Censorship Doctrine, here we come!

It is quite disturbing how far our country has deteriorated from the country ‘of the people, by the people and for the people.”  Now our montra is socialism, ‘The good of the many outweighs the good of the one.”  What ever happened to capitalism.

According to Wikipedia, “Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled rather than commonly, publicly, or state-owned and controlled.^[1][2] In capitalism, the land, labor, and capital are owned, operated, and traded by private individuals or corporations,^[3][4] and investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are primarily determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy largely free of government intervention.”

That’s exactly the opposite of what happened today in the U-S Senate as Liberal socialist politicians took a huge step into the hole of socialism, rather than allowing the spirit of the American workforce pull up our boot straps and tackle the economic conditions head on.

The Obama administration claims we needed to act on what they called the “Economic Stimulus” bill quickly, or things were going to spiral out of control. It’s amazing how President Obama wanted to have an open government, but he wouldn’t even allow law makers to read the 1,000 plus pages in the bill. How would Republicans have been treated if THEY had done that when they were in control of both chambers and the executive branch?  They would have been crucified by the press, yet the press has said virtually NOTHING about this.

Now, my grand children and great-grand children will be responsible for an incredible amount of debt. In just one week we’ve surrendered even more of our nation’s economy to other nations, who will give us even MORE credit — which is what got us into this mess in the first place. Investing in infrastructure may provide jobs short-term, but what’s going to happen when these infrastructure programs are completed? We’ll just have more unemployment and be back where we are now. How is this an ‘Economic Stimulus” bill? It’s just a socialist ‘hand-out’ similar to those of the former Soviet Union.

President Ronald Reagan was a great cheerleader for the American people. He believed in the American spirit. He knew our roots would help us rebound. He knew that tax cuts and empowering the PEOPLE to help us out of the tough economic conditions would be the only way out.

How does this affect Christian Radio?

Well, the next step in this leap to socialism is silencing the opposition. The democrats are now openly talking about the Fairness Doctrine, or as I’m calling it the Censorship Doctrine (as are many others). It will end talk radio as we know it. It could also end Christian radio as we know it. It may not come in form of a new FCC mandate, it may come in the form of hate speech legislation. The first step in ending free speech. We soon won’t be able to talk negatively about God’s hatred for homosexuality. We may be prevented from saying Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation. A,d, we may be restricted from talking about the truth of Islam. Why? If we do, we could be charged under hate speech crimes.

Do you doubt this?  We need only look to Australia and Canada as examples of what hate speech legislation can do to ‘help’ society. In Australia, two pastors were charged under hate speech legislation for simply reading a passage in the Koran that supported their notion that Islam is a violent religion. In Canada the Bible may be viewed as hate literature because it denounces homosexuality and other sexual sin.

It’s time for Americans who believe in preserving our nation, to speak up and do something to make sure we don’t continue sliding down this slippery slope to socialism. Or, the United States of America will be known as the United Socialistic States of America.  Sound vaguely familiar?

Trouble in the offing under Obama?

I received this message from the National Religious Broadcasters Association today.

“President Elect Obama’s selection of Melody Barnes as the Director of his Domestic Policy Council may be a troublesome sign regarding the new White House’s attitude toward conservative and/or Christian broadcasters. Ms. Barnes was the prior Executive Vice President for Policy of the Center for American Progress (2004-2008). That liberal think tank issued an extensive report in 2007, complaining about the prevalence of conservative talk radio, and making several suggestions on how the FCC could force the airwaves to reflect more liberal viewpoints.”

It’s quite troubling to me that today, in a time when information can be found ANYWHERE, that a liberal think-tank thinks they need to do something to get their liberal views spewed on even more broadcast outlets. I’m amazed. Why don’t they take a look at all the mainstream networks to see how their liberal bias is ALREADY entrenched in American society.

It’s obvious the democrats aren’t interested in fairness. They’re only interested in silencing conservatives. That’s unamerican.

Is this the ‘Change’ Barak Obama is talking about?

I received this email today from a friend and thought I would share it with you all.  I would love to hear your thoughts. Isn’t it amazing what Americans are doing today?

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Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day and on July 4, I celebrate America’s. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I’ve thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most thought Cuba needed a change, and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said “Praise the Lord” And when the young leader said, “I will be for change and I’ll bring you change,” everyone yelled, “Viva Fidel!”

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner’s guns went silent the people’s guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I’m back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we in America would never fall for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America? Would we?

Manuel Alvarez Jr. Sandy Hook

Last Day of July

I just noticed it’s the last day of July and I haven’t posted anything about Christian radio in a while. So, I thought I would talk about the Fairness Doctrine.

What is the Fairness Doctrine?  Anyone who’s in radio knows.

Wikipedia puts it best — “The Fairness Doctrine was introduced in the U.S. in 1949 (Report on Editorializing by Broadcast Licensees, 13 F.C.C. 1246 [1949]). The doctrine remained a matter of general policy, and was applied on a case-by-case basis until 1967, when certain provisions of the doctrine were incorporated into FCC regulations. ^[2] It did not require equal time for opposing views, but required that contrasting viewpoints be presented. The Fairness Doctrine had two basic elements: It required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. Stations were given wide latitude as to how to provide contrasting views: It could be done through news segments, public affairs shows or editorials.”

Well, it’s being discussed again in Congress. Actually it’s not — Democrats have been ordered NOT to talk about it because if Senator Barak Obama wins the presidency, they’ll push a new Fairness Doctrine, in an attempt to silence conservative talk radio and Christian radio.

However, there is a bill pending in Congress that could change that.

H.R. 2905 and S. 1742, sponsored respectively by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Norm Coleman (R-MN), prohibits the FCC from reinstating the “Fairness Doctrine,” which was in effect until 1987 when the FCC withdrew it. As of October 2007, H.R. 2905 and S. 1742 are in the first stage of the legislative process where they are being considered in committee and may undergo significant changes in markup sessions.

It is important for free speech to contact our congressional representative and tell them we support to bills H.R. 2905 and S. 1742 for Broadcast Freedom as they currently are written.

It amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), notwithstanding any other provision of any Act, from having the authority to require broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance, commonly referred to as the Fairness Doctrine.

House Speaker Nancy Palosi, however, has said she will NOT bring the proposed bill to the floor for consideration. She knows many of her colleagues would vote for the bill…blocking her attempt to return the fairness doctine to FCC regulations.

Why should you care? Well, for Christian radio that COULD mean that when ever we talk about the Christian faith, we’ll also have to open the mic to someone who has an opposing view point. It means if we talk about pro-life, we’ll also have to talk about abortion. If we talk about what the Bible says about homosexuality,  we’ll also have to present someone on the air who supports it.

I’m taking a shot in the dark here, but if this happens, beware. You can expect to see Hate Speech Ligislation come out of Washington.

Basically our free speech rights will continue to evaporate, even more than they already have.

You can do something about it, though. Contact your congressman or congresswomen to make sure the bill goes before the house before January.

Christmas at Mission Network News

For the first time since I started working at Mission Network News, the news teams has Christmas Eve and Christmas off. Each year, for whatever reason, we’ve worked Christmas Eve to try to get stories written so we could take Christmas off. That means we would write stories to cover Christmas and the day after Christmas.

With Christmas Eve on Monday, the team wanted to take two days off. So, I told them — get the stories written and you can have the days off. THEY DID IT.

So, MNN is off Christmas Eve and Christmas. I’m praying that nothing major happens. A few years ago a tsunami hit over the Christmas holiday, but MNN was ready. We sprang into action calling everyone we knew in the region. Because we were ready, we were one of the first organizations to have audio from the field. Many news rooms use MNN as a resource to get story ideas. Since MNN had contacts on the ground, they used our news makers. Since all of our news is about what God is doing around the world, almost all of them got a glimpse of the Gospel.

Thank you for listening to Mission Network News and have a Merry Christmas.

Greg Yoder, MNN

IDOP coming November 11

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is coming November 11, 2007. It’s a day where Christians around the world remember those who are facing abuse because of their faith in Christ. This year Mission Network News has done a couple of things to raise awareness of the persecuted church.

On November 1, MNN and Discovery House Music kicked off the Better Than Life Tour. The tour features songs and artists from the Better Than Life CD project. The concerts in Grand Rapids, MI and Cleveland, OH saw many Christians who are interested in the persecuted church attend. Scott Krippayne, Shannon Wexelberg and Charles Billingsely shared from their hearts as they sang songs inspired by stories of today’s faithful servants. We still have events in Columbus, OH and a free event at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA.

MNN is also making available two new resources to help Christians focus on the persecuted church. First is the Better Than Life CD, a project we co-produced with Discovery House Music. We’ve also helped produce a book with the same name which features 30 stories of persecuted believers around the world. Both resources are available on our website.

And, finally, MNN has also produced the 2007 MNN IDOP Radio Broadcast. It’s already available for download at http://www.MNNonline.org/idop.

It should be a great weekend.

Better Than Life

In less than three weeks the Better Than Life Tour will officially be underway. The Better Than Life Tour was designed to do more than just raise awareness of the persecuted church around the world.

In partnership with Discovery House Music, Mission Network News has put together a concert tour that will help Christians celebrate today’s heroes of the Christian faith. Today’s real life stories come alive in a unique way through 10 news songs featuring Scott Krippayne, Shannon Wexelberg and Charles Billingsley.

The program is also designed to challenge believers in North America to share their faith no matter what the cost.

Here’s where you can see Better Than Life:

November 1, 2007
Sunshine Community Church
3300 East Beltline
Grand Rapids, MI
7:00 PM

November 3, 2007
Grace Church
7393 Pearl Road
Middleburg Heights, OH
7:00 PM

November 9, 2007
Genoa Baptist Church
7562 Lewis Center Road
Westerville, Ohio 43082
7:00 PM

You can get tickets at Itickets.com .

In less than three weeks the Better Than Life Tour will officially be underway. The Better Than Life Tour was designed to do more than just raise awareness of the persecuted church around the world.

Better Than Life 1

I am in Nashville, TN for the first vocal recording session of ‘Better Than Life.’ For that have been following my blog, this is a project that celebrates the persecuted church. It honors them. It also challenges us in the free world to desire to suffer for Christ’s sake. The songs are amazing. We’re featuring Charles Billingsley, Scott Krippayne and Shannon Wexelberg.  Scott and Shannon have written most of the songs on the project.

Today, we’re in Nashville to record Shannon’s vocals for the project. We just woke up and already we’re fighting a battle. Shannon’s not feeling well and isn’t sure she can record today. I would really like you to pray for Shannon’s voice today. She’s got all the medications she needs, but she’s not feeling well.

We’ll be in Kent Hooper’s studio this morning to get the songs recorded for ‘My Heart will Sing,’ ‘Send Me,’ ‘These Scars,’ and ‘Better Than Life.’  (At least I THINK those are the songs she’s sing on the project)

Just be in prayer that she’ll be able to sing this morning.

‘Better Than Life’ CD project

Those of you who have been following the Mission Network News International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church music project may be interested in an update.

Before I do that, I need to remind you that Discovery House Music is allowing MNN to be a part. We’re thrilled. This has been a dream of mine, for certain.

We finally have all 10 songs selected and the producer has already started getting the music tracks completed and the singers will be in the studio beginning June 26.

We finally have a name for the CD. It’s been dubbed, ‘Better Than Life.”

If you haven’t been following our blogs, let me explain. Discovery House music is allowing Mission Network News to partner with them to develop a CD with music that focuses and celebrate those who are persecuted for their faith. In fact, many of the songs are inspired by stories heard on the Mission Network News broadcast. The other songs will challenge Christians to share their faith no matter what the cost.

Featured on the CD will be Charles Billingsley, Scott Krippayne and Shannon Wexelberg.

We’re also planning a seven city tour. We have approach radio stations and churches in seven cities. We have verbal commitments for all seven. Visit this blog often to find out what cities we’ll be visiting.

I can tell you the dates: November 1, 2, 3 and November 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. I know what you’re saying — eight dates. Yes, eight dates, seven cities. We’re in one city with two concerts. I can also tell you we’re starting off the tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan with 91.3, WCSG.

Greg Yoder

‘Hate Crimes’ legislation could hurt Christian radio in U-S

It’s called H.R. 1592. It’s a bill in the United States House of Representatives that would extend special protections to homosexuals as hate crime victims. The bill would punsh those who commit violent acts against a person based on their actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of a person. While this doesn’t look bad, it’s the open door for more to come.

Other nations have passed similar legislation, clearing the way for ‘Hate Speach’ legislation. Austalia, countries in Europe and Canada all have hate speech laws.

Many believe that’s the next step in the United States.

But, there are other issues. Many believe those who speak openly against homosexuality will be charged under the law. For example: If someone attacks a homosexual, those speaking openly against it may also be charged for inciting  the violence.

How does that relate to Christian radio?  Have you ever aired any programs that talked about what the Bible says about homosexuality?  If you have, you could be in danger, too.

I know what many of you are thinking — ‘That would never happen.’ Think about it — many NEVER thought prayer would be removed from the public schools, but that happened. Many thought the Ten Commandments would be offensive — now they are.  A Bible used to be THE authority — now it’s just another opinion.

It’s amazing what pagan people can do to destroy a country.