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As if the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals isn’t busy enough this week. Not only will it decide on ObamaCare, it got the above question, too, in a case in which The Family Foundation filed an amicus brief last year. Now asked, another three judge panel will decide the constitutionality of the prayer policy of the Forsyth County, N.C. — but with national implications.

The policy, drafted by the Alliance Defense Fund, allows for anyone of any faith to pray before county government meetings on a first come, first serve basis. The content of the prayers are not reviewed by government officials. Plaintiffs represented by the ACLU contend that, because most of the “prayers” at the meetings over an eighteen month period were “sectarian,” the policy is unconstitutional. According to ADF attorneys, plaintiffs have argued in briefs that any prayer before public meetings is unconstitutional.

Judges Harvie Wilkinson, Paul Niemeyer and Barbara Keenan comprise the panel. If their questioning of attorneys arguing the case is any indication of where they stand on the issue, Judge Keenan is clearly in the ACLU camp. Appointed to the court by President Obama, she was particularly hostile toward ADF’s arguments and clearly favored the idea of “inclusive” prayers if there were going to be any prayers at all. Judge Niemeyer appeared much more favorable toward public prayer, stating that prayers without mentioning a specific deity are “just words.” Judge Wilkinson seemed like the swing vote, questioning both sides on multiple issues throughout the hour and ten minute hearing.

The details of this case date back to March 2007 when the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit against North Carolina’s Forsyth County Board of Supervisors, stating:

[the Board] does not have a policy which discourages or prohibits those whom [the Board] has invited to deliver prayers from including references to Jesus Christ, or any other sectarian deity, as part of their prayers.

As ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson, who argued in favor of the policy, aptly pointed out, “An invocation according to the dictates of the giver’s conscience is not an establishment of religion. If it was, you’d have to argue that the drafters of the U.S. Constitution were violating the Constitution in the prayers and invocations that they themselves offered.” (Mike Johnson testified, at Family Foundation request during the 2009 General Assembly, on behalf of the rights of state police chaplains to pray in Jesus’ name. See video.)

A primary issue in the case is whether or not a voluntary prayer before a government meeting is “government” or private speech. If private, it is clearly protected by the First Amendment. But by the ACLU’s logic, anything said at a government meeting by a private individual is government speech just by virtue of saying at that meeting.

Several Virginia legislators also signed on to an amicus brief in support of religious liberty in Joyner v. Forsyth County. They include Delegates Kathy Byron (R-22, Lynchburg), Bill Carrico (R-5, Galax), Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas), and Brenda Pogge (R-96, Yorktown); and Senators Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg) and Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27, Winchester).

Thursday, May 5, is the 60th annual National Day of Prayer observance. This year’s theme comes from from Psalm 91: ”A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

Earlier this month, in a case in which The Family Foundation filed an amicus brief, the Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the right of Americans (see Sarah Pulliam Bailey at Christianity Today) to continue this observation of God’s involvement in “the affairs of men,” as Benjamin Franklin so aptly put it at the Constitutional Convention more than 220 years ago. A nefarious group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed the suit.

In 1952, President Harry Truman signed into law a declaration that every president must proclaim a National Day of Prayer on the day of his choosing. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan took President Truman’s declaration one step further and set the first Thursday of May as the official National Day of Prayer. Since then, Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have marked the day with a White House observance and all presidents have issued commemorative proclamations. Many years, a special prayer service is held in the East Room.

At noon on May 5, many localities around Virginia and the nation will hold observances with state and local officials, pastors and ministry leaders. Click here to find an observance in your area at the National Day of Prayer’s web site. Please be careful to note the specific details and locations of each event. Also, many churches are open for prayer services at noon and throughout the day. You may also click here to learn more about the 7 x 7 Campaign to pray for the seven centers of power in our country seven days a week.

If you cannot attend an observance, please consider taking some time out of your day to specifically pray for our nation, President Obama, Governor McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bolling, Attorney General Cuccinelli, U.S. Senators Warner and Webb, your congressman, your state senator and delegate, as well your local elected leaders. Each of these people has a powerful effect on the lives of Virginians.

If the past two days aren’t evidence enough that the Virginia Senate must change, we honestly don’t know what is. In a 48-hour period since Wednesday, the Senate, where Democrats hold a 22-18 majority, has passed several bills that undermine the values of Virginia while defeating common sense measures that would reduce the number of abortions and advance a culture of life.

On Wednesday, it passed legislation adding sexual orientation to state government’s non-discrimination law (SB 747), a bill that gives state government agencies the ability to provide domestic partner benefits (SB 1122), and a proposal that is an attack on Virginia’s abstinence centered family life education policy (SB 967).

In yesterday’s Senate Education and Health Committee, five pro-life bills were defeated, including legislation that would have provided women seeking an abortion an opportunity to view an ultrasound (SB 1435); created wrongful death protections for the unborn (SB 1207 and SB 1378); and criminalized the act of coercing someone to have an abortion (SB 1217). The committee also rejected a bill that would prohibit health insurance companies that provide elective abortion coverage from participating in the state-run exchanges required by President Obama’s federal health insurance scheme (SB 1202).

As in past years, the Senate has proven to be a killing field for pro-family, pro-life legislation, as well as the source of bills that undermine Virginia’s values. The question now becomes, are pro-family Virginians finally tired of this? If so, this November all 40 members of the Senate face re-election. Let’s face it — having the truth and the facts on our side, having a professional team of advocates to influence legislators, having a grassroots network across Virginia simply isn’t enough. We have to change the people who sit in that chamber.

This year is our opportunity to break through this barrier and change the future of Virginia. We need to add more conservative voices to the Senate. When it had a Republican majority in the past the outcome wasn’t much better. We need principled conservatives in office. The Family Foundation and The Family Foundation Action will do everything possible to ensure that Virginians know exactly what the stakes are — and which candidates stand with us and which stand against us — as the elections approach. Please click here to learn more about our Ignite Campaign and how you can help.

Please also know that there are several members of the Senate (15) that voted with The Family Foundation on every one of the bills. We thank them for their stand on principle. We especially thank those Senators who carried pro-life legislation this year, including Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg), Ralph Smith (R-22, Botetourt) and Bill Stanley (R-19, Chatham).

This is the third in a series about key issues facing this year’s General Assembly. Issue One, Life Defined And Protected, was posted Tuesday and Issue Two, Eliminate ObamaCare Induced Abortion Funding In Virginia, was posted yesterday.

It’s the word of the day — federalism. Few Americans have any idea what it actually means or know its historical origins, but with the massive expansion of the federal government since the election of President Obama, more people are learning. From the government take over of health care, student loans and auto companies, to bailouts of banks, AIG and Fannie Mac and Freddie Mae, we have seen an unprecedented expansion of federal power.

Essentially, federalism means that the federal government will do what it is constitutionally empowered to do, and the states will take care of their own business. It has long been forgotten that the federal government exists at the mercy of the states or, as per the constitution, “to the people” — not the other way around. The government was meant to be our servant (thus the term “public service”), but now Washington has become the master, controlling aspects of life and the economy once thought preposterous, and demanding us to feed it with ever more of our heard earned money and compliance with its controls on our liberty.

But as the federal government explodes in size and power, some efforts are being undertaken to attempt to restore at least some balance of power (see Pat McSweeney’s Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed). The recent elections are evidence that while Americans may not be entirely familiar with federalism, they support it.

In Virginia, an effort to restore federalism is being led by House Speaker Bill Howell (R-28, Fredericksburg) through a repeal amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The repeal amendment would simply allow for any federal law — ObamaCare, for example — to be repealed if two-thirds of the states agree on the repeal. You might say it’s a bill to protect “fly over country” from ideas that start in New York and California.

The Family Foundation supports this effort. We believe that there is an important role for the federal government but that its jurisdiction is limited. A repeal amendment would be a step toward restoring the intent of the constitution.

A concern is that the resolution calls for the ratification of this amendment through a constitutional convention, rather than through the congressional-state legislative ratification process. While some think a convention could have unintended consequences, any effort to do so can be limited to this issue alone. Frankly, the constitution is being misinterpreted by the courts and federal government just about every day. The repeal amendment would give states the ability to correct some of those misinterpretations.

Senators Ryan McDougle (R-4, Mechanicsville) and Jill Vogel (R-27, Winchester), and Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-67, Oak Hill) have introduced legislation (SJ 280 and HJ 542, respectively) requiring Congress to call a convention to add the repeal amendment to the constitution. At least two-thirds of the states would have to pass similar resolutions before Congress must act.

Our Founding Fathers understood the need for a system of checks and balances — both within the federal government (executive, legislative and judicial) — and between the federal government and the states that created it. The repeal amendment would be another tool that could be used to protect our freedoms and ensure that balance is restored.

Incoming U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) blasted this out:

Obamacare Unconstitutional!

U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson today ruled in the Eastern District of Virginia that President Obama’s signature health care law, Obamacare, was an unconstitutional mandate forcing people to purchase health insurance that they might not want, need or be able to afford.

Following the decision, Congressman Cantor called for the case to move directly to the U.S. Supreme Court so the issue could be resolved immediately.

Congressman Cantor further stated that when Republicans assume control of the House in January they would pass a clean repeal of Obamacare.

In a second e-mail, perhaps to hammer home his commitment to repeal to his critics on his right, he wrote this:

Today’s ruling is a clear affirmation that President Obama’s health care law is unconstitutional. The efforts of Governor McDonnell and Attorney General Cuccinelli have raised legitimate concerns and ensured the people of the Commonwealth will have their rights protected against this unconstitutional law. Ultimately, we must ensure that no American will be forced by the federal government to purchase health insurance they may not need, want, or be able to afford.

Congressman Randy Forbes (R-Va.), founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, was taken aback during President Obama’s recent trip to Indonesia (see WorldNetDaily). While there, he said in a speech that America’s national motto is E pluribus unum — “Out of many, one.” While the Latin is on our Great Seal, it is not our national motto. “In God we trust” is.

The smartest president ever according to his cheerleaders, gaffed. Again. The man who can’t speak without a teleprompter, of “corpseman” fame, who confuses Memorial Day with Veterans Day, and who said we have 57 states, got something that simple so very wrong. The question is why? Was it intentional? Did he not want to mention God? It’s happened before. Remember this — when he omitted the reference to God in the Declaration of Independence? He’s either not too bright or intentionally ignores God’s presence in our country’s founding.

So Congressman Forbes and 41 bipartisan members of the Prayer Caucus sent the president a letter (see it and its signatories, here), which states in part:

In your speech in Indonesia, you mentioned being unified under one flag. The Pledge of Allegiance to our flag says that we are “one nation under God.” As President of the United States, you are our representative to the rest of the world. By misrepresenting things as foundational as the Declaration of Independence and our national motto, you are not only doing a disservice to the people you represent you are casting aside an integral part of American society.

In a news release (see here), he further elaborated:

For the President of the United States to incorrectly state something as foundational as our national motto in another country is unacceptable. The President is the primary representative of our nation to the world, and whether mistake or intention, his actions cast aside an integral part of American society. President Reagan once warned that “If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

The Prayer Caucus documented other instances in which the president has, for unexplained reasons, intentionally omitted references to God where they were made historically. It asked the president to correct the recent mistake and ensure that it does not happen again. Despite his gargantuan ego, the latter is a larger ask than the former.

Liberal, secular progressivism exposes itself in these instances. Far from being open and tolerant, it attempts to whitewash history and is intolerant. But whitewashing history does not change it and the truth always prevails. We applaud the actions of the Congressman Forbes and the Congressional Prayer Caucus for holding President Obama and the secular progressive ideology he embodies to account.

Last week, Vice President Joe Biden added a fresh gaffe to the myriad in his collection. To be fair, it isn’t necessarily a gaffe. As thoroughly and comprehensively wrong as he is in this latest blunder, he genuinely believes it. So maybe it doesn’t quite qualify as a gaffe. Rather, it’s a true believer’s thoroughly incomprehensible genuine thought. Either way, it’s astounding. 

Said the Veep:

Every single great idea that has marked the 21st Century, the 20th Century and the 19th Century has required government vision and government incentive.

That would shock every great inventor, thinker and entrepreneur from those eras. Think Henry Ford or the Wright Brothers or FedEx founder Frederick Smith, to name three of thousands.

Ryan Young at OpenMarket.org willingly takes Biden’s statist assertion on behalf of Adam Smith. He pulls this quote from the Great Scot’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (read it online):

The man of system . . . is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. … He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board.

Young and Alex Schibuola further dissect Mr. Biden at The Daily Caller. Mr. Biden,  President Obama and the entire crew they have in place are true men and women of the system, believing their great plans in the hands of people who know better than the average Joe is the only path to progress.

Great philosophies are timeless, true throughout the ages. Smith’s words perfectly describe today’s control freakish, government-first, micromanaging, ”system” liberals. Could he have been any more prescient in using the term “great society”?

The Great Scot: Adam Smith knew Joe Biden and his type long ago.

Note: It’s hard to keep up with the plethora of Biden gaffes, mistakes, misspeaks. But some people try: See YouTube here and here for video documentation of the Veep’s hit list.

Thursday morning, FRC Action hosted a live Webcast roundtable discussion on the meaning of Tuesday’s election results. It now is archived online, free, for convenient viewing.

The panel included FRC Action President Tony Perkins (who issued this statement upon President Obama’s post-election news conference, saying the president still doesn’t get it), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), former Senator Rick Santorum, Skyline Church Pastor Dr. Jim Garlow, pollster Kellyanne Conway, FRC Action PAC President Connie Mackey and FRC Action’s Senior Vice President Tom McClusky.

Topics discussed included:

» Do the elections signify a turn toward conservative social concerns?

» What messages were the voters sending to the leaders of both parties?

» Who will be the new chairmen of powerful congressional committees?

» What’s next for legislation on the state level?

»What do the election results mean for the repeal of ObamaCare?

The Webcast lasts about an hour and is worth every minute. We hope you take the opportunity to hear these unique perspectives from people from various backgrounds and professions about the election, what it all means and where we go from here.

Click here to watch FRC Action’s election analysis program: “After the Vote: What’s Next?”

The video below comes from a friend of mine and it’s not bad. The focus is on President Obama, but there are slivers of other guest appearances. Note House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s cameo. She says health care “reform” is the best way to provide jobs. But a quick check of her pronouncements shows that we should have near full employment by now, not the chronically high 9.6 percent unemployment that stagnant Euro-statist-welfare-states tolerate. For example:

» She said over the summer that extending unemployment benefits is the best method for immediate job creation (see American Thinker).

» She told the country in May that guaranteeing health care allows people to quit their jobs to pursue the arts because artists typically can’t afford insurance.

» Way back when she said the best way to create jobs was to pass the “stimulus.”

Meanwhile, we’re spending into oblivion in a debt-and-spend cycle of cataclysmic proportions, worthy of a third world country, with results that aren’t much better. The video sums it up well:

Fiddling while America burns.

In Sunday’s Roanoke Times, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling offered up an op-ed with some basic, sound ideas for improving the economy to President Obama in what amounted to an open letter. He provided seven suggestions to the president’s economic team, but the likelihood of the administration adhering to any of them is slight at best. After all, not only is this the most ideologically left-wing rooted president in history . . . but he doesn’t have an ecomomic team. They’ve all resigned (Business & Media Institute).

Just in case someone remained behind, the White House should take heed from someone who, in his role of Chief Jobs Creation Officer, meets with people every day who create jobs, not theoriticians who have worked in government their entire lives. The country is overtaxed, over regulated and feels the weight of the behemoth government suffocating the life out of our economic system.

Among the ideas offered by the LG are to extend all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and provide additional tax relief, reign in the job-killing EPA and relax restrictive regulations preventing banks from lending money to businesses for expansion. He also advocates repealing “those portions of the federal health care bill that impose massive mandates, fines and penalties on businesses.” That may be almost all of the new law, but he should have stated simply that it should be repealed in its entirety.

Lastly, Mr. Bolling wisely suggests a reduction of federal spending by at least  five percent per year until it reaches 2006 levels. A good start, and better than the House Republicans’ “Pledge To America” which plans to bring  spending down to the 2008 level. But the federal budget was in the $2.5 trillion range even in 2006. There is much more fat to be cut.

If Republicans do succeed in winning control of either or both chambers of Congress, it’s first test will be to prove their seriousness in significantly reducing the size and scope of governement and to provide a glide path down to solvency.