The Jim Bakker Show

Ted Cruz’s Speech ~ Rick Joyner’s thoughts

“TED CRUZ’S SPEECH WAS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHY SO MANY LOVED HIM, AND WHY SO MANY DON’T TRUST HIM.

He articulated the issues as well as anyone has, powerfully, eloquently, and with a passion I for one believe he is sincere. Trump endorsed Cruz and his beliefs by giving him the platform to speak at the RNC. For Cruz not to have endorsed Trump will fortify to many that he still has ulterior, selfish motives, and is more concerned about running again in four years than he is for his country, and for the principles he espoused. How many times did he say during the campaign that we don’t have four more years? How many times did we hear him say that the SCOTUS will be changed for a generation at least by the next president? To me his speech tonight was like the baseball hit that looks like the home run that will win the game right until the end, but then it curves and is a just a long foul ball that only brings disappointment. I’m just sayin…”

A few hours later, Pastor Rick added an additional post for his Facebook followers:

“By the responses to the Ted Cruz speech, both the boos at the end of it at the RNC, and the responses on SM, Ted may have blown his chance for a future run tonight. I think all of the candidates who stepped forward in the first debate and said they would support the Republican nominee, and have failed to do so, have all cost themselves a place of future leadership in the party or the country. Trump was the only one who did not step forward that night because he was not going to be pressured by the media to take such a vow, and wanted to know who the candidate was. He was at least honest, and most of the others have kept their word too, but those who didn’t it will be hard to trust again.

For Gov. Kaisch to not even attend the RNC held in his own state is an offense to all Republicans. He too made the vow, but obviously he and the establishment politicians of the old order believe you can say anything just to get elected, but don’t have to actually keep your word. Jeb Bush was a boring candidate, but he was liked, and trusted, until he too failed to keep his word.

What did Ted mean tonight with “vote your conscience.” According to his own principles that he ran on, Trump is the only one he could vote for if he did that, so why wouldn’t he say that? This could have been a big night for Ted, and a huge boost for the GOP, but I think it could now be the night that killed his future.

I’m grieved because I think Ted was one of the strongest potential future leaders, especially with some executive experience in a Trump cabinet. Even so, going back to the grace we talked about earlier, I have resolved not to give up on anyone if they can still fog a mirror. The power of the cross is greater than our failures. Even so, people are not so quick to forgive and trust, so it is going to take a miracle for people’s trust to be restored in Ted after tonight.”

Pastor Ramiro Peña Prays with Congressmen and U.S. Leaders at Hispanic Leaders Luncheon

By Kami Klein

Amidst the thousands of people and hundreds of organizations gathered in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, The Jim Bakker Show and Morningside were quite proud to hear that Pastor Ramiro Peña was asked to give the opening prayer at a luncheon for the Hispanic Leaders Luncheon today in Cleveland.

This luncheon event celebrated the contributions of Hispanics in the world of business and the greater Latino community. The event also took time to honor prominent individuals who have made a difference not only to the Latino community but to their individual states and communities. It is the hope of the Latino Coalition, hosts of this luncheon, that the people who attended this afternoon event were educated, inspired and able to remind leaders that Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographic group in the United States.

Pastor Peña’s opening prayer was filled with grace, gratitude and hope, just as we have come to know and expect from this wonderful man of God.

A festival air and unease hang over pre-convention Cleveland

The Quicken Loans Arena is seen as setup continues in advance of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland

By Daniel Trotta

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – East 4th Street, emblematic of the new Cleveland as a once-downtrodden area turned trendy, is bristling ahead of the Republican National Convention.

Outdoor diners on the cobblestone restaurant row enjoy a glorious summer afternoon while cable network MSNBC shoots its politically themed shows on the street.

Just ahead of the four-day convention that starts on Monday, a festival of commerce and smiling faces takes place a few steps from the so-called hard zone, delineated by a literal iron curtain that surrounds the sports arena where Donald Trump will be crowned the Republican presidential candidate.

“Ten years ago, this place was a dump. A wasteland,” said John Lusk, 70, a semiretired publisher of a newsletter. “A group of young, hardworking entrepreneurs came in and look what they did.”

The sunny celebration butts uncomfortably against a massive security operation that shows the other side of Cleveland’s big moment. City and U.S. officials are preparing for the worst, aware that tensions over race relations and police use of force, as well as reaction to Trump’s polarizing campaign, could result in violence on the streets.

Clevelanders are also aware of the backdrop for their convention: the mass shooting in Orlando that killed 50 people in June, the sniper attack that killed five Dallas police this month, and the truck assault that killed 84 this week in Nice.

On this same idyllic block just over a year ago, police in riot gear clashed with demonstrators reacting to the acquittal of police officer charged with manslaughter for firing 15 rounds into the car of an unarmed black man and woman, killing them both. More than 70 people were arrested, disturbing the al fresco dining experience on East 4th Street.

Unrest also followed the fatal police shooting in 2014 of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, an African-American who had a toy gun, and the officer who shot him was not charged with a crime.

Cleveland, a city of 390,000, has been revitalized in part by billions of dollars in infrastructure spending in recent years, but the black majority still lags behind.

Black Lives Matter, the protest group formed after a series of police killings of African-Americans raised questions about justice in America, held a protest on Saturday in Public Square. It was entirely peaceful, with about 100 activists clapping to speeches.

In between the civic protest and festival atmosphere, there are pockets of emptiness. Street closing and security cordons seem to have scared off customers at the Arcade, a late 1800s shopping mall that has been modernized. The ornate interior, illuminated by a skylight, is full of boutiques like Prosperity, which sells handcrafted art glass jewelry. Business is slow on a Saturday afternoon.

“A lot of people are afraid to come downtown,” said Cat Zurchin, one of the artist/storeowners, from an empty shop. “Some of these stores opened up just for the convention. Retail people have been excited, but we also have some anxiety. The Secret Service is everywhere.”

Black SUVs have invaded the city center as the U.S. Secret Service has taken charge of security. Concrete median barriers and the tall, anti-scaling fence circumscribe the city into impenetrable sectors.

A column of police ride through the city center on bicycles, a dozen more on horseback. Helicopters clatter overhead.

Cleveland police are trying to stay restrained, avoiding the militarized presence that has become common thanks to free war surplus equipment from the Pentagon.

Even so, the city’s courts are preparing to process up to 1,000 arrestees per day, ready to stay open 20 hours a day.

Hospitals are bracing for the worst. The Cleveland Clinic, one of the largest hospitals in the country, will have 50 doctors, nurses and other medical personnel at the convention site and its entire staff on standby.

If needed the hospital can take over an adjoining hotel and conference center, enabling it to handle 1,000 general trauma cases. The hospital is prepared to operate without reinforcements for 96 hours.

“All boots on the ground,” said Dr. Robert Willie, chief of medical operations.

Likewise, the Secret Service says it can handle the spotlight.

“We are prepared,” said Ronald Rowe, the agent in charge of the convention, “and ready to welcome the world to Cleveland.”

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Kim Palmer)

Cleveland activists wary of city plans to process thousands of arrests

Students Iris Harris and Domonique Dumas with their mentor Kevin Sarran display their Griffin scout robot that will be used by police during a demonstration of police capabilities near the site of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland,

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Police in Cleveland say they aim to avoid mass arrests at the protests planned for next week’s Republican National Convention, but preparations by the city’s courts to process up to 1,000 people a day have some civil rights activists worried.

Thousands of people from across the country are expected in the city to protest the expected presidential nomination of New York businessman Donald Trump, who has vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and restrict immigration from countries with large Muslim populations if elected.

Supporters and opponents of Trump have clashed at several of his campaign events.

Police have vowed to honor protesters’ rights of free expression, which are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and avoid mass arrests.

“We don’t want anybody to trample on anybody else’s rights,” Cleveland police chief Calvin Williams told a news conference on Tuesday.

But memories of recent heavier-handed approaches are fresh in the heavily Democratic, majority black Ohio city of 388,000 people.

“I don’t want to be a naysayer here and rule out the possibility that everything is going to be hunky-dory … but knowing how the Cleveland Police Department has handled situations in the past, I just don’t have confidence that it’s going to work,” said Terry Gilbert, an attorney who has handled criminal and civil rights cases in the city for more than four decades.

“Until I see the actual situation next week, I’m going to be worried,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert pointed to the May 2015 arrests of 71 people following the acquittal of a police officer who fired 137 shots following a high-speed 2012 car chase, killing a black man and woman.

The arrested protesters were held for more than 36 hours over the Memorial Day weekend, and four alleged in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that police intentionally kept them in custody longer to prevent the protest from reforming.

‘WE ARE READY’

Cleveland paid $250,000 to secure 200 extra rooms in the Cuyahoga County jail, according to the Republican National Committee budget.

Cleveland Municipal Court officials said they would be ready to process a large volume of people quickly, with staff scheduled to work in two 10-hour shifts keeping the court operating from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. each day.

“We are ready,” said Ed Ferenc, a spokesman for the court. “We’ll have staff here till 1 a.m. If we have to do a docket at 10:30 at night, we’ll do it.”

The United States has seen hundreds of protests over the past two years following a series of high-profile police killings of black men. The vast majority of the protests have been peaceful, although they have been punctuated with bursts of rioting, arson and looting.

The ACLU plans to be out in force to ensure that people are not arrested for legal protests, said Christine Link, the group’s executive director in Ohio.

“Let’s not equate a lot of protesters with violence,” Link said. She noted the group would be keeping careful watch on the whereabouts of anyone arrested to ensure they are charged and released quickly.

At the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, hundreds of protesters were swept up and pushed into pens on the Hudson River.

With temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees F (32 C) most days, the health of detainees will be a concern, she said.

“What we’re worried about is that they’re not saying where they are booking people, they are being vague about it and that’s not good,” Link said. “That’s an attempt to hide the cheese.”

(Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Cleveland police keeping low profile for Republican convention

An anti-Trump protester holds his protest sign in front of mounted police outside a rally for Republican U.S. presidential candidate

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – As dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters chanted: “No justice, no peace!” in central Cleveland on Monday, they faced down a wall of police – on bicycles, dressed in polo shirts and shorts.

It was the kind of police presence the organizers of next week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland have long had in mind – respectful of free speech, and orderly. No arrests were made.

Elsewhere in the United States, tensions are high since last week’s deadly attack on police in Dallas, creating scenes like the one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where police in riot gear confronted a woman standing calmly in a flowing dress, an image captured in a photograph that has attracted worldwide attention.

But in Cleveland, where the four-day Republican convention begins on Monday, police are committed to a low profile, avoiding the militarized presence that has become common in recent years since police across the country received free war surplus equipment from the Pentagon.

The Ohio city is sticking with its plan even after the events in Dallas, where a black U.S. veteran of the Afghan war, who had said he wanted to “kill white people,” fatally shot five police officers on Thursday.

The attack came during an otherwise peaceful protest to denounce last week’s police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Protests have continued in those states, resulting in hundreds of arrests. Cleveland police have said they will increase intelligence and surveillance as a result of the Dallas attacks.

“(Dallas) affects our planning, but we have planned, we have what-iffed and we have table-topped this for a long time,” the police chief, Calvin Williams, told a news conference on Tuesday. “We don’t want anybody to trample on anybody else’s rights.”

Steve Loomis, the head of the Cleveland police officers’ union, said Cleveland may be too lightly equipped. He also complained about a 28-page General Police Order sent to officers a month before the convention, with instructions on de-escalating conflicts and preserving protesters’ rights, calling it condescending and designed to make officers look weak.

“We have no shields because they think it is too offensive,” Loomis said. “But a brick to the head is offensive to me.”

TRUMP FACTOR

Political conventions are a magnet for protests even under normal circumstances, and Cleveland will have the Trump factor.

Donald Trump, the New York businessman set to receive the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election, has stirred passions among supporters and opponents during the campaign with his comments on illegal immigrants and Muslims, and the two sides have clashed at several of his campaign events.

Cleveland’s gun laws will allow people to carry guns openly within the so-called event zone where demonstrations will take place. The New Black Panther Party, a “black power” movement, will carry firearms for self-defense during demonstrations in Cleveland, the group’s chairman said.

The city comes into the convention with less hardware than other places. Cleveland never received any war surplus but has bought one armored vehicle and personal protective equipment for officers, a police spokeswoman said. Otherwise, Cleveland has avoided “controlled equipment” such as bayonets and grenade launchers, which the Defense Department has since recalled from many police departments.

But the city is also keeping secret millions of dollars worth of police purchases until after the convention, citing security concerns.

‘DE-ESCALATION’

Among the publicly disclosed purchases for the convention to date have been 2,000 new sets of personal protection equipment, colloquially known as riot gear.

The U.S. Secret Service and FBI will run security inside the convention hall, while Cleveland police will handle crowd control outside, aided by 3,000 reinforcements, mostly from elsewhere in Ohio.

Jacqueline Greene, co-coordinator for the National Lawyers Guild, a human rights organization, expressed concern the visiting officers may not share Cleveland’s priorities on protecting free speech.

Cleveland and visiting police will be bound by the General Police Order on managing crowds while protecting free speech and assembly rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The order directs police to “rely on de-escalation and voluntary compliance, and without using force, as the primary means of maintaining order.”

Only the police chief or one of his designated subordinates may approve mass arrests.

“One order is to create space,” Loomis said. “That is retreating. When they (protesters) see we are on our heels, it is a victory for them.”

(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Sign up for Jim Bakker Show