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Our Principles and Policies radio show for Wednesday December 7, 2011. Barry Sheets and Chuck Michaelis of the Institute For Principled Policy expose the specious arguments and threats to sue Ohio to stop the Heartbeat Bill on the basis of Ohio’s Issue 3 We reveal the reasons that this is a “red herring.”
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Our Principles and Policies radio show for Tuesday December 6, 2011. Barry Sheets and Chuck Michaelis of the Institute For Principled Policy emphasize the necessity of passage of Ohio HB 125- the Heartbeat Bill
We the People have the duty to restrain a government operating outside Constitutional boundaries. The Institute on the Constitution invites you to learn how by discovering your American heritage and birthright.
INSTITUTE ON THE CONSTITUTION – Course Description & Information
 A great history and non-partisan government class for adults and teens to be introduced to the U. S. Constitution, our Biblical heritage and the concept of limited government.  Twelve weekly classes of approximately 2 hours each are comprised of a 30-minute video lecture, group review and discussion questions.
Beginning with the Bible you will learn of the origins of history, law and government, followed by stories of America’s discovery, settlement and evangelization from exciting, primary sources you never saw in school! Then, the worldview of the founding fathers is discussed, which leads straight to the text of the Constitution.
Your live instructor will be Barry Sheets, Executive Director of the Institute for Principled Policy and owner of Principled Policy Consulting, LLC. Barry has nearly two decades of experience working with elected officials and public policy. David Barton of Wallbuilders and Lt. Colonel John Eidsmoe are the video instructors.   Barton is a master teacher with a vast collection and knowledge of founding era literature. Lt. Colonel Eidsmoe is a Constitutional attorney and professor with degrees in theology, law and political science. He is a published author and frequent lecturer at colleges, churches and community groups.
This timely and relevant course’s cost is $60 per person prior to October 28th.  Registration after that date will be $75. Your course fee includes the 12 weekly lectures, a Student Manual, and a number of supplemental books that will be read during the course.
 CLASS DATES AND TIME –  Begins October 31st, 6:30-8:30 p.m. for 12 weeks
CLASS LOCATION –Gallipolis Christian Church, 4486 State Route 588, Gallipolis, 45631
TO REGISTER CONTACT – Barry Sheets, 614-989-5293, or register at: www.campamerican.com
Join in the cause of preserving our God-given Liberty and restoring our Constitutional Republic. After all, if you don’t defend Liberty, who will?
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Our Principles and Policies radio show for Monday October 4, 2011. Barry Sheets and Chuck Michaelis of the Institute For Principled Policy discuss the Right To Life.
Dr. Mark Hamilton is Chairman of the Board of the Institute For Principled Policy, Professor of Philosophy Ashland University and an Elder for Providence Church
Health care is dominating the news and our culture. It is also apparent that most people want all Americans to be treated fairly and compassionately and that the current costs of health care have burdened many and threaten this desire for fairness. But the current proposed health care bill presents numerous reasons for concern and there are specific aspects of the bill which are wrong and morally unacceptable.
God cares about our health. The Bible refers to the words heal, healer, healed, health, healthy at least 169 times. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.â€Â We should take care of our bodies as service to God. Jesus came to heal and redeem, and ultimately we must understand that all healing comes from God and is dependent upon Him. Jesus alone is our healer. He came to make us well and bring life.
God cares about our Laws. Isaiah 10:1 says, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees….†But how do we know an unjust law? As Christian I believe in the “sufficiency of scripture.â€Â This means that scripture is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.â€Â Since this is so we must look to Scripture as the supreme standard to evaluate the proposed government takeover of health care. The only standard by which any one can really evaluate any laws is by the standard of Scripture. In this analysis I will evaluate the proposed Health Care Bill by the standards of Scripture and particularly by the Standard of God’s Law, the Ten Commandments.
The proposed health care bill builds on the modern American trend of statism. Statism is when power is centralized and located in the state not in the people.  In statism, a person’s life and work belong to the state. For the past 150 years America has become gradually more nationalized in its approach toward government with the state taking more and more control over economic planning and policy including the lives of its citizens. The American Founding Fathers understood the tendency of governments to move in this direction of restricting freedom so they implemented means to block that movement. They also understood power ultimately rests in God and that all nations rise and fall by the authority of God. They often acknowledged the sovereignty of God. The Declaration of Independence even states, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our Lives, Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.â€Â They understood that God, not the state, society, class, or church is our security. God alone is ultimately sovereign and all power and authority rests in Him. Furthermore only God can be trusted with power. Human power and freedom is always a threat or danger because of sin.
Because of the effects of sin, whenever God’s sovereignty is reduced, then humans or human institutions step forward and fill that vacuum. For example in theology when God’s supremacy is reduced then individual human authority intervenes and results in Arminian theology and a reduction in God’s work of grace in salvation. Understanding God’s sovereignty properly leads to an understanding of the limited power and authority of humans and human institutions. The American Constitution created a government of limited and enumerated powers with a separation of powers because the Founders and Authors understood the nature of God’s sovereignty and the dangers of human autonomy and power. In this formula no man or department exercises all the power of even a limited government. God alone is to be trusted with power. This type of Federalism is based on a presbyterian form of corporate church government with a plurality of leaders and with no monopoly of jurisdiction. The Christian should understand the need is to fragment and limit political power because of sin so it cannot threaten the lives and liberties of the people.
Statism is the modern idolatry of the state. We must understand that the nationalization of Health Care violates the First Commandment which exclaims, “Thou shall have no other gods before me.â€Â Growing statism makes the state into a deity. During the medieval periods ecclesiolatry was responsible for much of the world’s suffering. When God’s sovereignty was reduced prior to the Reformation in Europe, the church emerged as the sovereign entity and an ecclesiocracy was established as the church ruled over the state.  The situation is now reversed. It is now this crossing of the state into the realm of the Church which has caused the suffering of the 20th century. “All modern dictators—Communist, Facist, or disguised—have at least one thing in common. They all believe in social security, especially in coercing people into governmentalized medicine†stated economist Melchoir Palyi in 1949 in Compulsory Medical Care and the Welfare State (Chicago) (quoted from the November 2009 The Trinity Review) .
Here then is a second form of idolatry as the state usurps the role of the Church in its quest for sovereignty. We could say it violates the tenets of separation of church and state causing the state to enter into the realm that is the Church’s. Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Lenin and Stalin of the USSR, Salazar of Portugal, Mussolini of Italy, Franco of Spain, Yoshito and Hirohito of Japan, Peron of Argentina, Castro of Cuba, Mao of China, and Hitler of Germany all were autocrats and all were advocates of National Health Care (November 2009 The Trinity Review).
Virtue must be voluntary. It is not the role of government to increase the virtues, “Render to God what is God’s.†The government must give opportunity for virtuous men to act appropriately, to get out of their way.  American generosity is the consequence of Christianity and capitalism. Compulsory charity is an absurdity like involuntary volunteerism. The state cannot love; It cannot force compassion. Its role is to wield the sword and punish evil-doers. Get the state out of the affairs of the Church. To refuse to do so is to commit idolatry.
Reprinted with Permission from the Rainrock Nutritionals website
In an article in the Over The Counter Today blog we learned that Sen. John McCain has withdrawn all support of his own bill (S. 3002), the laughably misnamed Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010.
In effect this bill would have imposed draconian penalties for dietary supplement companies who made new products with recently uncovered ingredients if they weren’t marketed in the United States prior to the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act (Oct. 15, 1994). In other words, only drug companies would have access to ingredients that became available prior to nearly 16 years ago. If a company were to use one of these ingredients, the FDA would be empowered to call it “adulterated” and to order an instant recall. It also handed the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to ban ingredients by simply striking them from a list called “Accepted Dietary Ingredients.”
It is clear that McCain is feeling the political heat. He is in a tense primary battle to keep his Arizona US Senate seat and apparently, enough of you have contacted his office and expressed your displeasure with this new power grab to give him the idea that maybe supplements ought to be left alone. This effort of McCain’s was really just one of the many steps the federal government is taking to turn control of all dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals over to the control of international “authorities” by adopting the European “Codex Alimentarius” as law in the United States. This essentially would place all regulation of supplements under the control of European bureaucrats who are themselves under the control of German Pharmaceutical giants.
McCain was convinced by both internal and external pressure to withdraw support for this bill. Your calls helped as did this letter from Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.
But we must be vigilant. Dietary supplements are in the cross hairs of regulators and the current administration. I was told at a meeting of Complementary and Alternative Medicine providers and patients last summer that the Obama health care bill would ensure the continuation of the easy availability of dietary supplements. This is an absurd notion. The European example tells a very different story. Dietary supplements throughout the EU are rapidly becoming an endangered species (except in the UK which doesn’t care for German control of ANYTHING).
Please take this opportunity to join and support the National Health Federation and purchase Director Scott Tips book on the Codex Alimentarius- Codex Alimentarius: Global Food Imperialism
Way back in 2007 the Institute For Principled Policy Led the fight to oppose mandatory Gardasil vaccinations for girls as young as 10. Gardasil is a vaccination created to immunize against a limited number of strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). It was being touted as a cervical cancer prevention method. We cited a complete lack of information on vital statistics regarding length of anti-viral activity, adverse immunological effects, possible adverse reactions (Guillain-Barre Syndrome, etc), actual statistical analysis regarding reduction of cancer, etc. For a complete list of the questions we were asking in the Spring of 2007 you can read our main article HERE.
Now, 3 years later, the bloom is off the “miracle vaccination” rose. It is becoming clear that the objections we raised were more than justified. Merck & Co. the pharmaceutical giant that developed this vaccine and has spent millions trying to guarantee itself indemnity from lawsuit via a little known section of the PATRIOT Act that makes mandatory vaccinations immune from damage lawsuits. That’s what was going on in Ohio in 2007 and we at the Institute For Principled Policy exposed it early, thus killing the bill (HB 81) that would have made the vaccine mandatory.
Since that time there have been nearly 9000 adverse reaction reports, including deaths, paralysis, mysterious pain, immunological impacts, reports of passing out, etc. Now Merck & Co. are trying to get boys in the act, claiming the vaccine will work in them, as well.
Here is a video that gives an interesting overview of the situation including a CBS Evening News report on Gardasil adverse reactions-
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJsEEXDGAsk[/youtube]
There is also a very well done video response to the first video that looks at the problem from a more scientific perspective. It targets both the medical journals and marketing of the vaccine-
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ32gAb1o-E[/youtube]
As the second video makes clear, there are many questions that MUST be answered about Gardasil primarily but also many other vaccinations. Vaccinations can be wonderful things (polio), but there is an immunological price to pay for their use. The extent of that price is not yet fully known. As consumers we need to be given considerably more information on that price than we now have.
By Dr. Mark Hamilton
Due to my own medical issues I load up my teaching on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a Tuesday night class. This keeps Thursdays free for medical appointments. This meant that I was fortunately (or maybe unfortunately?) able to take in the televised spectacle of the health care summit with President Obama entertaining the leaders from the Senate and House of Representatives in mortal verbal combat last week. This short expose’ will be my personal reflective thoughts on the day. Be reminded that due to my own illness, I read and reflected on the entire bill last summer and have been judiciously following the debates and discussions. Regarding this recent summit, I have been careful not to listen to many “post-game†pundits so that I can attempt to give my own untainted response to the nefarious activities of that day.
First, the sessions, especially the morning one was a good introduction to the health care debate. The primary issues were revealed and the ground clearly staked out by each side. The Democratic position was first laid out by the President followed by a clear eloquent Republican response by Lamar Alexander and Tom Coburn. After hearing their reply anyone who says the Republicans do not have a proposal for health care is badly mistaken. These men put forward specific Republican plans.
Second, the morning session, while accomplishing nothing in terms of resolution was a great educational time. My wife who understands many of the issues but who has not studied the bill in depth like I have was very attentive to much of the morning session because of the striking philosophical differences revealed.
Third, obviously President Obama was trying to find common points of agreement. Each time a Republican point would be made he would try to restate the discussion and frame it in a way that minimized the differences and magnified the agreement. I now know what Mr. Obama’s real calling is, a professional facilitator. For those of you who have been to professional planning sessions you know what I mean. These are people who are blind to disagreement and violate the law of non-contradiction by seeing all sides as part of the same side. I suspect his plan is to use this grasp at common ground as fodder to attempt to push through his bill while publicly saying the Republicans agree with much of its content.
Fourth, if the summit accomplished one great deed it was revealing the obvious differences in the sides. The Democrats want government to oversee the health care industry and to regulate it wherever possible while the Republicans want more freedom and less government control. Because there are some points of agreement, some will be persuaded to think the two sides are not far apart. They are completely polarized because they have different world views.
Fifth, the Republicans at the summit were much more eloquent and succinct in their points than the Democrats were. Senators Alexander and Coburn, and Representatives Ryan and Cantor were all very eloquent and persuasive; none of the Republicans looked confused or uncertain. I was very impressed at how fluent and philosophically consistent these Republicans were. In the past decade I have been quite critical of many of the leading Republican because of their pragmatic unprincipled approach to governing. That was not observable on Thursday. Democratic Senator Reid looked like a weasel as he denied the concept of reconciliation while networks were showing recordings of him and other Democrats mentioning the idea over the past few months. His denial of reconciliation made him look like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar saying to his mother that he was not going to eat any cookies. Speaker of the House Pelosi spoke as she always does, irrationally and haphazardly. If I ever hear of another liberal calling Palin dumb while supporting the mindless idiocy of Pelosi, I will pull my hair out. The Democrats must have used twice the time as the Republicans to say less than half of the content.
Sixth, Obama himself tried to be conciliatory and at times it worked. But his disdain for the Republicans obviously manifested itself in his rebukes of McCain and Cantor and the way he wanted to respond to each Republican directly after they spoke. Mr. Obama is the most defensive president I’ve ever seen. I’m sure he lectured and cajoled the Republicans for more time during the summit than all the combined speeches of all the Republicans.
Seven, finally it became obvious that the central issue is one of statism. The Democrats believe in it and hold fast to its tenets. Though some Republicans have been statists, like the Bushes and McCain, the emerging Republican leaders who were spokesmen at the summit are moving away from this outdated, idolatrous position. Healthcare is drawing the line in the sand and the summit painted this line in florescence green.
It will come as no shock that the Institute For Principled Policy is involved in biblical worldview education for young men and women. You only need to look at our Divisions and About Us pages to see that education in biblical worldview is one of our main functions.
In keeping with our commitment to solid biblical worldview education the Institute partners with groups whose specialty is biblical worldview training on issues like government, economics, critical thinking skills, history, etc.
Every year the Institute partners with Camp American, a non-partisan, non-denominational Christian worldview and recreation summer camp which specializes in the Institute’s target areas. Several of Camp American’s teachers over the last few years have been members of the Institute For Principled Policy’s board.
And we’re doing it again this year. From June 14-20, 2009 Camp American is being held at Pokagon State Park in Angola IN. Among the teachers from the Institute For Principled Policy will be Executive Director Barry Sheets and Vice-chairman Chuck Michaelis, who is also Executive Director of Camp American. Other teachers include Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center, Pastor David Whitney head instructor of the Institute On The Constitution, Mark Harrington of the midwest office of the Center For Bio-ethical Reform, Dr. Charles Rice Professor Emeritus of Notre Dame Law School and Charlie Smith, a political consultant from Pennsylvania.
You might be asking what Camp American’s classes are like. Here are some short excerpts ofclasses taught last year at Camp American
First, a class on the religuious and philosophical foundations of the Founders taught by Institute Executive Director Barry Sheets
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egg2SfJmdoo[/youtube]
Next is a class taught by Institute Vice-chairman Chuck Michaelis on the Electoral College
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh97UZa8SNQ[/youtube]
Third is a class taught by Pastor David Whitney of the Institute On The Constitution on the rights and responsibilities of a fully informed jury
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmVsy7g4E0[/youtube]
Last (but definitely not least) is a class on property rights, globalism and globa warming taught by Dr. Michael Coffman CEO of Environmental Perspectives, Inc.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgmmPFOjdEg[/youtube]
If you want to attend there’s a special offer for our blog readers. You can sign up for Camp American on their online store and you can use a special coupon designed for our readers that you can use to get a $50 discount at checkout. The coupon is IPP. Don’t wait. Spaces will fill up.
Recently on the Issues, Etc. podcast, Pastor Todd Wilken did a segment with Dr. Alveda King of Priests for Life. Dr. King is a niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King talks candidly about the dilemma she and her fellow pro-life African-Americans and others face regarding the election of Barack Obama to the presidency.
Dr. King clearly draws the line on the life issue in dealing with a president she very obviously feels a strong affinity for. This is an powerful interview because it demonstrates the importance of keeping one’s priorities in perspective.
You can listen to the interview below.