Week Ending August 15, 2008 - Washington, DC

President visits church in China / Did Bush underestimate Russia? / McCain and Obama rattle swords at Russia / MCCain and Obama open to pro-abortion VP's / Pelosi may want to drill for oil / Republicans to shut down government? / China and Russia compared by Paul Weyrich / Iraqi Christians need our help / Senator Obama says the $4,000 a minute Exxon pays in Tax is not enough

NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new July 31, 2008 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains a full report on the July mission to the Middle East to assist Iraqi Christian refugees. There are new facts on the condition of Christians in Jordan. The bombing in Ariel and the recovery of David Ortiz's son is also covered. Click here to view new issue.

THE PRESIDENCY

PRESIDENT AND MRS. BUSH VISIT CHINESE CHURCH - While in China for three days at the Olympics, President Bush made several statements on human rights. He and Mrs. Bush attended services at a church sanctioned by the Chinese government. Read more

MCCAIN AND OBAMA ATTACK RUSSIA - Ask either John McCain or Barack Obama and they will be happy to tell you that oil rich Saudi Arabia, the single most despotic nation in the world, is our true friend and ally of the United States. Both will also be happy to state that oil rich Russia, with a democratically elected parliament and President, is pure evil and an enemy of the world that must be contained. Virtually everything said by both men about the current conflict in Georgia was misinformed, as they tried to out do each other in saber rattling. Fortunately neither man is currently president. French President Nicolas Sarkozy seems to have the only rational mind available in the West right now and was working out a deal with Russia and Georgia to stop the fighting in the Caucuses. Read more

IS OBAMA BEYOND LIBERAL OR JUST IGNORANT? - Being a Washington insider, I hear politicians say a lot of dumb things every day. At an event in Titusville, Florida this week Barack Obama said that Exxon made a profit of $1,500 a second. He then said that the "record profits" should be taxed for the purpose of putting a "$1,000 emergency energy rebate in the pockets of working families." Currently Exxon pays $4,000 a second in taxes or almost three times as much as its profit. Exxon's cost of doing business is $15,000 a second. Exxon employs hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Those "profits" that Obama wants to take for taxes are mostly paid out as dividends into IRA's and other retirement accounts that own the stock. We have to keep in mind that Senator Obama has never held a job in the private sector.

MCCAIN AND OBAMA MAY BOTH PICK PRO-ABORT VP - It is a sure bet that Barack Obama will pick a VP who will want to personally supervise the construction of abortion clinics in every neighborhood in America. Now it seems that John McCain may do the same. In statements this week he said he saw nothing wrong with a pro-abortion pick for VP such as former governor Tom Ridge (R-PA). Read more

THE CONGRESS

PELOSI MAY BACK OIL DRILLING- Last week radical San Francisco leftist Nancy Pelosi, who rules over the House of Representatives, told a news outlet that she personally would "save the planet" by not allowing any further drilling for oil in the United States, particularly offshore drilling. Oops! Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama now says offshore drilling would be OK to "temporarily" reduce high gas prices. His change of heart came about as polls showed 70% of Americans wanted offshore drilling. Now Nancy Pelosi says she would allow and even vote for offshore drilling if it is with a "package." Perhaps the energy from Pelosi's and Obama's fast flip flops can be somehow harnessed as a solution to the shortage.

REPUBLICANS TO SHUT DOWN GOVERNMENT? - Republican congressmen continue to demonstrate in the House chamber despite the fact that Congress is in recess for the entire month of August. They are demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi call back the House to vote on a bill to allow more oil drilling in the United States. Meanwhile 36 GOP Senators say they will block a vote on any government funding bills until there is a vote on offshore drilling. Such a move would shut down the government. Meanwhile Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has begun an energy freedom day web site.

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CULTURE AND RELIGION

HAMAS LEADER'S SON TURNS TO JESUS - Mosab Hassan Yousef was born the son of one of the leaders of HAMAS, an Islamic terror organization. He was raised in the West Bank where many young men grow up to be Jihadists and even suicide bombers. But the person of Jesus Christ has changed his life and he now attends an evangelical Christian church. Read more See video

NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new July 31, 2008 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains a full report on the July mission to the Middle East to assist Iraqi Christian refugees. There are new facts on the condition of Christians in Jordan. The bombing in Ariel and the recovery of David Ortiz's son is also covered. Click here to view new issue.

INTERNATIONAL

CHINA AND RUSSIA COMPARED - My dear friend Paul Weyrich has one of the greatest political minds of the past hundred years. He is one of the founders of the conservative movement as we know it today. After President Bush spent three days in China at the Olympics, Paul Weyrich did a comparison of that nation to modern Russia. Everyone who thinks China will reform because it has turned somewhat toward free enterprise should read his analysis. Read more

IRAQI CHRISTIAN REFUGEES - Please help our program to assist Iraqi Christians who have been forced out of their homes by Islamic militias. Read our latest report and help by giving a gift online.

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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.

Week Ending August 1, 2008 - Washington, DC

Our blogspot blocked by Google / McCain's VP pick may be woman who was fired from CEO job / Another possible McCain pick: female governor who may be indicted / Illegals leaving US in droves / We owe and owe and owe / Senator makes accusations against Chinese / How bad is Congress now? / Defamation of religion laws? / New Chairman's Report

NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new July 31, 2008 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains a full report on the July mission to the Middle East to assist Iraqi Christian refugees. There are new facts on the condition of Christians in Jordan. The bombing in Ariel and the recovery of David Ortiz's son is also covered. Click here to view new issue.

THE PRESIDENCY

ILLEGALS LEAVINGS USA - The business wing of the Republican Party, seeking cheap labor, convinced President George W. Bush that he needed to give amnesty to the more than twelve million illegals in the USA. The American people said no, and he and his allies in Congress were forced to back off. The Bush Administration then began to enforce existing immigration laws that had been ignored for years. This was primarily done to show how "cruel" the laws were, in hopes of passing an amnesty bill later. However, enforcing the laws has had an unintended effect. About 11% of the illegals in the United States have voluntarily left. Read more

WE OWE AND OWE AND OWE - Earlier this week the White House announced that the projected Fiscal Year 2009 deficit will be $490 billion, which is a record . The deficit for the current year is expected to be $410 billion. Among the factors contributing to the high numbers are the cost of military expenditures in Iraq and the $170 billion in checks sent to taxpayers to "stimulate" the economy. Hidden in the new Housing "Relief" bill was an increase in the government's limit to borrow from $9.5 to $10.5 trillion. Don't worry about it though, our grandchildren can pay off our debt.

MCCAIN MAY PICK WOMAN WITH BAGGAGE - This morning the Washington Times reported that John McCain may pick either Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) who may be indicted any day for corruption or Carla Fiorina, the former CEO of HP who was fired for nearly running the company into the ground. There are only two possibilities here:tThe story was a plant from the Obama campaign or there was a gas leak in the Washington Times building that has caused mental confusion in the editorial staff.

THE CONGRESS

BROWNBACK ACCUSES CHINESE - "I am very disappointed that the Chinese government will not follow through on its promise to the International Olympic Committee to maintain an environment free of government censorship during the Games," said Senator Sam Brownback. "The Chinese government has put in place a system to spy on and gather information about every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are staying. This means journalists, athletes' families and other visitors will be subjected to invasive intelligence gathering by the Chinese Public Security Bureau." He made the announcement after learning that hotels had been ordered to install equipment to assist the Chinese to spy on all Olympic teams and visitors.

HOW BAD IS THIS CONGRESS? - Nacy Gibbs's wrote in Time Magazine: "The 260 laws passed by the 110th Congress represent a 30-year low, and they include the naming of 74 post offices, not to mention the nonbinding resolutions designating July National Watermelon Month and recognizing dirt as an essential natural resource." The article went on to point out that Congress has only a 9% approval rating. The worst part, however, is that 40%of voters think the Republicans are still in charge and want them out. They do not know that Congress is being run by San Francisco radical Nancy Pelosi. Read more

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CULTURE AND RELIGION

GOOGLE LOCKS OUR BLOGSPOT - This weekly update is posted every Friday at www.murrayonthehill.blogspot.com. The blog service is provided by Google. Al Gore received a sweetheart stock deal from Google when it was a start up and now owns tens of millions of dollars in shares of the company. Google has always favored the left and several conservative blog spots have been "locked" in recent weeks, having been accused of "spam." Yesterday murrayonthehill.blogspot.com was locked by Google because it had "irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text, along with a large number of links, usually all pointing to a single site." While the site can be accessed, I cannot post any new updates to it. A complaint has been filed with Google.

NEW CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - The all new July 31, 2008 Chairman's Report is now available to read in PDF format. This issue contains a full report on the July mission to the Middle East to assist Iraqi Christian refugees. There are new facts on the condition of Christians in Jordan. The bombing in Ariel and the recovery of David Ortiz's son is also covered. Click here to view new issue.

INTERNATIONAL

OUR MISSION TO THE MIDDLE EAST- A report on my July mission to Jordan and Israel has been posted in PDF format. The report details the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition with Iraqi Christians in Jordan. Details of the bombing of our evangelist's apartment in Israel and my visit with his wounded son are in the report. View Report

FREEDOM OF RELIGION VS DEFAMATION OF RELIGION - Islamic nations want to pass UN resolutions making freedom of speech a crime under the guise of "defamation of religion." Resolutions and laws upholding the "defamation of religions" as a legal principle protect ideas rather than the individuals who hold ideas. "Defamation of religions" measures charge the speaker for expressing his views about a religion. This may sound extreme, but Canada already has such laws on its books and Christians have been punished there for criticism of Islam. Read more

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.