Dear Friend: Even though the threats to our freedoms were as fierce as I've ever seen this year, I am amazed. Look at the victories and blessings we've accomplished this year, by God's grace and with your support. Below are just a few of the victories the Lord has enabled us to accomplish together: In the Courts We won our third landmark case on religious freedom in the past three years at the Texas Supreme Court - this time protecting all churches in an opinion that national experts hailed as "groundbreaking". We won the first written decision from the IRS for pastors and churches nationwide in over a decade, explicitly protecting pastors' rights to speak to the political issues of the day and equip their congregants to vote their values. We argued, along with the Texas Solicitor General, at the Federal Court of Appeals to defend the Texas Moment of Silence law, and we won! Now, we're fighting again at federal appeals to defend the words "under God" in the Texas pledge in a lawsuit brought by an atheist plaintiff. And there's more- our brief was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Summum case; we've won numerous victories for churches literally being banned from existing; we represent Hannah Giles, who has been sued by ACORN; we represent all the major veterans groups in the Mojave Desert Cross case at the U.S. Supreme Court; and, we represent Houston City Councilwoman, Ann Clutterbuck, in a lawsuit brought to try to ban prayers at city council meetings. And there's much more... In the Legislature We won the major battle at our State Board of Education, stopping the liberal attempt to strip our students of academic freedom and their right to test the strengths and weaknesses of all scientific theories, including evolution. We led the charge, reversing the State Board of Education committee decision to remove Christmas from the coverage of religious holidays in our Social Studies books and standards. We won a last-minute veto from the Governor on a frightening bill which would have changed the Texas law on parental rights to allow government officials to take away and interrogate anyone's children with no notice or requirement of "just cause." In the Media/Culture We were featured in over 2,000 interviews and stories this year including O'Reilly, Hannity, ABC National News, CNN, the New York Times, C-SPAN, the front page of the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and many, many other national and local media. We held two major press conferences at the National Press Club as well as others outside the U.S. Supreme Court including the Mojave Desert Memorial case where the ACLU is attacking the cross and our veterans' memorials nationwide. We launched www.donttearmedown.com leading to more than two million views of our video and to interviews reaching 10 million through radio and t.v. alone. There is so much more I don't have room to mention. Although the battles keep mounting, we are making a huge impact. If you participated by supporting these victories, thank you! May the Lord bless you at this time of celebrating the birth of the Savior. Merry Christmas, Kelly Shackelford     P.S. Please prayerfully consider making a year-end gift. December is a key time for us and we are in some huge battles. Thank you! Make a Donation to Free Market Foundation Today! Free Market Foundation now accepts non-cash donations, which includes property, vehicles, and stock, among other assets. Have a car you'd like to donate? CLICK HERE to make your donation now!