"Pastors, if you wonder who is to blame for America's slide from the 'Ozzie and Harriet' morality of yesteryear to the 'Brokeback Mountain' immorality of today, look in the mirror," said Pastor Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla.

Blair is founder of a group called Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, an outreach to pastors that encourages church leaders  to take a stand against the spread of immorality in American culture. He is urging pastors across the nation to stop being silent and muster the courage to speak out against efforts to criminalize Christianity. He said church leaders have abandoned the prophetic call and have chosen instead to be CEOs of competitive church businesses rather than proclaiming "faith in Christ alone and repentance from sin."

Concerned individuals may contact elected officials, sign a petition against hate crimes legislation and participate in WND's FedEx campaign to send thousands of letters to senators by overnight delivery.

"Pastors used to speak strongly about issues – like when Billy Sunday led a crusade, and the next thing you know, liquor was outlawed. So they made a difference," he said. "The year 1954 is when pastors began to grow timid because, all of the sudden, they had this misguided notion that they might lose their tax exemption if they made too much noise."

Shortly after ministers grew silent, prayer and Bible reading were taken out of schools. The sexual revolution immediately followed, along with Roe v. Wade. Now, he said, attacks on Christian liberty and morality have become more brazen and coordinated than ever – with widespread movements to legalize homosexual marriage, the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to profile Christians as "potential terrorists" and strategies to silence pastors through hate crimes legislation.

Blair's video on the criminalization of Christianity may be seen below.

A hearing on the act, already approved by the U.S. House as H.R. 1913 and pending in the Senate as S. 909, is expected in the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.

Under a comparable law in Sweden, a minister was sentenced to 30 days in jail for preaching from Leviticus. Similar state laws have resulted in similar results. In Philadelphia several years ago, a 73-year-old grandmother was reported to have been jailed for trying to share Christian tracts with people at a homosexual festival.

WND columnist Dave Welch, founder and executive director of the U.S. Pastor Council and Houston Area Pastor Council, has warned, "Hate crimes legislation, which assigns different levels of punishment for the same crime, is a perversion of equal justice on its face. Compound that injustice by criminalizing the preaching of Scripture as "hate speech" and therefore evil, while protecting unimaginable and abominable sexual behaviors as good, and we are building a perfect storm for national calamity."

(Story continues below)

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of letters have been dispatched to members of the U.S. Senate suggesting that the bill is the wrong way for the country to move. WND columnist Janet Porter, who also heads the Faith2Action Christian ministry, launched the campaign to send thousands of letters to every senator by overnight delivery.

To date, at least 4,500 people have participated, dispatching 450,000 letters to members of the Senate.

But now Blair is stepping up the effort by calling on "patriot pastors" to lead their congregations in three areas: 1) evangelizing and leading people to Christ to change the culture 2) educating people about the truth of America's Christian heritage and real threats like the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and 3) contacting elected representatives by writing letters and participating in petition drives.

His church is planning a special Memorial Day weekend sermon where he will bring in a 150-foot crane to fly the American flag as he warns his congregation of attacks on freedom.

"We absolutely will be addressing the fact that freedom isn't free," he said. "We'll talk about the great sacrifice that was paid for the liberty we enjoy and how there are attacks on that liberty not just abroad, but here at home."

Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla.

Ministers should never underestimate their roles in preserving America's freedom, Blair said. According to President John Adams, colonial pastors were the single group most responsible for America's independence.

"They were the best educated of citizens, understood the precious value of liberty from tyranny and taught their congregations a true biblical worldview," he said. "As Pastor John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration and member of Congress, recognized, 'There is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved.'"

Patriot pastors led in the great spiritual revival of the 18th century known as the Great Awakening, Blair noted. And patriot pastors educated their communities and led them in the fight for liberty in America.

"Thank God that our patriot pastors of yesteryear weren't trained with a modern seminary education," he said.

Representatives told Blair if they get five calls on a particular issue, they take notice. So, he would like to see what would happen if hundreds or thousands of people called lawmakers.

"Just think, if pastors would get up on their pulpits and teach folks about how the issues of today are going to affect them and then lead them, we can make a difference," he said. "The problem is we don't hear the truth. We don't hear it in the media, we don't hear it in schools and our pastors have been taught to remain silent."

But Blair said he intends to change that.

"Brethren, it's our turn," he said. "As we reflect this Memorial Day weekend on the great price paid for the liberty that we enjoy, let us not lose that same liberty on our watch. Join with a group of patriot pastors across our nation and teach your flock about this dangerous hate crimes legislation and lead them in combating this brazen effort to criminalize Christianity in America."

Mablean Ephriam was born to Robert and Mable Ephriam in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. She is no stranger to achievement.  Through hard, consistent and dedicated work, she strives to perform and do her God-given best. 

Twenty-five years ago, Judge Ephriam was admitted to the California Bar and in 1992 she was admitted to the United States Supreme Court.   Judge Ephriam became a Certified Law Clerk and performed duties that were second nature to her — research, writing and arguing criminal misdemeanor appeals.

Taking a break from school, she became a young wife and mother of three. She then decided it was time to enter law school.  She enrolled in the night program at Whittier College School of law in Los Angeles earning her Juris Doctor Degree in 1978. 
 

Because she is such an unselfish, people-conscientious woman, who is well respected by colleagues and well known for her contributions, she has earned such awards as:  1997 Alumni of the Year-Whittier College; 1996 Zephyr Ramsey Award-Harriet Buhai [bew-high] Center of Family Law; 1996 Spencer Brandeis Award from the Family Law Section-Los Angeles Bar Association (she was the youngest recipient and first Black woman).
 
If that is not enough, Judge Ephriam has volunteered in numerous organizations and worked many jobs, such as: Hearing Examiner-City of L.A. Civil Service Commission; Board of Directors-Union Rescue Mission (first black woman); Member of American Bar Association and National Bar Association; and President of Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.

In October of 1998, Twentieth Television selected this experienced, distinguished law practitioner and mediator to sit as Judge on the newly, revised half hour syndicated show “Divorce Court”, where there is no script, nor actors, just real cases and real litigants with Judge Ephriam rendering legally-binding decisions.  This all came about by God’s divine will.  Judge Mablean did not seek the position. 
 

After ending her seven season run on Divorce Court (1999-2006), Judge Ephriam is a much sought after public speaker for Women’s Conferences, Churches, Community and Civic Organizations, Colleges and Schools, Dealing with Relationship Issues and motivating others to pursue their dreams.

Additionally, she is working on the mission of her nonprofit foundation, The Mablean Ephriam Foundation,  to build stronger families, educate minds, increase economic power among disadvantaged and lower economic persons and thus create better communities.  This hard-working woman is an entrepreneur. She is the owner of Mablean’s Limousine Services; co-owner of Jubilane Guest House, a Bed & Breakfast in Johannesburg, South Africa; and founder of an awards program, Honoring Unsung Fathers. 

 This is a subject many choose not to talk about; however, many of us are carrying around unforgiveness in our hearts.  Those individuals are unhappy, sad, depressed and just down right miserable.  Today we want to address this unforgiveness that lies in the heart of many men and women today. Jesus Christ is waiting to set you free and I believe you are ready to be set free this year. I truly believe the Holy Spirit will meet you right at your front door to assist you through each step into your freedom. The main thing you must remember about not forgiving others is that it breaks your full communication with the Lord. It desensitizes you to spiritual things. No one wants to live their lives without the communing time with God. Jesus Christ opened the doorway for us as Christian believers to have the right to communicate daily with our Father again. Through Jesus death, buried and resurrection we were given a fresh start to commune with our Lord it is precious and holy. In this time of communication with God our deepest emotions are expressed, our time to listen to the wonderful things God reveals through the Holy Spirit to us, time to be refreshed, replenished, and restored in our spirits. But if we choose to not forgive others we lock the door to communication with our Lord.  Don’t continue to be a victim to your offender(s) let it go and move forward. The past is just what it says the past. You are the only one that can confess and forgive yourself and those who have offended you. This is the time you must stop and ask yourself a few hard questions: What will it cost me not to forgive my offender(s)? Am I ready for the fullness of God’s blessings to be manifest in my life? But the hardest question is what person or people are you holding resentment, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, and envy toward? When we reach this point in our lives we must be ready to ask God for help, so that we may release these feelings and start our healing process today.    

There are three areas we all struggle with in unforgiveness:

1. Unforgiveness toward people who have hurt or offended us.
2. Unforgiveness toward God because in your perception He should have intervene on your behalf in the way you wanted Him to.
3. Unforgiveness toward yourself for situations you have experienced or participated in that cause you hurt, guilt, condemnation, worry, frustration, pity or shame.

In the word of God tells us in Matthew 6:14:15 says “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  This is a very powerful passage God leaves with us on forgiveness. We can not continue to ignore the unforgiveness that lies deep within us for others and self.  The God we serve is a forgiving God and a merciful one. Let me be very honest with you, every human on this earth struggles or have struggled with unforgiveness, but that’s okay. God doesn’t want you to feel embarrassed or have a bad emotional breakdown about this. He is here to guide you through this painful process, giving you the inner strength and courage you need to overcome your past, so you can begin to walk into your destiny. Remember no one can help you answer these hard questions but you. Take some personal and quiet time with yourself; reach deep within your heart, search yourself truthfully, then answer the questions. Read in the book of John 8:7 it says, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” In this passage of God’s word it just reminds us that no one is innocent because everyone has hurt and offended someone on this earth. We all want to be forgiven for our mistakes in life. So who are we to not forgive ourselves and others with the love of God in our hearts? Our role is to show the same forgiveness and compassion in our hearts as Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. The book of 1Peter 3:8-9 says, “Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”  So when you forgive others, it’s for your own sake and peace of mind. It demonstrates the compassion and forgiveness of God.   True forgiveness comes from the heart of God in you. God wants you to remember something before we end this empowering moments of wisdom; forgiveness doesn’t mean your past was okay and the offender(s) had the right to afflict pain and suffering upon you, however, God does want you to acknowledge that someone did hurt you and that was a painful experience in your life. But forgiveness allows you to begin a healing process and a renewing of your spirit through dealing with the pain of your past in a more effective manner. As you start the process of forgiveness for the first time in your life, you will experience the life of Jesus Christ’s forgiveness taking place in you. God truly wants for you to begin a life full of His joy, peace, happiness and wholeness again.

God Bless and Enjoy the Journey!!!

Author Harriet P. Harrison

Call to Victory Website: www.4starvictory.com

Harriet’s Ministry: www.harrietpharrison.com

Comments Email: Empower4Greatness@yahoo.com

ARE YOU SUBJECT TO EXPERIMENTATION?
Historically, people of African descent have been subjects of experimentation since we were first stolen from the land of our historical birth. Today, we are constantly tricked and prodded into taking shots, pills, body scans and much more, all in the name of health and science. We trade our "moral" conduct for the "freedom" to have sex when and where we want without being responsibile. We have accepted the pill, the shot, latex condoms, and all hosts and methods of delaying or eliminating fertilization for the thrill of a night. And if we look closely at history, all this was developed as the societal restrictions fro women were being addressed.

We are mandated by the government to have our children innoculated on the pretense of preventing diseases. But do we REALLY know what is in those vials from which those needles are filled, which go in the arms of our innocent children? No, we are not sure, but we are suppose to trust our doctors and health care professionals, aren't we? History has shown us that as much as we are told that we are citizens with all the right due to them, our skepticism is well deserved. Many times we had no choice but then there were those ofus who did truth and that trust came with a cost and payment we wish we could return. From experiments on Africans enslaved, the sharecroppers of the Tuskegee Experiment, and now there is a high suspicion of the transmitting of the HIV/AIDS virus on the continent of Africa under the ruse of vaccinations against other diseases which has created an epidemic that has devastating outcomes to the populations of the countries that have received "humanitarian aid".

The video below highlights the books Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington. It is a chilling piece on what has and is still happening to people of African descent. It is well worth the few minutes it takes to view it.........HOTEP

Dr. Mutulu Shakur, a lifelong activist in the New Afrikan (Black) Independence Movement and a Doctor of Acupuncture, is one of those people. Because of his dedication to the Black liberation struggle-a struggle for human rights-he is currently being held prisoner by the U.S. government at Marion, a federal prison located in Marion, Illinois.

Notorious for the violation of civil and human rights of inmates, Marion has recently been declared inhumane by Amnesty International.

In 1987, Shakur was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for an alleged conspiracy by the Black Liberation Army/New Afrikan Freedom Fighters against the U.S. government. Because of his political action, Dr. Shakur was marked a criminal and arrested. Since that time, there has been immeasurable and inhumane abuse inflicted upon Shakur from behind prison walls, unwitnessed by the public eye.

And still, he is not broken.

As a fearless activist for Black Liberation, Shakur was cofounder of the Republic of New Afrika (1968), and is now at the forefront of efforts to expose the FBI's illegal COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) campaign of domestic repression. As an acupuncturist, Dr. Shakur cofounded the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of America and was one of the pioneers in using acupuncture in the treatment of substance abuse. He is a dedicated member of the New Afrikan People's Organization.

But, it is no easy struggle. Because of his consistent activism, even from within the prison system, he is persecuted. There are no rewards for his work. Instead, there is only cruel and unusual punishment. Dr. Mutulu Shakur helped found the Islamic Young Men's Movement, a youth prisoner organization, and was a key organizer in the historic gang truce between the Bloods and the Crips at Lompoc Penitentiary. He is recognized in the international media as an American political prisoner and freedom fighter. The government, however, fearful of his positive influence over massive numbers of young, Black minds, tries everything to disempower him.

At 4:00 a.m. on the morning of March 4, 1994, Dr. Mutulu Shakur was abruptly taken from his cell at the Federal Correction Facility at Lewisburg, PA, and transferred to Marion. There was no 7-hour notice and he was not allowed to take any of his personal belongings. Since his incarceration at Lewisburg, Dr. Shakur has not been charged with a crime, nor is there any indication that his classification has changed. His sudden transfer is not separate from the reasons that led to his arrest. Dr. Shakur has been and remains an organizer committed to changing the living reality of Africans born in the United States.

"We are establishing a continuum of resistance of the oppression of New Afrikan People against the oppression of 400 years of slavery and genocide," Dr. Shakur affirms. "Many of us engaged in the conflict, targets of the conflict and victims of the conflict find ourselves in jail or cemeteries or find ourselves suffering mental stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Without the recognition that a conflict exists, the martyrs and patriots of our struggle will continue to be labeled criminals in the annals of history. It is a significant political struggle for our movement and allies of our movement to create the recognition that there exists and will continue to exist political prisoners and prisoners of war in America."

While former South African political prisoner Nelson Mandela has been liberated from incarceration and continues to work on behalf of his people, political prisoner Dr. Mutulu Shakur, right here in America, is sentenced to life behind bars because he believes in and struggles for basic human rights.

But still, he is not broken.

“LET’S KEEP THE CHANGE”

We ALL are obligated, to start living as ONE Race, “The Human Race”…. And Beyond the Inauguration, Let’s Keep The Change!   

Today, as I prepare to attend the Historical Inauguration in Washington, DC, and to celebrate “MLK N’ ME” (Jan 15^th) B’Day... I MUST STOP and reflect on what this opportunity really means to ME and exactly why I AM BLESSED TO BE AMONGST THE MILLIONS OF ATTENDEES:.  "Here I Am Lord, Send Me" (?).... While searching the soul within, I realize I will be able to say:   I was there for many reasons: I was there to encourage all Human Beings:  Beyond the Inauguration:  "Let’s Keep the Change!”  I was there to "represent' my great grandfather, Adam Thibodeaux, "Papa Deuce" and all my ancestors who have knocked down barriers to make this change possible!

My grandfather, “Papa Deuce’ was a freed slave.  They say, his slave name was ‘Possum D".  I am honored and blessed to remember him.  He spent allot of time with me and my brother.  (If only we knew what we know now…We would have written down all his stories!).    Papa Deuce didn't read or write, spoke in his native language, Creole French, and often fussed at me  to "...stop run’n  d’hem chickens!!!..." as I played outside. (lol)  He rode a TALL black horse.  Perhaps that is why I was destined to meet my husband, and later learn to love,  raised and show,  Quarter Horses. Papa Deuce, although he was Noir, had sky- blue eyes, tall & skinny, (seven feet in statute, as he looked to be from the eyes of lil me).  My mother said  Papa Deuce  was mixed with white (that explained his  blue eyes) . He  was 102-104 years old, at least, when he died.  His birth certificate had been lost. ....

I was there, in DC,  for all   the Harriet Tubman’s, my mother (all who picked-cotton, In Louisiana and Alabama   for a $1.00 a day living), my maternal Creole family, the Leblanc’s & Thibodaux’s, and paternal Golden and Franklin ancestors. Many of who suffered numerous beatings, hangings, killings and suicides, as martyrs in hopes of making changes, (in the right2 read, educational & employment opportunities, integration, etc.) I will think of them as I have the opportunity “to choose” which one of the 5,000 portal-potties to use on the DC Mall during the inauguration events.. I was there for my ancestors,  the pioneers that I must represent!  They are the ones that have opened doors for  our children, and grandchildren!   I was there to have the opportunity to CHOOSE to STAND,  and WITHSTAND, the DC COLD temperatures and the long lines!  ....

Contrary to  what I initially thought was only to celebrate my MLK n’ me (Jan. 15^th B’day), and witness the historical inauguration.  I now realize that I was there to “represent ALL  our ancestors”, the pioneer “Change-Makers” who paved the way for Barack Obama, the first Black President of U.S.   We ALL are obligated, to start living as ONE Race, “The Human Race”…. And Beyond the Inauguration, Let’s Keep The Change! 

"Armchair revolutionary is a pejorative term, generally used within the Radical Left and other left-revolutionary movements, to describe a person who endlessly criticizes the thoughts, ideology or practice of social movements or armed groups from a metaphorical armchair — i.e., from a mostly or totally inactive, theoretical position. When someone is referred to as, or accused of, being an "armchair revolutionary," it is always a term of abuse, intended to invoke a defensive reaction on the part of the accused, or to discredit the political ideas and/or practices that person subscribes to, or both.

Inherent in the meaning of armchair revolutionary is the idea that the person knows that their ideas require them to be physically involved in political struggles, but that instead the person chooses to be intentionally ignorant or dismissive of real-world issues and problems, in an attempt to continue believing in the false reality their views create. In this way the armchair revolutionary is often regarded to see the world in at least a quasi-idealist manner, i.e., one relative solely to his or her own perceptions, rather than bothering with what s/he should really do — to absorb the physical and practical reality s/he would be compelled to see around him/her if s/he stopped the alleged "political posturing" and became an activist in actual political causes.

revolutionary, when used as a noun, is a person who either actively engages in some kind of revolution, or advocates the revolution, with recognition from some government or party which is effectively carrying out a revolution of the same category ^[1]. The term is usually applied to political revolutionaries or social revolutionaries, and less frequently used to revolutionary scientists, inventors, and artists. In the political context, the term "revolutionary" is often used in contrast to the term reformist. While a revolutionary is someone who supports abrupt change, a reformist is someone who supports more gradual change. When used as an adjective, revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor."

From Wikipedia (Armchair Revolutionary and Revolutionary definitions) 

How Do we break the cycle?

The Armchair Revolutionary must do a few things:

1. Look at themselves and ask the serious question of commitment, Do I have the commitment to take action?

2. They must also commit to a study of revolutionaries from the past and today, Assata Shakur, Nat Turner, Maria Stewart, David Walker, Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey, by doing this they can find their fire and see how actual work is to be done. Take this reading list found on AssataShakur.org

Recommended Reading List for Black Revolutionaries
compiled by Assata Forums Members (Updated once a year)

Assata: An Autobiography
Assata Shakur

Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton
Bobby Seale

Ready For Revolution : The Life and Struggle Of Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael)
Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael)

Inadmissible Evidence: The Story of the African-American Trial Lawyer Who Defended the Black Liberation Army
Evelyn A. Williams

Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare
Kwame Nkurmah

From Plan to Planet: Life Studies: The Need for Afrikan Minds and Institutions
Haki R. Madhubuti

Afrocentricity
Molefi Kete Asante

Black Power: The Politics of Liberation In America
Kwame Ture and Charles Hamilton

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America: Problems in Race, Political Economy, and Society
Manning Marable

Metu Neter Vol. 1 & 2
Ra Un Nefer Amen

All Things Censored
Mumia Abu-Jamal

Destruction of Black Civilization
Chancellor Williams

The Huey P Newton Reader
Huey P. Newton

The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, Or, Africa for the Africans
Marcus Garvey

Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (New Marcus Garvey Library)
Tony Martin

The Creature From Jekyll Island
G. Edward Griffin

By Any Means Necessary
Malcolm X

Soul On Ice
Eldridge Cleaver

Black Skins, White Faces
Frantz Fanon

Ijo Orunmila
Fasina Falade

Two Thousand Seasons
Ayi Kwei Armah

Stokely Speaks: Black Power Back to Pan-Africanism
Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)

The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient African Teachings in the Ways of Relationships
Sobonfu Some

Notes for an African World Revolution
John Henrik Clarke

The African Origin Of Civilization: Myth Or Reality
Cheikh Anta Diop

Enemies: The Clash of Races
Haki R. Madhubuti

Cultural Unity of Black Africa
Cheikh Anta Diop

Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys series
Jawanza Kunjufu

3. They should examine themselves and what talents, skills and abilities they may have that can assist the upliftment of our people!

4. They should lastly join or start right where they are, a movement of actual movers and shakers in the revolution, like the folks at Black Unity, Assata Shakur.ning, Assata Shakur.org, Something to show a commitment and stop simply complaining!

We can collectively eliminate the Armchair Revolutionary syndrome! We can collectively promote Black Unity!  

Despite what some may say!