Don’t you wish you could click your ruby shoes together and just go home — back to a time when our government was on the right track? Unfortunately, I believe those powerful heels are property of the Smithsonian and don’t likely have enough juice left to fix the mess in which we find ourselves today.

This week topped off a trifecta of government abuse. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted conservative groups seeking tax exempt status; the Department of Justice secretly led an investigation into phone records of Associated Press (AP) journalists; and the icing on the cake, which can’t be set on a back burner to cool, is the continued struggle for answers on Benghazi.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sums it up perfectly, “Scandals represent Americans’ worst fears about big government: government is spying on you, targeting you, and lying to you.” Ouch!  You can say that again, Senator!  You know the saying, “The truth hurts.”  I hope the truths of these sandals are enough to activate the American people, because ultimately, they are the ones being abused by their government.  Let’s remember, targeting those who are criticizing our government is not just an issue of concern to conservatives, but one that should be of concern to anyone who might want to question the government.

These scandals show what happens when those in power overlook the purpose of government and, instead, see only a chance for political indoctrination.

For the head of our government to tell the American people he “found out” about the IRS overreach of power at the same time they did, when it was leaked, is simply inexcusable — especially since that same sentiment seems to have become a favorite last line of defense: “I don’t know.”  Eric Holder, who has been caught with his hands in the proverbial cookie jars of multiple scandals, recently told elected officials during Congressional hearings that he doesn’t know the specifics within his own department regarding the AP phone grab. Hillary Clinton said the same when she was asked questions about the State Department’s involvement in Benghazi, and President Obama can’t say whether the White House had any involvement in this trio of scandals.

This is not about partisan issues; the buck stops with the person in charge. The fact of the matter is, unfortunately, that this administration cannot run its offices with integrity. It’s time for those who have been entrusted with authority to take responsibility for the positions they’ve chosen to accept; and with that responsibility comes accountability.  An answer like, “I don’t know,” is simply unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. They’re not figureheads; it’s part of their job to know.

And if everyone is on the same page, uttering the same “I don’t know/it wasn’t me/mistakes were made” mantra, then it stands to reason that they’re not just protecting themselves; there must be someone else, higher up, pulling the strings … someone else, higher up, who will ultimately be damaged by these scandals … someone else, higher up, who doesn’t want to be seen … someone else, higher up, who doesn’t have the moral fiber or requisite integrity to take responsibility for his brazen and foolish actions.

So it’s “Deflect, deflect, deflect.”  Pay no attention to the little tyrant behind the curtain.

Let me ask you a question: Do you believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman? If your answer is “yes,” then you, dear reader, are a hate-mongering bigot — at least that is what the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a self-described “civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry,” would call you. The scary thing is, a chilling new FBI video begs the question: Who’s spewing hate?

Remember the Family Research Council (FRC) shooting last year? Floyd Lee Corkins, a disturbed 28-year-old man dressed as an intern walked into the FRC headquarters and shot FRC security guard Leo Johnson. Corkins has stated, “I wanted to kill the people in the building and then smear a Chick-Fil-A sandwich in their face … to kill as many people as I could.” Thanks to the heroic efforts of Johnson, Corkin’s deadly plot failed.

In the FBI video, an investigator asks, “How did you [come to] this building, this organization. Did you, how did you find it earlier?  Did you like look it up online?”  Corkins then admits, “It was a uh, Southern Poverty Law, lists, uh anti-gay groups.  I found them online.”

The FRC atrocity hits close to home for those of us at Concerned Women for America (CWA). FRC staff members are not only our allies in the pro-family battle, they are our close friends. These men and women are honest citizens with compassionate hearts and a career calling to uphold Christian values in public policy.  But these admirable qualities were conveniently overlooked by the SPLC when it deemed FRC a “hate group” on the basis that the organization respects the institution of marriage.

If any non-profit, business, or individual stands for the purity of marriage, the sanctity of unborn life, or the constitutional protection of religious freedom, then they are counted among SPLC’s “hate groups.”  In fact, the SPLC has named CWA as one of “a dozen major groups [that] help drive the Religious Right’s anti-gay crusade.”  Skeptical?  Then go to SPLC’s website and click on their “hate map.”

Even Bill Maher, the liberal HBO host known for his anti-conservative rants, doesn’t buy the notion that Christians are as “dangerous” as liberal society is attempting to paint us.  Maher invited Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, on his show to discuss hate and violence as a result of religious institutions.  When Levin tried to argue that Jews and Christians commit terrorist acts, Maher retorted:

“Um that’s liberal bull****. … Talk to Salman Rushdie after the show about Christian versus Islam. … So, you know, I’m just saying, let’s keep it real.”

One can only hope that those who profit from this type of misinformation would “keep it real.”  But they are not interested in truth.  The SPLC knows Christians are not “hateful,” but they know they can exploit the sentiments of a significant part of the population for their obscene profit with minimal work.  By simply labeling them “hateful,” they hope to intimidate Christians into silence, whatever the unintended consequences.  The FRC incident actually helps the SPLC’s cause.

But Christians, including those of us at CWA, will not be intimidated.  And we will never tiptoe around certain Biblical principles or cherry-pick our moral values.  No amount of harassment, demeaning messages, or preposterous labeling will ever cause us to renounce our faith and forgo the Christian principles that laid the foundation for our nation and its success. Ever.  

Wife and warrior Naghmeh Abidini testified at a Congressional hearing last Friday to raise national awareness for her husband, Pastor Saeed Abedini, and to urge the State Department and President Obama’s Administration to take long-overdue action. Saeed is an Iranian-born U.S. citizen who was arrested in Iran last July and imprisoned in the notoriously brutal Evin prison.  The Islamic Regime of Iran claims that Pastor Saeed is a national security threat, and yet, even they have stated that the real reason for his imprisonment is his Christian faith.  Saeed converted from Islam to Christianity in 2000 and subsequently started an underground church movement.  He and his wife have been living in America as U.S. citizens and have traveled back to Iran many times.  This past July, Saeed made another trip to Iran in order to gain final approval for the orphanage he is building.  This project had the full approval of the Iranian government, and he has complied with all of their past demands with regards to his activities in the country.  However, he was arrested in July 2012 and, at the beginning of this year, he was sentenced to eight years in Evin prison.

The U.S. State Department and the Obama Administration have been glaringly absent in this case.  In fact, they have done more in the past for non-U.S. citizens imprisoned in Iran than they have been willing to do on behalf of Pastor Saeed.  They were notified about the hearing, but their response was that they had no one available to attend. Quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer during the hearing, Naghmeh said, “Silence in the face of evil, in itself is evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak; not to act is to act.”  The State Department’s shameful lack of acknowledgement of this issue, especially their refusal to send a representative to the hearing, is absolutely appalling.  Congress has acted on this issue, but it is the State Department and the Obama Administration’s responsibility to lead this case and demand Saeed’s release.  While White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has made mild comments in response to media questioning on this issue, President Obama has remained entirely silent. Likewise, the only comments that have been made by the State Department have been in response to questions from the media or from Members of Congress.

During the recent U.N. meetings, the E.U. spoke out specifically on behalf of Pastor Saeed, and yet, when it came time for the U.S. delegation to speak, they made no mention of his name.  “Imagine you’re a U.S. citizen detained for your faith abroad, and the E.U. is speaking out, but your own country is remaining silent,” said Jordan Sekulow, attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) and Nagmeh’s legal counsel.

However, thanks to the tireless efforts of Naghmeh, the relentless work of the ACLJ, the extensive and regular coverage by Fox News, the over 100 Congressmen who signed a letter to the State Department, especially the specific leadership of Congressman Trent Franks (R-Arizona) on the Hill with this issue, Congressman Frank Wolf’s (R-Virginia) leading of the Congressional hearing, and the 538,000 Americans who have signed the petition and called their representatives, a State Department representative did finally agree to meet with Naghmeh to discuss her husband’s imprisonment and torture.

Congress has done what it needs to do. Americans are doing their part, as the petition for Saeed’s release increases by about 15,000 signatures a day; it is now at nearly 600,000.   Many public figures, including several Christian recording artists and politicians, have spread the news about this issue to their audiences. Now is the time for the State Department and the Obama Administration to get their act in gear or face the growing outrage of the rapidly increasing number of Americans who are following this case.  Naghmeh and her ACLJ attorney, Jordan Sekulow, appeared on Fox News this morning setting this Friday as a deadline for the State Department to make a clear statement demanding Saeed Abedini’s release.

Please join CWA and continue to pray for the immediate release of Pastor Saeed Abidini. If you were not able to watch the Congressional hearing and Naghmeh’s moving testimony, you can watch it here.

Chelsen Vicari, CWA’s Communications Strategist, contributed to this article.

Malala Yousafzai, whose brave stand for her right to an education has galvanized women around the globe.

Did you hear the one about the Muslim man who cut off his wife’s nose to spite her face? It’s not a joke.  In America, Christian women have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and they have the right to vote.  In Pakistan, where the prevailing religion is “peaceful” Islam, women and little 14-year-old girls like Malala Yousafzai can be brutally beaten, maimed, or murdered for expressing opinions contrary to the tenets of the Taliban, an Islamic militant group that seems to operate unchecked by the corrupt Pakistani government.At the tender age of 11, little Malala began criticizing the Taliban’s treatment of girls’ schools in her area.  Her advocacy for women’s equality earned her a reputation around Pakistan, and she became the first recipient of Pakistan’s National Peace Award for Youth, according to Aljazeera News.  Yet it also earned her the unbearable scorn and hatred of Taliban members, some of whom decided to hunt her down three years later and shoot her in the neck and head as she climbed off her school bus.

After an intense public outcry erupted among Pakistani women and the international community, Taliban spokesman Ehsan ullah Ehsan showed the world the true face of Islam when he stated, “Although she was young and a girl and Taliban does not believe in attacking women but whomsoever leads any campaign against Islam and Shariah is ordered to be killed by Shariah.  It is not merely allowed to kill such a person but it is obligatory in Islam.”

Ehsanullah Ehsan, Taliban spokesman.

Consider for a moment the potency of Eshan’s words.  They perfectly illustrate the fact that not all religions are created equal.  Those who maliciously label Christians as hate-filled bigots need to take a step back and reread Ehsan’s words.  Not only does our Judeo-Christian heritage outright forbid us to kill our enemies; it explicitly requires us to respond with love to them.  We don’t have to agree with what they say, but we live in a country whose Christian foundations protect opposing beliefs and welcome civil debate.Thank God we are free to speak our minds, work outside of the home, vote, and hold public office.  American women fought hard against oppressive social norms and earned those rights.  Malala and her mother, sisters, and girlfriends in Pakistan are not so blessed.  Malala questioned the station of women under Islam’s oppressive thumb, and the Taliban tried to put her six feet under the ground.

Pray for Malala as she currently recovers in a London hospital.

And ladies, don’t take your right to be heard — or your right to vote — for granted, lest we embrace those so-called “peaceful” religions, whose “obligation” is to kill any and every infidel who calls out Islam for the false and hate-filled religion that it is.

What does it look like to live out a faith that could move a mountain?  Dr. A.R Bernard, a former Muslim who now pastors a church of over 30,000 members in New York City, demonstrates this on a daily basis. He states that faith was given as a tool and weapon to deal with the reality of our time. After hearing of the daily threat on his life because of his decision to convert from Islam to Christianity, I have taken his call for using faith as a weapon, or having aggressive faith, a step further. With my passion for looking at the present assault on Christianity and women from the Muslim nation, I have reached some conclusions.

As women in today’s society, we are being attacked from all sides, and it is imperative that we be aggressive in our faith. Ecclesiastes 3:8 tells us there is a season for peace and for war. With our families being destroyed, marriage being degraded, and our government on a path of entitlement and excess spending, we must see the present need — that of a united voice. We are under attack. As Americans we must see the threat to our nation and as Christians we must see the threat to our beliefs. Due to God and our country’s sole purpose, the Muslim nation assaults the very core of our founding. We are considered as “people of the book” or “infidels” and as such, in their view, we deserve total annihilation.

I, for one, refuse to be passive to a culture or religion that considers women second-class and allows men to abuse and oppress them.  Christian Americans should be informed on the Muslim nation and the effect it has on women.  It’s time to rise up.  It’s time we get aggressive.  It’s time we start to realize the season of war dawning upon us.  God gives His people revelation, He instructs us, and I for one will have an aggressive faith to answer the call — faith that is larger than a mustard seed!  I will be like the apostles, who defended their faith so aggressively, even when the Roman Empire threated them with death!  They still prevailed and walked forthrightly.

Aggressive reaction is woven into the very fibers of our Christian and American doctrine.  We need to be warriors, courageous and understanding this present season.  In Hebrews 11:33, we are told that faith is conquered, obtained, quenched, escaped, and made strong, just to name a few aggressive verbs listed!

But in defining what I mean by “aggressive faith,” let me add one more aggressive verb: “reach.” As Christians, we need to “reach into the Muslim culture.”  It is only by the grace of God that we’re not the ones wearing hijabs.  By learning more about the Muslim mindset — by understanding their culture and worldview — we can better know how to present them with the Gospel.  It’s been shown that Muslims answer best to an authoritative presence.  So heed the advice of the Apostle Paul, and be confident in the Gospel; be confident in His Spirit within you, and be the Christ follower God made you to be.  Be full of the Spirit; don’t be full of yourself (don’t be arrogantly foolish).  Remember, it is well-known that strict Muslims advocate killing and desecration, so we, as educated Christians, must be aware of this and, as Jude cautions, “save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.”

Nurture this aggressive faith by passionately seeking after God through prayer and action.  And notice the order: first and foremost, pray.  Secondly, take action by educating yourself and refusing to be passive.  We need to conquer through conviction, defend our morals, and lead by example.

America was founded on Biblical principles.  Our Founding Fathers built this country on aggressive thoughts and actions.  They went up against a tyrannical government to gain freedom of religion and speech, which would not have been obtained without an aggressive faith.

So rise up!  Heed the call!  Have an aggressive faith, and trust God to lead you.  Remember, as Americans, we don’t negotiate with terrorists, and as Christians, we do not negotiate with those who seek to destroy what God has set apart.  Our faith is a weapon!  Use it!

As thousands took flight this weekend for Thanksgiving, turkey, and family, I was shocked to learn of an impending alliance.  No, not the longstanding alliance between me and the mashed potatoes, but an alliance of much greater significance – that of Delta and Saudi Arabian Airlines.  This possible alliance would have Delta selling tickets through Saudi Arabian Airlines, and I believe it could threaten our religious freedom and potentially the well-being of women flying out of this country.  Click here to see the letter I wrote urging Delta to reconsider.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) calls on President Obama to ensure religious liberty in Egypt and to protect that nation’s Christian minority.  I worry, as do many others, that in the chaos of the “Egyptian Moment,” an ugly force of intolerance will hijack events and install a regime against which the Mubarak government may pale in comparison.  Even under Hosni Mubarak, Christians in Egypt were targets of barbarism, persecution and savagery.  How much worse will even that be under a Muslim Brotherhood-style ayatollah regime if that should take root?  Right now in Iran, Christians are routinely rounded up, arrested and abused in the worst ways.  It is up to President Obama and his Secretary of State Clinton to ensure that the same fate does not befall Egypt.  We call on the Administration to defend all segments of Egyptian society, but especially to ensure that we do not abandon Egypt’s Christians.