Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown….”
When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – May each new day with you be filled with wonder and expectation. Drive away any spirit of familiarity that would lead to complacency and rob me of joy. And fill me with your Spirit, for your name’s sake. Amen.
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.”
“All nations will come to your light….”
Spritual Song:“We are marching in the light of God” – several versions, different nations – check them all out, they will warm your heart… and make you smile.
“Jesus Reading from the Prophet Isaiah in his home town of Nazareth,” by Greg Olson
Reading: Luke 4.16-21 NLT
When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them.
“The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Help me to see the world as You see it… the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. And help me to be a bearer of Your Good News. Amen.
Spiritual Song: “Lord You Have My Heart” – Delirious? (YouTube)
A federal court has ruled that South Carolina was the prevailing party in the unnecessary Voter ID litigation, and therefore the Justice Department is liable for paying the state’s costs. South Carolina spent $3,500,000 to obtain federal court approval of the state’s Voter ID law as non-discriminatory under the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit was made necessary only because of the political and ideological radicalism of Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez and his deputy Matthew Colangelo.
PJ Media had this exclusive report detailing that career Voting Section employees, including Voting Section Chief Chris Herren, recommended that the Voter ID law be approved in the first place by DOJ after a careful written analysis inside the Voting Section. Documents prepared by the career staff urged Perez and Colangelo to grant administrative approval to the South Carolina Voter ID law — but they refused. Their refusal was, in part, designed to energize a moribund political base heading into the 2012 election. The cost to the American taxpayers for their stunt will be significant.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office was quick to respond to the court’s ruling late yesterday:
“The state Attorney General’s Office blamed the U.S. Department of Justice for the high cost of the case. They accused the federal government of delaying the case by 120 days by filing numerous frivolous motions, including challenging the 12-point font size on a document the state filed.
“The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., bears responsibility for the litigation costs,” said Mark Powell, Wilson’s spokesman. “The decision was so emphatic, even the Department of Justice and Interveners did not appeal it. South Carolina was forced to pay a hefty price because a handful of Washington insiders refused to do the right thing.”
Whether Congress will hold Perez and Colangelo accountable remains to be seen. Members of Congress, including Senator Lindsey Graham, have already demanded that Perez turn over the documents about which PJ Media first reported on September 11, 2012. So far, sources tell me that Graham has not received what he has asked for, though he may already possess the documents from other sources.
Tellingly, DOJ has not denied that such internal approval memos exist. They can’t.
All of this raises the question — will Perez and Colangelo be held accountable for what amounted to an expensive use of the Justice Department to energize President Obama’s political base? As we now know, there was no merit to the objection. A federal court approved the law. The many career staff who looked at it said the South Carolina law did not discriminate.
Congress might get answers if they haul DOJ Voting Section Chief Christopher Herren before the House Judiciary Committee for answers. The Democrats could hardly object — after all, they dragged Bush-era Voting Section Chief John Tanner before the Democrat-run House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about Georgia Voter ID. There is precedent. Democrats could hardly object when the Voting Section Chief during the Bush administration was made to dance the dance before the Committee.
Of course, had the president’s base remained asleep, Perez and Colangelo would be looking for work, with the former earning a slippery reputation over the last four years.
But Perez and Colangelo don’t worry about the butcher’s bill. They use the power of their DOJ office in an ideological crusade. Unless their own pocketbooks or reputations suffer, they will continue to behave the same way.
So now the federal government is forced to reimburse a state for Perez’s overzealous use of the Voting Rights Act. None of Holder’s usual defenders in the media seem to care. Wasting taxpayer money doesn’t matter to them if it goes to a cause they believe in. Because Perez’s politicized plan helped Obama win reelection, you won’t read a single article outside of the conservative media about DOJ’s expensive South Carolina Voter ID folly. Come to think of it, even conservative media isn’t widely reporting that the Voting Section career lawyers at Justice recommended that this South Carolina mess never happen.
That’s too bad, because it makes it more likely that Perez and Colangelo will continue to misbehave and abuse their power on your dime.
Peanut Gallery: The bad news is grass-roots conservatives have been sold out by the GOP establishment. The good news is the sell-out was in plain sight… there was no hiding it… every painful step taken down the betrayal road was documented and rehashed in excruciating detail on national television.
So now what? Mutiny… it’s our only option!
James P Gannon speaks for me…. no money, no support, no nothing that would help the establishment Republican Party. Like Gannon, I am a citizen without a party.
So bring on the mutiny. There is something worse than being a person without a party. And that is being a member of a party without a soul.
After the McConnell sell-out and the Boehner betrayal, after the disgraceful abandonment of principles and conservative values by the Washington Republican establishment, what is the proper response from outraged conservative believers in limited government and fiscal responsibility?
I have been sitting here on the morning after the New Years’ Day capitulation by Capitol Hill Republicans, trying to answer that question for myself.
Start with feelings. I feel abandoned by the establishment Republican Party of Washington, D.C. I feel depressed that I cannot see a single conservative leader in sight who could grab the Republican Party, slap it across the face, and tell it where it can go if it does not shape up. I feel angry that Republican “leaders” in Washington put a higher value on their own survival in office than the principles they claim to stand for.
As I see it, the Republican Party is a rudderless ship that has lost its compass, dead in the water, with no captain and no destination. What this ship needs is a mutiny.
The Peanut Gallery 