Our Duty as Americans to Protect Ourselves

A close friend of mine went to a church dinner where her and her family were seated at a "middle" table, with tables on both ends of a fairness spectrum.

• On one end, people were being served roast beef, mashed potatoes, full salads, dinner rolls, pie, served on a fancy table cloth, with private waitresses, and a choice of pop, juice or water.
• My friend's "middle" table got served pizza with pop or water, served on a on a simple table cloth.
• The low end of the spectrum got served a meager amount of plain white rice with only water on a "clothless" table.

The tables were told to work collaboratively as a group to stand up for their rights as members of the church. The church did this as an object lesson to encourage them to seek out their real-life personal responsibilities to our children and country. In real-life America, our rights are quickly being taken away from us with the new administration being ushered into congress and the presidency. I have never been one to follow politics, because it has never much interested me. For me, it is not a choice anymore, but a responsibility, because I have been dumbfounded as each new day brings along a new liberty and freedom to fight for!

As Christians, we can either sit back and trust that our senators and reps. are accurately representing us, or else we can make sure of it! People casually talk about the end times that are coming.....and only God knows if we're there now. Let's do our job to try and put off this inevitable situation from happening so quickly. I find it easier when someone else can lay out the information in front of me, so I did the "dirty work" for all of us. Here are a list of current acts, bills, and amendments that i have either chosen to support or fight in reflectionof my Christian perspective:

FIGHT THE FOOD MODERNIZATION ACT

There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening. If this passes then NO more heirloom seeds or private gardens, but only Monsanto genetically altered (GMO) seeds that are causing unexpected diseases in humans. This would allow the company another step closer to full ownership of world food supply.

Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto – chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation. This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.

You may not be interested in preserving Organic farming--but maybe interested in preserving the freedom of being able to have a private garden, being able to purchase food from farmer's markets, and having more than just ONE SINGLE COMPANY as a food source. Famine, high prices & limited varieties will be around the corner! 1 1/2 weeks left before the vote in congress. Please contact your state legislators this week before the vote!

Online Petition: http://www.leavemyfoodalone.org/forward-this-petition

To follow the Food "safety" Bill: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/show

FIGHT THE "GIVE" ACT

House Bill 1388 - “The GIVE Act” Has passed the House and the Senate , and on its way to the President. The bill will set up, among other things, youth corps to promote "volunteerism" under the Obama administration. The problem is that the bill leaves open the option to vote in into being MANDATORY for every able bodied person in the US, including school-aged children. Under the guise of being volunteers, the reality is that when you are forced to act in a group, it’s no longer voluntary. Unfortunately, it gets worse. In addition to everybody being forced to join these groups, members are STRICTLY PROHIBITED from participating in the following activities: (Note: these are NOT exclusive to group participation, but expressly prohibited TOTALLY )

Under the bill, there are several prohibited activities, but this one should stand out the most to us: (7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.

To follow the "GIVE" ACT: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1388/show

SUPPORT THE THUNE AMENDMENT

Senator John Thune is leading the fight to protect the Charitable Giving Deduction rate (Thune Amendment) donors benefit from when they give to charities, and non-profits. But we need your help to pass this Amendment. South Dakota is critical!
At issue: MILLIONS OF CHARITABLE GIVING DOLLARS already going to charity, and non-profits are being sought by Congress and the Obama Administration. Senator Tim Johnson is the key vote in the Senate! Congress/Obama Administration wants the hard earned money that's saving lives through ministries doing Pro-Life, Marriage work, Ministries that reach people for Christ around the world, Faith-Based and Secular Foundations Building Medical and Educational facilities’, and the list goes on, and on, and on!!! If this amendment doesn't pass, charitable giving in America will drop affecting millions and millions of lives. Per capita Americans give more to charity than any other nation in the world. The Senator Thune Amendment would continue to incent this giving!

SUPPORT THE PARENTAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

The freedom of parenting & homeschooling will likely end as we know it unless the Parental Rights Amendment is passed. Why? Because the current power in Washington has a favorable view of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is an international treaty and, if ratified by the US Senate, will supersede all American laws except constitutional amendments. For more information on how this treaty will undermine American parents, go to: http://www.parentalrights.org/

But there is good news: The Parental Rights Amendment is being introduced in the US Congress with some great sponsors. These brave legislators face a dogfight and we MUST support them!! Today the primary sponsors, Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Sen. Jim DeMint will hold a press conference announcing the amendment. Then the fight will begin. The current congress is not pro-family, but they will respond to an outpouring of public opinion. Your voice WILL make a difference!!

NOTE: The last time a constitutional amendment was passed, was 17 years ago, with only 27 ever passed (including the Bill of Rights) since the birth of our nation. This is very rare and important. Go to http://www.parentalrights.org/ and sign the petition.

To follow the Parental Rights Amendment: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hj42/show

SUPPORT THE BROADCASTER FREEDOM ACT

Some Congressional leaders have suggested a return to the days of the former "Fairness Doctrine," an old government regulation that gave the FCC the power to sanction or even shut down radio stations that did not satisfy a very vague standard of giving equal time to both sides of controversial subjects.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan wisely eliminated this outdated and unnecessary regulation, believing that the American people were smart enough to find their own sources of news and information without being hand-fed by regulated broadcasters.Today, with the myriad of information sources available to individuals (terrestrial radio, Internet, satellite radio), reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine seems downright foolish.
However, some Democrats in the House, Senate, and in the new Obama Administration, have clearly stated their belief that the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated. Some cite the prevalence and popularity of conservative radio talk shows, as if the government should decide for Americans what they may and may not hear each day. NRB knows that if the Fairness Doctrine were to become law in any form, Christian stations would be forced to include anti-Christian content in their programming.

In fact, NRB President and CEO, Frank Wright, Ph.D., has said that a new Fairness Doctrine would “disproportionately affect Christian media, particularly among non-commercial stations that depend heavily on donors for support.” Those men and women who donate money to promote the Christian Gospel do not want their money paying for viewpoints that are at odds with their most strongly held religious beliefs.

To follow the Broadcaster Freedom ACT: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s34/show

IN SOUTH DAKOTA, PLEASE NOTIFY THESE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON YOUR VIEWS:

STEPHANIE HERSETH-SANDLIN's office: (202) 225-2801 -OR- E-mail a note to her: http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/contact2.htm

TIM JOHNSON's office: 332-8896 S.Falls; 226-3440 Aber.; 341-3990 R.City. -OR- Email a note to him: http://johnson.senate.gov/contact/

JOHN THUNE'S office: E-mail him a note: http://thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Email

Let's not make these little ones pray harder than they have to!!