The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is not only a foundational American document -- it is the birth certificate for a newborn country, circa 1776. Here is the text of the document, which currently resides in the National Archives in Washington.

Tax Bill Appeals Take Rising Toll on Governments
Homeowners across the country are challenging their property tax bills in droves as the value of their homes drop, threatening local governments with another big drain on their budgets.

Democrats’ Cap-and-Trade Bill Creates ‘Retrofit’ Policy for Homes and Businesses
The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that. This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.

President Obama's Top Five Health Care Lies
President Barack Obama walked into the Oval Office with a veritable halo over his head. In the eyes of his backers, he could say or do no wrong because he had evidently descended directly from heaven to return celestial order to our fallen world. Oprah declared his tongue to be "dipped in the unvarnished truth." Newsweek editor Evan Thomas averred that Obama "stands above the country and above the world as a sort of a God." But when it comes to health care reform, with every passing day, Obama seems less God and more demagogue, uttering not transcendental truths, but bald-faced lies. Here are the top five lies that His Awesomeness has told--the first two for no reason other than to get elected and the next three to sell socialized medicine to a wary nation.

Holder: 'Gays' protected but not ministers
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister's sermon about homosexuality would be protected by a proposed new federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn't be. The revelations come from Holder's recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was taking comments on the so-called "hate crimes" proposal.

Donors Find a Home in Obama's Ambassador Corps
Mr. Obama's choice of political boosters has raised eyebrows among some who thought the president would extend his mantra of change to the diplomatic corps. "We're not only insulting nations [that] we're appointing these bundlers to, we're risking U.S. diplomatic efforts in these key countries," said Craig Holman, a government-affairs lobbyist at watchdog group Public Citizen.

Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama
Following a testy exchange during Wednesday’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

SC senator defends ouster of Honduran president
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is defending the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and says the rule of law is working in Honduras. Zelaya was ousted in a military coup after he ignored a Supreme Court order to halt a constitutional revamp, which many Hondurans believe was meant to let him stay in power. A Republican conservative, DeMint called Zelaya "a Chavez-style dictator," referring to Venezuelan leftist leader Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of the United States. DeMint said in a statement Thursday that Zelaya flouted the constitutional authority of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court. DeMint says President Barack Obama's call to reinstate Zelaya is "a slap in the face to the people of the Honduras."

Turncoat Powell Speaks: Now has concerns for Obama
Colin Powell, one of President Obama's most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president's ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much. "I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN's John King, released by the network Friday morning.

Governor Palin to resign as Governor
Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate last year, announced today she will not finish her first term as governor. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will take the oath of office before the end of the month, reported KTUU-TV in Anchorage. Palin, regarded as a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, made the announcement from her home in Wasilla.

MIT-trained Scientist Was Al-Qaida Operative
The 37-year-old MIT- and Brandeis University-trained specialist in neuroscience was brought to the United States last summer after her arrest in Afghanistan. Prosecutors accuse her of being an al-Qaida operative and shooting at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents.

Serial Killer in South Carolina
A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family's small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said.

Disney’s Robama!
Disney updates their Hall of Presidents featuring Barack Hussein Obama.

This week TKF will focus on President Obama’s recent funding of abortion programs:

U.N. Population Fund Receives $50 Million in Taxpayer Money
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) received $50 million from the United States government this year, despite its involvement in China, where the government's population program, according to the U.S. State Department, includes a "coercive birth limitation policy" that in some cases results "in forced abortion or forced sterilization."

Bipartisan Effort Expected Tuesday to Stop Obama's Tax-Funded Abortions in DC
Lawmakers from both political parties are working together to offer an amendment to a Congressional spending bill that includes President Barack Obama's request to fund abortions in the nation's capital.

Barack Obama's Overseas Abortion Promotion Hurts Efforts to Help Poor in Peru
When President Barack Obama ditched the Mexico City Policy and resumed sending taxpayer dollars to groups that perform and promote abortions overseas, he did more than just expand abortions. Obama's move has hurt groups who are helping poor people in other nations, such as Peru.

Parkinson offers temporary fix for 2010 budget deficit
“The economic downturn gripping the nation has now hit Kansas with full force, and state government must tighten its belt. It is time to look past one-time fixes and bring long term stability to the state’s finances,” said Speaker of the House Mike O’Neal in the statement. “Everyone knew the shortfalls were coming, but the Democrats in the Legislature felt it was politically expedient to avoid making critical votes to tame the state budget," O'Neal said. "They will doubtless now use the latest shortfalls to continue their call for destructive tax increases on Kansas families and businesses that will only deepen the recession." Americans for Prosperity-Kansas released a statement on Parkinson's decision that echoed the House leadership’s perspective that the state budget would remain in crisis as long as the state continues to increase its spending. Derrick Sontag, state director for AFP, pointed out that state general fund has grown by almost 50 percent between 2004-2008, even though the state’s population has barely increased.

2 dead in shooting at west-side apartments
A shooting late Thursday at a west-side apartment complex left two men dead, Wichita police said. The men, both of whom appeared to be in their mid-20s, according to police, were shot in apartments near 13th and West Street.

Teenager injured by pipe bomb
The condition of a 14-year-old boy injured by a pipe bomb he ignited Saturday night has improved, police said today. Police said the boy was upgraded from critical to serious condition at a hospital. The boy lit a pipe bomb on the porch of an abandoned home in the 3900 block of Wabash Avenue about 10 p.m. Saturday and it exploded before he could get away.

Kansas City Homicide Rate Skyrockets
Kansas City recorded 55 homicides in the first six months of the year, making it one of the deadliest first halves of this decade. The homicides from January through June exceeded last year’s tally of 49 killings during the same time. The average number of homicides in the first half of years from 2000 through 2008 was 46. Police officials can’t explain the increase this year. They say there are no distinct patterns or trends.

Any yet another KCMO Murder
Kansas City homicide detectives are investigating the shooting death of a young man at Linwood Boulevard and College Avenue tonight.

2 men hospitalized after shooting in Wichita
A 19-year-old man was in critical condition after being shot in the abdomen at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Sedgwick County dispatchers. A second man, 18, was shot in the leg, according Wichita police.

Shooting in Lawrence
Police responded early Sunday to a report of shots fired at Club 821, 821 Iowa. Police found shell casings at the scene and have made at least one arrest in connection with the incident.

Nixon signs legislation giving Missouri veterans a tax break
Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation giving Missouri veterans a tax break. Nixon late this week signed several bills on veterans’ issues. One phases in a deduction of military pensions from state income tax. Those collecting retirement pay can deduct 15 percent of the pension starting in 2010. The deduction will reach 100 percent in 2016. The measure also sets up memorial highways honoring service members killed in combat. And those who earn military medals can park for free in cities that agree to participate.

“The bottom line is that most homicides occur because of poor anger management, lack of conflict resolution skills and an inability of some people to value life.”

- Major Randall Hundley, KCMOPD Violent Crimes Commander, speaking on Kansas City’s skyrocketing murder rate

From Proverbs 16:17
Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Gospel according to St. Matthew 9:18-26

18 And he was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. 21 For she said within herself: If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed. 22 But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, 24 He said: Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country

The American Struggle For Freedom

Recent Tea Parties all over the United States are a latter day revival of what was a momentous event at Boston harbor more than 234 years ago. One can trace the roots of American Independence directly to that event. It is a constant and indelible reminder of the American genesis that direct citizen action has become the hallmark of freedom loving people everywhere.

On this date in 1776 fifty-six gallant men signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. On that date they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor so that American citizens would be able to live free from oppression and tyranny forever; this date gave birth to the American dream and that dream has changed the course of human history.

The Declaration of Independence was the culminating genius of the Continental Congress written primarily by Thomas Jefferson with assistance from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. When they signed that hallowed document, they had no idea that their pledge would exact a personal price that few ordinary men could bear. But these were extraordinary men of means, power, influence and the courage of their convictions. Their pledge cost them dearly during the course of the War that followed with all but a handful feeling the full wrath of the British Crown.

And, among those who supported continued unity with Great Britain one ignoble, treacherous person was Benedict Arnold. To this day the ultimate insult to one’s patriotism is to be labeled a “Benedict Arnold.”

If patriotism could be displayed on a continuum with Benedict Arnold representing the worst, then George Washington was the best not because he was the first President, but because the leadership he exercised propelled him there. It was his selfless dedication and combat leadership throughout the Revolutionary War that despite set backs, culminated in victory and wove Washington’s name permanently into the fabric of American history.

Successors owe the founders an enormous debt of gratitude but not only to them, millions have sacrificed much to protect the flame that has illuminated the path of freedom for two centuries; they sacrificed so that the nation would embody those words forever inscribed; “that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and that the American conscience would not abide denial or abuse of those rights to any American.

To that end the Constitution emerged as the foundational document upon which Americans could implement their dreams, and although it was imperfect, its stated purpose that:

“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity…”

guided successive generations to more nearly achieve those objectives.

Today, as never before in the history of this country, there are forces at work that seek intentional destruction of America, and will unless patriots deflect the challenges to liberty that they pose. It is abundantly evident that government no longer exists for ‘the people,” rather, “the people” exist to support government’s pervasive, overreaching programs and burgeoning power.

When Government chooses to enact law through devious means, such as the “Stimulus Bill” that not one Representative or Senator read but voted for, the time is nigh for patriotic Americans to act upon the words:

“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government,…”

The ongoing struggle for the soul of America is between traditional values and secularists; between free markets and government control; between those who have abused America’s economic freedoms for selfish gain and ordinary citizens who invest the fruits of their labor to purchase a slice of the economic pie; it is a struggle between errant politicians’ lust for control and people whose aspirations are to achieve their dreams; between tyranny and freedom; between good and evil.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The government that governs least governs best,” and John Adams dying words, “Independence now, Independence forever” gives real meaning to President Ford’s immortal words, “a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

God bless and protect the United States of America!