1) Judges Need Accountability 2) "Legislating from the Bench" is an Impeachable Offense 3) Vote on Which Federal Judge Should be Impeached First 4) Don't Mess with Texas 5) War on Christians Continues...Time to Say Enough is Enough
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Each week's edition of this Report brings new evidence of the radical left assault on people of faith and our shared vaules. We need your financial support to keep up our work in Washington and across the country.
The War on Christians and the Values Voter in 2006
Vision America presents an important conference in our nation's capitol with featured speakers including:
Senator Sam Brownback, Senator John Cornyn, Congressman Tom DeLay, Congressman Todd Akin, Congressman Louis Gohmert, Rod Parsley, Ron Luce, Gary Bauer, Alan Keyes, Phyllis Schlafly, Laurence White, and Janet Folger
You will also enjoy challenging panel discussions, prime accommodations, special packages, legislative briefings, and more.
Last week I commented that research polling reveals that Americans agree by a 2-1 margin that judicial activism has reached a crisis stage. At Vision America, we believe that in order to address the crisis of judicial activism we must do two things: ensure and enforce.
First, we must ensure that only constitutional judges are appointed to federal judgeships. Second, we must enforce the system of judicial accountability that our Founding Fathers built into our constitutional system of check and balances. This second step is essential because, as our Founders understood and as the Scriptures reveal, all people including “good” judges need accountability
We all know that man left unaccountable does not drift toward virtue, but rather toward corruption. Understanding this truth, Lord Acton correctly observed that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Accordingly, the confirmations of Chief Justice Roberts and Samuel Alito do not signal the end of the struggle against judicial activism. Rather, they signal that now is the time to focus on the second and equally important element in this struggle, i.e., judicial accountability.
“Legislating from the Bench” is an Impeachable Offense
Impeachment of activist judges is wholly consistent with our constitution, our history, and our public opinion. The Founding fathers embedded into our constitution a number of means to keep judges accountable. The primary means however was and remains impeachment. As constitutional attorney Mark R. Levin correctly observed in his recent book Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America: “[i]n the framers’ perspective, the chief method for controlling judges was impeachment.”
When judges legislate from the bench, they subvert the first and foremost principle in our entire constitution: the vesting of all legislative power in the elected representatives of the People. Scholars agree that the abuse of “subverting the constitution” amounts to a “high Crime and Misdemeanor” which is clearly an impeachable offense.
History confirms this fact. Of the sixteen impeachments in our history, twelve were of federal judges. In the late 1980s, Congress impeached no less than three judges, and the first federal judge was impeached in 1803 for legislating from the bench, although in that day they called it ruling “contrary to his trust and duty as a judge … [and] in violation of the laws of the United States.”
Not only do our constitution and our history support the notion of impeaching activist judges, but the American people expect it. Americans agree by a margin of 2-1 that when activist judges repeatedly ignore voters’ values, those judges should be impeached.
Vote on Which Federal Judge Should be Impeached First
We now know several things. First, judicial activism has reached a crisis stage. Second, confirming better judges is an incomplete remedy for this crisis. Third, judicial accountability is essential to remedying this crisis. And fourth, the accountability method of impeachment is consistent with our constitution, our history, and a majority of Americans.
With the above support of our constitution, our history and our people, one wonders why is it that judicial activism remains a crisis and has not been remedied? The answer is that the system of accountability is not self-enforcing, but requires our action. Congress is moving in the right direction, and it is our job to encourage them in their efforts to remedy judicial activism. That is why I am asking you to help by doing two things right now.
First, click here to complete this week’s survey and “vote” on which federal judge should be impeached so that we can communicate your wishes to our leaders in Congress. And second, please add strength to your request by forwarding this email to your friends and asking them to do the same.
Don't Mess With Texas
The elite press in America have gone ballistic over the Vice President's hunting accident on a large private Texas ranch last Saturday. How dare Dick Cheney not immediately appear before the Washington Press Corp and hand them his shotgun full of pellets so they could give him a good dose of his own medicine. From the rhetoric and hostility being vented during recent White House briefings you would think that WWIII had broken out instead of an innocent, though tragic, hunting accident.
The particularly insulting part of this story for Texans has been the veiled implication that Texans regularly shoot one another in what the liberal press seem to view as the wild wild west. As an avid hunter, I resent that. I am an unapologetic gun enthusiast that has perfected the expression, when reminded by my wife that I already have too many guns..."But honey, I don't have 'that' gun!"
Last year I became the proud recipient of a license that entitles me to carry a concealed weapon. (Now when I preach on tithing, I can back it up!) For liberals reading this RSR for political points...I'm just kidding!
All kidding aside, can anyone tell me a plausible reason why any good man or woman would want to serve in public office these days? It's not enough that the Vice President has to work through seeing his good friend suffer as a result of his momentary negligence, now he has to face accusations that he is duplicitous. The arrogant members of the press that have committed themselves to destroying this presidency at any cost are using this latest misfortune as a proof text to their previously held views that the President and his allies are lying about everything. America is well served by a skeptic press, but what we are seeing in the mainstream media today is way beyond skepticism, as many in the press are preaching their own gospel.
Christians today must ask God for discernment, for there are many in the media who are attempting to shape the news rather than report it. "The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction." Prov. 16:21
War on Christians Continues Time to say, "Enough is Enough"
Last week I met Chaplain Klingenscmitt who conducted a 14-day hunger strike to call attention to the Navy's refusal to allow him to pursue his constitutionally guaranteed right to practice his religion freely. After a brief respite due to the wide spread outcry that resulted, the Navy has returned unabated to the policy of refusing public prayers in Jesus' name. Now we hear of more persecution.
You will be able to hear from Gordon Klingenschmitt and other pro-family leaders at our upcoming conference March 27-28 in Washington, DC.
Captain Jonathan Stertzbach has been silenced by his supervisor for speaking out as an Army Chaplain. Our good friend and 2003 recipient of Vision America's National "Hero of the Faith" award, Congressman Walter Jones, who is a longtime advocate of our military, has come to the defense of these servicemen and others in all branches of our government.
We are living in an era when General George Washington, were he alive today, would be censored as we have numerous historical examples of his public expressions of faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, like America as a whole, far too many Chaplains who say they love Christ, are quite willing to suppress their faith in public ceremonies rather than disobey an order and risk their careers. Only when all who name Christ are willing to stand up and be counted will this abuse of the First Amendment end. Like Peter and John in Acts 5:28, we must be willing to suffer for our faith.
"We gave you strict orders not teach in this name”, he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than man!"
For their faith, they were beaten. But their courage gave birth to a movement. May the courage of a few Chaplains, give birth to a movement today, without which we cannot win the War on Terror. We are facing an enemy that will strap on a bomb and blow themselves up for Allah, while many Christians will not face ridicule or loss of promotion for the name of Jesus.
Jesus himself said in Matt. 24:9, "Then you will be handed over and be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." We must be willing to stand and be counted. Who knows, perhaps God will grant us one last great revival if we do.
