www.rachelhouse.org
Last week I was driving around the Kansas City metro area when I saw a sign for Rachel House. When I got to the office I checked out the website and was amazed at the services that are offered at Rachel House. If you know anyone that is pregnant and thinking about having an abortion, please direct them to this site. Also, pray for the ministry at Rachel House and for finances to help save the lives of young men and women along with their unborn babies.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Q & A Mike Huckabee
Governor Huckabee Responds to Frank Pastore’s “Dear Huck” Letter
By Mike Huckabee
Thursday, January 17, 2008
On January 14, Frank Pastore wrote an open letter Mike Huckabee Titled: “Dear Huck: You’ve Won Our Hearts, Now Win Our Minds Too.” Below are Pastore’s Original Questions with the Response from the Huckabee campaign.
Frank Pastore: 1. You’re accused of advancing “liberal economic policies” because you raised taxes in Arkansas. If elected, what do you want to increase social spending on and why? Most conservatives don’t define “limited government” in terms of “no government.” We want government to help those who truly need it. We want to help the single mom down the street that’s struggling. Unlike Democrats, we don’t measure the success of social programs by how much we spend on them, but by whether the people we claim to be helping actually get helped.
We want “limited government” in opposition to “unlimited government.” We believe we’re already spending too much on too many programs, and we’d rather spend more wisely what we’re already spending than simply default to spending more. We don’t want “bigger government,” we want “smarter government.” We understand a “let’s cut spending” message can’t win a general election, but a “responsible spending” message can. How do you suggest we do this?
Governor Mike Huckabee: First, I am a fiscal conservative. I have signed Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform “no tax” pledge. When I was Governor of Arkansas, I cut taxes 94 times, including the largest broad-based tax cut in the history of my state. I doubled the standard deduction and the child care credit, eliminated the marriage penalty, indexed tax brackets to prevent bracket creep, reduced the capital gains tax for both businesses and individuals, and eliminated the capital gains tax on the sale of a home. I reduced welfare rolls by almost 50 percent.
When I left office, the tax rates remained exactly the same as when I began almost 11 years earlier: the tax rate was 1 percent for the poorest taxpayers and 7 percent for the richest. Having inherited a $200 million budget shortfall from my Democrat predecessor, I left office with an $844 million surplus, letting my successor follow my lead to get the sales tax on food eliminated.
I share your goal of wanting to help those who truly need it. I will undertake a top-to-bottom review of all programs to eliminate waste and duplication. Right now there are many different programs dealing with things like hunger and job training. I will consolidate and streamline to get the most out of every tax dollar. I will reduce the federal work force by not replacing many of the baby boomers who will be retiring.
I will fight against pork and fight for a line-item veto that passes constitutional muster. I will also look for ways to accomplish our goals through block grants to the states. Governors at the state level are the ones who know their people and their needs better than the federal government and, since they have to balance their budgets, know how to get the most out of a dollar. We also need to measure performance and demand better accountability. We have to stop throwing money at problems without following up to ensure that they are actually achieving solutions. I will insist that programs and the people running them justify their existence. I will never just assume that because a program was funded last year, it should be funded next year.
While we have great needs, the federal government also has great resources provided by the sweat of the brows of all our taxpayers. They are entitled to a solid return on their investment. I will never forget where the money comes from and will demand of Congress and all my executive departments that we be the best stewards that we can possibly be of those hard-earned funds.
Pastore: 2. Your “Fair Tax” proposal is interesting, but you must know it has zero chance of getting through Congress in the coming decade, even if you should win reelection. We appreciate you raising the issue, and we’re all frustrated with the Tax Code, and we all hate the IRS. But, Congressional Democrats won’t ever let us eliminate an entire federal department like the IRS or the Department of Education. It will take decades to make a serious run at something like that. So, what are some more modest improvements you suggest for improving our existing tax system over the next four years?
Huckabee: First, I strongly disagree with the premise that the FairTax can’t be passed. It will be a challenge, but undertaking those challenges is what leadership is about. The FairTax already has a tremendous amount of support and enthusiasm around the country and in Congress. People agree that our tax system is broken and needs radical, fundamental change. As president, I would be a Communicator in Chief who would do a great job explaining the FairTax to the American people and getting them to light up the congressional switchboard until Washington gets the message. It’s our long-term solution, it can be done, and we will do it.
As a pathway to the FairTax, there are several steps we can take. I would make the Bush tax cuts permanent and fix the alternative minimum tax once and for all. I would expand upon the Bush marginal rate reductions, capital gains rate reductions, and dividend rate reductions. I would reduce the marginal corporate tax rate.
I would eliminate the death tax.
I would make all tuition deductible, because I believe that education is an investment in human capital and should be treated at least as favorably as a business is treated when making a capital equipment purchase. Our best means of remaining competitive in the ever-expanding global marketplace is a well-educated American workforce. Education not only improves our national well-being, but is also the path to personal upward mobility.
I would provide a maximum 15.3 percent tax credit for tuition expenditures, tied to employment income and carried forward indefinitely. This replicates the effects of the FairTax by allowing workers to offset their payroll taxes with their tuition costs. The 15.3 percent cap equals the payroll taxes the family paid for the year.
We also need to consider increasing the IRA deduction limit. We should consider increasing small business and manufacturers expensing allowances. I would also investigate providing tax credits for healthcare. So there are short-term steps we can take on the path to the FairTax.
Pastore: 3. You’re accused of opposing vouchers, yet you have the endorsement of the National Education Association for your work in Arkansas, and you have the overwhelming support of home schoolers. This is an odd mix. What is your position on school choice, vouchers, charter schools, etc.?
Huckabee: I have the support of home schoolers because I was an ardent champion of their cause when I was governor. I appointed the first home school parent anywhere in the country to our State Board of Education.
My overriding concern is that every child in America has the opportunity to get a first-rate education—I am much less concerned with the means than with the end. I support school choice, vouchers and charter schools because different options work better in different settings. For example, vouchers may not work well in a rural area where there are no better alternatives within a reasonable distance for children to travel, but they may be the answer in an urban environment. If local districts wish to do it, if states wish to do it, I think that’s fine. It goes to the basic concept that education is a state’s decision.
I also think that we ought to have tax credits for a family whose decision is to put their children in an alternative environment. That’s one way to empower families.
I am extremely proud of my record in improving public schools in Arkansas. Everyone is used to seeing Arkansas near the very bottom of national education rankings. Yet we just soared to eighth in overall quality in the Quality Counts 2008 study produced by Education Week. My sowing hard-fought reforms in areas such as reading and math fundamentals, art and music in our schools, more demanding curricula and Advanced Placement classes, higher teacher pay and school accountability is reaping huge rewards for our children and their future.
Pastore: 4. You’re accused of being weak on national security and your statement that we have “an arrogant foreign policy” is troubling. We need to hear more clearly why you think that is. Why do you want to close Guantanamo? Do you really want to give “enemy combatants” full access to our court system? This too, is troubling. In spite of this, it sounds like you “get” the global war against radical Islam. Please convince us you’ve got what it takes to go toe to toe with Osama, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jung-il, Putin, Chavez and China.
Huckabee: My perspective on foreign policy has been shaped by my experiences as a governor. I’ve traveled to approximately 40 countries in my lifetime and met with many of the world’s leaders. As governor, I’ve traveled extensively not only in trade agreements and cultural exchanges, but I’ve chaired the U.S. chapter of the World League for Freedom and Democracy and worked with elected officials from other countries. I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel (nine times), Egypt, all over Europe, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. I think Ronald Reagan was a great example of a person who came to office with the same kind of skepticism and criticism. He hadn’t had foreign political experience, but he had judgment, he had clear principles that guided him. He understood that the U.S. should be the most powerful nation on earth, but had to use that power circumspectly.
I do not believe that we have an arrogant foreign policy. I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld behaved arrogantly in not listening to the military about how many troops we needed to invade Iraq initially and then in refusing for years to adopt a counterinsurgency strategy. It is the counterinsurgency strategy finally adopted under General Petraeus and Secretary Gates that has been so successful this past year in Iraq.
When I said I wanted to close Guantanamo, I wasn’t staking out new ground, I was stating my agreement with President Bush and Secretary Gates on that issue. Since then, Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has come forward to say he favors closing the base.
It’s not that I want to give “enemy combatants” access to our court system: the Supreme Court has already held that the prisoners’ rights are not dependent on whether they are at Guantanamo or on the U. S. mainland because Guantanamo is equivalent to U. S. soil. Whatever rights these foreign prisoners have—and we’ll know that better when the Boumediene case, which is pending before the Supreme Court, is decided – our government can’t deprive them of those rights by keeping them at Guantanamo. In Rasul, the Supreme Court held that the Guantanamo prisoners had a statutory right to habeas corpus; Boumediene will tell us if they have a constitutional right.
I have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with our enemies because I understand the seriousness of the threats we face. I want to expand and strengthen our military by increasing defense spending from less than 4 percent of our GDP to the 6 percent it was under President Reagan. I know that President Clinton’s “peace dividend” has become our “war deficit.” I want to add the 92,000 to our Army and Marines that President Bush has proposed, but I want to accomplish that sooner. I know that we need to upgrade our intelligence to get information about armed groups who are ideologically opposed to us all over the world—micro groups can cause macro damage in this age of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
With respect to the war on terror, I understand the radical theology and ideology their ruthlessness is based on; I understand that they really want to establish an Islamic caliphate and destroy our civilization. I am concerned about Al Qaeda’s safe haven in Pakistan, which it is using not only to attack Afghanistan and plot against us, but also to undermine the Pakistani government. I know that we must win in Iraq, not only for the security of the Iraqis, but for the security of the entire region and our own security. I recognize Iran’s ambitions to spread westward and establish a “Shiite crescent” by causing the Sunni governments in its path to fall like dominoes, and I understand that we must have a strong, unified Iraq to serve as a bulwark against such Iranian expansionism. I am concerned about Iran’s links to Hamas and Hezbollah and its nuclear ambitions. After decades of containment, President Reagan adopted a new strategy in the Cold War—we win, they lose. My strategy in the war on terror—we win, they lose.
I recognize that China isn’t just an economic threat, but a military one as well. I know that they have been investing heavily in their military, especially their navy, which they see as a key instrument for projecting their power. Last year their military spending increased 18 percent. That means that in 17 of the past 18 years, they have had double-digit increases in military spending.
I will be very cautious in my dealings with North Korea. We recently found traces of highly-enriched uranium on aluminum tubes that they handed over to us, when they claim they’ve never had a program to enrich uranium. This comes on the heels of the Israeli raid on a Syrian nuclear facility involving material from North Korea. Recently they missed the important deadline of December 31st to disable their nuclear facilities; disclose their nuclear programs, facilities, and materials; disclose how much plutonium they have extracted; disclose their uranium enrichment program (the existence of which they deny); and disclose their transfer of nuclear materials and technology to other countries (which they also deny). Given the potential North Korean/terrorist nexus, it is essential that we are tough on North Korea as part of our war on terror.
In Russia, President Putin is spending his oil revenues updating his Soviet-era military. They have a new missile defense shield around Moscow, have been investing heavily in their Pacific Fleet, and have been developing new missiles, including a new ICBM that they have successfully tested.
We must remember that when the Soviet Union fell, we still had Russia. This is a country which has always had both imperialist ambitions and an inferiority complex relative to the west. Czarist history is a case study in schizophrenia, centuries of struggle between Westernizers and Slavophiles. We will continue to experience this push-pull, continue to have good days and bad with Russia, but overall it will be better than the Cold War. The bottom line is that Putin doesn’t want another terrorist attack like the school siege in Beslan any more than we want another 9/11. But he despises the loss of face from the fall of the Soviet Union and will do everything he can to reassert Russia’s strength and power—militarily, economically, diplomatically. I see him for what he is—a staunch nationalist in a country that has no tradition of democracy, just autocracy. The vacation from history is over. We must get back to work and continue to project our power as consistently and forcefully as Russia will hers.
Pastore: 5. Your position on illegal immigration is confusing. On the one hand, you’ve got the strongest immigration platform of all the candidates and you want to pardon border agents Ramos and Compean as your first presidential act. We all love this. But, on the other hand, you gave children of illegals in-state tuition breaks in Arkansas. Please explain this apparent inconsistency.
Huckabee: There isn’t an inconsistency—it’s a matter of which desk you sit behind. As governor, I had no control over immigration, which is a federal issue. I had no control over our borders or who came into my state. So I tried to improve something I did have control over--turning my state’s tax-takers into taxpayers. I proposed giving children who had gone through our schools and done very well academically, who were alcohol and drug-free, and who were applying for citizenship, the opportunity to compete for a very select academically-based scholarship along with their peers. I didn’t believe then, and I don’t believe now, that innocent children should be punished for the sins of their parents. There was no limit on the number of scholarships—everyone who qualified got one, so they wouldn’t have been taking scholarships away from another Arkansas resident. My plan was not adopted; no child ever received one of these scholarships. And contrary to distortions promoted by my political opponents, no children of illegals ever got in-state tuition breaks.
Pastore: 6. You have said that you want a national ban on smoking. This offends even the vast majority of non-smoking conservatives because it violates the principle of federalism. How serious are you about this?
Huckabee: This has been misinterpreted because I strongly support the principle of federalism. At a Lance Armstrong cancer forum last August, I said that if Congress presented me with legislation banning smoking in public places, I would sign it. That is because I would not oppose the overwhelming public support that such a congressional vote would reflect. But since such sentiment for federal legislation doesn’t exist at this time, and since I have also said that the responsibility for regulating smoking initially lies with the states, I believe that this issue is best addressed at the state and local levels.
Pastore: 7. We understand the need to talk about the environment and global warming for electoral purposes. How serious are you about governmental involvement in this, too?
Huckabee: I believe that we must be good stewards of our environment because God has entrusted us to take care of this world that He created for us. We don’t own the earth, it is on loan to us. In that light, I believe that we must take care of our air and water and forests and wildlife to keep both ourselves and the overall system healthy. We must pass the earth on to the next generation in at least as good a shape as it was handed to us. Anything less diligent and conscientious would be poor stewardship and an abdication of a God-given responsibility.
I believe that we must cut greenhouse gas emissions. A cap and trade system has worked well for acid rain caused by the emission of sulphur dioxide, and I believe it can also work well for the emission of carbon dioxide. At the same time, I don’t want to impose too great a burden on our businesses, which is why I believe that some of the allowances for emissions must be given to our businesses rather than auctioning off 100 percent of them, as some environmentalists are demanding.
For updates on Mike Huckabee and to get involved check out www.meetup.com search for Mike Huckabee meet up groups in your area
Blessings,
By Mike Huckabee
Thursday, January 17, 2008
On January 14, Frank Pastore wrote an open letter Mike Huckabee Titled: “Dear Huck: You’ve Won Our Hearts, Now Win Our Minds Too.” Below are Pastore’s Original Questions with the Response from the Huckabee campaign.
Frank Pastore: 1. You’re accused of advancing “liberal economic policies” because you raised taxes in Arkansas. If elected, what do you want to increase social spending on and why? Most conservatives don’t define “limited government” in terms of “no government.” We want government to help those who truly need it. We want to help the single mom down the street that’s struggling. Unlike Democrats, we don’t measure the success of social programs by how much we spend on them, but by whether the people we claim to be helping actually get helped.
We want “limited government” in opposition to “unlimited government.” We believe we’re already spending too much on too many programs, and we’d rather spend more wisely what we’re already spending than simply default to spending more. We don’t want “bigger government,” we want “smarter government.” We understand a “let’s cut spending” message can’t win a general election, but a “responsible spending” message can. How do you suggest we do this?
Governor Mike Huckabee: First, I am a fiscal conservative. I have signed Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform “no tax” pledge. When I was Governor of Arkansas, I cut taxes 94 times, including the largest broad-based tax cut in the history of my state. I doubled the standard deduction and the child care credit, eliminated the marriage penalty, indexed tax brackets to prevent bracket creep, reduced the capital gains tax for both businesses and individuals, and eliminated the capital gains tax on the sale of a home. I reduced welfare rolls by almost 50 percent.
When I left office, the tax rates remained exactly the same as when I began almost 11 years earlier: the tax rate was 1 percent for the poorest taxpayers and 7 percent for the richest. Having inherited a $200 million budget shortfall from my Democrat predecessor, I left office with an $844 million surplus, letting my successor follow my lead to get the sales tax on food eliminated.
I share your goal of wanting to help those who truly need it. I will undertake a top-to-bottom review of all programs to eliminate waste and duplication. Right now there are many different programs dealing with things like hunger and job training. I will consolidate and streamline to get the most out of every tax dollar. I will reduce the federal work force by not replacing many of the baby boomers who will be retiring.
I will fight against pork and fight for a line-item veto that passes constitutional muster. I will also look for ways to accomplish our goals through block grants to the states. Governors at the state level are the ones who know their people and their needs better than the federal government and, since they have to balance their budgets, know how to get the most out of a dollar. We also need to measure performance and demand better accountability. We have to stop throwing money at problems without following up to ensure that they are actually achieving solutions. I will insist that programs and the people running them justify their existence. I will never just assume that because a program was funded last year, it should be funded next year.
While we have great needs, the federal government also has great resources provided by the sweat of the brows of all our taxpayers. They are entitled to a solid return on their investment. I will never forget where the money comes from and will demand of Congress and all my executive departments that we be the best stewards that we can possibly be of those hard-earned funds.
Pastore: 2. Your “Fair Tax” proposal is interesting, but you must know it has zero chance of getting through Congress in the coming decade, even if you should win reelection. We appreciate you raising the issue, and we’re all frustrated with the Tax Code, and we all hate the IRS. But, Congressional Democrats won’t ever let us eliminate an entire federal department like the IRS or the Department of Education. It will take decades to make a serious run at something like that. So, what are some more modest improvements you suggest for improving our existing tax system over the next four years?
Huckabee: First, I strongly disagree with the premise that the FairTax can’t be passed. It will be a challenge, but undertaking those challenges is what leadership is about. The FairTax already has a tremendous amount of support and enthusiasm around the country and in Congress. People agree that our tax system is broken and needs radical, fundamental change. As president, I would be a Communicator in Chief who would do a great job explaining the FairTax to the American people and getting them to light up the congressional switchboard until Washington gets the message. It’s our long-term solution, it can be done, and we will do it.
As a pathway to the FairTax, there are several steps we can take. I would make the Bush tax cuts permanent and fix the alternative minimum tax once and for all. I would expand upon the Bush marginal rate reductions, capital gains rate reductions, and dividend rate reductions. I would reduce the marginal corporate tax rate.
I would eliminate the death tax.
I would make all tuition deductible, because I believe that education is an investment in human capital and should be treated at least as favorably as a business is treated when making a capital equipment purchase. Our best means of remaining competitive in the ever-expanding global marketplace is a well-educated American workforce. Education not only improves our national well-being, but is also the path to personal upward mobility.
I would provide a maximum 15.3 percent tax credit for tuition expenditures, tied to employment income and carried forward indefinitely. This replicates the effects of the FairTax by allowing workers to offset their payroll taxes with their tuition costs. The 15.3 percent cap equals the payroll taxes the family paid for the year.
We also need to consider increasing the IRA deduction limit. We should consider increasing small business and manufacturers expensing allowances. I would also investigate providing tax credits for healthcare. So there are short-term steps we can take on the path to the FairTax.
Pastore: 3. You’re accused of opposing vouchers, yet you have the endorsement of the National Education Association for your work in Arkansas, and you have the overwhelming support of home schoolers. This is an odd mix. What is your position on school choice, vouchers, charter schools, etc.?
Huckabee: I have the support of home schoolers because I was an ardent champion of their cause when I was governor. I appointed the first home school parent anywhere in the country to our State Board of Education.
My overriding concern is that every child in America has the opportunity to get a first-rate education—I am much less concerned with the means than with the end. I support school choice, vouchers and charter schools because different options work better in different settings. For example, vouchers may not work well in a rural area where there are no better alternatives within a reasonable distance for children to travel, but they may be the answer in an urban environment. If local districts wish to do it, if states wish to do it, I think that’s fine. It goes to the basic concept that education is a state’s decision.
I also think that we ought to have tax credits for a family whose decision is to put their children in an alternative environment. That’s one way to empower families.
I am extremely proud of my record in improving public schools in Arkansas. Everyone is used to seeing Arkansas near the very bottom of national education rankings. Yet we just soared to eighth in overall quality in the Quality Counts 2008 study produced by Education Week. My sowing hard-fought reforms in areas such as reading and math fundamentals, art and music in our schools, more demanding curricula and Advanced Placement classes, higher teacher pay and school accountability is reaping huge rewards for our children and their future.
Pastore: 4. You’re accused of being weak on national security and your statement that we have “an arrogant foreign policy” is troubling. We need to hear more clearly why you think that is. Why do you want to close Guantanamo? Do you really want to give “enemy combatants” full access to our court system? This too, is troubling. In spite of this, it sounds like you “get” the global war against radical Islam. Please convince us you’ve got what it takes to go toe to toe with Osama, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jung-il, Putin, Chavez and China.
Huckabee: My perspective on foreign policy has been shaped by my experiences as a governor. I’ve traveled to approximately 40 countries in my lifetime and met with many of the world’s leaders. As governor, I’ve traveled extensively not only in trade agreements and cultural exchanges, but I’ve chaired the U.S. chapter of the World League for Freedom and Democracy and worked with elected officials from other countries. I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel (nine times), Egypt, all over Europe, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. I think Ronald Reagan was a great example of a person who came to office with the same kind of skepticism and criticism. He hadn’t had foreign political experience, but he had judgment, he had clear principles that guided him. He understood that the U.S. should be the most powerful nation on earth, but had to use that power circumspectly.
I do not believe that we have an arrogant foreign policy. I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld behaved arrogantly in not listening to the military about how many troops we needed to invade Iraq initially and then in refusing for years to adopt a counterinsurgency strategy. It is the counterinsurgency strategy finally adopted under General Petraeus and Secretary Gates that has been so successful this past year in Iraq.
When I said I wanted to close Guantanamo, I wasn’t staking out new ground, I was stating my agreement with President Bush and Secretary Gates on that issue. Since then, Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has come forward to say he favors closing the base.
It’s not that I want to give “enemy combatants” access to our court system: the Supreme Court has already held that the prisoners’ rights are not dependent on whether they are at Guantanamo or on the U. S. mainland because Guantanamo is equivalent to U. S. soil. Whatever rights these foreign prisoners have—and we’ll know that better when the Boumediene case, which is pending before the Supreme Court, is decided – our government can’t deprive them of those rights by keeping them at Guantanamo. In Rasul, the Supreme Court held that the Guantanamo prisoners had a statutory right to habeas corpus; Boumediene will tell us if they have a constitutional right.
I have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with our enemies because I understand the seriousness of the threats we face. I want to expand and strengthen our military by increasing defense spending from less than 4 percent of our GDP to the 6 percent it was under President Reagan. I know that President Clinton’s “peace dividend” has become our “war deficit.” I want to add the 92,000 to our Army and Marines that President Bush has proposed, but I want to accomplish that sooner. I know that we need to upgrade our intelligence to get information about armed groups who are ideologically opposed to us all over the world—micro groups can cause macro damage in this age of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
With respect to the war on terror, I understand the radical theology and ideology their ruthlessness is based on; I understand that they really want to establish an Islamic caliphate and destroy our civilization. I am concerned about Al Qaeda’s safe haven in Pakistan, which it is using not only to attack Afghanistan and plot against us, but also to undermine the Pakistani government. I know that we must win in Iraq, not only for the security of the Iraqis, but for the security of the entire region and our own security. I recognize Iran’s ambitions to spread westward and establish a “Shiite crescent” by causing the Sunni governments in its path to fall like dominoes, and I understand that we must have a strong, unified Iraq to serve as a bulwark against such Iranian expansionism. I am concerned about Iran’s links to Hamas and Hezbollah and its nuclear ambitions. After decades of containment, President Reagan adopted a new strategy in the Cold War—we win, they lose. My strategy in the war on terror—we win, they lose.
I recognize that China isn’t just an economic threat, but a military one as well. I know that they have been investing heavily in their military, especially their navy, which they see as a key instrument for projecting their power. Last year their military spending increased 18 percent. That means that in 17 of the past 18 years, they have had double-digit increases in military spending.
I will be very cautious in my dealings with North Korea. We recently found traces of highly-enriched uranium on aluminum tubes that they handed over to us, when they claim they’ve never had a program to enrich uranium. This comes on the heels of the Israeli raid on a Syrian nuclear facility involving material from North Korea. Recently they missed the important deadline of December 31st to disable their nuclear facilities; disclose their nuclear programs, facilities, and materials; disclose how much plutonium they have extracted; disclose their uranium enrichment program (the existence of which they deny); and disclose their transfer of nuclear materials and technology to other countries (which they also deny). Given the potential North Korean/terrorist nexus, it is essential that we are tough on North Korea as part of our war on terror.
In Russia, President Putin is spending his oil revenues updating his Soviet-era military. They have a new missile defense shield around Moscow, have been investing heavily in their Pacific Fleet, and have been developing new missiles, including a new ICBM that they have successfully tested.
We must remember that when the Soviet Union fell, we still had Russia. This is a country which has always had both imperialist ambitions and an inferiority complex relative to the west. Czarist history is a case study in schizophrenia, centuries of struggle between Westernizers and Slavophiles. We will continue to experience this push-pull, continue to have good days and bad with Russia, but overall it will be better than the Cold War. The bottom line is that Putin doesn’t want another terrorist attack like the school siege in Beslan any more than we want another 9/11. But he despises the loss of face from the fall of the Soviet Union and will do everything he can to reassert Russia’s strength and power—militarily, economically, diplomatically. I see him for what he is—a staunch nationalist in a country that has no tradition of democracy, just autocracy. The vacation from history is over. We must get back to work and continue to project our power as consistently and forcefully as Russia will hers.
Pastore: 5. Your position on illegal immigration is confusing. On the one hand, you’ve got the strongest immigration platform of all the candidates and you want to pardon border agents Ramos and Compean as your first presidential act. We all love this. But, on the other hand, you gave children of illegals in-state tuition breaks in Arkansas. Please explain this apparent inconsistency.
Huckabee: There isn’t an inconsistency—it’s a matter of which desk you sit behind. As governor, I had no control over immigration, which is a federal issue. I had no control over our borders or who came into my state. So I tried to improve something I did have control over--turning my state’s tax-takers into taxpayers. I proposed giving children who had gone through our schools and done very well academically, who were alcohol and drug-free, and who were applying for citizenship, the opportunity to compete for a very select academically-based scholarship along with their peers. I didn’t believe then, and I don’t believe now, that innocent children should be punished for the sins of their parents. There was no limit on the number of scholarships—everyone who qualified got one, so they wouldn’t have been taking scholarships away from another Arkansas resident. My plan was not adopted; no child ever received one of these scholarships. And contrary to distortions promoted by my political opponents, no children of illegals ever got in-state tuition breaks.
Pastore: 6. You have said that you want a national ban on smoking. This offends even the vast majority of non-smoking conservatives because it violates the principle of federalism. How serious are you about this?
Huckabee: This has been misinterpreted because I strongly support the principle of federalism. At a Lance Armstrong cancer forum last August, I said that if Congress presented me with legislation banning smoking in public places, I would sign it. That is because I would not oppose the overwhelming public support that such a congressional vote would reflect. But since such sentiment for federal legislation doesn’t exist at this time, and since I have also said that the responsibility for regulating smoking initially lies with the states, I believe that this issue is best addressed at the state and local levels.
Pastore: 7. We understand the need to talk about the environment and global warming for electoral purposes. How serious are you about governmental involvement in this, too?
Huckabee: I believe that we must be good stewards of our environment because God has entrusted us to take care of this world that He created for us. We don’t own the earth, it is on loan to us. In that light, I believe that we must take care of our air and water and forests and wildlife to keep both ourselves and the overall system healthy. We must pass the earth on to the next generation in at least as good a shape as it was handed to us. Anything less diligent and conscientious would be poor stewardship and an abdication of a God-given responsibility.
I believe that we must cut greenhouse gas emissions. A cap and trade system has worked well for acid rain caused by the emission of sulphur dioxide, and I believe it can also work well for the emission of carbon dioxide. At the same time, I don’t want to impose too great a burden on our businesses, which is why I believe that some of the allowances for emissions must be given to our businesses rather than auctioning off 100 percent of them, as some environmentalists are demanding.
For updates on Mike Huckabee and to get involved check out www.meetup.com search for Mike Huckabee meet up groups in your area
Blessings,
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Texas Trip
My trip has been daily conversations that have been soaked with the presence of the Lord.
One of my friends in Dallas that was with me during my drug years has been hanging out with me and asking tons of questions. I have been blown away how the Lord is opening doors to minister to him.
Another friend of mine that is going through a real tough time in a custody battle of his 4yo little girl (she is an angel), has opened up and I have been able to pray over him and the Lord is taking him deeper in the word. We were driving down the road the other day after dropping his daughter off to her irresponsible mother and my friend was filled with fear and anxiety. I told him that the Lord did not want him to fill that way and I steeped out on a limb and just started praying. As he was driving and I was praying he looked at me and said "I want to pay you to pray for me anytime I need help". That opened the door for me to help him with his own prayer life.
On Saturday my oldest sister graduated with her masters degree. I have been the only male in her life until a few years ago. When we got home from her ceremony I hugged her and told her how proud I am of her and that I know that she had made great sacrifices with her family and friends in order to go back to school. She smiled with tears in her eyes and told me how much she appreciates me and how thankful she is that I made it home to be with her on her special day.
I rode home from her graduation with my cousin that is very agnostic. He is a very intelligent young man and has had a very messed up life. The conversation turned to what I have been doing over the past 5 months. I began to tell him about real Christianity as opposed to many people he has encountered that fly the Christian flag. By the end of the one hour drive, he was interested in reading the bible and checking out the christian faith. So cool!
Yesterday, when I arrived in Houston my dad and step mom were sitting in the airport to greet me when I got off the plane. The ride back to my dad's shop was great. We all talked and laughed together, I was very encouraged to say the least.
After picking up one of my dad's trucks to drive around this week, I went and visited some guys that I did business in the past. One of the men I spoke to is a brother in the faith and a competitor of my dads company. He is in the process of moving to a new building and he is getting out of the used equipment business do to the increasing market for new surplus equipment. During our 3 hr visit he tells me that he is going to palletize his used overstock and arrange a semi to bring it to me in KC. He is going to consign the equipment at 1/5th of the wholesale price and allow me to send him a check monthly until I have sold all of the equipment. This is an unbelievable blessing. This will allow me to have inventory to get going without investing all of my capital at the start. I was almost in tears. He also gave me great advice about how to set things up and he spoke some much blessing over me. He told me how proud and encourage his is in regards to the maturity that the Lord is bringing about in my life. I was so amazed.
I have 3 -4 people to see everyday for the rest of this week I need your prayers:
1. time with the Lord
2. sensitivity to The Spirit
3. words of encouragement on my lips
4. energy to keep up with this schedule
One of my friends in Dallas that was with me during my drug years has been hanging out with me and asking tons of questions. I have been blown away how the Lord is opening doors to minister to him.
Another friend of mine that is going through a real tough time in a custody battle of his 4yo little girl (she is an angel), has opened up and I have been able to pray over him and the Lord is taking him deeper in the word. We were driving down the road the other day after dropping his daughter off to her irresponsible mother and my friend was filled with fear and anxiety. I told him that the Lord did not want him to fill that way and I steeped out on a limb and just started praying. As he was driving and I was praying he looked at me and said "I want to pay you to pray for me anytime I need help". That opened the door for me to help him with his own prayer life.
On Saturday my oldest sister graduated with her masters degree. I have been the only male in her life until a few years ago. When we got home from her ceremony I hugged her and told her how proud I am of her and that I know that she had made great sacrifices with her family and friends in order to go back to school. She smiled with tears in her eyes and told me how much she appreciates me and how thankful she is that I made it home to be with her on her special day.
I rode home from her graduation with my cousin that is very agnostic. He is a very intelligent young man and has had a very messed up life. The conversation turned to what I have been doing over the past 5 months. I began to tell him about real Christianity as opposed to many people he has encountered that fly the Christian flag. By the end of the one hour drive, he was interested in reading the bible and checking out the christian faith. So cool!
Yesterday, when I arrived in Houston my dad and step mom were sitting in the airport to greet me when I got off the plane. The ride back to my dad's shop was great. We all talked and laughed together, I was very encouraged to say the least.
After picking up one of my dad's trucks to drive around this week, I went and visited some guys that I did business in the past. One of the men I spoke to is a brother in the faith and a competitor of my dads company. He is in the process of moving to a new building and he is getting out of the used equipment business do to the increasing market for new surplus equipment. During our 3 hr visit he tells me that he is going to palletize his used overstock and arrange a semi to bring it to me in KC. He is going to consign the equipment at 1/5th of the wholesale price and allow me to send him a check monthly until I have sold all of the equipment. This is an unbelievable blessing. This will allow me to have inventory to get going without investing all of my capital at the start. I was almost in tears. He also gave me great advice about how to set things up and he spoke some much blessing over me. He told me how proud and encourage his is in regards to the maturity that the Lord is bringing about in my life. I was so amazed.
I have 3 -4 people to see everyday for the rest of this week I need your prayers:
1. time with the Lord
2. sensitivity to The Spirit
3. words of encouragement on my lips
4. energy to keep up with this schedule
Friday, November 16, 2007
Fireworks
Fireworks
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Revelation 8:1
Imagine this scene in heaven. Everything gets quiet. There is complete silence in all heaven for a half hour. The atmosphere is charged with breathless expectation! What is coming next?
Then it happens!
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake (Revelation 8:2-5).
This most unusual scene tells us two things about prayer: Prayer is precious and prayer is powerful.
Prayer is precious to God. Prayer is a fragrant aroma to God.
Your prayer is precious to God. None of your prayers have fallen on deaf ears. None of your prayers have been wasted.
Yes, prayer is mysterious and elusive. We do not understand so much about prayer. But we know that God loves it when we pray.
Your prayers matter to God.
But prayer is not just precious. Prayer is powerful. This is depicted when the angel hurls the censer and, as a result, there are fireworks in heaven and earth.
When people pray, things happen. When people pray, lives are changed. When people pray, lost people get saved. When people pray, history is altered.
Prayer is powerful.
Mark Buchanan relates a story told by William Willimon, the long-time chaplain of Duke University:
A man he knew went to Russia in the late seventies, at the height of the Cold War. He was sent as part of a delegation from the World Council of Churches to investigate and report on the state of the Christian church under an atheist regime. The man was not impressed.
“The church,” he told Willimon dismissively, contemptuously, “is just a bunch of little old ladies praying.” Just a bunch of perfume makers.
Willimon told that story in the early nineties, when statues of Stalin and Lenin – the patron saints of atheistic Russia – lay toppled, ready to be crated for storage or quarried for stone.
Beware little old ladies praying. Secretly they’re revolutionaries who make Bolsheviks look like kindergartners. They comprise a veritable bomb-making factory.1
Alfred Lord Tennyson stated it so eloquently: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Revelation 8:1
Imagine this scene in heaven. Everything gets quiet. There is complete silence in all heaven for a half hour. The atmosphere is charged with breathless expectation! What is coming next?
Then it happens!
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake (Revelation 8:2-5).
This most unusual scene tells us two things about prayer: Prayer is precious and prayer is powerful.
Prayer is precious to God. Prayer is a fragrant aroma to God.
Your prayer is precious to God. None of your prayers have fallen on deaf ears. None of your prayers have been wasted.
Yes, prayer is mysterious and elusive. We do not understand so much about prayer. But we know that God loves it when we pray.
Your prayers matter to God.
But prayer is not just precious. Prayer is powerful. This is depicted when the angel hurls the censer and, as a result, there are fireworks in heaven and earth.
When people pray, things happen. When people pray, lives are changed. When people pray, lost people get saved. When people pray, history is altered.
Prayer is powerful.
Mark Buchanan relates a story told by William Willimon, the long-time chaplain of Duke University:
A man he knew went to Russia in the late seventies, at the height of the Cold War. He was sent as part of a delegation from the World Council of Churches to investigate and report on the state of the Christian church under an atheist regime. The man was not impressed.
“The church,” he told Willimon dismissively, contemptuously, “is just a bunch of little old ladies praying.” Just a bunch of perfume makers.
Willimon told that story in the early nineties, when statues of Stalin and Lenin – the patron saints of atheistic Russia – lay toppled, ready to be crated for storage or quarried for stone.
Beware little old ladies praying. Secretly they’re revolutionaries who make Bolsheviks look like kindergartners. They comprise a veritable bomb-making factory.1
Alfred Lord Tennyson stated it so eloquently: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
California Law
SB 777 Referendum Moves Forward
Of all the bad bills Governor Schwarzenegger signed this year, SB 777 (Kuehl) is the most outrageous attack on traditional family values. According to the language of SB 777, "no teacher shall give instruction nor shall a school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because" of homosexuality, transexuality, bisexuality or transgender status. This means that equal time will be demanded to these "alternative" lifestyles in the classroom for children as young as 5 years of age. Because we recognize the incredible danger this law poses to future generations, CRFI early Monday morning filed a referendum with the attorney general. We now have 90 days to collect over half a million signatures to place SB 777 on the ballot, so that the people can decide the matter for themselves. This will require an enormous amount of financial support and volunteer work. We are calling on every concerned citizen to get involved. The outpouring of support has been nothing less than breathtaking. Please visit www.saveourkids.net to volunteer and donate.Together, we can defend moms and dads and their kids not just in California, but across the entire nation!To see CRFI's Karen England discuss SB 777 on The O'Reilly Factor, visit Crazy in California?
Of all the bad bills Governor Schwarzenegger signed this year, SB 777 (Kuehl) is the most outrageous attack on traditional family values. According to the language of SB 777, "no teacher shall give instruction nor shall a school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because" of homosexuality, transexuality, bisexuality or transgender status. This means that equal time will be demanded to these "alternative" lifestyles in the classroom for children as young as 5 years of age. Because we recognize the incredible danger this law poses to future generations, CRFI early Monday morning filed a referendum with the attorney general. We now have 90 days to collect over half a million signatures to place SB 777 on the ballot, so that the people can decide the matter for themselves. This will require an enormous amount of financial support and volunteer work. We are calling on every concerned citizen to get involved. The outpouring of support has been nothing less than breathtaking. Please visit www.saveourkids.net to volunteer and donate.Together, we can defend moms and dads and their kids not just in California, but across the entire nation!To see CRFI's Karen England discuss SB 777 on The O'Reilly Factor, visit Crazy in California?
Dream for those laboring in ministry
Dream for those laboring in ministry.
The dream consisted of me talking to the wife of a leader in my spiritual community. The details of the conversation revealed very little but the expressions and comfort by which the woman spoke was not normal. She continued to tell me about things that are going on in the ministry and I sensed that she had a feeling of being disconnected from her husband due to the ministry. As the conversation came to a close I realized that she is desiring comfort and attention from her husband.
After praying over this I believe that there is an urgent need for those of us in ministry to pay close attention to what is going on in and around our homes in this season. I believe the Lord is preparing the Church as a whole for an encounter with Him unlike anything we have ever seen. As God turns up the heat in our purification process, satan charges in and tries to cause trouble around us in our relationships. Husbands take time to pray and come together often with your wives. God has given you a wife and just as you expect her to be a covering for you, you must do the same for her
The dream consisted of me talking to the wife of a leader in my spiritual community. The details of the conversation revealed very little but the expressions and comfort by which the woman spoke was not normal. She continued to tell me about things that are going on in the ministry and I sensed that she had a feeling of being disconnected from her husband due to the ministry. As the conversation came to a close I realized that she is desiring comfort and attention from her husband.
After praying over this I believe that there is an urgent need for those of us in ministry to pay close attention to what is going on in and around our homes in this season. I believe the Lord is preparing the Church as a whole for an encounter with Him unlike anything we have ever seen. As God turns up the heat in our purification process, satan charges in and tries to cause trouble around us in our relationships. Husbands take time to pray and come together often with your wives. God has given you a wife and just as you expect her to be a covering for you, you must do the same for her
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Rabbi Reveals Yeshua as Messiah
Messiah mystery follows death of mystical rabbiRevered Israeli apocalyptic kabbalah leader shocks Jews, Christians with name 'Yeshua'
Posted: May 18, 20072:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri
A controversy is raging in Israel, in evangelical circles in the U.S. and on kabbalah web forums worldwide following the posthumous release of what a revered Sephardic rabbi claimed to be the name of the Messiah.
When Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri died in February 2006, somewhere between the age of 106 to possibly 117, 300,000 attended his funeral in Jerusalem.
The Baghdad-born kabbalist had gained notoriety around the world for issuing apocalyptic warnings and for saying he personally met the long-awaited Jewish Messiah in November 2003.
Before Kaduri died, he reportedly wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note, requesting it remained sealed for one year after his death. The note revealed the name of the Messiah as "Yehoshua" or "Yeshua" – or the Hebrew name Jesus.
However, complicating the story further, the note is being challenged as a forgery by his 80-year-old son Rabbi David Kaduri.
"It's not his writing," he is quoted as telling Israel Today.
The note, written in Hebrew and signed in the rabbi's name, said: "Concerning the letter abbreviation of the Messiah's name, He will lift the people and prove that his word and law are valid. This I have signed in the month of mercy."
The Hebrew sentence consists of six words. The first letter of each of those words spells out the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua.
The finding has raised a combination of excitement and controversy in both Jewish and Christian circles – but scarcely any media attention. Jewish blogs and web forums are filled with skeptical analysis and puzzlement.
"So this means Rabbi Kaduri was a Christian?" asked one poster rhetorically.
Another wrote: "The Christians are dancing and celebrating."
Not exactly.
In fact, many Christian discussion boards say Kaduri's description of the Messiah – no matter what his name – doesn't fit the biblical account of a returned Jesus of Nazareth, who, they believe, will rule and reign on Earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years.
About his encounter with the Messiah Kaduri claimed is alive in Israel today, he reportedly told close relatives: "He is not saying, 'I am the Messiah, give me the leadership.' Rather the nation is pushing him to lead them, after they find [in my words] signs showing that he has the status of Messiah."
Kaduri was also quoted as saying the imminent arrival of the Messiah will "save Jerusalem from Islam and Christianity that wish to take Jerusalem from the Jewish Nation – but they will not succeed, and they will fight each other."
Statements like that have some Christians wondering if Kaduri might be talking about another Yeshua – perhaps even a miracle-performing "false Christ" many evangelicals believe will precede the return of Jesus.
"It is hard for many good people in society to understand the person of the Messiah," Kaduri wrote before his death. "The leadership and order of a Messiah of flesh and blood is hard to accept for many in the nation. As leader, the Messiah will not hold any office, but will be among the people and use the media to communicate. His reign will be pure and without personal or political desire. During his dominion, only righteousness and truth will reign."
Kaduri wrote that not all will believe in the Messiah – and that it will often be easier for non-religious people to accept him. He also describes a Messiah who is, at first, not aware of his position.
A few months before his death, Kaduri gave a Yom Kippur address in which he gave clues as to how to recognize the Messiah. He told those gathered for the Day of Atonement in his synagogue the Messiah would not come until former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dies.
Sharon was stricken while in office Jan. 4, 2006. He remained in a coma until replaced by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While many expected the imminent passing of Sharon, he has remained alive but unconscious ever since his attack.
Shortly after what Kaduri characterized as his Nov. 4, 2003, encounter with the Messiah, in which he said he learned his name, the rabbi began warning of impending disasters worldwide.
In September 2005 in a class at his Jerusalem yeshiva seminary, Kaduri called for Jews all over the world to return to Israel because of the calamities about to befall the Earth and for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
"In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will bring about great disasters in the countries of the world to sweeten the judgments of the land of Israel," he said.
In 1990, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson told Kaduri that he would live to see the coming of the Messiah.
Also in September 2005, Kaduri said: "The Messiah is already in Israel. Whatever people are sure will not happen is liable to happen, and whatever we are certain will happen may disappoint us. But in the end, there will be peace throughout the world."
As a lifelong student and teacher of kabbalah, Kaduri rejected a meeting requested by pop superstar Madonna, who dabbled in the ancient art of Jewish mysticism. He reportedly said at the time: "It is forbidden to teach a non-Jew kabbalah, not even Talmud, not even simple Torah."
Kaduri is said to have been one of the few known living practitioners who used his knowledge of kabbalah to affect change in the world. He would often distribute amulets intended to heal, enhance fertility and bring success. He was also believed to have been involved in the removal of 20 dybbuks, or lost souls that strayed into the hapless bodies of living people to torment them.
Aviel Schneider, the author of the Israel Today story, said the worldwide reaction to news of Kaduri's note has been "crazy." He said he has never received so many emails and calls from around the globe.
He said he was urged not to publish the story by the rabbi's yeshiva, where officials said it was "impossible" that the note was actually written by Kaduri.
But Schneider was given access to many of the rabbi's manuscripts, written in his own hand for the exclusive use of his students. He was struck by symbols painted by Kaduri all over the pages.
"They were crosses," said Schneider. "In the Jewish tradition, you don't use crosses. You don't even use plus signs because they might be mistaken for crosses. But there they were, painted in his own hand."
Asked what those symbols meant, Kaduri's family said they were "signs of the angel."
Posted: May 18, 20072:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri
A controversy is raging in Israel, in evangelical circles in the U.S. and on kabbalah web forums worldwide following the posthumous release of what a revered Sephardic rabbi claimed to be the name of the Messiah.
When Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri died in February 2006, somewhere between the age of 106 to possibly 117, 300,000 attended his funeral in Jerusalem.
The Baghdad-born kabbalist had gained notoriety around the world for issuing apocalyptic warnings and for saying he personally met the long-awaited Jewish Messiah in November 2003.
Before Kaduri died, he reportedly wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note, requesting it remained sealed for one year after his death. The note revealed the name of the Messiah as "Yehoshua" or "Yeshua" – or the Hebrew name Jesus.
However, complicating the story further, the note is being challenged as a forgery by his 80-year-old son Rabbi David Kaduri.
"It's not his writing," he is quoted as telling Israel Today.
The note, written in Hebrew and signed in the rabbi's name, said: "Concerning the letter abbreviation of the Messiah's name, He will lift the people and prove that his word and law are valid. This I have signed in the month of mercy."
The Hebrew sentence consists of six words. The first letter of each of those words spells out the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua.
The finding has raised a combination of excitement and controversy in both Jewish and Christian circles – but scarcely any media attention. Jewish blogs and web forums are filled with skeptical analysis and puzzlement.
"So this means Rabbi Kaduri was a Christian?" asked one poster rhetorically.
Another wrote: "The Christians are dancing and celebrating."
Not exactly.
In fact, many Christian discussion boards say Kaduri's description of the Messiah – no matter what his name – doesn't fit the biblical account of a returned Jesus of Nazareth, who, they believe, will rule and reign on Earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years.
About his encounter with the Messiah Kaduri claimed is alive in Israel today, he reportedly told close relatives: "He is not saying, 'I am the Messiah, give me the leadership.' Rather the nation is pushing him to lead them, after they find [in my words] signs showing that he has the status of Messiah."
Kaduri was also quoted as saying the imminent arrival of the Messiah will "save Jerusalem from Islam and Christianity that wish to take Jerusalem from the Jewish Nation – but they will not succeed, and they will fight each other."
Statements like that have some Christians wondering if Kaduri might be talking about another Yeshua – perhaps even a miracle-performing "false Christ" many evangelicals believe will precede the return of Jesus.
"It is hard for many good people in society to understand the person of the Messiah," Kaduri wrote before his death. "The leadership and order of a Messiah of flesh and blood is hard to accept for many in the nation. As leader, the Messiah will not hold any office, but will be among the people and use the media to communicate. His reign will be pure and without personal or political desire. During his dominion, only righteousness and truth will reign."
Kaduri wrote that not all will believe in the Messiah – and that it will often be easier for non-religious people to accept him. He also describes a Messiah who is, at first, not aware of his position.
A few months before his death, Kaduri gave a Yom Kippur address in which he gave clues as to how to recognize the Messiah. He told those gathered for the Day of Atonement in his synagogue the Messiah would not come until former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dies.
Sharon was stricken while in office Jan. 4, 2006. He remained in a coma until replaced by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While many expected the imminent passing of Sharon, he has remained alive but unconscious ever since his attack.
Shortly after what Kaduri characterized as his Nov. 4, 2003, encounter with the Messiah, in which he said he learned his name, the rabbi began warning of impending disasters worldwide.
In September 2005 in a class at his Jerusalem yeshiva seminary, Kaduri called for Jews all over the world to return to Israel because of the calamities about to befall the Earth and for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
"In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will bring about great disasters in the countries of the world to sweeten the judgments of the land of Israel," he said.
In 1990, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson told Kaduri that he would live to see the coming of the Messiah.
Also in September 2005, Kaduri said: "The Messiah is already in Israel. Whatever people are sure will not happen is liable to happen, and whatever we are certain will happen may disappoint us. But in the end, there will be peace throughout the world."
As a lifelong student and teacher of kabbalah, Kaduri rejected a meeting requested by pop superstar Madonna, who dabbled in the ancient art of Jewish mysticism. He reportedly said at the time: "It is forbidden to teach a non-Jew kabbalah, not even Talmud, not even simple Torah."
Kaduri is said to have been one of the few known living practitioners who used his knowledge of kabbalah to affect change in the world. He would often distribute amulets intended to heal, enhance fertility and bring success. He was also believed to have been involved in the removal of 20 dybbuks, or lost souls that strayed into the hapless bodies of living people to torment them.
Aviel Schneider, the author of the Israel Today story, said the worldwide reaction to news of Kaduri's note has been "crazy." He said he has never received so many emails and calls from around the globe.
He said he was urged not to publish the story by the rabbi's yeshiva, where officials said it was "impossible" that the note was actually written by Kaduri.
But Schneider was given access to many of the rabbi's manuscripts, written in his own hand for the exclusive use of his students. He was struck by symbols painted by Kaduri all over the pages.
"They were crosses," said Schneider. "In the Jewish tradition, you don't use crosses. You don't even use plus signs because they might be mistaken for crosses. But there they were, painted in his own hand."
Asked what those symbols meant, Kaduri's family said they were "signs of the angel."
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