News In Focus with Chris Long

Keith Faber, State Auditor Watchdog For Ohio's Public Trust

Keith Faber, State Auditor Watchdog For Ohio's Public Trust

Ohio's State Auditor Keith Faber discusses on this week's program the importance of the Auditor's office to keep local and county officials accountable for the public's trust as they handle your tax dollars. The Auditor stated that they currently have 140 criminal investigations underway of those who have violated their oath of office and have mishandled public money. Auditor Faber said - "see something, say something" with a quick link on his web page for citizens to report fraud. https://www.ohioauditor.gov/fraud/default.html  Share this with your friends and contacts. 

Part 2 - State Treasurer Robert Sprague shares with News in Focus the Family Forward Initiative, legislation that is soon to be introduced in the Ohio House that will provide low-interest loans to adopting families. Ohio Christian Alliance is in full support of this legislation and will be offering supporting testimony once it is introduced in committee.  

 

Return to Plymouth - A Discussion on the Pilgrims’ Landing THANKSGIVING SPECIAL

Return to Plymouth - A Discussion on the Pilgrims’ Landing THANKSGIVING SPECIAL

Pastor Paul Jehle, historian, author, and Executive Director of the Plymouth Rock Foundation, an historical organization that keeps the story of Plymouth alive. This is the 399th year since the Pilgrims' landing. Paul shares the real story of the Pilgrims as a church plant for religious freedom and their Christian outreach to the native Americans that you won't hear anywhere else. Tune in and tell a friend! Here is a link to Plymouth Rock Foundation.  https://plymrock.org/

Next year will be the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing in Massachusetts to establish a colony as they were seeking religious freedom. 

Updates From Our State Treasurer and Secretary of State

Updates From Our State Treasurer and Secretary of State

Part 1 - State Treasurer Robert Sprague shares with News in Focus the Family Forward Initiative, legislation that is soon to be introduced in the Ohio House that will provide low-interest loans to adopting families. Ohio Christian Alliance is in full support of this legislation and will be offering supporting testimony once it is introduced in committee.  

Part 2 - Secretary of State Frank LaRose provides a post-election update. Secretary LaRose shares with the listeners the newly revised Secretary of State website features, as well as online voting registration. 

ISIS leader taken out by U.S. Special Forces and an update on the situation in Syria

ISIS leader taken out by U.S. Special Forces and an update on the situation in Syria

Joe Kassab, President of the Iraqi Christian Advocacy Organization, praises President Trump on the demise of the ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi. Mr. Kassab explains how this news was received in the Chaldean Christian community here in the U.S. and in Iraq. Mr. Kassab also gives us an update on the status of the Christian community now returning to Mosul and the towns and villages that they were chased from when ISIS invaded in 2014. 

Clare Lopez, Vice President for Research and Analysis with the Center For Security Policy in Washington, D.C. discusses the situation on the ground in Syria with the various players. Tune in and tell a friend. 

 

The Trades are in great demand in Ohio. Who will train this new workforce?

The Trades are in great demand in Ohio. Who will train this new workforce?

State Rep. Mark Romanchuk of Ohio's 2nd District discusses his proposed legislation of a trade apprenticeship program in high schools and career centers with the same style benefits that the college credit plus program has provided over the years. He argues that not every high school student needs to go to college and amass debt, but rather enter the workforce with skilled training in construction and in the area of skilled trades that provide good-paying jobs. Ohio has great demand currently for construction workers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, machinists, and heavy equipment operators. Ohio is currently facing a wave of retirements in these career fields, and industry is in desperate need of skilled workers. Rep. Romanchuk says his bill will encourage the trades beginning in high schools. It will be a partnership of business and local high schools working together to train tomorrow's workforce. 

Part 2 - Bryan Williams, Director of Associated Builders and Contractors, compliments Rep. Romanchuk's effort and spells out the details with data and statistics of what is happening with Ohio's workforce and what is needed to turn it around, equipping Ohio's young people with the skills and trades for their future.  

 

Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel discusses the LGBTQ challenge of the 1964 civil rights act.

Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel discusses the LGBTQ challenge of the 1964 civil rights act.

Amicus briefs defending the current Title VII 1964 Civil Rights Act have been filed. The cases before the Supreme Court challenge the 1964 Civil Rights Act by stating that it should expand to sexual orientation or gender identity. These cases have huge implications for religious liberty.

Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on three cases that are challenging Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Here is a portion of their press statement. 

Employment Cases Go to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Liberty Counsel filed two amicus briefs in support of employers in three Supreme Court cases regarding whether federal anti-discrimination laws should apply to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” The High Court will hear the cases on October 8, 2019.

The Supreme Court’s order refers to Title VII, the part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Two lower federal courts disagreed on whether the plain wording of the word “sex” should include “sexual orientation.” A third case ruled that the law should include “gender identity.” To include either term would require the law to be re-written, which is the prerogative of the legislature.

 

 

Jerry Corsi Discusses the Deep State's Attack on Trump Supporters

Jerry Corsi Discusses the Deep State's Attack on Trump Supporters

Dr. Jerome Corsi discusses his ordeal as he was interrogated by the Mueller team investigators. In late 2018, in an FBI closed conference room with no windows, Dr. Corsi was confronted for hours upon hours at a time by detailed questioning about events that occurred in 2016. Dr. Corsi’s inquisition was worthy of the Gestapo or KGB, designed to break even the most cooperating witness. Over a period of two months, three of Mueller’s top prosecutors and an army of FBI agents—up to nine government officials at a time—questioned Dr. Corsi with his attorney, David Gray.  

Throughout this harrowing ordeal, Dr. Corsi handed over his personal computers, his cell phone, all of his email accounts, his Twitter account, and his Google account. Finding no “smoking gun,” Mueller’s prosecutors blew up the meetings. Dr. Corsi refused to lie to the prosecutors to give them the ammunition they needed to prosecute Roger Stone, and as a result he was told he would be charged with a criminal offense for lying to the FBI and the Special Prosecutor.

At seventy-two years of age, Dr. Corsi was subjected to extreme mental anguish, imagining that he may never see his family again as a free man.

Rather than conducting an honest investigation, Mueller’s Special Prosecutors reinforced a prefabricated narrative aiming to charge President Trump with Treason. Silent No More: How I Became a Political Prisoner of Mueller’s "Witch Hunt" exposes the inner workings of this governmental escapade, and clearly states why Mueller has no case against the President. 

 Part 2 - Encore presentation by Bill Federer on the history of radical Islam's war against the Christian West. 

 

18 years after 9/11 have we forgotten who attacked us?

18 years after 9/11 have we forgotten who attacked us?

On this 9/11 anniversary, we look back on the events as they took place on September 11, 2001.  Joining us on the program is Frank Gaffney,  founder, and chairman of the Center for Security Policy in Washington DC. Frank Gaffney details the fact that hundreds of attacks were thwarted by law enforcement since 9/11 and that radical Islam is intent on taking down western culture by acts of terrorism or by political moves that advance the cause of Sharia law and Islamic life.

Part 2.  Bill Federer of the American Minute discusses the history of Islam and its long war against Christianity and the West. We highlight  Bill's book, “What Every American Needs to Know About the Koran.”  To learn about Islam’s violent history is to understand its ideological goals.  Tune in and tell a friend! 

Pastor Lydon Allen of CUFI discusses America's support for Israel

Pastor Lydon Allen of CUFI discusses America's support for Israel

Part 1   Pastor Lyndon Allen is the Central Regional Coordinator for Christians United for Israel (CUFI). He discusses the importance of the Christian church supporting our Jewish brethren and the State of Israel. Annually, there is a national conference at which 5,000 attendees gather in Washington, D.C. to meet with legislators to advocate for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. 

Part 2   Mike Goldstein, State Director of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, a Christian organization that also supports the State of Israel. Mike, who is Jewish, has family in Israel and discusses the importance of the United States and the State of Israel as allies in the Middle East. Mike is a retired Naval Intelligence officer and brings an interesting perspective to the threats that Israel faces on an on-going basis from some of its hostile neighbors. 

Pastor John Coats and OCA President Chris Long Discuss the Trump Administration's Proposed Rule Change That Protects Religious Organizations and Institutions in Hiring Practices.

Pastor John Coats and OCA President Chris Long Discuss the Trump Administration's Proposed Rule Change That Protects Religious Organizations and Institutions in Hiring Practices.

ACTION ITEM:  Click on the link below. The comment section will be open until September 15. It is important that people of faith express their support for the rule change. 

 

U.S. Department of Labor Proposes a Rule Clarifying

Civil Rights Protections for Religious Organizations

 WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to clarify the civil rights protections afforded to religious organizations that contract with the federal government. The proposed rule ensures that conscience and religious freedom are given the broadest protection permitted by law. The proposed rule is currently available for public inspection and will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, August 15, 2019.

The proposed rule is rooted in statute, Supreme Court decisions, and Executive Orders. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a critical, protective exemption for religious organizations. A similar exemption is included in Executive Order 11246 and OFCCP’s regulations, which govern certain employment practices of federal contractors. Recent Supreme Court decisions - Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores - further address the protections afforded religious organizations and individuals under the Constitution and federal law. Executive Orders 13798, Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty, and 13831, Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, along with U.S. Department of Justice guidance, likewise instruct federal agencies to protect religious exercise and not impede it.

In keeping with that rich history, the proposed rule would clarify that religious organizations may make employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held religious tenets and beliefs without fear of sanction by the federal government. The proposal also reaffirms employers’ obligations not to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or other protected bases and does not exempt or excuse a contractor from complying with any other requirements.

“Today’s proposed rule helps to ensure the civil rights of religious employers are protected,” Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella remarked. “As people of faith with deeply held religious beliefs are making decisions on whether to participate in federal contracting, they deserve clear understanding of their obligations and protections under the law.”