Week Ending July 13, 2007 - Washington, DC
July 13, 2007 4:32PM EST

July 13, 2007

Week Ending July 13, 2007 - Washington, DC The President, the economy and the polls / Thought Crime legislation is back in the House and it's worse than ever / Black leaders speak out on thought crimes / New "hate crimes" twist in the Senate / Defeated in House, the Fairness Doctrine springs to life in the Senate / Murray in Atlanta to promote new book! / Pray for the Iraqi Christians! Please note: I will be out of the country on Friday, July 20th and may not be able to edit and issue a legislative update. The Editor THE PRESIDENT ECONOMY: GOOD OR BAD? This week the President said: "I'm looking forward to talking to the American people about the progress we have made when it comes to growing our economy and keeping our taxes low and being wise about how we spend the money. And this year the message is unmistakable. America's economy keeps growing, government revenues keep going up, the budget deficit keeps going down - and we've done it all without raising your taxes." Despite the words of the President, a huge bull market and one of the lowest unemployment rates in history, an astounding 64% of Americans in a Rasmussen poll see the economy as only poor to fair. THE HOUSE THOUGHT CRIMES ARE BACK - Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid may have been a little shocked by the full page ad in USA Today by black pastors. The ad, placed by the High Impact Leadership Council (HILC), told Democrat leaders not to pass HR-1592 or S-1105 which would criminalize preaching the truth about homosexual activity. The HILC is led by Bishop Robert R. Jackson. IT GETS WORSE - National columnist George F. Will in no way can be described as a social conservative. Yet he wrote a column ringing alarm bells about the attack on free speech in the United States. I highly recommend that everyone read his column on this issue. THE SENATE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE AND 1984 - Minority Leader McConnell is fearful that Senate Democrats will try to push for the rebirth of the "fairness doctrine" which he compares to a scene out of the novel 1984. He has written a brilliant Op-ed on the issue that is well worth reading titled The Government Should Not Police Speech. NEW "HATE CRIMES" TWIST - The so- called "hate crimes" legislation took a new turn Wednesday when Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) attached the thought crime amendment to a Defense Reauthorization bill. This move could force senators to vote on the issue within days rather than on the full bill (S-1105).Contact your senators now and tell them to oppose any "hate crimes" amendment to any bill. BROADCAST DECENCY - Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on Thursday offered two amendments to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill to enforce broadcast decency. "Broadcasters should not be allowed to use the public airways to disseminate violent or obscene material," said Brownback. "The abundance of indecent material on television is one indication of the coarsening of our culture." RELIGION AND CULTURE PLEDGE UNDER GOD - This week I spent several days at the Christian Booksellers Convention in Atlanta, Georgia promoting my new book, The Pledge: One Nation Under God. While there I recorded a future broadcast for the Coral Ridge Ministries and several other TV and radio shows. During those interviews I emphasized the Christian heritage of this nation and what we must do to stop its secularization. DR. TIM LAHAYE - While in Atlanta I had the privilege to spend some time with Dr. Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind series that has now sold over 65 million books. At 81 Dr. LaHaye continues to vigorously promote the Gospel wherever he goes. INTERNATIONAL PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS - The situation continues to deteriorate for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been forced to flee Iraq. The Religious Freedom Coalition and other groups in Washington, DC have launched a vigorous effort to have the State Department take some action to help those who are being mistreated in Jordan and other nations. 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. email: support@rfcnet.org phone: 202.742.8990 web: http://www.rfcnet.org William J. Murray, Chairman Religious Freedom Coalition, PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013 - (202) 742.8990 This publication is a service of the Religious Freedom Coalition (RFC). Links to political and other sites are for informational purposes and do not constitute endorsement. No statement is intended to assist or defeat any candidate running for public office. Religious Freedom Coalition * Copyright - 2007