‘Strike Teams’ in Iowa Flood Regions: Taste of the Future Comes to the Midwest?

These early summer months have seen several floods throughout the United States. For those living in parts of Iowa, the recent flood has brought with it great destruction, including added insurance and other financial obstacles in order to rebuild.

However, in the days after the reports of high water up to rooftop level and sandbaggers working day and night…some areas including parts of Cedar Falls are perhaps waking up to a new challenge.

As reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, teams of public officials, called ‘Strike Teams’ are now reportedly being sent to flood-stricken neighborhoods to go door-to-door checking for casualties, gas leaks, and structurally unsound structures. Originally discussed in a news conference by Cedar Rapids Police Chief Greg Graham on local tv affiliate KCRG TV9, the purpose of these ‘Strike Teams’ was announced as well as the stated intent that no houses would be entered unless they were already unlocked. (You can see the press conference here):

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/19958279.html?video=pop&t=a

However, video apparently provided by local newspaper the Cedar Rapids Gazette reveal a different story. Not only are houses shown to be broken into with crowbars, but there have also been incidents with angry residents who were inside their houses when police attempted to enter. For more information, see stories such as:

Strike teams clear the way for residents return

http://gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080615/NEWS/570880217/1002/NEWS

A short video clip apparently first provided by the Gazette showing police breaking into homes and arguing with angry residents can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONAudPPhum8

A few thoughts and questions come to mind while reading these stories and watching the video. First, regardless of good intentions: Are such searches actually legal in the United States? Second, there have been earlier reports in the week describing angry residents quarreling with police over being able to stay in their homes or go back into their houses: Is that necessary? Regardless of what your opinion is….is it legal (or even ‘American’ or considered part of ‘freedom’) to keep someone out of their own home?

‘Checkpoints stoke frustration among flood victims’

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMk0eOYOQ-W5ZfDqeZ8NtlJASvmwD91BEGSG0

While I have sympathies for the very difficult jobs of local civil servants throughout the flood ravaged areas, isn’t it disturbing that it is first announced that house to house searches will only be done on ‘open’ homes…yet clearly those were not the rules followed? Further….why would anyone call these teams of professionals ‘Strike Teams’? What are they ’striking’? And what kind of precedent are we setting through disasters like Katrina and now the Iowa flooding when door-to-door searches are enacted by force and residents are forceably removed as routine?

Could one accurately say that those in the Midwest US are now seeing part of their future, or is that simply ‘nonsense’? Are we setting dangerous precedents for the future…are these programs even ‘legal’…or does that even matter in times of emergency? Is martial law truly the answer in times of trouble? Do you see the core problem that this potentially exposes? Who is in charge in an emergency…Does freedom then exist? And furthermore…how long does that power structure last, and does it also come with lasting effects which long outlive the first ‘emergency’?

Are we seeing the foundations being laid for Biblical prophecy? Is the world become more free….more prosperous? Or is it systematically being brought under bureaucracy and the will of the few?

What do you think?

British MP David Davis Resignation Speech: Christians Take Notice?

There are constant discussions (and arguments) within Christian communities regarding the possibility of current events and their potential link to prophetic themes. While some believe that there is an apparent erosion of civil liberties (using examples such as select prosecutions against preaching of Biblical doctrine on grounds of inciting hatred or using hate speech against ‘minority’ groups), others believe that such a line of thinking is perhaps improbable or ‘over-excited’ in its approach. While some believe that we are witnessing the groundwork for an eventual final push for world government (and the ‘end-times’ period) through such things as pushes for consolidated power and military might, others believe that we are seeing what could be just another chapter in the book of human history with multiple stories of war, peace, and other peculiarities…in essence, that besides themes such as technology…this generation is not seeing anything which is essentially unprecedented in its core principals.

(For a few quick recent examples of potential erosion to traditional Christian freedoms, see:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2058935/Police-advise-Christian-preachers-to-leave-Muslin-area-of-Birmingham.html

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007622.cfm

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47633

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=67190

Although there are many speeches given by numerous politicians all over the world daily, one in particular out of the UK this past week served as one of a series of very public political disputes regarding the passage of a new detention law regarding terror suspects.

Whether you are a Christian and believe that we are seeing a move towards major prophetic manifestations…or a Christian that does not share that view….or perhaps even not a Christian at all…. In any case, you may be interested in listening to the words of David Davis, former shadow home secretary and British MP (member of parliament) who gave a brief statement following his resignation after arguing against the new legislation:

After all the discussions…considerations of what motivates people to do what they do, and say what they do…What do you think? Is there a potential that at least some new legislations passing in countries worldwide may pose a threat to the liberties and freedoms given to both Christians and non-Christians alike? Did God not create all men free and equal…and isn’t that the basis in the United States for our entire way of life, and our entire national identity? Where is the line between safety and freedom? How much is too little…and how much is too much: Where is the line, how is it formed…and who forms it?

Furthermore…if current trends prevail: What direction are we headed politically and spiritually? Do political or secular decisions make any impact on our spiritual lives? Is there a link between current events / trends and Biblical prophecy? In whatever standpoint you find yourself in: Do you have a basis for your beliefs, or are they founded on unquestioning loyalty to your previous findings…or perhaps assumptions?

What do you think?