Lobbying heats up in NC to sway votes on same-sex marriage

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / August 14, 2011

NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Festival-goer Ed Crabtree, left, talks with Equality N.C. volunteer Theresa Rosenburg, center, and staff member Matt Phillippi as they ask people to fill out postcards.

BY LYNN BONNER - Staff writer

DURHAM -- Matt Phillippi organized stacks of postcards in the Carolina Theatre lobby Sunday, ready for ticketholders at the N.C. Gay and Lesbian Film Festival to sign requests that legislators withhold their support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Phillippi, who works for Equality North Carolina, figured more than 500 postcards were signed in the festival's first three days. The Raleigh-based gay-rights group hopes to have 50,000 to deliver to legislators in September, when lawmakers return for a session to consider constitutional amendments, including a ban on gay marriage.

Full-fledged campaigns over the proposed constitutional ban are washing over the state. They include petitions, messages from pulpits, rallies, billboards and phone banks. 

Unlike traditional election campaigns, during which a relative handful aim their messages at the public, these campaigns are messages from the public aimed at 170 legislators.

Legislators for years have filed bills proposing to write the definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman into the state Constitution. Those bills never made it to votes of the full House or Senate when Democrats controlled the legislature.

With Republicans now in charge of the legislature, the amendment's backers see their greatest opportunity, and opponents face their biggest test.

Proposed constitutional amendments must be decided by voters. To get on a ballot, a proposed amendment needs three-fifths majorities of the House and Senate. About 30 other states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Constitutional changes were eventually approved in every state where they made it on to ballots.

North Carolina is one of 37 states with active laws defining marriage between a man and woman.

Ron Baity, president of the conservative Christian organization Return America, was a speaker at a pro-ban rally that drew thousands to Raleigh in May.Baity, a pastor frequently invited to speak at Baptist churches, says he preaches about supporting the constitutional ban. "It's a biblical issue," Baity said. "Our organization is pushing to say to our legislature, 'We want you to vote on it.' "

It was easy to find opposing views at the film festival, where many theatergoers were eager to sign Equality North Carolina's postcards.

The government should not put the rights of a minority up for a majority vote or use the state Constitution to discriminate, they said.

Ed Crabtree, 50, said the government should be about protecting rights, not limiting them.

"You can't have the tyranny of the majority impose their will on the people who need to be protected," the Durham resident said.

Joseph Sawyers of Raleigh said legislators have no good reason to debate the issue.

"Just because two guys want to be together or two girls want to be together, what effect does that have on me?" asked Sawyers, 31. "It doesn't bother me at all. It has nothing to do with me."

The proposal has triggered plenty of frenzied face-to-face professional lobbying and vote counting. The Rev. Mark Creech, the executive director of the Christian Action League, has spent days keeping tabs on potential amendment votes in the legislature.

Although Creech has asked supporters to send email to legislators on various issues over the years, he said a low-key approach - talking to individual legislators - is most productive at this phase of the effort to get the amendment passed.

Creech is taking a long view with a strategy aimed not only at making sure the amendment makes it on the ballot, but also making sure voters approve it.

"There's a lot of groundwork to be laid," he said. "Not only do you have to have all the votes that are needed, in the long run, you need to be in the best position so you can win North Carolina. Even though we have been working on this for many years, this is the first time we've had a real opportunity in front of us."

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/15/1413422/friendly-audience-for-gay-rights.html

 

Frank Williams interviewed at Pantano for Congress event: 'Voters want a new congressman'.

By Verne Strickland / August 15, 2011

Frank Williams, retiring chairman of the NCGOP Seventh District, was on hand at the Pantano for Congress office grand opening this past week-end, joining over 300 energized conservatives on hand for the event. 

We interviewed him at the gathering for USA DOT COM:

"I think there was a great crowd, and it shows that people are interested in making a change next year by putting a new congressman in. There were people from as far away as Fayetteville here today, which I think is impressive. 

You know, our conservatives didn’t give up when we didn’t prevail in 2010, and we put the district on the map in that campaign in a race no one thought was winnable at the beginning of the year. We started the job, but it’s not done yet. 

VS: With reconfigured congressional districts, what is Ilario going to face?

He does have a primary, and certainly David Rouzer is a formidable candidate. I’ve known David since college, and I think we have two candidates from different ends of the district with different backgrounds. I think either one of them would make a better congressman than the Democrat.

VS: You have announced that you will not run again for District Seven GOP Chair, and will be spending more time with your Pioneer Strategies business. How is that going?

That’s going well, thanks, and I’ll also be spending plenty of time running for Brunswick County commissioner. 

The Pantano for Congress Volunteer Office is situated at 8207 Market Street in the Porters Neck Shopping Center. Office hours are weekdays from 12-6 pm.

                                                                    ***********

McIntyre against Brunswick County deep water port. 

Proponents see profit in big storage facility in Robeson. 
 

slideshow

Editorial in robesonian.com  8 days ago.

Robeson County and Lumberton are among more than a dozen local governments in Southeastern North Carolina that are pushing for a state study to determine the pluses and minuses of a deep-water port in Brunswick County.

But this cash-strapped state has not provided the funding for such as study, which has given opponents, including our U.S. representative, an excuse to withhold support.

Economic development officials in this part of the state, including Robeson County’s top guy, Greg Cummings, see a deep-water port delivering thousands of jobs where they are needed, and as far inland as this county, which has land and highway that could do more than hold the Earth together.

Cummings says Robeson County is ideal for large storage facilities where imported goods could be held in preparation for distribution.

But U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, whose District 7 includes Robeson and Brunswick counties, is not a fan of the port. He says the General Assembly’s decision last year to withhold funding for the study amounts to a death knell for the project by making it impossible to secure the required billions of dollars in federal funds. But McIntrye’s own comments betray his true position."

The congressman said: “Several concerns have been raised which have not been fully answered about the location and cost of the proposed terminal, the harm it could pose to our national security interests near our country’s major munitions terminal at Sunny Point and beside a nuclear plant, the lack of necessary infrastructure with roads and rails, and the potential for irreparable harm to the local communities and environment — all of this at a cost to taxpayers of several billion dollars."


All those points are potentially valid, but they only point to a need for the study, and not a scrapping of the project. This nation’s future is increasingly at the mercy of the growing global economy, and economically distressed Southeastern North Carolina needs to scratch for every crumb on the plate. A deep-water port in Brunswick County potentially could lead a renaissance of this region’s economy.

We understand the difficulties of this state’s economy, which led to some hard and unpopular cuts, particularly to education, when the General Assembly crafted the current budget. But we also know that those who don’t carefully plot an economic future will soon enough be living in the past.

There are plenty of questions about the potential of a deep-water port in Brunswick County. Not answering them only ensures they will keep getting asked.

Pantano for Congress has rousing grand opening event for 2012 campaign office.

By Verne Strickland / August 14, 2011

It was a celebration.

Over 300 patriots assembling for a common cause – to take back America.

The key to that, these conservatives believe, is the election of Wilmington’s Ilario Pantano to the U.S. Congress in 2012.

Ilario Pantano is already in the big game – an impressive candidate gunning for a Republican primary win in 2012 for the Seventh District.

On Saturday, Pantano for Congress opened its official Volunteer Office at 8207 Market Street in the Porters Neck Shopping Center. Office hours beginning August 15 weekdays from 12-6 pm have been announced.

Now he has a war room where he and his energized troops can plan, organize and fight the good fight.

The Saturday event included speeches, prayers, pledges to Pantano’s campaign war chest, singing, a pig-picking, raffles for cakes brought by Pantano faithful to celebrate the candidate’s fortieth birthday, and serious networking.

A special highlight was a book-signing by former New York Congressman Joseph J. Dioguardi, CPA -- author of "Unaccountable Congress" (2010 Regnery Gateway Publishers.)

I sat down with Ilario Pantano after the crowd dispersed, and talked with him about his thoughts:

The turnout was about twice what we had with a grand opening in the last campaign. There are folks we’ve never met before. They wanted to come meet us. The fact that they came, the fact that they were excited and offered enthusiastic support, was very gratifying and humbling. We were blessed with great weather.

My birthday is in a couple of days. The staff decided to celebrate it today and couple with the office grand opening. I’ll be forty. That’s a milestone. I’m very blessed in many ways. 

VS: Your mother, who is here today, is very proud of you.

God has used my mother too. She has been a force in my life and an inspiration, and I get a lot of wonderful things from both of my parents. But I get my courage from my mother. She is a tough cookie. When the going gets tough, she gets going. She has really been my inspiration, and I’m in awe of her. My wonderful wife Jill is also here, and our two boys. It’s a great family day for us, and also for our campaign volunteers.

VS: Capsule your campaign focus at this time.

Our platform is a pro-growth platform. It focuses on job creation by reducing taxes and spending, less regularion, getting the government out of the way. We believe a free market and the private sector with bring us prosperity. We’ve seen how government over-reach and over-regulation and over-spending have really crippled our economy in the last couple of years. The lesson couldn’t be more defined and stark. But where the liberal media are concerned, they somehow can’t get the message. 

I’m reminded of the Star-News just two weeks ago had a front page article, and it said, “The economy is in trouble.” Then the next article, also on the front page, said  “Stores brace for tax holiday.” It was so shocking to me that the liberal editors of the newspaper couldn’t see with their own eyes, in their own newspaper, that if you lower taxes, you stimulate economic activity by letting consumers make decisions on how to handle and use their own money.

When government gains control, it all turns into a big vote-buying Ponzi scheme, and that’s been going on here in the Seventh District for 140 years, and the men and women here aren’t going to take it anymore.

 ***********

One of Pantano’s most ardent fans is his mother, Merry Pantano. She talked about her son, his quest, and their endearing personal relationship:

Ilario believes so much and so fervently in his message and his country. He is very concerned about where we are headed. 

VS: You instilled a lot of positive values in Ilario. Tell me about what you taught him.

I tried to teach him to listen to his gut. That was God’s way of talking to him. And also stressed that he should never lose his sense of humor. Not matter how tough a situation may be, his sense of humor would help him maintain his perspective.

VS: It’s easy see that he has followed his mom’s advice. He has a strong Christian faith, and strong family values. 

After he came back from Iraq, he really needed to have a close relationship with God. And that developed in such a miraculous way. It’s so incredulous the way God works, and how the Lord found his way again into Ilario’s life. I think that saved him. So many men come back from combat deployment with that big hole in their heart. He experienced that too. 

During that time he would come out and work on our farm, and this helped get him centered again. But it was by God’s grace that he found his way back.

There was fervor in abundance at this event. But it will take buckets of sweat equity to win this race. In addition to a carefully-crafted game plan, put in play through a lean and mean organizational strategy, successful fund-raising, and taking Ilario Pantano’s message to the voters.

But fervor is a good place to start. 

Why did black mobs attack white fairgoers in Wisconsin? Whites are "easy targets".

THANKS FOR CONFESSION, FELLAS. WE FIGURED THAT ALL ALONG

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Updated 8/12/11 4:38 p.m.
Posted 8/12/11 7:12 a.m.

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (WLS/AP) - The investigation into 11 of the violent incidents on the opening night of the Wisconsin State Fair has resulted in the arrest of a 16-year-old African-American who reportedly told investigators he targeted whites.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was asked on WLS Radio’s Roe and Roeper Show Friday if he thought the crimes warranted hate crime status, “I think it is absolutely outrageous, it is a hate crime, and I would imagine the prosecutor will be very aggressive on this. There is no tolerance whether it’s white on black or black on white, there shouldn’t be any tolerance in general for that kind of problems.”

West Allis police said Thursday the teen was arrested late Wednesday. The Milwaukee teen was booked on suspicion of attempted robbery and robbery. Police recommend that he face additional penalties for hate crimes.

Police say the teen told investigators whites were chosen because he considered them "easy targets."

On opening night of the fair last week, 31 people were arrested and at least 11 people were hurt. The West Allis Police Department has said race was a factor in the 11 violent incidents it's investigating.
The State Fair has stepped up security since the attacks.

The Associated Press Wire Contributed To This Report
© Content Copyright 2011 WLS Radio 890AM and WLSAM.com. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Betsy McCaughey: Court ruling 'Slams the Brakes' on Obamacare.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / August 12, 2011

BOTTOM LINE IS -- OBAMA CAN GIVE YOU STUFF, AND TAKE STUFF AWAY FROM YOU, BUT HE CAN'T MAKE YOU BUY STUFF YOU DON'T WANT.

 

Friday, 12 Aug 2011 06:59 PM

By David A. Patten / NEWSMAX

...

Opponents of Obamacare rejoiced Friday after a federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled the individual mandate at the heart of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform legislation is unconstitutional. 
 
The 2-to-1 verdict in the 11th Circuit court in Atlanta sets up a dramatic, seemingly inevitable election-year showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court over the legality of President Obama’s signature legislative initiative.

Former New York lieutenant governor and healthcare expert Betsy McCaughey said the ruling effectively puts the brakes on cash-strapped states’ implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“Many more states now will slow down or entirely halt their current efforts to create state insurance exchanges,” said McCaughey, who hailed the decision as “a very important day for all Americans who care about individual liberty, and a very important day for those who are concerned about the economic growth urgently needed by this nation.”

McCaughey predicted states won’t spend scare resources preparing to implement a law that appears very vulnerable to being thrown out as unconstitutional.

Asked if the decision slams the brakes on implementation efforts at the state level, McCaughey replied: “Oh yes. They will be obligated to make that decision, because that’s the prudent decision in the best interest of their own local taxpayers.”

Friday’s ruling gave ObamaCare opponents a much-needed victory. In June, a Cincinnati court ruled in favor of the law in a case brought by the Thomas More Law Center. That ruling was notable because one of the judges in the majority was a Republican.

So far, federal judges in Florida and Virginia have ruled against the Act, while judges in Michigan and Virginia upheld it. Judges appointed by Democrats have consistently upheld the law, while Republican judges generally ruled against it. But Friday, one Republican judicial appointee and one Democratic judicial appointee concurred that the individual mandate is unconstitutional.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has been leading a separate legal challenge to ObamaCare in the Old Dominion, issued a statement congratulating the 26 state attorneys general who successfully brought the constitutional challenge to the 11th Circuit Court.

"The court determined that the power to force one citizen to purchase a good or service from another is outside the established outer limits of both the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause,” Cuccinelli stated.

 “The court also ruled that although the president and Congress want to now call the penalty a tax to make it pass constitutional muster, the penalty cannot be sustained under the federal government's taxing authority because the penalty is clearly not a tax,” he said.

In May, the separate suit brought by Cuccinelli was heard by Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which has yet to issue a ruling.

The setback on its legislative centerpiece put an exclamation point on another tough political week for the administration. The White House issued a statement Friday that it “strongly” disagrees with the 11th Circuit’s decision, and predicted its ruling will be overturned. Considering the decisive language used in the 11th Circuit’s majority opinion, however, that could prove difficult.

“The individual mandate was enacted as a regulatory penalty, not a revenue-raising tax, and is therefore unconstitutional,” wrote Chief Judge Joel Dubina. “This economic mandate represents a wholly novel and potential unbounded assertion of congressional authority: The ability to compel Americans to purchase an expensive health insurance product they have elected not to buy, and to make them re-purchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives.”

McCaughey’s reaction: “That’s very accurate. If Congress can force individuals to buy health insurance, Congress can force individuals to buy stocks and bonds to prop up Wall Street, or American-made automobiles to prop up Detroit.”

In one setback to ObamaCare opponents, the 11th Circuit Court also ruled that the individual mandate is “severable” from the rest of the 2,700-page law. That means the other provisions can remain in effect.

Legal experts say it is almost inevitable now that the Supreme Court will hear the challenge to ObamaCare prior to the election.

“There are a few minor procedural tools the solicitor general might try to use to delay things,” McCaughey said. “But I think the Supreme Court will understand that this is very much in the nation’s interest, not simply because of the presidential election. A reasonably timely decision is needed because of the timetable within in the law itself, states are expending huge amounts of money preparing for a law that might never go into effect.

“States are crippled with uncertainty over the future impact of this law. So it is very important for the welfare of the nation that this decision be made,” she said.

Robert Alt, senior legal fellow and deputy director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, estimates an 85 percent chance the Supreme Court will rule on the various appeals in June 2012.
“It was sharply worded,” Alt said of the 11th Circuit ruling. “But I think it was sharply worded in part because of the very serious constitutional problems that are inherent in the statute.”

Alt said the 11th Circuit rejected the constitutionality of the individual mandate based what he called the administration’s “broccoli problem.”

In January, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida issued a sweeping ruling tossing out the entire law. If the federal government could mandate a health-insurance purchase because it somehow affects interstate commerce, he asked, what purchase couldn’t it require? Vinson said by that logic the federal government could require citizens to purchase broccoli -- a point widely mocked by the left but one the administration has yet to overcome legally.

McCaughey said the 11th Circuit ruling could have major implications for the looming Congressional “supercommittee” debate over deficits and entitlements. Obamacare drastically expanded Medicaid to cover an estimated 85 million people by 2018, and counted on billions in projected revenue from individual-mandate penalties to help defray that cost, she said.

“And now the question is, what is the administration going to do about that? They’ve been ardently, vocally calling for entitlement reform and cuts in entitlements. But they’re only talking about Medicare,” said McCaughey.

“The new deal that was passed on Aug. 2nd bars this supercommittee from cutting Medicaid,” she said. “But Medicaid is the big elephant in the room. Medicaid is the huge entitlement just created.

“So it’s going to be very interesting to see how the Obama administration handles this,” she said, adding: “The best way to reform entitlements is not to put newly created ones into effect.”

McCaughey said the economically viable portions of the new law many consumers find desirable, such as allowing children to stay on their parents’ policies until age 26, and altering the lifetime caps on reimbursements to patients, “could be retained in a 20-page bill in plain English, if consumers want these features.”

Alt predicted that if the Supreme Court invalidates the individual mandate but leaves intact other provisions of the bill such as the stipulation that consumers must be covered for pre-existing conditions, Congress would have no choice but to act to keep insurance firms in business.

“The Obama administration has argued that if you strike down the mandate and require everything else, it will lead to what they call ‘the ineluctable failure’ of the healthcare market in the United States,” he said.

“Essentially, the health insurers couldn’t continue to operate like that. That’s an example of why Judge Vinson got it right in the lower court. … The statute just doesn’t operate without the mandate. You can’t really carve that out and make it work.”

Alt predicted a mixed Supreme Court verdict along the lines of the 11th Circuit ruling would lead to “pretty heavy lifting right away by Congress. Otherwise the insurance industry would get gutted by this.”


© Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Brad Miller targeted by NRCC robo calls in NC 13th District. 'Addicted to Big Government spending.'

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

 

 Submitted by robchristensen on 2011-08-09 09:27

Tags: Under the Dome | Brad Miller | National Republican Congressional Committee

 

 

Democratic Congressman Brad Miller is the target of a new round of robo calls today, criticizing him for opposing a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget.

The recorded telephone messages going into Miller's 13th district are being paid for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has winning the seat a high priority in next year's election.

The Republican legislature last month re-aligned the district to make it much more GOP-leaning, attracting a growing Republican field of candidates. The legislature moved  Miller's home into the 4th district, and he may consider running in the 4th district, if the new district maps survive a court challenge.

The announcer in the robo calls says in part: “Brad Miller continued to oppose a Balanced Budget Amendment that would force Washington to live within its means. Brad Miller and his fellow Democrats' addiction to big government spending has led to a downgrade of America's credit rating and a dramatic loss in the global markets that could force you to pay more for everyday expenses,”

“While Brad Miller keeps standing in the way of real fiscal reform, middle-class families in North Carolina could now see a loss in retirement savings while mortgage rates, car payments and student loans could become even more expensive.”

"The Israelites will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days."

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / August 12, 2011

 Miraculous Signs in Israel

Sign #1: The Diaspora The Bible prophesied the Jewish diaspora. The Nation of Israel would dwell for many years outside of their country and promised land. After this time had elapsed they would return to their ancient possession. The predictions were exact and complete making the nation's return a supernatural happening of our age. A modern miracle. They were dispersed for over 1,900 years. They are there again today. Hosea 3:4-5 - "For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." Hosea 6:1 - "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." To see the rest of the passage fulfilled, Israel needs only to turn to God. For David to become their king once again, there will be a resurrection from the dead.

Sign #2: The Return Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Bible passages predict the return of Israel to the land of Palestine. Here are only two. Ezekiel 20:34 - "I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered -- with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath." Isaiah 11:11-12 NIV - "In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth."

Sign #3: Buying back the land The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about 600 years B.C. just as the nation of Judah was being destroyed and the people taken captive into the land of Babylon. He spoke of a day when Jews would once again purchase land within the ancient territory. That is precisely what returning Jews did, starting nearly a century ago - they bought back the land. Jeremiah 32:44 NIV - "Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD."

Sign #4: Israel - Reborn in a day Israel, a nation that had not really existed as a separate nation for nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign state by an act of the United Nations on May 14, 1948. The nation was born in a day. Isaiah 66:8 NIV - "Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children."

Sign #5: The order of the return The first returning Jews to Palestine came primarily from eastern Arab countries. The next major movement came from the western countries of Europe, especially Germany. Then they came in great numbers from Russia (north) during the end of the 1980's. The last great migrations of Jews returning to Israel came from Ethiopia in the south. This precise order of return was predicted by Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah 43:5-6,21 - "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." "... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." Psalm 107:2-3 NIV - "Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Sign #6: A pure language With the return of the nation, the ancient Hebrew language has been revived and become the official language of the state. Prior to this happening, the Jews spoke an impure form of the language called Yiddish. The return to a pure common language was again predicted by the prophets. Zephaniah 3:8-10 KJV - "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering".

Sign #7: The shekel After nearly 2,000 years the shekel has been reinstated as the common monetary unit in Israel, again, just as predicted. Ezekiel 45:12-16 NIV - "The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.... All the people of the land will participate in this special gift for the use of the prince in Israel."

Sign #8: Named cities of Israel There are many cities in Israel that bear the ancient names of previous Jewish cities. Some of these that bear their Biblical identification include: Cana, Nazareth, Jericho, Nain, Bethany, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza, etc. Again, as the ancient nation was in the process of being destroyed, Ezekiel the prophet predicted that many of the ancient cities would, in fact, be re-inhabited and settled in the exact locations. Ezekiel 36:11; 24 KJV - "And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.... For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land."

Sign #9: Cities excepted - never to be inhabited Yeshua pronounced a curse on at least three cities within the land. These remain in ruins today. Matthew 11:21-23 NIV - "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day."

Sign #10: From desolation to productivity The restoration of the agriculture and of the trees and forests of Israel has been another remarkable miracle. Scarcely 75 years ago, the land was a desolate waste, full of malarial swamps and deserts. Today the replanted forests are flourishing and the Israeli agricultural production is one of the great wonders of the world. This tiny country exports quality produce around the world. Should we say, "Again, just as predicted!" Isaiah 26:6 NIV - "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit." Isaiah 35:1-2 NIV - "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy...."

(Borrowed from Clyde Snobelen's "Miraculous Signs in Israel".)