that all whites are "inherently racist." There has been no verification of the document; however, the racist comments of Obama's pastor floated on the Internet for months before mainstream media dared to publish them. If this material is accurate, Senator Obama cannot claim he "was not present" enough with his wife to be aware of her beliefs.

THE HOUSE

INDIAN HEALTH AND ABORTION - When the House returns from "Spring break" next week Congressman Pitts (R-PA) intends to offer an amendment to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (HR 1328) that would codify a longstanding policy against funding of abortions with federal Indian Health Service (IHS) funds (except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest of a minor). A similar amendment offered by Sen. Vitter (R-LA), in the Senate passed by a vote of 52 - 42. Please contact your congressman and ask him to support Congressman Pitts' efforts. NO ABORTION FUNDS IN INDIAN HEALTH!

THE SENATE

SENATE SOMEWHAT IN RECESS - The Senate will not take an official recess for Easter. Every few days there will be a "pro-forma" session of the Senate with only one Senator present. The purpose of these sessions is to stop President George W. Bush from making emergency appointments to the hundreds of judicial and other agency vacancies.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

NEW MARCH CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS AVAILABLE - The March 29, 2008 Chairman's Report from William J. Murray is now available online in PDF version. The Chairman's Report contains some material not seen in these updates. Click to view!

INTERNATIONAL

OUR EVANGELIST'S APARTMENT BOMBED - The apartment of the pastor of the evangelistic ministry in Israel supported by the Religious Freedom Coalition has been bombed, and his son was critically injured. I have stayed numerous times in the Ariel apartment of David Ortiz and his wife Leah in Ariel, Samaria. I have traveled with him into the Arab areas where he ministers to Muslims. Many have accepted Christ as a result of his ministry. Part of the video done by my daughter Katie, Holy Land Teens, was filmed in the apartment that was bombed. The youngest son who was featured in that video is still in critical condition. His arms have been saved, but he has lost fingers. Microscopic surgery is to be done on his eyes to restore his sight this week. An Islamic organization has claimed responsibility, but police have not ruled out the possibility that a Jewish extremist group planted the bomb because David also pastors a House Church for Messianic Jews in Ariel. Jerusalem Post Story

SUPPORT THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COALITION

CHRISTIAN INTERNET STORE - There are literally tens of thousands of Christian theme items available at our affiliate store including jewelry from the Holy Land. It is a great place to shop for gifts. The store is located at www.rfcstore.com. Please help us with our various projects on Capitol Hill and in the Holy Land by shopping at our affiliate Christian Superstore . Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.

Week Ending March 21, 2008 - Washington, DC

Easter, 2008 - McCain backs Jerusalem as capital / House and Senate - Easter recess of "Spring break" / Will Senate pass Ten Commandments resolution / Christians in Peril video suspended

HE IS RISEN - 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." (Matt 28:5-7) NIV

THE PRESIDENT

MC CAIN BACKS JERUSALEM - Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain visited Israel this week and said that he supports Jerusalem as the capital of that nation. The United States is virtually the only Western nation that has not moved its embassy to Jerusalem. President George W. Bush, a supporter of Israel, has refused to move the embassy there despite a law passed by Congress. McCain also visited the Western Wall and slipped a prayer note into the Wall as have millions before him, including me. Full story.

THE HOUSE

IN RECESS - The House is in "Spring District Work Break" until March 28, 2008 according to the Majority Whip's office. When the House was controlled by Republicans this was called "Easter recess."

THE SENATE

TEN COMMANDMENTS RESOLUTION - This week Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced the Ten Commandments Weekend Resolution, which would designate the first weekend of May 2008 as Ten Commandments Weekend. "It is important for Americans to remember the importance the Ten Commandments have in our nation," said Senator Brownback. "The Ten Commandments are the cornerstone to the faith of millions of Americans of many faith traditions, and are a cornerstone to a fair and just society. We as a nation should take a weekend to reflect on the impact the Ten Commandments have had on the foundation of America's national life." A similar resolution has been entered in the House by Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO). The resolutions have been promoted by the Ten Commandments Commission.

SENATE SOMEWHAT IN RECESS - The Senate will not take an official recess for Easter. Every few days there will be a "pro-forma" session of the Senate with only one Senator present. The purpose of these sessions is to stop President George W. Bush from making emergency appointments to the hundreds of judicial and other agency vacancies.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

NEW MARCH CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS AVAILABLE - The March 5, 2008 Chairman's Report from William J. Murray is now available online in PDF version. The Chairman's Report contains some material not seen in these updates. Read here!

INTERNATIONAL

OUR VIDEO SUSPENDED - The Iraqi Christians in Peril video which has streamed out from our site for two months was suspended by our Internet provider because of excess usage of bandwidth because of the number of times it has been viewed. We used up our total alloted 500GB of broadcast in the first two weeks of March. We have secured additional bandwidth and hope to have it back up soon.

SUPPORT THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COALITION

CHRISTIAN INTERNET STORE - There are literally tens of thousands of Christian theme items available at our affiliate store including jewelry from the Holy Land. It is a great place to shop for gifts. The store is located at www.rfcstore.com. Please help us with our various projects on Capitol Hill and in the Holy Land by shopping at our affiliate Christian Superstore . Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.

Week Ending March 14, 2008 - Washington, DC

Iraqi Archbishop murdered - does anyone in America really care? / Can the church in the Middle East survive the Bush Administration? / The odd couple - Karl Rove loves Mitt Romney / Why billionaire Democrats are against terrorist spying bill / SCHIP is back / The Reid - Obama tax hike / Money as God for our CEO's / Car dealers and phoney ID

NEW MARCH CHAIRMAN'S REPORTS AVAILABLE - The March 5, 2008 Chairman's Report from William J. Murray is now available online in PDF version. The Chairman's Report contains some material not seen in these updates. Read here!

THE PRESIDENT

BUSH JUST WILL NOT HELP IRAQ'S CHRISTIANS - The murder in Mosul, Iraq of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho is on the hands of President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Their refusal to assist the persecuted Christians in Iraq has emboldened Islamists to pillage, rape and murder them. Had the Bush Administration been proactive, the archbishop's life could have been spared. The Administration will not even allow Christians in Iraq to form a police force, while giving Islamist extremists such as Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr the right to maintain small armies. The White House did not even condemn the kidnapping and Coalition forces in Iraq treated it as a "criminal affair" even though the demand of the kidnappers was for Christians to attack American forces. Shame on us for destroying the church in Iraq. READ THIS NEWSMAX STORY NOW!

KARL ROVE'S "M & M" TICKET - Former Bush sidekick Karl Rove is daily pushing his McCain and Mitt ticket, almost as if he were being paid big bucks as a Mitt Romney promoter. Karl Rove claims to be an evangelical and should understand the dynamics working against Romney. As a Washington insider he knows full well that Mitt Romney will further weaken the already shaky support of evangelicals for McCain. They will be driven away in mass from the Republican ticket, yet he persists in pushing Romney for the number two slot. A large coalition of Christian evangelicals is forming to stop the Romney for VP train. Paid advertising has already been reserved for a media campaign to expose Romney's left leaning background.

A PASTOR TOO FAR - All of a sudden conservative radio and TV talk show hosts have obtained videos of Barack Obama's long time pastor preaching that the US government invented AIDS to kill black people. Dr. Wright is also shown proclaiming that God should damn America and that this nation was responsible for the 911 Jihad attack against it. Just about every bad thing in the world, according to him, is the fault of "rich white people." Hmmm. I wonder who could have secretly recorded these racist tirades? Could Hillary want to win so badly that she had this vicious material from Obama's church delivered to Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh? Click here for more information.

THE HOUSE

NO SPY BILL - Billionaires who are involved in the transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars internationally are the primary backers of the Democrat party. These men, including extremist billionaire George Soros do not want the government to have the ability to eaves drop on international communications. The president says he needs the authority to stop terrorists, but the Democrat controlled House is resistant because their billionaire buddies' international transactions, which may be illegal, could also be traced. Speaker Nancy Pelosi also wants these billionaires to have the right to sue any telecom company that gives the government information that could put them in jail. It does not seem to matter to Pelosi that protecting her billionaire buddies gives terrorists the opportunity to get past our intelligence services and attack American targets.

NOT MUCH HERE - Radical leftist Speaker Pelosi has turned the House into a platform of political attacks for election year and not much is getting done. There have been over 70 votes on pulling our troops out of Iraq. Each votes requires debate, taking huge amounts of time. She now plans a variety of hearings she hopes will assist the Democrats in winning elections in November. The Republicans demanded a secret session of Congress in hopes something could get done if the media spotlight was off of Pelosi.

CONGRESS SHUTS DOWN TODAY - Not that it makes much of a difference, but the House will recess at the end of business today for two weeks. Not much of anything is being accomplished. Thankfully the recess will begin before Nancy Pelosi has the chance for a vote on her proposed $600 billion dollar tax hike.

THE SENATE

MORE SCHIP MISCHIEF - The Senate rejected an amendment by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) that would have given medical coverage to uninsured children from conception to age 19. The Allard amendment failed by a vote of 46-52.

The personhood of the unborn would have been recognized, which caused the Democrats to vote against it. Democrats in the Senate do not consider an unborn child to be a person. Instead, they passed an amendment by Barbara Boxer that defines ALL pregnant women as children so they can receive the free medical coverage in SCHIP from the government. See Right to Life statement

SENATE RAISES TAXES - Senator Reid and his Democrat Senate continued the march to the far left with more than just social issues. While abandoning the pro-life issues such as the Allard amendment to SCHIP, Reid continued on to knock most of the Bush tax cuts out of the budget. The result will be the largest single tax hike in American history. The Democrats plan to use the money to "take care" of us and give us the "things needed." Read an op-ed on this.

SENATE RECESS - The Senate has been involved in a "vote-o-rama" for the last 48 hours preparing for a two week Easter recess.

RELIGION AND CULTURE

ONE IN FOUR TEENS HAVE STD- At least one in four American teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease (STD) according to a new study. Half of the black teens had at least one STD. Whites and Mexican-American teens had an infection rate of 20% said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more.

MONEY IS THEIR GOD - Would someone give a terrorist on his way to blow up a jetliner a fake ID in return for buying an overpriced car? In Ohio, car dealerships gave illegal aliens fake ID's to register the overpriced vehicles they were selling to them. The dealers were busted and are headed to jail, but what about the big multi-national corporations that sell our technology to our enemies and assist Islamic extremists in buying up our banks? When the sell out is for enough bucks it appears that even the authorities look in a different direction.

INTERNATIONAL

ARCHBISHOP MURDERED - The ransom demand for Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was $3 million in cash and the promise that Chaldean Christians would attack certain Coalition targets and kill Americans. It was clear from the start that the archbishop was kidnapped by Islamic forces fighting the Coalition in Iraq, yet the Coalition did virtually nothing to find the Bishop. President Bush did not even make a public statement on his kidnapping despite the pleas of Pope Benedict. This was a dark moment in American history. Why will our government not allow Christians to have a police or militia in Iraq? We give the Muslims that right. Why are Christians not allowed to defend themselves?

VISIT OUR INTERNET STORE

OUR INTERNET STORE - We have lots of great Christian themed products at our Internet store. Not only are there books and CD's, but everything from candy to jewelry. Unlike Amazon and other major Internet stores, we do not sell porn and satanic materials right beside Christian books. Please take a look. The store is located at www.rfcstore.com.
Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.