From firstliberty.org

The City Manager of Carlsbad, California won’t allow police chaplain JC Cooper and fire chaplain Denny Cooper from concluding prayers at some events “in Jesus’ name.”

One of the chaplains was even told his prayers were a form of “harassment.”

Earlier this week, First Liberty sent a letter to the City Council urging it to revoke a recent order by the city manager that forbids the chaplains from praying in accordance with their religious beliefs.

JC Cooper is a local pastor who’s faithfully served as a volunteer chaplain for the Carlsbad Police Department for six years. His father, Denny Cooper, has served as the volunteer chaplain for the Fire Department for 18 years.

JC and Denny provide support, encouragement and prayer to first responders as they face traumatic situations. When asked by the police chief to give the invocation at the Carlsbad Police Department Awards Ceremony, JC concluded his prayer, consistent with his long-held beliefs, “in Jesus’ name.”

He was later told by the city manager that unless he removed “in Jesus’ name” from his invocation, he would be subject to discipline. He was then told that he could refer to any other name for God, just not “Jesus.”

Dating back to the Continental Congress in 1776, America has a robust and widely recognized tradition of both public prayer and chaplain programs. What’s more, courts throughout the country have long upheld government chaplaincy programs as constitutional in many different contexts.

The U.S. Supreme Court itself has explicitly held that governmental bodies may begin their meetings or other events with a prayer or invocation. The nation’s highest court also upholds chaplaincy programs even where the government selects a single chaplain to serve as its routine prayer-giver and that chaplain prays in accordance with his or her particular faith.

Our attorneys point to the landmark Supreme Court case Kennedy v. Bremerton, which held that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause does not require government “to purge from the public sphere anything an objective observer could reasonably infer endorses or partakes of the religious.” Instead, “the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understandings.”

Perhaps the city’s decision to prohibit chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name stems from a misunderstanding about the law and Supreme Court precedent. That’s why First Liberty has offered to assist the City in developing a constitutionally appropriate chaplain policy. And of course, we’re offering our assistance free of charge.

Censoring public chaplains betrays the history and traditions of our country. We urge the City Council to revisit the decision to censor the chaplains’ prayers. It should instead follow the Supreme Court’s clear statements with respect to prayer and allow them to pray according to their sincere religious beliefs. source

COME LORD JESUS! 

I PRAY THIS IN THE NAME OF JESUS! <and just try to stop me!>

From theepochtimes.com

As a convicted felon, Trump can still run for the presidency. He is expected to appeal the conviction. Here’s what you need to know.

WATCH VIDEO

Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives back at Trump Tower after being convicted in his criminal trial in New York on May 30, 2024. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

A Manhattan jury took fewer than 12 hours to return a verdict in former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, finding him guilty of 34 counts of falsification of business records with the intent to conceal another crime.

The former president’s conviction makes him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.

Short of a successful appeal, he could now be facing such penalties as jail time, probation, or fines.

Ultimately, it will be up to the presiding judge, Justice Juan Merchan, to decide on the appropriate sentence. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not indicted if prosecutors will seek prison time.

The judge has set the sentencing hearing for July 11 at 10 a.m. This is four days before the Republican National Convention where President Trump will be formally designated as GOP presidential nominee.

As a convicted felon, President Trump is not barred from running for the White House.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed that Mr. Cohen made the payments on President Trump’s behalf to buy Ms. Clifford’s silence over an alleged affair that the former president denies took place. The district attorney further charged that President Trump mislabeled his reimbursements to Mr. Cohen for those payments to conceal another crime, constituting felony-level falsification of business records.

Prosecutors alleged that the secondary crime is a New York election law that criminalizes conspiracy “to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means.”

The unlawful means identified by prosecutors were violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, the falsification of other business records, or violations of tax laws. Judge Merchan ruled that the jury did not have to unanimously agree on what the “unlawful means” was.

President Trump is likely to immediately appeal his conviction, and he has 30 days to do so. But should that effort fail, his fate will rest in the hands of a judge he has vocally criticized as biased and “corrupt.”

During the trial, the former president twice sought Justice Merchan’s recusal over perceived conflicts of interest. One of those alleged conflicts was the fact that the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, heads up a political consulting firm that boasts the Biden-Harris campaign as a client.

Justice Merchan also imposed a gag order on President Trump, preventing him from commenting on court staff, prosecutors, potential witnesses, jurors, and members of the judge’s own family. During the trial, President Trump was fined $9,000 for violating the gag order.

Other than prison, probation or home confinement are also options.

The sentencing decision will be up to the discretion of Judge Merchan, who will take into account President Trump’s criminal record—he has no prior history—and other factors, like his personal history and the crimes itself.

It’s also possible the judge would allow Trump to avoid serving any punishment until after he exhausts his appeals.

Calling the trial a “disgrace,” the former president appeared undeterred by the verdict as he addressed reporters outside the courtroom.

Just four days after the scheduled sentencing hearing, the Republican National Committee is set to nominate President Trump as the party’s presidential candidate during a convention starting July 15.

The only way someone cannot run for president—besides not being born in the United States or not being born to a parent who is already a U.S. citizen, is under the age of 35, and has not been a 14-year resident in the United States—is if the Senate votes to bar the person from running for future office. But that vote, which only requires a simple majority, cannot occur unless the person is convicted in an impeachment trial—which requires a two-thirds majority; the House does the impeaching.

On top of his conviction in New York, President Trump also remains embroiled in two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith and a 2020 election case in Georgia brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Brethren – God’s will be done. He already knows how this will play out.  WE MUST TRUST HIM!!

MARANATHA!

MARANATHA!

From newsrael.com

English translation of IDF soldier explaining what was found in the tunnel that hid Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar.

Bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens filled with stores of specialty foods, offices and millions of dollars in cash.

It was also filled with “aid” from UNRWA – even millionaire Hamas leaders got aid from UNRWA! 

Not even a note to the Western leader idiots who sent their people’s tax money to feed Sinwar and his family!

The leader of Hamas – so aptly named:

SIN/WAR!!

LORD I PRAY FOR THIS MAN TO BE CAPTURED BY THE IDF!

COME LORD JESUS!