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“Fixing”
God’s Creation(Intercessors we have a lot to pray about)
FDA considers
fertilization of “three-person embryos
by Nikolas Grosfield
Chapter two may be the most horrifying section of Aldous Huxley’s haunting
novel Brave New World. Eight-month-old babies are put in nurseries called
“Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms,” where they are tortured every time they
try to play with nice things like flowers and books. The goal of their
oppressors is to manipulate them into becoming the common, robotic,
economic creatures the “World State” wants them to be.
Last month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a two-day hearing on
possibly letting researchers test a new procedure on pregnant women with
mitochondrial disorders. Researchers, including Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the
Oregon Health and Science University, want to replace the mother’s
defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy mitochondrial DNA from donors.
Mitochondrial DNA is not responsible for traits such as height or color of
hair, eyes, and skin. It does, however, help to energize cells and can
carry inheritable pathogens that lead to some forms of blindness, organ
failure, diabetes, or even cancer. Children inherit these 37 genes—healthy
or not—from their mother only, not their father. Both parents contribute to
the 20,000 plus genes of chromosomal DNA, which host the building blocks of
a person’s genetic code—nucleus DNA—and which the proposed practice is
supposed to avoid.
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Susan Rice, National Security Advisor
The White House says that National Security Advisor Susan Rice will
visit Israel in May as head of a U.S. delegation consulting on a range of
issues involving the two countries.
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Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives for California
CIA Director John Brennan may have treaded onto shaky ground with yet
another important congressional defender of his: House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (California), who called the spy Agency‘s snooping scandal
"appalling" and Brennan‘s remarks "befuddling."
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General Joseph Dunford, USMC, Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan gave a clear vote of confidence
late last week for Afghanistan’s national security forces, but he noted
that an enduring mission will be necessary beyond this year. Marine Corps
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Commander of the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force, testified before the House Armed Services
Committee on progress in Afghanistan.
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Judge Sohail Mohammed, Superior Court of the State of New Jersey
In what is being described as a landmark ruling and a hit to the rights
of fathers, a New Jersey judge has decided that an expectant mother is not
obligated to tell the putative father of her child when she goes into
labor, and she can also block him from being in the delivery room.
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New World
Education
Homeschooling
family granted last minute asylum
by Carol Hatcher
In 1620, after escaping the Church of England, around one hundred people
boarded the Mayflower and set sail for the “new world.” The story of these
Separatists, later known as Pilgrims, is familiar to almost every
school-aged child in America.
Fast-forward almost four hundred years. After the threat of losing custody
of their six children, the German homeschooling Romeike family made a
similar pilgrimage. They sought asylum in the land of the free. But getting
here was only half the battle, staying here proved to be more difficult.
The Obama administration opposed the original court decision in 2010
granting asylum to the family. Why? To obtain asylum state, the Romeikes
first had to prove they were being persecuted, and that the persecution was
based on one of the grounds listed in the asylum statute – which in this
case was religious persecution. But the Department of Justice didn’t agree
the criteria were met .
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Calling
America’s Leaders
Should women
be political or military bosses?
by Diann Noles
Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary was recently asked if it was biblical for a woman to be a
political or military leader.
“I‘m not sure we can give a definitive answer in terms of women serving in
economic leadership, in cultural leadership or in political leadership...
But the answer is not necessarily ‘no,’” Mohler told listeners on his
podcast, Ask Anything: Weekend Edition. “Women in the Scripture have
had very important responsibilities. In general, men need to grow up and
take responsibility and fill these arenas with as much leadership as
possible. But that doesn‘t mean that there‘s never a time for women to
lead.”
But, what does the Bible say about women in political leadership?
Genesis 1:26 – 2:23 records the creation of Adam and Eve and their
authority over all living creatures. Adam was created first out of the dust
of the earth (Gen. 2:7) and was placed in the Garden of Eden “…to work it
and take care of it. The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be
alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” (Gen 2:15, 18) Eve was
created next from Adam’s rib. In fulfilling his responsibility to name her,
Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall
be called woman for she was taken out of man.” (Gen. 2:19-23) In
these passages it seems pretty clear that Adam—the man—was given the
leadership responsibility over Eve—the woman.
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Environmental groups called on President Obama to reject pending
applications to build liquefied natural gas export terminals, citing the
negative impacts from natural gas throughout its life cycle.
The White House has called for a meeting of the G-7 over Russia’s
annexation of Crimea, even as President Obama has placed Russia
alongside the world’s most notorious regimes, such as North Korea, Iran and
Syria.
Pray for
wisdom for President Obama and his aides as they deal with foreign,
domestic and economic matters.
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More than two-thirds of the Senate and more than 400 House members promised
to pursue “dramatic sanctions” against Iran if it continues its nuclear
program, according to a letter sent to President Obama.
Representative Brad Sherman (California) said President Obama
needs to “do more” to get the Palestinians to agree to recognize Israel as
a Jewish state rather than making the matter up for negotiation as Secretary
Kerry said.
Pray for
members of Congress as they return on Monday from a spring recess.
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In oral arguments next week, the Supreme Court will debate whether
business corporations have religious liberty as the Hobby Lobby opposition
to ObamaCare’s contraception policies will come before the Justices.
At its conference on March 21, the Supreme Court will consider
petitions for review of issues such as qualified immunity from Fourth
Amendment and the opposition of a wedding photographer to employment in a
gay marriage.
Pray for the
Supreme Court Justices as they consider matters impacting the social and
moral values of our nation.
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THE WARS
The families
of three Navy SEALs who were killed in a 2011 helicopter crash in
Afghanistan have filed suit against Afghan President Hamid Karzai claiming
Afghan forces informed the Taliban about their mission beforehand.
The U.S. military may have another option to returning $7 billion worth of
machines and equipment from Afghanistan by driving it across the border and
handing it over to Pakistan’s military rather than pay for shipping or
disposal.
Pray for the
safety of the U.S. military in Afghanistan as actions continue in the
withdrawal draw-down.
TERRORISM
Crimea’s
self-defense (Russian) forces on Wednesday stormed the Ukrainian naval base
in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol a day after Russia signed a treaty with
local authorities to annex the region.
U.S. and German representatives at the UN drew attention to the plight of
American pastor Saeed Abedini saying his fundamental human rights are being
violated as he remains imprisoned, ill, and tortured in Iran.
Pray for the
Iranians to find mercy and release Pastor Saeed Abedini, and for the people
of Ukraine and Crimea.
THE ECONOMY
U.S. chief
executive officers are moderately more positive about the economy,
including plans for hiring and capital spending over the next six months,
although they expect only tepid economic growth this year.
Consumer inflation was muted in February and housing starts fell for a
third straight month, but the weak data did not dissuade the Federal
Reserve from dialing back its monetary stimulus.
Pray for
improvement in the American economy and particularly in the jobs market.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
The
Palestinians will resume their campaign for international recognition at
the United Nations if Israel calls off a planned release of some 104
long-serving Palestinian prisoners under a U.S.-brokered agreement.
Israel’s Defense Minister issued a scathing critique of the Obama
Administration, declaring that Israel cannot rely on the U.S.to thwart
Iran’s nuclear program, saying “in the Persian bazaar, the Iranians were
better” than the U.S.
Pray about
the potential for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians
including Jewish state recognition.
HEALTH CARE
Alzheimer’s
disease is a U.S. health crisis, affecting more than 5 million adults, and
new figures show that 1 in 6 American women over 65 are estimated to
develop the brain disease, twice as many as breast cancer.
Sign-ups for ObamaCare insurance are accelerating as the March 31 deadline
nears, with marketplace estimates now above 5 million, although no figures
have been released on how many paid subscriptions are in place.
Pray about
America’s public health issues, and about the March 31 deadline for the
insurance sign-ups.
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Dr. No PC
Conservatives
support speaker’s rejection of political correctness
by Gigi Cook
What do the
well-known historical figure Benjamin Franklin and a not so well known
conservative neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, have in common? They are both on
the record and adamant about the freedom to speak one’s mind on a public
platform.
In a 1789
letter to Jean Baptiste Le Roy, Franklin said whoever would overthrow the
liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech. Earlier
this month, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
in National Harbor, Maryland, Dr. Ben Carson boldly said “[The] American
people are too afraid, in this time of political correctness, to stand up
and speak for what they believe.”
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Army Ranger
Hargis
Congratulations,
Josh Hargis
Many remember
the “salute seen around the world,” when Army Ranger Josh Hargis, wounded
in Afghanistan, and thought to be unconscious when he was given a Purple
Heart, saluted from his hospital bed.
Hargis, then 24, was on his second tour of duty when he lost both of his
legs in an explosion while his unit, the Third Ranger Battalion, was
searching a building for a target. Four of his fellow soldiers died in the
attack. “A man came out, lifted up his shirt to show that he had no IEDs,
and then a woman came out and she carried the suicide bomb,” according to
Hargis’ father. Things only got worse after that. A short time later, as
Ranger Hargis, perceived to be unconscious and lying in his hospital bed,
was presented his Purple Heart medal surrounded by about 30 people in a
hospital room in Germany, when he started to raise his arm in salute.
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