Week Ending July 11, 2008 - Washington, DC

Update editor in the Middle East / Read recent posts from Amman, Jordan / Medical supplies delivered to clinic in Amman / Food distribution site toured / Back in the USA a homosexual sues Bible publishers / Palestinians sue Canadian company as "war criminal" / Bush wins with new Intelligence Reform bill / Barack Obama does a flip and supports President Bush on Intelligence Reform bill

EDITOR IN THE MIDDLE EAST: I am currently in Amman, Jordan delivering medical supplies and financial assistance to Iraqi Christian refugees. As a result, the congressional sections of the update are not as thorough as usual. Also ... There is an all new Chairman's Report available. Read it here!

THE PRESIDENCY

BUSH SIGNS TERROR BILL - I received an invitation from the White House to be present at the signing of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act just a few hours before boarding a plane for Amman, Jordan. Oddly, the New York Times never mentioned the actual name of the bill when reporting the President's comments at the White House. The bill was a huge victory for the President who had demanded immunity from lawsuits for telecom companies who had assisted the government in finding terrorists. Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had demanded that their rich attorney friends be allowed to sue Verizon and ATT over "privacy" concerns. The ACLU immediately filed suit to stop the government from eaves dropping on terrorists. Read more

OBAMA VOTES FOR TERRORISM BILL - In a complete about face Senator Barack Obama voted for the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Bill backed by President George W. Bush. Just last October, an Obama campaign spokesman issued a statement declaring, "To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies." Obama received huge amounts of money from trial lawyer groups that expect a windfall from a Democrat controlled White House that will allow them to sue companies on everything from auto emissions to Palestinian land rights. Read more from Socialist Web site on Obama.

THE CONGRESS

NO POSTING THIS WEEK - Due to my current mission to the Middle East I am unable to be present on Capitol Hill and cannot really present an insider view as usual.

CULTURE AND RELIGION

HOMOSEXUAL SUES BIBLE PUBLISHER - Here we go! With the promise of a White House controlled by a pro-homosexual administration, the lawsuits have begun, trying to change the Bible to suit the gay agenda. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a homosexual ex-con, filed the federal suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday against Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Publishers asking for $70 million in damages because certain translations of 1 Corinthians 6:9 use the term "homosexual." Read more

PALESTINIAN "WAR CRIMES LAWSUIT" - Palestinian villagers are suing two Canadian companies, accusing them of war crimes for construction work in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The complaint cites the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which states that "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies," is a war crime. (This would mean that virtually all of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and most of South America are occupied territories by "war criminals.") This is yet one more reason that the United States should not be a party to any international treaties, such as the Law of the Sea Treaty, which would force American courts to abide by bizarre international standards promoted by dictatorial regimes such as Saudi Arabia. Read more

NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new July 10, 2008 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. The Chairman's Report contains some material and photos that have not previously been displayed at our Internet site including new details about our Middle East mission. Click here to read the all new issue.

INTERNATIONAL

RFC AID FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS- As mentioned above I am currently in Amman, Jordan. On Thursday the 10th I delivered more than $24,000 of medical supplies to be dispensed by a Christian medical mission in Jordan to Iraqi refugees. The 30 Kilos (66 pounds) of supplies included bulk bottles of antibiotics such as amoxicillin, norfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. Other drugs for the treatment of intestinal and stomach disorders and other illnesses common to the Middle East were also delivered.

The overwhelming majority of Christians who have fled Iraq are in urban areas, mostly in Amman, living in cramped conditions. Often several middle class Christian families have been forced to take refuge in a single apartment. As they are "guests" in Jordan they are not allowed to work and have no income. Their presence here is tenuous and the Jordanian government can deport them back to Iraq at anytime. The Bush Administration has promised to take in 12,000 Iraqi refugees by September, but so far has only cleared just over 5,000. Because of the politically correct nature of our State Department many of those are Muslims who did not face nearly the level of persecution faced by Christians.

I met one of the two Christian families who were just accepted by the State Department as "refugees" and they can depart Jordan at any time. The two families were part of a group of 30; the other 28 families were Muslim, mostly Shiites with ties to Iran.

Today (Friday the 11th) I also toured the facility used for food distribution to Iraqi Christian refugees and visited a Christian children's summer camp. The camp was a wonderful experience that I don't feel comfortable sharing. Should its location be posted or pictures of the children shown on the Internet it could cause problems for their families in a predominantly Muslim nation despite the official positions of the King.

MIDDLE EAST MISSION BLOGS - While in the Middle East I will try to make daily entries with videos at our Christian Refugee site located at: http://christianrefugees.blogspot.com/ Please check the site as the mission progresses!

SUPPORT THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COALITION

CHRISTIAN THEMED GIFTS AND BOOKS - 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 birthday gifts. The store is located at www.rfcstore.com. Please help us with our various projects on Capitol Hill and overseas by shopping at our affiliate Christian Superstore . Contributions to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition can be made at www.rfcnet.org.