TELLING IT LIKE IT IS !

It is interesting to see how the Russians see what is currently happening in America. The following article was published in the online Russian Pravda.

American capitalism gone with a whimper

27.04.2009

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their “right” to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our “democracy”. Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different “branches and denominations” were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the “winning” side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the “winning” side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America’s short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more than ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama’s command that GM’s (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of “pure” free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise that the American president has followed this up with a “bold” move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less than two months ago, warned Obama and UK’s Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our “wise” Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper…but a “freeman” whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set “fair” maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin
Source: Pravda.Ru
URL: http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-american_capitalism-0

The article has been reprinted with the kind permission from the author and originally appears on his blog, Mat Rodina

© 1999-2009. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru’s editors.

This and other exceptional posts from Mat Rodina . . .

Just Add Hyperinflation: Its Armageddon
The American Solution is to Further Rob the People
American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper

We keep hearing that the global temperature dramatically increased in the last century. But what does “global temperature” mean, and how reliable are the readings?

Global temperature is measured through thousands of stations located throughout the world. The continental United States itself has 1,221 such measuring points, and supposedly they are among the most reliable in the world. But how reliable are they? Anthony Watts, blogger of Watts Up With That, took it upon himself (and a group of more than 650 volunteers) to find out the reliability. They examined 70% of the stations and the results are nothing short of stunning.

They found stations located next to the exhaust fans of air conditioning units, surrounded by asphalt parking lots and roads, on blistering-hot rooftops, and near sidewalks and buildings that absorb and radiate heat. They found 68 stations located at wastewater treatment plants, where the process of waste digestion causes temperatures to be higher than in surrounding areas.

In fact, they found that 89% of the stations – nearly 9 of every 10 – fail to meet the National Weather Service’s own location requirements that stations must be 30 meters (about 100 feet) or more away from an artificial heating or radiating/reflecting heat source. In other words, 9 of every 10 stations are reporting higher or rising temperatures because they are badly sited.

It gets worse. They observed that changes in the technology of temperature stations over time, also has caused them to report a false warming trend. There were major gaps found in the data records that were filled in with data from nearby sites, a practice that propagates and compounds errors. They also found that adjustments to the data by both NOAA and NASA caused recent temperatures to look even higher. Why measure if you are going to change the results? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of measuring? And these are supposed to be among the more reliable temperature readings in the world! Here is a file of the entire report. Read it and decide for yourself if you can trust that temperature data.

The conclusion is inescapable: The U.S. temperature record is unreliable.

So with ground temperature data now revealed as unreliable, what do we know? Satellite Data indicates that the earth warmed from the period of 1979 to around 1998, and that it has cooled since 2002. That is 19 years of warming, and at least 7 years of cooling … and very little else that we know for certain. On the basis of this, countries around the world have instituted disastrous and business-damaging programs like carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs. Very soon the United States will consider the Waxman-Markey bill, which would enact a cap and trade program to tax us on what we exhale after ever breath we take in. They tell us the science is settled … on what? … flawed data!

And finally, Richard Henry Lee at the American Thinker Blog asks perhaps the most important question to arise from this discovery: “But the real question is why it took a dedicated group of volunteers to find the numerous faults in our temperature record rather than the heavily funded governmental and educational institutions which are continually warning us about global warming.”

That one isn’t hard to answer … those institutions, seeing their coffers fill up with each doomsday prediction, simply didn’t care to look.

Big Labor’s Investment In Obama Pays Off !

Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, boasted to the Las Vegas Sun this week “We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama – $60.7 million to be exact – and we’re proud of it.” This labor organization’s leadership is getting its money’s worth too. Whether rank-and-file workers and ordinary taxpayers are profiting from this ultimate campaign pay-for-play scheme is another matter entirely.

The two-million-member union, which represents both government and private service employees, proudly claimed that its workers “knocked on 1.87 million doors, made 4.4 million phone calls … and sent more than 2.5 million pieces of mail in support of Obama.” It dispatched SEIU leaders to 7 states in the final weekend before the election to get out the vote for Obama and other Democrats.

Through a series of local chapter takeovers and bully campaigns to destroy the reputation of executives who refuse to submit to their will, Stern and his scandal-plagued lieutenants have consolidated low-skill service workers to create a 21st century labor empire. The ubiquitous Stern now enjoys a prominent seat at the table of every major policy discussion at the White House, including economic recovery and healthcare radicalization.

Obama champions the SEIU’s top legislative priorities: expansive government healthcare (paid for with regressive sin taxes) and the “Employee Free Choice Act” to do away with private-ballot union elections in the workplace. He has SEIU-blessed bureaucrats installed in every corner of his administration to carry out the agenda.

The SEIU scored not one but two Cabinet appointees: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The SEIU pitched in with maximum donations to Solis’ first congressional campaign and lent her nearly 300 canvassers and ground troops. “I wouldn’t be here, were it not for my friends in the labor movement,” she gushed. Indeed, over four terms in Congress, Solis has pocketed more than $900,000 in union campaign contributions.

Former SEIU chief lobbyist Patrick Gaspard served as the Obama campaign’s national political director and transition deputy director of personnel. During the 2004 election cycle, he led the George Soros-funded group America Coming Together (ACT) as national field director. SEIU poured $23 million of workers’ dues money into ACT in its failed attempt to put Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the White House. Under Gaspard’s tenure at ACT, the get-out-the-vote group employed convicted felons as canvassers and committed campaign finance violations that led to a $775,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission. Gaspard was appointed White House political director shortly after Election Day 2008.

SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger was appointed to the president’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide advice on “boosting the sagging U.S. economy” (translation: imposing new employment regulations on companies and expanding union membership rolls).

Within two weeks of moving into the White House, Obama signed a series of executive orders championed by union bosses. The new rules authorized sweeping powers for the labor secretary that essentially blackball non-union contractors targeted by labor organizers and blacklist non-union employees in the private sector from working on taxpayer-funded projects. Such regulatory favoritism limits freedom in the workplace and raises the cost of doing business.

Another measure immediately adopted by Obama requires that when a government service contract runs out and there’s a new contract to perform the same services at the same location, the new contractor must retain the old workers. Mickey Kaus of the left-leaning Slate magazine dubbed the move the “Labor Payoff of the Day.”

The payoffs keep coming. Last week Obama slashed the Labor Department’s funding to investigate union corruption – a welcome move for Stern, who has seen three of his handpicked deputies resign in 2008-2009 over financial scandals involving cronyism, nepotism, and embezzlement.

California officials also reported last week that the Obama White House gave the SEIU an unprecedented role in negotiations over federal stimulus funds. According to the Los Angeles Times, the union lobbied the feds to withhold nearly $7 billion in stimulus money from California unless it revoked a wage cut for unionized healthcare workers – which had already been approved by Democratic lawmakers as part of a budget deal forged in February. Top SEIU officials participated in a conference call last month on the issue; the Obama White House backs the union demands.

SEIU’s enforcers have set aside $10 million to un-elect any of its political beneficiaries who abandon their pledges to do the union’s legislative bidding. The campaign money was raised by slapping an extra $6-per-member fee on top of regular dues payments – and funneled straight to the union’s political action committee. Meanwhile, after spending a fortune to put Obama in office, the union laid off a third of its DC field staff (in violation of its own employment protections, according to the workers) due to … budget troubles.

These laid-off workers are collateral damage in Big Labor’s pursuit of power. The only jobs guaranteed by SEIU’s merger with Hope and Change, Inc. belong to their management.

Usually May is the time of the year when students are fitted for the cap and gown, count their credits, and pay their school bill. With a firm handshake and a costly piece of paper, they will start their lives in the real world. Too bad that won’t be true for Julea Ward, who used to be a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University until she was kicked out for her religious beliefs.

Ms. Ward was enrolled in a graduate program at the school and as part of her education was required to enroll in a counseling practicum. In that practicum, she was assigned a case involving a homosexual who needed help. Ms. Ward did not feel that she could affirm the student’s homosexual lifestyle because of her Christian beliefs, so she asked her supervisor what she should do. His advice was to refer the student to a counselor who had no qualms with affirming homosexual behavior. That is what she did, and it was all done before she saw the student. There was no counseling that took place between the two, there was no confrontation between the two, and there was no condemnation of homosexuality – just an honest confession of her deeply held religious belief. The story doesn’t end there though.

Julea was summoned to appear before a disciplinary hearing and told that if she wanted to continue on with her graduate program, she would have to submit to a “remediation” program so that she could see “the error of her ways.” She refused to be forced into a re-education program designed to convert her from biblical faith, and as a result, she was kicked out of school. This is the “tolerance” at America’s education facilities … no tolerance for anyone who does not agree with someone else’s thought!

Now, remember, Julea didn’t demand that the student be denied help, she didn’t get in his face and tell him he’s condemned to hell, she didn’t even roll her eyes and give a general impression of disgust. She simply told the truth, obeyed what her supervisor told her to do, and carried on with her life.

Does it scare you that the people overseeing her program weren’t content with the fact that she acted properly and with integrity? Does is scare you that they wanted her to change not just her actions, but her religious beliefs? Would they say that to any other belief except Christianity? No!

Parents, if you have a child in a publicly funded college or university, this should make all kinds of alarms go off in your head. Any parent who takes their faith seriously should be very concerned.

Publicly funded colleges and universities, and even private schools, used to pride themselves on being open forums, encouraging diversity of beliefs and philosophies. They still think that is what they are, but the truth is very clear: they are only open to ideas that are not from an evangelical Christian worldview … and make sure you don’t practice what you believe.

Now the government is getting into the act of criminalizing your Christian conscience. Two pieces of legislation heading for Congress are sure to be used to turn what used to be religious principles into a crime. The administration is moving to repeal the “conscience clause” that protects healthcare workers from performing procedures that violate their beliefs, and protects faith-based healthcare facilities (think Catholic hospitals) from being sued for not performing abortions and the like. If the conscience clause is overturned, following your faith-informed conscience will no longer be constitutionally protected, and may well become a criminal act.

The second piece of legislation that attacks Christian faith is the so-called “hate speech” rule (H.R. 1913 / S. 909). Under this proposed law, cloaked in the guise of “protection,” it is possible to see courts prosecuting any people of faith from speaking out against homosexuality, abortion, fetal stem-cell experimentation, and a host of other issues not deemed politically correct. Every issue will be open to “whoever’s interpretation” and once again this administration’s social engineers will be at work.

Maybe we need to change our national motto from “In God We Trust” to “Trust in God at Your Own Peril.”

If Republicans don’t know what the conservatives want it is because they are left of center, just not quite as far as the Democrats … how far tuned-out they are from the people.  We want human life to be protected, smaller government, honest government, accountable government, government for the people, no pork earmarks, less taxes, energy reform utilizing our own resources, health reform without nationalized health care, immigration reform, educational choice, strong military defense, secure borders, business to return, private companies and banks not to be bailed out with taxpayer dollars (if they mismanage they go bankrupt with no special privileges), a judiciary that represents the constitution not interprets it, a judiciary that does not make its own laws … do you get the picture?

Check out what Huckabee wrote:

Leaders Shouldn’t Have to Form a Listening Tour

Monday , May 11, 2009

By Mike Huckabee

A new group was recently formed that is calling itself a group of experts for the purpose of making the Republican Party attractive to voters again. The strategy is supposedly to go on a listening tour so they can talk to the American people and hear what people are concerned about.

It’s hard to keep from laughing out loud when people living in the bubble of the Beltway suddenly wake up one day and think they ought to have a listening tour; even funnier when their first earful expedition takes them all the way to the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

If some of these leaders had been listening already, they wouldn’t need to form a group to start listening now. Some of the ones who have decided to start listening sure weren’t listening last fall when they were supporting the TARP bailout bill that pretty much discredited any semblance of conservative conviction.

It’s also sad when Jeb Bush suggested that we need to “get past Reagan” and the group indicated that it doesn’t plan to listen much to the Republicans who became Republicans because they believe in the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and express support for the Second Amendment. Most of us thought the party was pretty strong under Reagan and appreciated that he wasn’t ashamed of God and didn’t seem embarrassed of his respect for human life at all stages.

In my book, “Do the Right Thing,” I dedicate an entire chapter called “Politically Homeless” to the unfortunate attitude between some in the party who treat values voters as if they were embarrassing distant cousins who are allowed to come to the family gatherings a couple of times a year, but aren’t expected to be seen beyond that. Values voters are conservative on social issues, and economic ones as well.

For those on the listening tour, listen to this: If the party elite want to abandon principled leadership to protect life, support traditional marriage while going along with deficit exploding spending, interference and micro-managing of private business and failing to police corruption and govern competently, then hearing aids or a panel of experts won’t help.

Here’s a better idea: Go to a little diner somewhere, but not in an announced listening tour. Just order the cheeseburger and talk to the person who serves your order. Have a conversation with the guy who lifts your bag at the airport or checks you in at the hotel. If you see a guy working on a construction project, wait until his break and ask him a few questions. You’ll have plenty to listen to and won’t even have to take a tour.

That’s my bowl of hot soup for the day, tell me what’s in your bowl. E-mail your comments to: huckmail@foxnews.com

Why They Can’t Coexist

As more state courts write law to approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril.  Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of hysterical gay-bating.  Who’s telling the truth?

Here, read some reports produced by National Public Radio.  Then you decide.

Two women decided to hold their civil union ceremony at a New Jersey pavilion owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.  This Methodist group told the women they could not “marry” in any building used for religious purposes.  Rev. Scott Hoffman said a theological principle – that marriage can only exist between one man and one woman – was at stake.  So the women filed a discrimination complaint with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights.  The Methodists said the First Amendment protected their right to practice their faith without being punished by the government.  But punish the Methodists is exactly what New Jersey did.  It revoked their tax exemption – a move that cost them $20,000.

Then there’s the case of the Christian physicians who refused to provide in vitro fertilization treatment to a woman in a lesbian relationship.  The doctors referred her to their partners, who were willing to provide the treatment.  But that wasn’t good enough.  The woman sued.  The California Supreme Court agreed with the woman, saying that the doctors’ religious beliefs didn’t give them the right to refuse the controversial treatment.

In Massachusetts, Catholic Charities was told they had to accept homosexual couples in their adoption service, or get out of the adoption business.  They chose correctly and no longer offer adoption services.

In Mississippi, a mental health counselor was sued for refusing to provide therapy to a woman looking to improve her lesbian relationship.  The counselor’s employers fired her – a move that was backed up by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In New York, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University refused to allow same-sex couples to live in married student housing as in keeping with the school’s orthodox Jewish teachings.  But in 2001, the New York State Supreme Court forced them to do so anyway – even though New York has no same-sex “marriage” law.

In Albuquerque, a same-sex couple asked a Christian wedding photographer to film their commitment ceremony – and sued the photographer when she declined.

An online adoption service was forced to stop doing business in California when a same-sex couple sued the service for refusing, on religious grounds, to assist them.

Convinced?  There are many more.

Clearly, homosexual “marriage” and religious liberty cannot co-exist – because gay activists will not allow them to.  As marriage expert Maggie Gallagher puts it, same-sex “marriage” advocates claim that religious faith “itself is a form of bigotry.”

Who really are the bigots?  The homosexuals are!

Eight members of a global pedophile ring were found guilty of a catalogue of child pornography and abuse charges, including the sexual assault of a three-month-old baby.

The groundbreaking court case uncovered Scotland’s biggest pedophile network and revealed the shocking crimes of a “spider’s web of apparently respectable men“.

A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh took ten hours to return verdicts on 54 separate charges.

Rennie, 38, was the chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland, a group dedicated to helping young lesbian and homosexual deal with their sexuality.

Strachan, 41, a paint firm engineer who was previously jailed for molesting a young boy, was the former secretary of a Celtic boys club and a campaigner on homosexual issues.

This is really what the LGBT (or GLBT, acronyms referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people) and homosexuals do and are up to … this is the real agenda – to recruit victims in schools and wherever so as to provide themselves with more victims … willing or unwilling! “Respectable men”!? NEVER!! Perverts trying to make perversion acceptable!

Read the article here.

The US House has passed a new “hate crimes” law which is outright dangerous.

The recent killing spree by self-confessed white supremacist, Benjamin Smith, has prompted the State of Indiana to consider enacting “hate crime” legislation. Why is this necessary when first-degree murder is already considered a crime in all fifty states and warrants the death penalty in the state of Indiana. It seems that having one’s body pumped full of lethal drugs for the purpose of death is punishment enough! Will being convicted of a hate crime double the dosage?!

But hate crime legislation has nothing to do with law and justice. It’s an attempt by political action groups to squelch the First Amendment rights of anyone who dares oppose that particular group’s beliefs. Our country was built on the premise that every citizen with a soap box – or a computer – has an inalienable right to express his or her opinions freely. And so, conspiracy theorists, left-wing radicals, racists of all colors, and multi-level marketers of snake oil are allowed to share their view in the media, Internet sites and so on. And equally important Americans have the right (or used to) to accept or to peacefully challenge those opinions.

Hate laws attempt to criminalize thought! Yes, punish to the full extent of law white supremacists – or any other group of sociopaths – who kill their alleged “enemies” through the existing laws that are there for those purposes.

Some day our ideas and beliefs will be targeted and then criminalized by lawmakers who have buckled under the pressure of some powerful political action group who dislike our views and thoughts!  They will think their thoughts are the only “right” thoughts!”

Does that not sound dictatorial to you?  That’s because it is … right from the communist playbook.  You know the one that Hitler, Stalin, et all the dictators have used.

Think about it. Speak out about it.

Arlen Specter has put his loyalty to his own political career above his duty to his state and nation … typical of self-serving politicians who are not there for what they can do for their constituents but for themselves!

Arlen Specter’s party change should outrages you for two reasons:

First … Specter claimed it was philosophical – and pointed his finger of blame at Republicans all over America for his defection to the Democrats. I don’t believe that for a minute because from his own mouth he said it was the only way he would have any chance of winning, thereby committing a purely political and self-serving act. His love for the title of Senator was more important than loyalty to those that elected him.

As recently as April 9th, Senator Specter said he would run in the Pennsylvania primary next year as a Republican. Why the sudden change of heart? Clearly, this was an act based on political expediency by a craven politician desperate to keep his Washington power base … this is not the act of a bona fide statesman.

He was facing defeat in Pennsylvania’s 2010 Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record, and an end to his 30 year (too long) career in the U.S. Senate. He had also peddled his services – and his vote – to the leftist Obama Democrats who aim to remake America with their leftist plan.

Second … Arlen Specter handed Barack Obama and his band of radical leftists nearly absolute power in the United States Senate. In leaving the Republican Party and joining the Democrats he absolutely undercut Republicans’ efforts to slow down Obama’s radical agenda through the threat of filibuster.

His defection to the Democrat Party puts the Democrats in an almost unstoppable position to pass Obama’s destructive agenda of income redistribution, health care nationalization, and a massive expansion of entitlements.

When Adolph Hitler took power in Germany, he recognized immediately that the major threat to his tyrannical designs would come from the church. He reasoned if he could neutralize the voice of the church there would be no one else to stand in his way.

Consequently, he immediately cranked up the Nazi propaganda machine to develop slogans designed to silence the voice of the church, slogans which were then relentlessly hammered into the minds of the people who meekly complied.

Hitler crafted two slogans in particular that became the bulldozers he used to push the church to the margins of the culture and silence its freedom to speak truth. This caused the truth, that could have powered the liberty of the entire world, to be threatened. Now, liberty was only preserved at the cost of millions of lives, including hundreds of thousands of America’s finest young men.

These slogans, mind you, do not come from the United States Constitution or from Thomas Jefferson or from the mind of the Founding Fathers. These slogans come straight from the mind of Adolph Hitler, and bear a sobering similarity to the mantras of the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Here are those slogans straight from the mind of Adolph Hitler:

“Politics do not belong in the Church.”

“The Church must be separate from the State.”

If they sound eerily familiar, it will only be because you instinctively recognize in these words the voice of tyranny and repression. Hitler himself drove the pilings even deeper when he said, in December of 1934, “The Nazi State will however not tolerate under any circumstances any new or any continued political activity of the denominations.”

In the same speech, he added these ominous words: “But we will ensure the purging from our public life of all those priests who have mistaken their profession and who ought to have been politicians and not pastors.”

The objective of the Nazi regime was virtually identical to the agenda of today’s ACLU: Contain the voice of the church within the four walls of its buildings, turning them into nothing more than echo chambers, and punish any effort of church leaders to make their voices heard in the public square.

Further, in a manner that is strikingly reminiscent of efforts to purge any references to God from our public systems of education, Josef Goebbels said the following in August, 1935: “To educate the young people into religious ways may perhaps be the task of the Church, but to educate the young in politics is very much our affair … The youth belongs to us and we will yield them to no one.”

All church youth groups were banned in favor of the Hitler Youth, which became the only legal youth organization in the country. Churches were no longer permitted to hold any meetings in public venues. They were instead locked up inside their sanctuaries, forbidden to speak their message outside the four walls of their church buildings.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The current restraint on the freedom of the church in America to speak truth to political power was imposed in 1954 through the efforts of then Sen. Lyndon Johnson. Johnson, incensed at some non-profit organizations for opposing his most recent run for office, suspended the sword of the IRS over the necks of any religious leader who would dare to stand for justice and truth in the nation’s political life. And so today’s church is still paying the price for this small-minded politician’s petty and vengeful ability to use the power of the federal government to punish his adversaries.

Prior to 1954, churches had the freedom to be as engaged in matters of public policy as they chose. They were free to be actively engaged without fear of punishment, and free to be completely uninvolved in political matters if they so chose. That, my friends, is liberty, both of the religious and political kind.

While churches may still today distribute non-partisan voter guides, and pastors are free to speak to the moral issues of the day, watchdogs from the ACLU and other leftist groups are lurking around every corner, looking to pounce on any religious leader who would dare use his influence to help shape the direction of America’s public policy.

Judicial activism has turned the First Amendment on its head, and the very provision intended by the Framers to protect religious liberty is now being used to repress it.

The remedy? First, Congress should repeal LBJ’s onerous 1954 IRS restriction. Second, we must elect a president who will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who understand the original intent of the First Amendment and will restore constitutional freedoms of religion and speech in full to America’s churches.

Then, and only then, can we be assured that true American liberty will be preserved for us, for our children, and for their children after them.

(Source: “The Nazi Persecution of The Churches, 1933-45,” by J.S. Conway, Basic Books, 1968)