Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Scary Military drills in our neighborhoods

WA GOP Budget Plan


In Olympia this afternoon, Senate Republicans released their budget proposal for 2015-2017.  Among the key features of the Senate plan, as outlined by Republican Senate Leader Mark Schoesler and budget chair Senator Andy Hill:
  • The Senate plan balances the budget, and covers human services, without raising taxes, and without any new taxes.  Revenue is projected to increase by $3 billion over the next two years, so there is no need to raise taxes.
  • The Senate budget satisfies McCleary and fully funds education.
  • The Senate plan helps working families by reducing college tuition, making our state’s college students a priority.
This Republican plan is a sharp contrast to the plan unveiled by House Democrats last week.  The Democrats propose to increase spending by 15% - a total of $5.2 billion!  And they propose a huge tax increase - $1.5 billion in new and increased taxes.  Moreover, the Democrats propose elimination of the state spending limit, creating an unsustainable budget.

Respectfully,


Susan Hutchison
Chairman, Washington State Republican Party

TLBC 1Q Report 2015



The Lord’s Baptist Church
11102 Yakima Avenue South
Tacoma, WA. 98444
Pastor Larry J. Killion Phone: 253-537-0129 Email: ljkillion@juno.com
January February & March 2015

Greetings again from TLBC.  It is time for the first quarterly Report for 2015. Pastor completed a study on “Judging Jonah” and is now preaching a series on “Judging James” in our afternoon services.  Morning sermons have been on Revival lately.  Audio sermons are available on Sermon.net/tacwash. Brother Jim Turner finished a study on “The Doctrine of Grace” in our Sunday school hour and is now teaching on “The End Times.”  

 The last week of January, we celebrated our 35th anniversary as a church and enjoyed the preaching and fellowship of Elder Dan Gordon, Pastor of Home Baptist Church in Mt. Morris, Michigan. There is a LINK on our church website to the MP3 audios of the sermons.  We highly recommend them.  

First Friday of the Month Fellowship meetings were good again as usual.  In January, we opened the AP Box. and counted the notes in it about answered prayers in 2014. There were a total of 145 AP’s found in the box and what a blessing it was to be reminded of how good our God is to hear and answer our prayers.  In February, Brother Anthony Parish, a young Street preacher in the South Park Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle, brought a great message on “We Wrestle not against flesh and Blood.”  In March, Elder Ted Tweet, Missionary to the Latino people in WA., preached on ”The Second Coming of the Lord.”  There is also a place on the front page of our website with LINKS to the audio clips of all these FFF services.  

Our Tract a Day Club recorded 150 tracts handed out this quarter by Pastor. The records do not show any others in this effort.  We have 3 visitors that are regulars in attendance.  Our College students are not here while school is in session.  We pray constantly for the Lord to save souls, add the saved to the church, heal the sick and keep us faithful in His service.  We pray also for our nation and for our military personnel. Pastor served on Jury duty for two weeks and a day at the end of March and preached a graveside service for Steve Bell, the last son of Sister Maxine.  We were also saddened to hear of the passing of Brother Joshua Halsell in Springfield, Oregon.   

We are supporting the mission work in Seattle to the Latino community in South Park where Ted Tweet is laboring and the work in Mabini, Mindanao where Elder Dan Baldemor is laboring, and the work in Romania where Elder Raul  Enyedi labors.  Although we are limited in what we can give financially, we pray earnestly and with out ceasing for brethren laboring on the mission fields of Oklahoma, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, India, Africa and Thailand.  Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and for repentance in the United States of America.  AMEN. 

RFRA Facts

March 31, 2015
9 Fun Facts About RFRA
    
by Joseph Backholm

Late last week, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law a state version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Ever since, a firestorm of debate has erupted about whether this bill creates a "right to discriminate".

As you think about and discuss this issue (and you should do both), here are some important points to keep in mind involving the law itself as well as the political climate around it.

1. RFRA is not a license to "discriminate": RFRA states that government actions burdening religious expression must be the "least restrictive means" possible to accomplish a "compelling government interest." In a dispute between the government and an individual's religious beliefs, RFRA doesn't decide the winner, it decides the rules of the game.

2. RFRA was passed to protect the right to smoke peyote: Maybe if we tell them RFRA was originally about drugs the lefties will feel better about it. The original reason RFRA was passed was because the government was trying to stop Native Americans from using peyote in their religious ceremonies without adequate reason. Since then, RFRA has been used to: (1) defend the rights of Muslim women to wear headdresses and Muslim men to have long beards, (2) defend the rights of Seventh Day Adventists to collect unemployment benefits after refusing to work on Saturdays, and (3) prohibit the government from forcing the Amish to place bright fluorescent signs on their buggies in violation of their beliefs.

3. RFRA has never been used as a defense against discrimination based on sexual orientation: Since RFRA was first enacted at the federal level in 1993 and gradually passed in 19 states (prior to Indiana) it has never been used to successfully defend discrimination based on sexual orientation.

4. Thirty-one states have the same standard: Contrary to the perception created by the perpetually offended, thirty-one states have the same legal standard either through statute or court decision. You won't find stories about gay people unable to find jobs or buy paninis in any of those states.

5. Lefties used to like RFRA: When Congress passed RFRA in 1993, the House of Representatives passed it unanimously, 97 U.S. Senators voted for it, and President Clinton signed it. Once upon a time, religious freedom had bipartisan support.

6. Barack Obama Voted for RFRA: President Obama was serving in the Illinois State Senate when they passed RFRA. He voted for it.

7. Jay Inslee Voted for RFRA: Governor Jay Inslee was serving as a member of Congress in 1993 when the federal RFRA was passed. He voted for it too.

8. Yes, to China, no to Indiana: In response to Indiana's new law, Governor Jay Inslee ordered a ban on state travel to Indiana stating that, "We in Washington stand for equality." Should one infer from Gov. Inslee's 2013 trade mission to China, that he has no objection to the way that government treats its people?

9. Indiana doesn't prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation: Opponents of RFRA claim this bill is a license to discriminate based on sexual orientation. The problem with this concern is that it isn't illegal (i.e., it's legal) to discriminate based on sexual orientation now. If people wanted to have a "no gays" sign up outside their store, there's no law to stop them now. Of course no one does because they aren't jerks and they want to make money. Still, rather than celebrate the tolerance of the people from Indiana, they hyperventilate over the prospect that at some undetermined point in the future someone might do something mean.

The left fears laws that protect conscience right and religious liberty because they want to force individuals, businesses, and organizations to do things that violate orthodox religious beliefs. That's the take home lesson in all of this.

The world they desire cannot exist in a world that respects diversity, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religious expression.

Where the left used to believe individual liberty was the solution to the problem of too much government control over the lives of individuals, they now view individual liberty as the root cause of "intolerance" and "discrimination.

That reality presents a much bigger challenge than any misunderstandings about a new law in Indiana.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Less wages and security for America

NumbersUSA Media Response
jeremy beck
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Obama's  immigration actions undermine his vow 
to help American workers.

Please read, share, and discuss "Obama's Immigration 'Legacy:' Lower Wages, Less Security for Americans" by Ken Blackwell on TownHall.
Supporters and critics of President Obama may disagree on what the president's goals are, but Blackwell lays out how -- regardless of his intentions -- President Obama's immigration policies undercut his promises to put American workers first.
Excerpt:
"All we're saying is we're not going to deport you," was the big lie President Barack Obama used when he announced his executive action on immigration. Despite being repeated time and again by politicians and the media during the DHS funding debate to describe the president's action, it's still a lie.

To quote an analysis of the President's speech published by Associated Press within hours, "THE FACTS: He's saying, and doing, more than that. The changes also will make those covered eligible for work permits, allowing them to be employed in the country legally and compete with citizens and legal residents for better-paying jobs."