New Page 1

A personal note:

Dear Friends: Many of you are aware that our family suffered the loss of our sweet daughter, Kathryn, unexpectedly, on October 27. After a seven

-year bout with an incurable, yet treatable, disease, she suddenly spiraled downward and slipped into the arms of the Savior she loved, at approximately 7:15am, in our home. She was 25 years old.

She left us with pages and pages of prayer journals, which have given us enormous comfort since her home-going. We miss her terribly, but we know where she is and that we shall see her again.

Don Feder, who serves as Vision America’s Director of Communications, has faithfully continued our Patriot Pastor e-mail Alerts while I have been in seclusion. I am grateful to Don and our entire staff (the Vision America family) for carrying me while I have been unable to carry myself. And I’m grateful to those of you who have prayed for us during these dark days.

There is a tribute to Kathryn on the Vision America website. http://www.visionamerica.us/temp/kathryn.asp. Get to know her, and you’ll soon see why we are so grateful that our great and loving God lent her to us for 25 precious years. R.S.

THE CHRISTIAN VOTE WAS CRUCIAL

Suddenly, the media is discovering (to their utter amazement) the importance of the Christian vote in this year’s election.

In exit polls, 22% said they based their votes on “values”, more than those whose primary motivation was the economy (20%), terrorism (18%) or the war in Iraq (15%). Of those who said morality was their foremost concern, 78% voted for the president.

The presence of 11 marriage amendments on state ballots unquestionably contributed to the outcome of both national and state races. The ballot measures carried with an average vote of over 70%.

In Oklahoma, Citizens for Community Values gathered 557,000 signatures to put a marriage amendment on the ballot, registered 54,000 new voters, distributed 2.5 million of pieces of educational literature in church bulletins, and made 850,000 get-out-the-vote calls on Election Day. The amendment was adopted by 62%. Bush carried the Buckeye State by 136,483 votes.

Many organizations, ministries and churches had a role in mobilizing the Christian vote. All can be justly proud of the part they played. Vision America worked particularly hard to educate, motivate and activate pastors and church members in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Louisiana. We are gratified by the results.

A SPECTER HAUNTS BUSH’S JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

Far from being over, the war to reclaim America has just begun. Ironically, a major threat to conservative nominees for the federal judiciary (those committed to original intent and judicial restraint) comes from the ranks of the president’s own party.

Senator Arlen Specter (R, Pennsylvania), who’s scheduled to assume the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has put the nation on notice. In a November 3rd interview, Specter declared that Roe v. Wade is “inviolate” and that a nominee who does not pledge allegiance to the ruling that’s given us 1.2 million abortions a year in this country would not be confirmed.

Before their names can reach the Senate floor for a vote, nominees first have to be approved by the Judiciary Committee, over which its chairman wields inordinate influence. Specter is in effect saying that nominees who agree with his party’s platform on abortion – and agree with the president’s position on the right to life – aren’t qualified to sit on the bench.

Ordinarily, committee chairmanships are based on seniority. As the ranking Republican on the Judiciary committee, Specter is next in line. However, if another Republican on the committee decides to challenge Specter for the chairmanship, the decision will be made by the entire Republican conference.

If you live in a state with one or more Republican senators, please urge them not to vote for Arlen Specter as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. In this vital position, Specter could undo much of the gains of the last election.

That must not be allowed to happen.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN – THE HEALTHY CHOICE

Even though 41 states have now officially defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman (by constitutional amendment of statute) – 13 this year alone – the establishment is relentless in pushing its agenda.

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, one of the nation’s largest textbook publishers, took it upon itself to change the traditional definition of marriage. In a proposed health textbook, terms like “married partners” were used in place of “husband and wife” – thereby subtly promoting the idea that two men or two women constitute a married couple, despite the fact they can legally marry in only one state.

The Texas Board of Education wasn’t about to let the cultural elite mess with Texas school children. The board forced Holt, Rinehart and Winston into reinstate the original references to “husband and wife.”

Unfortunately, the publisher is only doing this for textbooks sold to Texas schools. States that don’t have boards of education as diligent and dedicated as the Texas board, could end up with textbooks that indoctrinate children with this Orwellian language.

Please contact your state’s board of education and find out if its using the new Holt, Rinehart and Winston textbooks with the newspeak definition of marriage. You can also complain to the company directly at Holt, Rinehart and Winston – 10801 N. MoPac Expy. Bldg. 3, Austin, Texas 78759-5415, telephone (512) 721-7000

A SCHOOL WITHOUT CHRISTMAS

The Alliance Defense Fund has delivered letters to every state board of education as well as every chapter of the National Education Association (the nation’s largest teachers’ union) with the following message: Saying “Merry Christmas,” singing Christmas carols and distributing candy canes with religious messages all are constitutional.

Many schools have expanded on court decisions involving religious observance in the public schools. While it’s true that the Supreme Court has gone off the deep end by prohibiting such mild affirmations of faith as a moment of silence or posting the Ten Commandments, it has never held that holiday greetings and the like are in violation of the First Amendment.

When Christians acquiesce to purging Christmas from the schools, they cede important terrain to the enemy. Opinion surveys tell us that 96% of the American people celebrate Christmas. America’s public schools should take note of that fact.

For more information on the ADF’s Christmas Project, go to http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/story/?id=529 .

If you would like a fellow pastor or friend to receive Vision America’s twice-weekly PATRIOT PASTOR E-MAIL ALERT, please call our office at (936) 699-1131 or enter their e-mail address at our newsletter site – http://www.visionamerica.us

Contributions to further Vision America’s vital work are deeply appreciated. You may also contribute with a credit card online at http://www.visionamerica.us.