October 2002 Newsletter
Religious Freedom Coalition
October 1, 2002 12:00AM EST
A PASTOR FOR CONGRESS? ..... Back in 1996 a BI-vocational pastor who worked full time as a fireman in Madison, Wisconsin was fired for standing his moral ground. Ron Greer publicly complained when an openly lesbian fire chief was appointed even though she did not have the experience for the job. She was picked by the ultra-liberal city of Madison simply because she was a lesbian. Pastor Ron Greer, who is black, publicly stated that there were many white men who were passed over for the job because they weren't open homosexuals. A lesbian state legislator, Tammy Baldwin, wrote a letter to the newspapers calling Ron Greer's comments a "hate crime" and demanding that he be fired. The homosexuals of Madison were not happy with just getting him fired. He received death threats, and a service he preached at Trinity Evangelical Church was invaded by 400 homosexuals who shouted and swore, claiming that Saint Peter was a homosexual. The homosexual group urinated on the floor in public and threw rocks at the windows. The police took no action. That same year Tammy Baldwin won a seat in the United States Congress by busing in homosexuals from the entire region into already liberal Madison to vote for her. Wisconsin has this strange law which allows people to come to the poll on election day and say, "I just moved here," and they get to vote. This allows massive fraud. Despite the bus loads of homosexuals, she received just 51% of the vote. Since then she has never received more than 53% to be reelected and last year received only 51% again. This time lesbian Tammy Baldwin can lose in November! Ron Greer, the fireman against whom she led the charge to get him fired back in 1996, is her opponent this year. Ron Greer won the Republican primary by a wide margin, despite being outspent by more than two to one and having the Republican establishment against him. Republicans in Wisconsin don't believe a conservative can win against a lesbian. Ron Greer is a different kind of conservative. Ron is an evangelical preacher. He was converted to Christ in a military prison when he was nineteen years old, through the preaching of a visiting former athlete who runs a prison ministry. He was a good Marine until the "angry black male" in him punched an officer. He was sentenced to eighteen months' hard labor. In his cell he committed himself to Jesus and to serving others. Out of prison, Ron Greer returned to school, first studying engineering and then going to Bible college. He became an associate pastor of a church and then moved to Madison. There he received award after award for his community service. For many years Ron Greer worked with Prison Fellowship Ministries. This past March he stepped down from his position with that ministry to open a faith-based transition home for ex-offenders. His basis for everything he does is Biblical and conservative in nature. All of his work has been to help people help themselves rather than to make them captives of welfare systems operated by the state. In the Republican primary this year Ron Greer activated the conservative base in the Republican Party of Wisconsin as it had never been before. His victory was overwhelming with more than sixty percent of the vote. The 2nd congressional district has the city of Madison at its heart. While the surrounding counties are conservative, Madison is considered by many as the "Berkeley of the Midwest." Madison is the heart of the homosexual movement in the Midwest and it is the headquarters of the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" a rabid atheist group. I have had the privilege to meet with Ron Greer and I can honestly say that his conservative views are deep in his heart. He understands that the answer is not in government, but in God. This is the kind of man I look forward to working with in Washington, DC and it is the reason I support Ron Greer in his election against Tammy Baldwin in November. In my capacity as chairman of Government Is Not God -PAC I arranged meetings for Ron in Washington, DC and my PAC has given his campaign financial assistance. ARE THE DEMOCRATS NUTS? I have worked in Washington for over twenty years. Many of those who first invited me to participate "inside the Beltway," including Senator Jesse Helms, have now retired. Seven years ago I finally moved my office to Washington because I just could no longer handle the long commute from Texas. Having been in hearings with the likes of Senator Ted Kennedy, I thought I had seen and heard everything. I was wrong. On September 30th a member of the United States Congress visited a nation that is a sworn enemy of the United States, and there accused our President of being a liar. On national TV, broadcast from Baghdad, Iraq, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) said that President Bush would "mislead the American people" to go to war. Although McDermott did most of the talking, he was accompanied on the trip by Democrat Congressman David Bonior of Michigan. But Bonior was clearly on the side of Iraq, stating that the Bush administration is "dooming" the weapons inspection process "before it ever happens, thus laying the pretext or the path for war." Jim McDermott and David Bonior are just two of the fifty-four socialists in the Congress. (They call themselves the "Progressive Caucus." The socialist "caucus" in Congress is made up of a weird alliance of black anti-Semites and Jews who share only in common the desire to take factories and land from their rightful owners. Both McDermott and Bonior believe that their districts are so left-wing that they have no fear of playing the part of "Hanoi Jane" Fonda. It was Fonda who promoted the cause of the communists while visiting North Vietnam, even while the United States was at war with that country. PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS TO SHRINK The Progressive Caucus is due to shrink this year by at least three members. Congressman David Bonior, mentioned above, is leaving Congress at long last to run for Governor of Michigan. I find it incredibly bizarre that a man running for governor of a heavily blue collar state such as Michigan would go to Iraq to promote the cause of Saddam Hussein. We can only pray that the misery and controversy he has brought to the Congress will not now be laid upon the people of the entire state of Michigan as a yoke upon an ox. Two anti-Semites who are members of the "Progressive Caucus" have been defeated in Democrat primaries and will not be back to Congress to insult the intelligence of the American people. Earl Hilliard of Alabama and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia both lost hotly contested Democrat primary elections. In both elections most of the funds to these two socialist candidates came from Islamic groups. Cynthia McKinney's father lost his reelection bid to the Georgia House of Delegates as well. His anti-Semitic remarks during his daughter's campaign caused Jews from all over the United States to send funds to her opponents. Because both McKinney and Hilliard are black, many said this showed a "rift" in the Democrat Party. Although a huge number of Jews have moved to the Republican Party since 9-11 there is not a significant rift between blacks and Jews. The rift is between anti-Semitic, socialist black leaders and the godly, pro-American blacks who work for a living and pay their taxes. One black businessman in Atlanta summed it up this way: "The days of a black politician getting black votes just for being black is over." I have written extensively about the McKinney and Hilliard campaigns in the Campaign Updates I write for Government Is Not God - PAC. Those Campaign Updates can be read on the Internet at www.govnotgod.org It is my prayer that the ungodly socialist alliance in Congress known as the Progressive Caucus will shrink even further with the ouster of Jim McDermott. He is opposed by Republican Carol Cassady. The news media says it will take an act of God to elect her because the district is so incredibly liberal. BUSH REFUSES TO FOLLOW LAW I was sort of astonished when President George W. Bush signed a bill into law, and at the signing announced that he would violate it. On September 30th President Bush signed the new State Department spending bill into law. One of the provisions of the bill required that the US Embassy in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Upon signing the bill the President stated that "U.S. policy regarding Jerusalem has not changed." Presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said the Administration is taking the view that the provisions in the bill are "advisory, not mandatory." But the bill's provisions, which I supported during hearings, state otherwise. The State Department bill requires all federal documents listing countries and their capitals to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The bill forbids the administration to allocate money to the U.S consulate in Jerusalem which deals with Palestinian issues until it is under our Ambassador to Israel. Fleischer also stated that the issue of Jerusalem being the capital of Israel or Palestine is a "permanent status issue" that must be resolved between Israel and the Palestinians. Actually the status has been decided by war. There was a war, Israel won, and this is their territory. Using White House logic on this issue, Virginia is still part of the Confederacy. I understand the delicate position President George W. Bush is in when dealing with Islamic issues. He has to maintain friendly relations with despotic Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia for the sake of military bases we need to fight terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, the President's "Islam is a religion of peace" message can drive off many evangelical Christians who are a large part of the base of the Republican Party. For now he must find middle ground. In my humble view the issue of Jerusalem being the capital of Israel goes beyond the law or politics. God Himself established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever." 2 Chron 33:7 NKJV The Word of God also tells us that Jerusalem shall be the throne of Christ for 1,000 years when He returns triumphant to the earth. As Christians we cannot ignore the Biblical mandate for Jerusalem to be not only the capital of Israel, but the capital of our Savior, Jesus Christ. MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT On September 24th, about a week before President George W. Bush signed the State Department funding bill, my wife Nancy and I met with him at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. The Willard Hotel has sat two blocks from the White House for more than 100 years. Indeed the last meeting between southern Senators and Lincoln Administration officials to try to avoid the Civil War occurred in the very room where we met with the President. On the day of the meeting I did not know about the President's intentions to disavow the portion of the bill requiring Jerusalem to be named the capital of Israel by the United States. In any event the meeting did not concern legislation and it would not have been appropriate for me to bring up the subject of a spending bill. The President had agreed to meet with supporters of Congressman John Thune that evening. Congressman Thune is running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Tim Johnson. Many see the race between Thune and Johnson in South Dakota as a surrogate race between Bush and Daschle. Senator Daschle is also from South Dakota and has just about bet his farm on keeping Johnson in the Senate. A loss for the Daschle candidate in South Dakota would mean the Senate control would go to Republicans. If that happens, then the godly men President Bush has nominated to federal judgeships will be confirmed. Daschle has held up some of the judicial nominees for almost two years. Prior to the President's remarks about the Thune campaign, my wife and I had the opportunity to spend a few moments privately with him. During that time he asked us for our continued prayers. His request was sincere and I urge you to join me in praying daily to give him wisdom in dealing with the ills of our nation. I do from time to time disagree with certain actions of the Bush Administration and I let that be known. However, President Bush and I see eye to eye on 95% of issues affecting this great nation of ours. SENATOR DASCHLE IS A LIAR The day after our meeting with the President, Senator Daschle went onto the Senate floor and accused the President of saying that Democrats did not want to defend the United States of America. The Senator simply lied about what the President said. I was there, I heard the President, and Senator Dashle's comments were off the mark and contained fabricated information. At no time did the President say that Democrats were unpatriotic, nor did he say that Democrats were against homeland security. Senator Daschle simply should not believe the Washington Post. The Senator's vicious attack on the President resulted from a Washington Post article that claimed the President said, "Democrats are not interested in the security of the American people." The President never made that statement; the Washington Post lied. My sources tell me that Daschle had checked the transcript of the President's remarks and still claimed that the remark was made by the President. Tom Daschle knew that his vicious remarks about the President were predicated on lies. On that evening, in my presence, President George W. Bush actually said, "... the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people." The President was referring to the Homeland Security bill which has passed the House but has been tied up in the Senate for weeks as various Senators, notably Senator Byrd of West Virginia, attempt to add numerous perks for their states and for special interest groups such as the unions. At no time did the President single out any one Senator nor did he single out Democrats. He made the truthful statement that the Senate seemed to be more interested in playing around with the Homeland Security Bill to pay off special interests than to just pass it and protect the American people. ISRAEL The ministry of the Religious Freedom Coalition continues to have an interest in Israel and the West Bank. On the same day my wife Nancy and I met with President George W. Bush, we met with the new Israeli ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon. The Ambassador is well respected in Israel, having served in both liberal and conservative governments. During our visit with him he made the following statement about the current violence in Israel: "Now the Palestinians, led by Arafat ... started the most brutal campaign of terror against us, which we still are living through now. What he wanted to do was really to break our spirits. He thought that the Israeli society would cave in, that we won't be able to sustain the casualties, because we are part of the Western society… you know 'Christians and Jews will not be willing to stand up for their values, they will just go away and run.' They say 'well we have time and we will push you away.' Well…the Israeli society didn't cave in. We knew that we were fighting for our homes, we were fighting for our lives, we were fighting for our values. We will stand up to terror; we will not let terror prevail. This is the one message that we bring: we want peace, but we will not be deterred by terror." This is the same message President George W. Bush has delivered to those who seek to destroy the United States. It is a message, a notice, that all free societies must give to those who would enslave us with a totalitarian system whether it be communism or Islam. "FREEDOM" OF SPEECH I don't like the writings of French author Michel Houllebecq very much. In the United States some of his work could be called pornographic. Writing and distributing pornography is not a crime in France or for that matter the United States. But Michel Houllebecq finds himself in court in France facing charges of "inciting religious and racial hatred." Michel Houellebecq made the mistake of stating during a magazine interview that Islam is "the most stupid religion" and that the Koran was "badly written." The magazine publishing Houellebecq's comments may also face charges. Muslims are complaining to the court that the photographs that accompanied the article were not "flattering." If Houellebecq would have stated that he enjoyed sex with animals or children he would not be in court. Senator Ted Kennedy wants the same kind of law on the books in the United States that has Michel Houellebecq facing charges in France. Kennedy calls it a "Law Enforcement Enhancement Act" and that is exactly what it does, "enhance law." Under the provisions of the Kennedy bill, offenders would be sent to jail for their crimes, and then do additional time based on what they were "thinking about" when they committed the crime. Then the Kennedy bill goes a step further and makes it a crime to cause "hostility" or a "climate of hate" against certain groups of individuals such as homosexuals and Muslims. Who decides what words create a "climate of hate?" Many times in this newsletter I have referred to Mohammed as a murderer, thief and pedophile. These statements are true and supported by history, but a court could very well decide that by making Muslims angry I was creating a "climate of hate." I could be put in jail for telling the truth about Mohammed. Actually I could be put in jail simply for printing passages of the Bible such as Romans 1:27 which refers to the vile nature of homosexuality. Ted Kennedy calls his legislation a "hate crimes" bill. He and Hillary Clinton get to decide what words are "hateful" and the rest of us go to jail if we use those words. The idea of this is really stupid in a free society. Kennedy is basically trying to make it against the law to offend people. In a free society we have the right to offend others and do it all the time. Ted Kennedy offends me every time he opens his mouth. Does that mean I can have him outlawed? Unfortunately, with the Democrats in control of the Senate and Tom Daschle as the Majority Leader, this bill could be passed and sent to President George W. Bush. Hopefully it will not get that far. The Religious Freedom Action Coalition is currently circulating petitions addressed to President Bush urging him give notice to Tom Daschle that he will veto this nutty law should it pass the Senate. Other "hate crimes" laws have already been passed into law. The main one on the books was intended to protect blacks from the likes of the Ku Klux Klan. The intent was to give people extra time in jail if they committed a crime and the motive was "racial." So far the vast majority of individuals charged and sentenced to extra time in jail for "racial" crimes under these "hate crime" laws have been young black men. DOUBLE DIP RECESSION In a few months the government I am sure will make an official announcement that the nation had gone through a classic "double dip" recession. These "double dip" recessions usually occur when the government tries to intervene in the normal business cycle. By making more cash available or lowering the interest rates, the government starts to bring the nation out of recession, but it is not sustainable unless business begins to spend again. Organizations such as the Religious Freedom Coalition are very sensitive to the economy. Just by the type and amount of donations given each month we can pretty much tell where the economy is headed well before any announcement from Washington, DC. The donations to the Religious Freedom Coalition began to rise in January of this year as the government did its best to bring the nation out of recession. We hit a peek in June and donations have fallen every month since. The number of people giving donations to the Religious Freedom Coalition has not changed, but the dollar amount has. The RFC had the same number of checks in September as we did in March. The average value of the checks received in September was almost exactly half of the average value in March. The Religious Freedom Coalition has not hit its target budget since June. In July, August and September, donations were virtually half of that needed to sustain operations. If you are a regular reader of the William J. Murray Report, either the print or the Internet edition, I would ask that you make a contribution to the work of the Religious Freedom Coalition this fall. WEST BANK SCHOOLS NEED HELP! There are thirteen Christian schools in the Bethlehem area of the West Bank controlled by Yassar Arafat. There are a total of 6,130 Christian children in these private schools. If the Christian parents do not send their children to these private Christian schools, they will be forced to place them in schools controlled by Arafat and his gang of killers. There they will be taught hatred and murder in the culture of death that is Islam. The Religious Freedom Coalition has an ambitious project to help children attend these private Christian schools at a time when unemployment is at a record 80% in the West Bank. So far we have been able to work with only one school simply because of a lack of funding. Can your church help? Please talk to your Sunday School class about this need. Your Sunday School class or your entire church can make a small monthly pledge to this program. If your church would prefer to work directly with West Bank Christians to finance Christian school operations, that can be arranged by our office as well. For further details please call Peggy Birchfield at our Virginia office at (540) 370-4200.
Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs By Ergun and Emir Caner This is the compelling book which Dr. Jerry Vines quoted at the Southern Baptist Convention, which caused a firestorm of controversy in the liberal press and brought Muslim protesters onto the floor of the convention. The Caner brothers, both respected Baptist seminary professors and theologians, were raised as Sunni Muslims and disowned by their father when they became Christians. Their father never spoke to them again until he was on his deathbed, and he died still rejecting the Savior his sons had found. Had Ergun or Emir Caner converted to Christianity in a Muslim country, they would have been executed, not just disowned. This is one of the most interesting and knowledgeable books on the subject of Islam I have read, because the authors were actually brought up as observant Muslims and after their conversion to Christianity became Biblical scholars and teachers. Paperback, 248 pages. Just $10.99 including postage and handling. Send check to William J Murray Report, PO Box 77511, Washington, DC 20013. Note offer 02N07NET or order online now.
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