“But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your states as well as in the federal government.” Andrew Jackson, Farewell Address, March 4, 1837
Next Tea Party meeting will be in two weeks. Thursday, September 2 at Sheldon’s Iowa state Bank 7:00 pm.
Sheldon Celebration days – Parade 2 pm and Information Booth 9 – 4 on September 6
Please join America in this “FLY THE FLAG Campaign”
THE PROGRAM:
On Saturday, September 11th, 2010, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this ninth anniversary of one our country’s worst tragedies. We do this honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn’t take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.
by William J. Federer
Muslim groups are proposing a 13-story $100 million mosque in the most prominent spot in America â?” the heart of downtown New York City
near the World Trade Center site.
Is this mosque a sign of America’s tolerance, or is it a sign of Muslim conquest?
The past may hold answers:
In 630, Muhammad led 10,000 Muslim soldiers into Mecca and turned the pagans’ most prominent spot, the Ka’aba, into the Masjid al-Haram
Mosque.
In 634, Rightly Guided Caliph Umar conquered Syria and turned the Christians’ most prominent spot, the Church of Job, famous for being
visited by Saint Silva in the fourth century, into the Mosque of Job.
In 637, Caliph Umar conquered Hebron and turned the second-most prominent spot in Judaism, the Cave of the Patriarchs, into the
Ibrahimi Mosque. (This was repeated by Saladin in 1188.)
In 638, Muslim generals Amr ibn al-As and Khalid ibn al-Walid conquered Gaza and turned the prominent fifth-century Byzantine church
into the Great Mosque of Gaza.
In 638, Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem. In 691, Caliph Al-Malik ordered the Dome of the Rock built on the most prominent spot in
Judaism, the Temple Mount, followed by Caliph Al-Walid building the Al-Aqsa Mosque there in 705.
In 651, Muslims conquered Persia and turned Zoroastrian temples in Bukhara and Istakhr into mosques.
In 706, after Muslims took Damascus from the Byzantine Empire, Caliph Al-Walid turned the prominent Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist
into the Umayyad Mosque.
In 710, Gen. Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Pakistan, defiled the prominent Sun Temple in Multan, which house the great idol “sanam,”
and erected a mosque.
In 784, after the conquest of Spain, Emir Abd ar-Rahman turned the prominent Visigothic Christian Church of Saint Vincent into the Great
Aljama Mosque of Cordoba.
After the conquest of Egypt, Caliphs al-Mamun (813-833) and al-Hakim (996â?”1021) turned prominent Coptic Christian churches and Jewish
synagogues in Cairo into mosques.
In 831, Muslims conquered Palermo, Sicily, and Asad ibn al-Furat turned the prominent Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption into the
Great Mosque of Bal’harm.
In 1193, Muslims conquered Delhi, India, and Qutbuddin Aibak turned the Red Citadel in Dhillika, the most prominent spot of the last Hindu
rulers, into the Qutb Minar Mosque.
>From 1250-1517, Mamluk Muslims controlled the Golan Heights and used the ancient Synagogue of Katzrin as a mosque.
In 1387, Turkish Muslims conquered Thessaloniki and turned the Katholikon Monastery and the Church of Aghia Sophia, which housed the
relics of Saint Gregorios Palamas, into mosques, as Symeon of Thessaloniki recorded:
“The greatest number of the buildings of the churches fell to them, of which the first was the Holy Church of the Savior. â?¦ These were
trampled underfoot and the infidels rejoiced in them. â?¦ Most of the religious buildings in the city were despoiled, while altars were
demolished and sacred things profaned.”
On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople and turned the great Byzantine church, Hagia Sophia, into the Ayasofya Mosque.
The largest church in Christendom for a thousand years, the church’s four acres of gold mosaics were covered with whitewash and Quran
verses.
In 1458, Sultan Mehmet II conquered Athens and turned the Greeks’ most prominent spot, the Parthenon on Acropolis hill, into a mosque.
When Venetian Gen. Francesco Morosini drove the Muslims out in 1687, a cannonball hit the gunpowder stored in the mosque, blowing it up.
In the 15th century, Ottoman invaders turned Saint Clement’s Macedonian Orthodox Monastery in Plaosnik, Balkans, into the Imater
Mosque.
>From 1519-1858, Muslim Mughal rulers gained control of India and turned over 2,000 Hindu temples into mosques, including demolishing
the Temple of Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama, and replacing it with the Babri Mosque.
India’s Mughal Muslim ruler, Jahangir (1605-1627), wrote in Tujuk-i-Jahangiri:
“At the city of Banaras a temple. â?¦ I made it my plea for throwing down the temple â?¦ and on the spot, with the very same materials, I erected the great mosque.”
In 1543, Hayreddin Barbarossa’s 30,000 Muslim troops wintered in Toulon, France, and turned the prominent Toulon Cathedral into a mosque.
In 1570, under Sultan Selim II Khan, Muslims conquered Paphos, Cyprus, and Gov. Mehmet Bey Ebubkir turned the prominent Christian
church into the Great Mosque of Paphos.
In 1571, Muslims invaded Famagusta, Cyprus, and turned Saint Nicolas Cathedral, a rare Gothic church, into the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque,
and Saint Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia, constructed in 1228, into the Selimiye Mosque.
In 1588, Sultan Murat III turned the Eastern Orthodox Church of Saint John the Forerunner in Constantinople into the Hirami Ahmet Pasha
Mosque.
In 1781, after having conquered the Old City of Acre, Ottoman Muslims turned the Roman Catholic church built by Crusaders into the Jezzar
Ahmet Pasha Mosque, where a hair from Muhammad’s beard is preserved.
In 1923, Muslims expelled Greeks from Turkey and turned Orthodox churches into mosques.
In World War II, Nazis allied with Bosnians and turned the prominent Artists’ Gallery Museum in Zagreb, Croatia, into a mosque.
In the 1950s, Muslims expelled Jews from Arab lands and turned synagogues into mosques.
Algerian Muslims warred against French colonial rule till France pulled out in 1962, after which the Cathedral of St. Philippe was turned into the Ketchaoua Mosque. Violence against Jews caused 30,000 to flee and the Great Synagogue of Oran was turned into the Mosque
Abdellah Ben Salem.
In 1974, Turkish Muslims invaded northern Cyprus, and prominent Greek Orthodox churches were turned into mosques.
In 1981, Muslim immigrants to the Netherlands converted Amsterdam’s historic Catholic Sint-Ignatiuskerk into the Fatih Mosque, and a
synagogue in The Hague into the Aksa Mosque.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Muslim terrorists attacked the most prominent spot in America, the World Trade Center. In less than 10 years, the number
of mosques in New York City has skyrocketed to over 140.
In light of history, reasonable citizens have a right to question if the mosque proposed at Ground Zero is a sign of America’s tolerance,
or a sign of Muslim conquest?
William J. Federer is the author of “What Every American Needs to Know About the Quran: A History of Islam and the United States.”
The fundamental basis of this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody but the State. – an Admonition from Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), 33rd President of the United States
In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court declared that denying a marriage license to “couples” of the same sex violated the equal protection clause of the state Constitution. The Hawaii legislature acted quickly to correct the error of the court, and in 1994, passed a statute to specifically define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Subsequently, Hawaii also approved a constitutional amendment affirming the same definition. Representative Terrance W.H. Tom, the Democrat who chaired the House Judiciary Committee, said at the time, ”The judicial branch of government has at this point refused to recognize this legislative policy and continues to act on a path which if left unchecked will represent a very dangerous departure in our democratic tradition.”
By tipping their hand in Hawaii, homosexual activists sent a signal to the entire country that they intended to force homosexual “marriage” on the country one state at a time, not through the legislative process, but through their willing partners in the judicial branch. This course of action would both create a so-called civil right to homosexual marriage, and solidify the unconstitutional idea of judicial supremacy. Across the country, legislative bodies began to take proactive measures to defend marriage and to preserve the constitutional separation of powers.
In 1998, the Iowa Legislature passed the Defense of Marriage Act. Since that time, Iowa Code section 595.2 has read, “Only a marriage between a male and female is valid.” To this date, the language defining marriage has not been revoked or amended by the Legislature.
In 2003, District Court Judge Jeffrey Neary granted a divorce to a lesbian couple in Sioux City. Even though this decision recognized a “marriage” that did not exist, and was a clear violation of Iowa law, in 2005 the Iowa Supreme Court upheld Judge Neary’s opinion. That sent a signal to homosexual activists and lawyers that the time was right to begin a frontal assault on marriage in Iowa.
In March 2005, the Iowa House of Representatives voted in support of a constitutional amendment confirming marriage as only between a male and a female. The House vote provided an indication of the legislative support for the people of Iowa to have a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment.
Later, in 2005, six carefully selected homosexual couples representing several geographic regions of Iowa came to Polk County to apply for a marriage license. Because the law in Iowa is clear, their request was denied.
In December 2005, having carefully selected the plaintiffs, and then having carefully selected a county where the case was most likely to go before a homosexual friendly judge, the New York-based homosexual activist law firm, Lambda Legal, filed a case in Polk County challenging Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act.
In August 2007, Polk County District Judge Robert Hanson granted the request of Lambda Legal and ruled that Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Even though he stayed his decision pending an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, one homosexual “marriage” was performed immediately following the pronouncement of the opinion.
On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld Judge Hanson’s opinion, and demanded that the 99 Iowa County Recorders begin issuing homosexual “marriage” licenses.
On April 15, 2009, commenting in the Washington Post, Camilla Taylor, a Chicago-based lawyer for Lambda Legal, admitted that she had been active in Iowa for seven years laying the groundwork to manipulate the system in Iowa to force homosexual marriage on the state. This was the first public admission by a homosexual activist that they had been systematically using the system in Iowa since before the lesbian “divorce” case came to District Court Judge, Neary.
When the Iowa Supreme Court issued the Varnum marriage decision, it severely tied the hands of the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature. Any legislation related to marriage that distinguished between heterosexual and same-sex couples was considered unconstitutional. This left members of the Legislature with one option, offering the voters a chance to decide on the definition of marriage through a constitutional amendment.
Putting the decision in the hands of the citizens of the state is the essence of democracy – an opportunity to recognize that on certain issues we must defer to the people of Iowa. That opportunity is not without its hurdles, however. Thus far, the voter’s opportunity has been denied by the leaders of the Legislature uninterested in letting the people vote.
A key characteristic of that hurdle to the process is that it is something we can understand and elections can overcome. That differs from a potential hurdle developing in the Federal court system however. I am speaking of the decision by a judge in the 9th Circuit District Court to overturn California’s 2008 marriage amendment to protect traditional marriage.
As it stands right now, the decision of one federal judge has attempted to nullify the will of the people of the State of California to decide that marriage should be limited to its traditional boundaries. What does it mean for the efforts of Iowan’s and those in the Legislature who feel the people should decide the issue of marriage?
The short answer is that we must now accept that there is a possibility that despite what Iowa does, the Federal government may ignore all previous deference to the states on the issue of marriage and decide for us. This is exactly the situation Californians find themselves in.
While this is a possibility, its likelihood is another thing. First, it must be understood that the decision in California has absolutely no bearing on Iowa. That lower court and its court of appeals have no jurisdiction over Iowa. The only way that particular case affects Iowa is – the United States Supreme Court hears the case and rules in favor of the plaintiffs.
There really is no way of knowing how the Supreme Court would rule on the case if it were placed on the Court’s agenda. What should be known, however, is whether there is a significant amount of precedent at the federal level that considers marriage a state issue. To decide otherwise would represent a significant departure from how marriage has been handled.
Iowa is covered by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Federal court system. It is highly unlikely that a legal challenge to a successful marriage amendment in Iowa would be overturned in the 8th Circuit. In 2005, an 8th Circuit District Court overturned Nebraska’s marriage amendment in Citizens for Equal Protection, Inc. v. Bruning. This was quite similar to what happened in California recently. However, in 2006 the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decisively overturned that decision and ruled the Nebraska amendment constitutional.
In that case the court clearly spoke in support of Nebraska’s marriage amendment and noted that “the institution of marriage has always been, in our federal system, the predominant concern of state government.” In regards to an equal protection challenge, not too unlike the one brought in California, the court quoted the Supreme Court when it said “the Equal Protection Clause is not a license for courts to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of the voters’ choices.”
The strong ruling in Iowa’s federal jurisdiction should give proponents of a vote on marriage relief. That effort can proceed with little likelihood of the federal court intervening. Nonetheless, a Supreme Court ruling does remain a possibility. Iowans should not be discouraged by what has taken place in California. Rather, they should be motivated to continue on with their efforts and make clear the will of the people of the State, so that if a case does make it before the Supreme Court, the justices will be forced to recognize that we have not been silent on this issue.
(Iowa State Representative Dwayne Alons Capitol Comments 8/20/10)
300,000 miles on horseback, from the Atlantic to the Appalachians, from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, for 45 years, he spread the gospel.
This was Francis Asbury, Methodist Circuit riding preacher who was born AUGUST 20, 1745.
When the Revolution started, he refused to return to England: “I can by no means agree to leave such a field for gathering souls to
Christ as we have in America.”
He befriended Richard Bassett, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, who converted, freed his slaves and paid them as hired labor.
Francis Asbury dedicated the first African Methodist Episcopal Church and met personally with George Washington, congratulating him on his
election.
By the time he died, the Methodist Church in America had grown from 300 members to over 200,000.
Unveiling the Equestrian Statue of Francis Asbury in Washington, D.C., 1924, President Calvin Coolidge stated:
“Our government rests upon religion It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberty…
This circuit rider spent his life making stronger the foundation on which our government rests.”
Coolidge concluded:
“Francis Asbury is entitled to rank as one of the builders of our nation.”
(American Minute with Bill Federer)
This is to all America’s patriots who are weary. Weary as they watch their country being dismantled bit by bit, with amazing speed. As we call, write and plead with our leaders to what seems to be no avail, it is easy to become discouraged. We helplessly wring our hands as we watch legislation being passed without it even being written, listen to Legislators openly mock the Constitution (Pelosi, CA) and blatantly tell us “the federal government can pretty much do anything it wants“ (Starks, CA). Unconstitutional czars are given power and money that impacts our lives in a very real way. Memos that expose corrupt men willing to execute amnesty without any Congressional input come to light. Bailout after bailout continue without any regard to our free market system or to our future generations. We are afraid of our government.
It would be easy to say the battle is too big and give up. But we must not give up. We must fight on. Because we are fighting to preserve some thing the world has never had. We are fighting to preserve a country based on principles and laws that give freedom and opportunity to any man like none before it.
Remember George Washington’s many losses and great struggles at Valley Forge as his men deserted, starved and limped about with bloody feet. And then the battle of Saratoga where the tide of the Revolutionary War turned in the Colonist’s favor. Remember the internal fighting amongst the Colonies after the Revolutionary War was won so that many feared the nation would eventually self destruct. But the wisdom and integrity of our Founding Fathers won the day as the men at the Continental Congress hammered out the miracle of our Constitution–the oldest and shortest Constitution in the world that launched the greatest country of the world. Remember the continued losses for the North during the Civil War and then the turning point of Gettysburg. Remember the Brit’s resolve to fight the Nazis in spite of nightly bombings on their cities with Churchill’s “never,never, never, never give up” leadership.
As we think of low points of our history and the history of other nations, it encourages us to fight on.
If we do not fight on, what sort of future are we holding out to our children?
Our family’s homes might soon become shoddy from neglect because we no longer can afford to maintain and improve them. Will we yield to some unelected agency elitists who won the debate on the false science of carbon emissions and have “power grids” manned by some distant central planner to regulate our thermostat, and telling us what light bulbs we may have? They would soon have us drive the one to two seat cars that are essentially powered by lawn mowers.
Deep in our hearts, we all know children raised in homes with a mom and a dad is by far the best for them. We’ve seen the frustrated moms, where the welfare state has fed them the lie that they can go it alone–without a husband; that kids will be okay without a dad. And men are robbed of their natural calling to protect and provide for their families and the self-respect that goes along with that role.
The State’s promise to be all things to all people has failed miserably–again.
Are we setting up the young and old alike for the addictions of alcoholism and drug abuse because there is little hope to improve their lot in life? Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Prov. 13:12a).
We fear there are few truly elderly or mentally or physically handicapped children around anymore. Socialized medicine doesn’t pay for their care.
Will we become a nation where Shari’a law is acknowledged and other countries demand homage so freedom as we’ve known it is simply a faint memory of the past?
Slavery of a different type, no longer just in the cotton fields, but in all areas of the workplace would become the norm. Monstrous taxation of the state so that a few may continue to live extravagant lives on the backs of the people would replace the freedom inherent in capitalism. Age-old truths of living beyond your means have come home to roost.
This bleak picture is not new to our world. It is the story of many countries today as it has been the history of monarchies and dictatorships of the past. There is always wealth and there has always been oppression. But America has been and still is different. At least is still is. America is different because America’s law is based on the justice and rightness of Scripture and the truth of man’s nature. And if America’s laws can be destroyed and altered to satisfy the whims of man, instead of the truths laid out in our Judeo-Christian heritage, we are bound to repeat the history of so many other cultures.
Thomas Jefferson understood that our government could become corrupt but always believed the correct education of the people would right the ship. In 1782, he said: “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree.”
Even when everything looks so dim, we must fight on. America is worth fighting for, Patriots! You don’t know the history of our great country and its Constitution? Educate yourselves. Read the Declaration of Independence alongside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Dig deeper with the Federalist Papers. Seems too daunting of a task by yourself? Seek out people who do know and ask them to help you.
Educate your children. While some students are getting it through teachers who still love America, the vast majority of our children aren’t and you must accurately educate them and your grandchildren. It is imperative that future generations understand what we have in this country and what will happen to them if it is lost. History is important. Truth matters. A significant reason our Constitution was the success it was is due to our Founder’s vast understanding of history and studying previous government’s strengths and weaknesses.
Spend a great deal of time on your knees before the God of the Bible. As Abraham Lincoln said: “Nevertheless, amid the greatest difficulties of my Administration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my whole reliance on God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the right.” –October 24, 1863 remarks to the Baltimore Presbyterian Synod.
Study the Progressive movement in the early 20th Century to see where we went wrong. Let politicians know we don’t want an elitist/agency/bureaucrat-run country. Russia, China, Cuba–those are agency-run countries where some centralized bureaucrat makes the decisions for the multitudes. Look at the misery of their people. Is that what we are aiming for? We don’t need a handout or another regulation or another agency or bureaucracy to figure out the problem.
We’re a Republic of the people, not a nation of sheep led by a few “all knowing” and “all perceiving.” We the people are still the basis of our country’s greatness. Offer solutions to our leaders. Call them and offer ideas as to how our state and country might return to its greatness.
As we further understand that governance based on the principles of the Constitution is the litmus test for legislation, and that government is not the grantor of our rights, God is, we will be more confident and vigilant in protecting those rights. We simply need laws based on the powers enumerated in our Constitution and people willing to abide by them. So you realize they are passing laws left and right that have no Constitutional basis? Hold them accountable! Tell others what they are doing and get them out of power as quickly as you can.
Run for office. Be that individual of integrity, selflessness and wisdom who runs for county supervisor, school board member, mayor or state legislator. Understanding the Constitution (and Iowa’s Constitution) doesn’t just apply to the big guys in D.C or Des Moines. It should impact every law we enact at every level. Teach your children the importance of being a selfless people who live righteous lives so that they too may one day serve their country in some such capacity. Quit worrying how you will look to the neighbors if you stand up for what is right. Honesty, truth, courage, integrity –character traits that still matter. These traits may be in short supply in the halls of legislators, but they are not lacking in the American people.
Don’t give up, Patriot. The fight is worth it. The future of our country needs you like it has never needed you before. On March 4, 1861, in Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, he said: “Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty.” May Lincoln’s sentiments hold true 149 years later.
TK
When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
Edmund Burke
Location of Rally on August 15 pictured below.
A close up picture of a section of the border wall. The flags that you see are from American citizens and Soldiers who agree that our borders need to be secured!
You can add your own flag and comments when you attend the rally.
http://unitedwestandforamericans.org/2010/07/23/united-border-coalition-tea-party/