In California, Florida and Illinois 50% of all babies are born on Medicaid

Terence P. Jeffrey in his March 24th, 2017 column In 24 States, 50% or More of Babies Born on Medicaid; New Mexico Leads Nation With 72% writes:

In 24 of the nation’s 50 states at least half of the babies born during the latest year on record had their births paid for by Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

New Mexico led all states with 72 percent of the babies born there in 2015 having their births covered by Medicaid.

[ … ]

In California, Florida and Illinois, for example, 50 percent of all babies were born on Medicaid in the latest year on record.

Read more…

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report Implementing Coverage and Payment Initiatives: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017:

Medicaid has become one of the nation’s most important health care programs, now providing health insurance coverage to more than one in five Americans, and accounting for over one-sixth of all U.S. health care expenditures. [Emphasis added]

The KFF report concludes that, “Medicaid programs now play a significant leadership role in the health care systems in every state.”

Kaiser Family Foundation published a map showing the percentage of babies by state who are born on Medicaid:

babies born medicaid by state

You may view a chart with the details of each states births paid for by Medicaid by clicking here.

american_health_care_actMedicaid reform is much needed and will be part of the next version of the House of Representatives American Health Care Act (AHCA). The AHCA website lists 8 Need-To-Know Facts About the AHCA, one of which addresses Medicaid:

6. Modernizes and strengthens Medicaid by transitioning to a “per capita allotment” so states can better serve the patients most in need.

KFF gave this analysis of “per capita allotment” contained in a previous House Republican Healthcare Plan:

The House Republican Plan (“A Better Way”) released on June 22, 2016, includes a proposal to convert federal Medicaid financing from an open-ended entitlement to a per capita allotment or a block grant (based on a state choice).

This proposal is part of a larger package designed to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reduce federal spending for health care.  Often tied to deficit reduction, proposals to convert Medicaid’s financing structure to a per capita cap or block grant have been proposed before.

Such changes represent a fundamental change in the financing structure of the program with major implications for beneficiaries, providers, states and localities.

Read more…

There was a time in America when babies were paid for by their families. Perhaps it is time for government to get out of the baby funding business and let families take control?

Refugee Resettlement is ‘Changing America by changing the people!’

This story at WRAL.com is meant to be one of those warm and fuzzy stories about ‘welcoming’ refugees (and diversity) to a southern city and how mean old Donald Trump has slowed their progress in changing Durham.

The last line of the story by reporter Tess Allen is the most instructive:

A new community is being built in Durham, one that is constantly evolving, one with a mix of faces, languages and cultures. And World Relief Durham and its volunteers plan to be there every step of the way.

Turning red states blue by seeding diversity. Map showing where all of North Carolina’s refugees came from in 2016.

Here are a few bits worth highlighting:

World Relief depends on federal funding for the majority of their financing. They receive a per capita grant dependent on the number of refugees coming into their area. That money helps support the agencies’ offices, staff and, mostly, the refugees themselves.

Matthew Soerens

With the dramatic decrease in refugee arrivals that would accompany the reinstatement of this order, World Relief’s funding will drop equally dramatically. The Durham office, for example, will lose one-fourth of its federal funding, or about $250,000 a year. Nationwide, five World Relief offices will close and 140 staff members will be laid off.

[….]

Soerens [Matthew Soerens, World Relief’s U.S. director of church mobilization] also said that the loss of funding is why it’s increasingly important for their Good Neighbor teams to help refugees find jobs. World Relief can no longer afford to cover rent for families for more than a couple of months.

Wasn’t finding refugees a job a top priority all along? Or, it didn’t matter so much when they were flush with federal dollars.

Is Soerens saying that, because they (at World Relief) need to pay their staffs and keep offices open, they are going to be stingy about refugee rent going forward? Sounds like it to me.

If you feel like reading all the good news about good neighbors, continue reading here.

For our complete archive on changing North Carolinago here.  See especially my post on the 2016 Presidential election.

For more on World Relief’s finances, go here.

See what else Soerens said by clicking here.

RELATED COLUMNS: 

Comment worth noting: It might be too late for some American communities

Democrats put Nebraska voter registration forms in refugee welcome baskets

Not everyone in the Jewish community thinks it is wise to import Middle Eastern Muslims to U.S.

Here we go again, refugee numbers jump, 342 since Wednesday

In 24 States, 50% or More of Babies Born on Medicaid; New Mexico Leads Nation With 72%

VIDEO: Why the Liberty Movement in Europe Is Rocking So Hard by Jeffrey A. Tucker

I was truly startled by the energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, and passion of the people who attended LibertyCon – sponsored by the European Students for Liberty – in Prague this year. I was honored to be a speaker, but especially excited to have my first exposure to a remarkable movement taking shape in Europe, one that is wholly dedicated to realizing liberty as the key to the future.

It was liberty that built Europe and liberty that will save it from the authoritarians who are grasping to control its political and economic future.  I saw among those one thousand attendees a strong reason for hope.

The City

It was my first visit to Prague, so please forgive my wild infatuation with this city. It is one of the great cities on the continent and mercifully untouched by war. Its roads and streets are as complex as anything I’ve encountered outside of Rome: circuitous, irrational, narrow, and paved with bumpy cobblestones guaranteed to make a mess of any dress shoe.

And everywhere you look, you see beauty of a very special sort. You look at 500 years of achievement in building civilization, and you see the integration between the past, present, and future. It is true across all the arts, from the music (here is a solid example of 16th century polyphony from Prague) to the architecture.

The entire city is a reminder of what freedom makes possible, a society in which the sacrifices and deeds of one generation are enjoyed by the next, so that every new generation enjoins a kind of benefaction from those who came before.

Oddly, this is a rare sight in today’s world. War, central planning, depression, and political upheaval have created terrible scars in the historical narrative, so the continuity that should be part of the human experience over time goes missing. This has been true in Atlanta, for example: a glorious modern city that has continually had its past erased by fire, political experimentation, and demographic upheaval. This is true in a place like Rome too, where the past is preserved but the present is strangely absent because of controls and restrictive planning.

But in Prague, you see it. You see the story of the growth of modernity in the buildings, bridges, churches, castles. You see a clock on a building and, if you know the history of technology, you can isolate within 50 years when it was constructed. But not far away is a glorious new piece of art that reflects the style of our times. There is nothing discordant about it. One style is not an attack on the other. Nothing is repudiated. Everything is a lovely expression of the style of its time. The present is not at war with the past.

And this is rather remarkable given the history of communism in Prague. In 1938, the city was occupied by German armies, leading finally to the famous Prague Uprising. It was never bombed from the air during the war, never became fodder like so many European cities. The Soviets moved into a liberated Prague and de-liberated it for the remainder of the Cold War. But the tyranny was limited due to the Prague Spring and the bravery that stopped the imposition of Stalinist rule in 1968. This became a foreshadowing of the best of all the revolutions of 1989: the Velvet Revolution that brought market reforms and new freedom. The liberalization did not go far enough (education and healthcare remained in state hands), but the city flourished anew.

The scars of the period are not physical, but perhaps they are cultural (as my Czech friends tell me). As a result, the city remains an inspiring tribute to the freedom, peace, and beauty that is possible in this world. Does it have a bright future? Like every other city in Europe, it is threatened by reactionary political movements of the left and right, people and interests who do not believe in freedom. It is these which the liberty movement has arisen in Europe to oppose, and also add an inspiring vision of what is possible with a new commitment to liberalism in economics, politics, and culture.Sidenote on McDonald’s

Of course my guides showed me the McDonald’s in Prague, the first one that opened after 1989. I was duly impressed, but my guide wanted me to understand the bigger significance:

“When those golden arches appeared in Prague, it was a huge cultural moment. It was an indication that the emergent Czech Republic would be part of the civilized world of commercial cities. It had a future and that future was about capitalism, which means service to the people. This is not just an ordinary restaurant. It was and is a symbol of hope.”

Intellectual Sophistication

The students and activists are dedicated readers, and very serious about ideas. The European liberty movement admires the size and scale of the institutions built by their American counterparts, but Europe has its own unique strengths. What I found here is a notable intellectual sophistication. They are also serious about their commitment to liberty – and not easily tricked by leftist and rightist movements competing for their affections.The young people at this conference have parents and grandparents who remember socialism in their lifetimes. This memory has informed their self identity and emboldened their commitment to a free Europe. Every country has its own activists, study groups, fledgling organization, businesses, and specializations. LibertyCon, an annual gathering, serves as a kind of organizing tool for education, socializing, and networking. And given the dearth of opportunities in Europe, the students cling to this event, and draw energy from meeting and socializing with their compatriots from their own country and many other countries.

There is huge diversity here, but a unity on principle. In my talk, I went to great lengths to trace two strands of anti-libertarian thought alive in the current political environment. I offered my opinion that there is not much future to the social-democratic project of the postwar world. Its ethics are at war with its economics, and its political vision increasingly at odds with the values of the people they seek to serve. A bird’s eye view of their historical prospects reveals a long decline in their influence over the future of Europe.

If that is true, what is next? There are new nationalist (nativist, protectionist, and racist) movements seeking to capture the institutions built by the social democrats. What they offer is not freedom but another central plan, based on dreams of demographically homogeneous populations feeding off large welfare states ruled by a leadership principle. This is not an alternative to social democracy but another menace to freedom. It is up to the libertarians to understand this and reveal it to others, as well as provide an alternative vision of the future.

Another Example

What I appreciate so much about the European movement is just how earnest it is. Let me give the example of Paralelní Polis. It is a beautiful space in Prague that was formed as a venture inspired by the rise of distributed networks and cryptographic currencies. The founders saw in these technologies the possibility of self managing communities, so they did something remarkable: they set one up!The building is now home to the Institute of Cryptoanarchy, a workspace, and 3D printing center that serves coffee and beer in exchange for Bitcoin (and the BTC ATM is right there on the premises). They sponsor lectures, display art, and generally serve as an intellectual font for the movement. The culture of this one space is so exciting that people want to be there. Even on the Sunday I visited, the place was teeming with activity. And I was delighted to use Bitcoin to pay for my coffee.

This is only one example of thousands of charisms that exist within the European liberty movement. Every country has its own iteration and own particular focus, whether in Romania, Israel, Italy, Spain, or the Netherlands. As I heard about the books, the seminars, the salons, the meetups, the conferences, and the institutions being formed, I was truly in awe. And their humility regarding the whole thing was notable in both a good and bad way. They could afford to be more openly proud of what they are building despite all odds.

The Europeans and their Future

It is true that authentic liberalism is embattled in Europe: neglected in academia, ignored by the press, and marginalized in politics. What this means for anyone who so self-identifies is a necessary toughness of mind and a determination to proceed ever more boldly despite facing such grim odds. It is this very toughness and determination that is their biggest asset. They truly believe. That is the first condition for building a successful future.My only concern is this. I get the sense that European libertarians underestimate the strength and power of their own movement. They do this because they imagine that they are small and lacking in influence. But that will change as passions intensify and history calls forth their voices in public life. They must redouble their efforts with full knowledge that the future is winnable by ideas pushed by people who believe in the rightness of their cause.

Liberty is the cornerstone of European civilization. There is no substitute. No bureaucracy, no leadership, no new plan rooted in collectivist notions can achieve the flourishing of life that everyone is seeking.

Liberty is the answer. It has fallen to this remarkable group of young men and women I met in Prague this past week to show the way.

Real skills for professional success from successful entrepreneurs. Learn more at FEEcon.org

Jeffrey A. Tucker

Jeffrey A. Tucker

Jeffrey Tucker is Director of Content for the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also Chief Liberty Officer and founder of Liberty.me, Distinguished Honorary Member of Mises Brazil, research fellow at the Acton Institute, policy adviser of the Heartland Institute, founder of the CryptoCurrency Conference, member of the editorial board of the Molinari Review, an advisor to the blockchain application builder Factom, and author of five books. He has written 150 introductions to books and many thousands of articles appearing in the scholarly and popular press.

VIDEO: British Appeasement to Islam

London-attacker

Photo of London attacker who was shot by police and died at the scene of the attack on the grounds of Parliament.

“FOUR people are dead – including police officer and terrorist – and 20 more injured – after killer mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before killer is shot attacking police in Parliament grounds,” by Richard Spillett, Tim Sculthorpe, Martin Robinson, Alexander Robertson and Mark Duell, MailOnline, March 22, 2017:

Four people are dead after a terrorist brought carnage to central London today, mowing down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and attacking police with knives in the grounds of the Houses of Parliament.

At least 10 people were hit on the crowded bridge when a 4×4 drove along the pavement, knocking down pedestrians before crashing into a fence below Big Ben.

An intruder, described by a witness as ‘middle-aged and Asian’ and carrying two knives, then managed to break into the grounds of the Parliament and stabbed a police officer before he was shot and injured. The policeman has since died.

It is currently believed one attacker was involved, killing three people, including a policeman, and leaving at least 10 pedestrians and two other police officers seriously injured.

Read more…

MEMRI reports,

A user on the pro-ISIS Telegram channel “Tactical Retreat” wrote: “The final outcome of the London raid, which targeted the Parliament building, was four dead Crusaders and 40 wounded, among them soldiers and police officers. The attacker was also killed. The Anglo-Saxon security apparatuses have not revealed his identity, but they did say he carried out the attack in response to the calls by the Islamic State to attack in the heart of the countries [that belong to] the Crusader alliance [the international coalition against ISIS]. We ask Allah to bring the harshest torment upon the Anglo-Saxon Christians, and to accept the one who carried out the attack among the martyrs if he [really] is, as I believe, one of Allah’s Muslim worshippers.”

ISIS graphic posted on Twitter.

ISIS graphic posted on Twitter.

Rukmini Callimachi at on Twitter wrote the below after the London attack:

1. London police are treating incident near parliament as terror. I’m monitoring ISIS channels & there’s no claim. What there is is chatter: pic.twitter.com/fHdByU7jz1

2. Pro-ISIS channels are rejoicing at the bloodshed including one that has created a poster to go with the violence. (Thanks @sweattloafer) pic.twitter.com/jSb6xzDgy0

In July 2005, four British suicide bombers inspired by Al-Qaeda attacked London’s transport system during rush hour, killing 52 people. Two weeks later, there was an attempt to carry out a second wave of attacks.

British Leaders have appeased Muslims since 9/11/2001.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said Islam is a “Religion of Peace” as did Prime Minister David Cameron. According to the Qur’an and Hadith, Mohammed commands Muslims to wage jihad (holy war) against non-Muslims until the world is under a Muslim Caliphate and Islamic (shariah) law is established globally.

Quran (2:191-193)

“And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing… but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone. But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun(the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)” (Translation is from the Noble Quran)

Quran (2:216)

Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.”

Read more Quran quotes here…

Resistance to Islam (al-Fitnah) is what drives attacks like the one in London. A hate for the Western ideals of liberty, equality and religious freedom are taught in Islamic elementary schools and at the highest levels of Islamic Jurisprudence.

History tells us that appeasement leads to more violence.

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Hollywood Actress Calls Out Feminists for Ignorance of Islam’s Anti-Woman Stance ⋆ The Constitution

Jihadis Applaud London Terror Attack On Social Media

Sadiq Khan: London mayor says terror attacks ‘part and parcel’ of living in a major city | The Independent

FIRST PHOTO of Devout Muslim Terrorist in London Islamic Attack: POLICE OFFICER DIES, FOUR DEAD, ‘catastrophic’ injuries

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‘Allahu Akbar’: Devout Muslims and Islamic State Supporters CHEER London Terror Attack

5 Charts That Will Shift Your Perspective on Poverty by Chelsea Follett

Angus Deaton, the Nobel-prize winning economist (who also sits on the advisory board of HumanProgress.org), recently reiterated his belief that on the whole the world is getting better–if not, as he accepted, everywhere or for everyone at once. Perhaps that comes as no surprise, but the idea that the world is getting better in regards to poverty is actually a deeply unpopular view.

Ask most people about global poverty, and chances are that they’ll say it is unchanged or getting worse. A survey released late last year found that 92 percent of Americans believe the share of the world population in extreme poverty has either increased or stayed the same over the last two decades.

Americans aren’t alone in that belief. Across all surveyed countries, an only slightly smaller majority–87 percent–believe that extreme poverty has risen or remained an intractable problem.

There are a number of cultural and psychological explanations for the persistence of such pessimism. Bad news makes for good headlines and tends to dominate media coverage. Psychologically, people tend to idealize the past and recall dramatic and unusual events more easily than steady long-term trends. They may also use pessimism as a means of virtue signaling.

Indeed, of those rare people who realize that extreme poverty has declined, almost all underestimate the extent of that decline. In fact, global poverty has halved over the past 20 years­–but only one person in 100 gets it right.

Unsurprisingly, people in areas that have seen the most dramatic reductions in poverty are the most likely to be more aware of what’s really going on. But even in China, where hundreds of millions of people have risen out of destitution over the last four decades, half of the population remains ignorant of the broader collapse in world poverty that has occurred within their lifetimes.

To help bridge the gap between public perceptions and reality, here are five charts, based on data we’ve collected at HumanProgress.org, that illustrate the extraordinary progress humanity has made.

Throughout most of human history, extreme poverty has been the norm. This famous hockey-stick chart, arguably the most important graph in the world, illustrates what happened when the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution caused income to skyrocket­–forever changing the way we live, and perhaps even the way we think.

Humanity, as this chart shows, produced more economic output over the last two centuries than in all of the previous centuries combined. And this explosion of wealth-creation led to a massive decrease in the rate of poverty. In 1820, more than 90 percent of the world population lived on less than $2 a day and more than 80 percent lived on less than $1 a day (adjusted for inflation and differences in purchasing power). By 2015, less than 10 percent of people lived on less than $1.90 a day, the World Bank’s current official definition of extreme poverty.

Not only has the percentage of people living in poverty declined, but the number of people in poverty has fallen as well – despite massive population growth. There are also more people alive who are not in penury than there have ever been. From 1820 to 2015, the number of people in extreme poverty fell from over a billion to 700 million, while the number of people better off than that rose from a mere 60 million to 6.6 billion. (Extreme poverty is again defined here as living on $1.90 a day, adjusted for inflation and differences in purchasing power.)

Globally, poverty is about a quarter of what it was in 1990. And the graph below from Johan Norberg’s excellent book, Progress: 10 Reasons to Look Forward to the Future, illustrates how the decline of extreme poverty has raised living standards and brought about other tangible improvements. As poverty has lessened, so have child mortality, illiteracy, and even pollution in wealthy countries – all are now less than half of what they were in 1990. Hunger has also become much rarer. You can learn more about how increased prosperity has led to progress in other areas by watching this video from a forum inspired by Norberg’s book.

If progress continues on its current trajectory, the Brookings Institution estimated in 2013 that extreme poverty (this time defined as living on $1.25 a day, again adjusted for inflation and differences in purchasing power) will all but vanish by 2030, affecting only 5 percent of the global population. This is what they considered to be the “baseline” or most likely scenario. In the best-case scenario, they predicted that by 2030 poverty will decrease to a truly negligible level, affecting only 1.4 percent of the planet’s population.

The facts are unambiguous: despite public perceptions to the contrary, extreme poverty has declined significantly, to the point where its end may actually be in sight. So next time you hear someone bemoaning a supposed rise in world poverty, encourage them to have a look at the evidence for themselves.

Reprinted from Human Progress.

Chelsea Follett

Chelsea Follett

Chelsea Follet works at the Cato Institute as a Researcher and Managing Editor of HumanProgress.org.

The Importance of Proper Sleeping Positions: What You Need to Know

Do you find yourself waking up with unbearable aches and pains? Does your stiff neck or sore back prevent you from feeling rejuvenated and truly rested?

For most of us, sleeping positions aren’t something we give a second thought to since they’re habits that we’ve formed early on in life. While we can’t picture ourselves sleeping in any other ways, studies show that the way we sleep can have a significant impact on our general health.

Why is it important to mind how we sleep?

Assuming each of us spends an average of eight hours of sleep a day, then we dedicate one-third of our lives to sleeping. That is a significant amount of time, and if we spend it all on a single position that isn’t healthful can be detrimental to our well-being.

Awkward sleeping positions can stress our neck and spine, instead of providing our body its needed support. Unideal positions can also put pressure on other parts of our body and cause discomfort and adverse effects in the long run.

Through the years, people have linked poor sleeping positions with neck and back pain, muscle cramps, fatigue, impaired circulation, headaches, sleep apnea, digestion problems, premature wrinkles, and heartburn.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from these health problems, then it might be time to reassess the way you sleep at night, so you can enact the changes you need to get better.

woman sleepingAssessing the best positions for sleeping

When experts determine a person’s best position for sleep, they will consider the support the body receives from the kind of mattresses an individual uses in general. They will also identify if any point in the body experiences excess pressure and if the neck and spine are in proper alignment or not.

Different sleep positions

Supine Position

Many people would agree that sleeping on one’s back is the most optimal position for sleeping. That’s because the head all the way to the spine are in a neutral position, which will lessen pressure on the other areas of the body.

Sleeping in a supine position will help prevent neck and back pain, and reduce acid reflux. It will also minimize chances of having premature wrinkles as well as maintain a person’s breast health. However, this position will likely promote the snoring of an individual.

Prone Position

Sleeping on one’s stomach can help ease the intensity of a person’s snoring. However, it is not the best position to sleep in should you want to take care of your overall health.

When you sleep in a prone position, it is unlikely for you to keep your spine and neck properly aligned. Without the proper support, it is possible for you to have back and neck problems. Also, sleeping on your stomach will put unnecessary pressure on some of your muscles and joints, and will likely disrupt your breathing.

baby sleeping with toy bearOn Your Side / Fetal Position

Lying on your side is the most common alternative to the supine position. And by far, most people prefer sleeping on their sides than any other position.

Unlike sleeping on one’s back, side sleeping can help keep a person’s airways open. And so, to an extent, it prevents snoring. However, contracting your body inward will put unnecessary pressure on your diaphragm. And that, in turn, can obstruct your breathing.

Also, side sleeping does not promote the proper alignment of your body’s neck and spine. As a result, it can lead to severe shoulder pain and stiff neck.

So, while side sleeping can reduce snoring and acid reflux, it can also cause shoulder and neck pain, complications in breathing, distortion of breasts, and premature wrinkles, particularly on the side where there is extra pressure.

To avoid the adverse effects one can associate with the fetal position it is best to stretch your body by keeping your legs and neck aligned and relatively straight, instead of pulling them inwards.

Takeaway

If you feel tired or you wake up with your body aching, it might be time to try out a new sleep position. Even small changes like untucking your legs and keeping them aligned with your neck as you sleep on your side can have significant effects on your sleep and health.

And aside from the sleeping position you choose, comfort will also enhance the quality of your sleep. That is why it is also important to have a bed that’s cozy enough to help you have a good night’s sleep.

Are the Rockville Rapists Unaccompanied Alien Children?

That is the question I have about the story you can’t possibly have missed over the last day or two.

Questions abound! Is he older than 18? Did he arrive among the waves of so-called ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children? Was he in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement or one of its contractors? And, of course, why had he not been deported? Did the Montgomery County, MD sheriff protect him?

Were the pair (one from Guatemala and the other from El Salvador), who are behind bars in Maryland for dragging a 14-year-old girl into a boys bathroom and raping her considered ‘refugees’ by the Obama Administration that would have been in charge of them if they turned themselves in at the border as part of the flood of ‘children’ that invaded our border for years during the Obama presidency, so-called UACs?

Keep an eye out for any news about whether they were actually under the protection of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

BTW, some question whether the 18-year-old (9th grader) was 18, or indeed much older.

As a Maryland resident, I can assure you that Montgomery County, Maryland, where the alleged assault occurred, has long been a county famous for coddling illegals who get to the state.

Here is Leo Hohmann’s shocking report at WND:

Two illegal-alien teenagers who were placed in ninth-grade classes at Montgomery County Schools, Maryland, have been arrested and charged with the brutal rape of a 14-year-old girl, and at least one of the boys had a pending deportation order from ICE.

The boys, identified as Henry Sanchez, 18, of Guatemala and Jose Montano, 17, of El Salvador, approached the young girl in the hallway near the gymnasium inside Rockville High School during school hours about 9 a.m. on Thursday.

[….]

Maryland is perhaps the most welcoming state for illegal aliens and refugees in the Eastern United States, with Montgomery County the most welcoming county in the state. Maryland gives in-state tuition rates to illegal-alien college students, and its legislature is considering a bill that would declare Maryland the country’s first sanctuary state. Montgomery County is already a sanctuary county, denying 63 ICE requests to turn over illegal-alien criminals last year, Fox News reported.

These policies helped create a culture that allows a young girl to be raped and sodomized in a bathroom stall by two illegal-alien boys, at least one of whom was ordered to be deported, border hawks told WND.

[….]

Sanchez and Montano were living in the Aspen Hill neighborhood of Rockville, and they have been charged with first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual offense. They were denied bond by a judge who said they were dangerous and a flight risk.

If convicted, they could get life in prison. [What an investment for American taxpayers, two more in the slammer for life!—ed]

[….]

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said this is a rare case where the news of a rape of a student on school property managed to leak out into the local media.

rockville rapist

Twitter post by Ann Coulter.

Much more here with details of the police report and quotes from Marylanders.

Well the story did break out of the local news and made it to at least Fox News. I haven’t seen it reported on CNN broadcast news, have you?

We have an extensive archive on the so-called Unaccompanied Alien Children mostly teenage boys from Central America. Although they had been coming for years, a huge flood of them crossed our southern border in 2014, with another huge wave in 2016.

Their ‘care’ is through the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (in Health and Human Services) and consumes the largest portion of that agency’s budget.  Two federal refugee resettlement agencies—US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services—get millions each year to manage the ‘children.’ Other contractors have gotten in on the lucrative federal grants awarded for really what amounts to care for illegal aliens.  These ‘children’ are NOT legitimate refugees!

I’ve long suspected that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which sent an envoy to Central America in 2013, and then wrote a report warning of the flow coming, actually lit the fuse for the 2014 border invasion, see here.

Trump’s people now run ORR, someone should be able to find out if these two alleged Rockville rapists were on ORR’s radar screen or in their care.

Click here for more on UACs.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Four-Time Deported Gang Member Arrested For Stabbing Two Women, Raping Toddler

Univision: Obama Policy Led To Rockville Rape

Supt. Montgomery County Schools says it is federal govt. that screens unaccompanied minors

Two Illegal Aliens Raped a 14-Year-Old Girl In a Maryland High School Bathroom

Some Illegal Immigrant Foster “Children” Are 22 Years Old

Rape focuses critical attention on ‘sanctuary’ states | Fox News

Legal experts question impartiality of Obama Maryland judge ruling against Trump EO

Arizona, Massachusetts and New Hampshire refugee contractors cutting back

In my previous post I told you about the reality setting in in Arizona, and now we see that New England refugee contractors are facing that reality too and cutting staff, or shortening hours.

I am delighted to see more effort being made on the part of reporters to get their facts.

Here at WBUR News (NPR Boston) reporter Shannon Dooling actually did some work (emphasis is mine)!

Immigration lawyer Kerry Doyle

Look at this, right up front—refugee agencies paid by the head!

Refugee resettlement agencies receive funding based on the number of people they anticipate resettling, so the uncertainty around President Trump’s travel ban has serious fiscal consequences. [They are paid by how many they actually resettle as they bid for bodies.—ed]

Jeff Thielman is the CEO of the International Institute of New England, a resettlement agency working in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His agency expects eight refugees to arrive by March 28.

“It means that we have not filled a number of positions that were open in all three of our offices in the resettlement area,” he said. “It also means that we may have to make further reductions. We’re going to make those decisions in the next few weeks.”

Ascentria Care Alliance, a resettlement agency based in Worcester and operating in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, announced Monday that as a result of Trump’s travel ban it had laid off or reduced hours for 14 employees.

“Although the orders have been stayed, even the most recent one, we are no longer receiving any refugees in the pipeline and we don’t anticipate receiving any more refugees until maybe four to six months out at the earliest,” said Jodie Justofin, Ascentria’s vice president of communications.

For new readers, see that in 2013, Ascentria’s CEO admitted that refugee resettlement IS A BUSINESS!

Dooling continues….

Despite that temporary freeze, the finances of resettlement agencies are still unstable. But a return to pre-Trump quotas could boost their coffers.

Before he left office, President Obama capped the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. during the current fiscal year at 110,000. Resettlement agencies engineered their budgets through September based on those projections.  [If they did that it was really really dumb because that (110,000) was by far the highest ceiling proposed since before 9/11. The average for most of Bush and Obama years was 65,000.—ed]

[….]

President Trump cut that cap on refugees to 50,000. That’s an action within the powers of the executive.

But since Trump’s cap is part of an executive order, the constitutionality of which is under question, Boston immigration attorney Kerry Doyle says the quota may be challenged in the courts.

Ha! Wishful thinking?

“While the president does have broad authority to set the fiscal numbers, because it’s caught up in a lot of the other problems with this executive order being potentially unconstitutional, the question is whether the 50,000 is also stayed,” Doyle said.

Doyle confirms what we said that Trump did not have to reduce the CEILING or slow the flow through an Executive Order.

And Ms. Doyle does know that the judge can’t order the federal government to spend money and send agents abroad to process refugees. It would be insane if Trump’s people believed that! They should just go ahead and keep the numbers low (or at today’s level, see right hand sidebar, 38,111) ignoring the judge’s unconstitutional assertion.

More here at WBUR.

I want to reiterate another point I have been making. The resettlement agencies (aka contractors) are in a pickle because they have been running a kind of Ponzi scheme where they anticipate certain refugee numbers (paying clients) coming in in the future, but they never have enough private money in their budgets to tide them over if the flow slows. Why? I can only guess they have been operating for so long on mostly federal funding that they have gotten too lazy to do private fundraising.

Or, there aren’t enough private citizens willing to pay for refugee resettlement!

RELATED ARTICLE: Tucson area resettlement agency may close; Memory lane! Iraqis unhappy there in 2007

Teen Vogue goes Rogue

It’s presented as a fashion magazine that appeals to more than a million girls, so we expect age-appropriate style and panache; new trends in accessories, makeup and hairstyles; advice about manners and dating, and some information on colleges.  But this publication has strayed considerably from what a caring parent would want one’s teen to read.

Teen Vogue is an appalling anti-American propaganda rag, complete with disrespectful, insulting articles about the President of the United States, as well as one that puts the onus of failing peace talks on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  It serves as a Muslim Brotherhood façade in the way that it presents a heavily biased account of the Palestinian Arab war against the Jewish State of Israel, America’s staunchest ally and the only country in the Middle East that shares our values.  Teen Vogue Emma Sarran Webster’s un-researched revised history, taken from selected leftist news sources, is an insult to their readers’ intelligence and a betrayal of democracy. It is such writing that helps twist the minds of our youth, inciting them to participate in the charade marches that support un-American issues, such as the one led by anti-Semitic, faux-feminist Linda Sarsour, who is against police, mosque surveillance, and American ideals.

According to National Public Radio, Israelis and “Palestinians” have been fighting over the same land for nearly a century, but Jews have been the indigenous people for forty centuries.  Christianity emerged approximately 30 CE; Mohammed began Islam in 624 CE, waging wars of conquest ever since; and the Palestinians materialized out of whole cloth in 1967 CE.

During Roman times, Ancient Israel consisted of Judea, Samaria and Galilee. In an effort to obliterate the name of Israel and the Jewish connection to the land, the Romans renamed it “Palaestina,” an insult because it referenced the Philistines, an enemy of the Jews.  These were a Cretan people that vanished by 1060 BCE, with no connection to today’s Arabs/Palestinians.

Thus, since the day it was coined, “Palestine” referred to the Jews.  The Palestinian Symphony Orchestra, the Palestinian Post, and the Palestine Brigade Regiment of volunteers in the British World War II army were all Jewish. Archaeological excavations throughout Israel repeatedly yield coins, candelabra, earthenware, Hebrew writings and other relics that confirm Ancient Hebrew life.  And despite the constant Arab digging and destruction under the Al Aqsa Mosque that Muslims built over the Jewish Temple, no vestiges of an Arabic or Islamic government, culture, language, monetary system, earthenware or costumes have surfaced.

Jews have been a constant presence in Israel and a majority population in Jerusalem since 1820, welcoming Arabs who sought work in rebuilding the new State of Israel.  They came from Egypt (Arafat’s origin), Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and stayed, and were caught up in the several wars begun by neighboring Arabs.  Those who stayed became today’s two million Muslim population; those who fled as directed by the attacking Arab armies became a bargaining pawn, and purloined the name Palestinians to provide a narrative and fictitious link to the land.  But in 1919, Arabs who lived in the land declared themselves part of Arab Syria.  Ahmed Shuqeiri, chairman of the PLO, told the United Nations Security Council, “It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria.”

The land, the democratic State of Israel, has always belonged to the Hebrews and remains a legal sovereign nation. Adhering only to the land specifically granted by God, they have not attempted to expand and colonize. Settlements, a disparaging misnomer for neighborhoods, are legal under the Balfour Declaration, San Remo Treaty, League of Nations’ Palestine Mandate (article 6), and the UN Security Council Resolution 242, as are parcels of land won in defensive wars.  Israel’s population includes Jews (74.8%), Muslim (17.6%), Christian (2%), Druze (1.6%) and others (4%).  There is legal documentation to substantiate Israel and her borders, as well as areas that are contested but not illegal.

In a letter to the Zionists, in 1917, Emir Faisal wrote, “We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement” and “we will do our best, in so far as we are concerned, to help them through: we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home.” He added, “there exists room in Syria for us both and that neither can be a success without the other.”  It was the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, an Islamist agitator and eventual Nazi collaborator, who demanded restrictions on Jewish immigration.  He did not demand independence for Palestine, but reunification of Syria, and was the first of many to refuse to negotiate directly or enter any agreement with the Jewish people.  Although today’s supporters of Palestinian statehood argue that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, no such rights exist.

In stark contrast to Israel, the concept of land acquisition has been foremost for Islam through 1400 years, whether through outright war and extraordinary carnage or by way of deception and preying on the minds of the uninformed. Islam also relies on the acceptance and kindness of western humanity – schools, businesses, and naïve clergy’s penchant for tolerance and peace.  Islamists have arrived by the hundreds of thousands with their Qur’anic imperatives to infiltrate but not to assimilate.  They have false, libelous narratives for the guileless, disloyal, and obedient media to unfurl.  Whether defined as an Israel issue or, more accurately, a Western issue, it is one that Teen Vogue champions.

Again, the complaint for Jewish “settlements” and housing is strictly territorial; Arabs have repeatedly refused to negotiate peace for a Palestinian state.  When Bedouins illegally build on state-owned land, without permission or building permits, general planning or infrastructure, conducting illegal businesses, the world and media are silent.  When Gazans teach their young to glorify violence and prepare for suicide among Jews, such magazines voice no objection.  When Mahmoud Abbas names town squares after martyred jihadis who kill Jews, or awards new homes to families of the murderers, there are no protests.  Teen Vogue mirrors the Islamic agenda.

Webster’s magazine article skirted Resolution 242, which calls for “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict,” but not “all” the territories of 1967, and Israel had already withdrawn from 91% when it ceded the Sinai.  Israel has no obligation to withdrawing from the Golan Heights in the absence of a peace accord with Syria, or return land won from Lebanon that attacked after 1967. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya have no territorial disputes with Israel, yet condition their relations on the pre-1967 armistice lines.  Palestinians are not mentioned in Resolution 242, and are not granted political rights or territory.

Webster referred to a “refugee” problem, but addressed only that of the displaced Arabs, not the persecution of 850,000 Jewish refugees who fled or were expelled from the Arab and Muslim lands where they had lived for thousands of years and resolution for property and compensation similar to what Arabs received.  Webster evidently prefers a Palestinian state without Jews, while Israel is home to citizens of all faiths, including two million Muslims.

Teen Vogue’s purpose reinforces a sense of resentment already embedded in the minds of the young, unsophisticated readers. Previously primed by Common Core curriculum’s lessons made intentionally difficult, frustrating, and beyond their level of maturity, students are taught to feel, not to reason, and to react with dissatisfaction and anger.  By early high school years, they have been immersed in Islamic prayers and studies, taught that Israel and America are inferior, and prepared to become the next generation of marching, rioting sympathizers.  Discreditably, in addition to subsidizing hate, encouraging anti-Semitism, and helping to create a culture of street warriors, the magazine deceives the girls about how they would fare in the Islamic world.

Where is the magazine’s concern for teens across the Muslim and European worlds who are being raped and beaten by Allah’s warriors? Where is the concern for the girls who are doomed to live in a harsh culture, where they will endure painful disabling FGM, be shamed into living in shrouds, be forced into brutal marriages, made to bear children who will be converted into human bombs?  Where is the concern that the invasion of unvetted foreign entities, from cultures so different from ours, who prey on our girls, their readers!  If Teen Vogue delves into the political, why not expose the truth about the harshest culture on the planet?

Conde Nast’s introduction, signed by Dame Anna Wintour, publisher and chief, reads, “The foundation of Vogue’s leadership and authority is the brand’s unique role as a cultural barometer for a global audience. Vogue places fashion in the context of culture and the world we live in – how we dress, live and socialize; what we eat, listen to and watch; who leads and inspires us. Vogue immerses itself in fashion, always leading readers to what will happen next. Thought-provoking, relevant and always influential, Vogue defines the culture of fashion.”

Perhaps the clue to understanding Teen Vogue is the phrase, “global audience.”  The staff looks to the globe for inspiration, not to America, our ethics and values.  Hence, we see disrespect for America inherent in the articles, instilling in the teens a world view and the coming of an age of submission, and their acceptance of Sharia law over American law.  Will the recent return of fashionable scarves now be transformed into hijabs on their models, and are our teens expected to return to the basic black dress of the 1950s – now floor length and complete with face covering?

It would be in their daughter’s and America’s best interest if the parents thoroughly reviewed Teen Vogue before considering the next subscription renewal.

EXPLAINED: Government Healthcare is not Christian

The latest salvo against Christians who are politically conservative is to charge in the most morally superior of tones that failure to continually expand welfare programs is in direct defiance of biblical teachings.

This is true, of course, as long as you don’t actually read the Bible.

But the lack of truth rarely slows a political assailment, particularly against Christians who are politically conservative.

So this quickly became an attack line against the healthcare reform program Republicans proposed in Congress last week. It wasn’t the substance of the need to stem the bleeding of Obamacare; it wasn’t the skyrocketing insurance costs the program incurred; it wasn’t the all-important personal freedoms at stake that we spelled out previously.

It was this, best represented in a couple of tweets from CNN political analyst and USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers retweeting one of her followers. Her follower tweeted: “We do not require religious writings to know that it is right for gov to have compassion for the poor.” To which Powers added: “This is true. And it’s sad that so many people demanding scripture citations have such antipathy toward the poor.”

They are probably demanding those citations in relationship to the role of government. And in that, there are none to be found.

Personal experience with this

This is not a new line of attack.

Many years ago, I was at a luncheon function sitting at a large table with others from the newspaper where I worked. As the speaker was walking up to the podium, the editorial page editor — an older, liberal atheist man who knew I was both Christian and politically conservative — turned and said, “Based on Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, I don’t understand why all Christians aren’t liberals.” He then turned away toward the speaker as the program began, allowing no time for a response.

That was purposely timed. I wrote him an extensive explanation. But he never responded, nor could I get him to engage when I saw him, because he did not want a discussion or a better understanding. He wanted to take a cheap shot, feel smugly self-satisfied and move on.

That is a lot of what we are seeing here today. Many of the people saying that any opposition to government-funded or government-run healthcare insurance is un-Christian are themselves not even Christians. (Powers, to be noted, is a Christian.)

It’s a dual purpose political attack line to score points for big-government welfare programs among the uninformed while also taking a whack at RWRN (social media slang for Right Wing Religious Nuts.)

But they have an empty case on multiple levels, and they should be and can be knocked down vigorously.

Christianity and government healthcare

Let’s take the Sermon on the Mount, as this is a favorite for those who skim the Bible, or hear it paraphrased from others who have skimmed it.

The problem with the editorial page editor’s cheap shot is that it suffered from a fatal fallacy. Jesus teaches for three full chapters in Matthew on the deeper Christian life of joy, suffering and generosity toward others. In one portion of one chapter, Jesus says:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

Jesus not only is speaking directly to his followers — that is, those who are now called Christians — but he is also telling them to not be generous in ways that call attention to ourselves. Do it quietly, even secretly when possible. In the very passage he is talking about giving to the needy, he exhorts his followers to do it tacitly, humbly.

No place in these three chapters does he mention a role for government in his teachings. This is consistent throughout Scripture. Some argue that just because Jesus did not overtly say this should be done by government does not mean he opposed it.

That is true, but that is not what defenders of big government welfare programs are asserting. They are saying Christians are compelled to support helping the poor through government programs because they are Christians. But Christianity is based on the Bible, and it is clear that is not what the Bible says at all.

Further, Jesus had plenty of opportunities to spell out a Christianized government role when talking to soldiers, centurions, Roman leaders, Pontius Pilate and so on. And he stayed mum.

Given his teachings that were always aimed at the responsibilities of the individual believer and not the government, and his choice to stay mute when given the open opportunity to spell out the role of government, it seems more than likely that he was disinterested in government doing what individual Christians should be doing.

The error of compassionate government

Compassionate government is an impossible combination.

An entity such as a government cannot have compassion. People can have compassion because it is a uniquely human trait. Anthropomorphizing government is a grave error leading to terrible policies — exactly what we’ve seen for decades.

Government as an institution has a critical role, but it has nothing to do with compassion or love or anger or any other human emotions or traits. The American government’s primary role was meant to be the protection of individual human rights. That’s why the very Declaration separating us from a distant tyrant launches with:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Government is meant to secure the rights of the individual, and protect them from intrusion by other individuals and by the government itself. Hence we have a system of checks and balances within the government so as to keep itself in check because by nature it is not compassionate. It was a machine designed to protect us from itself.

Endowing government with human attributes such as compassion and placing upon it the burden of caring for individuals is a doomed proposition. We see it fail again and again and again.

Opposition to government healthcare is not hatred

Kind of an absurd point to have to make, but alas, here we are. Powers used the word “antipathy.”

An American, whether Christian or not, can believe that X should be done and also think that it is wrong for government to do X. We can believe in helping the poor individually, through churches and synagogues and other charitable organizations and oppose the government doing the same. It is not an either/or proposition.

What we’ve seen is that when government fills this space, it displaces charities that would otherwise be doing the work. And it does it inefficiently while creating an entitlement mentality among those receiving it. Instead of gratefulness to an individual or a church or an organization, recipients see the gifts bestowed from government as a virtual right. And if the gifts are not sufficiently large, they are angered and will protest for more.

That alone is a bad sign for the soul.

So we spend about $1.3 trillion every year on various safety net programs and in return we get deep familial dysfunction, enablement of bad behavior, more debt that eventually we will be unable to pay off and, maybe as much as anything, we lock the poor into generational poverty and ingratitude.

Opposing the system doing this is not hatred. In fact, it may actually be more loving and therefor more Christian. But politicians cannot take credit for that system. Only when ladled by their generous hand can they take the credit and secure future votes — accomplished by forcibly taking money from others. There is no love in any of that.

There is nothing virtuous about giving other people’s money to the poor. In fact, if you want to go to Scripture, Jesus has a few harsh things to say about such grandstanding.

We cannot outsource moral obligations

Shifting responsibility to the government is a pathway for us to feel relieved of any personal duty to help those in need. For many, merely advocating for more money to go to the poor proves our compassion and moral superiority.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Conservatives tend to want a system where there is minimal welfare, just enough to help people get back on their feet. The institutional variety we have now breeds ever more welfare and robs people of their self-worth, making them comfortable living in poverty on handouts.

That is not loving and it certainly is not Christian.

So any Biblical case for Christians being required to support government healthcare and other welfare programs is DOA — if we actually read the Scriptures.

RELATED ARTICLES:

In 24 States, 50% or More of Babies Born on Medicaid; New Mexico Leads Nation With 72%

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in The Revolutionary Act.

Top Countries where Christians face Egregious Persecution for their Faith

Jews and Christians of faith are under siege globally. It is important to understand in which countries Christians, and likely Jews, face terrible persecution.

To understand this we looked at two reports:

  1. The Open Doors World Watch List 2017 and
  2. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2016 Annual Report

What inspired us to write this story are two missionaries. The first works to save persecuted Christians and the second to bring the Gospel of Jesus to countries that do not allow missionary visas.

The first man goes to the Middle East to save families captured by ISIS, many of them women and children who are sold in slave markets.

The second has just completed his missionary training and will be traveling to a predominantly Muslim country to bring the people the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth.

Both are brave men. Both deserve our prayers and support.

While there are those who are fighting against President Trump’s “extreme vetting” of individuals from foreign countries,  many of these same countries have their own brand of “extreme persecution.” Persecution not only of visitors, but of their own natural born citizens.

In many of these countries becoming a Christian leads to persecution and prison or at worst is a death sentence.

Each year, Open Doors publishes the World Watch List to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. The list represents believers in Jesus Christ who are arrested, harassed, tortured — even killed — for their faith. Here are the top 50 listed by Open Doors:

COUNTRY                 SCORE

1. North Korea ——– 92/100
2. Somalia ————- 91/100
3. Afghanistan ——– 89/100
4. Pakistan ———— 88/100
5. Sudan ————– 87/100
6. Syria —————- 86/100
7. Iraq —————– 86/100
8. Iran —————– 85/100
9. Yemen ————- 85/100
10. Eritrea ————– 82/100

11. Libya —————- 78/100
12. Nigeria ———— 78/100
13. Maldives ———- 76/100
14. Saudi Arabia —— 76/100
15. India —————- 73/100
16. Uzbekistan ——– 71/100
17. Vietnam ———— 71/100
18. Kenya ————— 68/100
19. Turkmenistan —- 66/100
20. Qatar ————— 65/100

21. Egypt ————— 65/100
22. Ethiopia ———— 64/100
23. Palestinian Terr. — 64/100
24. Laos——————— 64/100
25. Brunei ————— 64/100
26. Bangladesh ——– 63/100
27. Jordan ————– 63/100
28. Myanmar ———– 62/100
29. Tunisia ————- 61/100
30. Bhutan ————- 61/100

31. Malaysia ———— 60/100
32. Mali —————– 59/100
33. Tanzania ———– 59/100
34. Cen. Afr. Rep. —– 58/100
35. Tajikistan ———- 58/100
36. Algeria ————- 58/100
37. Turkey ————– 57/100
38. Kuwait ————- 57/100
39. China ————— 57/100
40. Djibouti ———— 57/100

41. Mexico ————- 57/100
42. Comoros ———– 56/100
43. Kazakhstan ——- 56/100
44. United Arab Em. – 55/100
45. Sri Lanka ———– 55/100 (New)
46. Indonesia ——— 55/100
47. Mauritania———- 55/100 (New)
48. Bahrain ———— 54/100
49. Oman ————– 53/100
50. Colombia ———- 53/100

NOTE: For in-depth research, stories, prayer updates and more for all 50 countries on the 2017 World Watch List, visit ODUSA.org/WWL

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2016 Annual Report states, “The incarceration of prisoners of conscience – people whom governments hold for reasons including those related to religion – remains astonishingly widespread.”

The report lists 31 countries where religious persecution is extreme. These countries are broken down into Tier 1 and Tear 2 countries of particular concern as follows:

TIER 1 – Any country whose government engages in or tolerates particularly severe violations of religious freedom that are systematic, ongoing and egregious.

In 2016, USCIRF recommends that the Secretary of State re-designate the following nine countries as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC):

  1. Burma,
  2. China,
  3. Eritrea,
  4. Iran,
  5. North Korea,
  6. Saudi Arabia,
  7. Sudan,
  8. Turkmenistan,
  9. and Uzbekistan.

USCIRF also finds that eight other countries meet the CPC standard and should be so designated:

  1. Central African Republic,
  2. Egypt,
  3. Iraq,
  4. Nigeria,
  5. Pakistan,
  6. Syria,
  7. Tajikistan,
  8. and Vietnam.

TIER 2 – Countries where the violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are serious and are characterized by at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” CPC standard. 

In 2016, USCIRF places the following ten countries on Tier 2:

  1. Afghanistan,
  2. Azerbaijan,
  3. Cuba,
  4. India,
  5. Indonesia,
  6. Kazakhstan,
  7. Laos,
  8. Malaysia,
  9. Russia,
  10. and Turkey.

It is important to note the similarities of the lists. Evil is rampant in these countries. Antisemitic, anti-Christian, persecution, hate, intolerance are the rule rather than the exception.

Matthew 10:22 reads, “And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.”

RELATED INFOGRAPHIC:

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Image processed by CodeCarvings Piczard ### FREE Community Edition ### on 2017-01-11 14:59:11Z | http://piczard.com | http://codecarvings.com

CAIR bullies Texas AG for challenging a public school’s use of a classroom ‘exclusively’ for Muslim prayer

Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas is allowing Muslims to have a dedicated classroom to pray during the school day.  See Liberty High School March 3, 2017 Wingspan newspaper article below titled Classroom becomes prayer room.

muslim prayer room liberty high school

Muslim prayer room at Liberty High School.

WFAA 8 ABC reported on March 19, 2017 Paxton’s office outlines concerns over ‘prayer room’ in letter to Frisco ISD

DALLAS – The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter to Frisco ISD Friday expressing concern over a “prayer room” in one of the district’s schools.

Liberty High School has an empty classroom where students can pray during the school day. Deputy Attorney General Andrew Leonie’s letter to Frisco ISD’s superintendent questioned the legality of the prayer room, saying the room is dedicated to Islamic students and excludes other religions.

“Liberty High School’s policy should be neutral toward religion,” the letter reads. “However, it appears that students are being treated different based on their religious beliefs. Such a practice, of course, is irreconcilable with our nation’s enduring commitment to religious liberty.”

The letter references a March 3 article in the Liberty High School Campus Wingspan — the school’s student-run news outlet — that says the prayer room “addresses the religious needs of some students.”

CAIR Texas issued a news release on March 19, 2017 titled CAIR Condemns Texas Attorney General’s ‘Cheap Islamophobic Publicity Stunt’

(AUSTIN, TEXAS, 3/19/17) The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) today condemned what it called a “cheap Islamophobic publicity stunt” by that state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office has raised objections to the use of a spare classroom by Muslim middle school students to perform their daily prayers.

Paxton’s office sent the Frisco school district superintendent a letter Friday expressing “concerns” that the classroom is being used by Muslim students. In a news release, Paxton’s office falsely stated: “Recent news reports have indicated that the high school’s prayer room is. . .apparently excluding students of other faiths.”  .

Ironically, it appears that CAIR is “falsely” accusing “Paxton’s office of falsely stating: ‘Recent news reports have indicated that the high school’s prayer room is. . .apparently excluding students of other faiths.’”  The high school’s own article about this situation posted below clearly states that this classroom is used to provide a place for Muslims to pray throughout the school day.

Florida Family Association has prepared a short email for you to send to thank Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for challenging the special prayer room for one religion.  A copy of the email will also be sent to Liberty High School Principal Scott Warstler and the Frisco Independent School District Board Members.

For contact information please click here.

Liberty High School March 3, 2017 Wingspan newspaper published the following article titled:  Classroom becomes prayer room

At many public schools, religion isn’t talked about openly.

But here on campus, there’s a room dedicated to the religious needs of some students.

Every day during lunches, room C112 is utilized as a prayer room.

While most religions do not dictate specific times to pray, Islam is different in this regard.

“By praying five times a day, which includes movements such as bowing and prostrating where you actually place your forehead and the tip of your nose on to the floor and also facing a specific direction, not only shows uniformity, in terms of how Muslims pray together and come together for that purpose,” Islamic Association of Collin County Youth Director Ryan Hilliard said. “But even more importantly it shows that they’re willing to put their entire body and their entire mind and their soul into this act and be able to focus on that moment where they’re able to have this conversation with God, when in many other places they would not be able to do so.”

The campus prayer room has been available for students since 2009.

“This is my seventh year at Liberty, my first year it kind of started when a core group of students were leaving campus every Friday for Friday prayer,” Principal Scott Warstler said. “Their parents would come pick them up, so they may miss an hour and a half to two hours to two and a half hours of school every Friday, so I met with those students and a couple of their parents and suggested if they would be okay if the students were able to lead the prayer at school as a group, and we gave them a space to do that so they didn’t have to be in a car traveling thirty minutes each way on a Friday missing an hour, hour and a half, of class.”

It  started with a small group of students in one of the AP conference rooms, but as more and more students got involved, it was moved to a classroom.

“I think the trademark of what makes Liberty High so great is our diversity and in how our students respond to the different cultures and diversity on campus,” Warstler said. “Like I’ve said, this is the seventh year that we’ve been doing this and we’ve never had one issue. You know we have  other religious student groups that meet maybe before school or maybe after school. As long as it’s student-led, where the students are organizing and running it, we pretty much as a school stay out of that and allow them their freedom to practice their religion.”

RELATED ARTICLES:

Muslim Primary School Students Threaten to Behead Teacher

Appeals Court Rules Texas School Board Can Pray Before Meetings

EDITORS NOTE: Readers may send an email to Liberty High School Principal Scott Warstler and the Frisco Independent School District Board Members. Please click the below link, enter your name and email address then click the “Send Your Message” button. You may also edit the subject or message text if you wish.

Click here to send email to thank Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for challenging the use of public school classroom exclusively for Muslim prayer.

DANGER ZONES: ICE List of Counties harboring Illegal Aliens includes Alachua County, Florida

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published the list below of counties that have refused to detain criminal illegal aliens.

ICE Declined Detainer Outcome Report – Jan 28 to Feb 3 2017[1] by JessicaDurando on Scribd

Breitbart’s Ben Kew in his column Trump Publishes 1st List of ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Protecting Illegal Aliens reports:

In an attempt to increase pressure on sanctuary cities, the Department of Homeland Security has published its first weekly list of all 118 localities refusing to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Each week, the list will publish every detention request rejected by local jails — detailing the relevant agency, the status of the immigrant, and the charges they are facing.

The first report was published this Monday, listing 206 cases in which illegal aliens were arrested and consequently released from jail without charge, despite recommendations from the Immigration and Crime Enforcement agency (ICE) to detain them for at least 48 hours.

The cases listed took place between January 28th to February 3rd, Donald Trump’s second week in office.

In his executive order signed January 25th designed to properly enforce immigration policy, Trump said regular lists were necessary to better inform the public “regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions.”

Read more…

Kew notes, “A poll conducted by the University of California Berkeley in January found that in the state of California, where sanctuary cities are particularly prominent, 74 percent would like to see them abolished.”

In our column Forget Sanctuary Cities — Florida has 7 Sanctuary Counties we reported:

Well San Francisco has nothing over the Sunshine State. Florida is home to seven “sanctuary counties.” The sanctuary counties are: Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

These counties are perfectly located along Florida’s East and West coast lines to allow illegal felons, like Francisco Sanchez, to enter with ease.

Sanctuary-Cities-Map

Map of sanctuary counties (yellow) and cities (red) in the United States. Map courtesy of the Center for Immigration Studies.

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Sheriff Sadie Darnell

Harboring illegal aliens is wrong and endangers Florida’s citizens. Alachua County is now another danger zone in the Sunshine state.

Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell has a constitutional duty to uphold the laws of the State of Florida and federal laws concerning illegal alien detention. Not to do so is simply wrong.

If Sheriff Darnell can break the law then anyone can.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sanctuary policies ‘led to’ brutal, bathroom rape of 14-year-old schoolgirl

EDITORS NOTE: It was San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who allowed five time deported illegal alien Francisco Sanchez to kill helpless, unsuspecting Kate Steinle.

Homeschooling: Restoring Parents’ Right to Raise Their Children as God Intended?

I am a black Tea Party guy; speaker, singer, activist and prolific writer. I became exposed and educated about home-schooled kids while traveling the country on 14 Tea Party national bus tours. Home-schooled kids are strikingly smarter, better educated, calmer and better behaved. I also noticed that every home-schooled kid I spoke with looked me in the eye. They seemed happy with a subtle confidence.

Years ago, I spoke to a class of black students at a Baltimore middle school. I asked each student to state their name. Stunningly, I had to ask several students to repeat their name numerous times before I understood what they were saying. They mumbled. I thought, why would their teacher allow such lazy speech? It is the bigotry of low expectations.

Most parents do not realize that Leftists are at war with traditional America. For decades, they have used public education to brainwash your kids, transforming them into stealth operatives against the principles and values of their parents. Remember when Michelle Obama encouraged students to help the federal government by monitoring family conversations for comments Leftists deem racially insensitive? A Leftist produced anti-gun ad encouraged students to break laws by stealing parents’ guns and handing them over to their teachers; making your kids stealth operatives for the Left’s agenda

Teaching reading, writing and arithmetic became minor goals a long time ago. The number one priority of public education is producing good liberals. Leftists dominating public education has given us students who hate their country; white kids taught to feel guilty; black kids taught to feel justified in resenting whites. They’re taught that same sex marriage is normal and opposing it is the same as racial bigotry. They’re taught that having babies harm the planet and recycling is saintly. Our kids are also taught that their parents owning guns contributes to gun violence and opposing illegal immigration is racist

Independent critical thinking has also been removed from public education K through college. Teachers and professors demand total brain-dead submission to their Leftist point-of-view. Free thinking students are demeaned and even physically assaulted by fellow students

A white friend of mine said her son came home from middle school in tears. He was filled with guilt, taught that his evil white ancestors were extremely mean to native Americans, blacks and women. Today, that white kid is a 20 something year old America hating communist. He believes white males are the greatest source of evil in the world.

My millennial relative planned to visit South Dakota. I suggested she visit Mount Rushmore. She replied venomously, “I wouldn’t cross the street to visit those guys!” Thank you public education’s distorted teaching of U.S. history.

For decades Leftists have used public education and the federal government confiscating your kids to indoctrinate them to embrace their religion of Liberalism while banning the God of Christianity from schools. Speaking of religion, why are public schools teaching the virtues of Islam? 

Incredibly, school boards have usurped authority to teach your child to celebrate and even experiment with homosexuality starting in kindergarten. Parents are forbidden to opt out their child. Could anyone have imagined a day in America when teachers and government bureaucrats would mandate that your child be taught the government’s views regarding sex. My late mom would be in the principals office in a flash, “Are you crazy? How dare you!”

The Bible instructs parents, “Train up a child in the way it should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Leftists say screw the Bible and parents, we demand your kids!

In the Bible, when the angels came to visit Lot, Sodomites demanded that Lot turnover the angels that they might have their way with them.

Leftist educators, using the iron-fist of government, demand that parents turnover their kids that they might have their way with them. This is why Leftists are hellbent on criminalizing home-schooling. Remarkably in America, parents have been arrested for home schooling

Trump’s religious freedom order is a step in the right direction, returning stewardship of children hearts and minds to their parents as God intended.

Opponents of Border Security and Immigration Law Enforcement Aid Human Traffickers

The debate over the construction of a wall along the U.S. Mexican border is heating up even as the infamous leader of the Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman awaits his trial in the Eastern District of New York for smuggling billions of dollars of heroin, cocaine and other illegal drugs into the United States across that border.

The DOJ press release, “Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera Faces Charges in New York for Leading a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and other Drug-Related Charges” provides the salient facts concerning this case.

On March 13, 2017 Bloomberg Business reported, Schumer Warns of Government Shutdown Over Trump’s Border Wall.

That report began with the following:

Senate Democrats warned Republicans Monday that attempts to take funding away from Planned Parenthood or pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall in a stopgap spending bill that must pass by late April would result in a government shutdown.

The threat from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic leaders sets up a climactic first showdown with the president, particularly with their inclusion of Trump’s signature border wall proposal.

“If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy,” Schumer said in a statement.

Aliens trespassing into the United States poses a serious threat to national security and public safety yet while Mr. Schumer has proposed making trespassing on landmarks or critical infrastructure a federal crime with a five year jail sentence to deter this dangerous criminal conduct, he refuses to take the necessary measures to prevent aliens from entering the United States illegally by trespassing and/or violating our immigration laws within the United States.

Yet Schemer and his fellow Democrats are so diametrically opposed to securing the treacherous U.S./Mexican border against illegal (un-inspected entry) and mounting an effective law enforcement effort to identify, locate and arrest illegal aliens who have entered the United States without inspection, often aided by smugglers, that they are willing to shut down the federal government to prevent these critical enforcement efforts.

In Mexico aliens smugglers are referred to as “Coyotes” and a smuggled alien is referred to as a “Chicken” or in Spanish, “el Pollo” because coyotes eat chickens.  This is why it might be time for the Democrats to change their mascot to a coyote- they are certainly aligning themselves with the smugglers.

Constructing a wall along the southern border would help our valiant but beleaguered Border Patrol Agents to secure that violent border.

Enforcing our immigration laws from within the interior of the United States is another component of what I have come to refer to as the “Immigration Law Enforcement Tripod”  (The third leg of that enforcement tripod concerns the inspections conducted at ports of entry by CBP (Customs and Border Protection) inspectors.

When I was an INS agent I was assigned for a couple of years to the INS Anti-Smuggling Unit in NYC.  The alien smugglers we encountered were among the most vicious, violent and pernicious criminals I have ever encountered in my 30 year career.  They often smuggle narcotics as well as humans.  They frequently use violence, including rape, to control the aliens that they smuggle and to extort additional fees for their “services” from their victims or their victims’ families.

By arresting illegal aliens who had been smuggled into the United States and transported to the New York area, my colleagues and I convinced these illegal aliens to provide us with vital information so that we could identify, arrest and successfully prosecute the smugglers in Los Angeles who had smuggled them into the United States.  We shut down that smuggling organization by using the information we obtained from the illegal aliens.

The key to combatting human trafficking is effective immigration law enforcement.

On October 5, 2015 Senator Chuck Schemer posted the following press release on his official website:

SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $2 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING & SUPPORT SURVIVORS IN NEW YORK CITY

Here is how the press release began:

Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Federal Grants Will Be Used To Fund Task Force to Develop & Implement Strategies to ProsecuteSex- and Labor-Traffickers and Help Human-Trafficking Survivors

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $2,070,022 in federal funding allocated through Department of Justice (DOJ) for four New York City based organizations. Specifically, the funding will help recovery for survivors of all types of human trafficking by survivor-centered services and interagency communication.

“With this critical federal funding, these organizations will be able to continue their important work, prosecuting vile sex- and labor-traffickers and serving the survivors of human trafficking in New York City,” said Senator Schumer. “It is important that we work to both eliminate human trafficking through prosecution and help survivors obtain the comprehensive services they need and deserve.”

“This critical federal funding will allow these organizations to facilitate a wide range of programs to combat human trafficking and provide assistance to survivors,” said Senator Gillibrand. “New York City will now have additional resources to identify and respond to the needs of human trafficking survivors. I will continue to push for funding to help keep our families safe and better protected.”

While not all human trafficking involves smuggling aliens into the United States a significant proportion of such criminal activities involves the smuggling of aliens across international borders for a variety of illegal purposes that include sex trafficking and the importation of aliens trapped in virtual servitude to the alien smugglers.

Schumer may talk about prosecuting human traffickers but has done everything possible to impede the work of the DHS to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws.

The primary opponents of these human smugglers are our Border Patrol agents and our ICE agents.  Yet, the Democrats in Congress as well as the mayors of Sanctuary Cities who are dead set against securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws from within the interior of the United States.

To make this point succinctly, those who oppose the enforcement activities of immigration law enforcement officers are the best allies human traffickers could ever hope to have.

Human smuggling activities occur around the world and occur across our southern and northern borders as well as along our 95,000 miles of coastline and through our international airports.

Back on May 18, 2004 I was invited by Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee as her witness, to testify at a hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims on the topic, Pushing The Border Out On Alien Smuggling: New Tools And Intelligence Initiatives.

At my insistence, Rep. Jackson Lee agreed to broaden the focus of the hearing and acknowledge  that alien smuggling is not limited to the U.S./Mexican border but also includes those who provide aliens with counterfeit or altered identity documents and engage in schemes that involve visa fraud.

That hearing convinced her and then House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner to work cooperatively to draft legislation to create a fraud task force.

It is worth noting that the 9/11 Commission determined that fraud documents and fraud schemes were vital to the success of terrorists.

One of the issues that was addressed during the hearing was the use of visas to protect illegal alien victims of human trafficking and alien criminals to create incentives for those illegal aliens to provide vital actionable intelligence about such vile criminals.

Of course the mayors of Sanctuary Cities refuse to discuss this critical issue.  If they were truly concerned about illegal aliens living in their towns, they would make certain to provide the ethnic immigrant communities with information about how they can come forward to assist law enforcement to identify, locate and arrest the alien criminals who live among them and prey upon them.

However, this would go against the narrative that immigration law enforcement personnel are the “bad guys” and the immigration law violators are the “victims.”

In fact, on March 13, 2017 The Hill reported, Dems back body cameras for ICE agents, noting:

Democrats in the House want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras amid concerns over increased immigration enforcement and the hiring of new agents.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to that effect Friday, with 18 Democratic co-sponsors.

Clarke said the measure is necessary to protect those targeted by immigration enforcement from potential abuse.

I was interviewed on Newsmax-TV on March 14th about the threats by the Democrats to shut down the government over the border wall and the proposal to require ICE agents to wear body cameras.

As I noted during my interview, President Trump is determined to prevent the un-inspected entry of aliens into the United States  in order to prevent the entry of terrorists and criminals and to protect the lives and livelihoods of Americans.

How could any American politician be opposed to those important goals?

RELATED ARTICLE: Trump Administration proceeding with Obama’s Australian “dumb deal”