The Lord sees you

“. . . the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:30

The Lord sees you. He knows all about you. And I guarantee you on the authority of the Word of God, that He loves you. This is amazing when you realize that we are just specks on a globe that’s about the size of a grain of sand or less compared to the size of the universe. There’s no more reason that the Lord of glory should be interested in us then we should be interested in an ant floating on a piece of cheesecake in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. And yet our Lord looks down and He sees us as cherished individuals that He loves one by one. The great God that runs the universe is concerned about you as though that were His only goal. 
When was the last time you counted the hairs on your head? Can you trust a God who has them numbered?

Get Ready To Go To Jail, Preachers!

Get Ready to Go To Jail, Preachers!!

In a shocking display of arrogance and transparent hatred of decency and tolerance for religious freedoms, Senator Ted Kennedy likened those who perpetrate crimes against homosexuals to terrorists as he again linked hate crime legislation to a Defense Department authorization bill. The bill passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 60-39, proving once again that most senators prefer to cater to an immoral minority rather than fund our troops. No doubt some will assume and assert that I am defending hate crimes against homosexuals by the above statement. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I am asserting that Senator Kennedy and his allies in the senate are now declaring open season on preachers and others who believe, as I do, that homosexuality is a sin--and that the Scripture makes it clear that it is a sin. If hate crime legislation is expanded to include homosexuals, as Kennedy and his comrades are determined to make it, the ACLU and other leftist legal eagles will finally have the federal authorization to silence Bible preachers across America.

Senator Kennedy, regardless of his denials, knows that federal criminal statutes hold equally accountable both the perpetrator of a federal crime and those who aid and abet the crime. The simple fact is, when this terrible legislation is passed--and signed into law--any preacher who preaches that homosexuality is sinful over the airways will then be liable for any "hate" crime perpetrated upon a homosexual--if it can be proven that that preacher’s sermon could have prompted the perpetrator to criminally assault a homosexual.

The day this legislation passes religious freedom will no longer exist in America. Senator Kennedy is already laying the groundwork for such criminal pursuit of preachers when he equates those who commit crimes against homosexuals with terrorists. Why not equate all crimes against all Americans with acts of terrorists? What makes a crime against someone who practices sodomy more violent or despicable than a crime against a grandmother who is out shopping for her medications after dark and accosted by a crack-head? Yet that is the effect of hate-crimes legislation.

It is unnecessary, unfair and constitutionally unjustifiable. Yet Senator Kennedy and his allies in the senate will not stop until it is passed. Or until you and I make it clear that we will not surrender our freedoms. You MUST send your objections to this ungodly assault on religious freedoms and free speech now. Click here to send a message to President Bush encouraging him to again veto this ungodly legislation.

Click here to send a fax to every U.S. congressman expressing your opposition to this legislation. Rest assured this same legislation will soon be presented to the House of Representatives.

Click here to express your outrage to Senator Kennedy for his attack on religious freedom.

The Dream Act Withdrawn!

Friends of ALIPAC,

We are pleased to announce that we have just confirmed with Senator Dick Durbin's DC office that he is withdrawing his attempt to attach the Dream Act Amnesty to the defense spending bill!

This is indeed a victory for our movement! So many of you have been calling, e-mailing, and faxing DC, while carrying the warning to America via talk radio shows and the Internet!

We salute you and pause to honor your sacrifices and this victory.

Even our opposition is acknowledging that the Senate offices were deluged with calls against the Dream Act that dwarfed supportive calls 50 to 1!

They are laying the blame for the failure of the Dream Act on Republicans and Internet groups like ALIPAC and NumbersUSA and we thank them for giving us credit where credit is due. The true credit goes to those of you who worked so hard on this. ALIPAC and many other fine groups are just helping to facilitate your efforts.

The bad news is that Senator Harry Reid has sworn that the Senate will consider and try to pass the Dream Act again this year, before they leave DC in November!

In traditional villain style, he is saying, "Curses, foiled again! I'll get you yet!"

We must remain vigilant and prepare for the next battle.

But today, we celebrate our hard earned victory.

America is waking up!

We will take our government back!

Confirming Articles

Senate temporarily sidelines immigration legalization bill


Student illegals bill dropped


The ALIPAC Team
www.alipac.us

Ahmadinejad's Eschatological Expectations

Ahmadinejad's Eschatological Expectations

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called the Holocaust "a myth" and says Israel should be "wiped off the map," was scheduled to arrive in New York Sunday night. His visit, which involves a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, comes at a time when political tensions between Iran and the U.S. are escalating. The U.S. government has officially labeled Iran as a terrorist-sponsoring state and has recently demonstrated that the regime has been covertly supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons.

Ahmadinejad claims to be a devout Muslim and a family man and even runs his own blog (click here to view.) However, he has become one of the West’s primary potential targets due to his renegade efforts to produce weapons-grade uranium while issuing belligerent threats of destroying Israel. Before he left Tehran for New York on Sunday, Ahmadinejad told Iran's state-run media that he believes Americans want to hear his side of the story. He indicated that he would be interested in attending Ground Zero in New York City to: 1) To pay his respects to those who lost their lives and 2) to set the record straight by telling the real story of what transpired that September day in 2001.

"The United States is a big and important country with a population of 300 million. Due to certain issues, the American people in the past years have been denied correct and clear information about global developments and are eager to hear different opinions," Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying. Regardless of his eccentricities, Ahmadinejad’s ideology is what makes him a very dangerous man. His eschatological expectations, which I have written about in a previous book entitled The Mythic Roots of Iran’s anti-Semitic Rhetoric, are what most people continue to overlook. Ahmadinejad subscribes to a strange Islamic eschatological belief of a coming Islamic savior, known as the 12th Imam (al-Mahdi,) who will lead the entire world into an ultimate Islamic justice once he emerges. According to this eschatology, the Islamic religion will reign supreme, under the rule of the Mahdi, over all of the earth and Allah will be exalted as the only true God. It is Ahmadinejad’s sincere belief that this final prophet of Allah could arise and begin his Islamic conquest at any time. Ahmadinejad has stated on numerous occasions that the Mahdi may possibly emerge during the next couple of years. Therefore, he is doing all he can to prepare the way for this final prophet of Allah.

Interestingly, JRMI believes that we will soon witness a staggering shift in economic and political power from the United States to parts of Europe and the Middle East. The Bible is clearly Israel-centric and Mideast-centric (not U.S.-centric) in its eschatological passages. In fact, a power shift has already begun as the European Union has been ascending in global prestige since its recent economic formation. In addition, Middle Eastern countries are quickly forming alliances which will lead to a consolidation, and concentration, of Islamic power, possibly in our lifetimes.

All of that to say that we are in for a wild ride over the next several months and years as the ancient prophecies of the Bible appear to be nearing fulfillment. It is time to evangelize the lost like as never before. Christ is coming and He is coming soon!

Jerry Robinson
JRMI - Founder

http://jerryrobinson.org/index.html

STOP Ahmadinejad THE TERRORIST!

Stop Ahmadinejad From Speaking At Columbia University!!!

What part of "Terrorist" does any American NOT understand?

President Bollinger,
Whereas IRAN! is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism…

Whereas its PRESIDENT!, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeatedly threatened the safety and security of America…

Whereas Ahmadinejad was involved in holding Americans hostage at our embassy in Tehran in 1979…

Whereas he has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”…

Whereas his country is working to secure nuclear weaponry in defiance of the Free World…

Whereas he's providing weaponry and support to kill our brave men and women fighting for democracy in the Middle East…

Whereas allowing him to speak at Columbia University empowers his TERRORIST! regime and Islamic radicals everywhere…

And whereas you consider his ideas "odious" and "repugnant"…

We the undersigned, in the name of freedom-loving people throughout America, call on you to reverse your decision to allow him to speak on Monday, September 24th, at your prestigious university.

http://tool.donation-net.net/entrance/enter.cfm?dn=1089&source=2003&id=25500&commid=1190875&CFID=3673124&CFTOKEN=11471011

Citizens For Responsibility

Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch). This encyclopedic report on corruption in the 110th Congress documents the egregious, unethical and possibly illegal activities of the most tainted members of Congress. CREW has compiled the members’ transgressions and analyzed them in light of federal laws and congressional rules.

http://www.beyonddelay.org/node/373/print

Why This Cause Is So Important

Why This Cause Is So Important

A Personal Message From Guy Rodgers

Dear GMDMartyr,

On August 1, as you may know, I accepted the position of Executive Director with American Congress of Truth and ACT for America.

I did so for several reasons; three of the most important I describe below.

1. I have worked in the political and non-profit arenas since the early 1980’s. I have helped many candidates win public office and I have helped grassroots organizations win major battles in public policy. I have also been a part of many valiant, yet unsuccessful efforts.

   But there is one battle we cannot afford to lose — and that’s the battle against the rising tide of Islamofascism.

   Ladies and gentlemen, this battle is REAL — and our very lives, our freedom, and our way of life are at stake. I know this sounds melodramatic to some. The rising tides of Nazism and Communism were dismissed then by the same type of people who dismiss Islamofascism today.

   They were wrong then — and they’re wrong now.

   If we fail in this battle, we lose more than a political issue, or a political campaign. People will lose their lives. We will lose our freedoms. Just ask the patriots in France and England who are struggling for their countries – and losing – against the tsunami of Islamism.

2. I have had the opportunity to work with and for some of the most noteworthy political figures of our era. Rarely have I personally witnessed the combination of life experience, knowledge, passion, vision, humility, and charisma that is wrapped up in the person of Brigitte Gabriel. She is genuinely and unselfishly dedicated to ensuring that America does not become one more casualty of Islamofascism. I consider it a great honor and privilege to be able to work with her.

3. Long before someone coined the term “political correctness” I had first-hand experience with its insidious impact on our freedoms. “Political correctness” is totalitarianism by another name. It stifles debate and silences dissent. It’s bad enough that its intimidation tactics are so prevalent on college campuses and in American politics. But it now has its sights set on any brave soul who dares tell the truth about Islamofascism and the threat it poses to us, in fact coining new slurs such as “Islamophobe.”

   Political correctness can be annoying, aggravating, and exasperating. In the case of our battle against Islamofascism, political correctness will literally kill us.

In the days and weeks ahead Brigitte and I will be unveiling the plans we have to build ACT and ACT for America. We will need your help to make these efforts successful. I greatly appreciate everything each of you has done thus far to help ACT get to where it is today. Now, I’m asking you to prepare to take the next steps with us, so together, we can overcome the foolishness of political correctness and defeat the threat of Islamofascism.

Rising together in defense of America,

Guy Rodgers

http://www.americancongressfortruth.org/

Tags: Radical Islam Terrorism Iran Iraq

Aware & Prepared, Not Scared!

AWARE AND PREPARED, NOT SCARED!
By Kenneth Trump

Fear is reduced by education, communication, and preparation-not by sticking our heads in the sand.

Before we can talk about specific steps to prepare kids, families, and educators, we first have to prepare ourselves mentally by acknowledging (in a non-alarmist, pragmatic manner) that a terror attack on an American school is not an unrealistic possibility.

We cannot change the climate if we do not change the conversation. Most public officials inside the D.C. Beltway have publicly taken a "downplay, deny, and deflect" position about this threat for fear of creating panic, but how can we prepare for something if no one will talk about it?

Below is some practical advice, directed to three distinct groups: parents, children, and school officials. Following these steps will put your family and your school way ahead of the pack when it comes to preparedness.

Tips for Parents
1. Create a family plan. Simple steps can make a difference: Identify a long distance family member for everyone to call if the family is separated. Identify neighborhood and distant family reunification locations and create a "code word" known only to your family members.

2. Have age and developmentally-appropriate communications with your kids. Be honest and open. Focus on facts and context. Reassure them of measures that adults have taken to keep them safe. Reduce fear of the unknown by teaching kids what to do.

3. Ask your kids where they see weaknesses and how they would improve security at their schools.

4. Talk with school leaders to make sure they have active crisis plans, not just plans sitting on shelves collecting dust. Ask probing questions to make sure they are implementing best practices in school emergency planning, including those listed below.

5. Support school administrators in their safety efforts. Follow security procedures set by schools-the rules apply to everyone. Volunteer for safety and crisis committees. Help put together parent awareness presentations on school security and emergency preparedness. Support principals and boards that do the right thing.


Tips for Children
1. Know your family plan.

2. Know what school officials need you to do in a crisis to keep you safe.

3. Take your school's drills, such as lockdowns and evacuations, and your family's crisis plans seriously.

4. If you have questions, ask them. If you have ideas and suggestions, share them!


Tips for Schools
1. Have an active, updated emergency plan. Most schools have crisis plans and crisis teams on paper, but fewer schools involve first responders in developing the plan contents, updating their plans at least annually, and requiring crisis teams to meet regularly. Make school emergency planning and safety a part of your school's culture.

2. Practice drills such as lockdowns and evacuations. Participate in tabletop exercises with hypothetical scenarios with first responders and other community partners to make sure school crisis plans written on paper may work in a real emergency.

3. Train teachers and support staff on crime prevention, security, and emergency preparedness best practices, and on their school's specific crisis guidelines.

4. Improve physical security measures and crime prevention policies. Have security assessments conducted by specialists knowledgeable in professional security best practices.

5. Conduct thorough background checks for all school employees. Most schools do the minimal criminal history checks of select employees required by their state laws. Fewer do comprehensive background investigations that include criminal history checks along with examinations of work histories and validation of educational credentials.

6. Work closely with public safety officials. Meet at least annually to review and update school plans. Make sure police and fire officials have updated floor plans of the school. Invite police to use school facilities after-hours or on weekends to train for active shooter and other tactical operations.

Our public officials need to know that we, as Americans, recognize how serious the potential threat of terrorism in our schools really is. Take just 10 minutes today or tomorrow to call your Congressman and Senators' offices to let them know that you want federal homeland security policy and funding to better include our nation's schools. Our elected officials need to know that they will be held accountable if something happens while they continue to deny the threat and fail to include our schools on the list of potential terror targets.

Kenneth S. Trump, M.P.A. is President of the National School Safety and Security Services. For additional information and resources, visit www.schoolsecurity.org

School Safety and School Security Experts: National School Safety and Security Services

http://schoolsecurity.org/

The Perfect Day Part 3

Can We Win?
By Bernard Kerik

In a recent video message, Osama bin Laden, is heard calling for a caravan of martyrs to follow in the footsteps of the 9/11 suicide hijackers-which proves that he still dreams of spectacular attacks against the west and the American people.

Fortunately, many of the lessons we learned from 9/11 have helped prevent similar attacks on U.S. soil so far, but the bad news is that I strongly believe that Bin Laden's definition of "spectacular" has changed; it doesn't have to mean jumbo jets into skyscrapers, a nuclear device at a port of entry or multiple oil refinery explosions anymore. The attacks we've seen in London, Madrid, Glasgow and Denmark, along with the foiled attacks against western targets around the world demonstrate that. They've all focused on easier, softer targets and that's lead many Americans to believe that "spectacular" attacks are no longer what they crave.

But that is wrong...dead wrong.

Imagine this: it's the morning of September 11, 2001. The 19 hijackers split up into four groups just as they did, except this time they don't board four jetliners bound for California. Instead, each group travels to a different part of the country-perhaps small towns in Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado and California. They each enter an elementary school or junior high school and they simultaneously begin a murderous rampage just as Islamic fundamentalists did in Beslan on September 1, 2004 (a massacre that ended with 330 dead, including at least 170 children).

Or, imagine that instead of schools the groups strap themselves with explosives and take over four movie theaters, as they did in Moscow in October, 2002 (a siege that ended with 129 civilians murdered). Or what if it were four tourist locations around the country?

Although far from the enormity of the 9/11 attacks, these attacks would certainly be "spectacular" in their own right. Tourism would come to a stand still, the airline industry would suffer, the stock markets would tank and the economical and emotional damage could be far greater than we suffered in 2001.

Would parents really send their children to school in the days and weeks following an attack (whether or not it even occurred in their town), not knowing where and when the next one might occur? What would happen to employment as at least one parent stays home with the children for weeks or months?

Thanks largely to the Bush administration, we are much better off today than we were on September 10, 2001—but until our political leadership unites, we will never defeat the enemy we face. Unfortunately, as our politicians battle and bicker in Washington, Al Qaeda and radical Islam continues its mission.

It's only a matter of time until victory is achieved. The real question is, by whom?

Bernard Kerik is Chairman of the Kerik Group and was the Police Commissioner of New York City during the 9/11 attacks.


The Ends Islamist Terrorists Seek
By M. Zuhdi Jasser, MD

The entire goal of Al Qaeda-type monsters is to provoke a reaction from mainstream America by pursuing evil against those who stand in the way of imposing theocracy. These fascists have no value for life other than that it's simply a means to their end of a totalitarian theocratic state. It is their ideology. In their warped view of religion they are God.

These are not the actions of psychopaths. Instead, they are the calculated actions of those seeking power and those afraid of freedom. They know that liberty's greatest weakness is its wide exposure to attacks against noncombatants (i.e., you and me) and the way in which protections against those attacks alter the very liberties we all seek to protect.

The biggest threat to the Islamists gaining power is the free world, especially the Muslims who believe in, practice, and advocate universal religious freedom and secular democracies. In fact, a Muslim manifestation of liberty is the greatest antidote to global jihad and political Islam.

What better way for radical Islamists to destroy their most potent enemy (moderate pro-freedom Muslims) than to sow chaos in the belly of America and stimulate a visceral reaction like no other? The Islamists know that their ideas are oppressive and far less appealing to Muslims and non-Muslims alike than things like freedom and liberty. Thus, their strategy is to put moderates on the defensive so that their rational ideas are lost in the din of terror.

An attack on our schools would do just that. The more barbaric and grizzly the attack, and the more they can get Americans to associate it with Muslims and Islam, the more possible it is that they fuel a hateful response from some Americans. That would leave moderate Muslims'quest to defeat political Islam lost in the chaos of a divided America.

We witnessed just such a visceral hate crime here in Phoenix after 9/11 when a Sikh man, Balbir Singh, was murdered for appearing to be Muslim. And that's why this very discussion is so vital; if we know that the primary goal of our enemy is to enrage our citizenry against Muslims and Islam then we can inoculate ourselves against it. Al Qaeda's aim is to enrage and get non-Muslims to do their dirty work of targeting moderate Muslims for them-and we must not give that to them.

If American Muslims declare open war against Al Qaeda, Americans will rush to defend our mosques rather than allow them to be burned. Otherwise, with rage and vengeance, the freedoms so protected by our Constitution will quickly dissipate into a nation gripped by fear and hate of the "other." And that is the ultimate goal of such horrific acts: to create a reaction which ultimately destroys the very fabric of our nation-the trust of one another, under God, under our Constitution. The children they would kill in schools on this "Perfect Day" would be a utilitarian mechanism (ends justifying the means) to achieve the destruction of the "American" way of life.

It is vitally important for Americans to see that, for most Muslims, being Muslim is not about preserving our mosques and our own rights; it is first about preserving the rights and freedoms of all Americans against the jihadists. But the longer Muslims stay silent against jihadism the greater chance the next incident like this Perfect Day scenario will have the impact the militants actually seek.

M. Zuhdi Jasser is the founder and Chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy based in Phoenix Arizona. He is a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, a physician in private practice, and a community activist

A Perfect Day Part 2

Day 2: The Beslan Massacre - Lessons for America


WARNING: This video contains raw images of violence and suffering that may be disturbing to some people. It was shot outside the middle school in Beslan, Russia while terrorists staged a three day siege of a middle school. 330 people were killed in the attack, including 172 children. To our knowledge, these clips have never been shown on American television. Watch the Beslan video here.

Lessons from Beslan
By John Giduck

America is a nation at war, and some of the battles in that war will be fought on American soil. Thus, it is incumbent upon every American to not only educate themselves, but prepare for the types of attacks we are likely to see. But it's difficult to prepare when one of the most likely targets is hardly ever talked about publicly.

There are two basic categories of terror attacks: the first, called "Decimation Assaults," is where terrorists plant bombs or use suicide-homicide bombers. Because these are so easy to execute, they are the more frequently used type of attack - but their impact is minimal because the body counts and are usually pretty low.

The more preferred, but more difficult to accomplish, attack is the "Mass Hostage Siege." Terrorists know that when they take hundreds of innocent people hostage and hold them for days they are really holding an entire nation hostage. By doing that they attract the attention of the news media, which helps them to accomplish their real goal, which is to spread terror as far and as wide as possible. It's the psychological impact that's most important, and nothing is better at promoting that than a Mass Hostage Siege, especially one that involves innocent children.

To understand how credible the threat is, we need only to look at the achievements of so many terror groups. In the first six months of 2006, 204 schools were attacked in Afghanistan. Three of them were attacked in two days in the first week of July 2007. Between 1984 and 1994 more than 300 schools were attacked in Turkey.

The number of school attacks are rising in places like Pakistan, Iraq, Indonesia and Thailand as well. A new girls' school in Iraq was found to have dozens of bombs hidden in the floor and walls and, just two weeks ago, a school was targeted in Great Britain. I also bet you never heard that the backup plan for the Madrid train bombers was a school attack.

But, despite all of these incidents, Beslan was the terrorists' best case scenario - which means that it is our worst case scenario. So what is the likelihood of it happening here? Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders have publicly stated that before this jihad is over they will see to the deaths of 4 million Americans, including 2 million American children. After several attacks involving children in Russia he said that what he was doing in Russia he would do to America. The head of the Chechen terrorists, Shamil Basayev, made a similar pledge before his death at the hands of Russian Special Forces. Afghan terror camp training tapes depict jihadists attacking students in a school, issuing instructions in English.

In addition, emergency response plans of numerous schools have been found in the hands of people who should not have them and intelligence gathering of schools and school facilities has been occurring in places like Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Florida, Virginia and California for some time now. People with no affiliation to any school have been crossing the border from Canada attempting to buy school buses, and buses in other locations, like Houston, have been stolen.

These are but a very few of the incidents occurring in America today, yet the schools, parents and citizens of our country refuse to acknowledge the threat, or to allow those we turn to for protection - our police - to be properly equipped, armed, informed, and trained for such an event.

There is a Kliebold and Harris in every single school who has at least planned to outdo Columbine. There is a Cho at every college who would love to get the same kind of publicity. There are even the Morrisons and Robertses from the Bailey, CO and Nickel Mines, PA attacks who are just waiting to exact their own revenge. And in every state across this country there are al Qaeda related groups that are, at a minimum, putting together information and plans to attack a school. No matter what the threat, the defenders of those schools are all the same: American police departments.

If Beslan is the worst thing that could possibly happen to our children, then it is incumbent upon our nation to be prepared for it. If we're fortunate enough that Beslan does not ever come to pass, our preparation will not have been in vein as we will be so much better prepared to respond to any other threat to our children and the supposedly safe places they happily trundle off to every day.

John Giduck is the author of Terror at Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America's Schools.

ThePerfectDay Part 1

A Perfect Day PART 1

It's the day that Americans are killed on an unprecedented scale. It's the day that no one, not even our children sitting in their classrooms at school, are safe. It's the day that seemingly isolated incidents all converge into the greatest threat this country has ever experienced or imagined. It's the day that the Islamist jihad against the West begins in earnest. It's "The Perfect Day" - and it's only perfect if you're a terrorist.

We are focusing on one part of The Perfect Day theory: the threat of massive, coordinated attacks against our schools and school buses.  Lt. Col. Joe Ruffini, a counterterrorism expert, told us about some of the evidence and suspicious incidents that have occurred recently - both overseas and right here in America. Former FBI Special Agent Don Clark lent his credibility and experience to the threat and helped explain the fine line that government officials must walk between panic and preparation.

I've asked both Lt. Colonel Ruffini and Agent Clark to write about any thoughts on this threat that we didn't get to cover on television, and their reports are included in this newsletter.  We'll reveal what really happened during the Beslan school siege and tomorrow's newsletter report, from John Giduck, author of Terror at Beslan, is an absolute must-read.

Americans Can Handle the Truth
By Lieutenant Colonel Joe Ruffini, U.S. Army (Ret)

Glenn Beck is right on the money: America must acknowledge, prepare for, and, most importantly, work together to prevent Al Qaeda attacks against our schools.

Knowledge is power - power to be a more informed citizen, power to be a more enlightened voter, and power to protect our communities and our schools. Sometimes the information is hard to swallow, and sometimes it's downright frightening -but how can we be prepared without it?

We can't. That's why it's so important that federal and state officials start figuring out a way to keep this nation adequately informed. In their (often times noble) efforts to keep us from becoming alarmed, they are encouraging complacency. But we cannot allow that to happen; we must remain vigilant.

Based on my years of experience in conducting terror awareness seminars for communities, law enforcement agencies, and school officials, I can assure you that everyday Americans CAN handle the truth. I give it to my audiences straight, and they keep asking for more. In fact, the two comments I hear back the most are, "Why aren't we hearing this information from our officials?" and "Where can I learn more?"

Remember, denial has never and will never be a strategy for victory.

Lt. Col. Ruffini is a counterterrorism expert and the author of When Terror Comes to Main Street: A Citizens' Guide to Terror Awareness, Preparedness, and Prevention. He's also the President and Founder of JPR & Associates, LLC.

Our Schools: The Ultimate Soft Target
By Fmr. FBI Special Agent Don Clark

Terrorist don't just target big buildings, airports, refineries or ship channels. They also target something very near and dear to our hearts and souls: our children.

Most of us understand that terrorists' primary objective is to instill fear in each and every one of us. Fear makes everything else possible. What better way to achieve that goal than to attack our schools and murder our children?

A plot that shocking would, without question, strike fear into all of our hearts. No one, from the farmer in Wisconsin to the banker in Manhattan would feel safe anymore.

Remember Columbine? That was kids killing kids, yet the entire nation was truly stunned and saddened. Can you imagine how we would feel if that attack had been carried out by a terrorist organization? The rage and bloodlust would be palpable.

No one, including me, wants to think about that, but to help minimize the chance of it ever happening we need to ensure that we treat schools with the same level of caution that we treat more obvious targets, like airports and cargo ports. We also need to start employing top priority screening of employees at all levels, from professors to grounds keepers.

There are also other practical things we can do to make terrorists think twice about choosing our community. All school facilities should be secured with cameras and other technical equipment to alert authorities immediately in case of an attack. School districts should also institute TIP LINES to seek leads and information.

Finally, one of the most important things that local school districts can do is ensure that their police departments are connected with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security so that they continuously receive the latest information relating to any school threats.

Don't leave it up to others to make sure that your town is ready; the burden for preparing lies with each and every one of us. And remember: simply refusing to believe that schools are a terrorist target does not make it so.

Former FBI Special Agent Don Clark led the investigation after the first World Trade Center attack. He recommends the website www.counterterrorismblog.org as a great resource for staying up to date with the threats that veteran intelligence officials are most concerned about.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/10/gb.01.html

 

North American Union

Slow transition into The North American Union...or should we say, "Quietly"?

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2527&mode=thread&order=1&thold=0

New security logo on the reverse of North Carolina's driver's licenses.
The first "North American Union" driver's license, complete with a hologram of the North American continent on the reverse, has been created in the state of North Carolina.

"The North Carolina driver's license is 'North American Union' ready," charges William Gheen, who serves as president of Americans for Legal Immigration.

Gheen provided WND with a photo of an actual North Carolina license which clearly shows the hologram of the North American continent embedded on the reverse.

"The hologram looks exactly [like] the map of North America that is used as the background for the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America logo on the SPP website," Gheen told WND. "I object to the loss of sovereignty that is proceeding under the agreements being made by these unelected government bureaucrats who think we should be North American instead of the United States of America."

Jason King, spokesman for AAMVA, affirmed the North American hologram was created by AAMVA's Uniform Identification Subcommittee, a working group of AAMVA members.

He explained the goal is to create a continental security device that could be used by state and provincial motor vehicles agencies throughout North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico.

As the guidelines document on the AAMVA explains, each North American continental hologram OVD foil is embedded with a unique set of control numbers that permit law enforcement electronic scanners to identify the exact jurisdiction and precise individual authorized to hold a driver's license or ID card with that particular OVD foil embedded.

Pope Benedict to the youth

Pope Benedict to the youth: Do not

follow the path of pride, rather, follow

the path of humility

Rome, Sep 2, 2007 / 11:17 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI has appealed to young people not to follow the ways of the world but rather follow the path of true love and humility.

Speaking to a vast crowd of young people gathered near the Marian shrine in Loreto, Italy, close to the Adriatic Sea coast, he called on youth to live a lifestyle that “goes against the trend” and to emulate the example of Mary by transforming society through humility. 

“Do not follow the path of pride, rather, follow the path of humility,” the Pope told an estimated 500,000 youth in his homily that concluded the ‘Youth Agorà’.  “Go against the current trend: do not listen to the persuasive and biased chorus of voices that today form much of the propaganda of life, drenched in arrogance and violence, in dominance and success at all costs, where appearance and possession to the detriment of others is openly promoted.” 

The Pope warned that all these messages carried in the mass media are aimed at them.  “Be vigilant!”, he pleaded.  “Be critical!  Do not follow the trend produced by this powerfully persuasive media.  Do not be afraid, my dear friends, to prefer the ‘alternative’ route indicated by true love: a sober style of life, a life of solidarity; an honest commitment to your studies and work; a cultivated interest in the common good.  Do not be afraid to appear different, or the criticism that you are out of fashion or a loser.  People your age, even adults, all of those who seem far from the mentality of the Gospel values, have a deep seated need to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity manifested by Jesus Christ”.
 
“Dear young people”, the Pope continued, “it seems to me that for you to grasp the important message of God on humility has never been more important than now, that you want to follow Christ and be a part of the Church.  The message is this: don’t follow the way of pride, but of humility”.   This humility, the Pope went on, is the master route, “not only because humility is a great virtue, but because above all it represents the very way in which God himself behaves.  It is the path chosen by Christ”.   It is not about giving up anything, but about courage, he added.  “It’s not about defeat,” the Pope said, “but it’s the result of love’s victory over selfishness, and of grace over sin.  Following Christ and imitating Mary, we must have the courage of humility; we must entrust ourselves with humility to the Lord because only then can we become docile instruments in his hands, and have the permission to do great things”. 

The Pope then gave examples of saints who have done just that: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, the patron of Italy, and other Italian saints such as Sts. Gemma Galgani, Gabriele of Addolorata, Luigi Gonzaga, Domenico Savio and Maria Goretti.  The Holy Father also recalled those saints who were “anonymous” to us, but not to God.  “For him, each person is unique, with his own name and his own face.  Everyone, as you know, is called to be a saint!”  The Pope then called on the youth to look to Mary as an example of how to live a life of humility.
 
Before closing, the Pope looked forward to World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney, Australia, next July.  “I invite you to prepare for this great youthful testimony to faith,” he said.  “I await so many of you in Australia”.  The Pope concluded his homily by calling on the Virgin to help young people to become more holy with the help of the Holy Spirit, and to be disciples of Jesus.  “Support and accompany these young people”, he prayed, “to be joyful and tireless missionaries of the Gospel among their peers, in every corner of Italy. Amen!”

The Pope’s homily was met with lengthy and warm applause.

At the Angelus address that followed the Mass, the Pope reminded those present of the importance of Loreto as a Marian shrine, and the example of Mary who said “yes” to God.  “During the most important moments of your life, come here, at least in your heart, to spiritually recollect yourselves within the walls of the Holy House [of Loreto]”, the Pope said.  “In order to bring God to the town square, first you must gather him to your inner being at home, just like Mary in the Annunciation.” Then you will become his true witnesses in the “square”, in society, bearers not of an abstract Gospel, but the embodiment of it”.