OJT World Ramble

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Video: Glenn's Speech at CPAC

2010-02-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Video: Glenn's Speech at CPAC

Breaking News: Emergency at Obama's Vacation Home

2009-12-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

Obama makes a mad dash off the golf course today and rushes to his vacation home in a dramatic highspeed motorcade.

It is also being reported that an ambulence was seen speeding to the vacatio home.

No word yet on what is happening.

Ebay Continues to Provide Poor Service

2009-11-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Despite Ebay’s climbing fees, signs of better services for sellers are still nowhere to be found. Ebay has had yet another system failure and posted the following notice on their Technical Announcements section. It reads as follows:

***Issues with Search results and eBay Stores***

November 21, 2009 | 03:28PM PST/PT

Due to errors in some of our backend systems, members may be seeing different errors in Search. This could be that "We were unable to run the search results you entered. Please try again in a few minutes" or a blank page, or simply the browser being unable to display the page.
This is also affecting the ability to access eBay Stores through search directly, and sometimes from the store URL.
Workarounds - Buy It Now Search and Advanced Search
If you use the Advanced Search option at the top of the page, and type in your search query and click the title and description box and then run the search, the results for the title and description search will be returned.
Alternatively, if you receive a 0 results page for title search and click the Buy It Now tab (or choose the title and description box and re-run the search), you'll see the (Buy It Now or title and description) results for your search query.
Please note that we are working as quickly as possible to get this resolved. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work to resolve this. http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200911211528031.html

Notice that there is not mention of credits to sellers even though most of their listings will not be searchable during this failure. This means if an auction only has one bid during this time the seller is out of luck. Ebay decided to start their maintenance during their 2nd busiest day of the week. This is just one example of the poor service that you get with ebay.
Sellers are looking to other places to sell and if Ebay does not wake up soon they will have no sellers left except listings for fake gold jewelry and knock-off Uggs and Coach items from China.

SEIU Members Beat Up a Black Conservitive and Call Him a N****R

2009-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Obama has still not addressed the fact that his beloved SEIU has been committing these acts of thuggary across the country.

SEIU Bullies Boy Scout

2009-11-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over several weeks to clear a walking path in an east Allentown park.

Little did the do-gooder know that his altruistic act would put him in the cross hairs of the city’s largest municipal union.

Nick Balzano, president of the local Service Employees International Union,
told Allentown City Council Tuesday that the union is considering filing a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to clear a 1,000-foot walking and biking path at Kimmets Lock Park.

“We’ll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails,” Balzano told the council.

Balzano said Saturday he isn’t targeting Boy Scouts. But given the city’s decision in July to lay off 39 SEIU members, Balzano said “there’s to be no volunteers.” No one except union members may pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a walking path.

Full Story Here

We The People

2009-08-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Obama Wants You to Snitch on Your Neighbors

2009-08-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Do you remember learning in history about how the media was used in Hitler's erra to control the citizens of Germany. Everyone was scared of the Nazi's and was encouraged to turn in their neighbors, friends and even family if they disagreed with Hitler's policies.

Do you remember thinking how could this happen? How many times have you heard "Never Again!!!!".

Well, the following statement can be read on the official white house site.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov. "http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

Is it me or is this statement the thing that is "fishy". What will they do with these collections of e-mails, and e-mail addresses. The White House seems to be trying to erase all of its opposition. This was also seen recently when 10,000 people showed up to protest the governments recenct spending sprees and then was reported as a couple hundred people. They are trying to erase your voice.

Oridinary citizens are speaking out, many for the first times ever showing up at town hall meetings to voice their anger and concerns. These are things that Obama himself organized people to do on the left, but now these same very things are being said to just being planted by the rich right. They are trying to belittle and discredit anyone who speaks out.

Don't sit quietly and let this snowball into a full fledged attack against your freedom.

White Folks Are Going To Riot and I'm Going to Join Them

2009-07-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of being called a racist every time you disagree with Obama's policy. I sure am! I actually had goosbumps hearing Rev. Manning (A black preacher in Harlem) share his views on Obama and what is going on in the white house. I never heard of Rev. Manning before today, but you can bet I'll be listening to him in the future.

http://www.resistnet.com/group/mississippiresistance/forum/topics/white-folks-gonna-riot-and-im

Government Takeover

2009-04-16T14:05:00.001-07:00

If tens of thousands of people, republicans, democrats, and independents all across the country held protests against the government, wouldn’t it be strange if the news media suspiciously did not report it? That is precisely what is happening now. Yesterday people all over the country gathered in protest of the government passing a major spending bill without even reading it. It was called the anti-tax tea party. Even small towns in the middle of rural areas gathered together by the thousands in front of their municipal buildings, yet, not a peep from most news agencies. The few news agencies that did report it gave distorted accounts of what took place at these protests.
I have only read of such times when the news agencies actually censored the people, and that was during the days of Hitler. I am not saying that Obama is Hitler, please don’t confuse my words. I am just saying that there is something wrong when most news media’s seem to be afraid to report what is happening.
Nancy Pelosi, dismissed the protests as “Rich Folk’s Whining”. As one of the people standing in those crowds I can assure you that I am far from rich and while I did not ask the people standing next to me for their bank statements I can pretty much bet that they were not rich either. Could Nancy Pelosi be that ignorant or is she deliberately trying to deceive the uneducated people that actually voted for her.
We have some rough times ahead and people need to wake up to what is beginning to take place. The government is systematically trying to take over your life, and the uneducated, uninformed are blindly assisting them in the process.

Bristol Palin & Levi Johnston Breakup

2009-03-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Bristol Palin (Sarah Palin's daughter), and Levi Johnston have decided to call it quits. Despite the fact that the two teens recently had a child together, it is being reported that the two have broken things off.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRISTOL_PALIN?SITE=ALANN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Stimulous Package is a Fraud

2009-02-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

The Stimulous package is nothing more than an attempt by Pelosi & others to "pay off" their special interests groups that have backed and supported them. Americans need to wake up and take a stand against such irresponsible government.

This is your money they are taking and they will continue to do so unless you make your voice heard.

Transcript: Obama Inauguration Speech January 20, 2009

2009-01-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Breaking News - Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compen To Be Freed ! ! !

2009-01-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

President Bush suprises many with a last minute decision to have the prison terms of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compeon commuted. He will not be issuing a full pardon, which means that the charges will still remain on their records but they WILL be released from prison.

Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively, for shooting at fleeing drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila in an incident on the Texas border with Mexico on Feb. 17, 2005.

Gay Marriage Supporters Spit on Children in Church

2008-11-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

Imagine this… you are sitting in your church with your small children. Heads are bowed as your pastor leads prayer for the new president elect… when all of a sudden large groups of people come violently thru the doors screaming profanities, spitting on your children, while engaging in sexual acts right before your eyes. That is exactly what happened this past weekend at Mount Hope Church in Lansing, Mich Sunday.

This vulgar protest was organized by a group that calls themselves "Bush Backers".

http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2008/11/10/13335/904

Obama dishonors long held american tradition

2008-11-11T10:47:00.001-08:00

Not even sworn yet, President Elect Obama, has dishonored a long tradition of private discussions between current president and president elect. Just hours after private discussions were taken place between Obama and Bush, distorted details of the conversation were leaked to the press. Despite views of Bush’s record, he has been going out of his way to extend a gracious hand to President Elect Obama to help make his transition as smooth as possible. Obama however, has been able to keep his private conversations with Hamas leaders hush hush.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/11/obama-urges-bush-help-auto-indusstry/

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80730

Obama Secret Hamas Meetings

2008-11-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Why would Obama request that Hamas keep their conversations secret until after the election?

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80730

Obama Boots NY POST, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, WASHINGTON TIMES From His Plane

2008-10-31T18:48:00.001-07:00

What do the NY Post, Dallas Morning News, and the Washington Times have in common besides the fact that they were booted from Obama's plane? They all have endorsed John McCain. Is it a coincidence that these three were told to be off the plane by Sunday?

Obama's campaign says that it is simply because they need the room for different reporters. But why these three papers? This has not been the first time that Obama has tried to "punish" reporters that do not report the way he wants. Earlier in October his campaign cancelled interviews with a Florida news station after being asked questions that they did not approve of. There are also threatening letters by Obama's team of lawyers sent out to stations that play ads against them. They lawyers backed off when the governor went public and basically said to back off with their intimidation tactics.

What will our country become when the news agencies, bloggers, and even private citizens like "Joe the Plumber" have to live in fear of being "punished" if they do not report what the leaders of the country want them to report. No matter which party you belong to this is something that all citizens should be concerned about.

Obama's Half Hour Special

2008-10-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

I don't think that anyone can disagree that the issues mentioned Obama's half hour special touch each and every american. The major difference that seperates everyone is who we believe can fix these problems.

What people don't seem to understand is that it was Clinton who de-regulated the housing loan system. McCain fought to put these regulations back into place. The democrats rejected the claims that a crisis was coming. Boom... here we are in the middle of a crisis caused by the failure fannie mae and freddie mac. Unfortunately no one follows what goes on in congress so its easier to be swayed by catchy phrases and campaign marketing strategies.

I saw a comment above stating they wondered if McCain would a similar ad. McCain's campaign cannot afford to do these ad's because McCain is a man of his word and had agreed to take public financing. Obama made the same promise but broke his promise to the american people because winnning was more important than his word.

Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America

2008-10-26T18:56:00.001-07:00

What will the United States be like if Senator Obama is elected? The most reliable way

of predicting people's future actions is by looking at their past actions. Jesus himself

taught, "You will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). Anyone who has hired

employees knows that – the best predictor of a person's future job performance is not

what he tells you he can do but what he has actually done in the past.

So here is a picture of the changes that are likely or at least very possible if Senator

Obama is elected and the far-Left segments of the Democratic Party gain control of the

White House, the Congress, and perhaps then the Supreme Court. The entire letter is

written as a "What if?" exercise, but that does not make it empty speculation, because

every future "event" described here is based on established legal and political trends that

can be abundantly documented and that only need a "tipping point" such as the election

of Senator Obama and a Democratic House and Senate to begin to put them into place.

Every past event named in this letter (everything prior to October 22, 2008) is established

fact.

This letter is not "predicting" that all of the imaginative future "events" named in this letter

will happen. But it is saying that each one of these changes could happen and also that

each change would be the natural outcome of (a) published legal opinions by liberal

judges, (b) trends seen in states with liberal-dominated courts such as California and

Massachusetts, (c) recent promises, practices and legislative initiatives of the current

liberal leadership of the Democratic Party and (d) Senator Obama's actions, voting record

and public promises to the far-Left groups that won the nomination for him.

Many of these changes, if they occur, will have significant implications for Christians. This

letter is addressed particularly to their concerns so they will be aware of what is at stake

before the November 4 election.

Some will respond to this letter by saying, "Well, I hope hardship and even persecution

come to the church. It will strengthen the church!" But hoping for suffering is wrong. It is

similar to saying, "I hope I get some serious illness because it will strengthen my faith."

Jesus taught us to pray the opposite: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from

evil" (Matt. 6:13). Paul urged us to pray not for persecution but "for kings and all who are

in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every

way" (1 Tim. 2:2). So Christians should hope and pray that such difficult times do not

come. But if they do come, then it will be right to trust God to bring good out of them and

also bring them to an end.

Of course, there are many evangelical Christians supporting Senator Obama as well as

many supporting Senator McCain. Christians on both sides should continue to respect

and cherish one another's friendship as well as the freedom people have in the United

States to differ on these issues and to freely speak their opinions about them to one

another.

October 22, 2012

Dear friends,

I can hardly sing "The Star Spangled Banner" any more. When I hear the words,

O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

I get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Now in October of 2012, after seeing what

has happened in the last four years, I don't think I can still answer, "Yes," to that question. We

are not "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Many of our freedoms have been taken

away by a liberal Supreme Court and a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate,

and hardly any brave citizen dares to resist the new government policies any more.

The 2008 election was closer than anybody expected, but Barack Obama still won. Many

Christians voted for Obama – younger evangelicals actually provided him with the needed

margin to defeat John McCain – but they didn't think he would really follow through on the far-

Left policies that had marked his career. They were wrong.

The Supreme Court

On January 20, 2009, President Obama's inauguration went smoothly, and he spoke

eloquently of reaching out to Republicans who would work with him. Even in the next month,

when Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens announced they would step down

from the Supreme Court, nobody was very surprised – Ginsburg was already 75 years-old and in

ill health,1 and Stevens was 88. President Obama nominated two far-Left, American Civil

Liberties Union-oriented judges, and the Democratic Senate confirmed them quickly. They are

brilliant, articulate and in their early 40s, so they can expect to stay on the court for 30 or 40

years. But things seemed the same because the court retained its 4-4 split between liberals and

conservatives, with Justice Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote.

The decisive changes on the Supreme Court started in June, when Justice Kennedy

resigned – he was 72 and had grown weary of the unrelenting responsibility. His replacement –

another young liberal Obama appointment – gave a 5-4 majority to justices who were eager to

create laws from the bench. The four conservative justices who remained — John Roberts,

Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — were suddenly in the minority.

Then in August 2009, two months after Kennedy resigned, Justice Scalia unexpectedly

announced his resignation due to health reasons and by October 2009 another Obama

appointment took his oath and joined the court.

1 "Election could decide fate of Roe, other big court issues," USA Today, October 6, 2008.

The three remaining conservatives (known as "originalists" because they hold that the

meaning of the Constitution is its "original public meaning") kept objecting that the role of the

Supreme Court should not be to create laws but only to interpret the Constitution and the laws

that had been passed by Congress and the state legislatures. But the six liberal justices paid no

attention. They decided cases in light of their understanding of the needs of society, and they

took more and more precedents not from the U. S. Constitution but from international laws.

From the end of 2009, Justices Roberts, Thomas, and Alito have been constantly outvoted 6-3,

and they are essentially powerless. It might be 20 or 30 years before enough new appointments

could be made to change the far-Left dominance of the Supreme Court.

Finally the far-Left had the highest prize: complete control of the Supreme Court. And

they set about quickly to expedite cases by which they would enact the entire agenda of the far

Left in American politics – everything they had hoped for and more took just a few key

decisions.

Same-sex "marriage"

The most far-reaching transformation of American society came from the Supreme

Court's stunning affirmation, in early 2010, that homosexual "marriage" was a "constitutional"

right that had to be respected by all 50 states because laws barring same-sex "marriage" violated

the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Suddenly, homosexual "marriage" was the

law of the land in all 50 states, and no state legislature, no state Supreme Court, no state

Constitutional amendment, not even Congress, had any power to change it. The Supreme Court

had ruled, and the discussion was over. This was a blatant example of creating law by the court,

for homosexual "marriage" was mentioned nowhere in the Constitution, nor would any of the

authors have imagined that same-sex "marriage" could be derived from their words. But it just

followed the precedents that had been set by state supreme courts in Massachusetts (2003),2

California (2008)3 and Connecticut (2008).4

President Obama repeated his declaration that he personally was against same-sex

"marriage", but he told the nation there was nothing he could do. The Supreme Court had ruled,

and it was now the law of the land. The president asked the nation to support the decision.

After that decision, many other policies changed, and several previous Supreme Court

cases were reversed rather quickly — raising the question, "Is America still the land of the free?"

(1) Boy Scouts: "The land of the free"? The Boy Scouts no longer exist as an

organization. They chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the Supreme Court decision

that they would have to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with

young boys. (This was to be expected with a change in the court, since the 2000 decision Boy

Scouts of America v. Dale, which affirmed the right of the Boy Scouts as a private organization

2 Goodridge v. Department of Health, decided by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, November 18, 2003.

3 In re: Marriage Cases, decided by the California State Supreme Court, May 15, 2008.

4 Kerrigan v, Commissioner of Public Health, decided by the Connecticut State Supreme Court, October 10, 2008.

to dismiss a homosexual scoutmaster, was a 5-4 decision, with Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter and

Breyer dissenting even then.) 5

It had become increasingly difficult for the Boy Scouts to find meeting places anyway,

because in 2009 Congress passed and President Obama signed an expansion of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964, which extended federal civil rights protections to people engaging in homosexual

behavior. So the Boy Scouts had already been kicked out of all public facilities.

(2) Elementary schools: "The land of the free"? Elementary schools now include

compulsory training in varieties of gender identity in Grade 1, including the goodness of

homosexuality as one possible personal choice. Many parents tried to "opt out" their children

from such sessions, but the courts have ruled they cannot do this, noting that education experts in

the government have decided that such training is essential to children's psychological health.

Many Christian teachers objected to teaching first-graders that homosexual behavior was

morally neutral and equal to heterosexuality. They said it violated their consciences to have to

teach something the Bible viewed as morally wrong. But state after state ruled that their refusal

to teach positively about homosexuality was the equivalent of hate speech, and they had to teach

it or be fired. Tens of thousands of Christian teachers either quit or were fired, and there are

hardly any evangelical teachers in public schools any more.

Non-Christians found this hard to understand. "Why not just teach what the school says

even if it's not your personal opinion? So what? We can't have every teacher deciding what he

or she wants to teach, can we?"

But the Christian teachers kept coming back to something Jesus said: "Whoever causes

one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great

millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

And they quit by the thousands, no matter the personal cost, rather than commit what they

believed to be a direct sin against God.

In addition, many private Christian schools decided to shut down after the Supreme Court

ruled that anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation extended to private institutions

such as schools,6 and that private schools also had to obey the law and teach that homosexuality

and heterosexuality are both morally good choices.

(3) Adoption agencies: "The land of the free"? There are no more Roman Catholic or

evangelical Protestant adoption agencies in the United States. Following earlier rulings in New

York 7and Massachusetts,8 the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 ruled that these agencies had to agree

to place children with homosexual couples or lose their licenses. Just as the Catholic Charities

adoption agency had closed down for this reason in Massachusetts in 2006,9 so all similar

agencies across the United States have now closed down rather than violate their consciences

about the moral wrong of homosexual behavior.

Christian parents seeking to adopt have tried going through secular adoption agencies,

but they are increasingly excluding parents with "narrow" or dangerous views on religion or

homosexuality.

5 Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, decided by the United States Supreme Court, June 28, 2000.

6 Maggie Gallagher, "Banned in Boston," The Weekly Standard, May 15, 2006

7 http://www.adopthelp.com/alternativeadoptions/alternatives2.html

8 Gallagher, op.cit

9 Patricia Wen, "Catholic Charities stuns state, ends adoptions," Boston Globe March 11, 2006

(4) Businesses with government contracts: "The land of the free"? All businesses that

have government contracts at the national, state or local level now have to provide

documentation of equal benefits for same-sex couples. This was needed to overcome "systemic

discrimination" against them and followed on a national level the pattern of policies already in

place in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.10

(5) Public broadcasting: "The land of the free"? The Bible can no longer be freely

preached over radio or television stations when the subject matter includes such "offensive"

doctrines as criticizing homosexual behavior. The Supreme Court agreed that these could be kept

off the air as prohibited "hate speech" that is likely to incite violence and discrimination. These

policies followed broadcasting and print restrictions that were in place prior to 2008 in Canada11

and Sweden.12

(6) Doctors and lawyers: "The land of the free"? Physicians who refuse to provide

artificial insemination for lesbian couples now face significant fines or loss of their license to

practice medicine, following the reasoning of a decision of the California Supreme Court in

North Coast Women's Care Medical Group v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Benitez),

which was announced August 18, 2008.13 As a result, many Christian physicians have retired or

left the practices of family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology. Lawyers who refuse to handle

adoption cases for same-sex couples similarly now lose their licenses to practice law.

(7) Counselors and social workers: "The land of the free"? All other professionals who

are licensed by individual states are also prohibited from discriminating against homosexuals.

Social workers and counselors, even counselors in church staff positions, who refuse to provide

"professional, appropriately nurturing marriage counseling" for homosexual couples lose their

counseling licenses.14 Thousands of Christians have left these professions as a result.

(8) Homosexual weddings: "The land of the free"? Church buildings are now considered

a "public accommodation" by the Supreme Court, and churches have no freedom to refuse to

allow their buildings to be used for wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples. If they refuse,

they lose their tax-exempt status, and they are increasingly becoming subject to fines and antidiscrimination

lawsuits.15

(9) Homosexual church staff members: "The land of the free"? While churches are still

free to turn down homosexual applicants for the job of senior pastor, churches and parachurch

organizations are no longer free to reject homosexual applicants for staff positions such as parttime

youth pastor or director of counseling. Those that have rejected homosexual applicants have

had their tax-exempt status revoked, and now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

has begun to impose heavy fines for each instance of such "discrimination," which, they say, is

"contrary to the U.S. Constitution as defined by the Supreme Court." These fines follow the

10 http://www.azpolicy.org/pdf/GFI/H4HomosexualDomesticPartnerBenefits.pdf

11 John Henry Weston, "Canadian Broadcast Regulators: Gay Toronto Radio OK, Catholic Radio No Way"

LifeSite.com, April 6, 2006.

12 Same-Sex "Marriage" and the Fate of Religious Liberty, Heritage Foundation Symposium, May 22, 2008.

13 North Coast Women's Care Medical Group v. Benitez, decided by the California State Supreme Court, August 18,

2008.

14 The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) presently has a case involving a woman who was fired by the Centers for

Disease Control for declining to offer counseling for a same-sex relationship, but referred the client to another

counselor who would help. See Walden v. Centers for Disease Control, filed in federal district court, July 14, 2008.

15 Robert Bluey, "'Marriage' Changes May Shake Churches' Tax Exemptions," CNSNews.com, February 23, 2004.

pattern of a precedent-setting case in February 2008, in which the Diocese of Hereford in the

Church of England was fined $94,000 (47,000 UK pounds) for turning down a homosexual

applicant for a youth ministry position.16

(10) Homosexuals in the military: One change regarding the status of homosexuals did

not wait for any Supreme Court decision. In the first week after his inauguration, President

Obama invited homosexual rights leaders from around the United States to join him at the White

House as he signed an executive order directing all branches of the military to abandon their

"don't ask, don't tell" policy and to start actively recruiting homosexuals.17 As a result,

homosexuals are now given special bonuses for enlisting in military service (to attempt to

compensate for past discrimination), and all new recruits, and all active-duty and reserve

personnel, are compelled to take many hours of "sensitivity training" to ensure they demonstrate

positive attitudes toward those with different sexual orientations and practices. Any one who

seems hesitant or who objects is routinely passed over for promotion. In addition, any chaplain

who holds to an interpretation of Scripture that homosexual conduct is morally wrong and

therefore does not espouse "mainstream values," is dismissed from the military.18 This is not "the

land of the free" for them.

Religious speech in the public square

(11) High schools: "The land of the free"? High schools are no longer free to allow "See

You at the Pole" meetings where students pray together, or any student Bible studies even before

or after school. The Supreme Court ruled this is considered speech that is both "proselytizing"

and involves "worship," special categories of speech which, as liberal Justice John Paul Stevens

argued in his dissent in Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001), should not be

allowed in public schools, since it is in a different category from other kinds of speech.19 (Justice

Souter filed a similar dissent, which Justice Ginsburg joined). The new 6-3 liberal majority on

the Supreme Court followed his reasoning and outlawed any use of school property for any kind

of religious meeting, even outside of normal school hours. In addition, Christian students cannot

raise religious objections to curriculum material that promotes homosexual behavior.

(12) Church use of school property: "The land of the free"? Tens of thousands of young

churches suddenly had no place to meet when the Supreme Court ruled that public schools in all

50 states had to stop allowing churches to rent their facilities — even on Sundays, when school

was not in session. The court said this was an unconstitutional use of government property for a

religious purpose. Most of these churches have been unable to find any suitable place to meet.

Public libraries and public parks are similarly excluded from allowing churches to use their

facilities. Once again, the reasoning of liberal Justices Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg in 2001 in

Good News Club (see above) was able to garner 6-3 support with the new court.

(13) Campus ministries: "The land of the free"? Campus organizations such as Campus

Crusade for Christ, InterVarsity, Navigators, Baptist Campus Ministry, and Reformed University

Fellowship have shrunk to skeleton organizations, and in many states they have ceased to exist.

16 See http://www.christian.org.uk/news/20080212/47000-fine-for-bishop-sued-by-homosexual-youth-worker/

17 See http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/10/obama.gay.ap/index.html

18 See http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/03/politics/main2057198.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2057198

19 Good News Club v. Milford Central Schools, dissent written by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, June 11,

2001.

After the Supreme Court ruled that "proselytizing" speech and "worship" speech did not have the

same First Amendment protection as other speech, and after it declared same-sex "marriage" to

be the law of the United States, a subsequent Supreme Court decision predictably ruled that

universities had to prohibit campus organizations that promote "hate speech" and have

discriminatory policies. Therefore these Christian ministries have been prohibited from use of

campus buildings, campus bulletin boards, advertising in campus newspapers, and use of

dormitory rooms or common rooms for Bible studies.20 Their staff members are no longer

allowed on university property. The only ministries allowed to function on campuses are "nondiscriminatory"

ministries that agree to allow practicing homosexuals and members of other

religions on their governing boards. With the new Supreme Court appointed by President

Obama, the long years of liberal opposition to these evangelical ministries finally bore fruit, and

only liberal ministries are left on campuses.

(14) Pledge of Allegiance: "The land of the free"? Public school teachers are no longer

free to lead students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States. The 9th Circuit

U. S. Court of Appeals heard a new challenge to the phrase "under God" in the Pledge, and, as it

had in 2002 in Newdow v. United States Congress, Elk Grove Unified School District, et al., it

held the wording to be unconstitutional. Now the Supreme Court has upheld this decision.

Abortion

(15) Freedom of Choice Act: Congress lost no time in solidifying abortion rights under

President Obama. In fact, Obama had promised, "The first thing I'll do as president is sign the

Freedom of Choice Act" (July 17, 2007, speech to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund).21

This federal law immediately nullified hundreds of state laws that had created even the

slightest barrier to abortion.22 States can no longer require parental involvement for minors who

wish to have an abortion, waiting period, informed consent rules, restrictions on tax-payer

funding or restrictions on late-term abortions. The act reversed the Hyde Amendment, so the

government now funds Medicaid abortions for any reason. As a result, the number of abortions

has increased dramatically. The Freedom of Choice Act also reversed the Partial Birth Abortion

Ban Act of 2003, so infants can be killed outright just seconds before they would be born. States

whose laws were overturned challenged the law in court but it was upheld by the Obama

Supreme Court. "The land of the free"? There is no freedom for these infants who are killed by

the millions.

(16) Nurses and abortions: "The land of the free"? Nurses are no longer free to refuse to

participate in abortions for reasons of conscience.23 If they refuse to participate, they lose their

jobs, for they are now failing to comply with federal law. Many Christian nurses have left the

health care field rather than violate their consciences. A number of Christian nurses challenged

their loss of jobs in court, but the Supreme Court ruled that medical professionals do not have the

20 These cases are unfortunately common on many public university campuses. ADF has several examples from

public universities such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rutgers University, University of California-San

Diego, to name just a few.

21 See http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000007601.cfm

22 The Freedom of Choice Act: Endangering Women and Silencing the Voices of Everyday Americans, See

http://www.aul.org/FOCA

23 The Freedom of Choice Act: Endangering Women and Silencing the Voices of Everyday Americans, See

http://www.aul.org/FOCA

freedom to refuse nonessential, elective care on the basis of conscience. In its decision, the

Supreme Court followed the reasoning of the California Supreme Court in the 2008 Benitez case

(see section (6) above).24

(17) Doctors and abortions: "The land of the free"? The same restrictions apply to

doctors: Doctors who refuse to perform abortions can no longer be licensed to deliver babies at

hospitals in any state. As a result, many Christian doctors have left family medicine and

obstetrics, and many have retired.

Pornography

(18) Pornography: "The land of the free"? It's almost impossible to keep children from

seeing pornography. The Supreme Court in 2011 nullified all Federal Communications

Commission restrictions on obscene speech or visual content in radio and television broadcasts.

As a result, television programs at all hours of the day contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts.

The court applied more broadly the "Miller test" from the 1973 decision in Miller v. California,

by which a work could not be found obscene unless "the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious

literary, artistic, political, and scientific value." In the 2011 decision, the court essentially found

that any pornographic work had some measure of "serious artistic value," at least according to

some observers, and thus any censorship of pornographic material was an unconstitutional

restriction on the First Amendment. In addition, all city and county laws restricting pornography

were struck down by this decision. As a result, pornographic magazines are openly displayed in

gas stations, grocery stores and on newsstands (as they have been in some European countries for

several years).

Gun ownership

(19) Guns: "The land of the free"? It is illegal for private citizens to own guns for selfdefense

in eight states, and the number is growing with increasing Democratic control of state

legislatures and governorships. This was the result of a 6-3 Supreme Court decision in which the

court reversed its 5-4 decision that had upheld private gun ownership in District of Columbia v.

Heller (2008).25 In the new decision, a response to test cases from Oregon, Massachusetts, and

Vermont, the court adopted the view of the Second Amendment that had been defended in Heller

by the four liberal justices, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer.26

In this new decision, the court specified that "the right of the people to keep and bear

arms" was limited to that purpose specified in the Second Amendment, namely, to those people

who were part of a "well regulated militia" in the various states. To those who argued that this

view was not the "original intent" of the framers, they pointed to a long history of dispute over

the interpretation of the expression and then said that, in any case, the Constitution was an

"evolving" document that must change with the times, and so what may have been applicable in

1790 need no longer be decisive. Therefore they allowed cities and states to limit gun ownership

24 North Coast, op.cit.

25 District of Columbia v. Heller, decided by the United States Supreme Court, June 26, 2008.

26 Ibid,

to active-duty military personnel and police officers. Citizens in those areas who are discovered

owning guns have been subjected to heavy fines and imprisonment. Inner-city violent crime has

increased dramatically.

Education

(20) Home schooling: "The land of the free"? Parents' freedom to teach their children at

home has been severely restricted. The Supreme Court, to the delight of the National Education

Association, followed the legal reasoning of a February 28, 2008, ruling in Re: Rachel L by the

2nd District Court of Appeal in California (although that ruling was later reversed).27 In the later

case, the Supreme Court declared that home schooling was a violation of state educational

requirements except in cases where the parents (a) had an education certificate from an

accredited state program., (b) agreed to use state-approved textbooks in all courses, and (c)

agreed not to teach their children that homosexual conduct is wrong, or that Jesus is the only way

to God, since these ideas have been found to hinder students' social adjustment and acceptance

of other lifestyles and beliefs, and to run counter to the state's interest in educating its children to

be good citizens. Parents found in violation of this ruling have been subject to prosecutions for

truancy violation, resulting in heavy fines and eventual removal of their children from the

home.28 Thousands of home schooling parents, seeing no alternative in the United States, have

begun to emigrate to other countries, particularly Australia29and New Zealand,30 where home

schooling is still quite prevalent.

President Obama's response to the Supreme Court

After many of these decisions, especially those that restricted religious speech in public

places, President Obama publicly expressed strong personal disapproval of the decision and said

that the Supreme Court had gone far beyond what he ever expected. But he has also stated

repeatedly that he had sworn to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United

States," and, now that the Supreme Court had ruled, he had no choice but to uphold the law, for

these decisions were the law of the land.

Military policy

In his role as commander in chief, President Obama has been reluctant to send our armed

forces to any new overseas commitment.

(21) Iraq: "The home of the brave"? President Obama fulfilled his campaign promise and

began regular withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, completing it in the promised 16 months, by

27 In re; Rachel L, decided by California Court of Appeal, Second District, August 8, 2008.

28 Alan Sears, What began in Germany has come to the U.S.

See http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/issues/religiousfreedom/default.aspx?cid=4431

29 http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/homeschooling-around-the-world-australia-amp-new-zealand

30 http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/homeschooling-around-the-world-australia-amp-new-zealand

April 2010.31 All was peaceful during those months, but then in May 2010, Al-Qaida operatives

from Syria and Iran poured into Iraq and completely overwhelmed the Iraqi security forces. A

Taliban-like oppression has taken over in Iraq, and hundreds of thousands of "American

sympathizers" have been labeled as traitors, imprisoned, tortured, and killed. The number put to

death may soon reach the millions.

Al-Qaida leaders have been emboldened by what they are calling the American "defeat"

and their ranks are swelling in dozens of countries.

(22) Terrorist attacks: "The home of the brave"? President Obama directed U.S.

intelligence services to cease all wiretapping of alleged terrorist phone calls unless they first

obtained a warrant for each case. Terrorists captured overseas, instead of being tried in military

tribunals, are given full trials in the U.S. court system, and they have to be allowed access to a

number of government secrets to prepare their defense.

Since 2009, terrorist bombs have exploded in two large and two small U.S. cities, killing

hundreds, and the entire country is fearful, for no place seems safe. President Obama in each

case has vowed "to pursue and arrest and prosecute those responsible," but no arrests have been

made. However, he has challenged the nation to increase foreign aid to the poorer nations that

were the breeding grounds for terrorism, so people could have an opportunity to escape from the

cycles of poverty and violence in which generations had been trapped.

(23) Russia: "The home of the brave"? As Vice President Joe Biden had predicted on

Oct. 20, 2008, some hostile foreign countries "tested" President Obama in his first few months in

office. 32 The first test came from Russia. In early 2009, they followed the pattern they had begun

in Georgia in 2008 and sent troops to occupy and re-take several Eastern European countries,

starting with the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. President Obama appealed to the United

Nations (UN), taking the same approach he had in his initial statements when Russia invaded

Georgia in August 2008: "Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid

an escalation to full scale war," and "All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability

in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international

community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis,"33 But Russia sits on the

Security Council, and no U.N. action has yet been taken.

Then in the next three years, Russia occupied additional countries that had been previous

Soviet satellite nations, including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, with no

military response from the U.S. or the U.N. NATO heads of state have severely condemned

Russia's actions each time but they could never reach consensus on military action. Liberal

television commentators in both the U.S. and Europe have uniformly expressed deep regret at the

loss of freedom of these countries but have also observed that "the U.S. cannot be the world's

policeman."

President Obama's popularity dropped somewhat after each of these crises, but media

criticism was remarkably muted. And Vice President Joe Biden reminded the nation that on

October 20, 2008, he had predicted that Russia might be one of "four or five scenarios" where an

"international crisis" would arise. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama

like they did John Kennedy," he said. And Obama will have to make "some incredibly tough

31 "Obama Calls Iraq War a 'Dangerous Distraction," CNN.com, July 15, 2008

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/15/obama.iraq/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

32 See http://www.nypost.com/seven/10212008/news/politics/joe_doh_puts_o_in_crisis_mode_134547.htm

33 Barack Obama Statement on Georgia Crisis, August 8, 2008

decisions," and that "it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're

right."34

(24) Latin America: President Obama has also moved to deepen U.S. ties and U.S. trade

with communist regimes in Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, regimes that had long enjoyed the

favor of far-Left factions in the Democratic Party. Several other Latin American countries seem

ready to succumb to insurgent communist revolutionary factions funded and armed by millions

of petrodollars from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

(25) Israel: "The home of the brave"? In mid-2010, Iran launched a nuclear bomb that

exploded in the middle of Tel Aviv, destroying much of that city. They then demanded that Israel

cede huge amounts of territory to the Palestinians, and after an anguished all-night Cabinet

meeting, Israel's prime minister agreed. Israel is reduced to a much smaller country, hardly able

to defend itself, and its future remains uncertain. President Obama said he abhorred what Iran

had done and he hoped the U.N. would unanimously condemn this crime against humanity. He

also declared that the U.S. would be part of any international peacekeeping force if authorized by

the U.N., but the Muslim nations in the U.N. have so far prevented any action.

Health care

(26) Health care systems: The new Congress under President Obama passed a

nationalized "single provider" health care system, in which the U.S. government is the provider

of all health care in the United States, following the pattern of nationalized medicine in the

United Kingdom and Canada. The great benefit is that medical care is now free for everyone -- if

you can get it. Now that health care is free, it seems everybody wants more of it. The waiting list

for prostate cancer surgery is 3 years. The waiting list for ovarian cancer is 2 years. Just as the

Canadian experience had shown prior to 2008 with its nationalized health care, so in the U.S.

only a small number of MRIs are performed — down 90% from 2008 — because they are too

expensive, and they discover more problems that need treatment, so they are almost never

authorized.

(27) Limited care for older Americans: "The land of the free"? Because medical

resources must be rationed carefully by the government, people older than 80 have essentially no

access to hospitals or surgical procedures. Their "duty" is increasingly thought to be to go home

to die, so they don't drain scarce resources from the medical system. Euthanasia is becoming

more and more common.

Taxes, the economy and the poor:

Many Christians who voted for Obama did so because they thought his tax policies were

fairer and his "middle-class tax cuts" would bring the economy out of its 2008 crisis. But once he

took office, he followed the consistent pattern of the Democratic Party and his own record and

asked Congress for a large tax increase. He explained the deficit had grown so large under

President Bush, and the needs of the nation were so great, that we couldn't afford to cut taxes.

And several of Obama's economic policies have hurt the poor because they have

decreased production and increased inflation and unemployment. Here is what happened:

34 ABC News online, Oct. 20, 2008.

(28) Taxes: Tax rates have gone up on personal income, dividends, capital gains,

corporations, and inheritance transfers. The amount of income subject to Social Security tax has

nearly doubled. The effect on the economy has been devastating. We have experienced a

prolonged recession. Everyone has been hurt by this, but the poor have been hurt most. In dozens

of cities, there are no jobs to be found.

It turns out that the people President Obama called "the rich" were not all that rich. They

were just ordinary people who worked hard, saved, and built small businesses that provided jobs

and brought economic growth. They kept inventing new and better ways to produce things and

bring prices down. They produced the goods and services that gave us the highest standard of

living in history. They provided the competition that kept prices low. And the top 50% of earners

were already paying 97% of income taxes collected by the U.S. government in 2006.

President Obama increased their tax burden so much that many business owners decided

they didn't want to work any harder when the government was taking so much away. "The land

of the free?" Not for the most productive workers in the American economy. Just as nearly 2

million citizens in the decade prior to 2008 had moved out of California and New York when

the Democrats had control and kept raising state taxes, many of these entrepreneurs have moved

their money, their factories, and often themselves, overseas. So many jobs have been lost that

welfare rolls have swelled, and President Obama is calling for more taxes to meet the needs of

those without work.

However, Obama's tax bill still included "tax credits" for the lowest 40% of earners, who

were said to "need the most help." Since the bottom 40% were not paying any federal income

taxes in the first place, these "tax cuts" were actually a gigantic redistribution of income, a huge

welfare payment, a way to "spread the wealth around,"35 as Obama told "Joe the Plumber" on

October 13, 2008.

When critics objected that Obama's tax policies were leading to inflation and

unemployment, he responded that our goal should not be merely to increase America's

materialism and wealth and prosperity, but to obtain a more just distribution of wealth, even if it

costs everybody a little to achieve that important goal.

(29) Budget deficit: The federal budget deficit has increased dramatically under President

Obama, in spite of higher tax rates. Increasing tax rates on "the rich" did nothing to reduce the

deficit because the economy shrank so much with reduced investment that the total dollars

collected in taxes actually decreased — even though most people's tax rate is now higher. As

numerous economists had predicted, higher tax rates meant that the government took in less

money. When reporters asked Obama why he still favored higher taxes on the rich when it

brought in no more money, he replied that it was important that the rich pay their fair share.

(30) Union organizing: "The land of the free"? In 2009, Congress passed and President

Obama quickly signed a "card check" program that nullified the requirement for secret ballots

when voting on whether workers wanted a union shop.36 Now the union has to get signatures

from a majority of workers in any business, and unions around the country are using strong-arm

tactics to intimidate anyone who stands in their way. Several industries are completely

unionized, and prices of goods produced by those industries have shot up as a result.

(31) Energy: World demand for oil continues to climb, and prices keep going up, but

President Obama for four years has refused to allow additional drilling for oil in the United

35 "Obama to Plumber: My Plan Will 'Spread the Wealth Around'", Fox News.com. October 13, 2008.

Seehttp://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/13/obama-plumber-plan-spread-wealth/comments/

36 Donald Lambro, "Obama supports union organizing," Washington Times, July 31, 2008.

States or offshore. Gas costs more than $7 per gallon, and many Democrats openly applaud this,

since high prices reduce oil consumption and thus reduce carbon dioxide output. But working

Americans are hit hard by these costs.

Nuclear energy would provide a substitute for oil in some cases, and could generate

electricity to power electric cars, but environmentalist legal challenges have prevented the

construction of nuclear plants, and the courts have been leaning so far in a pro-environmentalist

direction that nobody expects the construction of nuclear plants for several decades, if ever.

Obama keeps reminding people we cannot guarantee it will be safe.

As for coal, President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to

implement strict new carbon emission standards that drove many coal-powered electric plants

out of business. The country has less total electric power available than in 2008, and periodic

blackouts to conserve energy occur on a regular schedule throughout the nation. The price of

electricity has tripled in places like California, which also faces rolling blackouts during peak

energy periods. The impact on our economy, and our homes, has been devastating.

Talk radio

Through the actions of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress,

Democrats were able to largely silence the largest source of conservative opposition: talk radio.

(32) Fairness Doctrine: "The land of the free"? By the summer of 2009, the five-member

FCC was controlled by Democratic appointees – including a chairman appointed by President

Obama. The "Fairness Doctrine" became a topic of FCC consideration following pressure from

Democratic congressional leaders who initially did not have sufficient votes to pass the measure.

The FCC quickly implemented the "Fairness Doctrine," which requires that radio stations

provide "equal time" for alternative views on political or policy issues.

As a result, all radio stations have to provide equal time to contrasting views for every

political or policy-related program they broadcast by talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Laura

Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Dennis Prager, Janet Parshall, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt, and

broadcasters like Dr. James Dobson. Every conservative talk show is followed by an instant

rebuttal to the program by a liberal "watchdog" group. Many listeners gave up in frustration,

advertising (and donation) revenues dropped dramatically, and nearly all conservative stations

have gone out of business or switched to alternative formats such as country or gospel or other

music. Conservative talk radio, for all intents and purposes, was shut down by the end of 2010.

In order to solidify the Fairness Doctrine at the FCC, Congress in 2010 passed, and

President Obama signed, legislation making it permanent.

Many legal scholars had predicted the Fairness Doctrine would be declared

unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. But the liberal Obama court upheld it easily. Of course,

this bill fit the deeper purpose of the liberal-Left wing of American politics, which trumps all

other purposes, and that is getting and increasing its power so as to impose its agenda on the

nation. It was not surprising the liberal Supreme Court went along.

Christian publishers

(33) Christian books: After the Supreme Court legalized same "sex marriage,"

homosexual-activist groups targeted three large Christian book publishers that had publications

arguing that homosexual conduct was wrong based on the teachings of the Bible. The activists

staged marches and protests at Barnes & Noble stores around the country, demanding the stores

remove all books published by these "hate-mongering" publishers. Barnes & Noble resisted for a

time, but the protests continued, there was vandalism and secret defacing of books, and

eventually the cost was too great and Barnes & Noble gave in. The same thing happened at

Borders and other chains. Then they staged a massive nationwide computer attack on

Amazon.com, with the same demands, and the same result. As a result, those evangelical

publishers could no longer distribute any of their books through any of these bookstore chains.

Any Christian publisher that dares to print works critical of homosexual behavior faces the same

fate. As a result, several Christian publishers have gone out of business.

Prosecution of Bush administration officials

(34) Criminal charges against Republican officials: In his first week in office, Obama

followed President Clinton's precedent and fired all 93 U.S. attorneys, replacing them with his

own appointments, including the most active members of the American Civil Liberties Union

(ACLU). President Obama argued this was not a selective political action like what President

Bush had done, because Obama had fired all of them, conservatives and liberals alike.

The Justice Department soon began to file criminal and civil charges against nearly every

Bush administration official who had any involvement with the Iraq war.37 During his campaign,

Senator Obama said, "What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my

Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are

there inquiries that need to be pursued."38 In order to facilitate these proceedings, President

Obama rescinded President Bush's executive order that had prevented presidential papers from

being released, and millions of pages of previously secret White House papers were posted on

the Internet. ACLU attorneys have spent four years poring over these papers looking for possible

violations of law. Dozens of Bush officials, from the Cabinet level on down, are in jail, and most

of them are also bankrupt from legal costs.

Where is the opposition?

Has America completely lost God's favor and protection as a nation? If it has, is this

surprising? How can God continue to bless a nation whose official policies promote blatant

violation of God's commands regarding the protection of human life, and sexual morality? Why

should God bless any nation that elects officials who remove people's freedom of religion and

freedom of speech and freedom even to raise their own children? His Word says,

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34).

37 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/15/obama-would-immediately-r_n_96690.html and

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Barack_on_torture.html

38 Ibid.

Many brave Christian men and women tried to resist these laws, and some Christian legal

agencies tried to defend them, but they couldn't resist the power of a 6-3 liberal majority on the

Supreme Court. It seems many of the bravest ones went to jail or were driven to bankruptcy. And

many of their reputations have been destroyed by a relentless press and the endless repetition of

false accusations.

The same question written in "The Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key in 1814

rings in the air:

O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Now in October 2012, after seeing what has happened in the last four years, the answer to that

question is "No." Our freedoms have been systematically taken away. Many of "the brave" are in

jail. We are no longer "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

How did this happen?

When did this all start? Christians share a lot of the blame. In 2008, many evangelicals

thought Senator Obama was an opportunity for a "change," and they voted for him. They did not

realize Obama's far-Left agenda would take away many of our freedoms, perhaps permanently

(it is unlikely the Supreme Court can be changed for perhaps 30 years). Christians did not realize

that by electing Barack Obama — rated the most liberal U.S. senator in 2007 — 39 they would

allow the law, in the hands of a liberal Congress and Supreme Court, to become a great

instrument of oppression.

Many people thought he sounded so thoughtful, so reasonable. And during the campaign,

after he had won the Democratic nomination, he seemed to be moving to the center in his

speeches, moving away from his far-Left record. No one thought he would enact such a far-Left,

extreme liberal agenda.

But the record was all there for anyone to see. The agenda of the ACLU, the agenda of

liberal activist judges in their dissenting opinions, the agenda of the homosexual activists, the

agenda of the environmental activists, the agenda of the National Education Association, the

agenda of the global-warming activists, the agenda of the abortion-rights activists, the agenda of

the gun-control activists, the agenda of the euthanasia supporters, the agenda of the one-world

government pacifists, the agenda of far-Left groups in Canada and Europe – all of these agendas

were there in plain sight, and all of these groups provided huge support for Senator Obama. The

liberal agenda was all there. But too many people just didn't want to see it.

Christians didn't take time to find out who Barack Obama was when they voted for him.

Why did they risk our nation's future on him? It was a mistake that changed the course of

history.

39 Brian Friel, "Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007," National Journal's 2007 Vote Ratings,

http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/, January 31, 2008

What about our faith?

Personally, I don't know how we are going to get through tomorrow, for these are

difficult times. But my faith in the Lord remains strong. I still believe that "for those who love

God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Rom.

8:28). I still believe "kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations" (Psalm

22:28). I still believe our salvation comes from no earthly government for "there is salvation in

no one else" than Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). I still believe God is sovereign over all history, and

though I don't know why he has allowed these events, it is still his purpose that will ultimately

be accomplished. He alone can say of all history, "There is none like me, declaring the end from

the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I

will accomplish all my purpose" (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Sincerely,

A Christian from 2012

This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for noncommercial and nonpolitical purposes without prior

permission from Focus on the Family Action.

Obama Campaign Cut’s Interview When Asked Real Questions

2008-10-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

After being given a free pass by the media this election season, Obama's campaign got upset when asked some real questions by WTFV's Barbara West. During an interview with Sen. Joe Biden, West asked real questions that voters want to know, not the BS Obama is the Messiah questions that they have been getting the entire campaign.

Biden decided to take his ball go home and not play with them anymore. Later Obama's campaign called to cancel a scheduled interview with Biden's wife. The Obama ticket is once again reminding everyone that if you want to "score" an interview with them it has to be a nice controlled fake interview. You know, the kind we have been seeing for months.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2008/10/obama-campaig-1.html?cid=136374901#comments

Jennifer Hudsons mom and brother shot, newphew missing

2008-10-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Former American Idol and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson's home in Chicago is involved in a major homicide investigation. The dead bodies of a man and woman were found inside Hudson's home in Chicago earlier Friday afternoon.

There are reportings that the bodies are that of Miss Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson and brother Jason. The mother appears to have been killed by a shot to the head, and the brother from a shot in the chest.

There are many rumors circulating as to the cause and suspect(s) but nothing official has been released. There may have been a domestic dispute involving custody of Miss Hudsons nephew, 7-year old Julian King.

The National Center for Missing and Exploted Children says the following the "child [Julian King] was last seen wearing a chocolate brown polo shirt with stripes and tan khaki pants. He is believed to be in the company of William Balfour, driving a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban with Illinois plate X584859."

The Ramblings of a Frustrated White Girl

2008-10-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

I am white in America but don’t assume you know me or know about people “like me”. I hear Rev. Wright attacking white people and how black people were enslaved by them. I hear black people saying they want reparations for what happened to their family years ago. I am sorry for that but I didn’t do it. My family was not even living in this country yet during that time period. They were off in another land suffering their own fate trying to survive in a cruel world. I don’t understand why Rev. Wright would attack me. I don’t understand why I can’t say his words are hate mongering without people like Whoopie Goldberg flipping out saying it’s not hate. Why is it not hate if it is against me, but it is if it is against her?

I search the internet and hear people saying that people don’t want Obama because he is black. Why can’t I not like him just because I do not agree with his policies? I must be a racist if I don’t agree with him right, or just a redneck? Why is it ok for people who vote for him just because he IS black? Why is it not ok to disagree with that? Because I am white I am just supposed to ignore the double standard.

To make matters worse I am a republican. That must make me rich right? Actually I grew up in a home with a single mother that was barely functioning as a human being let alone as a mother. We looked to strangers and government to provide us food and shelter. I moved from place to place and somehow managed to come out ok. I spent 10 years struggling trying to go to school part time. Working full time to pay the rent, car insurance and for school. I could not get a grant for school because I am white. There were no provisions for me since I was not a minority – I had to suffer – because I am white.

I still fall in the lower middle class category. I pay my bills and live within my means. I faithfully give a minimum of 10% of all my money to help the homeless, feed the poor, support locals congregations and other charitable groups. I do not believe that the government should decide for me who I help. I do not believe the government has the ability to spend my money better than me, but because I am white it must mean that I don’t care about those who haven’t made it yet right?

If I offended anyone in sharing how I feel, it’s because I just don’t understand. It’s because I am white.

Obama - Kenya Video

2008-10-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

There has been alot of "chatter" over the past few days regarding the money that Obama helped raise for Kenya's opposition leader Odinga. This is the group responsible for burning christian churches and many other acts of violence. There campaign also used the "change" theme. Despite Odinga's promises to rule with sharia law over the land, Obama still keeps in communication with this man. Reporters were escorted out of the country in October after an Obama fact finding trip.

Now, the Freedom Defense Fund organization is putting out a similar ad relating to some of these claims in swingstates. Many people are questioning the future of our country under leadership of Obama.

Gadhafi on Obama

2008-10-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

"There are elections in America now. Along came a black citizen of Kenyan African origins, a Muslim, who had studied in an Islamic school in Indonesia. His name is Obama," said Gadhafi in little-noticed remarks he made at a rally marking the anniversary of the 1986 U.S. air raid on his country.

"All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man," continued Gadhafi. "They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency.

"We are hoping that this black man will take pride in his African and Islamic identity, and in his faith, and that [he will know] that he has rights in America, and that he will change America from evil to good, and that America will establish relations that will serve it well with other peoples, especially the Arabs," Gadhafi said.

"We hope that this is merely an elections 'clearance sale,' as they say in Egypt - in other words, merely an elections lie. As you know, this is the farce of elections - a person lies and lies to people, just so that they will vote for him, and afterwards, when they say to him, 'You promised this and that,' he says: 'No, this was just elections propaganda.' This is the farce of democracy for you. He says: 'This was propaganda, and you thought I was being serious. I was fooling you to get your votes.'

He said She Said - Did Michelle Obama Threaten the African Press??

2008-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

The African Press is reporting the Michelle Obama personally called them to express her dissappointment in the writing an article that exposes some serious allegations of Obama's activities with the President of Kenya. According to news sights such as the African Press and World Net Daily, Obama helped raise 1 million dollars for the president of Kenya. Why is this bad? Well, the Kenya president Odinga is known for torching hundreds of christian churches and promising to turn to a mandatory sharia law system.

Christian communities in Kenya are closely watching the American Election with concerns that if Obama is elected their president Odinga will feel empowered to do as he pleases.

It is being claimed that Michelle Obama dismisses all these stories as racism.

According to World Net Daily(www.worldnetdaily.com), Obama's campaign is denying all claims that Michelle Obama called anyone. African press has now issued a statement that they have recordings of the conversations.

http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/senator-barack-obama-in-kenya-obama-and-odinga-the-true-story/

This is a stomache turning video of Odinga / Obama supporters in Kenya chanting "We want change" as they burn churches and violently attack people. This video is very graphic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ws5cdiTFa4

Howard Stern Questions Obama Supporters in Harlem

2008-10-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, I admit it. I do not listen to or watch Howard Stern but I heard about this clip and was curious so I decided to check it out. I am absolutely amazed of the ignorance portrayed on this clip when Howard Stern questions Obama supporters in Harlem. This is really funny but at the same time scary.

Basically they question Obama supporters but replace Obama's policies with McCain policies. Not only do the people being asked have no idea that they are not Obama's views/policies, but they are also agreeing with McCains policies. This is a must see.

Obama Explains to Plumber Why he Should Give the Government More of His Hard Earned Money

2008-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Farrakhan Proclaims Obama is the Messiah at Nation of Islam Savior's Day 2008

2008-10-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

Nation of Islam Saviour's Day 2008
Farrakhan proclaims,
"You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

The ACORN Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

2008-10-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

New information is starting to come to light that Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama's campaign paid $800,000 to ACORN's subsidiary "Project Vote" to enlist new voters.
Obama worked for "Project Vote" in 1992 and has been endorsed by ACORN in 2008 despite ACORN's website declaration of being a non-partisan, non-government funded organization.

In the past few weeks, hundreds if not thousands of fraudulent votor registration forms have been submitted by ACORN workers in key swingstates that are essential to a victory for Obama.
The lack of coverage by main stream news organizations on this serious invasion of our democracy and our rights to a fair voting system is having many scratching their heads wondering "what is going on"?

http://nowpublic.com/world/acorn-doesnt-fall-far-tree

2008 Congressional Pig Book Member List

2008-10-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there is an awesome sight by "Citizens Against Government Waste" that takes the time to publish the amoutn of "ear marks" or "pork" that each member of congress or the senate requests each year? Are you concerned about your elected officials are using your tax dollars to serve their own personal ear marks. There is so much that can be learned at this website but since we are just weeks away from voting on the presidential election I thought I would invite you to read their 2008 list of "pork" requests so you can look up the dollar amounts requested from both Obama and McCain.

http://www.cagw.org/site/DocServer/Senate_-_alpha.pdf?docID=3023

Shelly Mandel: America, This is What a Feminist Looks Like: Governor Sarah Palin

2008-10-08T12:11:00.001-07:00

Those were the final words spoken by Shelly Mandell, president of the Los Angeles chapter of National Organization of Woman, in her introduction and endorsement of Sarah Palin in Carson, California.

As a long time democrat this move was a bold and brave one for Shelly Mandell to endorse a republican candidate. The NOW Pac has officially endorsed Obamaso you can imagine the internal stir this has caused. There are many members of the feminist group that are absolutely disgusted that Shelly Mandell spoke her own mind instead of denouncing Gov. Palin because she happens to both a strong, accomplished woman who just so happens to be a democrat.

Following is an "unofficial" transcript of Shelly Mandell's introduction/endorsement of Governor Sarah Palin

I want to thank you, and I want to reiterate that I am Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women. Now I'm happy to be here, and I'm here today speaking not on behalf of NOW, but speaking as an individual, as a women's rights activist for thirty years who has worked for all those years to see this day.

Let me share with you where I've been and why I'm here. I was there in 1977 for IWY, that was the International Women's Year, in Texas. I was there in 1978 when we campaigned hard all over the west for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, working right alongside my dear friend Maureen Reagan. I was there in 1984 when we worked so hard to get Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket, and then to support her historical place in that election.

And I'm here today proud to support Sarah Palin, a woman who will fight for women's rights, a woman who will fight for the middle class, a woman who will--Lord knows--shake things up.

Now, make no mistake. I'm a life-long Democrat. I don't agree, I've got to tell you, I don't agree with Governor Palin on several issues. Hey, she's going to work on persuading John McCain on ANWR; well I'm going to try persuading her on things of my own.

But... But I know Sarah Palin cares about women's rights, she cares about equality, she cares about equal pay, and as Vice President she will fight for it.

She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives. She's an athlete and she knows what Title IX did for girls like her.

Change must come to Washington, and Sarah Palin has what it takes to lead that charge. I believe she is courageous, I believe she has integrity, and I know that Sarah Palin is a reformer who will break up the old boy network, buck the system, and get Washington back on our side.

It is an honor to call her sister.

America, this is what a feminist looks like: Governor Sarah Palin.

Our Democracy Under Attack

2008-10-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

We are fighting a new war. Unfortunately, most of us are not even aware that this war is going on so in the silence, hidden in the shadows, we are slowly being defeated. The war is against our democracy.

In every state, hidden under the falsehood of good, ACORN offices are robbing us of our votes. What good is our system of democracy if it is defeated by rigged elections caused by an organized attempt to falsify voting documentations to favor a chosen ACORN leader. In case you are not aware, our democratic nominee Barack Obama was hired to train ACORN staff. http://www.aina.org/news/20080529155204.htm

All over the country there has been a mass attempt to falsify thousands of voting registration forms and instead of shutting these corrupt offices down, our democratic officials in congress have been funneling money to ACORN despite ACORNS claims on its website that it does not accept government funding. http://acorn.org/index.php?id=12342
By the time the citizens of this country realize that there is a war going on we will already be defeated.

Obama’s – Terrorist Support

2008-10-07T20:36:00.001-07:00

Raila Odinga – Radical Muslim leader in Kenya who has history of burning Christian churches and promises to force all of Kenya into Sharia Law
Raila Odinga has, in his own words, a 'close personal friendship' with Barrack Obama Junior .When Obama went to Kenya in August of 2006, he was hosted by Raila and spoke in praise of him at rallies in Nairobi: Obama's bias for his fellow Luo was so blatant that a Kenya government spokesman denounced Obama during his visit as Raila's 'stooge.' Obama has sided with Odinga, and Odinga publically praises Obama.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/433766/the-kenyan-jihad.thtml.
Some of Odinga's pledges –
b) Within 6 months re-write the Constitution of Kenya to recognize Shariah as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared regions.
c) With immediate effect dismiss the Commissioner of Police who has allowed himself to be used by heathens and Zionists to oppress the Kenyan Muslim community.
g) Within one year facilitate the establishment of a Shariah court in every Kenyan divisional headquarters. [Note: everywhere in Kenya, not just in "Muslim declared regions."]
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/01/obama-islam-and.html
Christian's in Kenya are fearful of Obama becoming elected because of this leaders ties to Obama even asking for reporters to come and speak with them. When a reporter attempted to see the group on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 he was taken into custody and told he must leave.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77268
Ahmed Youus – A top Hamas political adviser
"We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections," Ahmed Yousuf Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, said in an exclusive interview with WND and with the John Batchelor Show on WABC Radio in New York.
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61631
Lets also not forget that Obama's church published a Hamas manifesto in their church bulletin.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=59456
Bill Ayers - spent 10 years as a fugitive in the 1970s when he was part of the "Weather Underground," an anti-Vietnam War group that protested U.S. policies by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and a string of other government buildings. Nobody was hurt in the attacks by the defunct organization, which the FBI labeled a "domestic terrorist group."
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/902213,CST-NWS-ayers18.article

Obama's living room meeting with Ayers

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html

Obama & Ayers work together from 1995 to 1999. Obama led the foundation known as CAC which was started by Ayers. Obama remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists. The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

Ayers told the New York Times in an interview released Sept. 11, 2001, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." He posed for a photograph accompanying the piece stepping on an American flag.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=75282

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/07/obama.ayers/index.html

Rashid Khalidi – The AAAN was co-founded by Rashid Khalidi, a longtime supporter of Palestinian "resistance" attacks against Israel, which he openly regards as a racist, apartheid state.
Obama & Ayers work together and vote to donate $75,000 to AAAN. AAAN stands for Arab American Action Network

Obama was with Ayers at a farewell bash for Khalidi in 2000 Khalidi left Chicago for New York. Khalidi, after all, had hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 2000. Khalidi says he supports Obama's presidential run "because he is the only candidate who has expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause," and because Obama has promised negotiations with Iran.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YThjYTU1ZDBjNmQ2YzcwNzU1MmYwN2JiMWY0ZGI0NDA=&w=Mg==

O'Reilly to Franks: You're a Coward!!!

2008-10-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday there was a heated debate and no, it was not the Vice Presidential Debate. It was a jaw dropping night on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor. Bill O’Reilly played tapes and read transcripts of Representative Franks past statements on Fannie Mae, accusing Franks of misleading the American people into believing Fannie Mae was back on track, causing people to lose millions in investments. In a heated debate O’Reilly told him to “stop the crap” and called him a “coward” challenging him to “tell the truth” about misleading the American people in regards to Fannie Mae. Franks accused O’Reilly of being “stupid”. I do not think Frank’s will be rushing back to the “No Spin Zone” anytime soon.

http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/index.html?playerId=oreillyhomeplayer&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=3129030&referralPlaylistId=bbeb11095dff273e354ffbd0dfa4c070c9e8730b&maven_dartZone=undefined&maven_dartSite=undefined

American In Crisis - How We Got Here

2008-09-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

10 Things You Should Know about Obama's Tax Plan

2008-09-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

1. Small main street businesses would be forced to pay tax rates as high as 62.3% under Senator Obama’s tax proposals.1
2. Senator Obama’s tax plan would tax small businesses at a higher rate than large corporations!2
3. Taxes on retirement income and savings could increase by at least 33%, hitting millions of seniors when they need these resources the most.3
4. 4 million workers over the age of 50 – those eagerly looking forward to retirement – would be hit with increased tax bills. 4
5. Millions of Americans would only keep 38 cents of every dollar that they earn.5
6. Senator Obama’s tax plan would reduce the after tax wages of millions of workers by 17.7%.6
7. It will take 227 days per year, nearly 8 months, just to pay your tax bill!7
8. 97,065 carpenters, 110,908 police officers, 254,992 nurses, 208,562 postsecondary teachers and 237,000 dentists would see tax increases, if the earnings cap was successfully eliminated.8
9. 10.3 million workers would see an average of $5,650 taken from their paycheck and given to government programs.9
10. Even YOU might be considered “Rich.”

Citations
1 Michael Boskin, “A Closer Look at Obamanomics”
2 “Obama Plans Spending Boost, Possible Cut in Business Tax”, Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2008
3“Obama's War on Women”, The New York Sun, August 14, 2008
4 “Caps Off for Obama,” Investors Business Daily, 5/20/2008
5 Michael Boskin, “A Closer Look at Obamanomics”
6 Calcuation by RightChange.com based on figures detailed in Michael Boskin’s, “A Closer Look at Obamanomics”
7 RightChange.com calculation
8 “Obama's Social Insecurity Plan,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/20/2008
9"Caps Off For Obama," Investor's Business Daily, 9/25/07
10National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Facts
11National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Economic Trends, August 2008

For Much More Go to rightchange.org

ACORN - Is anyone watching?

2008-09-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

I find the following statement located on the Acorn.org website to be a joke..."ACORN is a non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization with national headquarters in New York, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. To maintain independence, ACORN does not accept government funding and is not tax exempt. "

First I would like to point out that on the first page of their website there is an article titled "ACORN Response to the First Presidential Debate" slams McCain and Praises Obama. I am not sure how that falls under their "nonj-partisan" banner.

The other thing that made me want to laugh (or throw a brick at the computer) is the part that a says "does not accept government funding." Congress has been battling all weekend, partially because the democrats were trying to allocate 20% of any profits received in the future from the 700 billion dollar ballout to be funnelled to ACORN.

Does anyone care anymore what is going on in our country?

If you do care and would like to do something contact:

ACORN
1024 Elysian Fields Ave
New Orleans, LA 70117
chieforg@acorn.org
Phone: 504-943-0044
Fax: 504-944-7078

And tell them this is unacceptable. You may want to also contact Nancy Pelosi and let her know how you feel about them trying to sneek millions and millions of dollars into the ACORN account.

The Democratic Cover Up of the Freddie Mac / Fannie Mae Scram 2004

2008-09-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama es un mentiroso.

2008-09-17T17:25:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama es un mentiroso.
Este mensaje está a todo el español que habla solamente a gente en América. Durante los dos meses próximos le expondrán a muchos anuncios de Barack Obama. Barack Obama mentirá a usted e intentará hacer que usted cree que usted debe votar por él. Él le hará las promesas que él no puede entregar. Barack Obama es todo el un manojo de la charla. Él destruirá este país y arruinará nuestras vidas. No vote por favor por este hombre loco.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild Says Obama Has Not Given Her a Reason to Trust Him

2008-09-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, says she will endorse John McCain for president.

On a Fox News interview Lynn stated that Obama has never reached across party lines and will not be able to unite the county. She said that she believes Mccain and Palin that they will put the country first, that they both have a history of reaching across party lines.

9/11 Where Were You?

2008-09-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

http://wherewereyou.weebly.com/my-911.html

Where were you on 9/11?

Obama the Messiah

2008-09-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Democratic Representative Steve Cohen, said "Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor."

This statement legitimizes peoples claims that Obama as viewed as some sort of Messian.

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=74896

ADDED 9/11: http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=74999

Republicans vs. Democrats

2008-09-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

If you want to make a conservative angry - tell a lie.

If you want to make a liberal angry - tell the truth.

HYSTERIA HOPE AND HOT AIR

2008-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Obama - Rev. Wright Was Wrong

2008-09-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Obama Disses Flag - AGAIN

2008-09-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Team Obama was busted throwing 12,000 American flags in the trash. Boys scouts respectfully removed the flags from the trash and brought them to Team McCain. Mccain will pass them out at his events.

Obama Finally Admits He Was Wrong about Iraq!!!!

2008-09-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Obama finally said "I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” He then said that it has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Perhaps he should have just listened to McCain!

TRANSCRIPT: Gov. Sarah Palin VP Nominee Acceptance – 2008 Republican Convention

2008-09-04T10:30:00.001-07:00

SARAH PALIN: Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, I will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America. And I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions, and met far graver challenges, and knows how tough fights are won, the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. But the pollsters…

(APPLAUSE)

The pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. They overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

The voters knew better, and maybe that's because they realized there's a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.

(APPLAUSE)

Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He's a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who now have brought victory within sight.

(APPLAUSE)

And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.

I'm just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way. Our son, Track, is 19. And one week from tomorrow, September 11th, he'll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.

My nephew, Casey (ph), also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.

My family is so proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

So Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it's two boys and three girls in between, my strong and kind- hearted daughters, Bristol, and Willow, and Piper.

(APPLAUSE)

And we were so blessed in April. Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.

You know, from the inside, no family ever seems typical, and that's how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. And children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. To the families of special-needs…

(APPLAUSE)

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message for you: For years, you've sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. And I pledge to you that, if we're elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

And Todd is a story all by himself. He's a lifelong commercial fisherman and a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope, and a proud member of the United Steelworkers union. And Todd is a world champion snow machine racer.

(APPLAUSE)

Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. And we met in high school. And two decades and five children later, he's still my guy.

(APPLAUSE)

My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I've learned, that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

And my parents are here tonight.

I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath (ph).

(APPLAUSE)

Long ago, a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri, he followed an unlikely path — he followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. And a writer observed, "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity," and I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people. They're the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food, and run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America.

(APPLAUSE)

I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.

(APPLAUSE)

I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

(APPLAUSE)

So I signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education even better. And when I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too.

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska…

(APPLAUSE)

… I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.

(APPLAUSE)

I guess — I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

(APPLAUSE)

I might add that, in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

(APPLAUSE)

No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

(APPLAUSE)

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is the same man.

(APPLAUSE)

Well, I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And…

(APPLAUSE)

… I've learned quickly these last few days that, if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

But — now, here's a little newsflash. Here's a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.

(APPLAUSE)

Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason and not just to mingle with the right people. Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

(APPLAUSE)

No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant's heart.

And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys.

Suddenly, I realized that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. And in short order, we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

(APPLAUSE)

I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top.

(APPLAUSE)

I put it on eBay.

(APPLAUSE)

I love to drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef, although I got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.

(APPLAUSE)

I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto, if necessary.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator McCain also — he promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest. And as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.

(APPLAUSE)

Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending, nearly $500 million in vetoes.

We suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," on that Bridge to Nowhere.

(APPLAUSE)

If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.

(APPLAUSE)

When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.

(APPLAUSE)

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

(APPLAUSE)

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

(APPLAUSE)

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are open, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher. When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we're forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.

With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

(APPLAUSE)

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world's energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans, we need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And…

(APPLAUSE)

And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We've got lots of both.

(APPLAUSE)

Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already.

(LAUGHTER)

But the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

(APPLAUSE)

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need…

(APPLAUSE)

We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.

(APPLAUSE)

And now, I've noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word "victory," except when he's talking about his own campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…

(APPLAUSE)

… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

(APPLAUSE)

The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights.

(APPLAUSE)

Government is too big; he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much money; he promises more.

Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan.

And let me be specific: The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

My sister, Heather, and her husband, they just built a service station that's now open for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they…

(APPLAUSE)

How are they going to be better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you are trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or in Ohio…

(APPLAUSE)

… or you're trying — you're trying to create jobs from clean coal, from Pennsylvania or West Virginia.

(APPLAUSE)

You're trying to keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

(APPLAUSE)

How are you — how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?

Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.

(APPLAUSE)

Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speech- making, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things, and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things.

(APPLAUSE)

They're the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones that we've always been able to count on to serve and to defend America.

Senator McCain's record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests, and lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd. He's a man who's there to serve his country and not just his party, a leader who's not looking for a fight, but sure isn't afraid of one, either.

(APPLAUSE)

Harry Reid, the majority of the current do-nothing Senate…

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

… he not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain."

Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man.

(APPLAUSE)

Clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain and that is only…

(APPLAUSE)

… that's only one more reason to take the maverick out of the Senate, put him in the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

This world of threats and dangers, it's not just a community and it doesn't just need an organizer.

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they're always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.

(APPLAUSE)

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world, the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country.

And it's a long way from the fear, and pain, and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.

But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. It's the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this great country, only he was among those who came home.

To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of God, the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. A fellow…

(APPLAUSE)

A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio…

(APPLAUSE)

… Tom Moe recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway by the guards, day after day.

And the story is told, when McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn towards Moe's door, and he'd flash a grin and a thumbs up, as if to say, "We're going to pull through this."

My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through the next four years.

(APPLAUSE)

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.

TRANSCRIPT: Rudy Giuliani at the Republican Nation Convention - Wednesday September 3, 2008

2008-09-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Giuliani: Thank you very much, and good evening. Almost exactly one year ago today, during a presidential debate in Durham, New Hampshire, I said that, if I weren't running for president, I'd be supporting John McCain.

Well, I'm not running for president, and I do support John McCain.

Every -- every four years, we're told that this presidential election is the most important in our lifetime. This year, with what's at stake, 2008 is the most important election in our lifetime. And we'd better get it right.

This already has been the longest presidential campaign in history, and sometimes to me it felt even longer.

The American people realize this election represents a turning point. It's the decision to follow one path or the other. We, the people, the citizens of the United States, get to decide our next president, not the left-wing media, not Hollywood celebrities, not anyone else but the people of America.

That's right, USA.

Thank you. Thank you.

To those Americans who still feel torn in this election, I'd like to suggest one way to think about this to help make a choice in 2008.

Think about it this way. You're hiring someone to do a job, an important job, a job that relates to the safety of yourself and your family. Imagine that you have two job applications in your hand with the name and the party affiliations blocked out.

They're both good and patriotic men with very different life experiences that have led them to this moment of shared history. You've got to make this decision, and you've got to make it right. And you have to desire -- you've got to decide, who am I going to hire?

On the one hand, you've got a man who's dedicated his life to the service of the United States. He's been tested time and again by crisis. He has passed every test.

Even his adversaries acknowledge -- Democrats, Republicans, everyone acknowledges that John McCain is a true American hero.

He -- he loves America, as we all do, but he has sacrificed for it as few do.

As a young man, he joined the military. And being a "Top Gun" kind of guy, he became a fighter pilot. He was on a mission over Hanoi when his plane was shot down.

He was tortured in a POW camp, but he refused his captors' offer of early release, because this is a man who believes in serving a cause greater than self-interest, and that cause is the United States of America. America comes first.

He has proved his commitment with his blood. He came home a national hero. He had earned a life of peace and quiet, but he was called to public service again, running for Congress, and then the United States Senate, as a proud foot soldier in the Reagan revolution.

His principled independence never wavered. He stood up to special interests. He fought for fiscal discipline and ethics reform and a strong national defense.

That's the one choice. That's the one man.

On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? He worked -- I said -- I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the resume.

He worked as a community organizer. He immersed himself in Chicago machine politics.

Then he ran for -- then he ran for the state legislature and he got elected. And nearly 130 times, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote "yes" or "no." It was too tough.

He voted -- he voted "present."

I didn't know about this vote "present" when I was mayor of New York City. Sarah Palin didn't have this vote "present" when she was mayor or governor. You don't get "present." It doesn't work in an executive job. For president of the United States, it's not good enough to be present.

You have to make a decision.

A few years later -- a few years later, he ran for the U.S. Senate. He spent most of his time as a celebrity senator: no leadership, no legislation to really speak of.

His rise is remarkable in its own right. It's the kind of thing that can happen only in America.

But he's never -- he's never run a city. He's never run a state. He's never run a business. He's never run a military unit. He's never had to lead people in crisis.

He is the least experienced candidate for president of the United States in at least the last 100 years.

Not a personal attack, a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.

Nada, nothing.

The choice -- the choice in this election comes down to substance over style. John McCain has been tested; Barack Obama has not.

Tough times require strong leadership, and this is no time for on-the-job training.

We agree. We agree with Joe Biden... one time, one time, when he said that, until he flip-flopped and changed his position. And, yes, being president means being able to answer that call at 3:00 in the morning. And that's the one time we agree with Hillary.

But I bet you never thought Hillary would get applause at this convention. She can be right. Well, no one can look at John McCain and say that he's not ready to be commander-in-chief. He is. He's ready.

And we can trust him to deal with anything, anything that nature throws our way, anything that terrorists do to us. This man has been tested over and over again, and we will be safe in his hands, and our children will be safe in his hands, and our country will be safe in the hands of John McCain. No doubt.

I learned as a trial lawyer a long time ago, if you don't have the facts, you've got to change them. So our opponents want to re- frame the debate.

They would have you believe that this election is about change versus more of the same, but that's really a false choice, because there's good change and bad change.

Because change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy.

John McCain -- John McCain will bring about the change that will create jobs and prosperity. Let's talk briefly about specifics.

John McCain will lower taxes so our economy can grow.

He'll reduce government to strengthen our dollar. He'll expand free trade so we can be more competitive. And he will lead us to energy independence so we can be free of foreign oil.

And -- and he'll do it with an all-of-the-above approach, including nuclear power, and, yes, off-shore oil drilling.

Drill, baby, drill?

Drill, baby, drill.

This -- this -- this is the kind of change -- now, you guys are ready to break out. Whoa.

This -- this -- this and a lot more is the kind of change that will create growth, jobs, and prosperity, not what they want to do, tax us more, increase the size of government, increase tariffs, hurt jobs, send jobs elsewhere.

We need John McCain to save our economy and make sure it grows, but we need it for a more important purpose. There's one purpose that John McCain understands, Republicans understand, that overrides everything else: John McCain will keep us on offense against terrorism at home and abroad.

For -- for four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the words "Islamic terrorism."

I imagine they believe it is politically incorrect to say it. I think they believe it will insult someone. Please tell me, who are they insulting if they say "Islamic terrorism"? They are insulting terrorists.

Of great concern to me, during those same four days in Denver, they rarely mentioned the attacks of September 11, 2001. They are in a state of denial about the biggest threat that faces this country. And if you deny it and you don't deal with it, you can't face it.

John McCain can face the enemy. He can win, and he can bring victory for this country.

Let's look at just one example at a lifetime of principled stands that John McCain's brought about: his support for the troop surge in Iraq. The Democratic Party had given up on Iraq.

And I believe, ladies and gentlemen, when they gave up on Iraq, they had given up on America.

The Democratic leader -- the Democratic leader of the Senate said, and I quote, "This war is lost."

Well, well, if America lost, who won, Al Qaeda, bin Laden?

In the single biggest policy decision of this election, John McCain got it right, and Barack Obama got it wrong.

Senator McCain -- Senator -- Senator McCain was the candidate most associated with the surge, and it was unpopular. What do you think most other politicians would have done in a situation like this?

They would have acted in their self-interest, and they would have changed their position in order to win an election. How many times have we seen Barack Obama do this?

Obama -- Obama promised to take public financing for his campaign, until he broke his promise.

Obama -- Obama was against wiretapping before he voted for it.

When speaking to a pro-Israeli group, Obama favored an undivided Jerusalem, like I favor and like John McCain favored. Well, he favored an undivided Jerusalem -- don't get too excited -- for one day, until he changed his mind.

Well, I'll tell you, if I were Joe Biden, I'd want to get that V.P. thing in writing.

Our hero, our candidate, John McCain said, "I'd rather lose an election than a war." Why? Because that's John McCain.

When Russia rolled over Georgia, John McCain immediately established a very strong, informed position that let the world know how he'll respond as president at exactly the right time. Remember his words? Remember what John McCain said? "We are all Georgians."

Obama's -- talk about judgment. Let's look at what Obama did. Obama's first instinct was to create a moral equivalency, suggesting that both sides were equally responsible, the same moral equivalency that he's displayed in discussing the Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel.

Later -- later, after discussing this with his 300 foreign policy advisers, he changed his position, and he suggested the United Nations Security Council could find a solution.

Apparently, none of his 300 foreign policy security advisers told him that Russia has a veto power in the United Nations Security Council.

By the way, this was about three days later. So -- so he changed his position again, and he put out a statement exactly like the statement of John McCain's three days earlier.

I have some advice for Senator Obama: Next time, call John McCain.

He -- he knows something about foreign -- he knows something about foreign policy. Like Ronald Reagan, John McCain will enlarge our party, open it up to lots of new people.

In choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has chosen for the future.

The other guy looked back. John looked forward.

Gov. Palin represents a new generation. She's already one of the most successful governors in America and the most popular.

And she's already had more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket combined.

She's been a mayor. I love that.

I'm sorry -- I'm sorry that Barack Obama feels that her hometown isn't cosmopolitan enough.

I'm sorry, Barack, that it's not flashy enough. Maybe they cling to religion there.

Well -- well, the first day -- as far as I'm concerned, the first day she was mayor, she had more experience as an executive than -- than Obama and Biden combined.

Then she became governor. She's reduced taxes. She's reduced government spending. She's encouraged more energy exploration.

She's been one of the most active governors -- she's been one of the most active governors in the country, and Alaska can be proud of having one of the best governors in the country.

She's got an 80 percent approval rating. You never get that in New York City, wow.

As U.S. attorney, a former U.S. attorney, I'm very impressed the way she took on corruption in Alaska, including corruption in the Republican Party. This is a woman who has no fear. This is a woman who stands up for what's right.

She -- she -- she is shaking up Alaska in a way that hasn't happened in maybe ever. And with John McCain, with his independent spirit, with his being a maverick, with him and Sarah Palin, can you imagine how they're going to shake up Washington?

Whew, look out. Look out.

One final point. And how -- how dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president. How dare they do that.

When do they ever ask a man that question? When?

Well, we're at our best when we are expanding freedom. We're the party that has expanded freedom from the very beginning, from ending slavery to making certain that people have freedom here and abroad.

We're the party that believes in giving workers the right to work. We're the party that believes that parents -- parents should choose where their children go to school.

And we're the party -- and we're the party that unapologetically believes in America's success, a shining city on a hill, a beacon of freedom that inspires the world. That's what our party is dedicated to.

So, my fellow Americans, we get a chance to elect one of our great heroes and a great American. He will be an exceptional president. He will have with him an exceptional woman who has already proven that she can reform and that she can govern.

And now the job is up to us. Let's get John McCain and Sarah Palin elected, and let's shake up Washington and move this country forward.

God bless America. Thank you.

Alaskan Maverick

2008-09-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Script for Alaskan Maverick

ANNCR: The Journal says: "Governor Palin's credentials as an agent of reform exceed Barack Obama's."

They're right.

She "has a record of bi-partisan reform."

He's the Senate's "most liberal."

She "took on the oil producers."

He gave big oil billions in subsidies and giveaways.

She's "earned a reputation as a reformer."

His reputation? Empty words.

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.

WORLD'S SHORTEST BOOKS

2008-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

WORLD'S SHORTEST BOOKS

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY

by Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan.
Illustrated by Michael Moore
________________________________________

MY CHRISTIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS
AND
HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA

by Rev Jesse Jackson & Rev Al Sharpton
_______________________________________

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL

by Hillary Clinton
________________________________
Sequel:

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY

By Bill Clinton
___________________________________

MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE

by Osama Bin Laden
___________________________________

THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD

by Bill Gates
____________________________________

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY

by Dennis Rodman
_________________________________

THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE

by Al Gore & John Kerry
_______________________________________

AMELIA EARHART'S GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

___________________________________

A COLLECTION of MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES

by Dr. J Kevorkian
__________________________________

ALL THE MEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE

by Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnel
____________________________________

GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE

by Mike Tyson
__________________________________

THE AMISH TELEPHONE DIRECTORY

_______________________________________

MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS

by O.J. Simpson
_________________________________________

DRINKING
AND
DRIVING OVER BRIDGES

by Ted Kennedy
___________________________________

MY BOOK OF PERSONAL MORALS

by Bill Clinton

with introduction by The Rev. Jesse Jackson

_______________________________________________

AND, JUST ADDED:

Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy!

by Nancy Pelosi
___________________________________

My Accomplishments in Congress

by Barack Obama

________________________________________

Obama to Enter the No Spin Zone

2008-09-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened. I was shocked to learn that Obama has finally agreed to go on the O'Reilly factor.

Don't miss it on Thursday September 4.

Real Change - Things that make you go hmm..

2008-08-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when Sarah Palin was elected Governor she sold the private jet that the previous administration purchased siting that there was no reason they would not fly commercial.

When Pelosi was elected she kicked and whined that she wanted the "bigger jet" because she wan't to get home faster. This is the same Pelosi that says we should all sacrafise for the sake of our environment.

If you want real change McCain-Palin is the way to go!!!!

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Barack Obama's speech accepting the DNC nomination for President - August 29,2008

2008-08-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.

To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one

American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it. For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

What is that promise?

It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans.

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.

And just as we keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

John Edwards - Above the Law?

2008-08-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was sickened by the recent reporting of the affair that John Edwards had while campaigning to be the president of the United States. Aside from the moral issues of infidelity, there are serious implications that he was funding his mistress with campaign funds. There are also implications that she is continuing to be financially taken care of by other members of the Edwards campaign. These allegations must be looked into and it’s our job as citizens of the United States to request that something be done.

I looked around and was able to find the instructions on how to go about filing the complaint to look into this matter.

The following information is copied from the fed.gov page.

I. Filing a Complaint

Any person may file a complaint if he or she believes a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Laws or Commission regulations has occurred or is about to occur. The complaint must be made in writing and sent to the Office of General Counsel, Federal Election Commission, 999 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463. The original must be submitted along with three copies, if possible. Facsimile or e-mail transmissions are not acceptable. A complaint must comply with certain requirements. It must:

· Provide the full name and address of the person filing the complaint (called the complainant); and

· Be signed, sworn to and notarized. This means that the notary public's certificate must say "...signed and sworn to before me...," or words that connote the complaint was affirmed by the complainant, (such as “under penalty of perjury”).
Furthermore, in order for a complaint to be considered complete and proper, it should:

· Clearly recite the facts that show specific violations under the Commission's jurisdiction (citations to the law and regulations are not necessary);

· Clearly identify each person, committee or group that is alleged to have committed a violation (called the respondent);

· Include any documentation supporting the allegations, if available; and

· Differentiate between statements based on the complainant's (the person who files the complaint) personal knowledge and those based on information and belief. Statements not based on personal knowledge should identify the source of the information.

For self-reported complaints (called “sua sponte” submissions), the submission should include an admission of the violation(s), a complete recitation of the facts along with all relevant documentation that explains how the violation was discovered, the internal actions that were taken in response to the violation and what other agencies, if any, are investigating the violation (or facts surrounding the violation).

The Commission seeks to increase the number of self-reported submissions in order to expedite enforcement of the law. To encourage self-reporting, the Commission will generally negotiate penalties between 25 and 75 percent lower than those for matters arising by other means, such as through complaints or the Commission’s own review of reports. In certain circumstances, the Commission may allow committees who voluntarily report their violations and make a complete report of their internal investigation to proceed directly into conciliation before the Commission makes a finding as to whether there is reason to believe the committee violated campaign finance laws or Commission regulations.

Obama Posts Fraudulent Birth Certificate

2008-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

According to independent studies, the birth certificate that Obama has posted is fraudulent and now people are are coming together with petition that he submit a valid birth certificate.

2 campaigns seek 'truth' about Obama's birthEligibility for presidency hinges on American citizenship read here - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71763

16 Policemen Killed in Muslim Terror Attack and Promise More During the Olympics

2008-08-04T20:11:00.001-07:00

The Olympics have yet to begin, and already, four days before the opening ceremony, 16 police man are killed in a terrorist attack. The deadly attack occurred in west China. While police were performing their morning exercises two men drove by and tossed grenades into the exercise yard. Sixteen police man were killed and another sixteen were injured.

A Muslim group has released threatening videos and promises more attacks during the Olympics. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2496900/Beijing-Olympics-security-fears-as-terror-attack-kills-16-Chinese-policemen.html

Tyson Food Exchanges Labor Day for Muslim Holiday

2008-08-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880’s. But this year, some employees of Tyson don’t see much to celebrate for.

The Tyson Food processing plant in Shelbyville, Tennessee has decided to nix giving Labor Day as a paid holiday and replace it instead with “Eid al-Fitr” which falls on October 1 this year. Eid al-Fitr is a Muslim holiday which marks the end of Ramadan.

This decision was made to accommodate the large numbers of Muslim workers at this facility but that has left many non-Muslim employees frustrated. One employee who wishes to remain anonymous stated that she feels like her country and her beliefs are being pushed aside so appease the Muslim community.

TRANSCRIPT: Obama's Berlin Speech - July 24, 2008

2008-07-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

TRANSCRIPT:
Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.
I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.
I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father – my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning – his dream – required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I'm here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.
Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.
On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.
This is where the two sides met.Ê And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.
The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.
Ê And that's when the airlift began – when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.
The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.Ê
But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. "There is only one possibility," he said. "For us to stand together united until this battle is wonÉThe people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your duty People of the world, look at Berlin!"
People of the world – look at Berlin!
Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.
Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.
Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.
People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.
Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.ÊÊ
The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.Ê
As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.
Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.
In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.
In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth – that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.
Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more – not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.
That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.Ê
We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid. Ê So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.Ê
That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations – and all nations – must summon that spirit anew.
This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.
This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.
This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.
This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century – in this city of all cities – we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.
This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.
This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.
This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations – including my own – will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.
And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust – not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.
Now the world will watch and remember what we do here – what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?
Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?Ê
Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?
People of Berlin – people of the world – this is our moment. This is our time.Ê
I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived – at great cost and great sacrifice – to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom – indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us – what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores – is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.
Those are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. Those aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of those aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of those aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of those aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on history.
People of Berlin – and people of the world – the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world.

Media Unfair and Unbalaned

2008-07-23T09:05:00.001-07:00

It is frightening to see how bias the media is when it comes to this election. The media is infatuated with Obama and it seems they are putting their own personal agenda ahead of credible journalism.

Pelosi Fighting Against Offshore Drilling

2008-07-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

Take Action!
Email your two U.S. senators and representative. (<--Click to easily send form letter) Tell them to lift the ban on off-shore drilling.
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire e-mail list of family and friends.voice heard!

Obama's Inconvenient Truth

2008-07-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of discussion about Obama’s religion. There have been rumors that he is a Muslim; there has been anger against his seemingly quirky Christian leader Rev. Jeremy Wright. What do we know for a fact though? We do know that Obama says he is Christian and that he has spent twenty years in a Christian church. Call me crazy but I think that is safe to presume that he considers himself a Christian.

Where there seems to be a grey area is in his past. Obama claims that he has always been Christian. His brother however, who is a Muslim, claims that Obama was at one time a Muslim. So why then would Obama deny this? The answer may not be what first comes to mind.
There has been a lot of chatter suggesting that Obama wants to distance himself from anything Muslim to ease people’s fears about terrorist ties. I don’t think that is it though.

Think about it… radical Muslims are intolerant of any Muslim converting from Islam to Christianity. In fact, this is reason to be killed in their eyes. If Obama were to admit to converting to Christianity and be seen as the leader of the “evil” America, then he would be their #1 target.

قد كان هناك [ا لوت] النقاشة حول [أبما] دين. قد كان هناك إشاعات أنّ هو [موسليم]; قد كان هناك حالة ضدّ ه غريبة مسيحية زعيمة [رف.] على ما يبدو. [جرمي] [وريغت]. ماذا نحن نعرف لحقيقة مع ذلك? نحن نعرف أنّ يقول [أبما] هو مسيحية وأنّ هو قد أنفق عشرون سنون في [كريستين شرش]. دعاتني مجنونة غير أنّ يفكّر أنا أنّ يكون آمنة أن يفترض أنّ هو يعتبربنفسي مسيحية. حيث هناك يبدو أن يكون منطقة رماديّة في ماضه. [أبما] يدّعي أنّ يكون هو يتلقّى دائما مسيحية. يدّعي أخه مهما, الذي يكون [موسليم], أنّ [أبما] كان [أت ون تيم] [موسليم]. هكذا لما بعد ذلك [أبما] أنكر هذا? الجوابة يمكن لا يكون ماذا أولى يأتي أن يبالي. هناك يتلقّى يكون [ا لوت] الإصطكاك يقترح أنّ يريد [أبما] أن يبعدبنفسي من أيّ شيء مسلمة أن يهدأ الناس خوف حول إرهابية روابط. أنا لا أفكّر أنّ يكون هو مع ذلك. فكّرت حول هو… [موسليم] متطرّفة يكونون متعصّبة من أيّ [موسليم] يحوّل من إسلام إلى مسيحية. [إين فكت], هذا سبب أن يكون قتلت في أعينهم. إن [أبما] كان أن يعترف إلى يحوّل إلى مسيحية وكنت رأيت كالزعيمة من ال "شرّيرة" أمريكا, بعد ذلك كان هو هم #1 هدف.

Moveon.org Paradies

2008-06-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ever since the ridiculous moveon.org "Not Alex" commercial hit television stations there have been a ton of hillarious parady versions of it. I will be airing them on my blog so keep checking back as I keep changing them.

Cancer Patient Denied Chemo Therapy

2008-06-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

A cancer patient with state insurance has been denied chemo therapy for her cancer despite the doctor's recommendation. Instead they have offered the less expensive alternative which is assisted suicide. http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=67565

Is this the type of health care we can look forward to with Obama's promised government health care. He can keep it. Vote for McCain! http://www.johnmccain.com/HomeLogged.aspx

NoBama

2008-06-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Despite McCain's repeated requests for he and Obama to participate in Town Hall meetings together to give the public the opportunity to speak and question them both together, Obama still remains hidden behind his written speeches. Obama and his campaign knows that his speeches are what has been inspiring the people. The problem is that that is all there is to him... just a bunch of fluffy feel good speeches.Obama has a chance to really show the people who he is (instead of just a good speech reader) but is chickening out. If Obama is afraid to stand against McCain at a town hall meeting, how are we supposed to trust him to stand against any other problem that comes up in the whitehouse.Just say NOBama!

Tired of High Gas Prices

2008-06-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Did you know that we could have all the oil we need right here in our own country?Did you that with our new technology we could drill here in an environmentally friendly ways?Did you know that China drill off the shores of Florida, yet congress is stopping our own country from taking care of itself?Sick of it? I am!!! Please help by signing the drill here, drill now petition at http://americansolutions.com/

Also take a minute to e-mail Nancy Pelosi since she keeps blocking us from drilling here at sf.nancy@mail.house.gov and let tell her to get off her rump and do something.

Transcript: Rev. Wright at the National Press Club

2008-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Transcript: Rev. Wright at the National Press Club
Monday, April 28, 2008

THE REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT JR.: Over the next few days, prominent scholars of the African-American religious tradition from several different disciplines — theologians, church historians, ethicists, professors of the Hebrew bible, homiletics, hermeneutics, and historians of religions — those scholars will join in with sociologists, political analysts, local church pastors, and denominational officials to examine the African-American religious experience and its historical, theological and political context.

The workshops, the panel discussions, and the symposium will go into much more intricate detail about this unknown phenomenon of the black church –

(LAUGHTER)
– than I have time to go into in the few moments that we have to share together. And I would invite you to spend the next two days getting to know just a little bit about a religious tradition that is as old as and, in some instances, older than this country.

And this is a country which houses this religious tradition that we all love and a country that some of us have served. It is a tradition that is, in some ways, like Ralph Ellison’s the “Invisible Man.”

It has been right here in our midst and on our shoulders since the 1600s, but it was, has been, and, in far too many instances, still is invisible to the dominant culture, in terms of its rich history, its incredible legacy, and its multiple meanings.

The black religious experience is a tradition that, at one point in American history, was actually called the “invisible institution,” as it was forced underground by the Black Codes.

The Black Codes prohibited the gathering of more than two black people without a white person being present to monitor the conversation, the content, and the mood of any discourse between persons of African descent in this country.

Africans did not stop worshipping because of the Black Codes. Africans did not stop gathering for inspiration and information and for encouragement and for hope in the midst of discouraging and seemingly hopeless circumstances. They just gathered out of the eyesight and the earshot of those who defined them as less than human.

They became, in other words, invisible in and invisible to the eyes of the dominant culture. They gathered to worship in brush arbors, sometimes called hush arbors, where the slaveholders, slave patrols, and Uncle Toms couldn’t hear nobody pray.

From the 1700s in North America, with the founding of the first legally recognized independent black congregations, through the end of the Civil War, and the passing of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, the black religious experience was informed by, enriched by, expanded by, challenged by, shaped by, and influenced by the influx of Africans from the other two Americas and the Africans brought in to this country from the Caribbean, plus the Africans who were called “fresh blacks” by the slave-traders, those Africans who had not been through the seasoning process of the middle passage in the Caribbean colonies, those Africans on the sea coast islands off of Georgia and South Carolina, the Gullah — we say in English “Gullah,” those of us in the black community say “Geechee” — those people brought into the black religious experience a flavor that other seasoned Africans could not bring.

It is those various streams of the black religious experience which will be addressed in summary form over the next two days, streams which require full courses at the university and graduate- school level, and cannot be fully addressed in a two-day symposium, and streams which tragically remain invisible in a dominant culture which knows nothing about those whom Langston Hughes calls “the darker brother and sister.”

It is all of those streams that make up this multilayered and rich tapestry of the black religious experience. And I stand before you to open up this two-day symposium with the hope that this most recent attack on the black church is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright; it is an attack on the black church.

(APPLAUSE)

As the vice president told you, that applause comes from not the working press.

(LAUGHTER)

The most recent attack on the black church, it is our hope that this just might mean that the reality of the African-American church will no longer be invisible.

Maybe now, as an honest dialogue about race in this country begins, a dialogue called for by Senator Obama and a dialogue to begin in the United Church of Christ among 5,700 congregations in just a few weeks, maybe now, as that dialogue begins, the religious tradition that has kept hope alive for people struggling to survive in countless hopeless situation, maybe that religious tradition will be understood, celebrated, and even embraced by a nation that seems not to have noticed why 11 o’clock on Sunday morning has been called the most segregated hour in America.

We have known since 1787 that it is the most segregated hour. Maybe now we can begin to understand why it is the most segregated hour.

And maybe now we can begin to take steps to move the black religious tradition from the status of invisible to the status of invaluable, not just for some black people in this country, but for all the people in this country.

Maybe this dialogue on race, an honest dialogue that does not engage in denial or superficial platitudes, maybe this dialogue on race can move the people of faith in this country from various stages of alienation and marginalization to the exciting possibility of reconciliation.

That is my hope, as I open up this two-day symposium. And I open it as a pastor and a professor who comes from a long tradition of what I call the prophetic theology of the black church.

Now, in the 1960s, the term “liberation theology” began to gain currency with the writings and the teachings of preachers, pastors, priests, and professors from Latin America. Their theology was done from the underside.

Their viewpoint was not from the top down or from a set of teachings which undergirded imperialism. Their viewpoints, rather, were from the bottom up, the thoughts and understandings of God, the faith, religion and the Bible from those whose lives were ground, under, mangled and destroyed by the ruling classes or the oppressors.

Liberation theology started in and started from a different place. It started from the vantage point of the oppressed.

In the late 1960s, when Dr. James Cone’s powerful books burst onto the scene, the term “black liberation theology” began to be used. I do not in any way disagree with Dr. Cone, nor do I in any way diminish the inimitable and incomparable contributions that he has made and that he continues to make to the field of theology. Jim, incidentally, is a personal friend of mine.

I call our faith tradition, however, the prophetic tradition of the black church, because I take its origins back past Jim Cone, past the sermons and songs of Africans in bondage in the transatlantic slave trade. I take it back past the problem of Western ideology and notions of white supremacy.

I take and trace the theology of the black church back to the prophets in the Hebrew Bible and to its last prophet, in my tradition, the one we call Jesus of Nazareth.

The prophetic tradition of the black church has its roots in Isaiah, the 61st chapter, where God says the prophet is to preach the gospel to the poor and to set at liberty those who are held captive. Liberating the captives also liberates who are holding them captive.

It frees the captives and it frees the captors. It frees the oppressed and it frees the oppressors.

The prophetic theology of the black church, during the days of chattel slavery, was a theology of liberation. It was preached to set free those who were held in bondage spiritually, psychologically, and sometimes physically. And it was practiced to set the slaveholders free from the notion that they could define other human beings or confine a soul set free by the power of the gospel.

The prophetic theology of the black church during the days of segregation, Jim Crow, lynching, and the separate-but-equal fantasy was a theology of liberation.

It was preached to set African-Americans free from the notion of second-class citizenship, which was the law of the land. And it was practiced to set free misguided and miseducated Americans from the notion that they were actually superior to other Americans based on the color of their skin.

The prophetic theology of the black church in our day is preached to set African-Americans and all other Americans free from the misconceived notion that different means deficient.

Being different does not mean one is deficient. It simply means one is different, like snowflakes, like the diversity that God loves. Black music is different from European and European music. It is not deficient; it is just different.

Black worship is different from European and European-American worship. It is not deficient; it is just different.

Black preaching is different from European and European-American preaching. It is not deficient; it is just different. It is not bombastic; it is not controversial; it’s different.

(APPLAUSE)

Those of you who can’t see on C-SPAN, we had one or two working press clap along with the non-working press.

(LAUGHTER)

Black learning styles are different from European and European- American learning styles. They are not deficient; they are just different.

This principle of “different does not mean deficient” is at the heart of the prophetic theology of the black church. It is a theology of liberation.

The prophetic theology of the black church is not only a theology of liberation; it is also a theology of transformation, which is also rooted in Isaiah 61, the text from which Jesus preached in his inaugural message, as recorded by Luke.

When you read the entire passage from either Isaiah 61 or Luke 4 and do not try to understand the passage or the content of the passage in the context of a sound bite, what you see is God’s desire for a radical change in a social order that has gone sour.

God’s desire is for positive, meaningful and permanent change. God does not want one people seeing themselves as superior to other people. God does not want the powerless masses, the poor, the widows, the marginalized, and those underserved by the powerful few to stay locked into sick systems which treat some in the society as being more equal than others in that same society.

God’s desire is for positive change, transformation, real change, not cosmetic change, transformation, radical change or a change that makes a permanent difference, transformation. God’s desire is for transformation, changed lives, changed minds, changed laws, changed social orders, and changed hearts in a changed world.

This principle of transformation is at the heart of the prophetic theology of the black church. These two foci of liberation and transformation have been at the very core of the black religious experience from the days of David Walker, Harriet Tubman, Richard Allen, Jarena Lee, Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, and Sojourner Truth, through the days of Adam Clayton Powell, Ida B. Wells, Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Barbara Jordan, Cornell West, and Fanny Lou Hamer.

These two foci of liberation and transformation have been at the very core of the United Church of Christ since its predecessor denomination, the Congregational Church of New England, came to the moral defense and paid for the legal defense of the Mende people aboard the slave ship Amistad, since the days when the United Church of Christ fought against slavery, played an active role in the underground railroad, and set up over 500 schools for the Africans who were freed from slavery in 1865.

And these two foci remain at the core of the teachings of the United Church of Christ, as it has fought against apartheid in South Africa and racism in the United States of America ever since the union which formed the United Church of Christ in 1957.

These two foci of liberation and transformation have also been at the very core and the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ since it was founded in 1961. And these foci have been the bedrock of our preaching and practice for the past 36 years.

Our congregation, as you heard in the introduction, took a stand against apartheid when the government of our country was supporting the racist regime of the African government in South Africa.

(APPLAUSE)

Our congregation stood in solidarity with the peasants in El Salvador and Nicaragua, while our government, through Ollie North and the Iran-Contra scandal, was supporting the Contras, who were killing the peasants and the Miskito Indians in those two countries.

Our congregation sent 35 men and women through accredited seminaries to earn their master of divinity degrees, with an additional 40 currently being enrolled in seminary, while building two senior citizen housing complexes and running two child care programs for the poor, the unemployed, the low-income parents on the south side of Chicago for the past 30 years.

Our congregation feeds over 5,000 homeless and needy families every year, while our government cuts food stamps and spends billions fighting in an unjust war in Iraq.

(APPLAUSE)

Our congregation has sent dozens of boys and girls to fight in the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War, and the present two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. My goddaughter’s unit just arrived in Iraq this week, while those who call me unpatriotic have used their positions of privilege to avoid military service, while sending — (APPLAUSE)

– while sending over 4,000 American boys and girls of every race to die over a lie.

(APPLAUSE)

Our congregation has had an HIV-AIDS ministry for over two decades. Our congregation has awarded over $1 million to graduating high school seniors going into college and an additional $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and the six HBCUs related to the United Church of Christ, while advocating for health care for the uninsured, workers’ rights for those forbidden to form unions, and fighting the unjust sentencing system which has sent black men and women to prison for longer terms for possession of crack cocaine than white men and women have to serve for the possession of powder cocaine.

Our congregation has had a prison ministry for 30 years, a drug and alcohol recovery ministry for 20 years, a full service program for senior citizens, and 22 different ministries for the youth of our church, from pre-school through high school, all proceeding from the starting point of liberation and transformation, a prophetic theology which presumes God’s desire for changed minds, changed laws, changed social orders, changed lives, changed hearts in a changed world.

The prophetic theology of the black church is a theology of liberation; it is a theology of transformation; and it is ultimately a theology of reconciliation.

The Apostle Paul said, “Be ye reconciled one to another, even as God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s self.”

God does not desire for us, as children of God, to be at war with each other, to see each other as superior or inferior, to hate each other, abuse each other, misuse each other, define each other, or put each other down.

God wants us reconciled, one to another. And that third principle in the prophetic theology of the black church is also and has always been at the heart of the black church experience in North America.

When Richard Allen and Absalom Jones were dragged out of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, during the same year, 1787, when the Constitution was framed in Philadelphia, for daring to kneel at the altar next to white worshippers, they founded the Free African Society and they welcomed white members into their congregation to show that reconciliation was the goal, not retaliation.

Absalom Jones became the rector of the St. Thomas Anglican Church in 1781, and St. Thomas welcomed white Anglicans in the spirit of reconciliation.

Richard Allen became the founding pastor of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the motto of the AME Church has always been, “God our father, man our brother, and Christ our redeemer.” The word “man” included men and women of all races back in 1787 and 1792, in the spirit of reconciliation.

The black church’s role in the fight for equality and justice, from the 1700s up until 2008, has always had as its core the nonnegotiable doctrine of reconciliation, children of God repenting for past sins against each other.

Jim Wallis says America’s sin of racism has never even been confessed, much less repented for. Repenting for past sins against each other and being reconciled to one other — Jim Wallis is white, by the way –

(LAUGHTER)

– being reconciled to one another, because of the love of God, who made all of us in God’s image.

Reconciliation, the years have taught me, is where the hardest work is found for those of us in the Christian faith, however, because it means some critical thinking and some re-examination of faulty assumptions when using the paradigm of Dr. William Augustus Jones.

Dr. Jones, in his book, God in the ghetto, argues quite accurately that one’s theology, how I see God, determines one’s anthropology, how I see humans, and one’s anthropology then determines one’s sociology, how I order my society.

Now, the implications from the outside are obvious. If I see God as male, if I see God as white male, if I see God as superior, as God over us and not Immanuel, which means “God with us,” if I see God as mean, vengeful, authoritarian, sexist, or misogynist, then I see humans through that lens.

My theological lens shapes my anthropological lens. And as a result, white males are superior; all others are inferior.

And I order my society where I can worship God on Sunday morning wearing a black clergy robe and kill others on Sunday evening wearing a white Klan robe. I can have laws which favor whites over blacks in America or South Africa. I can construct a theology of apartheid in the Africana church (ph) and a theology of white supremacy in the North American or Germanic church.

The implications from the outset are obvious, but then the complicated work is left to be done, as you dig deeper into the constructs, which tradition, habit, and hermeneutics put on your plate.

To say “I am a Christian” is not enough. Why? Because the Christianity of the slaveholder is not the Christianity of the slave. The God to whom the slaveholders pray as they ride on the decks of the slave ship is not the God to whom the enslaved are praying as they ride beneath the decks on that slave ship.

How we are seeing God, our theology, is not the same. And what we both mean when we say “I am a Christian” is not the same thing. The prophetic theology of the black church has always seen and still sees all of God’s children as sisters and brothers, equals who need reconciliation, who need to be reconciled as equals in order for us to walk together into the future which God has prepared for us.

Reconciliation does not mean that blacks become whites or whites become blacks and Hispanics become Asian or that Asians become Europeans.

Reconciliation means we embrace our individual rich histories, all of them. We retain who we are as persons of different cultures, while acknowledging that those of other cultures are not superior or inferior to us. They are just different from us.

We root out any teaching of superiority, inferiority, hatred, or prejudice.

And we recognize for the first time in modern history in the West that the other who stands before us with a different color of skin, a different texture of hair, different music, different preaching styles, and different dance moves, that other is one of God’s children just as we are, no better, no worse, prone to error and in need of forgiveness, just as we are.

Only then will liberation, transformation, and reconciliation become realities and cease being ever elusive ideals.

Thank you for having me in your midst this morning.

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: We do want to get in our questions. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

I do want to repeat again, for those of you watching us on C- SPAN, that we do have a number of guests here today. And so the applause and the comments that you hear from the audience are not necessarily those of the working press, who are mostly in the balconies.
You have said that the media have taken you out of context. Can you explain what you meant in a sermon shortly after 9/11 when you said the United States had brought the terrorist attacks on itself? Quote, “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”

WRIGHT: Have you heard the whole sermon? Have you heard the whole sermon?

MODERATOR: I heard most of it.

WRIGHT: No, no, the whole sermon, yes or no? No, you haven’t heard the whole sermon? That nullifies that question.

Well, let me try to respond in a non-bombastic way. If you heard the whole sermon, first of all, you heard that I was quoting the ambassador from Iraq. That’s number one.

But, number two, to quote the Bible, “Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever you sow, that you also shall reap.” Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic, divisive principles.

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: Some critics have said that your sermons are unpatriotic. How do you feel about America and about being an American?

WRIGHT: I feel that those citizens who say that have never heard my sermons, nor do they know me. They are unfair accusations taken from sound bites and that which is looped over and over again on certain channels.

I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: Please, I ask you to keep your comments and your applause to a minimum so that we can work in as many questions as possible.

Senator Obama has — shh, please. We’re trying to ask as many questions as possible today, so if you can keep your applause to a minimum.

Senator Obama has tried to explain away some of your most contentious comments and has distanced himself from you. It’s clear that many people in his campaign consider you a detriment. In that context, why are you speaking out now?

WRIGHT: On November the 5th and on January 21st, I’ll still be a pastor. As I said, this is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition.

And why am I speaking out now? In our community, we have something called playing the dozens. If you think I’m going to let you talk about my mama and her religious tradition, and my daddy and his religious tradition, and my grandma, you’ve got another thing coming.

MODERATOR: What is your relationship with Louis Farrakhan? Do you agree with and respect his views, including his most racially divisive views?

WRIGHT: As I said on the Bill Moyers’ show, one of our news channels keeps playing a news clip from 20 years ago when Louis said 20 years ago that Zionism, not Judaism, was a gutter religion.

And he was talking about the same thing United Nations resolutions say, the same thing now that President Carter is being vilified for, and Bishop Tutu is being vilified for. And everybody wants to paint me as if I’m anti-Semitic because of what Louis Farrakhan said 20 years ago.

I believe that people of all faiths have to work together in this country if we’re going to build a future for our children, whether those people are — just as Michelle and Barack don’t agree on everything, Raymond (ph) and I don’t agree on everything, Louis and I don’t agree on everything, most of you all don’t agree — you get two people in the same room, you’ve got three opinions.

So what I think about him, as I’ve said on Bill Moyers and it got edited out, how many other African-Americans or European-Americans do you know that can get one million people together on the mall? He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century. That’s what I think about him.

I’ve said, as I said on Bill Moyers, when Louis Farrakhan speaks, it’s like E.F. Hutton speaks, all black America listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen.

Now, I am not going to put down Louis Farrakhan anymore than Mandela would put down Fidel Castro. Do you remember that Ted Koppel show, where Ted wanted Mandela to put down Castro because Castro was our enemy? And he said, “You don’t tell me who my enemies are. You don’t tell me who my friends are.”

Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains. He did not put me in slavery. And he didn’t make me this color.

MODERATOR: What is your motivation for characterizing Senator Obama’s response to you as, quote, “what a politician had to say”? What do you mean by that?

WRIGHT: What I mean is what several of my white friends and several of my white, Jewish friends have written me and said to me. They’ve said, “You’re a Christian. You understand forgiveness. We both know that, if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected.”

Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls, Huffington, whoever’s doing the polls. Preachers say what they say because they’re pastors. They have a different person to whom they’re accountable.

As I said, whether he gets elected or not, I’m still going to have to be answerable to God November 5th and January 21st. That’s what I mean. I do what pastors do. He does what politicians do.

I am not running for office. I am hoping to be vice president.

(LAUGHTER)

MODERATOR: In light of your widely quoted comment damning America, do you think you owe the American people an apology? If not, do you think that America is still damned in the eyes of God?

WRIGHT: The governmental leaders, those — as I said to Barack Obama, my member — I am a pastor, he’s a member. I’m not a spiritual mentor, guru. I’m his pastor.

And I said to Barack Obama, last year, “If you get elected, November the 5th, I’m coming after you, because you’ll be representing a government whose policies grind under people.” All right? It’s about policy, not the American people.

And if you saw the Bill Moyers show, I was talking about — although it got edited out — you know, that’s biblical. God doesn’t bless everything. God condemns something — and d-e-m-n, “demn,” is where we get the word “damn.” God damns some practices.

And there is no excuse for the things that the government, not the American people, have done. That doesn’t make me not like America or unpatriotic.

So in Jesus — when Jesus says, “Not only you brood of vipers” — now, he’s playing the dozens, because he’s talking about their mamas. To say “brood” means your mother is an asp, a-s-p. Should we put Jesus out of the congregation?

When Jesus says, “You’ll be brought down to Hell,” that’s not — that’s bombastic, divisive speech. Maybe we ought to take Jesus out of this Christian faith.

No. What I said about and what I think about and what — again, until I can’t — until racism and slavery are confessed and asked for forgiveness — have we asked the Japanese to forgive us? We have never as a country, the policymakers — in fact, Clinton almost got in trouble because he almost apologized at Gorialan (ph). We have never apologized as a country.

Britain has apologized to Africans, but this country’s leaders have refused to apologize. So until that apology comes, I’m not going to keep stepping on your foot and asking you, “Does this hurt? Do you forgive me for stepping on your foot?” if I’m still stepping on your foot.

Understand that? Capiche?

MODERATOR: Senator Obama has been in your congregation for 20 years, yet you were not invited to his announcement of his presidential candidacy in Illinois. And in the most recent presidential debate in Pennsylvania, he said he had denounced you. Are you disappointed that Senator Obama has chosen to walk away from you?

WRIGHT: Whoever wrote that question doesn’t read or watch the news. He did not denounce me. He distanced himself from some of my remarks, like most of you, never having heard the sermon. All right?

Now, what was the rest of your question? Because I got confused in — the person who wrote it hadn’t –

MODERATOR: Were you disappointed that he distanced himself?

WRIGHT: He didn’t distance himself. He had to distance himself, because he’s a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American. He said I didn’t offer any words of hope. How would he know? He never heard the rest of the sermon. You never heard it.

I offered words of hope. I offered reconciliation. I offered restoration in that sermon, but nobody heard the sermon. They just heard this little sound bite of a sermon.

That was not the whole question. There was something else in the first part of the question that I wanted to address.

Oh, I was not invited because that was a political event. Let me say again: I’m his pastor. As a political event, who started it off? Senator Dick Durbin. I started it off downstairs with him, his wife, and children in prayer. That’s what pastors do.

So I started it off in prayer. When he went out into the public, that wasn’t about prayer. That wasn’t about pastor-member. Pastor- member took place downstairs. What took place upstairs was political.

So that’s how I feel about that. He did, as I’ve said, what politicians do. This is a political event. He wasn’t announcing, “I’m saved, sanctified, and feel the holy ghost.” He was announcing, “I’m running for president of the United States.”

MODERATOR: You just mentioned that Senator Obama hadn’t heard many of your sermons. Does that mean he’s not much of a churchgoer? Or does he doze off in the pews?

WRIGHT: I just wanted to see — that’s your question. That’s your question. He goes to church about as much as you do. What did your pastor preach on last week? You don’t know? OK.

MODERATOR: In your sermon, you said the government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. So I ask you: Do you honestly believe your statement and those words?

WRIGHT: Have you read Horowitz’s book, “Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola,” whoever wrote that question? Have you read “Medical Apartheid”? You’ve read it?

(UNKNOWN): Do you honestly believe that (OFF-MIKE)

WRIGHT: Oh, are you — is that one of the reporters?

MODERATOR: No questions -

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: No questions from the floor. I read different things. As I said to my members, if you haven’t read things, then you can’t — based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything.

In fact, in fact, in fact, one of the — one of the responses to what Saddam Hussein had in terms of biological warfare was a non- question, because all we had to do was check the sales records. We sold him those biological weapons that he was using against his own people.

So any time a government can put together biological warfare to kill people, and then get angry when those people use what we sold them, yes, I believe we are capable.

MODERATOR: You have likened Israeli policies to apartheid and its treatment of Palestinians with Native Americans. Can you explain your views on Israel?

WRIGHT: Where did I liken them to that? Whoever wrote the question, tell me where I likened them.

Jimmy Carter called it apartheid. Jeremiah Wright didn’t liken anything to anything. My position on Israel is that Israel has a right to exist, that Israelis have a right to exist, as I said, reconciled one to another.

Have you read the Link? Do you read the Link, Americans for Middle Eastern Understanding, where Palestinians and Israelis need to sit down and talk to each other and work out a solution where their children can grow in a world together, and not be talking about killing each other, that that is not God’s will?

My position is that the Israel and the people of Israel be the people of God who are worrying about reconciliation and who are trying to do what God wants for God’s people, which is reconciliation.

MODERATOR: In your understanding of Christianity, does God love the white racists in the same way he loves the oppressed black American?

WRIGHT: John 3:16, Jesus said it much better than I could ever say it, “for God so loved the world.” World is white, black, Iraqi, Darfurian, Sudanese, Zulu, Coschia (ph). God loves all of God’s children, because all of God’s children are made in God’s image.

MODERATOR: Can you elaborate on your comparison of the Roman soldiers who killed Jesus to the U.S. Marine Corps? Do you still believe that is an appropriate comparison and why?

WRIGHT: One of the things that will be covered at the symposium over the next two days is biblical history, which many of the working press are unfamiliar with.

In biblical history, there’s not one word written in the Bible between Genesis and Revelations that was not written under one of six different kinds of oppression, Egyptian oppression, Assyrian oppression, Persian oppression, Greek oppression, Roman oppression, Babylonian oppression.

The Roman oppression is the period in which Jesus is born. And comparing imperialism that was going on in Luke, imperialism was going on when Caesar Augustus sent out a decree that the whole world should be taxed. They weren’t in charge of the world. It sounds like some other governments I know.

That, yes, I can compare that. We have troops stationed all over the world, just like Rome had troops stationed all over the world, because we run the world. That notion of imperialism is not the message of the gospel of the prince of peace, nor of God, who loves the world.

MODERATOR: Former President Bill Clinton has been widely criticized in this campaign. Many African-Americans think he has said things aimed at defining Senator Obama as the black candidate. What do you think of President Clinton’s comments, particularly those before the South Carolina primary?

WRIGHT: I don’t think anything about them. I came here to talk about prophetic theology of the black church. I’m not talking about candidates or their positions or their feelings or what they have to say to get elected.

MODERATOR: Well, OK, we’ll give you a church question. Please explain how the black church and the white church can reconcile.

WRIGHT: Well, there are many white churches and white persons who are members of churches and clergy and denominations who have already taken great steps in terms of reconciliation.

In the underground railroad, it was the white church that played the largest role in getting Africans out of slavery. In setting up almost all 40 of the HBCUs, it was the white church that sent missionaries into the south.

As I mentioned in my presentation, our denomination all by itself set up over 500 of those schools. You know them today as Howard University, Fisk, LeMoyne-Owen, Tougaloo, Dillard University, Howard University.

So they’ve done — Morehouse, Morehouse. Don’t forget Moorhouse, Spelman — that white Christians have been trying for a long time to reconcile, that for other white Christians to understand that we must be reconciled is to understand the injustice that was done to a people, as we raped the continent, brought those people here, built our country, and then defined them as less than human.

And more Christians, more of us working together, not just white Christians, but whites and blacks of every faith, ecumenically working together.

Father Flagger (ph), by the way, he might be one of the one –

(APPLAUSE)

– models out what it means to be reconciled as brothers and sisters in Christ and brothers and sisters made in the image of God.

MODERATOR: You said there is a lack of understanding by people of other backgrounds of the African-American church. What are some of those misunderstandings? And how would you purport to fix them, particularly when some of your comments are found to be offensive by white churches?

WRIGHT: Carter Godwin Woodson, about 80 years ago, wrote a book entitled “The Miseducation.” I would try to fix it starting at the educational level in the grammar schools, as Dr. Asa Hilliard did in his infusion curriculum, starting at the grammar schools, to tell our children this story and to tell our children the true story.

That’s how I go about fixing it, because until you know the true story, then you’re reacting to my words and not to the truth.

MODERATOR: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but through me.” Do you believe this? And do you think Islam is a way to salvation?

WRIGHT: Jesus also said, “Other sheep have I who are not of this fold.”

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: Do you think people of other races would feel welcome at your church?

WRIGHT: Yes. We have members of other races in our church. We have Hispanics. We have Caribbean. We have South Americans. We have whites.

The conference minister — please understand the United Church of Christ is a predominantly white demonstration. Again, some of you do not know United Church of Christ, just found out about liberation theology, just found out about United Church of Christ, the conference minister, Dr. Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman, and her husband, not only are members of the congregation, but on her last Sunday before taking the assignment as the interim conference minister of California, Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ, a white woman stood in our pulpit and said, “I am unashamedly African.”

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: You first gained media attention, significant media attention for your sermons several weeks ago. Why did you wait so long before giving the public your side of the sound bite story?

WRIGHT: As I said to Bill Moyers — and he also edited this one out — because of my mother’s advice to me. My mother’s advice was being seen all over the corporate media channels, and it’s a paraphrase of the Book of Proverbs, where it is better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The media was making a fool out of itself, because it knew nothing about our tradition. And so I decided to let them make a fool as long as they wanted to and then take the advice of Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Lies, lies, bless the lord. Don’t you know the days are broad?”

Don’t make me come across this room. I had to come across the room, because they start — understand, when you’re talking about my mama, once again, and talking about my faith tradition, once again, how long do you let somebody talk about your faith tradition before you speak up and say something in defense of — this is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright.

Once again, let me say it again. This is an attack on the black church. And I cannot as a minister of the gospel allow the significant part of our history — most African-Americans and most European-Americans, most Hispanic-Americans, half the names I called in my presentation they’ve never heard of, because they don’t know anything at all about our tradition.

And to lift up those — they would have died in vain had I just kept quiet longer and longer and longer and longer. As I said, this is an attack on the black church. It is not about Obama, McCain, Hillary, Bill, Chelsea. This is about the black church.

This is about Barbara Jordan. This is about Fanny Lou Hamer. This is about my grandmamma.

MODERATOR: Do you think it is God’s will that Senator Obama be president?

WRIGHT: I said I would offer myself for candidacy for vice president. I have not offered myself for candidacy of God. I can’t presume to know what God would want.

In my tradition, however, what everybody has been saying to me as it pertains to the candidacy is what God has for you is for you. If God intends for Mr. Obama to the president, then no white racists, no political pundit, no speech, nothing can get in the way, because God will do what God wants to do.

MODERATOR: OK, we are almost out of time. But before asking the last question, we have a couple of matters to take care of.

First of all, let me remind you of our future speakers. This afternoon, we have Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, who is discussing trading up movies in the global marketplace. On May 2nd, Bobby Jindal, the governor of the state of Louisiana, will discuss bold reform that works. On May 7th, we have Glenn Tilton, CEO, United Airlines, and board member of the American transport association.

Second, I would like to present our guest with the official centennial mug and — it’s brand new.

WRIGHT: Thank you. Thank you.

MODERATOR: You’re welcome. And we’ve got one more question for you.

(APPLAUSE)

We’re going to end with a joke. Chris Rock joked, “Of course Reverend Wright’s an angry 75-year-old black man. All 75-year-old black men are angry.” Is that funny? Is that true? Is it unfortunate? What do you think?

WRIGHT: I think it’s just like the media. I’m not 75.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: I’d like to thank you all for coming today.

What's Up With Huckabee???

2008-04-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

An announcement ? Or just a new site... but why would you have a countdown to just an updated sight... hmmmmm .... guess we will have to wait and see : )

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/

Children Removed from Polygamist Church

2008-04-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Child welfare officials and state troopers Friday removed a busload of children from a secretive religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs following a complaint.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346390,00.html

18 girls were placed in state custody because it appeared that they "had been abused or were at immediate risk of future

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/04/texas.ranch/index.html

Residents Fighting to Stop Bible Park USA

2008-04-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/resident-fight-stop-bible-theme-park

County authorizes tax payer money to pay for Bible Theme Park.

A Vote for Obama is a Vote for Hamas

2008-03-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=59456