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Monday, August 29, 2016

FBI RAIDS FORMER COLLEGE BOARD EXECUTIVE'S HOME AFTER "MASSIVE" BREACH

FBI RAIDS FORMER COLLEGE BOARD EXECUTIVE'S HOME AFTER "MASSIVE" BREACH 
BY DR. SUSAN BERRY
SEE: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/08/29/fbi-raids-former-college-board-execs-home-hunt-massive-sat-college-entrance-breach/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The FBI is looking at evidence from the Maryland home of a former official of the College Board as part of a probe into a serious breach of hundreds of test questions from the SAT college entrance exam.

Federal agents seized computers and other materials from Manuel Alfaro, former executive director of assessment design and development at the College Board. Alfaro had contacted government officials from seven states, making accusations his former employer lied about its tests in bids for state contracts.
According to Reuters – to whom about 400 test questions from the newly Common Core-aligned SAT were leaked – a search warrant reveals the FBI “is investigating alleged computer intrusion and theft against an unidentified ‘victim corporation’ involving ‘confidential or proprietary information,’ including tests, test forms and internal emails.”
The news agency’s report states Alfaro accused the College Board – which also produces the Advanced Placement tests – of deceiving states that have given the test company public contracts to use the SAT as their official assessment measure for high school students. He alleged the College Board misled these states regarding its process to create questions for the newly designed SAT, an action that ultimately resulted in an inadequate measure.
Alfaro – who left his position at the College Board in February of 2015 – also used his LinkedIn account to publicly post his accusations against the standardized testing giant. In a post on Sunday titled “Department of Education Heads of the States Using the SAT for Accountability Should Resign Immediately,” Alfaro asserted that he had contacted the heads of the Departments of Education (DOE) of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, and New Hampshire to inform them of his allegations.
He warns residents of these seven states that their officials “have failed to protect the best interests of your students and your families, opting instead to protect their own interests and the interests of the College Board.”
On May 25, Alfaro posted a letter he sent to the heads of the DOEs of the states, reminding them that he had previously contacted them on May 7 “to let you know that the College Board had made false claims in proposals it submitted in bids for assessment contracts with your states.”
Reuters adds:
In a May 7 email to the education chiefs for those states, Alfaro said that while he was a College Board employee, he “became aware of patterns of concealment, fabrication, and deception used by the College Board to misrepresent the SAT and PSAT.” He alleged that the College Board didn’t follow the process to develop the SAT and PSAT that it publicly says it uses.
Alfaro – who directed the development of parts of the newly designed SAT that was announced would be aligned with the Common Core standards – charged that the College Board had omitted “a crucial step in the test development process, which he says resulted in a lower-quality exam.” On June 1, Alfaro posted that skipping that step could mean the College Board was non-compliant with federal guidance regarding peer review for state testing programs.
Alfaro wrote to the DOEs of the seven states that, on May 10, he received a letter from the College Board’s attorneys informing him that they were investigating his allegations. He wrote that while he refused to meet with the attorneys representing the assessment company, he did offer to have a “Q & A” session with the College Board itself, and to meet with the states’ legal teams so that he could “prove my allegations and claims.”
In his letter to the DOE heads, Alfaro indicates none of them responded to his letter.
“I began my disclosures with your states because you are in a unique position to quickly verify my claims,” Alfaro wrote. “Your contracts with the College Board contain clauses that give you access to College Board records at any time.”
In his public accusations against the College Board on LinkedIn, Alfaro tells citizens of the seven states that their current heads of the DOEs “have failed you” due to their failure to respond to his charges that the College Board “has committed global fraud against their states and the federal government.”
He adds:
The heads of the Department of Education of your states clearly lack the critical reasoning skills (and the common sense) and basic knowledge of test development required to make good decisions on behalf of the millions of children in their care. This reason alone is enough to demand their immediate resignation.
The College Board saved approximately 17 million dollars by taking shortcuts in the development of a product that affects the lives of millions of students every year. This is how the College Board can afford to offer the SAT to states for about $12 per student.
Breitbart News reached out for comment to the heads of the Maine and Michigan Departments of Education but received no response.
Reuters reports College Board spokesman Zach Goldberg said about the raid on Alfaro’s home, “We are pleased that this crime is being pursued aggressively,” adding that Alfaro’s charges concerning the development of the new SAT were “patently false.”
The College Board’s chief attorney Peter Schwartz reportedly referred to Alfaro as a “disgruntled former employee.”
According to the news agency, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is looking into Alfaro’s allegations.
The SAT breach is “a problem of a massive level,” one that could “put into question the credibility of the exam,” Neal Kingston, director of the Achievement and Assessment Institute at the University of Kansas, said about the leak of test items.
The College Board has been managing multiple breaches of SAT test material for years, leaving questions about the actual validity of the test. The current massive breach comes at a time when some states and school districts are replacing the Common Core-aligned PARCC and Smarter Balanced Tests with the SAT as the official measure of proficiency of their high school students.
In its prior report, Reuters suggested the College Board’s lack of security around the exam itself is a serious matter:
Internal documents reviewed by this news agency showed that material for past exams had been “compromised,” a term the College Board uses to describe tests whose contents have leaked outside the organization.
In February, Reuters asked the College Board how it went about protecting exam materials. Spokesman Zach Goldberg described the organization’s use of lock boxes to help prevent the theft of SAT booklets sent to international testing locations.
But lock boxes, he acknowledged, “would not preclude a leak that originated earlier in the content development and distribution cycle.”
The news agency reported that in response to an East Asian industry’s discovery of how to take advantage of the College Board’s regular practice of using the same items over again from prior tests, the testing company said it would improve its security for the exam.
“University admissions officers, however, continue to voice concerns to College Board officials about reuse of exams,” Reuters reported. “If the College Board can’t keep test material secure, schools are left with the impossible task of determining whether an applicant saw questions before taking the exam and therefore gained an unfair edge.”
Since 2012, the College Board has been led by CEO David Coleman, also known as the “architect” of the highly unpopular Common Core standards. In the name of social justice, Coleman’s goal has been to align the SAT college entrance exam with the nationalized standards in the hopes of allowing more low-income and minority students to gain entrance to college.
Many education experts and college professors have referred to the aligning of the SAT to the Common Core as a further “dumbing down” of standards to force regular state colleges to accept the low-level college-readiness offered by the Common Core.
UPDATE:
Breitbart News reached out for comment to the heads of the Maine and Michigan Departments of Education. While the Maine Department of Education did not respond, Martin Ackley, director of Office of Public and Governmental Affairs at the Michigan Department of Education emailed the following statement:

The Michigan Department of Education looked into the matter and found out that Mr. Alfaro worked at the College Board for 21 months and was considered not to be speaking with any authority about its tests.
In redesigning the SAT, the College Board reports its unprecedented commitment to transparency and has published its test specifications, which include the test development process used to develop the test.
When the College Board became aware of Mr. Alfaro’s allegations, they reached out to him through their counsel to ask if he would provide them with more information so they could assess the substance of his claims, but he declined that request.
The Michigan Department of Education, as with the College Board, would look into any other detail should Mr. Alfaro provide it.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN WEBSITE SELLING "LGBTQ FOR TRUMP" T-SHIRTS & PINS

TRUMP CAMPAIGN WEBSITE SELLING 
"LGBTQ FOR TRUMP" T-SHIRTS & PINS 
BY HEATHER CLARK
SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/08/29/trump-campaign-website-selling-lgbtq-for-trump-t-shirts-pins/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The website for the presidential campaign of Republican nominee Donald Trump is selling “LGBTQ for Trump” t-shirts and pins, drawing applause from some and disappointment from others.
“Show your pride and your support for Trump with this exclusive equality tee,” the store page for the t-shirt, available as the “Trump pride men’s tee,” reads.
The shirt, swiped with rainbow colors and bearing the phrase “LGBTQ for Trump,” is available for $30 while the pin sells for two for $5.
Chris Barron of LGBT for Trump and GOProud praised the campaign’s offering of homosexual apparel, Tweeting, “@realDonaldTrump makes history again. First GOP Presidential candidate to do LGBT outreach merchandise! LOVE IT!”
Garison Carrell of the Log Cabin Republicans did the same, posting, “The absolute most pro-gay candidate. Thank you @realDonaldTrump #GaysforTrump #LGBT #Election2016”
But Cary Gordon, pastor of Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, Iowa, expressed sorrow over the development.
“From Donald Trump’s campaign website… You can buy pro-gay pride Trump for President t-shirts. Tell me again how the Church should ignore and dishonor Exodus 18:21 to help this wicked assistant to the enemy of religious liberty so they can ‘stop’ a ‘greater evil,'” he Tweeted on Sunday.
Gordon was referring to the biblical mandate to select rulers  “such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.”
The Constitution Party of Tennessee likewise conveyed its dismay over the matter.
“Donald J. Trump becomes the first Republican presidential candidate to offer official pro-LGBTQ merchandise with the unveiling of ‘LGBTQ for Trump’ apparel. If Trump will do this, what won’t he do?” it opined.
Trump Screenshot
Screenshot of store page
As previously reported, Trump declared at a fundraiser in June that he is the best candidate for the “gay community.”
“So you tell me, who’s better for the gay community, and who’s better for women than Donald Trump? Believe me!” he said.
During his acceptance speech last month, Trump told those gathered that he would work to protect homosexuals if elected.
“As president, I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump declared, being met with applause.
“And, I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said,” he said in response.
In February, he also replied in the affirmative when asked by a lesbian reporter if the nation can expect “more forward motion” on homosexual issues if elected president.
Both Trump and Clinton have declared that they are the best choice for the “LBGT community.”
“We will defend all our rights—civil rights, human rights and voting rights—women’s rights and workers’ rights—LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities!” Clinton declared during her acceptance speech a week after Trump made his remarks.
The previous month, she marched in New York City’s “gay pride” parade, posting numerous Tweets that day about the issue, including a video of the Democratic candidate speaking at a homosexual and transgender community center.
“[P]art of what I want to do as president is to keep not only our campaign for full equality going, but also to turn our attention with the help of so many like you to speak out and work for giving others around the world the opportunity to be who they are, love who they choose, [and] have the kind of future they deserve,” she said in the clip.


DC-LEAKS WEBSITE ATTACKED FOR RELEASING SOROS' DOCUMENTS

DC-LEAKS WEBSITE ATTACKED 
FOR RELEASING SOROS' DOCUMENTS 
Published on Aug 29, 2016
DCLeaks, a website that releases information on powerful political figures, has had part of its website taken offline after releasing a cache of documents on billionaire donor George Soros.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

TRUMP PROVES HILLARY CLINTON IS A FABULOUSLY WEALTHY RACIST BIGOT

TRUMP PROVES HILLARY CLINTON IS A RACIST BIGOT
Published on Aug 26, 2016
Donald Trump savaged Hillary Clinton absolutely proving that she views minorities as nothing more than a useful voting block.

Trump disputes racism accusations in Manchester, New Hampshire appearance



HILLARY'S MAD DASH FOR CASH: BILLIONAIRE ELITES & PAMPERED CELEBRITIES

HILLARY'S MAD DASH FOR CASH: BILLIONAIRE ELITES & PAMPERED CELEBRITIES 
BY WILLIAM F. JASPER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

With no regard to the massive carbon footprint she and her entourage are leaving in their wake, Hillary Clinton is jet-setting back and forth from East Coast to West Coast, on a record run of Big Bucks soirees with the uber-rich of Wall Street, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley (Rothschilds, Sabans, Katzenbergs, et al). Forget all her populist blather in the primaries about taking on the evil Too Big To Fail/Too Big To Jail Wall Street banksters (whom she voted to bail out). Now that Bernie Sanders has jumped on her bandwagon, she doesn’t have to pander to his voter base.  So, she’s fundraising with a fury. She has already passed the $500 million mark, the halfway point to her stated goal of an obscene $1 billion campaign cash trove for her White House bid.
While the astronomical size of the Clinton buy-the-vote booty is itself remarkable, it is the sources from which it comes that should most cause worry. The Clinton cash cascade is not flowing in in $10-$100 donations from “the people” — you know, the millions of average Americans she claims to champion — but from a small cadre of the mega-rich, corporatist elite, who stand to reap big rewards from patronizing her. Just as important, they are shielded by their wealth and political connections from the harmful impacts that the Obama-Clinton socialist policies already are having on our nation’s economy, on America’s middle class, and on our nation’s security.
Last weekend, as the Los Angeles Times reported, Hillary was schmoozing with the aristocrat/plutocrat set in Martha’s Vineyard, at one of the sumptuous estates of Lady Lynn Forester Rothschild, of the fabulously wealthy (and infamously powerful and corrupt)  banking dynasty. Lady de Rothschild, a fanatically devoted supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton — and a major donor to their corruption-plagued foundation — was also a leading force behind the phony crony capitalism confab, beguilingly called the “Inclusive Capitalism Summit,” which The New American’s Alex Newman reported on in 2014.
According to the Los Angeles Times report, the Rothschild soiree netted Clinton $3 million, while another schmoozefest the same day at the Martha’s Vineyard seaside home of former Universal Studios CEO Frank Biondi brought in $2 million. “At the Rothschild event,” the Times reported, “an aide to Clinton said, Clinton talked about how America succeeds when ‘everyone shares in the rewards, not just those at the top.’” The hypocrisy of  that boilerplate rhetoric, no doubt, was received with appropriate amusement by the champagne-and-caviar “populists” at the glamor get-together; the attendees, after all, represent those who are reaping rewards at the top of the top.
According to the Times:
Hillary Clinton dropped by the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend to pick up more than $3 million in campaign contributions.
Thirty people contributed $50,000 apiece to attend the Saturday night function at the summer home of Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a wealthy investment manager so committed to Clinton that she couldn’t bring herself to vote for then-Sen. Barack Obama after he defeated Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary.
After scooping up millions at Martha’s Vineyard, Team Hillary set off for the Golden State, which has always proven to be a huge cash cow for the Clintons. The corporate limousine liberals and pampered celebrities of Beverly Hills, Hollywood, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs just love Hillary. A report today on CNN, “Hillary Clinton's California swing yields $19 million in 72 hours,” provides details on the Big Money events at the homes of Hollywood moguls, tech titans, movie mega-stars, and sports idols. Among those chipping in for this latest round of Clinton pay-to-play were: Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company; Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation; singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake; Hall of Fame basketball star Magic Johnson; investor/film producer Haim Saban; Apple CEO Tim Cook; former HP CEO Meg Whitman; and actors Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, and Tobey Maguire.
Other leftwing Hollywood celeb activists who  prominently support Hillary include George Clooney, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Maher, and Katy Perry.
We have provided more details on the globalist, world-government billionaires who support Hillary here and here.
Following her California cash haul, Clinton was winging back to the East Coast to the fabulous Hampton estates, where, CNN reports, she has more Big Money events “hosted by Loews Hotels CEO Jonathan Tisch; real estate developer Bill Rudin; venture capitalist and longtime Clinton supporter Alan Patricof and hedge fund manager Adam Sender.”
Besides bringing in oceans of lucre, the peripatetic money grubbing offers Clinton another huge advantage: providing another excuse for avoiding press conferences that might bring up her health, e-mails, and Clinton Foundation corruption. Not that Clinton has had much to worry about on that front, since the liberal-left Big Media press corps is so far “in the tank” for her that she can be fairly confident of “running out the clock" on the many scandals and controversies that dog her.
In an unintentional self-indicting admission, the Clinton-friendly CNN piece cited above actually acknowledges that the current money tour is a shameless evasion, in which the media — CNN included — are complicit. CNN reports:
The fundraisers have also kept Clinton mostly out of the public eye during a series of negative stories about the Clinton Foundation and emails she failed to turn over to the State Department after leaving in 2013. Trump has made the foundation a focus of his attacks this week, even calling for a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton.
When confronted with controversy, Clinton's campaign has consistently reacted in similar fashion: Sit tight, hope Trump will overshadow the story with errors of his own, criticize the media, and try solutions that address the issues but don't fully end it.
Closed-door fundraisers — tweets from celebrities notwithstanding — have made it easier to employ that strategy.
Clinton's traveling press corps, in a break with precedent that Barack Obama followed in 2008, has not been allowed into any fundraisers on her swing through California. To date, Clinton has headlined over 320 fundraisers. Only five of them have been opened to her press pool.
It has now been 264 days since Hillary Clinton held a press conference. She has stayed inside a protective cocoon, providing only scripted, favorable “interviews” with selected-and-vetted “journalist” fans and promo appearances on the likes of the Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen DeGeneres shows. Even the pro-Hillary Washington Post admits “That’s Ridiculous.” But the Post, like the rest  of the controlled media herd, refuses to call Hillary out on her evasion strategy.
Related articles:

SBC CONFERENCE: "GET THE SPOTLIGHT OFF THE BIBLE" (COURTESY OF RUSSELL MOORE & ANDY STANLEY)

SBC CONFERENCE: "GET THE SPOTLIGHT OFF THE BIBLE" (COURTESY OF RUSSELL MOORE & ANDY STANLEY) 
BY BUD AHLHEIM
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
erlc3
The SBC’s continued pursuit of its prevalent flavor of theology – American Christianity –   driven as it is by a seeker-sensitive model of church growth, finds its ERLC conference with one day under its belt.   The two-day conference, August 25 & 26, was coincidentally (probably not) given the theme, Onward, also the title of Russell Moore’s recent book.
The Ethics And Religious Liberty Commission conference includes a multitude of speakers, celebrity Christians, mega pastors, and even a poet. For the SBC, where doctrinal allegiance and Biblical authority are increasingly becoming mere theological terms reserved for the training halls of seminaries, it’s no surprise Scripture might be downplayed at a denominational conference.  But for it to be outright denigrated might be an ignoble first, even for the SBC.
erlc
The unfettered zeal to “engage the culture” can be interpreted, perhaps, as the convention’s superficial mantra to hide an underlying bureaucratic panic. The virulent hemorrhaging of members needs an emergency response team. Swing open the doors! Invite in the goats! Engage!  Entertain! Retain! Onward!   We don’t need no stinkin’ doctrine!
So, day one of the conference allowed us to capture this little nugget of outright denial of Biblical authority. You may not have heard it so blatantly exclaimed from a Southern Baptist pulpit, but if you’re perceptive enough, you can discern it as underlying truth that drives the methodology of many SBC churches. It’s the “it’s all about you gospel” … and you don’t need much Bible for that … cuz it ain’t in the Bible!
In playing the wildly favorite “What If You Were Pope” game with Andy Stanley, Russell Moore, President of the ERLC, posits the following question to the mega-church superstar pastor.
“If you were, for real, the evangelical pope and you really had the authority to say ‘this is how it’s gonna be within American evangelical Christianity,’ what would you do?”  Russell Moore
Moore skips right over all those Biblical commands for pastors, things like Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “Preach the word.”  (2 Timothy 4:2) He jumps right over Christ’s triply-issued instruction to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”  (John 21:15-17)
Instead, Moore plays “what if you were God” with Stanley, using the apostate vicar of the Tiber as a colloquial reference to supreme ecclesiastic authority.
Stanley, who you may remember has no affinity for expository preaching, has spoken negatively about small churches, and who encourages believers to bake gay wedding cakes, gave a few responses to Moore’s query.
Perhaps it’s no Freudian slip – after all, greed is at the core of the false theology Stanley hurls forth – that he responds with a quick answer that is decidedly not from thinking on “things that are above.” (Colossians 3:2) Stanley’s first response, nobly couched though it is in a spiritualized ambition, reflects nothing short of his “show me the money” motivations.
“I would have all the churches that are dying, dying, dying, dying sell their buildings and give their money to the church planters.”  Andy Stanley
Yeah, sounds noble.   But, don’t forget, those “churches” don’t belong to themselves, and certainly not to Andy, nor to church planters lacking facilities. Those churches belong to Christ.
But, hey, if you’re Andy Stanley, it’s nothing to monetize the bride of Christ. He’s been doing it for years.
“The misappropriation, the misused and unused real estate in this country just drives us all crazy … cause some of you are in a grocery store or you’re in the back of a school and down the street is $4.5 million worth of property … and eight people sittin’ in there.”  Andy Stanley
When it’s all about the money, and not the bride of Christ, the lascivious looks at real estate are justifiable. Eight souls who faithfully worship? Forget them. Sell the building, get the cash.
As though this response from Stanley wasn’t egregious enough – enough that it should have brought a rebuke – Moore allowed him to continue.
“I would ask preachers and pastors and student pastors in their communications to get the spotlight off the Bible and back on the resurrection.”  Andy Stanley
Pause for a moment and let that answer stimulate your Biblically-informed synapses. “Get the spotlight off the Bible.” Really?
Surely Moore injected a “wait just a minute there, fella” at this point, right?  Wrong.   Russell effected his impression of a bobblehead and let the Stanley blasphemy roll on.
“Let’s get people’s attention back on Jesus as soon as possible …”  Andy Stanley
Which Jesus, Andy? The one that is only found in Scripture, HIS Word?   The Scripture you want to toss by the wayside?  That Jesus?  Or a Jesus that you’ve imagined, one that will fill your pews … and your coffers?  In other words, a false, idolatrous “Jesus” in whom faith is damning eternally, but full of tangible real estate options temporally?
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  Jesus, in Matthew 7:22-23
Somebody find Andy and show him these words of Christ … quickly, before he totally discards Scripture.
“…the issue for us is always ‘who is Jesus?’   Did He rise from the dead? And that we would leverage the authority that we have in the resurrection as opposed to Scripture … not because I don’t believe Scripture’s inspired in terms of reaching this culture.”  Andy Stanley
While no audible shouts of “Amen” can be discerned from the audio, the lack of them doesn’t detract from Russell Moore’s amenable, head-nodding agreement with Stanley’s words.
There’s so much in that last line from Stanley that could elicit rightful reams of response. Skip the “did He rise from the dead” query – that was likely rhetorical. What’s this embued authority we have from the resurrection? Christ’s resurrection, as a historical fact, is the supreme confirmation of our Lord’s deity. It is the capstone to His Gospel. It doesn’t give me any particular authority whatsoever.  However, when proclaimed as a fundamental aspect of His Gospel, God can do wondrous things with it.  (Romans 1:16)
“Scripture’s inspired in terms of reaching this culture.” What’s that mean? Is cultural engagement the limit of Scripture’s authority? If so, what was all that “Feed my sheep” stuff about?
Stanley’s hurling heresy here. But he doesn’t stop with this view of the limited authority of Scripture. He goes on.
“I might republish all the Bibles and call the first half ‘God’s covenant with ancient Israel’ and the second half “God’s covenant with the world’ because the way we talk about the Scripture is confusing for unchurched people.”  Andy Stanley
What? Andy Stanley knows the problem with the Bible and, if he were pope, he’d fix it. Forget arguing the evident theological errors he’s suggesting by his fix, this man believes he could make the Bible more palatable for unbelievers. He could correct the mistakes God obviously made in His providential oversight of Scripture’s inspiration and transmission.  Andy could fix the Bible so that every unbeliever could grasp it … which no doubt means Andy would make it read like the false theology out of which he hurls falsehoods from his own Sunday morning showtimes.  “It’s all about you.
The two-minute video of this SBC tolerated, ERLC sponsored blasphemy against the Word of God is captured below. Somebody call the SBC.  Mention the first article of the Baptist Faith And Message, which includes the lines “all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.”
Either the SBC has forgotten this or … more likely … they’re just doing what Andy Stanley advises.  “Get the spotlight off the Bible.”
By the way … can you say … downgrade?

OBAMA PLOTTING TO RAM TPP THROUGH CONGRESS IN LAME DUCK

OBAMA PLOTTING TO RAM TPP THROUGH CONGRESS IN LAME DUCK 
BY ALEX NEWMAN
SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/23939-obama-plotting-to-ram-tpp-through-congress-in-lame-duckrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Despite the sovereignty-destroying Trans-Pacific Partnership being so unpopular that both major parties' presidential candidates are campaigning against it, the Obama White House notified Congress that legislation to approve the globalist “free-trade” regime was on its way. It seems that the establishment is hoping to ram through the deeply controversial regional-governance scheme during the “lame-duck” session of Congress — after the election and after voters lose their chance to remove elected representatives for at least another two years. Critics in Congress and beyond from all across the political spectrum, though, are speaking out forcefully. Opponents noted that one way to stop it would be to prevent Congress from holding a lame-duck session at all.    
In essence, under the bogus guise of “free trade,” the TPP sets up a massive regional government that will undermine the national sovereignty of its member governments. As of now, there are 12 governments participating in the scheme, including dictatorships of the communist and Islamist varieties. Going forward,more governments, including the Communist Party regime enslaving mainland China, could also join. While the trade agreement's thousands of pages are packed with controversy, some of the most alarming components include the attack on the right to self-government. Under the scheme, unelected and unaccountable bureaucracies will usurp massive powers over formerly independent nations. Mega-corporations, including state-run behemoths operated by dictators, would be able to sue taxpayers in international kangaroo courts. And that is just the start of it.
It is no surprise, then, that globalists are working quietly to foist the scheme on Americans. On August 12, a Friday, which is well-known among PR types as the day of the week to make unpopular announcements they hope will be ignored, the Obama administration submitted what is known as a Statement of Administrative Action to Congress. Required under the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) scheme that the Republican Congress insisted on granting Obama to help push through the TPP, the action puts lawmakers on notice that the White House intends to ram the scheme into law this year. In a press conference, Obama predicted the pseudo-treaty and required changes to U.S. law would be approved in the lame-duck session, which is almost certainly Obama's best opportunity.
After Obama touted the radical scheme as the “most progressive trade agreement in history,” Republicans, who have been key enablers of the plot all along, are in a tight spot. House Speaker Paul Ryan, an establishment Republican who has played a key role in enabling Obama's agenda this year, said through a spokesperson that the GOP-controlled Congress was not ready to cave yet. “As Speaker Ryan has stated for months, there are problems that remain with the administration’s TPP deal, and there can be no movement before these concerns are addressed,” Ryan's spokesperson claimed, suggesting he would move it after a few cosmetic changes. Ryan and the GOP establishment, of course, have been essential in the Obama Trade agenda, even granting Obama crucial TPA to help pave the way. But rank-and-file Republicans are not buying it. Indeed, the GOP platform even states that TPP-style regimes “should not be rushed or undertaken in a Lame Duck Congress.”
Perhaps the strongest opposition, though, is coming from the non-establishment wing of the Republican Party. In a stinging rebuke to Obama and other forces pushing the TPP, Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama blasted the “free-trade” scheme and suggested it was beyond redemption. “Our fears are realized,” Sessions said after Obama gave notice of his plot to ram TPP through Congress after the election during the lame-duck session. “Just as he advised Russia in 2012 that he would have ‘more flexibility’ after his last election, President Obama knows that the only chance he has of passing the TPP is during this short window.”
Obama's determination to pass the scheme after voters go to the polls “flies in the face of the clear will of the American people, as demonstrated in the primaries,” Sessions continued. The popular senator, an ally of GOP presidential contender and TPP foe Donald Trump, also noted that the lame-duck session was “just the situation to sneak an unpopular bill through.” If TPP is successful, though, other “huge” pseudo-free trade schemes will follow. “Our nation is about to see once again how powerful forces work overtime to advance a globalist agenda that the people oppose,” Sessions added.
“While President Obama suggests that an American rejection of TPP is tantamount to a complete withdrawal from the global economy, he is badly mistaken,” the senator from conservative Alabama said in a statement posted on his website. “We are now and will continue to be engaged in trade. That will not change. But Americans know these agreements have allowed trade practices that unfairly close manufacturing plants, costing millions of high paying jobs. Our people are hurting. We cannot afford to lose a single job because of a bad trade deal.” He also noted that the TPP would permanently alter the landscape if approved by Congress.  
Especially problematic is the destruction of national sovereignty and the right of the American people to govern themselves through their elected representatives. “The 5,554-page accord, disguised as a simple trade agreement, commits the American people to an international commission with the power to act around Congress,” Sessions explained. “It allows 12 nations [governments], some with less than 1 percent of the GDP of the United States, an equal vote in the TPP Commission. Actions by this commission separate the American people from the policy decisions that affect their lives. The TPP Commission is a direct threat to representative democracy [sic] and accountability.” He did not even get to the kangaroo “tribunals” that purport to have the authority to fleece American taxpayers on behalf of Big Business cronies.
“This is why the voters are in rebellion, at home and in Europe,” Sessions concluded. “In primary after primary, the vote totals reflected a firm rejection of President Obama’s globalist agenda. The American people have heeded the warning from our friends in England. They want to keep policy choices close to home, made by people accountable to them, not offshore those decisions to an unelected international commission. But President Obama does not care what the good people of this nation want. He arrogantly thinks he knows best. If he could pass it with his ‘pen and phone,’ he surely would. The proposed TPP agreement cannot be fixed by a few cosmetic changes. It cannot be patched and saved. The American people are on to that trick. The TPP is a failed agreement. It must be rejected.”
While GOP opposition is growing despite support from the globalist-minded Big Business establishment, Democrat and liberal opposition has been even more fierce. Even establishment insiders among the Democrats, including presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, are at least claiming in public to be vehemently opposed to TPP and similar job-killing “trade” regimes. “I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Clinton said in a recent speech on economic policy, after having previously referred to the TPP as the “gold standard” in “trade” deals. “I oppose it now. I'll oppose it after the election, and I'll oppose it as president.” Whether her opposition is genuine, of course, remains to be seen. Still, virtually the entire Democrat Party base is strongly opposed to TPP.  
After the White House submitted its draft Statement of Administrative Action earlier this month, which essentially outlines the various changes in U.S. law required under the TPP, former Democrat Party presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont also lashed out at Obama and the deal. “I am disappointed by the president's decision to continue pushing forward on the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that will cost American jobs, harm the environment, increase the cost of prescription drugs and threaten our ability to protect public health,” he said in a statement.
The economic and sovereignty consequences of TPP would be disastrous. But the national security implications should also not be overlooked. Another heavy hitter speaking out against TPP is Brigadier General John Adams (Ret.), who served in the military for three decades. Writing in The Hill, Adams said that the TPP would accelerate the de-industrialization of the U.S. economy — with severe implications for the military and national security. “By facilitating the further offshoring of America’s manufacturing base, the trade pact would actually undermine America’s military readiness and global economic standing,” he said. “TPP would hurt our national security interests more than it would help.”
Despite the massive and growing opposition across America and the entire political spectrum, Obama claims to be confident he can ram it through. “I am really confident I can make the case that this is good for American workers and the American people,” he claimed. “And you know, people said we weren't going to be able to get the Trade Authority, to even present this before Congress. And somehow, we muddled through and got it done. And I intend to do the same with respect to the actual agreement.” He also dismissed the opposition of Democrats and presidential candidates, saying, “right now, I'm president, and I'm for it.”
The battle over TPP is crucial. If the globalists win, Americans will be subjected to bureaucracies and courts dominated by foreign powers — including ruthless dictatorships. The U.S. economy and national security will suffer major blows, too. However, the American people can still stop it. One sure way to do that would be to get Congress to call off the lame-duck session. There is no good reason for Congress to meet after the election. Americans concerned about jobs, national security, self-government, national sovereignty, and honest government should get involved to stop the TPP.  
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