The 700 Club: September 11, 2009

UnderWing Transcripts PO Box 16282 Clearwater, Florida 33766 540 455-2333 / UnderWing@underwingtranscripts.com ________________________________________ The 700 Club Daily Broadcast Friday, September 11, 2009 GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, welcome to The 700 Club. Today marks the eighth anniversary of the worst attack on American soil. And Kristi, I know we all remember where we were. So an incredible moment in our history. Now, never-before-seen images from that day are being released. KRISTI WATTS: Well, Gordon, and while we haven’t been attacked since 9/11, some experts warn that terrorists could be planning to strike again. Here is reporter Jennifer Wishon with that story. 9/11 JENNIFER WISHON: Eight years since America was attacked by terrorists, and nearly 3,000 people died. New pictures show that awful day from different angles and perspectives. Woman: Did you find that? Man: Yes, I did. JENNIFER WISHON: The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has launched a web site with a compilation of amateur video. Woman: That’s the airline seat? Man: I would imagine so. JENNIFER WISHON: A camera in Brooklyn points through a chain-link fence at black smoke pouring from one skyscraper, while a plane pierces another. One videographer asks, “What kind of crazy person would kill themselves like that?” Some of the video is graphic, and a relative of one of the victims says he's glad. He says he doesn't want the day sanitized. The video will have a warning and will be available online and at the museum that's set to open in three years. New images have also surfaced of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Jarret Brachman (Terrorism Expert): When he was captured in March of 2003, the capture photos that were released showed him all disheveled. He looked terrible. It was kind of the monster that we all had in our minds for who planned 9/11. These photos make him look like he's a peaceful, thoughtful and reflective man, even a pious Muslim. JENNIFER WISHON: The pictures were taken by the Red Cross to send to families of inmates at Guantanamo Bay. But they hit several jihadist web sites this week. And terrorism analysts believe they'll be used for a sinister purpose. Jarret Brachman: They're celebrating the release of these photos. They're screaming “Praise be to God” in some cases. In other cases they're saying, “Let's go kill Americans.” This is a renewed call to them for violence. JENNIFER WISHON: And as Americans remember 9/11 and hope another attack never comes, some people are spending time in prayer, seeking a spiritual renewal for the country. Pastor Billy Wilson (“Cry Out America” Campaign): We have a generation that is hungry, a generation that is inquiring, a generation that needs Jesus, and we're sleeping through our moment. JENNIFER WISHON: Prayer gatherings are planned from noon to one at county courthouses across the nation. Jennifer Wishon, CBN News. GORDON ROBERTSON: I would encourage you to join with Cry Out America. We need to pray. We need to pray like never before in our history. And you look at the horrific acts and the celebration of them in the Muslim world. And you just shake your head and go, “Do we not understand what we’re up against, what we’re dealing with?” When the Lockerbie Bomber gets released—here’s a man who killed innocents on a 747—when he gets released and returned to Libya, they welcome him as a hero. There are cheers in the streets. And I remember the images from 9/11, not just the attack, but what did the Palestinians do with that news? What did the streets of Cairo do with that news? They celebrated. And we need to understand, we’re in a long, protracted battle. And it’s an unusual war. And are we engaging it with the right weapons? Our weapons are not carnal. And do we understand that this a war of ideas about God? And if you think that blowing yourself up and taking innocents is somehow going to get you entry into Heaven, well, I’m sorry to tell you, you’re wrong. And we need to engage that battle. And we as Christians, now more than ever, need to preach the Gospel, the good news, to the Muslim world. Lee Webb has the rest of our top stories from the CBN Newsroom. Lee. ABORTION LEE WEBB: Gordon, taxpayer-funded abortion is emerging now as a key battlefront in the health care debate. Pro-lifers say the President’s health care plan includes tax-funded abortion. But that’s not what President Obama said in his speech to Congress Wednesday night. President Barack Obama: Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. LEE WEBB: But pro-life leaders say that's not really the case. At a Capitol Hill news conference they presented charts, quotes and clips to prove their point. And National Right to Life claims Obama swore in the past he’d support taxpayer funded abortion. Douglas Johnson (National Right to Life): Barack Obama promised Planned Parenthood in the most explicit terms that abortion would be in his plan. The transcript is in our memos. The film clip is at our web site, and I invite you to review it. LEE WEBB: These pro-lifers want to attach the Hyde Amendment to any health care overhaul plan. That would forbid federal funding of abortion. But congressional leaders will not allow a vote or debate on that amendment. Kristen Day (Democrats for Life): It’s unfortunate, because there are so many people who need health care right now. And so to put this issue in here, which could potentially kill the bill altogether, is a big mistake. LEE WEBB: One pro-life leader tells the Los Angeles Times that more than 70 percent of the American people are opposed to funding abortions with their tax dollars. INTERNET LEE WEBB: Some privacy advocates are alarmed about a Senate bill that appears to give the President control of the Internet in a cyber-security emergency. Paul Strand has that story. PAUL STRAND: In the movie Live Free or Die Hard, an evil computer genius brings much of society to its knees by waging cyber-warfare. GRAPHIC: 20TH CENTURY FOX Actress: FAA just issued a critical alert. The entire network went down. PAUL STRAND: President Obama said early on he wanted to make sure no one could do that to America in real life. The Senate agreed and was already preparing a bill that would give the President vast power to deal with cyber attacks. But in the minds of privacy advocates, like Greg Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology, it was way too much power. Greg Nojeim (Center for Democracy and Technology): It said that the President would have the power to shut down or limit Internet traffic to critical infrastructure systems. That was interpreted, I think correctly, as giving the President too much power over the Internet. PAUL STRAND: Another provision said: Greg Nojeim: Commerce could seize e-mail, could seize information about telephone calls and use it for cyber-security purposes. PAUL STRAND: Criticism of the Senate bill came so fast and furious, the lawmakers offered up some changes. But it's not change enough to ease all the worries of Nojeim, a former top ACLU official who has fought for privacy rights for years. Greg Nojeim: The private sector operates at least 85 percent of the critical infrastructure systems. Can the federal government tell the private sector what to do? Can it tell the private sector to turn over personal information that people might have in private sector systems? That's the big question. PAUL STRAND: Cyber warfare is a definite threat, but guardians of the Internet warn answers to the threat could just present a whole new set of dangers. Paul Strand, CBN News, Washington. LEE WEBB: And for more on this story, let’s go back to Gordon. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice has been looking into this issue. Jay, I’m aware of the current cyber threats. And recently there has been, allegedly, attacks engineered out of China where they have been testing certain systems and breached certain of our most secure. North Korea, it’s been alleged that they’ve been in part of this as well. Some out of Russia. Jay Sekulow: Russia. One of the biggest ones was actually out of Russia. It was a very large attempt anyway. GORDON ROBERTSON: And some out of what was formerly called the Eastern Bloc. And those you wonder if it was just sort of private hacking and no government involved. So there is a serious threat. Jay Sekulow: Absolutely. GORDON ROBERTSON: What I don’t understand is why does this now require the President to sort of have absolute control on the Internet? Jay Sekulow: And it’s control, Gordon, over the private Internet capabilities. We complained. The United States filed formal lodging of complaints with the UN when Iran was shutting down Twitter. And remember all of that. Well, this gives the President the exact same authority to shut down individual Internet access, not just government to control government access, but individual Internet access from you and me. That not only breaches the First Amendment—this is one of these rare moments where the ACLU and the ACLJ agree. When we first found out about this, which was when the bill was first proposed, our government affairs office in Washington grabbed it, we saw the danger. But what you’re saying is absolutely correct. Look, the cyber security threats are real. I think it’s a form the terrorist model. But there are already existing laws in place that give authority when necessary to implement procedures, none of which requires the shutting down of our ability to communicate with each other. GORDON ROBERTSON: I just find it strange that this administration would do that. They were highly critical of the Patriot Act, which had broad powers granted to the administration, to the Justice Department, to supervise, to scrutiny. There were all kinds of programs to collect e-mails and who is doing what, where, how and when. But this is, “We can literally shut you down.” Jay Sekulow: It does allow a shut down, and it allows a shut down by the President on his own initiative, with no congressional oversight, no oversight by a board. There is no czar for this one. This, the President has the authority. If there is a cyber threat, which is undefined, of course, in the act, typical of how it’s done in Washington, the President is given unfettered, unlimited discretion to remove the access points, the access points being the ability to communicate by Internet, Twitter, these kind of things. Take it a step further. You’re right. These were the same people that complained about the Patriot Act and the particular security protections there. You know what part of it is? Now they’re in authority. They go to those morning briefings, and they’re getting briefed on what the nature of the security threats are. And all of a sudden, you don’t hear a lot of talk about the Patriot Act being rescinded anymore. You don’t hear a lot of talk about really Guantanamo Bay right now going anywhere. You don’t hear a lot about these kind of security initiatives, that were put in place during the Bush era when John Ashcroft was attorney general, being removed. But now you’re hearing actually a take of power that President Bush—could you imagine the reaction if President Bush and John Ashcroft would have said, “We’re going to have the ability to control the private Internet, and we can terminate it if we think”—the outcry would be huge. Huge. GORDON ROBERTSON: There would be marching in the streets over this. And I’ll add to that list. We’re not seeing nearly as much reporting out of Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, the news media is saying, “Well, it’s because we’re all losing money, and we can’t afford the reporters anymore.” Jay Sekulow: No, it’s their guy. Their guy is in power is what it is. GORDON ROBERTSON: I do find it interesting the drum beat on that has stopped. What can the average American do? Right now, you have a filibuster proof Senate. You have clear majority in the House. And if the administration wants it and can lay out a cause, I assume it’s going to pass. Jay Sekulow: Well, there are two things. Number one, the reaction from civil liberties groups from the left, right and center have been so strong over the last month on this that Olympia Snow and Senator Rockefeller have proposed amendments. Now, those amendments, I agree with the ACLU on this, they don’t go far enough. But the fact that the amendments are being proposed has shown that there are some civil libertarians inside of the Senate and the House, House and the Senate, that both believe these laws are going way too far. I think the American people speaking out on this is critical. It’s going to come up again once they get through the health care debate. This is going to be front and center. And I think what’s going to happen—I really believe this, Gordon—if we continue to speak out, we’re filling position papers with every member of the Senate, telecommunications committee and national security committee, the same thing on the House side, that will be able to raise enough of a concern under the First Amendment that they realize if this gets passed we will all be in court the very next day. And I believe the courts will strike it down. And I don’t think any of them want their name on a bill that’s going to be struck as unconstitutional. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, the Internet has become the free press. Jay Sekulow: It is. It is the greatest venue over which we can communicate information. But they’re talking about closing our individual capability. It’s one thing if the President said, “We’ve got an FAA crisis.” We just saw the 9/11 pieces that ran. “We’re going to shut down the FAA’s Internet status for outside. We’re going to ground . . . .” GORDON ROBERTSON: Ground all planes. Jay Sekulow: Absolutely. They have the right to do that. But they don’t have the right for you and I then to not be able to get on the Internet and communicate to each other. And that’s the problem here: complete violation of the First Amendment. I think at the end of the day, the pressure is going to be so great on this that either this bill does not go any further or it is so modified that we get it within constitutional norms. GORDON ROBERTSON: Let’s turn to the health care problem and just that speech. And then you have the unfortunate incident where a sitting congressman calls the US President a liar in the middle of it. What’s your take? I know you’ve done some research on “is abortion mandated and funding mandated?” He said . . . . Jay Sekulow: He said it’s not, but it is. And this is where the congressman, without getting into he should have or should not have—he violated House rules, technically. There are a lot of people coming to his support, because they were so upset about that. The fact of the matter is this: if you read the language, and this is what the President is not saying and needs to be saying, and his staff knows better, if you read the language of how they define basic health care, it is of the same language they use in Medicaid, the same language that you use in other federal programs, which the courts have consistently required to include, quote, “reproductive services.” So does it say abortion? No. It says reproductive services. What is reproductive services? Abortion. You’ve got Kathleen Sebelius in charge of HHS. She’s the most pro-abortion government official in our history. There’s no doubt about that. And then, Gordon, two of the bills, you remember, they keep talking about “the bill.” There are five. Two of them actually use the abortion language. So, yes. And the amendments to kill that, there were amendments to take out a requirement that would have said, “Under no circumstances would either federal dollars or private insurance be required to have abortion services covered.” Those were defeated in committee. So the President was—I’m not calling anybody a liar—the President was misinformed and communicated an incorrect message. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, good grief, who wants to read a thousand pages of five different bills? Jay Sekulow: We have. There are more than a thousand. GORDON ROBERTSON: But to be fair to the President and the administration, the comment was made right after he said illegal immigrants would not be covered. Is he correct on that one? Jay Sekulow: Well, they have changed their definition now of who is not covered. Remember, it used to be 47 million. This time they said 30 million Americans. Americans. That’s citizens. So they’re changing the number. They really haven’t changed the bill yet, because, again, the bills are still in committee. I don’t think they’re going to be able to get this immigration requirement through. I think at the end of the day, they want to. Look, the President has said to Planned Parenthood in a meeting a year ago, right before he was President, he said, “I’m with Planned Parenthood on this, and I think basic health care requires reproductive services.” So this is not “not part of the agenda.” The agenda is there. It’s just the American people are now aware of what’s going on, and I think the reaction on this is going to be strong. I don’t think they can—I really believe right now the reaction, even with the President’s speech, he did not get the bump in support that he was hoping to get. I think at the end of the day, right now, if there was a vote today, this bill doesn’t pass. I think there’s that much objection, because they’re not filibuster proof in the United States Senate. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, rarely have I seen anything come through Congress that has this much of a visceral reaction. Jay Sekulow: It’s been incredible, actually, the reaction not just of the American people, but of the Congress themselves, including Democrats. I think it’s important to point that out. What’s keeping the fight going here are the Blue Dog Democrats, the conservative Democrats, many of which are pro-life, and committed pro-lifers, that are saying, “We are not going to allow this.” And then you’ve got some fiscal conservative Democrats that are not so socially conservative, but are saying, “Wait a minute, this public option will bankrupt the United States. We’re not going to do it.” GORDON ROBERTSON: What about the death counseling provisions? Are they still there? Jay Sekulow: They keep saying there is no death panel. 1233 pages, I think 412 of the original bill, 412 through 414, have a death panel. They don’t want to call it death panels. But it has a panel of federal bureaucrats determining who is going to be able to get treatment and who does not. That’s in the bill. GORDON ROBERTSON: Determining who gets treatment? Jay Sekulow: Yes, because what they do, they won’t do it on an individual basis, but they’re going to set up their guidelines on performance, and it’s going to be an economic decision. And it will say in that economic decision, “Here is how we think the treatment should go.” So you’ve got not only the counseling . . . . . GORDON ROBERTSON: I thought this was all about just counseling on living wills . . . . Jay Sekulow: It’s not. GORDON ROBERTSON: . . . . and what happens if you get . . . . Jay Sekulow: The federal government will be determining—you’ve got to look at the bill. People need to look at it in its totality, not just individual provisions. When you look at it in totality, there is going to be a federal panel set up, not just on end-of-life decisions, but on treatments generally that are being paid for by the federal government or required under basic insurance. So it’s going to be a significant increase in the government’s ability to dictate your care and mine and everybody else that’s listening to this broadcast, watching this broadcast now. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, I’ve had enough issues with my own insurance, just negotiating . . . . . Jay Sekulow: This is going to make it worse. GORDON ROBERTSON: . . . . what’s covered, what’s not covered. Jay Sekulow: And this will make it worse. This will make it worse. GORDON ROBERTSON: I’ll have to negotiate with a federal . . . . Jay Sekulow: Yes, because what’s going to happen, your private insurance will evaporate in a couple of years, because they’re not going to be able—how do you compete . . . . GORDON ROBERTSON: The trigger is always going to be pulled. Jay Sekulow: Of course. And you’ve got the federal government is now your competition. So how are you going to beat the federal government who is getting to set the rules and regulations on all of this? So what’s going to happen is the private insurance goes away, and then the federal government determines who gets coverage and who doesn’t and how it works. But the American people continuing to speak out is going to make a big difference on this one, too. GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, I hope you got a good night’s sleep last night. I did. I’m not sure I’m going to get one again. Jay Sekulow: Sorry about that. GORDON ROBERTSON: Oh, man. The breakneck speed of change . . . . Jay Sekulow: It’s unbelievable. GORDON ROBERTSON: . . . . is unbelievable. And who has got the time to read through all this stuff? But anyway, be involved. Make time to read through all of it. Let your voice be heard. Get to know who your US congressman is, who are your US senators. GRAPHIC: CAPITOL HILL SWITCHBOARD CONTACT INFORMATION PHONE: 202-224-3121 OR LOG ON TO WWW.CBN.COM And let them know how you feel. And don’t be shouting at them, but get informed and make reasonable arguments. And when they hear from you, they’ll know. Kristi, over to you. KRISTI WATTS: Incredible, Gordon. Well, up next, today marks the anniversary of 9/11, and yet in some of parts of the world people condemning Islamic radicals are being treated as the enemy. GRAPHIC: CRITICIZING ISLAM We’re going to show you where it’s happening and why, after this. Don’t go away. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GRAPHIC: MIRACLE AT GROUND ZERO GORDON ROBERTSON: Coming up later . . . . Moe Altamuro: I hope that every person that I have ever hung out, that I have ever partied with, that they can see this. GORDON ROBERTSON: The miracle that saved this volunteer’s life. Moe Altamuro: I really believe that I wouldn’t be here right now. * * * GRAPHIC: SURVIVING 9/11 GORDON ROBERTSON: Plus, she was a top executive, in the middle of the north tower. The story of this woman’s dramatic escape, later on The 700 Club. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 1: CURVES Announcer: So you finally decided that it’s the right time for you to lose weight. That’s great. And maybe you’re considering going to Weight Watchers. Woman: Weight Watchers? Woman: Oh, no, girl. Woman: You’re going to try something new. Woman: I am? Woman: We’re clear. Go, go, go, go, go! Announcer: Introducing the new Curves 30-day diet plan. It’s clinically proven and a brand new way to lose weight and keep it off, without counting points forever. There are diet classes every month, which are free to everyone. No membership required. Curves’ exclusive 30-day diet is designed to help you retrain and sustain your metabolism. That way you can reach your goal weight and stay there. Want to get started? Woman: Let’s try something else. Announcer: Learn a whole new way to take off the weight. Call your local Curves club about the 30-day diet plan and find out when you can try a class near you, free. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEXT DAY PROMO GRAPHIC: A NEW TAX GORDON ROBERTSON: Next week. The tax man cometh. Man: If some people aren’t paying anything, we need a replacement. GORDON ROBERTSON: See Uncle Sam’s next target, and why it’s being called an invasion of privacy. Man: Government may be coming to your dashboard any day now. * * * GRAPHIC: “ROBBIE RAGE” GORDON ROBERTSON: And Tuesday, Robbie Rage wasn’t just his name, it was his attitude. Robbie Rage: If it takes injecting needles to popping pills, then that’s what I’m going to do. GORDON ROBERTSON: What happened when he turned his rage against himself. On The 700 Club. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GORDON ROBERTSON: Freedom of speech has long been a hallmark of the west, but today it seems that freedom ends when it comes to criticizing Islam. Dale Hurd has that story from the Netherlands. FOCUS: OIC DALE HURD: A 15-year-old Danish boy faces prison time for distributing leaflets warning that Denmark could someday become a Muslim nation and that he thinks that’s a bad thing. A Danish prosecutor calls that “hate speech.” But across the water in Sweden, it wasn’t hate speech when a leading national newspaper a few weeks ago printed an article claiming that Israeli soldiers harvest and sell organs from dead Palestinians. Some say that amounts to the anti-Semitic Jewish blood libel, that Jews commit human sacrifice on non-Jews. But the Swedish government defended the newspaper, saying, “No, that’s free speech.” Welcome to Europe, where the difference between free speech and hate speech is dictated by political correctness and fear of Islam. Lars Hedegaard of Denmark is head of the International Free Press Society. Lars Hedegaard (International Free Press Society): Free speech is coming under increasing pressure by the day. DALE HURD: And it doesn’t matter if your criticism is factual. For instance, Islam teaches that when Mohammed was 52, he consummated his marriage to a nine-year-old girl. But when Austrian politician Susanne Winter said that in today's world Mohammed would be considered a child molester, she was convicted on hate speech. Dutch Parliament member Geert Wilders is awaiting trial on the charge of “inciting hatred and discrimination.” But in Wilders' short film about Islamic violence, Fitna, he simply reprinted violent verses from the Koran itself and added video of radical sermons and photos of Islamic terrorism. Lars Hedegaard: He's being accused of hate speech for repeating in a film what radical imams and religious leaders have been saying about their own motives and their own beliefs. DALE HURD: And the censorship of criticism of Islam is here in America as well. This is a new book about the 2005 Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy, The Cartoons that Shook the World, except that the book contains no pictures of the Mohammed cartoons. The American publisher Yale University Press decided it would be too offensive to Muslims to actually show the cartoons. But there is another force behind the push to censor critics of Islam, and that’s the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference. Only the United Nations is larger. Lars Hedegaard: In 2008, the Organization of the Islamic Conference laid out a ten-year plan for suppression of free speech and for introduction of laws that would prevent criticism of religions, read Islam. DALE HURD: The OIC calls itself the collective voice of the worldwide Muslim “ummah,” or nation. It has its own declaration of human rights, the Cairo Declaration, except that if you read the document you find that, “All rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari'ah.” That’s Islamic Sharia law. Marshall Sana is an Islamic expert at Barnabas Fund. Marshall Sana (Barnabas Fund): But it actually wields an enormous amount of influence. And that's been evident in the last few years with perhaps its number one agenda item, which is combating “Islamophobia,” as it calls it, or the defamation of religion. DALE HURD: The OIC calls Islamophobia “the worst form of terrorism” and a threat to world peace. Marshall Sana: Well, that has been a project under construction by the OIC, to develop the concept of Islamophobia as being any suggestion of criticism upon Mohammed, upon the Koran, the haddif, the fundamentals of Islam, but now it's being coupled with the idea of racism. DALE HURD: The Organization of the Islamic conference is now a major force inside the United Nations. For four straight years, the UN has adopted a non-binding OIC resolution banning the defamation of religion. Observers say the ultimate goal of the OIC is to get a UN law criminalizing criticism or blasphemy of religion, even though Wilders says that in the Muslim world, respect for religion only goes in one direction. Geert Wilders (Charged with Hate Crime): Look at how Christians today are treated in countries where Islam is dominant. Try to buy a Bible in Saudi Arabia. Try to visit a church in Iran. Try to do anything Christian in an Islamic country. There is no room for it. They are intolerant. DALE HURD: Opponents of Wilders have compared his attacks on Islam to yelling fire in a crowded theater, and say it’s not protected speech. Geert Wilders: You can cry fire if the theater is on fire, is burning, and unfortunately our societies are burning. The Islamization is, unfortunately, very strong. DALE HURD: Supporters of Wilders said free speech itself is on trial, and that if Wilders loses, it will be the ultimate religious, political and cultural capitulation by the Dutch government to Islam. But the Wilders case is just a small part of a growing worldwide phenomenon: the censorship of any speech that criticizes Islam. Lars Hedegaard: You'd better care because this is a road circus that's coming your way. Geert Wilders: Don't think this won't happen to you. Don't think it won't happen to the United States. DALE HURD: Dale Hurd, CBN News, in western Europe. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GORDON ROBERTSON: Well, I hope we wake up. You get into these code words. I remember when I first heard the phrase “hate speech,” I understood where that was going, that all speech is free and open and protected by the First Amendment, except for hate speech. And that would be something that would be used to limit our First Amendment rights. And here you see it. Here you see it. Can you imagine a politician in Australia being fined, convicted of hate speech because she dared to criticize, dared to point out an obvious fact? Can you imagine a politician in the Netherlands facing criminal charges because he put together a movie showing exactly what these imams were preaching? We need to pay attention to this, that what they say in English is a whole different than what they say in Arabic. And when you read the transcripts of what’s coming out of Medina and Mecca and the Jerusalem mosques, how they hate Americans, how they want American Zionists to be killed. They call us Satan. And if we ever get to the point where we can’t point that out, “Hey, this is wrong,” if you want to have this kind of stuff, boy, we need to pay attention. And boy, is it time for us to wake up and realize there is a whole concerted effort. When you have a group of countries like this with this kind of funding coming in and saying, “We need to pass these kinds of laws around the world,” well, what they’re trying to do is stop critique, effective intellectual debate, about their own ideas. And if we ever get to that stage, well, Heaven help us. KRISTI WATTS: And we need to remember, especially on today, September 11th, what possibly could happen. That’s why we have to be steadfast that our voices be heard and continue to pray. Well, coming up, we’re going to meet a volunteer who went to Ground Zero to help and walked away with the infamous World Trade Center cough. GRAPHIC: CURING WTC COUGH See how he got rid of this deadly illness, without a doctor. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 2: SYNVISC Announcer: If you have osteoarthritis knee pain, Synvisc One treats it right at the source and helps you get back to doing the things you love. Synvisc One is the only treatment that can give you up to six months of pain relief with just one injection. It’s a natural substance similar to healthy joint fluid that lubricates and cushions your joint and relieves pain without the serious side effects that pain pills can have. For your free information kit, call 1-800-211-9223. Synvisc One may not work for everyone. Before beginning treatment, tell your doctor if you are allergic to products from birds, such as feathers, eggs or poultry, or if your leg is swollen or infected. The most common side effects are temporary pain, stiffness, swelling and fluid buildup in and around the knee. Synvisc One has not been tested in children, pregnant women or women who are nursing. To learn more, call this number, go online or ask your doctor about Synvisc One. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GORDON ROBERTSON: After the twin towers collapsed, volunteers rushed to Ground Zero to help search for survivors. Then toxic fumes from the rubble gave many workers the so-called World Trade Center cough. This mysterious illness is almost impossible to cure, but don’t tell that to Moe Altamuro. MAURICE (MOE) ALTAMURO Moe Altamuro: That night, we sat on the Hudson River down at Liberty State Park and watched the buildings burn. We sat there and we cried, and we just said, “I’m going to go there tomorrow.” DAVID KITHCART: Moe Altamuro plays the drums and owns a music shop in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. But on September 11, 2001, he lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. Moe and his friends caught a boat over to Manhattan to help with the recovery effort at Ground Zero. Moe Altamuro: We were finding kids’ toys and parts of the plane. And, oh, it was just so bad. They’d shut down every piece of equipment on the site and listen, thinking they’d hear somebody, and dig and dig. And people were digging, and it was just hard to deal with, because we were rummaging through body parts. And the smells, that was so bad. It was sickening. People were getting sick, and it went on all night. We were over there working with nothing, little dust masks, something they use for mowing the lawn. And the taste in your mouth, and in your lungs, and in your nose and in your throat was so disgusting. I had a military issue pair of jump boots. They fell apart at the seams. DAVID KITHCART: But the toxic fumes from Ground Zero were affecting more than his boots. Moe developed a deep chest cough that wouldn’t go away. Moe Altamuro: I had a lot of phlegm and blood and stuff that was coming up. It looked like pieces of meat were coming out of my lungs. It was really, really, really, really bad. And the months that passed, it was getting worse. My complexion changed; I started looking green. DAVID KITHCART: Moe’s wife, Eileen, was watching The 700 Club one morning. Moe Altamuro: And he started saying that they were getting bombarded with prayer requests for people who were suffering from this World Trade Center cough, and he caught my attention. And he went on to say about praying for the people, people’s families, the rescue workers, the volunteers, the paramedics, the firemen. Pat said something that really weighed on me. He said, “Now, if you think you’re dying, and you don’t know where you’re going to go, if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you repeat this prayer after me, you’re guaranteed a place in Heaven.” I’ve always believed in God, but I never knew Jesus. That day, I accepted Christ. Me and my wife, both together, we both prayed. We both confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior together, to God Almighty in Heaven that we believed. The most miraculous thing in my life that could ever happen happened. I woke up the next day, and I was cured. I was healed. It was a miraculous thing. I woke up that morning, and I said to Eileen, I said, “I can breathe.” And she said, “What?” She goes, “You’ve got your voice back.” I was like, “Whew, it’s amazing. It’s a miracle.” I said, “I can’t believe it. I can breathe.” I was able to breathe, take a deep breath. DAVID KITHCART: Moe and Eileen are thankful for how God healed Moe’s cough, but even more so for their salvation. Moe Altamuro: If I didn’t accept Christ that day, I really believe that I wouldn’t be here right now. I believe that I would have perished along with the other people who have already died from that stuff they inhaled over there. Everything else that I’ve ever followed has failed. It’s been a lie: money, glamour, glory, baloney. There’s been no real joy out of any of it. I hope that every person that I have ever hung out with, that I have ever partied with, that I have ever sinned with, that they can see this and feel this and understand that, through Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven and saved and have salvation, and meet me in eternity one day. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GORDON MINISTERS GORDON ROBERTSON: You’re going to meet him in eternity? Well, that’s the same question that was asked of Moe. If you were to die today, where would you go? With so much going on in the world today, so much confusion, so much danger, so much uncertainty, where do we go? What do we do? There is only one way. And that way is a person, and His name is Jesus. And He says, these are His words, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Maybe you’re like Moe. You’re pursuing glamour, money, fame, the party life. Maybe you’ve been trying to find God through other ways. Maybe that was meditation or some kind of spiritual exercise. Maybe you’re a Muslim, and you’ve been wondering, “Why does my religion tell me to go kill people? Why does my religion say that if I do that then I’ll get an entry to Heaven? Why? It doesn’t sound right.” Maybe you’re just wondering, “Where do I go?” Well, I’m here to tell you, if you’ll just ask Jesus and just say, “Jesus, if you’re there, will you show me? Will you come to me? Will you be Messiah for me? Will you be a Savior for me?” He’ll answer. The Bible says that if you just call on the name of the Lord, you just call Him, you’ll be saved. You’ll be saved. You’ll be just like Moe, where you can have peace. You can have a fulfillment. You can have a joy. You saw it in his eyes. And if you were anywhere near Ground Zero, you know what he saw. You know what he went through. And for him to come through that and then say, “I found joy. I found peace.” So if you want that, if you want that, bow your head with me. Let today be the day where you say, “All right, I’ll try. I want to meet Jesus. I want to know Him. I want to hear His voice. I want to know what these other people are talking about. I want to know if that’s real.” And just pray and ask Him and let Him do all the rest for you. What He has done for others, He will do for you. The Bible says clearly, “Whosoever believes on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” And you can be a whosoever. All it takes on your part is to ask. So today, right now, just pray with me. I’ll lead. You just repeat the words. Let Jesus answer you today. Bow your head. Close your eyes. Let’s pray. “Lord Jesus.” That’s right. Say it out loud. “Lord Jesus, I come to you today. And Jesus, I want to know you. I want to hear your voice. I want to know that you’re real. I want to know that you can be my Savior. You can be my healer. You can show me the way to the Father. So Jesus, right now, I ask that you forgive me, that you set me free, that you cleanse me and that you would come into my heart and be with me. And Jesus, I ask that you would speak to me and let me know you. And if you’ll do this, I promise to follow you. And I want to be with you. Hear my prayer, for I pray it in Jesus’ name.” Father, I pray for those who just prayed, and I pray that you open their ears and you open their eyes and you open their heart of understanding, that they may know and know you. Fill them right now with your love, with your forgiveness and with your peace, for I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you just prayed with me, the Bible says that if you’ll confess Jesus before men He’ll confess you before the Father. GRAPHIC: 1-800-759-0700 CBN.COM What I want you to do is make a toll free call: 1-800-759-0700. And just say, “I want to confess. I just prayed. I just asked Jesus into my heart.” When you call, we’ve got a packet for you. In there is a CD teaching on how to live the Christian life. GRAPHIC: OUR GIFT TO YOU 1-800-759-0700 CBN.COM It’s a new day for you. And you need to sort of understand a few things. We encourage you to get a Bible. Read it. Read it every day. Start with the Gospel of John. We also encourage you to join a local church. It’s in fellowship with other believers that you grow. And it starts with that confession, faith positive confession. “I believed, therefore I spoke.” So call us: 1-800-759-0700. Kristi, over to you. KRISTI WATTS: Thanks, Gordon. Well, still ahead, it’s been eight years since 9/11, but not a day goes by that Leslie Haskin doesn’t relive it. GRAPHIC: GETTING OUT ALIVE That’s because she was there. Well, she’s going to be with us live on The 700 Club to tell us about it, so stay with us. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 3A: WEEK OF PRAYER TERRY MEEUWSEN: During the autumn each year, the entire staff of CBN sets aside a special week of prayer. Each day we pray for you and your family. We care about you and the things you need in your life right now. Whether it’s large or small, we want to pray with you. We believe in a miracle-working God who answers prayer, and we want to see the Lord accomplish miracles in your life. Please mail your prayer request today. It’s our privilege to pray for you. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 3B: CURVES Announcer: So you finally decided that it’s the right time for you to lose weight. That’s great. And maybe you’re considering going to Weight Watchers. Woman: Weight Watchers? Woman: Oh, no, girl. Woman: You’re going to try something new. Woman: I am? Woman: We’re clear. Go, go, go, go, go! Announcer: Introducing the new Curves 30-day diet plan. It’s clinically proven and a brand new way to lose weight and keep it off, without counting points forever. There are diet classes every month, which are free to everyone. No membership required. Curves’ exclusive 30-day diet is designed to help you retrain and sustain your metabolism. That way you can reach your goal weight and stay there. Want to get started? Woman: Let’s try something else. Announcer: Learn a whole new way to take off the weight. Call your local Curves club about the 30-day diet plan and find out when you can try a class near you, free. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ONE FLU SHOT LEE WEBB: Welcome back to The 700 Club. It may take only one shot to protect adults against the swine flu. That’s according to a new study published by the National Institutes of Health. Researches say that up to 96 percent of vaccinated people should be protected with a single vaccine, and they claim it provides protection within ten days of getting the shot. THIS WEEK IN OPERATION BLESSING LEE WEBB: Malaria is one of the top ten killers of people worldwide. Each year between 350 and 500 million people are infected with the mosquito-born disease. More than a million people die of malaria every year, most in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, malaria kills more children on the African continent than HIV and AIDS. CBN's Operation Blessing recently sent a team into the countryside of the West African nation of Senegal to help. Working with local churches, the aid group distributed thousands of treated mosquito nets. Something as simple as a bed net can help prevent malaria and save a life. More than 5,000 villagers will benefit from this latest distribution. And you can find out more by going to Operation Blessing's web site. It’s OB.org. GRAPHIC: FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO OB.ORG Gordon and Kristi will be back with more of The 700 Club, after this. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 4A: ALERT USA Dr. Joyce Brothers: Hi, I’m Dr. Joyce Brothers. Those of us who are independent and live alone shouldn’t do so without having emergency protection. And for reliability and peace of mind, I recommend Alert USA. Announcer: With Alert USA, if you ever need assistance, just press your pendant to be connected to an operator who can summon help to your home 24 hours a day. Dr. Joyce Brothers: I’ve been giving advice for many years, and I believe Alert USA provides the best emergency support and value for your dollar. Call now for a free brochure. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPOT 4B: GOLDLINE REASONS Jay Johnson (Former Director US Mint): All you have to do is read a newspaper or watch TV to know our investments and our savings have lost value in this tough economy. And no one knows how long this will last. Hi, I’m Jay Johnson, former director of the US Mint. I supervised our nation’s gold supply, and I’m often asked why I buy gold. I buy gold because it helps protect against inflation and huge government spending. Gold offers diversity in a bad economy, and it’s a safe haven asset that has never dropped to zero. In fact, did you know gold prices have tripled since 2001 and may reach new record highs because of inflation and the falling dollar? Make gold part of your portfolio. Call Goldline now, a company with nearly half a billion dollars in annual sales. Goldline has been helping investors acquire gold for nearly 50 years. Call Goldline now. Ask for your free investor’s kit and learn why gold should be a part of your portfolio. Call now. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * KRISTI WATTS: Welcome back to The 700 Club. Well, we all have the “Where were you on the 9/11” story. Well, Leslie Haskin’s story is quite different. When the first plane hit the north tower, Leslie was there on the 36th floor. SET-UP PIECE REPORTER: Leslie Haskin loved the prestige and the power of working as an insurance executive in the north tower of the World Trade Center. But at 8:43 on the morning of September 11, 2001, Leslie’s world changed forever. She made a terrifying escape down 36 flights of stairs. Though she made it out alive, her nightmare was just beginning. Leslie shares her courageous struggle for survival out of the ashes of 9/11. And in her new book, God Has Not Forgotten About You, she’ll share a message of hope and how through adversity you can emerge victorious. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GUEST: LESLIE HASKIN KRISTI WATTS: Please welcome back to The 700 Club the author of God Has Not Forgotten About You, Leslie Haskin. Thank you so much for being here today. Leslie Haskin: Thank you. KRISTI WATTS: How are you feeling? How are you feeling on this particular day? Leslie Haskin: This is a tough day. It’s tough, but I’m feeling good. KRISTI WATTS: Yes. I read your book last night. And I’ve got to tell you, it completely changed my perspective, because I wasn’t there. I was here in Virginia Beach. And my recollection of it is new clips and the buildings coming down and the concepts of the terrorists. But you were there right in the middle of it, and your perspective is quite different. Can you share a little bit about that with us? Leslie Haskin: Well, I think, like you said, everybody has their stories. Everybody can remember exactly where they were on that day and exactly what they were doing. And for those of us who were inside, it’s a different perspective altogether. I thought as I was writing, what you saw in this book is I thought people needed to know what really happened. There was chaos, and there was a lot of death and a lot of destruction. But God was in the middle of that, too. God was there for us. And there were beautiful, miraculous stories that happened in the middle of all of that. And I thought it was important to share that. KRISTI WATTS: Before we get to that, if it’s not too hard, and I’m even fragile even asking you this question . . . Leslie Haskin: Don’t be. Don’t be. KRISTI WATTS: Can you tell me through your eyes what you saw, through your nose what you smelled, your senses? Can you take me there a little bit? Leslie Haskin: From the moment that the plane hit the building, everything was simultaneous. Everything happened at the same time. By that, I mean there was sound. We heard the explosion, and we smelled the smoke at the same time. Everything became one sense. It wasn’t hear this, taste this, smell this. It was all at once. Even the dust that settled sometimes in my mouth or the smoke or the smell of the burning hair, the sounds, the different random explosions, the screams, the prayers that were going up, because people were praying, and people were crying, and people were screaming, and there was talking. And it all blended. It was all just one sound, one impact, just one sense. It was sensory overload. So it’s hard to separate it at this point. KRISTI WATTS: What are some of the things that you saw? Leslie Haskin: Well, we saw the jumpers. We saw at the concourse there were piles of bodies, and where elevators had fallen. There was blood everywhere. There were people just curled up in the fetal position, just from shock, not able to move. There were also people who were running to assist them, taking off their jackets and covering people who were burning. I remember specifically a woman coming down the stairs and the flesh was just literally hanging from her body. And I remember look at her and realizing and thinking how fragile and how thin flesh actually is. And without getting into too much of the really hard detail for people, I think that those things that we see in the movies and the worst that you can imagine, it was the worst that you can imagine seeing. We went there that morning, Kristi, expecting to go to work. We put on our clothes, and we probably—knowing me, I probably complained about something and grabbed my briefcase and went off to work expecting to do work. But when I got there, I found that I actually went off to war. We weren’t expecting what we saw. And we saw everything that you imagined that we were seeing there. KRISTI WATTS: I’m going to fast forward greatly, because unfortunately our time is always limited. You were one of the blessed ones who got out. But even though your physical body was out, you were still trapped emotionally with fear in different things and even had to go into a psych ward. But the Lord helped you. How did He help you? What did the Lord do for you that allows you to sit where you are today with a sound mind and a sound body? Leslie Haskin: I’m going to say this quickly. I went from a high six-figure income to being homeless with my son, who was 13 at the time. And we had no place to go. I was diagnosed with severe post traumatic stress disorder. I couldn’t even speak. I had a stutter and the doctor said, “She’s never going to recover to a productive state of mind.” My son, again, who was 13 years old at the time, was going to Goodwill Church in Montgomery. And he introduced me to the Lord, and the transformation began. I just started to inhale this relationship with Jesus Christ, and He began to reveal to me the Leslie of His vision, giving me a new mind and a new way to live and to think and to even love. I learned how to love. I learned how to breathe when I met Him. And when He comes in and He teaches you to breathe and He teaches you to love, everything around you and in you changes. KRISTI WATTS: Leslie, I want to talk about the how. I want to talk about the how, because maybe there are many people who have never even been in that building or who haven’t experienced the trauma that you’ve experienced, but they have gone through some extraordinary lows in their life and adverse circumstances in their life. And they don’t know how they can be free. Help us to understand how the Lord set you free. Leslie Haskin: The first step is to stop. We want to fix things. When we pray, and this is probably the hardest part, when we pray and we ask God to do something, to heal us, “Lord, deliver me. Set me free,” we think that there is a next step for us, that, “Now, I’ve prayed, and I’ve got to do something.” And that’s not biblical. He wants us to stop. I prayed, and butterflies didn’t start landing on my hand. The birds weren’t singing outside my window. It wasn’t a beautiful day the next day. I woke up the next day, and I was still a hot mess. I was still scared. My hair was probably all over the place. But I was still, and I went to Him, and I was honest with Him. And that’s where it starts, with an honest heart and an honest seeking and then listening. Conversation is about speaking and listening. I talked to Him. I listened to Him. And as I did, He spoke to me. And I heard Him. He spoke to me through His Word. He spoke to me through children, a little guy at the pizza shop, through my pastor, my son. God, when He starts talking, He starts talking all around you, if you pay attention. If you stop trying to fix it yourself and start paying attention, you’ll hear Him. And as you do, as I said, He starts to change things. So that’s what I say to everybody. Just stop. Wait to hear from Him. And when you hear His voice and when He tells you what to do, do it. Do it. KRISTI WATTS: Let’s talk about the renewing of your mind, because even though you’re physically out of a situation, you’re physically out of the trauma, your mind can replay things over and over and over and over and over again. And that’s something that you suffered with, with nightmares and the posttraumatic syndrome. What did the Lord do for you and how is He continuing to help you with the healing of that? Leslie Haskin: I have posttraumatic stress disorder. So getting on that airplane yesterday was tough for me. Today is a tough day for me. My friend Shannon is here with me, and my family and everybody is praying for me. What God does is He frees us. Do I have posttraumatic stress disorder? Yes, I do. Do I still have the nightmares? Absolutely. But it does not limit my life. I trust God. I know that He is bigger than that. And so He prepares me to go through it and get through it. So I know, yes, I’m going to have this nightmare. But I’m not going to stop there. The nightmare, the posttraumatic stress disorder, is not the extent of my life. I live every day as authentically before the Lord as I can. So I may have a good day today. Tomorrow may be a bad day. But it’s okay, because it’s all in this all encompassing journey that’s going to take me to Him. And that makes it all worth it. So all of this stuff, it’s just stuff that I get to talk about when I get to Heaven and say, “Lord, do you remember?” So it’s all good. It has to be. We have to keep it in perspective and say, “I’m just living this right now. This is a temporary thing. It’s not bigger than God.” And I’m a woman. I like to talk. So, yes. KRISTI WATTS: Me, too, girl. Leslie Haskin: So tomorrow it just gives me something else to talk about. KRISTI WATTS: It’s interesting, we’re talking about the Lord and how He has healed you and how He continues to heal you, as many others. There are a lot of people out there who say, “But you know what, I don’t understand a God who would allow something like this to happen.” What would you say to that person? Leslie Haskin: I’d say, “You don’t know God.” Sometimes we have to live our consequences, the consequences of our choices. But He redeems us from even the bad choices. We do things, and it’s like a reflex action. If you hit somebody with a baseball bat, it’s going to hurt that person. That doesn’t mean that God won’t be there at the moment of impact to help heal the pain and the suffering through that. That’s who our God is. He loves us, and He redeems us from our bad choices. What happened on 9/11 was a bad choice, worse than that. I’m not making it small. But somebody made a choice to kill. Somebody made a choice to destroy. And we are all living the consequences of that choice with God’s help. He redeems it. He’s taking some good things and making good things happen. People are getting to know that God is bigger than that. If I did not live through that, I would never know that God could heal even after something that big. If I didn’t have or suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, then I could never sit here with 100 percent certainty and say, “God is bigger than even PTSD, and He can heal that.” KRISTI WATTS: Absolutely. Leslie Haskin: We need to live our journeys completely in order to know and earn and love and just absorb our lessons from those journeys. KRISTI WATTS: Incredible. Well, you’ve written two books: the first one, Between Heaven and Ground Zero, and your recent one, which is God Has Not Forgotten About You. Now, I know we only have a couple of seconds left. What is the basic premise of this book? What is the heart of this book? Leslie Haskin: Exactly what it says. KRISTI WATTS: Which is? Leslie Haskin: God has not forgotten about you. Wherever you are, we may be longsuffering, we may be going through this journey and stretching out, trying to lose weight, trying to find a husband, trying to do this and feeling like sometimes God is busy. Stuff is going on. We’re in the middle of a recession. Where is God in all this? He hasn’t forgotten about you. It is personal. He knows exactly where you are, and He is there for you. KRISTI WATTS: Leslie, thank you so much for being here. Leslie Haskin: Thank you so much for having me. KRISTI WATTS: I appreciate you. God bless you. Leslie Haskin: You’re great. Thank you. KRISTI WATTS: The book is called God Has Not Forgotten About You. And her story about surviving the 9/11 attacks is called Between Heaven and Ground Zero. You can get those books nationwide. And I want to encourage you today. I don’t know if you’ve gone through something in your life, whether it was through 9/11 or some other adverse effect in your life, listen, God loves you. He will leave you. He will never forsake you. This is an opportunity that you can say, “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive you as the Lord of my life.” We have counselors who are standing by who would love to talk to you, encourage you. GRAPHIC: 1-800-759-0700 CBN.COM We love you with an everlasting love, just like Jesus Christ. Well, we leave you today with the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28 that says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” God bless you. We love you. And have a phenomenal weekend. Thank you so much for being here. GRAPHIC: COPYRIGHT 2009 CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * END SPOT: YOU WERE THERE TERRY MEEUWSEN: I have the privilege of traveling all over the world and seeing firsthand the life-changing things you make possible through your partnership. Thank you for joining The 700 Club. Here in India, you’re demonstrating the love of God to such wonderful people, most of who are in great need, both physically and spiritually. You’re bringing hope and joy to millions around the world, just like you did for the Chens. Their home was destroyed in an earthquake, leaving them with nothing but heartache. You rebuilt their entire village and restored their dreams as well. Your monthly gift makes it possible to heal the sick, feed the hungry and preach the Gospel, both at home in America and throughout the world. So please watch for this mailing and send in your pledge. Imagine lifting someone’s life out of despair and filling it with hope instead. That’s what you make possible every day, and it only happens because you were there.