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By Steve Deace

Billy Graham Writes Powerful Open Letter to America

For over 50 years he’s been listed annually as one of the most respected men in America in polls of the public, and now the Reverend Billy Graham is speaking out about the decline and decadence in American culture in a powerful open letter released on July 24th. Here’s an excerpt:

Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of … Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).

I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.

Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.

Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.

My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.

I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation.

House Republicans Will Fund Obamacare?

When asked whether the House Republicans would permit or not permit funding for Obamacare in whatever legislation is enacted to fund the government after Sept. 30–when the current funding legislation runs out–House Speaker John Boehner responded that “our goal would be to make sure the government is funded,” thus indicating that House Republicans do plan to fund implementation of Obamacare past Sept. 30.

Unless a special provision is put into the bill to fund the government past Sept. 30 that expressly prohibits funding specifically for the Obamacare regulation that requires health-care plans to cover, without cost-sharing, sterilizations, artificial contraceptives and abortifacients, the House Republicans, by funding implementation of Obamacare, will also be funding implementation of that regulation.

Keep in mind the U.S. Constitution requires all appropriations (government spending) to begin in the House. Therefore, regardless of what John “tears of a clown” Boehner and the rest of his gutless acolytes claim about the Democrat-controlled Senate, they could simply rid us of Obamacare by refusing to fund it or anything else.

Scott Walker Agrees with Me

In an interview on MSNBC this morning, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker agreed with my latest piece for Townhall.comwhen he said Romney cannot win the election purely on anti-Obama sentiment. Walker said, “I think there’s a lot of caution (with the Romney campaign). I think the mistake that they’ve made is the feeling like it can just be a referendum on the president. It’s certainly a part of it for any incumbent; it’s got to be a referendum on, do you like or dislike, not just the president, but his policies … but there’s got to be something more. People don’t just vote somebody out; they’ve got to vote somebody in.”